Jack Daniel

State Rep. Stanley Cox says Missouri’s marijuana laws are just fine the way they are

By Jack Daniel on February 14, 2014 Legislation, News

State Rep. Stanley Cox says he wants to improve Missouri’s criminal code, as long as those improvements don’t include more lenient marijuana laws.

StanCox.net

Rep. Stan Cox is hard on drugs.

And if there’s anybody who knows how harsh Missouri’s drug laws are, it’s Cox — he was one of the attorneys involved in the case of Jeff Mizanskey, Missouri’s only inmate serving life without parole for marijuana charges.
The Republican from Sedalia is upset that within a 1,000-page bill is a little piece of legislation that would reduce the penalty for possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana for nonviolent, first-time offenders. Under the proposed legislation, the maximum penalty one would receive is a $500 fine. Under current law, offenders face one year in prison.
For a more in-depth look at the evil that is Rep. Cox, click over to the Riverfront Times where Ray Downs has all the details.

Michigan marijuana farmers have appeals rejected, will serve time

By Jack Daniel on February 14, 2014 Growing, Medical, News

Two Michigan pot farmers found themselves in hot water when local authorities discovered 211 plants growing in well-guarded greenhouses on the men’s property.

Gerald Duval Jr. and his son, Jeremy Duval, were convicted of drug trafficking, with the elder getting slapped with a 10 year sentence, and his adult son being handed five years in the clink. They appealed their convictions on multiple grounds, but the 6th Circuit Court ruled this week that the two had no right to challenge the court’s decision any further.

Marijuana advertising lawsuit: State should treat pot more like alcohol, Westword attorney says

By Jack Daniel on February 14, 2014 Culture, Follow that story, News

Denver Westword

Earlier this week, Westword and High Times magazine filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado in regard to regulations that restrict recreational marijuana advertising to publications that are deemed “adult” by a state-mandated formula. Attorney Steve Suskin, who represents Westword on behalf of the paper’s parent company, Voice Media Group, says the complaint was filed because the state’s current rules could violate the First Amendment. Meanwhile, the paper’s publisher emphasizes that when it comes to such ads, Westword is very much open for business.
“We are 100 percent confident of the legality of where we are in terms of taking this business,” says Scott Tobias, who is also the CEO of Voice Media Group, a company that owns publications in Los Angeles, New York and other major U.S. cities in addition to Denver. “From the very start of Amendment 64, we committed ourselves to being a reference point to the medical marijuana community, and now the retail marijuana community. We remain committed to strong partnerships and support of these businesses.”
The story does not end there…go straight to the source for the rest at Denver Westword

Competing weed initiatives in FL have local Democrats at war with themselves

By Jack Daniel on February 14, 2014 Follow that story, Legislation, Medical

“Joe is a freshman legislator in a Republican-controlled house, so he’s got zero juice to get anything done.” So says John Morgan, an Orlando-based attorney and cannabis reform advocate.
The “Joe” he is referring to is Florida state congressman Joe Saunders (D- Orlando), who recently filed House Bill 859, which if passed, would skip right past the voters in Florida, making legal medical marijuana the law of the land.

Morgan, who has personally raised $4,000,000 in an effort to get a similar piece of legislation before Florida voters this November, calls Saunders’ plan nothing more than a publicity stunt.

Ongoing US cannabis reform causing ripples worldwide

By Jack Daniel on February 13, 2014 Follow that story, Global, Legalize It

Whether it is blue jeans, or Blue Dream, what happens in America, rarely stays in America. When states across the nation began shifting towards medical marijuana legislation, the rest of the world barely blinked.
But once Colorado and Washington took the plunge into full recreational pot legalization, the South American country of Uruguay followed suit, and now the dominoes of worldwide marijuana reform have begun to tumble.

