A proposal to legalize medical cannabis in New South Wales, Australia’s largest and most populous state, gained huge support this week as Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbot gave his approval on a weekly radio program.
In fact, Abbot said that the proposed clinical trials don’t go far enough. Abbot says that there shouldn’t need to be clinical trials for a plant that is already legal for doctor’s recommendation in other Australian states.
It’s probably pretty fair to say that Cletis Williams didn’t have a whole lot of respect for the law.
With a rap sheet as long as his Arkansas drawl, including an alleged “previous altercation” with local police, Williams’ literal and legal contempt for the court system of Jonesboro, Arkansas had earned him a whopping 23 arrest warrants.
Even at the tender age of 57, the 6’2″ 250 pound Williams was not a hard man to find, and it wasn’t long before Jonesboro PD came looking for their version of southern justice.
Denver County Fair’s pot pavilion wasn’t supposed to have any cannabis on the premises, but several people have reported feeling sick and dizzy after eating candy bars given to them by a pavilion vendor, with two men going to the hospital — and one of them filing a class-action lawsuit about the incident.
Now there are conflicting statements from the fair and the vendor about a controversy that continues to build.
| Sheila Gallagher. |
It’s not necessarily the type of issue that school superintendents take up, but would-be state schools chief Sheila Gallagher says legalizing pot to pay for schools is among her top priorities.
Gallagher, who is running for the statewide position, says that current attitudes around cannabis are changing. People are going to use cannabis, she says, so why not tax it and put the money to good use: the state’s children.
Missouri Republicans might pass a bill that would allow cannabidiol oil – a form of medical marijuana – for people with severe epilepsy, but the restrictions on it are so tight that marijuana reform advocates are not exactly thrilled.
| Phil Konstantin |
| San Ysidro Border Crossing By Phil Konstantin |
As the busiest land border crossing in the world, the U.S./Mexico border checkpoint at San Ysidro in California has seen its fair share of smuggling attempts. But to this day, the stop and seizure of a van stuffed with four tons of marijuana back in 2002 remains as one of the largest weed busts on record at the bustling international checkpoint.
The discovery was made as the van was just a few car lengths away from a successful border crossing, in the lane of a seasoned Border Protection inspector by the name of Lorne “Hammer” Jones. Long respected among his peers as the last line of defense on our nation’s southern border, Lorne Jones, it turns out, had spent over a decade working in cahoots with powerful Mexican drug cartels, repeatedly waving through vehicles he knew to be loaded with illegal drugs, or illegal aliens.
| DopeCoin.com |
Medical and recreational cannabis is big business in several states, but dispensaries and customers are increasingly only able to accept and use cold, hard cash as banks refuse credit accounts for fear of federal prosecution.
But two software developers say they are working around that problem by creating the first digital currency targeted specifically for state-legal pot businesses.
| Big photos and more below. |
It was a Happy Halloween at Lightshade Labs, judging by this photo from the store’s Facebook page. But it’s probably an even happier March, since two Lightshade branches are among the latest shops licensed by the City of Denver to sell recreational marijuana. In the two-plus weeks since our last update, Denver has okayed seven more stores, bringing the official total to 54. All of them are included here in this list compiled by Westword’s Michael Roberts, along with photos, videos, links and excerpts from reviews of the ones visited by Westword marijuana critic William Breathes. Count them down below.
| The Mile High City. |
Legal marijuana sales have been going on in Colorado now for just about two months, and so far the sky hasn’t fallen. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Marijuana taxes are pumping money into state coffers and (despite high prices) the shops have all operated without any federal intervention.
Want to know which ones are open and what they are like? Our friends at the Denver Michael Roberts at the Denver Westword has been compiling a list of all 47 recreational dispensaries in the city so far, including links to reviews of most of the shops themselves. Page down for more.
| Attitudes on pot in Tenn. haven’t changed much since this photo was taken. |
Tennessee state Rep. Sherry Jones has stepped up to the plate for medical marijuana supporters in her state by introducing a bill that would legalize the plant for medical uses with a doctor’s recommendation. Now she just needs a state Senator to back her.
Language of the bill is not available at the state legislative site yet, but Jones says her bill will set qualifying conditions for medical cannabis as well as legalize the creation of state-regulated “pharmacies” to sell organically-grown herb to patients.
