The Dangerous Consequences of Magical Thinking About Marijuana

A recreational marijuana store in Denver. Photo by Jeffrey Beall via Wikimedia Commons

By Dr. Michael J. Sise and C. Beth Sise, RN

Marijuana has always generated controversy. Demonized and glorified, this smokable and edible herb contains the powerful chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. In the early twentieth century, it was abhorred as “demon weed” and linked to violent behavior. Popular culture since the 1960’s and 1970’s glorified it as a benign and peaceful drug. And now, recreational use has been legalized in some states.

Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where the truth about the use of this drug has been replaced with widespread misconceptions and under-estimation of its dangers. The consequences of this outright magical thinking, especially for our youth, can be very dangerous.

The harmful effects of marijuana use in adolescents are substantial. From significant long-term memory problems and attention deficits to a higher risk of psychiatric illnesses, the impact of this drug is anything but benign. The developing brains of children and adolescents are particularly susceptible to these harmful effects. Recent studies have documented brain structure changes in young marijuana users. Marijuana use is much more likely to result in addiction in adolescents than in adults, and when teens smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, the risk of alcohol addiction increases dramatically. In short, marijuana is a thief that can steal our teens’ health and well-being with both its immediate and long term harmful effects.

There is a worrisome trend for the parents of today’s teens to recall their generation’s use of marijuana as harmless. Not only do those memories fail to include the bad outcomes many of their contemporaries suffered, the marijuana of those days contained relatively low doses of THC compared to today’s much more potent forms. The higher dosage modern teens receive today makes marijuana much more dangerous and the risk of addiction much greater.

Marijuana is available not just for smoking. Baked into cookies or brownies that can provide incredibly high doses of THC, children of younger and younger ages can be exposed to this dangerous drug. It is available online in edible forms that are actually targeted to young users. Additionally, marijuana can be vaped in a waxy form with anonymity. The truth about marijuana use today by our children and teens should quickly disprove any notion that this is not a dangerous drug.

The legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes unfortunately can lead to an overall more tolerant attitude toward its use. The controversial legal permission to use medical marijuana in certain highly supervised areas has been “highjacked” in popular culture to soften attitudes regarding all marijuana use.

Teens quickly adopt this permission in their attitudes toward their own use of marijuana. Coupled with a more powerful form of the drug readily available, the results of rising marijuana use can be extremely harmful.
Surveys of our teens in San Diego County reveal a decreasing perception of harm among 9th and 11th graders. Since 2009, marijuana is the most common drug of choice of those aged 12 to 17 years in county drug treatment programs, and adolescent emergency department visits related to marijuana use are increasing. Death rates due to marijuana related impaired driving and suicide are also rising.

Several deaths have been linked to edible marijuana products in Colorado, including a student who committed suicide after ingesting a marijuana cookie that contained the THC equivalent to six marijuana cigarettes. Additionally, smoking marijuana has all the cancer and heart disease risks of cigarette smoking.

So it’s time to dispel the magical thinking and face the truth about marijuana. San Diego needs to put some common sense into the approach to keeping our teens healthy by acknowledging the dangers of marijuana and working to deter them from using it. This work starts at home with effective education about drugs and alcohol and careful monitoring of our children’s activities and the friends they associate with both online and in person.
It includes keeping our schools drug free and supporting policies to limit access to marijuana in all of its forms to our youth. There are a wide variety of proven and promising strategies we can adopt to limit teen use of drugs and alcohol. We can do this important work if we start by dealing with the truth about marijuana.

Kansas Study Looks At Effects Of Legalizing Medical Marijuana

 

A new study says if Kansas legalized marijuana for broad medical use, marijuana-related car collisions and accidental ingestion hospitalizations likely would increase, but crime and illegal consumption would not.

Credit Dave Ranney / Heartland Health Monitor

By Andy Marso 
If Kansas legalized marijuana for broad medical use, marijuana-related car collisions and accidental ingestion hospitalizations likely would increase but crime and illegal consumption would not.

Those are the findings of a nearly yearlong study of other states that legalized marijuana for medicinal use done by the Kansas Health Institute, a health-policy information and research group based in Topeka, Kansas.

The study did not look at marijuana’s actual health benefits. Senior analyst Tatiana Lin said her team explored that angle but determined there was not enough credible research on it.

“There is some research available for certain conditions, but it’s still inconclusive,” Lin said. “So we felt that the study probably would not be able, at this point, to do in-depth analysis on this issue.”

More than half the states have legalized medical marijuana in some form since California became the first to do so in 1996.

Kansas lawmakers thus far have been strongly resistant, but advocates keep pressing the issue. Some evidence of cracks in the resistance emerged last session.

The Legislature had its first hearings in three years on broad-based medical marijuana legalization. A narrower bill, which legalized only non-intoxicating hemp oil for treating persistent seizures, became the first medical marijuana measure to be approved by a committee and later passed the House by a wide margin. The Senate took no action on it.

The KHI analysis focused on a broad-based marijuana legalization proposal, Senate Bill 9, and its companion, House Bill 2011.

Those bills would legalize multiple forms of marijuana for people who suffer from any of a dozen conditions, including Crohn’s disease, glaucoma and cancer.

Varied outcomes
Lin and fellow analysts Sarah Hartsig, Shawna Chapman and Sheena Smith studied 14 states that passed similar legislation.

They found that states that legalized medical marijuana experienced a slight uptick in hospitalizations for accidental ingestion, mostly in children under age 6. But that outcome was counterbalanced somewhat by fewer hospitalizations for opioid overdoses in those states, possibly because of chronic pain sufferers who manage their symptoms with cannabis rather than prescription painkillers.

The marijuana ingestions were far less deadly than the opioid overdoses, which claim thousands of lives in the United States every year.
The marijuana-related hospitalizations resulted in no deaths, but Hartsig said poison control centers report breathing problems, heart arrhythmia and cognitive effects from marijuana ingestion.

“While death hasn’t been a direct impact so far, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily harmless,” Hartsig said. “There are still some pretty serious things that can happen.”

The analysts recommended that policymakers consider requiring educational outreach about the dangers of edible marijuana products and childproof packaging if they legalize medical marijuana.

The analysts also found that data from other states showed an increase in driving under the influence of marijuana and marijuana-related vehicle collisions following legalization for medical use, especially in states where medical marijuana is distributed through dispensaries rather than grown at home.

In eight of the 13 states for which data was available, marijuana-related traffic fatalities more than doubled after legalization for medicinal use.

But the analysts cautioned that they could not discount the possibility that police officers in states with legal medical marijuana were on heightened lookout for marijuana use and more apt to test for it following a crash.
Rep. Gail Finney, a Democrat from Wichita who has introduced medical marijuana legalization bills in recent years, said that seems like a logical conclusion. She said she also suspects that even in states with legal medical marijuana, alcohol still causes far more motor vehicle accidents.

From 2006 to 2010, an average of 107 alcohol-related auto accident deaths occurred each year in Kansas, or about 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people. The only state the analysts looked at that saw a comparable number of deaths from marijuana-related crashes in the five years following legalization for medical use was Montana. Rates in the other 12 were significantly lower.

Hartsig and Lin said one troubling trend they found in their analysis was that some people who use medical marijuana in other states are not aware it impairs their ability to drive. Their analysis recommends policymakers consider strong labeling requirements and educational campaigns if Kansas decides to legalize medical marijuana.

Finney said the potential health effects raised in the KHI analysis are manageable and she will continue to promote House Bill 2011 next session.

“I still think we need to consider it,” Finney said. “There are some people that are still suffering with chronic diseases, and the only thing that makes them feel better and benefits their body is marijuana.”

Other health effects
The KHI analysts also studied how legalizing medical marijuana would affect crime and overall consumption of marijuana. There was not enough evidence for them to conclude that crime would likely increase or decrease post-legalization.

In some states there was a correlation between the opening of dispensaries and increased crime rates, but dispensaries were generally located in areas that already had higher crime rates.

The evidence studied was inconclusive regarding whether legalizing medical marijuana leads to an increase in illegal consumption.

The analysts saw some potential for increased use by “at-risk” youth, such as those already in drug treatment. But even that increase depended largely on the level of regulation and enforcement in each medical marijuana program.

Lin presented some preliminary analysis to legislators at last session’s medical marijuana hearing, but the full analysis was not complete at the time.

Finney said the analysts likely will get another chance to testify, because “not a week goes by” without someone asking her about the bill.

“I don’t think that issue is going away,” she said. “Like I’ve said over and over again, I think it’s just a matter of time. Kansas will probably be one of the later states, but I think it’s going to happen.”

Why the Feds Are Spending So Much Taxpayer Money to Destroy Pot in a State With Legal Weed

By Gregory Krieg

Marijuana has been legal in the state of Oregon since July 1, when a ballot initiative approved in 2014 cleared the way for residents and tourists to carry and use the drug, keep up to eight ounces in their homes and grow as many as four plants, provided they are hidden from public view.

Smoking on the street or in common spaces is still illegal, and the growth business is tightly regulated. Like with beer and alcohol, industrial-scale production remains the province of licensed businesses.

But even as the marijuana business booms, there remains a significant financial incentive for local police departments willing to dedicate their time and resources to searching out and destroying rogue crops. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration will send more than $750,000 to Oregon law enforcement this year, according to a report by Portland's KGW, to bolster those efforts. The federal government will spend in excess of $18 million this year to pay for similar eradication programs nationwide, KGW reports.

Following the money: In 2014, local law enforcement officers in Oregon pulled up more than 16,000 cultivated plants, at a cost to the federal government of more than $960,000, the Washington Post reported. That works out to nearly $60 per plant, or 15 times the national average of $4.19.

A spokesman for the DEA defended the tactic, telling KGW that the program "has proven effective in dismantling and disrupting drug trafficking organizations, has protected public and tribal lands from illegal marijuana grows and in 2014 was responsible for the removal of almost 5,000 weapons [in all 50 states] from cannabis cultivators."

Source: Elaine Thompson/AP

But as a number of increasingly outspoken critics are quick to note, cartel activity in Oregon has diminished since voters effectively closed the statewide marijuana black market in 2014. According to the KGW report, officers have found progressively fewer illegal grows over the past three years, with the final count for 2014 — 16,067 — down from 27,641 in 2012 and 26,597 in 2013.

Still, most police departments are understandably happy to carry on doing the job. KGW found that officers doing drug patrols in 2014, often through aerial surveillance from expensive rented helicopters, collected an estimated $275,000 in overtime pay.

"Those of us in reform have always seen eradication programs as largely a make-work, overtime program for cops to go pull weeds and spend taxpayer money on helicopters," Russ Belville, executive director of the Portland chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told KGW.

Who profits: Despite opposition from groups like NORML, the raids are generally welcome by groups otherwise supportive of ending marijuana prohibition.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which lobbies for reform in Washington, D.C., is ultimately tied to the interests of this rapidly expanding industry.

In an email to Mic, MPP communications director Mason Tvert allowed that the "funds could probably be used for more pressing matters than marijuana eradication," but stopped short of denouncing the program.

"If they are going to be used on marijuana-related efforts, they must only be used to eliminate cartel activity and illegal operations," Tvert said. "That appears to be their stated intent, which means they're basically assisting a state in replacing an illegal underground market with a regulated legal market."

Source: Ryan Kang/AP

But an increasing number of elected officials and even some reform-minded law enforcement agents have begun to question the efficacy of dedicating such proportionally large sums of taxpayers money to pulling these plants out of the ground.

"When there were huge cartel problems, we needed that money," Jackson County Sheriff Corey Falls, who dissolved his task force earlier this year, told KGW. "But now we don't. I wanted to focus on person crimes."

Police Report A Pot Possession Incident Every 9 Minutes In Canada

By CBC
Police deal with a marijuana possession incident every nine minutes in Canada, according to 2014 figures, but a CBC News analysis found that where you live plays a big role in determining whether you would have faced criminal charges.


Kelowna, B.C., tops the list of 34 Canadian cities for the highest per capita rate of marijuana charges. There were 251 charges per 100,000 population in 2014, far above the Canadian average of 79. The city of St. John's, by contrast, had 11 charges per 100,000.

Stephen Harper announced a tougher attitude on drug possession when he took office, and statistics show marijuana incidents and charges have gone up by about 30 per cent between 2006 and 2014. But local attitudes by law enforcement play a big role in how many charges are laid, according to experts.


"There's no clear and obvious reason for treating people differently," said Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd.


As for Kelowna's numbers, "that means we're working hard," said RCMP Supt. Nick Romanchuk, the officer in charge of policing at Kelowna.

"We are very proactive and tenacious in our enforcement."


He said the RCMP didn't set out to target marijuana specifically, but instead undertook a crackdown on drug crime in general when faced with the highest overall crime rate in Canada in 2012.


"We believe by enforcing the drug laws we're able to knock down other types of crime," Romanchuk said.

After Kelowna, the second highest rate of charges for possession in 2014 per 100,000 population was in Gatineau, Que., with 188, followed by Sherbrooke, Que., at 163, Saskatoon, Sask., at 113, and Brantford, Ont., at 102 — all of them well above the national average of 79.


The data were released by Statistics Canada over the summer and track 34 metropolitan areas with a population of at least 100,000.


At the other end of the scale, after St. John's, the next lowest rates were in the Ontario cities of St. Catharines-Niagara at 17, Kingston at 20, Windsor at 22, and Thunder Bay at 24.


Not highest priority

"Possession of marijuana is probably not the highest on our radar but it is something that we have to enforce," said Supt. Marlene Jesso of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Jesso leads the RNC's joint task force with the RCMP that was set up in 2013 to crack down on drugs and organized crime.


"We're laying charges on possession, but they're probably not the priority," she said. "We have to assess each file and then we'll decide at the time."


"If it's a person that's older, and they're caught with a joint or two, the paperwork alone is not something we would even deal with."


Jesso said she couldn't comment on why the number of charges per 100,000 population was lowest in St. John's.
 

She said the priority for drug enforcement has to be trafficking and organized crime.

"When you look at [police] drug sections across Canada, they're very inundated with drug investigations."

"You can't deal with every —  a charge for every single possession that comes to you because we're just so busy with everything else," Jesso said.


Uneven enforcement

Bill VanderGraaf, a retired Winnipeg police detective, is an activist pressing for legalization and regulation of marijuana.

He said the uneven rate of laying charges across the country is a problem.


"Some police departments are vigorously enforcing them, like the RCMP for example, and others are not.

Others are turning a blind eye or simply disposing of the product and not laying charges," said VanderGraaf.


"We have to have consistency in something we're calling a crime. If there's not going to be consistency across this country then let's not call it a crime anymore. Let's control and regulate it," he said.


Simon Fraser criminologist Neil Boyd agrees.


"Police resources are expensive and scarce, and we're wasting them on this issue. There are more important things for our police force to be doing."


"The overwhelming majority who don't use cannabis should care that their tax dollars are being spent in this way and they should care about the hypocrisy of labelling someone a criminal for an act that really doesn't threaten the social fabric in any fundamental way," Boyd said.


"To treat a person who's using cannabis as a criminal — it's like using a sledgehammer for a flea," said Boyd.

Statistics Canada ranks offences from most to least serious in its crime severity index. Pot possession is the fourth least serious crime in Canada with only a few betting and gaming offences considered less significant.


Ticketing option proposed

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police adopted a resolution in 2013 calling for a change in the law to allow police to ticket people for simple possession of marijuana — 30 grams or less — rather than laying a criminal charge.


In March 2014, Justice Minister Peter MacKay said he asked his department to start working on a proposal for that, although he made it clear neither legalization nor decriminalization of marijuana was being considered.


"I do think that moving to a ticketing system is potentially of benefit," said Pamela McColl, a Vancouver board member of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada (SAMC), formed in 2014.


"I think it has a benefit in that it would be an immediate sanction to a youth. And youth, studies show, respond very well to sanctions that are immediate.  If they think they're going to get in trouble right away, they may be deterred more. And I think that's a good thing," said McColl.


SAMC has stated it is against legalizing marijuana possession but also opposes saddling Canadians with a criminal record for possession of small amounts of marijuana.


"I guess it's just a continuous conversation over whether it should be legalized or not," said Supt. Jesso in St. John's.


"I personally don't want to see it legalized. I think it's opening up a can of worms, for sure."

But she said it's her opinion that police do need the option of ticketing to deal with possession cases.

Marijuana in pro sports: The debate

by Iain MacMillan

Marijuana legalization has been a hot topic for quite some time now, both politically and socially.
As the use of marijuana is becoming more socially accepted in recent years, the legalization or decriminalization of the drug is spreading across North America, and is even a priority of the more than one political platform in the upcoming Canadian federal election.

But what about use inside the rules and regulations of professional sport? When marijuana was illegal, nobody questioned why it was on the list of banned substances for the large majority of professional sports leagues in the western world.

Now that the medicinal uses of weed are legitimized and recognized, does it still belong on that black list of drugs?

This largely debated topic arose again recently in sports headlines as professional mixed martial artist Nick Diaz was given a five year suspension from the sport. The suspension was for the use of marijuana and was handed down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. A five year suspension in MMA is generally a death sentence, but especially for the 32 year old California based athlete.

To be fair, this was Diaz’s third violation of the sports drug policy, but many athletes have tested positive for much worse substances and have faced less than half the punishment that Diaz received. In fact, his last opponent, Anderson Silva, was suspended for only a single year when he tested positive for two separate anabolic steroids.

It should also be noted that Nick Diaz is a licensed medicinal user of the drug under California state law. This brings up the debate, is marijuana a performance enhancing substance? That question is hard to answer as the drug affects people in many varying ways which depend on the amount consumed and the individual’s tolerance level.

Athletes in certain sports, like the growing sport of Jiu-Jitsu, can feel a positive effect while on marijuana during competition. Many competitors find it helps them relax and find their “flow” much more effectively.
The medicinal use of marijuana is another aspect of the discussion. Should it be okay for athletes to use prescribed painkillers like Percocet and Vicodin but then get suspended if they use marijuana for the same purpose?

Future NFL Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre admittedly became addicted to Vicodin for a portion of his career due to the need for painkillers to deal with his injuries he acquired playing football. If marijuana had been an approved substance for use as a painkiller, Favre could have avoided his addiction to Vicodin which required intense rehabilitation.

Both sides of the marijuana argument have legitimate claims, but the view on the use of weed in our culture is beginning to transform with the rise of the new generation.

The outrage which the Diaz suspension caused across the sports world and the rising scientific evidence of the positive medicinal use of marijuana should make professional athletic leagues and commissions review their policies and make necessary changes to keep up with society.

Lawmakers Advance Medical Marijuana Bill

By Eva Moore
Despite objections by police, Baptists and victims’ advocates, a bipartisan group of South Carolina state senators unanimously signed off on a bill that would legalize medical marijuana, advancing it for review by the Senate Medical Affairs Committee.

In his 39 years in law enforcement, said SLED Chief Mark Keel, “I don’t know of any other proposal … that I think has the opportunity to negatively affect the state we live in than this.”

Rather than authorizing medical uses, Keel said, in states that legalize recreational pot, “what has been created is a legitimized form of recreational marijuana.”

“This is not legitimate medicine,” Keel said.

But Sen. Brad Hutto, a Democrat from Orangeburg, suggested Keel was being unhelpful.

“We’re fooling ourselves if we think what we have now, which is absolute prohibition, is working,” Hutto told Keel. “What we’re trying to do is say to people who want to be law-abiding citizens and get treatment for their children … that you don’t have to be a criminal to do that.”

And Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort County Republican who sponsored the bill, repeatedly compared medical marijuana to prescription opiates.

“Any system we have is going to be abused,” Davis said. “The system we have now where doctors prescribe Oxycontin, etc., is abused.”

The bill would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for illnesses including cancer, HIV, glaucoma and many more, or “an injury that significantly interferes with daily activities as documented by the patient’s provider.” It would create a seed-to-sale electronic tracking system and require state licensing of growers, processors and dispensaries.

Nearly half of states allow medical marijuana use. A handful allow the recreational use of marijuana.

“Whether we go in last, or we go in second to last, or we go in with our feet dragging, it’s coming,” said Sen. Ray Cleary, a Republican who chairs the subcommittee.

But the bill’s opponents brought familiar arguments against marijuana.

“Marijuana is a gateway drug which leads users to go on to other drugs which could destroy their life, or even end their life through overdose,” said Mark Hendrick with the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Office of Public Policy.

“Following your logic, should we ban alcohol?” Davis fired back.

And Laura Hudson, director of the South Carolina Crime Victims Council, said she’s reviewed files of children who died because their parents smoked pot.

“You’re not going to hear from the children who die … about how parenting under the influence affects them, because they’re dead,” Hudson told the senators. “When parents use marijuana, they don’t care; most of them sit on the couch and watch TV. They don’t make a good living … They don’t monitor any kind of needs having to do with food, because they’re eating it.”

The diverse panel that advanced the bill included notoriously right-wing Sen. Lee Bright, who found an opportunity to briefly rail against an unrelated topic: the rainbow Doritos that Frito-Lay released in honor of gay pride.

The senators asked law enforcement, DHEC and other state agencies to help them improve the bill in the coming months. It will come before the Senate Medical Affairs Committee when the Legislature returns in January.

No Evidence To Support Cannabis/Schizophrenia Link

A brain and mental health researcher is strongly arguing that there is no link between cannabis use and developing schizophrenia.
Matthew Hill, PhD of the University of Calgary's (Canada) Hotchkiss Brain Institute, writing in Nature, notes that there is no concrete evidence of a connection between cannabis and schizophrenia.

As he points out, the incidence of schizophrenia has not gone up since the 1960s, when marijuana use became popular in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, countries in which a large segment of the population uses cannabis do not have higher schizophrenia rates.
However, Hill concedes that marijuana use might bring on schizophrenia earlier in those who are predisposed to the condition.

One of the first studies to indicate a link between marijuana and schizophrenia came out in 1987 in Sweden. It found Army soldiers who used cannabis were found to have a higher incidence of schizophrenia. However, Hill points out that the study found that high doses of THC, the active ingredient, can cause acute psychosis, which then goes away.

Many have mistakenly believed, he argues, that the psychosis is permanent. And no other studies have come to this conclusion.
A recent Harvard University study also found no association between cannabis use and schizophrenia.

Brain researcher says no studies have ever demonstrated that there is a risk of long-term psychosis with marijuana use.

 

Matthew Hill, of the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute has published a Perspective piece in the journal Nature voicing his concerns about other academics and journalists who suggest that cannabis use causes schizophrenia. He points out that there is little evidence of such a connection and suggests that there is actually evidence that cannabis use does not cause the mental disorder.

Cannabis use has been in the news a lot of late, particularly in the U.S. where some states have made it legal to smoke marijuana—the common name for cannabis. But because it is a hot-button topic, some, particularly those opposed to its use, have taken to looking for reasons to stop the movement—and one of those arguments is that it causes schizophrenia. The problem with that, as Hill notes, is that no one has ever proved it to be true.

US marijuana arrests up for the first time last year despite growing sentiment that pot use is not a crime

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A marijuana plant (AFP Photo/Leon Neal)

by Keith Coffman

Despite an increasing number of Americans who do not view marijuana use as a crime, pot arrests across the United States increased last year for the first time since 2009, proponents of the drug’s legalization said on Monday.

Citing the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report released on Monday, the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project said 700,993 arrests were made for pot-related offenses during 2014, up from 693,058 the year before.

More than 88 percent of the marijuana arrests were for possession, and not for trafficking or other offenses, group spokesman Mason Tvert said in a statement.

“These numbers refute the myth that nobody actually gets arrested for using marijuana,” Tvert said. “It’s hard to imagine why more people were arrested for marijuana possession when fewer people than ever believe it should be a crime.”

A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center this year showed that 53 percent of Americans surveyed said marijuana should be legalized, a rise of 11 percentage points from 2010 to 2013.

While marijuana use remains illegal for any reason under federal law, 23 states allow the use of cannabis products for medical purposes.

Along with the District of Columbia, voters in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have legalized recreational marijuana.

In November, voters in Ohio will decide whether to allow the retail sale of marijuana in that state.

The FBI annual report said violent crime nationwide fell slightly in 2014, continuing a trend seen for at least two decades, but also that some states such as Florida and Montana saw an uptick in offenses.

Tvert said that according to the FBI’s own data, more than 35 percent of murders remain unsolved, while the clearance rate for sexual assaults is less than 40 percent and for robbery and other property crimes under 30 percent.

“As long as we have these silly (marijuana) laws on the books, law enforcement resources will be wasted on enforcing them,” he said.  “It’s time for state officials to step up and end the outdated policy of marijuana prohibition.”

Healthy Options: Medicinal cannabis effective for pain, and more

Stephen Banister, M.D., began practicing medicine 45 years ago — initially providing general medicine and primary care.

When he realized that prescriptions and surgery weren’t helping enough of his patients and that the side effects were making some of them feel even worse, he shifted his focus to holistic, including herbal, medicine.

He was always looking for ways to most effectively treat his patients by the least harm, so with the 1996 passage of Proposition 215 — also known as the Medical Use of Marijuana Initiative and the Compassionate Use Act — he integrated medicinal cannabis into his practice.

Today, Banister is considered a pioneer in the field and is often called upon to educate doctors, lawyers, and patients about the safety and effectiveness of medical marijuana.

In this week’s “Healthy Options,” we share a short interview with Dr. Stephen Banister, whose career has covered primary care, holistic medicine, narcotic pain management, and the use of medicinal cannabis.

How has your practice changed since the passage of Proposition 215?

Initially, all I knew was that cannabis was good for treating nausea, but it turned out that some of my patients were using it for other things, such as pain, sleep, ADD, and ADHD. 

There were no books or valid studies back then, so I began collecting data to confirm the results I was hearing about. The biggest change in my practice was that many of my patients could decrease or eliminate the use of expensive prescription medications that were often causing more harm than good due to the side effects. For instance, if you have chronic, severe pain and you’re on a narcotic, you can typically drop the dosage by about 25 percent or more when you start using cannabis. 

Many people suffer from chronic pain. How effective is cannabis for pain management?

A: The number-one reason people come to me is to find relief from some sort of pain, like migraines or low-back pain. Prior to 1997, I would manage pain with narcotics.

However, the results of a study I conducted of 500 patients who I treated with cannabis showed that pain could be managed effectively in a way that was safer. Regardless of the cause of the pain, on a 0-10 scale, pain was reduced an average of 4.3 points. 

So it was clear that cannabis is a very useful pain medicine.

Now there have been several studies to confirm the use of cannabis for managing pain.

What are some of the other uses for medicinal cannabis?

Because the cannabis plant has so many healing properties, the list is extensive. 

Besides the cannabinoids like THC and CBD having individual properties, there are also terpenes—simple organic molecules that are present in all living organisms that give cannabis and other plants their smell.

Research is showing that many of the terpenes have healing properties. Limonene, for example, increases serotonin and suppresses cancer cells, and myrcene helps sleep. 

In addition to pain, some of the things cannabis is known to treat are arthritis, anxiety, ADD, PTSD, depression, glaucoma, gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, Multiple Sclerosis, nausea, PMS, and certain types of seizures like Dravet’s Syndrome — a hard-to-treat pediatric epilepsy disorder — and some types of autism.

The more we learn about this complex plant, the more treatment options we discover.

Once people obtain a prescription, what is the best way for them to use medical cannabis?  

Although many people smoke cannabis, there are better delivery options — ones that are clean and avoid ingestion of carbon monoxide and other particulates and chemicals.

Vaporizing or heating the dried cannabis and inhaling the vapor is a better option than smoking.

Edibles are an even better method, because they last twice as long as inhalation and so are `ideal for treating chronic pain. 

Topically applying cannabis is relatively new, but it works for many painful conditions like arthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, and low-back pain — and it doesn’t alter your state.

We’re currently seeing an 80 percent positive result using cannabis salves.

If someone wanted to try cannabis for a condition you’ve mentioned, what would they need to do?

They would need to make an appointment with a cannabis doctor who can evaluate their condition, and, if it’s appropriate, write a prescription.

They can then obtain their medicine at a dispensary (the closest ones to our area are in Sacramento).

Or, they can save a lot of money and grow their own medicine. 

People respond differently to various strains, so there is a bit of trial and error that occurs until the dosage and therapeutic effects of the various cannabinoids are understood.

Let's Learn About Medicinal Cannabis

Dennis G. Chappabitty

Tribes are posed with a dilemma - whether the cannabis plant offers Tribes and their members a chance to enter into the Universe of Healing through the Great Spirit’s plants or whether we will keep our “mind set” closed to growing this medicine plant. I strongly urge Tribes and Tribal Peoples to learn about the healing properties of the cannabis plant and not just condemn it.

Throughout “Indian Country” Tribes should be actively involved in the effort to urge the State and Federal legislative processes that are overwhelmingly headed toward the legalization of medicinal and recreational use of the cannabis plant to include Tribes so that they can regulate cannabis like a State without federal interference. Otherwise, the door will slam shut and Tribes will not be able to exercise their own sovereign decisions in the future to walk into this multi-billion dollar industry.

“Big pharma” gets billions of dollars annually by radiating and injecting chemicals produced by their industry into human bodies. Yet, a natural plant, cannabis, is condemned by many Tribes and Tribal Peoples as a bad “gateway” drug. There needs to be health and wellness cannabis workshops in “Indian Country” to alleviate the cannabis “mystery” and lessen the ignorance of our Native Peoples about the properly regulated, beneficial and medicinal uses of the cannabis plant and what it can give to Indian Country.

Further, there is a confusing proliferation of marijuana conferences that propose to give to their attendee’s advice and direction on how to grow the best plants for lawful purposes. I have gone to these marijuana conferences. Their mission is to encourage Tribes to enter into this lucrative industry, if done legally. What will happen when states, like California, pass laws that legalize “recreational use” of the cannabis plant and its psychoactive properties?

Unfortunately, the recent raids by Federal and State Law enforcement on Tribes in California who have taken the lead in entering the marijuana industry complicate and confuse our tribal understanding of this plant even more. It is my firm belief that Tribes must stand together in our “last stand” so we can, on our own, decide if we want to move in the direction that States have chosen – enacting laws to legalize the cultivation and extraction of the essential oil of the marijuana plant for medicinal purposes.

My advice to any Tribe considering what marijuana/hemp conference to attend is to look very closely at the “substance” and expertise offered by the panelist. In other words, who is speaking on those topics and do they have direct experience in the industry? If they are a patient, you can learn how cannabis facilitated healings. Will those speakers help you genuinely navigate this terrifically confusing terrain so we do not lose our Sovereign Right to decide if we want to enter into this industry? You must guide your own path to learn how Cannabis helps the Body, Mind and Spirit.

I think the 2015 National Cannabis Summit, to be held in Denver, CO on October 12-13 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, is a “one of kind” conference. MJ Conference collaborated with Native Americans and they feature a “tribal track” designed to educate tribal attendees on an extensive variety of issues that must be understood if a Tribe decides to enter into this “budding” industry. Representatives of the cannabis and hemp industries will be there to convey their knowledge to tribal attendees.

The 2015 National Cannabis Summit will be the first ever show to actually merge Tribal and Cannabis Communities together on a large scale. Never before have the two communities been able to network, educate, invest, and shake hands with one another in a genuine way as they will at NCS2015. Patients will tell how they have been helped; healers will tell you how they make the medicine that has facilitated the body to heal itself; hear from industry experts in every aspect of the industry.

Do you want to invest? If so, this is the conference for you to find out everything you need to know.
Business between Tribal Communities and the Cannabis Industry is happening. Come to the 2015 National Cannabis Summit to learn the “upside” about all the tools of the trade necessary to be successful and meet the right people in this exiting industry so your Tribe does not miss out.

Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Backs Repealing Imprisonment for Marijuana Us

The parliamentary committee for legal affairs has endorsed a proposal to repeal imprisonment as a punishment for the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

The decision comes three months after the same proposal was also backed by the human rights committee, increasing the chance for the bill to be endorsed by parliament.

Under Georgian law, the possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use, without the intent to sell, is an administrative offense punishable with GEL 500 fine.

Repeated offense carries sanction of either fine, community service or up to one year imprisonment.
Georgia’s justice system differentiates between administrative offenses, which are misdemeanors, and criminal offenses.

The proposal falls short of an original bill, sponsored by former UNM and currently independent lawmaker Goga Khachidze, which called for a full decriminalization of possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana; that implies a complete removal of this clause from the criminal code.

But like the human rights committee three months ago, the legal affairs committee supported keeping the offense in the criminal code on September 29, but it agreed to remove imprisonment from the list of punishments.

In order to be confirmed by parliament, the bill requires the support of a majority of lawmakers who will be present at a session when the bill is put on vote, but no less than 50 MPs.

A group of activists united in a movement that is known as “June 2” has been campaigning for decriminalization of marijuana for last couple of years. Every year on June 2, since 2013, rallies are held in Tbilisi and some other cities of the country with this demand.

How to determine if medical marijuana is beneficial for you

While recreational marijuana is still faced with controversy, the majority of Americans now believe that the drug should be legalized for medical purposes. As a result of the nation’s shifting attitudes on legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses, researchers have led some breakthrough studies to better understand the following health benefits that cannabis has on the body.

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  Lionheart Caregiving has sponsored this content.

STOPPING THE SPREAD OF CANCER CELLS

• Researchers have discovered that the active ingredients in marijuana can stop cancer from spreading.  Since marijuana is linked with anti-inflammatory activities that block cell growth and prevent the growth of blood vessels that supply tumors, the drug has been found effective with cancer in the brain, lungs, prostate, cervix, and even pancreas.
  
  

  CONTROLLING SEIZURES

  • For patients diagnosed with epilepsy and other severe seizure disorders, marijuana has been linked to preventing seizures by regulating relaxation in the body.
    
    

    PAIN RELIEF

    • 

      While it is common knowledge that marijuana is a useful tool for pain management, researchers are now certain that cannabis can be used to reduce inflammation and discomfort for patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis too.
      For example, Tabitha (pictured) was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. After starting a program of physical therapy and medical marijuana, Tabitha is now able to stop relying on pharmaceuticals and begin experiencing a higher quality of life. For Fibromyalgia patients, medical marijuana provides many benefits such as controlling pain, boosting mood, alleviating stress, maintaining an appetite, and improving sleep. Because of these benefits, marijuana makes it possible for Tabitha to stay active and positive and overall improves her quality of life.
      
      

      PROTECTING THE BRAIN FROM TRAUMA

      
      

      • 
        
      • According to research at the University of Nottingham, marijuana is able to effectively protect our brain from the trauma caused by stroke by lessening the area affected by the stroke. In addition to reducing the effects of strokes, marijuana can also decrease the bruising of the brain associated with concussions and activate the brain’s natural healing mechanisms.

      
      

    
    

    REDUCING THE SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMO

    
    

    • For cancer patients going through the awful pain and nausea associated with radiation from chemotherapy, medical marijuana is often prescribed to help reduce the side effects and avoid other additional health complications.

  
  

  
  

  SLOWING THE PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER’S

  
  

  • In a recent study lead by the Scripps Research Institute, researchers discovered that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, is able to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

    
    

    REDUCING ANXIETY FOR IMPROVED MOOD

    
    

    • Based on research conducted at Harvard Medical School, medical professionals believe that marijuana is able to decrease anxiety and act as a sedative to improve the user’s mood. Therefore, medical marijuana is becoming an increasingly popular treatment option for military veterans returning from war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to regulate the system that causes fear.

    
    

    INCREASING TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS FOR HEPATITIS C

    • When patients are diagnosed with hepatitis C, the harsh treatment that follows often leads to extreme fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, depression, and severe muscle aches that last for months. Of those receiving the treatment, 86% of marijuana users were able to successfully complete their therapy treatments with fewer side effects.

    
    

    ELIMINATING INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISORDERS

    
    

    • Patients who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel disorders can reap health benefits from using marijuana too because marijuana use can help regulate bacteria in the gut for improved intestinal functioning.

    
    

    BOOSTING METABOLISM

    
    

    • 
      

      Despite the fact that marijuana smokers often eat more calories from the munchies, researchers in the American Journal of Medicine discovered that people who use marijuana have healthier metabolisms, weigh less than the average person and have a healthier response to sugar.
      
