Medical Marijuana

New Jersey Gets First Medical Marijuana Dispensary. New York Still Weighing "Risks"

Today, about 20 medical marijuana patients will meet with staff at the Greenleaf Compassion Center, New Jersey's first medical marijuana facility to open its doors since the state passed a law legalizing prescription pot in 2010.While medical weed is now legal in the Garden State -- as we've chronic ... More >>

New Jersey Gives the "OK" for First Medical Marijuana Dispensary. New York: Still "Studying."

The New Jersey Department of Health yesterday issued the first permit to a medical marijuana dispensary, which grants it permission to start distributing marijuana to state residents who qualify for prescription pot.New York, however -- which Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared the leader of "progres ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Los Angeles Pot Shop Owners Fight Ban

The Los Angeles City Council voted in July to ban prescription pot shops, but dispensary owners have decided to fight back, the L.A. Times reports. As detailed by the Times, the City Attorney has threatened medical marijuana managers with "penalties of $2,500 a day and up to six months in jail" if ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: New Jersey's Prescription Pot Moves Ahead Slowly

So we have been following developments in New Jersey's prescription pot program, and it seems like a common motif is slowness. Yes, the state recently started registering patients, but prescription pot has been legal there since 2010! Today brings us news that some patients are now officially elig ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Maine's Proposed Prescription Pot Rules Criticized by Many

As Maine tries to come up with ways to manage its medical marijuana program, one of the state's lawmakers is speaking out against some proposed restrictions. As detailed by the Portland Daily Sun, Rep. Deb Sanderson worries that the state will implement rules that "are more restrictive and divergen ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Denver Moves Toward Prescription Pot Ad Ban

Yesterday proved difficult for Denver's prescription pot shops. The City Council voted 13-0 to ban outdoor advertising for medical marijuana, The Associated Press reports. What this means? Though the measure needs one more vote next week, it's likely to pass, so dispensaries would no longer be pe ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Will Denver Ban Prescription Pot Ads?

Though the citizens of Colorado generally oppose President Barack Obama's pressure on prescription pot ops, the City of Denver will soon weigh whether to ban medical marijuana ads. As detailed by the Denver Post, the City Council will discuss tonight a proposed prohibition on "billboard, bus-bench ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Montana Cannabis Under Fire From Feds

The Department of Justice's crackdown on California medical marijuana might be the most well known in the country, but it's worth paying attention to legal developments in Montana, where U.S. Attorneys are also doing battle with dispensaries. As detailed by the Helena Independent Record, federal pr ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: New Jersey Registers Prescription Pot Patients

Despite previous delays in the development of its medical marijuana program, New Jersey is now moving to implement it -- and has started signing up patients and caregivers. Here's how it works: Prescription pot participants have to get a rec from one of the 150 docs in the program, according to The ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: North Dakota Might Consider Prescription Pot

In a few months, North Dakota voters might decide whether to allow prescription pot as a painkiller. The Associated Press has the story: Medical marijuana propopnents are collecting signatures to put the measure on November's ballot. North Dakota's legislature has never weighed the issue, the AP ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Arizona To Hold Prescription Pot Lottery

It's been a busy couple of days in America's weed world. For starters, Arizona will hold a lottery tomorrow to pick medical marijuana dispensaries, according to The Associated Press.

Medical Marijuana: Solana Beach To Weigh Prescription Pot

Even though Los Angeles is being a total buzzkill when it comes to curative bud, some Californians still seem pretty open to the idea of permitting prescription pot. And they happen to live in Solana Beach. On Nov. 6, Solana Beach citizens will vote on whether to permit medical marijuana dispensar ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Maine Establishes Prescription Pot Guidlines

In Maine, state regulators are trying to come up with new ways to manage medical marijuana. Maine health officials want to make a prescription pot patient-monitoring program optional. Now, users must participate in a state ID program that keeps track of them, according to The Associated Press.

Medical Marijuana: Los Angeles Bans Prescription Pot Shops

After Los Angeles' prescription pot supporters and opponents took to City Hall to do verbal battle about the legal future of medical marijuana dispensaries, the L.A. City Council decided Tuesday night to ban prescription pot shops. The unanimous vote requires that all 762 dispensaries close immedia ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Will Los Angeles Ban Prescription Pot?

