Toke of the Town

Canada: Liberals Will Reintroduce Marijuana Decrim Bill

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By on Global, Legislation

Photo: Macleans
Canadian Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff: It’s time to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use

​Canadian Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said his party will reintroduce legislation to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

The Opposition Leader told an audience of about 200 people in Montreal on September 27 that the Libs would bring back Martin Cauchon’s decrim bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for possession of under 15 grams of cannabis and replace them with fines, reports Jeremiah Vandermeer at Cannabis Culture.
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Marijuana Thief Beaten By Enraged Homeowners

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By on Growing, News

Photo: Ernie’s Place
Here’s how they grow it in Ukiah. And don’t even THINK about getting sticky fingers, unless it’s yours and you’re rolling a joint.

​If you’ve ever considered doing something really stupid like ripping of someone’s pot crop, here’s a cautionary tale for you.

A 46-year-old Dublin, California man was hospitalized with a coma earlier this week after reportedly being beaten by the Ukiah residents whose marijuana plants he was allegedly trying to steal, the Ukiah Police Department reported on Thursday.

According to the UPD, the incident began shortly before 2 a.m. on September 23 when a resident called 911 to report that a group of people were burglarizing her home, and one of the suspects was being “detained in the back yard” by other residents, reports the Ukiah Daily Journal.
When police officers arrived on the scene, they saw the frightened Dublin man running desperately from the house and immediately detained him. The suspect had “serious facial injuries” and told officers he had come to the Ukiah area to “steal marijuana.”
He said he had gone to the home on Myron Place with “some local associates,” and they were in the back yard stealing marijuana plants when the residents surprised them.
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Decrim In Cali! Schwarzenegger Signs Bill: Pot Now $100 Fine

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Salem News
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: “In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources” prosecuting petty pot offenses

​A bill downgrading the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction has been signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The law, SB 1449 by Senator Mark Leno, means small-time pot offenders will no longer have to appear in court, and will no longer have a criminal arrest record. It will also save California millions of dollars in court and prosecution expenses, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
The bill treats petty cannabis possession like a traffic ticket, punishable by a simple $100 fine and no arrest record.
“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” Gieringer said. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”
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Majority Support: Prop 19 Pot Legalization Leads With 52%

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By on News

Photo: ZUMA Press/Newscom
Supporters of Prop 19 hold up signs in Irvine, California, August 22, 2010

​The latest poll on California’s Proposition 19, which would legalize adult marijuana recreational marijuana use and allow local governments to regulate and tax sales, shows the ballot initiative ahead with 52 percent supporting it and 41 percent against it.

The poll [PDF], released late Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California, shows strong majorities of independent (65 percent), Democratic (63 percent), and Latino (63 percent) likely voters support Prop 19 when read the full ballot title and label, as do those ages 18 to 34 (70 percent). Those 35 and older are divided on the measure.
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Oregon Democratic Party Endorses Marijuana Dispensaries

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By on Dispensaries, News

Democratic Party of Oregon

​The campaign for Measure 74, which would legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, announced Wednesday that they have received support for their cause from the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Co-author and chief petitioner Anthony Johnson said the endorsement will help his campaign by getting the word about to voters that the measure is on the ballot and that it “further legitimizes medical marijuana as medicine,” reports Sarah Ross of The Oregon Politico.
Of course, the usual suspects, chiefly including law enforcement, were quick to criticize the ballot measure. Bruce McCain, an attorney who is also a retired captain from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, claimed the measure could be “political cover” for legislation that would further decriminalize marijuana.
“I’m just trying to give an objective analysis of what 74 is going to do, and 74 is simply the next step to Prop 19,” claimed McCain, citing the California voter initiative that could legalize and regulate adult recreational marijuana use in that state if it passes in November.
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Advocates Say Oregon Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Needed

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By on Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Christopher Onstott/Portland Tribune
A West Linn, Oregon marijuana grower, who asked to remain anonymous, tends the crop he grows for a number of cardholding patients. The grower said he plans to open several medical marijuana dispensaries and farms statewide if Ballot Measure 74 passes in November.

​Almost everyone who has offered an opinion on Oregon’s medical marijuana program — whether they support or oppose it — agrees that, one way or the other, the program needs fixing.

Activist John Sajo, a co-author of Ballot Measure 74, which would legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, said the measure would go a long way towards doing that, reports Peter Korn of the Portland Tribune.
Medical marijuana advocates, including Sajo, executive director of pro-cannabis organization Voter Power, contend that as many as half of the state’s almost 40,000 cardholding patients have trouble consistently getting the medicine they are entitled to for pain relief.
That’s because the initial ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana in Oregon — passed by voters in 1998 — gave patients the right to grow their own, or designate a grower for them. But in a bit of impractical thinking, the original ballot measure said that growers could not be paid for the cannabis they supply to cardholders.
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Panel Backs Expanding N.M. Medical Marijuana Program

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By on Uncategorized

Photo: KOB
Patients and caregivers spoke in favor of adding depression to the list of qualified conditions for medical marijuana in New Mexico. The board then recommended adding depression by a 5-2 vote.

​In a pivotal split vote, a panel that advises New Mexico on medical marijuana policy voted Wednesday to allow major depression as a qualifying condition.

The board also unaimously voted to allow some patients to exceed the legal amount of medical cannabis for personal use, on a case by case basis, report Kayla Anderson and Taryn Bianchin at KOB Eyewitness News.
The recommendations now go to Dr. Alfredo Vigil, health department secretary. If he agrees, depression would be the 16th medical condition approved for patient medical marijuana use, reports Phaedra Haywood at The Santa Fe New Mexican.
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N.J. Medical Marijuana Advocates To Meet In October

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By on Medical, News

Graphic: CMMNJ

​The Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey will host the first monthly meetings of its Patient Advocacy Group in locations around the state in October. Medical marijuana patients, their caregivers and physicians are invited to attend.

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law in January 2010, and full implementation is expected early in 2011, reports Shore News Today. With the law, New Jersey joined 13 other states and the District of Columbia in recognizing the medical applications of marijuana.
Patients with qualifying conditions, whose physicians have formally recommended medical marijuana as part of their treatment, are allowed to buy up to two ounces of cannabis per month from state-licensed dispensaries.
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Police: Texas Mom Busted After 4-Year-Old Tried To Sell Pot

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By on Uncategorized

Photo: Growery

​Police arrested a 22-year-old mother Monday after neighbors said her four-year-old daughter had tried to sell them a brick of marijuana.

Maria Ipina, 22, of San Juan, Texas, was charged with possession of a controlled substance after officers discovered more than 200 grams of cocaine in her apartment, according to San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez, reports Dave Hendricks of the The Monitor of McAllen, Texas.
“It’s unbelievable,” Chief Gonzalez said.
Ipina’s six-month-old child and four-year-old daughter were taken to live with a grandmother.
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Man Who Tried To Rob Pot Farmers Rescued By Deputies

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By on Growing, News

Photo: Orange Juice

​Deputies rescued a Fontana, California man who earlier tried to rob marijuana farmers, but instead was shot at and became lost in the forest, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials. Oh, and they found 3,000 plants. Sound like a set-up?

Alan Drew Smith, 52, was arrested Monday for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for attempted robbery, reports the Victorville Daily Press.

Investigators learned Smith had gone into the forest area near Silverwood Lake north of Devore to try to rob marijuana farmers, officials said in a press release.
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