Study Will Be First of Its Kind Marijuana use, despite the legal implications, has been common in America for generations, and it's becoming even more widespread as some communities legalize it for medical purposes. But it wasn't until five years ago that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looked into its prevalence behind the wheel and found that 16.3 percent of the weekend nighttime drivers surveyed at 300 locations across the United States were drug positive. Cannabis stood out as the most commonly detected drug, according to the survey. But what the survey didn't show - and what authorities don't know - is how often drivers are impaired by the drugs, specifically marijuana. [continues 945 words]
A homeless woman from Denver faces child abuse and drug charges after Boulder police stopped her in the Alfalfa's Market parking lot and noticed an odor of marijuana inside her vehicle while her baby was in the back seat. Officers had been called to the grocery store at 909 Arapahoe Ave. around 9:45 p.m. Friday on a report of an unrelated assault, according to a police report, and they noticed a car backing out of a space with fogged-up windows. [continues 488 words]
Residence halls at the University of Colorado don't have discount arrangements with medical marijuana dispensaries, despite what Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said this morning while debating his Democratic challenger Stan Garnett, CU officials said. In response to a question about whether marijuana should be legalized, Suthers referenced CU as an example of the hypocrisy of law enforcement's current relationship with marijuana in Colorado. "We have situations now where dorms at CU have discount arrangements with particular dispensaries," Suthers said during this morning's attorney general debate on radio station AM 760. [continues 679 words]
Monday was the first day of Boulder's new licensing process for medical marijuana businesses, and the city got about a half dozen inquiries about the new applications, city spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said. No one has submitted an application, which can take a bit of time to fill out, Huntley said. Any business not currently in operation must get a license before it will be allowed to open, according to the new regulations. Businesses that are already operating also must apply for licenses by varying deadlines, depending on each company's situation. [continues 150 words]
Man Plans to Give Speech at CU Ahead of Trial BOULDER, Colo. -- A Louisville medical marijuana patient who was arrested last year on suspicion of possessing more than a legally allowed amount of the drug is fighting back as he heads to trial in Boulder County District Court next month. Jason Lauve, 38, was arrested June 26, 2008, on suspicion of felony marijuana possession after police searched his home and found more than 30 marijuana plants. The case is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 3, and Lauve is asking people to support him by attending the trial, writing letters to the media and contacting the Boulder County district attorney to "tell him to stop prosecuting sick people." [continues 661 words]
BOULDER, Colo. Few medical-marijuana dispensaries advertise their existence, and almost all of them require customers to make appointments to legally obtain the herbal remedy. But on Wednesday, Boulder's first walk-in dispensary which sells the drug to any medical-marijuana cardholder with or without an appointment publicly celebrated its grand opening. Situated on the second story of the University Hill Plaza, between K's China and the Hookah House at 1325 Broadway, Boulder Alternative Medicine is open from 11 a.m. to 4:19 p.m. Monday through Friday. [continues 671 words]
Other Caregivers Worried About Theft After Boulder Robbery BOULDER, Colo. -- Due to tight privacy regulations built into Colorado law, few people know the names of medical-marijuana caregivers or how many people are certified to provide the drug in the state. In fact, the law makes it so difficult to identify the people who can legally provide marijuana that the Boulder County Drug Task Force doesn't know how many certified marijuana caregivers are in the Boulder County region. That has officers spending considerable time investigating pot-growing operations purporting to be legal; double-checking caregiver certificates and patient cards; and making sure caregivers don't have more than the allowed amount of marijuana, said task force Sgt. Barry Hartkopp. [continues 708 words]
Advocates Tout 'Victory' For Patients and Caregivers Outside the University of Colorado Police Department on Monday, cheers erupted from a crowd of marijuana advocates -- some of whom were dressed as giant pot leaves -- when a student was given back medical marijuana that police took from him in May. "I wish I had a chance to talk to the officers who said I'd never get this back," said CU sophomore Edward Nicholson, 20, who's a medical-marijuana cardholder in Colorado. [continues 518 words]
"Nine, eight, seven ... " A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. today. Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 - the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana - began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year. "Oh forget it," one student said, aborting the countdown to 4:20 p.m. and lighting his pipe early. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long drag. [continues 998 words]
The Boulder Valley School District is standing behind high school administrators after the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday accused them of "committing felonies" by seizing students' cell phones, reading their text messages and making transcripts. The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter Wednesday to the school board demanding changes at Louisville's Monarch High School after at least 13 students reported having their cell phones taken and their text messages read at the end of last school year. [continues 620 words]
The pro-marijuana organization behind the referendum that made penalties for pot on the University of Colorado campus no greater than those for alcohol is encouraging suspended running back Ricky Williams to join the Denver Broncos. Officials with SAFER, or Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, will unveil a billboard across the street from Invesco Field in Denver at noon tomorrow supporting Williams' notorious use of marijuana and encouraging him to push for a spot on the Broncos. Williams, who just completed an 18-month suspension from the NFL for violating the league's drug policy for the fourth time, filed for league reinstatement yesterday and is awaiting approval. [continues 196 words]
Many Students Unfazed, but Experts Say They're Listening It started as the carrying on of an annual tradition to engage high-schoolers in global concerns. But the Conference on World Affairs discussion on "STDs: Sex, Teens and Drugs" that some Boulder High School students were required to attend in April has sparked a firestorm of controversy on the local, state and national levels. And the debate only seems to be heating up. Parents, teachers, psychologists and TV personalities are weighing in on what advice is valuable for today's students and what "lessons" should be kept out of schools. [continues 1274 words]
