Browsing: Say what?

Earlier this week we told you about a West Virginia state delegate’s latest quest for medical cannabis. Even though he wrote and sponsors it, Del. Mike Maypenny regards the bill as a long shot due to lawmakers who simply don’t want to consider a natural, safe alternative for sick, suffering patients in their state.
But if there’s money to be made in cannabis while keeping it illegal, it seems lawmakers are all over it. State Sen. Clark Barnes openly admitted as much yesterday when he hinted that the state should grow cannabis and sell it to states where it is legal. Apparently nobody has told him that interstate commerce off of cannabis remains a pretty high-priority federal crime.

Even before the passage of Colorado’s Amendment 64, which allows adults age 21 and over to use and possess small amounts of marijuana, law-enforcement agencies have campaigned against driving under the influence of drugs, even though, from a statistical standpoint, alcohol-related DUIs dwarf pot-related ones.
This weekend, Colorado’s Keith Kilbey became a part of the debate after crashing into Colorado State Patrol vehicles investigating an earlier crash. Photos and details about the incident and more below. Denver Westword has more.

Flickr.com/DenverJeffrey

Houstonian Joe Mattingly likes the finer things in life. Namely, he enjoys expensive ski trips to Vail, Beaver Creek, Utah and Lake Tahoe. And now he’s thinking about visiting Steamboat Springs. The only problem? Colorado legalized marijuana and this Texan doesn’t want it interfering with his vacation. In fact, he might choose another destination if he and the youngsters with him are subjected to to the sight or scent of pot, or the sound of people talking about it.
“While Colorado politics is certainly none of my business, I thought that my thoughts might potentially be of interest to some people in Steamboat,” he wrote Steamboat Today last week. Translation: “I clearly think Colorado politics is my business and I’m going to tell you why right now.”
Denver Westword has more.

Yes, Denver is called the “Mile High City” and yes marijuana is legal. Not surprisingly, Colorado peaked at the summit of the Movato Real Estate “Highest City in the U.S.” survey of cities and towns across the United States.
Movato.com says it took into account a large body of data, including the number of medical (and recreational) dispensaries, how many medical pot licenses are issued and whether or not adult use is legal. While it is not hard to determine that Denver is the highest city based on that criteria, we wonder what the researchers were smoking (or not) when they came up with their results

Wikimedia commons/Hunter_Kahn.
Tom Corbett.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett doesn’t want to seem square on medical marijuana or be accused of being tough on sick citizens of his fine state, but he’s not doing a very good job of it.
Take his statements this week that he would totally support medical marijuana if the federal government were to give their approval, though he won’t do anything about challenging that in defense of sick Pennsylvanians in the meantime.

Hapa veggie sushi.

Even if it’s nothing more than a publicity stunt, it’s a brilliant one: The homegrown Hapa Sushi chain is running ads promoting a pairing menu unlike any other in the country (because it wouldn’t be legal anywhere else besides Washington!).
Whether you’d like your raw fish with indica, sativa or a hybrid, Hapa’s got some suggestions for you, along with ideas about how to craft your high-as-a-kite dinner conversation. Denver Westword‘s Cafe Society blog has the full story.

Marijuana grows on trees, but some newly minted Colorado recreational centers faced a shortages less than a week after opening — even though medical dispensary shelves remain stocked. As a result, several retail stores, including the high-profile 3D Cannabis Center, have voiced concerns that they won’t be able to keep filling the bowls of recreational tokers.
Though demand is high, the shortage isn’t necessarily due just to tourists and herb-hungry locals pilfering pot by the pound from the shelves. Instead, the shortage was likely caused before sales could even begin, thanks to a quick timetable for centers going through the recreational-sales process and a limited number of plants shops were able to transfer over to the recreational side.

The inability of marijuana businesses to straight-forwardly stash their cash in standard financial institutions due to federal banking regulations aimed at stopping drug trafficking has been an issue in Colorado for years. But despite Obama administration statements about possible fixes and a request from Governor John Hickenlooper more than three months ago, nothing has been done. Now, however, with the recreational pot biz reportedly taking in more than $5 million in the first five days of sales, the Denver City Council is raising its voice.
The Denver Westword has the rest.

Wikimedia commons/Mats Holmström
Beatrice Ask.

Apparently it’s somewhat well known political satire isn’t huge in Sweden. That was made painfully clear this week when Beatrice Ask, Sweden’s Justice Minister, posted a link to a satirical article claiming that 37 people had overdosed and died on the day Colorado legalized adult sales of cannabis.
“Stupid and sad,” she wrote after posting the article on line via Facebook. “My first bill in the youth wing was called Outfight the Drugs! In this matter I haven’t changed opinion at all.”

Michael Schmidt.

There hasn’t been a satisfying explanation as to why Michael Schmidt, a successful Dallas trial lawyer described by friends as a “good, good person,” barricaded himself in an Uptown apartment complex and opened fire on police while his 11-year-old daughter sat in his apartment. Probably, there never will be. But a list of the items found in Schmidt’s home obtained by WFAA offers … clues? Red herrings? A voyeuristic glimpse of an unsettled life?
Dallas Observer has more on this extremely strange, wild saga.

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