Search Results: montgomery (52)

Veterans Today

​Raising worrisome First Amendment issues, U.S. Attorneys are getting ready to go after newspapers, radio stations and other outlets which accept advertising for California’s medical marijuana dispensaries, as the Obama Administration opens up another front in its ongoing war against medicinal cannabis.

After announcing earlier this month that landlords could have their property seized if they rent to dispensaries, the Administration seems to be including media outlets in its threats, as well, reports Michael Montgomery at California Watch.

Marijuana advertising is the next area U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy is “going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California,” she said. Duffy, whose district includes San Diego and Imperial counties, said she couldn’t speak for the other three federal prosecutors in the state, but noted they have coordinated their efforts thus far.

LSQ

​In a major escalation of the U.S. federal government’s war on medical marijuana dispensaries, federal prosecutors have warned California collectives they have 45 days to shut down or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property — even if they are operating legally under the state’s medical marijuana law, approved by voters in 1996.

California’s four U.S. Attorneys sent letters on Wednesday and Thursday to at least 16 dispensaries or their landlords notifying them they are violating federal drug laws, reports Lisa Leff at the Associated Press. Medical marijuana is legal in California, but federal law prohibits pot for any purpose.
The U.S. Attorneys are scheduled to announce their coordinated crackdown on dispensaries at a Friday news conference. Their offices have so far refused to confirm the closure letters.

The Weed Blog

​An Alabama lawmaker said on Friday that he will sponsor a bill during the 2012 session of the Legislature to legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Rep. K.L. Brown (R-Jacksonville) said his sister used medicinal cannabis 25 years ago to ease the suffering of her breast cancer, reports Patrick McCreless at The Anniston Star. According to Brown, the aim of his legislation is to provide similar relief to other chronically ill Alabama patients.
“My sister used it very successfully to control her nausea and pain,” Brown said. “I think the time has come for the state to consider medical marijuana.”
Brown, who said he had already met with state health department officials to consider their potential role if the bill is passed, said he plans to pre-file the bill by November. He will soon meet with other lawmakers to discuss the legislation.

Stuff Stoners Like
Wiz Khalifa tweeted “Waken… baken… wrist still achin” the morning after his marijuana bust at East Carolina University. All charges against the rapper have now been dismissed.

​Rap star Wiz Khalifa has been cleared of felony marijuana charges stemming from his arrest in North Carolina late last year.

On Wednesday, Pitt County District Attorney Clark Everett dropped a felony “drug trafficking” charge against Khalifa, who was arrested on November 8, 2010 after a show on the campus of East Carolina University when police discovered marijuana on his tour bus, reports James Montgomery at MTV.
Khalifa and nine members of his entourage were charged with trafficking, maintaining a vehicle for “sale or storage” of marijuana, and a misdemeanor charge of “drug paraphernalia” possession.
The trafficking charges were in error, according to D.A. Everett, because the amount of cannabis confiscated on the tour bus was 58 grams, only slightly more than two ounces, reports the Greenville Daily Reflector. For marijuana trafficking charges to stick in North Carolina, the threshold is 10 pounds.
There were 10 people in Wiz’s tour bus, according to Everett, and the star paid a “substantial premium fee” to a bail bondsman for covering the $300,000 bond for himself and all members of his entourage so everyone could leave immediately.

Photo: Cafe Vale Tudo

​Applicants for the District of Columbia’s medical marijuana program are now required to state in writing that they assume the risk of federal prosecution for growing or distributing cannabis, and that they cannot hold the city liable for arrests, according to newly revised rules.

The rules for the long-awaited program, published on Friday, for the first time pointedly mention federal prosecution because a Department of Justice memo from June says the federal government still considers marijuana a controlled substance, reports Tom Howell Jr. at The Washington Times.

Photo: Teesha McClam/Dayton Daily News
Tonya Davis and other activists are working to get a Constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot in November 2012 to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Davis said cannabis relieves her symptoms without the problems associated with harsh pharmaceutical narcotics.

