Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jun 2016
Source: Portland Mercury (OR)
Column: Cannabuzz
Copyright: 2016 The Portland Mercury
Contact:  http://www.portlandmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1174
Author: Josh Jardine

CANNABIS NEWS ROUNDUP

Let's Twist Up a Fattie... of News!

Halfway There!-What's round at both ends and high in the middle? 
Snoop Dogg standing between two medicine balls. Also, Ohio! Governor 
John "Welp, I Tried" Kasich signed a bill this month to legalize 
medical cannabis, making the Buckeye State the 25th state. It won't 
go into effect for 90 days, and when it does, it will have some restrictions:

Although residents with a doctor's recommendation will be allowed to 
use cannabis, there will not be any (legal) licensed growers or 
dispensaries in the state until 2017 or 2018.

Medical marijuana patients will not be allowed to grow their own 
plants (cough cough-monopoly much?).

Oh, and don't bother investing in any papers or a bong. "The law 
prohibits the smoking of medical marijuana... but permits vaping 
products, patches, and certain edibles," according to the Columbus Dispatch.

And if your employer has rules prohibiting cannabis usage, you can 
still be fired, even with your doctor's recommendation.

Puff, Puff, Lift-I have 387 excuses why I can't go to the gym. "Not 
being able to get high there" just dropped off that list, at least 
the next time I'm in San Francisco. The aptly named Power Plant 
Fitness will open in the Bay Area this summer, and they're catering 
to the bud-friendly bodybuilder. The gym is the brainchild of 
co-owner Jim McAlpine, who is the founder of the 420 Games. Known as 
the "Olympics for Stoners," the games feature obstacle courses, golf 
tournaments, and their signature event, a 4.20-mile run. ("Wait, I 
thought you knew where the finish line was, man...") But this is 
about working out, not toking up.

"It won't be a place to get high and just screw around," McAlpine 
said on the 420 Games blog. "We are focused on the athletic side, not 
the cannabis side." The gym will offer a "cannabis performance 
assessment" to help users determine the best manner and time to 
ingest cannabis. And San Francisco prohibits indoor smoking, so for 
now, the only options involve vaping and edibles. McAlpine is working 
on a deck that would allow smoking.

Mississippi Los Angeles Goddamn-In a surprise that should come to no 
one who is alive, minorities in California are being cited for 
cannabis possession at a rate of nearly four times that of whites, 
reports the Huffington Post. The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and 
American Civil Liberties Union of California gathered data from Los 
Angeles and Fresno, and came up with some sad but none too surprising 
conclusions: Black citizens are cited for cannabis possession at four 
times the rate of whites. As in, one-two-three-four. FOUR TIMES.

It seems that things have actually gotten worse for minorities since 
California passed a reform of their marijuana laws. "The disparity is 
worse than the rates at which blacks were arrested for simple 
possession of marijuana prior to 2011, when possession was a 
misdemeanor offense," wrote Amanda Reiman, California policy manager 
of the DPA. "In 2010, blacks were 2.2 times more likely than whites 
to be arrested for marijuana possession." Latinos aren't faring much 
better, being cited at 1.7 times the rate of whites in Fresno, and 
1.4 times in Los Angeles.

The DPA thinks the rates may even be higher than reported. 
"California has a long history of data collection challenges 
regarding Latinos, who are often classified by law enforcement 
officers as white and thus undercounted," wrote Reiman. The hope is 
that if adult-use recreational cannabis passes on the California 
ballot this November, the issue of disparate enforcement will be 
addressed. There is also the hope that we will learn how to treat one 
another based on something other than skin color, but, you know, I 
get high a great deal. So don't hold your breath for that one any time soon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom