Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Nation’s Largest Indoor Pot Grow Proposed For Chico, CA

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 31, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: RCMP

A Los Angeles-based company is proposing a 600,000-square-foot indoor hydroponic medical marijuana grow that would be the largest in the United States.

The proposed grow would be located in one of the largest vacant buildings in Chico, California, located at Chico Municipal Airport Industrial Park, once occupied by clothing distributor Koret, reports Toni Scott of the MediaNews Group.

The property is being eyed by Plant Properties Management, LLC, which has hopes of creating a business model unparalleled in the medical marijuana industry.

N.M. Wants To Charge $1,000 For Pot Growing License; 7% Tax

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 31, 2010 Dispensaries, Growing

Photo: RolledTooTight

The New Mexico Department of Health is asking for public input on proposals for changing the state’s state-licensed medical marijuana program, including ways to make the program pay for itself and to make it more “tightly regulated.”

One of the proposals would levy a 7 percent tax on annual gross receipts of the nonprofit organizations that cultivate medical marijuana in the state, reports Marjorie Childress at the The New Mexico Independent. The reason the producers don’t already pass gross receipts tax is because they are, by law, operated as nonprofits.

The department is also looking at increasing the producers’ application fee from $100 to $1,000.

Intruders Bang Man’s Head With Bong, Steal His Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 News

Photo: 777bongs.com

Alright, alright, we get it. Your head hurts. Shake it off already, and tell me if my Molino “Mad Scientist” bong is OK, man!

OMG, is the bong OK?!

Two masked intruders broke into a Colorado man’s home early Sunday, banged him over the head with a bong, and stole his medical marijuana, cash, and a backpack, according to police.

The 24-year-old assault victim suffered head injuries and was treated at Colorado Plains Medical Center, police Lt. Jared Crone told Dan Barker at The Fort Morgan Times.

The masked assailants came into the Fort Morgan home of Aaron Simons, 24, from the back of the house, and one of them struck Simons in the head with a glass bong before gathering the pot, the cash and the backpack and making a quick exit around 1:57 a.m. on Sunday.

The estimated value of the stolen goods is $1,865, according to police.

This is the first time a marijuana robbery has ever occurred in Fort Morgan, Colorado, according to Fort Morgan Police Department records.

Kidnap Suspect Nabbed Thanks To Marijuana Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Jeff Totten/The Daily Californian

Berkeley Patients Group called the police when they discovered a customer had an outstanding warrant.

It’s safe to say that a bunch of cops swarming into a marijuana dispensary is usually not good news. But when police came into Berkeley Patients Group on Friday, it was because the pot club’s management had alerted them that a woman wanted on a parental abduction warrant had entered the building.

The Berkeley Police Department confirmed the arrest of a local woman at the dispensary.

Berkeley Patients Group marketing manager Brad Senesac said his dispensary has “a really good relationship” with the police.

Bear in mind that if you have any outstanding warrants, you may not want to get your medicine at BPG.

For some feel-good reading from our sister blog SF Weekly in the Village Voice Media empire, check out Joe Eskenazi’s story here.

Sure, I’m A Cop… Give Me All Your Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: xiongdudu

Man Posing As Police Officer Seizes 12 Pot Plants, $500, Gun

Fake, fake, fake the police?

A Michigan man told police a suspect posing as a police officer made off with his marijuana plants, a gun, and $500 at about 2 p.m. on Friday, according to police reports.

The victim told police he saw two vehicles pull up to his home in Flint, Mich., reports Laura Misjack at The Flint Journal.

A 65-year-old man first knocked and asked to see a woman who didn’t live there. The victim said he told him the woman didn’t live there and shut the door.

Then the man knocked again, this time claiming to be a police officer.

FOX Affiliate Airs Nation’s ‘First’ TV Ad For Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Culture, Medical, News

Ads Promoting Cannabis Dispensary Air Monday

Photo: KTXL

This is claimed to be the first time an ad for medical marijuana has ever aired on mainstream television.

Sacramento FOX affiliate KTXL, “FOX40,” on Monday morning ran a paid TV advertisement for a medical marijuana dispensary, thought to be the first time an ad for medical marijuana has ever aired on mainstream television.

The 30-second ad, paid for by Sacramento-based CannaCare and produced by KTXL, features patients delivering testimonials on the benefits of medical marijuana, reports Matthew Keys at FOX40 News. Text at the bottom of the screen indicates that marijuana can be used to relieve symptoms of many illnesses, including diabetes, HIV, hepatitis C and hypertension, among others.

Note that in the TV news report from FOX40 above, reporter Elissa Harrington manages to miss the point when she compares marijuana ads to alcohol and tobacco ads. Neither alcohol nor tobacco is used for medicinal purposes as is marijuana — and, of course, neither alcohol nor tobacco use comes with a doctor’s legal authorization, as does cannabis — so there’s no reason that broadcast rules applying to recreational substances should be applied to medicine.

Cannabis Quote Of The Day: Dr. Robert Melamede

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Nimbin Wave

Dr. Bob Melamede, president and CEO of Cannabis Science Inc.

“What we’re seeing is a global revolution that’s going to end this insane prohibition against cannabis in this country. Who in their right mind would outlaw an anti-aging drug that kills cancer cells and uses the same activity that’s found in mother’s milk?”

~ Dr. Robert Melamede, president and CEO, Cannabis Science Inc.

Editor’s note: For a fascinating interview with Dr. Bob Melamede by Michael Roberts about how relaxing medical pot laws in Europe could have an incredibly beneficial effect on U.S. states, visit our sister Village Voice Media blog, Denver’s Westword.

New Study Shows Marijuana Effective In Reducing Pain

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Chris Jackson/Montreal Gazette

Canadian Researchers Establish Scientific Basis For Medical Use Of Cannabis

There’s now more scientific evidence for what many patients have known for awhile: Smoking marijuana can ease chronic neuropathic pain and help patients sleep better, according to a team of researchers in Montreal.

The new study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that pain intensity among patients decreased with higher-potency marijuana, reports Caroline Alphonso of The Globe and Mail. The study represents an important scientific attempt to determine the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

“A single inhalation of 25 mg of 9.4 percent tetrahydrocannabinol herbal cannabis three times daily for five days reduced the intensity of pain, improved sleep and was well tolerated,” the study concludes. “Further long-term safety and efficacy studies are indicated.”

‘Square Grouper’ Film Looks At 1970s Pot Smuggler Culture

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 29, 2010 Culture, Products

Square Grouper was the nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes during the halcyon smuggling days of the 1970s and 80s in South Florida.
It’s also the name of a new documentary from filmmaker Billy Corben and rakontur, the creators of Cocaine Cowboys and The U.
“This movie is based in part on my book,” Robert Platshorn, America’s longest-serving pot prisoner and author of Black Tuna Diaries, told Toke of the Town Sunday.

Reddit’s Owner Refuses Pot Legalization Ads; Staff Revolts

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 27, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

First, there was Facebook’s censorship of marijuana leaves in legalization ads on its social network. Then came Google’s decision to accept and run nearly identical ads. Now, an announcement from social news site Reddit’s corporate owner, Conde Nast, to Just Say Now that it will not run any display advertising relating to marijuana legalization has resulted in an near-insurrection among the site’s users — and administrators, who said they were “blindsided” by the move.

That decision, unlike Facebook’s, pertains not just to images of marijuana leaves, but to any ads supporting legalization of marijuana, according to the “corporate offices” of Reddit’s parent company, Conde Nast.