Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Former Bank Could Become Marijuana Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Dispensaries, News

Dude, this could turn into some serious overdraft action.

Talk about “high” interest! A building formerly occupied by a bank could become a medical marijuana dispensary in Rhode Island.

One of the 18 applications for medical marijuana dispensaries in the state names a former bank building at 6851 Post Road in North Kingstown as its location, reports Chris Church at the North Kingstown Independent.

Marijuana would not be grown at the bank building. It would be cultivated at a windowless building in Cranston, R.I., according to the application sent to the state Department of Health by applicants Chronic Pain Management Centers of Rhode Island.

Law Enforcement Says Hunters At Risk From Marijuana Growers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee

A special agent with the Bureau of Land Management looks at marijuana plants illegally growing on BLM land in El Dorado County, California.

California’s public lands are overrun with medical marijuana growing operations, guarded by armed crews toting powerful weaponry — and hunters are at risk, according to a law enforcement panel including game wardens and a Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement task force commander.

The message came Sunday during the 24th International Sportsmen’s Exposition at Cal Expo in Sacramento, reports Loretta Kalb of The Sacramento Bee.

The Mexican drug cartels have turned to California for their operations that now supply much of the United States with weed, according to the panelists.

San Diego County Eyes $11,000 Yearly Fee For Pot Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: San Diego Organic Wellness Association

In what smacks of a shakedown, San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will discuss an ordinance that would require medical marijuana dispensaries to pay the county $11,017 a year, the sheriff’s alleged “cost to regulate” the facilities.

The annual fee, according to county staff, would cover the cost of issuing operational permits, investigating applicants, and for “inspections” after shops have opened, reports Dorian Hargrove of the San Diego Reader.

Confidential Patient Registry Out; Law Enforcement Database In

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: CTI

The Colorado Department of Revenue has released 99 pages of new regulations governing medical marijuana in the state. The most concerning aspect of these new rules, according to the Boulder-based Cannabis Therapy Institute (CTI), is the invasion of patient privacy they allow.

In order to buy cannabis at a Medical Marijuana Center (the legal name for dispensaries in Colorado), patients will be forced to give up their constitutional right to confidentiality and become participants in the Colorado Medical Marijuana Patient and Medicine Tracking Database and Surveillance System, according to CTI.

Wyoming Supreme Court Rejects Man’s Medical Pot Defense

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: KJCT8

People who legally obtain medical marijuana in other states are not exempt from criminal prosecution for possessing it in Wyoming, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

The court unanimously ruled last week in the case of Daniel J. Burns of Boulder, Colorado, who was arrested in March 2009 in Laramie County, Wyoming on a felony drug possession charge after he was caught with more than a pound of marijuana in his vehicle, reports Bob Moen of The Associated Press.

Burns, who has a Colorado medical marijuana card and doctor’s certification to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, argued that Wyoming drug laws exempt people who are prescribed drugs by a doctor.

Idaho Lawmaker Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Idaho Moms 4 Marijuana

Idaho patients have already fought long and hard to legally use the medicine which works best for them.

A northern Idaho lawmaker has once again introduced a bill which would legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow) earlier this week sponsored the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to establish a system for patients to legally obtain and use marijuana with a doctor’s approval, reports The Associated Press.

The bill would allow patients with illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis to have access to legal marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries.

It’s time for legislators to help reduce the suffering of seriously ill citizens, according to Trail.

If the bill passes, patients would need authorization from a doctor to get medical marijuana. Patients or their caregivers would also have to register with the state.

Ban Overturned! Phillies Blunts Can Be Sold In Philly Again

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Products

Photo: The Montana Chronicles

Here’s the beginning of making a Phillies Blunt live up to its full potential.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Philadelphia law banning the sale of “blunt cigars” in places other than tobacco shops and hotels.

The high court agreed with several cigar companies, ruling that the Philadelphia City Council has no authority to pass such a ban. According to the court’s ruling, only the state can ban blunts, reports Mike Dunn at CBS Philly.

The justices ruled that blunts are covered under the state’s Controlled Substances Act, which preempts local legislation.

Stanford Pushes To Legalize Cannabis In Oregon

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: KATU

Paul Stanford, THCF: Prohibition of cannabis hemp, destroying lives and families in the process, is truly evil.

If Paul Stanford has his way, cannabis will become legal in Oregon next year. The executive director of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) is working to get a measure on the ballot in 2012 to legalize marijuana in the Beaver State.

Pot should be taxed like cigarettes and alcohol to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state, according to Stanford, who said cannabis would be regulated and sold to people over the age of 21, reports Joe Raineri at KATU.

“We want to regulate it so that businesses like bars and taverns that bar the admission of minors can offer that as a business,” Stanford said.

Montel Williams Supports Medical Marijuana Bill In Maryland

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Marijuana Policy Project

Montel Williams: “Every day that they delay is another one of needless suffering for patients like me all across the state”

Multiple sclerosis patient and media celebrity Montel Williams will speak at a press conference Monday in Annapolis in support of legislation that would make Maryland the nation’s 16th state allowing physician-approved use of medical marijuana.

Williams grew up in Baltimore, where his father was the city’s first African-American fire chief, Montel graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the U.S. Navy as a decorated Naval Intelligence officer after more than two decades of service before starting his second career as a TV talk show host.

In 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Following his diagnosis, he created the Montel Williams MS Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease and providing inspiration to those who live with MS.

Williams has advocated for the compassionate use of medical marijuana in a number of states that have approved or are considering new laws.

Montel will be joined at the Maryland press conference Monday by the chief sponsors of the state’s medical marijuana legislation: physician and Delegate Dan Morhaim, and Senators Jamie Raskin and David Brinkley, both cancer survivors.

NORML Director Predicts 2012 Cannabis Initiatives In Four States

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Nilo Radio

NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre: “This is the generation that’s going to be at the vanguard of legalization”

Marijuana initiatives will likely be on the ballot next year in at least four U.S. states — California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — according to Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“I think these states are going to try to pass initiatives in 2012,” St. Pierre told about 80 attendees at a University of Central Florida NORML meeting Wednesday night, reports Katie Kustura at the UCF student newspaper, Central Florida Future.

However, St. Pierre warned, if they don’t reach the “magic number” of 58.5 percent in favor and maintain that support for at least six months, any initiative — marijuana related or not — will not succeed.

One of the reasons that probably led to the failure of California’s Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana there, is the fact that it was “too detailed” and left proponents open to attack from the opposition, according to St. Pierre.