Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin yesterday says he is now open to discussing the regulation and legalization of limited amounts of marijuana for adult use following the announcement by the Justice Department that marijuana businesses will be allowed to operate in Colorado and Washington. But, he says Vermont should let those two states test the waters before Vermont takes the plunge.
“I think we should learn from Washington and from Colorado,” Shumlin told reporters yesterday. “But I don’t think we should let them get too far ahead of us.”
According to the National Survey on Drug Use, annual marijuana use by Americans age 12 and up in2012 rose to 7.3 percent, about .3 percentage points higher than in 2011 and 1.5 percentage points higher than in 2007.
The test was compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from surveys given to about 70,000 people aged 12 and up.
The newly-released federal policy on recreational marijuana has been as a go-ahead by many marijuana-related businesses who feel that
But according to Forbes writer Robert Wood, the new DOJ policies won’t do anything to change how the IRS views marijuana businesses as completely illegal enterprises, nor will it help protect marijuana business owners from violating federal tax laws.
| Scarsdale PD. |
| Michael Beasley. |
The Phoenix Suns finally got rid of Michael Beasley. Beasley, best known for his role as a frequent customer to the Scottsdale Police Department, also played basketball on occasion, as he was payed millions of dollars to make a negligible contribution to one of the crappiest teams in the National Basketball Association.
Phoenix New Times has the full story.
| Jenny Kush. |
The Denver Police Department has not officially released the name of the woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 25 over the weekend — but she’s been identified by her friends and loved ones as Jenny Kush, a colorful, outspoken and much adored member of the local cannabis community. As those close to Kush make plans to remember her at an event tomorrow night in Denver, the woman charged with causing her death — Rebecca Maez, 27 — remains in custody on suspicion of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence.
Jenny was a much-loved person and someone we were proud to call a friend here at Toke of the Town. Our heart goes out to her family and those close to her. For more, check out Denver Westword‘s photo tribute.
The thing with setting disfiguring booby traps around your outdoor illegal grow operations is that you’ve got to remember you’ve set them. Case and point: the nearly-headless Daniel Ricketts.
Police say Rickets was drunkenly zipping around a field in upstate New York on Saturday when he ran afoul of a length of piano wire he had strung up around the perimeter of a patch police say he was growing.
| TokeoftheTown.com |
In an unprecedented move that began late last week, and continued over the holiday Labor Day weekend, the Obama Administration, and more specifically, the U.S. Department of Justice ended their silence on the issue of medical marijuana on the state level, announcing that they would not use the courts to challenge state laws recently passed in Colorado and Washington, as long as those states continue to adhere to a strict set of guidelines.
Though many critics, professional or genuine, are carelessly comparing this latest announcement to the 2009 Ogden Memo, those on the front lines of the effort to legalize cannabis know that last Thursday’s announcement, and some follow-up and clarifying releases over the weekend, mark a positive and necessary step towards that goal.
Medical marijuana activist John Tracey was arrested (see video, below) in the parking lot of Cruzan Amphitheatre before Wednesday night’s Black Sabbath concert in West Palm Beach. He was attempting to gather signatures for a petition to allow a referendum on medical marijuana on Florida’s 2014 ballot.
According to a police booking blotter, Tracey was charged with “trespassing – fail to leave property upon order by owner.” But Cruzan is owned by the South Florida Fair and, by state law, is considered public property. Tracey says Live Nation Entertainment, which operates the venue (and also owns Ticketmaster), complained about his being there. Broward-Palm Beach New Times has the full story.
| Golden Goat up close and personal. Larger photo below. |
Want to know more about the herb you’re smoking? So do we, so we’ve asked Ry Prichard – a fellow Colorado cannabis nerd, grower, photographer and founder of the Cannabis Encyclopedia project which aims to create a central database on cannabis strain information – to help school us all, strain-wise. Each week in our new Cannabis Encyclopedia blog, Prichard will break down a strain from seed to buds. This week? Golden Goat.
| flikr.com/sarahakabmg |
In news-you-already-knew news today, a study out of the University of Washington found that marijuana is the most popular drug in the world (alcohol was not included).
The study of illicit drugs also found that prescription painkillers used illegally are the most deadly drugs in the world with more than 78,000 deaths worldwide in 2010. For those keeping count that is 78,000 more people than cannabis killed that year or any year in recorded history.