Yearly Archives: 2011

Feds Order Banks To Spy On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Federal regulators stepped into a firestorm of controversy recently when they ordered banks in California’s North Coast area to spy on the transactions of customers who are suspected of making money in the medical marijuana business.

In a heavy-handed bid to crack down on California’s cannabis industry, federal officials have ordered the banks to look out for “suspicious activity” by dispensary owners, reports Clarence Walker at AlterNet. That is making it very difficult for medical marijuana dispensaries which are legal under state, but not federal law, to conduct business.

Coke Says It Won’t Put Machines In Dispensaries, Then Backtracks

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 19, 2011 Dispensaries, Products

Photo: Budbandit/Way Too Many

Altitude Wellness Center in Denver thought a Coke machine in the lobby would be a great idea. Give cotton-mouthed customers a chance to wet their whistles, and perhaps make a dollar or two in the process? Win-win.

But when the center asked for a machine a few days ago, the Coca-Cola Company stiffly informed them it has a corporate policy against placing Coke machines in businesses that sell marijuana.

When AWC decided to go public with the rejection, Coca-Cola backed down, with a representative pledging to apologize, reports Michael Roberts at Denver Westword.

According to Melissa, daughter of AWC owner Roger (they asked that their last names not be used), an AWC rep called the local Coca-Cola distributor shortly after opening about a year and a half ago and requested a cooler to put in the business. Every month since then, the owners have bought between $200 and $300 worth of Cokes to give customers.

Talking With A Mendo Pot Grower: Seeds of Dreams and Despair

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Culture, Growing

Graphic: Geocurrents.info

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

“It’s just not worth it for me,” Argos said as he ground the pungent coffee beans.

“I put in around about a grand or so, per plant, not counting labor and love. Breaks my heart to have to let it go for anything less than $1,500 individually. Especially because I know the kids across the valley are picking up my medicine and bringing it to L.A., getting two grand and half for an elbow. Calling it whatever those Hollywood types are smoking these days.”

I sat at his table listening the rain hammering his mountain cabin while Argos hand-cranked the beans into one of those old-fashioned meat grinders.

“It’s getting bad and crazy at the same time,” he told me. “Folks I’ve known who’ve grown for years, through the droughts and the DEAs, are pulling up stakes and leaving.”

Maine Law Enforcement Against Lowering Marijuana Penalties

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

Two bills to broaden the decriminalization of marijuana in Maine got bipartisan support from lawmakers at public hearings Thursday, but were — surprise, surprise! — opposed by law enforcement officials.

One measure, L.D. 754, would double the amount of usable marijuana that individuals could possess and still have it treated as a civil, rather than a criminal, offense, reports Rebekah Metzler at Maine Today. The other, L.D. 750, would decriminalize possession of up to six cannabis plants.

“It is my fundamental belief that people who use marijuana for personal use on a recreational basis are not criminals,” said state Rep. Ben Chipman, an independent from Portland, when he spoke to lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

“I just do not think that it’s reasonable to allow 2.5 ounces to be a civil infraction but having zero tolerance for plants and forcing consumers to the black market,” Chipman said.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, and voters legalized dispensaries in 2009. The Maine Legislature in spring 2009 doubled the amount of marijuana a person could possess without facing criminal charges from 1.25 ounces to 2.5 ounces. Chipman’s proposal would double that amount again, to five ounces.

Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Convicted

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Scott Shupe is shown sitting in Change, the Spokane marijuana dispensary that he co-owned, in this 2009 file photo. Shupe was convicted on March 17, 2011, on felony drug charges after a jury rejected his argument that Washington’s medical marijuana law allows dispensaries to operate.

How long now until more raids?

In a case closely watched by both the medical marijuana community and law enforcement, a Spokane, Washington jury rejected arguments Thursday that the state’s medical marijuana law should be interpreted broadly to allow for commercial dispensaries, convicting a provider of multiple drug trafficking charges.

