Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 09 Jun 2015 04:20:21 PST
House Members Reauthorize Measure Protecting State Sanctioned Medical Marijuana Programs
Washington, DC: A majority of the US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to reauthorize legislation limiting the Justice Department's ability to take criminal action against state-licensed operations that are acting in full compliance with the medical marijuana laws of their states.
House members voted 242 to 186 in favor of the amendment, offered by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Sam Farr (D-CA), Reid Ribble (R-WI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Joe Heck (R-NV), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Don Young (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Dina Titus (D-NV) as an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2016 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill.
Sixty-seven Republicans joined 175 Democrats in favor of the provision; 176 Republicans and ten Democrats voted against it.
A similar amendment was signed into law last December. Because that language was included as an amendment to an annual spending bill, Congress must reauthorize it or else it will expire in September.
Representative Rohrabacher recently introduced similar stand-alone legislation, H.R. 1940: Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2015, after Justice Department officials questioned the extent to which their actions may be curtailed by budgetary amendments.
House members narrowly failed to pass a separate, broader amendment, offered by Reps. Tom McClintock (R-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Don Young (R-AK), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) that sought to halt the Justice Department from interfering in states that have legalized the plant's production and retail sale for adults. That measure failed by a vote of 206 to 222. The vote marked the first time that members of Congress had ever decided upon a measure specific to legalization and regulation of marijuana for adult use.
House members on Wednesday also voted in favor of provisions to protect state sponsored hemp research programs and to restrict DEA funding for cannabis eradication efforts.
The Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill will now go before members of the US Senate for further debate.
Milwaukee: Lawmakers Vote To Make Marijuana Possession Offenses A $50 Fine
Milwaukee, WI: Members of the City Council voted 10 to 3 this week in favor of municipal legislation reducing marijuana possession penalties to a fine of no more than $50.00.
Under the proposed ordinance, offenses involving the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana will be reduced from a maximum fine of $500 to $50.00.
The proposal now goes before Mayor Tom Barrett for final approval.
Milwaukee legislators initially moved to decriminalize minor marijuana offenses in 1997.
Under state law, the possession of any amount of cannabis is classified as a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to six-months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Study: Cannabidiol Protects Against Cocaine-Induced Toxicity
Belo Horizonte, Brazil: The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduces cocaine-induced toxicity and lethality, according to preclinical data published in the journal Mediators of Inflammation.
Investigators at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Institute of Biological Sciences assessed the role of CBD in the mitigation of cocaine-induced toxicity in mice. Authors reported that CBD administration inhibited cocaine-induced seizure and liver injury in mouse subjects while also increasing survival rates.
Researchers concluded, "Here, we described for the first time that previous treatment with phytocannabinoid CBD abolished cocaine induced acute seizure in mice, indicating anticonvulsant effect, in parallel with anti-inflammatory effect and protection against liver injury. ... CBD ... warrants further investigation as a potential treatment for both brain and liver consequences of cocaine intoxication."
Survey data published online in April in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior reported that the administration of cannabis preparations high in CBD are associated with a reduction in seizure frequency in adolescents with intractable forms of epilepsy.
To date, fifteen states have enacted legislation acknowledging the therapeutic utility of cannabidiol.
Full text of the study, "Cannabidiol rescues acute hepatic toxicity and seizure induced by cocaine" @ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4427116
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