MAP - Cannabis

The Daily Iowan, 18 Feb 2010 - Officials from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend that the state Legislature legalize the use of medical marijuana on Wednesday. The proposal would reduce marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule II, classifying the drug as presenting the potential for abuse but also having acceptable medical uses.

Exponent, 18 Feb 2010 - Gary Storck endures pain on a daily basis. Storck was born with Noonan's syndrome and has had multiple open-heart surgeries to address the heart problems that come with that condition. Storck also suffers from glaucoma, and his intraocular pressure often reaches 40, twice the highest limit of the normal range. In addition, he battles post-traumatic stress disorder. After only a brief inventory of Storck's medical background, one might expect him to curse the hand he was dealt. But that is not how Storck views himself. "I consider myself a medical miracle," he said. "I can find relief for my glaucoma, heart conditions and anxiety all in one medication. I am living research."

San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Feb 2010 - The first U.S. clinical trials in more than 20 years on the medical efficacy of marijuana found that pot helps relieve pain and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and certain neurological conditions, according to a report released Wednesday by a UC research center. The results of five state-funded scientific clinical trials came 14 years after California voters passed a law approving marijuana for medical use and more than 10 years after the state Legislature passed a law that created the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at UC San Diego, which conducted the studies.

Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb 2010 - Cannabis Can Greatly Ease Neuropathic Pain and Muscle Spasms, Researchers Show With an innovative but little-known state program to study medical marijuana about to run out of money, researchers and political supporters said Wednesday the results show promise.

Globe-Gazette, 18 Feb 2010 - DES MOINES -- The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted Wednesday to recommend to state lawmakers they reclassify marijuana and set up a task force to study how to administer a medical marijuana program. A total of 14 states have so far approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes, with New Jersey recently joining the list.

Fort Collins Coloradoan, 16 Feb 2010 - For the uninitiated, a visit to a medical marijuana dispensary is an eye-opening experience. Marijuana, relegated to the shadows for decades, sits openly in bright display cabinets. Prices are posted on the wall. Helpful clerks measure out purchases on digital scales.

Iowa City Press-Citizen, 16 Feb 2010 - Nearly two-thirds of Iowans think patients should be allowed to use marijuana as medicine if their doctors approve, a new Iowa Poll shows. However, fewer than a third of Iowans want to make the drug legal for people who just want to get high, the poll shows.

The Times-Herald, 14 Feb 2010 - VACAVILLE - A former City Council candidate and three of his employees have been arrested on charges of operating an illegal medical marijuana dispensary about a block from the Vacaville Police Department. Flash Gordon, 30, was arrested Thursday after being identified as the proprietor of North Bay Alternative Healing at 537 Merchant St., police said.

Pueblo Chieftain, 14 Feb 2010 - A Beulah man's conviction 'sets up' patients, some charge. A Pueblo jury took nearly eight hours Saturday to decide that a Beulah marijuana farmer was innocent of cultivating marijuana, but guilty of possessing it.

Daily Vanguard, 11 Feb 2010 - Students Unable To Use Medical Marijuana On Campus The university is unable to accommodate medical marijuana usage on campus, regardless of a student's possession of appropriate medical marijuana authorization.

New Times, 11 Feb 2010 - New medical marijuana operations proposed in the Nipomo area have SLO county officials scrambling to their legal books in a move that could kill the prospect of a local dispensary once and for all. Every incorporated city within the county boasts either a temporary or permanent ban on dispensaries, leaving only the unincorporated areas open to applicants. An existing county ordinance allows dispensaries in commercial areas, provided they're not near schools, youth centers, and the like.

The Craig Daily Press, 11 Feb 2010 - Craig -- In a time when many local businesses are struggling, Craig Apothecary has quadrupled its business. Since opening in August 2009, Craig's only medical marijuana dispensary has seen its client base jump from 20 to 60 individual patients.

Summit Daily News, 11 Feb 2010 - Commissioners Extend Moratorium On Businesses BRECKENRIDGE -- Medical marijuana dispensaries won't be opening in unincorporated Summit County until at least June, since Summit County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to extend a moratorium on the businesses.

Napa Valley Register, 11 Feb 2010 - Napa's experiment with medical marijuana dispensaries should start small, with a single, heavily regulated clinic, the Napa City Council said Tuesday night. If the first dispensary works out, the city will consider allowing a second operation a year later.

Monterey County Herald, 11 Feb 2010 - Monterey has sued the proprietor of a medical marijuana dispensary alleging that the business violated the city's zoning codes by setting up shop in town last fall. City officials filed the complaint against MyCaregiver Inc. and director Jhonrico Carrnshimba on Monday, after the City Council voted 4-1 in closed session Feb. 2 to authorize legal action against the clinic, which has been operating at 554 Lighthouse Ave. since November.

Vancouver Sun, 11 Feb 2010 - Arrested Men Not Holders Of Health Canada Permits Penticton RCMP say they seized loaded guns and excess pot from an Okanagan Falls property being used to grow medical marijuana. The two men arrested at the scene Monday appeared to be in control of the growing operation, but did not hold the Health Canada permits for medical marijuana, police say.

Summit Daily News, 10 Feb 2010 - Another Our Future Summit roundtable conversation will be held on Thursday - - its topic will be "Medical Marijuana in Summit County: Therapy or Threat?" The meeting will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the Summit County Community and Senior Center in Frisco.

Bangor Daily News, 10 Feb 2010 - HOULTON, Maine -- Town councilors stood firmly behind a 180-day moratorium on the location or licensing of any medical marijuana dispensaries within the town Monday evening, joining other communities across the state that are awaiting final decisions on a recently passed law that allows the dispensaries. Councilors voted unanimously in favor of the moratorium, with Councilor Fred Grant absent.

Detroit News, 14 Jan 2010 - All-But-American Man Deported After Trip to Mexico Stupidity is not a crime. But stupidity is a deportable offense. Case in point: Charlie Castillo was born in Canada, the son of Maltese immigrants. The family came to Detroit when he was 1 year old and since then Castillo has spent his entire life in the metro area.

Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan 2010 - The Los Angeles City Council decided Wednesday to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries next to residences, but rejected a proposal to keep them at least 500 feet away, which would have drastically limited the available locations. The council, however, put off a vote on the last contentious issue until Tuesday, when it will decide whether dispensaries must be 500 feet or 1,000 feet from so-called sensitive uses, such as schools, parks and religious institutions.