Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Ohio Group Submits Petitions To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 2, 2011 Legislation, News

Tonya Davis and other activists are working to get a Constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot in November 2012 to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Davis said cannabis relieves her symptoms without the problems associated with harsh pharmaceutical narcotics.

A group favoring the legalization of marijuana for medical uses in Ohio has taken initial steps to place a Constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2012.

Supporters of the “Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment” last week submitted 2,143 signatures on petitions to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine with summary language of the proposed amendment, reports Lynn Hulsey at the Dayton Daily News. DeWine sent the signatures out to local election boards for verification.

The group needs 1,000 valid signatures before DeWine will determine if the amendment summary is a “fair and truthful statement.” It will then be reviewed by the Ohio Ballot Board and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Washington Town Approves Collective Marijuana Gardens

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 2, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Washington Highways

The collectives will be limited to a strip along State Route 525 in Mukilteo

On a 5-2 vote Monday night, the Mukilteo City Council approved an ordinance allowing collective medical marijuana gardens in the Snohomish County, Washington city.

The move is significant, according to patient activist Philip Dawdy of the Washington Cannabis Association and 4 Evergreen Group, because it makes the city the first in Snohomish County to allow for collective gardens. Other cities in the county, including Everett, Lake Stevens and Marysville, have banned them.

Guy Busted Smoking Marijuana In Police Station Parking Lot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 News

Photo: City-Data.com

Here’s where the big bust went down. (OK, here’s where they caught some half-drunk schlub with a blunt.)

If you’re in the parking lot of a police station and jail, waiting for a friend who’s visiting an inmate inside, you might want to stifle that impulse to fire up a blunt to help pass the time.

A Texas man learned this valuable life lesson last Monday at about 11 a.m. Our dude in question, who was about halfway through a 40-ounce malt liquor in the South Houston Police Station parking lot, decided it was just a wonderful time to spark up, reports Richard Connelly at Houston Press.

Thing is, it seems lots of cops hang out in police station parking lots. One of the boys in blue happened to walk nearby “and immediately smelled burnt marijuana and the strong smell of alcohol coming from his person.”

$10,000 Reward Offered In Medical Marijuana Delivery Murder

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: OC Weekly

Philip Victor Williamson, 29, was gunned down in a Long Beach alleyway.

A $10,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to the arrest of whomever is responsible for the murder of alleged medical marijuana hauler Philip Victor Williamson, whose body was discovered on March 24 in an alley in Long Beach, California.

The award was proposed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, reports Allison Jean Eaton at the Long Beach Post. Police believe Williamson, 29, reportedly a medicinal cannabis deliveryman, could have had up to $500,000 in cash on him when he died, reports Nick Schou at OC Weekly.

Williamson was shot in a Pine Avenue alleyway, and Long Beach Police say his death “could be linked” to his distributing medical marijuana from a collective in Chico to dispensaries in Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The reward money “may prompt witnesses to come forward,” Knabe said.

Wayward Bill Takes The Helm At U.S. Marijuana Party

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Deadheads United

Wayward Bill, the new president of the United States Marijuana Party: “Like a phoenix we will as a party once again rise to shine”

The torch — or is it the spliff? — has been passed at the United States Marijuana Party, which this week announced Wayward Bill (also known as William A. Chengelis) of Denver, Colorado is taking over its top position.

Wayward Bill replaces former party President Richard J. Rawlings at the top spot.

“After eight hard years managing the party Richard was ready to move on,” Wayward Bill said in a press release. “Sheree Krider, VP, United States Marijuana Party recommended me in a party memorandum for the top position. She also resigned her position within the national office. I spoke to both her and Richard prior to making my decision to accept. It was a happy coup.”

According to Wayward Bill, his taking the helm means that the USMjP will now be located in Denver. “The address has yet to be determined,” he said. The party was previously headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

“I will be taking a more proactive approach by hopefully first moving our current USMjP chapters close to their state capitols so that they can be more involved with marijuana law reform in their respective states,” Wayward Bill said. “You will see us everywhere. The halls of government, in the media, in social media, at political functions and rallies, on online forums, everywhere.

