Category: Cannabis News Corner

250 Pounds of Hemp Seeds Arrive in Louisville—But Customs Officials Are Leery

Jeannie Herer

By KEVIN WILLIS | KENTUCKY PUBLIC RADIO
Hemp_bunch-dried_out_-seeds_close_up_PNr°0063

Hemp seeds.
Credit Creative Commons

A shipment of hemp seeds from Italy has made it to Kentucky—but there’s a problem. U.S. Customs officials in Louisville have so far refused to release the 250 pound shipment to the state Agriculture Department.

While Kentucky law was recently changed to allow the growing of hemp for university-run research projects, federal customs officials are still leery of signing off on the seed shipments.

Full Article:

http://wfpl.org/post/250-pounds-hemp-seeds-arrive-louisville-customs-officials-are-leery

 

Golf – Weed expert recommends different types of pot for different times in your round

Jeannie Herer

By Peter Finch
480px-Justin_Hartfield.jpg
 
Justin Hartfield plays a lot of golf, and when he does, he’s almost invariably high.

He’s the Southern California-based CEO of Weedmaps, an outfit we described as a Yelp! for pot in our recent golf-and-marijuana feature, “Where There’s Smoke.”
Hartfield has a state-issued medical marijuana card, so he can get stoned legally. Although smoking marijuana in public is forbidden, he says he’s never been hassled about it on the course. “Especially at these Southern California courses where you don’t see the group in front
of you or the group behind you, a lot of guys will pull out a bong or a joint and no one is the wiser,” Hartfield says.

 
Full Article:
http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/05/weed-expert-recommends-differe.html

Nevada court: Lawyers can give medical pot advice

Jeannie Herer

Associated Press, @ap

rendc5-6ejycyrawx31930q3c8d_original.jpg
(Photo: Getty Images/file)

The Nevada Supreme Court has amended the state rules of professional conduct for lawyers to allow them to counsel clients on the state’s medical marijuana laws.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, court comment released Wednesday says “a lawyer may counsel a client regarding the validity, scope and meaning of Nevada constitution Article 4, Section 38,” which addresses the voter approved medical marijuana law.

Full Article:

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/05/08/nevada-court-lawyers-can-give-medical-pot-advice/8837157/

The Nevada Supreme Court has amended the state rules of professional conduct for lawyers to allow them to counsel clients on the state’s medical marijuana laws.(Photo: Getty Images/file)

Stanford’s School of Engineering and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism annouce “Magic Grants” to transform the world of media

Jeannie Herer

globe
The Magic Grant program funds thinking, creating and speculating on how stories are discovered and told in a networked, digitized world.
 
Cannabis Wire: Cannabis Wire will create a highly visual and interactive data-driven, single-subject news site aiming to simplify the complexities of cannabis legalization and its role in the broader drug war and criminal justice system. The Cannabis Wire team consists of Alyson Martin and Nushin Rashidian, alumnae of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and co-authors of A New Leaf: The End of Cannabis Prohibition.
 
Full Article:
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/may/magic-grants-2014-050614.html

The Battle for Medical Marijuana in Japan

Jeannie Herer

While the West carries on its steady course towards legalisation, piggybacking on the ever-increasing awareness of marijuana’s medicinal properties, Japan’s cannabis laws remain resolutely harsh. However, a recently discovered loophole allows for the non-psychoactive compound, CBD, to be imported and consumed within Japan. CBD, which has numerous health benefits, is extracted from the stalk of the plant, whereas Japanese law only forbids use of the plant’s leaves and flowers. 
 

 
Full Article:
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/vice-special/the-battle-for-medical-marijuana-in-japan
 

Stevia Corp.’s Subsidiary Completes Successful Extraction of Cannabidiol (CBD) From Industrial Hemp in Laboratory

Jeannie Herer

STEV
 
INDIANAPOLIS, IN–(Marketwired – May 7, 2014) – Stevia Corp.(OTCQB: STEV) (“Stevia Corp” or the “Company”), an international farm management company focused on the economic development of products that support a healthy lifestyle, including stevia and hemp, is pleased to announce the Company’s Hong Kong subsidiary, Stevia Technew Ltd, has successfully extracted cannabidiol (CBD +0.81%,news) from industrial hemp grown in China where 70% of the world’s hemp supply is grown. Leveraging the Company’s experience extracting and refining steviol glycosides from the stevia plant, Stevia Technew intends to work with local partners to transition CBD extraction from laboratory to commercial scale production.
 
Full Article:
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=MW&date=20140507&id=17595380

Colorado group to offer free marijuana to veterans suffering from debilitating injuries

Jeannie Herer

Recreational Marijuana Colorado

(Photo: MGN Online)

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — Operation Grow4Vets has launched the program Project Better Medicine, which will provide free marijuana, edibles and homegrown equipment to veterans in hopes of reducing drug overdose and suicide deaths.

All veterans living in Colorado and under treatment at a VA facility are eligible to enroll.

Full Article:

http://kdvr.com/2014/05/07/colorado-group-to-offer-free-marijuana-to-veterans-suffering-from-debilitating-injuries/

Nevada Supreme Court delays action on rules to protect medical marijuana lawyers

Jeannie Herer
  • By SANDRA CHEREB  Associated Press

 

Nevada Supreme Court justices said Tuesday they won’t rush into approving rules allowing attorneys to advise clients on medical marijuana issues without fear of running afoul of professional conduct standards.

Justices during a 90-minute hearing raised concerns that blanket approval of a rule amendment proposed by the Nevada State Bar could have consequences beyond the immediate intent of easing the minds of lawyers who feel constrained to provide legal advice to local governments and clients hoping to get into the medical marijuana business.

The court took the matter under submission and signaled it may issue interim guidance before making a final determination on the rule amendment.

Full Article:

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/c13913c3be1b443fb037756912f9f18b/NV–Medical-Marijuana-Lawyers

5 Nobel Prize Economists Call for End to Failed War on Drugs

Jeannie Herer

By Elizabeth Limbach

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com / bikeriderlondon
 
The war on drugs is a global disaster, ranging from mass incarceration to violent, billion-dollar cartels. It is a public health nightmare, and a social justice embarrassment that targets communities of color and locks them up  for profit. When the UN General Assembly convenes its special session on drugs in 2016, it should take heed of a groundbreaking report released May 7, which exposes the injustices of the drug war.
Five Nobel Prize economists have weighed in on the repercussions of the global war on drugs, outlining “the effects of prohibition on security, drug prices, rule of law and public health,” according to a press release. It concludes that governments would make better use of their money and resources by supporting evidence-based policies, and calls on these governments to do so.
 
Full Article:
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/5-nobel-prize-economists-call-end-failed-war-drugs

Casino operators told to avoid medical pot investments

Jeannie Herer

By MICHELLE RINDELS Associated Press
Elko Daily Free Press
 

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada gambling regulators issued a notice Tuesday advising casino operators against investing in the state’s nascent medical marijuana industry.

Gaming Control Board member Terry Johnson sent a memo reminding licensees that the state has legalized dispensaries but federal law still prohibits manufacturing and distributing marijuana.

“Unless the federal law is changed, the board does not believe investment or any other involvement in a medical marijuana facility or establishment by a person who has received a gaming approval or has applied for a gaming approval is consistent with the effective regulation of gaming,” the memo said.

The involvement of casino operators in the medical marijuana industry “would tend to reflect discredit upon gaming in the state of Nevada,” the memo said.

Full Article:

http://elkodaily.com/news/casino-operators-told-to-avoid-medical-pot-investments/article_f5d2781c-d565-11e3-b0b7-001a4bcf887a.html