18 U.S. Congressmen asking President Obama to reclassify marijuana

By Jack Daniel on February 13, 2014 Follow that story, Legalize It, News

Congressman Raul Grijalva, a southern Arizona Democrat, has joined 17 other congressmen in asking that President Obama to help reclassify marijuana in the federal drug “scheduling.”
Marijuana is a Schedule I substance at the federal level, which the Justice Department describes as the “most dangerous” drugs that have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” alongside LSD and heroin.
The Schedule I drugs generally are associated with higher penalties. For example, trafficking between 50 and 99 kilograms of pot calls for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. A first-time offender caught with any amount of a Schedule III drug — which includes certain prescription painkillers, ketamine, and anabolic steroids, among other things — is supposed to serve a maximum of 10 years.

Although Obama himself can’t just reorganize the drug scheduling himself, the 18 lawmakers — mostly Democrats — have asked Obama to instruct Attorney General Eric Holder to use his authority to reclassify marijuana.
Our buds over at the Phoenix New Times have more on this groundbreaking development

University’s Cannabis Genome Research Initiative takes pot science to new heights

By Jack Daniel on February 13, 2014 Follow that story, Legalize It, News

Due to its notorious status, marijuana has often been left behind as science moves forward with the study of botany. But much of that has changed with the passage of Amendment 64.

Phillip Poston/Westword

“Despite the fact that cannabis is one of the most valuable and historically important crop species, we know comparatively little about the plant,” says Nolan Kane, a member of the University of Colorado Boulder’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology, who is heading up the Cannabis Genome Research Initiative.
With this project, Kane intends to map the marijuana genome, creating a more sophisticated knowledge of its DNA makeup and history — a treatment that other plants like corn and soybeans have enjoyed for a few years.
Our friends over at Denver Westword have all of the details on this fascinating technology.

Medical Marijuana in FL: Miamians Predict “Bob Marley Fest Every Day”

By Jack Daniel on February 13, 2014 Culture, Follow that story, Medical

Miami New Times

Is Florida ready for medical marijuana? Well, yeah actually. The latest polls show that seven in ten statewide support legalized weed for various ailments, and supporters have gathered enough signatures to put the question on November’s ballot. One way or another, loosened mary jane restrictions seem coming to the Sunshine State.
But everyone knows Miami rocks to its own beat on just about every statewide issue. How’s the average Magic City resident feel about medical marijuana?
Miami New Times’ Kathryn Sotolongo took a trip to Bayfront Park to find out.

Ashley Weber, paralyzed medical marijuana patient and mom, wins federal housing fight

By Jack Daniel on February 12, 2014 Legalize It, News

Ashley Weber is a quadriplegic who lives with her young son, Collin, in a house whose rent she can afford due to a Section 8 housing voucher courtesy of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Denver Westword

Ashley Weber after the car accident that left her paralyzed

But in December 2012, after revealing that she uses medical marijuana for pain management, the Longmont Housing Authority sent her a termination notice.
Since then, Weber’s been fighting this edict, and after a year of struggle, the LHA has informed her she can stay due to a new policy she inspired.
Michael Roberts over at Denver Westword covers the rest of this inspirational story,

Washington state lawmakers seek to place a ban on cities banning pot shops

By Jack Daniel on February 12, 2014 Dispensaries, Follow that story, Say what?

Both Colorado and Washington made history in 2012 by becoming the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults. But while Colorado-based pot shops have been raking in mile-high profits since implementing the new laws at the beginning of this year, folks in Washington are still waiting for the green light to begin their own green rush.

But not everyone in Washington is excited about the controversial new industry coming to their neck of the woods. Nearly three dozen of the state’s 75 largest cities, towns, and municipalities have scrambled to enact ordinances, restrictions, and outright bans to keep any eventual recreational weed stores from opening up in their neighborhood.
As covered by local KING 5 News, a new bill (HB 2144) is in the works that would effectively place a ban on any future bans on pot shops, and it has some city officials hot under the collar.

Author Jack Daniel