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Archive → January, 2010
New York State – Medical Marijuana Supporters Wonder if Time Has Come
New Jersey added a new herb to its state garden last Tuesday when Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on his last day in office.
But though 14 states have now legalized medical marijuana, New York, which has relatively liberal possession laws and actually passed a medical-marijuana law in 1980 but never put it to use, remains forbidden ground for those who seek to relieve their symptoms with cannabis. This year, however, supporters of medical marijuana in Albany and elsewhere hope to harness what they see as growing momentum.
Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried of Manhattan, the Health Committee chairman and a nearly annual sponsor of medical marijuana legislation, said that he hoped this year’s bill would reach the floor in the next few weeks and that both houses would pass it by March, before they get tied up with the state budget.
An almost identical bill has been proposed in the Senate, sponsored by Thomas K. Duane, the Senate Health Committee chairman. Each bill would allow the use of marijuana to “treat a serious illness under medical supervision,” such as cancer, arthritis or H.I.V./AIDS.
“I think that the main obstacle over the years has been the fear of many in public life to touch anything with drugs,” Mr. Gottfried said. “But I think the climate around the states has changed.” He referred to the new laws in a handful of states, as well as to the reversal in longstanding federal policy in October, when the Justice Department stopped pursuing and prosecuting users or providers of medical marijuana who were complying with state laws.
“What is often surprising is that people tend to assume it’s a controversial bill, and that’s been an obstacle,” Mr. Gottfried said. “But other than the state Conservative Party, there has been little to no resistance. Even public opinion polls show overwhelming support.”
Scott Reif, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, said that the issue had not come up recently and had not on been on the Senate’s radar. Several Republican senators have quietly expressed support for medical marijuana, said Gabriel Sayegh, a project director for the Drug Policy Alliance Network, which works to promote medical marijuana laws.
Michael R. Long, the chairman of New York State’s Conservative Party, said that while he was not currently working with any organizations to block the bill, he firmly believed that passing the legislation would send the wrong signal to young people, especially in the face of the antismoking campaigns and taxes on sugared drinks.
“And especially when there is no medical proof that marijuana assists anyone anyway,” Mr. Long said. “It would open the floodgates for misuse.”
In 1980, the Legislature and Gov. Hugh L. Carey enacted a medical marijuana law in New York. But the law required that a state review board be set up to rule on doctors’ requests to prescribe marijuana, and one was never appointed.
In this century, medical marijuana bills have been introduced several times. Two passed the Assembly with bipartisan support, but stalled in the Senate. Last year’s version was derailed during the Senate stalemate in Albany in June.
Some Republicans who favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes are against the idea of allowing patients and caregivers to grow their own, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
Others have looked with concern at California, where the state has had difficulties restricting the sale and cultivation of marijuana after its law was passed in 1996. There, local governments have had to step in because of public safety issues, as well as unintended effects that some say have a provided legal shield for commercial growers. Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council moved to shutter most of the city’s thousand-plus marijuana dispensaries.
To make the law more palatable to skeptics, Mr. Gottfried said, this year’s legislation allows registered patients to obtain at most only most 2.5 ounces of the drug from state-licensed entities, which would be overseen by the state’s Department of Health.
While Gov. David A. Paterson has not announced his position on the bill, he made his views on the issue known in a Rolling Stone article last year. “Our society is odd because we have this contempt for marijuana smoking,” he said. “Meanwhile, people have access to pharmaceutical products that are just destroying them.”
Other supporters of medical marijuana in New York include the Medical Society of the State of New York, the New York State Nurse’s Association, the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York, the StateWide Senior Action Council and Gay Men’s Health Crisis.
“If New York doesn’t pass medical marijuana legislation,” said Mr. Sayegh of the Drug Policy Alliance Network, “it has everything to do with the dysfunction in Albany.”
Medical marijuana lab raided by DEA during introduction of Senator Chris Romer’s doctor-patient bill
Yesterday, Betty Aldworth, director of outreach for Full Spectrum Laboratories, a marijuana testing facility, was at the State Capitol to watch lab co-owner Bob Winniki testify about Senator Chris Romer’s just-introduced bill dealing with the relationship between doctors and medical marijuana patients.
But before Winniki could speak, the twosome received an e-mail letting them know members of the Drug Enforcement Administration had stopped by the lab. And by the time they got back to the facility, Aldworth says, “it was full of DEA agents” and other local law-enforcement types, who spent the next several hours seizing all the marijuana testing samples they could find.
In October, the Obama administration issued a memo confirming that its Justice Department wouldn’t actively pursue prosecution of medical marijuana businesses in states that had legalized the process. As such, Full Spectrum should have been in the clear — but in an attempt to preclude any problems, the lab formally applied for analytical lab licensure through the DEA.
“We didn’t need to do that, but we thought it was the right thing to do,” Aldworth says. “We’ve worked really hard to make sure that everything we’re doing is above board. We’ve tried to get the best advice from the smartest people about all parts of our business, and we’re trying to follow their advice as well as we can. And we’re trying to be engaged in the community. That’s the reason we were at the Capitol. We think it’s important that people know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
Such transparency didn’t help with the DEA. During the agents’ first visit, they “smelled marijuana, which prompted them to request a warrant,” Aldworth says. The document eventually arrived, but Aldworth and company had already given the agents permission to search the premises, under the theory that they had nothing to hide.
Nonetheless, she continues, “they confiscated all of the material on site — even test tubes filled with extraction fluid that we run on our machines.”
Fortunately, Aldworth says, all of the samples sent to the lab had already been tested; it would have eventually been discarded. And agents didn’t seize the equipment, which Full Spectrum leases. However, plant material used to set baseline standards for testing, provided to the lab by assorted dispensaries, was taken as well.
Aldworth, who declines to speculate about the timing of the raid, says the agents were “incredibly professional” during the hours-long process “considering what an awful experience it was.” But they weren’t immediately forthcoming with information about what was going on. It took some time before Full Spectrum personnel were told that they wouldn’t be arrested or charged with a crime.
What happens next? Aldworth isn’t sure as it applies to the DEA. But as for Full Spectrum, “we’re not shutting down,” she emphasizes. “We are as determined as we were at the beginning of the day yesterday to keep providing this service to Coloradans who need it. We’re not going anywhere. We’re still going to be here.”
US medical marijuana lab says it was raided, ordered to turn over customer records
DENVER — A lab that tests medical marijuana for dispensaries and patients said Thursday it was raided by federal drug agents and ordered to turn over patient records.
Full Spectrum Laboratories president Bob Winnicki said Drug Enforcement Administration agents showed up at his facility in Denver on Wednesday when he was at the Capitol for a hearing on proposed medical marijuana regulations.
The lab provided The Associated Press with a copy of a DEA subpoena requesting that it turn over customer and patient records over a six month period through Wednesday.
Winnicki, who had applied for a DEA license to dispense controlled substances, said he wasn’t charged with a crime but agents seized about $10,000 worth of marijuana.
DEA special agent Mike Turner said the administration never comments on ongoing investigations and that he couldn’t confirm or deny whether there was a raid.
In general, he said agents don’t investigate medical marijuana users or suppliers but that they could be probed if their name surfaced during investigations into large drug trafficking operations. He also said the agency investigates facilities that apply for DEA licenses.
“We don’t target these operations unless they come up in the normal course of our operations,” he said of medical marijuana operations.
While federal crackdowns were once common with medical marijuana operations in California, Matt Brown, executive director of Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, couldn’t recall any such raids in Colorado in recent years.
“They are absolutely not commonplace at all,” said Brown, who represents a coalition of medical marijuana dispensaries and patients lobbying for state regulations.
Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a medical marijuana patients’ group, said the DEA has raided some large growing operations but has stayed away from patients and dispensaries in Colorado.
The Obama administration has said it won’t target medical marijuana operations in states that allow them as long as they’re complying with state laws and aren’t fronts for drug traffickers. Colorado is one of 14 states to allow people to use marijuana to treat various medical conditions.
Winnicki said his operation isn’t a dispensary but the only lab of its kind in Colorado. He tests marijuana for mould, fungus and pesticides and tests the effectiveness of different strains of marijuana for treating various ailments for dispensaries and patients.
He said he uses scientific instruments and applied for a DEA license back in October to use standards needed to test the marijuana. He said he didn’t hear from the DEA until Wednesday.
“I was operating under the assumption that if we’re playing by the rules, no problem,” he said.
He said the marijuana that was seized included a rare strain that was going to be made into capsules for people with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Denver Senate committee approves controversial medical marijuana bill
A Senate committee, trying to cut through the smoky haze over the growing medical marijuana industry in Colorado, has approved a bill that aims to clear things up a bit.
The bill, SB 109, sponsored by Sens. Chris Romer, D-Denver and Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, seeks to set standards for the issuance of registration cards and regulate physician recommendations – barring recreational users from obtaining medical marijuana through fraudulent means. It was approved 6-1 in the Health and Human Services Committee.
The bill would also require doctors to give full exams and follow-up care to medical marijuana patients.
It was sparked by concerns over the large number of people applying for medical marijuana cards and spiraling growth of medical marijuana dispensaries.
The highly emotional bill – which has sparked plenty of controversy — will next hit the Senate Appropriations committee.
Patients Speak: Medical Marijuana Frees People From Addiction to Deadly Painkillers – from the Huffington Post
On Wednesday, dozens of former addicts made the tough decision to share their stories publicly, doing so before news cameras and a standing-room only crowd. The admissions were not without irony. It was, after all, a federally prohibited drug, according to the patients who spoke, that freed them from their addictions to far more lethal–though legal–prescription narcotics.
Under the Colorado Capitol’s golden dome, dozens of patients gathered for a state Senate committee hearing, eager to give their two cents on the controversy at hand: How to regulate the doctor-patient relationship when it comes to physicians making medical marijuana recommendations.
After hearing testimony, committee members voted as most anticipated they would, injecting significant and potentially unconstitutional government mandates into doctor-patient relationships previously viewed as sacred to many of the state’s sick and dying. Only conservative Republican Shawn Mitchell of Broomfield voted against the bill, understanding that although he may have concerns with medical marijuana’s inclusion in our state constitution, lawmakers are sworn to uphold that constitution, even those portions with which they disagree.
The legislative action sadly reflects an overly emotional response to salacious headlines chronicling the alleged abuses by just a handful of the nearly 1,000 doctors who have issued medical marijuana recommendations. Their offense: they let greed trump patient health, and now stand accused of being far too flippant in making medical marijuana recommendations.
