Yearly Archives: 2011

City Government Eyes Toronto’s Cannabis Vapor Lounges

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Culture, Global, News

Hot Box Cafe in Toronto

By Matt Mernagh

Mernagh.ca

Toronto’s bring-your-own marijuana scene has developed with little political resistance — until recently.

A city council item to conduct a comprehensive review of vapour lounges was sneakily passed during budget debate. Now cannabis-friendly establishments that allow people to come in and consume their own pot on-premise are wondering what’s going to happen next. Toronto Police Service have all the tools necessary to shut these places down right now, but haven’t.

Will city council meddling prompt cops to take a closer examination of their hands off policy?

Colorado Will Ask DEA To Reschedule Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Wussup Hater

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper apparently doesn’t plan to sign a petition from Govs. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Chris Gregoire of Washington which asks the federal government to change the classification of marijuana, but Colorado will reportedly file its own request before the end of the year.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s spokesperson told Fox News that the governors have a valid point in pushing the petition, reports Scot Kersgaard at the Colorado Independent.

“The governors in Washington and Rhode Island raise a valid conflict that needs to be resolved,” said Eric Brown, a spokesman for Gov. Hickenlooper. “Colorado law requires that we make a similar ask of the federal government by Jan. 1. We will do that. We will also continue to consult with other governors on the issue and with Colorado’s attorney general before deciding whether anything else will be done.”

NYC Marijuana Arrests Drop Only 13% Since Cops Told To Chill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 News

New York Magazine

The Big Apple is STILL the King of the World for marijuana arrests — even after a 13 percent drop.

Since 1977, possession cases for small amounts of marijuana have been violations in New York — non-arrestable offenses — unless the pot is burning or in plain public view. But despite the existing law, in 2010 one out of every seven arrests in New York City was for marijuana possession “in public view” — even though the vast majority of those arrested did not possess marijuana in public view, as widely reported in The New York Times, WNYC, the Daily News and many other outlets.

These arrests are largely the result of the NYPD stopping and frisking more than half a million mostly young black and Latino men and falsely charging them for marijuana possession “in public view.”

Drug Cops Exposed As Violent, Ineffective Thugs

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 News

Kitsap Sun

Now retired, Bremerton cop Roy Alloway was one of WestNET’s top officers. Next month he’s up for sentencing on federal tax fraud and gun dealing charges.

Among defense attorneys, “narcotics officers” have a certain reputation: thuggishly violent goons who enjoy trashing suspects’ homes and bullying children. There’s no better example of why such perceptions exist than the WestNET task force in Washington state.

Reporter Sean Robinson of the Tacoma News Tribune nailed the federally funded task force to the wall in an exposé this week. The well-done piece revealed that the unit, based in Kitsap County and pulling officers from various departments, uses hyper-aggressive tactics and exaggerated claims of effectiveness, reports Nina Shapiro at Seattle Weekly.

Toke of the Town readers may remember that WestNET (West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team) is the same bunch of wanna-be Rambos who busted into the house of medical marijuana dispensary operator Christine Casey, pulled a gun on her 15-year-old son and took the money from her nine-year-old daughter’s Mickey Mouse Wallet.

Medical Marijuana Ban/Repeal: Long Beach Eyes Third Option

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

LBCA

The fate of the entire American medical marijuana community could depend on decisions made by the City of Long Beach. The recent court ruling of Pack v City of Long Beach could take cannabis medicine away from ailing citizens and lead to lost jobs, lost tax revenue, and increased crime rates.

On Wednesday, December 7, the Long Beach Collective Association (LBCA) submitted amendment language to the mayor, Long Beach City Council, and city attorney, which recommends language that would allow the current ordinance to remain functional under the evolving California law.

This “third option” was drafted by the LBCA’s legal team at the request of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and several other council members at the November 1 council meeting.

Emerald Cup Marijuana Competition Returns To Mendo Saturday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 Culture, Growing, Products

The Emerald Cup

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The fabled Emerald Cup is returning to the legendary Mendocino spiritual sanctum, Area 101, this Saturday. As the blurb says, “Proclaimed by Rolling Stone Magazine,’ as the premiere competition in America.'” And they’re not kidding.

The Emerald Cup, “the world’s only outdoor organic cannabis competition,” first lit up on the scene almost a decade ago, with the initial competition bringing in 22 entrees to be judged. Last year, the entries almost reached 150.

But that’s just pot talk. What’s cool about the Emerald Cup? It is so much more than your average medical cannabis bake-off.

Congress Set To Escalate Drug War After Decades Of Failure

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 Legislation, News

Break The Matrix

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on two bills that would escalate the War On Drugs.

One bill scheduled to be voted on Wednesday (HR 1254) would criminalize possession and sales of chemical compounds found in products such as “K2,” “Spice,” and “bath salts.” A second bill which is expected to be voted on next week (HR 313) would make it a federal crime to engage in an activity in another country that would violate U.S. drug laws if committed in the United States — even if the activity is actually legal in the other country.

Both bills are expected to pass and would subject more Americans to lengthy federal prison terms — while increasing already-skyrocketing prison expenses that taxpayers have to pay. This comes at a time when members of Congress are cutting drug education, treatment and prevention, citing the need to “reduce federal expenses.”

Medical Marijuana Patients Propose L.A. Regulation Solution

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 6, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

UMMP

James Shaw, director of the Los Angeles-based Union of Medical Marijuana patients, on Tuesday announced an alternative to a ban on nearly 400 local medicinal cannabis dispensaries which was proposed by City Councilman Jose Huizar last month.

“Councilman Huizar seems unaware that there is a reasonable way to regulate medical cannabis patient associations now using technology which we have developed in conjunction with AgSite Secure,” Shaw said.

If that sounds like Shaw is selling something, yes he is; however, keep an open mind, because third-party verification may be a way out of the conundrum in which California dispensaries find themselves.

According to Shaw, the recent Second Court of Appeals decision cited by the Councilman, known as Pack v. Long Beach, which rejected the ability of cities to issue paid permits to authorize dispensaries, did not mean a ban was the only alternative to a complete lack of regulation.

N.J. Medical Marijuana Program Gets The Green Light

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 6, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

Almost two years after the law was passed, New Jersey lawmakers finally announced last week that the state’s medical marijuana program — the most restrictive medicinal cannabis law in the United States — would be fully functional sometime in 2012.

Gov. Chris Christie had issued a surprise announcement in July that the state would go forward with its often-stalled medical marijuana program, reports John Farley at Thirteen.

The Garden State’s medicinal cannabis program has been in transition for months now. In 2010, the State Senate passed the Compassionate Care Act, which required the state to license six medical marijuana dispensaries.

But even though an overwhelming 86 percent of New Jersey voters support medicinal cananbis, Christie put the program on hold, seeking assurance from federal officials that state marijuana workers and doctors would not be prosecuted, reported the Star-Ledger.

Study Finds Marijuana Could Increase Pain Relief With Opiates

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 6, 2011 Medical, News

UCSF

Hector Vizoso, RN, left, and Donald Abrams, MD, prepare a cannabis vaporizer for inpatient use at San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center’s Clinical Research Center.

A medical study suggests patients with chronic pain could experience more relief if their doctors added cannabinoids — the main ingredients in cannabis or medical marijuana — to an opiates-only treatment. The findings, from a small-scale study at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), also suggest that a combined therapy could result in reduced opiate dosages.

More than 76 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. That’s more people than have diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined, according to the National Centers for Health Statistics.

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