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Do not be surprised if legal cigarettes made from ganja (cannabis) hit the streets soon. Major producers like Carreras are probing that and other cannabis possibilities, as increasing competition from illegally imported cigarettes continues to burn deeper into the profits of the legal trade. It is no secret that British American Tobacco (BAT), the parent company of Carrerras, has, like other major US tobacco dealers including Phillip Morris, been looking at the cannabis market and the possibility of producing mild cigarettes restricted by the legal content of the main cannabinoids — cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), although only THC is...

This is a question we batted around back in June, in that case applying to workers in the private sector. If you live in a state where marijuana has been legalized, either for medical or recreational use, can your employer fire you for failing a drug test even if you were only using marijuana in off work hours? It turns out the answer is generally yes, though it’s a bit complicated.Today the same issue arises for public sector workers. Government Executive examines the question of whether or not federal workers should legally be allowed to fire up a joint after...

Di Blasio’s an elected official whose wife is all for legalizing marijuana. Prime Minister Trudeau is an elected official who is nationalizing the drug in all of Canada on October 17 Though mainstream media attention was riveted on New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pricey plane ride getting him back to New York from Quebec, mid-holiday for the street renaming for NYPD Detective Miosotis Familia on the $3 million NYPD counterterrorism plane on Thursday, and though there are no media reports of his having met privately with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was discussion of legalized marijuana the lure for...

OTTAWA, February 13, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — A pro-family group has blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bill legalizing recreational cannabis as “monstrous” and a “devastating attack” on society and families, and is urging Canadians to lobby the Senate to reject the legislation. Most egregiously, Bill C-45 or the Cannabis Bill, poses significant risks for children, REAL Women of Canada vice president Gwen Landolt said in a critique posted on the group’s website. The Liberal bill allows children over age 11 to “freely possess, use, and even share marijuana up to five grams [10 joints] at a time,” she pointed out. “There...

So itÂ’s been a Very emotional and long two days. I didnÂ’t want to ruin anybody elseÂ’s Christmas so I waited until after the Holiday. I got a text at 5:50 pm on Christmas Eve from Eastlake Police asking me to call dispatch. IÂ’m thinking there is a family that needs a Christmas under the tree that they just found. I call dispatch and ask for the Det who texted me. Dispatch tells me heÂ’s on a call and will call me back. I let the dispatcher know that IÂ’m not local, but can meet the Det on my way...

Starting Jan. 1, anyone 21 and older will be able to legally buy marijuana in California with just an ID. However, only shops with both local permits and state licenses to sell recreational cannabis will be able to open their doors to customers who don’t have doctor’s recommendations for medical marijuana. The Bureau of Cannabis Control on Dec. 14 started issuing temporary licenses for recreational marijuana sales. Here’s a map of every shop that’s so far sanctioned to sell cannabis to adults on New Year’s Day. The map will be updated frequently, with new state licenses issued each day.

I know this proposal will be met with strong opposition, but it is my firm belief that the 108-year old 'War on Drugs' needs to come to an end. It has turned into a decades-long war on millions of our young people. It would be replaced with FDA-supervised quality control systems for supplies of comparatively safe recreational drug forms, probably reducing the number of overdose deaths by over 98% (~50,000/year -> ~1,000/year). Manufacturers, distributors, retailers and customers would have to get DEA licenses. There would be three forms of customer DEA licenses: casual user, habitual cocaine user and habitual opiate...

President Trump's declaration that opioid abuse is a public health emergency is sparking debate about addiction. Tragically, myths and misinformation are blocking the path to preventing more deaths. Start with the causes of the opioid crisis. On "Face the Nation," New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, chair of Trump's opioid commission, blamed overprescribing doctors. "This crisis started not on a street corner somewhere. This crisis started in the doctor's offices and hospitals of America." That's untrue, Governor. It contradicts scientific evidence and lets drug abusers off the hook. At least three-quarters of opioid pill abusers and almost all heroin addicts got...

A bill filed this week allowing the use, sale and growth of marijuana in St. Louis aims to reduce disproportionate penalties for existing violations and free up time and resources for police to focus on crimes with victims. The bill, sponsored by Alderwoman Megan Green, 15th Ward, would make it unlawful for the city to enforce any laws that permit “the civil or criminal punishment for the use or possession of marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia against any individual or entity,” except under certain circumstances.

