Medical marijuana and the law.

Medical marijuana, physicians, and state law.

at their homes or offices and told them they must either give up their DEA registration or sever formal ties with proposed medical-marijuana dispensaries. These encounters were meant to intimidate the physicians and to discourage them from taking an active role in medical-marijuana dispensaries, and they have apparently succeeded. But there are differences between state and federal law, between...

Good cop, bad cop: federal prosecution of state-legalized medical marijuana use after United States v. Lopez.

The Supreme Court's recent decisions in United States v. Lopez and United States v. Morrison articulate a vision of federalism under which Congress's regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause is severely limited in favor of returning traditional areas of state concern, particularly criminal law enforcement, to local or state control. The Court's decisions in these cases coincide with ball...

The Devil Is in the Details! On Regulating Cannabis Use in Canada Based on Public Health Criteria; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

This commentary to the editorial of Hajizadeh argues that the economic, social and health consequences of legalizing cannabis in Canada will depend in large part on the exact stipulations (mainly from the federal government) and on the implementation, regulation and practice of the legalization act (on provincial and municipal levels). A strict regulatory framework is necessary to minimize the ...

Physicians as gatekeepers in the use of medical marijuana.

In recent years, the question to many physicians around the United States has morphed from, “How about some Viagra, doc?” to, “How about some medical marijuana, doc?” California exemplifies the bookends of the medical marijuana/legalization movement. The movement’s major victory was in November of 1996, when Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, was voted into law, creating a process by w...

The Garden State just got greener: New Jersey is the fourteenth state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana.

Ten Years and Growing: Medical Marijuana in Rhode Island - Where Are We Now?

BACKGROUND The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act1 (“Hawkins-Slater”– Rhode Island General Laws 21-28.6-1) became law in 2005. Regulations2 were promulgated initially in July of 2006. The legislative findings3 incorporated in Hawkins-Slater assert that modern medical research recognizes beneficial uses for marijuana, including the treatment of pain, nausea and other de...