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CA Bill Urging New Federal Marijuana Policy Close To Adoption

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 Legislation, News

Californians protest a DEA medical marijuana dispensary raid

California may soon urge the federal government to end medicinal cannabis raids and to “create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it.”

The California State Assembly Committee on Health voted 10-3 Tuesday to pass the resolution, which urges the federal government to change its pot policy. The full state Senate already passed the measure in August 2009 by a vote of 23-15.

Patient May Lose Medical Marijuana ID Card… For Smoking Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald

Jessica Voden holds her medical marijuana registry certificate in her car at Fort Lewis College on Monday. Voden was ticketed by FLC Police for smoking marijuana Feb. 18 while sitting in her car in the parking lot.

A Colorado college student with a medical marijuana I.D. card has been found guilty of smoking in her car. Now, because she was smoking marijuana in public, she may lose her medical marijuana card as a result of her “drug conviction.”

Jessica Voden, 22, had filed the paperwork for her card at the time of her ticket and trial, but had not received her official card until the day after the trial, reports Deb Stanley at 7News.

Voden was sitting in her parked car at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., in February when a parking attendant noticed her smoking pot and called campus police, reports Shane Benjamin at The Durango Herald.

Father, Son Face Charges After Claiming Car With 48 Pounds Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 News

Photo: NNOA

48 pounds is a lot of weed. But if you abandon your car with 48 pounds inside, please don’t show up to claim the vehicle at the police station.

Write this down: If the cops ever seize your vehicle, don’t show up to claim it if there’s almost 50 pounds of weed inside.

A Michigan father and son face drug charges after they tried to reclaim a vehicle in which police had discovered 48 pounds of marijuana, Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans said on Monday.

The men were arrested Thursday, one day after 8th Precinct officers discovered the cannabis inside a car they had just tried to stop, reports Amber Hunt at The Detroit Free Press.

The vehicle sped away and was found unoccupied nearby. The marijuana was discovered in a duffel bag inside the car, police claimed.

Former City Councilwoman Sentenced For Pot Sale

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 News

Photo: Siskiyou Daily News

Katrina Howard was caught with more than 30 pounds of marijuana after allegedly selling pot to an undercover narc who was posing as a high school student

The Siskiyou County District Attorney’s Office said a former Mount Shasta, California city councilwoman will serve 210 days in jail for selling marijuana to an undercover sheriff’s deputy who was posing as a high school student.

Katrina Howard, 42, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of marijuana for sale, with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm, reports David Smith at the Siskiyou Daily News.

She got a suspended 68-month prison sentence last week.

Howard was one of more than 30 people arrested as part of an investigation into drug sales at area high schools in 2008.

Police claimed they found 34 pounds of processed marijuana in Howard’s house. They estimated the value of the cannabis at “more than $60,000.”

Pot Convict Facing Prison Asks For (And Gets!) Disneyland Trip

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: Cover Browser

A Spokane, Washington man busted in a federal marijuana sting and looking at a prison sentence figured what the hell, it couldn’t hurt to make a request. He asked to go to Disneyland.

Scott Nicholas Cassell, 29, got his wish, reports Meghann Cuniff at The Spokesman-Review.

Two weeks before a judge will likely approve a plea bargain that will land him behind bars for five years, Cassell left for Southern California over the weekend.

U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno granted a motion late last month for Cassell to travel to the Happiest Place On Earth for a week with his mother, wife and six-year-old daughter.

“What he’s doing is good for him and good for the family,” said Cassell’s lawyer, David Miller.

“His young daughter can’t be around her dad for awhile; how sad is that?” Miller said. “This will put a good memory in the memory bank.”

Cassell said the trip will “provide one great final memory for our daughter prior to my leaving,” according to court documents.

Busted Grower Wants To Hug And Kiss His Pot Plants Goodbye

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 12, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: WAFF

Willis Allen Shackelford asked drug agents if he could give these plants a last hug and a kiss goodbye.

An Alabama man busted for growing marijuana had a hard time parting with his plants. He told Limestone County drug agents he loved them, reports WAFF.

Agents claimed they could smell pot coming from an air conditioning unit at Willis Allen Shakelford’s home on Quinn Road. When they went inside, they found 55 marijuana plants from six inches to four feet tall.

Shackelford told them he grew the plants from seed, and that he was “concerned” about the marijuana’s safety, agents claimed.

“He requested to know where his plants were; they were his babies,” said Deputy Johnny Morrell. “We advised him they were in the back of the truck.”

Morocco Hits Cannabis, Tells Europe ‘There Are No Soft Drugs’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 11, 2010 Global, News

Photo: http://samyyang.spaces.live.com/blog/

North Morocco was, until now, a cannabis farmer’s paradise. In the northern part of the country, there are many marijuana fields, from which cannabis resin (hashish) is harvested.

No more Marrakesh Express? Morocco claims it has cut cannabis traffickers’ revenue to less than a third of its 2005 level, but its efforts could be undermined if Europe continues relaxing its laws against the herb, a top Moroccan policeman said Thursday.

The North African country once held the exalted position of being the biggest cannabis exporter in the world, according to the United Nations, but it has now cracked down on the hashish trade because of strained ties with the European Union, which is where most of its cannabis ends up, reports Lamine Ghanmi at Reuters.

“Our efforts against hashish trafficking activity have led to a reduction in the revenue of that illegal business to 4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in 2009, from 13 billion euros in 2005,” said Khalid Zerouali, the Interior Ministry’s head of migration and border surveillance, on Thursday.

OR Supreme Court: No Warrant Needed For School Drug Searches

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 11, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: NewsOn6.com

High school students can be searched for illegal drugs without a warrant, if school officials have a “reasonable suspicion” based on specific facts, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

According to the court, schools are not held to the higher standards of requiring probably cause for a search if officials think there is an “immediate risk of harm” from possession of illegal drugs on school property, reports William McCall at the Statesman Journal.

L.A. Police Officer Charged With Distributing Meth

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

Photo: David Dust

A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with selling methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego announced Wednesday.

Yoshio Romero, 28, was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on the charge of distributing meth, reports Andrew Blankstein of the Los Angeles Times.

The five-year LAPD veteran faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.

The arrest followed a months-long investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Romero arranged to sell 111 grams of meth in December 2009 for $4,200, according to the federal criminal complaint from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

The police officer allegedly told an undercover agent that he “could supply him with any quantity of methamphetamine that he wanted,” according to the affidavit.

Vermont Gubernatorial Candidate Calls For Pot Decrim

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 10, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Straight Talk On Marriage

Peter Shumlin: “We need to have an honest conversation with Vermonters”

A Vermont gubernatorial candidate on Tuesday said the state should decriminalize marijuana to help free up prison space and better spend money on education and other social needs.

“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,” said Vermont State Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin (D-Putney), who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor.

“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.”

None of the other four candidates in a Tuesday forum with Shumlin called for marijuana decriminalization, which was also opposed by outgoing Republican Gov. James Douglas, reports John P. Gregg of the Rutland Herald.

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