Clayton Goodwin, Veteran Turned Medicinal Pot Activist, Seeks Meeting With O'Toole

OTTAWA - Former soldiers who want timely access to medical marijuana say they are undeterred despite having been denied a meeting with Veterans Affairs Minister Erin O'Toole.

Retired corporal Clayton Goodwin, who represents a group known as Veterans for the Use of Medical Marijuana, was shut out of O'Toole's stakeholder meeting Tuesday at the Canadian War Museum.

A spokesperson for the minister said Veteran Affairs staff have spoken with Goodwin and are setting up a one-on-one meeting.

Medical Marijuana User Arrested, Says New Health Canada Regulations Discriminate

HALIFAX - A medical marijuana user in Nova Scotia says he would rather go to jail than stop growing his own pot after changes to Health Canada regulations preventing cultivation at home.

Bob Dillman says he and his wife were arrested at their Halifax home on March 4 and charged with production and possession of marijuana after years of being permitted by Health Canada to grow it for medical purposes. They are due in court next month.

Marijuana Dispensaries Becoming Exclusive Domain Of The 1 Percent

Once a business proposition that required little more than a few thousand dollars and some gardening equipment, selling medical marijuana is quickly becoming a dream fit only for deep-pocketed entrepreneurs.

Regulations in states that only recently legalized medical marijuana are mandating that would-be dispensary operators set aside large amounts of cash before even applying for a license, tipping the scales in favor of businesspeople with money to burn. Drawn-out licensing processes being devised in those states mean permits to run dispensaries will likely only go to those able to afford a cadre of consultants and lawyers.

Obama Hates Medical Marijuana And He Doesn't Care What The States Think

Lawmakers across the country are fed up with the Obama administration's disrespect for local marijuana laws.

On Monday, the United States Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution asking the federal government to allow states to implement their own marijuana policies and to stop draining limited resources by targeting marijuana in states where it is legal for medical and recreational uses. A bipartisan group in Congress has also introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from interfering with state marijuana laws.

Bloomberg: Medical Marijuana 'One Of The Greatest Hoaxes Of All Time'

Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks arguments for legalizing medical marijuana are half-baked.

"Medical, my foot," Bloomberg-- who has admitted to enjoying smoking weed when he was younger-- told John Gambling during his weekly radio show.

"There is no medical. This is one of the great hoaxes of all time," he said, suggesting legalizing medical pot would just make it easier for recreational users to light up.

IRS Targets Medical Marijuana Businesses In Government's Ongoing War On Pot

The tea party has company. For the past several years, the Internal Revenue Service has been systematically targeting medical marijuana establishments, relying on an obscure statute that gives the taxing agency unintended power. The IRS has been functioning as an arm of justice, employing the U.S. tax code as a weapon in the federal government's ongoing war against legal cannabis.