William Breathes

Columbia, Missouri Council Member Wants to Decriminalize Pot Cultivation of up to Two Plants

By William Breathes on October 13, 2014 Legalize It, Legislation, News

Barbara Hoppe, council member from Columbia’s Sixth Ward, introduced legislation earlier this year that would allow people to grow up to six plants at home. Those without a medical recommendation from a doctor would face a $250 fine and the confiscation of their plants if busted. Medical patients wouldn’t face any penalties. That plan saw a lot of scrutiny, so Hoppe has rewritten her bill.
Her new plan, introduced this week and set for a hearing at the October 20 council meeting, allows for only two plants to be grown in a locked area and would allow medical patients to designate growing to a caregiver.

Nebraska Cops Continue to Whine About Colorado Legalization, Want Tougher Penalties

By William Breathes on October 13, 2014 Follow that story, News

Nebraska cops ~~lining their pockets~~ doing a roadside check.

Nebraska cops still pissed about Colorado legalizing marijuana are pushing for increased monetary penalties for cannabis possession as well as increased funding to pay for the overtime they are all milking. Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson of Sidney, Nebraska (population 7,000) says he’s written more marijuana tickets in five months than he did in all of last year. “Five out of every ten” stops results in a marijuana arrests, he says. They’ve already run through their yearly allotment of overtime pay to pay for cops to go to court for the marijuana cases. It’s “deteriorating a quality of life here” in his town, he says.
We bet. Your cops are too busy shooting fish in barrels to deal with any actual crime in their town.

Washington D.C. Council May Delay Recreational Marijuana Initiative if it Passes in November

By William Breathes on October 13, 2014 Legalize It, News, Say what?

Voters in Washington D.C. may (likely) decide to legalize the possession of up to two ounces, the home cultivation of six plants, and retail sales of cannabis next month with Initiative 71. But if that happens, Washington D.C. council says don’t expect it to go into effect right away.
Council member David Grosso has been arguably the most pro-cannabis city leader, but he cautions that if the ballot initiative passes, council will take their time implementing things to make sure it is done right. Even if that is a year from now.

Fashion Icon Hermès Accidentally Made $20,000 Purses That Smells Like Ganja

By William Breathes on October 13, 2014 Culture, Say what?

A Hermès Birkin bag.

We have no problem with smelling like cannabis now and then, but apparently there are quite a few rich ladies in the world who do.
Fashion icon Hermès is being forced to take back hundreds of their high-end purses and clutches – some in the $20,000+ range – because the owners say the bags reek like skunky weed if they are out in the sun.

Protester Arrested for Marijuana After Clash with Police in St. Louis Over Shootings

By William Breathes on October 13, 2014 News

Ray Downs.

Police wore riot gear and used tear gas early Friday morning, like the officers in Ferguson during West Florissant Avenue protests.

Protesters lashed out at police in St. Louis last Thursday night, injuring an officer and breaking windows near the site where an off-duty St. Louis police officer fatally shot eighteen-year-old Vonderrit D. Myers Jr. the night before.
Eight protesters were arrested after police broke up the protest around 1 a.m. with pepper spray, police said Friday morning. Five people were arrested for unlawful assembly, two for property damage and one for marijuana possession. Read more and join the conversation at the Riverfront Times.

Does Marijuana Protect the Human Brain from Traumatic Injury?

By William Breathes on October 10, 2014 Medical, News, Say what?

Flickr/perthhdproductions

A new study from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance shows that people who had THC in their systems at the time that they suffered a traumatic brain injury were significantly more likely to survive the trauma. One of the study’s authors, surgeon Brian Nguyen, says that the results show yet again that the federal government should loosen the rules that restrict scientists and doctors from studying the effects of cannabis.
“There are medical benefits to marijuana that aren’t as robustly studied,” he says. “Further research needs to be done on this controversial compound.”

Floyd Sandoval Gets Life for Five-Pound Pot Deal That Ended in Murder

By William Breathes on October 10, 2014 News

Floyd Sandoval.

Last October, Floyd Sandova was arrested for the murder of John Goggin in Edgewater, Colorado. At the time, investigators were keeping their theories about motive to themselves.
But at trial, prosecutors said Sandoval and a cohort killed Goggin over five pounds of pot. Now, Sandoval has been found guilty and will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Minneapolis Police Arrest Man for Not Much, Allegedly Had Cocaine in His Nether Region

By William Breathes on October 10, 2014 Say what?

On August 25, Deondrae Atkins was hanging out, rolling dice for money on a sidewalk near the Dorthy Day Center in downtown St. Paul, when a St. Paul police officer monitoring closed circuit television noticed another man in the area rolling a “marijuana cigar.”
The officer approached the group, and recognized one of the men gambling as Atkins, 25, who he knew from “past encounters,” as a criminal complaint puts it. More at the Minneapolis City Pages.

Major Miami Drug Gang, Big Money Team, Busted

By William Breathes on October 10, 2014 News, Say what?

Evan Amos/Commons.

A joint effort by the U.S. Attorney Office of South Florida, the Miami Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives resulted this week in the arrest of 21 members of a gang known as the Big Money Team.
The gang operated in the Little Havana and Allapatah neighborhoods and had their hands in everything from guns, crack cocaine, Molly, marijuana, and prostitution to armed robberies, assaults, car jackings, and intimidating locals. And yes, they had some sweet nicknames.

Canadian Drug Addiction Center Wants Pot Legalized, Sort of

By William Breathes on October 10, 2014 Global, Say what?

The Center for addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s largest drug treatment center, says marijuana laws in Canada are doing nothing to keep Canadians safe or drug free. Instead, they say legalizing, taxing and heavily regulating who can access the plant is the best course of actions.
“Canada’s current system of cannabis control is failing to prevent or reduce the harms associated with cannabis use,” Dr. Jürgen Rehm, Director of the Social and Epidemiological Research Department at CAMH said in a radio interview this week. “Based on a thorough review of the evidence, we believe that legalization combined with strict regulation of cannabis is the most effective means of reducing the harms associated with its use.”

Author William Breathes