News

Crooked St. Louis Cop Busted Stealing Packages, Selling Weed

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2012 News

St. Louis Police Sgt. Larry J. Davis is released from the federal courthouse on Thursday after being indicted on federal drug charges on Wednesday

A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department sergeant and his brother have been indicted on federal marijuana charges after investigators said they diverted confiscated packages containing cannabis for distribution and sale.

Larry J. Davis, 46, is assigned as a supervisory sergeant for a division of the St. Louis Police Department that conducts investigations into illegal gang activities and illegal drug distribution, according to the indictment, reports KMOV.

The indictment alleges that from October 1, 2010 through January 10, 2012, Larry Davis seized packages containing suspected marijuana, and instead of taking them to the police department, unbeknownst to the package handling companies, investigators say Davis took the packages home with him to St. Louis City.

It was a pretty good scam — for awhile. You see, several years ago, St. Louis police stopped regularly checking packages for drugs at delivery services like UPS and FedEx, reports Robert Patrick at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But Larry Davis didn’t say anything; he just kept making the rounds and collecting the packages.

Lawmakers Say Hemp Would Again Be A Boon To KY Agriculture

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2012 Growing, News

Spotlight on Sustainability

Kentucky farmers could soon once again lead the nation with a crop steeped in tradition: hemp.

With the support of Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, Kentucky lawmakers filed a bill on Thursday to put Comer at the head of the long-dormant Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission and renew a drive to bring the crop back, reports Janet Patton at the Herald-Leader.

Twelve Kentucky House members — including a former speaker — signed on to support the bill to promote industrial hemp production in the state, reports Gregory A. Hall at the Courier-Journal.

Hemp — also known as cannabis sativa — is one of the world’s oldest cultivated plants, but it was consigned to outlaw status when marijuana prohibition was implemented in 1937, even though hemp strains of cannabis have almost no THC, the principal ingredient that gives users a high.

Polish MP Could Get A Year For Even Talking About Smoking A Joint In Parliament

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

AFP

MP Janusz Palikot, the leader of a new left-wing party in Poland, launched a drive on Friday to legalize marijuana in the Eastern European country

The leader of an up-and-coming new left-wing political party in Poland threatened to light up a joint in Parliament on Friday — but ended up just burning what he said was cannabis-scented incense after being reported to prosecutors.

The prosecutors have opened an investigation into whether MP Janusz Palikot broke a Polish law against “promoting or advertising” drugs with his threat to smoke cannabis in Parliament, according to news agency PAP. That’s a crime that could carry a prison sentence of up to a year, reports Vanessa Gera of the Associated Press.

Judge To Arizona Gov: Open The Marijuana Dispensaries Already

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

weGrow

Arizona officials must allow medical marijuana dispensaries under the 2010 voter-approved medicinal cannabis law, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled.

In his Wednesday ruling, Judge Richard Gama struck down some restrictions that state officials had planned to use to determine which applicants were eligible for dispensary licenses, report Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Mary K. Reinhart of the Tucson Citizen.

Judge Gama noted that Arizona voters wanted the Medical Marijuana Act implemented 120 days after it passed and that “this has not been done,” reports Ray Stern at Phoenix New Times.

The reason it wasn’t done, Stern reports, is that Governor Jan Brewer — who spoke out against Proposition 203 before voters approved it in November 2010 — halted the dispensary portion of the new law at the same time she filed an unsuccessful federal lawsuit against it. Brewer decided on Friday that she wouldn’t refile that lawsuit and that the state should begin accepting applications once a lawsuit by Compassion First AZ was resolved.

Judge Gama’s ruling resolved that lawsuit, but it will still be months before the state’s 18,000-plus medical marijuana patients can walk into a dispensary and get their medicine, Phoenix New Times reports.

Cannabis Legalization Signatures Getting Line-By-Line Review

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2012 Legislation, News

The Weed Blog

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced on Thursday that the proposed ballot measure concerning “Use and Regulation of Marijuana” will require a line-by-line review of all signatures.

Petitions for proposed Initiative 30, Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on January 4. The office immediately began verifying a random sample of the signatures, as required by state law. Section 1-40-116(4), C.R.S., requires the verification of every signature filed if the random sample shows the number of valid signatures falls between 90 percent and 110 percent of the signatures needed.

Campaign To Legalize Marijuana Kicking Off In Michigan

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2012 Legislation, News

Cannabis Fantastic

A press conference will be held in Detroit Friday to officially kick off a campaign to amend the Michigan State Constitution to repeal marijuana prohibition for adults 21 and older.

Executive members of a grassroots committee working toward passage of the amendment — which renders every anti-marijuana statute unconstitutional — said it will not apply to or change workplace or driving issues regarding cannabis.

“Michigan led the way in ending the failed experiment known as alcohol prohibition, and we likewise intend to put an end to the wasted resources, skewed police priorities and very real collateral damage of marijuana prohibition,” said Matthew Abel, campaign director for the Committee for a Safer Michigan.

CA Supreme Court To Review Controversial Medical Marijuana Cases

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

The Weed Blog

Advocates Applaud Decision to Review Long Beach and Riverside Dispensary Regulation Cases

The California Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday indicating it will review two controversial medical marijuana cases that have resulted in the suspension of several local dispensary ordinances across the state.

As a result of Wednesday’s order, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Ctr., Inc. have both been vacated in anticipation of the High Court’s ruling. The Pack decision held that some dispensary regulations may be preempted by federal law and the Riverside decision held that localities could legally ban distribution altogether.

Two-Thirds Of Canadians Favor Pot Legalization Or Decrim: Poll

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

Simple Cannabis

Two-thirds of Canadians support legalization or decriminalization of marijuana according to a new poll released on Tuesday, with just 20 percent supporting leaving the pot laws as they are now.

The poll, by Toronto-based Forum Research Inc., showed that British Columbia residents were the most likely to support cannabis law reform, with 73 percent indicating laws should be changed, reports Ian Vandaelle at the National Post. Quebec had the lowest support, although even there, a sizable majority, 61 percent, supported legalization or decrim.

Feds Raid Marijuana Collectives In Costa Mesa, California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 17, 2012 Dispensaries, News

Where’s Weed?

The interior of Costa Mesa medical marijuana collective Otherside Farms as it was before today’s raids

Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents reportedly raided at least three medical marijuana collectives in Costa Mesa, California, starting at about noon today.

Reportedly raided, according to California Cannabis Coalition, were Otherside Farms, Simple Farmer/Burning Farms and American Collective.

At least three people are reportedly in jail on federal charges.

Simple Farmer had a grow operation at the director’s home, and the federal agents knocked the door down with a battering ram and burst in brandishing machine guns.

A pregnant woman and children were at the home, and federal agents — in plain clothing — reportedly had machine guns pointed at the children’s faces, according to California Cannabis Coalition.

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.

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