[Bellingham Herald] EDITOR'S NOTE: The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman underscored a troubling development: Heroin, long a scourge of the back alleys of American life, has spread across the country. First of a three-part series. On a beautiful Sunday last October, Detective Dan Douglas stood in a suburban Minnesota home and looked down at a lifeless 20-year-old a needle mark in his arm, a syringe in his pocket. It didn't take long for Douglas to realize that the man, fresh out of treatment, was his second heroin overdose that day. [continues 2357 words]
If you care about protecting clean water, endangered species and public health, then you might want to consider legalizing marijuana for recreational use. That's because so much of the stuff is now being grown illegally on our public lands in places dubbed "trespass grows." These secretive and often well-guarded farms do enormous environmental damage and place a huge burden on federal agencies. In California in 2013, the Forest Service discovered about 1 million plants within public forests on nearly 400 sites. Thousands of trees had been logged to make way for marijuana plants. [continues 721 words]
DENVER (AP) - Three-fourths of Americans say it's inevitable that marijuana will be legal for recreational use across the nation, whether they support such policies or not, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday that highlights shifting attitudes after the drug war era and tough-on-crime legislation. The Pew Research Center survey also shows increased support for ending mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and doing away with jail time for small amounts of marijuana. The opinions come as public debate on these topics has led lawmakers around the nation to consider policy changes. [continues 462 words]
DENVER (AP) - Threefourths of Americans say it's inevitable that marijuana will be legal for recreational use across the nation, whether they support such policies or not, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday that highlights shifting attitudes following the drug war era and tough-on-crime legislation. The Pew Research Center survey also shows increased support for ending mandatory minimum prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders and doing away altogether with jail time for small amounts of marijuana. [continues 243 words]
Let a Thousand Pot Plants Bloom and End Trespass Grows If you care about protecting clean water, endangered species and public health, then you might want to consider legalizing marijuana for recreational use. That's because so much of the stuff is now being grown illegally on our public lands in places dubbed "trespass grows." These secretive and often well-guarded farms do enormous environmental damage and place a huge burden on federal agencies. In California in 2013, the Forest Service discovered about 1 million plants within public forests on nearly 400 sites. Thousands of trees had been logged to make way for marijuana plants. [continues 742 words]
New Poll Reflects Changing Attitudes Since Drug War Era DENVER - Three-fourths of Americans say it's inevitable that marijuana will be legal for recreational use across the nation, whether they support such policies or not, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday that highlights shifting attitudes following the drug war era and tough-on-crime legislation. The Pew Research Center survey also shows increased support for ending mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and doing away altogether with jail time for small amounts of marijuana. [continues 352 words]
DENVER - Threefourths of Americans say it's inevitable that marijuana will be legal for recreational use across the nation, whether they support such policies or not, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday that highlights shifting attitudes following an era of drug war and "tough on crime" legislation. The Pew Research Center survey also shows increased support for ending mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and doing away with jail time for small amounts of marijuana. The opinions come as public debate on these topics has led lawmakers around the nation to consider policy changes. [continues 246 words]
DENVER -- Nationwide marijuana legalization seems inevitable to three-fourths of Americans, whether they support it or not, according to a new poll out Wednesday. The Pew Research Center survey on the nation's shifting attitudes about drug policy also showed increased support for moving away from mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. The telephone survey found that 75% of respondents -- including majorities of both supporters and opponents of legal marijuana -- think that the sale and use of pot eventually will be legal nationwide. It was the first time that question had been asked. [continues 592 words]
DENVER - Three-fourths of Americans say it's inevitable that marijuana will be legal for recreational use across the nation, whether they support such policies or not, according to a public opinion poll released Wednesday that highlights shifting in attitudes following an era of drug war and "tough on crime" legislation. The Pew Research Center survey also shows increased support for ending mandatory minimum prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders and doing away altogether with jail time for small amounts of marijuana. [continues 698 words]
