Michigan voters said yes to medical marijuana in 2008, but the vagueness in the statute put a wrinkle in the lives of numerous local caregivers and patients who were arrested in 2011 for violating the law. The Michigan Court of Appeals helped iron out some holes when it ruled in August that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act "does not include the patient-to-patient 'sales' " and that an Isabella County dispensary that sells the drug can be closed because it's a public nuisance. [continues 401 words]
Experts: New Year Won't Bring Clarity on Legality, but Courts Could Answer Questions on Regulation Palm Springs - Just over a year ago, voters were on the verge of making California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use, but public opinion turned, and the idea swiftly went up in smoke. That voter rejection left courts and local municipalities to grapple, yet again, with medical marijuana laws that are often vague, confusing, contradictory and vary from city to city. In 2012, don't expect any new laws or decisions that will clear the murky legal landscape for the hundreds of thousands of Californians who use medical pot - or for opponents of legalization. [continues 844 words]
The Herald is right to be alarmed by the many teens using marijuana, but the cause is the prohibition on the drug, not the movement to legalize it (" Generation up in smoke?" Dec. 27). The same federal survey also found that teen use of alcohol and tobacco - two legal and age-regulated substances - is sharply falling. That teens have an easier time getting their hands on illegal marijuana than legal and regulated drugs shows that prohibition is ineffective in keeping our kids safe. Only by ending prohibition can we take marijuana (and its profits) away from street dealers and begin to control its use and distribution. - - Karen Hawkes, Rowley The writer is a retired state trooper active with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
The fight over farming marijuana as medicine is growing in Live Oak. Growers are thinking about launching a campaign to recall the five Live Oak City Council members who voted to ban growing medical marijuana. The council voted for the ban Dec. 20, which takes effect Jan. 20. "This town is disgusted with these people," said James Maral, who started the Live Oak Patients, Caregivers and Supporters Association. "This town is disgusted with what they're doing." Council member Diane Hodges isn't getting the same reaction. About 20 people approached her over the past eight days to thank her for voting to ban marijuana grows, because they stink and threaten public safety, she said. [continues 344 words]
So who's benefiting from the federal crackdown on medical-marijuana dispensaries? Why, black-market pot growers and dealers, that's who. According to a recent report by the Center for Investigative Reporting's California Watch, prices for high-grade, outdoor-grown marijuana, after slumping precipitously in 2010, have risen by 20 to 40 percent since four U.S. attorneys began cracking down on growers and dispensaries and threatening local agencies-like the Chico City Council and city staff-with prosecution. [continues 194 words]
FOR the past four months, the four United States Attorney offices in California have begun a "crackdown" on medical marijuana dispensaries in our state. The crackdown is a departure from previous policy and judicial commitments by the Department of Justice to prioritize scarce enforcement resources elsewhere. Recent events in Fairfax demonstrate that the crackdown is inhumane and counterproductive. In 1996, the voters of our state overwhelming approved the Compassionate Use Act which allows patients to grow and possess marijuana with a physician's recommendation. The Marin Alliance of Medical Marijuana began operating as the state's first publicly licensed medical marijuana dispensary pursuant to a use permit issued by the town of Fairfax in 1997. [continues 435 words]
A young Mendocino man whose legal plight has become a cause celebre for medical marijuana advocates appeared in Mendocino County court Thursday in hopes of halting extradition to Texas. Mendocino County Judge Ann Moorman told Chris Diaz' attorney, Don Lipmanson, he needed to submit that request to Texas authorities. "I don't have any jurisdiction," she said. But Moorman said she will consider releasing Diaz on bail at a hearing she then scheduled for Tuesday. Supporters of Diaz, 22, an asthmatic and father of two children, ages 1 and 4, contend that he is emblematic of the problems wrought by inconsistent laws governing medicinal marijuana. [continues 581 words]
PLUMSTED -- Medical marijuana farmers will find no home here until federal and state laws are consistent in regard to the drug's use and manufacture. The Township Committee voted Wednesday night to adopt an ordinance requiring compliance with federal law. The ordinance was drafted to address inconsistencies in state and federal laws regarding medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries after a company proposed a medical marijuana facility in neighboring Upper Freehold earlier this year. "The purpose of this ordinance is about planning, not excluding," Plumsted Mayor Ronald Dancer said during Wednesday's meeting. "All five members of this Township Committee are very sensitive to and compassionate about the need for pharmaceutical drugs that can certainly provide a quality of life." [continues 488 words]
