The city of Napa witnessed yet another game of medical marijuana tug-of-war play out in council chambers last week. Advocates made points. Critics made others. Few opened themselves to new viewpoints and the council heard the same impassioned arguments for and against medical marijuana that have been made in front of them for years. It was disappointing in so much as the pros and cons of medical marijuana were not the issue at hand. The question in front of the council wasn't whether medical marijuana is a good or bad thing for Napa. It wasn't even about whether a Napa-based marijuana dispensary is appropriate. Those questions have already been asked and answered by the city of Napa. It's how we came to have a dispensary ordinance in the first place. [continues 382 words]
Officials Aim to Reduce Number of Dispensaries; Advocates Vow Petition Drive SAN JOSE - Bolstered by new legal authority, San Jose leaders are trying again to impose rules that would sharply shrink the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that have proliferated across the city in recent years as officials struggled to regulate them. But even as the San Jose City Council considers new rules Tuesday evening, marijuana advocates are promising once more to collect signatures that would allow voters to overturn them, reigniting a weed war that had been on ice while city leaders awaited key court rulings. [continues 972 words]
Two revamped marijuana ordinance proposals - one that completely bans marijuana growing in Fresno County - will be before county supervisors on Tuesday. Both revisions are an effort to curtail the emergence of large, dangerous marijuana grows on the Valley floor that have been hotbeds for crime, officials say. The other proposal limits growers to six mature, or 12 immature pot plants. Growing space also can't exceed 120 square feet within either a room of a single-family dwelling, or a detached, covered outdoor structure. [continues 586 words]
The North Bay town of Sebastopol made history this week when the City Council picked a marijuana activist as mayor. Robert Jacob is the founder and executive director of Peace in Medicine, which operates two licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. He is believed to be the first dispensary operator to be the top elected official of any city. Jacob began serving on the Planning Commission in the city of 7,500 people in 2011, then was elected to City Council in 2012. He was vice mayor before getting the top job Tuesday. [continues 163 words]
A local judge's ruling to throw out evidence from a vehicle search that resulted from the driver's admission that he had marijuana and a card authorizing him to use it as medicine went unchallenged and unpublished after the deadline to appeal it came and went. The Mendocino County District Attorney's Office had two weeks to file an appeal after Mendocino County Superior Court judge Ann Moorman rendered her Nov. 8 decision, but did not do so, according to Mendocino County Deputy Public Defender Eric Rennert. Had an appeal been filed, the case would have gone before the state Court of Appeals and could have been used as statewide precedent for similar cases, and would have been the first of its kind, Rennert said previously. [continues 292 words]
If you want to traffic in stereotypes, Elie Green, Ramona Rubin and Daniel Kosmal - the founders of Doc Green's, which makes healing cannabis ointments and lotions - look pretty much like what you might imagine when you hear, "Berkeley-based medical marijuana collective." That is, of course, until they open their mouths and tell you they're observant Jews. "It's been interesting dealing with [appearances at] weekend festivals," says Rubin, 36, over an almond milk latte at a Berkeley cafe. "Being shomer Shabbos, it means just working on Friday and Sunday ... it's a constant balance between serving our own religious needs, doing keruv [outreach], telling people about what we're doing with cannabis and how it could help them." [continues 862 words]
Re "Word of the law" by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R News, November 21): Thanks for the interview with Todd Leras, candidate for Sacramento district attorney. I am a certified specialist in criminal law and a former prosecutor. I have worked in our criminal-justice system for over 30 years. Sacramento desperately needs a change from Jan Scully's rigid and conservative practices toward the more reasonable and flexible approach offered by Leras. I represent many individuals charged with marijuana offenses that are related to state medical-marijuana laws. The Sacramento DA's office, under the Scully-Anne Marie Schubert administration, routinely presents a grudging and aggressive approach to dealing with such cases, as if they saw no difference between medical producers and foreign cartels. They have taken positions in court that-if the court actually adopted those positions-would eliminate dispensaries completely. Fortunately, our courts have put a check on the district attorney's aggressive views. [continues 100 words]