Among the casualties of a failed war on drugs that has spanned more than three decades are bloated prisons that cost the nation nearly $90 billion a year. With only 5 percent of the world's population, the United States holds 25 percent of its prisoners; more than 2 million people are locked up in this country. The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets penalty guidelines for federal judges, is considering changes that would shorten average sentences for nonviolent drug offenders by roughly one year - to 51 months from 63 months. That would result in a 17 percent sentence reduction for the average offender. [continues 336 words]
First, 20 states and the District of Columbia passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical use. Then in 2012, voters in Washington state and Colorado approved measures legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana for non-medical use, with state oversight. Now at least a half-dozen states from Alaska to Maine are considering following suit. Marijuana still remains a federally controlled substance, but Attorney General Eric Holder in January said the U.S. Justice Department would soon issue regulations to let state-sanctioned marijuana businesses have access to banking and credit. Can full legalization be far behind? Ben Boychuk and Joel Mathis, the RedBlueAmerica columnists, try to answer the question. [continues 508 words]
CHOICE - Paul Smith, pharmacy director for West Yavapai Guidance Clinic, wrote in recently in response to Kirk Muse's letter (March 15) that said: "Pot (and) alcohol should get same treatment." Smith pointed out that the Yavapai County supervisors "do not want to keep marijuana unregulated. On the contrary, marijuana is already regulated by federal law." The one thing that everyone on the "pro" side of this debate will not talk about is the fact that marijuana is already in the most highly regulated class of narcotics that we have in this country, Smith said. "The reason for such tight control is that, as Mr. Muse states, it is not completely safe for everyone including children and adolescents." [continues 461 words]
First, 20 states and the District of Columbia passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical use. Then in 2012, voters in Washington state and Colorado approved measures legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana for non-medical use, with state oversight. Now at least a half-dozen states from Alaska to Maine are considering following suit. Marijuana still remains a federally controlled substance, but Attorney General Eric Holder in January said the U.S. Justice Department would soon issue regulations to let state sanctioned marijuana businesses have access to banking and credit. [continues 719 words]
It's about what you'd expect in a liberal state controlled by Democrats: The legislature reduced penalties for drug and property crime, spent more money on community supervision of offenders and closed three prisons in three years. But it didn't happen in California or Massachusetts. It happened in deep-red Texas. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has said things like "Obama's socialist policies are bankrupting America." But when it comes to crime and punishment, he thinks blindly harsh policies are also unaffordable. "We are not a softon-crime state, but I hope we get the reputation of being a smart-oncrime state," he said at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. "You want to talk about real conservative governance, shut a prison down." [continues 430 words]
Our nation is numb, President Obama said this month while announcing his My Brother's Keeper initiative. So numb that we are nonchalant about the overwhelming numbers of black and brown boys who end up in prison. "We just assume this is an inevitable part of American life, instead of the outrage that it is," Obama said. What should disturb us even more is that prisoners have become a commodity, thanks to the growing relationship between private prisons and state governments. The states that go into business with for-profit prisons sign contracts that essentially agree to maintain quotas on the number of prisoners. If they can't keep the prison populations at the agreed upon levels, the states must pay the difference. [continues 430 words]
Days after California voters rejected an initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2010, Oakland City Attorney John Russo got an unexpected visit from an old friend, a high-ranking official from the U.S. Department of Justice. As they chatted warmly about their children, Russo sensed what was coming. Despite the failed pot measure, Proposition 19, Oakland was spiritedly moving forward on an audacious marijuana cultivation plan. This city, long hard-bitten by crime and economic malaise and mostly left behind as other San Francisco Bay Area communities reaped the benefits of California's technology boom, was determined to become the Silicon Valley of weed. [continues 1625 words]
Attorney General Eric Holder is endorsing a proposal that would reduce prison sentences for people convicted of dealing drugs, the latest sign of a retrenchment in the war on drugs by the administration of President Barack Obama. In January, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed changing federal guidelines to lessen the average sentence for drug dealers by about one year, to 51 months from 62 months. Holder testified before the commission Thursday in support of the plan. With the support of several Republicans in Congress, the attorney general is separately pushing for the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. In January, the Justice Department issued a call encouraging low-level criminals serving lengthy sentences on crack-cocaine charges to apply for clemency. [continues 611 words]
Attorney General Eric Holder is endorsing a proposal that would reduce prison sentences for people convicted of dealing drugs, the latest sign of the Obama administration's retrenchment in the war on drugs. In January, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed changing federal guidelines to lessen the average sentence for drug dealers by about one year, to 51 months from 62 months. Holder testified before the commission Thursday in support of the plan. With the support of several Republicans in Congress, the attorney general is separately pushing for the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. In January, the Justice Department issued a call encouraging low-level criminals serving lengthy sentences on crack cocaine charges to apply for clemency. [continues 357 words]
Two Tacoma men associated with medical marijuana dispensaries in the South Sound were arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court, charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to commit money laundering. James Canyon Lucas and Matthew Ira Eliott Roberts entered pleas of not guilty and were conditionally released, pending trial, by Judge Karen Strombom. A trial date was set for April 28 in Tacoma. Judge Ronald Leighton is scheduled to hear the case. A third defendant, Lance Edward Gloor, did not appear in court and has a warrant out for his arrest. In addition to the first two charges, Gloor is charged with manufacturing marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime. [continues 272 words]
Ottawa's Folly: B. C. Judges, U. S. See Flaws in Mandatory Minimum B.C. Provincial Court Judge Joseph Galati has joined a handful of his colleagues in thumbing his nose at Ottawa's tough-on-crime legislation. Along with their counterparts in Ontario and elsewhere, he and his fellow judges are finding it hard to stomach sending non-violent, chronic drug offenders to prison under recently imposed mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. In their opinion, when dealing with these by-and-large addled and addicted adults, compassion not incarceration is the answer, and to imprison them for at least a year constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. [continues 557 words]
Prohibitionist government and politicians orchestrated cannabis (marijuana) prohibition and citizens don't care how it ends (Editorial: States Should Determine Own Pot Laws, Feb. 5, 2014), as long as it is immediately. It's one of America's worst policy failures in history. The plant never should have been labeled a Schedule I substance alongside heroin while methamphetamine and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. There are numerous options for government to end this discredited devil law before the end of the day. Citizens know cannabis prohibition is discredited and could end today and have demonstrated they're not waiting on snail pace measures to get the job done. [continues 58 words]
Federal law makes it a crime to grow, sell or possess cannabis. New state laws in Colorado and Washington state permit those activities, and officials there are issuing licenses to local companies, which are still committing a crime under federal law. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in August that it would give a low priority to enforcement efforts against state-licensed growers and sellers in states with "strong and vigorous" regulations, except where they involve other activities such as violence or interstate sales. [continues 1079 words]
No Guarantees, but Administration Lets Sellers Use Banks WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, taking the first regulatory step to accommodate the country's growing state- approved marijuana businesses, issued guidelines designed to bring dispensaries into the banking system. But Friday's step was a cautious one, reflecting conflicting pressures on the administration. On one side, many states allow the sale of marijuana for medical or recreational use. Attorney General Eric Holder said last month that law enforcement agencies were concerned about marijuana sellers who are forced to deal in cash because they can't get credit card accounts issued by banks. [continues 428 words]
No Guarantees, but Administration Lets Sellers Use Banks WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, taking the first regulatory step to accommodate the country's growing state-approved marijuana businesses, issued guidelines designed to bring dispensaries into the banking system. But Friday's step was a cautious one, reflecting conflicting pressures on the administration. On one side, many states allow the sale of marijuana for medical or recreational use. Attorney General Eric Holder said last month that law enforcement agencies were concerned about marijuana sellers who are forced to deal in cash because they can't get credit card accounts issued by banks. [continues 429 words]
Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, banks are supportive of government efforts to permit financial services for marijuana businesses. However, numerous obstacles prevent banks from serving them and their customers as they conduct legal activities. Public safety risks associated with cash-heavy businesses cause concern. And, several federal laws preclude banks from serving these businesses, regardless of state law. Only Congress can resolve this. While recent comments by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder indicate his plans to issue "guidance" against prosecuting banks for providing accounts to marijuana businesses, he cannot change the fact that the substance remains illegal at the federal level and banks must follow all laws. [continues 517 words]
Lawmakers Try to Tap into Fervor for Legalization WASHINGTON - Not long ago, Allen St. Pierre couldn't get an audience with many politicians. When he tried to send them campaign contributions, the checks were returned. His efforts to persuade the political establishment to take seriously the legalization of marijuana were met with blank stares, or worse. But now lawmakers are beating a path to his door for meetings and advice, hoping to harness this new energy behind an issue that had been on the fringe of American politics. The once-quixotic goal of St. Pierre's group - NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws - is now one of Washington's most-discussed issues. [continues 1546 words]
Bipartisan group says pot's 'Schedule I' classification 'makes no sense.' Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., right, and 17 House colleagues are asking President Barack Obama to administratively reschedule marijuana. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., right, and 17 House colleagues are asking President Barack Obama to administratively reschedule marijuana. By Steven NelsonFeb. 12, 2014 Eighteen members of Congress are asking President Barack Obama, who recently said smoking pot is safer than drinking alcohol, to end marijuana's classification as one of the nation's most dangerous narcotics. [continues 759 words]
Never did I think I would find myself agreeing with Texas governor Rick Perry on drug policy. But when the darling of Tea Party Republicans argued in favour of reducing prison populations and against federal obstruction of Washington and Colorado's alternative marijuana policies, I found myself applauding the three-term governor. "After 40 years of the war on drugs, I can't change what happened in the past," Perry said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "What I can do as the governor of the second largest state in the nation is to implement policies that start us toward a decriminalisation and keep people from going to prison and destroying their lives, and that's what we've done over the last decade." [continues 918 words]
It was with great foresight that a Conservative backbench MP stood up during a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons in 2002 and pleaded with the then Labour government to rethink its commitment to the "war on drugs". "I ask the Labour government not to return to retribution and war on drugs. That has been tried and we all know that it does not work." Contributions like this have been all too rare from British politicians, particularly at a time when the debate about the merits of prohibition has changed so radically in recent years. That is most evident in the Americas, both North and South. [continues 630 words]
As local governments in Nevada struggle with how to implement the laws on medical marijuana dispensaries, one fact looms in the background, casting a shadow over the entire enterprise. The federal government still says marijuana is a highly addictive drug with no medical benefits. Of course, that's false. Scores of doctors have prescribed marijuana to patients for dozens of conditions, and hundreds of people have testified about how it helped them fight debilitating illnesses and body-wracking treatments for dreaded diseases such as cancer. And the National Institute on Drug Abuse has reported that about 9 percent of people who use marijuana become dependent on the drug, far less than, say, alcohol. [continues 570 words]
The apparent heroin overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman already has become a hockey puck in the war over the war on drugs. During a House subcommittee hearing on federal marijuana policy Tuesday, critics of the war on drugs hammered a White House drug official for putting too much emphasis on marijuana when Washington instead should focus on dangerous drugs that actually kill users. "What is more dangerous and addictive," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., asked the White House's deputy director of drug control policy, Michael Botticelli, methamphetamine and cocaine or marijuana? [continues 452 words]
WASHINGTON - With more than half of all federal prisoners serving time on drug charges , the Obama administration says it's time to free more lowlevel drug offenders. "This is where you can help," Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the New York State Bar Association last week, urging lawyers to assist prisoners in creating "well-prepared petitions" to apply for executive clemency. But while the Justice Department promotes the plan, the Obama team is making it clear that it has no interest in changing the federal law that sends many nonviolent drug offenders to prison in the first place: the one that outlaws marijuana. [continues 1242 words]
The expected federal guidance on how banks should deal with legal marijuana businesses is little more than a misguided effort to "change water into wine," the state's largest banking association says. "The only real solution is an act of Congress, which isn't likely in the near future, though needed," Colorado Bankers Association president and CEO Don Childears writes in an opinion piece submitted to The Denver Post. "Put simply: Banks need the permanence of law versus changeable guidance," Childears writes. [continues 323 words]
The apparent heroin overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman already has become a hockey puck in the war over the war on drugs. During a House subcommittee hearing on federal marijuana policy on Tuesday, critics of the war on drugs hammered a White House drug official for putting too much emphasis on marijuana when Washington instead should focus on dangerous drugs that actually kill users. "What is more dangerous, and what is more addictive?" Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., asked the White House deputy director of drug control policy, Michael Botticelli, methamphetamine and cocaine or marijuana? [continues 447 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Figuring out where the Obama administration stands on marijuana is starting to get as confusing as remembering which one is Cheech and which one is Chong. The White House-run Office of National Drug Control Policy considers marijuana a dangerous and harmful drug. And the Drug Enforcement Administration labels it a top-tier illegal drug under federal law. But President Barack Obama, an acknowledged pot smoker in his younger days, recently told The New Yorker magazine that he doesn't see marijuana as any more dangerous than alcohol and said it was "important" that the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington state go forward. [continues 327 words]
Twenty states plus the District of Columbia now allow sales of medicinal marijuana, allowing pot prescriptions to treat pretty much any malady, from a headache to a hangnail. Why should Holder decide which federal statutes to enforce and which to ignore? Colorado and Washington have legalized the drug for recreational use, too. Yet federal law still prohibits the possession, use and sale of marijuana for any reason. This dichotomy explains why some banks are reluctant to accept the large amounts of cash that pot purveyors generate - even if the cash is legal under state law. [continues 322 words]
Twenty states plus the District of Columbia now allow sales of medicinal marijuana, allowing pot prescriptions to treat pretty much any malady, from a headache to a hangnail. Colorado and Washington have legalized the drug for recreational use, too. Yet federal law still prohibits the possession, use and sale of marijuana for any reason. This dichotomy explains why some banks are reluctant to accept the large amounts of cash that pot purveyors generate - even if the cash is legal under state law. [continues 436 words]
They Think Marijuana Could Be the Next Big Thing. but It Has Some Unique Challenges. In 2010, Jake George saw a market waiting to be served and staked everything on a startup: He and his wife, Lydia, sold most of their assets, downsized to a smaller apartment in Issaquah, Wash., and came up with $10,000 to fund GreenLink Collective. The gamble paid off. Sales have doubled each year, Mr. George says, and the couple has opened a second branch. A classic story, except for what Mr. George sells: marijuana. [continues 2522 words]
Could Drugs Play a Role in 'Fundamentally Transforming' The Nation? First, President Obama says marijuana is "not very different from cigarettes" and no more "dangerous" than alcohol, just "a waste of time" and "not very healthy." One imagines that he thinks of pot as somewhere between too many potato chips and fast driving. The president's not-so-subtle message is "go ahead, just use it." Never mind that pot is a Schedule One narcotic, meaning a drug assessed as possessing "high potential for abuse," based on science. Never mind that this narcotic has landed hundreds of thousands in treatment during the past 10 years, accelerated emergency room incidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and raised levels of drugged driving, domestic abuse and marijuana-associated crime, according to state and federal sources. [continues 787 words]
SUPER Bowl XLVIII, jokingly known as "The Smoke-A-Bowl," is the first between teams from states where recreational marijuana use is legal. It will not be the last. California, Massachusetts and Arizona are warming up. Others will follow Washington and Colorado's new approach to treating marijuana like liquor, until finally Congress takes a knee and ends the failed federal prohibition. As fierce as the competition is on the field between the Seahawks and Broncos, off the field Washington and Colorado agree. The federal government should let these states be the laboratories of democracy on drug policy reform. [continues 399 words]
Mary Jane'S Attic Is Home To The Latest Debate Over Medford'S Medical Marijuana Stance Despite its tell-tale name, Mary Jane's Attic looks more like a clothing store to the casual observer, with its racks of sweaters, dresses, shirts and several display cases filled with jewelry. Step into the back of Mary Jane's - slang for marijuana - and the space transforms into what looks like a candy store filled with dozens of jars of high-grade medical marijuana and edible pot products that are grown and made by caregivers and distributed to 1,400 patients, most of whom live in Medford. [continues 1137 words]
Marijuana Is Legal in 20 States and the District of Columbia in Some Form. in California, It Is Permitted for Medical Use in Small Quantities. WASHINGTON California banks still will not take deposits from or lend money to legal medical marijuana dispensaries because the banks say they still run the risk of severe penalties despite indications last week from the Department of Justice that it will rethink its prosecutorial approach. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Jan. 23 that his department would review rules that have bankers apprehensive about providing even basic banking services to marijuana dispensaries deemed legal by state lawmakers. [continues 444 words]
Head of Machine-Sponsoring Company Points to Federal Law Pueblo Bank & Trust, one of the nation's major bank sponsors for privately owned ATMs, has told providers it will not allow machines to be placed in or near marijuana-selling businesses. That prohibition is likely to continue, bank president Mike Seppala told The Denver Post, even if the federal government changes or softens rules prohibiting banks from doing business with the marijuana industry. "Federal law says that it's an illegal drug; we are federally regulated and abide by what the federal law says," Seppala said in an interview. "We have made it clear we will not allow them in those establishments. It's not that we can't do it; we choose not to. Dispensaries and ATMs fly in the face of (federal law), and the whole purpose behind it is to keep the drug industry at bay." [continues 369 words]
The pushback is beginning. As Washington and Colorado have legalized the sale of marijuana, certain localities, many of them outside the urban centers of Denver and Seattle, have moved to ban marijuana sales in their towns or counties. There are concerns about crime, concerns about children having ready access to the drug, concerns about driving - and all the other things there are to be concerned with, and that apply equally to alcohol. But it's also another station on the culture wars route, as the divide over a wide variety of issues, from gay rights to immigration, increases. [continues 744 words]
Although the legalization of marijuana use, both for recreational and medical purposes, is sweeping the country, the woman who founded the nation's first locally sanctioned medical marijuana dispensary in Fairfax some 18 years ago is struggling to avoid homelessness. When Lynnette Shaw opened the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in 1996, it was the first medical marijuana dispensary in the state to operate under the auspices of Proposition 215, California's Compassionate Use Act. But in 2011, a crackdown launched by Melinda Haag, the San Francisco-based U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, shut down the Marin Alliance. [continues 882 words]
All's well at the farm Though the state's regulations ban the use of some 60 chemicals in the growing process, Maggie's Farm (maggiesfarmmarijuana.com) was recently certified to be free of more than 300 different synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. The recognition comes from Clean Green Certified, a California-based business that says it uses the same criteria as the USDA's National Organic Program. "We're not doing anything different than we were before," says owner Bill Conkling, "but we finally got somebody to come out and actually acknowledge and legitimize why we can call our product a premium product." [continues 381 words]
Pot's Tipping Point. The public debate over marijuana has finally reached the highest levels in our government. President Obama, in an interview that ran in The New Yorker, said that while he believed marijuana use is a "bad habit and a vice," he doesn't "think it is more dangerous than alcohol." That was certainly a shot over the bow against the War on Drugs; hopefully it moves us closer to sensible policies about marijuana. "We were absolutely delighted that he finally came out with a positive statement, an accurate statement," says Heidi Parikh, director of Michigan Compassion, a federal nonprofit focused on education about medical marijuana. "We hope he moves forward in the direction, that he'll reschedule it before the end of his term." [continues 1124 words]
HARRISBURG - Scan the Pennsylvania Legislature for a likely proponent of legalizing medical marijuana, and you probably wouldn't pick Sen. Mike Folmer. A Republican whose district includes Lebanon and part of Lancaster counties, Mr. Folmer was named by the American Conservative Union last year as one of just 10 "defenders of liberty" in the General Assembly. His website features a pledge to hamper tax increases and support the right-to-work policies feared by labor unions. But as of late, Mr. Folmer has become a public face of an otherwise Democratic-led effort to allow cannabis in the treatment of certain serious medical conditions. [continues 1182 words]
Washington (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration is planning to roll out regulations soon that would allow banks to do business with legal marijuana sellers. During an appearance Thursday at the University of Virginia, Holder said it is important from a law enforcement perspective to enable places that sell marijuana to have access to the banking system so they don't have large amounts of cash lying around. Currently, processing money from marijuana sales puts federally insured banks at risk of drug racketeering charges. Because of the threat of criminal prosecution, financial institutions often refuse to let marijuana-related businesses open accounts. The issue has taken on some urgency now that Colorado and Washington have become the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana. [end]