Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 23 Dec 2014 04:20:21 PST
President Signs Federal Spending Bill Protecting State Sanctioned Medical Marijuana Programs
"The federal government will finally respect the decisions made by the majority of states that passed medical marijuana laws"
Washington, DC: President Barack Obama signed spending legislation into law on Tuesday that includes provisions limiting the Justice Department's ability to take criminal action against state-licensed individuals or operations that are acting are in full compliance with the medical marijuana laws of their states.
Specifically, an amendment sponsored by California Reps. Dana Rohrbacher and Sam Farr to the $1.1 trillion spending bill 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."
Said Farr following the passage of the measure: "The federal government will finally respect the decisions made by the majority of states that passed medical marijuana laws. This is great day for common sense because now our federal dollars will be spent more wisely on prosecuting criminals and not sick patients."
Similar language prohibiting the Justice Department from undermining state-sanctioned hemp cultivation programs was also included in the bill.
Also contained in the appropriations measure is a rider sponsored by Maryland Republican Andy Harris that seeks to limit DC officials' ability to fully implement a November 2014 municipal initiative depenalizing the personal adult possession and cultivation of cannabis. At this time however, it remains unclear whether the language is written in a manner that can prevent District officials from enacting the voter-approved measure. On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson "plans to ignore the provision" and that he will "send a bill implementing Initiative 71 to Congress in January for a 30-day review, during which federal lawmakers can veto it or let it stand." Such a review is necessary before any DC initiative can become law.
Washington DC's Initiative 71, which was approved by 70 percent of District voters, removes criminal and civil penalties regarding the adult possession of up to two ounces of cannabis and/or the cultivation of up to six plants.
Justice Department Memo Provides Guidance For Marijuana Regulation On Tribal Lands
Washington, DC: Federal officials appear open to the notion of allowing Native American leaders to engage in activities involving the regulated production and sale of cannabis on tribal lands.
A newly released Justice Department memo informs all United States Attorneys that their marijuana enforcement efforts on Native American tribal lands should be guided by a 2013 DOJ memorandum previously urging prosecutors not to interfere with state-sanctioned cannabis regulatory schemes, provided that such activities do not violate specific federal priorities such as marijuana sales to minors or the plant's diversion to states that have not legalized its use.
The most recent memorandum, dated in late October by Director Monty Wilkinson but only made public last week, states, "The eight priorities in the Cole memorandum will guide United States Attorneys' marijuana enforcement efforts in Indian Country, including in the event that sovereign Indian Nations seek to legalize the cultivation or use of marijuana in Indian Country."
According to reporting by The Washington Post, "The policy [is] not a result of any particular demand for legalization on reservations. ... [T]he guidelines are a response to an inquiry from tribal governments wanting to know whether the Department of Justice would back tribal pot bans in states where recreational use is legal."
According to the Post, three Native American tribes - one in California, one in Washington, and one in the Midwest - have expressed interest in legalized marijuana production. There are 326 federally recognized Native American reservations in the United States.
Study: No Longitudinal Association Between Cannabis Use And Depression
Tel Aviv, Israel: Cannabis use is not associated with increased incidences of major depression, according to longitudinal data published online ahead of print in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
An international team of investigators from Israel and Canada assessed the association between cannabis use, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP) in a three-year prospective study.
Authors determined that future incidence of MDD was not higher among cannabis users compared to nonusers. They reported: "Our results show no significant association between cannabis use and the incidence of major depression. Conversely, MDD was found to be associated with increased incidence of cannabis use. Regarding BPD, though crude associations were found between cannabis use and consequent mania/hypomania as well as baseline BPD and consequent initiation of cannabis use, in both cases these associations were not maintained in adjusted models of analysis."
Investigators concluded, "Our results do not support a longitudinal association between cannabis use and increased incidence of MDD; rather, they indicate an inverse relationship between the two, which may be attributed to self-medication factors."
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "The association between cannabis use and mood disorders: A longitudinal study," appears in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
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