Two Marijuana-Related Shootings-One of Them Fatal-Is Further Proof of Prohibition's Failure Think marijuana isn't dangerous? Tell that to the pot-growing homeowner who shot and killed an intruder who wanted to steal his crop. That deadly attempted home-invasion robbery occurred in broad daylight last Tuesday, Nov. 26, in Palermo. And the very next day, the day before Thanksgiving, another man was shot in the face at a marijuana grow site in Feather Falls (see Downstroke, page 8). [continues 258 words]
When a mega-grow gets busted in Humboldt County, it makes a splash in local media - photos of lush greenhouses, irrigation pipes and bricks of processed weed, plus names and numbers (money, pounds, plants) that read like sports stats. What we don't see are the repercussions of those busts, what becomes of the growers after they're arrested, charged and convicted. This past July the Journal submitted a request to interview locals serving terms in a federal correctional institution located in Sheridan, Ore., about 50 miles southwest of Portland. There are currently at least five men from Humboldt County being held in the prison's minimum security satellite camp. They're serving terms of three years, five years, even 10 years for nonviolent, marijuana-related crimes (mostly conspiracy to distribute). [continues 512 words]
People have been cultivating cannabis (marijuana) with pesticides forever ("What are you smoking?", Times-Standard, Nov. 30, Page A1). While it is desirable to purchase cannabis grown free of pesticides, the best way to achieve that goal is for government to RE-legalize and regulate the plant. Government should take back, regulating cannabis, away from the black market and allow producers who grow the plant without pesticides the opportunity to label them accordingly. When California voters get their next chance to RE-legalize cannabis (third time's a charm) in 2014 or 2016, hopefully it will enable citizens to grow their own plants (like Colorado citizens) and that will be another way citizens will have access to pesticide free plant material. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
New L.A. Law Puts E-Cigarettes in Same Category As Products Containing Tobacco. Calling it a potential health risk and a gateway to tobacco use, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted unanimously to regulate the sales of e-cigarettes and other "vaping" devices. The new law puts electronic smoking devices in the same category as tobacco products, subjecting their sales to the same restrictions. It bans sales from street kiosks, ice cream trucks and self-service displays, and requires retailers to obtain a license before selling the products. [continues 547 words]
LATHROP - It's like Redbox but for medical-grade pot. The patient swipes their card, selects their option, walks inside and gets their single gram of "medicine" without ever having to interact with a single person. And the City of Lathrop isn't quite ready for it. Despite an impassioned plea by a representative of a Tracy medical marijuana dispensary and a cooperative that operates a local deliver service, the Lathrop City Council voted 4-1 Monday night to enact a 45-day moratorium that will prevent a dispensary for opening in the community. [continues 553 words]
What's up with the raids in Denver? I thought weed was legal in Colorado? - -Jeff Right? It would seem that the folks running these particular clubs aren't doing as good of a job as they could be doing. According to published reports, Hector Diaz, one of the owners of the raided clubs, has ties to Colombian cartels and was also sending legally grown medical cannabis out of state. John Ingold from The Denver Post has an excellent article about the raids at www.denverpost.com. [continues 448 words]
Re "A corrupt war to wage" (Guest comment, by Nelson Kaiser, Nov. 27): Cannabis prohibition is one of America's worst policy failures in history, dependent on lies, half-truths and propaganda to exist. It's time to stop imprisoning responsible adults for using the relatively safe God-given plant (see the first page of the Bible) cannabis. Colorado re-legalized cannabis a year ago and the sky hasn't even pretended to fall in. A sane argument to continue cannabis prohibition doesn't exist. Only vile and ignorant people cage citizens for using a plant. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
