Toke of the Town

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Senator Elizabeth Warren is “Open” to Legalization in Massachusetts

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By on News, Uncategorized

The state votes in November.

Here’s your daily round up of pot news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.) said she’s “open” to REC legalization in Massachusetts.

Pennsylvania is moving aggressively to create rules for its MED industry. Major regulatory changes are coming in L.A.

Portland (Ore.) City Hall is fighting with a pot shop about a license requirement.

In SFWeekly, I said we need more weed reporters. I also spoke to HelloMD about WeedWeek and the cannabis beat.

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Denver Mayor Michael Hancock Blames Weed for “Urban Travelers”

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By on Legalize It, Medical, News

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D)  blames legal weed for the “urban travelers” who have caused violent episodes on Denver’s 16th Street Mall, the city’s main pedestrian thoroughfare. Recently, a 32-year old Indiana man was arrested after video showed him attacking pedestrians with lengths of PVC pipe. It’s not clear whether he was high at the time.

Other recent incidents, also caught on video, have seen arrests after attacks and aggressive panhandling. New research shows that legal states have seen a drop in Medicare prescriptions for anti-depressants and opiods, and a corresponding reduction in Medicare costs.

Prescriptions did not drop for drugs like blood-thinners that can’t plausibly be replaced with MED. (Read that study here.) If California legalizes REC in November, it could influence federal policy on banking and other issues. Regulators in the state said they will start inspecting dispensary scales  to ensure that customers are getting their money’s worth.

Massachusetts’ REC initiative will be on the ballot in November. Gov. Charlie Baker (R), Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo (D) have banded together to oppose it. Arkansas voters will decide on a MED initiative. Fortune sees signs of a backlash in Colorado. Murders in California’s Lake County, a center of growing, reached a 10-year high of eight last year. Donna Weinholtz, wife of Utah gubernatorial candidate Mike Weinholtz (D), is under federal investigation related to her MED use.

The rules for Alaska’s pot café’s are under review. Voters in the state’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough will decide on a commercial ban in the fall. Former Liberal Party deputy prime minister Anne McLellan will lead Canada’s nine-member legalization task force. McLellan is a former law professor at the University of Alberta. Canada’s legal purchasing age may vary across provinces, but the government wants a consistent national law on DUI. Both LSU and Southern University are exercising their option to grow Louisiana’s MED supply.

This article also appeared in the the pot-focused weekly newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

Indiana State Senator Promises Medical Cannabis Bill for 2015 Session

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By on Legislation, Medical

Indiana State Sen. Karen Tallian.

Emboldened by recent federal developments that seemingly gives states more authority to regulate medical cannabis, an Indiana state Senator says she’s ready to (once again) push a medical marijuana bill through the state legislature.
State Sen. Karen Tallian has unsuccessfully ran marijuana-related bills for years (including decriminalization measures) that didn’t even get the respect of a hearing in a committee. But Tallian says that the time is right to have a real discussion about legalizing marijuana for medical uses in her state and urged Republicans on the other side of the aisle to get their heads out of the sand.

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Kuwait man caught growing on retired major general/father’s roof, could face death penalty

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By on News, Say what?


When your father is a former Major General with the Kuwait army, you might think that growing a few dozen pot plants on your roof would go unnoticed.
You would be wrong, however. According to the Arab Times, a Kuwaiti man was arrested for marijuana cultivation after neighbors narc’d on the rooftop garden that had been fenced in with tall corrugated plastic sheeting.

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Another bogus headline about weed warns of stoned drivers

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By on Culture, News, Opinion

In a stunningly misguided article written by Dennis Thompson for HealthDay.com, and unfortunately republished on WebMD.com, he asserts that society is bound to pay a steep price for allowing various forms of marijuana legalization to be passed into law.
In his hit piece on pot, Thompson warns of the “dark side” of legal weed, claiming that the growing trend we are seeing in marijuana acceptance is directly creating a major uptick in fatal car accidents, and that soon the dangers of drunk driving will pale in comparison to the dangers of driving with weed in your system.

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Sen. Ron Wyden blames marijuana users for federal industrial hemp bill failure

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By on Hemp, Legislation, News

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.

After his federal industrial hemp bill failed to move forward late last week, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wagged his finger in shame not at the closed-minded Senate that wouldn’t work with Wyden, but at marijuana users.
See, Wyden thinks that because marijuana users are prone to being pro-hemp that the two issues are seen as one in the same. And it’s clearly the pot smoker’s fault according to Wyden, not the ignorant elected officials.

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Colorado recreational marijuana appeal being considered by some legislatures

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By on Legislation, News

It’s just a proposal, but it’s an ugly, ugly proposal to hear. Colorado state lawmakers last Friday began kicking around an idea that could repeal Colorado’s Amendment 64, which legalized possession and cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis as well as called for the creation of a recreational cannabis industry.
Basically, the argument hinges on the proposed taxes on recreational cannabis sales and state laws that require tax-related issues to be put before voters for approval.

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New York City Moms & Babies Tested For Marijuana

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By on News

Plant Teacher

Public hospitals continue to drug-test mothers and newborn babies for marijuana, despite the fact that such tests have been shown to be inaccurate and that common soaps used to wash infants can cause false cannabis positives on such tests. And tragically, mothers are often arrested and separated from their babies.

Mothers in New York City, for instance, who test positive for marijuana after the delivery are likely to have a Child Protective Services investigation to contend with, before they can even get the baby home, reports Kiri Blakeley at The Stir. More than a dozen maternity wards in the Big Apple routinely test new moms for marijuana, then turn the results over to city authorities.
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Colorado Marijuana Legalization Effort Airs First TV Ad

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By on Culture, Legislation, News

Colorado’s marijuana legalization campaign is courting mothers in its first television ad, airing Friday in Denver.

The initiative’s first ad of the year features a young woman emailing her mother about marijuana, reports The Associated Press.
The young women argues that cannabis is safer than alcohol, the central theme of the current push to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The woman in the ad also mentions that pot doesn’t give her hangovers.
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