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George Michael Released From Prison After 4 Weeks For Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2010 Culture, News

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go: George Michael’s a free man again after being discovered slumped over the wheel of his car and serving half of an eight-week prison sentence for DUI and cannabis.

Singer George Michael has been released from prison in the U.K., after serving four weeks of an eight-week sentence for DUI and possession of marijuana.

The 47-year-old pop star, freed after serving half of his sentence, told reporters he “just wants to start again” and that it was “fantastic” to be free on “a beautiful day,” reports BBC News.

“I just want to way thank you for everybody who has supported me in there,” the singer told reporters outside his home in north London.

Michael was arrested in July after being found slumped at the wheel of his Land Rover in Hampstead, north London, after a Gay Pride parade on July 4.

Dude, Sweet! Marijuana Left In Store’s Candy Aisle

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2010 News

Photo: SodaHead

A store clerk in Tennessee found about two grams of marijuana among the candy bars and chewing gum in her store’s candy aisle early Thursday morning.

Officer Craig Taylor went to the Pilot Truck Stop in Cookeville, Tenn., just before 4 a.m. on Thursday after the clerk called about the cannabis, reports Mary Jo Denton of the Cookeville Herald-Citizen.

“She stated she was checking the candy rack located at the cash register when she observed a small plastic bag of suspected marijuana on the rack,” said the police report.

Football Stars Fall Asleep In Drive-Thru Line; Busted For Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 8, 2010 Culture, News

Photos: The Lariat

Willie Jefferson, left, and Josh Gordon were busted for pot early Sunday after falling asleep in the Taco Bell drive-through line.

I’ll have some of what they’ve been having, please. Just hours after last weekend’s 55-7 victory over Kansas, Baylor wide receivers Josh Gordon and Willie Jefferson were arrested in Waco, Texas, on allegations of marijuana possession after they were discovered asleep in a Taco Bell drive-through line near campus.

Waco police received the call at 2:15 a.m. Sunday about a man passed out in the restaurant’s drive-through lane, reports Dwain Price at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. After a search of the vehicle, officers found bags of marijuana, according to police reports.

Jefferson was driving the vehicle, while Gordon was a passenger in the front seat.

Hundreds Protest At Medical Marijuana Defendants’ Hearing

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

Photo: Charles V. Tines/The Detroit News

Chuck Ream of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association rallies supporters on Thursday.

Several hundred chanting demonstrators showed their support as 10 people appeared in court on Thursday on multiple charges of delivery of marijuana.

The 10 were among 16 Metro Detroit residents arrested August 25 across Oakland County and charged with violating Michigan’s medical marijuana act, reports Mike Martindale of The Detroit News. All are free on bond and facing charges in Bloomfield, Ferndale and Waterford district courts.

All were arrested and charged following raids and seizures by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Narcotics Enforcement Team at a Ferndale medical marijuana dispensary and a Waterford compassion club and its related dispensary.

Prop 19 Pot Legalization Pulling In High Dollar Donations

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 8, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Green Patriot

David Bronner, Dr. Bronner’s Natural Soaps: “Cannabis for me is a daily sacrament and a communion that at the end of each day helps me get past my small petty self and find my moral center”

With the election less than a month away, the campaign to pass Proposition 19, California’s marijuana legalization initiative, is pulling in some high-dollar donations.

The owners of a natural soap company and a hemp clothing store announced on Thursday a $100,000 contribution to pay for a voter registration drive aimed at California’s college students, reports John Hoeffel of The Los Angeles Times. That donation followed the contribution of $100,000 on Monday by Napster co-founder Sean Parker and the recent donation of $50,000 by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.

David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, based in Escondido, Calif., announced the $100,000 donation to Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) in The Huffington Post. Bronner put up $75,000, and the founders of Capitol Hemp in Washinton, D.C., kicked in $25,000.

“Something like this will benefit everybody in America, and we just want to do our small part,” said Alan Amsterdam, co-owner of Capitol Hemp. “It’ll trickle down to the rest of the states.”

