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1 US WA: Cannabutter, Too Many Skittles, and Amorphous Blobs ofWed, 30 Dec 2015
Source:Stranger, The (Seattle, WA)          Area:Washington Lines:125 Added:12/30/2015

Business Owners, Budtenders, and Marijuana Lovers Reflect on the Highs (and Lows) of 2015

"I regret dabs. When I do them, my heart starts to beat so fast that it goes supernova and the force of my social anxiety becomes so strong that my personality can't escape." -Kat Kranzler, cat lover and marijuana enthusiast

"I regret not keeping better track of the things I like. I think cannabis journals are gonna blow up. There should really be an Untappd-style app for weed." -Ananda Green, store manager at Ganja Goddess

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2 US WA: Column: Coming Out Of The Cannabis ClosetWed, 23 Dec 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:109 Added:12/23/2015

How can we remove the stigma of pot use? Maybe give it a spiritual spin?

I was recently asked to participate on a panel that was part of a charity auction for a local nonprofit.

The organizer was excited to have me involved, but wanted to make sure I didn't mention my work in the cannabis community as "it wouldn't go over well with our patrons." While I agreed to avoid any wild diatribes about legalization, I did think the request was a bit ironic, given that there was an open bar and they were auctioning a wine trip to Walla Walla as a grand prize.

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3 US WA: Additional 222 Medical-Marijuana Retail StoresThu, 17 Dec 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:81 Added:12/17/2015

Liquor and Cannabis Board Would Double Number of Stores in Seattle

Trying to fold medical marijuana into the state's retail system, state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) staff are recommending an additional 222 retail stores around Washington, including 21 in Seattle.

If adopted on Jan. 6 by the LCB's three board members, the Wednesday proposal could double the number of stores in Seattle and increase the statewide total from 334 to 556 stores.

In all, King County could see 53 additional stores. Bellevue could double its number of stores from four to eight. Ten other King County cities could see one or two more stores.

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4 US WA: Column: Fronting A MovementWed, 16 Dec 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:106 Added:12/17/2015

I have a few concerns.

I'm concerned that I may be fronting the largest drug operation since Scarface and meth labs ruled the night.

I'm concerned about kids and marijuana and making more of it available to their developing young flea-brains (which, if they're like mine, will remain half-baked until their late 20s).

I'm concerned about involving the government in oversight and taxation, as we know full well they fuck up everything they get their grubby hands on (and are already squabbling over and redirecting the massive tax revenue being collected).

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5 US WA: Column: Reefer Madness 2.0Wed, 09 Dec 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:119 Added:12/09/2015

The "Just Say No" campaign kept me off drugs.

NOT! Still, I appreciate Nancy Reagan for using ignorant scare tactics to at least try to keep kids like me away from the Devil's Lettuce. Drugs are for adults, and having a dialogue about that notion is important.

The conversation does not, however, require a sizzling egg to represent your brain on drugs.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education campaigns, aka DARE, were all the rage in the 1980s and '90s, sucking up hundreds of millions of tax dollars on TV spots, branded backpacks, stickers, and even cartoons featuring Daren the Lion. At its peak, the program was deployed in 75 percent of American schools, with police officers leading classroom discussions and assemblies that students absolutely loved-not because of the content, but because it got us out of math class.

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6 US WA: Column: Mr. ChronicWed, 02 Dec 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:108 Added:12/03/2015

Counterintuitive but true: Pot can make you more productive.

One of my favorite things to do is get stoned to the bejesus and clean house. And I'm not just talking about casual dusting, either; I'm talking about down on your belly, shoving the long extension vacuum tool deep under the bed and sucking up dust mites and fur balls, only to discover long-lost socks, exercise equipment, underwear (whose are those?!), and enough change to go out and buy MORE weed to smoke and then Shop-Vac the garage. In this way, stoned cleaning is a sustainable endeavor.

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7 US WA: Seattle Pot Businesses Bristle Over Mayor's LicensingMon, 23 Nov 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:132 Added:11/23/2015

Medical-Marijuana Merchants

Smaller Buffer Zones Would Rule Out Some Current Sites

Alex Cooley was a pioneer in legitimizing the pot industry in Seattle. But after seeing Mayor Ed Murray's plan for licensing more pot merchants, Cooley wonders why he bothered.

The mayor's proposal would not allow Cooley, the first medical marijuana grower to come out of the shadows and gain all appropriate city building permits, to continue farming at his Sodo location because it is too close to a childcare center.

