Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

New Orleans Police No Longer Have To Arrest You For Marijuana

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

The New Orleans City Council on Thursday decided that people accused of marijuana possession and three other misdemeanors will receive a summons instead of being arrested and brought to the Orleans Parish Prison.

If you get picked up for marijuana possession or prostitution in New Orleans, police no longer have to arrest you and take you to jail.

In a move designed to reduce the dockets in Criminal District Court and give police more time to deal with major crimes, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously Thursday to designate marijuana possession and three other relatively minor crimes as municipal offenses, giving police the option to issue a summons rather than make an arrest, reports Bruce Eggler at The New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Until now, the crimes have been illegal only under Louisiana state laws, meaning police had to arrest offenders and take them to Central Lockup for booking.

11 Tons Of Marijuana Found In Railroad Cars

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 News

Photo: U.S. Attorney’s Office

State and federal investigators seized these sacks of marijuana in a Chicago Heights warehouse

Seven people were arrested after almost 11 tons of marijuana was found packed into six railroad boxcars from Mexico in what is being called possibly the largest pot bust in Chicago-area history.

The cannabis was found at a south suburban warehouse this month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which claimed the pot was worth $22 million, reports Chicago Breaking News Center.

The warehouse raid came after Customs agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, came across a Union Pacific train headed for Chicago Heights carrying about 21,800 pounds of suspected marijuana, the office said.

Entire Family Arrested In Illinois Marijuana Bust

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: Cook County Sheriff’s Office

A “dummy wall” concealed several rooms where family members divided up different stages of the cultivation process. Some plants were six feet tall.

An Illinois family is accused of running a million-dollar “designer marijuana” grow operation from their home.

John Gecan, 52; his wife Darlene, 52; their son Christopher, 27; and another relative, James Osmolski, 22, were charged after police busted the grow op in the 7,000-square-foot home in an unincorporated area near Tinley Park, according to Cook County Sheriff’s officials, reports Chicago Breaking News Center.

Sheriff’s detectives said they began investigating the family earlier this month after intercepting a package of marijuana buds addressed to the home.

Public Comments Open On Colorado Medical Marijuana Rules

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: examiner.com

The Colorado Department of Revenue has released 99 pages of new regulations governing medical marijuana in the state.

The public has until January 14, 2011 to submit written comments on the new rules.

In addition, there will be a public hearing on January 27 and 28, 2011.

One item among the regulations and procedures for Colorado’s medical cannabis industry is making some patients particularly nervous — the plan for a massive new database of patients who enroll in the Medical Marijuana Registry.

The list will be available around the clock to law enforcement agencies.

The Cannabis Therapy Institute has called the new plans a violation of the Constitutional amendment approved a decade ago by Colorado voters when they legalized medical marijuana.

All Drugs Should Be Legalized, Says Former U.K. Drug Czar

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Guardian.co.uk

Former defense secretary Bob Ainsworth described the War On Drugs as “nothing short of a disaster” and called on the British government to look at other options

All illicit substances, including heroin and cocaine, should be legalized, according to a former United Kingdom drugs minister who on Thursday became the most senior politician to push for a dramatic change in the strategy for dealing with drug enforcement in Britain.

Former Home Office minister Bob Ainsworth said that it is better for addicts to receive their fixes on prescription rather than allowing international criminal gangs to make billions in profits for supplying them, reports Nigel Morris at The Independent.

Interview: Confessions of an Honest Pot Dispensary Manager

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 Dispensaries

Photo: Reuters

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California

Correspondent

This isn’t scientific but, for my buds, 2010 has been one of the more pivotal years in the advancement of the acceptance of cannabis into our society.

With much speculation and hand-wringing follow the antics of that little bill called Proposition 19, the Bay Area, along with Colorado, has been ground central for the battle of hearts and minds following the exploits of our friend, marijuana.

And now the smoke has cleared. After a bitter battle that both plagued the movement with infighting as well as attacks from the outside by the usual suspects, I think it time to check in with my man on the front line, Raul.

Raul is the manager of a dispensary in the Bay Area. He’s one of the good guys.

EU Rules Dutch Can Bar Foreigners From Buying Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2010 Dispensaries, Global, News

Photo: The World In Photos

What do you do if you have a thriving cannabis tourism industry pumping lots of money into the economy? Shut it down, if you’re the Dutch.

The Netherlands is poised to shut down its thriving cannabis tourism industry which has been an economic boon to the country for 34 years. European Union judges have ruled that Dutch authorities are not violating European single market laws by barring foreigners from buying the cannabis and hashish that are sold in the country’s famous marijuana “coffee shops.”

The restrictions, aimed at discouraging “drug tourism” from Belgium, Germany, and other places, have so far been implemented only in border towns but will soon be extended across the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, popular with British pot tourists, reports Bruno Waterfield at The Telegraph.

The EU ruling was requested by the Dutch supreme court, the Council oif State, after Marc Josemans, who owns Easy Going Coffee Shop in Maastricht, sued after being forced to close for breaking the “no foreigners” rule.

Where Next For Marijuana Reform? Berkeley Conference Jan. 29

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: California NORML

In the aftermath of Proposition 19, California NORML will host a statewide conference to discuss the future of marijuana reform efforts in California on January 29 in Berkeley.

The conference, at the David Brower Center, will feature a public discussion with drug reform leaders, legislators, attorneys, physicians, medical marijuana groups and the press.

The first part of the conference will cover lessons from the Prop 19 campaign; where to go from here, and what changes in wording and tactics should be adopted in future legalization efforts.

Marijuana Case Dismissed Against Four Men After $40K Trial

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Akl Seshnz

The victorious ‘Waiheke Four’ after all charges were dismissed for possession of cannabis and a bong

After a trial lasting nearly a year and which cost taxpayers about $40,000, marijuana charges against four New Zealand men were dismissed last week in Auckland District Court.

The case took a total of 11 months, required five court appearances, three legal aid lawyers, one interpreter, and two police witnesses traveling to and from Waiheke Island, according to NORML New Zealand.

The four men, dubbed the “Waiheke Four” by supporters, were arrested on New Year’s Eve last year sitting at a public picnic table on a beach on Waiheke Island. On the table and nearby, police found a bong and nine grams of cannabis.

“There was no evidence linking any of the men to the cannabis and bong, yet all four were arrested, charged and prosecuted in court,” said Stephen McIntyre, president of NORML New Zealand.

69-Year-Old Man Gets 2 Years In Federal Prison For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2010 News

Graphic: KMVT

A California man was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in federal prison for trying to drive 730 pounds of marijuana through Kansas.

John McCollum of San Francisco pleaded guilty to transporting marijuana across state lines, according to prosecutors, reports The Topeka Capital-Journal.

McCollum was stopped by a Kansas Highway Patrol officer on November 19, 2009 on Interstate 70 in Wabaunsee County. He was driving a Budget rental truck and pulling a trailer containing a Ford F-150 pickup.

McCollum told the patrolman he was on the way from San Francisco to South Carolina, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom’s office.

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