The opioid overdoses death toll is staggering – reaching 64,070 in 2016 – and at least one estimate suggests opioids could kill a half-million Americans in the next decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control, deaths from “synthetic opioids excluding methadone” more than doubled from 9,945 in Jan. 2016 to 20,145 in Jan. 2017. So-called “natural and semi-synthetic opioids” …
Michigan Gov. Appoints 7 to MMJ Advisory Panel
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed seven members to the state’s Marihuana Advisory Panel, including representatives for law enforcement, physicians, patients, counties, and towns. Snyder is also tasked with appointing another five members to the panel representing cultivators, processors, dispensaries, and safety compliance facilities but according to the governor’s office, those appointments will wait until after the new medical cannabis …
Michigan Localities Taking Steps to Reign in & License MMJ Industry
Michigan’s legislative changes to the state’s medical cannabis program are starting to shape the state’s industry as law enforcement officials in Grand Traverse County have served cease and desist notices to eight county dispensaries, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports. The crackdown comes at the behest of county Prosecutor Bob Cooney, who pointed to provisions of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act …
Maine Border Patrol Will Confiscate Cannabis in Accordance with Federal Law
Maine’s top Border Patrol official said that the agency would continue seizing cannabis products despite the forthcoming voter-approved adult-use legalization program, the Portland Press Herald reports. Chief Daniel Hiebert said the Border Patrol must follow federal, not state, laws. Moreover, Hiebert indicated that Border Patrol applicants could be disqualified from employment consideration due to, not just their own cannabis use, …