<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>It's time, Idaho.</div><div><br></div><div><b><i>LEGALIZE IT! REGULATE IT! TAX IT!</i></b></div><div><br></div><div>Courtesy of today's (November 10, 2016) Spokesman-Review.</div><div><br></div><div>---------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div><div><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 48px; margin: 5px 0px 20px; font-family: 'Chronicle Display A', 'Chronicle Display B', serif; line-height: 1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'dlig' 1; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Medical marijuana victories in Florida, North Dakota, Arkansas, Montana turn the tide</h1></div><div>Tuesday was a banner night for medical marijuana – with ballot initiatives in numerous states widening access to the substance for Americans seeking relief from pain or a treatment for illness.</div><div><br></div><div>Massachusetts and California, where Napster co-founder and cancer philanthropist Sean Parker helped fund a campaign to legalize the drug, were among the states passing new recreational marijuana laws. The tide also turned in Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas – where similar measures were defeated in the past – and in Montana, where measures regarding medical marijuana were passed. Before this week, medical marijuana was legal in a little over half the country or 25 states.</div><div><br></div><div>The wins come as rigorous scientific evidence is mounting that marijuana or its components may have beneficial medical effects. Earlier this year, GW Pharmaceuticals said that clinical trials show a cannabis-derived drug may be able to reduce seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. Physicians are also increasingly looking to marijuana as an alternative to highly addictive opioids that have led to a crisis in overdoses.</div><div><br></div><div>Here’s a closer look at the medical marijuana measures passed Tuesday night:</div><div><br></div><div>Florida: A similar measure was narrowly defeated two years ago. This time, voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly in favor of a full-scale medical marijuana program. The new amendment states that patients with illnesses of the “same kind or class as or comparable to” serious illnesses, such as cancer, HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy would be eligible to access medical marijuana. Some 450,000 residents would qualify, according to the News-Press. The state already had laws on the books that allowed the use of marijuana for the terminally ill and of a cannabis-derived drug for epilepsy.</div><div><br></div><div>North Dakota: According to the Bismark-Tribune, “The measure will allow people to possess up to 3 ounces of medical marijuana for treatment of up to nearly a dozen medical conditions. Facilities for medical marijuana distribution will be licensed by the state Health Department and operated by nonprofit organizations.”</div><div><br></div><div>Montana: The Independent Record reported that the measure means that “providers of the drug will not be limited to the number of patients they can serve:”</div><div><br></div><div>“The previous restriction imposed a limit of three, which was sharply opposed by patients and providers in the program. Most medical marijuana patients were left without a registered provider under the restrictions. Since they went into effect, patients have left the program. More than a third of patients registered in September left over the next month – 7,785 remained in October, according to the state health department.</div><div><br></div><div>Arkansas: The measure allows people who have any of 18 qualifying conditions – such as cancer, glaucoma, Tourette’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease and hepatitis C – to access dispensaries. According to the Associated Press and KTHV, ”some political leaders said they preferred that Arkansas legislators instead allow a version of the drug that is low in THC, which gives marijuana its high.“</div></div><div><br></div><div>---------------------------------<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares"</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div></div></body></html>