Dispensaries

Case Dismissed; Men Want Their Medical Marijuana Back

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

All charges against Guy Casey, above, were dismissed — but the cops still don’t want to give his medical marijuana back.

Two operators of a Tacoma, Washington medical marijuana dispensary beat drug charges earlier this year. Now they want their cannabis back.

Guy Casey and Michael Schaef said they are legally authorized to possess the marijuana seized during a raid and that the government no longer has any interest in the pot, reports Adam Lynn at the Bellingham Herald.

They’ve asked a Pierce County Superior Court judge to return to each of them 48 ounces of harvested marijuana and 30 plants — or their equivalents in cash.

Confusion Reigns In Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 22, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Legislation

Graphic: Sodahead

Changes to Washington state’s medical marijuana laws kick in today, Friday, July 22. But cities, counties, providers and patients are still trying to make sense of the new guidelines, a patchwork of confusing and often contradictory rules left by Governor Christine Gregoire’s hen-hearted line-item veto of legislation which would have regulated the shops.

The dispensaries have popped up all over the state in the past couple years, reports Liz Jones at KUOW. But the changes in Washington’s medical marijuana law make dispensaries illegal, while authorizing “collective gardens” of up to 45 plants for up to 10 patients.

Washington: 5 Indicted In Federal Medical Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 21, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: KREM.com

Charles Wright was one of the five men federally indicted Wednesday in a federal crackdown on medical marijuana in Spokane, Washington

A federal grand jury has indicted five medical marijuana dispensary owners in and near Spokane, Washington. On Wednesday, a laundry list of federal marijuana charges, including distributing and selling near an elementary school, were announced in the indictments.

Four of those indicted consist of two two-man owner teams from two separate Spokane dispensaries, while the fifth person indicted was allegedly cultivating more than 100 marijuana plants in Loon Lake, Washington.

Farmer’s Market Brings Patients And Cannabis Together

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 21, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical

Patients in the Olympia, Washington area, south of Seattle, are lucky enough to have an excellent farmer’s market providing the best in cannabis, edibles, topicals and concentrates from a variety of caregiver tables.

Medical Marijuana Supporters Get 2,000 Signatures In One Week

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 20, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Eliza Wiley/Helena Independent Record

Senator Dave Wanzenreid (D-Missoula) spoke Tuesday in the secretary of state’s office to announce the Initiative Referendum 124 petition campaign by Patients For Reform – Not Repeal.

It only took a week to get 2,000 Montanans to sign petitions to let voters in 2012 decide the fate of the restrictive medical marijuana law passed by their state Legislature this year, backers of the referendum said on Tuesday.

A group called Patients For Reform – Not Repeal has launched a statewide campaign trying to get enough voter signatures to place Senate Bill 423 on the ballot next year, reports Charles S. Johnson at the Billings Gazette.

If the group reaches an additional level of signatures by September 30, the law will be suspended until voters decide in November 2012 whether to keep or reject it.

The referendum is part of a three-pronged attack by medical marijuana supporters and patients. On another front, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, along with other groups, has mounted a court challenge to the law’s constitutionality.

The Cannabis Vote: What Are The Choices?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 20, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Skreened

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

Without a doubt, President Obama has let down the medical marijuana faction of his constituents. Not to go over old ground but the promises, and yes, I say promises, because when you’re campaigning on change, and the last guy lied, lied, lied — I need to believe what you’re saying is the truth.

When the President said he and his peeps would back off from the states that have voted for medical marijuana, I believed him.

And now all I think is Hillary Clinton was right. Obama is under qualified and can’t move mountains.

I voted for Obama for many reasons, medical marijuana only being one of them.

Governor: N.J. Going Ahead With Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 19, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Livestream

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie: “I have been struggling — as has my administration — to try and find a way to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish … which is to provide compassionate treatment to people who are suffering”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced at a surprise press conference on Tuesday that he has decided to allow six Alternative Treatment Centers, as the state calls medical marijuana dispensaries, to move ahead.

The governor, who has been accused of deliberately stalling implementation of the medical marijuana law approved by the Legislature in January 2010, said he would take full responsibility for the move, reports Freedom Is Green.

“I have been struggling — as has my administration — to try and find a way to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish … which is to provide compassionate treatment to people who are suffering in a way that will not expose them, the operators of our dispensaries or employees of the State of New Jersey to criminal liability,” Christie said.

Seattle City Council Votes 8-0 To Allow Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Photo: Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Cass Stewart mans the counter at Apothecary Seattle on Capitol Hill. The Seattle City Council on Monday voted to license the city’s dispensaries.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are alive in Seattle, at least for now. The Seattle City Council, on a unanimous 8-0 vote Monday, approved an ordinance which licenses and taxes dispensaries in the city.

The ordinance now heads for the desk of Mayor Mike McGinn for his signature, reports Philip Dawdy at 4Evergreen Group. The mayor is expected to sign the ordinance.

The ordinance requires that medical cannabis dispensaries have city business licenses, pay business and occupation (B&O) taxes and be at least 1,000 feet away from schools.

Medical Marijuana Clubs Open As Arizona Law Is Debated

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services

Mike Miller of the Arizona Compassion Association presides over the counter at The 2811 Club.

Medical marijuana dispensaries aren’t yet allowed to open in Arizona, pending a judge’s ruling on Proposition 203, the ballot initiative approved by voters last November. But that’s not keeping some patients from finding cannabis.

At least a few clubs providing patients with medical marijuana have opened to fill that need, reports Emily Holden at The Arizona Republic.

The new state law allows medical marijuana cardholders to grow their own cannabis and to share it with each other, as long as there are no dispensaries within 25 miles. Since no dispensaries are yet allowed, all patients are currently eligible to grow. These clubs have developed as go-between.

The new law was meant to create a regulated industry of dispensaries, said Joe Yuhas, spokesman for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association, which led the campaign for Prop 203. Instead, the pot clubs are an unintended consequence of the dispute between state and federal laws regarding pot.

“We’re going to see more and more developments like this,” Yuhas said.

Oakland Could Charge $211K A Year For Pot Cultivation Permit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 15, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Medical

Photo: Hollywood Grind

Oakland, California’s plan to license and regulate large-scale medical marijuana farms have taken another tentative step forward after several setbacks. Unfortunately, the news isn’t particularly good for smaller growers.

The city’s rules and laws about medicinal cannabis dispensaries have sometimes been controversial, but mostly successful, with four dispensaries in town servicing thousands of patients and enjoying about $28 million in annual sales, reports Sean Maher at the Oakland Tribune.

But City Council members including Desley Brooks have long argued that there is little local control over where those four dispensaries get their marijuana. They have proposed, instead, city-licensed, industrial-scale marijuana grow operations to supply the dispensaries.

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