Riverside County's cannabis task force says it seized more than 100 pounds of cannabis and an estimated $75,000 to $100,000 in cash Friday, Sept. 14, from three sites where The Vault Church says it uses marijuana as a religious sacrament. The task force, led by the District Attorney's Office, served search warrants at three locations operated by The Vault: 291 N. Yale St., Hemet; 5298 Mission Blvd., Jurupa Valley; and 5024 Etiwanda Ave., Jurupa Valley. At the Etiwanda location, they also found two indoor grows, seized 200 to 300 plants in various stages of harvest and found what they believe to be the remnants of a butane honey oil lab, according to a news release. [continues 223 words]
The family of Botham Jean, the unarmed black man who authorities say was fatally shot by a Dallas police officer inside his own apartment, spent Thursday celebrating his life. Hundreds of people filed into the Greenville Avenue Church of Christ in Richardson, Texas, to pay their respects at Jean's funeral service, remembering the 26-year-old businessman as, what his friend Pastor Michael Griffin described him, "the light in a dark room." But then around 5 p.m., the family's lawyers were alerted to some apparent breaking news in the investigation into Jean's death. [continues 846 words]
Auditor Dave Yost characterized the Department of Commerce's roll-out of its share of the fledgling program as "sloppy" with dozens of errors and inconsistencies. The program was supposed to be fully operational Sept. 8, but the state is months behind in having legal product on the shelves for purchase. "The department didn't do a very good job launching this program," Mr. Yost said. "It did not exercise due diligence to make sure Ohioans could have complete confidence in the process. The department's work was sloppy. Ohioans deserved better." [continues 368 words]
BOSTON - A handful of the marijuana businesses granted provisional licenses have informed the Cannabis Control Commission they are ready to be inspected, one of the final steps before retail sales of marijuana, approved by voters almost two years ago, can begin. CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman said late last week the agency is working to schedule inspections for two or three provisionally licensed businesses. Hoffman said the inspections are expected to take place "over the next week, plus or minus." He said it's possible the CCC could vote at its next meeting, Sept. 20, to issue a final license if a business passes its inspection and fulfills other requirements by then. [continues 576 words]
Barbara Tillis isn't sure when she'll get to see her son, Corvain Cooper, again. Every few months for the past four years, Tillis, has driven five hours with her husband, daughter and Cooper's oldest daughter, making the trip from Rialto to the federal prison in Atwater, near Merced. They'd spend the day visiting and chatting, and guards would let each family member give Cooper exactly one hug. When the visit was over, they'd reluctantly pile into the car and drive home. [continues 2434 words]
Six days after confirming approval of medical marijuana dispensary bans in Northboro and Bellingham, Attorney General Maura Healey's office reversed its decision. In an Aug. 25 Telegram & Gazette story, a spokesperson for the AG's office confirmed that the office in June approved bylaws passed in the two towns that ban medical marijuana dispensaries. The 2012 Medical Marijuana law originally prohibited any municipality from banning medical marijuana dispensaries. An AG spokeswoman said at the time the approval was based on Section 56 (subsection d) of Chapter 55 Acts of 2017. [continues 941 words]
COLUMBUS - Mike DeWine, Ohio's attorney general and Republican candidate for governor, on Monday denounced as "irresponsible and dangerous" a proposed constitutional amendment to downgrade low-level, non-violent drug felonies to misdemeanors. He stood with prosecutors, judges, treatment center operators, and addicts to argue that Issue 1 would remove the stick that gets addicts into treatment as an alternative to prison time. "This threat, carefully used by our judges, has saved thousands and thousands of lives," Mr. DeWine said. "Issue 1 would take that away, and thousands would remain in the grips of opioids by not getting the treatment they need to recover. Because the truth is that some people just don't go into treatment unless they are pushed to do it. There's nothing humane about Issue 1." [continues 587 words]
A police crackdown on local unlicensed marijuana businesses has ended with misdemeanor charges against more than 500 people in Los Angeles, the city attorney's office said. In 120 criminal cases filed since May, City Atty. Mike Feuer has charged 515 people in connection with 105 illegal marijuana businesses, grow sites, extraction labs and delivery companies located throughout the city, his office announced Friday. All of the defendants were charged with unlicensed commercial cannabis activity within the city, which carries a potential sentence of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. Local judges have been hearing the cases since May with arraignments scheduled through the end of October, Feuer's office said. [continues 340 words]
Tens of thousands of low-level marijuana convictions could be erased with the OK of Brooklyn's top prosecutor, under a new plan for wiping records clean of offenses no longer being prosecuted in parts of the nation's biggest city. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Friday he is inviting people to request conviction dismissals. He expects prosecutors will consent in the great majority of a potential 20,000 cases since 1990 and an unknown number of older ones. To Gonzalez, whose office has stopped prosecuting most cases involving people accused of having small amounts of pot, it's only right to nix convictions that wouldn't be pursued now. [continues 491 words]
SARASOTA -- Several panelists made their cases in a Thursday forum for why marijuana should no longer be classified by the federal government as a Schedule 1 drug as dangerous as heroin. The program focused on the Herald-Tribune project "Warriors Rise Up," which found a gaping rift between what many combat veterans want to treat their post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries and what they can legally get. Rather than a cocktail of painkillers, many veterans prefer the relief they receive from marijuana. Because of marijuana's Schedule 1 designation under federal law, however, the VA has not considered it an option -- even in states that have legalized the drug for medical use. [continues 450 words]
Maryland has banned food from its medical cannabis program but it still provides ways for patients to ingest the drug. Dave hadn't slept for more than three hours straight after a series of botched surgeries 18 years ago left him with chronic pain so intense it kept him awake at night. Relief was hard to come by -- until he made a tray of marijuana-infused brownies. Half of a small fudgy square was enough to put him to sleep for 14 hours. [continues 1469 words]
Medical pot sellers in the north suburbs are lauding a new Illinois law that will eventually allow patients who might be prescribed an opioid-based painkiller to qualify for medical marijuana as an alternative. The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program has the potential to expand marijuana access to patients who have been, or could be prescribed medications such as Oxycontin, Percocet or Vicodin, even if they don't have one of the medical conditions the state otherwise requires for eligibility. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the law on Aug. 28. [continues 978 words]
SARASOTA -- The perky melody behind Hollywood Undead's "Bullet" conflicts sharply with the despair in its refrain: "A stomach full of pills didn't work again/I'll put a bullet in my head and I'm gone, gone gone ... "In the days preceding Alan Younger's death, his widow, Amber, says she could hear it playing all the time on his earbuds. After learning last week of the Trump administration's apparent designs on keeping marijuana chained to its Schedule 1 status, the widow of a veteran she describes as "an awesome father" is now adding her voice to a growing chorus of Americans imploring Congress to take action. [continues 820 words]
Constellation Brands Inc. -- the $40 billion brewer of Corona beer, vintner of Mondavi wines, and distiller of Black Velvet whiskey -- helped drive select marijuana stocks higher on Wednesday after Constellation's chief operating officer trumpeted that the legal cannabis industry was well on its way to becoming a global force, according to Bloomberg News. "We think this is going to be a big business worldwide," said Constellation's Bill Newlands, Bloomberg reported. "This is not going to be limited to Canada. This will undoubtedly be a market that develops in the United States. It's developing around the world in places like Germany and Australia and other markets." [continues 186 words]
Prosecutors in New Jersey cannot unilaterally decriminalize marijuana possession in their jurisdictions, the state attorney general announced Wednesday, but they are being encouraged to use their discretion with people charged with low-level cannabis crimes. State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued a guidance memo to the Garden State's prosecutors, asking them to carefully consider the repercussions of a marijuana conviction on the lives of people charged with simple possession. He asked prosecutors to weigh the "collateral consequences" a conviction might have on a defendant's ability to find work, remain in school, and receive government loans, housing, and licensing. Grewal also requested prosecutors to take into account age, circumstances of arrest, immigration consequences, and adverse familial consequences. [continues 346 words]
A decade after first appearing in the United States, fake weed is seen as a growing health danger. Some marijuana smokers turned to it because it is relatively cheap and not detected in routine drug testing. Dozens of people in New Haven, Conn., went to the hospital this week after overdosing on a batch of synthetic marijuana. A look at the issue: While states have moved to legalize traditional marijuana, fake pot has become a public health threat. Synthetic marijuana is a mind-altering drug made by taking plant material and spraying it with chemicals that can mimic the high from marijuana. It is sold under names like K2, AK47, Spice, Kush, Kronic, and Scooby Snax. [continues 196 words]
Chicago police officers pointed their guns at two young children while executing a search warrant at the wrong address, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court. Gilbert Mendez is suing the city, saying police used excessive force when officers rammed their way through the front door of his McKinley Park apartment last November, according to court documents. The officers had intended to raid the apartment of Mendez's upstairs neighbor, who was suspected of drug possession. But Mendez, his wife, Hester, and two children Jack, 5, and Peter, 9, were alarmed when police officers barged in with guns drawn, the suit says. [continues 741 words]
As Louisiana's medical marijuana program takes shape some patients might have to make a difficult choice: keep their gun ownership rights or participate in the program. Louisiana is one of 30 states that have approved medical marijuana laws in some form. Although the state's nine dispensaries won't open until later this year, patients who qualify for medical marijuana under Louisiana law may be surprised to learn that federal law restricts their ability to purchase a gun if they use marijuana. [continues 462 words]
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania are bracing for a surge in new customers when vaporizable "flower" -- the most popular and recognizable form of cannabis -- goes on sale on Wednesday, Aug. 1. "We're expecting 300 to 400 patients at our Abington store the first day," said Chris Visco, co-founder of TerraVida Holistic Centers. "People will likely be in line at 8 a.m. We're hiring an extra security guard and an extra valet parking person. This is a game-changer." [continues 714 words]
OTTAWA - The federal government's crackdown on drug-impaired driving has taken a big step forward, as the Justice Department is set to give its blessing to Canada's first roadside saliva test. Once in use, police officers will be able to swab a driver's mouth to test for the presence of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Roadside saliva-testing devices were authorized by Bill C-46, a massive overhaul of Canadaas impaired driving laws that passed in June. [continues 705 words]
