# MJ News for 03/06/2015



## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/03/05/sheriffs-suing-colorado-over-legal-marijuana/31158/





*New lawsuit: Sheriffs from Colorado, elsewhere challenge Amendment 64*​




Six Colorado sheriffs sued their own governor in federal court on Thursday, arguing that state laws legalizing marijuana require them to violate federal law.

Joining the sheriffs in the lawsuit  the fourth to be filed against Colorado over marijuana legalization  are sheriffs and prosecutors from Nebraska and Kansas. The suit argues that federal laws supremacy means Colorado cannot allow people to possess or use marijuana for recreational purposes and cannot license stores to sell it. The lawsuit does not challenge Colorados medical marijuana laws or stores.

This suit is about one thing  the rule of law, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said in a news release. The Colorado Constitution mandates that all elected officials, including sheriffs, swear an oath of office to uphold both the United States as well as the Colorado Constitutions.

The suit names Gov. John Hickenlooper as the lone defendant. Colorados attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, will defend the state against the lawsuit, a spokeswoman for her said.

The lawsuit has the backing of national anti-legalization groups, and its nationwide ambitions were apparent in the choice of where to announce the suit. In a news conference Thursday morning at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Smith told reporters that Colorados passage of Amendment 64 created a constitutional showdown in the state. The amendment, which voters approved in 2012, made it legal for people over 21 in Colorado to possess limited amounts of marijuana and for licensed stores to sell marijuana.

We think that what Colorado has done is illegal; we think its unconstitutional, Scotts Bluff County, Neb., Sheriff Mark Overman, who is also a plaintiff in the suit, said at the news conference. I believe, my fellow plaintiffs believe, that this case is going to have national ramifications. And, if we win, then we can reverse what looks like a surrender to the pro-marijuana crowd.

The lawsuit follows another legal challenge filed in December by Nebraska and Oklahoma, which asked the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the history-making law. Two lawsuits filed earlier this year by the anti-legalization group Safe Streets Alliance on behalf of several Colorado residents are also pending against the state over Amendment 64.

Similar to the previous lawsuits, the new suit seeks to close all of Colorados recreational marijuana stores, but it also asks a federal judge to overturn Amendment 64&#8242;s protections for marijuana use and possession. The law enforcement officials suit claims that local officers are breaking federal law and international treaties when they find marijuana but dont seize it.

At Thursdays news conference, Yuma County Sheriff Chad Day said Colorados marijuana laws now prohibit officers from seizing marijuana in certain circumstances  putting officers, he said, in an untenable position.

By supporting and upholding one, were violating the other, he said. Im excited to, at the very least, get an answer from the courts.

Sam Kamin, a law professor at the University of Denver, was skeptical of the sheriffs argument. He said no law requires local officers to act as de facto federal drug agents.

Of the four (lawsuits), this is the one with the least merit, Kamin said. They have targeted not just the (marijuana store) regulation piece but theyre also essentially saying Colorado cant legalize marijuana. No one has ever gone that far.

Colorado plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit include Smith, Day, Elbert County Sheriff Shayne Heap, Hinsdale County Sheriff Ronald Bruce, Kiowa County Sheriff Casey Sheridan and Delta County Sheriff Frederick McKee.

Of the six Colorado sheriffs involved in the lawsuit, only Smith is from a county that approved Amendment 64, with 55 percent of 86,410 voters approving the measure. The measure was approved in 33 of 64 Colorado counties by a 55 percent margin.

Also named as plaintiffs are three Nebraska sheriffs: Adam Hayward of Deuel County, Mark Overman of Scotts Bluff County and John Jenson of Cheyenne County. Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub of Nebraska and Sheriff Charles Moser of Sherman, Wallace and Greeley counties in Kansas also signed the document.

As in the lawsuit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma, the law enforcement officials from Nebraska and Kansas are arguing in the new lawsuit that marijuana flowing out of Colorado post-legalization has led to more arrests and strained their budgets.

