Hydroponic Tomato Garden Inspired Police To Raid Family's Home WASHINGTON - The police report would claim it all kicked off at 7:38 a.m., but Bob Harte later thought it had to be earlier. His 7:20 a.m. alarm had just yanked him awake. Got to get the kids - a boy in seventh grade, a girl in kindergarten - ready for school. Then he heard, like a starter's pistol setting everything into motion, the first pounding on the front door of his home in Leawood, Kansas, a bedroom suburb south of Kansas City. It was thunderous. It didn't stop. Should I get up? Bob thought. Should I not? Sounded like the house was coming down, he would recall later. [continues 1762 words]
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Garden City woman against the state and several agencies after her son was removed from her home in March 2015 when he told school officials she used marijuana. Shona Banda alleged in the lawsuit filed in March that the defendants denied her civil rights by refusing to allow her to use medical marijuana to treat her Crohn's disease, interfered with her parenting and questioned her son without her permission. Medical marijuana is not legal in Kansas. [continues 462 words]
WICHITA, Kan. - Law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists just for having out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist, Peter Vasquez, against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who pulled him over and searched his vehicle as he was driving alone at night through Kansas on his way to Maryland. The officers, Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis, stopped Vasquez when they could not read the temporary tag taped to the inside of the car's tinted rear window. The officers contended they were justified in searching the vehicle because Vasquez was a resident of Colorado driving on I-70, a "known drug corridor," in a recently purchased, older-model car. They said he also seemed nervous. [continues 54 words]
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists just for having out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist, Peter Vasquez, against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who pulled him over and searched his vehicle as he was driving alone at night through Kansas on his way to Maryland. The KHP officers, Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis, stopped Vasquez when they could not read the temporary tag taped to the inside of the car's tinted rear window. The officers contended they were justified in searching the vehicle because Vasquez was a citizen of Colorado driving on I-70, a "known drug corridor," in a recently purchased, older-model car. They said he also seemed nervous. [continues 149 words]
Police Can't Stop Cars for Having Plates From States That Have Legal Marijuana WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists just for having out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist, Peter Vasquez, against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who pulled him over and searched his vehicle as he was driving alone at night through Kansas on his way to Maryland. [continues 246 words]
TOPEKA, Kan. - Five of a Navy veteran's children were taken into state custody because of suspected drug use and neglect, not because of his admitted use of medical marijuana, a Kansas appellate court has concluded. Rulings by a three-judge Kansas Court of Appeals panel determined "the children did not feel safe returning home" to Raymond and Amelia Schwab, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Raymond Schwab, whose case has become a rallying point for marijuana advocates, said he has used medical marijuana to treat PTSD, even though Kansas has not legalized it. [continues 106 words]
WICHITA (TNS) - The Garden City mother who has become a face of the medicinal marijuana legalization movement in Kansas is suing the state of Kansas and some of the agencies involved in questioning and removing her then 11-year-old son from her home last spring after he spoke up about her cannabis use at school. Shona Banda claims in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, that the state and the agencies are depriving her of her civil rights to treat a debilitating condition she suffers from and to parent her child. She also claims employees at her son's school, Bernadine Sitts Intermediate Center, and the Garden City Police Department violated her constitutional rights when they questioned her son without parental permission and searched her property without a warrant. [continues 676 words]
Shona Banda Is Suing the State, Other Agencies She Claims They Violated Her Constitutional Rights to Parent Her Son, Treat Disease The Garden City mother who has become a face of the medicinal marijuana legalization movement in Kansas is suing the state and some of the agencies involved in questioning and removing her 11-year-old son from her home last spring after he spoke up about her cannabis use at school. Shona Banda claims in the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, that the state and the agencies are depriving her of her civil rights to treat a debilitating condition she suffers from and to parent her child. She also claims employees at her son's school and the Garden City Police Department violated her constitutional rights when they questioned her son without parental permission and searched her property without a warrant. [continues 714 words]
