Yearly Archives: 2011

Maine: Marijuana Decrim Expansion Hearing Set For Thursday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 14, 2011 Legislation, News

Maine lawmakers have introduced a pair of bills, LD 754 and LD 750, to expand the state’s existing marijuana decriminalization law.

Under present law, adult possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana is a non-criminal offense punishable by a fine only.

LD 754 would change existing law so that adult possession of more than 2.5 but less than five ounces is classified as a civil violation.

LD 750 would change existing law so that the cultivation of up to six marijuana plants by an adult is also classified as a civil violation.

Both measures have been referred to the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which has scheduled a hearing on both bills for Thursday, March 17.

The hearing will begin at 1 p.m. in Room 436 of the State House on State Street in Augusta.

Every Maine resident has the right to testify at this hearing.

You don’t need to be an expert or an experienced pubic speaker — just come and speak your mind.

Cops Say ESPN Radio Host Had Pot Residue On His Shirt

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 11, 2011 News

Photo: Chicago Sun-Times

ESPN talk radio personality Harry Teinowitz, seen here in his booking mug shot, had “fresh marijuana residue” on his shirt when he was stopped for drunk driving, according to police

Sports talk radio personality Harry Teinowitz of ESPN had fresh marijuana residue on his shirt when he was charged March 4 with driving under the influence, according to police.

Teinowitz’s arrest report was released this week by Skokie, Illinois authorities, reports Mike Isaacs at the Chicago Sun-Times. The arrest led to an on-the-air apology from Teinowitz, who was suspended from his job on ESPN Radio’s WMVP-AM (1000).

The broadcaster was not charged with marijuana possession, but police claimed there was a strong odor of pot coming from his car when he was pulled over on Greenwood Avenue in Skokie. He also reportedly had a strong smell of alcohol coming from his breath, and failed all sobriety tests.

When asked by police about the pot smell, Teinowitz said the car was recently parked by a valet and those who parked his vehicle must have smoked pot in it, police said. Officers searched Teinowitz for marijuana and noticed the residue on his shirt, according to the police report.

Poll: 79% Of Connecticut Voters Support Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 11, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Menopausal Stoners

Medical marijuana has the support of a whopping 79 percent of Connecticut voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday. The poll, which also showed strong support for cannabis decriminalization, comes as state legislators consider medical marijuana and decrim bills.

Support for medical marijuana was above 70 percent in every demographic, with even 72 percent of Republicans favoring it, reports Phillip S. Smith at AlterNet.

“There is a near consensus on the medical marijuana law with about eight in 10 voters supporting it,” said Dr. Douglas Schwartz, Quinnipiac poll director. “it’s rare to see such a level of support for any issue.”

Colorado Bill Limits Blood THC; Targets Pot Smoking Drivers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 11, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: News By The Second

A bill cracking down on driving while high on marijuana cleared its first hurdle at the Colorado state Capitol on Thursday.

House Bill 1261 would set a limit of five nanograms per milliliter of blood, above which a person would be considered too stoned to legally drive, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post. Bill supporters tried to equate the five-nanogram THC limit to the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level that determines driving when drunk.

“If you test above that limit, you would be guilty of the misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs,” said Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), who is one of the bill’s sponsors.

Sewer Clogged With Bales Of Marijuana In Arizona

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 11, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Nogales Police Department

Nogales, Arizona public works employees pulled two bales of marijuana connected to 900 feet of rope from this manhole on Wednesday

Police said public works employees hauled out an estimated 39 pounds of marijuana while investigating a clogged sewer line in Nogales, Arizona on Wednesday.

Workers in the southern Arizona city, near the Mexico border, found two wet, feces-covered bales of marijuana tied to a rope feeding into the sewer system, reports Hank Stephenson at the Nogales International.

The bales, tied with about 900 feet and rope, were hauled out through a manhole on Hudgins Street. The sewer line from which the pot was removed feeds into the International Outflow Interceptor (IOI) from the Heroes neighborhood in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. A search of the Rio Rico sewer plant, where the IOI ends, “didn’t turn up any more drugs,” a Nogales Police Department spokesman said.

Police Lt. Carlos Jiminez said it’s the first time they’ve discovered bales of marijuana tied to a rope that they believe smugglers were trying to maneuver through the sewer line, reports The Associated Press.

New Commenting System Coming To Toke of the Town

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 11, 2011 News

Photo: Workathometruth.com

I’ve got your number, dude.

