| Moms for YES on Measure 91 |
Colorado and Washington might get some company next week. Marijuana legalization initiatives are on the ballots in Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., and the proposals all strongly resemble what Colorado voters approved in 2012.
| YouTube |
| Failed reality TV show “Texas Takedown” lands cops in court |
Apparently full to the brim with shows about everything from hoarders to housewives, reality TV producers in the state of Texas have found a new format to film – the home invasion.
The proposed show is called “Texas Takedown” and it follows a crew-cut band of Lone Star state lawmen as they kick down the doors of unsuspecting Texans from Austin to the Alamo, hoping that whatever waits on the other side is at least good for ratings.
On September 22nd of 2011, just after 10 o’clock pm, fame came crashing through the front door of the home belonging to then 59-year old Perla Carr.
| TPD. |
| Mark and Holly Harrington. |
We figured most people knew by now that Facebook is not the best place to advertise illegal and quasi-legal activities. But apparently we’re wrong.
Case and point? Mark and Holly Harrington of Tewksbury, Mass. The pair were busted this week after allegedly openly selling weed via the social media giant. And no, they weren’t being discreet. The pair’s site was dubbed HTM Gardening LLC and they had forms for new patients to fill out.
| Antonio Litterio/Commons. |
A Missouri school district is now up against an angry dad after suspending his daughter for the majority of the 2014 school year because they found references to marijuana written in her personal journal. What is even more disgusting is that her disciplinary papers indicated that she had been suspended for “possession of a controlled substance,” even though she is not guilty of anything other than penning her thoughts.
According to Washington D.C. police, four out of five people ignore littering laws ergo people are going to completely ignore recently passed marijuana decriminalization laws making possession of an ounce or less punishable by no more than a $25 fine. You can’t blame them for their complete lapse in logic, they are cops after all.
So what are they to do? Write as many tickets for pot in four weeks than they write in six months for littering.
| Boston Public Library Flickr edited by Toke of the Town. |
As we reported back in June, Maryland state Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, is spearheading a move that would block the decriminalization of limited amounts of marijuana in Washington D.C.
But many, including D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray see it as a shot to D.C.’s home rule and Democrat-controlled city council. Now Gray is urging all D.C. residents to boycott Maryland’s beaches and resort towns.
In a Red state known for their gray hairs as much as their beaches and gators, access to affordable medicine is constantly an issue on the minds of the population. Which is why it isn’t surprising (to us, that is) to see as much as 84 percent of adults 65 and up supporting a medical cannabis proposal currently campaigning in Florida – who wouldn’t want to be able to grow their own medicine?
In January of this year, The Washington Post conducted a poll of Washington D.C. residents which found that 8 in 10 polled said they were in favor of either decriminalization, or straight up legalization, of weed in the nation’s capital.
In March, the City Council voted to decriminalize cannabis possession, knocking the punishment down from a year in jail, to a $25 fine. The District’s medical marijuana program is expanding, and much like in Colorado, none of these things are leading to the reefer madness we’ve been warned about for decades.
But with legalization talk being passed around the tightest circles in the nation’s capital, leave it to local Congressional Republicans to try to halt the inevitable progress of reform.
| Additional photos and more below. |
Today marks six months since recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado, still the only state where such purchases can be made. (The first licensed retail shops in Washington are expected to open on July 7.) By the January 1 launch, eighteen stores had been licensed in Denver, and since then, the total has grown steadily. Some outlets have come and some have gone, but the latest total, as vetted by Westword‘s Amber Taufen, stands at a whopping 88 — fifteen more than our previous update in April.
All the licensed shops are included here, along with photos, videos, links and excerpts from reviews of the ones visited by Westword marijuana critic (your’s truly) William Breathes. See the countdown thanks to Michael Roberts below.
The U.S. House of Representatives is standing in the way of Washington D.C.’s marijuana decriminalization laws, refusing to authorize funding for the law change.
Despite that, Mayor Vincent Gray says the city will still move forward with the change, which makes the possession of about an ounce of pot a civil infraction punishable by a $25 fine. But Gray also warns that House Republicans could possibly shut down the city’s medical marijuana program as well.