Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Arizona’s Pot Patients Have Job Protection; California’s Don’t

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2010 Legislation, Medical

When Arizona in November became the 15th state in the union to legalize medical marijuana, with voters approving Prop 203 by a thin margin, they got something that perhaps no other state has: employment protection for patients.

It’s much more difficult to get a doctor’s recommendation for cannabis in Arizona, and possession is limited to only 2.5 ounces, nobody can grow more than 12 plants, and if you live within 25 miles of a dispensary, you can’t grow at all. But unless you show up at work noticeably impaired, you won’t be fired simply for being a medical marijuana patient, points out Joe Eskinazi at the SF Weekly.

In California, Oregon, Washington, and most or all other medical marijuana states — even though you aren’t breaking the law if you use marijuana medically with a doctor’s recommendation — you can still get your ass fired in a heartbeat if, say, you have a workplace accident and get the standard urinalysis that follows.

Miss KushCon II? You Can Still Check Out The Top 10 Products

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Culture, Products

Photo: Aaron Thackeray

This glass football bong came in at #4 on William Breathes’ list, but it’s way higher on mine.

I know, I know. You’re all bummed out because you didn’t get to attend KushCon II in Denver this past weekend. I feel your pain, brah.

But all is not lost! Intrepid Denver Westword pot reporter William Breathes has got our backs! He was there in the trenches at KushCon and he thoughtfully compiled a list — with pics! — of his 10 favorite products at the show.

“Last week I talked about how much I hated holiday shopping,” Breathes wrote.

“After going to KushCon II over the weekend, I’ve changed my mind.”

And with Xmas just around the corner — hey, stoner, it’s five days away, man! — I know some you could sure use some gift ideas right about now.

I guess you can tell which one was my favorite, from the Aaron Thackeray photo on the right.

Go on over to Westword for the complete list.

New Mexico Says Cities Can’t Regulate Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: ABC News

Farmington, New Mexico has said it will quickly develop zoning regulations on medical marijuana during a six-month moratorium, but the State of New Mexico contends the city doesn’t have any authority to regulate.

The New Mexico Department of Health is the state agency tasked with regulating medical marijuana throughout the state, said spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer, reports Steve Lynn at The Farmington Daily Times.

“It doesn’t appear as if local municipalities have any legal authority over the system,” Busemeyer said. “The state is in charge of approving producers and we will continue to do so as needed. The moratorium I don’t think would affect our decisions.”

Israel’s Terminally Ill To Cops: Keep Hands Off Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Global, Medical, News

Photo: Reuters

A patient sits in a wheelchair as a Tikkun Olam worker in Tel Aviv helps him smoke cannabis from a bong.

Dozens of disabled and terminally ill Israelis protested outside a Tel Aviv medical marijuana clinic on Sunday, responding to a recent police raid of the clinic.

The protest came four days after police raided a storefront dispensary run by the group Tikkun Olam, the nonprofit where patients came to get medicinal cannabis. During the raid, police arrested two managers and held them for questioning for several hours, supposedly on suspicion of “drug trafficking,” reports Ben Hartman at The Jerusalem Post.

Police actions against the storefront and its patients mainly harm gravely ill persons seeking medical treatment, said Shai Meir, spokesman for Tikkun Olam, Israel’s largest supplier of medical marijuana.

Arizona Won’t Regulate Marijuana’s Strength Or Quality

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: TestCountry.com

Arizona has no plans to regulate the strength or quality of medical marijuana sold at dispensaries, authorized last month by voters, when they start opening next year.

The top health official in the state said buyers of medicinal cannabis will know when the pot was grown, whether pesticides were used or even how often it was watered, but not the potency, reports Howard Fischer at the Arizona Daily Star.

The Department of Health Services is writing the rules for distribution of medical marijuana once the new law takes effect in March 2011.

“We’ve got some basic labeling requirements,” state health director Will Humble said. “But we haven’t gone that extra step to require an analysis to determine exactly how much THC in every single piece of inventory. And I doubt that we’re going to go there.”

