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... "I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful," Nelson, 86, said. Nelson had to postpone the tail end of his tour in August due to breathing issues. He resumed the tour the next month. "I started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever," Nelson told KSAT. "And that almost killed me." Now, he says, he's more conscientious about his health. "I don't smoke anymore -- take better care of myself."

It’s like Michael Jordan retiring from the NBA. It’s like Donald Trump quitting Twitter. It’s like Lindsay Lohan forsaking drama. Willie Nelson has quit weed. The country icon — whose smoking habit was rivaled only by Snoop Dogg‘s — told KSAT TV, “I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful.”

When the most popular medical marijuana dispensary in Chicago begins selling recreational pot on New Year’s Day, it will operate like a busy restaurant. Dispensary 33 plans to take names from those in line and page customers by phone when they can get in. The North Side cannabis shop will take that unusual step due to the huge crowds expected when weed sales become legal under state law at 6 a.m. Jan. 1, 2020. The celebration will be similar to the unofficial pot holiday of April 20, or 4/20, when a Dispensary 33 street fest and special deals this year...

Evanston aldermen on Monday approved directing all sales tax revenue collected from recreational marijuana purchases to a fund that will establish a local reparations program. Officials say the program will help the city’s black population stay in Evanston while also providing training for jobs and other benefits. “We can implement funding to directly invest in black Evanston,” said Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, 5th Ward, who proposed the reparations bill. While Evanston officials have voted to permit, tax and appropriate money from recreational marijuana sales, many other suburbs have voted not to allow recreational marijuana dispensaries to open when the businesses...

An Illinois town has approved a measure to fund a local reparations program with proceeds from the purchase of recreational marijuana. On Monday, Evanston aldermen voted 8-1 in favor of the proposal aimed at what officials believe will improve help the city’s black community. Local leaders eye marijuana dispensaries as an attractive source of revenue to reverse what they call the ongoing impact of institutional racist and persisting effects of slavery, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The fund will be capped at $10 million, according to city of Evanston staff reports. City estimates project the marijuana tax could generate $500,000...

NEW ORLEANS -- Self-reported monthly or more frequent marijuana use had a significant association with tinnitus, according to a retrospective analysis of a national database. Marijuana users were almost 20 times more likely to report having tinnitus within the past month as compared with nonusers. An extensive multivariable analysis confirmed marijuana use at least once a month as an independent predictor of tinnitus, as reported here at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation meeting. "The findings do not suggest marijuana alleviates tinnitus," said Z. Jason Qian, MD, of Stanford University in California. "In fact, the findings suggest...

The House Judiciary Committee passed a landmark bill Wednesday to federally decriminalize marijuana by removing it as a Schedule 1 drug of the Controlled Substances Act and to pave the way for the expungement of marijuana convictions from criminal records. The bill, known by its acronym the MORE Act, passed 24 to 10 and will now be forwarded on to the full House for consideration. […] The bill, if enacted, will give the Attorney General 180 days to remove marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug and federal districts a year to expunge prior federal cannabis offenses. It also includes a...

This is an excerpt for discussion purposes, see article for full story. More and more Americans are reporting near-constant cannabis use, as legalization forges ahead. The proliferation of retail boutiques in California did not really bother him, Evan told me, but the billboards did. Advertisements for delivery, advertisements promoting the substance for relaxation, for fun, for health. “Shop. It’s legal.” “Hello marijuana, goodbye hangover.” “It’s not a trigger,” he told me. “But it is in your face.” When we spoke, he had been sober for a hard-fought seven weeks: seven weeks of sleepless nights, intermittent nausea, irritability, trouble focusing, and...

California is increasing business tax rates on legal marijuana, a move that stunned struggling companies that have been pleading with the state to do just the opposite. Hefty marijuana taxes that can approach 50 percent in some communities have been blamed for pushing shoppers into California’s tax-free illegal market, which is thriving. Industry analysts estimate that $3 are spent in the illegal market for every $1 in the legal one. The California Cannabis Industry Association said in a statement that its members are “stunned and outraged.” The group said the higher taxes that will take effect Jan. 1 will make...