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8 US WA: Column: The Lone ReeferWed, 18 Nov 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:128 Added:11/19/2015

Our King County Sheriff is outspoken in his support for legalization.

The sky has not fallen because we have legalized marijuana in Washington. Is it going to work long-term? I don't know; we'll have to wait and see. But clearly, what we were doing before-the War on Drugs-did not work, so it was time to try something new. The citizens suggested legalizing marijuana-and I support it."

It's a reasonable-enough statement, but somewhat surprising in that it comes from our own King County Sheriff, John Urquhart. "I still think it was a good decision for the citizens of Washington," Urquhart told me in an interview last week. "The initiative [I-502] passed statewide with 56 percent supporting it, and 63 percent in King County, so that's clearly what the citizens wanted."

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9 US WA: OPED: Align U.S. Cannabis Law With State LawsSun, 15 Nov 2015
Source:Herald, The (Everett, WA) Author:DelBene, Suzan Area:Washington Lines:87 Added:11/15/2015

The U.S. Smart Act Would Protect Marijuana Users and Businesses in States Where It Has Been Legalized.

In 2012, voters in Washington state passed Initiative 502, which legalized the sale, consumption and taxation of marijuana products. Including Washington, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some form of marijuana, and in 2016, several more states are expected to consider marijuana legalization ballot initiatives.

Yet, marijuana possession or use for any purpose is still prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act, leaving participants in all of the state markets - including cancer patients - at risk of arrest by federal authorities.

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10 US WA: Mayor Seeks To Expand Sites For Pot ShopsFri, 13 Nov 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:112 Added:11/13/2015

Wants to Ease Buffer-Zone Rules

No Change in Distance of Shops From Schools

Seattle could see a significant increase, perhaps a tripling, in the number of retail-pot stores in city limits under a proposal by Mayor Ed Murray.

The mayor wants to loosen buffer zones that now require legal pot businesses to be 1,000 feet from child-care centers, libraries, recreation facilities, public parks and transit centers. Murray would decrease the required distance to 500 feet, roughly a city block or two.

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11 US WA: Column: Weed By The NumbersWed, 11 Nov 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:104 Added:11/11/2015

This week, just some cold, hard stats.

Clearly I am in support of the legalization of marijuana. And I'm passionate about the subject not only because I enjoy smoking weed, but I'd also prefer not to be arrested for buying it. Regardless, I try to be objective on the matter, understanding that not everyone likes to get high (on cannabis, anyway), and that countering decades of Reefer Madness may take time. So in an effort to be more neutral and journalistic, I'd like to let the plethora of statistics I've gathered speak for itself. Although numbers, of course, cannot speak.

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12 US WA: Column: Drug-abuse Response Could Have Been SoonerMon, 09 Nov 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Large, Jerry Area:Washington Lines:99 Added:11/10/2015

The Country Could Have Saved the Lives of a Lot of White People If We'd Adopted a Better Approach to Drug Abuse by People With Darker Skin.

While the country was focused on locking up black and brown people for drug-related offenses, an epidemic of drug use was building elsewhere, and ignoring it for years hasn't been a kindness to the people affected.

The Seattle Times recently ran a national story headlined, "Drug war shifts as heroin use soars among whites." A few days later that was followed by an article on a study that found death rates have been climbing for poorly educated, middle-aged white people.

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13 US WA: Column: Cannabis CorrespondenceWed, 28 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:96 Added:10/29/2015

Tips and pointers for your Halloweed.

Time once again to answer Stoner Mail! Given the season, I'm going with a Halloween theme.

I'm worried about some idiot putting weed-laced candy in my kid's stash-bag on Halloween. I know a lot of the urban legends about razor blades in apples were bunk, but this genuinely scares me. Should it? - -Bryan, Bothell

There are plenty of things for parents to worry about, but having your child get his or her grubby hands on marijuana-laced candy should be low on your priority list. While I do despise cannabis edibles that look like kids' candy (there's no reason for ganja gummy bears or Reefer's Peanut Butter Cups), we've now had three years of trick-or-treating in legal weed states-and not one incident involving THC-laden candy disguised as store-bought. There are, of course, plenty of items that can kill yer kid, but pot's not one: Aspirin killed 7,500 Americans last year, peanuts another 100. Hell, since 2010, poison-control-center hotlines have seen a 400 percent increase in calls in which whippersnappers got drunk on hand sanitizer! Selfies killed four people this year, vending machines another three! And those colorful laundry-detergent pods that actually look like candy have poisoned 17,200 children under the age of 6 in the past year-so I'd definitely check the Halloween bag for those suckers!

