SFO, Oakland Travelers Can Carry Medical Pot

Air travelers are not allowed to bring most liquids, along with weapons and explosives past the security checkpoint. But you can bring medical marijuana, if you're traveling out of two Bay Area airports. It's not a case of security looking the other way, it's official airport policy.

Medical marijuana patients boarding flights out of Oakland and San Francisco International airports are allowed to take up to 8 ounces of pot along, but at their own risk.

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Colorado State Senator Chris Romer will introduce a medical-marijuana bill to clarify regulations

The Denver Post reports that Romer became upset when the owner of the health club he works out in told him there had been a $700,000 offer for the health club building - the new business - a medical marijuana dispensary.

The Cannabis Therapy Institute is encouraging patients and caregivers to
write to the Colorado State Legislature urging them not to restrict
patients' ability to safely obtain medical marijuana. Send them your
personal stories of how medicinal cannabis has helped you in your life.

Click here to contact them:

Is Justice paving the way for legalizing marijuana?

Marijuana smokers might be breathing a little easier thanks to a policy switch by the U.S. Justice Department. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal prosecutors would not spend limited time and resources on people who use or sell medical marijuana "in strict compliance with state law." Thirteen states have medical marijuana laws, which are controversial because federal narcotics laws trump state statutes.

Of course, the new federal policy doesn't prevent local prosecutors from cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries. Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley has vowed to shutter the city's dispensaries, which he says cater to people who do not have legitimate medical reasons for using marijuana.
Is the Justice Department paving the way for legalizing marijuana? And is it crazy to think the Obama administration is more federalist -- that is, respectful of state and local government decision-making -- than the supposedly federalism-loving Republicans? Joel Mathis and Ben Boychuk, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, attempt to cut through the haze.

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Medical Marijuana, Inc. Launches Seminar and Training Program in Ukiah, CA

Medical Marijuana, Inc. is currently offering free Informational Seminars in Mendocino County, CA. These two hour seminars will be held every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the remainder of 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Discovery Inn, 1340 N. State St., Ukiah, in the Corporate Room hosted by MJNA’s, CEO and “King of Pot”, Bruce Perlowin, who was featured in CNBC's most watched television documentary "Marijuana, Inc.". Additionally, beginning November 6&7, 2009 and every weekend after that MJNA will be conducting a series of two day paid seminars ($420 for the weekend course) in the Landmark Room at the Discovery Inn.

Among significant topics to be covered in the weekend courses are clarification of State, City and County laws and ordinances governing Medical Marijuana collectives in regards to dispensaries and cultivation. This is tied into Medical Marijuana, Inc.'s transparent patent pending Tax Remittance Card and Closed Loop Inventory Tracking System to ensure total compliance. Also discussed are the cottage industries that will sprout from the core medical marijuana industry beyond cultivation and collectives such as; cannabis kitchens and various franchises, testing facilities, distribution and logistics, delivery services, security and more. Dozens of other topics related to running any business – from internet marketing, advertising and media exposure, to trademarks, patents and proper accounting protocols – will also be taught in the weekend courses.

For more information contact: www.medicalmarijuanainc.com

Medical Marijuana Inc Begins Licensing of Its Patent Pending Tax Remittance Technology

MARINA DEL REY, CA--(Marketwire - October 22, 2009) - Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) has entered into discussions with a publicly traded coffee distribution company for licensing of its patent pending tax remittance solution. Medical Marijuana Inc's tax remittance technology was originally designed to be industry and product neutral; it can be implemented in any industry. Execution of this agreement will launch phase one of Medical Marijuana Inc's multi-industry implementation strategy.

Once daily tax remittance becomes standard practice in the medical marijuana industry, government officials are likely to have a strong interest in implementing Medical Marijuana Inc's patent pending technology across all industries. The windfall to the government could be enormous, with sales taxes being delivered to government coffers on a daily basis versus the currently accepted practice of submitting taxes every ninety days or more.

For further information contact:
www.medicalmarijuanainc.com

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Commerce Online launches pre-paid debit, ID card for medical marijuana

Palm Beach, Fla., Oct. 21, 2009 -- Commerce Online Inc. (Pinksheets: CMIB - News) (www.commerceonlineinc.com ), a leading company specializing in both bricks and mortar and online merchant payment solutions, today announced the initial launch of a branded, pre-paid debit and ID card for licensed medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives operating within the states of California and Colorado.

"The Commerce branded, pre-paid debit and ID card will be marketed through our new Collective Card Services division, and may be loaded to any denomination of funds through a PCI compliant gateway, via the Internet, POS system or PayPal Account by the member of the collective or medical dispensary . Members of each collective will be provided a card as a registered member. The card will have a photo id, and act as a pre-paid debit card branded and recognized by the collective. Funds may be transferred by the registered user via internet, POS, or mobile phone. In case of theft or loss, the card may be cancelled immediately through an 800 number provided or online. The card will also act as the Collective member's identification having Picture ID, medical id number identifying him/her as a collective member, the collective name, and expiration date of membership. With recent economic issues and more stringent requirements within the banking industry, many Americans may no longer have or qualify for a credit card or checking account to pay for essential needs or medical services and do not want to exchange or carry large amounts of cash to these locations. The Commerce Online "GreenCard" will essentially be the logical choice as a low cost, effective cash alternative to regulated medical marijuana industry", further stated Mr. Gotshalk.

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Poll: L.A. Voters Oppose Plan to Close Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

LOS ANGELES — A new poll of Los Angeles County voters reports massive opposition to Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley’s announced plan for a wholesale shutdown of medical marijuana dispensaries, with only 14 percent backing Cooley’s effort. After Cooley made his statement, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich proposed an ordinance that would effectively shut down all dispensaries in the city.

Asked whether they support or oppose California’s medical marijuana law, including patients’ ability to buy their medical marijuana, 74 percent said they favor it, with 16 percent opposed and 10 percent undecided. Following that question, voters were asked about Cooley’s assertion that all medical marijuana dispensaries in the county are illegal and should be closed. Asked, “Which of one these two alternatives come closest to your view: Prosecute or close all medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles County, or create and enforce uniform licensing requirements and regulations for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries within Los Angeles County,” 77 percent supported regulation, with only 14 percent backing a large-scale shutdown.
Support for regulating the dispensaries crossed all demographic groups, including a 62 to 30 percent margin among Republicans.

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Los Angeles could act on medical pot in early November

A proposal to ban all sales of medical marijuana in the city is unlikely to be taken up next week. Aides to Councilman Smith say he supports it and believes it would force most dispensaries to close.

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Mexican Drug Cartels Threatened by Medical Marijuana Laws in U.S.

The expansion of legalized medical marijuana has caused significant increases in local U.S. marijuana farms, which has resulted in intensified competition with large Mexican drug organizations. About half of the marijuana consumed in the United States is now grown domestically, and often by small “mom-and-pop” farmers. The decentralized nature of domestically grown marijuana has threatened Mexican drug lords in a far more effective manner than the efforts of anti-narcotics programs.

.....

Full legalization of marijuana would likely put an end to cartel involvement, just as the end of alcohol prohibition in 1933 knocked organized crime out of the business.

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Paypal Nixes California NORML Medical Marijuana Listings

Paypal, the well-known internet payment company has told California NORML that it will no longer accept payments to our "type of business" because we accept listing payments from cannabis-recommending physicians.

After years of offering free listings to physicians and collectives at our website http://www.canorml.org, CaNORML began charging a yearly listing fee to cover our costs last year.

PayPal froze CaNORML's account in June, saying that by accepting listing fees from collectives, we were violating their Acceptable Use policy, which says, "you may not use PayPal in the purchase or sale of narcotics." Although narcotics were not being sold over the CaNORML site, we reluctantly agreed to stop accepting listings fees from collectives that dispense medical marijuana, recognizing that even though they are legal under state law, they are illegal under federal law. However, we continued to accept payments online from doctors, attorneys, and members.

Now PayPal has stopped accepting payments from the CaNORML site because we continued to accept listing payments from physicians.

Under a ruling upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court (Conant v. Walters, 2003), physicians have the first amendment right to discuss and recommend medical marijuana for their patients, although they may not distribute it or help patients in finding it. PayPal was informed of this and wrote back, "We are not arguing the legality of this issue; we are simply stating that we have made the business decision to not be involved with this type of business."

Because of its discriminatory policy and disregard of physicians' first amendment rights, CaNORML submits that PayPal is not the "type of business" to be used by those who advocate for human rights. We will file a complaint with the federal banking committee over their practices.

Located in San Jose, California, PayPal was founded in 1998 and was acquired by eBay (California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's company) in 2002.

Complain to: PayPal, 2211 N 1st St, San Jose 95131 - (408) 376-7400

Statement of Paypal's Acceptable Use Policy below:

> Hello,
>
> We appreciate the fact that you chose PayPal to send and receive payments
> for your transactions.
>
> Under the Acceptable Use Policy, you may not use PayPal in the purchase or
> sale of narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances, products that
> present a risk to consumer safety or drug paraphernalia. PayPal makes such
> decisions after reviewing laws, regulations and other actions by
> governmental agencies, other available evidence, and marketing content
> related to the product.
> The complete Acceptable Use Policy can be found at the following URL:
> http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/use/index_frame-outside
>
> To learn more about the Acceptable Use Policy, please refer to our Help
> Center page here:
> http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/helpweb?cmd=_help
>
> We are hereby notifying you that, after a recent review of your account
> activity, it has been determined that you are in violation of PayPal's
> Acceptable Use Policy regarding your sales at
> http://www.canorml.org/prop/collectivetips.html. PayPal cannot be used to
> accept fees for listing information related to marijuana dispensaries,
> delivery services and cannabis physicians.

Is Marijuana a "Buy American" Program that Actually Works?

The cry of "Buy American" is being renewed as the nation tries to climb its way out of a recession. Often times those programs can fall short. But there's a surprising market where people are indeed increasing domestic purchases -- marijuana. And, in the process, it is hurting the bottom line for the murderous Mexican and Colombian drug cartels in a way that the official War on Drugs couldn't do.

There was a time when virtually all of the marijuana used in the United States came from Mexico or Colombia. Now, half of the pot being smoked is produced here, according to a report in The Washington Post.

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Medical Marijuana Inc., Prepares for CA Rollout with Completion of Custom Programming and Tax Compliance System

MARINA DEL REY, CA--(Marketwire - October 8, 2009) - Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) continues to execute its business plan with the next step of their Tax Compliance System in place. MJNA now has over 30 collectives in 3 states and Canada signed on to use this tax system. These collectives are showing their intent to comply with proper business systems regarding tax remittance to the proper agencies. This puts these collectives in compliance with one of the most crucial aspects of Medical Marijuana and its proper distribution. Charles Larsen, President of MJNA, says, "With our fully scalable, robust processing platform, we are able to meet the most stringent requirements of any Government agencies requesting our system for their municipalities."

Medical Marijuana, Inc. is the first public company to recognize the vast and unequaled opportunities that exist in the rapidly expanding Medical Marijuana market. The scientific recognition of marijuana as a powerful medicine has brought marijuana to a new status, and opened the door for investment and opportunity.

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LA County DA Prepares To Crack Down on Pot Outlets

Los Angeles, CA — Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Thursday he will prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries for over-the-counter sales, targeting a practice that has become commonplace under an initiative approved by California voters more than a decade ago.

“The vast, vast, vast majority, about 100%, of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city are operating illegally, they are dealing marijuana illegally, according to our theory,” he said. “The time is right to deal with this problem.”
Cooley and Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich recently concluded that state law bars sales of medical marijuana, an opinion that could spark a renewed effort by law enforcement across the state to rein in the use of marijuana. It comes as polls show a majority of state voters back legalization of marijuana, and supporters are working to place the issue on the ballot next year.

Law enforcement officials have been frustrated by the explosion in the number of dispensaries in Southern California, arguing that most are for-profit enterprises that violate the 1996 voter initiative legalizing medical marijuana and the 2003 state law permitting collective cultivation. Cooley’s announcement, coming at a news conference that followed a training session he and Trutanich conducted for narcotics officers, dramatically raises the stakes.

In the city of Los Angeles, some estimates put the number of dispensaries as high as 800. The city allowed 186 to remain open under its 2007 moratorium, but hundreds of others opened in violation of the ban while the city did nothing to shut them down.

..........

Cooley said he believes that under state law, collectives must raise their own marijuana and can only recoup their costs. “That’s absolutely legal,” he said. “We’re going to respect that.”

But he said none of them currently do that.

The district attorney’s warning could make the situation more chaotic in Los Angeles, where the City Council has struggled for two years to devise an ordinance to control the distribution of medical marijuana.

In addition to prosecuting dispensaries, Cooley said he would consider going after doctors who write medical marijuana recommendations for healthy people. Medical marijuana critics argue that some doctors freely recommend the drug to people who are not ill.

..............

When Californians voted for Proposition 215 in 1996, they made it legal for patients with a doctor’s recommendation and their caregivers to possess and raise pot for the patient’s medical use.

In 2003, the Legislature allowed patients and caregivers “collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes” but said they could not do it for profit.

Cooley and Trutanich, after reviewing a state Supreme Court decision from last year, have concluded that the law protects collectives from prosecution only in the cultivation of marijuana, not for sales or distribution.

Medical marijuana advocates, however, note that the state currently requires dispensaries to collect sales taxes on marijuana, and that guidelines drawn up by the attorney general conclude that “a properly organized and operated collective or cooperative that dispenses medical marijuana through a storefront may be lawful.”

The guidelines allow collectives to take costs into account but do not deal directly with over-the-counter sales.

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Kelly McParland: Benign White House unleashes marijuana boom

Anyone with an interest in the debate over medical marijuana might want to keep an eye on California and Colorado, where prospects for the pot business have never been brighter. It’s not far-fetched to suggest a combination of financial need and the Obama administration’s benign neglect could make California the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana next year.

Without making a big deal of it, the White House has made life a lot easier for pot enthusiasts. Although 13 states have approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes, it remains a crime under federal law, which means you may be free under state law to open a dispensary and start offering various types of pot, but can’t be sure a federal narcotics team won’t bust in and drag you off to jail anyway. If that happens, the U.S. Federal Court won’t let you use the state law in your defence....

Apart from its enthusiasm for liberal social policies -- the more high-profile the better -- California has another, more compelling reason to embrace legalized pot: It’s broke. The state budget is in such a crisis it chopped $15 billion in spending this year, largely on education, and was forced to send out 327,000 IOUs worth $2 billion.

Legalizing marijuana would allow it to be licenced, regulated and -- best of all -- taxed, producing a juicy new revenue stream. It would probably also make it all but impossible for other states to maintain more restrictive laws. With more than 30 million Californians able to fill their baggies at the corner store, attempting to staunch the flow across borders would become an expensive exercise in self-deception.

So the economic crisis may do for potheads what decades of lobbying, protesting and defiance failed to achieve. And if Obama succeeds in pushing though health care reform, marijuana users might even find a way to make him pay for their supply.

National Post

If History Repeats - Buy This Stock!

I am a shareholder of MJNA. I have known Bruce Perlowin since the early 90's and worked with him in several of his companies. Bruce is what I call a true pioneer. He gets into an industry early and positions the company as a leader simply by being there first and marketing on a very personal level. While others are still thinking about it, Bruce is already providing solutions.

In the medical marijuana industry, Bruce is called the "King of Pot" because of his historically large enterprise. But this time,he is doing it legally. His company, Medical Marijuana, Inc. provides payment solutions and a tax remittance system. This can help dispensaries to be in full compliance with the current tax laws. In addition, the stored value system provides other functionalities that benefit the dispensaries, such as customer loyalty, cashless transactions and more.

As the debate over medical marijuana heats up, it seems apparent that it is just a matter of time before this prohibition ends and it becomes a booming industry. MJNA has already planted its foot as an industry leader. I recommend to buy this stock while it is still affordable.

Check them out at: http://www.medicalmarijuanainc.com/

Pinnacle Digest: Looking For Shareholder Opinions On Medical Marijuana's Latest News

Oct 09, 2009 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- MJNA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- www.PinnacleDigest.com is a performance-driven online financial magazine and social network with a proven track record. After yesterday's news from Medical Marijuana, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MJNA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announcing it continues to execute its business plan with the next step of their Tax Compliance System now in place, our team is inviting all shareholders to their exclusive investor controlled forum. Our staff and members have requested that all Medical Marijuana shareholders join our community and share their thoughts on the company, its development and future outlook. One of the most important aspects when we research for new investments is to understand the sentiment of the current shareholders; that is why we have released this announcement - we want to know your opinion.

Join The Medical Marijuana Investor Discussion Here: http://www.pinnacledigest.com/company/mjna