Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Federal Patient To Fight Montana Medical Marijuana Repeal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 7, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Federal medical marijuana patient Irvin Rosenfeld with a tin of 300 government joints, which he’s gotten every 25 days from the government for 28 years.

With a bill which would repeal the state’s medical marijuana law already having been passed by the House, the Montana Senate will soon hold hearings on House Bill 161, to repeal the 2004 initiative passed by voters.

Montana’s medical cannabis law was approved in 2004 by a resounding 62 percent of state voters. Despite that, HB 161 was introduced early in the current legislative session by House Speaker Mike Milburn, who ran unopposed in Cascade, Montana.

Milburn’s bill passed the House fueled by “Reefer Madness”-like statements, devoid of fact, according to Hiedi Handford, owner and publisher of Montana Connect.

With the antics of the House, along with another anti-marijuana group called “Safe Community Safe Kids,” Handford said it became quite apparent that big help was needed once again.

“Facts and science are being completely ignored,” Handford said. “Folks just seem to pay attention when they meet and question a federal patient, as so many folks out there still have no idea the federal patients even exist.”

Stoner Photo of the Day: Sensi Star

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2011 Growing

Photo: Hapee Farmer

Here you go, man. I can only let you have these four colas, but they’ll probably last awhile.

Four colas can mean a whoooole of medicine if Hapee Farmer’s growing ’em.

Professor Gives Up Bid To Grow Marijuana For Medical Research

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2011 Growing, Medical, News

Jonathan Beller/Boston Magazine

Dr. Lyle Craker, UMass-Amherst: “I’m disappointed mostly because of all the patients who could potentially benefit”

Respected horticulturalist Lyle Craker of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst has been trying for almost a decade to persuade the federal government to let him grow marijuana for medical research. He wanted to learn more about the plant’s medical benefits. But Craker, 70, was over and over again rebuffed, and now he’s finally giving up.

Craker said he saw no end in sight to the legal wrangling, with an appeals process that could run for years or even decades, reports Andrew Miga of The Associated Press. Craker was also frustrated that he never got a hoped-for boost from the Obama Administration.

“I’m disappointed in our system,” he said. “But I’m not disappointed at what we did. I think our efforts have brought the problem to the public eye more. … This is just the first battle in a war.”

Craker, who said he has never smoked marijuana, started his challenge to the government’s monopoly on growing and distributing research cannabis in 2001. One garden at The University of Mississippi is the federal government’s only marijuana-growing facility.

But government-grown pot lacks the potency medical researchers need for breakthroughs, according to Craker. Besides, there isn’t enough of the Ole Miss-grown cannabis available for scientists across the U.S., or even if there is, the government isn’t letting them have it.

‘Mexico’s Bravest Woman’: Police Chief, 20, Seeks U.S. Asylum

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2011 Global, News

Photo: AFP

Marisol Valles, 20, was the only person in town willing to serve as police chief. Now she is reportedly fleeing to the U.S.

The 20-year-old college student who was called “Mexico’s bravest woman” after she was named police chief of a small Mexican town when nobody else would take the job has reportedly fled and is seeking asylum in the United States.

Marisol Valles “received death threats from a criminal group that wanted to force her to work for them,” a relative told AFP on Thursday. However, an official from the town of Praxedis, which is just across the border from Fort Hancock, Texas, denied that their young police chief was leaving town.

Town Secretary Andres Morales told the El Paso Times that Valles had asked for some personal days off to tend to her child, but is expected to be back at work on Monday, reports CBS News. As for the reports of Valles seeking asylum in the U.S., “Right now, those are rumors,” Morales said. (Note to the credulous: this could be a cover story to throw off her would-be assassins.)

Seattle Protesters Tell Drug Czar: ‘Gil, Get With The Times’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2011 News

Photo: Chris Egert/KIRO

Marijuana advocates held a protest outside the Seattle Times on Friday as Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske met with the newspaper’s editors. The protesters, holding signs reading “Get With The Times” and “De-Fund The Drug Czar,” said they believe the Drug Czar was sent to change the editorial’s board’s minds.