Legalize it? Coloradans may get to vote next November on legalizing recreational marijuana use. At an info session in Colorado Springs last week, organizers of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said they've collected more than enough signatures. Among medical marijuana business owners and patients in attendance, said Jessica Hogan, spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, there was one major concern: What will happen to MMJ if recreational marijuana is legalized for anyone over age 21 to buy? [continues 344 words]
After we were granted a business license by the town of Eagle and were in business for a year, the town Board of Trustees' newly elected members joined together with some existing trustees and deemed it best to take back our business license to operate, and banned the most heavily regulated industry in Colorado from the town limits. However, we, Eagle's sole medical marijuana dispensary, gathered enough signatures from the citizens of Eagle to reverse the trustees' split decision and put the matter to vote. [continues 698 words]
To the Editor: Re "Jurors Need to Know That They Can Say No," by Paul Butler (Op-Ed, Dec. 21): The concept of jury nullification is more complex than Mr. Butler suggests. Because juries deliberate in secret and do not provide reasons for their decisions, there is no doubt that jurors have the power not to follow the governing law. The critical question is whether jurors have the right to do so. For more than a century, the courts have ruled that juries have no right to decide what the law is, but rather have a duty to apply the law to the facts based on the trial evidence. [continues 169 words]
Jackson residents have already volunteered to help a grass-roots organization put a measure to legalize marijuana on the ballot in November. "oeEverybody that I've talked to said it should be legalized," said Steve Sharpe, a medical marijuana patient who volunteered to help the campaign. "oeWe want the public to be involved in this because it's their health, and it's their money." The Ann Arbor-based group, Repeal Today For A Safer Michigan 2012, wants the question to go before voters. AnnArbor.com obtained a draft version of the petition that seeks to amend the Michigan Constitution, making marijuana legal for people 21 and older. [continues 387 words]
Tobacco Down, But Officials See Upward Trend For Marijuana Ledyard - Results from the 2011 youth drug and alcohol survey, which show that tobacco use among the town's seventh-through 12th-graders is down but alcohol and marijuana use is trending upward, were presented to members of the Board of Education last week. "The survey asks some really good questions about alcohol, drugs and tobacco use and gives us a baseline to determine if there are any trends of concern," Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner said Wednesday. "Overall, tobacco use is way down which is a good thing, but the two areas of concern that I know the youth survey has looked at throughout the region are marijuana use and alcohol use." [continues 513 words]
California's year in medical marijuana might best be summed up with the story of prominent Sacramento County dispensary Magnolia Wellness. Sporting huge ads and a great selection of strains such as Violator Kush, the Orangevale club boasted an estimated 40,000 patients at its peak. But it drew increasing fire from fed up local and federal prohibitionist-minded officials. Facing fines and potential forfeiture, Magnolia held a widely publicized marijuana giveaway on Friday, December 16. Hundreds of patients lined up for free grams as police cruisers idled nearby. [continues 770 words]
To the Editor: Jury nullification might sound appealing when it's used in a defendant's favor to set aside petty laws. But jury nullification doesn't just let off otherwise guilty people; it also convicts the innocent. Would anyone congratulate a jury for ignoring the law because of its animus toward the defendant rather than its sympathy? Democratically accountable bodies write our criminal laws. Twelve unelected and anonymous people should not be able to flout them behind closed doors. Burlington, N.C., Dec. 21, 2011 The writer is a recent graduate of Yale Law School. [end]
To the Editor: What is hidden behind the heated philosophical debate that jury nullification generates are the real people and communities affected by prosecutorial and police policies. Paul Butler properly notes the disgraceful number of marijuana possession prosecutions in New York City. But what we need to be equally aware of is that drug prosecutions in this city almost invariably target people suffering from endemic joblessness, homelessness as well as mental health and substance abuse problems aggravated by collapsing and underfinanced social services. [continues 139 words]
