| Beacon News |
New Plan Kowtows To Law Enforcement; Ignores Patients
Canada is changing the way citizens there can access marijuana for medical purposes, it was announced Sunday. The changes were made at the suggestion law enforcement officials, and seemingly without consulting medical professionals or patients at all.
“Current medical marihuana regulations have left the system open to abuse,” claimed Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq. “We have heard real concerns from law enforcement, fire officials, and municipalities about how people are hiding behind these rules to conduct illegal activity, and putting health and safety of Canadians at risk.
“These changes will make it far more difficult for people to game the system,” Aglukkaq claimed.
| Q13 Fox |
| Vancouver, Washington inspect the scene of the accident |
I-502 In Action: Cops Say Driver ‘Technically At Fault’ Because He Had THC In His System
Before Washington state “marijuana legalization” Initiative 502 passed last month, some in the community, Toke of the Town included, publicly worried about the fallout from the measure’s section on driving under the influence of cannabis. It appears those concerns were not groundless — a driver, not at fault in a fatal accident, has been charged with DUI-marijuana in a deadly crash which ended the life of a pedestrian.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, this is probably the first deadly crash involving marijuana since it became legal in Washington. The driver was not at fault, but was charged anyway, since police “believed him to be under the influence of marijuana.”
The victim, a male in his 50s, was believed to have been walking back home from a grocery store and stepped out into the middle of traffic around 5:50 p.m. at East Mill Boulevard and Andresen Road on Monday, according to police.
| All photos by Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ |
| The glass entry case contained all 200 flower entries, and a couple dozen concentrate entries in the center wheel |
The ninth annual Emerald Cup medical cannabis competition — a Humboldt County, California-based event in which only outdoor, sun-grown, organic marijuana and concentrates are allowed — was held this past weekend in Redway, and Toke of the Town was there.
| The winning strain (left), entry #47, Chem Dawg, from Cannabis Aficionado |
Two hundred strains of marijuana were entered (compared to last year’s 108 entries), as well as a couple dozen concentrates. Winners were selected, and the Grand Prize winner — entry #47, ChemDawg Special Reserve, grown by Leonard Bell and Elenah Elston (first female to take the top spot in this cannabis competition) — was announced. A very happy Leonard and Elenah, who together run the company Cannabis Aficionado, won an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica for seven days and nights.
The winning strain, according to the lab results posted on Facebook by The Emerald Cup, contains 18.4 percent THC and 0.9 percent CBD.
Entrants in the Emerald Cup are judged by entry numbers only. It’s a completely blind judging process, i.e., the judges have no idea who grew it, what strain it is, or anything else about it. Entrants are judged on the high, appearance, smell, taste, and potency, with the high counting twice as much as the other components (and rightly so).
| Team Vendetta |
Online marijuana legalization group Team Vendetta, working in concert with the shadowy hacktivist collective Anonymous, has announced the “aPOTcalypse,” which is what it is calling a new phase of direct action against cannabis prohibition.
“When Team Vendetta joined the legalization movement, one of the things that we wanted to accomplish was to bring something new to the movement,” our source in Team Vendetta told Toke of the Town on Monday afternoon. “Also, we have noticed the polarization of the 420 community due to infighting, so the team wanted to develop something that would help bring the cannabis community back together again to fight the war on cannabis oppression as one.
“We would like to give the 420 community an online voice and the power to protest on a different level,” our source told us. “Anonymous is actually one of the newest and truest democracies, due to its collective decisions. Its own checks and balances ensure that Anonymous is just not another bully, but rather a collective conscience as a whole.”
| Eliza Wiley/Helena Independent Record |
| Chris Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of more than 85 years in federal prison |
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Editor’s note: Chris Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of more than 85 years in federal prison for medical marijuana. This is a letter written to federal judge Dana Christensen on his behalf by activist Kari Boiter. |
12/12/2012
The Honorable Judge Dana Christensen
United States District Court
201 E. Broadway
Missoula, Montana 59802
RE: Christopher Wayne Williams
Your Honor,
I am writing this letter in support of Chris Williams. In my current career and the decade that I spent working in the television news industry, I have never known anyone as extraordinary, thoughtful, brilliant or honorable as Chris.
