The relationship between the U.S. military and weed seemed to diminish completely with the prohibition of marijuana in America. But this all changed during the Vietnam War. The United States Armed Forces and cannabis have had an adversarial relationship since the two met more than a century ago. Still, even with current zero-tolerance rules within the military, there are some strides being made to make cannabis accessible on a medical level to those who have previously served. While the military is intolerant towards weed, cannabis has popped up through the cracks on more than one occasion in times of conflict. From medical use for horses and soldiers to reports that nearly half the armed forces were getting high in Vietnam, weed has found its way into times of war on more than one occasion. The earliest links to the U.S. military and cannabis can be found in the published manual for army horses called “The Army Horse in Accident and Disease.” There was, in fact, a time that the United States military openly supported the use of cannabis as a medicine for horses.

420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 03/03/2022 19:00:00

Open article: https://420intel.com/articles/2022/03/04/how-cannabis-has-been-used-times-war

The Board of Aldermen decided Tuesday to opt out of the cultivation, processing, and sale or distribution of medical cannabis, saying it’s too early to opt-in. City leaders expressed a desire to see how other municipalities deal with the program before taking part. City leaders in Ridgeland are also opting out. Their decision Tuesday means there won’t be any facilities for growing or selling in the Jackson suburb for now.A provision in the recently passed medical marijuana legislation allows counties and municipalities to opt out within three months of when the bill was signed into law on February 2. Residents can petition for an election to overrule those decisions if they choose. Even if a city remains opted out, residents with prescriptions would still be able to purchase and use medical cannabis. They would just have to purchase it in a city that opts in.

Mmp News Author, Medical Marijuana Program Connection, 03/03/2022 05:09:00

Open article: https://mmpconnect.com/two-cities-opt-out-of-mississippi-medical-marijuana-program/

The fundamental problem with the marijuana legalization efforts moving forward state by state in the United States today is that the federal government has not ended the federal prohibition on marijuana. This situation has been recently criticized by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who said this past June, “Once comprehensive, the Federal Government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and forbids local use of marijuana. This contradictory and unstable state of affairs strains basic principles of federalism and conceals traps for the unwary.” Both Missouri and Oklahoma have fallen into such traps, albeit for different reasons.  In Oklahoma, a citizen’s ballot initiative passed the nation’s most free-market medical marijuana program—but because of the lack of regulation and enforcement in the program, criminal gangs and cartels have come to Oklahoma, growing marijuana in nominally licensed operations and then shipping product out of state, primarily to the East Coast. This year in Oklahoma, we estimate a staggering four million pounds of marijuana will be grown—far more than the market demand from Oklahoma citizens. In Missouri (and dozens of other states) a medical marijuana ballot initiative campaign funded by special interests put significant licensing restrictions in the Missouri Constitution—leading to immense public controversy, the appearance of corruption in the licensing process and legislative investigations, and hundreds of lawsuits when over 1,800 applications were arbitrarily denied. In 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation put out a national bulletin warning of public corruption and bribery in states where licenses were restricted in this manner—and dozens of federal investigations into public corruption and bribery have indicated this situation is a persistent threat to the very legitimacy of our state governments. Now, in 2022, adult-use (sometimes called recreational) marijuana campaigns are moving forward with ballot initiative campaigns in both states, and because these campaigns are not willing or capable of engaging all stakeholders on this issue and putting the interests of our citizens first, we are faced with the hard truth of Justice Thomas’s statement.

Marijuana Moment, Marijuana Moment, 03/03/2022 09:20:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/missouri-and-oklahoma-gop-lawmakers-say-states-must-legalize-marijuana-the-right-way-op-ed/

A strong majority of Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll. And that includes a majority of Republican voters who now say cannabis prohibition should end, even as GOP leaders have proactively blocked the reform in the legislature. The survey from Marquette Law School that was released on Wednesday found that support for cannabis reform continues to grow in the state, with 61 percent of voters saying they favor legalization, compared to 31 percent who oppose the policy change. But one of the most notable findings from the poll is that support for adult-use legalization among Republican voters has officially reached majority status, with 51 percent of those who identify as GOP backing the reform. That’s an eight percentage point increase since the university conducted the first survey in 2013. Democrats were the most supportive of legalization at 75 percent, followed by independents who back the policy change at 60 percent. “Support for legalization of marijuana has grown in each partisan group since 2013, with a slim majority of Republicans now supporting legalization,” Marquette Law School said in a press release. Overall, support for legalization has grown demonstrably since voters were first polled on the issue in 2013. That year, 50 percent of voters said they favor cannabis reform, versus 45 percent who said it should remain illegal. The latest poll involved interviews with 802 registered Wisconsin voters from February 22-27, with a +/-3.8 percentage point margin of error. Despite the rising, bipartisan embrace for legalization in Wisconsin, the GOP-controlled legislature has yet to meet the moment, consistently blocking reform from advancing as the Democratic governor and lawmakers from his party have pushed for it. But there are signs of movement, including among Republican lawmakers.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 03/02/2022 15:26:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/strong-majority-of-wisconsin-voters-including-republicans-back-marijuana-legalization-new-poll-finds/