Salem-News.com Marijuana articles

Radical Acts: The Art of Cheech Marin

Marin's personal collection of Chicano Art documents the cultural perspective of many Mexican-Americans.

(SOLANA BEACH, Calif.) - The thing for a comedy team to be successful, what people don’t realize, is that it involves a great deal of compromise. -Cheech Marin

Creativity is a demanding lover and a loving task master. When Cheech Marin realigned his acting career following a string of successes with films home grown from comedy sketches about dope, among them the career making Cheech and Chong debut, “Up in Smoke,” he stepped away from the relationships and financial successes and into unknown territory.

OMMP Inspectors Targeting Small-Scale Grows With 1-2 Patients

Oregon inspectors are picking random medical growers and giving a one day phone call warning.

(SALEM, Ore.) - To Catch A Grower:
Inspectors for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program are fanning out across the state during the month of August to inspect medical grow sites that claimed a reduction in the number of patients they are growing for to 2 or less sick people.

OMMP is suspicious of these small-time growers because growing for "fewer than three" patients means the farmer is not legally required to use the Cannabis Tracking System. So, if you only have two patients, beware a suit at your door.

Policing Changes after Cannabis Legalization Success Revealed

The study was funded by the National Institute of Justice, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.

(PULLMAN, Wash.) - Washington State University researchers have found that marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington has not hurt police effectiveness. In fact, clearance rates for certain crimes have improved.

Arrest rates for marijuana possession dropped considerably. Following legalization in 2012, they dropped nearly 50 percent in Colorado and more than 50 percent in Washington.

Cannabis Stocks Like TILRAY are Here to Stay

This fact may be more bad news to die-hard prohibitionists

(PORTLAND, Ore./ ICBC) - After decades of global prohibition, cannabis companies are making history as they move forward in our current international patchwork system of various cannabis laws and regulations.

With October 17th coming up quickly in Canada, we’ll see more and more history made as a G7 nation will legalize non-medical cannabis commerce for the first time, likely influencing other nations.

Pacific Northwest Seeing Alarming Increase in Heroin Usage

Seattle and Portland continue to be the most dramatic areas of increase.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Many heroin suffers who participated in an outpatient in Seattle drug treatment program, started off abusing prescription painkillers prescribed as a result of chronic pain or surgery.

Those who came to depend on prescription pain meds and were unable to find them on the streets at an affordable cost saw heroin as a fast-acting solution that was easier and more affordable to obtain.

Oregon Medical Marijuana Updates for Grow Sites, Tracking and SB 1544

Please review and comment on the proposed rules before the deadline.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Notice of proposed permanent rulemaking:

These rules will modify which grow sites are required to use CTS, outline forms of an address to register a medical marijuana grow site, establish the number of immature plants that are below 24" at a registered grow site, and increase the number of patients that a grower may grow for from 4 to 8.

9 Corvallis-area Residents Charged with Perpetrating Credit Card Fraud Funding Marijuana Business

The cannabis industry does not have access to banking, which may have bearing on this case.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - Nine defendants residing in and around Corvallis, Oregon face conspiracy charges related to a credit card “bust-out” fraud scheme and an interstate marijuana distribution operation funded by the fraud.

A credit card “bust-out” is a fraud scheme that begins with perpetrators obtaining credit cards and accumulating large balances.

Merkley Cosponsors Landmark Bill to End Federal Prohibition of Marijuana

Marijuana Justice Act seeks to reverse decades of policy that has disproportionately impacted communities of color, low-income communities

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley has announced his cosponsorship of a landmark bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. Senator Cory Booker's Marijuana Justice Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level.

Merkley has been a leader within in the Senate on several marijuana-related issues, spearheading bipartisan efforts to enable banks to serve legal cannabis businesses so they don’t have to operate in all cash, and to empower VA doctors to advise veterans on marijuana use in medical marijuana states.

Hemp Farming Act of 2018 to Legalize Hemp and Spur New Markets

The bill would remove industrial hemp from the federal government’s schedule of controlled substances.

(SRING HOPE, NC/GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill, The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 which stipulates that hemp will be legalized and removed from the Controlled Substances Act and also makes industrial hemp eligible for crop insurance.

“This Hemp Farming Act sends a clear message to U.S. farmers that they should get started planting as much hemp as they can,” says Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc.

Oregon Cannabis Commission`s First-Ever Product Integrity Meeting April 16

Keep up with changes in Oregon's program with this OMMP News update.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The commission is determining a possible framework for future governance of the Oregon Medical Marijuana program, steps to address research on cannabis, agronomic and horticultural best practices, and medical and pharmacopoeia best practices.

To attend the meeting, go to the Portland State Office Building, Conference Room 1A (on the main floor of the building), 800 NE Oregon Street, Portland, on April 16th at 11:30 a.m.