Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Rhode Island Senate To Vote On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 9, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation

The Rhode Island Senate is set to decide on a compromise designed to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to open in the state.

A vote on the legislation has been scheduled for Wednesday, reports The Associated Press. The House is considering a similar bill.

Lawmakers authorized the safe access points so patients in the state’s medicinal cannabis program could have a state-regulated place to get their medication.

But Gov. Lincoln Chafee blocked the three authorized dispensaries from opening last year after the state’s U.S. Attorney threatened they could face criminal prosecution for violating federal drug laws. Marijuana is illegal for any purpose under the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I drug.

Drug Program Shelved After Cop Gives Weed To Occupy Protesters

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 9, 2012 News

CityPages

It appears at least one police officer did give marijuana to Peavy Plaza Occupy protesters.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has suspended its drug recognition training program and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has started a criminal investigation after a police officer allegedly provided marijuana to protesters.

Occupy Minnesota protesters said last week that police officers gave them marijuana and watched them get high, reports Mike Durkin of KMSP. The protesters first made the allegations public in a YouTube video, saying officers from Hutchinson, Minnesota came to downtown Minneapolis and asked them to take part in the drug training program.

House To Vote On Blocking Funding For Crackdown On Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 9, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

The Weed Blog

Bipartisan Amendment Would Block Funding for Obama’s Attack on Medical Marijuana Patients Protected Under State Law

Conflict Coming to a Head as More States Pass and Implement Medical Marijuana Laws While Obama Administration Escalates Assault on Patients and Providers

Drug Policy Alliance: Obama Will Continue to Suffer Politically for Ignoring Public Opinion on Medical Marijuana

The U.S. House is expected to vote soon – possibly on Wednesday – on a bipartisan amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill that would prohibit the Department of Justice from undermining state medical marijuana laws. The amendment, co-sponsored by Rep. Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rep. Hinchey (D-NY), Rep. McClintock (R-CA) and Rep. Farr (D-CA), is a rebuke of President Obama’s aggressive assault on medical marijuana patients and providers.

Medical Marijuana Becomes Major Issue in Oregon AG Race

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 9, 2012 Legislation, Medical

The Oregonian

Oregon attorney general candidates Dwight Holton (left) and Ellen Rosenblum. Holton is unfriendly to medical marijuana, while Rosenblum supports it

Candidate Rosenblum Supports Will of Oregon Voters and Safe Access for Patients, While Candidate Holton is Hostile and Threatens Popular Law

Drug Policy Action — Group That Played Key Role in Passing 1998 Ballot Initiative — Throws Weight Behind Former Judge Rosenblum

Medical marijuana has become a major issue in the Democratic primary for Attorney General in Oregon — and the candidates have staked out starkly different positions on the issue, with former judge Ellen Rosenblum supportive of patients’ right to safe and legal access to medical marijuana, and former Interim U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton sharply critical of the program.

Cooking Expert: ‘Pot Tastes Awful.’ Does It?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 8, 2012 Culture

Your Expert Nation

Greg Mowery: “As someone who’s eaten plenty of pot-laced brownies, pot tastes awful”

Now that marijuana’s entering the mainstream, we get pot culture articles even from right-wing propaganda factories like Fox News. A culinary expert offers his negative opinions of marijuana’s taste in the latest cannabis coverage from Fox.

“StoveTop Readings” blogger and cookbook publicist Greg Mowery, Fox News tells us, has “worked with the country’s top cookbook authors and chefs for 25 years,” and in his opinion, pot is bitter, acrid and unpalatable Nothing in the taste of marijuana, according to Mowery, makes food taste better.

Consumer Guide Expands From Cars & Phones To Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 8, 2012 Dispensaries, News, Products

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Seattle medical marijuana access point Gourmet Green

FindTheBest — an internet startup known for its consumer-oriented, data-driven comparisons — has applied the same accessible, ordered format which has worked so well for products like cars and smartphones to a comprehensive medical marijuana dispensaries listing.

“Not only does this comparison allow you to locate a dispensary by location, but it also contains tools that enable you to rank, filter, and sort results based on personal preferences,” FindTheBest student intern Richard Taylor told Toke of the Town Tuesday afternoon.

Looking specifically for cannabis clubs with clones? Do you prefer indica or sativa? “Simply refine your search by menu item to view the dispensaries that fulfill your needs,” Taylor told us.

Patients can further narrow results by specifying whether they prefer a physical store location or a delivery service — or if they want a medical marijuana dispensary that accepts credit cards.

Tell Me Again Why We Need A New Cannabis DUI Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 8, 2012 Legislation, News

CarInsurance.org

Highway fatalities have fallen steadily every year since states began passing medical marijuana laws. They are now at their lowest point since 1949.

If marijuana really caused car accidents — you know, the way alcohol does — America’s highways would be awash in blood because of the herb’s growing popularity.

But even as marijuana use — and society’s acceptance of it — grows every year, highway fatalities are diminishing.

Rejected D.C. Marijuana Applicants Taking It To Court

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 7, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

examiner.com

Unsuccessful applicants for the District of Columbia’s medical marijuana program are asking the courts to force reconsideration of their submissions, saying they were rejected by a review panel despite meeting or exceeding the criteria.

Three firms filed a total of five civil complaints to contest the way officials scored and rejected their applications to open a cultivation center to grow cannabis or a dispensary center to sell it to qualified patients, according to the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, reports Tom Howell Jr. of The Washington Times.

The officials who scored and rejected the applications were led by D.C. Department of Health personnel. A spokesman from the Attorney General’s D.C. office said each of the petitions “raise the same allegations, namely that the scoring of their applications was inappropriate.”

LED Grow Lights Make Growing Marijuana Easy… Or Do They?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 7, 2012 Growing, Products

The Growers Guide to Cannabis

LED grow lights have exploded in the last few years with more advanced versions seeming to appear monthly. But amongst marijuana growers there is heated debate on the subject, with traditionalists yet to be converted to the new technology

For patients who need medical marijuana, the progress of LED grow lights has been closely watched. The lights, which promise greater energy efficiency and lower heat than their high pressure sodium and metal halide cousins, have gained increasing visibility in the cannabis community.

LEDs (short for light emitting diodes) were first invented in 1927. More efficient than nearly any other type of artificial light, these diodes were too weak to be a contender for growing plants until recently.

But continuing research has resulted in LED lights that are more powerful than ever before. Within the last few years, many LED grow light systems have sprung up on the market for indoor gardeners.

Some claim the LED grow light technology may finally put the cultivation of a few marijuana plants within reach of anybody who has a few extra bucks and a spare closet.

Lawyer Loses Insurance For Representing Med Marijuana Clients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 7, 2012 Medical, News

Legal Herald

In what seems to be the first event of its kind nationwide, a Denver attorney has lost her liability insurance because part of her practice involves representing medical marijuana clients.

Ann Toney’s insurance company last month told her it will not renew her malpractice coverage, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post. Toney’s practice “does not meet current underwriting guidelines because of the following risk factors: Area of practice involving medical marijuana,” the Hanover Insurance Group explained in its notice.