Here’s how officials from various Orange County police agencies say two young Ontario men visiting relatives here got their kicks: robbing marijuana smoke accessory shops at gunpoint.
A dozen armed robberies pinned to Raul Ochoa, 20, and Eric Camacho Gonzalez, 18, also include shoe stores, t-shirt shops, a nail salon and a Metro PCS store–all in Anaheim, Santa Ana or Garden Grove–that were struck. The OC Weekly has more.
The snitch knew many things about Luis Silva. He or she knew knew his name, date of birth and address. He or she could describe the 41-year-old father’s grey Dodge Charger with a paper tag and knew that Silva wasn’t supposed to be driving it, because his license had been suspended 10 times. But one thing the tipster didn’t know was how many marijuana plants Silva was harvesting inside his home.
The first clue should have come from Silva’s housing situation: He lived in a 300-square-foot Miami Springs efficiency with two kids and a dog. The operation couldn’t have been much bigger than a dorm-room set-up, by necessity.
But what officers found was worse than a college freshman’s get-rich-quick scheme. It was actually kind of sad. Cops found nothing more than some frail-looking plants hanging from wire hangers in a closet. In all, they seized 515 grams worth of weed, as well as an instructional manual on how to grow it. Miami New Times has the rest.
Yeah, mon. It looks like things might get a likkle bit mo’ irie in Jamaica in the coming year as Jamaican Science, Technology, Energy and Mining minister Philip Paulwell says decriminalization is coming soon.
“Ganja will be decriminalized in Jamaica this year and emphasized that Jamaica cannot be allowed to be left behind on the issue,” Paulwell told Jamaica’s Cannabis Commercial and Medical Research Taskforce leader Dealana Seiveright.
| Grilling stoned is now legal in Colorado. |
Driving under the influence of marijuana has been illegal in Colorado well before Amendment 64 made the personal possession of an ounce of pot legal for adults 21 and up in that state. But with the newfound freedom to get legally stoned has come an increased push to curb stoned driving and to get the word out that Colorado cops will be writing marijuana DUIs.
But us stoners don’t really take to dry, government propaganda very well. So instead of simply handing out fliers with recreational pot purchases that will get tossed away as soon as the customer gets home and lights up a bowl, the Colorado Department of Transportation is trying their hand at a more comedic approach.
Legalizing limited amounts of cannabis for adults over 21 should be saving taxpayers money as police can now focus on actual crimes instead of hassling legal pot users and dispensers. But Colorado’s police chief’s don’t see it that way. Instead, they are insisting on more money to pay for pot cops, which they say are sucking money and officers away from other duties.
Apparently they didn’t get the message: the bill was intended as a way for cops to spend their existing resources on more important things, like actual crimes.
Washington state’s appropriately-named Sean Green became the first person allowed to sell recreational marijuana in that state yesterday, as his Kouchlock Productions received their business license.
Of course, now he has to wait until at least June to begin selling anything.
Children in Israel suffering from severe seizure disorders will now be able to use medical cannabis, the Israeli health ministry ruled yesterday.
The move came after 15 families appealed denials for their children and threatened to leave the country for Colorado if the ministry denied them. (Editor’s note: that seems to be the popular move lately).
Dr. Sanjay Gupta loves his weed. Well, “Weed” documentary at least. The thing was a huge hit with his network, CNN, and it exposed millions to the medical benefits of this plant through the lens of a former marijuana opponent.
Now Gupta is back with “Weed 2: Cannabis Madness” – that documents the past few months of Gupta’s continued research into this “ancient plant” that helps so many patients.
After decades of the war on drugs, countless efforts to decriminalize dope, and tens of thousands of drug arrests, Florida has finally reached a turning point. The marijuana movement has reached critical mass.
In January, the state supreme court ruled that voters can decide whether or not to legalize medical marijuana in November. Some Floridians may not even have to wait that long. Yesterday, one of the legislature’s most conservative committees voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill allowing certain strains of marijuana for epilepsy patients. The Miami New Times has the rest.
An Arizona medical marijuana patient had purchased a Tootsie Pop-like candy at a local “compassion club” that isn’t approved by the state to sell marijuana. Maricopa County attorney Bill Montgomery’s office tried to use the case to advance the elected official’s belief that voters did not authorize patients to use concentrated marijuana when they approved the state’s medical-pot law in 2010.
Now, it seems, Montgomery probably wishes he hadn’t done that. Phoenix New Times has the details.