Arizona Begins to Place Inmates in New Facility The Red Rock Correctional Center, Arizona's newest private prison, will begin housing inmates next month, with taxpayers guaranteeing its owner a profit to help alleviate overcrowding in the state penitentiary system. State Corrections Director Charles Ryan hopes to house up to 1,000 inmates there by the end of next year - twice the number originally planned in the first year. The facility along East Arica Road and Arizona 87 just outside Eloy has the capacity for 1,596 inmates. [continues 1468 words]
Uruguay legalized marijuana just before Christmas and is now in the process of writing regulations for selling and consuming the popular recreational drug. Pot prohibition has made criminal syndicates richer than rich and undermined the stability of countries that supply America's desire to get high. Uruguay's move, coupled with its approval of same-sex marriage, earned it top status as the magazine's Country of the Year. The U.S. should be so advanced. [end]
It's Time to Consider the Positives That Could Come From Legal Cannabis In a couple of weeks, a childhood dream of mine will come true for about 6 million people in Colorado. I started wishing for legal cannabis when I was about 15, shortly after the first time I tried it. I suppose I might have hoped for it before that, out of some vague camaraderie with pot smokers, but I really started thinking it should be legal when I started using the stuff. I still think legalization is a good idea, and I'm glad it's less than two weeks away for some folks, but it's not all good. There will be some negative consequences. [continues 577 words]
The wind blows a lot in Chino Valley and an outdoor field of medical marijuana growing near homes, parks, churches and other places where people are might not be good idea for the community, say officials from two Town governing bodies. At its Dec. 10 regular meeting, the Chino Valley Town Council members unanimously agreed with recommendations from the Chino Valley Planning and Zoning Commission on town ordinance changes for medical marijuana facilities. The changes also apply to commercial growers. Council agreed with commissioners that such facilities should have 500-foot setbacks from neighboring properties, whether that be a residence, church, drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility or other use. Schools next to medical marijuana facilities, however, is regulated by state law with a mandated 500-foot setback. [continues 140 words]
The President of Uruguay Is Making a Move to Legalize Cannabis and Mr. Smith Rises to Applaud I thought about moving to Uruguay once. The South American nation just this side of Argentina has some amazingly white beaches populated by sea turtles in winter, and you can buy property there for pennies on the dollar just a couple of hours from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Uruguay is a fairly progressive place that is now vying with Amsterdam, Colorado and Washington state to be the top cannabis destination in the world. It might be winning. [continues 522 words]
Regarding "Busting medical-pot study myth" (Opinions, Dec. 2): Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk echoed a misleading statement from the National Institute on Drug Abuse website that NIDA "permits or funds studies on therapeutic benefits of marijuana." A 1999 Health and Human Services Department guidance forbids NIDA from selling marijuana for research seeking to develop it into a Food and Drug Administration-approved medicine. NIDA is the sole legal provider of marijuana for research in the U.S. NIDA has denied marijuana to all three FDAapproved studies seeking to develop the whole plant into a prescription medicine, preventing them from happening. [continues 85 words]
Mr. Smith welcomes a new member of the Society of Marijuana Journalists (not an actual organization) In a perfect world, there would be a job where you could just sit around all day, looking up things about pot on the Internet and reading about pot and deciding what aspects of the pot world get coverage in a major newspaper. You would get paid a mad salary to think only about pot, then tell reporters and photographers what to do about it. You would never have to edit a sports story or a city council story or a crime story. [continues 546 words]
A Tough Month for Mr. Smith Is Reminding Him to Accentuate the Positive It's been a tough month in Mr. Smithland, where the sudden, tragic death of a vehicle and associated financial disaster forced a shit-ton of stress upon my cervical spine, pulling and yanking on it from C5-7 in ways that impinge upon nerves and bring on the need for medicinal cannabis. Thankfully, I have some. And not only do I have some, I get it these days from pretty good friends who are definitely good people. They work in a state-sanctioned dispensary, because I live, thankfully, in a state that allows that. The people who sell me cannabis smile and hug me when I stop by. They like me and seem to care about me, and their hearts seem to be in good places, and for that I'm grateful. [continues 601 words]
Regarding a Nov. 23 column about medical marijuana "Republic's readers deserve truth about medical-pot program," Viewpoints): Dr. Gina Mecagni repeated an urban myth in the debate over marijuana - that the National Institute on Drug Abuse won't release marijuana "for research that does not specifically address drug abuse." A visit to NIDA's website, drug abuse.gov/marijuana-research-nida, should put this myth to bed forever. NIDA funds a wide range of research on marijuana, including "potential therapeutic uses of THC and other cannabinoids in treatment of pain, HIV and addiction." [continues 119 words]
