Following up on Johnny Green’s post on the UFC not punishing fighters for testosterone while vacating wins and seizing prize money over marijuana metabolites, we have some updates on the story. It seems that to add insult to injury, UFC President Dana White is taking the $ 65,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus forfeited by Pat [Continue Reading]
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Archive for the 'Medical Marijuana' Category
UFC Punishes Marijuana, Not Violent Threats Against Women
UFC Punishes Fighters For Marijuana, Not Testosterone
It looks like Ultimate Fighting Championship and the New Jersey Athletic Control Board have not caught on to the changes in marijuana testing thresholds proposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Fighter Pat Healy has been fined, suspended, and his win changed to a “no contest” after testing positive for marijuana after his victory over Jim Miller two weeks ago. According [Continue Reading]
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Is Your Mayor In the Marijuana Majority?
Politicians are slowly coming around to the idea that states and localities should be able to determine their own marijuana policies, and that the federal government should stay out of the way. Is your mayor one of these?
You can help bring them into the Marijuana Majority by contacting your mayors and asking them to support sensible policy reform!
Nevada Bill Would Protect Medical Marijuana Patients from Unscientific DUI Law
Last week, legislators in the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard compelling testimony on Assembly Bill 351. This modest and sensible bill would exempt Nevada’s medical marijuana patients from the state’s unscientific limit on how much THC they can have in their systems while driving.
For medical marijuana patients – who can legally consume marijuana – prohibiting small amounts of THC from showing up in blood tests is patently unfair. Active THC can remain in the bloodstream for days after consumption, even when it does not affect a person’s ability to drive. In effect, many medical marijuana patients are prohibited from driving because of this unfair law. Assemblyman William Horne aims to change this in his bill.
Assemblyman William Horne
Nevada’s patients should not be prohibited from driving simply because they benefit from the use of medical marijuana. DUI’s should be based on impairment – not whether drivers have a legal substance in their bloodstream.
If you are a Nevada resident, please send a message to members of the Senate committee and voice your support for this bill!
New Hampshire Senate Committee Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
We are pleased that the Senate Health, Education, and Human Services Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to approve HB 573 and send it forward to the Senate floor. However, we were sad to watch as the bill was compromised by several amendments that were insisted upon by Gov. Hassan.
The worst was the removal of the home cultivation provision. If no patient or caregiver in the state is allowed to cultivate, patients will likely have to wait two or more years for safe, legal access through alternative treatment centers. Another offensive amendment requires patients to secure written permission before using marijuana on private property.
Senators felt they had little choice but to accept these mandates, because to do otherwise would be to risk having the bill vetoed. MPP held a press conference following the Senate vote, and our concerns were reported by media outlets including NHPR, The Union-Leader, The Concord Monitor, and The Nashua Telegraph.
Please share this news and add your voice to the voices of patients like Clayton Holton, who published this excellent letter in The Portsmouth Herald, and Hardy Macia, a cancer patient who recorded a sad, compelling video message for Gov. Hassan from his hospital bed.
Study Shows Regular Marijuana Use Not Associated with Lung Cancer
Regular marijuana use does not increase one’s chances of developing lung cancer, reported UCLA’s Dr. Li Rita Zhang during the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research.
Dr. Zhang dually analyzed data from six case-control studies conducted from 1999 to 2012 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, which, when combined, tallied a subject pool of 2,159 lung cancer cases and 2,985 controls.
Dr. Zhang’s examination found that when compared with marijuana smokers who also used tobacco, habitual users (i.e., individuals who smoked one joint a day per year) had no notable increase in cancer risk. There were also no significant differences among marijuana-only smokers.
Pulmonologist and chief medical officer of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla. Dr. Michael Alberts stated that although other published studies have shown a correlation between smoking marijuana and lung cancer “the conventional wisdom is that cannabis smoking is not as dangerous as cigarette smoking.”
He then argued that while smoking anything is not ideal for the respiratory system, when it came to medical marijuana, the benefits could outweigh the risk, a sentiment supported by multiple studies such as those conducted by the Temple University School of Pharmacy, researchers at Harvard, and the California Pacific Medical Center.
First-Hand Knowledge Converts Marijuana Fearing Grandma Into Medical Cannabis Activist
By Monterey Bud Meet Joni Whiting. Joni is a reluctant warrior for medical marijuana. You see after Joni’s daughter Stephanie was diagnosed with melanoma in 2000, she underwent several experimental surgeries, and consumed fistfuls of ‘promising’ pharmaceutical drugs – to no avail. As Joni watched her daughter’s face slowly disfigured, one inch at a time, and witnessed [Continue Reading]
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Massachusetts Public Health Council Votes to Approve Regulations for Medical Marijuana
Patient advocates pleased with implementation process and resulting final regulations