California Clinic Refuses To Treat Medical Marijuana Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: Rose Law Group

Can a clinic refuse medical care to you, simply because you are a legal medical marijuana patient?

Several medical marijuana patients have reported being told they were unwelcome at clinics operated by Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas, California.

More allegations came to light after hospital officials in early July claimed they had no policy stopping medical marijuana patients from receiving care, reports Dana M. Nichols at the Stockton Record.

The first patient to go public with the allegations was disabled veteran Sam Slayter. He said Dr. Rafael Rosado told him that he wouldn’t receive care at at Mark Twain clinic in Valley Springs unless he signed an agreement promising to stop using medical marijuana.

N.J. MS Patient Loses Appeal; Prison For Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 Growing, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger

Multiple sclerosis patient John Ray Wilson is handcuffed after being sentenced to five years in prison for “manufacturing and drug possession”

A New Jersey multiple sclerosis patient appears to be headed to prison for growing 17 marijuana plants behind his home.

John Ray Wilson said the plants were for medicinal use, and New Jersey — since Wilson’s arrest — has legalized medical marijuana. But patients in the Garden State still aren’t allowed to grow their own medicine.

Wilson was acquitted of maintaining or operating a “drug-production facility,” which could have gotten him 20 years behind bars, but was found guilty of manufacturing and possessing marijuana and sentenced to five years in prison.

Is California AG Burning The Medical Marijuana Community?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 1, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: The Mad Professah Lectures

California Attorney General Kamala Harris appears to be taking orders from law enforcement in drawing up the state’s new medical marijuana guidelines

In her bid to defeat Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley for the job of California’s top cop, then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris got the support of the state’s medical marijuana community — not so much because she was great, but because Cooley royally sucks ass.

In a rare show of unity (unlike what happened with pot legalization initiative Prop 19), the state’s marijuana activists seemed to all agree on an “Anybody But Cooley” campaign. That effort may well have been the difference between the two candidates last fall, as less than 80,000 votes separated the victorious Harris from Cooley. There are 750,000 medical marijuana patients in California.

But, as pointed out by Chris Roberts at LA Weekly, if Harris feels any gratitude for the support of the medical marijuana community, she’s doing a good job of hiding it.

Washington Man Chooses Jail Over Fine For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 29, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Dana Goes to Jail!

Dana Walker: “I am a keen patron of irony and I LOVE the fact that I am going to reclaim my freedom by going to jail”

A Washington state man on Friday chose jail over paying a marijuana possession fine, as a way of protesting the laws against cannabis.

Dana Walker of Olympia was reportedly led away in handcuffs after telling Thurston County Superior Court Judge Gary R. Tabor, “As to the matter now before us I have no intention of making any more payments and I am requesting as long a jail sentence as the law allows for my refusal.”

Walker set up a Facebook event for his Friday court appearance, inviting the public to witness his statement to the judge, reports The Weed Blog.

“Have you ever wanted to go into a courtroom and honestly tell the judge and prosecutor what you think of their marijuana laws?” Walker asked on the Facebook page, “Dana Goes to Jail!”

“I have a golden opportunity to do just that and I plan to take full advantage,” he said. “Those of you who personally know me know I am fully capable of turning righteous indignation into an entertaining show, and I plan to pull out all stops on this one.

“I owe Thurston County over $3,000 for a marijuana charge from back in 1997,” he said. “I am currently unemployed, I am not a fan of hot weather, and I wouldn’t mind at all spending a few weeks in jail just for the opportunity to tell a court where they can stick their laws.

10 Years Prison Upheld In Eddy Lepp Medical Marijuana Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 29, 2011 Growing, Legislation, News

Photo: Salem-News

Eddy Lepp walked his last mile to federal prison as a free man.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and 10-year prison sentence of Charles “Eddy” Lepp, who grew 32,000 marijuana plants for patients and fellow Rastafarians on his land in Lake County, California.

The federal judge who sent Lepp to prison in 2009 criticized the federal law which required a 10-year prison term for growing more than 1,000 cannabis plants, reports Bob Egelko at the San Francisco Chronicle. But U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of San Francisco said she had no choice under the law, and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

“The statutory minimum sentence is not cruel and unusual punishment,” the three-judge panel ruled.

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