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Judge Rules Federal Law Trumps Montana’s Med Marijuana Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 23, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled on Friday that Montana’s medical marijuana providers can be prosecuted under federal law even if they are strictly following state law

A federal judge has ruled that Montana’s medical marijuana program doesn’t shield providers of cannabis from federal prosecution.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy on Friday is another blow to Montana’s medical marijuana industry, reports the Associated Press. Montana’s medicinal cannabis community was already on the ropes; in the past year, it has seen tough, new state restrictions, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, as well as federal raids by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

Judge Molloy ruled that medical marijuana providers can be prosecuted under the federal Controlled Substances Act even if they are strictly following state law. He cited the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says that federal law prevails if there is any conflict between state and federal statutes.

Cops Reject US Attorney’s Colorado Medical Marijuana Threats

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 23, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Denver Westword

Tony Ryan, left, and Richard Frieling of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Ryan is a retired lieutenant from the Denver Police force; Frieling is a former municipal court judge and practicing criminal defense attorney

Colorado-based and national representatives of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) on Monday sent a stern letter to U.S. Attorney John Walsh, pushing back against his recent threats to medical marijuana centers that operate legally under state and local law.

The letter, signed by 26-year veteran Denver cop Tony Ryan and former Lafayette Judge Richard Frieling, along with LEAP Executive Director Neill Franklin, says Walsh’s actions are “a disservice to the state of Colorado” and “undermine state and local regulations in a manner that will likely increase the underground distribution of marijuana.”

Ohio’s 2nd Medical Marijuana Ballot Issue Certified By AG

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

OMCA 2012

Ohio’s second proposed medical marijuana ballot issue took a step forward Friday when it was certified by Attorney General Mike DeWine.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment to the Ohio Constitution contains a “fair and truthful” summary and has the necessary 1,000 signatures of Ohio registered voters, DeWine decided, reports alan Johnson of The Columbus Dispatch.

Next up for the ballot issue is the Ohio Ballot Board, which will determine whether it should appear on the November 6 general election ballot as a single issue or as multiple issues. Secretary of State Jan Husted set a board meeting for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 25.

Granny Told Me To Use Marijuana For Ear Problems: African Man

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 17, 2012 Global, Medical, News

Lusaka Times

A Zambian reggae fan smoking marijuana during last May’s Bob Marley memorial concert in Lusaka

A court in the African nation of Zambia has convicted and sentenced a 24-year-old man to six months in prison with hard labor after finding him guilty of marijuana possession.

Magistrate Bathromeo (“Bathromeo”?? Shit, and here I thought “Steve” was a cool name) Kaonga of the Siavonga Magistrates’ Court slapped the sentence on Lucky Shamahoko, who was facing one count of trafficking in a “psychotropic substance” (cannabis) contrary to the laws of Zambia, reports the Lusaka Times.

Two Marijuana Bills In CA Legislature; Your Support Needed

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 17, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

The Liberator Today

Californians have a chance to make two strides for human rights in the coming weeks. Two important bills before the Legislature must be voted on this month: SB 129 would grant employment rights to medical marijuana patients, and AB 1017 would reduce penalties for marijuana cultivation.

The Legislature will be voting on the bills in the next two weeks (between January 19 and 31). Both bills fell short of passage last legislative session, and both are in critical need of support fro constituents in key districts.

“We are urging supporters in key districts to contact their legislators ASAP!” said Deputy Director Ellen Komp of California NORML.

This Just In! Marijuana Works Great For Marijuana Withdrawal!

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 16, 2012 Culture, Global, Medical

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

For best results, apply more marijuana.

It’s already been a wacky year for marijuana coverage in the mainstream media, and we’re barely more than two weeks deep into 2012.

Already we have three major contenders for Dumbest Pot Story of the Year, which certainly points to an interesting year ahead in the cannabis information wars.

Do we really need a study on the best cure for “cannabis withdrawal”? Do people really choose to use marijuana because they were born with abnormally small brains? And speaking of brains, did you know that THC coats your brain cells and makes it hard for you to think, at least according to a self-appointed “drug expert”/counselor in Colorado?