Troubling, yes. But as patient after patient testified Tuesday, any possible abuses of the state’s medical marijuana registry (now host to more than 20,000 patients) should be analyzed under a larger public health care perspective. As they told lawmakers, some through tears, medical marijuana has freed them from the agony of addiction resulting not from marijuana, but rather from the dangerous narcotic pain medications they had previously resorted to in an effort to curb their chronic and often progressive symptoms.
The message was clear: Marijuana use–which has put millions of Americans behind bars over the last seven decades–is now freeing Colorado’s sick and dying from their addictions to xycontin, vicodin, morphine, and a multitude of other prescription drugs incredibly dangerous, addictive, and destructive when taken over long periods of time.
Legislators should listen.
In Colorado, prescription drug overdoses are now the leading killer in our state. As we’ve written previously for this site, such drugs now kill more Coloradans than car accidents every year. Meanwhile, marijuana has never been independently linked to an overdose death. Not a single one.
Tuesday’s testimony was compelling, with its honesty and humility too real to be some paid construction of the lobbyists who sprinkled the crowd. Lawmakers heard from a former college football star now in his 60′s, a man who now suffers the excruciating effects of decades-old injuries and the surgeries that failed to make him whole. Without medical marijuana, he testified, he’d have no other option than to pop prescription pain pills by the handful. Another wheelchair-confined patient also spoke of how medical marijuana has freed him of his own long-term prescription addiction. His voice wavered as he talked tenderly of his late wife, who died seven years ago from liver failure resulting from overdosing on Tylenol PM.
Bill sponsor, Chris Romer, a well intentioned Denver Democrat, proudly proclaimed that “this is the beginning of the end of the wild west,” his bill could usher in a whole new set of problems. On Wednesday, he showed a growing willingness to accept amendments that removed some of the bill’s most controversial provisions. Still, while it’s true that Colorado’s medical marijuana industry has thus far outpaced efforts to usher in its regulation, his bill still raises issues that could result in unintended consequences extending far beyond the relationships between medical marijuana patients and their doctors.
Ultimately, one of the bill’s most troubling mandates is also its most ironic. The language would prohibit any doctor who has ever had his or her Drug Enforcement Agency Schedule I prescribing license suspended–even for a day or even 30 years ago–from making medical marijuana recommendations to Colorado patients. Meanwhile, while the bill relies on this federal DEA standard to define professional competence, it then ignores the fact under the DEA’s own rules, doctors who recommend medical marijuana are subjected to having this same Schedule I license yanked.
The bill also subjects doctors making medical marijuana recommendations to a new system that could very quickly result in a two-tiered witch hunt, empowering not only the Board of Medical Examiners to revoke a physician’s medical license in its entirety for medical marijuana-related offenses, but also granting the state Health Department the ability to revoke any physician’s right to advise patients on medical marijuana. Doctors, already looking over their shoulder when making recommendations, will now have even more to fear.
For many indigent patients in the room Wednesday, cost was the biggest issue on their minds.
One disabled veteran testified that the new changes could make getting his medical marijuana recommendation prohibitively expensive. Under current federal Veteran’s Administration policy, doctors are prevented from recommending medical marijuana entirely. As the vet noted, his only source of medical care comes from the VA, meaning he’d have to go elsewhere. A doctor recommendation and follow up care could now cost him hundreds of dollars annually due to one bill provision that prohibits dispensaries from reimbursing doctors for making recommendations.
In absence of financial assistance for such required examinations, the vet would be forced to explore one of two options, neither desirable. He could either obtain his medical marijuana from the black market where physician recommendations are not required, or he could return to prescription narcotics to treat his horrific symptoms.
For years, legislators have turned a blind eye as doctors have too freely prescribed narcotic painkillers without adequately assessing patient necessity, or in many cases, without even speaking with a patient in-person before writing a prescription.
But this was only a passing thought Wednesday to too many of the bill’s supporters. Law enforcement officials claimed that lawmakers have a duty to prevent illegitimate abuses of medical marijuana. Even if this obligation is presumed true, however, fighting medical marijuana abuse should be far down the public policy priority list from addressing the scourge of other, far more harmful drugs, including prescription pain killers and alcohol. A proper regulatory scheme would acknowledge the real issues facing patients and caregivers today, including the lack of assurances of medicinal quality and consistency some face when selecting medicine. (Click here to see our analysis of SB 109, including our support for several of the bill’s provisions, and suggestions concerning others).
As Senate Bill 109 now prepares to make its journey through the Capitol, we hope legislators will resist rubberstamping Tuesday’s emotional response to a perceived problem. While it’s true that a handful of the nearly 1,000 doctors who have made medical marijuana recommendations thus far are accused of abusing the process, this legislation would remove time-tested protections to the doctor-patient relationship that would not only hurt patients, but could also begin the erosion of confidentiality between a far larger population of sick people and their doctors.
For centuries, doctors have committed to uphold the Hippocratic oath, pledging to “first, do no harm.” In the aftermath of Tuesday’s committee bill passage, lawmakers should consider taking their own oath.
Listen. Get the facts. Then make the prescription. Don’t let emotion cloud the truths revealed through the testimony of Colorado’s real experts–the patients and doctors themselves–who have resoundingly demonstrated that medical marijuana is one of the greatest tools we have in the essential fight against prescription drug addiction.