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14 US WA: Column: America's Drug Problem Starts in the Doctor'sSun, 25 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:McFeatters, Ann Area:Washington Lines:99 Added:10/25/2015

You would have been hardpressed to find a police chief in his office in the last few days.

Dozens of them were in Washington, D.C., lobbying to get more people out of prison. They want to end the mandatory jail terms judges are forced to bestow for what are seen less as criminal acts than cries of desperation.

America's prisons are overflowing. The United States has more people in jail than any other country, including some of the harshest, most backward nations. Democratic and Republican presidential candidates may not agree on much, but they accept one statistic: With less than 5 percent of the world's population, the United States holds about 25 percent of the world's prisoners. For every 100,000 Americans, 716 are jailed - a far, far higher rate than anyplace else.

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15 US WA: Column: Wacky Weed WireWed, 21 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:124 Added:10/21/2015

News that's stranger than fiction.

"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." That's a Hunter S. Thompson quote, and absolutely applies to the latest news related to marijuana and its legalization. Much of it is so weird, in fact, ya just can't make this shit up.

A group of Bigfoot hunters (seriously) were in search of their nonexistent furry friend in a Wildlife Management Area in Texas last month when they came across a giant crop of weeds in the woods. The hidden garden, northeast of Dallas, had almost 6,500 mature plants, worth around $6.5 million, on an acre of land. Turns out the Delta County Sheriff's department had been scoping the ganja farm to bust the guerrilla growers, but when the Bigfoot team accidentally stumbled onto the scene, they ruined the police operation-in-progress. (Probably the same reason these buffoons haven't nabbed Yeti yet.) Had the coppers been able to bust the black-market growers-who had set up generators, camouflaging tents, and watering systems-they would have faced felony charges with fines of up to $50,000 and 99 years in the slammer. Who knew Bigfoot has such a big green thumb!

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16 US WA: High ThoughtsWed, 21 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:133 Added:10/21/2015

Salon Goes Deep into Pot's Role in Creativity

The subject of the lecture was infinity. The setting was the Cloud Room on Capitol Hill, where folks sat on couches and a thick white rug, nibbling on dried apricots dipped in chocolate. Jerry Zimmerman, a fixture at Canlis for decades, played a baby grand piano as the crowd of about 80 settled in.

Speaker Lesley Hazleton, an author and psychologist, then uncorked her tale of wonder and love for infinity at the event, which had sold out of $16 tickets in four hours.

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17 US WA: Column: Marijuana, The Potformance-Enhancing DrugWed, 14 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:123 Added:10/15/2015

Calling out cannabis testing in sports.

Mixed-martial-arts superstar Ronda Rousey is obviously, pound for pound, the most kick-ass fighter in the world, and not to be messed with. She has also ignited a firestorm with her articulate and accurate attack on the idiocy of marijuana testing in her sport. "Rowdy" Rousey made her argument when her friend and training partner, Nick Diaz, was suspended for five years by the Nevada Athletic Association after testing positive for pot.

"I'm sorry, but it's so not right for him to be suspended five years for marijuana," Rousey said at a UFC press conference in Melbourne last week. "If one person tests for steroids, that could actually hurt a person, and the other person smokes a plant that makes him happy, and he gets suspended for five years.

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18 US WA: OPED: The Medicated States of AmericaFri, 09 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Holland, Julie Area:Washington Lines:111 Added:10/11/2015

WE insist on all-natural products in our baby food and household cleaners; why don't we demand natural moods for ourselves?

Americans suffer from an overabundance of processed foods, synthetic hormones, virtual relationships, silicone breasts and, now, fake moods, brought about by an ever-increasing percentage of us taking psychiatric medications.

The patients I meet in my Manhattan psychiatric practice are stressed, sad and scared. Many lead lives with little movement, sunshine or human touch, spent staring into a computer screen, under fluorescent lights. Chronically sleep-deprived and eating poorly, they feel terrible. Women shuttling between work (where they earn less than men) and home, straddling child care and aging parents, are stretched to their limit. They escape by drinking, texting, shopping or eating. My patients want pills to make them feel better but, honestly, I'm afraid it's to make them feel less.

