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Senate Bill Lets Feds Read Your Email Without A Warrant

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 21, 2012 Legislation, News

In a cynical move, a Senate proposal which had been touted as protecting the email privacy of Americans has been rewritten — and it now gives government spooks even more power to spy on citizens than then already have under the execrable PATRIOT Act.

Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who himself wrote significant portions of the PATRIOT Act, has “dramatically reshaped” his legislation in response to “law enforcement concerns,” reports Declan McCullagh at CNET. (If the “law enforcement concerns” were that they were allowed to spy, unrestrained, on citizens not suspected of any crimes, then, good job, Senator Leahy — asshole.)

U.S. Attorney Shutting More Colorado Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 27, 2012 Dispensaries, News

Releaf

U.S. Attorney John Walsh issued letters this month to 10 medical marijuana access points throughout Colorado, ordering them to either shut down or move because they are located within 1,000 feet of schools.

The mailing is the third round of threatening letters sent to Colorado dispensaries this year, reports Josh Crank of Lawyers.com. In January, 23 letters were sent out, and another 25 were mailed in March. All of the dispensaries targeted in those mailings obeyed, either closing or relocating.

World Leaders: We Cannot End AIDS Until We End War On Drugs

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 19, 2012 News

Virgin

2012 World AIDS Conference: Criminalization of Drug Use is Fueling the Global HIV/ AIDS Pandemic

Landmark Report Calls for Decriminalization and Expansion of Proven, Cost-Effective Solutions to Reduce HIV/AIDS

The International AIDS Conference, the world’s largest gathering of HIV/AIDS experts and activists, will be held in the United States for the first time in 22 years on July 22-27, in Washington D.C. Distinguished world leaders and public health advocates are mobilizing with a clear message: Criminalization of drug use is fueling the global HIV/ AIDS pandemic.

Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Makes Early Turn-In Of Signatures

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 12, 2012 Legislation, News

OCTA 2012

The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 initiative petition on Friday turned in 27,401 signatures from the month of April, exceeding the minimum number of signatures for a statutory ballot measure by more than 2,000 signatures.

According to an official at the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division [PDF], OCTA 2012 is the third initiative to meet the early turn-in requirement by exceeding the minimum number of signatures required for qualification for ballot status.

“We are continuing our petition drive,” said initiative sponsor Paul Stanford of OCTA 2012. “We estimate that, on Monday, May 14th, another 10,000 signatures to be turned in to our office by petitioners that are gathered this week, and at least 10,000 more in each subsequent week.”

Worth Repeating: Marijuana and the Psychology of Optimal Experience

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 24, 2012 Culture, Medical

Cage Potato

Worth Repeating

By Ron Marczyk, R.N.

Health Education Teacher (Retired)

The reductionist, “group think,” cold, dogmatic drug warriors of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the DEA, and the FDA have been digesting their own misinformation for so long they have lost their humanity.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, the” high” or “feel good” buzz from marijuana is an actual “therapeutic effect” that heals the brain, produces homeostasis and prevents many neurodegenerative conditions.

Brain homeostasis is restored by the direct action of THC/CBD-activating CB1 receptors in the amygdala which regulate our “happiness / emotional salience module.” This pathway is dedicated to seeking for “meaningfulness” in our existence.

This innate drive is the need for self-actualization. THC increases the probability of these events occurring, through inducing metaphysical “flow states” and “peak experiences.”

We live near the edge, where the view is better.

Medical Marijuana Profit Is Allowed Under California Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 9, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Chronic Fatigue

In a Recent Letter, the Originator of SB 420 Clarifies That Medical Cannabis Providers Can Make a Profit.

By Robert A. Raich

There is a widely held misperception that businesses in the California medical cannabis industry are prohibited from making a profit. In reality, no California law prohibits cannabis-related businesses from making a profit.

Opponents of medical cannabis, however, have done a masterful job of spreading disinformation since SB 420 was signed into law in 2003. That disinformation has become so prevalent that it is affecting safe access to medical cannabis by patients around the state and has prompted retired state Senator John Vasconcellos to release a letter [PDF] debunking the widely held misinterpretation that profit is not permitted for medical cannabis providers under California law.

AZ Governor Humiliated In Dismissal Of Anti-Marijuana Lawsuit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 1, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

CBS News

“That’s not how lawsuits work,” the exasperated judge told Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s legal team

You probably thought that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s recent anti-medical-marijuana lawsuit — through which she sought to thwart the will of Arizona’s voters, as expressed at the polls — was not only an exercise in futility, but also damn silly as well.

Turns out that you’re not the only one who thinks so. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton agrees, and she gave quite a spanking to Gov. Brewer and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne on January 4 while dismissing the lawsuit.

The dismissal came after a December 12 hearing that didn’t go well for one of Atty. Gen. Horne’s lawyers, reports Ray Stern at Phoenix New Times. Horne — go figure — decided to stay away from this one and sent assistant AG Lori Davis to “take one for the team,” New Times reports.

Feds Announce Colorado Medical Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 12, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Releaf

Some on Colorado’s medical marijuana scene have speculated that the fact that the Rocky Mountain State’s medicinal cannabis law is part of their state constitution — or maybe the state’s vigorous regulatory scheme — protected them from the ongoing federal crackdown. Looks like it’s time for a new theory.

The U.S. Attorney’s office today announced a crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, the most aggressive federal law enforcement action yet against the cannabis-centered businesses in that state, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh sent letters to 23 dispensaries which his office claimed are located with 1,000 feet of schools. The dispensaries were told they had 45 days to close or face criminal prosecution and property forfeiture.

“When the voters of Colorado passed the limited medical marijuana amendment in 2000, they could not have anticipated that their vote would be used to justify large marijuana stores located within blocks of our schools,” Walsh lied in a statement announcing the crackdown. (I get really weary and annoyed with this threadbare “the poor ignorant voters didn’t know what they were voting for” argument.)

Why Does DEA Quote Toke Signals Marijuana Review In Warrant?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 16, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Seattle Weekly

Today’s weirdness comes courtesy of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which quoted one of my “Toke Signals” Seattle Weekly medical marijuana dispensary reviews in the search warrant affidavit for a Seattle collective which was raided on Tuesday.

The review, which was a positive one for Seattle Cannabis Co-Op, was printed in the Weekly back in March. It’s not apparent why the DEA would choose to quote the review in their search warrant affidavit, since none of the alleged improprieties mentioned elsewhere in the warrant were even hinted at in the review.

But there it was to greet me this morning, before I’d even had time to fortify myself with a cup of coffee: “DEA Medical-Marijuana Dispensary Search Warrant Quotes Seattle Weekly Toke Signals Column.”

DEA Rejects Professor’s Bid To Grow Pot For Medical Research

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 25, 2011 Growing, Legislation, Medical

Photo: The Republican

Lyle E. Craker, UMass-Amherst professor of plant, soil and insect sciences, in the campus greenhouse

One well-known professor’s attempt to get federal permission to grow marijuana for research into its potential medical benefits has been — once again — rejected by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

The DEA has for years claimed that letting anybody other than the federal government grow marijuana would “lead to greater illegal use” of the herb, reports Robert Rizzuto at The Republican.

Lyle Craker, a University of Massachusetts professor of plant, soil and insect sciences in Amherst, has been trying for 10 years to get a license to perform potentially life-saving research on medicinal cannabis.

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