Its actually taking money out of Sherman County taxpayers pockets, Burton Pianalto, the sheriff in Sherman County, Kan., said at Thursdays news conference.

In January, nine out of the 46 people booked into Sherman Countys jail were suspected of possessing or distributing hallucinogenic drugs, the category under which marijuana is classified in Kansas criminal law, according to an online booking log. Two out of the 15 inmates listed on Thursday as being currently housed in the county jail face charges related to hallucinogenic drugs.

Colorado officials have not yet responded to any of the pending lawsuits. Previously, state attorneys have argued that Colorados more permissive marijuana laws  both for medical and recreational use and sales  do not amount to legalization of marijuana. Instead, they contend that marijuana remains illegal in Colorado, aside from the specific exemptions allowed under the medical and recreational marijuana laws.

When Nebraska and Oklahoma filed their lawsuit against Colorado last year, then-Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a statement that, it appears the plaintiffs primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado.

Mason Tvert, one of the lead proponents of Amendment 64, said if the lawsuits are successful in striking down the measures, it would lead to a system of marijuana chaos.

This is just another case of the Arrest and Prosecution Industry teaming up with marijuana prohibition groups to roll back the progress that has been made in Colorado, he said in a statement Thursday.

U.S. Rep. Jared Polis said in a statement that the U. S. Department of Justice and President Obama have made clear that they will not interfere with states whose citizens voted for recreational marijuana use.

This lawsuit is a silly attempt to circumvent the will of Colorado voters and is a waste of time, Polis statement says. Unfortunately, these frivolous lawsuits will likely continue until we pass my bipartisan Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act and finally end the outdated federal prohibition of marijuana.


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...juana-really-less-potent-in-the-1960s/387010/





*Was Marijuana Really Less Potent in the 1960s?*​




One of the strongest known strains of marijuana in the world is called Bruce Banner #3, a reference to the comic-book scientist whose alter ego is the Hulk. This is probably an appropriate nickname. With a THC concentration of 28 percentTHC is one of the key chemicals in marijuanaBruce Banner #3 packs a punch. It's something like five times as potent as what federal researchers consider to be the norm, according to a 2010 Journal of Forensic Sciences paper. High Times marveled in a review: "Who knows what youll turn into after getting down with Bruce?"

As marijuana goes increasingly mainstreamand, crucially, develops into big (and legal) businessmore super-potent novelty strains are likely to crop up. Bruce Banner #3 is the marijuana industry's answer to The End of History, an ultra-strong Belgian-style ale that the Scottish beer-maker Brewdog made in a specialty batchwhich was then served in bottles inside taxidermied squirrelsin 2010. Its alcohol by volume was 55 percent. That's way, way stronger than most beers. "Its the end of beer, no other beer we dont think will be able to get that high," James Watt, one of the founders of Brewdog, told me when I visited the Brewdog headquarters in Scotland in 2010.

Yet three years later, another Scottish brewery had whipped up a batch of barley wine called Snake Venom that boasted higher than 67 percent alcohol by volume.

This is human nature. Or maybe it's just capitalism. One person makes a superlative product, which prompts the next person to best them. Given the opportunity to try something extremethe biggest, the strongest, the best, the craziestplenty of people will go for it. But most people don't pick Snake Venom as their typical pint. And Bruce Banner #3 probably is not representative of the average joint.

But what is?

For years, people have talked about increasing marijuana potency. The idea that pot is getting strongermuch stronger than the stuff that got passed around at Woodstock, for instanceis treated like conventional wisdom these days. Maybe it shouldn't be.

"It's fair to be skeptical," said Michael Kahn, the president of Massachusetts Cannabis Research, a marijuana testing and research lab in New England. "Back then the predominant method for quantitation was gas chromatography, which is not quite appropriate for cannabinoid quantitation. This is because [it] heats up the test material before analysis, which also alters the chemical profileincluding breaking down the THC molecule."