Jessica Corry is a Denver land use attorney and Robert J. Corry, Jr., is a Denver medical marijuana attorney. Together, the Corrys represents several medical marijuana caregivers and patients.
Medical Marijuana Incorporated Unveils a Sampling of Its All Star Cast of Industry Speakers to Appear at Upcoming National Educational Expo in the Los Angeles Convention Center
Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) is proud to announce the launch of its first National Educational Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Theatre Room on January 16 & 17, 2010. Featured prominent industry experts and celebrities include the former NORML Director and current CFO of Cannabis Science, and the founder, editor, & publisher of Marijuana News, Richard Cowan; and Medical Marijuana Inc Chairman, Bruce Perlowin. Special guest speaker and long suffering marijuana defendant, Robert Platshorn, author of “The Tuna Diaries” (featured in “The 35 Year Anniversary Issue of High Times Magazine”) will regale you with tales of smuggling, federal court trial and “doing hard time” (3 decades in prison). Bobby’s post release commitment to changing public opinion through education and information is engaging. Interact with The Executive Officers of MJNA, including the Director of Investor Relations, who will be present and available for consultation.
Enjoy and educate yourself with two days of segmented Classes & Workshops given by Law Makers, Tax Advisers, Northern California Growers, Cooperative Founders, Medical Marijuana Doctors, Patient Testimonials, Caregivers and Certified Addiction Therapist(s). Classes on the History of Hemp, Cannabis, Marijuana around the World, the Political Climate and Not for Profit Structuring, Legal Compliance, Cannabis Cultivation, How to Quick Start Your Medical Marijuana Delivery Service, Alchemy, Trademark & Patent filing, Franchising, Barter, Where to find The Best Products to Cultivate and Deliver the Benefits of Medical Cannabis.
A Private Screening of Jack Herer’s recent documentary “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” based on his book about the history and uses of Hemp will be shown Saturday at 8:00 pm in the LA Convention Center Theatre, followed by a SOCIAL NETWORKING EVENT, featuring the diverse musical talent of DJ Dre Ghost – Presenting “THE HEMP CHRONICLES” along with other performing artists Saturday night from 9:00-Midnight.
To purchase your tickets online go to http://www.medicalmarijuanaeducationalexpo.com/
Tweet us at http://www.twitter.com/medmarijuanainc
Medical Marijuana Educational Seminars
Additionally we will be launching and teaching an entirely New Business Opportunity for Anyone wanting to get into the Medical Marijuana industry that until recently did not exist. An entrepreneurial opportunity that is faster to get up and running and earning income; one that is safer than opening a collective dispensary or grow operation with all the shifting laws and unsure and unstable battling political environments, and one you can open in any state regardless of where that state is in the legalization process.
These kinds of seminars are filled with people wanting to learn how to enter the Medical Marijuana Business. Therefore, we will be presenting our ground breaking new Medical Marijuana Institute Educational Center business opportunity where the licensed Center owner receives 60% of the ticket sales and a percentage of all products & services offered to them by licensor MJNA. You can extrapolate what your earning potential could be and how many Medical Marijuana Institute Educational Centers will open in cities All Across America in 2010.
Solutions
Medical Marijuana has developed a suite of solutions to deliver an efficient and secure infrastructure for the Medical Marijuana Industry that provides the tools to industry operators to effectively manage their businesses with the confidence that they are in full compliance.
Tax Collection
The Stored Value Platform System provides verifiable solutions to manage the difficult task of revenue and taxation collection. The provisional patent pending Stored Value Platform System is further described at: http://www.MedicalMarijuanaInc.com/index/html
Scientific Research and Development
MJNA acquired 20 acres of land in the mountains of Southern California in order to develop a research facility targeting medical cannabis strains specific to a wide range of medical conditions. By diligently developing the most efficacious strains and matching those strains to ailments, such as glaucoma, MJNA is poised as the industry leader in medical cannabis genetic research.
About Medical Marijuana, Inc.
Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) the first US public company in the cannabis industry to have its shares trade in the US stock market, recognizes the vast and unequaled opportunities that exist in the rapidly expanding medical marijuana industry. The scientific recognition of marijuana as a powerful medicine, and as an effective, non-narcotic pain reliever, has brought Medical Marijuana use to the forefront of mainstream discussion thus opening the door for safe and lucrative investment opportunities while engaging in compassionate socio-economic models.
Forward-Looking Disclaimer
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties.
Commerce Online Announces Agreement With Collective Merchant Services for New Medical Marijuana Dispensary Clients Throughout Northern California
Commerce Online Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CMIB) ( www.commerceonlineinc.com ), a leading company specializing in both brick-and-mortar and online merchant payment solutions, today announced an Agreement with Collective Merchant Services of California to provide exclusive merchant processing services to at least eight new medical marijuana dispensary clients located throughout Northern California. The agreement will provide that Commerce Online be the exclusive merchant processing provider to medical marijuana dispensaries on behalf of Collective Merchant Services for their existing client base as well all new business.
