Yearly Archives: 2011

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Yes, it’s garbage and no, it’s not a good replacement for real cannabis. But today a whole new class of substances was added to the failed policy of drug prohibition.

As expected, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday announced that five variations of so-called “synthetic marijuana,” also known under brand names such as Spice, K2, and Black Mamba, have been added to its official list of illegal drugs, reports Jessica Fender at The Denver Post.

Photo: Tim Larsen
David Barnes argues for medical marijuana with Gov. Chris Christie during a town hall meeting in Flemington, N.J., September 8, 2010.

​A New Jersey prosecutor has decided to drop a marijuana possession charge against a man who argued he uses cannabis to treat a seizure disorder.

Police in Readington, N.J., found a small amount of marijuana on David Barnes in February 2010, reports The Associated Press. His case became a rallying point for local medical marijuana advocates.
Although the New Jersey Legislature last year legalized marijuana for patients with certain medical conditions, implementation has been delayed as the administration of Republican Gov. Chris Christie labors over regulatory details.

Photo: Colorado Medical Marijuana Dispensary Review
Marijuana-infused edibles such as these delicious-looking cookies would be banned in Colorado under a bill being debated Tuesday in the Colorado House.

​The Colorado House is scheduled on Tuesday to debate a measure which would ban the medical marijuana edibles industry in the state. Most observers gave the bill a low chance of passage.

House Bill 1250 co-sponsor Rep. Cindy Acree (R) claimed the medibles business is bad for both children and patients, and adds that patients can still make their own cannabis edibles, reports Michael Roberts at Denver Westword. “They can use it however they want: bake with it, drink it, whatever,” she said. “And it doesn’t ban any of the base product, like the oils, the tinctures.”
“The way it’s written now preserves the integrity of the constitutional obligation to make sure patients have access to medicinal products,” Acree said. “But the bill would ban edible food and beverage products.”
And why, exactly, is a ban needed on commercially prepared marijuana edibles?
“Things like ‘pot tarts’ have been showing up on school grounds,” Acree claimed. “And they don’t have regulated doses. I think even patients are misled by some of these things.”

Photo: CBS 5 News
This bumper sticker was enough to get a high school English teacher fired in Arizona.

​“Have you drugged your kid today?” That’s the bumper sticker that got an Arizona schoolteacher fired.

It was just one of 61 bumper stickers on high school English teacher Tarah Ausborn’s Toyota Prius, reports Judy Molland at Care2. But after the teacher refused to peel off the sticker after five parents at Imagine Prep High School complained and administrators ordered it — or her car — removed, she was fired.
School administrators told Ausborn she could keep the sticker on her vehicle if she’d promise to park off campus for the rest of the school year. But Ausborn stuck to her guns, and lost her job.

Photo: The Fresh Scent
Congressman Barney Frank: “People who make a personal decision to smoke marijuana should not be subject to prosecution”

​U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) told attendees at the first Maine Medical Marijuana Expo on Saturday that current laws against marijuana use are expensive, are applied unevenly and should be repealed.

“People who make a personal decision to smoke marijuana should not be subject to prosecution,” Frank said, noting that the legalization movement has allies in the libertarian wing of the Republican Party, reports David Hench at the Kennebec Journal. “This is the kind of fight that’s worth making. It’s winnable.”
Frank was present during a marijuana arrest at James Ready’s home in Ogunquit, Maine last October. Ready is well-known for his long term relationship with Congressman Frank, reports My Fox Boston.
The Congressman’s message was well received by a crowd of about 100, including many vendors set up for the day-long exposition in Portland, Maine.

Photo: Honeymag

​Almost exactly a year to the day after his last pot bust, rapper Juvenile was arrested over the weekend for marijuana possession in Sterlington, Louisiana.

Juvenile, 35, whose given name is Terius Gray, was reportedly pulled over for speeding, reports Danielle Harling at Hip Hop DX. He was reportedly going 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. Upon approaching the car, the officer detected the smell of marijuana, and when asked about the scent, Juvenile handed him a small bag of pot.
“He was very courteous and respectful as he could be,” Sterlington Police Sgt. Jacob Greer told the Associated Press. “He asked me if I recognized him, and I said ‘No. Now, if you were George Strait I’ll probably have recognized you.”
Besides being charged for possession of marijuana, Juvenile was also charged with speeding and driving with a suspended license.
He was released from jail after posting a $750 cash bond; he’s currently scheduled to appear in court on April 1.

Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP
San Jose’s medical marijuana dispensaries are required to pay a new tax starting tomorrow — even though haven’t been declared legal yet.

​Even though San Jose, California considers all of its 100 or so medical marijuana dispensaries to be unlawful, city officials are still welcoming the pot providers to City Hall on Monday to talk about a new program which greatly interests the cash-strapped city: a marijuana tax.

Starting Tuesday, March 1, San Jose will slap a seven percent tax on marijuana dispensaries under a measure city voters overwhelmingly approved in November, reports John Woolfolk at the Silicon Valley Mercury News.
Most dispensary owners always assumed taxation would also mean legal acceptance, but now it appears the beleaguered providers will be catching it from both sides: they’re still subject to police raids at the same time they are responsible for paying taxes.

Graphic: Rose Law Group
Most companies won’t fire you for prescription drug use. But they’ll sack your ass in a heartbeat for the medical use of marijuana — even in states where it’s legal.

Washington Supreme Court To Decide

Washington voters approved the medical use of marijuana back in 1998, but state law is unclear on whether employees can be fired for legally using cannabis. Now, 13 years after voters legalized medicinal pot, that question is likely to be answered by the Washington Supreme Court, which heard a test case on the issue last month, reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

Photo: Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department
Gary Wayne Parker of Surgoinsville, Tennessee killed his friend after a drunken argument over marijuana growing methods.

​A Tennessee man was shot dead early Friday morning during an alcohol-fueled argument over marijuana-growing techniques.

About 2:45 a.m. on Friday, deputies were called to a shooting complaint at the residence of Gary Wayne Parker, 55, in Surgoinsville, Tennessee. They found Randy J. Armstrong, 53, also of Surgoinsville, on the floor with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, reports Jeff Bobo of the Kingsport Times-News.
Armstrong was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, where he later died.

Graphic: Adam Vieyra/SD City Beat
The future of marijuana retailing in America? We hope not.

​By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent
It is 8:05, Pacific Standard Time and the TV is rehashing the morning news. I’ve already boogie-boarded the Net for the past couple of hours reading the wires, the tubes, The Times; NY and LA, the blogs and of course the RSS feeds I have from all cannabis-related well-springs.
While the real news should be all about what’s happening in the Mideast (over there) or the Midwest (over here), but as of a minute ago, some guy in New York on Good Morning, America has just pulled out this tease before going to commercial. “Up next, the Wal-Mart of Weed, to open today in Sacramento, California.”
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