Ferndale Patch:  “Charges have been dismissed against six people arrested in a January 2012 raid of a Southfield medical marijuana dispensary, action advocates of pharmaceutical cannabis are calling a victory. . . . Police raided  the Green and Greener Grow Collective, a medical marijuana dispensary, on Jan. 4, 2012, charging Carruthers; his brother, Ryan; and four others with offenses involving money laundering, money laundering, conspiracy to deliver marijuana, three counts of delivery of marijuana, and possession with intent to deliver, all felonies ranging in penalties of four to five years.”

Phoenix New Times:  “Arizona’s medical-marijuana dispensaries sold more than 2.5 tons of marijuana in the past 12 months, officials say.  From December 6th, 2012 — opening day for the state’s first state-authorized dispensary, Arizona Organix — to December 9th of this year, 5,279 pounds of marijuana were sold, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.  The health department provided the numbers this morning following a New Times records request made last month.”

The Daily Beast:  “Forget decriminalization or medical marijuana. Bolstered by state ballot victories, top-tier contenders in 2014 are seeking full legalization, the drug’s highest-profile advocacy ever.   After a round of victories at the ballot box, the spliff is trying its make case at the statehouse—and on the stump.   Advocates for marijuana legalization say the 2014 elections represent the first time that serious, top-tier candidates for major state and federal offices are advocating for full legalization of the drug.”

Breitbart.com: “Two Seattle veterinarians are pioneering the use of medical marijuana to treat pets. Dr. Sarah Brandon, co-founder of Canna-Pet, says medical cannabis can be used for many ailments plaguing your dog or cat.   “Cannibanoids control inflammation to reduce pain from arthritis,” she says. ‘They can help reduce anxiety.’   Brandon and her colleague Dr. Greg Copas launched Canna-Pet two months ago because citing that traditional pet medicines can have undesirable side effects.”

CBS New York:  “A New York State lawmaker outlined her proposal Thursday to raise revenue by making marijuana legal.  State Sen. Liz Krueger’s measure — the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act — would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana under state law.  “It will take the market in marijuana away from the criminal enterprises, just as happened when alcohol prohibition was ended,” she said at a City Hall press conference.  Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan, said her bill would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the state.”

The Christian Science Monitor: “With recreational use of pot now legal in the state, in the first six months of this year 745 drivers stopped by police tested positive for THC. For all of last year, about 1,000 test positive for THC, the active drug in marijuana.  Significantly more drivers pulled over by police in Washington state are testing positive for marijuana since legalization of the drug’s recreational use took effect in January, according to figures released this week by the Washington State Patrol.”

Arizona Republic:  “doctors won’t write you a ‘recommendation.’ It’s scary as a physician. I wouldn’t do it. Risk my license? Be reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services? Scrutinized? Exposed? Definitely not worth losing my job! So these same doctors print out patient records and hand them to their patients. ‘Go to a recommendation center. I can’t do it.’  Will Humble, director of the ADHS, is disingenuous when he says he wants the primary-care physicians to write medical-marijuana recommendations. That will not happen as long as the physician receives federal reimbursement for services (e.g. Medicare) and fears this will be taken away. That will not happen until physicians can speak freely without fear of reprisal. Mr. Humble is a smart guy. He knows this. . . . Did you know that cannabis concentrates are currently illegal under the Arizona criminal code? I would guess from The Republic’s uninformed editorial that editorial-board members do not.  Please, Republic editorial board, do readers a favor and use your platform responsibly. The editorial was sloppy journalism even as an opinion piece. . . . The readers of The Arizona Republic deserve better.

Phoenix New Times:  “Now that you’re a card-carrying medical marijuana patient, you’d probably like to try your hand at growing your own weed . . . . There are a few rules you need to consider before you can legally grow marijuana in Arizona, the most important stipulation being you must live more than 25 miles from the nearest dispensary. Seeing as 95.2 percent of Arizonans are within that range (you can check a map here), it’s not likely that you’ll be able to do this. However, if you are outside those boundaries . . . here’s how to get started growing your own ganja.”

Arizona Republic:  “Keeping an inherently dishonest program honest is no easy task.  The Arizona Department of Health Services got that job in 2010 when voters bought into one of the biggest cons around and narrowly approved “medical” marijuana. . . . So-called medical-marijuana laws are more about normalizing a recreational drug than getting medical treatment to sick people.”

Verde Independent:  “Nick Vanderhorst’s medication cost him $56 at Cottonwood’s first medical marijuana dispensary, Yavapai Herbal Services. . . . Gilliam said the dispensary is owned by a couple from Missouri with two young children. Their application was randomly chosen by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Cottonwood is their second location, with their first facility in Prescott, and has registered about 1,000 patients since opening in mid-August. It is located at 675 Ariz. 89A.”

A recent Gallup poll found that 58% of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, a jump of 10% since Gallup’s last poll a year ago.  Gallup also found that 38% of the people admitted to having tried marijuana.