January 30, 2010 – Never mistake the homemade pot brownie found at a frat party for the marijuana dispensary’s pot brownie. So much more goes into the making of the medical-use treat — higher grade trimmings and quality butter, for starters. Plus a brownie like Big Sexy’s Sinful Sweets Peanut Butter Confession, available in most L.A. dispensaries, has just the right dosage and the correct strain of cannabis to give a patient suffering from depression an uplifting, energizing feeling. A patient looking for a muscle-relaxing edible, say, would probably want to go with the cannabis-laced ice cream instead.

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Because such things have to be carefully considered, patients with doctor’s recommendations need the guidance of caregivers at marijuana dispensaries. It wouldn’t be wise to walk into a store and randomly choose from the variety of edibles available: from oral sprays, pills and tinctures, to ice cream, pastries and granola bars, to peanut butter, tea and honey. Each is made with a different strain of cannabis — sativa, indica and hybrid — which produce different effects and are beneficial to specific illnesses.

For those who don’t have a doctor’s recommendation and have never been in a pot shop before, here’s a peek at some of the edibles available in medical marijuana dispensaries. The following were purchased at Zen Healing in West Hollywood by a medical marijuana patient with a doctor’s recommendation. Also included are his “tasting notes.”

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Our volunteer patient had a sweet tooth but for those more interested in savory edibles there are frozen personal-size pizzas (for around $25 at the Venice Beach Care Center) and bagel bites available as well as olive oil (usually one tablespoon a dose).

It’s not recommended to cook with the olive oil, however, since THC starts to break down at 315-320 degrees Fahrenheit. But if you ever do get a hankering for a vegetable LaGanja (lasagna) or Ganja Ganoush, you can always fly to Denver and visit the first pot restaurant in America, Ganja Gourmet. Source.

January 30, 2010 – SANTA FE, N.M. – A proposal to tax medical marijuana in New Mexico ran into strong opposition on Friday and a House committee shelved the measure.

The proposal would impose a 25 percent tax on the value of marijuana grown for medical purposes.

A 2007 law allows people with certain medical conditions to get relief by using marijuana. About 1,000 patients are registered with the state.

One of those patients, Paul Culkin of Albuquerque, told lawmakers he spent $800 a month for two ounces of medical marijuana. The 30-year-old Army veteran suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

A tax would increase prices, Culkin said, and “this would cause me to go out on the street” to buy cheaper marijuana.

“We don’t want to drive patients to the black market,” said Reena Szczepanski of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, who lobbied for the medical marijuana law.

The state doesn’t tax prescription medicines and opponents said the medical marijuana tax would hurt patients with serious illnesses, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal cord injuries.

“Most of the patients are on fixed income,” said Szczepanski.

Len Goodman runs a nonprofit that is one of five licensed by the state to produce and distribute medical marijuana. He sells marijuana for $280 or $360 an ounce.

Goodman said patients can’t afford to pay the proposed 25 percent tax and producers can’t absorb the tax in their costs.

“The licensed producers are working on very thin margins,” he said.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. William Rehm, an Albuquerque Republican and retired police officer, said he proposed the tax to help provide money for Medicaid. The program provides health care for the needy and is facing cutbacks because of a state budget crunch.

The tax could generate $1 million a year, according to a legislative bill analysis. But Rehm said the estimate was highly uncertain because of a lack of information on marijuana prices.

The House Taxation and Revenue Committee voted 14-1 to table the bill, which probably dooms it for the session. The measure remains alive but it’s bottled up in committee unless members change their minds, which appears unlikely to happen. A similar proposal is pending in a Senate committee.

Source.