As medical students at Georgetown University, we were indoctrinated with the traditions and values of our attending physicians. It was there that I was taught how to care for patients. It was there that I first heard and would hear repeatedly throughout my training: Pain is what the patient says it is. That value is critical to the practice of medicine. It establishes a foundation of trust between physician and patient. It begins the conversation with "I believe you," so that you can move forward to "How can I help you?" [continues 715 words]
There Are Still Kinks to Work Out, but the Annual MMJ Report Contains Mostly Good News The Arizona medical marijuana program had a birthday recently, wobbling into the terrible twos on shaky legs, clutching a fistful of lawsuits in one hand and leaning up against a couple of judges for balance. The list of lawsuits over cannabis continues to grow, but so does the number of patients, albeit slowly. There are problems, to be sure, such as the state's continued cock-blocking on extracts that has dispensaries wary of selling cannabis wax or oil, but ultimately I think the second annual report from the esteemed Mr. Humble, overseer of the program, is good news. [continues 647 words]
We can't expect an ill, autistic, 5-year-old boy to understand the complex needs of the American judicial system. But we can, and should, expect the judicial system to understand the complex needs of an ill, autistic, 5-year-old boy. His name is Zander Welton. He suffers from a medical condition that causes debilitating seizures. This week, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to grant an injunction allowing Zander's parents to resume treating their son with a medical marijuana extract. [continues 165 words]
Sadly, Tucson Is Still a Step Behind As Far As Dispensing Digitally Back in the day, before there were dispensaries, there was Craigslist. I don't think Craigslist asked to be a forum for connecting cannabis and patients, but it immediately happened when patient-caregiver exchanges became legal. People were trading meds and plants and edibles from the Tucson Mountains to the Rincons. Well, it seems maybe some of that traffic has gone to dispensaries, because Craigslist doesn't offer much for cannabis patients in Tucson now. [continues 639 words]
Two suspended Border Patrol agents were sentenced Tuesday to 24 months each in federal prison for civil-rights offenses because of their mistreatment of undocumented migrants they caught smuggling marijuana in the Arizona desert five years ago. In April, a jury convicted agents Dario Castillo, 25, of four felony counts, and Ramon Zuniga, 31, of four misdemeanor counts, of deprivation of civil rights under color of law. That charge applies to government officials or officers who use their position unlawfully to deprive anyone of their rights under the U.S. Constitution. [continues 293 words]
Keeping an inherently dishonest program honest is no easy task. The Arizona Department of Health Services got that job in 2010 when voters bought into one of the biggest cons around and narrowly approved "medical" marijuana. ADHS Director Will Humble deserves credit for trying to keep things honest. But you have to wonder if it's even possible. These so-called medical marijuana laws are more about normalizing a recreational drug than getting medical treatment to sick people. It is true that marijuana appears to provide relief from symptoms of some ailments or side effects from other medical treatment. But Arizona's medical-marijuana law did not produce a time-tested way for those patients to access a dose-controlled, legitimate pharmaceutical product. It opened the door to abuse. If you doubt that, just ask yourself what other medically prescribed pharmaceutical is sold through special "dispensaries" instead of at the drugstore. [continues 426 words]
State officials were at the Arizona Supreme Court this week to defend a law that punishes innocent people. Welcome to Arizona! Or, if you've lived here a long time, like me: So what else is new? Under Arizona's DUI law, a person is guilty of impaired driving if he has any metabolite of marijuana in his system. However, the compounds left in a person's system after smoking marijuana are not all the same. One of them makes a person high and lasts for a few hours. Another is not "psychoactive," meaning it does not cause impairment. But it can linger in a person's system for up to a month. [continues 579 words]
Arizona health officials want to collect more-nuanced information about medical-marijuana users who claim they suffer from "chronic pain" when seeking pot recommendations as part of an effort to find physicians improperly recommending pot to their patients. Patients seeking permission to use medical marijuana cited chronic pain as a debilitating condition about 26,500 times from July 2012 through June 2013, representing 73 percent of Arizonans who qualified to use the drug. Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, said he wants to more quickly root out physicians who are improperly recommending medical marijuana, and continue intensive training for doctors who recommend pot in high volumes. [continues 508 words]
