| Sklyer Reid/Voice Media. |
The call to release testimony heard by the Staten Island grand jury that cleared Daniel Pantaleo got a big boost last week, when Public Advocate Letitia James and two legal advocacy groups applied to have a wide range of materials from the proceedings disclosed.
The court in Staten Island has so far released only the most basic information about the grand jury that examined Eric Garner’s death.
| Flickr/perthhdproductions |
A new study from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance shows that people who had THC in their systems at the time that they suffered a traumatic brain injury were significantly more likely to survive the trauma. One of the study’s authors, surgeon Brian Nguyen, says that the results show yet again that the federal government should loosen the rules that restrict scientists and doctors from studying the effects of cannabis.
“There are medical benefits to marijuana that aren’t as robustly studied,” he says. “Further research needs to be done on this controversial compound.”
| This should not equal life in prison. |
Back in May, we told you about Jacob Lavoro, a 19-year-old who was arrested in Round Rock, Texas after cops busted in his door and found a tray of pot brownies. Lavoro isn’t simply facing pot charges, he’s looking at anywhere from ten years to life in prison thanks to ass-backwards laws in Texas regarding hash and hash oil and how products are weighed
| San Diego mayor Bob Filner. |
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is a friend of medical marijuana patients. Not only has the guy apologized for federal raids on dispensaries in his city, he’s now urging jurors in a local medical marijuana case to ignore federal marijuana laws and find a defendant not guilty for operating a medical marijuana dispensary.
Ronnie Chang was arrested by federal agents in 2009 and faces trial this fall. His attorneys argue that he was following California law allowing him to operate a medical marijuana center. But federal courts won’t allow those arguments to be heard since they don’t recognize medical marijuana at all.
| Rose Shields |
| Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion was found not guilty of marijuana distribution by a jury of his peers on Thursday |
Here’s some great news: It’s getting harder and harder for hapless, overwhelmed prosecutors to get a marijuana conviction in the United States — even when the amount in question is a pound, and the charges are distribution, not simple possession.
| Law Offices of David Sloane |
| Zachariah Walker is facing a Texas jail term for possessing two grams of marijuana |
| Juror 110 |
| A photo found on “Juror 110’s” blog site, with a declaration from Jury Nullifier “Peter” |
[Juries] have the right beyond all dispute to determine both the law and the facts, and where they do not doubt of the law, they ought to do so. This of leaving it to the judgment of the Court whether the words are libelous or not in effect renders juries useless (to say no worse) in many cases.
| MySpace |
| Kadeem Wilkerson: “When I pulled out the firearm, their attitude just changed up. I got my weed back…” |
Hey man — I didn’t rob these people. They tried to rob me when I sold them marijuana. That’s a line of defense you don’t see very often, especially in Georgia. But it worked.
| Photo: Oakland County Daily Tribune |
| Barb Agro, 70, was barred from mentioning during the trial that she is a registered, legal medical marijuana patient. |
A 70-year-old woman was convicted on a marijuana charge by a Michigan jury after they were instructed by the assistant prosecutor to “follow the law and not use sympathy” when weighing her fate.
| Graphic: The Bilerico Project |
| In a move sure to sweep the land, a jury pool has refused to convict the defendant of a marijuana charge |
In what could grow into something much bigger in future cases, potential jurors in Missoula County District Court staged a revolt Thursday, taking the law into their own hands and making it clear they would not convict anybody for having less than 2 grams of marijuana.