Chronicle AM: High Drama in Ohio, Congressmen Seek DOJ Investigation Into MedMJ Harassment, More (7/31/15)

It's the dog days of summer, and it looks like not much is going on except marijuana-related issues. Will ResponsibleOhio make the ballot, will the Justice Department ease up on medical marijuana where it's legal? Stay tuned.

Marijuana Policy

It's do or die today for ResponsibleOhio. They handed in more signatures, but will they be enough?

ResponsibleOhio Hands in Another 96,000 Signatures; Only 29,000 Valid Ones Needed. Late today, the controversial ResponsibleOhio monopoly marijuana legalization initiative campaign handed in 96,000 signatures to state officials in a bid to overcome a signature shortfall after the state threw out more than half of the nearly 700,000 signatures the group originally handed in. The deadline for handing in signatures is 11:59pm tonight. The group needs 305,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November 2015 ballot. According to state officials, it had about 275,000 valid ones before this latest and last batch was handed in.

Medical Marijuana

Congressmen Want DOJ Inspector General to Look Into Harassment of Medical Marijuana Providers in Wake of Vote Barring Same. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sam Farr (D-CA) Thursday sent a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking him to clarify whether continued prosecutions against medical marijuana providers in states where it is legal violate a successful budget rider that prevents the department from spending money to interfere in those states. "Cases such as the Kettle Falls Five case in Washington, asset forfeiture actions against dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay area, or the Lynch case now pending in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, are all instances of DOJ expending dollars it does not have the legal authority to spend," Rohrabacher and Farr write. "Consequently, we believe there is sufficient cause for your office to investigate potential violations of the Anti-Deficiency Act by the Department with regard to its prosecution and other enforcement actions against persons and businesses conducting legitimate medical marijuana activities under state law." That act makes it a crime to use federal funds for purposes not approved by Congress.

Nevada's First Dispensary Opens Today. Silver State Relief was set to open its doors today in the Reno suburb of Sparks. It's the first to open in the state, and one of two approved by city fathers.

New York Awards Five Medical Marijuana Licenses. The Department of Health today announced the names of five groups that will be allowed to sell medical marijuana in the state. Each group can open up to four dispensaries across the state. They are required to be open for business within six months, meaning patients may be able to buy it before year's end. Click on the link to see who the groups are.