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Marijuana DUI Bill Advances In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2011 Legislation, News

A bill increasing restrictions on people in Colorado who drive after using marijuana took another step forward in the legislative process on Tuesday.

But the approval of House Bill 1261 by the state House of Representatives had some attendant drama, including a skirmish among the bill’s two sponsors, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

HB 1261 [PDF] would create a limit on the blood-THC levels of drivers. Anybody who tests above an arbitrary amount, five nanograms per milliliter, would be considered too high to drive, much as someone with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent is considered too drunk to drive.

Three Days, Man! Seattle Hempfest Gets Permit For Aug. 19-21

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: NORML Blog

Rick Steves addresses 100,000 people at Hempfest 2008. The world-famous pot protestival will be better than ever in 2011, for the first time ever extending to three days.

Those of us who care about Seattle Hempfest, the world’s largest cannabis “protestival,” have been a little worried the past few months. Organizers of marijuana’s biggest annual event, which is slated to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, have for months been embroiled in a permit squabble with the City of Seattle. Some folks were even speculating openly that Hempfest might not happen.

Well, it’s gonna happen. And not only is it gonna happen, but it’s gonna be bigger and better than ever before. After trying unsuccessfully to get a third day added to the event last year — thus adding Friday to the traditional Hempfest days of Saturday and Sunday — organizer Vivian McPeak said today he had gotten the go-ahead for a three-day festival this year.

Raided Marijuana Dispensary Reopens In Montana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Big Sky Patient Care

Big Sky Patient Care only stayed closed a week after being raided by gun-wielding DEA agents.

Valerie Sigler said her business did nothing illegal, so the co-owner of Big Sky Patient Care, a medical marijuana dispensary in Four Corners, Montana, was back open for business on Monday.

Sigler and her husband decided to continue providing medical marijuana to patients after speaking with their lawyer on Sunday, reports Daniel Person at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Big Sky Patient Care was one of around 10 dispensaries raided by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents last week.

Spokane, WA Marijuana Dispensaries Concerned About Future

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander

Ryan Seeley and Surisa Arispe outside their medical marijuana dispensary, Indicare, in Spokane, December 2010

Medical marijuana dispensary owners swarmed Spokane City Hall on Monday night, asking local political leaders to push for a clarification of Washington’s medicinal cannabis law.

The owners have good reason to be concerned. Last week, a Spokane jury convicted Scott Shupe, who co-owned one of the city’s first medical marijuana dispensaries, reports Tania Dall at KXLY4.

Shupe had argued that a broad interpretation of the law allows dispensaries to supply authorized patients, provided they serve only one patient at a time. But jurors decided that Washington’s medical marijuana law should not be interpreted as allowing dispensaries.

N.J. Announces 6 Licensed Medical Marijuana Growers, Sellers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

The six state-licensed growers and sellers for New Jersey medical marijuana patients have just been announced by the state health department.

The list of dispensaries, known as “alternative treatment centers,” or ATCs, in New Jersey, as reported by Susan K. Livio at NJ.com, is as follows:

• Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center Corp., Manalapan, Monmouth County

• Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc., New Brunswick, Middlesex County

• Compassionate Care Foundation Inc., Bellmawr, Camden County

• Compassionate Sciences, INc., either Burlington or Camden County

• Foundation Harmony, Secaucus, Hudson County

• Greenleaf Compassion Center, Montclair, Essex County

The state health department released the list of winning applicants on Monday, despite the Legislature’s intent to repeal the medical marijuana program rules draft by the Christie Administration.

California Medical Marijuana Dispensary Taking IRS To Court

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Frankie Frost/Marin Independent Journal

Lynette Shaw of Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana dispenses medical cannabis to a patient

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is thought to have begun audits on at least 12 medical marijuana dispensaries in California, under the decision that past business deductions are invalid because of a clause in the federal tax code prohibiting businesses that traffic in Schedule I or II drugs from making such deductions on their tax returns.

The move, which could bankrupt every dispensary it targets, is being fought by the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the first dispensary to receive a final audit decision from the IRS, reports Kyle Daly at The American Independent. (The IRS claims MAMM owes millions of dollars in back taxes.)

Lynette Shaw, founder and owner of MAMM, hopes to strike back before the IRS can deliver more “final determinations” to other dispensaries currently being audited.

Feds Order Banks To Spy On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: DarkGovernment

Federal regulators stepped into a firestorm of controversy recently when they ordered banks in California’s North Coast area to spy on the transactions of customers who are suspected of making money in the medical marijuana business.

In a heavy-handed bid to crack down on California’s cannabis industry, federal officials have ordered the banks to look out for “suspicious activity” by dispensary owners, reports Clarence Walker at AlterNet. That is making it very difficult for medical marijuana dispensaries which are legal under state, but not federal law, to conduct business.

Maine Law Enforcement Against Lowering Marijuana Penalties

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

Two bills to broaden the decriminalization of marijuana in Maine got bipartisan support from lawmakers at public hearings Thursday, but were — surprise, surprise! — opposed by law enforcement officials.

One measure, L.D. 754, would double the amount of usable marijuana that individuals could possess and still have it treated as a civil, rather than a criminal, offense, reports Rebekah Metzler at Maine Today. The other, L.D. 750, would decriminalize possession of up to six cannabis plants.

“It is my fundamental belief that people who use marijuana for personal use on a recreational basis are not criminals,” said state Rep. Ben Chipman, an independent from Portland, when he spoke to lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

“I just do not think that it’s reasonable to allow 2.5 ounces to be a civil infraction but having zero tolerance for plants and forcing consumers to the black market,” Chipman said.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, and voters legalized dispensaries in 2009. The Maine Legislature in spring 2009 doubled the amount of marijuana a person could possess without facing criminal charges from 1.25 ounces to 2.5 ounces. Chipman’s proposal would double that amount again, to five ounces.

Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Convicted

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Scott Shupe is shown sitting in Change, the Spokane marijuana dispensary that he co-owned, in this 2009 file photo. Shupe was convicted on March 17, 2011, on felony drug charges after a jury rejected his argument that Washington’s medical marijuana law allows dispensaries to operate.

How long now until more raids?

In a case closely watched by both the medical marijuana community and law enforcement, a Spokane, Washington jury rejected arguments Thursday that the state’s medical marijuana law should be interpreted broadly to allow for commercial dispensaries, convicting a provider of multiple drug trafficking charges.

Scott Q. Shupe, who co-owned one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane, argued that a broad interpretation of the state’s medical marijuana law means that dispensaries can supply authorized patients, provided they serve just one patient at a time, reports Thomas Clouse at The Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Washington Legislature Looks At Two Marijuana Bills

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Directory

Dispensaries already exist in at least King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, but if SB 5073 passes the Washington Legislature in 2011, they could operate statewide

Washington lawmakers are spending some time on cannabis this week, discussing both outright legalization as a source of revenue, and legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries to provide safe access for patients under the law approved by voters in 1998.

Supporters of a bill to legalize cannabis made a push to revive a measure they say would be worth $440 million in a two-year state budget cycle, reports Jim Camden at The Spokane Spokesman-Review. With a state budget deficit projected at more than $5 billion, that’s a more powerful argument than ever for legalization in the Evergreen State.

HB 1550, the legalization bill sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), already had one hearing in the House Public Safety Committee, “where it attracted the usual list of supporters, who noted that some of the Founding Fathers grew hemp, and detractors who warned of growing usage by teens and drivers should marijuana become legal,” noted the Spokesman-Review.

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