“We are extremely pleased to find a partner within Collective Merchant Services, who understand this niche business sector, as well as have a strong knowledge and client base throughout the San Jose, San Francisco and Sacramento areas. Having the extra feet on the street and well-trained representatives who can provide immediate sales and technical assistance when needed by our rapidly expanding client base, will prove to be a tremendous asset to us at Commerce Online by providing outstanding customer support, exponential growth of our medical dispensary processing business thus creating real shareholder value,” stated B. Michael Friedman for Commerce Online.
In an effort to keep these collectives within the guidelines of CA Proposition 215 and SB 420, the Commerce Online merchant processing and pre-paid stored value and loyalty card offers a unique cash alternative to these regulated dispensaries for both suppliers and members of collectives. Commerce Online will seek to capitalize on this presently untapped and much needed solution.
According to a recent Fortune Magazine article, there are an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 medical marijuana patients in the state of California now, and the figure is rapidly growing. “CMIB is presently poised to pick up a majority share of this untapped marketplace by offering our proven secure payment solution through our alliance partners and to move toward the legitimization of the medical marijuana industry,” stated commerce Online CEO Kyle Gotshalk.
“The Commerce Online branded, pre-paid loyalty and ID card will be marketed through our new Collective Card Services division, and may be loaded with any denomination of funds with direct deposit at local bank, via the Internet, POS system by the member of the collective or medical dispensary. The RedFin Network PCI Compliant Payment Gateway will handle all loyalty transactions at the point of sale. In case of theft or loss, the card may be cancelled immediately through an 800 number provided or online. The card will also act as the Collective member’s identification having the option of a Picture ID, medical id number identifying him/her as a collective member, the collective name, and expiration date of membership,” stated Michael Friedman for Commerce Online.
About Commerce Online Inc.
Commerce Online Inc. ( www.commerceonlineinc.com ) is positioned to become a market leader in both online and wireless merchant payment solutions. The Company offers a full spectrum of secure and reliable transaction processing solutions using traditional, Internet Point-of-Sale (POS), e-commerce and mobile (wireless) terminals in conjunction with Industry Alliance Partners. The Company’s Alliances provide electronic payment processing suite of services enabling merchants to accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as ATM cards and ACH check drafts for payment whether a retail, service, mail-order or Internet merchant. As an industry leader, Commerce Online is dedicated to delivering comprehensive services, such as merchant account activation, gateway connections, Web development and social network engines to a worldwide client base.
FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of commerce Online Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.
Poll by Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation Finds Overwhelming Support for Licensed Dispensaries
Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, a coalition of medical marijuana patients and providers supporting responsible regulation of medical marijuana, today released a statewide poll illustrating that Colorado voters overwhelmingly favor regulating state-licensed dispensaries to serve persons who are suffering from debilitating medical conditions.
By a margin of two-to-one, 64 percent of voters said they would approve proposals that would establish state-licensed marijuana dispensaries to cultivate and provide marijuana to patients with doctors’ recommendations. Just 32 percent said they would reject it.
“This is a powerful endorsement by Coloradans that medical marijuana dispensaries are valid businesses that need to be regulated in order to protect patients and providers,” said Matt Brown, Executive Director of Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation. “As with any other industry, it is now critical that we develop tax and fee structures and put the appropriate regulations in place to ensure these businesses can responsibly serve the needs of their patients and the community.”
Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation formed earlier this year to provide a leading voice for the emerging medical marijuana business community. The coalition supports the creation of reasonable regulations that protect patient choice and incorporate best practices within existing regulatory structures.
“Our campaign goal is to work with all parties to ensure safe, responsible access to and use of medical marijuana,” said Brown. “Colorado has the opportunity to take the lead and set the standard for what a responsible medical marijuana industry should look like.”
The telephone survey of 500 Colorado voters who are likely to participate in the 2010 general election was conducted November 6-9, 2009, using a statistically valid random sample drawn from a current list of registered voters.(i)
Other survey results found wide support for a state-licensed dispensary system within every major demographic group:
– A total of 64 percent of both men and women said they would support the dispensary system model.
– A majority of registered Republicans (53%), Independents (64%) and Democrats (75%), supported the proposed dispensary system.
– A majority of people within every age group backed the proposal, with the highest levels of support among the over 55 (64%) and under 35 (71%) age groups.
– White voters (65%) supported the proposal at a slightly higher rate than non-white voters (61%).
– Metro Denver was the most supportive area in the state (69%), along with Denver (68%) and the South Front Range (64%). Fifty-two percent of voters in the Western Slope were supportive.
Commerce Online Inc. Receives Coverage on ABC News Channel for Cash Alternative Payment Solutions for Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
PALM BEACH, Fla., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Commerce Online Inc. (Pink Sheets: CMIB – News; http://www.commerceonlineinc.com/), a leading company specializing in both bricks and mortar and online merchant payment solutions, today announced coverage on ABC News Channel Seven, based in Denver Colorado of its leading alternative payment solutions for medical marijuana dispensaries. The story featured at ABC news channel affiliate “http://www.thedenverchannel.com/” under story headline “Pot On Plastic” covered a recent robbery of a local medical marijuana dispensary and named Commerce Online merchant solutions and debit/loyalty card solution as a leading alternative for cash only locations. Commerce Online recently launched its branded, pre-paid loyalty and ID card for licensed medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives operating within the states of California, and Colorado.
In an effort to keep these collectives within the guidelines of CA Proposition 215 and SB 420, the Commerce Online merchant services and pre-paid stored value and loyalty card will offer a unique cash alternative to these regulated dispensaries for both suppliers and members of collectives.
