Denver Post, Feb. 07, 2010 - Until a few months ago, J.B. Woods was your standard-issue insurance agent. Auto, home, life. Would you like flood coverage with that? Then, in the middle of 2009, his phone rang: "I need insurance for my medical-marijuana dispensary," the caller said. And since that moment, few of the policies Woods has set up for clients have been standard-issue. Instead, Woods has become the guru of ganja insurance. Property insurance, theft insurance, liability insurance. Woods is now even offering crop insurance, in case a medical-marijuana harvest isn't as bountiful as expected.

Washington Post, Feb. 07, 2010 - District residents are generally supportive of the progressive, activist social agenda being pursued by the D.C. Council, putting their stamp of approval on efforts by government leaders to enact policies while Democrats control Congress. A Washington Post poll conducted last month finds majorities favor same-sex marriage, want medical marijuana to be legalized and support the creation of an elected attorney general. Even when it comes to paying more for grocery bags based on promises that it will help save the environment, nearly half of residents embrace the new city policy.

The Eagle-Tribune, Jan. 31, 2010 - More than a year after Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana possession, New Hampshire lawmakers are thinking about doing the same - -- or even taxing and regulating cannabis. The ailing economy and budgetary crisis are prompting legislators to take a second or, at least, a longer look at House Bill 1652. This proposal would allow adults to possess 1 ounce or less, provide for state regulation, and tax marijuana's wholesale and retail sale. Prime sponsor Rep. Calvin Pratt, R-Goffstown, said he doesn't expect it to become law this year, but if tough economic challenges linger, the bill may be approved in years to come.

Hawaii Tribune Herald, Feb. 03, 2010 - A County Council committee heard from about two dozen people Tuesday night who testified that police are ignoring the voter-passed initiative making adult personal use of marijuana the lowest law-enforcement priority. The committee on Public Safety and Parks and Recreation received and filed a request from Police Commission Chairman Thomas Whittemore to review and rectify what he called ambiguities in the initiative passed into law by almost 58 percent of the island's voters in November 2008. Adam Lehman, one of the authors of the so-called "Peaceful Sky" ordinance, took exception to Whittemore's reference to ambiguities.

Kansas City Star, Feb. 04, 2010 - After all, Kansas was the first to embrace Prohibition, and one of the last to end it. Even today, you can't find full-strength beer on a grocery store shelf. Yet in the same week that state lawmakers voted to make Kansas the first state to outlaw a synthetic form of pot, a Wichita legislator introduced a bill to legalize marijuana with a doctor's prescription. "I just think it's the right thing to do," said Rep. Gail Finney, a Wichita Democrat. Finney has lupus, which she said makes her sympathetic to those with chronic diseases such as Parkinson's, cancer and HIV.

Ongoing efforts to reform marijuana laws in Rhode Island received a huge endorsement today from the state’s largest newspaper. In this editorial, the Providence Journal calls for the decriminalization of marijuana, writing that “[t]he pursuit of nonviolent marijuana users puts enormous strain on the justice system, feeds corruption and wastes taxpayer dollars that could have [...]

Published: Feb 09, 2010 10:34 AM CST

Kansas was the first state to embrace alcohol prohibition, and one of the last to end it. Now, could it become the 15th to pass medical marijuana? Yesterday, Kansas state Representative Gail Finney (D-Wichita) introduced a medical marijuana bill. Finney suffers from lupus, which makes her sympathetic to those with diseases such as cancer and HIV, and [...]

Published: Feb 05, 2010 03:12 PM CST

Yesterday, lawmakers in Colorado unveiled a bill that could severely restrict the progress of medical marijuana in that state. Among other changes, the bill would place an 18-month moratorium on any new dispensaries, force existing establishments to reopen as nonprofit “medical marijuana centers,” and impose severe limitations on who can grow marijuana or work in [...]

Published: Feb 04, 2010 01:22 PM CST

President Obama’s CitizenTube forum concluded today with questions about ending marijuana prohibition receiving the most votes, by far. Yet, an answer to the most popular question was absent from the president’s address, which took place on YouTube this afternoon. Last year, when marijuana reform questions topped the president’s “Open For Questions” forum, the president at least [...]

Published: Feb 01, 2010 02:31 PM CST

President Obama released his budget requests for FY 2011 today, requesting $3.5 million less for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign than he did in FY 2010. The media campaign, which is run by the drug czar’s office, has for years emptied its coffers on absurd anti-marijuana advertisements that veer so far from the truth they’re [...]

Published: Feb 01, 2010 12:13 PM CST

On November 25, 45-year-old Kenneth R. Howe was riding in the passenger seat of a truck that was stopped by police at a sobriety checkpoint in North Andover, Massachusetts. Hours later, he was dead. The cause has been ruled a homicide, from injuries suffered while Howe “struggled with police.” What exactly happened that night is a [...]

Published: Feb 01, 2010 11:01 AM CST

On Wednesday, DEA agents raided Full Spectrum Laboratories, a lab in Denver, Colorado, that tests medical marijuana for dispensaries. Bob Winnicki, president of the lab, said the DEA issued a subpoena requesting that it turn over customer and patient records from the past six months. Winnicki said he wasn’t charged with a crime, but agents [...]

Published: Jan 29, 2010 01:12 PM CST