Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 08 Jul 2014 04:20:21 PST
Washington: State-Licensed Cannabis Retailers
Olympia, WA: Washington's first wave of state-licensed cannabis retail stores are anticipated to open for business next week. Initiative 502, approved by a majority of voters in November 2012, authorizes the establishment of state-licensed cannabis producers and retail sellers.
The state's Liquor Control Board is expected to begin issuing licenses on Monday, July 7. An estimated 20 retail stores are anticipated to be open for business later in the week. Similar state-sanction stores have been operating in Colorado since January 1.
With only a small number of stores likely to be operational at first, regulators anticipate that consumers' demand for legal cannabis may initially outpace supply. In Colorado, retailers struggled initially to meet consumer demand, resulting in temporarily inflated retail prices for cannabis. Prices have steadily fallen in Colorado as additional retailers have opened for business.
Since the passage of Initiative 502, police filings for low-level marijuana offenses have fallen from over 5,000 annual arrests to just over one hundred.
Oregon: Marijuana Initiative Backers Turn In 145,000 Signatures For Proposed 2014 Ballot Measure
Salem, OR: Proponents of a statewide initiative to regulate the commercial production and retail sale of marijuana have turned in 145,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office. The total is almost twice the number of signatures from registered voters necessary to place the measure on the 2014 electoral ballot.
State officials have until August 2 to verify the signatures.
The proposed ballot initiative (Initiative Petition 53) seeks to regulate the personal possession, commercial cultivation, and retail sale of cannabis to adults. Taxes on the commercial sale of cannabis under the plan are estimated to raise some $88 million in revenue in the first two years following the law's implementation. Adults who engage in the non-commercial cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis for personal use will not be subject to taxation.
On Tuesday, the measure's proponents, New Approach Oregon, debuted their first television ad in support of the initiative.
A statewide Survey USA poll released last month reported that 51 percent of Oregon adults support legalizing the personal use of marijuana. Forty-one percent of respondents, primarily Republicans and older voters, oppose the idea. The poll did not survey respondents as to whether they specifically supported the proposed 2014 initiative.
Alaska voters will decide on a similar legalization initiative in November. Florida voters will also decide in November on a constitutional amendment to allow for the physician-authorized use of cannabis therapy.
Additional information about the initiative is available @ https://newapproachoregon.com
Study: Israeli Cancer Patients Report Subjective Relief From Cannabis
Tel Aviv, Israel: Patients with cancer report that cannabis is "highly effective" at mitigating various symptoms of the disease, according to data published online ahead of print in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
Israeli researchers surveyed patients with advanced forms of cancer who were residing at the Sheba Medical Center, an academic medical center affiliated with Tel Aviv University. Investigators assessed participants' views on their use of cannabis, which may be legally authorized by an oncologist.
Authors reported, "Improvement in pain control was reported by 70 percent of the patients, [improvement in] general well-being by 70 percent, improved appetite by 60 percent, reduced nausea and vomiting by 50 percent, and reduced anxiety by 44 percent." Overall, 83 percent of respondents "graded the overall efficacy of cannabis as high."
The majority of participants (62 percent) reported no adverse side effects attributable to cannabis therapy.
Researchers concluded: "The vast majority of the participants who completed the detailed questionnaire stated that cannabis use was associated with an improvement in all aspects that were surveyed, ... [O]ur data indicate that nearly half of all cancer patients who start treatment with cannabis continue using it for prolonged periods of time and some of the patients describe the treatment as effective for a wide range of symptoms, including general well-being. Although these data cannot endorse the use of cannabis for specific symptoms, they support the view that its use may be justified as part of palliative treatment in selected cancer patients."
Full text of the study, "Patterns of medical cannabis among Israeli cancer patients: A single institution experience," is available in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
(c) Copyright 2006-2420 - WeedConnection LLC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
#Support Your #OG @WeedConnection! (Click Here)
