Cannabis News

[cybrguy]

Illinois growers get green light to ship marijuana to stores

Marijuana plants with their buds covered in white crystals called trichomes are nearly ready for harvest in the "Flower Room" at the Ataraxia medical marijuana cultivation center in Albion, Ill. on Sept. 15, 2015.

(Seth Perlman, AP Photo)
Tribune wire reportsContact Reporter
Medical marijuana growers in Illinois have been notified by state officials that they can start shipping their products to dispensaries Friday for sale to patients early next week.

Growers, who have been waiting for the official green light, received an Illinois Department of Agriculture letter late Thursday explaining how marijuana can be transported. Illinois medical cannabis program director Joseph Wright confirmed the authorization Friday to The Associated Press.

Marijuana can be transported only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., according to the official instructions. Vehicles carrying it must be staffed by at least two cultivation center employees.

"We're thrilled," said Bradley Vallerius, spokesman for Revolution Cannabis-Delavan, a cultivation center in central Illinois, which plans to ship products to dispensaries this weekend.

Licensed businesses are connected to the state's digital tracking system, which is intended to prevent marijuana from being diverted onto the black market. Growers must enter unique product ID numbers into the system before they can ship.

Florida-based BioTrack THC, which has the Illinois contract for tracking medical marijuana from seed to sale, has similar state contracts in Washington, New Mexico and New York, said CEO Patrick Vo.

The tracking system allows state officials to monitor in real time the location of seedlings, sale products and even plant waste scheduled for destruction. "In the system, any change in quantity requires some type of action or description," Vo said.

Could medical marijuana users become addicted to pot?
The system also is designed to catch violators who might add black-market marijuana to the legitimate system, Vo said. Tracking each product protects patients with weakened immune systems from marijuana that hasn't been tested for harmful microbes, poisons from fungus, pesticides and solvents.

"I'm certain there are a lot of people on the fence" about Illinois' pilot program "and people who are staunchly prohibitionist," Vo said. "Accountability, transparency and safety are things both sides can get behind."

Illinois has 3,300 patients approved for the program. The Illinois Department of Public Health started mailing patients their official program ID cards last week.

Eight dispensaries are fully licensed. They are located in Marion, Mundelein, Canton, Quincy, Addison, North Aurora, Schaumburg and Ottawa.

Added: CarolKing's post below that she deleted (I assume as redundant) had the news that sales will officially start in Illinois on Monday the 9th. This article didn't include that info.

 

[macbill]

The Next Internet? Marijuana Delivered as Easy as Pizza
HelloMD is at the forefront of a new trend in Silicon Valley: the cannabis tech start-up. As marijuana laws are being loosened across the country, entrepreneurs and investors are creating new businesses to cash in on what they see as an emerging bonanza. Like start-ups in other industries, these firms are trying to use technology to bring speed and efficiency to what has long been a face-to-face, pen-and-paper market. In the process, they are also trying to alter mainstream perceptions of the marijuana industry, shedding the ganja and Rasta imagery to cultivate a wider audience.

 

[little maggie]

The law changes in January in Oregon. Currently, in the 1 mile between picking up my dog on Powell and my home on Stark I pass 9 dispensaries. I'm sure there are many others not on that specific route. I wonder what will happen to them all in January.

 

[fernand]

When I was in Oregon last year it seemed like things were "fine the way they are".

Here's hoping the people who have been using it in moderation to help themselves function better aren't buried by the rush to make money on people more interested in getting wasted.

When my Dr said he wasn't for "recreational use" I didn't get it at first. But that was his point: people who use it like alcohol are a different crowd.

 

[Gunky]

-snip-
When my Dr said he wasn't for "recreational use" I didn't get it at first. But that was his point: people who use it like alcohol are a different crowd.

Huh? I count myself as medical because I use it to treat shoulder problems. Besides the therapeutic aspect I just happen to unabashedly enjoy the psychoactive properties of the plant and have been into it to varying degrees it since I went off to college in 1970. So I am also a recreational consumer. And proud of it.

 

[kellya86]

Not sure how recent this is, or how commonly known this is, but I found it interesting. Maybe you will too.

http://reset.me/story/marijuana-the-super-antibiotic-of-the-future/

 

[vapebuddy13]

U.S. Senate Votes in Favor of Veterans Using Medical Marijuana

 

[grokit]

Obama: Fire DEA Head for Calling Medical Marijuana a "Joke"
Petition by Marijuana Majority · 89,383 supporters

sign this!

 

[friedrich]

Marijuana users at significantly lower risk for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease

 

[kellya86]

This wonderful flower never ceases to amaze me. It truly is a miracle herb. When will people see this.

