Marijuana saleswoman Marissa Dodd (center) talks to a customer about different varieties of marijuana available at the Dr. Reefer marijuana dispensary in Boulder, Colorado.

Source: How to Open a Medical Marijuana Dispensary, inc.com

By Eric Markowitz

In 2010, Dr. Bruce Bedrick, a chiropractor from Philadelphia, sold his practice and moved to Arizona. It wasn’t for the weather (he says he can’t wait to move back east) and it wasn’t to retire (he’s still working).

He did it, like many others in his cohort, because of what’s being called the “Green Rush”—a move out west to take part in one of the most exciting, risky, and (perhaps) profitable enterprises today: the medical marijuana trade.

Within a year, Bedrick set up shop in Scottsdale and launched Kind Clinics, a full-service marketing and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs open and manage dispensaries. For Bedrick, business is booming. He reports that he’s already working with about 70 dispensaries, which, by his estimation, makes him the largest medical marijuana consulting company around today.

“Absolutely, people see it [as a gold rush],” Bedrick says. “But there’s more to it than that. There’s a bit of freedom here. There’s finally an awareness for compassion. I work with oncologists, attorneys, and pharmacists. These people truly understand the benefit of the herb.” (more…)

Thank You President Obama for riding this world of Osama bin Laden. Even if he was harvesting Medical Marijuana.

Mr. Happy

Source: Bin Laden’s Compound: Marijuana in the Yard and Militant Landlords, nymag.com

By Nitasha Tiku

Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound may have appeared no different from any other nondescript house in the middle-class neighborhood of Bilal Town, except for the high cement walls topped with barbed wire — and a few other distinguishing factors. Along with rows of cabbages and potatoes on the border wall of the compound, for instance, CNN’s Nic Robertson discovered rows of marijuana plants. Pakistan makes roughly $4 billion a year from drug trafficking, although opium poppy is the preferred crop, leading some to believe that bin Laden partook of the plant to ease the pain from years of kidney problems. The men who lived in the compound with bin Laden, known there as Arshad Khan and Tareq Khan, also seemed wealthier than their neighbors, (more…)

Source: Would You Invest Your Money in Medical Marijuana?, wsj.com

By Katherine Hobson

Would you invest in a medical-marijuana company if you thought its profits would grow like, um, a weed?

As the WSJ reports, the industry is expanding as more states decriminalize the use of pot to treat pain, MS-related muscle spasms and other conditions. And that’s attracting private investors and raising the possibility of public offerings.

Most of this action is happening in Colorado and California, the states with the biggest medical-marijuana markets. Among the deals in the hopper, according to the paper: a seed supplier has raised $500,000 in a private financing round and hydroponic-equipment supplier GrowOp Technology and medical-marijuana vending-machine company Medicine Dispensing Systems are each planning IPOs this year. (General Cannabis, with subsidiaries including a marijuana-dispensary website and a dispensary-management business, is already public.) (more…)

Source: Obama Gets “F” on Medical Marijuana Report Card, opposingviews.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) issued a report card today giving President Obama a failing grade for his record on medical marijuana.

The report card highlights broken promises, half-measures, and a general failure by the Obama Administration to address medical marijuana as a national public health issue. Citing ongoing federal raids, the report card accused the government of undermining local and state medical marijuana laws, and urged the Obama administration to develop a comprehensive federal policy that truly curbs enforcement. The report card also calls for expanded research and the reclassification marijuana from its status as a dangerous drug with no medical value. (more…)

Welcome site fans and Happy 4/20 day. With all the negatives that have happened on this day, Hitler’s birthday, the Columbine High School massacre and now the one year anniversary of the Gulf oil spill. I’m glad we can still celebrate our freedom to smoke pot, yet limited to medical marijuana in few states. Enjoy everyone and thank you for visiting the site.

Mr Happy

The True Story Behind Stoners’ Favorite Number

Source: The True Story Behind Stoners’ Favorite Number, huffingtonpost.com

By Ryan Grim

Warren Haynes, the Allman Brothers Band guitarist, routinely plays with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, now touring as The Dead. He’s just finished a Dead show in Washington, D.C. and gets a pop quiz from the Huffington Post.

