Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Canada: Cannabis Patient Wants Govt. Refund For Weak Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 8, 2011 Global, Medical

Photo: Canadian Made Cannabis Health Journal

This is a bag of Canadian government medical “marihuana.”

When you get marijuana from the government, is satisfaction guaranteed? A Canadian medical cannabis patient is bummed out by Health Canada’s failure to refund $450 after he cancelled his government marijuana delivery service three months ago.

Lloyd Summerfield, 55, of Scarborough, Ontario, was one of many licensed users across Canada whose cannabis arrived regularly by courier from a grower under contract to the federal government, reports Tom Godfrey at the Toronto Sun. After Summerfield was run over by a taxi in 2006, his doctor prescribed marijuana to help with leg and body pains.

Summerfield said he borrowed $450 from a friend and used it to buy 90 grams of government-licensed cannabis, which was delivered to his apartment by a courier last November.

But he was told by his doctor that the government pot wasn’t strong enough to help him, so we returned the unopened package of marijuana to Health Canada.

Washington Law Officers Testify For Marijuana Legalization

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

Graphic: CBS News

Law enforcement officers who once waged the War On Drugs submitted testimony Tuesday supporting a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana in Washington state. The bill, HB 1550, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, was heard by the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle chief of police, wrote that legalizing marijuana “would provide a great benefit for public safety by allowing the state’s police officers to focus on the worst crimes, protecting the people of Washington from burglaries, rapes, shootings, and drunk driving.”

“Not only would it free up police resources, it would bring in much-needed new revenue for the state,” Stamper wrote.

Family Feud Marijuana Moment Goes Viral

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

Every day marijuana becomes more a part of the American mainstream. Now they’re even giggling about it on that iconic game show Family Feud.

Host Steve Harvey is either very surprised, or wants us to believe he is, when a contestant’s guess is “a joint” for the clue “Name something that is passed around.”

Nevada Man, 61, Charged With Selling Pot At Farmer’s Market

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 8, 2011 News

Photo: AP

Nevada state police said a 61-year-old northern Nevada businessman is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly sold marijuana at a farmer’s market. And, OMG, we’re supposed to be even more upset because the market was down the road from an elementary school.

Christopher A. Stephenson was arrested Friday at his business in Fallon, Nevada, by members of a regional narcotics task force, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Gail Powell said Monday, reports the Carson Valley Record-Courier.

Evidence: Cannabinoid Therapy Reduces Breast Cancer Tumors

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 7, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: Mendo News

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)

This one is personal. My wife of 32 years was diagnosed with breast cancer in the past year and subsequently underwent a double mastectomy. We are in the final stages of breast reconstruction. She has undergone five operations in the last 12 months, with one more to go.

We were very lucky. The cancer was starting to spread, but it was found early and was cured by surgery alone; no radiation or chemotherapy. We were told by our oncologist that we were among the very few breast cancer patients he has seen who did not require any follow-up treatments.

Stoner Photo of the Day: Platinum OG Kush

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 7, 2011 Growing

Photo: Royce Good

There are between two and three ounces of medicine on this plant, according to the grower.

“This Platinum OG Kush turned out so good,” cultivator and Toke reader Royce Good told Toke of the Town.

One thing’s for sure: It’s nothing but trichomed-out buds, from head to toe.

My fingers practically get sticky just looking at it!

Marijuana Decrim Advances In Hawaii; Pot Would Be $100 Fine

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 7, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Zazzle

A bill that would reduce the penalty for possessing up to an ounce of marijuana to the status of a traffic violation has been approved by two Hawaii Senate committees.

The Committee on Judiciary and Labor with the Committee on Health to pass SB 1460 on Friday afternoon, February 4, reports the Hawai’i News Daily. The bill establishes a civil violation for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana that is subject to a fine of not more than $100.

The bill would also delete reporting requirements of the board of education for students possessing an ounce or less of pot, and clarifies that medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers may assert an affirmative defense to prosecution, criminal or civil, involving possession of one ounce or less.

Possession of more than an ounce of marijuana would be excluded from the state courts and state paroling authority to require defendants or paroled prisoners to undergo and complete substance abuse treatment.

Patient Burns Marijuana Crop After Being Threatened

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 7, 2011 Growing, Medical

Photo: Ben Watanabe/South Whidbey Record

Captn Blynd sets a pile of marijuana plants and buds ablaze outside his Freeland, Washington home after he said he received threats against his medical marijuana cooperative.

The founder of Whidbey Island’s first medical marijuana cooperative has followed through on his pledge to destroy his supply of medical marijuana following perceived threats to his wife and himself.

Captn Blynd, of Freeland, Washington, stacked 11 juvenile and mature cannabis plants and a kilogram jar full of a half-pound of dried marijuana buds on top of a pile outside his home last Tuesday, poured a fifth of Monarch 151 rum tincture on it, and drenched it all with gasoline, reports Ben Watanabe of the South Whidbey Record.

“Do I look like a rich guy to you?” Blynd asked. “Somehow I don’t think I am. This is plant matter. It’s not money, it’s not power, it shouldn’t reflect wealth. It’s legalized to make sick people feel better. That’s what it did for me.”

R.I. Looks At 18 Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applications

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

Photo: Kathy Borchers/The Providence Journal

A large crowd turned out Monday morning for public hearings on the 18 applications for licenses to operate medical marijuana compassion centers in Rhode Island.

A large crowd turned out for the Rhode Island Department of Health’s hearing Monday morning to gauge what the public has to say about the 18 applications for licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries, or compassion centers as they are known in the state.

The hearing kicked off with three elected officials expressing strong opposition to the compassion centers. Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung, Rep. Peter Palumbo (D-Cranston), and Rep. Doreen Costa (R-North Kingstown) all expressed “grave concerns” about the proposed dispensaries, reports The Providence Journal.

Fung, who serves as public safety director for Cranston, said that Congress still characterizes marijuana as “a dangerous drug,” and he doesn’t want a compassion center in his city.

NM Medical Cannabis Law Will Continue For Now; Gov. Opposes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 6, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Terra.com

N.M. Gov. Susana Martinez opposes safe access for patients, and wants to repeal her state’s medical marijuana law.

New Mexico’s medical marijuana program will continue for now, although the state’s new Republican governor has made it clear she dos not support the law, which allows people with certain medical conditions to use cannabis.

Gov. Susana Martinez said during her campaign that the state’s medical marijuana law puts state employees in the position of violating federal law and she’d like it repealed, reports the Associated Press.

But she also said New Mexico had pressing budget issues, so repeal is “not a priority” in the 2011 legislative session.