Kahn's lab uses a technique called liquid chromatography instead. Another potency tester, Denver-based CannLabs, uses a similar method. "Depending on what the sample isflower, hash oil, hundreds of edibles ranging from ice cream to pasta sauce to seedsyou use different solvents to do the extraction," said Gennifer Murray, the CEO of CannLabs. "You mix it with a special solvent, basically shake it around, centrifuge it, and then it goes onto the instrument... That's the liquid chromatograph."

The federal government has been testing marijuana potency for more than 40 years, and has long acknowledged the limitations to its methodologies. Along with some of the issues with gas chromatographywhich it was still using at least as recently as 2008the National Institute on Drug Abuse potency testing has always depended on what researchers have been able to get their hands on. Since 1972, tens of thousands of test samples for the Potency Monitoring Program have come from law enforcement seizures, which have varied dramatically in scope and type. A drop in THC concentration in the early 1980s, for instance, was attributed to the fact that most of the marijuana researchers analyzed came from weaker domestic crops.

In National Institute on Drug Abuse studies over the past several decades, the age of samples has varied from a few weeks old to a few years oldand researchers made no attempt to compensate for the loss of THC during prolonged storage, according to a 1984 paper. They also get different results when taking into account how the potency of a particularly large seizure could skew the overall sample. For example, measured one way, researchers found what looked like a continuous and significant increase in potency in the late 1970s. But normalizing those findings showed there was "an increase up to 1977 with slight decline in 1978 and a significant decline in 1979," according to a 1984 paper in the Journal of Forensic Science.

More recently, researchers found a THC concentration that "gradually increase[d]" from 1993 to 2008, according to a 2010 paper in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. And despite testing limitations, researchers have always maintained potency is likely trending upward. But they've also always been upfront about the limitations to their findings: "The change in cannabis potency over the past 40 years has been the subject of much debate and controversy... The [Potency Monitoring] program has strived to answer this cannabis potency question, while realizing that the data collected in this and other programs have some scientific and statistical shortcomings."

Ultimately, researchers have found a "large variation within categories and over time," they wrote. That's in part because sample sizes have fluctuated. (In the 1970s, researchers assessed anywhere from three to 18 seizures a year. In 2000, they analyzed more than 1,000 seizures.)

In other words, it's difficult if not impossible to classify average potency in a way that can be tracked meaningfully over time. So while there's almost certainly more super-strong pot available todayif only by the fact that it's now legal to buy in multiple statesit doesn't mean that all marijuana is ultra-potent today, which is how the narrative about potency is often framed. There's also a point at which most strains can't get much stronger. "Anyone getting a reading over 25, it's really hard to do," said Murray of CannLabs. "And then it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to quote-unquote get higher. There's a lot of things that go into the plantover 500 constituents of the plant that play into this."

Federal researchers, too, have characterized marijuana strains with THC concentrations above around 15 percent as unusual. "The question over the increase in potency of cannabis is complex and has evoked many opinions," researchers at the University of Mississippi wrote in a National Institute on Drug Abuse analysis of marijuana potency between 1993 and 2008. "It is however clear that cannabis has changed during the past four decades. It is now possible to mass produce plants with potencies inconceivable when concerted monitoring efforts started 40 years ago."

Even without knowing reliably what potency was like in the 1960s and 1970s, it's reasonable to guess it will increase, says Kahn, of Massachusetts Cannabis Research. "I think the mega-potent strains may soon represent the norm, if not alreadythe market selects for potency." But with customers clamoring for the strong stuff, there's also a question of whether manufacturers are labeling accurately. A Denver Post investigation last year found wide discrepancies between labeling and THC contentin many cases, products advertised a much higher percentage of THC than an edible product actually contained.

Either way, a shift toward high potency has arguably more to do with contemporary market forces than with a younger generation of marijuana enthusiasts. "The Baby Boomers have been growing for 40 years," Murray said. "And now they can grow without being worried about the police."


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/05/rhode-island-marijuana_n_6811626.html





*Rhode Island Considers Recreational Marijuana Legalization*​




Rhode Island state lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday that would end marijuana prohibition and establish a system to regulate and tax the weed.

Marijuana prohibition is an ineffective and wasteful policy, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer," state Sen. Joshua Miller (D), sponsor of a Senate bill, said in a statement. "The legislature is perfectly capable of creating a system that will work for Rhode Island.

Rhode Island legalized medical marijuana in 2006, and recreational marijuana appears to be supported by a majority of the state's voters. A 2014 poll found 52 percent in favor of changing marijuana laws, mirroring national trends. This is the fourth year that legislation to regulate and tax recreational marijuana has been introduced. It's unclear whether state lawmakers will support the new measure.

Legalized marijuana would boost the state treasury by $58 million a year in taxes, the Marijuana Policy Project projected.

The Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act, introduced in the state House and Senate, would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana for those age 21 and older. Adult residents could possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow one marijuana plant for personal use. Cultivation would be limited to secure, indoor facilities.

Retail stores and facilities to grow andtest marijuana would be overseen by the state Department of Business Regulation. Of the taxes generated on marijuana sales, 40 percent would be earmarked for substance abuse treatment, anti-drug public education and law enforcement training. The measure proposes an excise tax of $50 per ounce of marijuana flower, $10 per plant and $15 per ounce of any other marijuana product sold wholesale from cultivators to retailers. A 10 percent sales tax would be applied to all retail sales.

Smoking marijuana in public would remain banned.

Regulating marijuana will take sales out of the underground market and allow authorities to keep tabs on the product, state Rep. Scott Slater (D), sponsor of the House bill, said in a statement. In a legal market, products are tested, labeled, and packaged appropriately, and consumers will not be exposed to other more harmful substances. Taxing marijuana will generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenue that can be invested in our communities.

Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) has said she's taking a "wait and see approach" on marijuana legalization, but added, If we think it is inevitable and if there is a way to do it that is properly regulated so people dont get hurt, we should take a look at it.

Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana -- all via voter referendums. Bills similar to Rhode Island's have been introduced this year in Vermont and Maryland.

Legal marijuana is the fastest growing industry in the U.S., according to a recent report from industry analysts ArcView Group. In the next five years, 14 more states will legalize recreational marijuana, the report predicts.

"We want Rhode Island to be a leader on the East Coast and become an early adopter in order to get a competitive edge in the regional market to maximize job creation, tax revenue, and business growth in our state," Jared Moffat, director of the marijuana policy reform group Regulate Rhode Island, told The Huffington Post.


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.people.com/article/boston-minister-shoots-teen-head-marijuana





*Boston Minister Allegedly Shoots Teen in the Head over Marijuana Dispute*​




A Boston youth minister who was known for his anti-violence efforts was arrested on Wednesday and charged with the attempted murder of a high school student who was allegedly selling marijuana for him. 

Rev. Shaun Harrison, 55, is accused of shooting the 17-year-old boy "execution-style" after an argument in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on Tuesday evening, MassLive.com reports. 

The teen, who was shot in the back of the head, was rushed to Boston Medical Center and is expected to survive, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Bradley told reporters. 

Harrison, meanwhile, faces a host of charges, including aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony. 

He has pleaded not guilty to all of them, according to the Associated Press. His bail has been set at $250,000. 

The 17-year-old told officers that he had been selling pot for Harrison, the former dean of students at Boston's English High School, for months, the Boston Globe reports. 

Harrison's sister Susan defended her brother to the Globe, telling the paper: "My brother is a good man, and I don't know how this happened. It was a setup."


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.ksat.com/content/pns/ksa...-s-considers-marijuana-infused-ice-cream.html





*Ben and Jerry's considers marijuana-infused ice cream*​




Don't bogart that spoon, man. Lemme get a hit off that cone, dude. Pass the bowl ... of ice cream?

Could Ben and Jerry's, the counterculture snack empire gone mainstream, be planning a marijuana-infused ice cream?

"Makes sense to me. You know, combine your pleasures," co-founder Ben Cohen said in an interview with HuffPost Live that's been buzzing among marijuana aficionados since it aired last month. Like attitudes about marijuana itself, the story went mainstream this week.

It makes some sense. Co-founder Jerry Greenfield noted that the duo has some experience with, uh, substances. And the company already gives a nod to the marijuana culture with flavor names such as "Half Baked."

Marijuana is becoming more mainstream, too. Four states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and attitudes nationwide have been changing in favor of marijuana, which remains banned by federal law.

In January 2014, a CNN/ORC poll found that 55% of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana. Only 16% thought that in 1987, CNN reported at the time.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana use is legal under state law, edibles containing weed now make up nearly half the market for pot products, according to the Denver Post.

Alas, pot fans, Cohen and Greenfield no longer control the company. They sold it to Unilever Inc. for $326 million in 2000.

"If It were my decision, I'd be doing it," Greenfield told HuffPost Live. "But fortunately, we have wiser heads at the company that figure those things out."

A spokeswoman for the company told AdWeek magazine that there aren't any current plans for pot ice cream, but she left the door open to the possibility.

"Ben & Jerry's hasn't given serious consideration to the possibility of cannabis-infused ice cream," spokeswoman Kelly Mohr told AdWeek. "Perhaps it's high time."


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.wmur.com/politics/committee-approves-bill-to-decriminalize-marijuana/31638502




*(New Hampshire) Committee approves bill to decriminalize marijuana*​




CONCORD, N.H. New Hampshire may soon join other New England states in loosening the law when it comes to marijuana possession.

The Committee on Criminal Justice voted overwhelmingly Thursday to support a measure making it a violation, rather than a criminal offense, to possess a half-ounce or less of marijuana.

Under current law, possession of an ounce of marijuana or less is a Class A misdemeanor that carries with it a possible year in jail, but some believe that when it comes to societal problems, there are bigger fish to fry.

"We should be better spending our limited time and resources, and on top of that, the New Hampshire Constitution says the penalty ought to fit the crime," said Rep. Adam Shroadter, R-Newmarket.

Under Shroadter's bill, possession of a half-ounce would carry a penalty of a $100 fine for the first offense. Violators would not have a criminal record.

"I've been a cop for 43 years, and I've never seen anybody go to jail for a first offense," said Rep. John Tholl, R-Whitefield. "So reducing it to a violation is a good fit, I think."

"This is a good idea, whether New Hampshire is going to legalize marijuana next year, in 20 years or never," said Matt Simon of the Marijuana Policy Project. "It's just about, what should our priorities be?"

Police chiefs have long opposed the concept of decriminalizing marijuana in New Hampshire, while others said they believe loosening the current laws only tightens the grip of addiction.

"I don't have a problem with medical marijuana, but the recreational use," said Rep. John Martin, R-Bow. "We are just adding one more intoxicant to the pantheon of drugs out there for people to use, and I don't think it's right."

Even with the positive recommendation from the Criminal Justice Committee, the bill faces an uncertain future when it hits the floor of the House and Senate.

A recent WMUR poll showed that 71 percent of New Hampshire adults either favored loosening the current law or legalizing marijuana altogether.


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.oregonlive.com/marijuana/index.ssf/2015/03/oregon_medical_marijuana_patie.html





*Oregon medical marijuana patient says edibles more effective than smoking for pain relief*​




Severe arthritis has taken a toll on Susan Lind-Kanne.

The 59-year-old's knees, back, shoulder and even her toes ache. Her fingers bend awkwardly, making it impossible to lift a smooth water glass. Her hands can only grasp mugs with handles.

When the pain is too much, she resorts to Vicodin. The rest of the time she relies on cannabis-infused candies.

Her favorites: cherry blaster, cherry cola and watermelon flavored Gummiez, small candies popular on Oregon's medical marijuana market.

Gummiez are sold according to potency. Lind-Kanne sticks mostly with ones that contain 10 milligrams of THC, since it's pain relief she's after, not a high. Depending on how she feels, she sometimes opts for the candies with 25 milligrams.

