News

Jeb Bush is against medical marijuana legalization in Florida

By William Breathes on August 15, 2014 Medical, News

Jeb Bush, former Florida governor and current GOP favorite for 2016, has come out and publicly stated his opposition to Amendment 2, which, if passed, would legalize medical marijuana in Florida.Even with a majority of Floridians polled favoring the measure and with current candidate for governor Charlie Crist coming out in favor of it, Bush released a statement urging people to vote against it.
In his statement, Jeb focuses on how medical marijuana could potentially ruin Florida’s “family friendly” image and echoed the anti-marijuana group No on 2’s take that legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would lead to weed being made legal everywhere due to these mysterious loopholes they keep referring to.

Santa Ana, California’s Great Pot Raid: After years of doing nothing to stop dispensaries from coming to town, the police crack down

By William Breathes on August 15, 2014 Medical, News, Say what?

It’s about 2 o’clock on July 31, a hot and humid Thursday afternoon, and Mike and Scott (who asked to be identified only by their first names) are kicking back in Aloha Community Collective Association. The low-key Santa Ana medical-marijuana dispensary is nestled comfortably in a somewhat-decrepit two-story building just off 17th Street, a couple of blocks from the 5 freeway. Rachel Garcia, a receptionist and budtender, is standing outside the shop. She notices two middle-aged men who look like typical patients approaching the entrance.
Suddenly, several police vehicles and a paddy wagon pull up. Garcia knows in an instant the two men are plainclothes cops. Sure enough, they signal to the arriving convoy by pointing at the dispensary. They command Garcia to go back inside, which she does, immediately informing Mike and Scott that police officers are outside. By the time she starts talking, one of the vehicles is already parked on the dispensary’s doorstep, almost blocking the front door.

New Hampshire in “State of Emergency” Over “Synthetic Marijuana” overdoses

By William Breathes on August 15, 2014 News

TokeoftheTown.com

Live free or die. It’s the New Hampshire motto, and one that is oddly appropriate in the wake of dozens of “synthetic marijuana” overdoses this week: if real, safe cannabis that has never, ever caused an overdose was legalized, these lab-made junk chemicals being passed off as a pot alternative wouldn’t be in demand.
Yesterday, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan officially declared a state of emergency after more than 44 people were hospitalized after smoking chemicals commonly called “synthetic marijuana” purchased at convenience stores under the name “Smacked”.

Colombian President Endorses Federal Medical Marijuana Proposal

By William Breathes on August 15, 2014 Global, Medical, News

A measure to legalize cannabis for medical reasons in Colombia got a big endorsement yesterday when President Juan Manuel Santos told a drug policy committee that he would like to see the law passed.
Of the law, he says it is “a practical, compassionate measure to reduce the pain, anxiety of patients with terminal illnesses, but also a way of beginning to strip from the hands of criminals the role of intermediary between the patient and the substance that allows them to relieve their suffering.”

Colorado cops claim pot driving fatalities up 100 percent based on shoddy research

By William Breathes on August 14, 2014 News, Say what?

Flickr/Alex K

A new report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area suggests that stoned driving remains a big problem that’s getting bigger, with fatalities increasing 100 percent from 2007 to 2012. Stats about teen pot use in the report are also considerably more negative than those in at least one other recent state-sponsored survey.
But the stats are based on testing drivers not for active THC — which would at least imply impairment — but instead are testing for THC metabolites that don’t cause any impairment and can stay in the body for up to a month. In short: the test don’t show impairment, only that the person had used cannabis at some time in the last three to four weeks. But never mind the facts, Colorado cops want you to believe it’s a stoned bloodbath out there.

Miami-Dade Democrats’ New Chairman Wants Recreational Pot Legalized in Florida

By William Breathes on August 14, 2014 Legalize It, News

The Miami-Dade Democrats have a new chairman and on one hot-button issue, he’s got one of the strongest positions in the state: Sen. Dwight Bullard thinks marijuana should be legal not just for medical purposes but for recreational use.
“Marijuana, whether medical or recreational, could be another way of generating revenue in Florida,” Bullard tells our compadres at Riptide. “It has a potential for real positive economic impact with real small business growth.”

$24.7 Million in Recreational Pot, Edibles and Concentrates Sold in Colorado in June

By William Breathes on August 14, 2014 Legalize It, News, Say what?

What better way to celebrate the coming of summer in Colorado than with weed?
That seems to have been the case in Colorado this past June, when tourists and locals purchased more than $24.7 million in recreational marijuana, concentrates and pot-infused food.  
Recreational marijuana sales have been slowly climbing month to month in this state, according to recent figures released by the Colorado Department of Revenue; June saw the highest sales yet. Meanwhile, medical marijuana figures are starting to show a slow decline, though they still outpaced recreational marijuana sales by approximately 18 percent. In June, about $28.65 million worth of medical cannabis was sold. 

Marijuana Field Valued at $1.7 Million Found Outside of Houston

By William Breathes on August 14, 2014 News, Say what?

A 50-acre pot farm with nearly 3,450 plants and a street value of $1.75 million was raided by municipal, county and state authorities in Brenham, Texas Monday.
No suspects were located in the seizure, which is the sixth “marijuana growing operation shut down in Washington County since January 2013,” according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter. More over at the Houston Press.

Dallas Cowboy’s Orland Scandrick suspended for taking crappy ecstasy

By William Breathes on August 13, 2014 News, Stoned Sports

News reports this week indicate that one of the Cowboys’ few defensive bright spots from last season, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, has been suspended for the first four games of the 2014 regular season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance abuse policy. Scandrick has already lost his appeal in the matter, so it looks like the Cowboys will be stuck with whatever the mercurial Mo Claiborne can give the on the outside for the first quarter of the season.
The details of Scandrick’s indiscretion — if his agent and ESPN’s Ed Werder are to be believed — are pretty mundane. While on vacation in Mexico with an ex-girlfriend, Scandrick, or someone in his party, mixed a drug — reported by Werder to be MDMA — purchased from a street vendor into a cocktail he was drinking. More at the Dallas Observer.

Interview with anti-pot “Don’t be a Lab Rat” campaign ad director

By William Breathes on August 13, 2014 Follow that story, News, Say what?

Yesterday, we told you about a campaign to scare kids off of pot that uses a giant rat cage and the statement: “Don’t be a Lab Rat”. Never mind the fact that criminalizing cannabis and keeping it illegal will likely get those same kids put in a similar cage down at the county jail.
Mike Sukle, the advertising agency pro who worked with Colorado officials to develop a new anti-pot campaign, had a significant challenge on his hands. He wanted to warn teens away from marijuana use without engaging in the sort of hyperbole they’d likely reject. Hence, “Don’t Be a Lab Rat,” which presents controversial facts and then asks viewers the equivalent of “Wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry?”

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