ASA in the News

Medical marijuana caregiver, patient enrollment declines in 2013

Paul Marini | January 02, 2014

Carol Hopkins, The Oakland Press The number of Michigan medical marijuana caregivers in 2013 compared to the year before has dropped by nearly half — and people in the medical marijuana community say this is due to intimidation by law...

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Medical marijuana users will pay their own way

Paul Marini | December 30, 2013

Denis J. O'Malley, News Times Connecticut and its more than 1,300 approved patients call it medicine. The U.S. government calls it a drug with a high potential for abuse. Health insurers don't really call marijuana much of anything at all.

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Political action committee launches referendum on marijuana cultivation ordinance

Paul Marini | December 24, 2013

Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News An effort to stop the Board of Supervisors' recently passed marijuana cultivation ordinance is under way, with signature gathering now taking place for a referendum.

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Pot Farms in Strip Malls, Storefront Dispensaries and a New Economy

Paul Marini | December 23, 2013

Zak Stone, Next City Sickness is everywhere in Los Angeles. Many people are looking to heal. Three of them are on the boardwalk in Venice Beach. They’ve taken the bus here from UCLA, where they’re freshmen, and they’ve just emerged...

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California Medical Marijuana Laws: Starting a Grow, Collective and Dispensary

Paul Marini | December 21, 2013

Smell the Truth, San Francisco Chronicle Sufferers of chronic or painful illnesses had something to rejoice about in 1996. After years of debate, California voters passed an initiative known as the Compassionate Use Act, creating criminal defenses against prosecution for...

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Why the NFL Should Embrace Medical Marijuana

Paul Marini | December 20, 2013

Steph Sherer, Huffington Post (Op-Ed) The consequences of injuries sustained by NFL players have gotten more attention lately, in part due to the tragic death of Junior Seau and others who were found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy. That’s started...

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Harvard researchers published a study last week with the opposite findings of this study -- that marijuana use doesn’t cause or lead to schizophrenia.

Paul Marini | December 18, 2013

Katie Rucke, MintPress News Researchers from Northwestern University reported Monday that chronic teenage use of marijuana contributes to changes in a person’s brain structure to resemble that of a person with schizophrenia, often resulting in memory issues.

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The state Liquor Control Board wants to allow home growing for medical-marijuana patients and urges a patient registry in recommendations to lawmakers. Patients call it a start but find problems with proposals.

Paul Marini | December 18, 2013

Bob Young, Seattle Times The state Liquor Control Board recommended that home growing still be allowed for medical-marijuana patients, reversing an earlier proposal that inflamed activists and patients.

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Families claim social workers unfairly snatched their kids

Paul Marini | December 11, 2013

Joshua Emerson Smith, San Diego CityBeat During a telephone conversation with her husband, Wendy Jones heard a loud bang through the receiver right before the call went dead. On her way back from a work trip to Anaheim in early...

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San Jose to take new shot at limiting medical marijuana shops

Paul Marini | December 07, 2013

Mike Rosenberg, San Jose Mercury News Bolstered by new legal authority, San Jose leaders are trying again to impose rules that would sharply shrink the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that have proliferated across the city in recent years as...

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