Toke of the Town

A Hit Of Sanity: City Council Allows Six Marijuana Dispensaries To Open

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: mrc.la
Compassion and common sense: a good combination in La Puente

​In an inspiring show of common sense, the La Puente, Calif., City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow six medical marijuana dispensaries to open.

The first pot shop in town, La Puente Medical Cannabis Center, opened two weeks ago. Employees there declined to comment, reports James Wagner at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
City officials appeared not to take very seriously the grandstanding tactics of pot-hating Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley. Media whore Cooley last month said he would prosecute medical marijuana shops — even those protected by city ordinances.
“If they sell it, it’s illegal,” Cooley’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons told the Daily Bulletin on Wednesday.
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San Francisco Looks At Taxing (Recreational!) Marijuana

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By on Culture, Legislation, News


The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering the taxation of marijuana — and, for once, we’re not talking about the medical kind.

S.F. Supevisor David Campos just introduced legislation top create a task force to look at recreational marijuana regulation and taxation, KGO-TV reports.

“The taxation of non-medical cannabis is something people have talked about,” Campos said. “I am someone who is very committed to making sure this industry is responsible.”

According to Campos, the task force would periodically report back to the Supervisors over the course of three years.

San Diego Marijuana Dispensary Owner Pleads Guilty In Federal Case

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Green Kross Cooperative
Another casualty of D.A. Bonnie Dumanis’ medical marijuana crackdown, in which she invites federal DEA agents to thwart the will of the people of California

​A San Diego medical marijuana dispensary owner pleaded guilty Thursday to three federal charges.

Joseph Nunes was arrested when federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents and local law enforcement executed a search warrant at Green Kross Cooperative on Sept. 9. The agents said they seized $38,000 in cash from the dispensary.
The Green Kross warrant was part of a crackdown involving raids of 14 marijuana dispensaries in San Diego County.
​San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who oversaw the Sept. 9 raids (and who seems to be quite a lover of headlines), issued a press release gloating about how she shut down the operations of “drug dealers.” Yet, according to Dave Maass at Safe Access San Diego, the preening D.A. provided very little evidence to back up her claims.
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Colorado Legislators Unveil Medical Marijuana Plan

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

wussuphater.wordpress.com
Cannabinated Colorado: Medical marijuana regulations are coming to the Mile High State.

​Two Colorado legislators today unveiled their plan for regulating medical marijuana in the state via an extraordinary guest editorial in The Denver Post.

“Colorado voters spoke clearly when they passed a constitutional amendment that permitted medical marijuana use, but the amendment left many oversight and regulatory questions unanswered,” wrote State Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver) and State Rep. Tom Massey (R-Poncha Springs) in the opinion piece. “That is why we are acting in 2010 to honor the intent of the constitution and help patients.”
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Holy Smoke! ‘Marijuana Minister’ Sentenced To Two Years Behind Bars

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By on Culture, News

Graphic: Clint JCL

​Self-proclaimed “marijuana minister” Steven Swallick of Brevard County, Fla., was sentenced today to two years in prison.

Swallick, who was arrested in May 2008 after police said they found more than 100 marijuana plants growing in his Palm Bay, Fla., home, says he is the minister of a church called The Hawai’i Cannabis Ministry (THC Ministry).
“Cultivation and enjoyment of Cannabis sacrament is a fundamental human right provided by God and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” THC Ministry says on its website.
Police had testified they found dried marijuana inside Swallick’s oven and in baskets on top of kitchen cabinets.
Rev. Swallick, 53, showed no visible reaction upon his sentencing, according to WFTV. During his testimony in the trial last month, he had worn a white priest collar and a black suit jacket and shirt, with a black cross hanging from a black-beaded necklace.
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Bill To Legalize Marijuana Introduced In Washington Legislature

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Public Domain
Federal government pot farm at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. Under Washington state’s proposed legalization bill, pot would be grown by state-licensed farmers and sold only through state liquor stores.

​Washington state pot advocates who thought they had to choose between a marijuana decrim bill ($100 fine for under 40 grams) and the status quo (including a mandatory night in jail for possessing any amount) just got another choice. A state lawmaker introduced a bill Monday to legalize marijuana in the state.

Under the bill, introduced by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), marijuana would be legal for persons 21 and older to use and possess, subject to regulations similar to those controlling alcohol.
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Marijuana Grower Used Government Loan To Set Up Pot Farm

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By on Culture, Global, Growing

Photo: DEA
Spend those government checks wisely.

​A jailed marijuana grower in the United Kingdom was given a government “crisis” loan after his release from jail — which he then used to set up another pot farm.

Stephen Duxbury was jailed for six months for running an earlier cannabis grow operation. He completed his time in October 2008. But on March 31 this year, police raided the house he was renting (the reason for the search is unclear).
A search revealed 123 marijuana plants in various locations around the home. The plants were being grown using a hydroponic system and illegally diverted electricity, according to the Telegraph.
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Marijuana Dispensary Death Watch: Latest Bans And Moratoriums

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By on Dispensaries, Medical

Graphic: Jim Wheeler
Safe access to marijuana remains a distant dream to many patients — even in states which have legalized medical use

​One by one, the lights are winking out. In city after city, town after town, in states where medical marijuana is now legal, patients who had dared hope they would at last have safe access to the medicine recommended by their doctors are having those hopes dashed.

The problem? Political cowardice and the panicked reaction of the status quo.

Every week brings more news of freaked out city councils and county boards of supervisors who desperately want to appear to be “doing something” — anything — about the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries.

This phenomenon is so far mostly confined to California and to a lesser extent Colorado, but it’s unfortunately also starting to happen in Michigan and Montana.
Rather than showing true leadership by showing genuine concern for patients and communities, too many local government officials are going for the easy, knee-jerk reaction. The level of disregard for the intentions of the voters — who clearly expressed their will by legalizing medical marijuana — is breathtaking.
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Urine Trouble: Samples Swiped From Utah Health Department

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By on Culture

Photo: Agpvtr
“Don’t worry about the piss test, man. I have a Plan…”

​Someone, possibly a doper with a guilty conscience, broke into public health offices in Logan, Utah, and absconded with 17 urine samples.

The burglary happened early Monday morning at the Bear River Health Department, according to AP.
The purposeful piss plunderers broke a window and then somehow got inside a padlocked refrigerator to swipe the pee, according to spokeswoman Jill Parker.
The urine was there as part of drug testing done in conjunction with a local substance abuse recovery program. Parker said nothing but the urine was taken.
The health department turned over surveillance video footage to police investigators.
According to Logan Police Captain Jeff Curtis Wednesday morning, the department has identified a “person of interest” but no arrests have been made.

New Poll: Majority Of Americans Support Marijuana Legalization

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By on Culture, News

addictionrecoveryhope.com
America has a Marijuana Majority, according to a new poll.

​More than half of adults in the United States are ready to legalize marijuana, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. According to the new poll, 53 per cent of respondents support legalization, while 43 per cent are opposed.

Support for legalization is highest among Democrats at 61 percent. Independents favor legalizing pot with 55 percent, but only 43 percent of Republicans want to legalize.

Less than 10 per cent of respondents support the legalization of other drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

The use of marijuana is illegal in the U.S. except in some regulated cases of medical use in 13 states. The amount allowed for such purposes varies depending on the state. Some states have passed laws to reduce penalties for possession of small, “personal use” amounts of marijuana (“decriminalization”).


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