News

Long Beach City Council to legalize medical marijuana collectives (again)

By William Breathes on September 12, 2013 Medical, News

Long Beach city leaders have decided to allow medical marijuana collectives in the city and are working on a draft ordinance that would regulate the centers
Long Beach City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to create laws allowing for the centers, which have been ousted from Long Beach over the last year thanks to a citywide ban. A group seeking to overturn that ban lost an appeal to a federal judge on Monday, leaving city council as one of the last options to increase cannabis access in the city.

Colorado releases first set of recreational marijuana industry laws in U.S.

By William Breathes on September 12, 2013 News

The Colorado Department of Revenue has released its set of rules for the soon-to-be recreational marijuana industry. And there are a lot of them. The document is 144 pages long.
Much of the language in the doc is taken from existing medical marijuana rules in Colorado (which also got an update this week) including when and how cannabis can be sold and who can own and operate marijuana dispensaries. Denver Westword has my local coverage as well as a copy of the rules.

New Jersey eases MMJ access for sick children

By William Breathes on September 12, 2013 Follow that story, News

Update – 9/12/13: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Tuesday signed a bill into law that makes it a little easier for parents to access medical cannabis for their sick children in that state. This is the second time this bill has made it’s way to the governor’s office, with Christie rejecting the first version in August because he said increased too much access.
“I’m pleased the legislature accepted my recommendations so that suffering children can get the treatment they need,” Christie said in a statement. “I’ve said all along that protection of our children remains my utmost concern, and this new law will help sick kids access the program while also keeping in place appropriate safeguards. Parents, not government regulators, are best suited to decide how to care for their children, and this law advances that important principle.”

Calif. State Assemblyman proposes last-minute dispensary bill

By William Breathes on September 11, 2013 Legislation, News

A San Francisco lawmaker has introduced legislation in California that would create statewide regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries for the first time. Currently, medical collectives are governed by local municipalities, which recently won the right to ban the centers outright in the state supreme court.
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano says the bill will help the state stave off federal raids, pointing to the recent memo released by U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole that asks federal prosecutors to respect state marijuana rights in states with robust regulatory systems in place. Ammiano doesn’t have much time to get Assembly Bill 604 passed this session, though, as Sept. 13 is the last day for each house to pass bills according to the state legislative calendar.

Senate Judiciary Committee discusses state marijuana rights, possible marijuana banking solutions

By William Breathes on September 11, 2013 News

Sen. Patrick Leahy.

Sen. Patrick Leahy yesterday pushed for historic strides in federal marijuana policy, including remedying banking conflicts and getting further assurance from federal prosecutors that states with legal marijuana laws enacted would be allowed to move forward with regulations and taxes.
“The absolute criminalization of personal marijuana use has contributed to our nation’s soaring prison population and has disproportionately affected people of color,” Leahy said at the hearing.

Washington D.C. City Councilmember to propose recreational marijuana legalization

By William Breathes on September 10, 2013 Follow that story, Legislation, News

Washington D.C. City Council member David Grosso says he plans to submit a recreational legalization measure before city leaders September 17 when the council returns from summer recess.
Grosso’s plan – which is similar to laws passed in Colorado last year – would legalize and regulate the sale, cultivation and possession of limited amounts of cannabis in the nation’s capital. The announcement comes on the heels of a decriminalization measure proposed in June that would make an ounce or less a $100 fine instead of a criminal offense has ten of the 13 council member’s support.

Florida cannabis activist considering running for political office

By William Breathes on September 10, 2013 News

John Tracey.

Small acts of defiance have sometimes sparked political infernos. December 1955: seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of the bus and touches off the Montgomery bus boycott. August 1980: electrician Lech Walesa hops a fence at the Gdansk shipyards and goes on to lead a strike that opens a crack that spreads until the Soviet empire collapses. July 2013: marijuana legalization activist John Tracey defies a deputy sheriff’s order to cease petitioning at Cruzan Amphitheatre and…
… read the rest over at the Broward-Palm Beach New Times

Missouri professor busted for cultivation after posting questionable Facebook joke

By William Breathes on September 9, 2013 News, Say what?

An off-color joke by a Missouri college professor on Facebook led to would-be comedian being busted for growing marijuana last week.
Matthew Rouch, a 57-year-old professor at Northwest Missouri State University, allegedly either sent a message to or posted on the wall of a friend that he looked forward to the start of a new year at the University, but that “by October I’ll be wanting to get up to the top of the bell tower with a high powered rifle – with a good scope, and probably a gatling [sic]gun as well.”

Free joints promised for adults 21 and over at Colorado anti-pot-taxation rally today

By William Breathes on September 9, 2013 News, Say what?

Miguel Lopez, organizer of the annual 4/20 rally at Denver’s Civic Center Park, has obtained a permit to stage what’s described in a press release as a “‘No on Proposition AA’ Campaign” to fight against a proposed state tax on recreational marijuana — one that could be as high as 30 percent.
And Lopez has announced that free joints will be given away to attendees who are 21 and over. Denver Westword has your coverage.

Colorado D.A.R.E. program refuses to evolve on pot policy

By Jack Daniel on September 9, 2013 Culture, News

Created by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983 as a spin-off of Nancy Reagan’s tragically flawed “Just Say No” campaign, the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program’s intent was to send neighborhood police officers into local schools to teach kids about the dangers of drugs and the effects of peer pressure. Though it celebrates its 30th year in existence in 2013, the program has long been under scrutiny from a wide range of critics, none more vocal than the cannabis community.

Browsing: News