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Rep. Jim Cox Signed On To Co-Sponsor House Bill 1181 House Bill 1181 – The Governor Raymond P. Shafer Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act – recently gained the support of Pennsylvania State Representative Jim Cox (R), who signed on to co-sponsor the bill. “It is believed that he is the first Republican to co-sponsor any cannabis policy reform in Pennsylvania.” The move makes Rep. Cox the first Republican to sign on in support of the initiative, which was drafted by Rep. Mark Cohen (D), and …

Florida Legislators Challenge Proposed MMJ Amendment House Speaker Will Weatherford (R) and Senate President Don Gaetz (R) announced Wednesday that they will ask the Florida Supreme Court to block a proposed amendment that would allow access to cannabis for medical reasons. The move comes in support of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who asked the court to block the initiative last week. Bondi claimed that the proposal’s wording would make it far too easy to qualify for medical marijuana. “If the amendment passed, Florida law would allow marijuana in limitless situations,” she explained in a letter to the court. “So …

Arizona ACLU Filed A Lawsuit To Allow Cannabis Extracts The family of a 5-year-old with epilepsy and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Supreme Court on Monday that would ensure access to medical marijuana extracts. According to his mother, Zander Welton has had two brain surgeries in the 5 years since his birth, each of which involved removing portions of his brain. Both operations were intended to stop the violent seizures Zander has suffered from …

Revised Public Consumption Law To Be Filed In Denver A new draft of the proposed ordinance to crack down on public cannabis consumption in Denver is expected to be introduced to city council on Monday. The new version would allow people to smoke in their backyard and permit marijuana possession in parks and the 16th Street Mall. Additionally, the revision stands to ease penalties for those who violate the proposed law. Under the current version, a violation is punishable by a fine of up to $999 or a year in prison.

Compassionate Care Foundation Opened In Egg Harbor New Jersey’s second medical marijuana dispensary, Compassionate Care Foundation, opened for business in Egg Harbor Township today. As state law requires, no walk-ins will be permitted. Instead, one must have an appointment with the facility. Prospective medical marijuana patients must first be examined by a state-qualified physician. Once approved and registered in the State of New Jersey, patients will be contacted by a dispensary to schedule an appointment. “The center expects to harvest around 1,000 ounces of cannabis every two weeks.” As a …

New Approach Oregon Calls For Legal Marijuana New Approach Oregon – “a coalition of every marijuana reform group in Oregon,” according to Russ Belville – filed a measure on Friday that would legalize and regulate marijuana in the state. Anthony Johnson says they will have the resources to collect the 87,213 signatures necessary to put it up for a vote. According to The Oregonian, the group will push legislators to put their initiative on the November 2014 ballot. If all else fails, however, Anthony Johnson – New Approach …

Thompson Would Offer Noncriminal Fines For Minor Possession Ken Thompson – the Democratic candidate for Brooklyn, NY District Attorney – told The Wall Street Journal he would order prosecutors to drop nearly all criminal charges involving 15 grams of cannabis or less if elected in November. He plans to offer noncriminal fines instead. Thompson believes the Brooklyn’s criminal justice resources would be better served prosecuting more serious crimes. “These arrests are clogging the criminal-justice system,” he explained. “I’m going to treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as violations, the way …

D.C. Council Members Signed On In Support Of Decriminalization According to The Washington Post, 10 of 13 Washington D.C. council members signed a bill Thursday to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis within the city limits. The bill was proposed by council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) earlier this year and calls for fines no larger than $100. “Less than one ounce would not be a crime,” Wells explained. “That would no longer mean a drug-arrest record.” “Less than one ounce would not be a crime… That would …

Illinois Bill Would Ease Veteran Access To Medical Marijuana The Illinois House Judiciary Committee voted (10 to 6) Tuesday to pass an amendment to Representative Lou Lang’s (D-Skokie) House Bill to the House Floor for consideration. If passed, the changes must be approved by the Senate before being forwarded to Governor Pat Quinn (D). The amendment, which was filed on October 18, would allow military veterans easier access to medical marijuana when the state’s medical marijuana law goes into effect January 1, 2014. “The [Illinois] Department of Health would be permitted to …

Town Council Passes Medical Marijuana Moratorium The Town Council in West Hartford, CT unanimously voted to adopt a nine-month moratorium on medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries Tuesday. The moratorium is meant to allow city officials enough time to review and write zoning regulations to regulate “marijuana dispensary facilities, marijuana production facilities [or] pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.” However, it could be lifted sooner if provisions are made in less than nine months West Hartford’s decision came after a public hearing, in which State Consumer Protection Commissioner William Rubenstein and Tracey Gamer-Fanning – a terminal brain cancer …