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19 US WA: New Pot Pesticide Rules Aim To Ease FearsWed, 07 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:98 Added:10/08/2015

Not Mandatory

However Growers Who Comply Can Show 'Seal of Approval'

Washington state announced new rules for pesticide testing in pot as the first product liability lawsuit was filed against the pot industry in Colorado over pesticide use.

New emergency rules, which took effect this week in Washington, do not make testing for pesticides mandatory. Instead, they create a system that aims to give legal pot merchants and consumers who want it some assurance that their pot does not contain residue of unapproved pesticides.

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20 US WA: Column: The October 1 BuzzkillWed, 07 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:86 Added:10/07/2015

Legal pot was supposed to bring Oregon some joy.

October 1 was supposed to be a day of historic joy in Oregon, as legal sales of marijuana were finally allowed, ending decades of Prohibition in one of the states leading the charge on the issue. Instead, the celebration was interrupted by a shooting at Umpqua Community College, where (yet another) mentally disturbed young man went on a mass killing spree with a semi-automatic weapon. Hard to stand in line for an ounce of primo weed, high-fiving budtenders, and fellow stoners at a recreational store when friends and neighbors next door are unsure if their own children are among the dead.

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21 US WA: How Oregon's Pot Law Compares With Washington'sSat, 03 Oct 2015
Source:Columbian, The (WA) Author:Bush, Evan Area:Washington Lines:92 Added:10/04/2015

With Voodoo doughnuts in hand, some Portlanders got their first taste of legal, recreational, purchased-in-Oregon weed early Thursday morning.

With cheaper taxes, legal home grow and a regulated medical marijuana system, some in the Washington pot industry worry the state will struggle to compete once Oregon's market gets running at full speed.

Here's how Oregon's law compares:

Possession

In Washington, people 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana. An ounce is the equivalent of about 60 average-size joints.

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22 US WA: 'Kettle Falls Five' Members Get Prison Time in FederalFri, 02 Oct 2015
Source:Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) Author:Hill, Kip Area:Washington Lines:129 Added:10/03/2015

The marijuana grow that netted jail time for four members of a self-proclaimed medicinal farming family out of Stevens County may have started with good intentions, but ended as a "distribution center," said the federal judge who handed down their sentences Friday.

"Maybe that was a byproduct of being so successful," said U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice, ruling the members of the so-called Kettle Falls Five grew more than 150 pounds of marijuana in the hills of Stevens County between 2011 and 2012.

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23 US WA: Oregon Now A Competitor For State On Pot SalesFri, 02 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Bernton, Hal Area:Washington Lines:116 Added:10/02/2015

PORTLAND - At 10 a.m. Thursday, the doors of the Pure Green dispensary opened for the first time to recreational sales, with staff ushering in customers waiting outside who could choose from two dozens strains of pot, and receive a free joint along with their first purchase.

Pure Green is one of 119 medical dispensaries scattered across Portland that as of Oct. 1 can sell marijuana to anyone over the age of 21. These dispensaries turn the city into a recreational pot mecca, where such outlets outnumber those that sell hard liquor, according to state regulatory agencies.

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24 US WA: Lawyers Challenge City's Move On PotThu, 01 Oct 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA)          Area:Washington Lines:40 Added:10/01/2015

Several Seattle lawyers have joined in a lawsuit challenging the city's clampdown on medical-marijuana dispensaries.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court contends the city's regulations aimed at shutting down dispensaries exceed its authority. Because marijuana remains federally illegal, the lawsuit claims the city lacks the power to regulate and tax the drug and shutter businesses who sell it.

The defendant in the case is Columbia City Holistic Health, a dispensary. Because of the federal ban on pot, turning over dispensary business records demanded by the city would amount to self-incrimination, the suit says.

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25 US WA: Column: Stoned Success, Aka The Eggplant TheoryWed, 30 Sep 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:99 Added:09/30/2015

How Weed Enhances Your Imagination. or Mine, at Least.

I'm clearly not as bright as Steve Jobs or Carl Sagan or Oprah, all of whom used weed at some point to energize their already wildly firing synapses. (As did President Obama, Stephen Jay Gould, Margaret Mead, Bill Gates, George Washington, Maya Angelou, Martha Stewart, et al.) But marijuana has helped spur my own creative process, or, if nothing else, helped me make connections I might otherwise have missed. I'll give ya some examples.

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26 US WA: Pot Citations A Low PrioritySun, 27 Sep 2015
Source:Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) Author:Alexander, Rachel Area:Washington Lines:96 Added:09/27/2015

SPD Officers Have Issued Six Since 2013

Riverfront Park might be the worst place to get high in Spokane.