      In addition to the benefits listed, Medical Marijuana has many other uses and can be a helpful tool to assist patients in managing symptoms and relieving pain. Please contact your Medical Marijuana dispensary to attend a doctor’s clinic and learn how you can start the process to obtain your Medical Marijuana card.

    
    

Marysville school board opposes pot-legalization measure

By SEAN V. LEHOSIT 

 

Marysville school board members voted 4-0 Wednesday, Sept. 23, to take an official stance against legalizing marijuana.

Ohio voters are being asked to weigh in on state Issue 3 on the Nov. 3 ballot. The proposal would create a constitutional amendment to legalize medicinal and personal use of marijuana statewide.

Board member Brian Luke abstained from voting on the resolution to oppose Issue 3. He said he has the highest respect for the education efforts being made by the community and schools, and he does not use marijuana or affiliate with any of the lobbying groups.

"I'm not in support of this resolution, but I'd like to explain my position so it's not misconstrued," he said. "The reason I don't support this resolution is I don't think this issue is about children or about education."

Luke said the legislation does not affect policies for drug use in the workplace or regulate drug testing. It is an amendment about marijuana use by adults, he said.

"So for me, I don't want to take a position as a school board member on a political issue that is not about children or education," he said.

Superintendent Diane Mankins said it is an important issue for the community to be educated about, and she urged parents to review the proposal in its entirety prior to casting a vote at the polls.

"Certainly, as a school district, we are concerned with the increased availability to our students and the marketing/packaging of marijuana in a variety of forms," she said.

Board members who supported the resolution said their concerns are shared by the Ohio School Boards Association and other groups, including children's health advocates, law enforcement personnel, addiction counselors and faith leaders who also oppose Issue 3.

If passed, the amendment would allow more than 1,100 retail stores to sell marijuana in the form of cigarettes, liquids, sprays and edibles, including baked goods and candy, school officials said.

Board member Amy Powers cited a report of a college student who consumed a marijuana cookie and became so inebriated he jumped from his dorm room window and died.

"The risk to our youth is products that mimic other products, like they now are putting out 'Pot-Tarts' to mimic Pop-Tarts. They are now also doing candy bars, suckers and gummy bears that look exactly like the real thing," she said.

In other school news:
* Mankins said enrollment numbers for the 2015-16 school year have been finalized. There are now 5,243 students in the district, up 195 from last year.

She also said there are 42 students attending through open enrollment. This is the first year the district has offered open enrollment for students living outside Marysville district boundaries.

"At this point, open enrollment appears to be going well," Mankins said.

* Board members voted 5-0 to recognize and support October as Manufacturing Month.

"The manufacturing industry is essential to Union County," Mankins said.

Approximately 33 percent of all county employment comes from manufacturing, according to the legislation.

One million vehicles are produced in Ohio each year, with one-third assembled at Honda of America Manufacturing Inc.

The month recognizes many of the world-renowned manufacturing companies based in Union County, including the Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., Parker Hannifin, Univenture and Honda of America.

Marijuana Legalization 2015: US Pot Arrests Increased In 2014 With 1 Every 45 Seconds, FBI Data Shows

There were more than 7,000 additional arrests in the U.S. last year for possession of marijuana compared to a year earlier. Pictured: New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton held up a bag of oregano to demonstrate what 25 grams of marijuana looks like at a news conference to announce changes to New York City's marijuana policy, Nov. 10, 2014, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images 

 

By Bruce Wright  

As many U.S. states continue to work to reform and ease legislation governing the use of marijuana, both medicinal and recreational, the federal government's attitude toward legal pot and enforcing laws against the drug's use has apparently intensified. Nearly 701,000 people were arrested in 2014 for marijuana-related offenses, which equals roughly one arrest for pot every 45 seconds, data from the FBI shows, according to Marijuana Majority, a group promoting the reform of marijuana laws.

Those 700,993 marijuana arrests last year were up more than 7,000 from the year before. Nearly 90 percent of all marijuana arrests in 2014 being attributed solely to possession of the drug, though the average amount of weed for those possession charges was immediately unclear.

"It's unacceptable that police still put this many people in handcuffs for something that a growing majority of Americans think should be legal," Tom Angell, Chairman of Marijuana Majority, said in a statement Monday.

"A record number of states are expected to vote on legalizing marijuana next year, so we hope and expect to see these numbers significantly dropping soon. There’s just no good reason that so much police time and taxpayer money is spent punishing people for marijuana when so many murders, rapes and robberies go unsolved."


Seven states are poised to vote in 2016 for legalizing marijuana in their borders by either decriminalizing possession of the drug or by legalizing it. Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and the District of Columbia have all completely legalized recreational use of marijuana.

An increasing number of state law enforcement officials have begun to speak out in favor of legalizing or decriminalizing the drug because the lopsided number of arrests puts an unnecessary strain on local policing efforts. Albuquerque, New Mexico and Toledo, Ohio are but two cities that have recently voted to lower the penalty for possession of the drug to be punishable by a fine instead of potential jail time, and there is a growing movement in states such as Wisconsin and parts of New York to do the same there.

"We don't need to be in the pot business anymore," Albany County District Attorney David Soares said earlier this month in reference to the revenue municipalities generate from marijuana arrests.



Just last week, Massachusetts highest court ruled police cannot legally stop drivers who they suspect could be in possession of marijuana, reported the Boston Globe. While citations can still be issued to people in found to be possessing pot, the move in the Bay State is largely seen as being part of a bigger trend nationally where voters are increasingly insisting on decriminalizing the plant.

Arresting people for possession of marijuana is “not consistent with the Massachusetts constitution, nor is it consistent with the will of the voters who passed decriminalization,” Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts told the Globe.

Survey Sees Increase in Students’ Drinking, Marijuana Use

NDSU students' weekly alcohol use higher than ND average

by Amanda Johnson

GABBY HARTZE | THE SPECTRUM
Students who reported driving a car while intoxicated decreased from 48.8 percent in 2001 to 17.7 percent in 2014.

In a state known nationally for its heavy drinking, the results of North Dakota State’s 2014 NDCORE Alcohol and Drug Survey aren’t too surprising to university officials reviewing the numbers.
The new numbers, though, show some differences.

Since 2001, students using alcohol in the past 30 days have decreased from 81.2 percent to 74.2 percent. Reported underage drinking decreased from 78.6 percent to 67.4 percent in the same timeframe, but the number of drinks consumed weekly increased from 5.37 drinks 14 years ago to 5.71 drinks in 2014.

North Dakota’s average weekly consumption was 4.36 drinks in 2014. The 2012 national average was 4.1 drinks a week.
“It’s an environmental issue,” said Erika Beseler Thompson, student success programs associate director. “We currently live in a state known for drinking.”
Fargo in particular is renowned for its residents identifying as heavy drinkers.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention survey found 38 million Americans drink in excess. Bustle.com reported that Fargo ranked at the top of “drunkest” cities in the US, with 28 percent of residents identifying as heavy drinkers.

“College students don’t live in a bubble,” Thompson said, adding student behaviors are a reflection of the region’s culture.
“This campus is not separate from a broader community,” she said.

“We do see some that again reflected in student behaviors at NDSU, surrounding drinking behaviors,” Nick Redenius, the alcohol and other drug prevention coordinator said of North Dakota’s alcohol use culture.
A small percentage of NDSU classes responded to the survey.

Demographics included 28.8 percent of freshmen, 20.7 percent of sophomores, 29.5 percent of juniors, 18.4 percent of seniors and 2.1 percent of graduate and other students.

