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Army Accidentally Drops Soldiers Into Afghani Marijuana Field

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 26, 2011 Global, Growing, News

US soldiers try to avoid improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as they make their way through thick marijuana fields

Some American soldiers got an unexpectedly scenic mission in Afghanistan recently when their Chinook helicopters discharged them into the middle of a marijuana field.

Laura Rauch at Stars and Stripes reports that the mission for soldiers with Company C and the Scout Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was to cut off enemy access and supply routes.

When the Chinooks landed, a “heavy earthy scent wafted through the cabin.” This wasn’t the dry riverbed the soldiers had been expecting, but instead the ground was moist and slippery from irrigation canals. When they adjusted their night-vision goggles, the soldiers realized they had been dropped into a “massive old-growth marijuana plantation,” about a quarter-mile west of their intended landing zone.

Signatures Verified: Kern County Medical Marijuana Ban Blocked

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

Bakersfield.com

Stacy McGee, left, Destiny Joy Brewer, right, and others deliver boxes of signatures on September 8 to the Kern County Elections Division challenging the county’s new ordinance outlawing storefront medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives.

Here’s how it’s done. Medical marijuana patient advocates have won a big victory in Kern County, California. Opponents of a county ordinance that would outlaw medicinal cannabis dispensaries and the sale of edible marijuana products have blocked the law from taking effect.

The Kern County Elections Division on Wednesday verified that the Kern Citizens for Patients’ Rights had collected 17,350 valid signatures from register voters in the county, reports James Burger at The Bakersfield Californian. That number is required to block the ban on dispensaries.

Elections workers counted the 17,350th signature around 11:37 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21, and stopped counting. About 2,662 of the original 26,326 signatures submitted remained uncounted, a cushion of support, as it turned out, that the Kern Citizens group didn’t need.

Marijuana Grower Wins Restraining Order Against County

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 15, 2011 Growing, News

KFSN

Richard Daleman, 63, has gone up against Tulare County twice and come out on top both times. Back in 2009, he got a court order forcing sheriff’s deputies to return more than 12 pounds of marijuana to him. Now he got a restraining order preventing the county from seizing more than 4,000 marijuana plants on his property.

A Tulare County, California medical marijuana collective won a big, but possibly temporary victory in court Wednesday.

A judge granted Richard Daleman, 63, a temporary restraining order against the county. It prevents county officials from seizing 4,000 medicinal cannabis plants on his property, reports KFSN.

Under California law, Daleman is allowed to have the plants on his five-acre property, but a Tulare County ordinance prohibits it. About 40 medical marijuana cardholders rent space on Daleman’s farm to grow their own medicine.

Bulgarian Farmers Switch From Tomatoes To Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 13, 2011 Global, Growing

Fresh Plaza

Cannabis has proven to be a tempting crop for low-income pensioners in Bulgaria

Farmers in southwest Bulgaria have decided to put aside traditional crops such as tomatoes for something more profitable — cannabis. The only problem is, marijuana is still very illegal in this impoverished eastern European nation.

But that’s the very reason weed is more profitable than tomatoes or corn. Black market profits are hard to turn down if you’re on a fixed income, perhaps retired and elderly, and your meager pension doesn’t cover the rising cost of living, reports Fresh Plaza.

According to Terra.com.pe, Bulgaria, one of the poorest countries in the European Union, has very low pensions, making the temptation to enter the world of cannabis cultivation very strong. Marijuana brings 15 euros a gram on the Bulgarian black market, which beats the hell out of tomatoes.

The Marijuana Business: No Pictures Please, I Got A Family Here

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 13, 2011 Culture, Growing

Mother Jones

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The man under the faded Giants cap wiped his forehead again for about the thousandth time. It was hot and it was late. Harvey should have been here 30 minutes ago.

The duffle bag in the back of his ancient Charger ticked like a tell-tale bud wanting to get out. The man wanted to go. He had pressing business at 2:30 that he couldn’t be late for. Then there was this other guy to hook-up with.