The Commerce Online branded, pre-paid loyalty and ID card will be marketed through our new Collective Card Services division, and may be loaded to any denomination of funds with direct deposit at local bank, via the Internet, POS system by the member of the collective or medical dispensary. The RedFin Network PCI Compliant Payment Gateway will handle all loyalty transactions at the point of sale. In case of theft or loss, the card may be cancelled immediately through an 800 number provided or online. The card will also act as the Collective member’s identification having the option of a Picture ID, medical id number identifying him/her as a collective member, the collective name, and expiration date of membership,” stated Michael Friedman for Commerce Online.
Commerce Online Inc. (http://www.commerceonlineinc.com/) is positioned to become a market leader in both online and wireless merchant payment solutions. The Company offers a full spectrum of secure and reliable transaction processing solutions using traditional, Internet Point-of-Sale (POS), e-commerce and mobile (wireless) terminals in conjunction with Industry Alliance Partners. The Company’s Alliances provide electronic payment processing suite of services enabling merchants to accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as ATM cards and ACH check drafts for payment whether a retail, service, mail-order or Internet merchant. As an industry leader, Commerce Online is dedicated to delivering comprehensive services, such as merchant account activation, gateway connections, Web development and social network engines to a worldwide client base.
FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of commerce Online Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.
Medical marijuana dispensary begs city to lay off
During what is traditionally a short ceremonial meeting to install Walnut Creek’s newest mayor, supporters of the city’s first medical marijuana dispensary decided to protest the city’s ongoing legal battle against it.
Members of the C3 Collective, working from a storefront on Oakland Boulevard to provide medical marijuana to its members, asked Tuesday night that the city ease up on its efforts to close the dispensary, which opened last summer.
The nonprofit is hit with $500 in zoning violation fines every day it’s open.
“By prosecuting this facility, you are in turn inhibiting and neglecting community growth,” said Brian Hyman, executive director and CEO of C3. “I try and meet your fine requests. It’s not feasible every day.”
Walnut Creek officials say the dispensary’s operation is prohibited because marijuana is illegal under federal law. According to an injunction filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court on Nov. 9, the collective is also in violation of Walnut Creek zoning laws. A dispensary, like a pharmacy, is prohibited where the collective operates.
The city sued the collective in October in an effort to shut down the dispensary; the first hearing in that case is in March. The city filed the injunction hoping to force C3 to close even sooner, but the injunction hearing isn’t until Feb. 25.
Supporters of the collective urged the council Tuesday to hold off the court case and allow patients to go to C3 until the council makes a decision about allowing and regulating dispensaries in Walnut Creek. City staff members are currently studying the issue.
Gary Skrel, who a half-hour later turned over reins as mayor to Sue Rainey, told the group that Tuesday’s meeting was unlike others, more of a celebration for the mayor’s appointment. He asked if they wanted to proceed anyway and speak, and seven chose to.
Bruce Reckel told the council he needs medical marijuana to function.
“The medication I receive there “… allows me to go to functions like this,” he said. “I hope that you would support the collective and support us by ending this lawsuit.”
Scot Candell, attorney for the collective, said Tuesday the city has spent $20,000 to $30,000 on the suit.
“The city is suing the collective. The collective is made up of patients, so basically the city is suing the patients,” Candell said. “I know this is (a) ceremonial (meeting) and everyone will go and have cocktails and everyone will live happily ever after, but hopefully once we start a new session this will be an issue that you can consider.”
Cannabis Science Begins National Television Educational Series Today With Traders Nation Airing National Tomorrow On CNN, ABC, Fox, CBS Marketwatch, And CNBC, Focusing On Educating Viewers On The Ground-Breaking Science of Medical Cannabis
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Cannabis Science Inc. (NASD OTCBB: CBIS), an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company, is pleased to announce today that it has launched an Educational Series of Television commercials designed to inform its viewers about the importance of groundbreaking cannabis-based medicines. The Company is producing 10-15 different public service announcements in the series. Each one will cover a different topic, such as new break-through research developments, and tracking current and future cannabis medicines going through the FDA process. As well, the series will cover the commercialization of medical marijuana through licensed dispensaries, plus patient interviews about cannabis uses and life experiences, government legal issues and legalization progress tracking, as well as interviews with Doctors, patients, law makers and activists.
The educational campaign began today with a Traders Nation interview with Cannabis Science President and CEO, Dr. Robert Melamede on Traders Nation(tm). The initial taped interview aired live today at 12:40 pm ET. (Please click: http://www.tradersnation.com/player/?id=187 to view the rebroadcast of today’s show.) Guests on Traders Nation(tm) have included Steve Forbes, President and CEO of Forbes Inc., Country Music Legend, Willie Nelson, Ken Fisher, best selling book author and many others. Beginning later today, this interview will be made available on the www.cannabisscience.com website for free access to viewers worldwide. The rest of the educational series will also be made available on the website as released.