Government's effort to cage Shona Banda (Marijuana Activist Still Plans to File Civil Rights Suit, Feb. 12, 2016) for using cannabis (marijuana/kaneh bosm) to treat Crohn's disease is vulgar, anti-Christian and should cease immediately. Caging sick citizens who use cannabis is clearly and entirely the work of the devil. God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page. Many people know of cannabis as the tree of life and the very last page indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Not one single soul who has the "spirit of truth" supports this act of hatred. Americans must speak up and stamp out this evil. Truthfully, Dillon, Colo. [end]
A Garden City mother facing criminal drug charges said this week that she still intends to file a lawsuit in federal court asserting a constitutional right to use marijuana to treat her Crohn's disease. Attorneys for Shona Banda prepared the suit months ago and posted a draft version online. Lawrence attorney Sarah Swain teamed with Long Beach, Calif., lawyer Matthew Pappas on the suit, and Banda said the delay in getting it filed is largely due to logistics. "I guess they're trying to find out exactly how to go about it," Banda said in a recent phone interview. "They have to be in the same building at the same time, and they both have such hectic schedules." [continues 437 words]
Regarding "God-given plant" and "Medical benefits" (Feb. 3 Letters to the Editor): I'm not sure that medical cannabis has all the healing properties mentioned. At best, it probably is a symptomatic reliever for most mentioned ailments. I feel that if it were as beneficial as some think, the medical arts would have been using it for a long time, as they have cocaine and other narcotics. As for not causing any deaths medically for 5,000 years: I know of nothing that can make that claim, much less cannabis. It may be a God-given plant, but so is poison ivy, and I think I'll not smoke that anytime soon. Mike Mawhirter, Derby [end]
The writer of "The new snake oil" (Jan. 26 Letters to the Editor) must not be aware that cannabis has been documented for more than 5,000 years medically, still without a single death. That's safety on a biblical scale. For millions of sick citizens, the real "cruelest side effect" is being caged for using the relatively safe, God-given plant. STAN WHITE, DILLON, COLO. [end]
As a Wichita representative of the Kansas Silver Haired Legislature (KSHL), I would like to respond to the "The new snake oil" (Jan. 26 Letters to the Editor). Unlike the letter writer, KSHL representatives have investigated why America's medical community is enthusiastically embracing the healing capabilities of cannabis. Based on that research, an 87 percent majority of KSHL representatives from across Kansas voted to urge the Legislature to legalize medical marijuana. Though the letter writer said the "Food and Drug Administration has never been able to find that cannabis cures anything," according to the National Cancer Institute, the potential benefits of medicinal cannabis for people living with cancer include prevention of nausea, appetite stimulation, pain relief and improved sleep. Scientists have also proved that medical marijuana is helpful in treating glaucoma, colitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and diabetes, to name a few conditions. [continues 73 words]
Move over, snake oil. There is a new miracle tonic - cannabis oil. Got aches? Got pains? Are you feeling too sober? Cannabis can cure all that ails you, including glaucoma, cancer, Ebola, epilepsy, the inability to see imaginary colors and more. Never mind that the drug companies want nothing to do with it we all know that big pharmaceutical companies conspire to avoid making profits off of important cures. Never mind that the Food and Drug Administration has never been able to find that cannabis cures anything a bunch of potheads arbitrarily claimed online that cannabis does, so we know it must be true. [continues 89 words]
This week saw serious Statehouse consideration of measures to reduce criminalization of marijuana and hemp. The Kansas Supreme Court's narrow ruling last week voiding a Wichita ordinance left Kansans to wonder whether a city has the legal authority to approve penalties less punitive than state law for marijuana possession, while making some Wichitans feel as if their votes don't matter. Both outcomes were frustrating. But if it once seemed pointless to say marijuana law is better debated in Topeka, it no longer does. This week saw more serious Statehouse consideration of measures to reduce criminalization of marijuana and hemp, and in the process ease suffering and save tax dollars. [continues 324 words]
Topeka - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday that he has launched a project to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about how marijuana purchased in Colorado is entering Kansas and how it's affecting the state. "There are numerous and persistent anecdotal accounts of marijuana acquired in Colorado and illegally transported into Kansas causing harm here," Schmidt said. "But because of technology limits, the confirming data is elusive. Since Colorado's experiment with legalization is affecting Kansas, we need to know more about what is actually happening here so policymakers can make informed decisions." [continues 184 words]
