5 Reasons Washington's Proposed Restrictions on Medical Marijuana Have Patients Worried Paul Marini | March 03, 2014 Jacob Sullum, Reason.com It looks increasingly likely that Washington's legislature will approve new restrictions on medical marijuana by the end of its current session a week from Thursday. The two leading bills both involve mandatory registration of patients, sharp reductions... Read more
State lawmakers are poised to make significant changes to the state’s medical-marijuana system. Advocates and patients have concerns. Paul Marini | March 01, 2014 Bob Young, Seattle Times State lawmakers are poised to make significant changes to Washington’s medical-marijuana system. And the changes likely will come from two bills that have emerged as the vehicles for reconciling the largely unregulated medical system with the... Read more
Berkeley medical marijuana dispensary certified by nonprofit advocacy group Paul Marini | February 23, 2014 Chris Tril, The Daily Californian Americans for Safe Access, a nonprofit cannabis-advocacy group, certified two Bay Area medical marijuana dispensaries Feb. 20 in an effort to encourage standardized cannabis quality. Read more
Just two months after announcing a program to verify the safety and quality of medical marijuana, Americans for Safe Access announced the first two dispensaries to pass the certification process Paul Marini | February 22, 2014 Katie Rucke, MintPress News About two months after the medical marijuana patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access announced that it would launch a program to verify medical marijuana products sold at licensed businesses, the group announced the certification of... Read more
Obama Administration Announces Banking Guidelines for Marijuana Business Paul Marini | February 22, 2014 Phillip Smith, San Diego Free Press The Obama administration Thursday afternoon announced new guidelines that will allow financial institutions to provide services to marijuana businesses in states where it is legal. The guidelines will apply to both medical marijuana and... Read more
New Pot Banking Guidelines Moot in CA? Paul Marini | February 16, 2014 Thadeus Greenson, North Coast Journal Thanks to some recent direction from the Obama administration, banks are now allowed to do business with folks who make their living in the legal marijuana trade. But, maybe not in California. Read more
Many institutions still leery Paul Marini | February 16, 2014 Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times Banks can do business with marijuana sellers in states where use has been legalized either for recreational or medicinal purposes, under a new policy the Obama administration announced Friday. Read more
Feds unveil new guidelines for banks handling marijuana money Paul Marini | February 14, 2014 Staff, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Marijuana is still prohibited under federal law, but that hasn’t stopped 20 states and the District of Columbia from legalizing certain marijuana-related activity. That divide has raised questions over whether businesses should feel safe storing their cash... Read more
18 in Congress Tell Obama to Give Pot a Chance Paul Marini | February 14, 2014 Huffington Post Eighteen members of the United States Congress this week wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I outlaw to a lower level that would allow medical uses. Read more
Obama admin: Banks can do business with marijuana sellers Paul Marini | February 14, 2014 Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times Banks can do business with marijuana sellers in states where use has been legalized either for recreational or medicinal purposes, under a new policy the Obama administration announced Friday. Read more