Terminally ill Helen Kelly says the Government has made her a criminal after a review of medicinal cannabis guidelines has resulted in little change. More than a year ago the former Council of Trade Unions president was diagnosed with lung cancer and after trying a variety of different medications she resorted to cannabis for pain relief. Kelly is illegally sourcing her own drugs after her bid for medicinal cannabis was withdrawn - the result of a ''complicated'' application process that required information that was ''impossible to access''. [continues 388 words]
Users have to break law The ACT government has rejected a push to create an effective amnesty for medicinal cannabis users by directing police not to charge them with drug offences. Canberrans who rely on medicinal cannabis to treat serious illness or chronic pain are currently forced to break the law to seek relief and a number, including campaigner Laura Bryant, have spoken publicly of their constant fear of arrest. Moves to establish legal medicinal cannabis cultivation are continuing federally, with changes to the Narcotics Drugs Act passed in February, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Department of Health advancing plans to lower barriers preventing access. [continues 397 words]
WA researchers have warned that cannabis use causes genetic mutations that can be passed on to children and grandchildren. University of WA scientists found cannabis alters a person's DNA structure, potentially exposing future generations to serious illnesses and diseases such as cancer. They said the implications for future generations had not been understood and were alarming. The link between cannabis use and illnesses such as cancer was known but the research was among the first to look at why it occurred and the impact on future generations. [continues 197 words]
A 29-Year-Old Man Was Killed In A Raid That Was Later Deemed Justified. Police Found $2 Worth of pot. TAMPA - The mother of a man who was shot and killed by Tampa police officers during a raid on his home in 2014 has sued the city, its former police chief and the officers involved over her son's death. The lawsuit, filed late last week in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, accuses the police of negligence for acting on the word of an informer with a history of heavy drug use and criminal activity. It also says that officers used excessive force against 29-year-old Jason Westcott, who was killed, and his boyfriend Israel 'Izzy' Reyes, who was 22 and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. [continues 603 words]
To the Editor: Why does it fee like Mendocino County is getting left behind in the marijuana industry we helped create. I think it's time the local police and sheriff stop preying on local marijuana growers for the money in confiscating land, homes, vehicles, cash, etc. Which is obviously what's going on, since we hold second place in drug related confiscations in the state, first being L.A. County. Our dollar value of confiscations is not far behind L.A. County and they have multiple millions of residents, where Mendocino County only has a couple hundred thousand residents. [continues 342 words]
Republicans and conservatives claim to hold dear the Constitution, yet totally abandon it in their crusade against medical marijuana in Butte County. Measure H is a direct violation of the Constitution in several key ways. First, it removes due process, one of the strongest cornerstones of our country's legal system. Second, various Fourth Amendment violations occurred in 2015 at the hands of Butte County sheriff and code enforcement, including bypassing gates and trespassing on private property without a warrant. These stories don't make the news, but if you experienced or heard of them, they would sound more like a gestapo police state than a free America. [continues 152 words]
Who are the cannabis clan that are pushing marijuana cultivation in Butte County? They are the minority. The Inland Cannabis Farmers Association (ICFA) is attempting to promote growing "artisanal" marijuana in our county. I suggest readers do a Google search for the names of artisanal pot and you will find varietals called Green Crack, Triple Diesel, Grape Skunk, Super Lemon Haze and Girl Scout Cookies, to name a few. Does this sound like medicinal marijuana to you? Who smokes this stuff? Not the majority of Butte county citizens, I'm sure. [continues 56 words]
SALEM - Every night, Shawn Meenan places a 12-foot piece of lumber against the main door of his third-floor condo, bracing it tight against intruders. His girlfriend, Rachel Shellabarger, places a second board against another door. In a cubbyhole, a video monitor for a $1,700 surveillance system shows all activity outside the building - every car that pulls up, every three-minute visit, every mysterious packet that flutters from neighboring windows to people waiting below. The couple bought the two-bedroom condo in January 2015 for its water views and affordable price. But instead of a fresh start, they say they feel under siege in a place where drugs are sold openly. [continues 1029 words]
Plant-count work-arounds Last week, CannaBiz reported on the plight of Rebecca Lockwood - a local mom who grows marijuana at home to treat her severely autistic son, Calvin, and several other sick kids. Since City Council put a 12-plant limit on residential grows, caregivers like her will have to choose: stop making life-saving medicine or risk arrest. This week, CannaBiz breaks down that choice, because nothing's really ever that simple, is it? One option for homegrowers is to buy from a dispensary. That is indeed viable if any of the 132 medical marijuana centers in town grow the appropriate strains at an affordable price point. But that's a big "if." Many patients grow at home precisely because those factors are prohibitive. [continues 356 words]
Plus, the WSLCB Finally Sets Rules for Acceptable Pesticide Levels Senator Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane) recently added another bill to his already impressive list of idiotic, regressive policy ideas: allowing cities to ban pot businesses in places based on preexisting alcohol impact areas (AIA). The AIA program, for those who missed that dark chapter of our state's history, was cooked up in 1999 as a way to fight chronic street inebriation. Administered by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB), it bans the sale of certain types of booze that are especially popular with chronic street drunks. [continues 904 words]