Dispensary Will See Patients Full Time Starting Next Month HALLOWELL -- A city medical marijuana dispensary started seeing patients by appointment before Christmas and plans to open full time next month. Wellness Connection of Maine's 2,400-square-foot dispensary, one floor above the Liberal Cup on Water Street, is scheduled to open by January's end, according to the firm's executive director, Becky DeKeuster. Under state law, the dispensary will be the only one allowed in Kennebec County. Earlier this year, DeKeuster had hoped the dispensary would be open by the fall. Renovations have held up the Hallowell dispensary's opening, according to Jane Lane, senior vice president with Philip W. Johnston Associates, a Boston-based public affairs firm working with Wellness Connection. [continues 507 words]
A group of local medical cannabis advocates is trying to gather 10,000 signatures to overturn a recent ordinance Shasta County supervisors passed that restricts marijuana growing for county residents. Nor Cal Safe Access member Dave Shore said about 30 people have been gathering signatures outside medical marijuana dispensaries and less controversial local businesses like Walmart for about a week now. While county supervisors passed two ordinances regulating medical marijuana earlier this month "" one banning dispensaries and one introducing cultivation restrictions for county residents "" the group is seeking a referendum only for the growth ordinance, Shore said. [continues 580 words]
A group pushing for a citizens initiative to legalize small quantities of marijuana will submit more than 155,000 signatures next week to put the amendment on next year's ballot. Mason Tvert, a proponent of the measure and head of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said Wednesday he and hundreds of volunteers are nearing the end of the petition-signature stage to get the measure on the November ballot. Tvert said the group plans to turn in petitions to the Secretary of State's Office next Wednesday. [continues 549 words]
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a longshot candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday he is leaving the GOP in favor of running as a Libertarian. Johnson told a news conference at the state Capitol that the decision was difficult, but that he was "deeply disappointed" by the treatment he received in the Republican nomination process. "I had hoped to lay out a real libertarian message on all the issues in the Republican contest. The process was not fair and open," he said. [continues 164 words]
States like Montana that have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana have seen a decrease in traffic fatalities and a reduction in beer sales, a new study has found. A report authored by a D. Mark Anderson, a Montana State University economics professor, and Daniel Rees, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver, discovered a 9 percent decrease in traffic fatalities in states that passed laws legalizing medical marijuana. The study points to marijuana as a substitute drug for alcohol. So far, 16 states have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana. Surveys show that residents in these states are reporting consuming less alcohol and retailers are reporting a 5 percent reduction in alcohol sales. [continues 440 words]
The tug-of-war between county government and marijuana proponents continued to make headlines in Nevada County in 2011, and promises to heat up again early next year when a proposed cultivation ordinance goes before the Board of Supervisors. Early in the year, local jurisdictions made it clear that dispensaries were not welcome here. In January, Grass Valley City Council members voted down a proposed ordinance to allow and regulate dispensaries, instead joining 214 California cities that have banned them outright. Council members cited concern about the effects of marijuana use on young people and worries over crime associated with dispensaries in some areas, saying those who genuinely need marijuana for medical reasons can get it at the nearest dispensary in Colfax, about half an hour away in Placer County. [continues 563 words]
Re "Is Obama in control?" (Editorial, Dec. 22): In Ken Burns' outstanding PBS documentary Prohibition, it was revealed that alcohol prohibition corrupted all levels of our government-all the way up to the Warren G. Harding White House. The alcohol cartels had hundreds of politicians on their payroll. Is it unreasonable to suspect that the drug cartels of today are following in the footsteps of the alcohol cartels? It's obvious that medical marijuana dispensaries were making a major dent in the income of the drug cartels. Would a $10 million bribe motivate Obama to change his policy regarding medical marijuana? We will never know. But I certainly suspect so. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Re "Is Obama in control?" (Editorial, Dec. 22): Obama could be in control of the marijuana problem by upholding the rule of law, the Constitution of the United States. The marijuana laws impinge upon fundamental rights, a justiciable controversy under Article III. Criminalizing marijuana because marijuana has no medicinal use is unreasonable and unnecessary regulations of my fundamental rights to liberty, to property and to privacy. Marijuana and the private use of this property does not threaten the rights of others. Who have presidents been afraid of? National police? [continues 58 words]