It is time to re-examine the war on drugs because it has failed The idea of legalizing drugs as a method to combat drug abuse and drug-related crimes seems, at first blush, counterintuitive. How could legalizing something as destructive as drugs serve to improve a persistent and growing problem? After decades of instilling in children the message that drug use is dangerous, how can we now change course with legalization? Last week, attorney Brian Leininger, a former Wyandotte County prosecutor and former attorney for the Kansas Highway Patrol, explained the position of his group -- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- to the Hutchinson Drug Impact Task Force. [continues 559 words]
Attorney Brian Leininger disagrees with the assessment that the war on drugs has been a failure. "Saying it's a failure probably gives it too much credit," he told the Hutchinson Drug Impact Task Force on Thursday. Leininger, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said the drug war has been counterproductive and harmful, with stratospheric costs while never accomplishing its goals. "It's not hard to get whatever drug you want right now," he said. In addition to its financial cost, the war on drugs has put huge numbers of nonviolent people in prison and created a violent and profitable black market, Leininger said. In contrast to drugs, people don't sell beer or liquor on street corners because it isn't profitable, he said. [continues 464 words]
Lawyers for Garden City resident Shona Banda have prepared a lawsuit against Gov. Sam Brownback and the state agency that has custody of her child, claiming she has a constitutional right to use cannabis to treat her Crohn's disease. Banda self-published a book and posted videos online in which she says cannabis is the only treatment able to calm her condition. The national medical marijuana movement has rallied around her since March, when Garden City police came to her home and confiscated her cannabis after her 11-year-old son spoke up about her use of it at a school anti-drug presentation. [continues 617 words]
The Garden City Police Department, Garden City USD 457, the State of Kansas, the governor and the Kansas Department of Children and Families are among the defendants in a lawsuit being prepared by attorneys for Shona Banda that alleges her rights to use cannabis for medicinal purposes and maintain custody of her son have been violated. Banda's civil rights attorney, Matthew Pappas, worked with Sarah Swain, her criminal defense attorney, in preparing the lawsuit. They intend to file it in federal court in Wichita. [continues 1071 words]
A preliminary hearing has been set in the case of Shona Banda, the local medicinal marijuana advocate who faces multiple drug charges, in addition to a child endangerment charge. Chief Judge Wendel Wurst on Monday set the preliminary hearing for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 16. in Finney County District Court. Banda is charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors. She was charged June 5 with endangering a child, distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. [continues 341 words]
Shona Banda, a Garden City mom who faces three felonies and two misdemeanors for pot use, pleaded not guilty Monday. Susan Richmeier, Finney County district attorney, said in an email that a preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 16. Law enforcement and Kansas Department of Children and Families officials started investigating Banda after her 11-year old son said "my mom smokes ... a lot!" during an anti-drug program at Bernadine Sitts school in Garden City. The 11-year old could even cite various strains of marijuana, according to Banda's arrest affidavit. [continues 115 words]
Kansas is not going to give up and make marijuana legal any time soon, we know that. A state that did not end Prohibition until 1984 isn't going to move quickly on this issue. ... But isn't it time to stop loading down every pothead who stumbles into police custody with a bunch of charges that won't do him or the state any good? For while simple possession of small amounts of dope is not a felony, many of the "tack-on" charges are. ... [continues 298 words]
Marijuana advocates say the state unfairly targeted one Garden City mom for using weed to treat her medical condition. Her arrest affidavit paints a slightly different picture. Shona Banda, 38, faces five charges related to marijuana use and child endangerment after her 11-year-old son talked about her drug use during an anti-drug program at school. The boy said "my mom smokes ... a lot!" during the drug program and "appeared to have too much information related to the drug," even citing various strains of marijuana, according to Banda's arrest affidavit. [continues 994 words]
Attorneys for Shona Banda, the Garden City woman who made national news after her arrest on drug allegations, plan to file a lawsuit against the state of Kansas in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas alleging Banda's civil rights were violated. Banda's attorney, Sarah Swain, and another attorney, Matthew Pappas, announced plans to file the suit at a July 3 press conference in Los Angeles. When contacted Friday, Banda declined to comment about filing the lawsuit. [continues 828 words]