Trader’s Nation is the largest syndicated smallcap market program running, broadcasting daily 12p-1p ET. The show is syndicated nationwide airing on 42 cable television affiliates. Trader’s Nation is the only financial talk show pre-loaded in Apple’s iTunes software. Its reports are carried on major networks such as CNN, ABC, Fox, CBSMarket Watch, and CNBC. Traders Nation(tm) also retains the largest market share demographically, in 42 national markets, for smallcap talk cable and television. Traders Nation satellite and television schedule (6:00am ET – Morning Show): http://www.pmisyndication.com/programs/2007_2008/amg1130rev.php
Dr. Melamede, retired Chairman of the Biology Department at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, emphasized the wide variety of ailments that are currently being treated with cannabis as medical marijuana. He explained, “Cannabis Science Inc, as its name implies, is using the latest scientific techniques to develop standardized cannabis extracts that can be used in a variety of ways to help patients.” He emphasized that Cannabis Science is a “patient oriented company” that works closely with the medical marijuana movement, observing what people need and what works best for them. He added, “We look forward to working with our producers and creative team to make the Television series and our website CannabisScience.com into the leading source of information on the Science of Medical Cannabis.”
Health Sciences Enters Into LOI With The Healing Center of Montana to Acquire Two Medical Marijuana Licenses
Health Sciences Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HESG) would like to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent with The Healing Center of Montana to purchase two operating licenses for medical marijuana collectives in Park County, Montana and Lake County, Montana. This transaction is contingent with standard due diligence and anticipated to finalize before the end of the year.
The Healing Center of Montana, owned and operated by Mike Smith, is the largest medical marijuana operation in the State of Montana and also has a presence in Colorado. Mike Smith has been in the Montana medical marijuana business since the state went legal.
“We anticipate this transaction to move very quickly, by the end of the month if not sooner. Contracts and agreements are going back and forth between the companies right now,” stated Thomas Gaffney, CEO of Health Sciences Group, Inc.
Gaffney continues, “Health Sciences Group intends on being the first public medical marijuana company to derive actual revenues from medical marijuana operations. Although The Healing Center is non-profit, these two new locations would be for profit under a management agreement.”
Montana, unlike California, allows collectives to be for profit.
Coalition Releases Guidelines for Responsible Regulation of Medical Marijuana Businesse
Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, a coalition of medical marijuana patients, providers and growers supporting responsible regulation of medical marijuana, today released proposed guidelines for regulating medical marijuana dispensary businesses that would protect the commercial enterprises and their patients, and promote public safety.
The coalition’s guidelines support medical marijuana business regulations that set uniform state standards and provide for local control to ensure public input. The guidelines also incorporate best practices within existing regulatory structures and provide state and local governments with adequate taxes and fees.
“Both citizens and lawmakers want reasonable regulations that provide safe, responsible access to and use of medical marijuana,” said Matt Brown, executive director of Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation. “Colorado has a real opportunity to be a model for meaningful medical marijuana regulation — protecting the public and ensuring that dispensary businesses can continue to provide needed services to their patients.”
The Need for Responsible Regulation:
In 2000, Colorado voters passed Amendment 20, a constitutional amendment authorizing the use of medical marijuana by persons who are suffering from debilitating medical conditions. The amendment also creates exemptions to Colorado criminal law for medical marijuana patients and their primary care-givers. One of the areas of Amendment 20 needing further clarity is the role of medical marijuana dispensaries. Legislation to regulate the medical marijuana dispensary industry is expected to be introduced during the 2010 session of the Colorado General Assembly.
Key tenants of reasonable regulation include:
– Working within existing regulatory structures: There is no need to create a whole new regulatory structure; existing statutes and regulations for other businesses provide a starting point for medical marijuana regulations.
– Maintaining crucial medical oversight: Oversight of doctors should stay where it is today — at the Medical Board; standards should be set for future licensed medical marijuana healthcare training; and the state should also have enforcement authority to prevent unauthorized prescriptions.
– Avoiding “one-size-fits-all” regulation: Lawmakers need to accommodate non-commercial, as well as commercial-sized, dispensaries and growers, applying different levels of regulation based on magnitude of operations.
– Generating appropriate taxes and fees: Regulations should authorize sales tax payment at both the state and local levels — as well as impose specific, commercially reasonable fees to offset possible increased costs of government for local law enforcement, health inspectors, etc.
– Setting state standards and preserving local control: Statewide uniformity is a critical component of effective regulation, but Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation understands that local control, including opportunities for public input in zoning and siting processes, is also an important element.
– Ensuring public safety: Guarantee public safety though the non-adjacency of licensed dispensaries and growers to schools and other facilities; and enabling law enforcement officials to maintain focus on illegal activities outside of marijuana with responsible regulations.
A recent poll showed that Colorado voters overwhelmingly favor establishing state-licensed marijuana dispensaries for persons who are suffering from debilitating medical conditions. By a margin of 2-to-1, 64 percent of voters said they would approve proposals that would establish state-licensed marijuana dispensaries to cultivate and provide marijuana to patients with doctors’ recommendations.
“From Iraq veterans, to people with cancer and AIDS, to Crohn’s disease patients, we serve a community of people that benefits greatly from medical marijuana,” said Brown. “We want to ensure that the businesses that offer this legitimate and effective treatment can be contributing, tax-paying, regulated members of the business community.”
South San Francisco seeks extension on medical marijuana dispensary
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — The City Council next week will consider extending a moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.
The newly formed medical marijuana collective Island of Health could still open, however, if the council grants it an exemption.
