Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Connecticut Marijuana Decrim Kicks In On July 1

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

If you have less than half an ounce of weed, you’ll get a fine, much as with a traffic ticket, after July 1.

Connecticut’s new medical marijuana decriminalization law takes effect on July 1. Current laws remain in effect through the end of June, which means you could possibly still get arrested and thrown in jail for any amount of pot.

The decrim law only applies to amounts under half an ounce, reports Sam Tracy at the Hartford Advocate. While the bill started out with a one-ounce limit, that got lowered to half an ounce during the legislative process.

“And to get real technical about it, it’s amounts under half 1/2 an ounce, meaning if you have exactly .5 ounces on you, you can still get arrested,” Tracy writes. “Word is, police are now going to have certified scales in their cars, and will be measuring the amounts they confiscate to decide if it’s a ticket or an arrest.”

Miracle-Gro Makes A Play For The Medical Marijuana Market

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: How To Grow Weed Indoors

Miracle-Gro seems to have finally gotten hip to the fact that lots of people use its chemical fertilizer to grow marijuana — and that with a little marketing, that number could get a lot, well, higher.

In an unusual move for the head of such a large company, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company CEO Jim Hagedorn said he is “exploring” targeting medical marijuana cultivators to boost sales at his lawn and garden supply firm, reports Dana Mattioli at The Wall Street Journal.

“I want to target the pot market,” Hagedorn said in an interview. “There’s no good reason we haven’t.”

Sales at Scott’s aren’t exactly suffering. In fact, they rose five percent last year, to $2.9 billion. But the company, based in Marysville, Ohio, relies on sales at three mega-retailers — Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wal-Mart — for almost two-thirds of its revenue. But with those big-box retailers not building new stores as quickly as they used to, it appears the CEO wants to “diversify.”

90 New Jersey Doctors In Nation’s First Marijuana Registry

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: Freedom Is Green

Sandy Fiaola, New Jersey multiple sclerosis patient, is still waiting for her medicine

Ninety physicians are already registered in a program for medical marijuana in New Jersey, which is the first state in the nation to require that doctors complete special requirements and register with the state to recommend cannabis.

The scheme follows a set of regulations proposed by Governor Chris Christie’s administration, reports Chris Goldstein at Freedom Is Green. After 18 months of frustrating delays, the rules still haven’t been officially finalized. The Legislature even took the very unusual move of passing a resolution saying that the regulations are working against the intent of New Jersey’s compassionate use law.

Montel Williams Opens High-End Marijuana Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries, Products

Photo: CBS Sacramento

Montel Williams: “Why are we treating patients who seek out this medication like they’re some lesser member of society?”

Former talk show host Montel Williams lent his star power to the grand opening of a high-end medical marijuana dispensary in Sacramento, California, that aims to “set a new standard” for patients who choose to use cannabis.

Williams, a daytime TV host for 17 years, said he uses medical marijuana to relieve the pain of multiple sclerosis but has seen the need for more professional distribution of the herb, reports CBS Sacramento.

“You see people standing around, sticking their nose into things,” Williams unfortunately said. “I don’t go to CVS to pick up an individual Vicodin.”

Portland, Maine Could Make Marijuana Busts Lowest Priority

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

Graphic: Sensible Portland

Could Portland become Potland? Enforcement of marijuana laws will become the lowest priority for police in Portland, Maine, if supporters of a petition drive are successful.

Under the proposal being circulated by Sensible Portland, police would refrain from arresting or even fining anyone 21 or older for possession of marijuana or paraphernalia, reports Ann S. Kim at the The Portland Press Herald. Police would also be directed to refrain from trying to even find out whether someone has cannabis or paraphernalia.

The proposed ordinance is in line with the values of a community that has supported Maine’s medical marijuana laws, according to John Eder, spokesman and organizer for Sensible Portland.

The eagerness of those who sign the petition and other anecdotal evidence indicate that Portland residents don’t want police wasting resources pursuing people with small amounts of pot, Eder said.

