I'm eating in a McDonald's for the first time in years. I'm here looking for drugs. To enter the Haight Ashbury's most dangerous business, I must run a gauntlet at the door. A quick sidestep is needed to avoid bumping into three unattended young children bounding out into the Saturday evening sunlight, presumably in the throes of a salt-and-fat rush. Inside, the L-shaped dining room is half-empty. A few people stand by the bathrooms; older solitary men nurse cups of coffee and shuffle through newspapers at tables near the service counter. Scanning the menu, I try to remember what Michael Pollan - or was it Eric Schlosser? - said is acceptable to eat here. I opt for small fries, and $1.95 later I'm seated on a plastic stool at a plastic table, ready to observe a hotbed for drug sales and violence in action. [continues 898 words]
Police, Federal Agents Disrupt Pot Education Convention Las Vegas police and federal agents arrested 10 people and seized drugs over the weekend at Hempcon, a marijuana education convention at the Cashman Center. People who were there described seeing police dogs around the event, as well as officers on the roof of the building, apparently looking for people smoking marijuana. The arrests outraged event organizers, and some attendees said they left medical marijuana patients frightened as Nevada's first legal dispensaries prepare to open. [continues 766 words]
Canines work at sniffing out drugs, firearms and ammunition at area penitentiaries A visitor who once tried to smuggle some drugs into an area correctional institution appeared to be drug-free to correctional service officers, but one of the institution's drug-sniffing dogs didn't think so. A search of the individual didn't show any drugs and to the human nose there was no odour of drugs on the person. But as the dog sniffed the visitor, it stopped at his foot and sat down, an indication it had found drugs. [continues 1121 words]
With State Prisons Over Capacity, Some Are Calling for Reversal of Harsh Law Kevin Ott drew his first strike when he was arrested for a small bag of methamphetamine in his pocket in 1993. A year later, authorities caught the self-described country boy from Okemah with marijuana plants growing at his home. That strike got him 15 months in prison. Still in his early 30's, Ott took strike three in 1996 when police found 3 1/2 ounces of meth in his home, enough for prosecutors to charge him with trafficking. His punishment: life without parole. [continues 3439 words]
This is in response to Andrew Merkel's letter Tuesday headlined "Freedoms being taken by our government," specifically regarding Measure A. Contrary to Merkel's assertions, many normal, law-abiding citizens are finally having their freedoms restored, not curtailed. These include: freedom from nuisance (smells, traffic, vicious dogs, shady characters); freedom from fear and danger (armed guards, home invasions, exploding butane honey oil labs); and freedom to enjoy peace and quiet in the country. And guess what - many of us are very grateful that the county government is protecting us from "terrorists," i.e. scofflaw pot-profiteers, who snuck their illegal activities into our communities inside a trojan horse, named "Prop 215." Compared to the last two years, I am already seeing a notable reduction in seasonal vehicular traffic and shady out-of-towners here to make a fast illegal buck. [continues 106 words]
Justices continue on path of strengthening constitutional protections against `unreasonable search and seizure' WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday police can't prolong a routine traffic stop to allow a drug-sniffing dog to search the vehicle unless they have a reasonable suspicion of uncovering contraband. The case is the latest to see the justices reinvigorate constitutional protections against "unreasonable searches and seizures," following recent decisions that rejected warrantless cellphone searches and installation of GPS trackers. Tuesday's ruling tightens the parameters police should follow when using drug-sniffing dogs during a traffic stop, building on a 2005 precedent allowing the drug searches while stressing such procedures become unlawful if a motorist is detained solely to conduct the search. [continues 450 words]
