Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

Pot Legalization On California Ballot In November

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 24, 2010 Legislation, News

Hey Golden State, are you ready to legalize weed?

Here’s your chance! California will be voting this November on whether to legalize and tax marijuana.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County election officials must turn in their count of valid signatures collected in the county for the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.

And that number is virtually sure to be enough to put the initiative over the top, qualifying it for the November ballot, according to a tally kept by state election officials.

New York Could Become 15th State To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: GanjaGrow.es

A primo bud of Big Apple namesake New York Diesel. The Empire State is primed to become the 15th in the nation to allow medical marijuana — but, sadly, with no homegrown allowed.

Months after neighboring New Jersey became the 14th U.S. state to legalize marijuana for medical use with a doctor’s recommendation, New York appears ready to follow suit.

The Empire State’s medical marijuana bill has already passed the State House, and now has favorably cleared a Senate committee, included in the state budget.

Millions in license fees are at stake, reports Lou Young at CBS, but advocates say that’s not why the bill should be approved.

Young reports opposition to the New York bill is weakening, but marijuana being marijuana, of course there are some nervous Nellies.

“We’ve seen it in California. It doesn’t work in California,” lamented the hysterically reefer-phobic Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn). “We believe, I believe personally that it’s a gateway drug and it will open up for more usage of marijuana amongst kids, and lead to further drug use across our state,” Golden said, in an apparent (and if so, successful) attempt to construct an elaborate sentence containing absolutely no trace of intelligent thought.

Washington: Marijuana Legalization Gaining Momentum

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Emerald Herb

“It’s an idea whose time has come,” said Douglas Hiatt, co-author of Initiative 1068, which would legalize marijuana in Washington State.

And now it’s time for voters to take matters into their own hands, according to Hiatt. “This year, one in six legislators sponsored marijuana reform legislation,” the activist attorney said Tuesday at a press conference on the steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia.

“And again this year, major reform did not get out of committee,” Hiatt said. “So we formed Sensible Washington and wrote an initiative that removes the criminal and civil penalties for adults.”

Every poll taken shows that if I-1068 gets on the ballot, it will win. Washington voters support sensible marijuana laws.

Tuesday’s press conference detailed a wide and diverse array of endorsements, from former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper to Republican legislator Toby Nixon.

Netherlands: Kidnapped Cannabis Cafe Owner Escapes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Dispensaries, Global

Photo: ZieZoZuid

Coffee shop owner Said Faggouss was kidnapped by masked gunmen from his business on Dec. 8.

A Dutch man who was kidnapped from his cannabis-dispensing coffee shop in Amsterdam last December, escaped from his captors in Belgium on Tuesday, according to Dutch police.

“Despite the cuffs around his ankles, he managed to escape and alert the police at a petrol station,” Amsterdam police said in a statement, according to IOL.

Said Faggouss had been held since December against his will at a building in Maasmechelen in northeast Belgium.

Marijuana Discussion Urged At Clinton’s Drug Policy Summit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Global, Legislation

Graphic: Freaking News

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) on Tuesday urged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to include a discussion of marijuana prohibition — and effective alternatives to it — at a major drug policy summit in Mexico.

Secretary of State Clinton is leading a delegation, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, to Mexico City for a two-day conference focusing on ways the United States and Mexico can “break the power” of drug-trafficking organizations.

Free Premiere: ’10 Rules For Dealing With Police,’ D.C., Wednesday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: StoptheDrugWar.org

The Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., will host a free premiere of the new film 10 Rules For Dealing With Police at noon on Wednesday, March 24.

Produced by the nonprofit group Flex Your Rights and funded in part by the Marijuana Policy Project, the new documentary discusses the constitutional rights of citizens and the proper protocol for dealing with police.

The screening will be followed by comments from Baltimore trial lawyer William “Billy” Murphy, who narrates the film, and retired police Detective Neill Franklin, now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Tim Lynch, director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, will moderate.

L.A. Taking Steps Toward Enforcing Marijuana Dispensary Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Merchant Circle

Dave Warden displays his wares at a Los Angeles medical marijuana dispensary

Two Los Angeles City Council committees were poised Tuesday to take a major step towards enforcing a new ordinance that would shut down hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries around the city within months.

The City Council passed the ordinance in February, but it can’t take effect until registration fees for the pot shops have been established, reports KPCC Wire Services.

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee and Budget and Finance Committee are both expected to take a vote on the registration fees Tuesday.

A manager of an existing collective with no significant issues or construction will have to pay the city about $1,595 in registration fees, according to a report submitted to both committees by City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana.

“My goal for the joint committee meeting is to move forward with the medical marijuana collective fees and final draft ordinance,” said Councilman Ed Reyes, chairman of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

“I continue to work closely with the affected city departments and review public testimony to ensure that the collective fees are fair, reasonable and prioritize the health and safety of our communities,” Reyes said.

Colorado Lawmakers Want To Bar Cities From Banning Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: David Walter Banks

Boulder County Caregivers employees Randy (left) and Peter Kurzawski, behind the counter, help customers at the dispensary in Boulder, Colorado.

A Colorado House committee wants to bar communities in the state from banning medical marijuana dispensaries.

The House Judiciary Committee said Monday that communities already have the power to license and zone the dispensaries, making a ban unnecessary.

Lawmakers aren’t sure if the laws apply to home rule communities like Denver, reports The Associated Press.

The committee rejected a proposal that would have allowed veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to use medical marijuana, saying lawmakers “shouldn’t be making medical decisions.”

Humboldt County Plans To Be Ready For Pot Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2010 Growing, Legislation, News

Photo: PhoenixPharmer

A juicy bag of primo local product, Humboldt County Kush. How will legalization affect the Emerald Triangle’s booming pot economy?

In what is being described as an unprecedented event, residents, local business people, officials, and industry leaders plan to meet in Humboldt County, California Tuesday night to talk about the potential economic effects of the legalization of marijuana, reports Donna Tam of the Eureka Times-Standard.

“It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room,” said organizer Anna Hamilton.

Shelter Cove resident Hamilton said she is “intimately involved” with the marijuana business and has seen the market get worse due to changing pot laws.

Poll: 50 Percent Of New York Voters Favor Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2010 Medical, News

Graphic: NORML

A new poll shows half of New York state voters support legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana.

The Siena Research Institute says 50 percent back medical legalization, while 41 percent are opposed and 9 percent say they don’t have enough information, reports The Associated Press.

Medical marijuana was particularly popular among liberals (72 percent support), among those between 18 and 34 (62 percent), and Democrats (55 percent), according to pollster Steven Greenberg.

Conservatives opposed medical pot (61 percent), as did Republicans (59 percent).

The poll surveyed 810 registered voters in New York from Monday through Thursday of last week. The margin of error is 3.4 percentage points.