Bureaucratic Hurdles & Spotty Access To Medicinal Cannabis Gives Rise To ‘Cannabis Refugees’

“I tried to everything I could while in Alabama, but now that we are here [in California] it’s much better and we have a support system,” the mother of a daughter with epilepsy tells MintPress of their decision to pack their bags and head to a state where medicinal cannabis is available.

Derrick Broze
By Derrick Broze
Shamay Flaharty, of Lewiston, Ill., who has multiple sclerosis and is hoping cannabis will help ease her pain and headaches, leaves with Eric Sweatt, partner and manager of Salveo Health and Wellness. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

MENDOCINO COUNTY, California --- Cannabis has a rich history of medicinal use going back thousands of years. It is only in the last couple hundred years that the plant has faced restrictive laws and prohibition, particularly in the United States, where it’s been classified as a Schedule I drug with no known medicinal benefits and a high rate of

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Landmark Ruling By Mexico’s Supreme Court Paves Way For Legalizing Pot

“There is an enormous institutional and social cost to enforcing the laws against marijuana. How many resources are being used up to reduce these low-impact crimes?”

Nadia Prupis
By Nadia Prupis
A young man prepares a marijuana joint while holding a Bugs Bunny stuffed animal during a small gathering to demand the legalization of marijuana in Mexico City, (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

The Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the constitutional right to grow and distribute marijuana for personal use, a much-anticipated decision handed down Wednesday that delivers a landmark blow to the drug war in Latin America. While the ruling does not strike down any existing laws, it opens the door to legalization by

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Santa Ana Police Officers Sue To Quash Video Of Them Eating Pot Brownies Following Dispensary Raid

The crux of the lawsuit is that the recording was illegal because the officers thought they had successfully destroyed all the security cameras.

Carey Wedler
By Carey Wedler
Cops remove secuirty cameras following their raid on a Santa Ana pot shop.

(ANTIMEDIA) Santa Ana, California police recently made headlines when video of a May raid on a medical marijuana dispensary went viral. The officers—some of whom wore masks when they initially broke down the door—were caught on video breaking security cameras, insulting a disabled patient at the clinic, and consuming the shop’s cannabis

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The Anti-Pot Taboo Is Shrinking In Presidential Politics

The largest marijuana lobbying group, Marijuana Policy Project, plans to donate tens of thousands to 2016 presidential candidates.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Rand Paul, center, speaks during a campaign stop at a sports bar in the tony Cherry Creek area

DENVER  — Presidential candidates are talking about marijuana in ways unimaginable not long ago. White House hopefuls in both parties are taking donations from people in the new marijuana industry, which is investing heavily in political activism as a route to expanded legalization and landed its first major candidate, Rand Paul, at a trade show

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Synthetic Pot Leads To Nationwide Spike In Hospitalizations

Health officials and police believe “tweaked” formulas may be responsible for the rash of hospitalizations.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
A package of K2 which contains herbs and spices sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. (AP Photo)

A package of K2 which contains herbs and spices sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, more than 1,500 people in several states became ill in April 2015 from smoking synthetic marijuana sold under several brand names,

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Prohibition Madness Finally Being Seen As Madness

The insanity of marijuana prohibition is beginning to be seen as exactly that, and a California voter initiative next year represents potentially the greatest challenge to prohibition yet.

Jeffrey Cavanaugh
By Jeffrey Cavanaugh

It’s such a commonplace occurrence that it has almost lost its ability to shock: A random encounter in a U.S. metropolitan area leads to an armed confrontation with the police that ends with a young black man dead. Is the above referring to Michael Brown and his run-in with the cops in Ferguson, Missouri? No. Eric Garner’s encounter with Staten

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