Back in August we told you about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount getting busted by a motorcycle cop while smoking ganja in traffic and the subsequent (lack of) fallout for the two running backs. This week the two were due in court, and at least Bell has waived his right to a preliminary hearing on possession and DUI charges.
Bell says he wasn’t high at the time of the stop, though he admits to buying and smoking some of the herb.
| Nebraska cops |
Nebraska cops still pissed about Colorado legalizing marijuana are pushing for increased monetary penalties for cannabis possession as well as increased funding to pay for the overtime they are all milking. Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson of Sidney, Nebraska (population 7,000) says he’s written more marijuana tickets in five months than he did in all of last year. “Five out of every ten” stops results in a marijuana arrests, he says. They’ve already run through their yearly allotment of overtime pay to pay for cops to go to court for the marijuana cases. It’s “deteriorating a quality of life here” in his town, he says.
We bet. Your cops are too busy shooting fish in barrels to deal with any actual crime in their town.
| The DEA assumed a suspect’s Facebook profile in an attempt to lure her friends into admissions of guilt |
Ever since Notre Dame University star football player Manti Te’o was caught up in a lie about a relationship with a girl who never existed, the word “catfished” has become more and more of a household term.
There was a movie in 2010 by the name of Catfish, which spawned the MTV show of the same name, which has somehow made it through three seasons on the culturally bankrupt cable television station. Even the Urban Dictionary has the phrase listed, defining it as: “Being deceived over Facebook as the deceiver professed their romantic feelings to his/her victim, but isn’t who they say they are.”
Well, it turns out that the DEA may be the hipsters of catfishing online, since they’ve been doing it since way before the mainstream caught on. But a new lawsuit by an admitted drug dealer may cause your Facebook “Friends” list to get pared down a bit.
| Angela Brown with her son, Trey. |
Last month, we told you about Angela Brown, the Madison, Minnesota resident who was charged with two gross misdemeanors for giving cannabis extracts to her teenage son, Trey, to treat a traumatic brain injury he suffered in 2011.
Brown’s story generated quite a stir, mostly among people who couldn’t begin to understand why the Lac Qui Parle county attorney, Richard Stulz, thought it was a good idea to press charges in this case. But the controversy apparently didn’t deter Stulz, as this morning Brown is due in court in Montevideo, where she plans to enter a “not guilty” plea
| FlickrCommons |
In recent weeks, around a thousand marijuana dispensaries across the states of California, Colorado, and Washington have received a marketing flyer advertising a partnership opportunity with the 3rd richest man in the world, Warren Buffet.
Well, it’s not exactly a partnership, and the flyers didn’t exactly come from Mr. Buffet himself, and really, they weren’t even aimed primarily at the dispensaries they were sent to. But with weed growing faster than warehouse space, Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Cubic Designs, Inc. has stepped into the industry with a proven solution that promises to double the yield on each harvest.
Last month, we told you about a class-action lawsuit accusing a Denver County Fair vendor of giving away pot-infused candy without informing patrons, reportedly resulting in a number of them becoming ill.
Now, the figure is growing. Six more people have joined the complaint, which maintains that the total victims could exceed a hundred. The original suit was filed by Jordan Coombs, who said he was so sickened by the candy he ate at the booth operated by LivWell, a company that operates under the Beyond Broadway moniker, that during the drive away from the fair — with his wife behind the wheel, fortunately — he “projectile vomited uncontrollably in his car.”
More at the Latest Word.
| Aspen, CO – Home of the 1st Annual Cannabis Grand Cru – November 14th-16th, 2014 |
When it comes to the changing of the seasons, and outstanding venues for cannabis themed events, nobody does it quite like Colorado. Aspen in the fall, much like the trees it is named after, radiates a golden glimmer leading into the first snowfall of the year.
From Friday November 14th – Sunday November 16th those attending the Cannabis Grand Cru will take over the entire Sky Hotel in Aspen for a 3-day event full of seminars, Q&A sessions, hands-on learning, and loads of entertainment. Tickets for this 21+ members-only experience will be made available only by invitation. The good news is, we’ve got the scoop on how to get yours.
| Jurvetson/FlickrCommons |
With a constant flow of cannabis-related headlines pouring out of Canada, the United States, and Mexico on a daily basis, it is easy to overlook the fact that public support for legal cannabis use is on the rise on continents all around the globe.
In Australia, marijuana is by far the most popular and widely used drug, with over 1/3rd of all Aussie’s over the age of 22 admitting to having taken a toke or two in their time. But as it becomes increasingly more popular in their home country, those same Aussies have begun to take their stash with them when traveling abroad, and simple pot possession has several of them facing possible death penalties as they sit in Chinese prisons awaiting their fates.
| Kent Wycliffe Easter. |
The second time was a charm for prosecutors as a jury this afternoon found Kent Wycliffe Easter guilty in his retrial for planting drugs in the PT Cruiser of a school volunteer the Irvine attorney’s wife thought had insulted their then-5-year-old son. Easter was convicted of false imprisonment by fraud and deceit. Jurors in his first trial had deadlocked 11-1 in favor of guilt on that same felony count.
It’s one of the strangest court battles we’ve followed here at Toke of the Town, easily rivaling the worst daytime soap opera script ever produced. And our friends at the OC Weekly have all the juicy details.
| You’ll soon be able to have a little weed here and not be a criminal. |
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says he will finally sign a measure decriminalizing up to 30 grams of pot in the City of Brotherly Love that City Council approved back in June. His only demand: he still wants to waste the time of the courts with pot tickets.
The original draft approved by council made possession 30 grams or less akin to a parking ticket in that you could simply mail in your $25 fine. Nutter is okay with keeping the $25 fine and keeping it off of people’s records, but wants to make the offense a “non-summary” charge that requires an appearance before a city judge.