Ads Supporting Medical Marijuana Bill Hit Airwaves In Illinois

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Marijuana Policy Project

Julie Falco, a multiple sclerosis patient from Illinois whose doctor has recommended medical marijuana, is featured in a new radio ad.

How will pot play in Peoria? We’re about to find out. Supporters of a medical marijuana law in Illinois on Monday announced the release of radio ads calling on Illinois residents to urge their state representatives to support Senate Bill 1381, which would allow doctors to recommend marijuana to qualified patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other debilitating diseases.

The ad — which will be broadcast in the Chicago, Peoria, Quad Cities, and Rockford media markets — features Chicago resident and multiple sclerosis patient Julie Falco, who has used medical cannabis to ease the pain and muscle spasms associated with her condition.

“I’ve tried many prescription drugs to control the extreme pain I’ve lived with every day,” Falco says in the ad. “However, most of them caused terrible side effects that left me flattened and nonfunctional. I’ve found that cannabis works best for me. It allows better control of my symptoms so I can lead a fulfilling, healthier quality of life.

“In Illinois, though, it’s a crime for me to use my medicine — even though my doctor recommends it,” Falco says in the ad. “Thankfully the Legislature can change that in early January.”

Jury Pool In Marijuana Case Stages Mutiny; Won’t Convict

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2010 News

Graphic: The Bilerico Project

In a move sure to sweep the land, a jury pool has refused to convict the defendant of a marijuana charge

In what could grow into something much bigger in future cases, potential jurors in Missoula County District Court staged a revolt Thursday, taking the law into their own hands and making it clear they would not convict anybody for having less than 2 grams of marijuana.

The tiny amount of marijuana police found in Touray Cornell’s Missoula, Montana home on April 23 became a big point of contention for some members of the jury panel, reports Gwen Florio of The Missoulian. One juror after another said there was no way they would convict somebody for having 1/16 of an ounce of pot.

One juror wondered aloud why the county was wasting time and money prosecuting the case at all, according to a “flummoxed” Deputy Missoula County Attorney Andrew Paul, who called it “a mutiny,” Florio reports.

Marijuana Legalization Billboard Greets I-5 Drivers In Washington

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 18, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Sensible Washington

More than a quarter-million vehicles a day will pass this billboard on I-5 near Seattle.

The group Sensible Washington, which is working to legalize marijuana for adults in Washington state, became a lot more visible on Saturday.

Specifically, the group’s huge pro-legalization billboard went up in Fife, Washington, on Interstate 5 North and South, entering and leaving Seattle. The group said the billboard would remain up through the November 2011 election.

“Because drug dealers don’t ID. Legalize In 2011” the bright yellow billboard reads.

Oakland Dispensaries Sold 4.2 Million Joints This Year

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 17, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Harborside Health Center

Steve DeAngelo’s Harborside Health Center, the biggest dispensary in the Bay Area, brought in about $20 million this year.

City’s Medical Pot Sales Reach $35 Million In 2010

Most sectors of the economy are pretty grim right now, but that assessment doesn’t include the medical marijuana business in Oakland, California.

The city is projecting that Oakland’s three dispensaries will sell between $35 million and $38 million worth of cannabis this year, reports Zusha Elinson at The Bay Citizen. That means about three and a quarter tons of marijuana — 104,000 ounces, or 4.2 million joints.

The total has been getting higher and higher since Oakland started keeping track in 2004, when the dispensaries paid taxes on $4.2 million worth of sales. The figures are derived from the business tax paid to the city by dispensaries on their gross receipts.

Colorado Springs Marijuana Dispensary Raided For Second Time

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 17, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: KKTV

Police detectives raided Cannabis Therapy Center in Colorado Springs on Thursday.

Detectives raided Cannabis Therapy Center (CTC), a medical marijuana dispensary in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Thursday.

The Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Unit got a search warrant because they have “probable cause to believe there was criminal activity going on there,” claimed Sgt. Steve Noblitt, reports KKTV.

“The officer in charge told me we’re being raided because we don’t have state approval to be open here, and they were issuing a warrant based on that information,” said CTC owner Don Liles.

Police refused to say what the “alleged criminal activity” was that led them to execute the raid.

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