As a Border Patrol agent assigned to a special undercover unit in Yuma, Ivhan Herrera-Chiang's job was to stop criminals from smuggling drugs into the U.S. Instead, the agent used his position to help drug traffickers bring methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana across the border by providing them with secret information in exchange for bribes, according to court records and prosecutors. On Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced Herrera-Chiang to15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in April to four felony counts of bribery. [continues 621 words]
The Delivery Option Is Great, but Privacy Issues and a Lack of Selection Are a Problem for Green Farmacy Bisbee is known for a lot of things around Arizona. Quirky bars and artsy characters abound in the tiny, touristy, 19th-century mining town nestled in the hills an easy glance north of the Land of Cartels. Character, both human and inanimate, flows freely through every hilly, bendy, curvy street, and there is an intangible air of freedom there. It kind of makes you want to smoke a joint, if you have ever used cannabis for any reason. [continues 457 words]
A former Tempe police detective had an affair with the target of an undercover drug investigation and outed herself and two other detectives as law-enforcement officers after having sex with him, according to a police report. Detective Jessica Dever-Jakusz refused to speak with investigators and later resigned. Police sent a report last week to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office recommending that she be charged with two counts of hindering prosecution. A spokesman said last week that the case is under review. [continues 552 words]
Common sense dictates that our police must be solving a much higher percent of homicides today as compared to the 1960s. After all, today's police departments have access to DNA evidence that didn't exist during the 1960s. And police departments today can run finger prints through high tech computers and find an exact match out of 100s of millions finger prints on file. Back in the 1960s this technology did not exist. So why do police only solve just over sixty percent of homicides today while during the 1960s, they solved more than ninety percent of homicides? [continues 83 words]
Jennifer Welton asks me to imagine something I cannot imagine. Something no parent could imagine. "What if there was a medicine available to help your sick child, and you are being told if you use it you'll be arrested?" she said. "And then, if you get arrested, maybe this child and your other children will be taken away from you." This is not something she imagines. For Jennifer and her husband, Jacob, this is reality. The couple's 5-year-old son, Zander, suffers from a medical condition that causes debilitating seizures. He also has autism. [continues 610 words]
PHOENIX - Arguing that medical marijuana has been the most effective treatment for their son's seizure disorder, the parents of a 5-year-old boy filed a lawsuit here on Monday to force state officials to include marijuana extracts - oil-like resins with very low levels of the psychoactive ingredient THC - as a legal product under the state's medical marijuana act. As it stands, the act, approved by voters in 2010, allows patients to use "any mixture or preparation" made with dried marijuana flowers, like brownies. The boy's parents, Jacob and Jennifer Welton, have been crushing the flowers and mixing them into applesauce, which they say has become difficult for the boy to ingest after brain surgery last year compromised his ability to eat. They do not want to buy the extract, found on the black market, for fear of being arrested. [continues 755 words]
I'm writing about Bob Gordon's thoughtful letter: "Keeping marijuana illegal doesn't work," Sept. 25. I'd like to add that those who think that marijuana prohibition somehow protects our children and society, I'd like them to search on Google or Youtube for "Retired Police Captain demolishes the war on drugs." You will see that marijuana prohibition substantially increases all other crime. Back in the 1960s, police solved more than 90 percent of all homicides. Today they solve just over 60 percent. Why? Because of our so-called war on drugs. There are huge financial incentives for police to make drug busts and confiscate the drug dealers' money and property, but no financial incentive to solve rapes, robberies or murders. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
A Judge Has Intervened, So the State Has Changed Some of Its MMJ Edicts It might surprise you to know that despite the hard-right leanings of Arizona's state political power structure, there are actually forces for freedom at work in the Red Valley that is our state capitol, even where cannabis is concerned. Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, came out against the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act when it was proposed, but the esteemed Mr. Humble has mostly upheld our end of the bargain and worked fairly diligently to make it happen since it became law against his will. [continues 550 words]
