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Marijuana Dispensaries Raided In Santa Clara County, California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Maria J. Avila Lopez/San Jose Mercury News

Several law enforcement agencies from thoughout the South Bay Area raided MediLeaf dispensaries in Santa Clara County on Thursday.

Santa Clara County, California authorities have detained several people who they claim were involved in illegal cannabis sales and money laundering at MediLeaf medical marijuana dispensaries across the county.

More than 50 officers with the County Special Enforcement Team served search warrants and held several people Thursday following an eight-month investigation that police claimed “established probable cause” that illegal marijuana sales and money laundering took place at eight MediLeaf stores in the county, reports Action News reporter Felix Cortez at KSBW.

Man Offers Marijuana Reward To Capture Laptop Thief

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2010 News

Graphic: Philadelphia Daily News

REWARD: FABULOUS DRUG STASH!, the professional-looking poster reads. It’s no surprise to learn that it came from a full-service ad-design firm, but that doesn’t lessen the WTF impact. It turns out Kurt Shore is really desperate to recover his stolen laptop computer.

As Shore was leaving his Philadelphia ad agency’s office one night last month, an employee somehow tripped the alarm, reports Michael Smerconish at the Philadelphia Daily News. Not wanting the police to pay an unnecessary visit, Shore left his car running and ran back inside to turn off the alarm. A nearby security camera caught him jogging from his car back into the office.

And that tape also shows, in the next 30 seconds, somebody emerging from a nearby vehicle that had just pulled into the camera’s field of view. A person quickly approaches Shore’s car, open’s the driver’s side door, and removes Shore’s briefcase containing his laptop. The thief then returns to his or her vehicle and leaves.

Police Seize 100 Pounds Of Pot Wrapped Up Like Xmas Gifts

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 9, 2010 News

Photo: William Kaempffer/New Haven Register

The Connecticut State Police — that bunch of Scrooges — spoiled Christmas by going ahead and opening the gifts.

A cross-country, 100-pound marijuana shipment — wrapped up to look like Christmas presents, complete with bows — arrived at a well-kept Cape Cod house in New Haven, Connecticut Wednesday morning. But Scrooge’s minions, the cops, were there, too.

State police executed a search warrant at 621 Townsend Avenue for the entire morning and into the afternoon, reports William Kaempffer of the New Haven Register.

A 29-year-old self-employed musician, Julio Ramos, admitted to police that he was the intended recipient of the gift-wrapped marijuana, police said.

More Than 5,000 Pounds Of Pot Seized In Arizona

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 9, 2010 News

Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

This is the 593 pounds they found on the rail car. I’d rather see the 4,478 pounds that was mixed in with the squash on the tractor trailer.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers working at the Port of Nogales, Arizona made two marijuana seizures in the space of a couple hours Monday, thwarting attempts to smuggle more than 5,340 pounds of marijuana into the country.

“Every day, our officers and agriculture specialists are out on the line, looking for threats to our way of life,” said Port Director Guadalupe Ramirez, practically breaking into tears at the thought of his own true heroism. “And successes like this make their time and effort worth every minute.”

How inspiring, Mr. Ramirez. I guess that dries up the supply of marijuana in Arizona, then, right? Problem solved? Good job!

May we now assume our “way of life” is no longer “threatened” by “marijuana”?

Well fuckety-fuck! That’s certainly a relief.

Proposed Medical Marijuana Database Worries Some Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 9, 2010 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Blogzilla

It looks as if Colorado’s medical marijuana grow rooms and dispensaries will soon have live cameras with state employees watching on the other end. But that’s not the worst of it, according to some patient advocates.

One item among the 90-something pages of regulations and procedures for Colorado’s medical cannabis industry unveiled this week by the Department of Revenue is making some patients particularly nervous — the plan for a massive new database of patients who enroll in the Medical Marijuana Registry. The list will be available around the clock to law enforcement agencies.