Los Angeles might ban prescription pot shops. The City Council is set to vote today on a proposed measure that would make the municipality's dispensaries illegal. The decision comes as the feds turn up the heat on California's cannabis industry. While medical marijuana is legal in California, fede ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Ron Paul Pushes Prescription Pot Legislation

As the federal crackdown on California cannabis continues, Rep. Ron Paul is actively backing legislative protections for prescription pot users. Paul is part of the bipartisan effort spearheaded by Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) On Tuesday, Farr introduced the Truth in Trials Act, according to The Hil ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Is Pot Gaining More Ground in Washington?

Shoreline, Wash., has just decided to permanently regulate collective medical marijuana gardens, according to media reports. What this means? The City Council agreed last night that it's OK with these prescription pot setups, and the vote means the municipality's administrations will develop code ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Delays Cause Confusion in New Jersey

Though the feds have come down on California dispensaries, including Oakland's Harborside Health Center, other states are pushing ahead with prescription pot initiatives. New Jersey, in fact, is so down with medical marijuana that one lawmaker has criticized state bureaucracy for taking too long to ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Oakland Rallies Behind Harborside Health Center

Shortly after the Feds announced their campaign against Harborside Health Center -- the nation's largest and most famous medical marijuana dispensary -- Oakland city officials are rallying behind the prescription pot shop, warning that the cannabis crackdown would have critical economic and social c ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Are Kentucky and Arkansas Next?

Though Kentucky has a rep as one of the most anti-marijuana states in the country, one of the commonwealth's senators has submitted a prescription pot bill to the legislature for consideration, according to The Associated Press. Perry Clark, a Democrat state senator from Louisville, told reporters ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Can Weed Help You Get Food Stamps?

In Oregon, some medical marijuana users can deduct the cost of prescription pot from their income to qualify for food stamps, according to The Associated Press. How does this work?

Medical Marijuana: Can Long Beach Keep Lighting Up?

Last week, the Voice brought you news that Long Beach was weighing more restrictions on medical marijuana dispensaries. The city's move is in keeping with many California municipalities, which have cracked down on prescription pot because of continued federal flak. Now, however, comes word that ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: No Prescription Pot in New Hampshire

Last week, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch vetoed a medical marijuana measure. He claimed that the proposed law -- which would let minors use prescription pot -- could: "downplay the perceived risk of use of this drug and will lead to increased adolescent use." Supporters of the bill had hoped that ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: California Weed Regulation Put On Hold

It looks like one legislator's attempt to reform California's medical marijuana regulations at the state level has been postponed at least one year. As our sister paper, the San Francisco Weekly, explains, California's dispensaries are "currently overseen by only local law, creating a patchwork o ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: California City Bans Prescription Pot Shops

Some new developments worth noting in the world of weed policy: San Leandro, Calif., has banned medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities for a year, according to multiple media reports. The San Leandro decision stems from disagreement between city council members, largely because o ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Doesn't Prompt Kids To Smoke Pot, Study Finds

More kids are using pot, but that doesn't have anything to do with medical marijuana legalization, according to a just released study. Researchers from the University of Colorado Denver looked at data from 1993 to 2009 and found that there's no evidence linking prescription pot to increased hard or ... More >>

Reefer Roundup: Feds Arrest Six, Target Medical Marijuana Clinics' Bank Accounts

The Voice reported yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice, backed by Barack Obama's administration, has started to crackdown on landlords who lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries -- and is threatening them with eviction. Now, news reports out of California indicate that federal auth ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Assembly -- But Don't Get Your Hopes Up, New York

A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in New York passed in the Assembly yesterday, but don't go making up any ailments that qualify you for a weed prescription just yet; Governor Buzz Kill ain't gonna sign it -- even if it does find its way to his desk.The bill would legalize prescription we ... More >>

Cuomo's Plan To Decriminalize "Public View" Marijuana Doesn't Make Him A Hero -- It Makes Him Bipolar

Yesterday, law enforcement officials and state lawmakers got in line to pucker up to the rump of Governor Andrew Cuomo because of his plan to decriminalize "public view" marijuana possession. Cuomo's move is being heralded as a civil rights victory for young Hispanic and African-American New Yorkers ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo Wants To Make Weed Even Less Illegal (While Still Refusing To Support Medical Marijuana)

Governor Andrew Cuomo today will reportedly ask state lawmakers to make marijuana even less illegal than it already is in the Empire State. Keep in mind, though, Cuomo is the same guy who's still unwilling to support the legalization of marijuana used for medicinal purposes, despite enormous public ... More >>

Pot Policies: Weed's Legal Use Might Widen in Arizona

New York still hasn't decided whether it's going to OK medical marijuana, but more developments across the U.S. suggest that it's spreading -- though with some legal blowback from the U.S. courts and feds.