Re "Is Obama in control?" (Editorial, Dec. 22): When the last number of presidents have used cannabis (marijuana) recreationally, there should be no question cannabis prohibition should automatically be terminated, especially since roughly 70 percent of Americans support it. Roughly 50 percent of Americans support-and that number is increasing-legalizing and regulating cannabis because it is one of America's worst policy failures in history. Cannabis prohibition is perpetuated exactly because President Obama is in control. If citizens were in control, cannabis prohibition, persecution, discrimination and extermination would end immediately. Ending cannabis prohibition is one of the most important issues of our time. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Members of California's largest medical marijuana advocacy group mounted a protest at the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse to commemorate-albeit reluctantly-the anniversary of the county's largest raid on medical marijuana providers to date. After a year, a majority of the defendants from "Operation Green Sweep" have yet to make it to trial, thanks to a series of legal wranglings over multiple cases that hang on state law. On Dec. 27, members of the local chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) wielded signs reading "STOP Medical Raids Now" and "DA Shea: Drop the charges against ALL of the 'SLO 12.'" Though protester turnout was significantly less than at a similar demonstration held during the defendants' arraignments in the first days of 2011, the organizers weren't dissuaded. [continues 239 words]
RIVERSIDE - Riverside County officials are moving swiftly to shut down storefront medical marijuana dispensaries, seeking an injunction against one and ordering the owner of another to appear before the Board of Supervisors to explain why he's refused to close his doors, it was announced today. The actions come two weeks after the board committed to taking legal steps to shutter the 35 dispensaries violating a county zoning ordinance that prohibits the operation of medical marijuana facilities in unincorporated communities. Last week, the board filed a request in Superior Court seeking an injunction against Platinum Collective on Magnolia Avenue in Home Gardens. The dispensary has been notified that it's operating illegally but has refused to acknowledge the county's demand for cessation, according to county Executive Office spokesman Ray Smith. [continues 398 words]
FLINT, Michigan -- Everything from jobs to public safety to medical marijuana was up for discussion Wednesday morning between two of the candidates hoping to replace recalled state Rep. Paul Scott. Republican nominee Joe Graves and Green Party nominee Cary Neuville-Justice fielded questions at Flint's White Horse Tavern during a live broadcast the program Off The Kuf on Kettering University's WKUF 94.3 FM. Democratic nominee Steve Losey could not attend because of a scheduling conflict, said program host Tom Sumner. [continues 261 words]
A year after 12 were arrested, protesters in SLO argue the sting was not necessary, aggravating for defendants and a waste of taxpayer money One year after a group dubbed the "SLO 12" was arrested during an undercover investigation into medical marijuana dispensaries, some local activists are still fuming. About 10 people gathered Tuesday morning outside San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Monterey Street to protest the arrests. They held signs supporting "safe access" to medical marijuana and criticized the ongoing handling of the cases. [continues 408 words]
The stores have become popular over last several years There's a growing phenomenon sweeping across Tulare County - and across the nation, for that matter. It's called "indoor grow shops," and it's taking many people - from farmers-market fanatics to, yes, those who grow marijuana legally - by storm. There are two indoor grow shops in Porterville alone. Maximum Harvest Grower Supplies, the city's oldest indoor grow shop, is located at 730 E. Date St. The other shop, M&J's Grower Supply, is located at 128 N. Second St. [continues 382 words]
On two occasions, Maine voters have authorized medical marijuana for people with serious illnesses. This was not a vote to legalize recreational marijuana use, but an attempt to treat the herb as much like a medicine as possible. Operators of the newest dispensary in Portland should keep that in mind and not take advantage of Mainers' compassion. Unfortunately, that's not what they are advertising. The website of Wellness Connection of Maine advertises a place for patients to relax near a fireplace and drink tea, while eating food laced with marijuana. It's a setting that sounds more like a cocktail lounge than a dispensary and it is not what voters were promised. [continues 260 words]
Officials Say Effort Is Similar To Action That Has Been Taken In Other Communities Howell officials have introduced an ordinance that if adopted would prevent marijuana to be used for medical purposes from being grown in Howell. The proposed ordinance in Howell is similar to legislation that has been introduced and/or adopted in Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County and Plumsted Township in Ocean County. Specifically, the ordinance establishes compliance with federal law as criteria for approval by zoning and construction officials as well as other applicable township employees. [continues 383 words]
