Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Marijuana Dispensary Joins Chamber Of Commerce

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 4, 2010 Dispensaries, News

The Hemp Center: “We’re trying to represent a more upscale experience”

The Hemp Center in Littleton, Colorado, has become the first medical marijuana dispensary to join the local Chamber of Commerce, in what may be a sign of growing acceptance of the cannabis industry.

The family-owned shop on downtown’s Main Street was approved last month by the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, reports Peter Jones at The News Press.

It took the chamber’s governing board of business leaders less than five minutes to reach its unanimous decision to approve The Hemp Center’s application, according to chamber president John Brackney.

CA: Marijuana Delivery Services Sidestep Dispensary Bans

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 4, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Green House Collective

Services such as Green House Collective deliver marijuana to California patients

Hundreds of medical marijuana delivery services are circumventing bans on storefront pot dispensaries in California, bringing cannabis directly to people’s homes and offices across the state.

The delivery of marijuana through these services shows how quickly California’s pot industry is moving out of the shadows and into uncharted legal territory, report Gary Cohn and Michael Montgomery at California Watch.

The “mobile dispensaries” advertise a wide range of strains, edibles and related products in newspapers and on the Internet. One service even delivers organic vegetables along with medical marijuana, as part of a “farm-direct” service.

Canadian Police Raid Marijuana Compassion Clubs

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 4, 2010 Dispensaries, Global

Photo: CTV

Police officers oversee the spoils of Thursday’s raids. Canada’s Conservative government appears to be cracking down on medical marijuana

Canadian police raided marijuana compassion clubs around the city on Thursday. A major anti-pot dragnet in Quebec resulted in raids at five cannabis clubs in Montreal and Quebec City, and police said they arrested 35 people for distributing marijuana.

Officers forced their way into the clubs, which offer marijuana to those who need it for medical reasons, and seized 35 kilograms (77 pounds) of cannabis, $10,000 in cash and computer equipment, reports CTV.

Police claim the clubs — four in Montreal and one in Quebec City — were selling cannabis without a permit from Health Canada. Those arrested are expected to be charged with trafficking, possession and conspiracy, according to police.

Michigan Medical Marijuana Smokers Club Reopens After Raid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 4, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

Photo: Lansing City Pulse

Rev. Wayne Dagit before the bust: “I’m not serving pot, I’m serving the Lord.” Dagit remains in jail on $500,000 bond.

A Michigan medical marijuana smokers club has reopened for business while its owner, the Rev. Frederick Wayne Dagit, remains in jail on $500,000 bond.

Dagit, 60, was arrested May 26 after the Tri-County Narcotics Team raided the Green Leaf Smokers Club and his home in Meridian Township east of Lansing. Police said they seized more than 100 pounds of marijuana, mostly at Dagit’s home, reports the Lansing State Journal.

“They treated us like criminals, forced us to the ground, even though I have to walk with a cane,” said patient Terry Clark, 48, who said he suffers from arthritis, seizures and chronic pain.

Clark and the one other customer in the club at the time eventually were asked to show their state-issued medical marijuana cards, which they did, according to Clark. They were then allowed to leave.

Oakland Could Allow, Regulate Commercial Marijuana Growing

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Growing, Medical

Photo: Humcounty.com

Two members of the Oakland City Council are planning to propose legislation, possibly this month, that would allow and regulate the commercial cultivation of medical marijuana.

Council members Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan said they hope the rules will limit the public hazards sometimes associated with large-scale illegal marijuana growing operations, reports Kelly Rayburn of The Oakland Tribune.

Under their plan, Oakland, California would allow a small number of commercial marijuana cultivators, regulate them carefully, collect taxes on the revenue, and, Reid and Kaplan hope, keep neighborhoods safer.

Elementary Schoolkids Given Anti-Medical Pot Propaganda

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Culture, Medical

Graphic: KAJ18

A controversial anti-medical marijuana flyer forced upon elementary school students in Billings, Montana, is causing an uproar.

About 300 Newman Elementary School students went home with the propagandistic flyer Tuesday afternoon. The flyer asks people to “take action” against the medical marijuana business, reports KAJ18.

With the headline “Medical Marijuana Crisis,” the bright-yellow flyers call marijuana a “gateway drug” and urge parents to “take back control” by contacting local officials, attending public meetings or volunteering time, reports the Billings Gazette.

“Our community and our children are at risk,” the flyers read in capital letters.

The inaccurate and often alarmist information on the flyers is not credited to any source, and an email address listed at the bottom does not work.

Group Pushes For Legalized Medical Marijuana In Pennsylvania

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: PennLive.com

Bills that would legalize the medical use of marijuana are before the Pennsylvania House and Senate — and polls show that a majority of Pennsylvanians support them.

If the Legislature follows the will of the people, the Keystone State would be the 15th in the nation to legalize medicinal use of cannabis.

The Legislature is seriously considering making marijuana legal for seriously ill patients with specific conditions, but as usual, opponents are claiming it will make pot more available to everyone — as if anyone who wants weed can’t find it already.

Colorado High Court Declines To Hear Big Medical Pot Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 3, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Johnny California

The controversial court ruling last year requiring medical marijuana caregivers and dispensaries to do more than simply supply cannabis will not be heard by the Colorado Supreme Court.

The high court on Thursday declined to hear on appeal People v. Clendenin, a case in which the Court of Appeals upheld Stacy Clendenin for cultivation and sale of marijuana, reports Matt Masich at Law Week Colorado. Clendenin argued it was legal for her to sell medical marijuana because she qualified as a caregiver under Colorado’s medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2000.

Pair Accused Of Buying Marijuana With Senator’s Credit Card

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2010 News

Photo: News 10

Bernell Bryan Washington (left) and Sky Manriquez are accused of going on a spending spree, including buying $225 worth of marijuana withwith the senator’s credit card

A couple who investigators claim used a Virginia state senator’s American Express card to buy marijuana at a Sacramento dispensary have surrendered to authorities.

Bernell Washington, 24, and Sky Manriquez, 21, turned themselves in because of the intense publicity surrounding the case, according to Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force commander Capt. Jim Cooper, reports George Warren at News 10.

The pair is accused of going on a spending spree with Sen. Richard Saslaw’s credit card. Saslaw is Democratic majority leader in the Virginia State Senate.

The couple’s purchases included expensive restaurant meals, smoking paraphernalia and $225 worth of medical marijuana from the Fruitridge Health and Wellness Collective.