Graphic: LEAP

​Either you support the failed Drug War party line, or your opinion isn’t welcome. That seems to be the policy at a U.S. government-sponsored substance treatment conference in Chicago next week. Innovative solutions like legalization aren’t even allowed at the table.

A group of police officers, judges and prosecutors who support legalizing and regulating drugs is crying foul after a federal agency reneged on a contract that gave the law enforcers a booth to share their anti-prohibition views at the Chicago conference.

After accepting registration payment from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at first told the police group that its booth was being cancelled at the National Conference on Women, Addiction and Recovery “because of overbooking and space concerns.”

Graphic: Yes On Prop 19

​Proposition 19, the California ballot measure to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis, would enable the state to steer police resources toward more pressing matters, generate hundreds of millions in revenue to fund vital services, and protect children, roadways, and workplaces, according to a new nonpartisan report.

The report (PDF) confirms that Prop 19 will enable state and local governments to tax marijuana and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
According to the report, “Proposition 19 allows local governments to authorize, regulate, and tax various commercial marijuana-related activities… We estimate that the state and local governments could eventually collect hundreds of millions of dollars annual in additional revenues.
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), which provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy advice, released the report Tuesday.
Proposition 109 would enable California to sensibly adjust police priorities, according to the report.

Following Recent Raids, Medical Marijuana Advocacy Groups Call On President Obama To Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart To Be DEA Administrator

Obama’s DEA Head Must Follow Stated Medical Marijuana Policy, End Obstruction of Marijuana Research, and Base Marijuana Rescheduling On Science Rather Than Ideology

A coalition of organizations supporting medical marijuana patients and providers is calling on President Obama to withdraw his nomination of Bush holdover Michele Leonhart to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Leonhart, currently the DEA’s acting administrator, has not demonstrated that she is capable of leading the agency in a thoughtful manner at a time when 14 states have enacted medical marijuana laws and science is increasingly confirming the therapeutic benefits of the substance, according to NORML.

Photo: Ask Bury

​The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to license up to four large marijuana farms in industrial areas to supply the city’s four medical cannabis dispensaries, a groundbreaking decision that could result in the mass commercialization of a formerly illicit crop.

The 5-2 vote came after two hours of heated debate between growers who argued the proposal could destroy their livelihoods, and businessmen who said it could turn Oakland into the Silicon Valley of marijuana, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.

Photo: The Sacramento Bee
Medical marijuana entrepreneur Stephen Gasparas operates a Redding warehouse where he grows medical marijuana for patients.

​Redding won’t be joining a growing group of California cities looking to fix budget deficits by taxing medical marijuana.

A City Council majority on Tuesday evening strongly rejected the idea of taxing the city’s 19 medical cannabis dispensaries, reports Scott Mobley at The Redding Record Searchlight.
“There are people who abuse it (medical marijuana), and people who don’t, and that is the people (this tax) would impact,” said council member Dick Dickerson, who, along with Mary Stegall, strongly opposed the concept of taxing medicinal cannabis.

Photo: CanIdoit.org
Don’t ask me why they do it, but Brits traditionally mix their cannabis with tobacco. But they’re just like Americans in another way: Most of their politicians are reactionary cowards.

​​The chairman of the Bar Council for England and Wales, Nicholas Green QC, has said it is “rational” to consider “decriminalizing personal drug use.”

Other politicians, terrified at even the faint appearance of taking a stand or displaying any leadership qualities at all, quickly and predictably attacked Green’s remarks, claiming they “sent out the wrong message on drug use.”
Taking this step would save billions of pounds (drug-related crime costs the British economy £13 billion a year), free up police time, cut crime and improve public health, reports Christopher Hope at the Telegraph
Presumably, actually being rational about drugs is considered quite a radical position.

Photo: Gary Storck
Wisconsin patients ask: Is My Medicine Legal Yet?

​Dane County, Wisconsin citizens will vote in November on whether they think the state should legalize medical marijuana. The County Board voted unanimously to place the advisory referendum on the ballot, making the county the state’s first to introduce a medical marijuana resolution.

The ballot question will ask: “Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?”
Sup. John Hendrick of Madison, who introduced the resolution Thursday, said he was surprised at the board’s unanimous approval — but he won’t be surprised if the referendum passes by a 70-30 margin or better, reports Devin Rose at the Wisconsin State Journal.

Photo: James Stacy
Federal medical marijuana defendant James Stacy leads a protest: “I tried to help people and now I face life in prison, even though I did not break the law.”

​Medical marijuana advocates are expressing outrage that former San Diego County dispensary operator James Stacy is facing federal marijuana prosecution.

After Stacy opened a medical pot shop called “Movement In Action” in Vista, he was charged with federal counts of illegally manufacturing and distributing marijuana after undercover buys made by a San Diego County sheriff’s detective and resulting raids by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents at his home and business, reports Peter Hecht of The Sacramento Bee.

Photo: Larry King Live
Larry King lights a joint for federal medical marijuana patient Robert Randall on the air in 1988.

​​Now that TV and radio talk show icon Larry King has announced he’s retiring as host of CNN’s Larry King Live this fall after 25 years on the air, Toke of the Town thinks it’s a good time to remember some of the best stoned moments on the long-running show.

Larry King Live holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. King has conducted 50,000 interviews, according to Wikipedia.
Inevitably, with that many shows under his belt, King has covered the marijuana issue quite a few times, resulting in some memorable episodes. Below are a few highlights from the show that go the best with bong hits.

Photo: Lincoln Clarke
If this is your garden and you live in Pitt Meadows, Mayor Don MacLean has a message for you: Get the hell out of town.

​Pitt Meadows may be the ban-happy capital of Canada.

The list of outlawed businesses in the sleepy little British Columbia town include massage parlors, X-rated video stores, strip bars, hydroponic gardening stores, nuclear power plants, used car lots, and even giant advertising icons placed on the tops of buildings — you know, those big gorillas you see at car dealerships.
Existing municipal bylaws ban all those things in Pitt Meadows, and now they’re going after legal medical marijuana — the first town in Canada to do so, reports Rod Mickleburgh at The Globe And Mail.
“We are just saying ‘no,'” said Pitt Meadows’ longtime mayor, obvious Nancy Reagan fan Don MacLean, of the town’s move to ban the production of medical marijuana.
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