| Photo: The Fresh Scent |
Some Victims Were Tied Up, Pistol Whipped; All Were Robbed of Marijuana
Police in Bremerton and Kitsap County, Washington have arrested three men who they believe broke into and robbed at least a dozen homes of marijuana users in recent months.
People at some of the victimized homes were legal medicinal cannabis users, while others were illegal users, according to Bremerton police, reports Josh Farley of the Kitsap Sun.
| Graphic: Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative |
| About 100 of the state’s 500 caregivers have already joined the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine trade group. |
Medical marijuana patients looking for information about the state’s new dispensary law, or checking out options on getting their medicine have a new resource: the Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine, a trade association that plans to adopt cultivation standards, keep prices low and advocate for safe access in the Legislature.
None of Maine’s eight licensed dispensaries has opened yet, reports Susan Sharon at The Maine Public Broadcasting Network. But according to the Department of Health and Human Services, about 100 medical marijuana patients have registered with the state and another 100 are in the process.
Hundreds more patients are expected to sign up by year-end, according to Jonathan Leavitt, board chairman of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine.
“Realistically the number probably is somewhere between 750 to 1,250 qualified patients in this state,” Leavitt said. “And I think those numbers will bear out by the end of the year when people are actually required to register.”
Many patients will soon access their medicinal cannabis at one of the eight new dispensaries allowed after Maine voters expanded the state’s decade-old medical marijuana law. But for those who prefer anonymity, getting marijuana through a licensed caregiver is another option.
| Photo: Freedom To Exhale |
“If confirmed as administrator, we would continue to enforce the federal drug laws.“
~ Michelle Leonhart, November 17, 2010
It’s not looking good for marijuana advocates after day one of the Senate confirmation process for Michelle Leonhart, President Obama’s nominee to head the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Acting DEA director Leonhart is nominated to officially fill the position she’s already held for three years, and after being prodded by reactionary Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, she had no compunctions about pledging to continue to enforce federal drug laws in states where medical marijuana is legal.
Such a pledge is remarkable in view of the fact that just last year, the Justice Department issued a memo instructing federal attorneys to back off on enforcement against medical marijuana patients and providers who are following their state laws.
| Photo: NORML Blog |
| What do you do when you have a booming, very profitable marijuana tourism industry? Shut it down, of course! If you’re the conservative Dutch government and have your head up your ezel. |
There goes the tourism industry.
In a hare-brained move, the new conservative government of the Netherlands said on Wednesday it plans to ban tourists from buying cannabis in its famed “coffee shops,” where hash and marijuana are legally sold. The shops have become a very popular attraction for travelers from other countries.
The new government, which took office last month, has agreed to limit the sale of cannabis to Dutch residents only, to curb supposed crime linked to its production and sale.
“No tourist attractions. We don’t like that,” said Ivo Opstelten, the Dutch minister for security and justice on Wednesday, reports Gilbert Kreijger of Reuters.
“The heart of the problem is crime and disturbances surrounding the sale,” Opstolten claimed. “We have to go back to what it was meant for: local use for those who would like it.”
| Photo: mares8 |
Nine more Long Beach, California medical marijuana dispensaries will be forced to shut down under amendments passed by the City Council Tuesday night, leaving 27 locations for legal patients to obtain cannabis.
The council reached a late-night compromise, voting not to fully support changes to the city’s medical marijuana law that had been supported by three Council members, but still adding some new restrictions for the collectives, reports Paul Eakins at Contra Costa Times.
Fortunately for patients, the Council didn’t, as had been proposed, restrict marijuana cultivation to industrial areas, nor limit the number of collectives allowed throughout the city. But it did create buffer zones around city parks where dispensaries will not be allowed to operate.
“I think what’s being proposed tonight is overly restrictive,” said Councilman Robert Garcia. “We are talking about patients, and these are people that have been prescribed medicine and they have a right to access that medicine.”
| Photo: Gallatin County, Montana |
| Sheriff Jim Cashell: The case is being investigated and detectives “may have some leads” |
About $15,000 worth of cannabis was stolen from a medical marijuana grower’s building Sunday night near Bozeman, Montana, Gallatin County Sheriff Jim Cashell said Tuesday.
The building, in the town of Four Corners, was damaged during the break-in, although law enforcement declined to discuss details, reports Jodi Hausen at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
This is the second time in two weeks the business had been burglarized, Sheriff Cashell said. He did not have any details about the first burglary.