Hefty marijuana taxes that can approach 50 percent in some communities have been blamed for pushing shoppers into California’s tax-free illegal market, which is thriving. Industry analysts estimate that $3 are spent in the illegal market for every $1 in the legal one. The group said the higher taxes that will take effect Jan. 1 will make it even worse for a legal industry struggling under the weight of heavy regulation and fees, local bans on pot sales and growing and a booming underground marketplace. Josh Drayton of the cannabis association predicted that an eighth-ounce purchase of marijuana buds, typically...

Twelve people from Mexico were arrested in an investigation across three Butte County properties involved in a marijuana operation ran by members of a Mexican drug trafficking organization, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden Says He Won't Push to Legalize Marijuana, Says It May Be 'Gateway Drug' Joe Biden raised eyebrows over the weekend when he said he won’t look to legalize marijuana nationwide if elected president because it may be a “gateway drug” that first requires more research.The Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president claimed during a Las Vegas town hall there hasn’t been enough evidence to show whether or not marijuana is a “gateway drug” — a term used to describe habit drugs that lead users to harder illegal substances, like heroin or cocaine. Research by...

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJMN) — Michigan marijuana businesses now have a date when legal sales of recreational marijuana will start. According to The Michigan Regulatory Agency, recreational marijuana businesses can begin selling their products on Dec. 1. However, some businesses may not be ready by then. “As for us, we have gotten in our recreational license, however, it does not mean we’ll be ready on the first we’re still waiting to hear back from LARA, so when they process our paperwork we’ll know more, ” says Logan Stauber, owner of The Fire Station Provisioning Center. The Michigan Regulatory Agency says...

Two-thirds of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, reflecting a steady increase over the past decade, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The share of U.S. adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% today. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (91%) say marijuana should be legal either for medical and recreational use (59%) or that it should be legal just for medical use (32%). Fewer than one-in-ten (8%) prefer to keep marijuana illegal in all circumstances, according to the survey, conducted Sept. 3 to 15 on Pew Research Center’s...

Neil Young wants to become a US citizen and vote in the 2020 presidential election. But the Canadian singer-songwriter says his citizenship application is being held up because he uses marijuana. "When I recently applied for American citizenship, I passed the test. It was a conversation where I was asked many questions. I answered them truthfully and passed," Young said in a statement on his Neil Young Archives website. "Recently however, I have been told that I must do another test, due to my use of marijuana and how some people who smoke it have exhibited a problem."

He said he found three bags of weed in his cup after drinking the beverage. "Well, I was high and panicking and at work, so I called my dad,"...Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Bob Bromage said an investigation is ongoing.

The investigators searched 11 different fields...after obtaining a search warrant,...They swept through 459 acres of land...The plants were grown under the appearance of a legitimate hemp operation, the sheriff’s office said. Samples of the plants were tested to determine their level of THC...The levels tested “well above” the legal 0.3 percent limit for industrial hemp production,...

On a warm evening in September, guests gathered on the terrace of a roughly $9.5 million contemporary mansion on the market in the Hollywood Hills for an elaborate seven-course meal. In lieu of a wine-pairing for each course, they opted for a different kind of accompaniment—seven flavors of cannabis vape. The flavors of pot included Grandaddy Purple, a sweet, grape- and berry-tinged strain with a floral smell; Pineapple Express, a potent, tropical strain with supposed energy-boosting effects; and Wedding Cake Profile, which blends the flavors of cherry pie and Girl Scout Cookies.

* Content at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mexico-cannabis-full-legalisation-war-drugs-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador-a9158186.html?fbclid=IwAR03OU1eNQPMgHdaq1_RffEQYuQ3q_fBJOotOZIoflDlkkfKWfMLzhb1O4Y Cannot be posted to Free Republic. *

Dustin Schoenhofer, metalcore band Walls of Jericho's drummer, has been arrested in Oregon...632.5 pounds of marijuana and 36.8 pounds of suspected butane honey oil extract...Schoenhofer was arrested and booked...on six charges, including exporting marijuana, exporting extract...destined for Ohio...