Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Vets' MedMJ Bills Advance in House, OR Psilocybin Init Looking Good on Signatures, More... (3/12/20)

The Pine Ridge Reservation votes to legalize weed, a pair of veterans' medical marijauna bills move in the House, signature gathering for the Oregon Psychedelic Service Act initiative is looking good, and more. 

Psilocybin molecule. An Oregon initiative would allow for its therapeutic use. (Creative Commons)
Marijuana Policy

Oglala Sioux Tribe Approves Medical, Recreational Marijuana. Oglala Sioux Tribe members on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota voted Wednesday to legalize medical and recreational marijuana. Both passed by wide margins, with 82% approving medical marijuana and 74% approving recreational marijuana. A proposal to legalize alcohol sales failed with only 44% of the vote. The tribe is now set to be the only one in the nation to legalize marijuana in a state where it otherwise remains illegal.

Medical Marijuana

Congressional Committee Approves Marijuana Bills for Military Veterans. The House Veterans' Affairs Committee has approved two bills focused on marijuana and military veterans. The committee voted 15-11 to approve the Veterans Equal Access Act (HR 1647), sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), which would allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal. The committee also approved the VA Medical Cannabis Research Act (HR 712), sponsored by Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA),  which would require VA to conduct clinical trials on the medical potential of cannabis in the treatment of conditions that commonly afflict veterans. It was approved in a voice vote.

Iowa House Approves Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill. The House on Wednesday passed a bill that adds more qualifying conditions, allow more doctors to recommend patients for the program, and raise limits on THC content. The bill now heads to the Senate. Although Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vetoed a similar bill last year, she said she is comfortable with this bill.

Tennessee Senate Committee Advances Medical Marijuana Bill, But Poison Pill Added. A medical marijuana bill, SB 2334, was approved by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, but only after a poison pill amendment that would only allow the bill to take effect if marijuana is rescheduled as a Schedule II substance under federal law. A similar bill is moving in the House.

Drug Testing

Pennsylvania Mom Sues Hospital over Drug Test That Led to Child Abuse Probe. A mother who gave birth in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital has now filed a suit against the facility charging that it collected and tested her urine for drugs without her consent while she was in labor and reported a false positive result to protective services that resulted in a child abuse investigation. This is the second such lawsuit filed against the hospital since 2014.

Psychedelics

Oregon Psilocybin Initiative Already Has 100,000 Raw Signatures. Campaigners for IR 34, the Oregon Psilocybin Service Act, say they already have 100,000 raw signatures. They need 112,000 valid voter signatures by July to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative would allow adults to visit licensed facilities to have the drug administered under the supervision of medical professionals.

Permission to Reprint: This article is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <i> <blockquote> <p> <address> <pre> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <br> <b>

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School