Medical Marijuana

The New England School of Alternative Horticultural Studies — previously billed as Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana school — has decided to cancel its inaugural class and indefinitely postpone operations over concerns that the Rhode Island Department of Health has not offered it explicit approval.

A Michigan Court of Appeals judge urged lawmakers to clarify the state's medical marijuana law, saying the "inartfully drafted" measure has resulted in confusion and arrests. The judge said the law is so confusing that users "who proceed without due caution" could "lose both their property and their liberty."

As medical marijuana proponents have pointed out since the Controlled Substances Act was passed by Congress in 1970, cannabis has been used medicinally for thousands of years, and there has never been a reported case of a marijuana overdose. Moreover, in recent years clinical researchers around the world have demonstrated the medicinal value of cannabis. ReasonTV talked to a doctor, a pharmacist, and a patient to get three firsthand perspectives on medical cannabis.

The Department of Revenue's medical marijuana advisory committee has been controversial from the beginning, and not only because meetings weren't open to the public until after advocates complained. Now there are gripes that the meeting space is too small for everyone who wants to attend the next session tomorrow. People are pointing out that the DOR received over $10 million in application fees from the medical marijuana community in July and August, so they certainly have the funds to rent a larger room.

Andrew Weil, M.D., founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, cuts through all the government misinformation and discusses the multiple uses for medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana advocates are planning a rally next month to push Nevada lawmakers to clearly define state law regarding dispensing. The rally will coincide with President Barack Obama's visit to Las Vegas. Several medical marijuana dispensaries were raided last week by federal agents.

Washington has added chronic kidney failure to the list of conditions for which medical marijuana is permitted under state law but has rejected petitions to add Alzheimer's and neuropathic pain.

Medical marijuana dispensaries aren't attracting crime in Colorado Springs, the second Colorado city where police have concluded that pot shops don't increase crime. Denver police made a similar conclusion earlier this year.

An estimated 200 medical marijuana users and supporters protested against the raids of medical marijuana establishments in Ferndale and Waterford. Six buses brought protesters from Ypsilanti, Lansing, Port Huron and Oak Park, who carried signs that blamed Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard for police brutality during the raids.