Officers Didn't Consider Medical Marijuana Law Change U.S. District Judge Frem Nielsen's ruling to suppress all materials gathered from a raid of a large marijuana grow house in northwest Spokane County stems from a rewrite of the law approved by legislators last year that specifically stated possessing medical marijuana was not a crime. A recent court ruling that deemed a drug raid illegal has raised questions about how law enforcement in Spokane County investigate marijuana growers. Sheriff's detectives had reason to believe marijuana was being grown at a northwest Spokane County home when they raided it Nov. 2, but they didn't have reason to believe the growers were violating the state's medical marijuana law or at least they didn't say they did when they got authorization from a local judge to search the home. [continues 810 words]
Operators, Owners Could Face Prosecution Medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane face federal prosecution if they do not end their operations immediately, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. Federal authorities hope for voluntary compliance but are prepared "for quick and direct action against the operators of the stores," according to a statement by Mike Ormsby, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. Federal authorities will target both the operators of the stores and the owners of the properties where the stores are located, he said. [continues 642 words]
Marijuana advocates say Spokane has quickly earned a new nickname: Spokansterdam, a nod to the Dutch city where the sale and use of marijuana is legal. As authorities await the outcome of the region's first drug-trafficking trial involving a medical marijuana dispensary, the number of people advertising themselves as Spokane-area suppliers is skyrocketing. No one knows for sure how many exist here. Twenty-two are registered on the website WeedMaps.com, which tracks dispensaries nationwide. Drug investigators say there probably are more than 40. [continues 973 words]
An international drug ring that led to a young man's suicide in the Spokane County Jail was headed by four Canadian men, authorities allege, one of whom offered to cooperate if investigators let him continue his operation for a decade. That claim from federal agents, included in recently filed indictments in U.S. District Court in Seattle, led Canadian authorities to warn the would-be informant last month that gangsters could be conspiring to kill him. [continues 738 words]
Authorities say cross-border network has relied on helicopters, intimidation Snow covered the ground and the wind howled furiously as a young Canadian man approached the Colville National Forest, piloting a helicopter packed with marijuana. Federal agents say Samuel Jackson Lindsay-Brown was to trade the 426 pounds of pot for 182 pounds of cocaine that two men traveling from Utah were supposed to be delivering. The trade never happened. Instead, the federal agents were waiting. Lindsay-Brown, 24, was arrested as he stepped off the helicopter that stormy Feb. 23 evening, one subject of a rapidly growing drug investigation that gave agents a clear glimpse into a lucrative underworld stretching from the streets of Southern California to the forests near Priest Lake, Idaho. [continues 1502 words]
Snow covered the ground and the wind howled furiously as a young Canadian man approached the Colville National Forest, piloting a helicopter packed with marijuana. Federal agents say Samuel Jackson Lindsay-Brown was to trade the 426 pounds of pot for 182 pounds of cocaine that two men traveling from Utah were supposed to be delivering. The trade never happened. Instead, the federal agents were waiting. Lindsay-Brown, 24, was arrested as he stepped off the helicopter that stormy Feb. 23 evening, one subject of a rapidly growing drug investigation that gave agents a clear glimpse into a lucrative underworld stretching from the streets of Southern California to the forests near Priest Lake, Idaho. [continues 1503 words]
Dispensary owner Chantel Jackson joins dozens of people Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, to protest the Spokane Police Department's recommendation to close of all the city's medical marijuana dispensaries last week. Some have HIV. Others suffer from cancer or chronic pain from car accidents and job injuries. One man burned most of his body in a gas explosion as a toddler and wasn't expected to live. All have a prescription to use marijuana in Washington, and all gathered Monday outside the Spokane County Courthouse to protest the legal battle brewing between law enforcement and the medical marijuana dispensaries that police recommended be shut down last week. [continues 407 words]
Prosecutor, Defense at Odds Over Intent of Medical Marijuana Rule A legal showdown over Washington's medical marijuana law is taking shape in Spokane. At issue is a provision in the voter-approved law that allows caretakers to supply up to 1.5 pounds of marijuana at a time to those with state-issued medical marijuana cards. Some medical marijuana advocates believe that allows them to lawfully supply one patient at a time. Spokane County prosecutors say the provision limits each caretaker to just one patient - period. [continues 477 words]
A legal showdown over Washington's medical marijuana law is taking shape in Spokane. At issue is a provision in the voter-approved law that allows caretakers to supply up to 1.5 pounds of marijuana at a time to those with state-issued medical marijuana cards. Some medical marijuana advocates believe that allows them to lawfully supply one patient at a time. Spokane County prosecutors say the provision limits each caretaker to just one patient – period. The case of a medical marijuana advocate charged with seven drug-related felonies illustrates a debate about a law prosecutors and pot advocates say is confusing. [continues 454 words]
Medical Marijuana Law Comes With Slew of Concerns for Patients, Officers A thief kicked in his door, ransacked his kitchen and stole his 8-ounce marijuana stash. So the victim called police. But the difference between this Spokane man's story and a classic stupid-criminal tale was a prescription card authorities say is easier to get in Spokane than ever. The case, detailed in a search warrant filed this month in Spokane County District Court, illustrates the dichotomy forming between medicinal users of marijuana and law enforcement officers trained to track drug sales and arrest dealers. [continues 548 words]
Idaho Measure Would Create Felony BOISE -- Pregnant women who use controlled substances such as methamphetamine or marijuana could be charged with a felony and imprisoned under a bill the Idaho state Senate approved 18-16 Tuesday. SB 1337 creates a new criminal violation: endangering children through the use of controlled substances. The felony charge carries a $50,000 fine and up to five years in prison. It instructs courts to consider drug treatment options rather than prison time but does not mandate treatment. [continues 500 words]
Measure 33: Improving Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program or Crossing the Line? Marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes in Oregon with the approval of Measure 67 in 1998, igniting a debate that has been further inflamed this election year by ballot Measure 33. The measure would amend the current medical marijuana laws by requiring marijuana dispensaries throughout the state and increasing a patient's possession limit. Many opposed to the measure are concerned it is a disguised attempt to legalize marijuana for all purposes and would harm the current medical marijuana laws that have helped many patients get the medicine they need. [continues 861 words]
