The city of Washington D.C. technically has legalized recreational marijuana, but restrictions put in place by Congressmake the laws very murky. And now 30 people are paying the price, writes Joseph Misulonas. 

Cannabis is legal in our nation’s capital. But it could be awhile before Washington, D.C. has pot shops.

The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government has passed a bill that continues to block Washington, D.C. from spending money to further legalize cannabis. The measure effectively bars retail marijuana sales from the city. It also adds a new prohibition on using funds to support safe consumption sites for illegal drug users, reports Marijuana Moment.

Legally, you can’t buy or sell weed in Washington D.C., but you can receive it as a ‘gift’ from this underground network of weed vendors.

Though Washington D.C.’s marijuana laws are far from complete, cannabis policy in our nation’s capital has long been at a standstill. In D.C., you can smoke marijuana in private residences, own a small amount of weed, and grow marijuana plants at home. 

You cannot, however, buy or sell marijuana. So how are people who don’t want to grow their own herb getting weed? Despite federal restrictions, marijuana pop-up markets that ‘gift’ rather than sell weed are flourishing throughout the district. Here’s a closer look at D.C.’s underground marijuana community and the legislation keeping Mary Jane in the dark.

This green herb is being used to ease cancer-related pain and stop seizures in children younger than one?

The number of pot-friendly states on the map of the United States is increasing progressively. As of January 2018, 29 states and Washington D.C. have legalized medical marijuana.

Is it any wonder why, considering the fact this green herb is being used to ease cancer-related pain and stop seizures in children younger than one?

Biochemist Jahan Marcu has found “a very rewarding career” working to assure the safety of medicines.

“It is really touching to see patients using our products and leaving opioids behind,” says Adam Kavalier, a phytochemist who works in the same industry.

The fast-growing field where these scientists work provides not only these satisfactions, but also, reportedly, offers expanding career opportunities, good pay, and scientific challenges so plentiful and significant that one feels “you’re literally on Darwin’s ship, the Beagle,” Marcu says.

Cannabis companies hoping to become the McDonald’s of legal weed through franchising are running into a big problem: Uncle Sam.

Eight states and the District of Columbia have voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use, and 28 more have approved it for medicinal purposes. But pot is still illegal under federal law and -- unfortunately for pot businesses -- a product that crosses state lines falls under U.S. jurisdiction.

That means weed companies seeking to expand beyond their native states have to be more creative than a typical consumer packaged-goods seller. To cope, entrepreneurs are mostly using licensing and franchising agreements. A company might provide edibles recipes or branding expertise, for example, without ever shipping pot across state lines.

As Congress and the White House work on a tax bill that will reduce revenues going to states, they are simultaneously impeding the growth of an industry that is set to add billions to state tax revenues: legal cannabis.

Under the guise of protecting public health and safety, federal policy is jeopardizing this sector despite its widespread popularity. Nowhere is this clearer than in federal banking policy, which deters federally chartered banks from working with cannabis companies.

Calls for further study regarding the relative safety and therapeutic efficacy of cannabis are always welcome ( “Pa. should lead medical marijuana research” ). But such calls should not inadvertently ignore or minimize the evidence that is already available.

Unlike modern pharmaceuticals, cannabis possesses an extensive history of human use dating back thousands of years, thus providing society with ample empirical evidence as to its relative safety and efficacy.

Moreover, cannabis and its compounds are among some of the more studied biologically active substances of modern times. A search on PubMed using the term “marijuana” yields over 26,000 scientific papers referencing the plant and/or its constituents.

There's a professional society for seemingly every kind of medical specialist, even cannabis clinicians.

Or medical marijuana physicians. Or pot doctors, in street parlance.

And just as there's a choice of what to call physicians who use the plant to treat everything from pain to multiple sclerosis, there's a choice of three different medical associations to represent them. Their emergence over the past 15 years coincides with the legalization of medical marijuana in 29 states and Washington, DC, and recreational marijuana in eight states and DC.

Donald Trump has reportedly played golf on one of every four days of his presidency, prompting fresh accusations the President is taking too much time off.

It came after it emerged Mr Trump chose to stay at one of his golf resorts rather than attend a benefits concert for communities affected by Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey.

Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, George HW Bush and Jimmy Carter appeared on stage together at the event promoting “The One America Appeal”. 

The current President spent much of the weekend at his golf course in Virginia and recorded a video message that was played to the concert audience in Texas.