By BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press

 
A New Mexico business and its insurer must pay for medical marijuana for a worker who suffered a job-related back injury, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.
Peter D. White, a lawyer for the worker, said Tuesday it was the first time an appellate court in New Mexico had decided that marijuana is a medical expense covered under the state’s workers’ compensation system.
 
Full Article:
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Medical-marijuana-OK-d-for-injured-worker-5490957.php

 
Officials in Round Rock, Texas charged Jacob Lavoro with a first-degree felony Thursday for making and selling the illegal baked-goods. 
“I was outraged. I’ve been doing this 22 years as a lawyer and I’ve got 10 years as a police officer and I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Lavoro’s attorney, Jack Holmes. 
 
Full Article:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/drug-law/texan-jacob-lavoro-could-spend-life-prison-making-pot-brownies
 

Ray Hagar, RGJ

(Photo: Marilyn Newton/RGJ)
 
“Salwa Ibrahim, co-owner of the Blüm dispensary in Oakland, Calif., said some parents with children who suffer from seizures are breeding and cross-breeding marijuana plants that no longer have any THC, which can be a problem.
“It sounds great in theory, but what we are finding is that it actually has a reverse effect in some situations,” Ibrahim siad. “The THC is actually a very important component combined with the CBD.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/05/18/parents-pray-wonder-drug-strain-marijuana/9231417/

Reno Gazette-Journal

(Photo: Getty Images)
 
WHAT IS COMING: Under the law passed by the Nevada Legislature and signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval in 2013, the medical marijuana industry will include up to 66 dispensaries statewide to sell the marijuana and marijuana products. The infrastructure will include indoor grow houses to grow the drug, testing labs to test its potency and kitchens to process the marijuana into various forms such as oils, butter, cookie dough, soda pop, chocolate bars and peanut butter cups.
 
Full Article:
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/05/18/nevadas-medical-marijuana-business-glance/9231111/

Ray Hagar, RGJ

(Photo: Liz Margerum/RGJ )

 
There’s a new gold rush in Nevada, all centered around a green plant.
Sometime in the spring of 2015, Nevada’s medical marijuana industry will be open for business. Doctors say medical marijuana will help patients with cancer, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments.
Others see the green in a different light. The marijuana business offers excellent potential for profit, so much so that it has attracted the rich and famous of Nevada.
“There are a lot of people who are savvy business people who see this as an opportunity to make money,” said Pete Krueger, president of the Nevada Medical Marijuana Association, a business group. “And God bless them, that’s the American way.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/05/18/rgj-depth-gold-green-marijuana/9230889/
 

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH

• The Associated Press

 
 
Fourteen years after Nevada made medicinal marijuana legal, the state is wrestling with a host of questions related to the emerging industry.

Nevada gambling regulators decisively declared any involvement with the medical marijuana business to be off limits to those in the casino industry. The State Bar wasn’t so sure and asked for guidance from the Nevada Supreme Court.

Now the board in charge of licensing doctors, policing medical ethics and standards of care is trying to sort through its own list of issues, including determining what role if any physicians should be allowed to play in the business of growing and supplying marijuana.

Full Article:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/may/17/nevada-board-ponders-doctor-roles-in-pot/

Skippy Massey
Humboldt Sentinel

These California Girls have character.

75-year-old Margo Bouer reflects on growing old, using marijuana, and her synchronized swim team, theAquadettes.

California is a Place, from photographers turned filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari, profiles unique, interesting people who happen to be citizens of the Golden State.

In this film they travel  south to Leisure World, where their lens finds a lovely group of ladies who, in retirement, find fitness and friendship through synchronized swimming.

The regular aquabatics practice helps maintain their health and strength, with members suffering arthritis, joint replacements, and other health challenges.  They stay active with the Aquadettes; for Margo, marijuana has been another blessing on the side.

Full Article & Video:

http://humboldtsentinel.com/2014/05/14/swimming-aging-and-marijuana/

By Brett Miller 

 
In a statement issued Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said, “While businesses are not required to accommodate medical marijuana users under the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA), the Division is reaching out to the industry to advise the casinos to develop their own policies regarding use of medical marijuana within the casino hotel premises. A clear policy will help avoid confusion as well as customer inconvenience and dissatisfaction.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.nbc40.net/story/25495251/atlantic-city-resident-has-cannabis-conundrum-for-casinos
 

David Downs

Ninety days after adults over 21 could begin buying cannabis over the counter, taxes were up and crime was down. Above, satisfied customers in Denver January 1, 2014
 
Colorado state tax reports issued on May 8 showed that $19 million worth of cannabis was sold legally in the state in March, up almost a third from February. The state also reported $7.3 million in retail weed tax revenues, plus another $12.6 million from taxes on medical cannabis. Last week, state lawmakers moved to spend some proceeds — about $33 million — on school nurses and public education touting responsible use.
 
Full Article:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2014/05/12/colorado-legalization-90-days-in-crime-down-33-million-in-taxes-earmarked-for-public-health