 

[cybrguy]

Now watching
Colorado's Marijuana Law May Be The Model in 2016

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/colorados-marijuana-law-may-model-012704094.html#

Colorado's Marijuana Law May Be The Model in 2016
by The Motley Fool Videos 3:34 mins
Colorado has constantly been in the news regarding its recent overhaul on the legislature allowing for personal recreational use of marijuana. As Ohio has cast their vote determining their citizens were wary of following in Colorado's footsteps, it could very well set into motion a path for other states to legalize what some consider a harmless drug.

 

[macbill]

7 ways marijuana dispensaries will look totally different in 2020

The dispensary of the future was a hot topic at last week's New West Summit in San Francisco, California. Here's what we learned.

 

[Derrrpp]

7 ways marijuana dispensaries will look totally different in 2020

The dispensary of the future was a hot topic at last week's New West Summit in San Francisco, California. Here's what we learned.

Did this make anyone else wince? :

Vaporizers, an extension of the e-cigarette fad...

Never mind the fact that herbal vaporizers were on the market and in customers' hands for years before modern e-cigs were patented and brought to the market... It feels like an insult almost (I love my vaporizers!), to call them 'an extension of some stupid fad'...!


Overall though, I did enjoy reading the article. I thought it was an interesting perspective. I've never had the pleasure of being in a dispensary though, so

 

[fernand]

Huh? I count myself as medical because I use it to treat shoulder problems. Besides the therapeutic aspect I just happen to unabashedly enjoy the psychoactive properties of the plant and have been into it to varying degrees it since I went off to college in 1970. So I am also a recreational consumer. And proud of it.

I'm not sure how to explain this. At first when the Dr. said that he wasn't much for "recreational use" I thought he was against enjoyment. Then I understood what he meant.

For one thing it's a matter of politics. The way a lot of people read "recreational" is the way kids use beer: a bunch of kids speeding down the highway stoned and causing accidents.

But it's mainly a different emphasis. I enjoy all the properties of this amazing plant. But when I was younger, I wanted to alter my state. Now I want to improve it.

It's a very subtle distinction that in practice sometimes boils down to dosage.

If I'm confused it's no fun. If I'm laughing with friends that's great. If I'm goofed out it's not. If I'm focused and have energy that's good. If I'm wasted it's not very interesting. Don't want to be sick, don't want to be a spazz. This amazing plant is a defense against all sorts of conditions common to old age in "the west". That's why I said people who are into getting wasted are a different demographic. Is this making sense?

 

[MinnBobber]

But it's mainly a different emphasis. I enjoy all the properties of this amazing plant. But when I was younger, I wanted to alter my state. Now I want to improve it.

It's a very subtle distinction that in practice sometimes boils down to dosage.

...........................................................................................
I agree.
I refer to the target state as "being in balance". And that's what our endocannabinoid internal system does---balance all elements of the body (body, mind, spirit, emotions, etc).

Cannabis helps one enter a state of "flow".

 

[CarolKing]

I'm in pain most of the time if I'm walking, sometimes slight pain but sometimes it's really bad. I need some kind of relief, cannabis doesn't take all the pain away. It makes its easier to live with. Our head of the DEA doesn't get that and neither does those that are making our laws. They aren't in touch with the needs of most Americans whether it be cannabis, the environment or how to stretch a pay check.

 

[MinnBobber]

I'm in pain most of the time if I'm walking, sometimes slight pain but sometimes it's really bad. I need some kind of relief, cannabis doesn't take all the pain away. It makes its easier to live with. Our head of the DEA doesn't get that and neither does those that are making our laws. They aren't in touch with the needs of most Americans whether it be cannabis, the environment or how to stretch a pay check.

..............................................

X2 that those making our laws don't get it.
Committee here in MN looking to possibly add "intractable pain" to our tiny list of MMJ conditions recommended to Director to NOT add it because of "potential dangers of cannabis" WTF.
16,000 pain patients die every year from prescription painkiller OD and zero from cannabis BUT they are worried about dangers of cannabis.......

 

[macbill]

Civil Forfeiture:
Study: Cops now take more personal property than burglars

According to a Drug Policy Alliance study, about 80 percent of property taken through asset forfeiture are from people who have never been charged with any crimes, the [URL='http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/nov/23/california-fails-to-fix-abuses/']San Diego Union-Tribune reports.[/URL]

 

[grokit]

Ford’s “Drugged Driving Suit” Simulates Effects of Driving While High
November 20, 2015 at 12:07 pm by Alexander Stoklosa

Like most everyone else who’s ever driven a vehicle, the folks at Ford know that sliding behind the wheel while under the influence of anything is a terrible idea, and the company is looking to drive that point home as part of its Ford Driving Skills for Life young-driver safety initiative. Henceforth, the program will include the use of a special suit designed to simulate the effects of a variety of drugs, to show teens in a practical way that driving a vehicle in such a state is no joke.