Kerlikowske asked for the meeting with the editorial board soon after the newspaper called for the legalization of marijuana in a recent editorial, reports KIRO 7.

In an interview with KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Anchor Chris Egert on Friday morning, Kerlikowske denied the White House sent him to Seattle just to speak with the editorial board. He said he was in Seattle for a previously scheduled event.

Marijuana Advocates To Protest Drug Czar’s Seattle Appearance

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: TopNews

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske requested — and got — a meeting with the editorial board of the Seattle Times after the newspaper endorsed marijuana legalization. The Drug Czar is bound by law to oppose marijuana legalization.

Immediately after the Seattle Times ran an editorial supporting marijuana legalization, Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske made plans to visit the newspaper on Friday, March 4 — presumably to tell them where they have erred. In response to that, cannabis legalization advocates plan to protest Kerlikowske’s appearance at the paper by rallying on public sidewalks around the Times building.

Yes, it may be the first time in history that protesters have shown up to support a newspaper editorial on any subject!

Some observers have wondered whether the meeting is an attempt at intimidation by the Drug Czar, especially since the Times is one of the largest newspapers yet to support legalization.

Protest Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske’s Appearance at the Seattle Times

LOCATION: Sidewalks adjoining the Seattle Times at 1120 John Street

TIME: From 7:30 a.m. until the Drug Czar departs the Seattle Times building

Poll: 57% Of Floridians Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: Zazzle

A big majority of Florida residents support the legalization of medical marijuana, according to a new survey from a Republican pollster. According to the poll, 57 percent of Floridians would back such a move.

The news comes just as there is a serious movement to bring the issue to the Florida ballot in 2012, reports Bob Norman at our Village Voice Media sister blog, the Broward Palm Beach New Times. Under Florida’s election rules, such a referendum would require 60 percent of voters to approve before it became law.

In the poll, 800 voters were asked the question, “If there was a Constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes only when prescribed by a practicing physician and the election were held today, would you vote Yes to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes or No to stop it?”

MI Bill Would Ban Group Smoking In ‘Medical Marijuana Bars’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: THC Finder

Medical marijuana patients would no longer be allowed to smoke pot in support groups under a bill approved by a Republican-led Michigan Senate committee on Thursday. The bill would ban medical marijuana bars and clubs that have sprung up in the state since voters, by a wide margin, legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2008.

The legislation now advances to the floor for a vote by the entire Senate, reports The Associated Press.

The legislation defines “clubs and bars” as places where medical marijuana is used in a group setting for a fee. Violations would be punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $500.

“There’s really no good reason for people to gather and consume marijuana,” Sen. Rick Jones (R-Grand Ledge) claimed.

L.A. Releases List Of Marijuana Dispensaries Vying For Licenses

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: THC Finder

The Los Angeles City Clerk on Wednesday released a list of 228 medical marijuana dispensaries that have applied to participate in a lottery to select 100 dispensaries to operate in the city.

The clerk’s office said it is still reviewing the information on the eight-page form and supporting documents to ensure all applicants meet the requirements to qualify for the drawing, reports John Hoeffel at The Los Angeles Times. To qualify for the lottery, dispensaries must have paperwork showing they were in business on September 14, 2007, and still have at least one of the original owner/operators.

Cops Charged After Being Caught On Tape In Botched Pot Raid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: Action News

The corrupt cops were caught on tape discussing the spoils of their “drug raid” — which netted a quarter-ounce of marijuana.

Two Michigan police officers have been criminally charged after being caught on tape during a botched marijuana raid.

Lt. Luke Davis and Lt. Emmanuel Riopelle face dozens of charges in the case, reports Action News WXYZ. Davis headed the undercover narcotics unit. The indictment alleges that he and the others sold drugs and confiscated goods for personal profit.

The rogue cops were caught on audio tape by a local man, Rudy Simpson, during a pot raid (you can hear the audio at the end of this story). Simpson alleges he was the victim of heavy-handed and unprofessional police tactics during the raid on his home. Of course, it was just business as usual for the cops — except this time, a tape was rolling.

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