Re "Hemp in our future" (Greenways, by David Downs, July 17): It would be a lot quicker for a potential hemp farmer to get into federal court in a declaratory judgment lawsuit and have the court declare the federal classification of marijuana as a controlled substance is arbitrary, unreasonable and unnecessary use of police power and is unconstitutional. To declare the use of police power to threaten to deprive hemp farmers' fundamental rights is not justified by a compelling state interest. Declaring the use of police power is not protecting the rights of others. Declaring the proscription of hemp is property discrimination and the use of police power is unreasonable deprivation of plaintiff's fundamental rights to liberty, to property, to privacy, to be secure against unreasonable government intrusion contravening Amendments IV and V of the Constitution of the United States. [continues 119 words]
Anyone arguing that the constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana in Florida is inherently flawed because it leaves broad authority to the state Department of Health should look to SB1030 to see what happens when the department is not given such broad authority to do its job. The state agency held its first public hearing on rulemaking for the so-called "Charlotte's Web" law. Since their hands are tied by statute crafted by politicians, they are forced to live within those political confines, to the displeasure of all involved with the process, but more importantly, to the detriment of families who are so desperate for this treatment. [continues 386 words]
THE Queensland Premier says he has an open mind about legalising marijuana for medical purposes but will rely on the advice of national health experts. Medical cannabis could soon be legalised in NSW with senior politicians indicating support, as long as concerns about how it would be regulated are dealt with. Campbell Newman says any change in Queensland should be made on the basis of advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), not NSW. "I have an open mind on these things," he told reporters yesterday. "There are so many of our life-saving and pain-alleviating drugs that come from nature, and I see it in that context. "But I'd be interested in what the NHMRC are saying." [end]
Dear Stoner: My dad lives in Aurora, and we're coming out for his 75th birthday party. My wife has never smoked pot (or anything, not even cigarettes) but suffers from chronic migraines. She wants to try a pot edible, but I heard that pot can only be purchased by non-residents in smokable form. Can non-residents buy edibles? Randy Dear Randy: Whoever told you that was smoking some bad shit. Out-of-state residents can purchase edibles as well as raw herb. Look for high-CBD edibles if you can find them - though they're harder to come by at recreational shops. Otherwise, stick to edibles made with indica-based strains. While it is an over-generalization, indicas tend to help with pain and tension and act more as a sedative. But don't try too much: Stay in the forty-to-fifty-milligram range and take it slow. [continues 336 words]
"Communities look to regulate e-cigarettes," July 22 news story. "You can vaporize cocaine, you can vaporize marijuana, you can vaporize methamphetamine. You do not know what's in those vaporizers, " says Golden Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick. Let's explore the chief's logic: 1) Many gang members have tattoos, so let's jail all those with tattoos. 2) Prostitution is against the law and women have all the "equipment" to be a prostitute, so let's jail all women. An alternative suggestion: When people vaporize cocaine, methamphetamine or other illegal drugs with e-cigs, by all means, jail them. Don R. Sherwood, Boulder [end]
Several letters on the unaccompanied Central American minors attempting to cross the U.S. border have condemned the actions of these people, but it is the law-breaking by our own children and adults that underlies this crisis. What impels Central American parents and children to undertake this migration of desperation is not only a misperception about our immigration laws but also violence caused by the appetite in the United States for illegal drugs. Americans are complicit in the conditions these children face at home because we are the primary market for cocaine, heroin, slave labor, weapons and all the other illegal products that gangs exist to transport. We have a responsibility to provide a haven for those who merit it, however many there are. Who are we to tell a Central American parent, however sympathetically, that his or her child must face rape, extortion and forcible recruitment by criminal organizations when U.S. citizens' unlawful behavior is the foundation on which those criminal organizations are built? Cathy Lincoln, Washington [end]
Blacks were disproportionately cited by Seattle police for consuming pot in public in the first six months of 2014. In a report delivered to the City Council Wednesday, the police department said officers wrote 82 tickets for public pot consumption in the first half of the year, with 37 percent of those going to blacks. Blacks account for 8 percent of the Seattle population, according to 2010 census figures; 50 percent of the tickets went to whites, who represent 70 percent of the city's residents. [continues 556 words]
Fires a Business Setback Evacuations, Road Closures Hinder Product Delivery Columbia River Cannabis in Douglas County was finally close to getting a marijuana-producer license after nine months. That is, until a 15,000-acre wildfire encroached on its farm July 10 and burned its 5-week-old medical-marijuana plants that were eventually to be used to start growing in the recreational market. The farm planned to make its first shipments to retailers by September. "We got singed real bad," said Harold Jarboe, Columbia River Cannabis' marketing director. [continues 565 words]
Libs Soften Stance on Medicinal Cannabis THE State Government has signalled it could step back from its ban on a medicinal cannabis trial under pressure to grow the hemp industry in Tasmania. Treasurer and Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein has told councils pushing for the trial that the Government will seriously consider the recommendations of an Upper House committee. "We're supporting that process and obviously we'll be guided by the response that comes out of that process," Mr Gutwein told the Local Government Association state conference in Hobart. [continues 295 words]
The state of Washington started selling recreational cannabis last week, producing many of the same headlines that dominated the first few weeks of January sales here in Colorado. There are certainly similarities in the way the two states have approached legalization, but each has staked out its own direction, and it will be interesting to see how each fares as times goes by. Both states allow adults over 21 years of age to purchase and possess an ounce of cannabis for personal use subject to regulation, licensing and taxation. Washington doesn't allow residential cultivation, while Colorado allows adults to grow up to six unlicensed plants, although medical patients can grow their own in both states. Washington, unlike Colorado, doesn't allow adults to "gift" or transfer up to an ounce of cannabis to any other adult as long as no money changes hands. [continues 767 words]
The Drama Over the Termination of a UA Assistant Professor and the Future of Marijuana Research Continues After making it clear UA policy prevents its administrators from commenting on personnel issues last week, the university released a letter it sent to Sue Sisley dated Wednesday, July 9 that provided "details" on the decision to not renew the marijuana researcher's contract. The letter, forwarded to the Tucson Weekly on Saturday, July 19, was provided by George Humphrey, assistant vice president of the Arizona Health Sciences Center's office of public affairs "that explains more about her non-renewal." [continues 997 words]
