| VH HAMMER/FlickrCommons |
Earlier this year, on February 7th, President Barack Obama signed a new farm bill, backed by a rare display of bipartisan politicking. Originally introduced by cannabis-friendly Congressmen Jared Polis (D – CO), Earl Blumenauer (D – OR), and Thomas Massie (R – KY), the bill contained a very special amendment. For the first time in decades, the federal government had made an allowance for the cultivation of hemp. The hemp caveat only applies to states that have passed their own form of hemp legalization, and Massie’s Kentucky is one of those states.
Also from the Commonwealth of Kentucky is Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has made clear his support for hemp cultivation in the state. The senior Senator from Kentucky and possible-Sleestack Mitch McConnell was reported to be instrumental in making sure that the bill that the president signed retained the hemp growing amendment.
Kentucky was poised to re-establish its roots in a hemp trade that flourished in the state until it was banned by the federal government in 1937. Today, however, the state finds itself embroiled in a lawsuit against the federal government, and their first hemp harvest hangs in the balance.
Colorado medical and retail marijuana testing labs licensed by the Marijuana Enforcement Division can no longer accept and test private samples dropped off by patients and caregivers. Legally, they’re only allowed to test marijuana from state-licensed marijuana facilities.
Officials say the move keeps the state out of the federal government’s cross-hairs by maintaining a tight lock on marijuana inventory. But it also punishes home-growing patients who want to know what they are putting in their bodies and prevents objective, third-party tests from being conducted on products currently for sale.
| Toke of the Town. |
Some day, in the very far distant future, Texas may take a cue from Colorado and legalize marijuana. For now, it’s taking some very hesitant first steps toward decriminalization, such as a proposal last legislative session reduce possession of an ounce or less of weed from a class B to a class C misdemeanor — basically a traffic ticket.
But police and prosecutors already have an option for keeping low-level marijuana offenders out of jail. In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing police to implement a “cite and release” policy for marijuana possession and a handful of other class A and B misdemeanors like graffiti and driving without a license. More on this absurdity from the good people at the Dallas Observer.
| Dusty Trice wants to go home. |
Minnesota is possibly going to be the next state to legalize medical marijuana, though there’s two proposals before lawmakers currently and nobody is really sure which one should move forward. So why not ask a real medical marijuana patient who has fled Minnesota for medical cannabis-friendly California, but wants to return home? That’s exactly what our friends at the Minneapolis City Pages did.
Dusty Trice was enjoying a career in Democratic party politics before a tumor knocked him off his feet. Though benign, it had grown to the size of a quarter and was lodged against his spine. For hours he would lay on the floor just to build up the strength to go see a movie. Then about a year ago he left Minnesota for California in search of medical marijuana.
Since legal sales of recreational marijuana got underway on January 1, state agencies have made a big push in regard to so-called stoned driving. Witness the Colorado Department of Transportation’s “Drive High, Get a DUI” campaign, which features a series of public-service announcements with a light touch.
Data revealing the scope of the problem has been hard to come by, as we’ve been reporting for months. But this weekend, we got anecdotal evidence from a Larimer County checkpoint that driving under the influence of alcohol remains a much, much larger issue than does its drug-related counterpart.
| Creative Commons |
Martin Nickerson Jr. is suing the government.
As a citizen of the state of Washington, he is suing Governor Jay Inslee, as well as Attorney General Bob Ferguson and state tax chief Carol Nelson for what he claims is a wrongful demand to collect taxes from him related to a medical marijuana dispensary he operated years ago.
Nickerson, who is currently facing federal marijuana possession and distribution charges, questions whether it should be legal for the state of Washington to assess taxes on a federally illegal drug, even citing Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Yeah, he went there.
| TokeoftheTown.com |
According to ESPN.com sources, the NFL is reworking it’s drug policy to include a “higher threshold” for marijuana tests and reduce the penalties for athletes caught in violation of the league rules.
| TokeoftheTown.com |
Apparently bored with actual news stories, the British media (namely the Daily Mail) has latched on to an absurd story that car thieves are stealing the LED headlights out of Range Rovers to use as cannabis grow lights.
That’s the working theory of police, who also admit that people could also be stealing the lights to outfit other, older Range Rovers with. The West Yorkshire police seem to be throwing out motives and seeing what sticks these days.
We’re not sure what special lingo you’ve got to know to get this on your next #3 meal, but a man and his pregnant partner say they found marijuana in a double cheeseburger they purchased from a McDonalds in Ottumwa, Iowa last month.
| Panga boats and marijuana bundles. |
Are you missing 1,000 pounds of brick weed? If so, you’re probably dead by now. But if not, you should know that the Department of Homeland Security found your stash and your boat after it washed up on shore in the Bay Area overnight.