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U.S. Cops Call On Canadian Prime Minister To Legalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Canada Risks Repeating ‘U.S. Mistakes’ With Mandatory Minimum Sentences In
Bill C-10

A high-profile group of current and former law enforcement officials from the United States is calling on the Canadian government to reconsider the mandatory minimum sentences for minor marijuana offenses proposed in Bill C-10, arguing that the taxation and regulation of cannabis is a more effective policy approach in reducing crime.

The law enforcers on Wednesday released a letter outlining their concerns, addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian senators. It is signed by more than two dozen current and former judges, police officers, special agents, narcotics investigators and other criminal justice professionals, all of whom are members of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Dutch Weed Pass: Ban On Foreigners Takes A Big Hit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Kush And Orange Juice

Yeah, it’s nice being able to buy connoisseur-grade cannabis and smoke it on the premises in Dutch coffee shops. But the conservative government is trying to ban foreigners from the shops with the unpopular Weed Pass.

Cities Allowed To Decide For Themselves On Enforcement

The Dutch “Weed Pass,” which in effect would have banned foreigners from the famed “coffee shops” which sell cannabis in the Netherlands, took a big hit Tuesday as the Ministry of Security and Justice announced that cities may decide what action — if any — they take against shops which defy the ban.

“Municipalities may decide themselves what sort of action they take against coffeeshops which choose not to comply with the weedpass,” the Ministry announced.

Minnesota: Support Legalization On This Year’s Tax Form

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 News

Dan Vacek/Minnesota Grassroots Party

Minnesota residents: Help legalize marijuana by writing Grassroots code [15] on your state tax form for 2011. Marking the box will not increase your tax or reduce your refund! Tell your friends to do the same.

If you live in Minnesota, you’ll have an opportunity this year when you file your state tax form to support a great cause: the Minnesota Grassroots Party. After an absence of a few years, the party is back on the tax form after fielding a candidate in the 2010 statewide election.

Marking the State Elections Campaign Fund box — and filling in “15” to support the Grassroots Party — will not affect the amount of your refund or the amount of taxes you owe. It will, however, instruct the state of Minnesota to direct $5 from the campaign fund to the Grassroots Party.

R.I. Governor Slams Obama’s Medical Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Broadcast Engineering

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee said the results of the Obama Administrations crackdown on medical marijuana were “Utter chaos”

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, under political fire for blocking three medical marijuana dispensaries authorized back in 2009 and selected in 2011, says the real problem is the inconsistent policy of the President he endorsed in 2008.

When asked by Rolling Stone magazine what the result has been of the Obama Administration’s effort to prevent states from implementing laws allowing the distribution of medicinal cannabis, Gov. Chafee replied, “Utter chaos,” reports Ted Nesi at WPRI.com.

The governor has faced protests and legal threats from medical marijuana patients and advocates since suspending Rhode Island’s dispensary program in May 2011.

8th Grader Suspended For Pot Prank With Bag Of Oregano

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 News

FARK.com

An eighth-grade student in North Carolina was suspended from school after pulling a prank on a classmate with a bag of oregano following a lecture on the dangers of marijuana. A civil liberties group has lined up in his corner, but officials at the school aren’t backing down.

The boy was thrown out of school for 55 days for the incident at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw, N.C., reports My Fox Orlando. Hidebound school officials point at the district’s policy manual, which says students can get a 10-day suspension for “possessing illegal or counterfeit drugs” and “misuse of chemical/material (organic or otherwise) that causes or is purported to cause a hallucinogenic/mind altering effect.”

Kentucky Marijuana Bill Named In Honor Of Gatewood Galbraith

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

Goliath’s GAW News Bureau

Kentucky’s new medical marijuana bill bears the name of the great Gatewood Galbraith

By Michael Bachara

Hemp News

Legislation that would make cannabis a Schedule II drug — and thus legal for doctors to prescribe — was introduced on January 31 in the Kentucky State Senate. Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Senator Perry B. Clark (D-Louisville), is being titled the “Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act.”

Galbraith was a prominent lawyer from Kentucky and an avid supporter of cannabis legalization. He dedicated more than 40 years to the restoration of the cannabis plant. He died last month from complications of pneumonia.

“Marijuana has positive medical benefits for patients dealing with illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS, to name a few,” Sen. Clark said. “I want to allow this as another treatment option for those individuals.”

Hawaii Church Takes Cannabis Claims To Federal Appeals Court

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 20, 2012 Culture, News

Oklevueha Native American Church

Michael Rex “Raging Bear” Mooney, right, and the Oklevueha Native American Church want their marijuana back.

The 9th Circuit last week heard arguments to let a Native American church get some marijuana replaced that federal drug agents confiscated and local police destroyed years ago.

Michael Rex “Raging Bear” Mooney and the Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief in 2009 after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized a FedEx package with about five pounds of cannabis in Tupperware containers inside, reports Purna Nemani at Courthouse News.

Mooney said he planned to use the marijuana in certain religious ceremonies, specifically “lunar use” and “sweat lodge use.” He contends that the DEA interfering with those activities constitutes a violation of his religious freedom.

On Marijuana, Obama Is The New Divider

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 17, 2012 Culture, News

All photos by Jack Rikess for Toke of the Town

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

By the time our drug-addled President landed in San Francisco around 3 p.m., he’d already scored one bust for the day when some wrong-way Cessna had the bad misfortune to be within 10 miles of Air Force One’s air space that the Feds already had dibs on. Two F-16’s intercepted the myopic business person, forcing the ganja express to land. Officials claim that large amounts of marijuana were found.

Welcome to California, Mr. President. Now try to pretend that there isn’t an economy here that is based on the cultivation of cannabis.

I’m sure after sneaking a few smokes he entered his $35,000 a plate fundraiser at a downtown five-star hotel for the purpose of filling up his campaign war chest and reassure us that the country is getting back on track.

Polish Activists Smoke Marijuana In Front Of Parliament

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 17, 2012 Global, News

Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press

A demonstrator smokes marijuana in front of Poland’s Parliament as part of a protest to legalize cannabis

A prominent politician and several other activists have smoked marijuana in front of the Polish Parliament as part of their campaign to legalize cannabis in the Eastern European country.

With police looking on, Janusz Palikot, the head of the left-wing Palikot’s Movement, took a few tokes from a joint under falling snow on Friday to make his point, reports the Associated Press.

Dozens more gathered around a platform where they smoked cannabis and chanted “Grow It, Smoke It, Legalize It.”

At the center of the rally was a banner showing a green marijuana leaf and the word “Legalize.” The smell of burning cannabis was heavy in the chilly air during the demonstration, which took place across the street from the Sejm, the lower house of Parliament.

Palikot had last month promised to smoke marijuana inside the Parliament building, but backed down after threats of arrest and merely lit some cannabis-scented incense.

Palikot was later threatened with a year in jail for even talking about smoking a joint inside Parliament.

Dumb Teen, Looking For Marijuana, Steals Tomato Plant

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 17, 2012 Growing, News

The Jason Show

A 15-year-old Florida boy climbed into Angela Cartwright’s kitchen window, planning to steal a marijuana plant, but instead the clueless young would-be thief stole a potted tomato plant, according to a sheriff’s arrest report.

As the not-too-bright teenager ran from Cartwright’s house near Holly Hill, Fla., on February 10 just after 7 a.m., he even yelled back at the homeowner, “See, I have one of your pot plants,” the arrest report states, reports Lyda Longa at The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

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