Downtown Dispensary Has a Super Convenient Location and an Excellent Selection of Edibles Convenience is a key reason to have an Arizona medical marijuana card. The card turns the chore of getting meds into something akin to grabbing a gallon of milk-"Sure, honey. I'll grab an eighth on my way home from work." There are suddenly a lot of dispensaries in el Pueblo Viejo, all vying for a chunk of your bud budget, so convenience has become an important part of the equation. Let's face it, most patients are unlikely to drive across town to get meds unless they have to-in which case they almost certainly will. But we don't have to waste the gas anymore, and the cannabis quality, prices and selection really don't vary much from place to place, so the Place becomes more important. [continues 550 words]
(AP) - A judge has overturned Maricopa County's zoning ordinance for medical-marijuana dispensaries, ruling that the ordinance appeared to be a "transparent attempt" to keep the businesses out of unincorporated areas of the county. Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon on Monday granted a pretrial verdict in favor of White Mountain Health Center, which plans a dispensary for Sun City, and rejected a similar request on behalf of the county. Gordon said the ordinance was written so dispensaries wouldn't be allowed because marijuana remains illegal under federal law. He also noted there is no available property in Sun City with the zoning category required by the county. [continues 214 words]
PHOENIX - Counties cannot do an end-run around the Medical Marijuana Act by changing their zoning laws to make it impossible to open a dispensary, a judge ruled Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon said it's one thing for counties to use their local powers to prohibit illegal activities. And he said that's the way the county's ordinance read - until August. But Gordon said the new version is worded in a way that it "categorically prohibits medical marijuana dispensaries." The judge called that little more than "a transparent attempt to prevent implementation of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act" in the areas where the Board of Supervisors controls the zoning. [continues 383 words]
Uncle Herb's medical-marijuana dispensary, tucked away near pine trees in an industrial area of south Payson, has the homey feel of a country store. Red brick and wood trim accent the interior. T-shirts and other products hang in a gift area near the two bars displaying pale green cannabis buds in glass cake stands. The small commercial kitchen, visible from the bud-tending area through a large window, is modern. So is the kitchen's special helper - a six-foot-tall collection of stainless-steel canisters, flexible hoses, and gauges that the staff calls "Wall-E." [continues 4552 words]
Mr. Smith Is Fed Up With This Country's Confusing and Overlapping Rules About Medical Marijuana I have a confession to make. I've been writing about medical cannabis for just over two years now, meting out 650-word snippets of weekly wisdom (sometimes) on the topic, but my affair with medical cannabis seems to be running its course. I've tried to love it, tried to advocate and pontificate effectively on the merits of a well-regulated system that connects patients with meds and disconnects them from law enforcement, but ultimately I guess I'm just not that into it. [continues 558 words]
Mr. Smith reports from Sierra Vista, checking in on one of two area dispensaries I can see Mexico from my backyard these days, which seems like a Sarah Palin reference but is actually just simple truth. Mr. Smith has gone on the road for a few months, landing for now on 24 empty acres near Coronado National Monument with high-desert grassland sloping gently down about five miles south to Mexico. I can see the wall. It's an ugly brown line stretching arrow-straight east and west. [continues 654 words]
I'm writing about Larry Richey's Sept. 19 letter, "Hard drug users started with pot," Sept. 19. I submit that 100 percent of hard drug users started with either baby formula or mother's milk. Should we criminalize these substances? Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
I'm writing about "Group pushing for broader medical marijuana laws" (Tribune, Sept. 15). If the marijuana legalization initiative calls for marijuana to be legally available to adults at hundreds of locations like tobacco and alcohol is, I will vote for and support it. If, on the other hand, legal marijuana will only be available at a very few monopolist locations like medical marijuana is today, I will oppose it and vote against it. I jumped through all the hoops and paid $150 protection money to the state of Arizona to obtain my medical marijuana card. Now I have the so-called privilege of paying $400 an ounce for marijuana that is available on the black market for around $70 an ounce. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
Editor: In the Sept. 22 VI (From Your Perspective, "A little homework on marijuana"), David Perrell asks why we squander billions of tax dollars in the unwinnable war on cannabis. The answer is pretty simple if you follow the old Law 101 rule: "Follow the Money Trail." If cannabis were legalized, tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of police, prosecutors, judges, prison guards and administrators, merchants who build and supply prisons, etc., etc. would be put out of work. They are not about to let that happen without one heck of a fight, of course. [continues 96 words]
