Article by Barry Meier, New York Times Early this year, a disabled former automobile body worker named Greg Vialpando explained to lawmakers in New Mexico how medical marijuana helped his chronic back pain. State legislators were considering a bill backed by workers’ compensation insurers that would have exempted them from paying for medical marijuana. But Mr. Vialpando and another patient ...

Article by TG Branfalt Jr.,Ganjapreneur Seattle’s City Council has approved a $500 increase in dispensary fees, raising them from $1,000 to $1,500 for the city’s existing 48 shops, according to a KIRO report. The hike is a compromise from the more than 400 percent increase proposed by local lawmakers two weeks ago. The increase also applies to out-of-town businesses selling ...

Article by TG Branfalt Jr., Ganjapreneur Medicinal use of cannabis oil is now legal in the Cayman Islands for the treatment of conditions such as epilepsy and cancer and as a pain reliever for rheumatoid and osteoarthritis symptoms, according to a report from the Cayman News Service. The amendment to the island nation’s Misuse of Drugs Law was signed by ...

Article by Tim Fernholz, Quartz The US marijuana industry’s vibrant growth in the grey area of federalism could be threatened by president-elect Donald Trump and his preferred choice for attorney general, Alabama senator Jeff Sessions. Sessions, an early backer of Trump’s presidential campaign and an outspoken critic of US immigration policy, is also an opponent of marijuana legalization. He has ...

Article by Keith Humphreys, The Washington Post via The Cannabist Attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is a fervent foe of marijuana legalization. But if he were confirmed as President-elect Trump’s top law enforcement official, would he really have any power to put his anti-pot views into practice? To review the postelection state of play, a majority of states ...

Article by The Associated Press via USA Today Missouri freshman running back Damarea Crockett has been suspended for the season finale against Arkansas on Friday after he was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession hours after setting the program’s freshman single-season rushing record. The Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/2fLD1sf ) reports that university police found less than 35 grams of pot ...

Article by Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian World leaders called for the decriminalization of drugs on Monday, in a report released by a commission that includes the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and former presidents of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. The Global Commission on Drug Policy’s annual report recommended that countries should end civil and criminal penalties for drug use and ...

Article by Kate Martin, The News Tribune Sales of marijuana products are nipping at the heels of hard alcohol and have for the first time surpassed $200 million in a quarter. Residents and visitors bought more marijuana than ever before in the second quarter of 2016, based on an analysis of purchase and tax records from two state agencies. In ...

Article by DJ Summers, Alaska Journal of Commerce More Americans than ever have legal access to marijuana, but the cherry glow highlights a gap between the way voters think and what federal lawmakers say and do, according to policy reformers. Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said cannabis legislation confirms ...

Article by Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press via CNBC Opponents of a state ruling that would prevent bars and many restaurants in Denver from offering on-site marijuana consumption said the ruling would overturn a law approved by voters and force people to sneak around while they use pot and consume alcohol. The new rule announced Friday bars liquor-license holders from ...