News

Pot Dispensary Owner Defies Judge, Posts Bail

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 11, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

The owner of a Fresno medical marijuana dispensary posted $5,000 bail and got out of jail Wednesday after he promised to show back up in Fresno County Superior Court for his arraignment on charges of violating a court order to stop selling pot.

Rick Morse, owner of the Medmar dispensary, was held in jail without bail following his Tuesday arrest on misdemeanor charges of selling marijuana after two judges ordered him not to do it, reports Pablo Lopez at The Fresno Bee.

Judge Donald Franson Jr. on Wednesday granted Morse’s request for bail so he could hire a lawyer for his February 18 arraignment.

Morse, 48, was defiant when he appeared in shackles at his first court appearance. He laughed when Judge Franson read him his rights and outlined the criminal charges against him.

Thank You, Officer: Sheriff Gives Man His 4 Pounds Of Pot Back

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 11, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Bryant Anderson/The Daily Triplicate

Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Morris last year displayed some of the four pounds of marijuana seized during a traffic stop. On Friday, the pot was returned to its owner.

Daniel Sosa went to Crescent City, California last Friday to pick up four pounds of marijuana.

He had a 2 p.m. appointment to pick up the stuff — at the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office.

“It seemed weird,” Sosa said. “I was worried they were going to arrest me again.”

If the pot looked familiar to Sosa, it was because it was the same weed that had been confiscated from him a year ago, during a routine traffic stop, reports Kurt Madar of The Daily Triplicate.

Holy Sh*t! 30 Pounds Of Weed Found Inside Pictures Of Jesus

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

Photo: Customs and Border Protection

“Lo, thou must hide thy stash much better next time.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on Wednesday found 30 pounds of marijuana stuffed into framed pictures of Jesus Christ at the border with Mexico, reports CNN.

“This is not the first time we have seen smugglers attempt to use religious figures and articles of faith to further their criminal enterprise,” said William Molaski, port director of the agency’s office in El Paso, Texas.

‘Cannabis Casualty’? Brit Government Goes After Scientific Independence

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 10, 2010 Global, Legislation, News

Photo: Political Scrapbook

U.K. drugs advisor David Nutt was sacked for… well, advising about drugs.

It all started late last year when David Nutt, chairman of Britain’s Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse (ACDM), was sacked by Home Secretary Alan Johnson after Nutt said scientific evidence showed cannabis and ecstasy are less dangerous than alcohol.

Now more than 80 leading scientists in the United Kingdom have signed a document rejecting a set of government principles which they say would compromise their scientific integrity, reports health editor Sarah Boseley at The Guardian.

City Pays Man $32,500 For His Marijuana Plants

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 10, 2010 Growing, Medical, News

Photo: Jenn Miller

The City of Seal Beach, California has paid a medical marijuana patient $32,500 to settle a lawsuit resulting from what he called the unlawful confiscation of 50 marijuana plants.

Bruce Benedict, 45, sued the Seal Beach Police Department for $1 million in August 2008, alleging violations of civil and safety codes, false imprisonment, battery and trespass, reports Jaimee Lynn Fletcher at The Orange County Register.

“I’m happy that I won,” Benedict said. “I’m happy that they got slapped in the face.”

“It’s not about the money,” he said. “These [cops]are bad for society.”

CBS Rejects Marijuana Legalization Ad From NORML

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 10, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: NORML

Neutron Media to NORML: “If CBS changes their morals we will let you know.” (See the rejected ad below.)

CBS and Neutron Media Screen Marketing have rejected a paid marijuana legalization advertisement from NORML that was intended to appear on the CBS Super Screen billboard in New York City’s Time Square.

The 15-second ad, which asserts that taxing and regulating the adult use and sale of marijuana would raise billions of dollars in national revenue, was scheduled to appear on CBS’s 42nd Street digital billboard beginning February 1.

According to NORML, representatives from Neutron Media approached the pro-pot organization in mid-January about placing the ad, which was scheduled to air 18 times per day for a two-month period. The NORML Foundation entered into a contractual agreement with Neutron Media to air two separate NORML advertisements, and produced an initial ad exclusively for broadcast on the CBS digital billboard.

Latest Casualty Of MPP Sex Scandal: Annual Playboy Mansion Party

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 10, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: www.redrosenet.com

Playboy Bunnies prepare to fend off horn-dog Rob Kampia as they arrive at the Marijuana Policy Project’s 3rd Annual Party and Fundraiser on June 12, 2008, at the Playboy Mansion

Aw, maaaan. No more Bunnies?

Since former Executive Director Rob Kampia stepped down at the Marijuana Policy Project to receive therapy for his “hypersexualized” condition, fundraising isn’t the only thing to take a hit.

Now, the pro-pot organization’s annual party at the Playboy Mansion has been cancelled, reports Amanda Hess at Washington City Paper.

In an organization-wide email, MPP’s second in command, Alison Green, who stayed on to pick up the pieces after Kampia’s embarrassing departure, informed staffers that “MPP will not be holding a party at the Playboy Mansion this year.”

Green said the cancellation was primarily due to Kampia’s absence. “Without Rob doing his normal major donor fundraising we simply don’t have the cash flow to pay the upfront deposits that would be due now,” she wrote in the staff email.

Corrections Head Covers Up For Misbehaving Anti-Pot Officers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 9, 2010 Medical, News

Graphic: thefreshscent.com

OK, quick: You’re head of the Department of Corrections. Officers under you misbehave and improperly arrest a medical marijuana patient. What do you do? Lie and cover up for them, if you’re Eldon Vail of the Washington DOC.

The head of the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), Eldon Vail, seems to put a lot more effort into covering up the lousy job his subordinates are doing, than in actually doing his own job.

The Washington DOC, following the example of the not-cool Attorney General Rob McKenna, is already notorious for its extremely hard line against the use of medical marijuana for individuals on probation.

Now, newly revealed documents show that Vail and the DOC have been involved in misconduct, cover-ups, and possibly outright law-breaking, reports Lee Rosenberg at the highly recommended Seattle political blog, Horses Ass.

Lesson No. 1: Never, Ever Invite The DEA Over

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 9, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: howstuffworks.com

It’s important to remember that the possession of marijuana — for any purpose, even lab testing — is still illegal under federal law, without a DEA license. And if you ask for a license, they will come search you.

As Colorado’s fledgling medical marijuana industry goes through some growth pains related to its profitable proliferation, a few lessons are being learned (relearned?) here and there.

And one of the most important of these is:

Never invite the federal Drug Enforcement Administration over to your place when there’s pot everywhere.

Employees of Denver marijuana testing facility Full Spectrum Laboratories learned that recently, after formally applying for an analytical lab license through the DEA, reports Joel Warner at Westword.

Turns out, applying for a DEA license means that you’re inviting them over for a visit.

Pot Collectives Keep Rolling As Los Angeles D.A. Sputters

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 8, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley wants to shutter dispensaries that sell medical marijuana for profit. But the issue is far from settled.

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