In N.M. and a number of other states, cannabis manages to be legal, illegal all at the same time When I was growing up in Albuquerque in the 1970s, every teen knew two things about marijuana: it was illegal, and it was everywhere. That should have been a contradiction, but wasn't. Pot was easier for kids to acquire than beer. Cheaper, too. Forty years later, weed remains ubiquitous. It provides one of the characteristic fragrances of Albuquerque's summer streets. But it's no longer entirely accurate to say it's illegal. Like nothing else in our society, cannabis manages to be legal and illegal at the same time. [continues 859 words]
Prosecutions Are Up, but Formulas Change Quicker Than the Drug Code Can TAMPA - Synthetic marijuana and other drugs continue to bedevil authorities, who say some progress is being made in the battle against unregulated chemicals that are landing teenagers and young adults in emergency rooms with horrifying reactions. Although prosecutions mount, authorities say local law enforcement is frustrated by drug sellers who make minor changes in chemical formulations to get around the law, staying just out of reach of police. Once a substance is specifically listed as illegal, a new formula is created. [continues 1387 words]
Small Percentage of Patients May Be at Risk, Experts Say Depressed, withdrawn and coping with a death in the family, Joseph thought getting high would help him feel better. Instead, he said, his marijuana smoking grew into a daily habit that made him paranoid and constantly question how others saw him. He went days without going home, showering or eating much besides potato chips. "I always thought (marijuana) would bring down my anxiety, but it just made it that much worse," the Rockford-area man said. [continues 1251 words]
So, maybe the Albany City Council didn't intend to talk about marijuana at its meeting Wednesday night after all. That's OK. But it's becoming clear how the council should talk about marijuana when it finally returns to the issue in a work session scheduled for Nov. 2. You might have followed some of the council's gyrations on the issue, which date back to the good old days, when all we were worried about was the location of the dispensaries allowed by state law to serve medical marijuana patients. [continues 454 words]
ALFALFA - Michael Hughes could grow pot in his Bend backyard if he wanted to. As long as they were out of view, he could grow the plants, cut and dry the flowers, smoke them and get high. But he can't grow hemp there. He bought a license to grow hemp, but a variety of factors has made it more difficult to grow hemp than marijuana and other crops in Oregon. Hemp, a cannabis plant with virtually no psychoactive ingredients that traditionally was grown for its strong fibers and edible seeds and oils, has been legal in Oregon for six years. [continues 2787 words]