Dispensaries

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Chuck Norris Weed Will Kick Your Ass And Make You Like It

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 10, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries, Products

When Chuck Norris does push-ups, he doesn’t lift himself up. He pushes the Earth down.

Chuck Norris can put you in a world of pain. But never fear; the new “Chuck Norris” pot strain can probably relieve it.

Los Angeles dispensaries are featuring a new strain of medical marijuana — and Walker Texas Ranger star Chuck Norris reportedly isn’t thrilled.

The new strain, “Chuck Norris’ Black and Blue Dream” is rumored to have (you guessed it!) a real “kick” to it, reports TMZ.com.

It’s definitely an unauthorized use of the martial arts star’s name, according to Chuck’s representative, but the Norris team reportedly hasn’t decided yet if legal action will be taken.

“Maybe Chuckie should just lighten up,” opines the Boston Herald. “Or at least trademark his name so he can make a few bucks off it!”

But, as noted by the Herald, that’s seems rather unlikely, given the 70-year-old Norris’s very conservative political views. (The pugilistic partisan even served on the board of directors of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.)

Washington Bill Would Allow Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 5, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Directory

Dispensaries already exist in at least King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, but if a new bill passes the Washington Legislature in 2011, they could operate statewide

State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles will introduce a bill in the Legislature this week which would permit medical marijuana dispensaries to open across Washington state.

Washington’s medical marijuana law doesn’t specifically allow dispensaries, reports Dominic Holden at The Stranger, but the shops are already proliferating in some areas, existing in a legal gray area that is yet to be sorted out.

Existing dispensaries — concentrated in the Seattle and Tacoma areas — often avoid drawing attention by inconspicuously setting up shop in industrial areas and office buildings (although I’ve personally been to more than one storefront dispensary in King County). If Kohl-Welles’s bill passes, though, the state Department of health would permit the shops to operate statewide as nonprofit corporations, likely resulting in more open advertising and more visibility.

Maine Marijuana Patients Register With State To Meet Mandate

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 3, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Medical

Photo: MyFoxMaine

Starting January 1, medical marijuana patients in Maine are required by law to register with the state.

More than 400 residents of Maine have applied to be medical marijuana patients under a new state law. Starting January 1, Mainers must be registered with the state before legally using cannabis medicinally.

For the past decade in Maine, ever since voters approved medical marijuana in 1999, patients had needed only a doctor’s authorization to use cannabis medicinally.

Applications flooded into the Maine Department of Health and Human Services in the final days and weeks of 2010, with hundreds more expected in the next several weeks, reports John Richardson at The Portland Press Herald. State officials said that expect to register 1,200 or more patients by the time the initial rush is over this spring.

“Everybody’s coming in at the last minute,” said Catherine Cobb, director of licensing and regulatory services for the health department. “We’ve been hammered.”

Police Aggressively Raid Medical Marijuana Delivery Services

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 30, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Graphic: KSBY

Grandmother and Children Handcuffed, Forced Facedown To The Ground; Children Taken From Parents

Aggressive raids against five collectively run medical marijuana delivery services were staged by a Narcotics Task Force of local and state law enforcement agencies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week in San Luis Obispo County, California.

The raids resulted in at least 13 people being arrested on felony charges, with bails of up to $100,000. Several of those arrested were charged with child endangerment, after Child Protective Services (CPS) removed at least six children from the homes of three different families.

In one report of this week’s raids, the police kept people, including a grandmother and two children, handcuffed facedown on the ground. The children were later hauled off to CPS after their parents were thrown in jail.

What’s Behind Washington’s Attempt To Tax Medical Marijuana?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 29, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Cannabis Defense Coalition

Records Released In Cannabis Tax Flap

What inspired Washington state’s recent efforts to collect sales tax on medical marijuana sales at dispensaries — despite the fact that such sales are illegal, according to the state and federal governments? A marijuana activist group has received documents which may provide the answer.

The Washington State Department of Revenue mailed letters to 90 dispensaries two weeks ago, insisting that medical marijuana is not exempt from state sales tax — as are other medicines — and telling dispensaries they must collect that money and turn it over to the state.

