William Breathes

Out-of-state medical marijuana recommendations will work in Nevada

By William Breathes on August 12, 2014 Medical, News

Medical-marijuana patients from Arizona and other states could shop legally at as-yet-unopened Nevada dispensaries under a plan being developed by Nevada authorities. Chad Westom, bureau chief of the Nevada Division of Public & Behavioral Health, said on Monday that his state’s new medical-marijuana program will honor out-of-state registration cards.
According to Nevada law, dispensaries could honor out-of-state cards as long as the state that issued the card has an official database of patients and “allows the Division and medical marijuana dispensaries in (Nevada) to access the database.” Nevada officials hope to have an interstate-access agreement in place by 2016. More over at the Phoenix New Times.

RIP: Robin Williams

By William Breathes on August 12, 2014 Culture, News

Award-winning American comedy icon Robin Williams died yesterday from an apparent suicide. Williams long battled with substance abuse, but he always managed to keep a sense of humor about it as these segment on alcohol and marijuana from his 1986 “Live at the Met” show and 2009’s “Weapons of Self Destruction”.

Is former Colorado caregiver the mystery Ohio woman who burned off her fingerprints?

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 News, Say what?

A bizarre story out of Ohio in which a woman burned off her fingerprints to hide her identity has a Colorado connection — one that appears to pertain to Ann Marie Miller, a onetime medical marijuana caregiver charged with assorted crimes who has been written about in other capacities in the past.
The name’s the same and many of the details are extremely similar in a story that’s strange and getting stranger. Denver Westword has more.

California border patrol finds 30 pounds of meth during routine stop

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 News, Say what?

Was anyone out there expecting a delivery of 30 pounds of methamphetamine from a 24-year-old fellow who is a citizen of the United States?
It’s not coming, advises the U.S. Border Patrol.

Portland hospital refuses to allow medical cannabis-using to breastfeed

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 Medical, News, Say what?

Commons/Iris Ventura Crosby.

A baby nursing, from WikiMedia Commons.

Despite the overwhelming evidence to suggest that breastfeeding a baby within the first few days of life greatly improve their health over time, a hospital in Portland, Oregon refused to allow Crystal Cain to nurse her premature newborn.
Their reason? She used medical cannabis occasionally during her pregnancy as a natural alternative to pharmaceutical drugs to help deal with her nausea and anxiety at the suggestion of her midwife.

Several claim a Colorado marijuana edibles company fed them pot-laced chocolate at the Denver County Fair

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 News, Say what?

Denver County Fair’s pot pavilion wasn’t supposed to have any cannabis on the premises, but several people have reported feeling sick and dizzy after eating candy bars given to them by a pavilion vendor, with two men going to the hospital — and one of them filing a class-action lawsuit about the incident.
Now there are conflicting statements from the fair and the vendor about a controversy that continues to build.

Illinois continues snail-pace rollout of medical cannabis program

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 Medical, News

Good news for would-be medical cannabis patients in Illinois: you can now, finally, get you patient application online. Yes, the state has finally got their act together and wants to start the process of registering patients.
Take your time filling it out, though, you can’t submit it until later this fall.

D.C. cops write 35 marijuana citations in 25 days, claim people won’t pay fines

By William Breathes on August 11, 2014 News, Say what?

According to Washington D.C. police, four out of five people ignore littering laws ergo people are going to completely ignore recently passed marijuana decriminalization laws making possession of an ounce or less punishable by no more than a $25 fine. You can’t blame them for their complete lapse in logic, they are cops after all.
So what are they to do? Write as many tickets for pot in four weeks than they write in six months for littering.

How much weed, cocaine and booze do Coloradans use?

By William Breathes on August 8, 2014 News, Say what?

More than 12 percent of Coloradans use illegal drugs every month. That’s among the Colorado-specific findings of a report from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. The stats are drawn from 2011 and 2012, which may make them a little behind the curve: As the Washington Post points out, the figures show that Rhode Island is the top state for marijuana use, with Colorado placing sixth. But the data still provides a fascinating glimpse into our use of and attitudes about marijuana, cocaine and more. Check out the photo-illustrated results over at Denver Westword.

Eight guidelines for using drugs at concerts and music festivals

By William Breathes on August 8, 2014 Culture

When tragedy strikes at an event designed for entertainment purposes — and particularly when it’s music — the scenesters and members of the musical industry tend to try to distance themselves from the disaster. There’s always blanket condemnation of drug use and talk of increased security and decreased tolerance for drug use and abuse.
But the fact remains that humans seem to enjoy the simultaneous activities of taking drugs and listening to music. For me, the question becomes not what concert promoters and security companies can do to protect music-lovers from the dangers of drugs; the question becomes what music-lovers can do as a community to take some responsibility for each other and for the scene as a whole.

Author William Breathes