Police arrested a 24-year-old man after he allegedly stabbed another man in a drug deal gone bad in Waikiki Sunday night, police said. Police arrested a 24-year-old man after he allegedly stabbed another man in a drug deal gone bad in Waikiki Sunday night, police said. The stabbing occurred at approximately 7:50 p.m. in front of The Modern Honolulu located at 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard. Police said the suspect and victim are acquaintances. Emergency Medical Services provided advanced life support to the victim who sustained stab wounds. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police arrested the suspect at approximately 8:20 p.m. on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder. [end]
NEW YORK - One of the world's biggest tobacco companies is diving into the cannabis market with a $1.8 billion buy-in. Store manager Stephanie Hunt posed for photos, in July 2015, with a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, an Altria brand, at a Smoker Friendly shop in Pittsburgh. Altria is diving into the Canadian cannabis market with a $2.4 billion investment in Toronto-based medical and recreational marijuana provider Cronos Group. Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. is taking a 45 percent stake in Cronos Group, the Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider said today. [continues 244 words]
DETROIT - Michigan is officially the first state in the Midwest to allow marijuana for more than medical purposes. Today marks the first day for the legal recreational partaking of pot in Michigan following voters' strong endorsement in the Nov. 6 election. Staff at the Lansing City Pulse, a weekly alternative newspaper, marked the day by handing out free joints across the street from the Capitol. Michigan is now among nearly a dozen states and the District of Columbia with legalized recreational marijuana. Still, retail shops are still months away and must involve state regulators. [continues 51 words]
University of Hawaii researchers have discovered that the use of marijuana may reverse heart failure. A recent study shows that drugs can protect and reverse damage to the heart from the stress that progresses the disease. Heart failure can be caused by heart attacks, leaky valves, hypertension and other illnesses. Alexander Stokes, assistant professor in cell and molecular biology at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, said the potential medical benefits of cannabis to treat heart disease is promising. [continues 101 words]
Sales at Hawaii's six medical marijuana dispensaries totaled $6.7 million in the past 10 months, and their earnings are likely to grow with two changes to the state's cannabis law. Medical cannabis dispensaries can now sell "safe pulmonary administration products" - essentially cannabis oil vapes. Sales at Hawaii's six medical marijuana dispensaries totaled $6.7 million in the past 10 months, and their earnings are likely to grow with two changes to the state's cannabis law. Dispensaries last week began selling a type of vape cartridge for cannabis oil and are now allowed to sell pot to tourists who obtain a medical marijuana card. [continues 566 words]
LOS ANGELES - A slight marijuana smell wafted out as a steady stream of customers walked into a warehouse, its doors and windows covered by bars. Suddenly, police swooped in. "Sheriff's department! Search warrant!" a Los Angeles County deputy shouted as the team thundered through the front door and began hauling out people in handcuffs. The Compton 20 Cap Collective just south of Los Angeles that was raided earlier this spring is one of hundreds of illegal marijuana stores operating in LA County, where marijuana is legal for anyone 21 and over and retailers must be licensed to sell to them. [continues 897 words]
LINDSAY, Okla - Danny Daniels, an evangelical Christian in the rural Oklahoma town of Lindsay, is reliably conservative on just about every political issue. The 45-year-old church pastor is anti-abortion, voted for President Donald Trump and is a member of the National Rifle Association who owns an AR-15 rifle. He also came of age during the 1980s and believed in the anti-drug mantra that labeled marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug. But his view on marijuana changed as his pastoral work extended into hospice care and he saw patients at the end of their lives benefiting from the use of cannabis. [continues 687 words]
WASHINGTON - One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, "I absolutely just loved altering my mind." Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America's arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD and other mind-altering illegal drugs as part of a ring that operated undetected for months on a highly secure military base in Wyoming. After investigators closed in, one airman deserted to Mexico. [continues 807 words]
Hawaii is another step closer to finding out whether industrial hemp could be a major crop. The state Department of Agriculture announced earlier this month that it is accepting applications for state licenses to grow hemp. This comes nearly two years after the state enacted a law to establish a pilot program for commercial production. "Many believe that industrial hemp can be an important crop in Hawaii," Gov. David Ige said in a statement. "This pilot program is a strong and prudent step in helping to determine the viability of this crop in Hawaii." [continues 550 words]
Out-of-state marijuana patients visiting Hawaii soon may be allowed to buy their medicinal pot at local dispensaries, a potential boon to the fledgling cannabis industry. A bill allowing so-called reciprocity has gained enough support to become law, passing out of a key legislative committee Friday and positioned for a full legislative vote. If the bill passes the Legislature, it would go to the governor for final approval. The bill establishes a process that requires the state Health Department to register out-of-state patients and caregivers so tourists would be able to purchase and use the drug legally while in the islands. Currently, only local marijuana cardholders can legally use pakalolo. [continues 295 words]