This is in response to County Attorney Sheila Polk's Talk of the Town on Saturday, Sept. 7 and the addictive perils of marijuana usage, especially for young people. Marijuana remains a federally proscribed schedule 1 controlled substance (1970) and is illegal for anyone of any age to use. Medical usage still remains under federal jurisdiction. Although pot remains illegal, Polk's sincere and comprehensive article illustrates that in practice this hasn't necessarily worked, but that the alternative of legalization would be worse. Educational efforts and awareness of the hazards of any drug use will be successful for everyone; scare tactics and demonizing pot - a universally utilized plant for thousands of years - is also not effective. Anything that can be abused will be abused but this doesn't mean it must be banned. [continues 152 words]
I am writing about Bill Richardson's thoughtful column: "Our new crime-riddled 'Five C's' and what to do about them" (Commentary, Tribune, Sept. 18). I have no doubt that serious crime is linked to organized crime. From 1920 to 1933, the majority of our serious crime was linked to alcohol prohibition. When we terminated alcohol prohibition our overall crime rate declined dramatically. Do I suggest that all drugs should be sold like they were 100 years ago in grocery stores and pharmacies with no questions asked? No. For hard drugs like heroin, meth and cocaine I suggest that we adopt the Swiss drug policy. Switzerland used to have a very serious heroin addiction problem. Now their heroin problem is a small fraction of what it used to be. [continues 164 words]
Sheila Polk forget to mention what most police officers consider to the the greatest danger of marijuana in her recent editorial (The Arizona Republic's 'My Turn,' evtnow.com/5uw, Sept. 13). Legalize marijuana and next thing you will be ending the "War on Drugs", which is basically a full employment jobs program for cops. According to Federal statistics over 51 percent of the people in prison are there for victimless drug war crimes. Some statistics say over two thirds of the people in American prisons are there for victimless drug war crimes. [continues 62 words]
A national marijuana-advocacy group has announced that it will push to ask Arizona voters in 2016 if they want to legalize pot for adult recreational use. A grass-roots effort, led by a Phoenix man, would ask voters to amend the state Constitution to allow people age 18 and older "to consume or possess limited amounts" of marijuana. But the local effort has largely been discounted by the political establishment because it lacks major financial backing. [continues 1108 words]
Editor: Re: "Marijuana harmless? The subtle signs of destruction," by County Attorney Sheila Polk (My Turn, Sept. 11, Camp Verde Bugle): Wow, Sheila, I can't believe that you're the county attorney, 'cause you have no idea what you're talking about here. When I detoxed from heroin I never had suicidal thoughts, and that is a real drug. I smoked pot everyday of my life from the time I was 16 'til I was 34 years old, and I never had any of these symptoms you describe, and I did not "detox." I just stopped and that was all. So before you start making statements it would be a good idea to know what you're talking about. T.J. O'Malley Camp Verde [end]
I would like to make an addendum to the fine Talk of the Town written by County Attorney Sheila Polk ("Think Marijuana is harmless? Think again," Sept. 7). As a retired law enforcement officer and supervisor of a narcotics detail, I can unequivocally say that while recreational use of marijuana will not necessarily lead to harder drugs (meth, cocaine, heroin, PCP, etc.), the vast majority of hard drug users started on marijuana. Larry Richey Prescott [end]
Medical Operators Fear Being Undercut by Recreational Use Medical-marijuana dispensary operators are apprehensive about plans by a powerful marijuana-advocacy group to campaign for full legalization of the drug in Arizona. The Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates marijuana legalization and regulation, is a former ally of the dispensary owners, having played a key financial and public-relations role in passage of the state law that created the burgeoning medical-marijuana program. Bolstered by the Obama administration's announcement that it will not challenge such laws, the group intends to pursue full legalization in Arizona through a voter initiative in 2016 and in nine other states over the next two election cycles. The initiative will be modeled on a program in Colorado, which has legalized marijuana for recreational use. [continues 1492 words]
To the editor: This letter is in response to Howard Fischer's article, "Arizona will ignore feds on pot OK". Does the phrase "Of the people, for the people, and by the people" mean anything to elected officials anymore? Elected officials of state and city were elected to serve; and serve who: the people. The pot issue was put on the ballot and "the people" passed it more than once. Pressure from special interest groups, personal agenda and power corrupted officials in any capacity cannot be allowed to usurp the power of the vote. The people have spoken. Why is this even still an issue? Flagstaff [end]
Odds are you know someone with an addiction: 2.3 million people over the age of 12 sought substance/ alcohol treatment in 2011, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Add those not seeking or unable to afford treatment and the numbers escalate. Marijuana dependence/ abuse is twice as prevalent as with other drugs: 4.2 million Americans (2011), nearly two-thirds of Arizona's population. Nationally, treatment admissions skyrocketed 21 percent (2000-10), with an average age of 25 and nearly three-quarters male. In Arizona, marijuana treatment has surpassed methamphetamine. [continues 433 words]