But as noted by the Department of Revenue itself, “Current Washington State statutes (and Federal law) do not allow a prescription for marijuana because it is a Schedule I controlled substance. Even though Washington has a specific ‘medical’ marijuana chapter in statute, the prescription statutes and case law do not acknowledge that any valid medical purpose exists for marijuana.”

“Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance which cannot be prescribed under either federal or state law in Washington,” the document notes. “Since marijuana cannot be prescribed, retail sales tax applies to purchases of marijuana and must be collected/remitted by the seller.”

Medical Marijuana Patient Records Found Near Dumpster

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 29, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: 9News.com

Patient privacy is compromised as a Denver resident finds medical marijuana patient information in an alley

Medical marijuana patient records allegedly from the Apothecary of Colorado, a dispensary, were found in an alley in Denver on Tuesday.

The records were found in a binder and include medical marijuana patient applications, medical condition information, Social Security numbers, and copies of drivers licenses and birth certificates.

The records were discovered by Denver resident Harold Morton in a box next to his dumpster, reports Dave DeLozier at 9News.com.

Food Drive, Dispensary Style: Free Joints For Canned Food

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 29, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Granny Purps

Granny Purps medical marijuana dispensary in Soquel, California, found a very effective way to motivate customers to donate to a food drive — give away free joints.

A medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Cruz County, California has found a very effective way to inspire canned food donations for the holidays — giving away joints.

The Granny Purps dispensary in Soquel, about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco, handed out one free cannabis cigarette for every four cans of food donated by its patients, reports Tovin Lapan at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Each patient was limited to three free joints a day.

The dispensary took in donations of more than 11,000 pounds of food and handed out 2,000 free joints between November and Christmas Eve, when the promotion ended. (Aw, man!)

The food was donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.

New Mexico Says Cities Can’t Regulate Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: ABC News

Farmington, New Mexico has said it will quickly develop zoning regulations on medical marijuana during a six-month moratorium, but the State of New Mexico contends the city doesn’t have any authority to regulate.

The New Mexico Department of Health is the state agency tasked with regulating medical marijuana throughout the state, said spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer, reports Steve Lynn at The Farmington Daily Times.

“It doesn’t appear as if local municipalities have any legal authority over the system,” Busemeyer said. “The state is in charge of approving producers and we will continue to do so as needed. The moratorium I don’t think would affect our decisions.”

Arizona Won’t Regulate Marijuana’s Strength Or Quality

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: TestCountry.com

Arizona has no plans to regulate the strength or quality of medical marijuana sold at dispensaries, authorized last month by voters, when they start opening next year.

The top health official in the state said buyers of medicinal cannabis will know when the pot was grown, whether pesticides were used or even how often it was watered, but not the potency, reports Howard Fischer at the Arizona Daily Star.

The Department of Health Services is writing the rules for distribution of medical marijuana once the new law takes effect in March 2011.

“We’ve got some basic labeling requirements,” state health director Will Humble said. “But we haven’t gone that extra step to require an analysis to determine exactly how much THC in every single piece of inventory. And I doubt that we’re going to go there.”

Oakland Dispensaries Sold 4.2 Million Joints This Year

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 17, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Harborside Health Center

Steve DeAngelo’s Harborside Health Center, the biggest dispensary in the Bay Area, brought in about $20 million this year.

City’s Medical Pot Sales Reach $35 Million In 2010

Most sectors of the economy are pretty grim right now, but that assessment doesn’t include the medical marijuana business in Oakland, California.

The city is projecting that Oakland’s three dispensaries will sell between $35 million and $38 million worth of cannabis this year, reports Zusha Elinson at The Bay Citizen. That means about three and a quarter tons of marijuana — 104,000 ounces, or 4.2 million joints.

The total has been getting higher and higher since Oakland started keeping track in 2004, when the dispensaries paid taxes on $4.2 million worth of sales. The figures are derived from the business tax paid to the city by dispensaries on their gross receipts.

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