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A North Carolina lawmaker introduced a bill Tuesday that would legalize medical marijuana use for qualified patients.
State rep. Kelly Alexander says that while this is the third or fourth time such legislation has been proposed, this may be the first year it truly has a chance of passing. “I think the climate in the state and the climate in the country has significantly changed,” he said.

GreedOutOfWeed.org

Get The Greed Out Of The Weed, a group of what seems to be incurable optimists is still holding out hope that President Obama will do the right thing when it comes to marijuana policy. In their view, that would mean a “baby steps” approach of rescheduling marijuana from its current ultra-restrictive Schedule I status under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act to the least-restrictive Schedule V.
Get The Greed Out Of The Weed leader, AIDS/HIV activist and medical marijuana pioneer Richard Eastman is a busy man these days. Right after he returns to Washington D.C., for the next stop on the Get The Greed Out Of The Weed Tour on July 22 along with thousands of AIDS/HIV activists for the “Keep The Promise March On Washington,” he will begin planning his protest at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

DC Xposed
Does Obama need weed?

Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal, he of “Ask Ed” fame and a slew of grow-books, said on Wednesday afternoon that many of the President’s policy problems can be written up to the fact that Obama is suffering from marijuana deficiency syndrome (MDS).

Speaking with Toke of the Town to promote his new book, Marijuana Pest & Disease Control, Rosenthal speculated about the President’s intentions with the current federal crackdown on medicinal cannabis providers.

All photos by Jack Rikess for Toke of the Town


By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The demonstration that was planned for Tuesday morning to protest the most recent letters sent by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag took on an added dimension of anger and unabashed outpouring of emotion with the Feds’ untimely raid on East Bay’s Oaksterdam and Richard Lee yesterday morning.  Hundreds of patients, caregivers and activists streamed to the steps of City Hall, carrrying signs and chanting slogans to relieve the anger most were feeling from the assault on Richard Lee. 
The elegant David Goldman, from Americans for Safe Access, commanded the podium and took Haag to task for making the assumption that most patients are basically faking it and dispensaries are nothing more than illegitimate drug dealers. David and others spoke of the Attorney General’s additional comment that she is only “going after dispensaries, not patients,” which garnered many boos from the crowd.  
Supervisor David Chu, observing the crowd, said, “We’re Black, we’re Asian, we’re White, we’re Latino, and today…San Francisco is Green!” Applause echoed between City Hall and the surrounding buildings, drawing in more supporters.

Photo: Melanie Maxwell/Detroit Free Press
Ann Arbor residents Jaymz Edmonds, left, and T.J. Rice protest outside the OM of Medicine marijuana dispensary Thursday in Ann Arbor after a police raid of the nearby A2 Go Green dispensary.

​Raids, Closings Leave Medical Marijuana Patients Hurting

Many medical marijuana dispensaries in Michigan closed their doors on Thursday following a Court of Appeals ruling.

“It would be dangerous to operate with the specter of a criminal case hanging over our head,” said John Lewis, lawyer for Compassionate Apothecary in Mt. Pleasant, the center of the controversy, reports the Detroit Free Press.

Some Ann Arbor area activists sought to regroup at a rally Thursday night, reports Kyle Feldscher at AnnArbor.com.

Photo: KREM.com
Charles Wright was one of the five men federally indicted Wednesday in a federal crackdown on medical marijuana in Spokane, Washington

​A federal grand jury has indicted five medical marijuana dispensary owners in and near Spokane, Washington. On Wednesday, a laundry list of federal marijuana charges, including distributing and selling near an elementary school, were announced in the indictments.

Four of those indicted consist of two two-man owner teams from two separate Spokane dispensaries, while the fifth person indicted was allegedly cultivating more than 100 marijuana plants in Loon Lake, Washington.

Graphic: Las Vegas City Life

​The Libertarian Party of Clark County, Nevada has issued a statement which says it is “outraged” at the recent medical marijuana raids in the county. “Voters spoke some time ago about this issue and agree that medical marijuana should be legal in our state,” the statement said.

“We support the rights of citizens of Nevada to decide and in conjunction with the Constitution of the United States; we hold emphatically this supersedes any federal law on this matter,” the statement said, according to the Independent Political Report.
“As a reminder, President Obama promised that states’ laws concerning this matter would be respected and that the federal attacks would end,” the statement said. “However, it seems that resources are still being wasted targeting patients and law-abiding Americans.”
“What occurred was nothing less than government-sponsored theft,” the statement said. “The fact that no arrests were made adds to the reasoning that no crimes have been committed. These businesses have been given no answers or reasons for the seizures and the Libertarian Party is stating that these raids are illegal and that the targets are innocent of any wrongdoing.”

Photo: Disinformation

​Despite campaign promises to the contrary, the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder has continued raiding marijuana dispensaries in states where cannabis is legal for medical purposes. But the DOJ has changed one policy now that it’s under Democratic control: It has stopped publicizing medical marijuana raids, refusing to distribute press releases and requesting that more cases be sealed under court order.

After recent Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in Las Vegas, Nevada (last week), Mendocino County and San Diego, California, and in Michigan (all in July), the DEA and U.S. Attorney’s offices issued no press releases and held no press conferences, reports Mike Riggs at The Daily Caller.

Photo: Owl Jester/Seattle Hempfest
“There’s no place more perfect to announce our plans for 2011’s campaign than at the world’s premier marijuana reform festival.” ~ Douglas Hiatt, Sensible Washington

​​If at first you don’t succeed, try again!
Sensible Washington, sponsor of this year’s Washington legalization initiative I-1068, has announced that it will launch its 2011 marijuana legalization campaign at this year’s Seattle Hempfest.
“There’s no place more perfect to announce our plans for 2011’s campaign than at the world’s premier marijuana reform festival,” said Douglas Hiatt, chair of Sensible Washington and main author of I-1068, which failed to gain enough signatures to qualify for this year’s general election.

Cannabis Planet

​A television show themed around medical marijuana, including growing tips and recipes, will debut in San Diego tonight.

Tonight’s episode of “Cannabis Planet” will include a segment critical of the heavy-handed raids carried out against local dispensaries last fall, reports Eleanor Yang Su of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“We’re fighting for safe and legal access for the medical cannabis community,” said Brad Lane, creator and executive producer of the new show. “In San Diego, there’s been some draconian measures by law enforcement officials against the cannabis community.”