What we’re reading: Week 6
By Katie Campbell
@News21
Cannabis for kids: The children behind the debate (National Geographic) Cannabidiol, or CBD, oil is used to treat children with cancer, epilepsy and other ailments across the U.S. This documentary follows three families through the challenges of using CBD oil.
Where do they stand on marijuana policy? (Marijuana Policy Project) The Marijuana Policy Project issues each 2016 presidential candidate a grade based on his or her position on marijuana. As a pro-legalization organization, the group gave better grades to those candidates who are more supportive of legalization and decriminalization.
Forget almonds: Look at how much water California’s pot growers use (Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post, June 26) In a research paper published in the journal Bioscience, researchers estimate 430 million liters of water are needed per square kilometer of outdoor marijuana crop during the typical growing season in the “Emerald Triangle” in California. That number makes pot just as thirsty as almonds, which has been blamed, in part, for the state’s water crisis.
The surprising environmental reason weed should be legal (Samantha Page, ThinkProgress, June 26) Without environmental regulations, the marijuana industry in California is being allowed to cause serious harm to the environment, especially in the watersheds where illegal marijuana production is concentrated. Researchers who published a study in the journal Bioscience say these environmental implications must be included in the debate on marijuana.
Cannabis Church won’t have marijuana at first service Wednesday (Mark Alesia, The Indianapolis Star, June 29) The church’s founder, Bill Levin, made the announcement after Marion County prosecutor Terry Curry and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Rick Hite warned about arrests if people had marijuana. Levin said his lawyers would file a civil action after the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act went into effect Wednesday. The church contends this act legalizes marijuana use at the church.
Follow Katie on Twitter at @_KECampbell.