Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

IRS Auditing California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center, Oakland’s largest medical marijuana dispensary, looks over a marijuana display case

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is auditing medical marijuana dispensaries in California, with advocates calling for a change in federal tax laws.

The sale of medical marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries is legal under California law, but possession, cultivation or sale of cannabis for any purpose is illegal under federal law. Patient collectives in California say there is a problem because of the way they are being treated by the IRS, reports CNN.

The problem is federal tax code 280-E, which does not allow “drug trafficking organizations” to deduct business expenses.

“If 280-E were applied strictly, we would not be allowed to deduct our rent, our payroll or any of the other normal and usual expenses that other businesses deduct,” said Steve DeAngelo of Harborside Health Center, one of the biggest Bay Area dispensaries.

California Bill Would Keep Marijuana Growers Out Of Prison

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2011 Growing, Legislation

Photo: Stuff Stoners Like

Legislation to keep Californians convicted of illegal marijuana cultivation out of state prisons has been introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco).

Assembly Bill 1017 would set a maximum sentence of one year in county jail for people convicted of illegal cultivation, reports Peter Hecht at The Sacramento Bee. Current California law regards cannabis growing as a felony, with up to three years in state prison, and even stiffer sentences if the cultivation is connected to illegal sales or trafficking.

The bill would also make it easier for non-medical marijuana growers to be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony, according to Ammiano’s spokesman, Quintin Mecke. “It will make everything a wobbler,” Mecke said.

76% Of Montanans Oppose Medical Marijuana Repeal: Poll

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: The Weed Blog

The Montana Legislature is on the verge of re-criminalizing thousands of medical marijuana patients in one fell swoop, but the citizens of the state do not support such a move.

A statewide poll released on Tuesday indicates that a big majority of adult Montanans — 76 percent — oppose repeal of the state’s medical marijuana law. Sixty-three percent still support allowing medical marijuana with strict new regulations, while others believe no changes are needed to the law. In stark contrast, very few — only about 20 percent — support repeal of the state’s compassionate Medical Marijuana Program.

The results are particularly striking because they fly in the face of Republican claims that voters somehow “regret” legalizing medical cannabis, or that they were somehow “misled” in doing so.

International Hash Fair Planned; Denmark Police Appalled

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Grarup Jan

The first International Hash Fair is being planned for this summer in Denmark, but local police are reportedly appalled at the idea, claiming it will result in an “increase in the number of hash and skunk laboratories.”

Organizers are well-advanced with their plans to hold the hash fair June 24-26 in the country’s second-largest city, Aarhus, reports Politiken.dk. Guests from Denmark and abroad are being invited to study and buy products including fertilizer, grow lights (which a clueless press always seems to report as “heat lamps”), and smoking pipes.

Worth A Listen: Ras Matthew ~ Ganja In My Brain

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Culture, Products

Photo: Smoking Music

Ras Matthew is a reggae singer from Sacramento, California.

Welcome to Room 420, where your instructor is Mr. Ron Marczyk and your subjects are wellness, disease prevention, self actualization, and chillin’. Today’s lesson is solidly on the chillin’ portion of the curriculum.

Worth Repeating

By Ron Marczyk, R.N.

Health Education Teacher (Retired)

Beer is to baseball as marijuana is to music.

It’s always set and setting that puts me in the zone. My nights would not be complete without the music of Ras Matthew.

Ras Matthew is a reggae singer from Sacramento, California. His songs embrace the spiritual healing experience of the herb. You don’t have to be a Rasta to understand his universal message of peace, healing and brotherhood through the ingestion of the sacrament of cannabis.

In the 1930s cannabis was rebranded as “marijuana” to help demonize this substance with racism aimed at Mexicans and black musicians playing their “Satanic” jazz music. Unfortunately, this misinformation worked, and we are living in a world where cannabis is still seen by some as an evil drug. This is our mission to fix.

