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You could easily say that this past November’s elections were an important turning point for the state of cannabis law in the country. With victories in several states, including here in Florida, more Americans now have access to treatment or relief from pain. Changes in Cannabis Law Have Far-Reaching Effects As stronger scientific evidence emerges about the efficacy of marijuana for medicinal purposes, more dispensaries will begin to emerge and more experts and experienced attorneys will be needed. This…

Last November, Floridians joined the nation at large in their support of the legalization of medical marijuana, paving the way for the development of South Florida cannabis dispensaries to begin. Gallup first polled Americans on their thoughts about marijuana in 1969, and only twelve percent supported legalization. Support grew in the 1970s to about a quarter of those polled, and the rate stuck there for about twenty years. Starting around the turn of the…

Although marijuana laws are changing in most of the world, some countries still consider this medicinal plant evil. For example, in Singapore, anyone caught with 17 ounces of marijuana or more will be treated as a drug trafficker, and drug traffickers are hanged. Granted, that is a lot of marijuana to possess, but the penalty for that crime in the U.S. would be about 5 years in prison and a felony record, which would…

“There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana.”Economist Milton Friedman, Costs of Marijuana ProhibitionJune 2, 2005 I recently attended the Cannabis Professional Advancement Series in Miami, FL, where I discussed why I believe that Guardians of patients with horrific diseases, such as MS, ALS and cancer, should be allowed to grow medical marijuana for the Ward. Florida has a law that allows people charged with possession to proactively petition the probate court…

Medical Cannabis Can Ease the Suffering of Many Florida Patients Amendment 2 passed in a landslide and expands the conditions legally permitted to access and use medical marijuana in Florida; Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), HIV, AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and epilepsy. Amendment 2 also calls for Florida’s Department of Health to regulate production and distribution of centers and issue identification cards for patients and caregivers. The amendment expands…

In early July, the Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted to decriminalize the possession of marijuana up to 20 grams (a half an ounce of marijuana is 14 grams, so it is much more dangerous to have 3/4 of an ounce or more because at 21 grams or 3/4 of an ounce, the penalty is more serious)1. Before July 2015, personal possession of up to 20 grams was a crime punishable by up to a year…

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lists marijuana in the most restrictive of five classes that the agency uses to regulate dangerous drugs. Schedule I substances have the greatest potential for abuse and supposedly have no medical value. Heroin, ecstasy, LSD, and marijuana are all Schedule I drugs. Bernie Sanders, who recently announced that he is running for president as a democratic socialist, co-sponsored the States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act to reclassify marijuana as a…

In May, 2014, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller from California agreed to hear arguments and examine marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I substance, because there is a great deal of evidence that marijuana has many medical uses. Judge Mueller will decide whether or not the DEA’s classification of marijuana is unconstitutional. The Schedule I classification makes it very difficult for researchers to study the plant’s potential therapeutic uses. The federal government’s position that…

“You would theoretically have to consume 1,500 pounds of marijuana in 15 minutes to overdose, and this is impossible.” Two House bills were recently filed that could end the federal prohibition of marijuana, including one which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act’s schedules and regulate it similarly to alcohol. Recreational marijuana use is now legal in 5 states, but how legal is it? In Alaska and Washington D.C., there are no retail…

In Sydney, Australia participants are currently being recruited for a CBD research study that will examine regular cannabis users to help researchers understand the role of the endocannabinoid system in pain perception. Regular marijuana users who participate in the study will be compensated for their time. I am not telling you this to suggest that the United States pay people to smoke marijuana so we can study them, but we should definitely be doing research on the…

The New Mexico Court of Appeals recently ruled that an employer must pay for an injured worker’s medical marijuana. This is the nation’s first appellate court ruling in a workers’ compensation case in which an employer has been ordered to pay for medical marijuana prescribed by an employee’s healthcare provider to treat a workplace injury.1 In 2000, George Vialpando injured his back at work in 2000 while he was employed by Ben’s Automotive Services in Santa Fe….

Senators Joe Manchin and David Vitter are concerned about what they call “pay-to-play” meetings in which pharmaceutical manufacturers allegedly paid thousands of dollars to meet with FDA officials who oversee safety regulations on painkillers. The senators suggest these meetings might have helped Zohydro get approved by the FDA despite an advisory committee voting against it. Zohydro was approved by the FDA even though many doctors believe the drug is deadly! Manchin and Vitter have requested the…

According to the Supreme Court, an important virtue of our federalist system ofgovernment is that “a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory;and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Starting a business in an industry that is still illegal under federal law requires someone daring enough to assume risks, but humble enough to avoid undue attention from…

History was recently made in the Florida Senate, when legislators for the first time passed a bill to legalize low-THC medical marijuana that treats intractable epilepsy in children. The marijuana must contain less than .3% THC (the compound responsible for the high feeling) and 15% or more CBD (the part of the plant used to get the oil needed to treat epilepsy). This bill recently won in the Senate with a 36-3 vote. Most…

April 29, 2014The federal government’s official position is that marijuana, as a Schedule 1 substance, has no medical value. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana do not agree with the Schedule 1 classification, because it has impeded the ability to conduct research on the plant’s potential therapeutic uses. Every U.S. commission or federal judge who has studied the evidence has agreed that cannabis…