For a year or two, I smoked pot out of a chimney--shaped wooden pipe. It came with a lighter, which was wrapped in a sort of braided--leather papoose. Papoose and pipe were handmade by a shaman--like fellow I met on the side of a highway in the Pacific Northwest. His wares were solid, but the smoke was harsh. So, not long ago, I switched to a vaporizer, or "vape," the Magic--Flight Launch Box. Vapes heat marijuana buds to oven temperatures, at which point they release their psychoactive payload and gradually turn brown, without burning. Vapor feels easier on the lungs than smoke. Its effects come on more slowly and gently. But the essential quality of vapes is their discretion. Vapes are the antithesis of iridescent glass pipes and cumbersome bongs. They don't produce a lingering or pungent odor. They do for cannabis what brown paper bags do for beer and what collars do for dogs; they keep your neighbors from freaking out when you pass them on the sidewalk. [continues 889 words]
Inside the Life of an Oil Patch Sniffer Dog When Commander shows up to a worksite in Northeast B.C., some line up to pet him. Others start scanning the job ads. Commander, a high-energy, two-year-old German Shepherd, enjoys treats, going for walks-and sniffing for drugs. He's one of a handful of detection dogs searching vehicles, worker camps and drilling sites in the B.C. oil patch. "He's focused, he isn't intimidated by lots of people and activity," said Mike Friesen, his handler. "I don't allow (people) to pet him while he's working. But when he's done and we're standing around chatting? Sure, they can pet him." [continues 1005 words]
On Oct. 16, I took the opportunity to give testimony before the Marijuana Control Board concerning the proposed marijuana regulations. I wanted to make clear my opposition to 3AAC306.030 -- Petition for License in Area With No Local Government. That section will require potential business owners in the unorganized borough to get the permission, in writing, of up to two-thirds of their neighbors, within a radius of up to 5 miles, before the board will consider them for a license. [continues 771 words]
Here's a prediction: Marijuana will be legal New Jersey in three years. All that needs to happen is for a reasonable human being to assume the governor's throne, as our current fearless leader, Chris Christie, has repeatedly said he'd never allow anyone to legally blaze a joint in the Garden State. As such, he has vowed to never sign a legalization bill. And there are bills, for the record. Bills that would seek to either decriminalize or fully legalize marijuana are waiting to be heard. [continues 520 words]
News that's stranger than fiction. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." That's a Hunter S. Thompson quote, and absolutely applies to the latest news related to marijuana and its legalization. Much of it is so weird, in fact, ya just can't make this shit up. A group of Bigfoot hunters (seriously) were in search of their nonexistent furry friend in a Wildlife Management Area in Texas last month when they came across a giant crop of weeds in the woods. The hidden garden, northeast of Dallas, had almost 6,500 mature plants, worth around $6.5 million, on an acre of land. Turns out the Delta County Sheriff's department had been scoping the ganja farm to bust the guerrilla growers, but when the Bigfoot team accidentally stumbled onto the scene, they ruined the police operation-in-progress. (Probably the same reason these buffoons haven't nabbed Yeti yet.) Had the coppers been able to bust the black-market growers-who had set up generators, camouflaging tents, and watering systems-they would have faced felony charges with fines of up to $50,000 and 99 years in the slammer. Who knew Bigfoot has such a big green thumb! [continues 800 words]
Gov. Jerry Brown has finally signed the new medical marijuana regulations into law. What happens next? - -Willy Wonky Chaos. Perdition, Cats sleeping with dogs and riots in the streets. Psych! These rules will create a huge demand for lawyers and consultants, but the game won't change much. People who don't want to be involved in the medical cannabis industry can still grow marijuana for their personal needs. Folks who want to sell weed will have to sign up and pay fees and be regulated. You know, like any other industry in America. [continues 408 words]
Lobel: Medical Marijuana Saved Me From Addiction Boston sportscasting icon Bob Lobel is one of the hundreds of patients in Massachusetts who say they have found an effective substitute for opioids by using medicinal marijuana. The 71-year-old longtime television reporter and anchor has dealt with chronic pain for years, the result of numerous surgeries: He's had two knee replacements, two rotator cuff surgeries, four back surgeries and, in separate accidents, fractured the tops of both femurs. "That was brutal," Lobel told the Herald, referencing the femur breaks. The constant pain left him taking a variety of opioids. [continues 1311 words]
Mounties ransacked vehicle after threatening to have her children seized, mother alleges A First Nations woman from B.C.'s central coast is suing the province after two Mounties allegedly threatened to seize her three young children if she didn't let them search her vehicle for marijuana and crack cocaine. Kimberly Mack of Bella Coola is asking to be compensated $15,000 for what she alleges was an illegal search that failed to turn up any drugs. "When I meet up with the cops now I feel a lot of anger," Mack said in an interview. "When I think they can get away with so much I feel angry towards them. [continues 487 words]
Colleen McCool is not what most people envision when they think of a pot user. But at 69-years-old, McCool is just that. She and her husband live separately on property they own in Stephenville, but what they do still share is a fondness for marijuana, which she says helps them cope with a variety of health issues, including depression. "I lost a son and it really helped me deal with that post traumatic stress," she said. "It also helps with my knee and back problems. It elevates my mood and makes me not notice the pain as much." [continues 609 words]
I thank The Dispatch for making the case for civil-asset-forfeiture reform in last Monday's editorial " Unreasonable seizure." The financial incentives are dangerous. Police can confiscate cars, cash and homes without charging owners with a crime. Vague allegations of drug trafficking don't justify turning protectors of the peace into financial predators. The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government. Warrantless government surveillance, drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing miserably at preventing drug use. A majority of European Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden-fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country. [continues 82 words]
