Study: Medical pot leads to fewer traffic deaths
States with medical-marijuana programs benefit from fewer traffic deaths and fewer purchases of beer, a new study from the University of Colorado Denver and Montana State University reveals.
Researchers pored over 19 years of traffic data from various states—including 13 of the 16 with compassionate-use programs—and several federal agencies to arrive at the startling conclusion. Nationally, traffic deaths dropped 9 percent and beer sales declined by 5 percent as a result of medical marijuana laws.
The authors of the report, believed to be the first of its kind, suggests the decline was the result of drivers ages 20 to 29 using marijuana in place of alcohol. Drivers with alcohol in their system tend to drive faster and take more risks, the study says, while drivers under the influence of pot tend to avoid risks. Moreover, alcohol consumers tend to drink away from home, in bars and restaurants; marijuana users tend to consume the drug at home.
The as-yet unpublished report, titled “Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities and Alcohol Consumption,” also states that legalization of medical cannabis “is associated with increased use among adults, but not among minors.”
“To date, 16 states have passed medical marijuana laws, yet very little is known about their effects,” the report reads. “Our estimates provide strong evidence that marijuana and alcohol are substitutes.”
Case dismissed against MMJ doctor
An Aurora doctor walked out of court a free man after a judge dismissed a criminal case against him for writing medical marijuana prescriptions absent physical exams.
Doctor Manuel Aquino-Villaman had been charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, forgery and attempting to influence a public servant. He was arrested when he wrote a recommendation for marijuana to two undercover officers from the Aurora Police Department.
But Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour ruled the doctor’s actions were permitted under the Colorado constitution and dismissed the charges. It was the second time in a year a Colorado judge tossed out a criminal case against a doctor accused of writing illegal marijuana recommendations, the Denver Post reported.
Colorado voters passed Amendment 20 to the constitution in 2000, establishing medical marijuana freedoms in the Rocky Mountain State.
First licensed Denver dispensaries named
Denver officials have identified the first five licensed “medical marijuana centers” in the city.
Colorado Alternative Medicine, two iVita Wellness stores, Medicine Man and Verde Wellness Center have received all state and city permits to operate, according to news reports. They join 31 other outlets—grow operations, infused-product companies and dispensaries—in Colorado to receive official nods from local and state agencies.
More than 1,500 license applications are pending before the Colorado Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, the state agency that regulates the medicinal cannabis industry. Some 169 applications have been rejected thus far.
THE NATION
East, West Coast govs call for marijuana rescheduling
Representing opposite ends in American politics and geography, the governors of Washington and Rhode Island have petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule II narcotic to allow states to regulate it as a medicine.
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, and her Republican-turned-independent counterpart in Rhode Island, Lincoln Chaffee, have both faced significant political static from the federal government over their states’ medical cannabis program. Last year, Gregoire was virtually threatened by the Justice Department with arrest when lawmakers in her state considered regulating the drug. That and other forms of federal pressure prompted Chaffee to abandon efforts to set up rules for controlling his state’s burgeoning cannabis dispensary industry.
Rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I drug—a classification reserved only for the hardest narcotics, like heroin—to Schedule II would allow states to adequately regulate their programs, the governors argued in their petition. Schedule II narcotics are viewed by federal authorities as holding at least some medicinal value, whereas Schedule I drugs are considered to have no medical benefit at all.
“Patients across Rhode Island and across the United States, many of whom are in tremendous pain, stand to experience some relief,” Chaffee said in a statement to the press.
Wisconsin: The 17th Compassionate State?
Wisconsin residents might find themselves with something else to puff up about besides beer, cheese and football: A bill just introduced in the legislature would—if passed—make the state the 17th star in the union to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana.
Titled the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act after a Wisconsin medical cannabis activist, the bill by Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan would remove state criminal penalties for patients cultivating up to 12 cannabis plants and possessing up to 3 ounces of the drug for medicinal use. A state registry would be set up and qualified patients issued ID cards.
But Badger State citizens might want to hold off on asking their doctors for referrals any time soon: Even Pocan, a longtime medical cannabis proponent, agrees the bill’s chances of clearing the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature are slim to none. But Pocan insists a hearing on the bill, which he’s introduced twice before in recent years, will help lawmakers gauge public support for medical cannabis and soften the ground for future legalization efforts. Some 77 percent of Americans support legalizing pot for medical use, according to a recent survey.
THE WORLD
Toronto City Council moves to investigate vapor lounges
Toronto’s elected leaders may be the last Canadians in the city to know what goes on inside a vapor lounge, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for them to find out.
The Toronto council passed a motion last month directing city officials to investigate “the legality and impact” of local vapor lounges—basically coffee houses where patrons are allowed to vaporize and inhale their favorite vapor-friendly substances. Such establishments have existed in Toronto and other Canadian cities for years, but Toronto’s councilors—as city council members are called there—appear to have suddenly grown alarmed by them.
The council also voted to stop issuing permits to new vapor lounges until its investigation is completed.
Canada has taken a decidedly less tolerant approach to all things cannabis since the ruling Conservative Party made major gains in the country’s House of Commons this year. The party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is spearheading legislation that includes mandatory prison sentences for minor cannabis offenses.
Supporters of Safe Streets and Communities Act say the bill is needed combat crime, while critics point out that crime rates in Canada are at their lowest in nearly 40 years.
