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Oakland Rally Protests DEA’s Medical Marijuana Prosecutions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 5, 2010 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: westcoastleaf.com

Medical marijuana activist/provider Mickey Martin: “I was not a criminal then, nor am I one now”

More than 50 people rallied outside the federal building in downtown Oakland, Calif., Monday to protest a one-year halfway house sentence for a medical marijuana activist, and to demand the federal government respect states’ rights regarding medicinal cannabis.

Leading the rally was Michael “Mickey” Martin, who has been sentenced to two years of non-prison confinement after his March 26, 2008 guilty plea for “conspiring to manufacture and distribute” a mixture containing “a detectable amount of marijuana,” reports KTVU-TV.

Martin, 35, ran Tainted Inc., later known as Compassion Medical Edibles, an Oakland-based business producing candies, cookies, ice cream, brownies, energy drinks and other consumables containing cannabis.

Mother, Son Jailed; Community Jeers Officers In Bust Of One Scrawny Plant

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 31, 2009 Growing, News

Photo: Dee Tubbs/Bastrop Daily Enterprise

Yeah boy, we found this here merry-wanna in their house. Don’t know where you’re from, city boy, but down in Bastrop we call this a major pot bust.

A mother and her son were arrested in Louisiana after officers found a single, scrawny marijuana plant growing in their residence. But the arresting officers, far from being acclaimed as heroes, were roundly jeered and ridiculed by the community.

Agents from the Morehouse Parish Sheriff’s Office “received information” Tuesday afternoon that marijuana was being grown in the home in Bastrop, La., reports the Bastrop Daily Enterprise.

The officers went to the residence on Summerlin Lane and spoke to Angela Hughes, 51, who unwisely gave them permission to search her home. (Quick tip: Never give consent to a search. Make them get a search warrant. They won’t “go easier” on you if you “cooperate.”)

Officers say they found a box with a light attached and a marijuana plant growing inside.

Colorado Judge: Medical Marijuana Users Have Right To Buy Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 30, 2009 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

Medical marijuana patients in Colorado have a constitutional right not only to use cannabis, but to buy it as well, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Arapahoe County District Judge Christopher Cross ruled in favor of CannaMart dispensary, which along with three patients sued the city of Centennial after the city forced it to shut down in October, reports Kristen Wyatt of The Associated Press.

CannaMart maintains that Colorado cities

are violating the state constitution when they ban all dispensaries. Unlike similar laws in a dozen other states, Colorado’s medical marijuana law is a constitutional amendment.

The injunction granted by Judge Cross prevents Centennial from keeping CannaMart shuttered while the dispensary challenges the city’s ban on pot shops because they’re in violation of federal drug laws. The medical use of marijuana isn’t recognized under federal law.

‘Marijuana And Teens’ Scare Study Used No Marijuana And No Teens

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 30, 2009 Culture, News

Graphic: laborbeat.org

It often seems as if the mainstream media is just waiting for something — anything — bad to turn up about the effects of marijuana, despite the long, fruitless search for damning evidence.

Smoking pot is bad because it’s illegal and it’s illegal because it’s bad, goes the circular logic; with this conclusion reached beforehand, then it’s just a matter of waiting for the research to roll in.

Unfortunately for the prohibitionists, just about every unbiased scientific study ever done on the herb shows it to be remarkably safe and amazingly non-toxic.

Especially when compared with other psychoactive substances, and even everyday palliatives such as aspirin and related painkillers — Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), which cause 7,600 deaths per year — pot looks pretty damn safe with a grand total of zero overdose deaths in history.

The difference is even more stark with other “recreational” substances such as tobacco (435,000 deaths per year), alcohol (85,000 deaths per year), prescription drugs (32,000 deaths), and illicit street drugs (17,000 deaths).

But you won’t be seeing much about that in our “fair and balanced” mainstream media, because that apparently doesn’t generate as many sales and click-throughs as trumpeting scare stories about pot.

First Marijuana Dispensary To Open In Downtown Ypsilanti, Michigan

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 30, 2009 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Michigan Medical Marijuana Association

Marijuana’s all over the news in Michigan.

Washtenaw County’s first medical marijuana dispensary will open tomorrow in downtown Ypsilanti, Michigan, reports Jeremy Allen of Heritage Newspapers.

