William Breathes

Are pot-smokers being turned away at the U.S. border?

By William Breathes on December 2, 2013 News

Marijuana use for adults 21 and over is legal in Colorado and Washington, but any wannabe toking tourists headed here from other countries might want to keep quiet about it until they get here.
According to reports in the Canadian press, simply admitting to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent that you’ve smoked pot or that you plan to smoke pot apparently can get you turned away at the border — and perhaps permanently banned from the good ol’ U.S. of A because marijuana is still illegal under federal laws. Click over to Westword for the full story.

Florida medical marijuana proposal up for Supreme Court review next week

By William Breathes on November 29, 2013 Follow that story, Legislation, Medical, News

TokeoftheTown.com

In just six days on Dec. 5 the Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether or not a proposed medical marijuana initiative already in the signature-gathering process will be allowed to move forward.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the language proposed would open the floodgates for rampant abuse of the medical marijuana program. Medical marijuana supporters – including nearly 80 percent of Florida voters – think Bondi is horribly out of touch.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer wants to puff MMJ while in uniform

By William Breathes on November 29, 2013 Global, Say what?

Flikr.com

A medical marijuana using Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer has kicked off a media storm in Canada this week after publicly admitted his cannabis use while on the job, notably while in the iconic red uniforms Mounties are known for wearing.
This caused outrage from the RCMP, but not so much about Cpl. Ronald Francis using ganja itself. He can do that and even while on the job, they say. But the Yukon will thaw before he’s allowed to light up while wearing his Red Serge.

Arizona marijuana legalization bill to come in 2014 says Republican state rep.

By William Breathes on November 29, 2013 News

gallegoforarizona.com

Ruben Gallego.

Assistant House Minority Leader Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat, announced plans to introduce a marijuana-legalization bill during the upcoming legislative session.
Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, said he’s working on a bill “that would regulate and tax marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.” (Before we get ahead of ourselves, yes, Republicans still have a healthy majority in both chambers of the Legislature, and several Republicans still try to fight the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana program.) Check out the Phoenix New Times for the full story.

Colorado NORML finds timing of Denver/Boulder pot raids suspicious

By William Breathes on November 27, 2013 News

Last week, the DEA and the IRS, aided by local officers, conducted raids on multiple marijuana businesses in Denver and Boulder.
While the feds haven’t shared many details of these actions, info has surfaced about a potential link to Juan Guardarrama, aka “Tony Montana, a Miami con who, until recently, held a Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division license. Nonetheless, Colorado NORML thinks the timing of the raids is suspect. Denver Westword has the followup coverage.

Jamaican health minister supports medical cannabis use

By William Breathes on November 27, 2013 Global, Legalize It, Medical, News

While he hasn’t come around completely on recreational cannabis use, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, Jamaican Minister of Health, says medical cannabis should be legalized in his country.
“Jamaica can’t lock off itself from the rest of the world or the research findings that are available, that is pointing to a significant number of elicits that medical marijuana is responding to, so I want that to be very, very clear, that when it comes to medical marijuana, I am fully on board,” he tells the Jamaica Observer.

Nearly 1,000 apply for recreational marijuana licenses in Washington state

By William Breathes on November 27, 2013 News

The Washington State Liquor Control Board yesterday announced the 929 applications to the state recreational marijuana program so far.
Included in that total are 444 grow operation applications, 327 cannabis processing licenses which include edibles manufacturers and 158 retail applications. In all, the state will license 334 marijuana stores, though they do not have a limit on growers or processing the state is putting a cap on the total amount of cannabis that can be produced overall.

Judge orders LA medical marijuana store not to open

By William Breathes on November 27, 2013 Follow that story, News

The ongoing effort by the city of Los Angeles to shut down a Westside medical marijuana dispensary before it even opens is pretty much a done deal. The L.A. City Attorney’s office today boasted that a local Superior Court judge slapped a Mar Vista weed store with a temporary restraining order barring it from throwing its doors open.
This, apparently, is what you get when you try to sell medical bud in the age of L.A.’s new dispensary law. LA Weekly has the full story.

Colorado ski group downplaying legal cannabis sales for ski tourists

By William Breathes on November 26, 2013 News, Stoned Sports

Hidden smoke shack in Colorado.

It is safe to say that two of the most popular past times in Colorado are pot and skiing. But Colorado ski industry leaders say they would rather not see the two industries combine, at least not in terms of marketing.
In fact, they worry that the pro-pot push in Colorado means that families will be teaching their kids to pizza and French-fry in other states where pot remains illegal, taking their much-loved $3 billion in annual tourist dollars with them.

Second single mother sentenced to death for 40 pounds of pot in Malaysia

By William Breathes on November 26, 2013 Global, News, Say what?

A Thai woman caught with nearly 40 pounds of pot in a bus station in Sungai Petani last February will be hung for her “crime” according to Malaysian English-language news site, The Star.
Thitapah Charoenchuea, a 26-year-old single mother of a ten-year-old daughter, has maintained that she is was framed and that this was someone else’s drug deal gone wrong. She says that a man she only knew as “Ali” approached her before she boarded a bus after a brief stop on a bus from Changlun to Kuala Lumpur and asked Thitapah to take care of his bags and he would meet her in Kuala Lumpur.

Author William Breathes