News

San Diego Pot Dispensary Operator Gets One Year In Prison

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 12, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Downtown Kush Lounge was one of two San Diego dispensaries operated by Joseph Nunes

San Diego medical marijuana dispensary operator Joseph Nunes was sentenced to one year in federal prison on Monday, May 10.

“They took him right to jail,” said a medical marijuana activist who was in the downtown courtroom to support Nunes, reports Shane Finneran at the San Diego Reader.

“Joe, we wont forget you,” said an emotional Donna Lambert after U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns announced Nunes’s sentence.

Police raided two dispensaries operated by Nunes as part of a sweep of pot shops across San Diego in September 2009.

Finally, A Count On L.A.’s Pot Dispensaries: 583

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 12, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: The Fresh Scent

After countless media reports about Los Angeles’s “1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries,” which news organizations repeatedly said was “more pot shops that Starbucks,” we finally have a number, repots Dennis Romero at the L.A. Weekly — and it’s 583.

The hard number comes courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department, which looked at a list of dispensaries forwarded to it by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. The LAPD then had officers confirm the outlets that were up and running throughout the city.

Tacoma, WA Medical Marijuana Dispensary Busted

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 12, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: KOMO News

Guy Casey, North End Club 420: “I’m calling for everybody in the medical marijuana community to stand behind us”

Law enforcement officers served three warrants Tuesday morning in their attempt to shut down a Tacoma, Washington-based medical marijuana dispensary, North End Club 420.

The warrants were served at two Tacoma addresses — a home and an office building — and an Olalla home, according to the West End Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNET), reports Stacey Mulick of The Tacoma News Tribune.

The multi-agency WestNET force, which focuses primarily on Kitsap and Mason counties, claimed it had been working on the case since January with the help of undercover snitches.

The North End Club 420 is one of three new medical marijuana dispensaries in Tacoma.

Cops Say New Obama Strategy Just Like Old Drug War

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 12, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Philly NORML

Neill Franklin, LEAP: “…We can’t let them get away with claiming that they’ve ended the ‘War On Drugs’ while we continue to arrest 800,000 people a year on marijuana charges alone”

The Obama Administration released its National Drug Control Strategy on Tuesday, claiming it represents a “balanced new approach” to drug policy that focuses on treatment over enforcement.

However, a group of police officers who support legalization is pointing out that despite the administration’s words, the drug budget dedicates nearly twice as much funding to policing and enforcement as it does to public health and prevention, virtually the same ratio as the previous budget under President Bush.

“The Drug Czar is saying all the right things about ending the ‘War On Drugs’ and enacting a long-overdue balanced strategy focused on a public health approach,” said Neill Franklin, a former Baltimore cop and incoming executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). “Unfortunately, the reality of the budget numbers don’t match up to the rhetoric.”

Egypt, Israel Face Hashish Drought

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

Photo: Fotolog

Damn, that looks yummy. This is Blond Lebanese, and right now it’s hard to find, even in the Middle East.

Once again, Egyptians and Israelis are sharing the pain. A hashish shortage in Egypt, where a government crackdown resulted in a dry spell that has driven prices up, has spread to Israel.

The Hebrew daily Maariv has reported the hash prices there have doubled in recent months and good hashish is nowhere to be found, reports Batsheva Sobelman in the Los Angeles Times.

In Israel, too, the shortage is largely attributable to a government crackdown. The establishment of three special police units at Israel’s northern and southern boundaries, as well as at its international airport, have brought a 30 percent increase in major drug busts.

Canada: Prince Of Pot Surrenders; MPs Oppose Extradition

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

Photo: The Globe and Mail

Marc Emery, the Prince of Pot, might not be taking another bong rip for awhile.

Two Vancouver MPs are criticizing a decision to support the extradition of marijuana activist Marc Emery, the self-styled “Prince of Pot,” to the United States.

The Prince of Pot has been out on bail for the past six months. With the period of his release expiring, Emery surrendered himself to authorities Monday at the Vancouver courts.

Emery was arrested in 2005 as part of a joint Canada-United States law enforcement operation. He was charged in connection with an alleged online marijuana seed-selling business based in Vancouver, British Columbia, reports Stephen Thomson at the Vancouver Straight.

‘Not In Our Town’: Firebombs Target Two Marijuana Businesses

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 11, 2010 Culture, Dispensaries, News

Photo: Larry Mayer/Billings Gazette

Billings Police and Fire Departments investigate the scene of a firebomb thrown through the front door of Montana Therapeutics, a medical marijuana store, May 10, 2010.

Hateful rhetoric leads to hateful actions. This should-be self-evident axiom was once again demonstrated when two medical marijuana businesses were firebombed in the last two days in Billings, Montana.

“It was ugly, and it was a hate crime,” said David Couch, owner of Big Sky Patient Care, one of the two medical marijuana provides vandalized in the last two days, reports Kahrin Deines of the Billings Gazette.

The firebombs thrown through the front door of two medical marijuana businesses in Billings were accompanied with a hateful message. “NOT IN OUR TOWN” was spray painted on the fronts of both buildings, according to the owners.

Canada: U.S. Agents Built Charges Against Prince Of Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 10, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Friends of Cannabis

Prince of Pot Marc Emery could be extradited to the United States at any time with four hours’ notice

A U.S. undercover agent posing as a marijuana seed buyer worked in Canada to get American criminal charges against Marc Emery, Vancouver’s self-anointed “Prince of Pot.”

The information was revealed Monday, the same day Emery’s bail expires, and when he is supposed to either turn himself in to authorities or face extradition to the United States — or to be released, if the justice minister refuses the extradition, reports The Canadian Press.

The undercover operation by U.S. agents is outlined in a briefing memo to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson dated February 10, 2010, and describes the case against Emery.

Numerous mail order purchases were made by U.S. undercover agents between March 2004 and March 2005, and then Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent Tracy Mendez was sent to Vancouver, according to the memo.

Pot Dispensary Owner Dispute Leads To Criminal Charge

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

Graphic: KDVR

Two Aspen, Colorado men who founded a Main Street marijuana dispensary have broken ties after one of them is alleged to have ransacked the business and took some of the cannabis.

Joshua Aaron Griggs, 32, faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief after an April incident in which he allegedly vandalized Ute City Medicinals by damaging furniture, carpet, blinds, a printer and two tables. Griggs is scheduled to appear in court May 25, reports Rick Carroll at The Aspen Times.

Kentucky Pothead Runs For Sheriff; Calls On Others To Do So

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 7, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: Ronnie Smith For Sheriff, Gallatin County

Ronnie Lee Smith: “The laws against marijuana violate the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions on numerous levels”

Ronnie Lee Smith wants to be sheriff of Gallatin County, Kentucky. Which is not that unusual, until you realize that Smith is better known as pot comedian and social media personality Roland A. Duby.

“All activist potheads should run for sheriff like I am,” Smith said Friday.

“I remember having my marijuana taken and thrown in the creek by a friendly policeman who shall remain nameless,” Smith said. “I wasn’t arrested and turned into a criminal for it.”

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