It’s been a year now since The Michigan Medical Marijuana Act was approved by an overwhelming majority — 63 percent — of the state’s voters.

“My vision for this dispensary is to find a cure for cancer and to help free thousands of people who are currently in jail cells unjustly for the responsible use of cannabis,” said Anthony Freed, executive director of the Michigan Marijuana Chamber of Commerce.

Ruling Expected In Colorado Dispensary Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 30, 2009 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Colorado Marijuana Coalition

A marijuana dispensary in Centennial, Colo., could be back open for business by the end of the day.

An Arapahoe County District Court judge is expected to give an oral ruling Wednesday in a dispute between the city and CannaMart, which was shut down after only a few weeks in business, reports The Associated Press.

CannaMart sued the city, maintaining the marijuana dispensary was a legal business, and that Colorado cities are violating the state constitution when they ban all dispensaries.

The lawsuit has been inching forward for two weeks; last week, the judge said he needed more time to consider the case.

Hey, Dallas? If The Stuff Hasn’t Shown Up, It’s Still In Phoenix, Man

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 29, 2009 Culture, News

Dallas Observer

Couples who engage in “joint” ventures smuggling pot really need to get their stories straight before they even think about making a road trip.

This bit of weed wisdom was further underlined on Christmas Eve when Charley Taylor and Theressa Mills of Dallas were pulled over in Arizona, reports Robert Wilonsky in the Dallas Observer.

The two were taken in for separate questioning after their Dodge van was stopped for weaving on Interstate 17.

Charley, 47, told the cops the couple was traveling from Dallas to Los Angeles to visit their children, Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn told KPHO-TV in Phoenix. Unfortunately, Theressa, 37, told ’em they were traveling from Phoenix to Dallas to visit their children.

So they had the “visit their children” part right. If only they could have agreed on their destination!

Big Surprise (Not): Wisconsin A.G. Against Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 29, 2009 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: Quest Magazine

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen wants to keep being able to bust all marijuana users — even the medical ones.

Wisconsin’s attorney general claims legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes in the state would create serious problems for law enforcement.

While it’s no surprise he thinks so, let’s interpret Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s statement generously: He may actually be right.

That is, if you define “having to pursue real criminals instead of sick and dying patients” as a “problem.” And you could do that, since real criminals are usually a lot more dangerous, can run faster, and sometimes shoot back.

The A.G.’s office was one of only five groups testifying against the medical marijuana bill introduced this month in the Wisconsin Legislature, while more than 100 people testified in favor of it, reports Gil Halstead of Wisconsin Public Radio.

The attorney general claims the bill is “seriously flawed” and “will create a nightmare for law enforcement.” Once again, the dude is probably telling the truth, since lots of cops seem to already have nightmares about pot being legal for anyone, even the sick and dying.

Death Penalty For Marijuana In Malaysia

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 28, 2009 Global, News

Photo: Samsul Said, The Malay Mail

Shahrul Izani is escorted out of the courtroom by police this morning, on his way to Death Row

A 25-year-old man wept openly in Malaysian High Court court this morning when the judge sentenced him to death for marijuana.

Shahrul Izani Suparman was convicted of possessing 622 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver, reports Azreen Hani of The Malay Mail. Shahrul was 19 years old when he was arrested on Sept. 25, 2003.

According to police, Shahrul tried to get away from them on foot when he was ordered to stop while riding his motorcycle in Klang, Malaysia. Authorities said Shahrul had made a U-turn, and was riding without his lights on.

The marijuana, packed in two separate newspaper wrappings, was found in the motorcycle’s basket. Shahrul was charged under Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952, which upon conviction carries a death sentence by hanging.

Five Condemned To Death For Hashish In Vietnam

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 27, 2009 Global, News

Photo: AFP

Five Chinese men have been sentenced to death in northern Vietnam for trafficking hashish.

The men were accused of trafficking almost eight tons of hash destined for Canada, according to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

The hashish came from Pakistan and was about to be shipped to North America through the Vietnamese port of Mong Cai, VNA said.

The Chinese men, ranging in age from 42 to 57, were arrested in May 2008. They were also charged with smuggling almost $180,000 in cash.

Vietnam became known for its high-quality cannabis during its 10-year war with the United States, but the communist government in power since the war ended in 1975 has some of the toughest drug trafficking laws in the world.

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