His long mane fell out of the cap as he ran his hand through that swamp of molted hair looking for dust on the horizon. It was a little before 2 and the temperature was deep into the red.

Between the LB’s in the trunk, the Charger’s engine actually ticking under the midday sun, and the clock in his head counting off like a nasty verbal egg timer telling him he needs to get moving if he wants to make his hook-up and his 2:30, he was getting nervous — for a man who doesn’t get nervous. The man would have started pacing if it wouldn’t have looked too suspicious.

Bummer of a Summer: Weather Halves B.C.’s Pot Crop

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 9, 2011 Global, Growing

RCMP

RCMP officers on Vancouver Island bust an outdoor marijuana grow operation

Wet, cold weather in British Columbia this summer has cut the western Canadian province’s marijuana harvest in half, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Officers have observed “significantly smaller” marijuana plants from aerial and ground searches, according to RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan, reports Katie DeRosa at the Victoria Times Colonist. Lagan said the plants were smaller this year because of poor weather at the beginning of the growing season.

Psycho Killer Still On The Loose In Marijuana Country

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 5, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: James Boylan.Info

Suspected killer Aaron Bassler, 35, is still on the loose in Northern California.

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” ~ Joseph Goebbels

Is the L.A. Times anti-marijuana? Since the tragic shooting of Ft. Bragg city councilman Jere Melo a week ago last Saturday, the L.A. Times and other wire services have still been running erroneous information surrounding the incident.

Violence stalks the mountains above a quiet coastal town

“The slaying of Fort Bragg Councilman Jere Melo is the latest event in an area populated by marijuana growers drawn to the isolation, good weather and laissez-faire culture. ~ Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2011

Yet the local slant is going in another, totally different direction: That there is a killer loose, and it has nothing to do with marijuana.

While the Times beats the propaganda drum, suspected killer Aaron Bassler is still out there.

Bear-ly Legal: When Marijuana Growers Learn The Bear Facts

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 2, 2011 Culture, Growing

Graphic: Marijuana Muscle

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

Argos called me last week to see if his writer friend wanted to learn how to make Humm Tea. The first time I heard of Humm Tea, I thought it was Humboldt’s version of an Arnie Palmer. A local beverage that was probably infused with something medicinal that you’d take with natural sugar.

Imagine my surprise when I learn that Humm Tea, or Compost Tea, was a natural concoction made from guano or some other form of doodie that is blended and stirred while adding some other naturally elements like banana skins for potassium for around thirty-six hours. This living growing breathing shake is then sprayed on plants for a variety of reasons and applications.

Academy of Cannabis Culture Opening In Seattle

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 1, 2011 Culture, Growing, Products

Graphic: ACCTech

A new institution of higher learning is opening in Seattle. The Academy of Cannabis Culture and Technology is scheduled to officially open on September 7.

ACCTech plans to offer courses and seminars on Washington’s medical marijuana laws, as well as a range of classes providing patients with professional instruction on cultivating their own medicine and cooking with cannabis.

The Academy didn’t waste any time getting things started — it’s already held its first seminar before officially opening its doors. On August 27, Seattle attorney Kurt Boehl educated medical marijuana patients on how to comply with Washington state’s complex medical marijuana laws.

3-Year State Trooper Study: Marijuana Has An Odor

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: Alaska Hemp

“Hey, I think I smell something…”

A press release from the Alaska State Troopers proudly unveiled the results of a three-year(!) study which, not shockingly, determined that the odor of marijuana may be associated with the presence of marijuana.

Now, stop it. Maybe Alaska State Troopers (AST) don’t have much to do; I’m sure their lives could use a little more excitement. And they have all those “federally forfeited illegal drug proceeds” to spend on, well, something.

The troopers used the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Justice Center to analyze three years’ worth of marijuana grows which they busted. The study analyzed 200 marijuana grow searches conducted by Alaska State Troopers covering 2006 to 2008.

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