The Vermont senate gave their final approval yesterday to a bill that decriminalizes small amounts of cannabis.
The bill also makes legal small amounts of hash and possession of paraphernalia, but leaves crimes in place for sales and cultivation.
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Colorado lawmakers yesterday passed what are being considered the first laws in the nation to regulate adult cannabis use and sales. Among that: when and where cannabis can be sold, limiting how much pot out-of-state visitors can purchase, to where pot magazines can be sold.
The rules still have to go before the governor for signing, but for the most part things seem to be set.
Berkeley Patients Group, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in Berkeley, California, was sued by the federal government on Friday in an attempt to shut down the cornerstone collective and seize the property, according to a press release delivered today by Americans for Safe Access.
The feds accuse Berkeley Patients Group of breaking federal law by selling herb. And in a move that has been used with undeniable effect up and down the state of California, they’ve targeted BPG’s landlord and threatened her with asset and property seizure if she does not immediately evict her tenants.
One of the problems with medical marijuana, at least from cops’ perspective, is that pot is hard to detect in the field, and many drivers could be getting away with DUI because they’re high but not drunk. Nearly one-third of fatal California crashes involve drugged drivers.
The problem inspired one California legislator to propose a law that would trigger a DUI case for anyone whose blood test shows even a trace of cannabis in their system. That could be problematic if you’re a medical patient who toked yesterday but was stopped by police today. Even worse: A pot breathalyzer might be on the horizon. LA Weekly has more.
| New Hampshire state house. |
Thanks to pressure from Gov. Maggie Hassan, a New Hampshire Senate health committee stripped provisions of proposed state medical marijuana laws allowing patents to cultivate their own supply. The committee also removed post-traumatic stress disorder from the list of qualifying conditions.
With the amendments, New Hampshire looks poised to join the 19 other states and Washington D.C. in allowing doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients, who can legally possesses and use the herb.
| St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch. |
Ken Wells uses marijuana daily to control his epilepsy, and was happy to tell Fox News St. Louis all about it in a report last night.
The report centered around Wells and his story as well as laws being pushed in Missouri and Illinois, but what stood out most to us was how amazingly ignorant St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch sounds when talking about medical marijuana.
| Wikipedia commons. |
Not that there isn’t already some amateur cannabis research going on in Arizona college dorm rooms and student houses, but as of today formal cannabis research is now allowed at universities across the Grand Canyon state.
Gov. Jan Brewer today gave her signature to a law allowing cannabis research at Arizona universities. Schools can now research cannabis so long as the university receives federal permission from the DEA.
| Bogota, Columbia. |
There’s apparently a form of cocaine more depraved than crack in Colombia called bazuco. The drug is a cheap, meth-like form of cocaine made with sulfuric acid and kerosene from leftover cocaine manufacturing residue. And like meth, it’s users resort heavily to crime to support their habits.
With this public health menace before them, Bogota officials are trying everything to help bazuco addicts – including providing them with marijuana, the Miami Herald reports. Over the next few weeks, some 300 addicts will take part in a program that uses high-strength cannabis as a crutch to help them kick.
| Wikipedia commons. |
Last month, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a measure to reform local marijuana laws so that minor possession cases will be handled as fines in city court and not misdemeanor charges in state court. Mayor Francis Slay officially signed the bill into law last week, which means the new ordinance will go into effect June 1.
The Riverfront Times recently got a chance to ask St. Louis Metro Police Chief Sam Dotson for his perspective on the new law, which supporters say will encourage law enforcement officials to use resources more efficiently.
After three years of trying and despite the science to back it up, the Colorado legislature finally passed a bill limiting the amount of THC a person can have in their system to 5 nanograms per-milliliter of blood.
House Bill 1325 received more than two-thirds support earlier today. If signed by the governor, the limit will be set in stone. According to Kristen Wyatt with the Associated Press, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper has already asked for the bill so that he can sign it. Hickenlooper had campaigned for setting a limit over the last few months.
(An earlier edition of this post incorrectly stated the nanogram limit and has since been changed)