By IAN AUSTEN

 Marijuana plants grow under artificial sunlight in one of the many climate-controlled rooms at Tweed Marijuana in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Tweed is one of about 20 companies that are licensed to grow medical marijuana in Canada. CreditDave Chan for The New York Times

The new owner of this factory, at 1 Hershey Drive, is Tweed Marijuana. It is one of about 20 companies officially licensed to grow medical marijuana inCanada.

A court ordered the government to make marijuana available for medicinal purposes in 2000, but the first system for doing so created havoc. The government sold directly to approved consumers, but individuals were also permitted to grow for their own purposes or to turn over their growing to small operations. The free-for-all approach prompted a flood of complaints from police and local governments.

So the Canadian government decided to create an extensive, heavily regulated system for growing and selling marijuana. The new rules allow users with prescriptions to buy only from one of the approved, large-scale, profit-seeking producers like Tweed, a move intended to shut down the thousands of informal growing operations scattered across the country.

The requirements, which went into effect in April, are giving rise to what many are betting will be a lucrative new industry of legitimate producers. The government, which will collect taxes on the sales, estimates that the business could generate more than 3.1 billion Canadian dollars a year in sales within the next decade.

Full Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/business/international/when-cannabis-goes-corporate.html?_r=0

By Laura Kriho

J.D. Tuccille

 
Earlier this month, the authority of the jury received a welcome nod from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a case in which the defendant confessed in the courtroom to all of the charges against him, the court ruled that a directed “guilty” verdict was out of line, since the jury still had the right to make its own decision by its own criteria, no matter what the judge thought. For fans of jury nullification, here’s a new endorsement of the power of a jury to bring a “not guilty” verdict for reasons of its own.
 
Full  Article:
http://reason.com/blog/2014/05/21/jury-power-gets-a-courtroom-nod-in-possi

By Russell Mills

 

The death of a Tulsa man who suffered from PTSD after returning from Afghanistan ironically occurred within hours of the beginning of a petition drive to get medical marijuana on the November ballot.

Friends tell KRMG that Cody Young, 22, suffered flashbacks and depression, and told them the only relief he got was from marijuana.

Full Article:

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/vets-death-may-propel-oklahoma-consider-medical-ma/nf5hK/

By Naomi Mead nutrition therapist

 

Dietary fat is starting to get the attention it deserves…and this time, for positive reasons.  The old “eat fat, get fat” misconception is being quashed, as we gain a better understanding of the very important role that fat plays in our body.  The topic of saturated fat and the unintended but potentially devastating consequences its vilification has had on our health is a whole subject of its own, and still very much a topic of hot debate.

Where all experts agree is on the undisputed role of omega-3 fats (commonly labelled “good fats”), and their wide ranging benefits. There are three types of omega-3 fats: ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic), and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

These come under the category “essential” meaning that the body cannot manufacture them on its own, and need to obtain them through diet. ALA is found in plant based foods such as flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts and some green vegetables including kale, spinach and salad greens.

Full Article:

http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/2014/05/22/from-brain-to-beauty-the-importance-of-omega-3/

By Angelica Leicht

 
High rollers. Glitzy casinos. Feathered showgirls. And now, weed.

Las Vegas has long been a city of overindulgence. That little slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” exists for a reason. And that reason? Debauchery. Throw a little weed to the mix and it may just push that Vegas-bred stimulation into overdrive.

Not that legalization is a new subject in Nevada, mind you. When it comes to weed, the state has long been on board for medical use, with the state’s voters electing to legalize medical marijuana way back in 2000. And Nevada doesn’t only have medi-pot on the brain; a petition has been filed to legalize recreational pot as well that is expected to pass by 2016, which will create a blanket legalization of the plant for the state.

Full Article:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2014/05/move_over_colorado_las_vegas_m.php

By Elliot Hannon
Maybe just don’t smoke all of it.

Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP/Getty Images

By Larry Gabriel

ILLUSTRATION BY LEE DEVITO

If The Graduate came out today, Michael Komorn suggests a famous bit of dialogue might go like this:

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Marijuana.
Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in marijuana. Think about it. Will you think about it?

In The Graduate, of course, that word was “plastics.” But Komorn, a Southfield-based attorney, sees that kind of potential today in marijuana. Komorn should know. Atkomornlaw.com, you’ll find a giant banner at the top of the page proclaiming that “Since November 2008, Komorn Law has focused on protecting and defending the rights of medical marijuana patients and caregivers.” 

It stands to reason that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act has opened a new line of legal focus and another revenue stream for lawyers. But that’s only the most obvious tip of the iceberg. Komorn likens it to a feeding frenzy.

Full Article:

http://metrotimes.com/news/higher-ground/a-growing-business-1.1689215

Ray Hagar, RGJ

(Photo: Cathleen Allison, AP)
 
Nevada’s medical marijuana industry is not yet off the ground. But already, one lawmaker is considering changes for the 2015 Legislature.
State Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, was the main force behind the 2013 medical marijuana push in the Legislature to set up Nevada’s system of dispensaries, grow houses, kitchens for edible products and testing labs.
First, he would like the law changed in 2015 to allow more dispensaries statewide.
 
Full Article:
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/20/changes-planned-nevadas-medical-pot-law/2296708/