William Breathes

Texas prison guards charged with running inmate drug ring in prison

By William Breathes on November 4, 2013 News, Say what?

We guess the definition of “captive audience” is pretty much epitomized by prison inmates.In Beeville, guards at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s McConnell Unit took advantage of the potential customer base and ran one hell of a drug ring, with the aid of inmates. They also smuggled in phones, because they were all about serving the customer.
How big was this thing? Fourteen guards are going to be doing time for their part in the enterprise, as will 11 other individuals. Houston Press has the full story.

Missouri drug cop sticks by comments that marijuana legalization advocates are stupid wellfare-sucking potheads who probably can’t read

By William Breathes on November 4, 2013 Opinion, Say what?

Kevin Glaser.

Kevin Glaser, the retired Missouri Drug Task Force cop we told you about last week who ranted on Facebook about marijuana legalization advocates, calling them stupid welfare leeches, isn’t backing down.
“To me, Facebook’s there to put your opinion on, and I wouldn’t retract a word about it,” he tells the Southeast Missourian.

British couple busted growing herb were preparing for doomsday

By William Breathes on November 1, 2013 Cannabis Time Capsule, Global, Say what?

LACMA

Shiva, destroyer of worlds and enjoyer of cannabis sacrifices.

A British couple busted with a house full of cannabis plants tell the judge that they sincerely believed that the world was coming to an end Dec. 21. The ganja, they say, was for medicine as well as for a sacrifice to the Hindu goddess Shiva.

Autistic LA teen set up in undercover pot bust sues school district

By William Breathes on November 1, 2013 News, Say what?

Jesse Snodgrass, now 18, was busted for Chaparral High School in December of last year after allegedly providing an undercover cop posing as a student some weed. However, the suit says Snodgrass “was aggressively targeted, harassed, hounded, on campus, within the first few days of the new school year, by a new friend, a new peer, an undercover officer, to score him some marijuana.” LA Weekly broke the story and has the full details.

Drug-moving “supertunnel” found linking Mexico to San Diego

By William Breathes on November 1, 2013 News, Say what?

Authorities in San Diego say that drug runners have been moving cocaine and marijuana literally under their noses for some time now.
Members of the DEA, Customs and Border Protection and ICE found the nearly three-quarter mile long tunnel earlier this week south of the Otay Mesay crossing into Tijuana, Mexico. Entrances were hidden in two warehouses, one on the U.S. side and the other in Mexico.

Inside the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver, part two

By William Breathes on November 1, 2013 Follow that story, Global, Legalize It

Photos and more below.

Editor’s note: This is part two of correspondent Shannon Brandt’s reports about the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver last week. To read part one, click here.
A logo is often regarded as a condensed, compressed, symbolic summoning-up of everything that a big entity means to represent in everyday life. In most cases, the logo can even be seen as the most visible sign of the collective intelligence seething and rattling away behind it. Denver Westword has the full coverage.

Michigan medical marijuana patient parents get child back from state

By William Breathes on October 31, 2013 Medical, News

Bree Green has been terrorized by marijuana. Not by the plant itself, mind you. Nor by her two state-legal medical marijuana patient parents. No, Bree Green was terrorized by a senseless war on cannabis that had state officials in Michigan heartlessly tearing the baby away from her family back on Sept. 13 because of their personal health choices.
But this morning, Bree Green is back with her mom and dad just in time to go trick-or-treating.

Denver lawmakers rewrite marijuana smell ordinance, allow for backyard toking

By William Breathes on October 31, 2013 Follow that story, Legalize It, Say what?

A proposal that would have outlawed Denver residents from smoking cannabis in their own backyards has been snubbed out.
According to a draft of the newly-rewritten proposal, cannabis consumption in your home would remain legal. That includes your backyard. The new proposal also scales back proposed punishments for public consumption from $999 or a year in jail to a $100 fine or 24 hours of community service. The new language still makes it illegal to openly display or distribute cannabis in public.

Missouri drug cop says marijuana legalization advocates are stupid wellfare-sucking potheads who probably can’t read

By William Breathes on October 31, 2013 Legalize It, Say what?

Sgt. Kevin Glaser.

A Missouri Drug Task Force cop addressed Show-Me Cannabis, the pro-marijuana legalization group, at a town hall meeting in Cape Girardeau last Monday and engaged in a civil discussion about the benefits of marijuana legalization.
But when Sargeant Kevin Glaser of the SEMO Drug Task Force got home, he unleashed on Facebook, basically calling the legalization advocates a bunch of stupid potheads. Riverfront Times has the full story, which I’m sure plenty of stoners will read now.

Inside the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Denver, part one

By William Breathes on October 30, 2013 Global, Legalize It

Big photos below.

Which state will be the next to legalize marijuana? What do the Obama administration’s recent announcements about marijuana legalization and mandatory minimums really mean? What are some solutions to the national overdose crisis that takes more lives than car accidents or gun violence? Those were just some of the questions that over 1,000 people gathered to consider at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel October 23-26. Denver Westword has the entire coverage.

Author William Breathes