Fears Negative Consequences Pot Could Have on Society PROVIDENCE (AP) - Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop said he wants to smell holy incense, not cannabis, in Providence's cathedral and warned state lawmakers against transporting young people to "the land of oblivion" by legalizing marijuana. Bishop Thomas Tobin shared his opinions in an essay titled "Nope to Dope." The essay was published on a diocesan website Tuesday, just hours before a hearing on a bill to legalize pot. Tobin said he's heard about "zombie-like" people who are "completely stoned" filling public places in Colorado, where marijuana is legal. He said young people already addicted to electronic devices and "attached to their virtual umbilical cords" would become more detached from society if the drug were legal. He said he was disturbed by a recent report of a woman smoking pot in the back of a cathedral during a morning service. [continues 220 words]
HAYWARD -- A week after federal agents put a quick end to one downtown Hayward medical marijuana clinic, the Hayward City Council will decide today what to do about the only other pot club in town. The council is scheduled to vote on whether to extend its three-year operating agreement with the Hayward Patients Resource Center. The agreement with the Foothill Boulevard dispensary expires Dec. 31, and the club would be forced to close if the council does not extend the agreement. [continues 317 words]
HAYWARD -- One of two medical marijuana dispensaries in Hayward will be forced to close down next month, city officials said. "The place that is being closed down clearly violated their conditions," Mayor Mike Sweeney said. "And apparently, they violated it twice." Officials said the Local Patients Cooperative broke its three-year operating memorandum with the city by having more than 3 pounds of marijuana on the premises at one time. Police officers inspected the club in September and said they observed 30 pounds of the drug -- 10 times the city's limit. Officers returned again last month and claimed to have observed 200 pounds. [continues 435 words]
Candidates Say Future of Marijuana in Hayward Not a Leading Priority HAYWARD -- Medical marijuana proponents consider the Hayward mayoral election one of the "crucial" political races in California this Tuesday, though both mayoral hopefuls beg to differ. "It's crucial because it could determine the fate of the medical cannabis dispensaries," said Dale Gieringer, director of the Oakland-based Drug Policy Forum of California. Rival candidates Brian Schott and Mike Sweeney are "diametrically opposed" on the issue, Gieringer said. And since the city's two permitted pot clubs are approaching the end of their municipal operating agreements, Gieringer said the next mayor could have a significant say on whether they stay or go. [continues 810 words]
ASHLAND -- The six medical marijuana clinics in unincorporated Alameda County have begun fighting to stay in business now that a county ordinance states only three clubs can operate. The six rival pot club owners began drawing applications for the available slots on July 21, launching into a competitive review process that, if you believe the lore of local pot club employees, is as rigorous as that a U.S. Supreme Court appointee faces. County supervisors, frustrated by the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that had sprouted up in the small unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo and Castro Valley, voted in June to create an ordinance that limits the allowable number of dispensaries to three. [continues 310 words]
Out of Options, Medical Marijuana Patient Pierre Werner Files Suit Against the Department of Agriculture For five years, Pierre Werner has fought defiantly to open Nevada's first legal cannabis club. He has fought anti-pot activists, Metro Police and conservative politicians. He has fought Clark County, the state and even the feds. In short, the diminutive Las Vegan has taken on all comers -- regardless of their size, power and influence. And now, he's really getting dirty. On May 11, Werner -- a medical marijuana patient -- filed a lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Agriculture in Clark County District Court. The suit alleges the department, which oversees the state's medical marijuana program, wrongfully interfered with Werner's plan to open a cannabis (or "compassion") club in Clark County and unlawfully disclosed patient information to the media. [continues 645 words]
Local police say their intensified efforts to get heroin and cocaine dealers off city streets this year are increasingly matched by defense lawyers fighting to get the drug cases dismissed in district court. "Defense counsel have become much more aggressive in what they do," said Fitchburg police Capt. Charles Tasca. "In the end, it causes both sides to operate at a higher level. I believe it benefits everyone." Gov. Mitt Romney's recent announcement that the state's heroin epidemic has "snuck up on us" came with little fanfare to officials in Fitchburg and Leominster, where the heroin problem has long proved a visible sore spot. [continues 1178 words]
