Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) of Oregon, crowned “Congress’s top legal pot advocate,” by Rolling Stone, found an unlikely ally for his latest marijuana-related bill: Rep. Andy Harris (R) of Maryland. The conservative Republican introduced a provision that effectively blocked D.C. from loosening its pot laws, launching him to the center of the controversy about marijuana legalization as pot’s most vocal opponent.

Bill Would Also Let D.C. Legalize Marijuana Sales

A key Congressional panel just voted to increase marijuana businesses’ ability to access banks.

Out of fear of violating current money laundering and drug laws, many banks are reluctant to do business with marijuana providers. As a result, most marijuana dispensaries operate on a cash-only basis, making them targets for robberies.

U.S. senators took a deep dive into issues surrounding the legalization of marijuana on Wednesday as part of a hearing on America’s demand for illegal drugs and alternative approaches to drug control.

Although one of the nation’s leading drug policy reform activists was in the room to testify, it was a lawmaker who delivered the session’s first criticisms of the failure of prohibition.

“Like [alcohol]prohibition fueled the gangs back then, what were doing right now is fueling drug cartels, which is the reason we have an unsecured border,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

I recently did a TEDx talk on the development of “Big Marijuana.” The overall theme of this particular TED session was the “Potential in Polarity,” and/or the “Best of Both Worlds.” Given these two themes, my talk focused on whether state-legal marijuana is helping to create “Big Marijuana.” My talk was released on YouTube last week and you can view it here. But for those of you who don’t want to spend 18 minutes watching my presentation, this post summarizes my talk.

On April 17, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass medical marijuana legislation, which will take effect this month. And recently Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a plan to permit medical marijuana in the state.

Cannabis 101 tells us there are three basic types of strains: Sativa, Indica, and hybrid. Sativa strains give an uplifting head high, Indica strains produce a more relaxed effect on the body, and hybrids are a mixture of the two. However, without proper research, it’s really a guessing game of what strain is the correct one to use to treat your specific condition. 

The new Releaf app has users record how they are feeling during a smoking session to learn which strains people are using to make themselves feel better.

Security cameras and barbed wire suggested this was the right place -- the old warehouse on a dead-end street not far from the White House that hosts one of the handful of legal marijuana farms in the US capital.

"We're going to do the visit with a panic button... in case of a break-in," Matt Lawson-Baker, the co-owner of Alternative Solutions, told AFP.

Alternative Solutions is one of seven facilities in Washington authorized to grow medical marijuana for nearly 3,700 local patients.

WASHINGTON: Security cameras and barbed wire suggested this was the right place -- the old warehouse on a dead-end street not far from the White House that hosts one of the handful of legal marijuana farms in the US capital.

"We're going to do the visit with a panic button... in case of a break-in," Matt Lawson-Baker, the co-owner of Alternative Solutions, told AFP.

Alternative Solutions is one of seven facilities in Washington authorized to grow medical marijuana for nearly 3,700 local patients.

David Umeh's rented SUV yanked to a halt in front of the glass-and-steel facade of CityCenterDC, glitzy home to Gucci and Dior and Hermes and the next customer of the marijuana revolution.

A young woman slid out the passenger side and strode up to a man still dressed in the sharp gray suit of a Washington DC nine-to-fiver waiting outside the centre's tony apartment building. He grinned as she handed him a bottle of apple juice with lemon and mint, for which he had shelled out upwards of $US55 ($A72). "Fresh-pressed," she told him, sticking to the script that Umeh had taught her.

With the sounds of reggae and rap blaring from the concert stage and groups of people lounging in the grass, Saturday's scene at RFK's Lot 6 could have been any outdoor music festival, with one glaring exception—the line for beer was practically nonexistent.

The lack of swarming crowds around the alcohol offerings was the biggest hint that attendees were at the first-ever National Cannabis Festival, which promised a celebration of the progress on marijuana legalization amidst the musical stylings of headliner De La Soul, as well as the Backyard Band, Congo Sanchez, and more.