Though it's a long way from playing out in the courts, the criminal case against Shona Banda is helping make the wider case for change in Kansas' marijuana laws. At least as the public knows the facts so far, what's happening to the ailing Garden City mother defies reason and dramatically serves the cause of those advocating that medical use of marijuana be decriminalized and penalties for nonviolent drug offenses be relaxed. Banda has used cannabis oil to treat her Crohn's disease - something she wrote about in a book and her 11-year-old son mentioned at school during an anti-drug program in March. Her son's statement prompted investigations by the Department for Children and Families and the Garden City Police Department, as well as a police search of their home and placement of the boy in protective custody. [continues 344 words]
Shona Banda, the local medicinal marijuana advocate who faces multiple drug charge in addition to a child endangerment charge, had her first appearance in Finney County District Court Tuesday morning. In a brief appearance, District Magistrate Judge Ricklin Pierce forwarded the case against Banda, 37, to Chief Judge Wendel Wurst. Banda's next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 24 in front of Wurst, Pierce said. Banda, who was in court Tuesday with her attorney, Sarah Swain, already had posted the surety bond of $50,000, Pierce said. [continues 226 words]
Shona Banda, a Kansas marijuana advocate, turned herself in to authorities Monday on an arrest warrant with five charges relating to marijuana use. Banda, 37, drew national attention when she lost custody of her son and was accused of three felony and two misdemeanor charges of using marijuana to treat her Crohn's disease. Her son made comments about his mother's marijuana use during an anti-drug program at his school in Garden City. A GoFundMe campaign for Banda's legal fees had collected more than $44,000 in donations as of Monday evening. Care2, an activist website, also created an online petition for her case, which boasted 140,782 signatures as of Monday. [continues 843 words]
Shona Banda, a Garden City mom who faces five charges related to marijuana use, appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday. Those charges came after her 11-year-old son made comments about Banda using pot during an anti-drug program in his fifth-grade class at Bernadine Sitts School. Eleven days after the incident, Garden City police and the Department for Children and Families questioned Banda's son at school and raided Banda's home in Garden City. Authorities took her son away and put him in protective state custody. [continues 572 words]
As she approached the Finney County Sheriff's Office Monday, Shona Banda, the local medicinal marijuana advocate who gained national attention after the state took custody of her son, was surrounded by supporters, including Jennifer Winn, the Republican candidate who challenged Gov. Sam Brownback in last August's primary. Banda, accompanied by her attorney Sarah Swain and several others, turned herself in at the Law Enforcement Center at 2 p.m. Monday. Several local media outlets gathered outside along with other supporters. [continues 939 words]
The attorney for Shona Banda, the local medicinal marijuana advocate who made national news earlier this year after her son was taken into protective custody, said Banda plans to surrender herself for arrest Monday afternoon. Banda, 37, Garden City, was charged on June 5 with endangering a child, distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of drug paraphernalia. According to a press release issued Thursday by Banda's attorney, Sarah Swain, Banda will surrender for arrest at 2 p.m. Monday at the Finney County Jail, 304 N. Ninth St. Swain plans to be on hand to answer questions. [continues 499 words]
The local medicinal marijuana advocate who made national news earlier this year after her son was taken into protective custody is now facing criminal charges. Finney County Attorney Susan Richmeier on Friday issued a press release outlining five charges being filed against Shona Banda, 37, Garden City: endangering a child, distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of school property, unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of drug paraphernalia. [continues 554 words]
To the editor: The Lawrence Police Department has received approval to set up a K-9 unit. The chief of police said the dogs will be used to, among other things, find large quantities of marijuana. This means that the dogs will ratchet up the war on drugs. The laws in Kansas against selling marijuana were already severe when the Brownback administration introduced new legislation that made the penalties for some cases of selling marijuana harsher than the penalties for some cases of violent crime. The administration also enacted legislation that makes it harder for people convicted of selling marijuana to receive probation. Placing someone convicted of selling marijuana in prison, where they are thrown in with long-term criminals, can actually make them more prone to re-offend when they get out than they would be if they were placed on probation. [continues 129 words]
Legalization of medical marijuana in Kansas is inevitable, Sen. David Haley told a crowd of about 30 supporters at a rally in the rotunda of the Capitol on Thursday afternoon. Haley, D-Kansas City, and Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, have introduced companion bills in the House and Senate, SB 9 and HB 2011, that would allow medicinal use of marijuana. Haley pointed out that 23 states and the District of Columbia have already approved medical marijuana. "We have to get this done," Haley said. "Everyone in this Capitol knows that one day, one day, medical marijuana will be available in every one of the 50 states. We know that. The question is ... will Kansas be the 24th state or the 50th?" [continues 448 words]
