Yearly Archives: 2011

Marijuana Advocates Take ‘CannaBus’ To Spokane; Join Protest

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Two volunteers from marijuana legalization group Sensible Washington have been driving an RV dubbed “the CannaBus” across the state this week to gather signatures and rally support for I-1149, a ballot initiative that would remove all criminal penalties for adult cannabis offenses.

From Thursday, May 19 through Sunday morning, May 22, volunteers Mimi Meiwes and Tricia Rogers, along with the CannaBus, will be in Spokane, where new raids this week by Spokane Police and federal agents have left even more medical cannabis patients without safe access to the medicine their doctors have authorized.

DEA, Police Raid More Marijuana Dispensaries In Washington

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Jessica Nuna

This photo was taken by an employee inside Medical Herb Providers dispensary in Spokane, Washington during the raid

One Drug Enforcement Administration agent, accompanied by about a dozen Spokane Police officers, on Wednesday raided at least three medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state.

Medical Herb Providers (MHP), Essence of Mother Earth and Alternative MMD were all raided separately, reports Curtis Cartier at the Seattle Weekly.

According to Jessica Nuna of MHP, by the time law enforcement left that shop, they had taken about 32 cannabis plants, $1,400 in cash, several ounces of dried marijuana flowers and several laptop computers, cellphones and other electronic devices.

CT Senator Claims Cali Kids Openly Smoking Marijuana In Class

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Jesse Pearson

Dude! I knew it!

Connecticut state Senator Toni Boucher doesn’t like medical marijuana, and she seems proud of herself for trying to stop it in her state, according to a press release her office sent out on Thursday.

According to the breathless (and almost entirely brainless) release, Sen. Boucher “valiantly tried to stop a medical marijuana bill from getting out of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee.” See there? Trying to stop seriously ill patients from getting the only medicine that helps is “valiant” now, get it?

Oregon Court Rules Medical Marijuana Patients Can Have Guns

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Jeff Barnard/AP

Cynthia Willis shows off her medical marijuana card, a Walther P22 pistol and her concealed handgun permit at a firing range in White City, Oregon, March 25, 2011.

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that just because retired bus driver Cynthia Willis has medical marijuana doesn’t mean she can’t have a concealed handgun, too.

The court ruled on Thursday morning that a federal law prohibiting “criminals and drug addicts” from buying firearms does not mean sheriffs can’t issue concealed weapons permits to people who qualify, including medical marijuana patients, reports Jeff Barnard of The Associated Press.

Willis said she feels “like a big girl now” that the court found medical marijuana patients should be treated like everyone else.

Oregon in 1998 legalized medical marijuana, part of the first wave along with California (1996) and Washington (1998) authorizing patients to use cannabis to treat certain medical conditions after voters approved a ballot initiative.

Sixteen states nationwide have now passed medical marijuana laws.

More than 30,000 Oregonians now hold medical marijuana patient cards.

King County, Seattle Officials Ask State To Fix Medical Pot Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

The top prosecutors and officials in both King County, Washington and the city of Seattle are asking the Legislature to quickly untangle the mess left by Governor Christine Gregoire’s gutting of a medical marijuana bill. The bill was supposed to have legalized dispensaries and provided arrest protection for patients, but after Gregoire got through with it, patients were worse off than they started.

In a letter to the four top leaders in the Washington Legislature, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, county executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said the medical marijuana law in its current state leaves them with “few good options” to control and regulate dispensaries, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times.

“In the absence of new legislation, we at the local level will have to choose between closing down dispensaries and prosecuting the owners and workers, or allowing them to continue to multiply in an unclear regulatory environment,” they wrote in a letter [PDF] dated Wednesday, May 18.

CannaFresh Jars: Mission #1 Is Keeping Your Marijuana Fresh

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Products

Photo: CannaFresh

Just yesterday, while in a Seattle dispensary, I saw the top of a bud jar simply break off when the budtender tried to remove the lid. Such thin glass and flimsy craftsmanship are not a factor when it comes to CannaFresh™ bud jars.

