Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~
| Americans for Safe Access |
| This photo was taken in 2003, at the time the first “Truth in Trials” Act was introduced. Rep. Sam Farr is depicted with Ashley Epis, the daughter of Bryan Epis, who is a patient convicted without a defense and currently serving out a 10-year sentence in federal prison. |
Congressional Medical Marijuana Bill, the ‘Truth In Trials’ Act, Would Correct Unfair Federal Trials
Late on Tuesday, U.S. Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) and 18 co-sponsors (15 Democrats and three Republicans) introduced HR 6134, the “Truth in Trials” Act, bipartisan legislation to allow defendants in federal criminal prosecutions the ability to use medical marijuana evidence at trial, a right not currently afforded them.
Because of a June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, the government has the discretion to enforce federal marijuana laws even in medical marijuana states. The Raich ruling also allows federal prosecutors to exclude all evidence of medical use or state law compliance in federal trials, virtually guaranteeing the convictions of medical marijuana patients and providers.
| StopOxy.com |
What’s the difference between Google and law enforcement? Not much, apparently.
Like an overbearing, clueless cousin, Google is putting itself into the fight to disrupt global drug cartels with a two-day summit in Los Angeles. The summit, “Illicit Networks: Forces In Opposition,” is put on by Google Ideas, the company’s “think/do tank,” and is part of the company’s effort to “answer humanity’s most intractable problems.”
Do you see the problem here? Anybody who pisses off government officials can be declared “illicit” and Google’s all-too-willing help could turn it into yet another technological tool of the all-seeing Surveillance State.
| NORML UK |
| Des Humphrey (right) with Dutch coffeeshop entrepreneur, Nol Van Schaik |
By Chris Bovey
NORML UK
Frequent travelers are used to heightened security at airports these days. It’s standard practice for hand luggage to be x-rayed and to have to walk through a metal detector. But British army veteran and medicinal cannabis activist Des Humphrey, got more than he bargained for last weekend when he arrived at Bristol Airport in England to fly to Amsterdam to attend the 25th anniversary of the Birdy Coffeeshop in Haarlem, invited by owner Wilco Sijm.
After Des’ bags had been x-rayed, the UK border staff then emptied their entire contents, rummaging through all his clothes, checking the pockets and performing swab tests on them. His wheelchair was given a full once over: checking the wheels, under his seat, every square inch. Des himself was fully patted down and his pockets were emptied.
When they had finished and Des thought he was finally on his way, he was then stopped again by a British policeman who informed him the border agency staff were looking for cannabis and proceeded to question him on his cannabis usage. Well, those who know Des Humphrey also know that he is more than happy to talk about cannabis and, as you might expect, ended up having a nice chat with the police officer.
| Lawyers.com |
| A Long Beach cop smashes the video surveillance camera at the THC Downtown Collective |
City Is Broke, Yet It Pursues Expensive, Futile Marijuana Dispensary Raids, Resulting In $1 Million Lawsuit
The City of Long Beach, California had an estimated deficit of $14 million in 2011. At an August 2, 2011 news conference covering the “fiscal year 2012 proposed budget,” Mayor Bob Foster is quoted as saying, “We have an extraordinary hole to climb out of and as all of you know, the first rule of holes is when you are in one you stop digging, we need to stop digging.”
On June 19, for a medical marijuana collective raid, the local government utilized roughly 14 of its police officers, numerous patrol cars, the fire department, a hospital ambulance, a city official of the Department of Finance (Erik Sund) and an attorney from the City Attorney’s office (Kendra Carney). All were intermittently onsite for an estimated time of 4-5 man-hours.
| Jason David |
| Jayden David’s father Jason reports that his walking is better — Jayden was previously non-ambulatory. He can now swim, an activity he adores, without having a seizure |
“But, what about the children?!”
Why children with Dravet syndrome are using cannabis and why consistent access to their medicine is important
By Sarah Russo
CannCast.com
Parents of some children with Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe type of epilepsy, are using CBD-rich cannabis to treat their condition. Finding this medicine is difficult and getting consistent access to quality medicine is even more so.
Dravet syndrome is a severe myoclonic epilepsy whose onset occurs in infancy. Those with Dravet may have upwards of 100 seizures per day. The most intense episodes can last for 15 minutes to up to an hour. There is no known cure. The best available treatment is to minimize seizures, which are precipitated by environmental stress.
The longer a person has an epileptic attack, the higher the likelihood that prolonged damage could occur. Dravet seizures are so intense and long that brain development is delayed. In severe cases, a seizure may cause cardiac arrest. Each day can vary drastically for those with Dravet. There are a variety of pharmaceutical anticonvulsants available, but none of them eliminate seizures, and all have side effects.
Recently, a group of families affected by Dravet have turned to CBD-rich cannabis as a treatment for their children. These families have formed a Facebook group that allows members to provide support, compare notes, and to share experiences.
| Arizona Medical Marijuana Blog |
Oregon, New Mexico and Maine will no longer allow certain applicants for food stamps to deduct medical marijuana expenses from their incomes after federal officials threatened to slap the three states with penalties.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a nationwide memo to regional directors of the food stamp program after newspaper The Oregonian contacted the agency about the deductions last week. The newspaper surveyed the 17 medical marijuana states and found that Oregon, New Mexico and Maine allowed deductions for the cost of medicinal cannabis.
In deciding whether a family is poor enough to receive food stamps, the three states had allowed applicants to deduct medical expenses from their incomes. Since all three states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana, they had counted the cost associated with buying medical cannabis as a qualifying medical expenses, reports Noelle Crombie.
| Asian American Bar Association |
| Federal judge Donna Ryu ordered a defendant to stop taking the legal prescription drug Marinol because it causes the court a problem on drug tests |
A medical cannabis activist has been ordered by a judge to find another legal drug than Marinol to treat his chronic back pain.
Jose Gutierrez’s doctor, Frank Lucido, testified at a pretrial detention hearing that he had prescribed Marinol because it is the best legal drug for his condition, but the federal magistrate Donna Ryu objected that it caused her a “problem” because drug tests cannot differentiate it from marijuana, which is illegal under federal law.
In fact, there does exist a test that can discriminate between Marinol and marijuana, according to Dale Gieringer of California NORML, but it is not available through the particular laboratory that has been hired by U.S. Pretrial Services.
“The bottom line is that a US court is asking a defendant who has not yet faced trial to give up legal cannabinoids in favor of addictive opiates because of the inadequacies of its own laws and drug detection technology,” Gieringer said.
Gutuierrez faces felony charges for “assaulting a federal officer” stemming from a scuffle in which he was beaten to the ground by federal agents during the Oaksterdam University raid in April. The offense carried a prison sentence of up to five years.
| Sharon Letts |
| Kevin Jodrey, cultivation director for Humboldt Patient Resource Center, in HPRC’s Q & A booth. |
Story and Photos By Sharon Letts
While Southern Humboldt’s finest has yet to fully come out of the hills of hiding, cannabis as medicine has found its way down the dirt roads, and onto the blackboard.
For the third year in a row 707 Cannabis College founders Kellie Dodds and Pearl Moon, with cohorts, have welcomed others to speak their minds on the “State of the Herb” at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, surrounded by Humboldt’s finest… redwoods and clear, blue skies.
The college sponsored Cannabis Expo has become a a place of learning, with some of Humboldt’s finest speaking out and sharing a wealth of information few have access to.
After all, Humboldt is where it all began, taking cannabis cultivation to an entirely scientific level, using biological know-how, and continuing to expand its lungs of knowledge, coming out of the green closet, and out into the open air.
Longtime Southern Humboldt grower and cultivation director of the Humboldt Patient Resource Center, Kevin Jodrey, took his place on the hot seat, answering questions from attendees on indoor or outdoor cultivation – something unheard of just a few years ago.
| The Weed Blog |
By Jack Rikess
Northern California Correspondent
To the readers of Toke of the Town:
I had my last article, ‘Disorganized Government Crime: AG Hits Bay Area MMJ Scene,’ removed from the Toke banner after a couple of comments were made disputing the facts of my report.
As a writer, I’m always striving to be a better journalist. While I depend on the facts for a story, I do sometimes in the same motion; offer my opinions on the situations I see evolving surrounding cannabis issues in the Bay Area and beyond.
I’ve realized I need to learn to be clearer on my execution or delivery as to what the facts are and what isn’t fact but commentary. To remain objective and honest with the details and differentiate distinctly when I’m stating opinions or my “take” on how the shit is going down.