Oregon State University

This month Oregon State University will begin registration for a new course offered this coming spring: WSE 266 – the study of hemp.

The 3-credit course will examine the historical and political contexts of hemp, as well as growing, and industrial applications.

“It’s an up and coming crop in the United States and we are going to need professionals coming out of academia who are experts in multiple areas,”said Anndrea Hermann, the instructor coordinating the class. Intended to appeal to a wide variety of applicants, ranging from those in food science studies all the way to students of fashion industry, there is no doubt seats will fill up fast.

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Tomorrow at noon, legalization advocates and state lawmakers will hold a press conference in Maine to introduce legislation that would legalize cannabis in the state.

The measure, being referred to as “An Act to Tax and Regulate Marijuana”, would legalize cannabis for adults in a similar fashion to alcohol, and is planned to be based roughly on legalization initiatives that recently passed in Washington and Colorado.

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Colorado’s cannabis task force – set up by Amendment 64 to recommend regulations to the legislature for legal cannabis sales – voted today to approve an amendment that would maintain the legality of out-of-state individuals using and purchasing cannabis. Opponents had hoped for the task force to vote in favor of requiring legal purchasers of cannabis to be state residents.

“Imposing a residency requirement would almost certainly create a black market for recreational marijuana in the state,” stated Colorado Rep. Dan Pabon, who’s a member of the task force.

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On Thursday, New Hampshire’s House Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee heard roughly six hours of public testimony on three cannabis related bills that would either legalize, or decriminalize cannabis in the state. This comes just days after polling released from the University of New Hampshire found 56% of New Hampshire residents support legalizing cannabis like alcohol, and nearly 80% support its legalization for medical purposes.

Among these three was a measure filed by Republican State Rep. Mark Warden, in what he calls the “tomatoes bill”. This measure would remove all state criminal penalties associated with cannabis possession, and would allow people to grow cannabis freely as if it were tomatoes. In what he calls a “purist” approach, this is the measure most likely to garner intense praise from within the cannabis community for its bold approach.

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In the fight to keep medical cannabis legal in Arizona, advocates were recently given a secret weapon.

Melvin McDonald isn’t your stereotypical supporter of medical cannabis. Mormon by faith, a former judge, and a former U.S. Attorney appointed by Ronald Reagan, Melvin reaches a much-needed audience when he speaks out about the need to allow patients safe access to this medicine.

Melvin McDonald.

“I was a leader in the drug wars in the 1980’s….I’d been appointed by President Reagan as the US Attorney. Our number one priority in Arizona was drugs and we battled drugs all the years I was US Attorney”, Melvin told Arizona Family.

Now, he understands that cannabis is medicinal; “Marijuana works with certain kinds of illnesses. I’ve seen it”.

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Recently we reported on legislation that was filed in Washington State, which would allow adults with a cannabis possession misdemeanor to have it removed from their record. The measure, House Bill 1661, is sponsored by a bipartisan assortment of 21 state legislators.

WA State Capitol.

On Wednesday, February 20th, the community will have an opportunity to voice their opinions, and to help put the bill to a full House vote. A public hearing and executive session for the bill will take place starting at 1:30PM, and will be held by the House Committee on Public Safety – a committee chaired by State Rep. Roger Goodman, a friend of cannabis law reform.

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