Toke of the Town

Browsing: Dispensaries

Patients Held At Gunpoint In Michigan Medical Marijuana Raids

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By on Dispensaries, News

Photo: Oakland County Daily Tribune
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard: “This is Michigan, not some Cheech and Chong movie”

​“This is Michigan, not some Cheech and Chong movie,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard bragged Thursday at a press conference where he proudly showed off seized items including bagged and candied marijuana he claimed was “worth $750,000,” hash oil, and growing equipment.

Two medical marijuana businesses were raided and 15 people were arrested in Michigan for allegedly making “illegal sales,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Bouchard, a publicity-loving Republican gubernatorial candidate, compared medical marijuana dispensary operators to “organized crime,” and is widely viewed as wanting a test case to curtail the pot shops’ activities.
The raids, during which cancer patients and elderly cardholders were forced to the ground at gunpoint, left many medical marijuana patients confused and angry, report Mike Martindale and Jennifer Chambers of The Detroit News.
“This is a very disturbing story,” said Michael Komorn of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, which has 16,000 members.
“Patients were held at gunpoint and dragged out,” Komorn said. “This law was designed to protect patients and caregivers — not expend our resources arresting patients and caregivers.”
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L.A.: Only 41 Marijuana Dispensaries Eligible To Stay Open

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times
Budtender Kim prepares an order for a client at Green Oasis, in October 2009. Green Oasis is one of the shops that was shut down under Los Angeles’ restrictive new medical marijuana ordinance.

​Los Angeles city officials announced Wednesday that only 41 medical marijuana dispensaries are eligible to stay in business under the city’s restrictive ordinance. The number is so low that the city said it will suspend the process of narrowing the number of shops, and ask a judge to rule that it is legal, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.

The announcement means that at least 129 of the dispensaries that had been allowed to remain open under the previous moratorium will now be forced to close.

“It was a surprise,” said Jane Usher, special assistant city attorney who worked with the City Council to draft the complex law, and is defending it in court.
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Governor Dislikes Medical Marijuana, But Likes Tax Money

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: The Associated Press
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter: “I was not in favor of medical marijuana, but I’m also a lawyer and a governor, and I believe in the law”

​Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter doesn’t like medical marijuana, but he sure likes the tax money that comes from it. Gov. Ritter said on Monday that the state is using $9 million from medical marijuana registrations to help the state meet a $60 million “fiscal emergency.”

Ritter said the state expects to end the year with 150,000 applicants for medical marijuana licenses, up from 41,000 in 2009, reports The State Column. Colorado marijuana cards cost $90 per year.
“I was not in favor of medical marijuana, but I’m also a lawyer and the governor, and I believe in the law,” Ritter said, reports Tim Hoover at The Denver Post. “And it’s the law in this state.”
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Why Does Your Budtender Hate You? Here Are 5 Reasons

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By on Dispensaries, Products

Photo: Robyn Twomey

​Pot connoisseur William Breathes over at Denver Westword has written a funny, but on-the-money piece called “Top 5 reasons why your budtender hates you,” and it’s hard to beat for some Friday afternoon reading from the Village Voice Media empire.

“Let’s face it, being the person who sits behind a counter weighing out ganja all day long might not seem like the hardest job in the world, and there are plenty of people who would take that gig just for the leftover shake at the end of the day,” Breathes writes.
“But that doesn’t mean it isn’t work.”
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Court Won’t Rule On Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bans

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: HighDef Forum

​A California appeals court declined Wednesday to decide whether the state’s medical marijuana laws prevent cities and counties from outlawing dispensaries, sending a highly anticipated, closely watched dispute over Anaheim’s three-year-old ban back to a lower court for more hearings.

The ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal did not provide much-needed clarity regarding the argument on pot dispensaries in the state. According to California’s medical marijuana law, passed by the voters in 1996, marijuana can be used if a person has a recommendation from a physician.
Cities and dispensaries had been anticipating a major decision because the court had asked both sides for more information and took an unusually long time to reach a decision — a full year, rather than the typical three months, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.
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Why Does Your Pot Dealer Hate You? Let Her Count The Ways

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By on Culture, Dispensaries, News

Photo: Brunch At Barneys

​​”Of course your dealer knows the risks he or she faces from the police and federal authorities, but that isn’t your dealer’s main fear,” Lauren Rothman tells us at our sister Village Voice Media blog LA Weekly.

“Your dealer’s main fear is wondering what kind of shit you’re going to pull on a daily basis…
“Having been a bud-slinger myself, I’m going to tell you about issues that arise when it comes to procuring drugs that make us contemplate — gulp — attaining a socially acceptable job with a real water cooler and all the fixings.
“I haven’t been in the saddle for a while, but I’ll never forget some of you, no matter how much I wish I could. Your dealer will thank for me for this.”
For the complete list, which I’ll just say sounds quite familiar, visit that glittering jewel of the VVM empire, the LA Weekly:

DA Moves To Deny Medical Marijuana Defense In Second Trial

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By on Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: San Diego City Beat
San Diego County D.A. Bonnie Dumanis: Despite a pledge to respect California’s medical marijuana laws, she has waged an urelenting war against cannabis patients and providers

​Despite being acquitted by a jury late last year of marijuana charges stemming from a 2008 arrest for possession and distribution, medical cannabis patient and provider Jovan Jackson is being tried by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis for a second time in less than a year.

However, for the second trial Dumanis is trying to deny Jackson, former operator of the Answerdam Alternative Care Collective (AACC), a medical marijuana defense based on the claim that “sales” are illegal under California law.
Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a medical marijuana patient advocacy group, filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of Jackson’s defense, refuting the D.A.’s allegations.
“To deny a medical marijuana provider the ability to defend himself in court based on an argument that what he did was illegal, not only ignores relevant medical marijuana law, but also smacks of circular logic,” said Joe Elford, ASA chief counsel and author of the amicus brief filed on Monday.
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Colorado Nets $7 Million From Pot Dispensary Application Fees

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Voter Political Blog

​​With more than 2,000 people in Colorado applying for licenses to run state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, growing facilities or related businesses before the past weekend’s application deadline, the state made $7.34 million from application fees alone.

More than 700 applied specifically for dispensary licenses, far exceeding the number expected by state officials, who estimated that only half of the state’s roughly 1,100 pre-existing dispensaries would apply for licenses.
State officials will now conduct background checks on applicants before awarding licenses, which are expected to generate additional millions in annual revenue for Colorado.
“This outpouring of applications is another sign of how willing and eager marijuana business owners are to be taxed, regulated, and given equal treatment to other legitimate establishments, said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).
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More Than 2,000 Apply For Colorado Marijuana Licenses

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Legal Libations

Residency Requirement Creates Controversy; Sparks Lawsuit Threat


​More than 2,000 Coloradans have applied for licenses to operate in the state’s burgeoning medical marijuana business. The applications were due Sunday, and the figure could still rise because those postmarked by the due date will still be counted.

The 2,059 forms received so far include applications from 717 dispensaries, 271 marijuana product makers (edibles), and 1,071 marijuana growers, according to John Ingold of The Denver Post.
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Group Works To Bring Medical Marijuana Dispensaries To Texas

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By on Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: Disinformation

​With its recognition by the state of Texas as a nonprofit, the Medicinal Marijuana Advocates Group (MMAG) says the fight to bring medical cannabis legislation to Texas is getting closer to reality.

MMAG, recently founded to advocate “peaceful protest for pharmaceutical research,” brings motivation and passion to the struggle, according to Alexander Young, president and founder of the group.
“We expect strong opposition from disbelievers,” Young said. “It’s inevitable in such a conservative atmosphere. We knew this when we started and we’re ready for a struggle. But it’s time to end needless suffering.”
“It’s time to bring centralization and a single, clear, professional voice to the medicinal cannabis community,” said Tim DaGiau, public relations director for MMAG.
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