Medical Marijuana Ban Doesn't Hurt Disabled, Court Says

More weed news from the West Coast: A federal court in California just ruled 2-1 that cities can ban medical marijuana dispensaries -- and that doing so doesn't violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. As detailed by the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco's Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appea ... More >>

Pot Politics: Here's How Medical Marijuana Can Influence Elections

As the medical marijuana debate continues in New York, there's a bit of news from the West Coast that might interest vote-seeking Empire State pols: Looks like prescription pot can make or break a candidate.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries In Rhode Island Could Be Open By Fall. New York Still Weighing The "Risks"

The Rhode Island House of Representatives passed a revised bill yesterday that paves the way for the opening of three medical marijuana dispensaries that likely will be open by fall. Governor Andrew Cuomo's "progressive" New York, however, is still assessing the "risks" of legalizing prescription po ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Bill Headed For Another Assembly Vote (Calm Down, Stoners -- You're Not Getting Prescription Pot)

A bill that would legalize medical marijuana in New York has cleared the Health Committee and is headed to the Codes Committee where it will likely be approved and sent to the full Assembly for a vote.Don't get too excited, though, stoners -- even if the bill does pass in the Assembly (which it like ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Growing In New Jersey. Cuomo's "Progressive" New York: Not So Much

Things just got a little greener in the Garden State.The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services issued a permit to Montclair-based Greenleaf Compassion Center yesterday to begin growing medical marijuana. It's the first "compassion club" in New Jersey to receive a permit since the state ... More >>

Medical Marijuana: Is Andrew Cuomo A Weed-Bully Or Is "Cuomo 2016" On His Mind?

As we reported yesterday, a bill will soon be introduced into the state Legislature that would legalize medical marijuana in New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo, however, says he won't sign the bill -- despite overwhelming public support for prescription pot. It seems as though maybe -- just maybe -- th ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo's Saying Nope To Medical Dope Actually Is "Encouraging" To Prescription Pot Advocates

An upcoming bill in the New York Legislature that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes is getting no love from New York's gov -- Andrew Cuomo said yesterday that he still thinks the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to medical marijuana and that he wouldn't support the bill...this year ... More >>

Marijuana Has No Accepted Medical Use, DEA Decrees

​The feds have spoken: marijuana has no legitimate medical use and will continue to be classified as a hard drug. This decision comes nine years after medical pot advocates asked the federal government to reclassify marijuana to reflect growing evidence that it has beneficial medical properties. D ... More >>

BPA Found in Cans; Sushi Chain Sells to Potheads

​Kraft says it's still interested in purchasing British confectioner Cadbury, but stresses that it would "maintain a disciplined approach." The conglomerate has been beating sales estimates, but acquiring Cadbury would help it grow even more. [NY Times] Bad news for those who replaced plastic ... More >>

Obama DOJ Goes Easy on Medical Marijuana

The Department of Justice will not go after medical marijuana users and suppliers who are following state laws which allow them to operate, according to new DOJ guidelines examined by the Washington Post. This would seem to reverse the policy of the previous Administration, which continued to send D ... More >>

Light 'Em Up

Advocates for medical pot look beyond a Supreme Court bummer

Medical Marijuana Keeps on Rolling

Pot for patients may run into trouble with the Supreme Court, but the issue is gaining here at home

Prescription: Euphoria

New Research Brings Ecstasy Back to the Couch

Up In Smoke

Supreme Court Snuffs Medical Marijuana Clubs, But Users Vow To Keep on Toking

Sacrificial Lamb

Orthodox Rabbi Yitzchak Fried Could Do Hard Time for Medical Marijuana

The Year In Pot

Twelve Months in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition

The Herbalist

Arrested for Giving Marijuana to the Sick, Kenneth Toglia Still Sows Seeds of Hope

Pot Shots

Tobacco Row