Tobacco News

America’s largest cash crop brings in an average revenue of $35.8 billion a year, according to drugscience.org. This is the same as the revenue of soybeans, hay and vegetables combined. The crop is not corn, nor is it wheat or cotton, and it certainly is not fruit. America’s most valuable harvest is cannabis, or as it’s more commonly known, marijuana.
Marijuana legalization is an issue considered controversial by many, but if America would look at the economic facts behind the sale and production of marijuana, we would understand marijuana legalization is not an irresponsible decision, but one that possibly could save our failing economy. Ream more »

A Buffalo woman who was convicted of attempted possession with intent to distribute marijuana, was sentenced to three years’ probation, including one year electronic monitoring, by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Jaleesa Findley, 24, was charged after a Drug Enforcement Administration agent on a tip regarding a shipment of parcels containing 200 pounds of marijuana that were due to arrive at a shipping company in Buffalo.
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“Last night, between 4 and 5 P.M., we had an 18-year-old boy overdose on synthetic marijuana, so it’s getting to be more of a common occurrence in this area,” explains Laurel County Sheriff John Root.

That growing problem led Sheriff Root to back an ordinance banning the sale or possession of synthetic marijuana. Thursday night, the Laurel County Fiscal Court unanimously gave it final approval.
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The Mendocino County board of supervisors changed their ground breaking medical marijuana regulation, the 9.31 Ordinance, to thwart off threats from federal officials. The changes roll back the amount a medical marijuana grower can cultivate, from 99 marijuana plants per parcel, down to 25 and it eliminates the Sheriff’s Office from issuing permits to growers.

“I feel comfortable that by eliminating the 99 plant exemption and the permitting process the county is in a better position,” Mendocino County Counsel, Jeanine Nadel told The Independent.
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Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents seized more than 300 pounds of abandoned marijuana, which had an estimated value in excess $155,000, on Saturday afternoon.

According to Agent Spencer Tippets, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, Wellton Station agents assigned to Camp Desert Grip, Yuma Sector’s forward operating base, discovered the 14 bundles of abandoned marijuana near the Sierra Pinta Mountains. Ream more »

The emergency legislation proposed by D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange (D-at large) to limit the number of marijuana cultivation sites and dispensaries, as well as adult entertainment venues, in each ward is a fine example of lazy politicking trumping good policy. Mr. Orange seems to be playing on perceived Ward 5 fears that such establishments will turn Northeast into a sort of red-light quadrant riven with criminal activity. Ream more »

A quarter-century after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription drugs based on the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, additional medicines derived from or inspired by the cannabis plant itself could soon be making their way to pharmacy shelves.
A British company, GW Pharma, is in advanced clinical trials for the world’s first pharmaceutical developed from raw marijuana instead of synthetic equivalents.
It is producing a mouth spray it hopes to market in the U.S. as a treatment for cancer pain and is seeking FDA approval by the end of 2013. Ream more »

After much anticipation, the California Supreme Court agreed this week to review how cities and counties regulate medical marijuana.

The High Court issued an order indicating its intent to review two controversial medical marijuana cases, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Center., Inc. As a result of this week’s decision, both cases have been vacated in anticipation of the High Court’s ruling. Ream more »

A New Carlisle man could face charges after sheriff’s deputies said they found a small marijuana-growing operation in his home. Clark County deputies went to the home in the 1100 block of Cambridge Court on Wednesday to serve a felony warrant to the man’s grandson.

A woman answered the door and told deputies she was the only one home. But while speaking with her, they observed a man come down the stairs, said Lt. Eric Holmes. Ream more »

A handful of governors have launched a new push for marijuana to be reclassified so that the drug is more widely accepted for medical treatment.

By mid-December 2011, three governors had signed a petition asking the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct a new scientific review of cannabis research. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin was the latest to add his signature to a petition started Nov. 30, 2011, by Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration made a similar request to the DEA on Dec. 22, 2011, according to the governor’s spokesman. Ream more »