I know how you are. You’re sitting there doing bong rips and practicing your latest witty repartee, or maybe perfecting the best insult in history, or crafting the snappiest comeback ever.

Or, hell, I don’t know. Maybe you’re just looking for a fancy new way to say “Brah, I am soooo stoned,” or you make it your daily practice to go around asking your online buddies “Can you spare a joint?”

Either way, heads up, heads: Toke of the Town‘s new Disqus commenting system is on the way.

It should be up and running in a couple weeks, allowing you to create your own icons, reply directly to others, “and otherwise be 37 percent more festive,” as Pete Kotz, my Village Voice Media cohort over at True Crime Report, put it.

Of course you know we’re in favor of that.

If you want a preview to see what the new commenting system will be like, click here.

An Inside Look At The Seattle Cannabis Farmer’s Market

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 10, 2011 Medical, Products

Around 600 people attended the inaugural Seattle Cannabis Farmer’s Market, according to organizer Jeremy Miller.

By Jack Foster

Photos by Knottyy

Seattle Cannabis Journal

The very first Seattle Cannabis Farmer’s Market was held with the blessing of the surrounding community. It was encouraging to see our law enforcement’s attitude reflecting that of the people. The Farmer’s Market provides a safe place for patients to have regular access to a variety of medicine and providers.

For now, at least, the Market is hosted in the centrally located Little Red Bistro’s ‘Moroccan Room’ near Dexter and Denny.

I topped off my morning toke of “Jesus” with a coffee from Uptown Espresso, where I took preliminary notes. Once the mood struck I wandered down to the site of the Farmer’s Market. Patients enter through the front of the restaurant, passing the bar and heading through the back door. The high-ceilinged Moroccan Room housed a good deal of vendors, and a sea of patients.

I found the market boasted a comprehensive cross-section of the medical cannabis community in Washington State. Everyone from single growers, to delivery services, to full brick-and-mortar operations were present.

Ultimate Fighter Matt ‘The Law’ Lindland Sued For Stealing Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 10, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: Mixed Martial Arts

Would you take your marijuana back away from Matt “The Law” Lindland if he stole it?

“Ultimate Fighter” and former Republican political candidate Matt “The Law” Lindland is being sued for allegedly stealing six mature marijuana plants from a patient.

In a suit filed March 3 in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon, plaintiff Gonzalo Aldana Gamboa says Lindland offered last year to let Gamboa grow cannabis under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program on Lindland’s property in Eagle Creek, reports James Pitkin at Willamette Week.

Gamboa registered the grow site with the state of Oregon and harvested six mature plants last October, according to the lawsuit. Lindland helped Gamboa load the plants into a U-Haul truck and told him he was moving them to his shed to dry, the suit says.

Caution: B.C. Medical Marijuana Grow-Ops Targeted By Thieves

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 10, 2011 Global, Growing, News

Photo: PNG/Regina Leader-Post

Home basement grow-ops like these are being targeted by thieves around Langley, British Columbia, Canada.

Some British Columbia residents who are legally licensed to grow medical marijuana are being ripped off by thieves.

Three Langley, B.C., medical marijuana grow-ops have been robbed in the past six months, reports Cassidy Olivier at The Province. But Royal Canadian Mounted Police said there is “no way to tell” if the grows are being specifically targeted because they are a medicinal cannabis operation, or simply because they have pot.

“We’re very concerned,” said Supt. Derek Cooke of the Langley RCMP, reports CBC News. “This is a significant problem for the community.” There are more than 800 legal medical marijuana grow-ops in B.C., according to Cooke.

IRS Tells Medical Marijuana Dispensary It Owes Millions In Taxes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 10, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Jeff Vendsel/Marin Independent Journal

Lynette Shaw, founder and director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, which is being audited by the IRS.

The Internal Revenue Service has notified the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax, California that it owes millions of dollars in unpaid back taxes, according to the dispensary’s founder and director, Lynette Shaw.

Shaw said the IRS audited the Alliance’s tax returns for 2008 and 2009 — and disallowed all of the dispensary’s business deductions, reports Richard Halstead at the Marin Independent Journal.

Although dispensaries throughout California are reportedly being audited by the IRS, the Alliance is the first to be directly told it can’t deduct business expenses, according to Shaw.

“Every dispensary in the nation, past present and future is dead if this is upheld,” Shaw said.

Previous 1 … 95 96 97 98 99 … 121 Next