The head of the Colorado Department of Revenue has written a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration asking that federal controls on marijuana be loosened slightly to account for its "potential medicinal value." Colorado is the third state with a medical-marijuana program to ask the DEA to reschedule marijuana. But Revenue Department Executive Director Barbara Brohl's letter, written Dec. 22, does not come as a surprise. A law passed last year in the legislature required the state to ask for rescheduling by the end of this year. [continues 206 words]
PORTLAND -- A medical marijuana dispensary that's scheduled to open in Portland next month is designed as a California-style wellness center. Its operator is promoting a free coffee and tea bar, acupuncture clinics, support groups, counseling and a "welcoming vapor lounge." The new website of Wellness Connection of Maine says, "Patients are always welcome to relax and socialize near our fireplace, or enjoy a free cup of tea with a friend in our cafe space." The manager of Maine's medical marijuana program says a dispensary with such amenities would violate state regulations aimed at ensuring that dispensaries are places to get medicine for serious illnesses, not places to socialize. [continues 528 words]
House Speaker Says He'll Petition Federal Government to See What State Needs to Do PROVIDENCE ---- House Speaker Gordon D. Fox says he'll personally petition the U.S. Department of Justice to seek a way for Rhode Island to open the medical marijuana dispensaries that advocates have long sought. "I plan on going to the federal government to ask them: what do you need it to look like?" the Providence Democrat said Tuesday. "Because I think it's been too long and there have been too many people waiting. ... I hear so many stories of people waiting for relief and they are not being addressed. They deserve better than that." [continues 345 words]
According to the Dec. 22 story in The Columbian, "State considers adding ADD, OCD to medical pot list," the state of Washington is considering legalizing the use of marijuana for anyone who has a medical problem of any kind. For instance, Attention Deficit Disorder or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder would qualify. Other unrelated diseases, such as a "social disorder" and "intractable pain," also would make the grade. Now, my problem is that I have OCHD (Obsessive Compulsive Hunting Disorder). I love to hunt wild game animals. Someone recently diagnosed me as being an elkaholic, with no hope of recovery. Faced with this dire addiction, I wonder if I might qualify for medical marijuana. And since they are looking for scientific reasons for adopting its use, I will gladly submit to further study of my condition. Until then, I guess I'll just have to go on feeding my compulsion by hunting big game. If, however, I am refused on the basis that OCHD doesn't qualify me, perhaps I could add that I also have a hangnail. Anything to get access to this addictive gateway drug. Please, somebody help me. Elwood Bonner Vancouver [end]
First, I have never, nor do I intend to, smoke marijuana for any reason. I agree with Kraige Kinney 100 percent to vote on Jan. 3 to make Eagle a better place. But I would ask that the Eagle citizens vote "yes" in order to do so. I attended the marijuana panel held on Dec. 12, and I understood Eagle County Undersheriff Mr. McWilliams say that if the marijuana is grown in grow facilities this is safer for residential neighborhoods because there are no illegal and unsafe rigging setups in houses. [continues 141 words]
Appeal: Attorneys for Dispensary Denied License Say Public Safety Hazard Not Proven Lawyers for Lacey Cross -- a store on Pacific Avenue that sells medicinal marijuana -- have filed an appeal in Thurston County Superior Court seeking to overturn the city's denial of its business license application. The land-use petition filed by Seattle attorneys Charles Moure and Hilary Bricken states that the Lacey City Council erred during a Dec. 1 hearing when it upheld a land-use hearing examiner's denial of Lacey Cross's application for a business license. [continues 934 words]
Risky business; The owners of Beacon of Light and all medical marijuana dispensary owners deserve to be protected by the cops not harassed by them. Steve Krakowski Bay City [end]
It is not that marijuana use by teens has risen significantly, but that their tobacco use has greatly declined ("Generation up in smoke," Dec. 27). Is it possible the decrease in tobacco use shows us that the most effective anti-drug use campaigns are those that rely on enforcing regulations on a legal product, and not prohibition? Keith Saunders Scituate [end]
Regarding the editorial "Bay City attorney's broadside on BAYANET gets professional reply, but no formal debate:" Writing as a retired detective, BAYANET is a horrific waste of tax dollars, both federal "free" money and Michigan residents'. We taxpayers must pay the $30,000 per year to lock up those arrested by my colleagues. The feds are $15 trillion in the red, in case anybody cares. After 40 years of Drug War and a trillion tax dollars spent, drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to Michigan residents young and old. We know that every drug dealer arrested is quickly replaced. [continues 51 words]
A 27-year-old man who died after a drug stop in Houma Thursday night choked to death after trying to swallow plastic bags of suspected cocaine, marijuana and heroin, according to preliminary results from an autopsy performed Monday. Gary Alford, an investigator with the Terrebonne Coroner's Office, said the autopsy results for Wayne Michael Williams of Houma are not yet final pending toxicology tests that take several weeks to complete. "The primary cause is going to be asphyxiation," Alford said. "His drug levels might be very high if one of those bags broke. So that could be a contributing factor also. We're going to have to wait and see." [continues 431 words]
It is truly criminal that unscrupulous drug gangs cultivate marijuana in national forests with complete disregard for the environment ("Forests vs. marijuana," Tribune-Herald, Dec. 27). This is solely because the high price of illegal cannabis makes this activity worth the risk. And so, the U.S. Forest Service will continue with eradication and cleanup efforts and will begin advocating for re-legalizing cannabis as a disincentive to grow pot on public lands. BINGO! Now why hasn't that brilliant idea been forwarded sooner? [continues 219 words]
Riverside County officials said Wednesday they have begun legal action to close about three dozen medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas. Attorneys filed for an injunction and issued legislative subpoenas against two of the stores, the latest volley since the Board of Supervisors authorized crackdowns on Dec. 13. The county asked a Riverside County Superior Court judge to declare Platinum Collective in Home Gardens, near Riverside, a public nuisance and issue an injunction to shut down operations at the shop in the 12000 block of Magnolia Avenue, east of McKinley Street. According to the Dec. 21 court filing, the dispensary creates traffic problems, and officials said it poses a safety issue for children who walk past the shop on their way to Villegas Middle School. [continues 349 words]
PORTLAND -- A medical marijuana dispensary that's scheduled to open in Portland next month is designed as a California-style wellness center. Its operator is promoting a free coffee and tea bar, acupuncture clinics, support groups, counseling and a "welcoming vapor lounge." The new website of Wellness Connection of Maine says, "Patients are always welcome to relax and socialize near our fireplace, or enjoy a free cup of tea with a friend in our cafe space." The manager of Maine's medical marijuana program says a dispensary with such amenities would violate state regulations aimed at ensuring that dispensaries are places to get medicine for serious illnesses, not places to socialize. [continues 529 words]
Re: "Police chief to wage war on drugs," the Times Herald's Dec. 15 opinion: Police Chief Michael Reaves said at least 90% of the crime in Port Huron is drug-related. City Manager Bruce Brown said it's time for a reinvigorated war on drugs. What they won't say is 90% of so-called "drug crime" is caused by drug prohibition, not the drugs themselves. When was the last time the Times Herald reported a drive-by shooting at Kroger between the Miller Mob and the Coors Crew, who were trying to protect their turf on aisle nine? [continues 82 words]
Since the federal government and Congress are unwilling to heed the wishes of the electorate when it comes to regulating the sale and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes, it's up to the states to engage in pressure politics. States are known as the laboratories of democracy, so it's appropriate that they would also be the places to plant the seeds of sensible change. Sixteen states have adopted medical marijuana laws, despite the fact that federal law considers pot to be more dangerous than prescription pain pills, and on par with heroin. Nearly 15,000 people died from pain pill overdoses in 2008, but nobody is calling for OxyContin and the like to be pulled from pharmacy shelves. Lethal overdoses of marijuana are unheard of, but pharmacies aren't allowed to stock pot under federal law. [continues 383 words]
Regarding your Dec. 13 editorial, not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but also adult recreational use should be legally regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. [continues 69 words]
After $1 Triilion Dollars Wasted on Failed Policies, This Whole Medicinal Weed Thing Really Makes Sense When I started writing this column a little more than a year ago, I thought medical marijuana was a thinly veiled cover for folks who wanted to legalize the substance. Not that I opposed the notion, nor did I doubt that marijuana has medical value - I've seen it stop nausea in people who couldn't keep any food down and I've seen people who were wasting away get an appetite. But I saw the overall marijuana drama as something of an amusing middle-class cause that really didn't mean much in the big picture. I also saw an explosion of marijuana-related storefronts around town and thought there was money to be made. [continues 1156 words]
Inside United States
