marijuana

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John Puts Legalizing Marijuana on the 'Greatest Mistakes' List

Singer, sober for 34 years, says it leads to other drugs

(Newser) - Elton John has stopped using marijuana, which he thinks is a good idea for everyone. For one thing, it's addictive, the singer said in a new Time magazine interview . And "it leads to other drugs." He put part of the blame for its use on governments. "...

'Operation RU Pharm' Nabs 7 in Rutgers Bust

7 have been arrested in what authorities say was a social media-run drug ring at New Jersey university

(Newser) - A monthslong probe into drug activity at New Jersey's Rutgers University has resulted in seven arrests, including that of a former student. Per a release from the office of Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, the undercover sting dubbed "Operation RU Pharm" unearthed "a closed and private social...

Florida Rejects Marijuana Legalization Amendment

Measure to legalize recreational marijuana needed 60% support to pass

(Newser) - A majority of Florida voters supported legalizing recreational marijuana in Tuesday's election, but the measure didn't gain enough support to pass. Constitutional amendments in Florida require a 60% majority and Amendment 3 only had around 55% of the vote, the Miami Herald reports. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and...

New Mexico, Pot Grower in Showdown Over Destroyed Crop

NNK Equity says it plans to sue the state, saying it didn't serve due notice about yanking its license

(Newser) - State police destroyed tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana plants at greenhouses in northwestern New Mexico, marking what regulators say is the largest seizure and destruction of cannabis in New Mexico since new possession and cultivation laws took effect in 2021. Authorities announced the operation Monday, saying dozens of...

Trump Says He'll Vote to Legalize Pot in Florida

Stance puts him at odds with state Republican leaders including Ron DeSantis

(Newser) - Donald Trump has confirmed that he plans to vote to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Florida. The Amendment 3 ballot initiative, which would legalize the drug for "non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise," is opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders in the...

Martha's Vineyard Won't Run Out of Pot After All

State lawmakers tweak law at the last minute

(Newser) - As it turns out, Martha's Vineyard won't run out of pot this summer as feared. State lawmakers have decided to allow cannabis products to be transported to the island over the water, reports the New York Times . The move—made under the threat of a lawsuit—resolves a...

Maryland's Governor Is About to Issue a Mass Pot Pardon

About 100K people will receive clemency for misdemeanor pot possession

(Newser) - Good news for many who've been busted with pot in the state of Maryland: Gov. Wes Moore is set to put out a mass pardon on Monday for more than 175,000 marijuana convictions, forgiving low-level possession charges for about 100,000 people. The Washington Post notes the move...

Daily Pot Smokers Now More Common Than Daily Drinkers
Daily Pot Smokers Now
Outnumber Daily Drinkers
NEW STUDY
May 22, 2024 1:20 PM CDT

Daily Pot Smokers Now Outnumber Daily Drinkers

'A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily,' says study author

(Newser) - Daily and near-daily marijuana use is now more common than similar levels of drinking in the US, according to an analysis of national survey data over four decades. Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time that this intensive level of marijuana use overtook high-frequency drinking,...

Workers Are Cheating on Drug Tests Like Never Before
Workers Are Cheating on
Drug Tests Like Never Before
the rundown
May 15, 2024 12:15 PM CDT

Workers Are Cheating on Drug Tests Like Never Before

Quest Diagnostics describes 633% spike in swapped tests in 2023

(Newser) - Most of the millions of drug screens performed in the US each year come back negative. A small but growing fraction, however, come back positive. And a rapidly increasing number show signs of tampering. Indeed, US workers are cheating on drug tests at the highest rate in decades, according to...

US Will Reclassify Marijuana in Historic Shift

It will move to a less serious Schedule III drug, no longer grouped with heroin

(Newser) - The DEA will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The DEA's proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the...

