Los Angeles strictly interprets restriction on pot dispensaries
When the Los Angeles City Council adopted its medical marijuana ordinance, it aimed to rout unscrupulous dispensary operators whose unruly customers irritated residents and operators who opened up willy-nilly across the city, ignoring a ban on new stores.
But the ordinance has snared operators who appear to have tried hard to adhere to state law and the city's rules. Among them are some of the most politically active operators whose dispensaries are considered model operations. Last week, the city sued these dispensaries and dozens of others and asked a judge to rule that they could be shut down.
Know the Benefits of Cannabis
Do you know what the current medical laws sweeping the United States mean? Do you really know how they work? Some of you may think that anyone can get medicinal cannabis... but this is not the case.
According to some new state laws, you must have at least one illness that exists on a very specific list of conditions that qualify. This illness must be diagnosed by a real doctor who recommends cannabis as an appropriate medication.
The doctor provides the patients with a written recommendation that it will alleviate the symptoms of their condition. Patients then have several options open to them depending on which state's laws they live under.
The first option in many states is to simply take the letter of recommendation from your doctor to a medical marijuana dispensary. They will most likely keep a copy of your letter on file and then you can purchase your prescription pot from this dispensary from that point on. If you need to move or buy them from another location, you need only have the doctor's note with you.
The next option is for you to take the letter from your doctor and send it in with certain health department forms to your state government. Your state's health department will then send you a medical card. This card can then be used at various dispensaries within your state. This option is required in some states and not in others, but either way you must have a condition for which your doctor can write a letter of recommendation to ingest cannabis.
Most states also provide a third option for patients. You can acquire your doctor's letter of recommendation and then send it in to the state's health department with the necessary forms. This third option, however, requires you to request a medical card in order for you to grow your own medicinal cannabis. The laws in this area not only vary by state, but also by county in some cases.
A qualified patient can be in possession of anywhere from eight ounces of them to several pounds and they can grow and maintain from six to fifty plants of varying maturity depending on which county of the state they live in.
It may seem like the new laws allowing prescription cannabis for certain patients are legalizing pot, but this is not the case. The new laws such as proposition 215 in California are being instituted to allow people who suffer from certain illness to access the medicine they need to feel better.
Referendum would challenge Los Angeles pot dispensary law
Medical marijuana advocates are gathering signatures for a voter referendum to block a recently passed Los Angeles law that will shutter hundreds of pot shops.
The effort is designed to overturn the city's medical marijuana dispensary ordinance before it takes effect in May.
Monday is the deadline to turn in 27,425 signatures and organizer Dan Halbert says "it's going to be close."
Marijuana legalization? A White House rebuttal, finally
The Obama White House has finally laid out its most thorough, reasoned rebuttal to arguments for marijuana legalization – countering a campaign that is gaining alarming momentum at the state level.
The president’s tough position was delivered in early March by his “drug czar,” Gil Kerlikowske, in a private talk before police chiefs in California – which is ground zero for this debate.
“Marijuana legalization – for any purpose – is a nonstarter in the Obama administration,” said Mr. Kerlikowske, a former police chief himself.
It’s almost certain that California voters will be asked in a November ballot initiative whether to allow local governments to regulate and tax marijuana (similar to taxes on sales of alcohol). Other states are considering similar proposals, which are really a backdoor way to legalize pot.
(For a Monitor news story on the California ballot initiative, click here)
Thirteen states have decriminalized the use or possession of small amounts of marijuana, which is not the same as legalizing it. Selling it is still illegal except in states where it is used for medical purposes. And under federal law, any sort of marijuana use or sale is a criminal offense.
The drug czar’s remarks are worth notice for two reasons. First, they provide needed talking points for those who oppose legalization but who can’t seem to make their message resonate in the face of a well-financed, well-organized pro-marijuana effort. Second, they help clear up confusion about the White House policy on legalization.
Los Angeles City Council Votes to Close 800 Marijuana Dispensaries
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to close roughly 800 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city by passing the first reading of an ordinance which would also require 75% of remaining dispensaries to relocate. The vote, to be confirmed in a second reading of the ordinance next Tuesday, will radically change the landscape of medical marijuana distribution in Los Angeles, which has been largely unregulated since dispensaries were first authorized by state law in 1996.
If the ordinance takes effect later this spring, medical marijuana dispensaries will have to find locations more than 1000 feet from various 'sensitive uses' -- including churches, public parks, schools, rehab centers, and other dispensaries. They will also be required to grow all their cannabis on-site, test it for pesticides, provide written notice of their existence to all neighbors within 1000 feet, maintain 24-hour complaint hotlines, hire unarmed security guards to patrol a two-block radius, keep 90 days of security footage and fulfill a number of other registration requirements with the city.