Thompson and Redenius said students’ use of alcohol and other drugs can often go deeper.
Redenius said about 700 undergraduate students identify as recovering from alcohol. That number comprises about 8 percent of the NDSU student body, Thompson said.

The Bison Recovery Community, a grant-funded program, is offered as a safe haven by NDSU Counseling, Redenius said, as well as “safe, alcohol-free space” in the events the program holds for its members.
The survey also found an increase in marijuana use of the past 30 days, rising from 8.4 to 14.5 percent from 2012 to 2014.

Despite the increase in alcohol and marijuana use, the survey found decreases in alcohol consumption at private parties, as well as a decrease of students taken advantage of sexually while intoxicated, from 5 percent in 2001 to 1.7 percent in 2014.

Thompson said one impressive decrease was seen in the numbers of students who reported driving a car while under the influence, decreasing from 48.8 percent in 2001 to 17.7 percent in 2014.

Conversely one increase the survey found was underage students obtaining alcohol from consenting parents, from 11.3 percent in 2001 to 35.5 percent last year.

“That was the surprising thing,” Redenius said. “Over a third of students reported that. That’s a lot of parents.”

With the results of this survey, Redenius said his office will look for opportunities to reach out to students for prevention and involvement efforts.

Overall the survey results “didn’t surprise” Redenius and Thompson, he said.
“I don’t think there were any real shockers here,” he said.

Marijuana users must be aware of effects

By Benroy Chan

Marijuana use for recreational purposes has become less stigmatized in recent years. Currently, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, and an increasing amount of people are viewing it as less harmful than it is.

Many information streams uphold marijuana as a drug incapable of producing serious harm, but students shouldn’t accept these evaluations at face value. Although the negative effects of marijuana may not be as severe as those of other drugs, students should still note them.

Individuals use marijuana for the effects of its main ingredient: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), THC goes from the lungs to the bloodstream and overly stimulates certain brain receptors, leading to an induced “high.”

NIDA reports negative health effects from marijuana use, such as increased cough, phlegm and heart rate, but evidence still hasn’t proven the drug to cause cancer.

The physical effects of THC may pale in comparison to legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol, but students shouldn’t use this as a justification. Additionally, smoking marijuana involves the inhalation of carbon monoxide, which interferes with the body’s normal use of oxygen.

Hemoglobin, a protein molecule in red blood cells, carries oxygen to other parts of the body. Carbon monoxide interferes with this process, according to chemistry lecturer Kate Biberdorf.

“This is a big problem because the hemoglobin maintains the bond with the oxygen instead of releasing the oxygen to the desired location,” Biberdorf said.

But marijuana isn’t limited to physical harm.

According to Jessica Wagner, manager of the Health Promotion Research Center, marijuana use may cause a lasting, negative effect on cognitive function — an important tool for a student’s academic success.

“Occasional users experience effects on cognitive functioning, including memory, for up to 48 hours after smoking,” Wagner said. “Habitual users experience ongoing impaired ability to learn new information, which continues for up to several weeks after quitting use.”

Mechanical engineering freshman Robyn Richmond also opposes recreational use of marijuana. Like Wagner, she notes the mental effects.

“I think marijuana lessens your motivation to work hard toward your goals,” Richmond said. “It triggers your reward system by releasing dopamine, so everyday activities seem less appealing and less rewarding [when sober.]”

Marijuana use is definitely present at our school as 19.1 percent of students reported using the drug within the last 30 days. The effects of the drug may not seem as “bad” as others, but this doesn’t automatically make it healthy. Students need to take this into account when deciding whether to use marijuana.

Say Hello to Medical Marijuana's Biggest Threat

Forget restrictive federal laws, minimal access to basic banking services, or even a borderline unfair federal tax system -- this is by far the biggest threat to the medical marijuana industry.

Source: Flickr user Mark.

Although the jury is still out on the benefit and safety profile of medical marijuana, the American public, according to national polls, has practically anointed it a wonder drug.

Medical marijuana finds its legs
It's not hard to understand why consumers -- especially those with potentially chronic or terminal diseases or disorders -- are excited about the idea of expanding marijuana's use for medical purposes. There are a number of clinical studies that have shown some level of positive correlation involving marijuana (or cannabinoids from the cannabis plant) in treating or alleviating symptoms of a patient's disease or disorder.

For example, an abstract study published in The American Journal of Medicine from May 2013 demonstrated that marijuana users had a 16% reduction in fasting insulin levels and a 17% drop in HOMA-IR (a measure of insulin resistance) compared to non-marijuana users. In other words, marijuana could help treat type 2 diabetes.

Medical marijuana's benefits aren't limited to just diabetes, though. It has also demonstrated some level of positive clinical efficacy as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, certain types of epilepsy, and aggressive forms of brain cancer, just to name a few of the more notable indications. It's for this reason why 23 states have pushed through medical marijuana bills to give eligible residents access to the federally illegal drug.

Source: Flickr user Damian Gadal.

The biggest threat facing the medical marijuana industry
Of course, the medical marijuana industry is facing a plethora of hurdles ranging from financial issues to legal issues. For instance, many legal shops have been unable to deduct items on their taxes or set up a deposit account with a bank. Additionally, they face the overhanging federal cloud stating that marijuana is an illegal plant. It's always possible that at some point in the future, the federal government could reinforce the ban on marijuana and put the industry in a crippling bind.

Despite many challenges, these aren't the biggest threats facing the medical marijuana industry. Instead, state legislators only need to look closer at legal states to find the real problem: an enormous black market.

The black market in action
According to a report from The Associated Press, the effects of black market marijuana growers can be seen clear as day in Minnesota, arguably one of the strictest states for medical marijuana with just nine approved qualifying indications. Minnesota began selling medical marijuana legally just two months prior, but according to informal surveys and the statistics, some have already turned to the black market to cut their expenses.

Based on data published by the state of Minnesota, close to one in five of the 491 registered patients in Minnesota's medical marijuana program haven't returned to buy medication after purchasing product in the previous month. To be clear, there are plenty of reasons why this figure could be as high as it is, and a shift to black market marijuana may not account for the entirety of the drop-off.

Source: Flickr user Cannabis Culture.

Still, the data would suggest that black market prices are clearly enticing some medical marijuana patients in Minnesota. For instance, a small vial of marijuana extract runs about double in Minnesota ($130) than what it does in Colorado, a state where medical marijuana has been sold legally for more than a decade and recreational marijuana is also legal.

Furthermore, in an interview with the AP, Patrick McClellan, a resident with muscular dystrophy, noted it costs him $264 a month for the marijuana oil for vaporizer pens. By contrast, McClellan points out that he could get a month's worth of marijuana buds on the black market for about $80 and can then mix it with as much state-approved medicine as he can afford to lower his costs and still get a similar symptom-relieving result. In total, five Minnesota residents told the AP that they've turned to the black market primarily because of cost.

Of course, Star Tribune points out that there are factors specific to Minnesota that are pumping up medical marijuana product costs. For example, leaf products aren't allowed, the range of approved indications is minimal, and oils and pills are the only means of delivery, and they cost more than leaf marijuana.

Stopping black market sales may be impossible
Ultimately, Minnesota's problems highlight how problematic it could be for the medical marijuana industry to overcome the black market.

Source: Flickr user David Shankbone.