​A group favoring the legalization of marijuana for medical uses in Ohio has taken initial steps to place a Constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2012.

Supporters of the “Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment” last week submitted 2,143 signatures on petitions to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine with summary language of the proposed amendment, reports Lynn Hulsey at the Dayton Daily News. DeWine sent the signatures out to local election boards for verification.
The group needs 1,000 valid signatures before DeWine will determine if the amendment summary is a “fair and truthful statement.” It will then be reviewed by the Ohio Ballot Board and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Photo: AMMJC
Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition Co-President Ron Crumpton, right, is interviewed by newspaper reporter Jason Bacaj of The Anniston Star.

​State Lawmaker: ‘Good Possibility’ He Will Sponsor A Medical Marijuana Bill In Alabama Legislature
Did you know that the Heart of Dixie stands an excellent chance to become the first medical marijuana state in the Deep South?
The newest Alabama group working to allow marijuana as medicine is taking its message to the people with a series of picnic-style meetings across the state. The Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition (AMMJC) group’s second event, was held Saturday in Jacksonville at Germania Springs Park.

A crowd that grew to close to 70 people was on hand for the picnic, including a state lawmaker who said there is a “good possibility” that he will sponsor a medical marijuana bill in the Alabama Legislature next year.

Photo: GoldenGatePark.com
San Francisco’s 4-20 celebration typically culminates in Golden Gate Park at Hippie Hill. But this year President Obama’s gonna be in town…

​By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

“They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy. She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me. I can’t help it if I’m lucky.” ~ Bob Dylan

I never planned on seeing the Beatles. It wasn’t my fault they didn’t sell out when they played St. Paul, Minnesota in 1965 and literally had to give away seats.
I’m sure if my Dad had to pay for tickets, my babysitter, a neighbor who had a driver’s license and one of his pals, would never have made it to Met Stadium that summer’s night to see one of the crowning events of my life.
The same could be said for Burning Man. I was just going to a bonfire. I never plan on being a part of something.

Graphic: VaporMe.com

​Every new industry is driven by risk-taking pioneers, and it’s no different with medical marijuana in the District of Columbia. Entrepreneurs trying for a piece of the cannabis action in D.C. are crafting business plans, arranging financing, and readying for fierce competition to get licenses to operate five dispensaries and 10 cultivation centers.

Whether motivated by prospective profits or a belief in the medicinal value of marijuana, “everyone is cagey about their plans, because no one is certain who is in the hunt,” reports Paul Schwartzman at the The Washington Post.
“People are hiding in the shadows,” said Alan Amsterdam, co-owner of a hemp store and part of a team hoping to open a marijuana dispensary and cultivation center. “Then they’ll strike like a cobra.”

Photo: yasni.de
Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin: “Politicians should not get in the way of people getting the medical relief they need”

​Just weeks after a bill to legalize medical marijuana in Maryland failed last spring, the state senator who sponsored the legislation — Jamie B. Raskin of Montgomery County — found himself with a very personal perspective on the issue.

His doctor told him he had a “worrisome” mass the size of a golf ball in his colon. Raskin, 48, learned four days later he had cancer, reports Ann E. Marimow at The Washington Post.
“Public health is now personal for me,” Raskin said. “I know what it means for people to be living on the absolute edge of hope and despair, and politicians should not get in the way of people getting the medical relief they need.”
Raskin, a Democrat, will be a leading voice on several issues during the legislative session, according to the Post, but when he talks about medical marijuana he’ll add a compelling personal story to the debate over whether Maryland should join 15 other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing cannabis for medicinal use.
Raskin said he didn’t consider medical marijuana during his chemotherapy because of a family history of asthma and cystic fibrosis. But he insists that he and his fellow legislators should work “to relieve suffering.” Medical marijuana, according to proponents and patients, can ease pain and nausea and stimulate appetite for those suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases.