# MJ News for 09/22/2014



## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/****-it-tv-reporter-quits-on-air-to-fight-for-mariju-1637568743



*
"**** It": TV Reporter Quits On-Air To Fight For Marijuana Legalization*​



KTVA Anchorage reporter Charlo Greene profanely quit her job at the station in the middle of last night's newscast. Greene made the announcement immediately following a story on a medical marijuana business, and the revelation that she is the business's owner.

Greene ended her segment with this:

_"Now everything you've heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska. And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, **** it, I quit."_

Greene's organization is fighting for the passage of Ballot Measure 2, which would legalize recreational amounts of marijuana in Alaska. And, not incidentally, create business for Greenewith Alaska laws as they are, medical marijuana dispensaries currently operate in a legal gray area.

After Greene's abrupt resignation, KTVA's news director issued a statement:

_Dear Viewers,

We sincerely apologize for the inappropriate language used by a KTVA reporter during her live presentation on the air tonight. The employee has been terminated.

Bert Rudman

News Director - KTVA 11 New_s


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/Deadline-ahead-for-Illinois-marijuana-businesses-275960391.html





*Deadline Ahead for Illinois Marijuana Businesses*​



CHICAGO (AP) -- With a Monday afternoon deadline approaching, people who want to own medical marijuana businesses in Illinois are hurrying to complete their applications for a limited number of permits.

Two state agencies -- the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture -- are accepting applications for dispensaries and cultivation centers until Monday at 3 p.m.

The state's new medical marijuana law went into effect Jan. 1, but the first crop can't be planted until permits for growers are issued later this year. The law prohibits patients from growing their own cannabis. Commercial growers will pay a 7 percent privilege tax on their marijuana sales.

Panels of legal and policy experts will review and score the applications in a competitive process. Illinois expects to grant up to 21 permits for cultivation centers and up to 60 permits for dispensaries.

The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group, has said the Illinois fees for cultivation centers are the highest in the nation. There is a non-refundable application fee of $25,000 and a first-year registration fee of $200,000.


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/denver-area-veterans-given-free-marijuana-at-unusual-event/




*Denver-area veterans given free marijuana at unusual event*​



DENVER - An event targeted at veterans handed out free marijuana to hundreds of people on Saturday, including edibles and medicinal versions of the plant, all in an effort organizers say was designed to help vets in need.

The Denver Cannibis Giveaway, gave out pot to the veterans and to the general public, who can now legally possess it in Colorado, as a different approach to treating veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder, reports CBS Denver.

"That's our mission, is to offer veterans a safe alternative to the dangerous prescription drugs that they're prescribed to deal with PTSD, TBI, chronic pain, and all sorts of other ailments," said Roger Martin, Operation Grow4Vets Executive Director.

But others objected to the distribution of marijuana publicly to veterans in this fashion.

"These people are getting marijuana with varying degrees of potency and THC. That could cause things like paranoia," said Bob Doyle of the Colorado Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Coalition. "Obviously things that we wouldn't want somebody with PTSD to be experiencing."

Still, the vets who attended the event say marijuana is useful to them as medical treatment because they make more sense than harsher alternatives."I'm allergic to morphine opiates, I can't take them," said Mark Pitt, a Vietnam veteran. "So I don't have much choice other than do that."


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2014/09...on-state-tax-revenue-by-25m-in-the-next-year/




*Marijuana To Boost Washington State Tax Revenue By $25M In The Next Year*​



OLYMPIA, Wash. (CBS SEATTLE/AP)  Legal marijuana could boost Washington states tax revenue by $25 million by next July, with an estimated $200 million increase by mid-2017, according to state economists.

The first available data on taxes and fees the state can expect from legalized recreational marijuana were released on Thursday, and the states budget outlooks has improved, economist Steve Lerch tells the Spokesman-Review. However, more than half of the revenue brought in by legal marijuana is required to go to specific programs, with much of it being eaten up by increasing salaries and existing government programs.

But the regulating agency, the state Liquor Control Board, said nearly $14 million worth of marijuana was sold between July 8  when legal weed stores first opened  and last Monday. Such numbers are expected to increase as the number of marijuana vendors increases.

Economic forecasters are predicting that the states legal recreational marijuana market is expected to bring in about $636 million to state coffers through the middle of 2019.

The forecast by the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council showed that just over $25 million from a variety of legal marijuana-related taxes  including excise, sales, and business taxes  is expected to be collected through the middle of next year. An additional $207 million is expected for the next two-year budget that ends mid-2017. And $404 million is expected for 2017-19 budget biennium.

The passage of Initiative 502 in 2012 allowed the sale of the marijuana to adults for recreational use at licensed stores, which opened this summer.
Forecasters warned that with the market still developing, the numbers will continue to change in future forecasts.

But David Schumacher, director of the Office of Financial Management, said marijuana revenue isnt going to bail the state out of its vast budget problems.

In the face of a budget problem approaching $2 billion or $3 billion, its not very much money.


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/972...inal-and-recreational-pot-resolution-is-fake/




*Texas Marijuana Hoax: To Permit Medicinal and Recreational Pot Resolution is Fake*​






An article saying Texas has approved the usage of medicinal and recreational marijuana is fake.

It was posted on NewsBuzzDaily, one of many fake news websites that publish articles to trick people into sharing them.

