I’m sorta glad that I delayed posting anything sooner about new research showing long-term cannabis use in youth can be linked to psychosis later in life. This well-written article arrives courtesy of L.A. Times Health and Science Editor Tami Dennis; careful reading is recommended.
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Early, and then continued, use of marijuana does seem to be associated [...]

Medical marijuana is a promising treatment for some specific pain-related medical conditions, researchers from the University of California’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research reported Wednesday in this Contra Costa Times story.
State-funded studies conducted over the past decade have found marijuana effective by itself or in combination with other drugs for conditions such as nerve pain [...]

From the stately Fresno Bee comes this dry but detailed story explaining how “drug recognition experts” — a.k.a. cops who attend the CHP’s training course — are used to determine whether a driver is impaired by marijuana or other drugs. The apparent news hook was a Fresno County sheriff’s deputy who got popped for a [...]

Monterey County sheriff’s deputies today reported seizing more than 300 marijuana plants from an indoor growing operation at a house in Prunedale.
The discovery was made Tuesday after deputies said they learned about the operation at a Chester Drive home and a search warrant was issued.
It is the third indoor marijuana operation discovered in Prunedale in [...]

Border agents seized more than 5,000 pounds of illegal narcotics in a 24-hour period along the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego County, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.
The largest seizure was at the Otay Mesa cargo facility Thursday night at about 6:15, the San Diego Crime Examiner reports. An Ensenada man, 46, drove in [...]

Proponents of the marijuana legalization ballot measure said they submitted far more than enough petition signatures Thursday to get it on November’s ballot, and said they hoped to raise and spend about $10 million to get it passed.
Proponent Richard Lee, the president of Oaksterdam University and owner of several related “canna-businesses” in Oakland, said the [...]

As reported here by Reuters Health, women who smoke marijuana during pregnancy may impair their baby’s growth and development in the womb, a new study suggests.
Poor fetal growth and reduced head circumference at birth are linked to an increased risk of problems with thinking, memory and behavior in childhood. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is known [...]

A proposal to legalize and tax marijuana in California was approved by a key committee of the Assembly this morning, over the dire warnings of police chiefs and prosecutors, the Los Angeles Times reports here.
The Public Safety Committee voted 4-3 to approve AB 390 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), who said the bill would [...]

The Sacramento Bee offers this guest opinion column touting the merits of AB 390, which is being heard today by an Assembly committee. Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML); his column appeared Sunday in the Opinion section.
A thoughtful companion piece dubbed “The Conversation” [...]

This Sacramento Bee story is a shining example of why I got into journalism in the first place. According to Bee reporter Kim Minugh, the girlfriend actually tried this twice before being arrested.
Don’t try this at home, kids.
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It shouldn’t come as a surprise that jail staff members open mail sent to and from inmates — [...]