Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 25 Aug 2015 04:20:21 PST
Ohio: Measure To Regulate Retail Cannabis Sales Qualifies For November Ballot
Columbus, OH: Voters will decide this November on a constitutional amendment that seeks to regulate the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis.
Proponents of the measure, ResponsibleOhio, gathered over 320,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify it for the November electoral ballot.
Issue 3, the Marijuana Legalization Amendment, seeks to initially establish ten state-licensed commercial producers to provide cannabis to over 1,000 retail outlets. Retailers will be able to dispense cannabis to anyone over 21 years of age.
The measure would also permit adults to cultivate personal use quantities of cannabis (up to four plants yielding no more than 8 ounces of usable product at any one time) at home. Qualified patients seeking to access cannabis for therapeutic purposes will be able to obtain the plant from retailers at a reduced, wholesale rate. Full text of the proposed amendment is online @ https://responsibleohio.com/the-amendment
State lawmakers opposed to the plan have placed a competing measure, Issue 2, on the November ballot that seeks to prohibit state regulators from permitting the limited production of "any Schedule I controlled substance." If voters approved both measures, Issue 2 states that the "entire proposed constitutional [marijuana] amendment shall not take effect."
According to an April 2015 Quinnipiac University poll, Ohio voters favor permitting adults "to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use" by a margin of 52 to 44 percent.
Illinois: Governor Sends Marijuana Decriminalization Measure Back To Lawmakers
Springfield, IL: Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday issued an amendatory veto to House Bill 218, which seeks to decriminalize minor marijuana possession offenses.
As initially approved by the legislature in May, HB 218 reduces personal use possession penalties (up to 15 grams) from a Class A criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in jail, a $1,500 fine, and a criminal record, to a petty offense, punishable by a fine only (up to $125.00) - no arrest, and no criminal record. Governor Rauner's amendatory veto seeks to decrease the proposed possession limits from 15 grams of marijuana to 10 grams, while also seeking to raise fines to $200.00.
Governor Rauner also seeks to lower the state's proposed per se THC/blood limit from 15ng/ml to 5ng/ml. Under present Illinois law, drivers with any detectable amount of THC in their blood are in violation of the state's traffic safety laws.
If a majority of lawmakers fail to approve the Governor's amendments, the measure will be dead for this year's legislative session. Under state rules, a vote of 60 percent by both legislative chambers is necessary in order to override an amendatory veto.
To date, 20 states and Washington, DC have passed legislation eliminating the threat of incarceration for marijuana possession offenses via either legalization or decriminalization.
Case Report: Patient With Life-Threatening Angioedema Responds Favorably To Inhaled Cannabis
Beersheba, Israel: Inhaling cannabis is associated with the remission of refractory idiopathic angioedema, according to a clinical report published in the journal Case Reports in Immunology. Angioedema is a condition characterized by rapid swelling under the skin in regions around the face and throat, which may result in airway obstruction or suffocation.
Investigators from the Soroka University Medical Center in Israel reported on the progress of a 27-year-old male patient with life-threatening, recurrent angioedema of unknown origin. Doctors placed the patient on a regiment of 20 grams of inhaled cannabis monthly after he failed to respond favorably to prescribed steroids and antihistamines.
Authors reported: "The use of inhaled cannabis resulted in a complete response, and he has been free of symptoms for 2 years. An attempt to withhold the inhaled cannabis led to a recurrent attack within a week, and resuming cannabis maintained the remission, suggesting a cause and effect relationship."
They concluded: "This is the first report in which a cannabis product for the treatment of refractory idiopathic angioedema was associated with an excellent clinical response. ... More research into the exact mechanism of action of cannabis products in cases of idiopathic angioedema and on the modulation of the immune response in general is indicated."
The Israeli government has authorized the limited production and distribution of marijuana as a medical treatment since 2011, and preparations of the plant are expected to be available in pharmacies imminently.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the report, "Life threatening idiopathic recurrent angioedema responding to cannabis," appears in Case Reports of Immunology.
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