Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Photo: The Tizona Group

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

Anyone’s who has spent any time behind the Redwood Curtain knows that dogs are a grower’s best friend. Most farmers I know have at least one dog, if not more.
Whe
n you live in an isolated community cultivating the number one cash crop in the world, it pays to have a security system that you can rely on and for the most part, that can scare away any unwanted guest without firing off…a mean word. Dogs are an invaluable source of protection in lieu of setting up a .50-caliber foxhole.

Photo: Medicinal DC

​The District of Columbia passed its first milestone in selecting who gets the much-coveted licenses for the city’s medical marijuana program, even as the federal government is taking a second look at its hands-off approach to those who legally grow and sell cannabis under laws allowing its medicinal use.

More than 80 individuals or businesses applied to cultivate or sell medical marijuana through letters of intent submitted to the Department of Health, reports Tom Howell Jr. at The Washington Times. The applicants range from entrepreneurial lawyers and gardeners in D.C., to medical marijuana professionals based in states like Colorado and Montana.

Photo: Reason
According to a new Elway Poll, 54 percent of Washingtonians support legalizing cannabis.

​A majority of voters in Washington state support the legalization of marijuana, but many say they “need to know more,” according to a newly released Elway Poll.

“There were equivalent numbers of ‘definite supporters’ and ‘definite opponents’ among the 408 voters interviewed by The Elway Poll last week,” the poll reported, according to Joel Connelly at the Seattle P.I. “However, there were twice as many who were ‘inclined to support’ legalization as ‘inclined to oppose,’ ” the poll reported.
Of those surveyed, 54 percent overall definitely support marijuana legalization or are “inclined to support it but I need to know more,” while 43 percent are definitely opposed or inclined to oppose. Only 3 percent of Evergreen State voters are undecided on the issue.

Graphic: Medical Marijuana States

​The idea of legalizing marijuana is going to be studied by lawmakers in Indiana.

The General Assembly’s criminal law and sentencing policy study committee plans to examine all the different angles of the marijuana issue, including legalization, reports WHAS 11.
The Hoosier legislators will also take a look at decriminalizing pot, or creating a medical marijuana program in the state.
Among the lawmakers who support the study is Republican Rep. Tom Knollman, who is battling multiple sclerosis. Knollman told lawmakers during this legislatige session that he wished he could legally try cannabis to help relieve his pain.
Knollman said at the time that although he’s among the most conservative of state legislators, he hopes he can be a law-abiding citizen and “use one of God’s plants.”

Photo: Hudspeth County, Texas
Vengeful Judge Becky Dean-Walker, who evidently gets her hair done at Trailer Park Skanks R Us: “If Willie Nelson gets off with nothing, I’m not going to be part of it.”

​A proposed plea deal in music legend Willie Nelson’s marijuana possession case has been rejected by a vengeful Texas judge who said she wants harsher punishment for the 77-year-old singer.

Nelson was arrested last November by the U.S. Border Patrol when they found several ounces of weed on his tour bus, reports Justin Harp at Digital Spy.
The bust went down at the Sierra Blanca, Texas checkpoint after Nelson’s tour bus pulled in and a Border Patrol officer smelled marijuana through the vehicle’s open door.
Willie had reportedly agreed to plead “no contest” to a charge of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as pay a $500 fine and $280 in court costs, with the presiding Hudspeth County Judge Becky Dean-Walker initially indicating her agreement.

Graphic: The 2811 Club

​Medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona have been blocked from opening, but that didn’t stop a new “club” from opening in Phoenix on Monday, giving local patients another option for getting their cannabis. The 2811 Club is giving the stuff away.

Patient Vickie Smith said she is learning everything about using medical marijuana, and she’s getting quick answers because she’s now a member of The 2811 Club, reports Ryan O’Donnell at azfamily.com.
“I get to spend time with other people with conditions like mine or something similar, going through the same thing, the same learning process that I’m going through and we can share ideas,” Smith said.
Soft music and soft lighting create a comfortable atmosphere at the club, where medical marijuana is actually being handed out for free.

Graphic: Sensible Portland

​A group of concerned citizens in Portland, Maine is trying to pass an ordinance making marijuana possession the lowest enforcement priority for police, with no arrest required.

Sensible Portland turned in petitions with more than 2,000 signatures to the city clerk on Tuesday morning, reports WGME. In order to put the question before voters on the November ballot, 1,500 valid signatures are needed.
The proposed ordinance also requires Portland’s mayor to report to the City Council on marijuana arrests by the police, reports Caroline Cornish at WCSH 6.
The ordinance is limited. Officers wouldn’t face any penalty if they violated the ordinance, and the language specifically states that it’s not intended to prohibit police from working with federal drug enforcement agents.
But Sensible Portland said it’s important for voters to go on the record about this issue, since the federal government said it plants to crack down on even medical marijuana users.

Photo: Roger Goodman For Congress

“Happy 4th of July, everybody! As I march in the parades and go to barbecues today, I am mindful that our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were drafted on hemp parchment and that Washington and Jefferson grew and used hemp for many purposes.

“I wonder what our Founders would think today, as well as Lincoln and Einstein and others who have condemned prohibitions…
“Now is the time for us, at this tipping point in history, to remember America’s underlying political principles — liberty and justice — and thereby for us all to fight together and finally end this outrageous policy of cannabis prohibition!”

Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen/The New York Times
In happier times: Pierre Werner, owner of Dr. Reefer, takes a toke in his dispensary in Boulder, Colorado, June 13, 2010.

​Dr. Reefer’s days as a marijuana activist are over.

“Someone else has got to carry on the fight now that me and my whole family are convicted felons,” Dr. Reefer — also known as entrepreneur Pierre Werner — said on Thursday, reports Carri Geer Thevenot at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Werner and other members of his family on Thursday resolved their federal marijuana case by pleading guilty to felonies.
Dr. Reefer was one of 14 people, including his mother and brother, arrested on January 6 in connection with marijuana sales at Las Vegas dispensaries.
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