To the editor: District Attorney Charles Branson said in an article on Sept. 7, that the real problem with selling marijuana in Lawrence is the armed invasion of the homes of people who sell marijuana. He said that in the last two years there have been 25 drug-related home invasions, and if you go back five years, three deaths occurred in these robberies. Of course this is worrisome, but the root cause of these crimes is the prohibition of marijuana, not marijuana use itself. As a law enforcement official, violent crime is bound to be the district attorney's focus, but a look at the prohibition of alcohol shows that the social costs of prohibition far outweigh the costs of legalization. The armed robberies of bootleggers and speakeasys are things of the past precisely because the prohibition of alcohol was repealed. [continues 60 words]
To the editor: Thanks for the article (Sept. 8) on our district attorney's attitude towards marijuana crimes. His acknowledgement that the black market (prohibition) creates potential danger for marijuana sellers is spot on, but his assertion that sellers are targeted by law enforcement for their own protection seems a bit off the mark - unless those his office has sent to prison are thanking Charles Branson for keeping them safe. Unlikely. Maybe one contributing factor to the potential danger for sellers is how armed home invaders fare in court - sometimes getting plea agreements resulting in probation. In one high-profile case, the defendant received probation, a waiver from the requirement to register as a violent offender, and a record that omitted the fact that a gun was used in the commission of the crime. That sends a stern message to would-be armed robbers! [continues 154 words]
For decades a vast, uncontrolled experiment has been conducted across America. Cannabis -- or "marijuana" -- has been used for thousands of years as a medicine and sacrament. Colonial American landholders were required to grow it, mainly for its fiber, used in cordage for sailing ships. George Washington took it to ease his gout, and Queen Victoria relieved her menstrual cramps with it. Listed in the official U.S. Pharmacopeia, cannabis was available over-the-counter in neighborhood pharmacies. No epidemic madness resulted. [continues 870 words]
Like it or not, legal marijuana is heading our way with its associated problems. Several pro-marijuana bills have been introduced in the Missouri Legislature. Colorado has experienced more use among school kids, even using in school, a 100 percent increase in marijuana-related traffic fatalities, increased gang activity, pediatric marijuana poisonings and difficulty finding workers who can pass drug testing requirements. Now that Colorado has legalized it, pot from Colorado is clearly moving into Kansas. Where is the Food and Drug Administration while Colorado has become the Wild West related to pot-containing food and drugs? [continues 214 words]
Part of the reason our federal government continues to treat marijuana like Kryptonite is the hiring criteria for federal jobs. Ignorance is a prerequisite for employment. The emphasis on "drug-free" backgrounds ensures that those least knowledgeable about the effects and use of illegal drugs are charged with enforcing federal laws against them. Anyone who has actually smoked marijuana knows the plant is not nearly as dangerous (or exciting) as federal propaganda suggests. The days when bureaucrats could get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are over. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a failure. The United States has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. [continues 59 words]
James "420 Jim" Stevens collected signatures on paper and on his motorhome during his trip to Washington through small town America. It came to him in a dream, like Martin Luther King had a dream, inspiring him to crisscross small towns across the country on his way to Washington, James "420 Jim" Stevens said in front of his rolling petition for federal marijuana legalization. Stevens parked his motorhome colorfully decorated in five-fingered cannabis leaves in front of the Boot Hill Museum and collected signatures and explained his one-man, one-dog trek through America. [continues 885 words]
People who try to stay abreast of the federal government's displays of wasteful spending and lack of judgment might want to take note of a pending trial in Spokane, Wash. Federal prosecutors there are seeking mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years each for a 70-year-old medical marijuana patient with no criminal history, three of his relatives and a family friend caught growing marijuana on some rural, mountainous property owned by the family. Washington has legalized medical marijuana and is moving forward with plans to license people to grow and sell recreational marijuana to adults. However, growing marijuana anywhere in the United States still is a violation of federal law. [continues 306 words]
