House Restricts DEA From Targeting State-Legal Medical Marijuana
In a reflection of the nation-wide growing acceptance of marijuana, a bipartisan collation of House members voted today to restrict the DEA from using funds to prosecute medical marijuana operations that are legal under state law.
The appropriations amendment, proposed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), prohibits the DEA from spending funds to arrest both state-licensed medical marijuana patients and providers, passed with a vote of 219-189.
The House amendment still has to pass a joint conference before going into effect, and it’s rumored that the Senate will have its own appropriations bills for the DEA. Either way, it’s obvious that Americans are speaking loudly enough for our legislators to finally hear.
Mythological High Flyer Returns
The Weed Fairy (AKA Danksy Appleweed) is back! And she’s up to her old tricks. Only this time the dispenser of dank is on the left coast, offering green solace to those suffering from the blues in Seattle.
Taping small amounts of marijuana to flyers with a motivational message, she has left little pinches of feel good in the Capital Hill area of Seattle, WA.
Danksy’s weed deeds started in Brooklyn, NY during the government shutdown when several of her friends faced unpaid furloughs. Keen on “raising spirits” she discretely started placing small pick-me-ups around the city, careful not to alert authorities to what was more than likely going to be viewed as unsavory to the law. Too see evidence of The Weed Fairy sharing the green love, check out her Twitter and Instagram handle @danksyappleweed.
Not a Minor Point
How legalization of marijuana will affect children is a hot topic of debate in those states that are looking to block the passage of bills for both recreational and medical use. Now it is Illinois that is in the limelight regarding cannabis and minors.
Recently, the Illinois House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow minors suffering from epileptic seizures to use cannabidiol (or CBD oil) as a legally obtainable treatment.
However, the bill might not get the final support it needs from the state Senate. The spring session is fast drawing to a close, meaning that time might run out before the bill can be passed.
The fact that parents are trekking to those states that have legal recourse for CBD oil use for anti-seizure medication is an obvious endorsement of the potential and actual capabilities of the oil.
Kentucky Seed Freed
After an unnecessarily long standoff over Italian hemp seed, the Federal Government finally released the confiscated 286lbs of imported hemp seed to the Kentucky Agriculture Department. This means that the experimental hemp pilot project intended to become a cash crop (not get the whole state high) will, well, not go to seed.
CA Closer to Cleaner Green
The Huffington Post is reporting that Bill AB 1894, which we mentioned in an earlier post, recently got closer to clearing and cleaning up California’s legal medical marijuana landscape.
The movement from the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee to a full Assembly vote next week means that the business of medical marijuana would receive statewide regulation—and potentially less scrutiny from the Federal Government.
Family
