Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Federal Medical Marijuana ‘Clarification’ Another Disappointment

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Roger Goodman: “Sorry, DOJ. Please give it another try.”

Last week’s Department of Justice memo, supposedly meant to “clarify” the DOJ’s position on medical marijuana, doesn’t reflect any real changes in policy from prior administrations.

This latest “clarification” was seemingly needed after a prior “clarification” in 2009 gave many the impression that the DOJ would not prosecute medical marijuana patients and providers in states that had authorized such programs.

That 2009 document, called the “Ogden Memo,” did not actually provide for a hard change in policy, but rather directed U.S. Attorneys to be careful in how they use their limited department resources, suggesting that prosecuting medical marijuana patients is not a good use of government funds.

Federal Medical Marijuana Policy: Living In La-La Land

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: DEA

DEA Director Michelle Leonhart claims marijuana has no medical uses, and that it belongs on Schedule I with heroin.

The U.S. federal government on Friday reiterated the same policy towards medical marijuana it has had for years, claiming the herb has “no accepted medical use” and that it has a high potential for abuse and addiction. The judgment came in response to a 2002 petition by medical marijuana advocates calling on the government to reclassify cannabis, currently a Schedule I drug with heroin, illegal for all uses.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” has a “high potential for abuse,” and “lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision.”

Robotically mouthing meaningless platitudes, DEA Director Michelle Leonhart, without apparent irony, embarrassingly repeated the same unscientific nonsense that for years now has served as the federal government’s position on medical marijuana.

Getting On The Dream Cream Team: Seattle’s Marijuana Mocha

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 10, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, Products

Photo: Steve Elliott

Dream Cream founder Jim Chaney, left, and BOTH Collective expert budtender Valerie restock the cooler in Capitol Hill, Seattle.

A joint or bowl with a cup of coffee is a daily ritual for many of us. And now, with Seattle being well-known for the quality of both its coffee and cannabis, it’s no surprise that a local entrepreneur has found a delicious and effective way to combine both.

Dream Cream, a medicated iced mocha latte made in pot-friendly Seattle neighborhood Capitol Hill and available in local medical marijuana dispensaries, goes down smooth and leaves a long-lasting medicated glow.

The cannabis-infused beverage comes in both sativa and indica varieties. Sativa is medicated with “White Lady,” an exclusive White Widow hybrid that, according to Dream Cream, “yields excellent ratios of the most uplifting and analgesic cannabinoids,” while the Indica version is infused with “High Planes Drifter,” an exotic Skunk hybrid the company says “promises an enriching experience with sedative inclinations.”

Video of the Day: Buy American Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 8, 2011 Culture, Growing, Products

We all know that a lot of people are harmed by prohibition, but who benefits? Strangely enough, some of the biggest beneficiaries are the bootleggers.
Sure, they take a big risk, but black marketeers don’t have to pay taxes, they’re protected from foreign competition, and they benefit from artificially inflated prices. Talk about protectionism.
What kind of message would an honest American Marijuana Growers Association have for us? “Thank you for your support of marijuana prohibition and buy American pot!” ~ Reason TV

The Marijuana Tipping Point Is Already Here

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 8, 2011 Culture

Graphic: NewsReview.com

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The writer and social critic, Malcolm Gladwell, defines the ‘Tipping Point’ as the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point; the point at which the buildup of minor changes or incidents reaches a level that triggers a more significant change or makes someone do something they had formerly resisted.

Another way of saying it would be that point in time and space when everything changes and there’s no turning back.

Every day there are more encouraging headlines appearing in newspapers and on the Web from California to Maine supporting medical marijuana legislation suggesting the tide is turning.

Even when the cynics call medical marijuana a joke and claim the real goal of this smokescreen movement is legalization of pot, there are medi-jane supporters with valid and logical arguments to counter-balance any archaic rhetoric with which the anti-pot forces continue to misinform.

Colorado Alliance Files Initiative To Tax And Regulate Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 8, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

Denver-based activists have filed a ballot initiative with the Secretary of State that they say would regulate marijuana in Colorado in a manner similar to alcohol.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol must now gather 86,105 signatures before August 6, 2012 to qualify for the November 2012 general election ballot.

The proposal requires the Department of Revenue to tax and regulate marijuana and directs this new revenue source to the public school capital construction assistance fund.

It would allow people 21 and older to buy and possess up to an ounce of marijuana. They would also be allowed to grow up to six plants and to possess all the marijuana produced by those plants, reports Scot Kersgaard at the Colorado Independent.

Crackdown: Kent, Washington Raids Cannabis Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Photo: KING 5

Kent Police raid Suzie Q’s, one of the four medical marijuana dispensaries in town, on Wednesday. All four dispensaries in Kent were raided and shut down.

The repercussions of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire’s failure of leadership — when she vetoed most of a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana dispensaries in the state — continue to reverberate. Police in Kent, Washington served search warrants at all four dispensaries in town on Wednesday afternoon.

The businesses, all located in the Kent valley, have been the subjects of an “ongoing investigation” for selling medical marijuana to authorized patients, supposedly “in violation of state law,” a city spokesman said, reports KIRO TV.

Drug Policy Alliance’s Nadelmann To Appear With Bill Maher

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Notes from the Psychedelic Salon

Ethan Nadelmann, DPA: “The War On Drugs is a cancer in our society”

Ethan Nadelmann, the articulate and engaging executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, will be a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, July 8 at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

Nadelmann will be interviewed one-on-one by Maher at the top of the show, and will discuss the War On Drugs and the movement to end marijuana prohibition, according to the DPA.

The topic is quite timely, as there was an avalanche of media coverage in June about the failed War On Drugs:

• The Global Commission on Drug Policy (Kofi Annan, the former presidents of Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil, Richard Branson of Virgin, etc.) made worldwide news by calling for an end to the War on Drugs.

Oh No! California Drug Task Forces May Get The Ax. LOL

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: Stop The Drug War

The Humboldt County Drug Task Force, straight from the pot-cultivation center of California’s famed Emerald Triangle, may fall prey to the state budget ax, resulting from cuts enacted by the Legislature late last month to balance the state’s 2011-2012 budget.

Oh, whatever shall we do without them? It’d be a shame for all those cops to have to get real jobs which don’t involve stealing people’s pot crops.

One of those cuts slashed $36 million from the budget of the California Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement, and will likely lead to the elimination of 55 state-led task forces, reports Thadeus Greenson at the Eureka Times-Standard. The list includes the Humboldt County Drug Task Force.

Under the budget deal, the cut almost doubles to $71 million in the next fiscal year, which could trigger the loss of $40 million in matching federal funds — at least we can hope.

R.I. Marijuana Advocates See Loopholes In DOJ Memo

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: RIPAC

The head of Rhode Island’s largest medical marijuana advocacy group said she is still optimistic that cannabis dispensaries will be open in the state in the not-too-distant future.

JoAnne Lepannen, executive director of the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), said on Tuesday that she has carefully reviewed “Seeking to Authorize Marijuana for Medical Use,” the two-page memo issued last week by the Justice Department, reports W. Zachary Malinowski at The Providence Journal.

Lepannen said she sees a silver lining in the document because there is no specific threat by federal authorities to prosecute state employees who are associated with the licensing or oversight of marijuana dispensaries.

“I think there is a ray of hope here,” Lepannen said. “We have to read into this letter what [the federal government]didn’t say. That speaks volumes.”

The memo does warn that those who “facilitate” large-scale medical marijuana production (presumably, that wording was used to intimidate landlords, as well as actual cultivators) are violating the federal Controlled Substances Act.

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