Top 10 Cannabis Studies the Government Wished it Had Never Funded
Yes, that's right.....Government funded studies have reached conclusions that marijuana prevents cancer, the gateway effect is a myth, and has no increased risk of lung cancer.
Can't really claim bias for this one....
10) MARIJUANA USE HAS NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY:
A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality. Tobacco use was associated with increased risk of death.
Legalizing and taxing marijuana would benefit society
California's budget turmoil is the worst in the nation. Sacramento closed a $42 billion deficit this summer only to face tens of billions more red ink already. Most expect another round of tortured budget balancing that further slashes aid to the most vulnerable, raises taxes and fees and kicks the can down the road with billions more in borrowing.
Meanwhile, California's largest cash crop is being largely ignored in the frenzied search for politically-viable revenue. The state’s marijuana yield is conservatively valued at $14 billion annually – nearly double the combined value of our vegetable and grape crops. The state Board of Equalization estimates that taxing adult marijuana consumption like alcohol would generate $1.4 billion in new revenue for the state. While that’s only a modest contribution toward our fiscal woes, it’s one more incentive to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition. In fact, the financial and human price that we currently pay for criminalizing pot is far too high.
OREGON: Medical pot a growing problem, but really is it?
Law enforcement officials in Albany and Linn County say there’s been a decline in seizures of large marijuana operations during 2009, but they are growing increasingly concerned about abuse of the medical marijuana card system.
The Democrat-Herald talked with Det. Capt. Paul Timm of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office and Capt. Eric Carter of the Albany police about trends in drug enforcement.
Timm said his agency’s “top four” drug concerns are marijuana, meth, heroin and prescription drugs.
Here is a rundown of the year 2009 in drugs from the sheriff’s office:
Seized: Some 1,294 grams of meth, 9,905 grams of dried marijuana, 1 gram of heroin, 27 prescription pills and six MDMA (Ecstasy) pills.
In 2008, 336 grams of meth were seized as were 1,831 grams of marijuana, 1 gram of heroin, 3 grams of cocaine and 95 prescription pills.
During the summer, Linn County runs special marijuana eradication efforts. Of the 526 marijuana plants seized in 2009, only seven were in outdoor grows. In those cases, 21 arrests were made.
COLORADO: Marijuana possession in Breckenridge no longer criminal – smoke and ski bundle coming soon?
It's a happy New Year indeed for pot smokers in Breckenridge. Possession of the drug is no longer a city crime in the mountain resort town.
A law taking effect Friday removes criminal penalties for adults over 21 who possess small amounts of marijuana or smoking paraphernalia.
The change is mostly symbolic, though, because pot possession remains a state crime except for patients with medical clearance to have the drug.
Selling marijuana is still a felony. Use of marijuana at the Breckenridge ski area is still illegal under the Colorado Ski Safety Act.
Source: AP
NORML Director: Amazing 2009! Awesome 2010 Ahead!
Dear NORML Supporter: It is not often that I feel compelled to write to NORML’s membership and supporters regarding the day-to-day operations of America’s leading marijuana lobby group. Then again, in my tenure as Executive Director of NORML and the NORML Foundation, there’s never been a time like right now.
Over the past several months NORML’s public prominence and political influence has grown by leaps and bounds. As I write you today I’m reflecting upon two of the most significant – and productive – weeks in NORML history. As we close the year 2009 I am proud to say that NORML has galvanized its position as the leading marijuana law reform organization. Why do I say this? Take a look at the events of these two weeks late this fall, and decide for yourself.
Washington among states considering legalizing marijuana, dozens of states weigh other reforms
Washington is one of four states where measures to legalize and regulate marijuana have been introduced, and about two dozen other states are considering bills ranging from medical marijuana to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the herb.
"In terms of state legislatures, this is far and away the most active year that we've ever seen," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, which supports reforming marijuana laws.
Nadelmann said that while legalization efforts are not likely to get much traction in state capitals anytime soon, the fact that there is such an increase of activity "is elevating the level of public discourse on this issue and legitimizing it."
"I would say that we are close to the tipping point," he said. "At this point they are still seen as symbolic bills to get the conversation going, but at least the conversation can be a serious one."
Opponents of relaxing marijuana laws aren't happy with any conversation on the topic, other than keeping the drug illegal.
"There's no upside to it in any manner other than for those people who want to smoke pot," said Travis Kuykendall, head of the West Texas High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area office in El Paso, Texas. "There's nothing for society in it, there's nothing good for the country in it, there's nothing for the good of the economy in it."
