Marijuana Moments: Jodie Emery Thanked Marc’s Prosecutor

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 28, 2011 Culture, News

Jodie Emery testifying before the Washington Legislature in March, just after meeting U.S. Attorney John McKay, who sent her husband to federal prison

John McKay, the U.S. Attorney who prosecuted “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery, ran into Marc’s wife Jodie in Olympia, Washington one day back in March. McKay is literally responsible for putting her husband in prison. But rather than the awkward scene it could have been, their encounter ended with Jodie thanking McKay.

“Mr. McKay? I’m Jodie Emery,” the attractive 26-year-old told the flustered former prosecutor. Jodie still runs a B.C. head shop and website called Cannabis Culture.

This is one of the fascinating stories about the former federal prosecutor for Western Washington which you can read at Toke‘s sister site, Seattle Weekly, in “The Evolution of John McKay,” an excellent, in-depth personality profile from reporter Nina Shapiro.

Marijuana: Plant, Drug, Or Medicine?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 28, 2011 Culture, Growing

Kym Kemp/Redheaded Blackbelt

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

Driving down 101 South, I was listening to the radio returning home after four grueling days of being embedded with medicinal farmers as they get ready for autumn’s harvest. The challenge of bringing in this year’s crops has been as nerve wracking as Lindsay Lohan approaching a DUI checkpoint.

Between mold, mildew and a growing season that’s been as erratic as Charlie Sheen’s career, the typical farmer has been working about 26 hours a day since July. Your average Mendoite or Humboldtian, is dog tired and dragging from spraying, battling a fungal infestation from early morning to late at night that could possible overtake our agricultural base, affecting the production volume of some of our favorite crops like marijuana, food, and grapes.

NYPD Finally Comes Aboard With Pot Decrim, 34 Years Later

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 Legislation, News

New York Daily Photo

The New York City Worldwide Marijuana March, an annual event held on the first Saturday of May, has been held for 40 years. New York finally got a little more pot-friendly this week — if police officers will follow the orders of their Commissioner.

Policy Shift by NYPD Could End Tens of Thousands of Arrests in NYC, Save Tens of Millions of Dollars and Reduce the Funneling of Young Men of Color Into the Criminal Justice System

Elected Officials and Advocates Affirm Support for Legislation in Albany that Standardizes Penalties for Marijuana Possession Offenses to Permanently Curb These Arrests Statewide

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, joined by advocates from the Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform and Alternatives, VOCAL NY, and the Drug Policy Alliance, gathered in front of One Police Plaza today to celebrate an internal order issued by NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to all precinct commanding officers to stop arresting New Yorkers for small quantities of marijuana if the marijuana is not in plain view.

Police Used Drug Forfeiture Funds For Weed, Hookers & Booze

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 News

Click On Detroit

Former Romulus Police Chief Michael St. Andre is charged with spending drug forfeiture money on weed, hookers and booze

Nice work, if you can get it! The former police chief of Romulus, Michigan, along with his wife and five Romulus officers, on Tuesday were charged with using drug forfeiture money to pay for prostitutes, marijuana and alcohol.

The charges come after an investigation of almost three years by Michigan State Police, reports Steve Pardo and Serena Marina Daniels of The Detroit News. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the case had “a culture of corruption and greed at its core.”

New Zealand Leader Backs Marijuana Decrim, Ignites Debate

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 Global, Legislation

Sarah Ivey/NZ Herald

Marijuana opponent David Parker wasted no time in putting up a sign across his billboards: “Vote Banks – Get Both Dopes!”

Party leader Dr. Don Brash of New Zealand’s ACT political party on Sunday suggested that marijuana should be decriminalized, igniting a lively political debate which has split his own party and sent shockwaves through the Kiwi political scene.

The cannabis debate was still smoldering in New Zealand’s Parliament on Tuesday after Dr. Brash’s suggestion that marijuana, a Class C drug in the island nation, should no longer be illegal, because it’s tying up police resources, reports 3 News.

Marijuana Advocates Call On R.I. Governor To OK Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

RIPAC

Medical marijuana advocates are calling on Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee to open cannabis dispensaries allowed under state law. The governor blocked opening of the shops due to the threat of federal prosecution after receiving one of the threatening letters recently sent by U.S. Attorneys in medical marijuana states.

A Statehouse protest is planned for Tuesday by the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC) to urge Governor Chafee to allow three dispensaries to open, reports The Associated Press.

The state selected three shops to dispense cannabis under Rhode Island’s medical marijuana law. Chafee last spring suspended the plans to open the shops after federal prosecutors warned that dispensary personnel could face prosecution for violating federal marijuana laws.

Houston Cops Accused Of Eating Evidence In Pot Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 News

Humor Ninja

Three members of the Houston Police Department are accused of eating some marijuana brownies they had seized in a drug raid, according to court documents. It seems two of the stoned officers implicated themselves with a series of very high computer messages.

A narcotics complaint was phoned in to the Kingwood Patrol of HPD in Houston, Texas, around 10 or 11 at night back in May, reports John Nova Lomax at the Houston Press. At least three officers who responded to an apartment said they could smell burning marijuana all the way out in the parking lot.

NYC Elected Officials Applaud Change In Marijuana Policy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2011 News

The Weed Blog

Assemblyman and Council Members to Join Advocates In Front of Police Headquarters to Applaud Change in Policy for Marijuana Arrests

Elected Officials Continue Push to Standardize Penalties for Marijuana Possession Offenses

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, will be joined by advocates from the Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform and Alternatives, VOCAL NY, and the Drug Policy Alliance, in front of One Police Plaza on Tuesday, September 27 at 1:30 p.m. to celebrate an internal order issued by NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to all precinct commanding officers to stop arresting New Yorkers for small quantities of marijuana, if the cannabis was not in plain view.

Army Accidentally Drops Soldiers Into Afghani Marijuana Field

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 26, 2011 Global, Growing, News

James Foley/Global Post

US soldiers try to avoid improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as they make their way through thick marijuana fields

Some American soldiers got an unexpectedly scenic mission in Afghanistan recently when their Chinook helicopters discharged them into the middle of a marijuana field.

Laura Rauch at Stars and Stripes reports that the mission for soldiers with Company C and the Scout Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was to cut off enemy access and supply routes.

When the Chinooks landed, a “heavy earthy scent wafted through the cabin.” This wasn’t the dry riverbed the soldiers had been expecting, but instead the ground was moist and slippery from irrigation canals. When they adjusted their night-vision goggles, the soldiers realized they had been dropped into a “massive old-growth marijuana plantation,” about a quarter-mile west of their intended landing zone.

Czech Republic Moves To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 26, 2011 Global, Medical

The Weed Blog

The Czech Ministry of Health has said it will take marijuana off the list of banned substances and for the first time allow it to be prescribed as medicine by doctors.

“By the end of this year we will submit to Parliament an amended law on addictive substances which will move marihuana from the list of banned substances to the list of those which can be prescribed,” Deputy Health Minister Martin Plíšek said, reports Chris Johnstone at CzechPosition.com.

The promised policy change comes after increasing evidence of marijuana’s beneficial effects for those suffering from cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses, CzechPosition reports. More and more Czechs are growing cannabis and resorting to home remedies due to the existing ban on its prescription, according to the site.

Yearly Archives: 2011