This is lame," murmured one of Arcata's few hardcore stoners around 4:23 p.m. A couple of young men had stepped off the concrete slab at Redwood Park, the small piece of public property that the Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights had wrested from the control of a zealous city staff over the course of the last few months (see "Save the Date," April 2). Around 100 people mingled at the park on the chilly, foggy afternoon. A disparate cross-section of Arcata: sporty young male stoners, restless and edgy traveler types, college professors, attorneys and media - lots of media. But bloggers, students and professional reporters weren't the only ones collecting images. Organizers reported that eager police officers - around 10 of them at one point - - avidly recorded HumRights' gathering. By 4 p.m., much of the weed-enthusiast crowd had dissipated into the Community Forest. Most of the cops disappeared, too. A couple of them could be seen approaching groups, chatting briefly and returning to their arms-crossed outposts. [continues 456 words]
Oroville - Butte County officials provided a clearer picture Tuesday of the effort to enforce Measure A, the voter-approved ordinance regulating the physical size of medical marijuana grows. County Counsel Bruce Alpert also updated the Board of Supervisors of the lawsuit filed by four medical marijuana patients challenging the measure as unconstitutional. He reiterated that the measure remains in effect, despite posts to the contrary on social media networks. "We are vigorously enforcing Measure A today," Alpert said. Tim Snellings, director of the Butte County development services department, reported to the Board of Supervisors that there have been 74 cases to date, resulting in 16 citations. [continues 778 words]
Can weed give our furry companions happier lives and more peaceful deaths? Remember the right-wing homophobes who claimed that if we allowed gays to get married, pretty soon people would begin marrying their pets? Well, now, the damn hippies who voted to legalize the wacky weed are indeed trying to get their dogs and cats stoned! Hooked on the hound hemp! The kitty chronic!? Companies like Seattle-based Canna-Pet and Canna Companion sell cannabinoid treats for dogs and cats-not to get them high (the hemp biscuits and capsules have very low levels of THC), but to help with joint discomfort and inflammation, and hopefully to make that yappy poodle across the street calm the fuck down. [continues 663 words]
We can't imagine a prominent public issue that's all at once more emotional, more all-or-none, and more weird than marijuana cultivation. There are dozens of conflicts - including what's right and wrong, as well as legal and not legal. It seems impossible for people involved in debates on related issues to not delve into the mode of goading the other side. For instance, winner of this week's hyperbole contest was a website comment from a reader who wrote: "This is an act of political arrogance worthy of the worst days of Stalin." Of course it's hard to tell, with online comments, when a commenter is smiling to himself and when he's being as serious as can be. [continues 560 words]
To the editor: The Lawrence Police Department has received approval to set up a K-9 unit. The chief of police said the dogs will be used to, among other things, find large quantities of marijuana. This means that the dogs will ratchet up the war on drugs. The laws in Kansas against selling marijuana were already severe when the Brownback administration introduced new legislation that made the penalties for some cases of selling marijuana harsher than the penalties for some cases of violent crime. The administration also enacted legislation that makes it harder for people convicted of selling marijuana to receive probation. Placing someone convicted of selling marijuana in prison, where they are thrown in with long-term criminals, can actually make them more prone to re-offend when they get out than they would be if they were placed on probation. [continues 129 words]
When did the Alaska Dispatch News become High Times? I am concerned with the ADN's approach to capturing readers by inundating us with "how-to" stories about cannabis/marijuana use, without having coverage that also articulates the concerns of medical care providers about excessive use of marijuana among youth. Thanks to the ADN, we do know a lot about how to grow pot, how to travel with pot, new pot stores popping up and shutting down, police dogs getting untrained to detect pot, rules for consuming pot in apartments and on the sidewalk, and everything else to ease your mind about your pot use. [continues 241 words]
The province is not tracking how many inmates are overdosing in jails across Ontario. The government has no central database of this information, despite drugs being such a concern that the regional coroner is planning an inquest that will examine the overdose deaths of four inmates at the Barton Street jail. Non-fatal overdoses are seen by experts as a way to gauge the drug problem and predict drug deaths and violence. Federally, Correctional Service Canada tracks overdoses and other major incidents inside prisons. But in Ontario, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services does not track this data, including for the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre. [continues 978 words]