Mexico’s President Concerned About Legalized Marijuana In CA

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 8, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Vivirlatino

Mexico President Felipe Calderon: Marijuana legalization would mean a “terrible inconsistency” in U.S. drug policy

The president of Mexico has given his two pesos’ worth in the debate over whether Californians should legalize marijuana at the polls next month.

President Felipe Calderon told the Associated Press in an interview Thursday that he was concerned about what legalizing cannabis in California would do to the larger Drug War. Calderon told AP that legalization would mean a “terrible inconsistency” in U.S. drug policy, reports The Los Angeles Times.

Calderon’s statements are a little puzzling in view of the fact that in August, he said he is open to a debate on the legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

At that time, Calderon called the increasingly widespread public discussion of legalization in Mexico “a fundamental debate.”

“You have to analyze carefully the pros and cons of the argument on both sides,” Calderon said in August.

Before that statement, however, Calderon had long maintained he is opposed to the idea of legalization. The Mexican president’s office issued a second statement, hours after the first one in August, saying that while Calderon was “open to debate on the issue,” he remained “against the legalization of drugs.”

Napster Co-Founder Gives $100K To Prop 19 Pot Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 7, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: aducation.net

Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster, has donated $100,000 to the Prop 19 marijuana legalization cause in California.

Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and a current venture capitalist, on Monday donated $100,000 to Proposition 19, which would legalize marijuana for adults in California, according to campaign finance records.

Parker, the guy played by Justin Timberlake in the new Facebook movie, The Social Network, donated the money to the Drug Policy Action Committee, which is separate from Richard Lee’s Yes On 19 committee, reports Chris Roberts at our sister Village Voice Media blog, SF Weekly.

CA Atty. Gen. Candidates Won’t Pledge To Defend Legal Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 7, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: KALW News

Kamala Harris (left) and Steve Cooley: Neither will give a straight answer on defending Prop 19 marijuana legalization if California voters pass it

Both Candidates Hazy On Whether They’d Defend Prop 19 In Court

It seemed a simple enough question in Tuesday’s debate between the two candidates for Attorney General of California: If voters pass Proposition 19, legalizing marijuana, would they defend it in court?

Neither Democrat Kamala Harris, the San Francisco district attorney, nor Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles district attorney infamous for his personal battle against medical marijuana, was able to muster the courage for either a “Yes” or a “No” on the ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for recreational adult use, reports Peter Hecht at The Sacramento Bee.

Philly Cops Rob Undercover Cop Posing As Marijuana Dealer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 6, 2010 News

Photo: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Police officers Christopher Luciano, left, and Sean Alivera, right, have been charged with robbing a an undercover investigator posing as a drug dealer.

Two Philadelphia police officers were arrested Monday evening and charged with robbing an undercover investigator posing as a pot dealer, authorities admitted Tuesday.

Officers Sean Alivera, 31, and Christopher Luciano, 23, allegedly stole 20 pounds of marijuana and $3,000 in cash, reports Troy Graham at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Both officers, who were partners in the 25th District, were arrested at the district headquarters in what must have been a priceless scene. They were still in custody Tuesday morning, after being charged with robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy, and other distinctly cop-like crimes.

Prop 19 Legalization Leads; Opponents Try To Revive Campaign

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 6, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Zazzle

Opponents of Proposition 19 — which would legalize, tax and regulate recreational marijuana for adults in California — are desperately trying to revive their cash-strapped campaign amid signs that public sentiment is turning more and more in favor of the initiative.

“We’re telling folks who are opposed, ‘If we’re going to get our message out, we need additional resources,’ ” said Roger Salazar, spokesman for No On Proposition 19, reports Michael Montgomery at CaliforniaWatch.

The campaign against Prop 19 has so far been financially anemic, raising less than $160,000 in contributions for all of this year, according to required campaign finance disclosures as of September 30.

Meanwhile, supporters of the cannabis legalization initiative have raised more than $860,000 this year, led by Oakland marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee.

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