Dispensaries

Browsing: Dispensaries

Medical Marijuana Crackdown Coming In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Med Stop, which was approved by the City of Denver, is 161 feet diagonally across the street from a school.

Colorado has been mercifully spared — so far — from the federal crackdown on medical marijuana. Some have speculated its highly regulated system of handling distribution through state-licensed dispensaries has protected the state. That theory may now need some adjustment. Federal authorities plan to crack down on the medicinal cannabis business in Colorado on a large scale for the first time.

The action — which also flies in the face of theories postulating that since Colorado’s medical marijuana law is a constitutional amendment, it has protected the state from the feds — will begin with warning letters which will go to dispensaries and grow facilities near schools, reports Rick Sallinger at CBS4.

So far, it’s not clear when the crackdown will begin in earnest.

CA Supreme Court Urged To Review Medical Marijuana Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 13, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Cheryl Shuman

Medical marijuana advocates hold a rally outside Long Beach City Hall

A coalition of advocates and public officials filed an amicus “friend of the court” brief on Monday, asking the California Supreme Court to take the appeal of Pack v. City of Long Beach, a controversial medical marijuana decision from early October.

The coalition, which includes Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), as well as the County of Santa Cruz, is also seeking outright depublication of the Second District ruling.

The Long Beach City Council decided in November to appeal the Pack decision to the California Supreme Court.

Dispensary Break-In Foiled: Would-Be Robbers Leave Weedless

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 12, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Yahoo! Local

Nature’s Way, a medical marijuana dispensary in Colorado Springs, had an attempted robbery by two men Saturday night. The would-be robbers left empty handed.

Two would-be robbers were foiled Saturday night at a Colorado Springs medical marijuana dispensary when the cops arrived faster than expected.

The employees at Nature’s Way said two men broke into their store by going into the coin laundry next door, then using their bathroom to gain access to the dispensary’s ceiling, reports Catherine Bilkey at KKTV. From there the would-be robbers were able to climb over the tiles and break into Nature’s Way.

But that’s about all that went according to plan for the two bumbling crooks.

“It was almost like a movie scene,” said Nature’s Way employee Mark Cebula. “The alarms are going off; because that alarm is pretty loud … they must have started panicking.”

Most of the cannabis at the dispensary is locked up in a safe at night, so Cebula believes the frustrated pot-rustlers tried to leave through the front door, but probably saw the cops pulling up. With locked doors all around, they were stuck in the lobby.

Grumbine Medical Marijuana Trial: ‘We Got Pounded This Week’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Joe Grumbine

Joe Grumbine addresses supporters outside the courtroom

The out-of-control antics of an octogenarian, rabidly anti-marijuana judge continued to appall activists in Long Beach, California this week. Superior Court Judge Charles Sheldon, the 79-year-old judge in the trial of Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron, former operators of a pair of Long Beach cannabis collectives, didn’t even bother to conceal his obvious bias against the defendants, according to observers.

“We got pounded this week and especially the last half of today,” Grumbine posted on Facebook Friday night. “In spite of three motions for a mistrial due to bias, we move forward in this landmark case.”

Right at the outset of the trial, Judge Sheldon denied the two Joes their right to mention medical marijuana in their defense — upon which, of course, the whole case hinges. This prevented their attorneys from calling it witnesses who could testify that they were following California state law. But after a ruling last week by the California Court of Appeal, Sheldon was left with no choice but to allow such witnesses to testify.

On Monday, when confronted with this ruling, Sheldon refused a follow-up motion by the defense to delay the trial for a week so defense attorneys Alison Margolin and Christopher Glew could get ahold of the previously off-limits witnesses. But Judge Sheldon insisted the trial start right away.

Dispensary Asks CA Gov. Brown To Join Marijuana Petition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

David Downs/East Bay Express

Kevin Reed, The Green Cross: “It’s high time Governor Brown take action to advance meaningful policies”

The Green Cross, San Francisco’s first licensed medical cannabis dispensary, is urging California Governor Jerry Brown to join a federal petition to reschedule marijuana filed by Governors Christine Gregoire (D-WA) and Lincoln Chafee (I-RI).

Since the petition was filed on November 30, Governor Peter Shumlin (D-VT) has signaled he also supports it. All three governors represent states that have adopted laws allowing the use of medical marijuana by qualified patients.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, the U.S. government considers marijuana a Schedule I substance, a category reserved for dangerous drugs with a high potential for addiction and no medical value.

