State initiatives forcing a change at the top By Ron Mullins Aug. 28, 2013: is it an historically triumphant day for marijuana activists in the U.S., or just more political smoke screen? That’s what many in the cannabis community are trying to figure out. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in the conference call with the […]
Legal
Patients Fight to Save Their Medicine
Lawyer John Conroy Leads Battle Against MMPR By Steve Finlay As expected, Health Canada has announced new regulations for medical cannabis, replacing the often criticized Medical Marihuana Access Regulations (MMAR). The new rules, called the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR), remove some of the bad features of the MMAR. For example, they remove the […]
Sensible Starts in September
The race to collect 400,000 signatures begins By Andrew Brown With Sept. fast approaching, so does the urgency to act and get involved with the Sensible BC campaign. This will be the last issue of the Cannabis Digest before the campaign’s signature gathering begins, and we strongly encourage our B.C. readers to take part in […]
New Regulations Create Chaos
Health Canada puts squeeze on patients and dispensaries By Ted Smith After over a decade of the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, the persistent problems with the system have given the government the opportunity to justify taking the program in another direction. The new Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations throw patients under a big, fully licensed […]
Trouble in Maritimes
Halifax club struggles after police raid By Debbie Stultz-Giffin We are endeavouring to feature one patient per province and territory this year as we share patients’ stories with the rest of the country. We will be focusing on patients who will live in fear of the repercussions of the looming MMPR, and how the loss […]
Updates From the States
By Phillip Smith Oregon Bills Easing Marijuana Penalties Become Law Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) Monday signed into law two measures that will reduce the punishments for certain marijuana-related offenses. The changes go into effect immediately. The first, Senate Bill 40, lowers the penalties for possession of more than an ounce of pot. Under […]
Harsh Laws
A lawyer’s view on new mandatory minimum sentences By Kirk Tousaw In Nov. 2012, the Harper Conservative government ushered in new mandatory sentencing legislation for certain Controlled Drugs and Substances Act offences. Despite criticism from outside and inside government, and clear evidence that such sentences are harmful to the criminal justice system and society, the […]
Maritime Crackdown
Halifax club strives to recover from Integrated Drug Unit bust By Jess James In 1998, a small group of friends started a buyers’ group in order to make their cannabis consumption affordable. Black market prices had shot to a whopping ten bucks a gram on the streets. Heavy hitters who were plagued with poverty […]
U.S. Investigators Listening in on Cell Calls
Feds’ New Cell Phone Spying Device Raising Privacy Concerns By Clarence Walker Blocked by a Supreme Court decision from using GPS tracking devices without a warrant, federal investigators and other law enforcement agencies are turning to a new, more powerful and more threatening technology in their bid to spy more freely on those they […]
Mernagh Loses Bad
Appeal court overturns inaccessibility ruling By Al Graham In Apr. 2008, Matt Mernagh, who uses medical marijuana to deal with his fibromyalgia, scoliosis, epilepsy, and depression, was charged with the production of his medication. Unfortunately for him, he has been unable to find a doctor willing to sign the required MMAR paperwork, in order for […]