Data from Spokane Municipal Court shows marijuana users are far more likely to be fined for consuming pot in public by a park security guard than by a Spokane police officer, though they're unlikely to get a ticket at all.

Citywide, law enforcement officers have written 28 tickets for public consumption of marijuana since March 2013, when an ordinance prohibiting public consumption was added to the city code. Only six of those tickets were written by Spokane police officers, who say they're usually too busy with other calls for service to deal with pot smokers.

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27 US WA: Column: CanAnswersWed, 23 Sep 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:117 Added:09/23/2015

Fears of fire and Frankenbud.

We asked you to send in your canna-questions, and now it's time to answer some reader mail! (The Higher Ground legal staff has asked me to remind readers that answers provided herein should be taken with a grain of hempseed; I am, after all, a marijuana columnist.)

With wildfires all over the state, I'm worried a nearby marijuana field may catch on fire and get me and my family stoned. Can burning weed farms get people high? Lance, Chelan

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28 US WA: Wash. Pot Sales Brisk Social Costs UnknownSun, 20 Sep 2015
Source:Dayton Daily News (OH) Author:Bischoff, Laura A. Area:Washington Lines:289 Added:09/20/2015

Business at SEATTLE, WASH.- Uncle Ike's Pot Shop is buzzing as nine "budtenders" help customers pick out weed, candies, bongs and more while another dozen people stand in line and flip through "menus."

"I can help the next guest down here," an employee shouts out.

Open for just under a year, Uncle Ike's already has 30 employees, a taco food truck in the parking lot, a glass and goods satellite shop and $1.5 million in monthly sales, according to Kenji Hobbs, the night manager.

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29 US WA: Column: Weed Weddings, Republicannabis, and Buddie theWed, 16 Sep 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:118 Added:09/16/2015

A roundup of pot news.

With legalization comes normalization, innovation, and marijuana bars at weddings. Ya heard that right. This summer, an Oregon couple had a "weed tent" at their nuptials, including a budtender to help answer questions (and moderate intake). The event, in West Linn, just south of Portland, was fully legal (Oregon Measure 91 passed with flying colors), as it was on a tree farm (private property) and did not also include a liquor license. (Heaven forbid we let budtenders and bartenders share a tent.) The CannaBar featured 13 hand-picked varietals and was fully enclosed so as not to offend guests not in the mood to partake. In case you're wondering, munchies served included french fries and chocolate beignets.

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30 US WA: Column: We're Going To Have A Weed PartyWed, 09 Sep 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:120 Added:09/09/2015

Washington legislators are doing everything they can to keep marijuana users from smoking together. It's time that stopped.

It's time for us to come together and smoke marijuana.

Over and over, legislators at all levels in Washington state have prevented us from doing just that by hampering public marijuana use-in fact, a recent law makes providing a place for public use a Class C felony. Lawmakers are making it impossible to promote and celebrate cannabis. Thus it's time for some civil disobedience.

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31 US WA: PUB LTE: Legislature Passed Marijuana Law That FailsSun, 06 Sep 2015
Source:Olympian, The (WA) Author:Wilson, Michael H. Area:Washington Lines:41 Added:09/06/2015

Medical marijuana patients were generally ignored when the Cannabis Patient Protection Act was up for debate this year. Instead legislators pushing this bill were more concerned with those who would benefit from restrictions on cannabis such as the pharmaceutical industry. The shortsightedness shown by those pushing this legislation may end up costing patients and others, including the state, in the long run.

In 1974, medical researchers in Virginia discovered that the compound THC in marijuana killed cancerous tumors in lab animals. That research was reportedly withheld from the American public on orders of the DEA. However change is happening. Recently the National Cancer Institute reported, "Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory." Just imagine the benefits to patients and society if that research from 1974 had not been withheld from the public.

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32 US WA: Column: The CannaquizWed, 02 Sep 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:120 Added:09/02/2015

Will you be Queen Sativa-or a few grams short?

Marijuana has been legal in Washington for more than two years now, but, surprisingly, people know very little about the law. Take the Higher Ground CannaQuiz and see how you rate!

1. Each adult can grow up to four plants in their backyard.

2. I can walk around with an ounce of weed in my pocket and not get busted.

3. Because marijuana is legal in both Washington and Oregon, I can take Washington weed to a Portland pot party.

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33 US WA: Column: The Weed WireWed, 26 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:117 Added:08/26/2015

A pot ad ran on TV-almost.

The first-ever recreational-marijuana ad for television was supposed to air last month during Jimmy Kimmel Live on a Denver-based ABC affiliate. At the last minute, KMGH (Channel 7) got cold feet, pulling the plug after the station's lawyers freaked out.

The ad, for Neos, a vaporizer and cannabis-oil company, was hardly Cheech and Chong-in fact, it didn't show marijuana at all. Instead, the spot featured young people hiking up mountain trails and enjoying themselves-weed-free. "You lead an adventurous life, always finding new ways to relax," boomed the REI-looking advert. "Now enjoy the best effects and control with Neos portable vape pen and recreate discreetly this summer." Blasphemous!

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34 US WA: Is Marijuana Dragging Us Down?Sun, 23 Aug 2015
Source:Columbian, The (WA) Author:Hastings, Patty Area:Washington Lines:284 Added:08/23/2015

Here's A Look at Marijuana's Role in Traffic Fatalities, Quality-Of-Life Issues, Crime

When recreational marijuana was legalized, Washington entered the unknown, triggering questions - and predictions - about what might happen. Would drug dealers hang around the pot shops? Would it bring riffraff into the neighborhood and make shops easy crime targets? Would people abuse the drug? Or smoke and drive, putting others in harm's way?

As is evident by millions of dollars in sales each month at Vancouver's retail stores, people certainly use marijuana. And it has had some consequences on the community, but there's apparently no evidence of major behavioral shifts.

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35 US WA: Column: No Upswing Seen in Marijuana Use Among YouthsSun, 23 Aug 2015
Source:Columbian, The (WA) Author:Hastings, Patty Area:Washington Lines:190 Added:08/23/2015

It's Relatively Stable, From County Juvenile Court's Standpoint

Misdemeanor marijuana-related crimes have plummeted for adults following legalization, but for minors, marijuana is still very much illegal. Marijuana use among children is relatively flat, though children referred to court on suspicion of possessing marijuana went up slightly from 2013 to 2014.

"I wouldn't put a cause and effect there," said Eric Gilman, program manager at Clark County Juvenile Court.

The numbers are small to begin with - a couple hundred offenses - making it difficult to discern a trend. Over the past decade, there's been a decline in crimes such as minor in possession of marijuana or alcohol. Then again, referrals to juvenile court have been going down across the nation since 1999, Gilman said. In 2009, Clark County Juvenile Court received 3,089 referrals. Over the next five years, the number of referrals went down about 37 percent.

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36 US WA: Column: Doo-Bie or Not Doo-Bie . . . What Was theWed, 19 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:107 Added:08/20/2015

Evidence, textual and physical, about the Bard's indulgence.

Wanna know how William Shakespeare was so far ahead of his time in regard to wondrous wordplay and wildly imaginative scenes and sonnets? Well, it could be that the loquacious Bard was hitting the bong! According to a recent report in The Independent, forensic analysis of 400-year-old fragments found cannabis residue on pipes and stems scattered on Shakespeare's property.

A team from the Institute of Evolutionary Studies in South Africa conducted a chemical analysis of the 17th-century artifacts, excavated in 2001, from Stratford-on-Avon, and found marijuana on eight of 24 clay samples on the grounds, including four pot-positive pipes from his own garden.

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37 US WA: Fatal Crashes Involving Pot Rise in Washington, DataThu, 20 Aug 2015
Source:Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)          Area:Washington Lines:48 Added:08/20/2015

SEATTLE - Marijuana use appears to have increased as a factor in deadly crashes last year in Washington.

New data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission show the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with THC in their bodies increased to 75 this past year from 38 in 2013. About half of those 75 drivers had active THC - the main psychoactive chemical in pot - above the level that legally determines intoxication.

"We have seen marijuana involvement in fatal crashes remain steady over the years and then it just spiked in 2014," said Dr. Staci Hoff, the commission's research director, in a statement.

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38 US WA: More Pot Use Found in Fatal Crashes in 2014, New DataThu, 20 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:72 Added:08/20/2015

MARIJUANA Half the drivers with active THC in their blood also were under the influence of alcohol.

Marijuana use appears to have increased as a factor in deadly crashes last year in Washington.

New data from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission shows the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes with THC in their body increased from 38 in 2013 to 75 this past year. About half those 75 drivers had active THC - the main psychoactive chemical in pot - above the level that legally determines intoxication.

