Reading Bart Hinkle's Commentary column, "Coming out of the drug-war haze," got me fired up about the war on drugs. There is a widespread misconception that all drugs are bad when in reality there are good drugs and bad drugs. The problem arises when propaganda is spread labeling less harmful drugs such as common psychedelics ( marijuana, LSD, Psilocybin) as brain-melting substances that induce schizophrenia and reefer madness. In actuality such drugs only act as a catalyst in bringing to surface underlying mental conditions. [continues 137 words]
Dear Gov. Christie my old pal - we will be puffing outside your office on 4/20 at 4:20 p.m. Take this as a personal invitation from me: NJWeedman. April 20 - The Stoner Holiday is next week and once again here in New Jersey there is a planned civil disobedience demonstration on the steps of the state capitol as a direct challenge to you Gov. Christie and your prohibitionist policies. http://tinyurl.com/CapitolSmokeout - - I personally plan on firing one up in your honor celebrating your demise at the Presidential level, don't stand to my left unless you want to see what you've erroneously and naively railed about. Try it i think youll like it. [continues 1062 words]
Medical marijuana might seem like a cottage industry, but with Pennsylvania the nation's sixth-largest potential market, it's more likely to be big business. Think guys in suits, or maybe lab coats, not dreadlocks and striped baja hoodies. "I've heard estimates that the investment has to be $5 million to $10 million to be a grower-processor," said Dan Clearfield, a Harrisburg attorney who specializes in regulated substances. "This is not a small-business operation." It won't happen overnight, either. It could be anywhere from 18 months to two years before Pennsylvania residents seeking to treat their medical conditions with cannabis will be able to walk into a dispensary and slap a prescription on the counter. [continues 975 words]
Oklahoma, Nebraska Officials Continue a Battle Against Colorado. DENVER - Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is trying a new tactic in his fight to have Colorado's legalization of marijuana for recreational use overturned. Pruitt and his Nebraska counterpart are asking an appeals court to allow them to join a court case that may decide whether federal law against marijuana preempts Colorado's legalization. The two attorneys general on Thursday jointly asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow them to intervene in the case. Opponents of legalized marijuana are pursuing that case at the Denver-based appeals court. [continues 388 words]
BOSTON (AP) - A group supporting legalized use of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts said Friday that Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh are being hypocritical by supporting more liquor licenses while opposing the pot initiative. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol leveled the charge one day after Baker, Walsh and other top officials announced formation of a committee to fight a likely November ballot question that would allow Massachusetts residents 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. [continues 253 words]
Lee Carroll Brooker, a 75-year-old disabled veteran suffering from chronic pain, was arrested in July 2011 for growing three dozen marijuana plants for his medicinal use behind his son's house in Dothan, Ala., where he lived. For this crime, Mr. Brooker was given a life sentence with no possibility of release. Alabama law mandates that anyone with certain prior felony convictions be sentenced to life without parole for possessing more than1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of marijuana, regardless of intent to sell. Mr. Brooker had been convicted of armed robberies in Florida two decades earlier, for which he served 10 years. The marijuana plants collected at his son's house-including unusable parts like vines and stalks-weighed 2.8 pounds. At his sentencing, the trial judge told Mr. Brooker that if he "could sentence you to a term that is less than life without parole, I would." U.S. Supreme Court justices should take the case and overturn this sentence. [end]
Illicit Pot Increasingly Is Being Grown in Homes and Shipped Out of State. Authorities say organized crime elements with out-of-state ties increasingly are using Colorado homes to grow large amounts of marijuana illegally for transport and sale across the nation. About 30 locations, many of them homes, were targeted in raids on Thursday by authorities searching for illegal marijuana operations. The uptick in these so-called "pirate grows" has become a priority for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, who have dedicated resources to quashing the trend. [continues 937 words]
Please don't sign a petition to put "medical" marijuana on the ballot. You may be asked by paid people at a festival. Marijuana is not a medicine. It does not cure anything. The American Cancer Society, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Glaucoma Society and others do not support marijuana as a medicine. A synthetic form of THC called Marinol is available in pill form. Marijuana is addictive and promotes using other illicit drugs. It permanently lowers the IQ of young users and can cause destructive emotional changes. Fifteen "investors" will pay $500,000 each to be a growing site. It is not really about helping people - it's about making money. There's no such thing as "medical" marijuana. Please don't sign. Pat Leech and John Leech Newbury Township [end]
A Year Ago, Then-Deputy Chief Keith Foster, Six Others Were Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges Lawyer Says Plea Deal Involves Prison for Foster Foster Likely Won't Accept It, Lawyer Says Federal prosecutors are offering plea deals to former Fresno police Deputy Chief Keith Foster and five others indicted on drug-trafficking charges, a document filed in U.S. District Court reveals. So far, plea offers have been made to defendants Ricky Reynolds, Randy Flowers and Rafael Guzman. Plea offers to Keith Foster, Dennis Foster and Jennifer Donabedian will be finalized by Friday, the document says. [continues 1153 words]
