West Virginia MetroNews reported on April 5:
Legislation legalizing medical marijuana is one step closer to becoming law in West Virginia. The Senate Wednesday approved SB 386 by a vote of 28-6.[PDF]
However, the bill includes some technical changes made after the House passed the bill earlier this week. Both chambers have agreed to those "clean ups", which do not affect the substance of the bill. The House is expected to sign off on those details and the bill then goes to Governor Jim Justice.
The bill will make West Virginia the 29th state [sic] allowing the use of marijuana for the treatment of certain kinds of pain and illnesses with approval by a physician. Under the legislation, the marijuana would have to be taken in pill or liquid form. It does not allow for marijuana to be smoked or gown[sic] by the patient.
Governor Justice has said he's not opposed to medical marijuana.
NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws now adds:
West Virginia legislators on Thursday [April 7] approved a significantly amended version of Senate Bill 386, which seeks to establish a state-regulated medical cannabis program. The measure now awaits action from Democrat Gov. Jim Justice, who has previously expressed support for permitting qualified patients access cannabis therapy.
If signed into law, West Virginia will become the 30th state to authorize by statute the physicians-recommended use of cannabis or cannabis-infused products.
Under the amended measure, qualified patients will be permitted to obtain cannabis-infused oils, pills, tinctures, or creams from a limited number of state-authorized dispensaries. Cannabis-based medications will be produced by state-licensed growers and processors. Patients will not be permitted to grow their own cannabis, nor will they be able to legally access or smoke herbal formulations of the plant. Similar restrictive programs are presently in place in Minnesota and New York and are awaiting implementation in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
To participate in the proposed program, both patients and physicians would need to be registered with the state. Government officials are not mandated under the legislation to begin issuing patient identification cards until July 1, 2019.
(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Wednesday April 12 2017, @01:55PM (2 children)
is a non-starter for most privacy oriented folks.
add to the fact that pleasure is verboten, hier. we can't have people ENJOYING themselves. that goes against our southern christian world view. drown yourself with alcohol - good. use a plant that grows naturally, bad!
I'm so glad I live nowhere near the deep south. and I avoid that region like the plague, for lots of reasons.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 3, Touché) by tibman on Wednesday April 12 2017, @03:12PM
West Virginia in the deep south, eh? St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati and Washington DC are exactly as south as WV. Indianapolis and Philadelphia are just at the north tip of WV (if there was a line drawn across the country).
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday April 12 2017, @10:44PM
Prediction: just having the law in place will lead to less arrests of non-registered users.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday April 12 2017, @03:17PM
= The Marijuana monologue from HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver 1 week ago
TL;DV: federal laws in place still make it near impossible to practically enact such a change.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by charon on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:42PM (3 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @08:35PM (2 children)
Next thing you know we'll have violent negros disrupting our community. And the most heinous thing of all, white women under the influence will want to sleep with well endowed negro men. God forbid people enjoy themselves.
(Score: 1) by charon on Wednesday April 12 2017, @09:45PM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @10:16PM
GP's verbiage is very much in line with the claims made while getting the Marihuana[1] Tax Act of 1937 shoved through Congress.
If I have a quibble, it's that, at the time, weed was more associated with Mexicans.
...but definitely dark-skinned guys.
[1] Yup, that's the way it was spelled on the bill.
Dumb fucking Republicans, even way back then.
.
As for your GGP points, there's my suggested dept. line:
from the baby-steps-toward-legal-weed dept.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:55PM (4 children)
Didn't Obama direct that the federal anti weed laws not be enforced in stats that had legalization?
Couldn't Trump undo that with an executive order?
There can be only one cable TV Network: USABCNNBCBSyFy
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday April 12 2017, @09:39PM (3 children)
He doesn't even need that. Attorney General Sessions can direct the DOJ to ramp up enforcement and prosecute dispensaries. Sessions is infamous for being extremely anti-marijuana, so I can only assume that Trump is actually holding him back, but I could be wrong and they could change policy at any time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @10:27PM (2 children)
...in a state where the majority of voters (y'know, the people on the rolls from which they draw jury pools) have decided that weed is useful and not especially harmful.
Good luck getting a conviction from a jury, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III.
Hey, don't you ever get tired of looking like a fool?
...and this in a time when state and local cops are increasingly refusing to be proxies for the feds' prohibition efforts.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday April 13 2017, @01:23PM (1 child)
Juries? We don't need no steenkin' juries. Jeffry Sessions can make use of the current state apparatus:
* secret laws
* secret interpretations of laws
* secret courts
* secret court warrants
* secret court orders
* secret evidence (not available to the defense)
* secret arrests (in the middle of the night)
* secret trials
* secret convictions
* secret prisons (outside the US)
* secret enhanced interrogation techniques
Who needs juries?
There can be only one cable TV Network: USABCNNBCBSyFy
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 13 2017, @06:19PM
Is it any wonder that there are stirrings in California of a "CalExit"?
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]