Where does 420 come from?

(more…)

Source: Doctor’s Advice for Coping with the Potential Side Effects of Medical Marijuana Use

San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) April 16, 2011

Greenway Medical Marijuana Physician Evaluations advises patients about how to cope with the potential side effects of medicinal cannabis use. There are simple remedies advocated that will relieve the main common side effects of cannabis use.

The “munchies” is one side effect that can negatively affect a patient’s health if not controlled. This is easily handled by consuming high fiber foods like raw fruit and crunchy vegetables rather than fatty chips or cookies. High fiber snacks help control the appetite and may improve the health of patients. (more…)

Source: Growing Cannabis Indoors Emits CO2 Equivalent of 3 Million Cars Yearly, greenoptimistic.com

Although indoor pot growers should be aware that their plants consume the electricity needed to power 2 million average-sized homes, I don’t think they care. Indeed, a study conducted at the LBNL (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) shows that those who grow marijuana indoor represent about 1% of the energy consumed in the US – which is much.

Of course, marijuana isn’t only produced for illegal purposes, but also for medicinal use. The growers use high-intensity lights, 500 times more powerful than a standard reading lamp, according to the NY Times. Their overall price tag reaches $5 billion yearly, and makes the classic pot cigarette emit 2 pounds of CO2 (from a dust-to-dust analysis’ perspective). The study also says that the emissions are the equivalent of 3 million cars.
(more…)

Source: Medical marijuana industry grows mainstream, azdailysun.com

By Tony Pugh

The PipeMug, one of the many devices on display at HempCon 2011.

Source: The latest in medical marijuana paraphernalia on display at HempCon 2011, scpr.org

By Sanden Totten

The third HempCon came to the Los Angeles Convention Center this weekend. It’s an event that brings together businesses involved in the medical marijuana industry. Convention organizers say it’s the largest one yet, with close to 150 vendors.

With reggae music in background and promoters handing out samples of treats and smoking devices, HempCon has a party like vibe. But vendors are hoping to do some serious business.

A recent study from an economic group called See Change Strategy estimated that the medical marijuana industry will be worth 1.7 billion dollars this year. Growers, dispensaries and pipe makers all turned out to grab a piece of that market.

Andrew Schoenfeld brought an invention he hopes will be the next big thing in smoking technology, a coffee cup like device he calls the “PipeMug.”

“It’s a pipe with a mug in it,” Shoenfeld explains. “You put your weed in the bowl here and you suck through the handle.”

Shoenfeld says the idea came to him while he was high and as far as he knows it’s the first device to combine drinking and smoking.

“Rip it and sip it,” Sheonfeld says.

The convention also features a number of start-ups seeking to bring weed to the web, including a daily deal site similar to Groupon called Kushpon. It offers users discounts on pot related products.

Another booth advertises a marijuana friendly social network called WeedHookUp.com. It’s a site where people can find dispensaries, doctors and even a date. The site’s promoters hope it will be the Facebook of marijuana users.

Source: Medical marijuana users fight for gun rights, associated press

By JEFF BARNARD

WHITE CITY, Ore. (AP) — Cynthia Willis calls up and down the firing range to be sure everyone knows she is shooting, squares up in a two-handed stance with her Walther P-22 automatic pistol and fires off a clip in rapid succession.

Willis is not only packing a concealed handgun permit in her wallet, she also has a medical marijuana card. That combination has led the local sheriff to try to take her gun permit away.

She is part of what is considered the first major court case in the country to consider whether guns and marijuana can legally mix. The sheriffs of Washington and Jackson counties say no. But Willis and three co-plaintiffs have won in state court twice, with the state’s rights to regulate concealed weapons trumping federal gun control law in each decision.

With briefs filed and arguments made, they are now waiting for the Oregon Supreme Court to rule.

When it’s over, the diminutive 54-year-old plans to still be eating marijuana cookies to deal with her arthritis pain and muscle spasms, and carrying her pistol. (more…)