Decriminalization spreads in South Florida, DC pot arrests hit historic lows, the Senate passes a spending bill that should ease vets' access to medical marijuana, there are calls for the DEA chief's head after he said medical marijuana was "a joke," and more.

[image:1 align:right caption:true]Marijuana Policy

Florida's Broward County Adopts Decriminalization Ordinance. County commissioners Tuesday approved an ordinance allowing police to issue $150 citations to people caught with 20 grams or less of marijuana. Violators would also have to complete an assessment/treatment program. The move puts the county, Florida's second most populous, in line with similar moves in Miami-Dade County and Key West.

DC Marijuana Arrests Plummet After Decriminalization, Legalization. Pot arrests are at historic lows in the nation's capital after city officials decriminalized and voters then legalized marijuana possession. Possession arrests peaked at 2,346 in 2011 before declining to 895 in 2014 (only seven of them after the city's decriminalization ordinance took effect in July 2014), and only seven so far for all of this year.

Medical Marijuana

US Senate Approves Bill Allowing Veterans Access to Medical Marijuana. The Senate Tuesday passed the FY2016 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, which includes language that will allow vets to access medical marijuana in states where it is legal. The Veterans Administration had barred VA doctors from issuing medical marijuana recommendations to vets, but this bill will block the VA from spending money to punish vets who use medical marijuana and allow VA doctors to recommend it where it is legal. The language was first approved as an amendment in May; that amendment must now be approved by the House.

Calls for DEA Chief's Head After He Said Medical Marijuana Was "A Joke." Led by Tom Angell at Marijuana Majority, medical marijuana supporters are calling on President Obama to fire DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg in the wake of his recent comments calling medical marijuana "a joke." "My mom is a legal patient in Rhode Island, and she uses medical marijuana to deal with the severe pain she experiences from multiple sclerosis," said Angell. "Medical cannabis is no joke to my family or the millions of other American families who have seen its real benefits." Angell has organized a Change.org petition that anyone can sign.

Minnesota Pain Patients Call for Access to Medical Marijuana. Pain patients pleaded Tuesday with Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger to override a panel of health experts who rejected allowing medical marijuana for chronic pain and allow them to use it. For more than three hours, the commissioner heard from a cavalcade of people who said they wake in pain, spend their days in pain, and spend sleepless nights because of pain. "All of this has been very helpful. It's not going to be an easy task weighing the data, weighing the input, weighing the pros and cons, weighing the risks and benefits," he said. "But that's the job I signed up for. I take it very seriously, both as a physician, as health commissioner and as a person who lives in this state." He has until the end of December to make a decision.

International

Mexican Senator Files Bill to Allow Import of Marijuana Medicines. Sen. Cristina Diaz Salazar (PRI) has filed a bill that would allow patients import marijuana and cannabis derivatives for medical purposes. She said the bill would codify a recent court ruling that granted an 8-year-old girl's parents permission to import cannabis oil to treat her epilepsy.