I respond to the Feb. 9 letter "Legal pot coming but make it fair," from Martyn Brodnik. The writer asserted that "legal marijuana is coming, whether all Ohio residents like it or not. Fortunes will be made." The problem he identified with legalizing marijuana is the fairness of who is going to be making these fortunes. I strongly disagree with Brodnik's assessment, and find the problem to be much more devastating. In the Feb. 7 Dispatch article "Addiction programs in budget," I read that "eight of 10 people come to Ohio prisons with a history of abusing drugs and alcohol." On that same page, I read the Dispatch article "Two men convicted of heroin trafficking." [continues 310 words]
The push to develop dispensaries for medical marijuana will be back in the Hawaii Legislature this week when a joint meeting of two House committees takes up the proposal. Supporters say providing legal access to marijuana for patients is long overdue, and House Speaker Joe Souki agreed with that assessment in his opening-day remarks. More than 200 pages of testimony were submitted for and against the proposal by those who feel strongly that access is needed and others who fear marijuana will fall into the hands of susceptible youths. The House's Health and Judiciary committees plan to vote on the measure Tuesday afternoon. [continues 166 words]
Stonington - Board of Education member Craig Esposito has criticized the use of police dogs to search the high school for illegal drugs in December, saying it sent a "bad message" to students. "It's like you're the warden and the school is a prison," he told Principal Mark Friese during Thursday night's Board of Education meeting. "You as an adult would not want to be treated that way. To me, it's overkill," he said. His comments came after Friese offered an overview of the Dec. 12 sweep, in which eight police dogs from area departments searched school hallways, locker rooms and parking lots for illegal drugs while students remained in their classrooms. Two students were cited for possession of marijuana. [continues 234 words]
I have a Stalker. I came close to writing about cyber stalkers in this week's column and had planned to write specifically about my stalker. But why promote his bad juju? I met him close to a year ago as part of my marijuana legalization activism. Now I realize he didn't want to know me, he wanted to be me, and he hates me now because he's not me. Last week I was forced to file terroristic threat and harassment charges against him after he repeatedly emailed me and posted these threats on his Facebook account. So I've changed my mind and don't plan on getting him any more notoriety, or stroking his manic delusions of grandeur by doing so. [continues 977 words]
JUNEAU (AP) - The legalization of marijuana in Alaska is putting some police dogs out of work. Ten drug-sniffing dogs used by the Alaska State Troopers will be taken out of service when recreational use of marijuana becomes legal Feb. 24, the Juneau Empire reported. The 10 Belgian malinois, Dutch shepherds, German shepherds, Czech shepherds and yellow Labrador retrievers have been trained to sniff out pot, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. The troopers' K-9 unit had 141 felony arrests and 64 misdemeanor arrests in 2013. [continues 307 words]
I-75 an artery for trafficking LIMA - For many, Interstate 75 is a main artery for drug trafficking - pumping drugs throughout the country. 2015 has proved no different thus far. While I-75 is an integral part in the drug trade, officers have begun noticing drug smugglers traveling on smaller routes in the country to avoid detection. Drugs know no boundaries as smugglers hired by drug cartels are not categorized by race, sex, age or background. Detroit The northern city is a large player in the drug trade, Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin said. Traffickers will generally pass through Lima on their way to and from Detroit. [continues 777 words]
BLACK RIVER FALLS - Authorities and community members are becoming increasingly concerned about the prevalence of heroin use and dealing in Jackson County. Use of the highly addictive opiate is rising, based on drug investigations, arrests and other information provided to law enforcement, and its impact in local communities continues to expand, local authorities say. "Overall, I believe that heroin is having an effect in Jackson County because it is not just about recreational drug use. It is about a drug that many times takes lives because people buying and using the heroin don't know exactly what they are putting into their body," Jackson County Sheriff's Department Capt. Tim Nichols said. [continues 1023 words]