HSU's Marijuana Institute Tends a New Crop of Research Ten years ago, the premise for a marijuana institute would have been laughed off of even Humboldt State University's fertile and notoriously weed-friendly campus. Even one year ago, despite changing political climes and the increasing call for daylight on the North Coast's shady marijuana industry, the academic minds who created the institute were unsure if it would ever emerge from the bulky stigma of "weed college." The Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research was the butt of late-night jokes then, and it faces continuing significant challenges. Money. Time. Misconceptions. Acceptance. Diversity of research fields. Regulatory hurdles. But the directors of the Institute are optimistic and say that things are already changing. [continues 2824 words]
COME NEW YEAR'S DAY, in Washington state and Colorado, marijuana will be legit, courtesy of two ballot initiatives. How do you create a legal business out of an illegal one? After 13 years of Prohibition, the country at least had an earlier legal liquor market to refer to. That's where Mark Kleiman comes in, the go-to expert on these matters. A UCLA professor of public policy and author and coauthor of books like "Marijuana Legalization," he's heard all the jokes about "hemperor" and "your serene high-ness." He was consulted by Washington state's liquor control board, which has to come up with the nuts and bolts for the new law and which asked him for, well, the straight dope. [continues 1233 words]
Medical marijuana dispensaries are now banned in the unincorporated areas of Solano County. Following a decision made by six of the seven cities in the county, the Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously decided to "permanently prohibit medical marijuana operations." The city of Vallejo is the only city in the county that doesn't have a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. "This is not a rural issue, it's an urban issue," said Supervisor Erin Hannigan. She added that dispensaries in the rural areas of the county would place an "undue burden" on the cities that have a ban. [continues 483 words]
Another Thanksgiving has passed without a presidential commutation for Clarence Aaron, who at age 24 was sentenced to life without parole for a first-time nonviolent drug conviction in 1993. President Obama has the unfettered power to pardon ex-cons and commute the sentences of federal inmates. Yet this term, he has used that power to commute the sentences of turkeys only - no people, even though the ACLU figures that close to 2,000 nonviolent offenders are serving sentences of life without parole in federal prisons. [continues 475 words]
This week marks a tragic anniversary for the U.S. Coast Guard as we remember the death of Senior Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne. He was killed in the line of duty off the Santa Barbara coast as he protected his shipmates while attempting to interdict a high-speed "panga" engaged in illicit smuggling between Mexico and Southern California. Once thought to be a scourge limited to our southwest border regions, maritime drug smuggling is now migrating north, with vessels delivering millions of dollars in illicit drugs under cover of darkness to our Northern California beaches. [continues 691 words]
Marijuana growers are so skilled at hiding plants from prying eyes that even illegal grows within shouting distance of a school can go undetected for months. In mid-September, Fresno County deputies removed 10,000 plants across the street from Sequoia Elementary School on South Armstrong near Sanger, and another 3,000 behind the school. Although the Sheriff's Office told school officials that there was no immediate threat when the search warrant was served, the school locked the gates and kept students in classrooms until deputies gave the all-clear. [continues 291 words]
The central San Joaquin Valley is one of the hottest spots in the nation for illegal marijuana grows. Illegal growers are becoming bolder, many area sheriffs say, moving from historical hideouts in national forests to the Valley floor - even planting marijuana near elementary schools. A key reason for the shift is California's medical marijuana law, which is being manipulated to earn illegal traffickers a hefty payday, officials say. Growers often are shielded with doctor recommendations for medical marijuana and routinely grow up to 99 marijuana plants, since 100 plants or more receive harsher penalties if prosecuted federally. [continues 2143 words]
Re "Blame the policy, not the plant" (Cover feature, by David Downs, Nov. 21): It is true that marijuana prohibition is the cause of all problems related to marijuana. It is not true that marijuana grows cause major ecological damage compared to other industries. So please stop all these ridiculous histrionics about damage caused by evil pot growers and/or evil pot prohibition until you have done something about the following problems. Coal-Google "mountaintop removal coal mining" and see what has been done to the Southern Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and other states. Gas-Google "fracking" and see what is being done to the Northern Appalachian Mountains, particularly in Pennsylvania. Logging-Google Earth Map from Oregon south, far past Butte County. The western slope of the Sierra Nevada has been systematically raped with "clear-cut" patches. Farming-agribusiness in every state causes infinitely more harm to the environment with all make and manner of offenses (they spray poisons from planes, for one thing) than a few pissant pot gardens in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. [continues 67 words]
Ngaio Explores Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner With Marijuana Is it possible to make an entire Thanksgiving dinner using cannabis-infused foods? - -The Weedish Chef Of course. The active ingredients in weed are fat soluble, so if you have some pot-infused butter or oil, you could add some weed to almost any dish on the table. But if every dish is loaded with pot, all of your guests will probably be asleep even before they eat the turkey. It's probably best to just make one or two pot-infused dishes. Or you could make cannabis-infused gravy. Mmm. Gravy. [continues 413 words]
Re "Weed is winning" by Ngaio Bealum (SN&R The 420, November 14): Since marijuana has been batting almost a thousand at the election booths, about the only way remaining to stop the plant from becoming relegalized, medically or otherwise, is to completely stop citizens from voting on the issues. That's exactly what Attorney General Pam Bondi, law-enforcement agencies and their unions, along with fellow prohibitionists, are attempting to do in Florida: keep citizens from even voting on it. One of their fears is that if allowing sick citizens to use cannabis gets to the ballot, the prohibition farce is over. Stan White Colorado [end]
Live Oak's Ordinance Banning Medical Marijuana Cultivation Was Upheld This Week. The 3rd District Court of Appeals in Sacramento said state law and previous court decisions "do not pre-empt a city's police power to prohibit the cultivation of all marijuana within that city." The appeals court upheld an earlier decision by Sutter County Superior Court Judge Perry Parker. The City Council approved the ordinance in December 2011. James Maral, individually and as trustee of the Live Oak Patients, Caregivers and Supporters Association, and others sued to stop enforcement of the ordinance. [continues 292 words]
When you take a hit of marijuana, you might be inhaling a lot more than pot. During a recent presentation at Humboldt State University, Jeffrey Raber said a recent study he conducted found that up to 70 percent of the pesticides found on a marijuana bud can transfer to the smoke being inhaled. "I think that what's so alarming to us is that such a huge amount of pesticide material could be transferred," Raber said. "And, you have to consider that when you inhale (something), it's much like injecting it directly into your blood stream." [continues 933 words]
The author has lived and worked in Northern California for more than 50 years. A graduate of Chico State, he says he is "among the last of the old-time Sierra Nevada hillbillies." Advertisement Everything our government has told us about hemp and cannabis since the 1930s is a lie. Cannabis is not addictive. It does not cause violent behavior. It will not make your daughters promiscuous. Not one person has ever been shown to have died from using cannabis. The claim that more study is needed is a lie; we have numerous clinically valid studies from the last century. Cannabis does have a number of valid therapeutic uses, and hemp is one of the most valuable industrial fibers ever known. [continues 287 words]
During San Diego's special mayoral election, it seems as if every question possible is being put on the table. One particularly hot topic in San Diego is the regulation of medical marijuana. The status of medical marijuana in San Diego has not been consistent, leaving many citizens to question what the future holds for medicinal users. The Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215, allows for the medical use of marijuana by patients who have been prescribed or recommended to use the drug by a doctor. [continues 707 words]
Neil Shapiro's light-hearted commentary Saturday (The parallels of pot and Prohibition) left out much about the mayhem, murder and destructiveness associated with alcohol prohibition from 1919 to 1933 and the prohibition of marijuana since 1937 - made worse after the war on drugs was launched in the mid-1980s. Two similar developments characterized the efforts to stamp out alcohol and then marijuana. First, there were well-organized and well-armed gangs of suppliers. Second, there were well-organized, well-funded and well-armed federal and local police forces trying to interdict the supply. As a teenager, one of my favorite TV shows was "The Untouchables," which portrayed a stern and morally resolute Elliott Ness with hatchet in hand smashing beer kegs in the streets of Chicago. The other guys with Tommy guns were mowing down competitors. [continues 426 words]
The man leading the major crimes task force in Mendocino County says half of the county's residents are involved in some aspect of the thriving marijuana industry, drawing the ire of some and agreement from others. Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force Commander Rich Russell estimates that half of Mendocino County's 87,400 residents are engaged in growing, distributing and preparing pot for market. "It is a disservice to the many thousands of law-abiding people in the county to make such unsubstantiated claims," said Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen. [continues 540 words]
Voters in Washington and Colorado decided recently to legalize possession and use of marijuana. But it's pretty much been legal in California for years. Here, we like to pretend it is only legally available to those with serious medical conditions that entitle them to a compassionate exception to a specific criminal law. And that's true, so long as one classifies mild insomnia, sneezing or a propensity to develop hangnails as serious medical infirmities. California voters passed Proposition 215 - the "Compassionate Use Act of 1996" - by a whopping 55-45 margin to allow those suffering from AIDS and cancer to use the drug to ease their discomfort and the nausea caused by treatments such as chemotherapy. During the campaign we saw images of gaunt men and women whose ability to hold down food depended on their use of an illegal drug. Who wouldn't be moved by the chance to ease their suffering, particularly when those with access would have to obtain the equivalent of a doctor's prescription? [continues 487 words]
The District-Attorney Candidate on Crowded Prisons, Rehab and the War on Drugs Todd Leras spent the past five years as one of tens of thousands of attorneys in the Department of Justice. Based out of Sacramento, the recently announced district-attorney candidate has prosecuted cases involving mortgage fraud, drug trafficking, sex crimes and even white-collar embezzlement. SN&R spoke with the candidate to discuss what's working and what needs to change when it comes to law and order in Sacramento. [continues 1647 words]
Supervisor Seethes, Pot Smokers Party in Wake of Medi-Pot Amendments "I'm looking for something that really pops," Kevin Scott explained as he put the finishing touches on a medium-sized joint, at least the third he'd rolled in a half-hour while acting as judge for the Cannabis Cup competition at Harvest Festival 2013, a 420-friendly event held last Saturday (Nov. 16) at the Tuscan Ridge Golf Course. Scott was one of a handful of judges seated at two tables in the back corner of a pair of 40-by-40-foot tents on the lawn below the course's clubhouse. The judges' tables were covered with dishes brimming with marijuana buds and various smoking implements, including a 2-foot-tall bong just to Scott's right. A nearby table showcased the competitors-jars and plastic bags filled with exotically named strains of pot, such as Purple Urkle, Deadhead 06, R&B, and Girl Scout Cookies. As the judges sampled each, rating them on such merits as look, smell, smoothness and taste, curious onlookers stood nearby, some remarking on the judges' stamina, others vocally covetous of their positions. [continues 903 words]
Undoing the Unintended Consequences of Illegality The CN&R has long been writing about the environmental degradation happening in Butte County and beyond due to the proliferation of marijuana farms in nonagricultural regions, the foothills in particular. Pot profiteers don't grow there because the soil is good and the water is bountiful. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Clay soil isn't hospitable to the plants and there's a dearth of water to feed them. In truth, the reason cannabis cultivators have chosen to grow in the mountainous regions of the state is to shield their operations from law enforcement by setting up shop among the trees and other greenery that cover the landscape. [continues 224 words]
