Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Marijuana Dispensary Re-Opens As Patient Resource Center

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 19, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Steve Porter/Northern Colorado Business Report

Tina Valenti, In Harmony Wellness: “As a patient services and advocacy center, In Harmony Wellness will continue the tradition of assisting patients in need”

After voters in the city of Windsor, Colorado last November staged a citizen-initiated shutdown of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, one collective, founded in 2008, found a way to survive even after being forced to stop operations in May 2011.

When City Attorney Ian McCargar offered the perspective that In Harmony Wellness didn’t necessarily have to close its doors, but simply needed to step selling cannabis, it sparked an idea.

Marijuana Prosecutions Near Record High In 2010

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 19, 2011 News

NORML

Police made 853,838 arrests in 2010 for marijuana-related offenses, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report, released on Monday. The annual arrest total is near the highest ever reported by the agency, and is nearly identical to the total number of cannabis-related arrests reported in 2009.

More than half — 52 percent — of all drug arrests in the United States are now for marijuana, according to the report. An estimated 46 percent of all drug arrests are for offenses related to marijuana possession.

One Drug Arrest Every 19 Seconds In The U.S.: FBI Report

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 19, 2011 News

East County Magazine

A new FBI report released on Monday shows that there is a drug arrest every 19 seconds in the United States. That’s right, three people a minute, 180 people an hour, 4,320 people a day.

A group of police and judges who have been campaigning to legalize and regulate drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 1.6 million drug arrests in 2010 as evidence that the War On Drugs — really a war on U.S. citizens — is a failure that can never be won.

“Since the declaration of the ‘war on drugs’ 40 years ago we’ve arrested tens of millions of people in an effort to reduce drug use,” said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). “The fact that cops had to spend time arresting another 1.6 million of our fellow citizens last year shows that it simply hasn’t worked.

Washington Democratic Party Endorses Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 19, 2011 Legislation, News

Graham Lawyer Blog

The Washington state Democratic Central Committee endorsed a marijuana legalization initiative in the state over the weekend, calling cannabis prohibition a waste of taxpayer money.

Simple marijuana possession charges now account for fully half of all drug arrests in Washington, according to the Democrats, who pointed out pot’s status as the second biggest cash crop in the state. reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

The group said cannabis has the potential to raise $215 million in new tax revenues each year if a current legalization drive, Initiative 502, also known as New Approach Washington, passes.

I-502 is sponsored by the ACLU of Washington and endorsed by prominent figures including former U.S. Attorney John McKay (who was responsible for the prosecution of “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery), Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and travel host Rick Steves.

It is expected to gather enough signatures to go before the state Legislature in the upcoming session. At that point, the Legislature can either take action or, more likely, let the initiative be decided by the state’s voters on the November 2012 ballot.

Sticky Fingered Ex-Deputy Pleads Not Guilty In Pot Theft

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2011 News

WSIL

Greedy Pig? Here’s future prison popularity contest winner Caleb Craft, the deputy who allegedly stole four ounces of marijuana and $5,000 in cash from the evidence room

A former deputy in southern Illinois is facing three felony charges after authorities claimed he stole marijuana and money from an evidence room, and transferred the pot to a third party to sell.

Caleb Craft was a deputy for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department before becoming an inmate at the county jail. He is charged with theft over $500, unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and official misconduct, reports Andy Waterman at WSIL.

Craft stole more than $5,000 and more than four ounces of marijuana from the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group’s evidence room in Carbondale, according to court documents.

ACLU Joins Drive To Legalize Marijuana In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2011 Legislation, News

ACLU of Colorado

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has joined the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a coalition supporting a 2012 ballot initiative to end cannabis prohibition in Colorado.

The initiative would make marijuana legal for adults, take it out of the black market, and establish a system in which it is regulated, taxed and sold similar to alcohol.

“In Colorado we believe our laws should be practical and they should be fair,” the group said in a statement. “Yet we are wasting scarce public resources in our criminal justice system by having police, prosecutors and the courts treat marijuana users like violent criminals.

Website Compares Medical Marijuana Dispensaries For You

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, Products

Free Tobacco

Running out of cannabis while you’re traveling isn’t just a discomfort, if you’re a medical marijuana patient — it can be a threat to your health. Now there’s a way to not only find cannabis dispensaries while you’re on the road — you can also compare them based on hours, popular strains, promotions and many more categories, if you live in one of the seven medical marijuana states where the service is available.

FindTheBest.com recently added a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Comparison that allows patients in seven states (California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Rhode Island) to find and compare dispensaries.

Police Harass Federal Medical Marijuana Patient Elvy Musikka

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Paul Wellman

Federal medical marijuana patient Elvy Musikka holds a tin of joints send to her each month by the U.S. federal government

Elvy Musikka, one of four surviving patients in the federal medical marijuana program, was detained by Oregon State Police early Thursday morning following a town hall meeting on medical marijuana.

Musikka was detained along with other registered Oregon medical marijuana patients after a state trooper staked out the co-op 45th Parallel and harassed cardholders as they left the building, reports Russ Belville in the Examiner.

Several members of the patient cooperative were detained by the trooper, who issued citations including a $1,000 ticket to a grower for “residue” left behind on an empty pipe by a patient.

Musikka was in town for the 45th Parallel’s Town Hall Meeting, which had occurred earlier Wednesday at the Clarion Hotel. At the hotel, an Oregon State Trooper parked just down the street from the public entrance to the parking lot.

Marijuana Grower Wins Restraining Order Against County

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 15, 2011 Growing, News

KFSN

Richard Daleman, 63, has gone up against Tulare County twice and come out on top both times. Back in 2009, he got a court order forcing sheriff’s deputies to return more than 12 pounds of marijuana to him. Now he got a restraining order preventing the county from seizing more than 4,000 marijuana plants on his property.

A Tulare County, California medical marijuana collective won a big, but possibly temporary victory in court Wednesday.

A judge granted Richard Daleman, 63, a temporary restraining order against the county. It prevents county officials from seizing 4,000 medicinal cannabis plants on his property, reports KFSN.

Under California law, Daleman is allowed to have the plants on his five-acre property, but a Tulare County ordinance prohibits it. About 40 medical marijuana cardholders rent space on Daleman’s farm to grow their own medicine.

Highly Hilarious: Top 10 Cannabis Comedians

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 15, 2011 Culture

Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town columnist and former stand-up comic Jack Rikess with a friend

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

This Sunday, September 18, the amazing Debi Durst and the City of San Francisco present Comedy Day. It was founded in 1981 as a way for Bay Area comics to say thank you to comedy fans for their support and to The City that has nurtured so many comedians. Starting at noon and always ending with a “surprise guest”, this is a feast for the comedy fans of all ages. And it’s Free!

In honor of this glorious day, I hereby present my list of comics that have advance the cause of marijuana to audiences everywhere and, in the process, made us laugh.

I’m sorry to my friends and colleagues I’ve omitted. There’s only so much stage time. Maybe next year…