Montana House Votes Again To Repeal Medical Marijuana Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: News Junkie Post

Speaker of the House Mike Milburn (R-Cascade) preens as he prepares to accept his nomination as Speaker in the Montana Legislature. One of Milburn’s first acts as Speaker was to call for the repeal of Montana’s medical marijuana law, which would end safe access for patients.

On an almost entirely party-line vote with Republicans in favor, the Montana House voted again on Saturday to repeal the state’s medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 2004, after a House panel supposedly looked at the repeal measure’s fiscal impacts.

House Bill 161, sponsored by Speaker Mike Milburn (R-Cascade), now faces a final house vote, probably on Monday, before heading to the Montana Senate, reports Charles S. Johnson at the Missoulian.

The House once again voted 63-37 to pass HB 161, with all 63 votes in favor coming from Republicans. All 32 House Democrats and five Republicans voted against repeal.

Feds Will Study Only ‘Negative Consequences,’ Not Medical Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: New York Medical Marijuana Society

The National Institute on Drug Abuse: “Our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use. We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana”

Nearly two years ago, the Obama Administration issued its heralded “Scientific Integrity” memorandum which said “Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration.”

Coming, as pointed out by NORML’s Paul Armentano at AlterNet, just months after the American Medical Association called for “facilitating … clinical research and [the]development of cannabinoid-based medicines,” the memorandum stoked the hopes of pot activists who want to see the commencement of long-overdue human studies into the safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis.

But that was before cold gray reality, also known as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), weighed in. NIDA, which oversees 85 percent of the world’s research on controlled substances, reaffirmed its longstanding policy of “no medical marijuana” to The New York Times.

“As the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequencs of marijuana use,” a spokesperson told the Times in 2010. “We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana.”

Months After Dispensary Raids, No Charges And No Money Back

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Cal Pot News/Corning Observer

More than seven months after Butte County, California law enforcement coordinated raids on seven marijuana dispensaries, the sheriff’s office claims it is still “investigating” the case, so the District Attorney’s Office has yet to file criminal charges.

A number of dispensary owners have since filed civil cases to have their confiscated money returned, reports Katy Sweeny at the Chico Enterprise-Record.

More than 100 law enforcement officers on June 30, 2010 served search warrants on seven marijuana dispensaries and 11 residences in Chico, Forest Ranch, Magalia and the Sacramento County town of Rio Lindo. The officers stole — I mean, “confiscated” — marijuana, guns, financial records, computers, Proposition 215 verifications, cash, and other items.

Colorado May Set Marijuana Blood Level Limit For Driving

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Ed Andrieski/AP

Represenatives Claire Levy (D-Boulder), left, an d Mark Waller (R-Colorado Springs) go over notes on their marijuana DUI bill in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Denver, Colorado, February 18, 2011

What constitutes driving while high? The medical marijuana boom in Colorado has led to a debate in the Legislature of driving while under the influence of pot.

Lawmakers are looking at setting a DUI blood-content threshold for marijuana that would make Colorado one of only three states with such a law, reports Ivan Moreno at The Associated Press. According to sponsor Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), it would be one of the most liberal.

Drivers who test positive for five nanograms or more of THC, a psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, would be considered too impaired to drive under the proposal if the substance is present in their blood at the time they’re pulled over, or within two hours.

Oklahoma Mom Doing 10 Years For $31 Worth Of Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 20, 2011 News

Photo: The Oklahoman

Young mother heads to prison: Patricia Spottedcrow, 25, entered the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, Oklahoma, three days before Christmas.

An Oklahoma mother has been taken away from her four young children and her husband, and is now serving 10 years in prison for selling $31 worth of marijuana.

Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow, 25, entered the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, Okla., three days before Christmas, reports Ginnie Graham at NewsOK.

“I’m nervous … because it’s prison … people I don’t know,” Spottedcrow said. “People said you don’t get too comfortable here or you’ll be here longer. Don’t make too many friends. Come and do your time and get out.”

“Never in a million years did I think I’d be here 10 years,” she said.

Previous 1 … 208 209 210 211 212 … 377 Next