Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Thu, 17 Dec 2015 04:20:21 PST
Congress: Omnibus Spending Bill Reauthorizes Medical Marijuana Protections
Washington, DC: Provisions included in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus spending bill will continue to limit the federal government from taking punitive action against state-licensed individuals or operations that are acting are in full compliance with the medical marijuana laws of their states.
The provisions reauthorize Section 538 of the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, which states, "None of the funds made available in this act to the Department of Justice may be used ... to prevent ... states ... from implementing their own state laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana."
Senate backed amendments seeking to permit military veterans access to medical cannabis and to permit state-licensed marijuana business greater access to banking services were not included in the final version of the spending bill.
Members of Congress are anticipated to approve the omnibus spending measure imminently.
Report: Criminal Justice Referrals Still Driving Marijuana 'Treatment' Admissions
Washington, DC: Over half of all people admitted to drug treatment programs for marijuana-related issues over the past decade were referred there by a criminal justice source, according to a report published this month by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
In the years 2003 through 2013, 52 percent of people in drug treatment for marijuana as their 'primary substance of abuse' were referred by the criminal justice system. Of those, almost half (44 percent) entered treatment as a component of their probation or parole.
Only 18 percent of marijuana treatment admissions were based upon self-referrals. Primary marijuana admissions were less likely than all other drug-related admissions combined to have been self- or individually referred to treatment.
The data mirrors those of previous federal reports finding that only a small percentage of those entering treatment for marijuana perceive that they are abusing cannabis or have even used the substance recently.
Federal Survey: Marijuana Use By Young People Declining
Ann Arbor, MI: Self-reported marijuana use by teenagers has declined since 2010, according to annual survey data compiled by the University of Michigan.
Authors state that adolescents' use of cannabis has fallen slightly since 2010, while respondents' self-reported use of other drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are at near-record lows. Young people also reported finding it harder to access cannabis, a trend that has stayed consistent since the late-1990s.
The conclusions are consistent with other studies finding that the enactment of state laws permitting the use of marijuana for medical or social purposes is not associated with overall rises in cannabis use by young people.
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