| Voice Media, 2014. |
Operation Grow4Vets, a group we’ve reported on in the past, gave out marijuana and marijuana edibles to hundreds of veterans in Colorado over the weekend dubbed the Denver Cannabis Givewaway Event.
The giveaway, at a Quality Inn in Denver on Saturday, was open to everyone 21 and up. Under Colorado law, adults can give away up to an ounce of herb at a time to other consenting adults over 21.
| Charlo Greene. |
Charlo Greene, a TV reporter in Anchorage, Alaska, knows how to make an exit. During a report last night on the 10 o’clock news in Anchorage, Greene did a report on the Alaska Cannabis Club – a local group pushing for the legalization of limited amounts of cannabis this fall. When the station panned back to Greene for the live shot, she dropped a bomb on everyone: she’s the owner of the club.
As for her reporter job? Greene puts it bluntly: “Fuck it.”
Yesterday, the Vikings released wide receiver Jerome Simpson with little fanfare. The reason? A traffic citation that occurred… over two months ago. Keep in mind Simpson, no stranger to booze- and drug-related controversy, was pulled over with an open bottle and marijuana in his vehicle. That being the case, we asked Bloomington Deputy Chief Rick Hart why he wasn’t arrested. Hart says not arresting somebody in that situation is “very typical.”
“Unless there’s ongoing criminal conduct, or a history of not responding to a citation, it’s very appropriate to issue a citation,” Hart says. “The primary reason to arrest [someone]is to stop criminal behavior… the officers made a determination that he was not intoxicated.”
Never mind that the NFL has updated their marijuana policy within the last week to allow for more leniency in pot testing punishments, Simpson won’t be playing in Minnesota this year. More at the Minneapolis City Pages.
| Klaus With a K. |
The story of actress Daniele Watts’ confrontation with police last week has sparked a raging debate in Los Angeles. Do you have the right, as Watts insisted, to refuse to identify yourself to cops? In situations like the one Watts found herself in last Thursday, in which a caller alleged to the police that she was having sex in a car in the middle of the day, the practical answer is … probably not.
Now, it’s a little complicated: The ACLU of Southern California is in Watts’ corner, saying you do have the right to refuse, while the union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers says you don’t have that right, not if you’re being detained for questioning.
Cops, backed by federal law, have been taking stuff from innocent people, and some not-so-innocent people, at alarming rates for more than a decade. The government’s “equitable sharing” civil forfeiture rules encourage federal agents and some local cops to seize goods from folks they believe are criminals. Encouragement comes in the form of language that lets agencies keep what they take. Some departments have been known to proudly advertise that their fancy new vehicles were taken from alleged bad guys.
And unlike the rest of our criminal justice system, these federal rules don’t require due process. In fact, the law says if you want your stuff back, you must sue the government to prove it wasn’t used in the commission of a crime. The burden of proof is on you.
California U.S. Rep. Tony Cárdenas, along with New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, this week proposed new legislation that would change that. LA Weekly has more.
Once more, Santa Ana’s City Council brought up the recent whirlwind of medical marijuana clinics at the September 16th city council meeting. For the first time since the July 15th meeting, they even decided to have a discussion about it. Prior attempts to do so have been delayed due to absent council members. At the July 15th city council meeting, the council voted in favor of allocating $500,000 toward marijuana enforcement, a move initiated by Councilwoman Michelle Martinez. However, they didn’t inform the general public at that meeting (or any subsequent meetings) that pulling money from the city’s reserve funds requires a “supermajority,” in this case, a minimum of 5 “yes” votes. As the July 15th vote didn’t actually have a supermajority, they had to vote on it again at the September 16th meeting.
All this after several high profile dispensary raids this summer.
| More photos and graphics below. |
Today at noon in Denver, the unveiling of a billboard inspired by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd’s unhappy experience with pot edibles will serve as the official launch of Consume Responsibly, a new campaign intended to counter decades worth of pot misinformation with practical facts about cannabis use. Included in the campaign materials are satirical images about what has up until now qualified as “marijuana education.” Count down the eight graphics below.
Floridians may be set to head to the polls in November to legalize medical marijuana, but could individual cities still ban smoking medical pot anyway? Bonita Springs, Florida, is going to try and is already drafting an ordinance banning smoking in public.
Which is slightly funny because Bonita Springs’ most famous store is a fishing shop called Master Bait and Tackle (get it?), and its tourist stores sell a lot of “Bonita Springs: a drinking town with a fishing problem” shirts. But apparently medical pot is a bridge too far.
| A CBD-oil syringe. |
A limited Iowa medical cannabis law that allows parents of minors to bring home high-CBD/low-THC oils from Colorado is hitting some major snags, as would-be patients and politicians are increasingly saying they need to be able to grow their own supply.
The NAACP of Florida announced that it is endorsing the passing of Amendment 2.
“Florida State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People proudly announces its support of United for Care and the passage of Amendment 2 this November,” a news release from the group announced. “The NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, has worked successfully with allies of all races and plays a significant role in improving the lives of minorities in America.”