Acting on a driver’s entire body, Ford’s getup has been dubbed the “Drugged Driving Suit,” although it isn’t so much a suit as a collection of bizarre attachments for the users’ wrists, ankles, knees, and head. Besides making the user look as if they’re wearing a last-minute Robocop halloween costume, the components can slow joint mobility, vibrate wrists to simulate hand tremors, and mimic degraded balance with weights unevenly distributed across extremities. The goggles distort the user’s vision while also flashing trippy-looking lights at their periphery; as if the visual stimulation weren’t enough, headphones also blast random noises modeled after hallucinative, imaginary noises. Far out.

Ford claims the suit can be set up to fake the effects of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. (It also can simulate with shocking accuracy the effects of wearing a bunch of weird attachments and looking ridiculous.) According to Ford, a significant number of young people admit to having operated a vehicle while high on drugs, an alarming problem it hopes to solve by sticking teens in the Drugged Driving Suit. As you could imagine, wearing the addenda makes driving pretty difficult. In case the powers of imagination elude you, Ford produced a video showing two young Germans attempting to drive through a course marked with traffic cones, walk, catch balls thrown at them, and even perform basic field sobriety tests. None of these tasks are performed with anything resembling alacrity. As they say, come for the safety message, stay for the German being hit with a large Bosu ball.

Seems like a more effective teaching method than, say, rapt classroom discussion of the dangers of driving while high on drugs, no?

 

[TheWhisper]

If you want people to know what it's like to drive on drugs, there's no substitute for giving them some drugs and letting them drive (on a closed course)!

 

[macbill]

The DEA has failed to eradicate marijuana. Now Congress wants it to stop trying.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is not having a great year.

 

[cybrguy]

There HAS to be a way to get them to stop spending our money on this and spend it instead on drug and alcohol treatment. If they REALLY want to do something about the scourge of drugs, they really should be working on pharmaceuticals and the over prescribing of opiates.

Sadly, the pharmaceuticals companies have among the most well funded lobbyists in America, so that won't be happening any time soon. And the wine and spirits industry is likely not far behind...

It shouldn't be too long before the cannabis industry can compete with their lobby. Lots o money changin hands...

 

[MinnBobber]

If they REALLY want to do something about the scourge of drugs, they really should be working on pharmaceuticals and the over prescribing of opiates.

....................................................................................
Prescription pain killer opiate deaths per year 16,000
Cannabis deaths per year ZERO
From latest CDC official figures.

It's a crazy world we live in, opiates should require a med opiate license , not cannabis

 

[fernand]

Don't be in such a hurry to throw prescription opiates under the bus. Every 20 years or so we have a realization that a lot of people in pain are unable to get the meds that would help, and some are even turning to street opiates. Then regulations are loosened a bit, as happened in Calif in the late 1990s as I recall.

Then THEY play up whatever problems are good for propaganda purposes, e.g. people dying who are dying anyway, or very old people, or suicides, and it's all aggregated and blamed on prescription opiate ODs. Then a cycle of re tightening occurs and patients end up being untreated again. Heroin use increases, yadda yadda and we go around and around.

Cannabis helps some people in pain remarkably and very safely. But not everyone. Given the right cannabis strain fitting the patient's physiology and source of pain, the combination of cannabinoids and terpenes can push the right buttons and reduce the impact of the pain. Same thing with Opiates, but they hit different buttons of the endocannabinoid and endorphin systems. By combining them people can get by using lower doses of both. It's a matter of getting people better able to function. But it's pretty complex, not as simple as Plant A good, Plant B bad, Organic good, Pharma bad.

It's the WHOLE nonsense of criminalizing some medicines that's absurd. Who appointed these people experts in medical treatment? So folks keep yours heads, in an effort to get cannabis recognized, you don't have to help The Man demonize opiates, which at some point in your life you may be very thankful to have access to.

@grokit, wow, they should hit these Ford people over the head with a brick to simulate stupidity.

 

[cybrguy]

I don't think anyone is suggesting (or I'm certainly not) that opiates go away. We are talking relative danger and regulation, and there is no comparing the danger of, and appropriateness of regulation for opiates vs cannabis. If one of them needs better regulation, and efforts to control abuse, they have chosen the wrong substance for that attention. As previously said multiple times, people don't die from cannabis abuse, and they die from abuse of opiates all the time. It is NOT a difficult concept. That doesn't mean opiates should go AWAY, it means we need to do a better job of keeping them out of the hands of abusers and get better control of "legitimate" (prescription) users to reduce the chance of overuse that leads to abuse. If doctors paid more attention to the patients they prescribed them for and really monitored them, many fewer would BECOME abusers and half the problem could be resolved.

But cannabis need not be managed in such a heavy handed way due to its dramatically lower risk and potential downside. That is all I (we) am suggesting.