| The Pacific Northwest Inlander |
Almost 14 years after Washington state voters approved the medicinal use of cannabis, patients in many parts of the state still have no safe access to it. A bill which would have formally legalized medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington has died in the Legislature.
Thus ends yet another effort to clearly define the legal status of the cannabis storefronts, of which there are already more than 100 in Seattle, Tacoma and surrounding areas, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times.
Although there were enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, according to sponsor Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), it didn’t make it past the deadline for bills to advance because of limited time in the short session, as well as due to opposition from some Republican lawmakers and a handful of cities.
| Marijuana Policy Project |
| The Patient Voter Project is distributing postcard flyers to dispensaries around the state (front of the flyer is reproduced above) |
Leaders of a broad coalition of national and Colorado-based marijuana advocacy organizations held a press conference in Denver on Thursday to announce the launch of the Patient Voter Project. Its mission is to shine a light on the Obama Administration’s behavior in the state and to keep medical cannabis patients, their families, and their supporters in the state up-to-date about the latest hostile actions being carried out by the feds.
The project is a joint effort of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Sensible Colorado, Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), Medical Marijuana Assistance Program of America (MMAPA), Just Say Now, and others with a combined reach in Colorado of more than 40,000 online supporters.
| John Clanton/Tulsa World |
| Patricia Spottedcrow is serving eight years in an Oklahoma prison for selling $31 worth of marijuana to a police informant |
A young Oklahoma mother of four who is serving an eight-year prison sentence on a first-time marijuana offense — for selling $31 worth of pot — has a chance at parole after the parole board unanimously agreed to hear her case early.
Patricia Spottedcrow, 26, is scheduled to appear on the Pardon and Parole Board’s docket between April 17 and 20 in Oklahoma City, reports Ginnie Graham at Tulsa World.
| All photos by Jack Rikess |
By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
This is going to be very hard for some people to understand.
I sometimes smoke cannabis recreationally.
Even though I am allowed to be a card-carrying Cali medical marijuana patient due to a thrown-out disc from my care-giving days — and scary migraines that, at their worst, feel like I’m a walking Munch painting — there are days when I just like to get stoned.
Here’s another little tidbit. Sometimes, when I do smoke recreationally, it takes me away from a physical place to what shrinks like to call the “Happy Spot.”
And then I open my eyes and I’m back from wherever.
| FreakingNews.com |
Take too much Tylenol at once and you will die an agonizing death (it may take three or four days), because the acetaminophen overdose will kill your liver.
Take it at the recommended dosages for months or years, and you may still slowly destroy your liver.
At around four grams of Tylenol (4,000 mg, just eight extra strength tablets), liver toxicity sets in. This may or may not be fatal at that level, but at around 10 to 12 grams at once, death is almost a guarantee.
One hundred people die from acetaminophen overdoses every year in the United States. About half of those are intentional (suicides), and the other half are accidents, often by people who don’t realize acetaminophen is added to almost every prescription pain pill.
The United States leads the world in the number of people taking addictive prescription drugs. The financial cost to the nation from prescription drug abuse and dependence is in the billions.
The infographic above gives you a brief look at the seriousness of this epidemic. Indeed, according to federal government reports, an estimated 20 percent of U.S. citizens have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.
| Americans for Safe Access [PDF] |
Protest Will Take Place In 9 Cities, 6 States
Coordinated day of action calls attention to unprecedented attack on medical marijuana community
Medical marijuana activists are planning to protest the Obama Administration’s attack on medical marijuana states this Thursday, February 16, by staging protests in nine cities and six states.
Rallies are planned to take place at an Obama fundraiser in San Francisco, as well as at the president’s campaign headquarters in Sacramento (CA) and San Diego (CA), and at federal buildings in several cities, including Trenton (NJ), Phoenix (AZ), Seattle (WA), Eugene (OR), and Portland (ME).
The rallies are an attempt to draw attention to Obama’s failure at keeping his promise not to “circumvent” state medical marijuana laws and to highlight the unprecedented attack on patients and their providers across the country. During Obama’s tenure in office, his Justice Department has conducted nearly 200 SWAT-style raids on legitimate dispensaries and growers, resulting in more than 60 federal indictments, costing the taxpayers tens of millions of dollars at a time of fiscal crisis.
| WPTZ |
A majority of Vermont voters favor removing criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released on Wednesday. Of those polled, 63 percent supported replacing criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of cannabis with a civil infraction and a fine of up to $150, with no threat of arrest or jail.
Under current Vermont law, the penalty for possession of cannabis is up to six months in jail and up to a $500 fine.
The poll also reported that a majority of Vermonters would support politicians who also supported making this change. When asked if they would be more likely to vote for a legislator that voted to replace criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, 52 percent reported that they would be more likely to support such a lawmaker.
| eternalrabbit |
Thanks to eternalrabbit (Joel Fernandes) for Toke of the Town‘s Poster of the Day: Concise, powerful, and to the point.