| Photo: The Philadelphia Inquirer |
| Philadelphia police officers Christopher Luciano, left, and Sean Alivera, right, were involved in the robbery of an undercover officer posing as a marijuana dealer |
One of two former Philadelphia police officers arrested in October in an undercover sting admitted Tuesday to helping drug dealers rob a purported marijuana courier.
Christopher Luciano, 23, pleaded guilty to all counts on which he was charged: robbery, conspiracy, kidnapping, official oppression and possession of a drug with intent to deliver, reports Joseph A. Slobodzian at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Common Pleas Court Judge Lillian H. Ransom set sentencing for June 7. Assistant District Attorney Christopher Diviny said Luciano faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, and could be sentenced to as much as 67 years.
| Photo: KXLF |
| Jackson, caregiver and owner of Green Rx, said he was surprised the Legislature would vote to repeal a voter-passed initiative. |
A bill to repeal Montana’s medical marijuana law — and thus thwart the will of an overwhelming 62 percent of voters who approved it in 2004 — has passed both the House and Senate and is now heading to the governor’s desk.
Members of Montana’s medical marijuana community are still asking themselves what happened, pinning their hopes on a veto from Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
It’s surprising that the Legislature would vote to repeal such a popular voter-passed initiative, according to Jim Gingery, executive director of the Montana Medical Growers Association, reports Dan Boyce of KXLF.
“Particularly, one that was supposed to be increasing jobs and helping the economy instead of taking jobs away and hurting patients,” Gingery said.
| Photo: Triple5Light |
Welcome to Room 420, where your instructor is Mr. Ron Marczyk and your subjects are wellness, disease prevention, self actualization, and chillin’.Worth Repeating
By Ron Marczyk, R.N.
Health Education Teacher (Retired)
National Cancer Institute “Unexplains” Possible Cancer Cure To Nation
So, let me get this straight: We, the cancer patients in the U.S., “misinterpreted” the NCI website information on cannabis? It’s our error? We screwed up? We got it totally wrong? It’s our fault due to our poor reading skills?
We misunderstood the term physicians “may recommend” cannabis to their patients. How stupid of us!
| Photo: 420List.org |
A bill that would have legalized marijuana in Washington state — supported by every state legislator from Seattle, as well as the city’s mayor, city attorney and several City Council members — is officially dead in Olympia, the state capitol.
House Bill 1550 didn’t even advance out of the relevant committees by Friday evening, a key cutoff date for the 2011 Legislature, reports Chris Grygiel at the Seattle P.I.
Sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), the measure would legalize marijuana, have its sale regulated by the state Liquor Control Board, and impose a tax of 15 percent on cannabis.
| Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Directory |
The Vermont Legislature is expected this week to consider a bill that would legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.
Cannabis has been legal for medicinal purposes in Vermont since 2004, for those with qualifying illnesses, including cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis and who sign up for the state’s registry. The law allows patients to grow their own marijuana, but advocates say many of the seriously ill individuals find that a daunting task, leaving them with the prospect of buying black market pot on the street.
The state’s medical marijuana registry specifies, “The Marijuana Registry is neither a source for marijuana nor can the Registry provide information to patients on how to obtain marijuana,” reports Terri Hallenbeck at the Burlington Free Press.
The answer, according to advocates, is to legalize a small number of medical marijuana dispensaries, nonprofit businesses that would grow cannabis and sell it to patients on the registry.
| Photo: Holland Sentinel |
| Licensed medical marijuana growers in Michigan can call upon Michigan State University Extension personnel for advice |
Inquiries on how to cultivate marijuana have slightly increased in the past few years, according to Michigan State University Extension plant experts. MSU-E, mainly involved in more mainstream agricultural pursuits, is a resource for some medical cannabis suppliers looking for good information.
Having received about seven calls since medical marijuana became legal in Michigan, MSU-E senior educator Thomas Dudek said he tries to relay basic information on plant physiology to novice growers, reports Sara Qamar of Capital News Service.
| Photo: Los Angeles Dispensaries |
By Jack RikessToke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
1. No shady scenes.
We’ve all been there. A 7/11 parking lot, late at night, where every Slurpee-buying shopper looks like an undercover cop. Or you’ve just parked your buddy’s car near an apartment downtown where all the neighbors know why you’re walking towards that particular door.
Or worse, a friend of a friend who just got out of jail has some killer stuff that will make the whole crosstown drive worth it.
You name it — we all have a variety of reasons why we will go the extra mile to procure the best stuff possible, sometimes even when the risks are higher than you are.
Now, my closest dispensary is eight blocks away — a small industrial trailer where they may only have seven to 12 different varieties of medical marijuana — but I go to the old reliable, my mainstay downtown on Geary. (Funny story: I was on my way home on the bus with three clones in an odorless paper bag. There were two other dudes on the bus who were also clutching paper bags. Their all-knowing nods and smiles made me feel like we all belong to the same book club.)
Going to a dispensary is incredibly safe compared to my almost 40 years of scoring on the street.
| Photo: ganj a farmer’s emerald triangle news |
By Jack RikessToke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
The people who live up here in the redwoods are notoriously known for being incredibly tight-lipped as a community. That’s what happens when generations of farmers are forced to live for decades under the radar. You learn not to talk.
You don’t ask what Tyler’s dad does for a living. If two women in the produce aisle at the market are chatting about some kind of lights and how much square footage they’re reaching, you keep walking, keeping your thoughts to yourself. There’s a shell of new greenhouse that’s being built off of Indian Bend Road but no one’s going to mention it until someone else does first.
That’s the way it is in the Emerald Triangle. It is just like the Number One law of the streets. You keep your mouth closed at all costs. Loose lips sinks your mouther-effing grow faster than drawing the DEA a map. You never know who might be around listening. Who might be smart enough to put a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together?
| Photo: The Sustainability Ninja |
| Industrial hemp is a variety of cannabis with almost zero THC. Its fibers are useful for clothing, paper, cosmetics, and fuel. |
A bill that would have allowed Illinois farmers to grow industrial hemp was badly defeated Thursday in the state House.
House Bill 1383, sponsored by Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago), would have allowed farmers to get permits to grow hemp, a low-THC varietal of the cannabis plant. Hemp fiber can be used in clothing, paper, cosmetics, and ethanol, reports Andy Brownfield at the Springfield State Journal-Register.
“This is part of the new green movement across the nation,” Dunkin said. “This will put Illinois ahead of most states.”
| Photo: THC Finder |
The Delaware Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legalizing medical marijuana, despite reservations from some supporters who said the legislation has flaws.
The bill would allow adults with debilitating illnesses such as HIV or cancer to get authorization from their doctors to buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries, reports Chad Livengood at Delaware Online.
On an 18-3 vote, the Senate sent Senate Bill 17 to the House, where supporters believe there are enough votes to get the bill to Gov. Jack Markell’s desk for a signature. Of course, there were a few alarmists who claimed the bill puts Delaware on the path towards legalizing marijuana altogether, as if that’d be the end of the world.