Scott Q. Shupe, who co-owned one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane, argued that a broad interpretation of the state’s medical marijuana law means that dispensaries can supply authorized patients, provided they serve just one patient at a time, reports Thomas Clouse at The Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Michigan Medical Marijuana Patients: State Has Us In Catch 22

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: mlive.com

Michigan Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette: “The zero tolerance standard should be followed”

If you’re a Michigan medical marijuana patient, you don’t get to drive, according to your Attorney General.

Medical marijuana advocates are unhappy about Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s reaction to a case concerning a medical marijuana cardholder who was arrested for “driving under the influence of drugs,” reports Carol Hopkins at the Oakland County Daily Tribune.

Atty. Gen. Schuette filed a brief in support of the Grand Traverse County prosecutor’s appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals in People v. Koon, a case in which Koon, a medical marijuana patient, was charged with driving with cannabis in his system.

Michigan’s motor vehicle code prohibits drivers from operating motor vehicles with “any amount” of a Schedule I substance in the body.

Washington Legislature Looks At Two Marijuana Bills

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Directory

Dispensaries already exist in at least King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, but if SB 5073 passes the Washington Legislature in 2011, they could operate statewide

Washington lawmakers are spending some time on cannabis this week, discussing both outright legalization as a source of revenue, and legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries to provide safe access for patients under the law approved by voters in 1998.

Supporters of a bill to legalize cannabis made a push to revive a measure they say would be worth $440 million in a two-year state budget cycle, reports Jim Camden at The Spokane Spokesman-Review. With a state budget deficit projected at more than $5 billion, that’s a more powerful argument than ever for legalization in the Evergreen State.

HB 1550, the legalization bill sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), already had one hearing in the House Public Safety Committee, “where it attracted the usual list of supporters, who noted that some of the Founding Fathers grew hemp, and detractors who warned of growing usage by teens and drivers should marijuana become legal,” noted the Spokesman-Review.

Feds Threaten Marijuana Dispensaries Nationwide

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 17, 2011 Dispensaries, News

In a little-publicized memo, the U.S. federal government has indicated that the gloves are off regarding medical marijuana dispensaries, regardless of state laws.

Previous memos had indicated a loosening of federal prosecutions of medical marijuana; however the new memo states very clearly that the feds consider all dispensaries illegal under federal law and that their prosecution is a “core priority” of federal agents, according to the Cannabis Therapy Institute (CTI).

The “Haag Memo” [PDF], written on February 1, 2011 from U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag (Northern District of California) to Oakland City Attorney John A. Russo, was a response to an Oakland City Council request for guidance regarding medical marijuana and federal law. The memo was written with consultation and approval from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, according to CTI.

Bill To Take Marijuana From Cancer Patients Gets Trashed

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 17, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Torsten Kjellstrand

Oregon voters approved medical marijuana in 1998, but conservative legislators are trying to restrict which patients can qualify.

Legislators got an earful Wednesday from medical marijuana advocates who opposed a proposal to greatly restrict who can legally use cannabis to combat illnesses.

It’s the second time the issue has come up recently, with some lawmakers claiming too many people are scamming the law that allows the use of marijuana to treat some diseases and symptoms, reports Harry Esteve at The Oregonian.

“I personally think the program is out of control,” sniffed the self-righteous windbag Sen. Jeff Kruse (R-Roseburg), sponsor of one of the bills targeting the growth of medicinal cannabis use. “I know people who just find it a legal way to smoke pot,” he claimed.

WA Paper: Strip Medical Marijuana Bill Of Onerous Amendments

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 17, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Spokane Spokesman-Review

A major newspaper in Washington state has called for legislators, currently trying to revamp and clarify the state’s medical marijuana law, to drop onerous amendments which threaten to torpedo what started out as a good piece of legislation.

“The present bill does a thorough job of establishing a system for the legal production and distribution of marijuana, but heavy-handed amendments were added in the Senate before that body passed it,” editorialized the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

“The amended bill would not allow medical marijuana to become a commercial enterprise, unlike other drugs,” the Spokesman-Review wrote. “Nor could it be advertised as other drugs are. In addition, individual communities could choose to outlaw dispensaries.

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