The biggest obstacle for the legal marijuana industry when combating black market growers is price. In order for marijuana prices to fall to levels that could be construed as competitive with the black market, marijuana growers have to be able to get a stranglehold on consumer demand, and the consumer market has to expand to substantial levels (not just a few hundred, as in Minnesota) where multiple growers and shops can enter the picture and create a competitive market atmosphere.

What's preventing this from happening? I'd suggest it's a combination of every obstacle mentioned above. Minimal access to basic banking services restricts the ability of legal medical marijuana businesses to expand, or in some cases, even buy their product in bulk in order to get a lower price. Restrictive federal tax laws, which don't afford legal marijuana businesses deductions on their taxes, curb the profitability of legal marijuana businesses, denying many of them the ability to potentially lower their prices.

And finally, constrictive federal (and in some cases state) regulations keep the eligible patient population from expanding to large enough levels where lower prices and increased competition are possible.
Long story short, until medical marijuana is addressed on a federal level and either legalized or decriminalized, it's going to be veritably impossible for legal stores to compete with black market growers.

These black market sales are likely going to continue to eat into the profitability of legal marijuana shops and could be a roadblock the industry struggles to overcome.
In my opinion, you can chalk up the enormous marijuana black market in the U.S. as just another reason your investment money and marijuana stocks simply shouldn't mix.

Boulder to take new look at marijuana regulations

Cowles, industry reps want to align with state law, provide consistency for businesses By Erica Meltzer Medical marijuana is taken from a container at a local retailer earlier this year. (Lewis Geyer)   Representatives of the marijuana industry, supported by Boulder City Councilman Macon Cowles, want the city to reconsider its approach to marijuana regulation and come in line with the rest of the state, but top city officials say the more stringent approach has resulted in a safer city while still allowing businesses to be competitive. Cowles said the city's regulations may have made sense when legal marijuana first exploded in 2009 and the industry included shady actors with criminal records, but the remaining 77 licensed businesses have shown themselves able and willing to follow exacting rules and shouldn't have to live with a "zero tolerance" policy for any rule violation and city staff who have the discretion to revoke a license without an administrative review. "Most people in the industry feel like it isn't working that well," Cowles said. "They feel like they're hanging from a thread that could be cut at any time. Our ordinance says that having a marijuana business is not a property right. It's a privilege. We say there's zero tolerance and no administrative review. That makes someone feel pretty insecure, and that's not fair." But in a memo to City Council, City Manager Jane Brautigam and City Attorney Tom Carr defended the city's regulations, considered by many to be much tougher than those in place at the state level. "The city's regulations reflect distinct policy choices made by council over the years," the memo said. "Council's intent has been to limit diversion to the black market, limit access to youth, limit the impacts on other Boulder businesses and limit the impact on residents. Virtually everything in the city's marijuana code is directed at one of these four policy goals." The memo said the city's more stringent background checks led to the city rejecting businesses licensed by the state that were later closed by federal drug enforcement officers, while the security plan requirements have limited burglaries and robberies. Compliance with ID requirements has been "disappointing," but the requirement for physical separation between medical and recreational businesses has limited access to recreational marijuana for those under 21. The city's zoning and building restrictions have prevented the development of marijuana districts and marijuana superstores and kept marijuana businesses out of mixed-use developments, the memo said. The memo also disputed the allegation that Boulder's marijuana businesses are at a competitive disadvantage. Using revenue estimates derived from sales tax payments, city officials estimated the average marijuana business in Boulder took in almost $700,000 a year, compared to $325,000 in Denver. The Boulder City Council holds a public hearing and first reading Tuesday of an ordinance that makes several changes to the city's marijuana regulations, but not the changes sought by representatives of the city's pot industry. 'I think we can lighten up' The changes proposed by staff would allow the sale of marijuana seeds, prohibit home extraction of THC, allow transportation between cultivation facilities, clarify that the sale of items with logos is allowed and allow businesses to use carbon offsets from any source, not just Xcel's Windsource program. The memo also says the City Council may want to allow for larger square footage than the current limit of 3,000 square feet, reduce advertising restrictions and allow the sale of products besides marijuana, in the manner that liquor stores can sell items like mixers, ice, magazines about alcohol and corkscrews. But Cowles wants to see much larger changes. In an email to Hotline, the City Council's public email system, Cowles proposed eliminating language that refers to "zero tolerance," getting rid of a sunset provision that gives medical businesses until the end of this year to decide if they want to convert to recreational use, bringing inventory reporting requirements in line with state practices, adopting state rules for transport and labeling, adding a provision for administrative review and creating more "formality" in enforcement, including inspection checklists, a schedule of fines and a ranking of violations by seriousness. Cowles said it's natural that city staff would defend the existing regulatory regime, and the first reading is an opportunity to get direction from City Council about the form those regulations should take. "Taking a zero tolerance approach made sense at the start because there were no state regulations in place, and there were some sketchy operators in Boulder," he said. "Those operators have since left. They no longer are in business here. I think we can lighten up in recognition of the fact that we have mostly mom and pop businesses that are well rooted in the community. Shawn Coleman, a lobbyist for the marijuana industry and a Boulder resident, said the staff memo is misleading in many ways. He said the revenue estimates don't take into account the higher cost of doing business in Boulder, which includes higher rents, higher taxes and more expenses to comply with stricter rules. He also said it doesn't reflect a reality in which a few businesses are generating most of the revenue -- $53.8 million in 2014 and a projected $58 million by the end of 2015 — and many others are struggling. Coleman said the difficulty running a marijuana business in Boulder leaves many local businesses at risk of selling to out-of-town investors, the very "Big Dope" the council professes to want to keep out of Boulder. Coleman said the state tracking system for plants goes beyond anything city inspectors can do and makes sure product isn't moving to the black market. At the same time, contradictions between state and city rules sometimes force businesses to choose which rule to violate. The draft ordinance would allow marijuana to be transported between marijuana centers, which Coleman said is a felony. "This is why the city shouldn't be regulating this stuff," Coleman said. "Who is watching this? The state, electronically in real time." Coleman said the regulation meant to limit home extraction is written such that it could ban someone from having marijuana at a barbecue if a propane grill used. Pot market advocate: Many retailers 'cash poor' Another lobbying firm, VS Strategies, described a long list of inconsistencies between state and local law, from different terms used for the same things to overly detailed operating plan requirements to the definition of who can be considered a business manager and who can lock up a business. VS Strategies said the city's rules may violate the due process rights of marijuana business operators. Despite the "zero tolerance" language, most violations result in fines, which Carr said cost businesses less than the liquor license suspensions that liquor stores and restaurants often receive. In a list of marijuana violations provided to council, the offenses ranged from failure to check ID to not having a business manager on-site, from the use of discount cards and illegal signs to failure to make marijuana waste unusable and unrecognizable, from using "unauthorized locking storage" instead of a safe to accepting marijuana without proper transportation documents. Fines ranged from $12,000 to a few hundred dollars. Two businesses had their licenses revoked. In the memo, Carr said that violations that result in fines can receive an administrative hearing, while other violations can be appealed to district court. But Coleman said many businesses are "cash poor" and don't have the ability to easily pay fines, while appeals to district court. Cowles said the licensing staff may handle most violations in an appropriate way, but it's unfair to businesses for them to have unlimited discretion in setting penalties. In the memo, city officials said that if City Council wants to look at broader changes, they would recommend convening an advisory committee made up of industry representatives, health advocates and community members to provide feedback rather than acting quickly.