| Graphic: Potspot 411 |
A bill currently before the Nevada Legislature would create a system to provide safe access to cannabis for qualified patients under the state’s medical marijuana law.
Sen. Mike Schneider (D-Las Vegas) on Wednesday asked the Commerce and Labor Committee, which he chairs, to support the dispensary bill, reports Geoff Dornan at the Nevada Appeal. The current system allows those with a legitimate medical need to get a card permitting them to use marijuana, but provides no mechanism for safe access.
Nevada needs to allow the creation of a system that fixes that problem, according to Schneider.
| Photo: Kush And Orange Juice |
| Rapper Webbie, 25, faces marijuana charges after being stopped in Tennessee. |
Down South, they call it the “rap tax.” Rapper “Webbie,” 25, faces marijuana charges after authorities arrested him Monday in Marshall County, Tennessee.
Law enforcement pulled over a car with four people inside which was speeding on Interstate 65, according to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. As the vehicle pulled over, an officer saw a passenger in the front seat throw what looked like marijuana out the window, reports WBIR.
Upon further investigation, cops found Webster Gradney (“Webbie”) in the front seat with a cardboard box containing $13,240 inside, and two ounces of marijuana.
They also found a loaded .357 revolver and $916 when they searched 22-year-old Michael Abbott. The driver, Derric Watson, 34, was driving with a suspended license. Tyrone Terrio, 34, was also in the car.
The four said they were on their way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana after Webbie’s performance in Louisville, Kentucky the day before, according to police.
All four men were taken to the Marshall County Jail. Webbie faces charges of possession “with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver” and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $21,000.
| Photo: TPM |
| Obama appointee U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby threatened both Washington dispensary owners and the landlords who rent to them on Wednesday. |
“We are preparing for quick and direct action against the operators of the stores. We intend to use the full extent of our legal remedies to enforce the law.”
~ U.S. Attorney Michael C. Ormsby
A U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington decided to throw his weight around Wednesday, announcing that he’s notified landlords that “marijuana stores” are illegal, and warning them of the penalties they may face.
The strong-arm tactics by U.S. Attorney Michael C. Ormsby, an Obama appointee, seemed designed to intimidate landlords into evicting medical marijuana dispensaries who are tenants. The dispensaries have become increasingly common in Washington state, with one count placing their number above 120 and rapidly rising.
Marijuana continues to be prohibited for any purpose by federal law, and according to Ormsby, dispensaries are “specifically” subject to “enforcement action and stringent federal penalties.”
| Photo: The Georgetowner |
| D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray on Wednesday approved final regulations for medical marijuana in the District of Columbia. |
More than 12 years after D.C. voters overwhelmingly passed a medical marijuana ballot initiative, seriously ill residents of the District of Columbia will finally be able to begin using cannabis to treat certain medical conditions.
On Wednesday, Mayor Vincent Gray approved the final regulations on the licensing, distribution, and use of medical marijuana in the District. The full regulations will be published officially on April 15. The City Council has 30 days to review the regulations, but they will go into effect immediately on that date.
| Photo: Townhall.com |
| Judge Mark Somers claims that Michigan’s medical marijuana law is illegal, since federal law bans the weed. |
A suburban Detroit area judge claims that Michigan’s medical marijuana law is illegal, and is trumped by federal drug laws which classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance.
Dearborn District Judge Mark Somers ruled in March in a case involving a man who was caught with pot before he received a medical marijuana card, reports The Associated Press. The patient, Robert Brandon, unsuccessfully tried to have his case dismissed.
| Photo: OutFront Colorado |
| Congressman Jared Polis: “I don’t see a federal role. Just as the policy of prohibition failed nationally with alcohol — it’s now up to states and counties — I think we should do the same with marijuana” |
Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis said on Wednesday that the federal government should not be in the business of regulating marijuana use by Americans.
“I don’t see a federal role,” Congressman Polis said in a “Washington Unplugged” interview, reports Brian Montopoli at CBS News. “I don’t think that the federal side should be coming in and second guessing what states are doing.”
Polis represents a state — Colorado — that allows medical marijuana use. There is also a push in the Rocky Mountain State for full legalization.
“Just as the policy of prohibition failed nationally with alcohol — it’s now up to states and counties — I think we should do the same with marijuana,” Polis said.
Colorado’s medical marijuana regulatory structure has been a model for other states, according to Polis, who pointed to the monitoring of production and dispensaries as well as background checks.
| Photo: Hemp Beach TV |
A U.S. Border Patrol agent in western Arizona was arrested after “bundles” of marijuana were allegedly found in his patrol vehicle, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Border Patrol’s Yuma sector said the agent, whose name wasn’t released, was arrested after two colleagues found he had numerous packages of cannabis stashed inside a marked Border Patrol truck after encountering the suspect while patrolling on Monday, according to Reuters.
| Photo: William Breathes/Westword |
| Robbers drove the 28-foot Growbot trailer away in full view of security guards. |
A big pot-growing trailer known as the “GrowBot” was stolen from a medical marijuana trade show in Denver over the weekend, and the owner on Tuesday offered a $5,000 reward for its return.
Greg Childre, who builds custom grow trailers for a variety of crops at his manufacturing plant in Georgia, said the trailer was stolen from the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Denver late Sunday night, according to Reuters.
In a fucked-up but ballsy move, the 28-foot GrowBot trailer was just driven out of the trade show parking lot — according to Childre, in full view of security guards.
| Photo: Gawker |
By Jack RikessToke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
Of the supposedly 43 million Americans who smoke marijuana, there is such a small percent of us that are allowed to have safe and easy access to our drug of choice, that to complain seems to be a little elitist and even downright spoiled. Having a medical marijuana Card has changed my life for definitely the better and not to be redundant, and it’s made scoring much safer.
But if you’re of a certain age and generation, because of the nature of prohibition, the only way to score our pot was to go to someone’s home.
As much as I love having a card and going to the Pot Shop, or having it delivered, I miss the interaction of the old daze.
| Photo: Steve Rhodes/flickr |
| State Senator Mark Leno: “When Californians approved the compassionate use of cannabis, they never intended for it to apply only to unemployed people” |
The State Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 on Tuesday, approving a bill that would protect California’s medical marijuana patients from discrimination at the workplace.
Senate Bill 129 was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in January as an attempt to clarify the legislative intent of the state’s Medical Marijuana Program Act. While clearly establishing a medical marijuana patient’s right to work, SB 129 continues to prohibit on-the-job impairment.
The bill now moves to the Senate floor for an as-of-yet unscheduled vote.