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39 US WA: Cannabis Tourism Industry Gets CreativeSun, 16 Aug 2015
Source:Columbian, The (WA) Author:Runquist, Justin Area:Washington Lines:147 Added:08/17/2015

Clark County Marijuana Growers, Retail Shops Turn to Tourism, Increasing Presence at Community Events to Attract Customers to Their Products and Facilities

With the sun rising and roosters crowing, Josh Miller rolls out of a bed tucked in a greenhouse full of lush marijuana plants and lights up a joint.

That's how the Seattle attorney starts his day every time he stays at Tom Lauerman's organic marijuana farm, named the Garden of the Green Sun, in Vancouver.

"It's wonderful," Miller said one day last week at the greenhouse. "I do my morning routine. Listen to music, and well, smoke a joint and whatever else comes to me."

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40 US WA: Column: Hempfest Still Matters, DudeWed, 12 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:127 Added:08/12/2015

After 24 Years, and Several Locations, It's Still Going Strong.

"Not so sure about hitting Hempfest this year, bro," said my biggest stoner pal TJ, loading yet another fat bowl of black market Blue Dream. "I mean, we legalized it. What's the point?"

"I'll tell you why," I replied, sucking down the tube. "As soon as I can remember what the question was!"

Amazingly, Hempfest is celebrating its 24th year this weekend. In addition to being the world's largest cannabis rally, Hempfest has always advertised itself as a "protestival," commemorating the advances of cannabis, and protesting the ongoing War on Drugs-and the fact marijuana is still very much illegal at the federal level.

[continues 861 words]

41 US WA: Lawmakers' Group Discusses Legalized PotThu, 06 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:O'Sullivan, Joseph Area:Washington Lines:110 Added:08/06/2015

U.S. Association of State Legislatures

Caution Urged on Tax-Revenue Hopes

Lawmakers and others from around the country attended a discussion Wednesday to learn from Washington and Colorado how best to think about legal marijuana and regulate it.

But even the experts in the pioneering states don't have all the answers yet, with questions still percolating on how much tax revenue marijuana can generate, and how best to regulate and enforce the use of the substance.

Speaking before several hundred people at a panel during a convention of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, cautioned that Washington state should be careful not to be too optimistic about marijuana-tax revenue.

[continues 578 words]

42US WA: Colo. Legislators Lead Pot Panel At ConferenceThu, 06 Aug 2015
Source:Denver Post (CO) Author:Frank, John Area:Washington Lines:Excerpt Added:08/06/2015

Seattle - To start the discussion, the moderator asked a room full of lawmakers from across the country to raise green index cards if their state was considering a measure to legalize marijuana.

The hands shot into the air and the color said it all. "A lot of green in the room," the moderator observed. "A lot of green."

More than possibly any single forum, the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures' annual meeting this week in Seattle is showcasing the nation's robust discussion right now on legalizing marijuana.

[continues 607 words]

43 US WA: Column: Patient Protection Act, My AssWed, 05 Aug 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:136 Added:08/05/2015

How Recreational-Marijuana Legalization Is Screwing Medical-Marijuana Access.

Washington continues to take one step forward and seven steps back in our legalization experiment. With new laws rapidly eroding the voter-approved Medical Use of Marijuana Act of 1998, the cannabis community is deeply divided between the "haves" (recreational retailers, growers, and processors) and the "have-nots" (medical-marijuana patients and dispensaries). What does this grave new world look like?

No-Man's Land

Dispensaries and collective gardens are being shut down across Washington, leaving the state's estimated 175,000 medical patients to wonder how in the hell they're going to get their medicine. They aren't likely to find it at recreational stores, which have little incentive to sell medicinal items such as low-THC edibles, transdermal patches, topicals, or cannabis suppositories.

[continues 850 words]

44 US WA: Column: The Kids Hate The Weed!Wed, 29 Jul 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:97 Added:07/30/2015

Both use and approval are down.

Houston, we have a problem (with marijuana). No, it's not that youngsters are getting stoned on the wacky weed and crashing cars or dropping out of school.

It's that they're starting to dislike the stuff.

A report released last week in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse shows that not only has cannabis use decreased among teens, but disapproval of marijuana is up. (They could have said that approval was down, but the media is so opposed to putting a positive spin on drug use, even academic news is twisted.) Taking data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the survey is stunning for both its duration, from 2002 to 2013, and breadth, with 500,000 kids across the nation polled.