It reads: Texas Governor Rick Perry will be signing a new bill into law, legalizing medicinal and recreational use of marijuana for adults ages 21 or older. Bill HB 2412 will go into effect January 1, 2015. Texas is the first southern state to legalize any recreational drug. The state of Texas is expected to profit $50 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales. A state tax of 11% will be implemented on sales. In addition to the profit in tax revenue, with the legalization of the drug Texas is expected add more than 5,000 job openings ranging from farmers to dispensary agents.

At the bottom of the page, however, it says that NewsBuzzDaily.com is a combination of real shocking news and satire news. Please note that articles written on this site are for entertainment and satirical purposes only.

Theres no legitimate local or national media coverage about Texas approving marijuana use.

The bogus article had tens of thousands of likes and shares on Facebook.

And meanwhile, a number of people apparently believed it.

Medical & Recreational Marijuana legalization in Texas!! signed this week, set for 2015! Say What!? said one person on Twitter.

Added another: Texas is legalizing medical marijuana next year.

Soon afterwards links and excerpts referencing this item were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered it mistaking it for a genuine news article. However, Texas has no bill to legalize any form of marijuana use pending in its legislature; the last bill numbered HB 2412 presented to that body was on a completely different subject. This article was just a spoof from NewsBuzzDaily, a fake news web site whose stock in trade is publishing fantastically fictional stories, says hoax-debunking website Snopes.com.


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-29301803




*(UK) Pensioner unwittingly grows cannabis plant from bird seeds*​



*A pensioner from Exmouth has unwittingly grown a 5ft (1.5m) tall cannabis plant from a pack of bird seeds.*

Patricia Hewitson, from Exmouth, contacted BBC Radio Devon's gardening programme asking for help identifying "a weed".

After discovering it was an illegal cannabis plant the police were involved.

Officers said Mrs Hewitson was growing the plant illegally but in good faith.

Mrs Hewitson said: "I sent a picture in via email and I got a couple of interesting emails back, including one from the police.

"They said they wouldn't prosecute me as I'd done it in good faith."

BBC Radio Devon's gardening expert, Sarah Chesters, said: "I think the seed of this came from the bird feeder which hangs just above their door.

"It's quite common for bird seed to contain a huge variety of plant seed and cannabis has been known to come up from it."

Cannabis is illegal to grow without a licence so Mrs Hewitson and her husband John were advised by Devon and Cornwall Police about what to do with the specimen.

"We've been told we have to cut it up and either compost it, take it to the police station or take it up to the local recycling centre," Mrs Hewitson said.

Sgt Ryan Canning, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "If you come into possession of an illegal drug such as cannabis, you must either destroy it or take it to a police officer.

"The lady has committed an offence although there are mitigating circumstances so we would not look to take it further although we would take it away."


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## 7greeneyes (Sep 22, 2014)

http://www.smh.com.au/act-news/foru...ical-cannabis-in-the-act-20140922-10k7af.html




*(Australia) Forum to investigate options for medical cannabis in the ACT*​




Australia does not need any more trials into medicinal marijuana and there is a risk more research would slow the country down five or 10 years, according to a drug law reform advocate. 

With a Legislative Assembly committee due to consider proposed laws to legalise marijuana for medical purposes in the ACT, experts in Canberra will host a public forum on the issue on Tuesday.

In July, ACT Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury introduced a bill into the Legislative Assembly that would allow terminally and chronically ill people in Canberra to grow marijuana and use the drug to alleviate pain and symptoms, if they had approval from the ACT Chief Health Officer. The bill will be considered by an Assembly committee, due to report by June next year.

Tuesday's forum will feature a number of experts discussing evidence about the effectiveness and safety of medicinal cannabis, its history and various supply and regulatory options. 

The president of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, Dr Alex Wodak, is one of the panellists and said the community was now generally in favour of medicinal cannabis.

Research indicates 69 per cent of the public support legalising cannabis for medical purposes while 74 per cent support a clinical trial.

"The questions now are how and when, rather than whether," Dr Wodak said. 

"The three big questions are how is it going to be supplied, what sorts of regulatory approval will there be and how should people take medicinal cannabis."

Dr Wodak said he believed Australia did not need more clinical trials to decide whether the country should proceed with medicinal cannabis. 

"In order to allow any medicine, you want to know that it's effective and safe and we know from current research, where there's over 100 randomised control trials, we've got plenty of evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective and is safe," he said.

"There still are some unanswered questions but we don't need more research just to decide whether or not we want to do it. Frankly the risk of proceeding with more research is that it might just slow us down another five or 10 years and there are a lot of people who feel they won't be around in five or 10 years and I can't blame them for wanting it now." 

Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT executive officer Carrie Fowlie said some Canberrans were already self-medicating for various health conditions, and some were doing it with the support of their doctors, even though such behaviour was illegal. 

She said all forms of cannabis were currently prohibited in the ACT and Australia, despite evidence indicating medicinal cannabis could be beneficial for health conditions such as HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. 

"I think the issue is that we need a compassionate regime whereby seriously and terminally ill individuals who have been appropriately authorised, may use and possess cannabis without penalty and I think there's a lot of interest in looking at what could this compassionate regime look like and that's really one of the main purposes of the forum," Ms Fowlie said.

"We hope it's time for our jurisdictions to look seriously at how we might be able to take the next step forward and what's being done in the Legislative Assembly is a really positive step towards being able to do this."

*The public forum will be held in Legislative Assembly reception room at 5.30pm on Tuesday.*


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