Cure Oahu, backed by a local private investment group, opened with 10 strains, including top sellers Master Kush, Da Glue, Sour Chem and Sunset Mango. The dispensary in the former Bank of Hawaii branch building at 727 Kapahulu Ave. said there was heavy demand for indica, sativa and hybrid flower strains as well as tinctures and lozenges, which sold out shortly after opening. The 5,434-square-foot building has had a major makeover with a high-tech, 2,400-square-foot open lobby and dispensing area with two private consultation booths and large electronic tablet stations where customers can browse through information and choose from a variety of strains. Patients are also able to register and order products online before coming into the dispensary. [continues 136 words]
LIHUE - Kauai police have seen an increase in the use of black tar heroin over the last two years. The Kauai Police Department seized less than a gram of black tar heroin in 2015. But in 2017, the department seized a total of 526 grams, the Garden Island reported Sunday. The department has already amassed 80.8 grams this year, said Bryson Ponce, Kauai Police Department's Investigative Services Bureau assistant chief. Ponce said the increase is a serious concern because heroin use is linked to violent crime. [continues 232 words]
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors won't take on small-time marijuana cases, despite the Justice Department's decision to lift an Obama-era policy that discouraged U.S. authorities from cracking down on the pot trade in states where the drug is legal, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said today. Federal law enforcement lacks the resources to take on "routine cases" and will continue to focus on drug gangs and larger conspiracies, Sessions said. The comments come after the Trump administration in January threw the burgeoning marijuana legalization movement into uncertainty by reversing the largely hands-off approach that prevailed during the Obama administration, saying federal prosecutors should instead handle marijuana cases however they see fit. [continues 236 words]
The state Narcotics Enforcement Division is investigating allegations of illegal activity at last weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo, where some vendors openly distributed cannabis seeds and other products. Most of the more than 100 vendors, including all three of Oahu's legal medical marijuana dispensaries, were not distributing products illegally. But some were straddling the line of recreational use - including a number of exhibitors "giving away" seeds by donation. The state Department of Health notified the attorney general's office and law enforcement about possible illegal sales at the event and is "concerned about the allegations," DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo said. [continues 809 words]
Hydroponic systems to grow your own pot, an on-site bud trimming school and hand-blown glass pipe demonstrations are among the mix of exhibitors at this weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo. Drew Gennuso, owner of Trim Ready Hawaii, showed Ari Medina how to trim legal hemp, which looks like cannabis, Friday at the Hawaii Cannabis Expo at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Hydroponic systems to grow your own pot, an on-site bud trimming school and hand-blown glass pipe demonstrations are among the mix of exhibitors at this weekend's Hawaii Cannabis Expo. [continues 767 words]
It only seemed appropriate that a long-distance phone call to Cheech Marin would go awry, repeatedly getting dropped. Hearing each other say, "Hello, hello, are you there?" back and forth was like reliving the famous "Dave's not here" routine of Cheech & Chong, where a stoned-out Chong keeps telling anxiety-ridden drug dealer Dave (Cheech) knocking on the door that "Dave's not here." Cheech Marin, left, and Tommy Chong at the 2014 Guys Choice Awards in Cheech, though, knew better than to simply blame cellphone technology. [continues 1192 words]
"Merely having a medical marijuana card doesn't mean you're using marijuana. We can't prove you're using marijuana. Our practice of having them turn in their firearms was incorrect," Honolulu police Chief Susan Ballard said of her department's controversial policy requiring medical marijuana patients to relinquish their guns. Honolulu police Chief Susan Ballard said her department's controversial policy requiring medical marijuana patients to relinquish their guns was wrong. "It is not illegal to possess the ones you already have," Ballard told the Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday. "Merely having a medical marijuana card doesn't mean you're using marijuana. We can't prove you're using marijuana. Our practice of having them turn in their firearms was incorrect." [continues 344 words]
The Honolulu Police Department is reviewing a controversial policy that requires legal marijuana patients to turn in their firearms. The reconsideration follows community backlash since the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported earlier this week that HPD has sent letters to at least 30 medical cannabis users who are permitted gun owners telling them to surrender their firearms. The new police chief, Susan Ballard, hasn't said what her position is on the issue. HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said Ballard is reviewing the policy. [continues 551 words]
The Honolulu Police Department will not enforce a controversial policy requiring legal marijuana patients to turn in their guns. The department issued a notice Tuesday, saying it is consulting with other governmental agencies, as well as reviewing recent court rulings regarding the issue. HPD said it will, however, continue to deny new firearm permits to applicants with medical marijuana cards. "This is a new area of concern for cities across the country, and we in Honolulu want to develop a policy that's legally sound and serves our community," HPD Chief Susan Ballard said in a news release. "Formulating the policy will take time, but we want to do it right." [continues 60 words]
Dozens of patients anxiously stood in line - one as early as the night before - to be the first on Oahu to buy products such as Chocolope and Lemon Drop, medical marijuana strains that went on sale Wednesday. "It's like a candy store," said Kimbreley Timulty, 45, who was among the first to purchase pot at Aloha Green LLC. "It was overwhelming because you walk in there and that's the only thing that you smell." Timulty, who uses marijuana for insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder, and her 47-year-old husband, Joseph, from Makiki, said they have been waiting 17 years for medicinal pot to be readily available in Hawaii. [continues 562 words]