The case is being investigated and detectives “may have some leads,” according to the Sheriff.
| Graphic: Safer Texas Campaign |
Texas politicians are heavily under the influence of alcohol — big alcohol industry money, that is.
With Texas politicians collecting a significant percentage of their campaign contributions from the alcohol industry after the November election, the Safer Texas Campaign is renewing its call on elected representatives to stop accepting such money until Texas allows the regulated use and sale of marijuana as a safer alternative to alcohol.
According to campaign records provided by the nonpartisan, nonprofit FollowtheMoney.org, the five Texas politicians who have received the largest contributions from the alcohol industry are:
• Governor Rick Perry
• U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Lt. Governor David Dewhurst
• Texas House Speaker Joe Straus
• Attorney General Greg Abbott
These five politicians accepted a total of $1.4 million from Big Alcohol during the 2010 election cycle, according to the Safer Texas Campaign, which is a project of ProtectYouth.org.
| PA House of Representatives |
| Rep. Paul Costa denies that he was smoking marijuana in the parking lot outside a Steelers game. |
A western Pennsylvania lawmaker stands accused of smoking marijuana while tailgating last month in the parking lot outside a Pittsburgh Steelers football game.
Pittsburgh police claim State Rep. Paul Costa, 51, was caught sharing a joint with another man in the parking lot of Heinz Field on October 3. Undercover Officer Alex Lee Myers claims he saw Costa (D-Wilkins) and another man passing the joint between them, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Since the Ravens beat the Steelers 17-14 that day, who could be mad at these guys for “allegedly” dulling the pain with a little herbal medicine?)
“He adamantly denies that he smoked any marijuana,” said Costa’s attorney, Phil DiLucente. “No narcotics of any kind were found on him. In fact, he detests marijuana,” DiLucente added.
Myers and police Sgt. Steve Matakovich were walking through the parking lot when they said they saw Costa and Mitchell Brourman, 50, of Edgewood, “smoking and passing between them a hand-rolled white cigarette,” while standing next to a 2008 white GMC Yukon.
Myers claimed he could smell “the overpowering scent of burning marijuana coming from the smoke surrounding both Brourman and Costa.”
| Photo: Fox 2 |
| Never mind that medical marijuana isn’t against the law for authorized patients in Michigan. MSU’s gonna bust legal patients if they bring pot on campus. |
A policy prohibiting legal medical marijuana patients from using or possessing cannabis on the campus of Michigan State University is coming under increasing fire.
In “Frequently Asked Questions” page on MSU’s website, the policy is outlined, reports Todd A. Heywood of The Michigan Messenger:
3. Does the Act change University policy regarding drug use or possession on campus?No, University policies have not changed. Students and employees may not use or possess marihuana on campus. This is true whether the marihuana is smoked or ingested through other means. Michigan State University is subject to the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendment of 1989. Consistent with those laws, the MSU Drug and Alcohol Policy prohibits the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of controlled substances, illicit drugs, and alcohol on any property governed by the Board of Trustees and at any site where work is performed by individuals on behalf of the University. The Alcohol and Controlled Substances Policy also applies to employees performing safety-sensitive functions and whose position responsibilities require they obtain a commercial driver’s license.Employees and students who violate University policy prohibiting the use or possession of illegal drugs on campus are subject to disciplinary action through the appropriate disciplinary process.
The problem with MSU’s policy, according to activists, is that it violates Michigan’s medical marijuana law, passed overwhelmingly by 63 percent of the voters in 2008. That law specifically prohibits anyone from denying rights and privileges based on the fact that a person is a legal medical marijuana patient.
| Photo: Reefer Movie Madness |
| I’m warning you, man… If you try it, you’re probably gonna get hooked. |
If you like marijuana and movies — especially both at the same time — you will absolutely love Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide.
Over the past four decades, the stoner movie has become its own genre. With such a multitude of choices available, how to pick the right flick for your next session?
Reefer Movie Madness, the long-awaited sequel to the successful Pot Culture series from Shirley Halperin, who has written for Entertainment Weekly, Us Weekly, and Rolling Stone; and Steve Bloom, former High Times editor who now does the website CelebStoner.com, is the most extensive guide ever to feature films with specific stoner appeal.
My only warning is that you’ll be spending a lot of time with the volume, because not only is it well-written and well-researched, it’s chock full of fascinating information, anecdotes and interviews based on the culturally constructive collision of cannabis and cinema.