Dude Busted For Pot After Catching Ride From Deputy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 6, 2011 News

Be careful accepting a ride in a cop car, or you may end up in the back seat. A rural Nebraska man didn’t just catch a ride from a deputy — he caught a marijuana charge, too.

Just after midnight Sunday morning, a Buffalo County Sheriff’s deputy saw a 26-year-old Kearney man and a 20-year-old Lexington man walking north on Highway 10, around five miles north of Kearney, Nebraska, reports Kim Schmidt of the Kearney Hub. The 26-year-old man’s car had a flat tire.

The deputy offered the 26-year-old a ride to the man’s home about a mile north. Before allowing the guy into his cruiser, the deputy patted him down for security reasons.

Connecticut Senate Votes To Decriminalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 4, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: The Fresh Scent

18-18 Tie Was Broken By Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman

The Connecticut Senate has passed a bill that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill now goes to the state House.

The measure passed on Saturday after Democratic Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman broke an 18-to-18 tie vote. The bill now moves to the Connecticut House of Representatives for final action, report Susan Haigh and Cory Ziman for the Associated Press.

11 Things Holder Could Say About Pot That Would Make Me Happy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Culture

Photo: The Troubled Patriot

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he will “work with states” to clarify the Department of Justice’s position on medical marijuana. This is what I’d like him to say…

11. Marijuana is no longer a Schedule I drug.

The Good News: Marijuana will finally be reclassified as having medical value.

Bad News: Big Pharma doesn’t like to share…

AG Says Feds Will ‘Work With’ States On Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Reuters

Attorney General Eric Holder: “We are in the process of working [on]these issues”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday that the Justice Department will work with governors and other state officials to reach a “satisfactory resolution” to the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in states with medicinal cannabis programs.

“We are in the process of working [on]these issues with the U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island and other U.S. Attorneys across the country,” Holder said, reports W. Zachary Malinowski at The Providence Journal. “My hope is that sometime in the not too distant future … it will be addressed.”

California Rejects Plan To Reduce Cannabis Cultivation Penalties

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Growing, Legislation, News

Graphic: disinfo.com

The California Assembly on Friday rejected Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s bill, AB 1017, to reduce marijuana cultivation from a mandatory felony to a “wobbler,” which would have allowed discretion on charging a misdemeanor. The vote was 24 yes to 36 no.

The bill had been supported by the district attorney of Mendocino County, but was opposed by the state D.A.’s association.

“The state Legislature has once again demonstrated its incompetence when it comes to dealing with prison crowding,” said disappointed California NORML Director Dale Gieringer.

“With California under court order to reduce its prison population, it is irresponsible to maintain present penalties for nonviolent drug offenses,” Gieringer said. “It makes no sense to keep marijuana growing a felony, when assault, battery, and petty theft are all misdemeanors.

We Have A Winner! Mike’s Going To Spring Gathering Concert

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Culture, Products

Photo: Mike Sillman

Mike Sillman after hearing the news: He’s going to Spring Gathering!

One lucky guy’s going to see Tommy Chong, Snoop Dogg, and Cypress Hill — just because he reads Toke of the Town.

Last month, when we announced our Spring Gathering Music Festival and Medical Marijuana Expo ticket giveaway, you guys responded: 156 of you entered and dared dream of winning.

A lucky winner has been randomly selected from the entrants…

Congratulations to Mike Sillman of San Francisco!

“I am very excited to win these tickets,” Mike told Toke of the Town Friday morning. “I am an avid reader of Toke of the Town!”

Scotland Starts Drug-Testing Pub Patrons Before Admittance

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Global, News

Photo: The University of Edinburgh

Ye won’t be comin’ inside if ye have traces of guid weed on ye hands, mukker. Aye, laddie, ya can be as blootered as ya laik, but ya cannae be using drugs!

Get as blootered as ye like, laddie, but you cannae be usin’ cannabis! Patrons were tested for drugs at pubs in Aberdeen, Scotland, last weekend, in something called the “Pub Watch Scheme,” the latest Orwellian phase of “Operation Maple,” an anti-drug effort by local police.

A “drugs itemizer” was used at 10 licensed premises in the city’s Sheddocksley, Northfield and Bridge of Don areas. The device allows police officers or door staff to check for illegal drugs by swabbing a person’s hands, reports Danny Law at STV.

No drugs were detected, but Bridge of Don Local Policing Team Inspector Moray Watt tried to put a good face on things, claiming he “felt the operation was a success” despite the fact that it didn’t accomplish anything except annoying patrons.

Russia Slams Global Calls For Legalizing Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 Culture, Global, News

Photo: Russia Beyond The Headlines

Russian Drug Czar Viktor Ivanov: Calls for legalization are “a propaganda campaign promoting the use of narcotics”

The head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service on Friday criticized this week’s call for legalizing marijuana as “a propaganda campaign promoting the use of narcotics.”

Drug Czar Viktor Ivanov was responding to a 24-page report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which suggested on Thursday that governments should consider legalizing some drugs such as marijuana to curb global drug trafficking, since the decades-old “global war on drugs has failed.”

“We have to realize that we are dealing with a global propaganda of illicit drugs here,” Ivanov claimed, reports RIA Novosti.

“This propaganda campaign is linked to the huge profits [from sales of illicit drugs]that are estimated at about $800 billion annually,” he said.

Ivanov claimed that Russia had already gone through what he called the “sad” experience of temporarily legalizing drugs containing codeine, an opiate used for its painkilling, anti-cough, and anti-diarrheal properties.

Ivanov said Russians annually consume about six metric tons of codeine, which he said has “essentially has the same properties as heroin.” He claimed the demand for codeine is growing exponentially.

FBI Busts Miami Cop For Drugs He Stole From Dealer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2011 News

Photo: Mail Online

A Miami police officer was arrested by the FBI on Thursday and charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana he had stolen from a drug dealer last year.

Roberto Asanza, 31, of Miami, a six-year veteran of the force, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, reports Jay Weaver at the Miami Herald. Asanza, a Marine veteran and 1998 graduate of Coral Park High, was released on a personal surety bond after his first appearance in federal court on Thursday.

Asanza faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His lawyer — an assistant federal public defender named Kashyap Patel — declined to comment.

‘Mr Nice’ Tells Story Of Cannabis Smuggler Howard Marks

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 Culture, Global, Products

Graphic: Scannain

Mr. Nice, a riveting British film which will be released in the United States on Friday, June 3, tells the story of the legendary Howard Marks, a Welsh-born Oxford University student whose initial dabbling in marijuana dealing led to a career as an international cannabis smuggler. His chosen vocation resulted in supposed connections to the Irish Republican Army, MI-6 and the Mafia — all amid side jobs and cover gigs as travel agent, teacher and spy.

Watching an advance screening copy of the movie last night, Viki and I were glued to our seats by this compelling tale of a rural young Welshman’s transformation into one of the biggest cannabis dealers on the planet. Howard Marks, with his sharp, analytical business mind and fearless, calm demeanor, would have done well at anything, but thank goodness he chose the noble calling of weed smuggler.

From its evocative early scenes of the 1960s where the innocent young Marks is introduced to the world of hashish, to his meetings with IRA operatives in Ireland, members of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love in California, and hash smugglers in Pakistan, Mr. Nice almost always hits the sweet spot, with star Rhys Ifans doing an incredible job of capturing Marks’ character.

Yearly Archives: 2011