In late October, council members unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium on issuing permits to dispensaries. It took effect immediately. An extension would add 10 months or so to the ban, said Assistant City Manager Marty Van Duyn.
That would give the council additional time to decide whether to “prohibit the facilities or alternatively provide a lot more restrictions” on their operations, Van Duyn said.
Regulations adopted in 2006 require medical marijuana collectives to be in an industrial zone at least 500 feet away from residences, to treat only qualified patients, to have a list of people available and to meet other conditions.
The regulations were a response to the 1996 state initiative Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana. Under the local and state rules, Island of Health won a permit from the city Planning Commission to operate at 175 Utah Ave.
Scot Candell, a San Rafael-based attorney representing Island of Health, argues that the council should exempt the collective from the moratorium because the permit approval came a few weeks before the ban.
“This collective did everything by the rules and already spent $40,000 on this process,” Candell said. “It doesn’t seem fair that they shouldn’t be able to operate.”
The council is expected to take up Candell’s request Wednesday when it considers an appeal of the commission’s decision. Neighboring businesses filed the appeal, contending that allowing a collective will increase crime in the area, go against federal law and lead to other problems.
Regulations adopted in 2006 require medical marijuana collectives to be in an industrial zone at least 500 feet away from residences, to treat only qualified patients, to have a list of people available and to meet other conditions.
The regulations were a response to the 1996 state initiative Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana. Under the local and state rules, Island of Health won a permit from the city Planning Commission to operate at 175 Utah Ave.
Scot Candell, a San Rafael-based attorney representing Island of Health, argues that the council should exempt the collective from the moratorium because the permit approval came a few weeks before the ban.
“This collective did everything by the rules and already spent $40,000 on this process,” Candell said. “It doesn’t seem fair that they shouldn’t be able to operate.”
The council is expected to take up Candell’s request Wednesday when it considers an appeal of the commission’s decision. Neighboring businesses filed the appeal, contending that allowing a collective will increase crime in the area, go against federal law and lead to other problems.
Richmond stops short of banning medical pot clubs
Richmond will hold off on banning medical pot clubs outright.
But city leaders still want to find a way to regulate dispensaries without exhausting police resources, which should be focused on homicides and more serious violent crimes. They plan to study other cities’ tactics before weighing their options.
“See if there is a way to try to accomplish the goal of getting a convenient way for people to have access to medical marijuana in a way that doesn’t lead to constant drains of police resources,” Councilman Jim Rogers said.
Rogers initially proposed a ban on marijuana sales and closing any illegal operations. Dozens of pot dispensary owners, patrons and health workers objected, saying marijuana helps ease chronic pain and other ailments when prescription pharmaceuticals don’t work or cause side effects. Users would be forced to resort to the black market, they said.
Council members agreed to hold off on a ban. Instead they directed city staff members to study marijuana issues and report back with findings and recommendations.
The 45-day moratorium on new pot clubs that expires Jan. 15 likely will be extended.
Meanwhile, a group campaigning to put a marijuana legalization measure before California voters in November says it has more than the nearly 434,000 signatures needed to qualify.
The proposal would legalize possession of as much as 1 ounce of marijuana for adults 21 and older.
Residents could cultivate marijuana gardens up to 25 square feet.
City and county governments would determine whether to permit and tax marijuana sales within their boundaries.
Medical Marijuana Incorporated Endorses President Obama’s Signing of a Federal Law Removing Restrictions on the Use of Medical Marijuana in the Nation’s Capitol; Medical Marijuana Inc Rolls Out Full Scale Educational Seminars in January 2010
Medical Marijuana, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) endorsed today the unprecedented act of President Obama signing into federal law the removal of restrictions on the use of medical marijuana in the nation’s capitol, which underscores MJNA’s foresight in becoming the first US public company to emerge, providing solutions to this revolutionary growth industry.
On Thursday, December 10th, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending measure which included a measure that provides federal funding for the District of Columbia’s medical marijuana program. This was quickly followed in an unusual Sunday vote of the Senate. Although the District’s citizens had overwhelmingly approved the use of medical marijuana in a referendum in 1998, it had been languishing due to restrictions placed on it by Congress. A House-Senate conference committee agreed to remove a handful of controversial, long-standing riders from the D.C. budget, including language that had effectively banned medical marijuana use (the so-called “Barr Amendment”).
In acknowledgement of this ground breaking enactment and in furtherance of its continuing vision, Medical Marijuana Inc is pleased to announce the Nationwide Launch of its Educational Seminar series beginning Jan 16 & 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets can be acquired via http://MedicalMarijuanaInc.com
Don’t miss our educational seminars with great speakers who are industry leaders and insiders. A wide range of topics will be addressed in a formal but fun and entertaining way. Topics include legalization, decriminalization, compliance solutions, business models, opportunities, medicinal benefits, debunking marijuana myths, simple home gardening techniques, green agricultural technologies and much more.
Applicant can’t sue employer under a medical marijuana law
A job applicant who was not hired after failing a pre-employment drug test allegedly due to her medical use of marijuana could not sue the employer under the Washington State Medical Use of Marijuana Act (MUMA), the Washington Court of Appeals decided. The MUMA provides authorized medical marijuana users “only a defense to criminal prosecution” and does not create employment rights.
For state workplace law developments, visit www.shrm.org/Legallssues/StateandLocalResources.