When you pick up a CannaFresh jar, the sheer heft of it becomes obvious, even in the smallest sizes. This is thick glass, and these apothecary-style jars should last for years.

“Our mission is simple,” CannaFresh says. “Keep it Clean. Medical. Professional.” Toward that end, the company offers a number of options, including patient sizes, larger display sizes well-suited for dispensaries, and even CannaFresh Customs™, on which dispensaries can put their logo.

Patient Gets Two Years In Prison For Sharing Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: The Pencil Method

A Montana man will spend two years in prison for the offense of sharing three grams of his medical marijuana with friends last November.

District Judge Dusty Deschamps called it a “Mickey Mouse” offense, but in sentencing Matthew Otto, 27, on Tuesday, the judge said he took into account Otto’s “extensive criminal history” as supposed justification for the harsh sentence, reports Jenna Cederberg of The Missoulian.

Deschamps sentenced Otto to 20 years in prison after a jury convicted him in March on one count of “criminal distribution of dangerous drugs” (they’ve got to be kidding). Two years will be served at the Montana State Prison and will run concurrently with a previous sentence. The judge suspended the other 18 years of the sentence, which will be served on parole under Department of Corrections supervision.

Arizona Medical Marijuana Patients Start Cultivating At Home

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Medical

Photo: Growing Marijuana

Arizona’s medical marijuana laws are going into effect, but dispensaries are still don’t know exactly when they’ll be opening their doors. Meanwhile, some patients aren’t waiting for them.

Patients who have already received their medical marijuana cards have already started cultivating their own medicine at home, reports Sonu Wasu at KOLD News 13. Under Arizona’s law, patients who don’t have an operating dispensary within 25 miles are eligible to cultivate — and right now, since no dispensaries are yet open, that includes every patient in the state.

Corey Miller, who applied for a medical marijuana card and checked the box asking whether he intended to cultivate plants for personal use, has already received his card and started the process.

President of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Pleads Guilty

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2011 News

Photo: Steve Elliott

Paul Stanford of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) elected to accept a plea deal rather than continue fighting his state tax evasion case. “It is clear to most that this prosecution was unnecessary, petty and politically motivated,” Stanford said Wednesday afternoon.

Paul Stanford of Portland, Oregon, the man who describes himself as the nation’s largest broker of authorizations for medical marijuana, has pleaded guilty to reduced state tax-evasion charges.

But Stanford said it was a petty and politically motivated prosecution.

“It’s the first time in Oregon history that the attorney general has held a press conference about a misdemeanor case,” Stanford told Toke of the Town Wednesday afternoon.

Stanford, 50, founder of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF), was charged in March with failing to file personal state income taxes in 2008 and 2009, reports Fox 12 Oregon.

“Paying taxes is not optional,” crowed Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, unable to stop himself from throwing a self-congratulatory press conference immediately after the plea was announced.

Stanford had earlier said he would be cleared of guilt, but told Toke of the Town that he instead took a “sweetheart deal” from prosecutors and accepted a misdemeanor charge of personal income tax evasion.

Stoner Photo of the Day: Sativa Sampler Pack

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 17, 2011 Dispensaries, Products

I haven’t had this much fun since Mom brought home a Variety Pack of cereal when I was a kid. Both times, I was packin’ bowls like there’s no tomorrow. (Photo by Steve Elliott)

While visiting friendly Dockside Cooperative in the Seattle suburb of Fremont (“the Center of the Universe”), I noticed one welcome innovation that budtender Aaron told me is very helpful in allowing patients to find the strains that work best for them: sampler packs.

Dockside has sampler packs of both sativa strains and indicas, as well as 50/50 packs with four strains of each. Seen in the photo above is a Sativa Sampler Pack I got at Dockside today.

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