Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature approved a bill requiring the state’s Department of Health to recommend by January 1, 2016, whether intractable pain should be added as a condition that qualifies for medical cannabis. The department is currently seeking public input on this question and has created two opportunities to share your thoughts.

First, the department is accepting written comment on including intractable pain. There is currently no deadline for submitting comments. However, potential patients, their caregivers, and supportive health care practitioners should submit their comments soon so they can be taken into consideration early in the process.

Second, the department will be hosting listening sessions around the state to take public testimony on including intractable pain. The first two will be held this week:

Wednesday, August 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Public Library

Thursday, August 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Kandiyohi Health and Human Services building in Willmar, Minnesota

Additional events will be held across the state in September and October. We will let you know when and where they will be closer to the date.

More than 15,000 Americans die each year from prescription opiate overdoses. Patients deserve a safer — and often more effective — alternative. Please check out our talking points and let the department know it’s time to stop leaving intractable pain patients behind.

UPDATE: The Grand Canyon Institute, an independent Arizona-based think tank, has released a report that concludes the proposed initiative to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol in Arizona would likely raise more money for schools than backers of the initiative estimated last month.

According to a press release issued by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol:

According to the Grand Canyon Institute, a “centrist think-thank led by a bipartisan group of former state lawmakers, economists, community leaders, and academicians,” tax revenue from the initiative would initially generate $64 million annually, including $51 million for K-12 education and all-day kindergarten programs. It estimates that by 2019, once the new system is fully rolled out, it would raise $72 million per year, including approximately $58 million for public education.

“The Grand Canyon Institute…finds that the revenue projections were conservative as proponents claimed,” the report reads. “The revenue gains do exceed the $40 million espoused by proponents of the initiative.”

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The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Arizona held a press conference at the State Capitol Wednesday to highlight the fact that the initiative would generate more than $40 million in annual funding for public education in Arizona.

The initiative includes a 15% tax on retail marijuana sales, and 80% of that funding would be allocated to public schools and full-day kindergarten programs.

The campaign conservatively estimates that this tax would generate more than $40 million each year, and it could be an even higher amount than that.

KTVK reports:

azfamily.com 3TV | Phoenix Breaking News, Weather, Sport

In what hopefully becomes a trend in other states, a Colorado court has overturned a marijuana conviction that occurred just after the passage of Amendment 64.

Huffington Post reports:

A state appeals court has overturned the marijuana conviction of a Colorado woman who was sentenced and convicted for marijuana possession just days after voters approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana in the state almost three years ago -- retroactively applying the law to her case. 

Citing a decision in a previous case, the appeals court ruled that convicted criminal defendants should receive “benefit of amendatory legislation which became effective at any time before the conviction became final on appeal,” the opinion, issued last week, reads.

...

"Amendment 64 is doing exactly what it was intended to do," Mason Tvert, communications director for Marijuana Policy Project, said to The Huffington Post. "Colorado voters made it clear that they do not want adults to be punished for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Hopefully this ruling will ensure these convictions get overturned in any similar cases that might be pending. Fortunately, we have taken the steps needed to prevent these possession convictions from occurring to begin with.”

In the states where marijuana is now legal for adults and regulated like alcohol, there have been ongoing efforts to make sure that people arrested after the passage of these laws but before their implementation are protected by the will of the voters. In addition, there is a growing movement to apply these laws retroactively to people who were convicted before the laws passed.

On Wednesday, August 19, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Medical Marijuana Program Board of Physicians will meet to discuss adding complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) to the list of conditions covered under the state’s medical marijuana law.

Complex regional pain syndrome is a chronic pain condition that usually arises following a brain injury or a trauma. The symptoms of CRPS are prolonged or excessive pain and changes in skin color, temperature, and swelling of the affected area. It typically affects arms, legs, hands, and feet and is thought to be caused by damage to, or malfunction of, the peripheral and central nervous systems. Medical marijuana could provide much needed relief to Connecticut patients suffering with CRPS.

Earlier this year, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection added four new conditions to the list of qualifying medical conditions. It agreed with the Board of Physicians to include sickle cell disease, post laminectomy syndrome (“failed back syndrome”), severe psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. If the board recommends including CRPS, it is likely the Department will follow that recommendation. Please join advocates on Wednesday to show your support for CRPS patients.

The meeting is open to the public and will take place at 8:00 a.m. at 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, in Room 126.

It appears that New Hampshire is finally ready to move forward with its process of approving medical marijuana dispensary locations. The good news is that a DHHS spokesman has said “we do have several sites that are fairly well finalized.” However, the law requires that a public hearing be held in each town where dispensaries or cultivation facilities are being planned.

As part of this process, the Department of Health and Human Services is holding public meetings to consider local input. If you live in or near one of these towns, please attend and speak up in favor of allowing the proposed dispensary or cultivation facility to move forward!

Here are the details for each public hearing:

Peterborough: Tuesday, August 18 — 5:00 p.m. at Peterborough Town House, 1 Grove Street

(NOTE: This location has been proposed for a cultivation facility only, not a dispensary. It’s worth pointing out that patients and caregivers who live in or near Peterborough will have to drive all the way to Merrimack or Lebanon to obtain cannabis.)