Currently, the registry is maintained by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, reports Greg Campbell at Face The State, and it can only be accessed by police officers when they need to confirm the enrollment status of a person in custody.

Pursuing Small Marijuana Cases Costs Vermont $700K Annually

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 9, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Zazzle

New data revealed on Thursday shows that Vermont state government spends more than $700,000 annually to pursue Vermonters for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Based on the new findings, state Rep. Jason Lorber (D-Burlington) announced plans Thursday to introduce a bill that would decriminalize the possession of less than one ounce of cannabis.

“We should stop wasting $700,000 a year on a failed policy,” Rep. Lorber said. “It’s time for a smarter approach. That means decriminalization for an ounce or less of marijuana.”

“In a time of great fiscal strain, it is critical that we focus law enforcement resources on offenses that pose the greatest threats to public safety,” said Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand.

New Poll Shows 65% National Support For Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: KEZI

A national poll conducted by the University of Iowa shows overwhelming support to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, but broad opposition to recreational use.

The poll, released December 7, showed 65 percent of adults — almost two-thirds — favor legalizing medicinal cannabis, while just 30 percent favored legalization for recreational purposes, reports Cindy Hadish at KCRG-TV.

“Medical marijuana is becoming a less controversial issue for Americans,” said Amanda Keller, UI graduate assistant for the Hawkeye Poll Cooperative and for the independent study class that conducted the poll. “We see quite a bit of support.”

Congressman Calls For New Marijuana Strategy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2010 Growing, Legislation, News

Photo: Queerty

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO): The only way to accomplish objectives would be to eliminate “the failed policy of prohibition with regard to marijuana and replace it with regulation”

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to pass a resolution Wednesday declaring illegal marijuana cultivation on federal lands to be an “unacceptable threat to the safety of law enforcement and the public,” and calling upon the nation’s drug czar “to work in conjunction with federal and state agencies to develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy to permanently dismantle Mexican drug trafficking organizations operating on Federal lands.”

Speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) agreed with the goals of H. Res. 1540, but said the only way to accomplish such objectives would be to eliminate “the failed policy of prohibition with regard to marijuana and replac[e]it with regulation.”

German Police Seize Marijuana Christmas Tree

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2010 Global, News

Graphic: Reefer Smoke

A six-foot marijuana plant decorated as a Christmas tree was confiscated from the home of “an old hippie,” who is now facing a drug possession charge, German police said Wednesday.

In a press release entitled “All you need is love, or how a hippie celebrates Christmas,” police in the western city of Koblenz said they found the big cannabis plant in the living room of the suspect, reports AFP.

“A hippie celebrates Christmas too, just differently,” read the release. “The two-meter-tall marijuana plant had been put in a Christmas tree stand and decorated with a string of lights.”

“When asked, the hashish fan told the perplexed officers that he had intended to add more decorations to the ‘tree’ and place the presents under it, according to tradition.”

Narcotics detectives stumbled on the unconventional Christmas tree while searching the home of an “old 68er,” a reference to the groups of young students and workers who participated in political protests which swept across Germany in 1968, reports The Local.

Shotgun Incidents Appear To Target Medical Marijuana Industry

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 7, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Bill Husa/Chico Enterprise Record

Holes are seen in the window of Cascade Wellness Center in Chico, California, after the medical marijuana dispensary was shot up early Monday morning by unknown gunmen.

The trouble with alarmist anti-marijuana propaganda is that, sooner or later, it always manifests itself in ugly real-life incidents.

Shotgun vandalism at a medical marijuana dispensary north of Chico, California early Monday morning, and the November 27 shotgun wounding of an employee from another local pot shop, may be connected, according to some in the medicinal cannabis industry.

The operator of Cascade Wellness Center was called to the business just after 2 a.m. on Monday when alarms went off, reports Greg Welter at the Chico Enterprise Record.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office arrived to find the business heavily damaged by gunfire. Sgt. Derek Bell said a shotgun and a rifle were used by unknown gunmen who were likely standing in the parking lot.

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