As Your Honor knows all too well, very few federal cases go to trial. In fact, out of at least 70 medical marijuana caregivers indicted since President Obama took office, Chris is one of only four to exercise his Sixth Amendment right to a trial by a jury of his peers. Chris didn’t refuse to plead guilty because he denies involvement in a cannabis caregiving operation – as Your Honor heard him openly take responsibility for on the witness stand in September – but because of his deeply-held belief in the U.S. Constitution. He believes that the Tenth Amendment guarantees States the right to experiment with policies on issues like medical marijuana, the “Made in Montana” gun law and campaign finance limits. Chris believes in the right to due process, eminent domain and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, as evidenced by his civil lawsuit over the March 2011 raids. He clearly believed in the Second Amendment right to bear arms, like 39 percent of his fellow Americans and 58 percent of his neighbors in Montana.
Unfortunately, Chris also believed in the statements made by President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, indicating that those in “clear and unambiguous compliance” with state medical marijuana laws would not face federal prosecution. When he formed Montana Cannabis with three other men in 2009, Chris had faith that as long as they did everything in their power to strictly obey Montana law, the business would be allowed to operate openly and honestly. Montana Cannabis paid all state and federal taxes; workers compensation and unemployment insurance; generous salaries to close to three dozen employees, some of whom were otherwise unemployable or were previously working for sub-standard wages; the company even gave back to the local community, donating to local food banks and charity fundraisers.
| All Photos by Charlie Bott |
By Charlie Bott
Oregon Correspondent
Toke of the Town
For the second consecutive year, Mad Scientist from Ray Bowser and Homegrown Natural Wonders took First Place Overall at the 11th annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards (OMCA).
Second Place went to Grand Daddy Purple grown by Greg Bennett and Grape Ape grown by Jason Breazeale of Farmageddon came in Third. The ceremony was held on Saturday, December 15, and held at the World Famous Cannabis Cafe in Portland, which also sponsors the annual event.
“It’s good to see that now there are medical cannabis contests in many medical marijuana states, but we were there first,” said Madeline Martinez, owner of the Cafe and chief organizer of the event. “Eleven years ago we got the idea that we didn’t want to have to go to Amsterdam to judge cannabis, especially when so much of the medicine we grow here in Oregon is world class, as this year’s judges know very well!”
| MyFoxAtlanta |
A campaign to decriminalize marijuana in Georgia was launched Monday at the State Capitol.
The Georgia Campaign for Access, Reform and Education (Georgia C.A.R.E. Project) held a news conference urging legislators to include Georgia’s antiquated marijuana laws in their undergoing reform of the state’s criminal justice system, reports MyFoxAtlanta.
James Bell of Georgia CARE said the state’s effort to stop filling prisons with nonviolent offenders should include the marijuana laws.
| StoptheDrugWar.org |
California Becomes Largest State in U.S. to Enact Legislation Aimed at Curbing National Overdose Crisis
Those of us in the cannabis community are very fortunate — even a bit spoiled, one might say — in that we don’t have to deal with life-threatening overdoses when it comes the herb. But even when people choose to use other, dangerous substances — you know, actual drugs — such as alcohol, heroin, or OxyContin — and accidentally take too much, they don’t deserve to die.
A new law in California that encourages witnesses at the scene of a suspected drug or alcohol overdose to seek emergency assistance right away without fear of arrest for minor drug law violations goes into effect on January 1. The law, commonly referred to in other states as ‘911 Good Samaritan,’ was introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano and passed in 2012 with bipartisan support.
| ABC News |
| President Obama: “It does not make sense from a prioritizing point of view” to go after marijuana in states where it’s now legal |
President Barack Obama pledged on Friday that he will not go after Washington state and Colorado for legalizing marijuana.
Obama was asked — in a Barbara Walters interview airing Friday on ABC — whether he supports making marijuana legal, reported The Associated Press. “I wouldn’t go that far,” the President said.
But Obama said he wouldn’t press the issue by going after recreational users in states where voters legalized marijuana in the November elections. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” he said.
“It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view,” the President said, to focus on pot use on states where it is now legal.
| James Berglie/End The Lie |
| Sen. Patrick Leahy: “One option would be to amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act to allow possession of up to one ounce of marijuana” |
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy: “Legislative Options Exist” to Resolve Potential Federal/State Conflict Over Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington
Seeks Assurances From Obama Administration That State Officials Will Not Be Prosecuted For Implementing New Laws
In a letter to U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked how the federal government intends to deal with states like Colorado and Washington that recently voted to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol. In the letter, Senator Leahy also suggested that federal legislation could be introduced to legalize up to an ounce of marijuana, at least in states that have legalized marijuana.
The letter, sent last week but reported on Thursday in the Huffington Post, notes that “[o]ne option would be to amend the Federal Controlled Substances Act to allow possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, at least in jurisdictions where it is legal under state law.”