Scottsdale's only medical marijuana clinic has opened and is serving 15 to 20 patients a day who purchase the drug to combat a variety of ailments. Monarch Wellness, near Via de Ventura and Pima Road, offers a variety of marijuana strains as well as edibles. Monarch was the only applicant for the South Scottsdale Community Health Area, a geographical designation used by the Arizona Department of Health Services to scatter medical-marijuana clinics across the state. The health area covers the city south of Doubletree Ranch Road. Because of the zoning restrictions put in place by the City Council, few spots even qualified to host a clinic. Monarch occupies what owner Dustin Johnson says is the only place in the area to meet all the restrictions, based on distance from homes, schools and parks. [continues 400 words]
Editor: Sheila Polk's "My Turn" article warning of the highly addictive powers of marijuana made me stop and do a double take at the absurd, antiquated statements, until I saw her credentials. I am by no means supporting marijuana use by children. However, I found it interesting that Ms. Polk failed to mention that alcohol, which is much more accessible, and far more dangerous than marijuana. Ms. Polk is taking the blue road of law enforcement, who will do and say anything to try and revoke and prevent the legalization of marijuana in any form - be it medical, decriminalization or full legalization. To say that "marijuana starts the user on a downward life trajectory, affecting IQ and cognitive development, mental health , education attainment, delinquency and social growth" is absurd and if true, means most of our college students would be imbeciles. This is a good lesson of checking your facts and your sources people and recognizing that just because it's in the print, doesn't mean it's true. Shame on you Ms. Polk. Suzanne Lee Cottonwood [end]
Let's not let Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act get in the way of the "War on Drugs", which is basically a full employment jobs program for cops. Proposition 203 clearly says that ALL forms are marijuana, which includes concentrated forms of pot like hashish and hash oil are legal for medical marijuana patients: "ARS 36-2801.7 'Marijuana' means all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis." But despite that the cops are falsely arresting medical marijuana patients who use concentrated forms of marijuana like hashish and hash oil and charging them with possession of CANNABIS, which the cops say ISN'T marijuana. [continues 240 words]
Odds are you know someone who has struggled with addiction from either legal or illegal substances. In 2011, 2.3 million in the United States aged 12 or older sought treatment for illicit drug or alcohol use at a treatment facility, according to SAMHSA, our nation's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Add to that number those who did not seek or could not afford treatment and the number of adults struggling with addition is much higher. Marijuana dependence is part of this equation; in fact, marijuana dependence in this country is twice as prevalent as any other illicit psychoactive drug. For the year 2011, 4.2 million Americans suffered from marijuana abuse or dependence. That's almost two thirds the population of the state of Arizona. [continues 718 words]
The group that helped get Arizona a medical marijuana law in 2010 is now gearing up for a 2016 ballot measure to allow any adult to use the drug for recreational purposes. Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said Tuesday his group is buoyed by the announcement last month by the Obama administration that the Department of Justice will not try to void voter-approved laws in Colorado and Washington making recreational use of the drug legal. That, he said, paves the way for expansion of the concept into 10 other states, including Arizona. [continues 789 words]
Not long ago, if someone told Dennis Bohlke the federal government would help him get marijuana legalized in Arizona, he'd have said, "Are you high?" "But," he said, "it happened. And it was great news. Maybe the country and our state will finally come to their senses." The Department of Justice announced last month it would not interfere with states such as Colorado and Washington that passed referendums legalizing marijuana use. Bohlke is treasurer of a group called Safer Arizona, which is working to put an initiative to legalize marijuana on the 2014 ballot. For that to happen, the group will have to collect 259,213 valid signatures by July 3 of next year. [continues 581 words]
Probably the Only Article You'll Read This Week That Uses Car Sex As Part of an Extended Metaphor I was minding my own business one night last week, fucking a girl in a parked car, when a Tucson police cruiser rolled up directly across the street. The officer didn't get out. Instead, he just hovered over there in his car, generally being noticed and silently threatening to ruin a perfectly enjoyable and wildly intense good time that was happening between two consenting adults in the privacy of their own back seat. After a few minutes, he drove away, so the, um, festivities continued. Then a few minutes later, he came back. This time he flashed his spotlight from across the street in a clear, Get-The-Fuck-Out-Of-Here fit of heartless interference. [continues 506 words]
Inside Arizona
