Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Cali Court Rules In Favor Of Parent Who Uses Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 12, 2012 Medical, News

Defense Prevails In Court Case Setting Limits On Laws Separating Children From Their Parents Who Are Medical Marijuana Patients

A hard-fought appeals court victory has been won in Irvine, California.

In the case of Drake A., the California Court of Appeal ruled on December 5 that while parents who abuse drugs can lose custody of their children, a parent who uses marijuana for medical reasons, with a doctor’s approval, isn’t automatically defined as a “drug abuser.”

Being hailed as precedent-setting, the ruling from Division Three of the Second Appellate District further clarifies child welfare law as applied in such cases, and represents a “very significant” victory, according to defense attorney Lauren K. Johnson.

Incoming! Marijuana Fired In Cannon From Mexico To U.S.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 12, 2012 Global, News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Border Patrol agents said this was an unsuccessful attempt — but how many times had it worked before this attempt?

More than 30 cans of marijuana totaling 85 pounds were fired via cannon from Mexico into Yuma, Arizona, Customs and Border Protection officials said on Tuesday.

The cans of cannabis were discovered near the Colorado River in Yuma on Friday, reports Lauren Steussy at NBC San Diego.

The discovery was “another unique but unsuccessful attempt” to smuggle drugs, according to Border Patrol agents.

Former 502 Backer Now Says New Pot Law Too Restrictive

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 12, 2012 Legislation, News

Drug War Odyssey

“I now question whether Washington state’s initiative needed to be as restrictive as it is.”

~ Norm Stamper, former police chief of Seattle

Norm Stamper — the former police chief of Seattle and current member of legalization group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) who was one of the biggest supporters of I-502 in Washington state — now says that the measure is probably too restrictive.

While it’s a real shame that Norm couldn’t have taken a closer look at the restrictive and downright scary portions of I-502 before giving countless interviews and writing dozens of letters to the editor in support of the measure, the former cop’s about-face does highlight the glaring flaws in Washington’s “legalization” law, and serves to temper the euphoria which has gripped many in the Evergreen State’s cannabis community.

Just a month after the election, Stamper told the Seattle Weekly‘s Nina Shapiro, “I now question whether Washington state’s initiative needed to be as restrictive as it is.”

Medical Marijuana Provider’s Conviction Overturned

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 12, 2012 Dispensaries, News

The Spokesman-Review

Scott Shupe of Change, a medical marijuana dispensary in Spokane, had his drug trafficking convictions reversed on Tuesday

Big Victory In Spokane

In a huge victory for medicinal cannabis, the “drug trafficking” convictions of Scott Q. Shupe, a man who operated Spokane, Washington’s first medical marijuana dispensary were reversed on Tuesday in a state Appeals Court ruling.

In the 2-1 decision, Judges Dennis Sweeney and Teresa Kulik ruled that Spokane police did not have probable cause to search Shupe’s residence and business, and that Spokane County prosecutors did not have enough evidence to justify Shupe’s 2011 convictions for drug trafficking.

One happy result of Tuesday’s decision, according to Shupe’s attorney, is that Spokane police will be forced to return more than $8,000 in cash and three jars filled with marijuana that were seized during the raid.

Marijuana Legalization In Ohio: Just A Matter Of Time?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2012 Legislation, News

Some marijuana activists in Ohio believe it’s only a matter of time before people in the Buckeye state will enjoy the same freedoms as those in Colorado and Washington — the freedom to use cannabis legally.

Activist Brian Joslyn, a member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said he didn’t expect help from the Ohio Legislature in legalizing cannabis; instead, he believes the people need to do it for themselves, reports 10TV News.

10tv.com

Brian Joslyn: “I think if everybody was just given a ballot right now to vote on this measure, I think it would pass”

“I think if everybody was just given a ballot right now to vote on this measure, I think it would pass,” he said.

As a lawyer, Joslyn said he’d seen the negative effects that marijuana prohibition has on dozens of clients, including a recent couple.

“His wife has cancer so he was growing marijuana and providing her with edible marijuana,” Joslyn said.

Now, both the cancer-stricken wife and her husband are behind bars.

California Man Fortifies His Medical Marijuana Greenhouse

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2012 Growing

It’s no secret that people like cannabis. If you’re growing marijuana, the specter of rip-offs is almost certainly on your list of big concerns, and it may well be near the top worry.

Add in the increasingly restrictive regulations on medical cannabis cultivation being imposed in many California communities, and it’s just not easy for patients — who already have plenty to worry about — to provide for their own needs when it comes to herbal medication.

But one Yuba City man says he’s found the solution, reports Gabriel Roxas at News 10.

One Good Year: Film Examines Humboldt County Pot Growers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2012 Culture, Growing, Products

Kym Kemp

“Humboldt pot farmers maintain one of the last remaining small farming economies in the country, the last of a tradition where people working the land with their hands could still sustain themselves and their families.” ~ Mikal Jakubal

By Kym Kemp

Redheaded Blackbelt

“In Humboldt County, everyone has sticky stuff on their fingers…Every business in this county relies on the marijuana business,” proclaims a subject in One Good Year, a new documentary nearing completion that is based on the cannabis growers of this area.

To outsiders and, even to some who live here, the scope of the marijuana business in this community is unimaginable. Local documentary maker, Mikal Jakubal, examines that world by moving intimately through the lives of four local marijuana farmers (see the trailer below.)

Jakubal, who in addition to film-making owns a nursery, is a volunteer firefighter, and writes a blog in Humboldt County, began production on One Good Year in February of 2010–just in time for Prop. 19 which attempted to legalize marijuana in California. He followed his subjects through their growing season and through the political upheavals that Prop. 19 brought. In the process he tells the story of many in Humboldt County.

Alabama Mother Charged For Smoking Marijuana Around Toddler

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2012 News

Saraland Police Department

Chelsea Mack, 23, was arrested and charged with “chemical endangerment of a child”

An Alabama mother was arrested last week after police claimed she smoked marijuana around her 23-month-old son.

Chelsea Mack, 23, was arrested and charged with “chemical endangerment of a child,” according to booking records, reports Theresa Seiger at AL.com.

The arrest resulted from one of those “suspicious smell” complaints from a neighbor that are feared by all cannabis users in non-legal states.

According to Cpl. Arlan Gaines, public information officer for the Saraland Police Department, the boys in blue “discovered that marijuana had been smoked in the residence while a toddler was present,” Gaines said.

British MPs After Year-Long Study: Legalize Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Mary Jane’s Garden

Senior MPs in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, after a year-long study, on Monday called for the legalization of cannabis.

According to the Ministers, the U.K.’s current approach just isn’t working. The recommendation, called “shock verdict” by Kevin Schofield at The Sun, came in a report from Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee.

The move came after a year-long investigation which included witnesses such as comedian and former heroin addict Russell Brand, who called for simple drug possession to no longer be considered a crime.

FREEDOM! Marijuana Now Legal For Adults In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2012 Legislation, News

Pakalert Press

Amendment 64 Officially Becomes Law; Gov. Hickenlooper Signs Voter-Approved Initiative

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday signed an executive order formalizing Amendment 64 as part of the state Constitution and officially making the limited personal use, possession, and limited home-growing of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older.

The governor had until January 5 to sign the executive order, but he did so only four days after Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler certified the results from the November 6 general election.

“Voters were loud and clear on Election Day,” Gov. Hickenlooper said, reports Patrick Malone at The Coloradoan. “We will begin working immediately with the General Assembly and state agencies to implement Amendment 64.”

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