Police Searching For Owner Of 38 Bales Of Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 13, 2011 News

Photo: CBS 12

Broward County Sheriff’s detectives are looking for the owner of 38 bales of marijuana that were left inside a van in West Park, Florida.

Broward County, Florida Sheriff’s Office detectives are looking for the rightful owner of 38 bales of marijuana that were left unattended inside a van in West Park.

Deputies responded to the parking lot of the Home Depot on Friday morning after someone complained about a van that was parked across several parking spaces, reports CBS 12. Deputies inspected the exterior of the van and smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming form inside.

Peeking through the van’s windows, all they could see was a blue tarp covering a “large bundle.”

Feds Forced To Give Back $14K Seized From Pot Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 13, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Hollywood Goodfella

Federal authorities agreed last week to give back nearly half of the $29,350 in cash seized from a man who represents a man who operates a medical marijuana dispensary in San Marcos, California.

The decision to return $14,383 — about 49 percent of the money seized — was part of a settlement that stems from a December incident in which Ron Chang, the man behind the collective, was stopped by federal agents while hauling marijuana on Pala Road, reports Teri Figueroa of the North County Times.

Law enforcement claims that smugglers use the well-traveled back road to avoid the border checkpoint near Temecula on Interstate 15.

Chang’s attempt to set up a dispensary caused a stir in conservative San Marcos, which enacted rules preventing any such businesses from setting up shop in the city of about 84,000 residents.

Oregon May Double Medical Marijuana Card Fees

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 13, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Hut

Budget-strapped Oregon lawmakers may have decided to tap the state’s popular medical marijuana program for an estimated $7 million to fund other health programs, doubling the annual fee charged medical marijuana patients from $100 to $200.

If there’s a silver lining to that cloud, it’s the fact that in so doing, the legislators have also decided to reject a whole pile of bills that would have made it much harder for people in the state to get a medical marijuana card. Some members of Oregon’s medical marijuana community, even as they cry foul at the doubling of patient fees, believe it may move the state one step closer to their goal of bringing medicinal cannabis into the mainstream economy, reports Jonathan J. Cooper at CNBC.

“It’s not good for patients,” said Christine McGarvin, a member of the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee. “I do appreciate the politics of it.”

Colorado Medical Marijuana Regulators Helping Bust Grow Sites

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 13, 2011 Growing, Legislation, News

Photo: Cannabis Therapy Institute

The MMED’s new logo. Whoever thought they’d see a law enforcement badge with the words “medical marijuana” on it? Just in case we forget how they look at medical marijuana patients and providers, it has ‘CRIMINAL’ right up at the top and center.

Colorado medical marijuana regulators have partnered up with local law enforcement to help cities shut down what they say are illegal commercial cannabis cultivation sites and prosecute those running them.

As the only state with medical marijuana regulations allowing companies to profit from selling cannabis, Colorado has adopted strict business licensing requirements, reports the Associated Press, making it easier for law enforcement to find, raid, and prosecute marijuana cultivators.

The Legislature passed a law last year, HB 1284, requiring a special marijuana business license for dispensaries, cultivators, and cannabis-infused product manufacturers. Under a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000, medical marijuana patients had to be registered with the state, but businesses providing it had not been required to register until the new law passed.

Canada: Marijuana Patients Allowed To Vape In Airports, Planes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 13, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: urbangrower

Vapes on a plane! Lisa Mamakind was told that as long as patients aren’t using the devices during the times when passengers aren’t allowed to use electronics, she was free to medicate as needed.

Health Canada-licensed medical marijuana patients are now allowed to consume cannabis through vaporization both in airports while waiting for their flights, and while on the plane during the flight, according to Lisa Mamakind and Cannabis Culture magazine.

“At the end of May 2011, as a license-holder, I took it up myself to clear up any ambiguities in regard to where and when I’m able to medicate,” Mamakind writes in Cannabis Culture. “Up until this point, we could only speculate as to what exactly were the policies of the corporations and agencies we deal with when we choose air travel.”

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