The arrest of Joaquin Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, was described by Attorney General Eric Holder as a landmark achievement. Early in the "War on Drugs," spectacular arrests and sensational drug seizures were followed by pronouncements from law enforcement officials that communities were now safer with fewer drugs on the street. The purpose of those pronouncements was to provide validation for the war on drugs. There have been no such assessments following the arrest of Guzman. The arrest will not impact the availability of drugs on the street. [continues 180 words]
Legalize pot. Tax it, get it out in the open and get some control over it. Stop using it as a means to incarcerate poor, often minority, young in order to fill the pockets of the privately owned penal system. Pot doesn't kill, alcohol does, through intoxicated, often enraged, drivers on our highways. Pot doesn't kill, nicotine does, through cancer and heart patients who swell our hospitals and overwhelm our health system. Pot does tend to make the user laid back and somewhat lazy, but I'll take that any day over an erratic drunk or a smoke snorting nicotine addict. Legalize pot. - - Beth Vannatta, Halstead. [end]
It's commendable to keep cannabis (marijuana) away from youth (Legal or not, marijuana use remains a 'rocky' road, March 9, 2014); however, caging responsible adults who use the plant is the wrong way to do it. A sane or moral argument to continue the discredited prohibition of cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Let Colorado have legal pot. Kansas can sit back and watch how this experiment goes and wait for more science on the health and societal impact of marijuana use. I attended a public awareness meeting about marijuana in Hutchinson on Tuesday night. Even though The Hutchinson News was a sponsor, I thought I might confirm my past support for legalizing pot. It must have been an effective program, as I walked away instead in support of the people who are fighting pot usage, especially at the youth level. I have too much respect for those people to marginalize pot. Downplaying the effects of pot is exactly why it is a problem with our youth and in our schools. [continues 630 words]
To the editor: I found the Jan. 27 editorial on medical marijuana well-intentioned but inadequately researched. I urge you and your readers to review the article posted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/ and some of the associated links. Like you, Dr. Gupta initially was opposed to the use of medical marijuana. However, he completed in-depth research on the subject. He now believes that, in certain instances, medical marijuana offers the only hope to individuals who suffer from certain specific and intractable conditions, such as epilepsy, that have not responded to established treatments. [continues 128 words]
Uruguay has volunteered to be the canary in the cannabis field. The small -- population 3.4 million -- Latin American nation has voted to legalize the growth and sale of marijuana. The country's senate narrowly, 16-13, approved a law allowing individuals older than 18 to buy up to 40 grams -- just over 1.4 ounces -- a month from state-licensed dealers. Individuals also have the alternative of growing up to 1.06 pounds of pot for their own use. The price is likely to be around $1 a gram. [continues 303 words]
Welfare Recipients Subject to Loss of Benefits for Failed Test; JoCo Rep Says Legislators Should Lose Pay Legislative leaders picked someone to administer their new drug-testing program this week, but it appears the names of lawmakers who fail won't be made public, and they will face no penalty. The Legislative Coordinating Council unanimously chose Jeff Russell, director of Legislative Administrative Services, to run the testing program that was attached as an amendment to a bill requiring testing for some recipients of cash assistance. [continues 725 words]
Will pot soon be legal in Kansas? Fire It Up Kansas, a non-violent nonprofit organization, sure hopes so. According to the group's Facebook page, it only has one purpose: to "legalize marijuana on a state and federal level for the purpose of medicine, production and recreation." To further its efforts, the organization is planning to use a billboard campaign to promote the legalization of marijuana in the state. Co-founder and president of Fire It Up Kansas, Mike Golden, said that the intent is for the legalization of marijuana to be seen as a legal market instead of a black market. [continues 795 words]
I was fortunate to attend the Silver Haired Legislature at the Capitol recently as an observer. The first speaker was Jack Cole, a retired New Jersey narcotics detective, who spoke passionately and with statistics to about his belief that the drug war is a total and complete failure and a whole new approach is needed. The next speaker was Gov. Sam Brownback. He neither recognized, thanked or commented about Cole's speech. Brownback spoke about the accomplishments of his administration. When he mentioned Kansas had a $400 million surplus in state coffers, there was no applause. I believe most everyone in the chamber knew Kansas schoolchildren were being deprived of a first-class education so the governor could brag about his budget. It was nothing to brag about or applaud. As Brownback left the chamber after speaking, a lady from western Kansas approached him with a petition to legalize industrial hemp so she could grow it on her farm. She asked the governor to take the petition, but he declined. Brownback claims to be compassionate, but I feel his actions speak much louder than his words. Topeka [end]
Inside Kansas