The Oregonian/OregonLive included Gummiez in its testing of edible marijuana products. The label said each candy contained 25 milligrams of THC. The analysis found they had 4.95 milligrams.

If there's a disparity between what's on the label and what's in the candy, Lind-Kanne said she doesn't notice.

"Even at that strength it gives me relief," said Lind-Kanne, who lives in Sandy.

Marijuana's nothing new for Lind-Kanne, who is retired from working as a recruiter for companies looking for IT workers. She's grown cannabis at home and was a longtime recreational consumer before becoming an Oregon medical marijuana patient about five years ago.

She occasionally smokes cannabis, but nowadays she sticks mostly with Gummiez, which she compared to a cough drop with a faint smell of cannabis.

She discovered edible marijuana about two years ago when she stopped by a medical marijuana dispensary in Sandy. The colorful candies caught her eye.

"I said, 'Well, those look kind of fun. Let me try one of those,'" she said.

Lind-Kanne popped one into her mouth. About 10 minutes later, the throbbing pain that wracked her hands began to subside. She could move her fingers.

"I just went, 'Oh my God, look!" she said, opening and closing her hands.

Smoking marijuana isn't nearly as effective or as long-lasting as eating it, she said. She figures she'd have to puff on a pipe for much longer to get the same relief she gets from a single candy, which helps her manage pain for up to three hours at a time.

Lind-Kanne doesn't leave home without an unmarked plastic pill bottle of Gummiez. She recently flew to Minneapolis and home again with the bottle tucked into her purse.

"Those plane seats get my back really bad," she said. "I sat there and had a few Gummiez and watched 'House of Cards' on the little TV."


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 6, 2015)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...lant-cause-hayfever-like-symptoms-asthma.html





*Rise of the CANNABIS allergy: Plant can cause hayfever-like symptoms and asthma, doctors warn*​




Anxiety, paranoia, delusions and hallucinations - the perils of taking cannabis are well known.

But as marijuana use is becoming increasingly common - both for medicinal and recreational use - doctors are warning of a lesser known health risk.

The drug, like other pollen-bearing plants, is an allergen, and can cause allergic reactions similar to those suffered by people with hayfever. 

Scientists found in some cases exposure to marijuana pollen or cannabis smoke provoked symptoms of allergic rhinitis, caused by inflammation of the nasal passages, causing sneezing, congestion, itching and a runny nose.

They also found symptoms of conjunctivitis and asthma. 

A new study has reviewed the medical evidence, examining cases of allergic reactions to the marijuana plant, also known by its Latin name Cannabis sativa. 

The researchers wrote: 'Although still relatively uncommon allergic disease associated with cannabis sativa exposure and use has been reported with increased frequency.'  

Cannabis pollen normally sheds in late summer and early autumn.

The researchers wrote it is 'very buoyant, allowing for distribution across many mile'. 

Scientists and authors Dr Thad Ocampo and Dr Tonya Rans said for those people with cannabis allergies an act as simple as touching the plant can trigger hives, itching and puffiness or swelling around the eyes. 

They also revealed eating cannabis products, such as cannabis seed-encrusted seafood, could trigger an allergic reaction.

After emergency treatment tests revealed the patient was not allergic to seafood but the cannabis seeds were the culprit.

And the study noted some people who injected marijuana developed reactions including facial swelling and wheezing within minutes of exposure.

Allergic asthma triggered by seasonal and occupational exposure to cannabis was also reported. 

The authors of the article point out that cannabis' legal status may create barriers for accurate and clear patient reporting, and that legal limitations may pose diagnostic challenges. 

As with other allergens, the researchers advised that people avoid cannabis to reduce the risk of a reaction.

For those who have a history of anaphylaxis, which causes breathing difficulties, the scientists advise carrying an EpiPen. 

Marijuana's legal status in the US is changing, making information about cannabis allergy timely and noteworthy.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalising marijuana in some form, and four states have legalised marijuana for recreational use.

The article was published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.


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