In my other life outside of the offices of the Daily Bruin, I spend a lot of time at the various pools owned by UCLA. On Monday, I was scheduled to guard a water aerobics class at the school's rehabilitation pool in Westwood. Imagine my surprise when, as opposed to conversations about the minutiae of their day, I overheard the people in the class talk about something a little, well, greener: pot. A debate had started up over the merits of medical marijuana as a tool in coping with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a degenerative nerve condition that each person in the class had in some form or another. [continues 646 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- While formalizing new medical marijuana dispensary rules long in development, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday signaled a quick pivot to another pressing issue: how those shops get their pot. To go into effect shortly after the new year, new dispensary rules impact the approximately dozen shops in the county's unincorporated area. They set limits on hours and location, require background checks for management and eventually ban any new clubs from opening. But a new controversy over growing medical pot has sparked debate on the board and within the county's vibrant marijuana industry. While strict rules are coming on growing pot in dense neighborhoods, the board largely rejected limits the industry viewed as draconian. [continues 503 words]
Temecula Valley School District Is Again Named a Defendant After Officials Use a Special Needs Child to Help Nab a Student Dealer The mother of a Temecula middle school student has sued the school district, alleging her 14-year-old son was recruited by an assistant principal to pose as "bait" in an on-campus drug sting, despite her objections. The incident was in December 2012 and the allegations came to light after the mother filed a claim against the district in May. [continues 563 words]
How America's War on Marijuana Destroys the Environment The photo looks like something out of a horror film: A long, thin animal lays dissected on a white table. Metal tools pull the animal's skin back to reveal its jellied, maroon-colored insides-all soupy, slick and lumpy. It's the remains of a Pacific fisher, an 8-pound member of the weasel family that's now hovering near extinction, thanks in part to illegal marijuana farming in the vast forests of California. [continues 3110 words]
I have heard the benefits of legalization of marijuana, and I would like to ask: What about the cons? Among the reasons cited for legalization is the revenue the states will get from taxing reefer, but the Colorado Futures Center wrote a report claiming that the state may actually lose money by legalizing marijuana, due to the societal harm it will cause ("law enforcement, public health and human services"). Another reason people say marijuana needs to be legal is that people get arrested for possession too often, but even that is a myth, as according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only seven-tenths of a percent of people in jail are there for only marijuana possession, and many of them plea bargained their way down to just possession. In fact, according to the White House, the risk of arrest for just possession of a joint is one "arrest for every 12,000 joints." [continues 390 words]
With the possibility of a marijuana legalization measure on the 2016 ballot, economics experts and local representatives are weighing in on the idea of Humboldt brand pot. "After prohibition, who knew Jack Daniels would do so well?" 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn said. "Anything can be replicated anywhere, but the best products come from the right climate and the right expertise, which I think we have plenty of." Bohn cited Lost Coast beers and Fox Farm soils as two brands that originated in Humboldt County and gained recognition on the national market. He also said anyone could replicate a product anywhere, but certain locations have the advantage. [continues 827 words]
He envisions Napa Valley tourists not just sipping wine, but also taking a toke. "The wine and the weed world have to come together and get along," said Crane Carter of the Napa Valley Marijuana Growers (NVMG) organization. Carter is attempting to be the first in the Napa Valley to establish a cannabis tourism brand and industry that is coupled with wine tourism in the valley. The Napa Valley Marijuana Growers, under Carter, has a website, business licensing, a registered domain name and sole proprietorship to branding the NVMG name and logo. He is seeking venture capitalists to invest in the ground floor of what he believes to be the beginning of a large, emerging industry for those who wish to do business with legalized growers and dispensaries. [continues 635 words]
More than half of Mendocino County's population are growers, sellers, distributors, brokers or trimmers in the less-than-legal and largely underground marijuana industry, Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force Commander Rich Russell estimates. "I could stay busy just following around souped-up trucks with 19-year-olds driving them," Russell half-joked, talking Thursday about trends law enforcement is seeing. The black market is keeping the price high, he said, but not in California. While local market saturation means a grower can get between $1,200 and $2,000 at the most in Mendocino County for a pound of trimmed, dried bud, the same pound would fetch up to $5,000 per pound from an East Coast buyer, according to Russell. [continues 853 words]
