2010 March

Rhode Island Panel Expected To Recommend Decriminalizing Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Legislation, News

A Rhode Island Senate panel is expected to recommend decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana when it wraps up its 3 1/2-month investigation later this week.

The commission, chaired by state Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Cranston), has been studying the costs of current marijuana policy since November. Rhode Island, facing a budget crisis, tasked the panel to build a dossier on how much it costs to arrest, prosecute, and sometimes jail people for pot, reports Katherine Gregg at The Providence Journal.

Latest Victim Of Pot Prohibition: Public Lands

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: Seattle P.I.

A federal agent carries plants away during the bust of a 16,742-plant grow operation at Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Washington state.

Due to the enormous profits made possible by marijuana prohibition, Mexican drug gangs are taking over U.S. public land to grow cannabis, using smuggled immigrants to cultivate the plants.

Pot has been grown on public lands for decades, report Alicia A. Caldwell and Manuel Valdes of the Associated Press, but Mexican cartels have taken clandestine cannabis cultivation to a whole new level, using armed guards and trip wires to secure grow operations containing tens of thousands of plants.

Michigan Pot Smoking Club Sparks Controversy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Church For Compassionate Care

Wayne Dagit: “I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord”

Wayne Dagit wants to run a place where patrons can belly up to a table, fire up a joint and swap stories and herbal remedies with other patrons.

The Green Leaf Smokers Club, a private club for medical marijuana patients, officially opens today in Williamstown Township, Michigan, reports Scott Davis of Gannett News Service.

Dagit said the club is the first one for marijuana smokers officially launched in Michigan, although there are many reports of underground clubs operating statewide.

“I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord,” said Dagit, 60, who is a founder of the Church for Compassionate Care.

Williamstown Township officials claim they only recently learned of the club’s existence, and they are now investigating whether it’s legal for the club to operate.

At the same time, police claim they are concerned that the club will lead to an increase in “impaired” driving by patrons.

Monthly Archives: March, 2010