Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Oregon’s Cannabis Cafe Closes; Plans To Reopen

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 25, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Torsten Kjellstrand/The Oregonian

The Cannabis Cafe had a six-month run in a space in North Portland’s Woodlawn neighborhood. It has since closed but could open in the city’s North Mississippi area as early as next month.

Only six months after opening with worldwide publicity as a gathering place for users of medical marijuana — one of the first of its kind in Oregon, and maybe in the United States — Portland’s Cannabis Cafe has closed its doors.

Oregon NORML, the marijuana legalization group that ran the cafe, said the closure is only temporary and that it will reopen elsewhere, perhaps as early as next month, reports Matthew Preusch of The Oregonian.

”It’s going to be business as usual,” said Madeline Martinez, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Oregon NORML).

Georgia Bans Synthetic Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 25, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: STLToday

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has signed into law a measure banning the controversial drug K2, also known as “Spice” or synthetic marijuana, reports The State Column.

The drug (weakly) mimics the effects of marijuana because it contains a synthetic cannabinoid related to, but not identical to, THC, one of the main active ingredients in pot.

Blind Medical Pot Patient’s Case Against City Fast-Tracked

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 25, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Miguel Vasconcellos/The Orange County Register

Shelly White feeds her daughter, Malinda Traudt, peanut butter balls after Malinda started showing signs of being in pain. White is afraid officials at the city of Dana Point will close a local dispensary where she gets medical marijuana to treat her daughter’s severe osteoporosis pain and cerebral palsy.

A September trial date has been set for a lawsuit brought by a blind woman with cerebral palsy and epilepsy who is trying to stop the city of Dana Point, California from shutting down a collective that supplies her with medical marijuana.

A Superior Court judge on Monday scheduled a trial date of September 20 for San Clemente resident Malinda Traudt, 29, according to The Associated Press.

Traudt’s attorney, Jeffrey Schwartz, argued that her lawsuit, filed last week, should be put on a “fast track” because Traudt has “serious, life-threatening health problems” and may not live long enough for it to go through the normal legal process, reports Vik Jolly at The Orange County Register.

New Zealand: Gardening Customers Don’t Have To Show I.D.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 25, 2010 Global, Growing

Photo: Bay of Plenty Times

Last month, police raided Switched On Gardener branches throughout New Zealand. Those must be some really dangerous gardens!

Last month, police raided Switched On Gardener branches throughout New Zealand, along with other gardening supply stores, after what they claimed was a two-year undercover investigation code named Operation Lime, reports Jared Savage at NZ Herald.

Under the new bail conditions, customers at the gardening supply stores will no longer have to hand over identification.

Directors at staff at the 16 stores were charged. The shops were allowed to continue operating as long as they followed strict bail conditions requested by police.

The Orwellian court order initially required every customer in the gardening shops to hand over their identification and give their phone number, address and date of birth. You know… Gotta watch those dangerous gardeners!

Prince Of Pot Pleads Guilty; Five Year Sentence Looms

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 25, 2010 Global, News

Photo: The Tyee

Vancouver’s flamboyant Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

The plea bargain which Emery accepted means the 52-year-old Canadian must serve five years in a U.S. prison for selling marijuana seeds to American customers through his Vancouver-based businesses, Marc Emery Direct and Cannabis Culture.

Emery will remain in custody at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington until his formal sentencing on August 27, reports Andrea Woo at The Vancouver Sun.

The deal is an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, according to Emery’s wife, Jodie.

“It’s unfortunate that a five-year sentence is what we want for Marc, but the alternative was at least 30 years and up to life if it went to trial,” she told The Vancouver Sun on Monday.

“But while he’s gone, he’ll be there to demonstrate the insanity of this War On Drugs,” Jodie said.

Mick Jagger Calls For Marijuana Legalization On Isle Of Man

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Culture, Global

Photo: Bob Collacello

Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger has called for U.K. government officials to legalize marijuana and other drugs on a British island, to see if it prevents violence associated with the illegal drug trade.

The rock singer, who was convicted of marijuana possession in the 1960s, said that young people will always experiment with psychoactive substances, despite the risks, reports StarPulse. He is urging the government to legalize drugs on the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea, to test the consequences of an end to prohibition.

Congress Tries To Stop Denial Of Banking To Marijuana Providers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: North Coast Journal

In yet another example of America’s weird double standard when it comes to medical marijuana — which is now legal in 14 states — legitimate medical cannabis providers have been denied banking services or even had their existing accounts terminated, just for being involved in the medical marijuana business.

Fifteen members of Congress sent a letter Friday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urging him to issue “written guidance for financial institutions,” which would commit the Department to not targeting institutions whose account holders are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

The patient advocate group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) said it has received “dozens of reports” over the past couple of years from medical marijuana providers in California, Colorado and other states who have either been denied financial services or even had their existing bank accounts terminated with little or no justification.

Legal Michigan Patient’s Property Destroyed In Marijuana Raid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Growing, Medical

Photo: Edwyn W. Boyke

This photo was taken by legal medical marijuana patient Edwyn W. Boyke Jr., 64, of Saginaw Township, after police raided his home and destroyed his $7,000 grow setup.

When U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department raided Edwyn W. Boyke Jr.’s house on April 15, they didn’t just thuggishly bust up his grow room.

They also confiscated a lot of his property — including a car, TV, two lawnmowers, a little pocket cash, scales, five jars of harvested marijuana, little seedlings, and larger plants — along with Boyke’s Michigan medical marijuana card.

Boyke still hasn’t been charged with a crime, and he is legally allowed to grow and use marijuana under a law Michigan voters passed in a landslide with 63 percent of the vote in 2008, reports The Saginaw News.

Maine Will Have Eight Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Opposing Views

Medical marijuana patients in Maine soon won’t have to go very far for their doctor-recommended and legally protected medicine. The state will announce the locations of eight regional dispensaries in July, reports Charles McMahon at SeaCoastOnline.com.

Earlier this month, the state started accepting applications from nonprofit corporations to become dispensaries under Maine’s Medical Use of Marijuana Act. The Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services (DLRS) in the Department of Health and Human Services will be in charge of the selection process.

The state will only allow eight dispensaries, one in each of Maine’s eight public Health Districts, according to a DHHS release. John Martins, DHHS director of employee and public communications, said the state has determined it will regionalize the dispensaries.

Pennsylvania Legislators Say Medical Marijuana ‘Not A Priority’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Lara Brenckle/The Patriot-News

Supporters of the movement to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania rallied on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg in July 2009.

The debate over legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania has heated up in recent weeks, but the issue is still not a priority in the Legislature, according to a spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus.

“He believes it’s an issue that deserves greater discussion, but now is not the time for that,” spokesman Bill Thomas said, reports Bob Kalinowski at Citizens Voice.

“This is an issue that deserves further discussion, but it is not a priority,” Thomas said.

A group supporting legalization of cannabis for medical use held a rally on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on May 8. Then, on Wednesday of last week, area police and anti-drug activists held a press conference at Luzerne County Courthouse to urge lawmakers to reject any proposals to legalize medical marijuana.

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