News

Colorado Springs Dispensary Begins Testing Marijuana Strains

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 1, 2011 Dispensaries, News, Products

Altitude Organic Corporation, a national, publicly-traded medical marijuana company, has announced that Altitude Organic Medicine, its Colorado Springs center, has begun testing many of the cannabis strains featured there.

The store recently scientifically tested its popular BubbleGum strain for purity and potency at Full Spectrum Laboratories. Full Spectrum posted the Altitude Organic Medicine BubbleGum cannabis test in the “Best Of” section on their website.

Montana Judge Blocks New Restrictions On Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 1, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: Eliza Wiley/Helena Independent Record

District Court Judge Jim Reynolds hears testimony during a case brought before him by the Montana Cannabis Industry Association. On Thursday, the judge blocked implementation of key parts of a new restrictive medical marijuana law passed by the conservative Republican-controlled Legislature.

A judge has blocked key parts of Montana’s law that would have imposed tough new restrictions on medical marijuana suppliers starting on July 1.

In a preliminary injunction issued on Thursday, state District Judge James Reynolds in Helena ruled the new limits would effectively deny access to cannabis for many patients entitled to use it under the state’s seven-year-old medical marijuana statute, reports Emilie Ritter of Reuters.

Montana’s medical marijuana law was approved by an overwhelming 62 percent of voters in 2004.

Obama Administration Goes Back On Medical Marijuana Pledge

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: The Washington Examiner

Deputy Atty. Gen. James M. Cole: “The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law”

A troubling new memo has been released which seems to show that the Obama Administration is abandoning its policy of leaving medical marijuana enforcement to the states in states which have legalized it.

The U.S. Department of Justice remains committed to prosecuting “large-scale” cultivation, sale and distribution of marijuana, even in states which have enacted legislation permitting the use of cannabis for medical uses, according to a Justice Department memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

“The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law,” reads the new memo, authored by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.

Housing Policy Discriminates Against Medical Marijuana Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: Nick Stokes Design/Willamette Week

Tenants of two public-housing agencies in Oregon have been told they cannot smoke medical marijuana in their apartments and houses.

The warnings have drawn a line for the first time as the federal government continues to apply pressure against medical marijuana in Oregon, reports Corey Paul at Willamette Week.

The public-housing agencies involved in the warnings are REACH Community Development and Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland.

Great-Grandmother, 74, Arrested For Selling Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Brad Hunter/The Daily Telegraph

Great-grandmother Noelene Edwards, 74, pictured above with her dog Digger, was charged after a police dog allegedly detected marijuana in her handbag.

A great-grandmother in Sydney, Australia, has been arrested by police as a drug dealer.

Noelene Edwards, 74, said she’s just a grieving widow, struggling with the recent loss of her husband, reports Clementine Cuneo at The Daily Telegraph.

The Surry Hills woman said she had been on her way into the city to pay for her husband’s funeral on Tuesday when a police dog allegedly detected that she was carrying cannabis.

Police claim a search of Mrs. Edwards’ handbag turned up 40 bags containing marijuana. (No word on how much pot was in each of the “40 bags.”)

Study: Teen Marijuana Use Not Affected By Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: Hemp Beach TV

An updated study released on Thursday by the Marijuana Policy Project shows that enacting medical marijuana laws in a state does not cause an increase in adolescents’ marijuana use.

Despite frequent claims by opponents of medical marijuana that passing such laws “sends the wrong message to children,” there appears to be no correlation between medical marijuana and teen marijuana use rates, according to MPP.

Nearly 15 years after California voters approved the nation’s first state medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, a considerable body of data shows that teens’ marijuana use has generally gone down or stayed the same following the passage of medical marijuana laws.

Police: Man Buys Fake Marijuana With Fake $1 Million Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 29, 2011 News

Photo: The Faughn Family of Four

Police say a western Pennsylvania man bought some fake marijuana using a fake $1 million bill.

Joseph Lombardi, 23, was charged on Monday in Sharpsville, Pa., after trying to “purchase” a bag of herbal potpourri called “Space Cadet Flight Risk” using the bogus $1 million bill at a FoodMart store, reports The Associated Press.

Dutch Court Clears Way For Weed Pass Banning Foreigners

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 29, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Reason

The Netherlands, renowned worldwide for its liberal cannabis policies, is one step closer to requiring “weed passes” to discourage sales of marijuana to foreign tourists, following a court ruling on Wednesday.

Dutch “coffee shops” openly sell cannabis flowers and hashish to customers, and are popular with foreign tourists. But the shops have faced tighter controls over the past three years as successive governments pushed to discourage the use and sale of “soft drugs” on health and crime grounds, reports Reuters.

Many of the coffee shops in Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands oppose the “weed pass” plan, maintaining that it is discriminatory and will kill the cannabis tourism industry.

Kentucky’s Lower Penalties For Marijuana Now In Effect

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 27, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Sheree Krider

Kentucky, long known as a state where excellent marijuana is grown, has lowered its penalties for possession of up to eight ounces of the herb, effective Friday, June 24.

Back in March the Kentucky Legislature overwhelmingly passed (97-2 in the House; 38-0 in the Senate) House Bill 463, which was then signed into law by Governor Steve Bershear. The new law reduces the penalty for personal possession of up to eight ounces of pot to a Class B misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of 45 days in jail.

But don’t get too carried away; those penalties are just for first offenses. Subsequent offenses with up to eight ounces are still felonies, for which you can get up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

1980s Marijuana Smugglers Recall The Glory Days

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 27, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Tim McBride/News-Press

Portrait of the entrepreneur as a young man: Tim McBride at the peak of his pot smuggling days in the 1980s.

Tim McBride made $5,000 on his very first night as a pot smuggler in 1980.

“Rookie pay,” he said.

He made another five grand the next night, reports the Fort Myers News-Press.

“It was the greatest thing in the world,” McBride said, recalling his introduction to smuggling. “Here I am just 21 years old; I got 10 grand in my pocket.”

What began as a crabbing gig based in Everglades City morphed into a marijuana smuggling business that eventually netted McBride about $25 million. Unfortunately, it also got him four years in federal prison and a $4 million fine.

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