Holder: Federal Interference In Medical Marijuana A Low Priority

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

YouTube

Attorney General Eric Holder: “If in fact people are not using he policy decision that we have made to use marijuana in a way that’s not consistent with the state statute, we will not use our limited resources in that way.” Or something.

It’s easy to get whiplash trying to keep up with federal medical marijuana policy, and my neck’s hurting again after hearing the latest from Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder on Thursday repeated the support of the Department of Justice for the Ogden Memo, the 2009 policy statement which deprioritized the prosecution of medical marijuana providers who are following state law.

“What we said in the memo we still intend, which is that given the limited resources that we have, and if there are states that have medical marijuana provisions … if in fact people are not using the policy decision that we have made to use marijuana in a way that’s not consistent with the state statute, we will not use our limited resources in that way,” Holder said in his usual convoluted (dare I say tortured?) fashion, reports Lucia Graves at Huffington Post.

Feds To Meet With California’s Ammiano On Marijuana Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

bkusler

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano: “This is a crisis, and it’s putting patients at risk”

We’re two months into a confusing crackdown by the federal Department of Justice on medical marijuana dispensaries, and California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is expected to meet soon with the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The private meeting is expected to take place next week between Ammiano (D-S.F.) and federal prosecutor Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, reports Dan Aiello at The Bar Area Reporter.

The decision by Haag to meet with Ammiano comes just a week after U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong ruled against three Bay Area medical marijuana dispensaries, one of the dispensary’s patients, and another’s landlord.

“U.S. Attorney Haag’s office has responded to our request and Assemblyman Ammiano will be meeting her sometime next week,” said Quintin Mecke, Ammiano’s communications director.

Participants at the meeting have not been confirmed; “no other elected official[s]” will be there, according to Mecke. “This meeting is on behalf of our office,” he said.

Federal prosecutors have threatened dispensaries with eviction, landlords with property seizures, and both with imprisonment. Scattered raids have been reported, with patient records being seized at one dispensary in Sacramento.

Colorado Will Ask DEA To Reschedule Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Wussup Hater

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper apparently doesn’t plan to sign a petition from Govs. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Chris Gregoire of Washington which asks the federal government to change the classification of marijuana, but Colorado will reportedly file its own request before the end of the year.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s spokesperson told Fox News that the governors have a valid point in pushing the petition, reports Scot Kersgaard at the Colorado Independent.

“The governors in Washington and Rhode Island raise a valid conflict that needs to be resolved,” said Eric Brown, a spokesman for Gov. Hickenlooper. “Colorado law requires that we make a similar ask of the federal government by Jan. 1. We will do that. We will also continue to consult with other governors on the issue and with Colorado’s attorney general before deciding whether anything else will be done.”

Medical Marijuana Ban/Repeal: Long Beach Eyes Third Option

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

LBCA

The fate of the entire American medical marijuana community could depend on decisions made by the City of Long Beach. The recent court ruling of Pack v City of Long Beach could take cannabis medicine away from ailing citizens and lead to lost jobs, lost tax revenue, and increased crime rates.

On Wednesday, December 7, the Long Beach Collective Association (LBCA) submitted amendment language to the mayor, Long Beach City Council, and city attorney, which recommends language that would allow the current ordinance to remain functional under the evolving California law.

This “third option” was drafted by the LBCA’s legal team at the request of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal and several other council members at the November 1 council meeting.

Medical Marijuana Patients Propose L.A. Regulation Solution

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 6, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

UMMP

James Shaw, director of the Los Angeles-based Union of Medical Marijuana patients, on Tuesday announced an alternative to a ban on nearly 400 local medicinal cannabis dispensaries which was proposed by City Councilman Jose Huizar last month.

“Councilman Huizar seems unaware that there is a reasonable way to regulate medical cannabis patient associations now using technology which we have developed in conjunction with AgSite Secure,” Shaw said.

If that sounds like Shaw is selling something, yes he is; however, keep an open mind, because third-party verification may be a way out of the conundrum in which California dispensaries find themselves.

According to Shaw, the recent Second Court of Appeals decision cited by the Councilman, known as Pack v. Long Beach, which rejected the ability of cities to issue paid permits to authorize dispensaries, did not mean a ban was the only alternative to a complete lack of regulation.

Previous 1 … 58 59 60 61 62 … 118 Next