Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards This Weekend

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

The Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards, in which premier marijuana strains will compete for the highest honor, will be held this weekend in Portland. The day-long event encompasses much more than just the awards ceremony, with a unique green shopping bazaar and plenty of educational programs also on the agenda.

The day event is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 18, at the World Famous Cannabis Cafe, 322 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97216.

The Cannabis Cafe is a private club that serves Oregon Medical Marijuana Program registrants, and is not usually open to the public, reports Anna Diaz at Hemp News. The OMCA provides a special opportunity for the curious to get a peek inside, as well as the chance to shop for a wide variety of hemp and cannabis friendly products in one place.

Germany: Cannabis Decrim Petition Open For Signatures

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

Graphic: German Hemp Association

Citizens of Germany are now able to weigh in on cannabis decriminalization with an official petition.

After first being rejected by the public petitions committee of the Bundestag (the German legislative body comparable to Parliament), an online petition calling for the nationwide decriminalization of cannabis, originally launched in late October, is finally open for signatures.

Petition initiator Georg Wurth, who is also a spokesman for the German Hemp Association, cites a survey conducted earlier this year that found 54 percent of the population support the decriminalization of marijuana.

“There is a popular majority that criticizes the current harsh attitude towards cannabis users and would like a more liberal approach,” Wurth said.

Wurth urged supporters to sign the petition, which will be the last of its kind until the end of the election term in 2013.

“This is no drill; this is serious!” Wurth said.

The petition (in German, of course), now open for signatures, can be found by clicking here.

Cannabis Trade Group To Launch At KushCon II

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

Graphic: NCIA

The National Cannabis Industry Association, the first national trade organization dedicated to advancing the interests of cannabis-related businesses, will formally launch its operations this week in Denver, Colorado. The leaders of the association, hailing from across the country, will gather for NCIA’s first board meeting and will set the organizations agenda for the coming year on Thursday, December 16.

“This is an historic time for the cannabis industry and we are excited to have the opportunity to help so many small businesses advance their interests,” said Aaron Smith, NCIA’s executive director. “NCIA’s board is comprised of some of the true leaders in the industry and they are dedicated to seeing the industry flourish in a manner than benefits all cannabis consumers.”

“We are past the point of debating whether cannabis should be a legal product in this country,” Smith said. “The truth is that it is a legal product in many states and it is time to treat individuals involved in the industry the same as all other business people.”

Advocates Want New Trial In San Diego Pot Dispensary Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: K.C. Alfred/Sign On San Diego

The court deprived Jovan Jackson of the medical marijuana defense that was used to gain an acquittal in his first trial

Medical marijuana patient advocates on Wednesday will argue for a new trial in the case of dispensary owner Jovan Jackson, who was convicted on September 28 after he was tried for the second time in less than a year on the same charges of marijuana possession and sales.

After District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis failed to convict Jackson the first time, she was able to block his use of a medical marijuana defense at the second trial, virtually guaranteeing his conviction, according to patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA).

Washington Wants To Collect Medical Marijuana Sales Tax

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Boulder Weekly

Washington State wants its cut of medical marijuana sales — and if it doesn’t get them, the DEA could be visiting.

Activists Worry It’s A Way To Open The Door To The Feds

The Washington State Department of Revenue has launched a statewide effort to collect sales tax from medical marijuana dispensaries.

The department mailed letters to 90 dispensaries and “related organizations” on Friday, insisting that medical marijuana is not exempt from state sales tax — as are other medicines — and telling dispensaries they must collect that money and turn it over to the state, according to The Associated Press.

The letter also warned dispensaries that they must pay Washington state’s business and occupation tax, according to Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow.

“Are sales of ‘Medical Marijuana’ subject to sales tax?” asks an informational page on the website of the Washington State Department of Revenue, and of course no time is wasted in giving the answer.

“In the state of Washington, sales of medical marijuana are retail sales,” the site informs us. “As such, the seller is subject to the business and occupation (B&O) tax under the retailing classification. This is true even if it is sold by a medical marijuana dispensary.”

