Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 15 Mar 2016 04:20:21 PST
Federal Agents Seizing Far Less Marijuana At Southern Border
Washington, DC: Federal law enforcement agents are seizing far less marijuana at the southern border today than they were in past years, according to newly released data provided by the US Department of Homeland Security, US Customs and Border Protection.
Federal statistics reveal that agents confiscated an estimated 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the US/Mexico border in 2015. That total is the lowest amount reported in a decade and continues the steady decline in seizure volume that began in 2009, when nearly 4 million pounds of cannabis were confiscated.
Overall, 99.8 percent of all marijuana seized by federal border patrol agents was seized at the southern border.
It has been previously reported that increases in US cannabis production, particularly the rise of state-authorized commercial growing in jurisdictions like Colorado, has significantly undercut US demand for Mexican-grown marijuana.
Study: Marijuana's Role In Crash Risk Often Overstated
Oslo, Norway: Studies estimating the likelihood of THC-positive drivers being involved in motor vehicle accidents compared to drug-free drivers often fail to adequately control for potentially confounding variables, according to a literature review published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction.
Norwegian researchers reviewed more than 20 driving culpability studies, as well as two meta-analyses, published between the years 1982 and 2015. They found that some studies possessed methodological shortcomings that led to authors' overestimating the association between marijuana and crash risk.
"Higher estimates from earlier meta-reviews were found to be largely driven by methodological issue," they determined, "in particular the use of ... data without adjustment for known confounders" such as age and gender.
Following adjustments, researchers concluded, "[A]cute cannabis intoxication is related to a statistically significant risk increase of low to moderate magnitude [odds ratio between 1.2 and 1.4]."
By contrast, a 2015 case-control study by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that driving with legal amounts of booze in one's system is associated with a nearly four-fold increased crash risk (odds ratio = 3.93).
Full text of the study, "The effects of cannabis intoxication on motor vehicle collision revisited and revised," appears in Addiction.
New Hampshire Poll: Nearly Two-Thirds Of Adults Favor Legalizing Marijuana
Durham, NH: Over 60 percent of New Hampshire adults favor legalizing the personal use of marijuana for those age 21 and older, according to statewide polling conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
Sixty-two percent of respondents said that they "supported legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal recreational use." Thirty percent of respondents opposed the idea.
Support was strongest among respondents who identified as liberals (76 percent) and Democrats (70 percent) and was weakest among conservatives (45 percent).
In response to a separate poll question, 72 percent of those surveyed said that they approved of selling cannabis in retail stores and taxing it in a manner similar to alcohol.
Although multiple bills have been introduced in the New Hampshire legislature this session, none of them have yet to receive a favorable vote from House lawmakers. The WMUR Granite State Poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent.
Florida Voters Back Constitutional Amendment To Permit Medical Cannabis
Orlando, FL: A super-majority of Florida voters say that they will vote 'yes' this November on a proposed constitutional amendment to permit the physician-authorized use and distribution of cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
According to Public Policy Polling data released last week, 65 percent of voters endorse the medical marijuana legalization measure and only 28 percent oppose it.
Seventy five percent of Democrats back the measure, as do 70 percent of Independents and 52 percent of Republicans.
In accordance with Florida law, 60 percent of voters must approve a constitutional amendment in order for it to become law. In November 2014, Floridians narrowly rejected a similar amendment, which received 58 percent of the vote.
The 2016 ballot measure, entitled the "Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Conditions," will appear before voters as Amendment 2. Passage of the amendment would permit qualified patients to possess and obtain cannabis from state-licensed facilities.
A 2014 Florida law that sought to provide low-THC varieties of cannabis to patients with pediatric epilepsy, chronic muscle spasms, or cancer is not yet operational. Separate legislation, HB 307, to expand the law to permit terminally ill patients to access cannabis strains high in THC is awaiting approval from Gov. Rick Scott.
More information @ unitedforcare.org
(c) Copyright 2006-2420 - WeedConnection LLC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
#Support Your #OG @WeedConnection! (Click Here)
