SAM argues that weed is potentially addictive, definitely harmful, and does not really contribute to the disgrace that is our prison system.

Lacey resident Linda Schroeck-Connors keeps passing out.

It has happened at the Ocean County Mall and ShopRiite, resulting in trips to the emergency room. She has lost consciousness many times at home, and has a service dog, Venus, to warn her when an attack is on the way.

"This week alone, I have had five seizures," said Schroeck-Connors in a recent email. "I'm home alone all day and it's a very scary thing."

Schroeck has epilepsy. And recently her doctor had a potential solution to her problem: medicinal marijuana. A bureaucratic snafu kept her from getting an identification card from the New Jersey Medicinal Marijuana Program until Press on Your Side got involved.

An outgoing member of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board says some officials in Gov. Bill Walker's administration, as well as remaining board members, are attempting to delay implementation of the voter-approved commercial cannabis industry.

"There's an underlying agenda to subvert the process, to delay the implementation of a legalized marijuana industry," says Bruce Schulte, who was abruptly removed from the five-member board on Friday by the governor. "It doesn't look like the State of Alaska is really serious about making this happen."

A replacement was not immediately announced.

As homegrown drug operations go, the meth lab is king. Methamphetamine production is known to contaminate houses and spontaneously combust labs, so attempting it requires a scrappy sensibility and serious attention to detail.

A national anti-marijuana group co-founded by former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has raised millions to defeat pot legalization initiatives in California and across the nation.

The anti-cannabis group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, has raised more than $2 million and plans to donate the lion share to defeat California’s Proposition 64, which would legalize recreational pot in the state.

The group joins a growing number of California law enforcement agencies who argue legalizing marijuana would make the state more dangerous, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens told the Orange County Register.

Minnesota may have already legalized medical marijuana but it wasn’t until Monday that pain patients of the state finally had the opportunity to buy it. Even though the Minnesota state legislature legalized the drug for medicinal purposes in 2014, strict laws banned the plant form in favor of pills, oils and vapors.

Massachusetts voters will decide this November on a statewide ballot measure to legalize and regulate the adult use and retail sale of cannabis.

The Secretary of State’s office has confirmed that initiative proponents,The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, submitted a sufficient number of signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Special thanks to the Reddit user who put this together.

Purpose of this post

A lot of people have been asking what they can do to help Gary -- well, here's your answer. Let's make sure ballot access in all 50 States is signed, sealed, and delivered to the Libertarian Party. With national polls putting Gary Johnson in double digits, you can bet that the Republicans and Democrats will be challenging the signatures collected in each State -- so it's imperative that we do everything we can to not only get the necessary amount of signatures to give voters a sane option for president, but rack up as many extra signatures on top of that.

Gavin Newsom is a little tired of being the only state official in California to fully endorse legalizing recreational marijuana.  

Speaking with The Huffington Post at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, the lieutenant governor said it’s time for others to take a stand on the issue, which will appear on California’s ballot this fall. 

“What we’re doing to criminalize the drug is not working,” he said. “And the drug is ubiquitous. Every young person would say it’s easier to get marijuana than it is alcohol.” 

Vote Yes on 4, they say.

Ten state lawmakers have come out endorsing the bid to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, the group pursuing legalization by ballot question, announced the roster of supporters on Thursday: three senators and seven state representatives, all Democrats.

“It’s time to get this over with,” said Belmont Sen. Will Brownsberger, senate chair of the Judiciary Committee, in a statement. “The prohibition approach to the control of marijuana use just has not worked.”