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D.C. To Discount Medical Marijuana For Poor Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 5, 2010 Medical, News

If you’re a medical marijuana patient in Washington D.C., you may never be too broke to buy cannabis again, starting next year.

The District of Columbia, with one of the highest poverty levels in the country, has become the first place to pass a law discounting medical marijuana for low-income patients.

“The D.C. proposal to subsidize the cost of medical marijuana for low income patients is especially appropriate, and something that the other medical use states should consider,” said Keith Stroup, legal counsel for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“With the cost of medical marijuana anywhere from $200 to $600 per ounce (and even higher at some dispensaries in California), there are many patients who simply cannot afford their medicine,” Stroup told Toke of the Town Thursday afternoon.

Scientific Study Says Rich Teens Smoke More Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 5, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Shroomery.org

It’s seemingly always been of those bedrock mainstream assumptions: adolescents and adults in low-income families are more at risk for “substance use” than kids and parents from more privileged backgrounds.

The suburbs, in this fictional view of reality (did anybody ever really buy it?), were an oasis of safety from the perils of the inner city, where “nice kids” wouldn’t be exposed to “those kinds of things.”

But according to a new study, higher parental education is associated with higher rates of marijuana use, binge drinking, and cocaine use in early adulthood. Higher parental income, as opposed to education, is associated with higher rates of marijuana use and binge drinking, but interestingly, not with higher cocaine usage.

N.Y. Attorney General Candidate Says She Tried Pot, Cocaine

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 4, 2010 News

Photo: Kathleen Rice Campaign

N.Y. Attorney General candidate Kathleen Rice: “It was one of those stupid things that people do in their life and you regret and you move on”

New York attorney general hopeful Kathleen Rice revealed Tuesday that she dabbled with marijuana and cocaine in her college days.

The Nassau County district attorney, a Democrat, told the New York Daily News that she tried pot and coke “a handful” of times when she was in her early 20s, reports Rich Schapiro.

“It was one of those stupid things that people do in their life and you regret and you move on,” Rice said.

The candidate has talked about her recreational drug use before, according to campaign spokesman Eric Phillips, reports Kathleen Kerr at Newsday.

“It was a mistake and she regrets it,” Phillips said.

Police Chief Busted For Growing Marijuana; Suing Sheriff

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 4, 2010 Growing, News

Graphic: Media Junkie

A small-town Montana police chief was arrested Tuesday for allegedly growing marijuana in a barn near his residence.

Roosevelt County deputies arrested Poplar Police Chief Chad A. Hilde at his rural home north of Culbertson, Montana, reports Travis Coleman at the Great Falls Tribune. The chief is being charged with one felony count of “criminal production or manufacture of dangerous drugs,” and one misdemeanor count of “criminal possession of dangerous drugs.”

Chief Hilde, who faces up to 10 years in prison on the felony charge, has been placed on “administrative leave,” according to a dispatcher Monday at the Poplar Police Department. The police chief, who says the marijuana belonged to an authorized patient, said he planned to sue the Roosevelt County Sheriff.

A juvenile female runaway told Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Wallace on July 30 that Chief Hilde had marijuana growing in his barn, and that Hilde told her it was for medical purposes, according to an affidavit filed by acting Roosevelt County Attorney Steven Howard.

Mexican President Calls For Debate On Legalizing Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 4, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Alejandro Bringas/Reuters

Mexican soldiers stand guard, pretending they don’t have a buzz as bales of marijuana go up in smoke

It seems that top Mexican officials, weary of their bloody and protracted drug war, have been been subtly pushing the U.S. for some time to seriously consider marijuana legalization. Now, with the sitting president calling for a debate, it’s not so subtle anymore.

Responding to out-of-control violence related to the illegal drug trade, Mexican President Calderon on Tuesday said he is open to a debate on the legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

Calderon called the increasingly widespread public discussion of legalization “a fundamental debate.”

Colorado Nets $7 Million From Pot Dispensary Application Fees

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 4, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Voter Political Blog

With more than 2,000 people in Colorado applying for licenses to run state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, growing facilities or related businesses before the past weekend’s application deadline, the state made $7.34 million from application fees alone.

More than 700 applied specifically for dispensary licenses, far exceeding the number expected by state officials, who estimated that only half of the state’s roughly 1,100 pre-existing dispensaries would apply for licenses.

State officials will now conduct background checks on applicants before awarding licenses, which are expected to generate additional millions in annual revenue for Colorado.

“This outpouring of applications is another sign of how willing and eager marijuana business owners are to be taxed, regulated, and given equal treatment to other legitimate establishments, said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Missing Boy Found… Along With Dad’s 147 Marijuana Plants

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 3, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: The Trentonian

It was a classic good news/bad news scenario. Police in Maine said they found a three-year-old autistic boy who wandered away from his home — along with 147 marijuana plants being cultivated by his father.

The boy was reported missing by his father, 41-year-old Jonathan Lehr, at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, reports News 13.

The three-year-old, Benjamin Lehr, was found unhurt about two hours later when a pilot with the Maine Warden Service spotted him in some tall grass and woods not far from his home in Vienna, Maine. He was dehydrated and disoriented, but otherwise OK.

Vermont Gubernatorial Candidate To Discuss Marijuana Decrim

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 3, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Straight Talk On Marriage

Pete Shumlin: “We need to have an honest conversation with Vermonters about changing laws that are diverting resources and attention from real problems, and filling our prisons up with folks that shouldn’t be there”

Gubernatorial candidate Pete Shumlin will be at the University of Vermont next week along with other speakers to discuss marijuana decriminalization at an event sponsored by Marijuana Resolve, a Vermont non-profit focused on cannabis policy reform issues.

“We need to have an honest conversation with Vermonters about changing laws that are diverting resources and attention from real problems, and filling our prisons up with folks that shouldn’t be there,” Vermont Senate President Pro Tem Shumlin said in June as he called for marijuana decriminalization.

“I believe it is a mistake to be sending young people on second, third, fourth offenses to prison on marijuana-related charges,” said Shumlin, who has previously sponsored a decriminalization bill. “That’s where we could make a difference.”

If elected governor, Shumlin has pledged he will work to pass legislation that will make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a civil, rather than a criminal, violation, punishable by a $100 fine without the possibility of jail time.

Just Say Now Campaign Aims To End Marijuana Prohibition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 3, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: Just Say Now

The mainstreaming of marijuana means that it is no longer considered a “right” or “left” issue. Pot legalization is now receiving support from across the political spectrum.

And that’s a good thing, according to Jane Hamsher, founder and publisher of leading progressive blog Firedoglake.com.

“It is very important to us that this is not viewed as a partisan issue, because we don’t think that it is,” Hamsher said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters.

“Young people want marijuana to be legalized in overwhelming numbers: young voters are not just excited to support legalization, but are much more likely to turn out to vote if marijuana is on the ballot,” Hamsher said. “We’re delighted about organizing legalization supporters and getting them to the polls on Election Day.”

Man Calls 911 For Ride To Liquor Store; Gets Busted For Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 3, 2010 News

Photo: First Coast News

George D. McMurrain, 57, wants to party.

He wanted a ride to the liquor store; instead, he got a lift to the jail.

A Florida man was charged Saturday night with misusing 911 and possession of marijuana after he had already been warned that his call to 911 for a ride to a liquor store would result in his arrest, reports Nicole Hernandez of The Florida Times-Union.

George D. McMurrain, 57, had already called 911 twice when an an officer from the St. Augustine Police Department responded to a third call.

After the second call, police had told McMurrain that 911 was for emergencies only and he would be arrested if they had to come back, reports First Coast News.

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