Search Results: 2011 (1856)

Jack Daniel.

In 1996, California voters legalized medical marijuana for qualified patients and caregivers. Nearly two decades have passed, and the city of San Diego has yet to enact an ordinance which would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, and provide the guidelines by which they could legally open.

In nearly four hours of testimonies
given by dozens of San Diego citizens on Monday, the eight sitting City Council members heard arguments given both in favor of, and against, Mayor Bob Filner’s new proposed ordinance to allow for the legal and regulated re-opening of medical marijuana dispensaries in America’s Finest City.

disinformation

​New Data Released: Illegal Searches and Manufactured Misdemeanors Continue Despite Order by Commissioner Kelly to Halt Unlawful Arrests
 
More Than 400,000 People Arrested on Low-Level Marijuana Charges in NYC in the Past Decade; Most Are Young Blacks and Latinos, Despite Whites Using Marijuana at Higher Rates
 
2011 Arrests Cost Taxpayers Over $75 Million; Bloomberg Spends More Than $600 Million on Bogus Marijuana Arrests In Last Decade
 
According to data just released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, the New York City Police Department continued their quixotic marijuana arrest crusade in 2011, surpassing 2010’s near-record amount of low-level marijuana arrests.
In 2011, the NYPD made more than 50,680 arrests for the lowest-level marijuana possession offense, making 2011 the second-highest period for marijuana arrests in New York City history.

The Fix

​So now that other organizations’ and TV networks’ various Top 10 lists are out of the way, the Marijuana Policy Project says it can safely release its annual Top 10 list without getting caught in all the clutter.
According to MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia, the following list comprises the 10 most significant, positive developments relating to marijuana policy reform in the U.S. in 2011.
To see explanations for each of the 10 items, you can read Kampia’s column in the Huffington Post today, Friday, January 13.
1.  Congress de-funds the White House Drug Czar’s ad campaign.
2.  MPP’s ideal bill is finally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Ron Paul and Barney Frank — a bill that would let states determine their own marijuana policies without federal interference.
3.  Public support for “making marijuana legal” reaches an all-time high of 50 percent.

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~
Grand Daddy Purple. Happy New Year from Toke of the Town!

By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent

2011 seems like it came and then it went,
While 99 percent of us looked like we’re going to end up in a tent.
Obama looked the other way while Big Pharma continues to have their say,
Reversing his stance because the lobby-heavy drug companies pay.
Heroes of the movement like Matt, Lynnette and Dr. Fry,
Are shut down, victimized and hung out to dry,
While G.W. Pharmaceuticals and others receive the right to dispense,
And they say it’s not medicine unless it makes some cents.

​​By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspo
ndent

The Fifth Annual Medical Cannabis Competition, ‘The Patients’ Choice,’ was the place to be Saturday night for local activists, growers and what could be called the backbone of San Francisco’s medical marijuana community.
A benefit for the ever-vigilant patients’ rights group, Americans for Safe Access, the affair started around two in the afternoon and went until the smoke cleared at 9 p.m. 
While many local dispensaries and other cannabis friendly businesses help sponsored the event, everyone knows the joyous Kevin Reed, proprietor of the Green Cross dispensary, is the major force behind the night’s event.

Hempstalk 2011

A compelling mix of upbeat music, a cannabis law reform message and a focus on industrial hemp as the answer to many of our practical needs, the seventh annual Portland Hempstalk festival is set for 10 a.m to 9 p.m. Saturday, September 10, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Kelley Point Park, located at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.

Co-sponsored by The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF), Green Leaf Lab and John Lucy, attorney at law, the event is free to attendees of all ages. With more than 40,000 people expected to attend, it will wrap up the summer festival season with a bang, according to organizers.
This year’s Hempstalk will also feature more than 100 vendor booths offering delicious food and irresistible merchandise, and a Hemposium which will feature informational panels on a variety of cannabis and hemp-related topics.

All photos by Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ unless otherwise noted

Hempfest 2011, the biggest ever (as in, for the first time ever, three days, man) is still happening at Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle until 10 p.m. Sunday night. The first two days saw plenty of memorable moments.

For me, speaking for the first time from the Share Parker Memorial Main Stage on Friday was a sure enough rush. Looking out, seeing and hearing that many cheering, happy people was definitely one of the high points of my weekend — and one that I was able to replicate again on Saturday from the Seeley Memorial Stage, where I spoke just before 4:20 and got back up onstage with a big crowd of folks at the magic moment.
Here are some of the best photos from this weekend to remember.

Photo: Office of the Attorney General
California Attorney General Kamala Harris

​A draft copy of the new 2011 California Attorney General’s guidelines on medical marijuana have been leaked. They are reproduced below in their entirety.
An official release of these guidelines is expected sometime between now and the end of August.
The section on collectives and dispensaries, among others, doesn’t seem to be good news for patients as far as affordable access is concerned; the section seems to limit individual patient options.
“While many advocates argue for ‘safe access’ I want not only ‘safe access’ but ‘affordable access’ and at times I get the impression that ‘affordable access’ is lost in the discussion among many,” commented Brett Stone, who manages the Medical Marijuana News group on Yahoo!, through which he released the draft guidelines.
“A special thanks to Shona Gochenaur of San Francisco’s Axis of Love for uncovering and forwarding this copy to me,” Stone said.

Photo: Seattle Hempfest
Hempfest always is a huge, happy hunk of humanity.

​With no confirmed venue and no confirmed dates, Seattle Hempfest, the world’s largest annual cannabis protestival, is fighting for its life.

Hempfest has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the City of Seattle in an effort to get a 2011 permit to produce the annual free speech rally, which aims to reform America’s cannabis prohibition.
The lawsuit calls the city’s unwillingness to delay planned construction, or to stage the work to accomodate Hempfest, “unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious.”
The suit, which also includes Seattle’s mayor, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, director of Seattle Center, and chairperson of the Seattle Special Events Committee, asks the city to issue an appropriate permit for Seattle Hempfest in August 2011.
The lawsuit also seeks, if necessary, to stop Seattle from implementing the West Thomas Overpass project in such a way as to interfere with the use of Hempfest’s home, Myrtle Edwards  Park, in August 2011. Planned summer construction of the skybridge in Myrtle Edwards Park, which has been the location of Hempfest since 1995, has displaced the mammoth event which routinely draws more than 100,000 attendees annually.
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