Counterculture Icon John Sinclair Dies
Counterculture Icon
John Sinclair Dies
OBITUARY
Apr 2, 2024 6:57 PM CDT

Counterculture Icon John Sinclair Dies

His pot bust inspired John Lennon song

(Newser) - John Sinclair, a poet, music producer, and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him, has died. He was 82. Sinclair died Tuesday morning at Detroit Receiving Hospital of congestive heart failure...

With New Pot Law on Books, Germans Light Up Their Joints

Germany legalizes small amounts of marijuana for personal use, and aficionados stage a 'smoke-in'

(Newser) - Marijuana campaigners in Germany lit celebratory joints on Monday as the country liberalized rules on cannabis to allow possession of small amounts. The AP reports that the German Cannabis Association, which campaigned for the new law, staged a "smoke-in" at Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate when the law took...

Big Player in American Pot: Chinese Mafias
Big Player in American Pot:
Chinese Mafias
longform
Mar 16, 2024 5:20 PM CDT

Big Player in American Pot: Chinese Mafias

ProPublica investigation looks at how they have begun dominating the illegal market

(Newser) - Even as legal marijuana becomes more common, the market for illegal pot thrives across the US. And as an investigation by ProPublica and the Frontier makes clear, that market is increasingly dominated by organized crime outfits from China. "The mobsters operate in a loose but disciplined confederation overseen from...

'Diet Weed' Is Teens' Latest Kick
Teens Have a New Marijuana
Workaround: 'Diet Weed'
NEW STUDY
Mar 13, 2024 12:00 PM CDT

Teens Have a New Marijuana Workaround: 'Diet Weed'

Researchers say 'appreciable' number of high school seniors are using delta-8, a cannabis compound

(Newser) - In some states, pot hasn't yet been legalized, and even in states where it has been, you have to be 21 to legally consume it. But teens across the US have found a workaround of sorts—a less-potent, more readily available form of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound...

New Orleans Police Chief: 'Rats Are Eating Our Marijuana'

Department to relocate from rodent-infested building lacking air conditioning, elevators

(Newser) - New Orleans' police chief pleaded for a new building to serve as police headquarters on Monday, summing up her case in just two sentences. "The rats are eating our marijuana. They're all high," Anne Kirkpatrick testified during a meeting of the city's criminal justice committee, eliciting...

State's Bong Auction, Meant to Bring In Millions, Netted $2K

California's auction went bust after trying to sell confiscated fixtures

(Newser) - When the state of California raided 10 cannabis businesses that collectively owed $14 million in back taxes, officials had high hopes for the goodies they seized, with plans to put them all up for auction to raise millions. The grand haul after a Feb. 16 sale of various glass bongs...

When It Comes to Pot, a 'Big Concern' About Driving

Figuring out when it's safe to drive after marijuana consumption remains a challenge

(Newser) - Amid increasing marijuana legalization over the past two decades or so, both medicinal and recreational, has come a spike in accompanying car accidents. According to a 2021 study in the American Journal of Public Health , the percentage of car-crash fatalities tied to cannabis was just 9% in 2000; in 2018,...

Joe Montana Really Likes Backing Weed Companies

Retired NFL star has found success investing in the legal marijuana industry

(Newser) - NFL great Joe Montana has found a lucrative way to stretch his retirement savings, and dabbling in legal marijuana probably wasn't the first thing to come to mind for the former 49ers golden-boy quarterback. Nonetheless, SFGate reports that his venture capital firm, Liquid 2 Ventures, made some moves in...

She Stabbed Beau 108 Times, Avoids Jail Time

Bryn Spejcher found to have been suffering from marijuana-induced psychosis

(Newser) - The family of a man fatally stabbed 108 times says a California judge has set a dangerous precedent in ruling that the man's killer will serve no jail time. In December, a jury found Bryn Spejcher guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the May 28, 2018, death of 26-year-old Chad...

Biden Slams 'Failed Approach' to Pot, Clears Path for Pardons

President makes thousands more people eligible to receive pardons for marijuana-related crimes

(Newser) - President Biden is making thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia eligible for pardons, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system....

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