Lawyer/Author’s Blog Says Pot Prohibition Is Unconstitutional

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Culture, Products

Graphic: Marijuana Prohibition Is Unconstitutional

A new blog, Marijuana Prohibition Is Unconstitutional, has been launched to showcase the work of lawyer/author Hoam Rogh, whose new legal thriller on the pot laws, The Case of US v. Yerbas, is receiving great reviews.

In Rogh’s book, marijuana is legalized by operation of law. Rogh said he took what he larned in law school and countless more hours of Constitutional legal studies to destroy the nation’s current marijuana laws.

The Marijuana Prohibition Is Unconstitutional blog was launched to help him reach an even broader audience, according to Rogh.

The blog is written with devastating clarity, and if you believe that knowledge is power, it contains some powerful stuff.

For example, such posts as “Three-Point Legalization Plan” and “Five Things To Do After Your Marijuana Arrest” kick some potent legal knowledge with which any marijuana activist or enthusiast should become familiar.

California Medical Marijuana User Free After Alabama Plea Deal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Reality Catcher

Michael Lapihuska (left) being interviewed by Toke of the Town editor Steve Elliott, Birmingham, Alabama, October 9, 2010

A former Alabama resident who was busted for pot while back home for the holidays last December — and who is a legal medical marijuana patient in California — will finally be able to return home after signing a plea deal Monday for 13 months’ unsupervised probation.

“I really don’t even feel like it’s over yet,” said Michael Lapihuska, who was arrested in Anniston, Alabama in December 2009 for the medical marijuana authorized by his doctor. “I don’t — maybe after I get back to California,” he said, reports Laura Camper at The Anniston Star.

Monday’s plea deal lowered the felony marijuana charge to a misdemeanor, and allowed Lapihuska to plead guilty to that count and an original misdemeanor possession charge, reports the Mobile Press Register.

Teen Marijuana Use Continues To Rise

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: THC Finder

For the second year in a row, more American teens use marijuana than use tobacco.

More American Teens Use Cannabis Than Tobacco For Second Year In A Row

Marijuana use by 8th, 10th and 12th grade students increased in 2010, with more American teenagers now using marijuana than cigarettes for the second year in a row. According to government figures released Tuesday, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the last 30 days, while 19.2 percent had used cigarettes.

“It’s really no surprise that more American teenagers are using marijuana and continue to say it’s easy to get,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “Our government has spent decades refusing to regulate marijuana in order to keep it out of the hands of drug dealers who aren’t required to check customer ID and have no qualms about selling marijuana to young people.”

Inside The Emerald Cup: Northern California’s Pot Competition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 13, 2010 Culture, Growing

Photo: Jack Rikess

Pretty maidens all in a row: More than 140 outdoor organic strains were displayed in this glass showcase at the Emerald Cup

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

Friday

Tim Blake, organizer and host of the 2010 Emerald Cup, was reminding me with a huge lopsided grin, “It’s only Friday…this is just like a sound check, a rehearsal for tomorrow night. This is the pre-party party.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect at my first Emerald Cup except what I read on the poster.

Besides the prestigious awards for first, second and third place for the best strain grown that season, there would be awards for things like the best joint rolled, guessing the number of roaches in the roach jar, highest CBD count, biggest stalk, and — much like rookie of the year — the best new strain.

Cops Protest KushCon Pot Convention Ads On Denver Buses

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 13, 2010 News, Products

Photo: KDVR

Law enforcement groups are complaining about these marijuana convention ads found on Denver city buses, but the transportation district says the ads will stay.

Colorado law enforcement groups are complaining about ads for a marijuana convention that are on city buses in Denver.

The Colorado Drug Investigators Association — an extremist group already infamous for claiming it was funded by Starbucks, which hastily denied any connection to the group — wrote in a letter last week to the Regional Transportation District (RTD) board of directors that it worries that the ads, promoting the KushCon cannabis convention, “send the wrong message.”

“Advertising a marijuana conference, on the sides of Colorado’s main source of public transportation, will do anything but prevent further drug abuse,” sniffed Jerry Peters, CDIA’s vice president and, surprise-surprise, an investigator with the North Metro Drug Task Force, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

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