There’s a lot of rank ignorance out there to wade through, and it ain’t pretty. Let’s put on our hippest hip boots, shall we?

The clear winner, so far, is the impending study from Australia on the efficacy of using… wait for it… cannabis to treat cannabis “withdrawal”!

Former Schoolteacher Leads Fight For Medical Marijuana In FL

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 16, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Steve Cannon/USA Today

I love this woman. Florida state Sen. Larcenia Bullard: “I’m going to support this as long as I’m in office”

The cause of medical marijuana legalization has something of an unlikely public face in Florida: Larcenia Bullard, a 64-year-old former schoolteacher who is now a state senator.

If you’d told Bullard 35 years ago — back when she was teaching kids for a living — that she’d one day be the most prominent marijuana advocate in the state, she probably would have sent you to the principal’s office, reports Tim Elfrink at Miami New Times.

“I would not have possibly imagined that to be true,” Bullard said with a laugh. “It was not an issue I’d given two thoughts to before.”

But Bullard, a Democrat who spent last year lugging an oxygen cart around the state capitol at Tallahassee because of her heart problems, has become the unlikely hero of the Sunshine State’s growing cannabis movement, New Times reports.

Feds Announce Colorado Medical Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 12, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Releaf

Some on Colorado’s medical marijuana scene have speculated that the fact that the Rocky Mountain State’s medicinal cannabis law is part of their state constitution — or maybe the state’s vigorous regulatory scheme — protected them from the ongoing federal crackdown. Looks like it’s time for a new theory.

The U.S. Attorney’s office today announced a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, the most aggressive federal law enforcement action yet against the cannabis-centered businesses in that state, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh sent letters to 23 dispensaries which his office claimed are located with 1,000 feet of schools. The dispensaries were told they had 45 days to close or face criminal prosecution and property forfeiture.

“When the voters of Colorado passed the limited medical marijuana amendment in 2000, they could not have anticipated that their vote would be used to justify large marijuana stores located within blocks of our schools,” Walsh lied in a statement announcing the crackdown. (I get really weary and annoyed with this threadbare “the poor ignorant voters didn’t know what they were voting for” argument.)

Vermont Marijuana Dispensaries Expected By Summer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 12, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

The Weed Blog

Vermont’s first medical marijuana dispensaries could be slightly delayed by Tropical Storm Irene, but are expected to begin to open this summer.

A law passed last year authorized up to four privately run cannabis dispensaries, and gave the state Public Safety Department the authority to create rules for them, reports Terri Hallenbeck at the Burlington Free Press.

Those rules should be ready in the next couple of weeks, according to testimony from Francis Aumand, director of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, to the Senate Government Operations Committee on Wednesday.

Aumand said he wasn’t sure he could make a June 2 deadline for issuing certificates to applicants interested in running the dispensaries, because of Vermont’s procedures for vetting those rules. However, he said it shouldn’t take “much longer” than that.

Medical Marijuana Trial Judge Recuses Himself For Alleged Bias

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 11, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Rory Murray/OC Weekly

Sentencing for medical marijuana defendants Joe Grumbine and Joe Byron — convicted of cannabis sales in relation to a pair of dispensaries in Long Beach, California and another in Garden Grove — has been delayed. In an unexpected, 11th-hour move, Long Beach Superior Court Judge Charles D. Sheldon removed himself from the case Wednesday morning, citing allegations of his biased behavior in the courtroom and admitting he made a serious error in sending a complimentary letter to the prosecutor prior to sentencing.

Judge Sheldon — who throughout the trial, put on one of the most unseemly displays of anti-marijuana bias in memory — denied the allegations, reports Nick Schou of OC Weekly. “The court is not biased in favor of any party or counsel,” he claimed, responding to a recusal motion by defense attorneys Christopher Glew and Allison Margolin. The recusal motion included a laundry list of Judge Sheldon’s objectionable statements.

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