Medical Marijuana

Although Washington state has a medical marijuana law and the city of Seattle has a lowest law enforcement priority ordinance, Seattle police two weeks ago raided a medical marijuana co-op, seizing patient records and 12 ounces of medicine. The co-op got the records back, but now the DEA has seized the marijuana.

Research from Italy suggesting that whole-plant marijuana extracts provide more effective pain relief than isolated compounds from the plant should be welcome news for medical marijuana supporters.

If a police officer smells marijuana coming from a car, that's not enough evidence to arrest everyone in it, the Washington state Supreme Court has ruled.

Washington has a medical marijuana law and Seattle has a lowest law enforcement priority ordinance, but that didn't stop Seattle cops from seizing hundreds of patient files from a Seattle co-op.

Two sociologists take on medical marijuana and Santa Cruz's Wo/Men's Access to Medical Marijuana (WAMM) collective. We review their efforts and find them worthy.

Austria's parliament has taken a first step toward making medical marijuana available. A bill it approved allows a state agency to grow it.

Oregon already has decriminalization and medical marijuana. Now, some state activists have launched an initiative campaign to allow for taxed and regulated sales to adults. If they can get the required signatures, the measure will be on the 2010 ballot.

The AMA's med student branch, the Medical Student Section, overwhelmingly passed a resolution supporting medical marijuana at the AMA national convention earlier this month. With the other large national med student group, the American Medical Student Association, already supporting it, it looks like therapeutic cannabis has a future in US medicine.

Some well-known Puerto Ricans are calling for the legalization, taxation, and regulate sale of marijuana in a bid to reduce the prison population and keep kids away from unsavory elements.

Opponents of medical marijuana sometimes argue that allowing it will encourage kids to smoke pot. But new report coauthored by SUNY Albany researcher Dr. Mitch Earleywine has found that teen marijuana use has actually declined in states that have medical marijuana laws, and more markedly than national averages.