Lebanon: Wednesday, August 19 — 7:00 p.m. at Lebanon City Hall, 51 North Park Street

Merrimack: Tuesday, August 25 — 7:00 p.m. at Merrimack Town Hall, Matthew Thornton Room, 8 Baboosic Lake Road

[caption id="attachment_9096" align="alignright" width="240"] Gov. Bruce Rauner[/caption]

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has taken an important step on a bill that would help thousands of Illinoisans avoid arrest, jail, and harmful criminal convictions for the possession of a personal amount of marijuana. The governor has used his authority to amend several key provisions of HB 218 and is sending it back to the legislature for another vote.

If you are an Illinois resident, please take a moment to ask your state legislators to vote in support of the amended bill.

Time is incredibly short: The legislature has just a few weeks to vote on the amended bill and is only meeting on a few of those days. The amended bill is not perfect, but it would vastly improve current law. It would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana, including arrest, jail, huge fines, and a damaged criminal record. The bill would impose a fine of up to $200 — instead of the thousands of dollars possible today. Finally, the bill makes critical improvements to current DUI laws, which today can lead to a conviction even when a person hasn’t consumed marijuana for weeks before driving.

If this bill is not approved by the legislature with the governor’s changes, Illinois’ marijuana consumers will continue to face arrest, jail time, and shockingly unequal enforcement of the law.

On Wednesday, Ohio’s secretary of state certified ResponsibleOhio’s proposed constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot this November.

The proposal would legalize marijuana in Ohio, making it the first state to do so without first having a medical marijuana program. It would also be the first state east of the Mississippi to replace marijuana prohibition with regulation.

If approved by the voters, the proposal would:

-- amend the Ohio Constitution to allow marijuana to be taxed, regulated, and sold in stores,
-- allow commercial cannabis to be grown by just 10 farms, with the parcels specified in the measure,
-- allow no more than one marijuana store for every 10,000 Ohioans (about 1,160),
-- allow adults 21 and older to buy and possess up to an ounce of marijuana,
-- allow adults to cultivate up to four flowering plants and possess eight ounces of harvested cannabis if they purchase a $50 license, and
-- establish a medical marijuana program.

Ohioans will be voting on the proposed constitutional amendment on Tuesday, November 3. They will also consider the Ohio Initiated Monopolies measure — Issue 2 — which the legislature placed on the ballot in response to the marijuana initiative. That measure requires two separate votes to enact a measure that establishes a monopoly or oligopoly. It could invalidate the marijuana initiative if both are enacted.

The Denver Campaign for Limited Social Use submitted more than 10,000 signatures Monday in support of a city initiative that would allow the limited social use — but not sale — of marijuana at commercial establishments in areas restricted to adults 21 and older.

4,726 valid signatures of registered city voters are needed to qualify for the November 2015 ballot. The city clerk has 25 days to certify the petition.

Under the proposed measure, businesses that have a license to sell alcohol for onsite consumption would be able to decide whether to allow cannabis consumption on the premises. Businesses that choose to allow only cannabis consumption (without licensed alcohol consumption) would be subject to regulation by the city, including restrictions on location and hours of operation. All commercial establishments that allow adults to use marijuana would be required to comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which means (1) only non-smokable forms of marijuana would be allowed indoors, and (2) smoking marijuana would only be allowed in existing designated smoking areas that are not viewable to the public.

A strong majority (56%) of likely 2015 voters in Denver support the proposed initiative, according to a survey conducted in June by Public Policy Polling. Just 40% are opposed. The full results are available here.

Jeff Mizanskey, a Missouri man who was serving life in prison for non-violent marijuana offenses, was granted parole after public outcry and a Change.org campaign to reduce his sentence.

WDAF reports:

The only man in Missouri serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for non-violent marijuana related
offenses is now getting released from the maximum-security prison in Jefferson City, according to the man’s son.

Jeff Mizanskey was told Monday morning that he has been granted parole, according to his son, Chris. Chris Mizanskey says his dad should be released within 10 to 25 days. He says his dad called him briefly Monday morning to share the news. They planned to talk again Monday night.

Jeff Mizanskey has already served more than 20 years in the prison for repeat marijuana offenses. He is now 62-years old.

On Saturday, The New York Times repeated its editorial support for ending marijuana prohibition, this time calling on Congress and President Obama to be less timid in their support for regulating marijuana.

Even as support for ending marijuana prohibition is building around the country, Congress and the Obama administration remain far too timid about the need for change.

Last year, residents in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia voted to join Colorado and Washington State in making recreational use of marijuana legal. Later this year, residents of Ohio are expected to vote on a ballot measure that would legalize it. Nevadans will vote on a legalization proposal next year. And Californians could vote on several similar measures next year.

Instead of standing by as change sweeps the country, federal lawmakers should be more actively debating and changing the nation’s absurd marijuana policies, policies that have ruined millions of lives and wasted billions of dollars.

You can read the full editorial here.

In July 2014, the paper of record published a series of editorials covering a variety of marijuana policy issues and supporting making marijuana legal for adults and regulating it similarly to alcohol.