[continues 621 words]

45 US WA: Member of Kettle Falls Five Sentenced to 16 Months inSat, 25 Jul 2015
Source:Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) Author:Hill, Kip Area:Washington Lines:110 Added:07/26/2015

A federal judge rejected the medical marijuana defense of a member of the so-called "Kettle Falls Five" growing family and sentenced Jason Lee Zucker on Friday to 16 months in prison.

"There is no such thing as medical marijuana," U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice said. "There is no such thing in federal law."

Zucker is the first to be sentenced in the case. He pleaded guilty the day before trial began in March and testified for the federal government against Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, Rolland Gregg and Michelle Gregg, saying he twice brought more than 70 plants from his home in Seattle to the Harvey property in rural Stevens County in 2011 and 2012. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Baunsgard said Friday Zucker's testimony was "integral" to obtaining convictions against his co-defendants and urged the lighter sentence. He could have been sent to federal prison for five years.

[continues 610 words]

46 US WA: In Our View: Give Medical Pot Law TimeWed, 22 Jul 2015
Source:Columbian, The (WA)          Area:Washington Lines:79 Added:07/25/2015

Legislative action reconciling marijuana markets too new to appeal, modify

In addition to a slate of candidates for local offices, it's likely that Washington voters this fall will decide two citizen initiatives. One, sponsored by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, would ban trafficking of endangered species and their parts. The other, from initiative king Tim Eyman, deals with his favorite subject: taxes.

What voters won't see on the ballot is Referendum 76, which would have overturned Washington's new medical marijuana law. The proponents notified the secretary of state's office this week that they wouldn't be submitting signatures to get it on the ballot. That clears the way for the law to go into effect Friday.

[continues 483 words]

47 US WA: Column: Washington's Pot Experiment, Year OneWed, 22 Jul 2015
Source:Seattle Weekly (WA) Author:Stusser, Michael A. Area:Washington Lines:103 Added:07/23/2015

Generating tax revenue and saving money on prosecutions-what's not to love?

The numbers for the first year of legal cannabis sales in Washington are in, and it's a bong-half-full situation. Headlines about the tax revenue from weed have ranged from "Rakes in Millions" to "predicted bonanza not materializing." The fact is, sales brought $70 million dollars to the state's coffers (off $260 million in sales, through June), which, while perhaps not what analysts had hoped for, isn't a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, either.

[continues 816 words]

48 US WA: Chief Asks: Stop Writing $27 Pot Tickets Or Not?Tue, 21 Jul 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Young, Bob Area:Washington Lines:63 Added:07/21/2015

Seeks Council Input

Citations Still Skew Toward Blacks in Latest Report That Made News

After another round of tickets for public pot use skewed disproportionately toward black people, a frustrated Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole asked City Council members if they want her cops to stop issuing the $27 fines.

With 72 such tickets generating national news, O'Toole said Monday she didn't want to report to the council every six months, as is the policy, about tickets written by officers responding to complaints from the public.

[continues 295 words]

49 US WA: Editorial: Overhaul America's Criminal-Justice SystemMon, 20 Jul 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA)          Area:Washington Lines:60 Added:07/20/2015

PRESIDENT Obama has seized on the righteous issue of mass incarceration for the final lap of his presidency. This one has a broad ideological and bipartisan coalition behind it, with Republican senators, governors and funders (including the Koch brothers) linked with the likes of the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP.

But Obama is not going far enough.

Since the start of the war on drugs decades ago, the population in state and federal prisons has exploded by more than 500 percent. This is ruinously expensive - states' prison budgets tripled since 1990 - and explicitly unfair. The lifetime likelihood for a white male to go to prison is 1 in 17; for black men it is 1 in 3. The U.S. rate of incarceration is six times greater than China's and nearly 10 times greater than Germany's.

[continues 308 words]

50 US WA: Seattle Pot Citations Continue to Skew Toward BlacksSat, 18 Jul 2015
Source:Seattle Times (WA) Author:Bush, Evan Area:Washington Lines:65 Added:07/18/2015

Second Study

More Than Half of the 85 Tickets Issued in Downtown Parks

The second study of marijuana-use tickets issued by Seattle police looks much like the first: Blacks are disproportionately cited for marijuana use, men received about 90 percent of the tickets and downtown parks are again popular places for officers to hand out tickets.

Results of the police department's study, which is required by city ordinance, will be discussed at 9:30 a.m. Monday during a City Council briefing.

[continues 320 words]


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