Federal and state data show that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes in Colorado who tested positive for marijuana has more than doubled since 2013. A Denver Post analysis of the data and coroner reports provides the most comprehensive look yet into whether roads in the state have become more dangerous since the drug's legalization. It shows that Increasingly potent levels of marijuana were found in positive-testing drivers who died in crashes in Front Range counties. The trends coincide with the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado. However, Colorado transportation and public safety officials say the rising number...

Cannabis is joining the ranks of the financial, advertising, real estate and alcohol industries with the formation of its first self-regulatory organization. The National Association of Cannabis Businesses (NACB) launched Thursday with a powerhouse leadership team and an ambitious plan: Develop and enforce national standards that will increase compliance and transparency, spur growth, and shape future federal regulations. The NACB’s slogan is “Be ready,” in anticipation of federal legalization of cannabis. The cannabis industry is on a historic growth trajectory even as its businesses operate in a fractured regulatory environment and in the face of uncertain federal policy, NACB president...

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said Wednesday that his agents are not actively trying to deport illegal immigrant Dreamers, but pleaded with Congress to pass a bill granting them a more permanent legal status, saying only lawmakers can solve the problem. Mr. Kelly declined to take a position on whether the 2012 amnesty President Obama created for Dreamers is legal, but said the program, known in government circles as DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is still in effect. He said “illegals” who have been properly approved for DACA will be safe from deportation, but said those who...

town into homeless magnet By Joseph J. Kolb Published May 17, 2017 Fox News NOW PLAYING New poll shows shift on marijuana legalization From his sidewalk vantage point in front of an outdoor equipment store in downtown Durango, Colo., Matthew Marinseck has seen a transformation in this mountain resort town. The picturesque town near the New Mexico border, once a vibrant, upscale community dotted with luxury hotels, is being overrun by panhandlers – thanks, in part, to the legalization of marijuana. The town suddenly became a haven for recreational pot users, drawing in transients, panhandlers and a large number of...

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, after meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week in Washington, says that he doesn’t believe a federal crackdown on legal marijuana is on the way, adding that Sessions called the Obama administration’s guidance on marijuana “not too far from good policy.” “The meeting was very productive, and overall it was very good,” Jacque Montgomery, press secretary for the Democratic governor, told HuffPost. Montgomery said that Sessions spent about an hour with Hickenlooper, and they discussed the state’s successful marijuana regulation, its collection of data on usage, what the state has learned since the first legal...

Though his fate will hang in the balance on Election Day, Corvain Cooper won’t get to cast a ballot. The 37-year-old will be in a cell in central California’s Atwater federal prison, where he’s serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for convictions involving marijuana. “I was placed in a federal prison at its highest level, with felons who all committed acts of violence,” the Los Angeles native said in a series of monitored emails sent from prison. “Yet they all have release dates.” Soon, Cooper could too. Though most of the attention surrounding Proposition 64 centers on...

A medical marijuana legalization bill has been sent to Ohio Gov. John Kasich in an effort by state lawmakers to offset support for a proposed fall ballot measure. The measure cleared the Ohio Senate by just three votes, and the House followed by OKing Senate changes 67-28. The proposal, which Kasich has not committed to signing, would bar patients from smoking marijuana or growing it at home, but it would allow its use in vapor form for certain chronic health conditions. It garnered both support and opposition among Republicans and Democrats. Supporters recalled emotional testimony from chronic pain sufferers and...

Senator Cruz and Rubio will argue a lot about amnesty in the next few days. I guess that standing against amnesty has become the new flag that every GOP candidate wants to carry. Yet, who is actually calling for amnesty? Or something like what President Reagan did in 1986? Have they changed the definition of the word amnesty? According to the dictionary, amnesty is "the act of an authority (as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals." Who is pardoning any group or letting people stay here without consequences? The GOP should be for...

Republican presidential candidate Texas Senator Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said he would seek out and deport all the illegal immigrants in the US and that both fellow candidates Donald Trump and Florida Senator Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)“would allow those 12 million people to become US citizens” on Monday’s “The O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel. Cruz began by stating [relevant remarks begin around 2:30] that the law should be enforced, and illegal immigrants in the US should be deported. When asked if he would “go look for them” Cruz responded, “Bill, of course you would. That’s what ICE exists...

The Gang of Eight comprehensive immigration reform bill passed the Senate after a series of votes in June 2013. Democrats, who controlled the Senate at the time, unanimously supported the bill, while most Republicans opposed it. The four Republicans on the gang - Marco Rubio, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Jeff Flake - of course voted for it, and also agreed with Democrats on a plan to kill almost all GOP amendments. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid allowed just a handful of amendments to reach the Senate floor. One, from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, would have prohibited the legalization of...

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