Prison Guards Sounding the Alarm Over Recent Inmate Overdoses The maximum-security Edmonton Institution went into lockdown and exceptional search on Aug. 19 after three inmates were rushed to hospital due to drug overdoses. Two were later released while one remains in stable condition. A fourth inmate, 31-year-old Ryan William Witvoet, was found unresponsive in his cell the following day on Aug. 20 from an apparent drug overdose and later died in hospital. Corrections officials are waiting on toxicology results to identify the substance. However, sources have told the Edmonton Sun that the overdoses are related to the synthetic opioid fentanyl, or a similar version of the drug, making its way into the population. [continues 271 words]
Law Enforcement Officials: Impairment Rules Need to Be Set. The campaign to legalize marijuana in Ohio has raised fears about an increase in people driving under the influence, despite assurances from supporters of Issue 3 that other states that have legalized marijuana have not seen a dramatic increase in accidents. Passage of the issue on the statewide ballot in November would allow anyone over the age of 21 to buy and use marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes. Law enforcement is voicing the loudest concerns about drugged driving. [continues 628 words]
Poking deep into the U.S., and laced to it by six bridges, Southwestern Ontario's charmed geography for trade makes it a smuggler's alley for cocaine, more than two metric tonnes of which were seized at its borders between 2007 - 2013. How much more gets in, is anyone's guess. Emanuela Campanella reports. On the police blotters of Southwestern Ontario cities - the records of arrests made and charges laid - there's no question which illegal drug commands the most time and attention. [continues 1337 words]
I lost my appeal before the NJ Appellate Court. But before I go into that disappointment, in honor of Gov. Christie's presidential run and national prominence I've renamed my "Jive Turkey Burger" "THE CHRISTIE" and added a Twinkie on the side. (http://tinyurl.com/TheChristieBurger) I am a medical marijuana patient and I'm writing this column from the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital where I'm receiving treatment for my painful bone cancer condition. Last year I had my most prominent and painful tumor surgically removed. MRIs and my pain level have confirmed it's back - so technically I'm no longer in remission. [continues 1107 words]
Drug Laws Have Been Liberalised From Portland to Portugal. Why Is New Zealand Missing the (Magic) Bus? Philip Matthews Talks With Decriminalisation Advocate Ross Bell. Drug law reform. Is there any better example of a heart versus head issue? Logic and rationality tells you that the system does not work, that drugs are a medical issue not a criminal one. But your gut says lock all the junkies and potheads up. It is Ross Bell's job to wrestle with these dilemmas. For 11 years he has been chief executive of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, a charitable trust charged with preventing and reducing harms caused by drug use. [continues 2104 words]
Frightened Girl Found the Pet After Three Shots Were Fired One gunshot left Rocco lying in the front foyer, steps from the front door at his home in Brampton. Then came the sound of two more shots, according to Mekayla Loots, 10, who was sitting on the couch watching the Family Channel when police officers came through her front door on June 30, shouting. Racing into the hallway, the frightened girl found her family's two-year-old German shepherd dead on the floor, the victim of Peel Regional Police bullets. [continues 492 words]
Local police chief defends regional SWAT teamA small number of local SWAT team incident reports, among dozens made public last week, illustrate the threats police departments face in executing so-called high-risk search and arrest warrants versus the concerns of civil liberties advocates, who criticize the use of heavy armored police units to serve warrants. In the case of a Haverhill man, police suspected he was selling prescription drugs, had at least two guns in his home, and had shot into a woman's car multiple times in the city. But he is confined to a wheelchair, cannot get out of bed and needs a catheter to empty his bladder. [continues 1019 words]
Editor: Regarding your July 10 editorial on civil asset forfeiture, vague allegations of drug trafficking don't justify turning protectors of the peace into financial predators. The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government. Warrantless government surveillance, drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing at preventing drug use. The drug war is largely a war on marijuana consumers. Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country. [continues 82 words]
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling should be the final nail in the coffin for the type of drug-interdiction cash seizures that have generated so much bad publicity in Northern Nevada. Nobody likes to see the bad guys get away, but even more important is Americans' constitutional right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. An Elko County case involving more than $167,000 taken from a Delaware RV during a traffic stop was held up in federal court earlier this year pending a ruling in Rodriguez v. United States. In April, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement cannot prolong traffic stops to wait for drug-sniffing dogs to arrive and inspect vehicles when there is no probable cause to do so. Justices said police cannot detain drivers after issuing them a ticket, even if a driver appears "nervous." [continues 431 words]
Officials Sound the Alarm As Research Shows Heroin Users Are More Likely to Be Wealthy, Privately Insured and 18 to 25 Standing in the pulpit above Austin Klimusko's casket three years ago, his mother used his death to draw the connection between pills from a pharmacy and drugs from the street. "When his prescriptions dried up, he turned to heroin," Susan Klimusko said in a frank eulogy meant as a warning to the young mourners at Simi Valley's Cornerstone Church. [continues 1014 words]