OFFICIALS SAY 'HIGH INTENSITY DRUG TRAFFICKING AREA' DESIGNATION TO BOOST SHARED INTEL, RESOURCES The Office of National Drug Control Policy on Thursday designated Humboldt County as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, opening the door for more federal dollars and officers. Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey, who has long lobbied for the designation, said Humboldt County's new status should open up some new funding opportunities, bring new resources to the table and generally foster a deeper partnership between local and federal agencies. Other local officials agreed, saying they are hopeful the designation will aid efforts to get the county's drug problems under control. [continues 478 words]
How to tell you are not a Humboldt native? Other than the obvious when your family has not been here for multiple generations, it is the ability to instantly know what certain words mean. Anywhere else, you say trimmer and people's first thought usually would be an implement used for trimming off the unwanted or untidy parts of something. Anywhere else you say bud, people may think a cold beer or flower yet unopened. Here, we know what that means. Same goes for weed, pot, grower, hill. All these words have other meanings, but here in Humboldt these words have obvious associations. [continues 409 words]
I heard marijuana was on the ballot in a few elections last week. How did it go? - -Weedwonk Weed is winning. And it's not even close. The city of Portland, Maine, just legalized possession (up to 2.5 ounces) and use of marijuana for adults 21 and older. Weed got 67 percent of the vote. Over in Michigan, three cities (Jackson, Ferndale, Lansing) all passed initiatives allowing possession and transfer of up to 1 ounce on private property. All the initiatives got more than 60 percent of the vote. [continues 416 words]
Bishop Edward Turner Is Under Review After Officials Learn of a Pot Shop on His Property. A pastor and top civilian aide to L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca was relieved of duty and is the subject of an internal affairs investigation after officials learned he owns a South Los Angeles property that houses a medical marijuana shop, a spokesman said Wednesday. Bishop Edward R. Turner works as a paid field deputy for Baca and oversaw the department's Multi-Faith Clergy Council for more than a decade. The bishop, who founded Power of Love Christian Fellowship ministries in South L.A., earns at least $105,000 a year working for Baca. [continues 562 words]
Melinda Haag, the US Attorney for Northern California, is flouting new federal guidelines in her continued attempts to shut down legal medical marijuana dispensaries in the Bay Area. Despite new federal guidelines that purportedly were designed to ease enforcement of marijuana laws in states in which pot is legal for adult or medicinal uses, US Attorney Melinda Haag is plowing ahead with attempts to close two of the most prominent medical cannabis dispensaries in California - Oakland's Harborside Health Center and Berkeley Patients Group. [continues 923 words]
OROVILLE - Butte County officials are predicting a marathon session for Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, when the panel considers possible revision to the county's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. Paul Hahn, Butte's chief administrative officer, said he expects a standing-room-only crowd when the timed item comes up at 10:30 a.m. Hahn also said if things go as they have in the past when medical marijuana cultivation rules have come before the board, the public comment could go on for hours. [continues 379 words]
Environmental destruction is caused by marijuana production on public and private forestlands in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties. Forest clearing, diversion of streams, construction of hundreds of miles of eroding roads, unrestrained application of fertilizers, herbicides and rodenticides wreak damage on the ecosystem reminiscent of the worst logging practices of the past. The scale and remote location of these illegal activities apparently make them beyond the control of the various state and federal agencies meant to restrict them. This situation is a persuasive argument for the legalization of marijuana. Transferring its cultivation to agricultural cropland more suitable for its production and managed by legitimate businesses subject to regulation and taxation would be a progressive step. Of course these legitimate producers will resist regulation and do their best to evade taxation, but what else is new? Larry Waldron, Berkeley [end]
Inside California
