WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Law enforcement officials in Kansas cannot stop and search motorists just for having out-of-state license plates from states that have legalized marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit filed by a Colorado motorist, Peter Vasquez, against two Kansas Highway Patrol officers who pulled him over and searched his vehicle as he was driving alone at night through Kansas on his way to Maryland. The KHP officers, Richard Jimerson and Dax Lewis, stopped Vasquez when they could not read the temporary tag taped to the inside of the car's tinted rear window. The officers contended they were justified in searching the vehicle because Vasquez was a citizen of Colorado driving on I-70, a "known drug corridor," in a recently purchased, older-model car. They said he also seemed nervous. [continues 149 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Supporters of a California initiative to legalize recreational marijuana filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing opponents of including false and misleading language in official ballot materials. The Yes on Proposition 64 committee sued in Sacramento County Superior Court, asking a judge to change or delete several arguments that opponents make against the measure on the November ballot. The lawsuit objects to opponents' claims about television advertising and arguments that the measure would undo consumer protections that Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law. [continues 65 words]
It sounds like a pothead's nirvana. California voters legalize recreational marijuana in November and the good times start rolling. Life can't get better, right? Enjoy a joint or two, get the munchies, and call for pizza delivery. Sounds sweet except for one little problem. In time - as things stand now - it is highly likely that a lot of pizza places will stop delivering pizza or else jack up the price. That's because passage of recreational marijuana in November will eventually trigger more random drug tests. [continues 794 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Motorists are being convicted of driving under the influence of marijuana based on arbitrary state standards that have no connection to whether the driver was actually impaired, says a study by the nation's largest auto club. The problem is only growing as more states contemplate legalizing the drug. At least three, and possibly as many as 11 states, will vote this fall on ballot measures to legalize marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, or both. Legislation to legalize the drug has also been introduced in a half dozen states. [continues 712 words]
NEW YORK (AP) - Across the United States, heroin and other drug users have died in alleys behind convenience stores, on city sidewalks and in the bathrooms of fast-food joints - because no one was around to save them when they overdosed. An alarming 47,000 American overdose deaths in 2014 has pushed elected leaders from coast to coast to consider government-sanctioned sites where heroin users can shoot up under the supervision of a doctor or nurse who can administer an antidote if necessary. [continues 683 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An experimental epilepsy drug made from cannabis plants grown in England is complicating the medical marijuana debate in hospitals and statehouses. Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, or CBD, with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gets traditional pot users high. CBD products are the current rage in medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex manages to get FDA approval it could undercut the political momentum of the medical marijuana movement. [continues 174 words]
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut marijuana bust has turned into a potential precedent-setting case on whether apartment and condo dwellers have the same rights as house owners when it comes to police using drug-sniffing dogs outside their homes. The state Supreme Court on Wednesday is scheduled to hear arguments in the case of Dennis Kono, who was arrested in 2012 after a police dog deployed without a warrant in a condo building hallway in Berlin smelled marijuana near his door. Berlin police then obtained a search warrant for Kono's condo and found several small marijuana plants, seeds, growing equipment and firearms. [continues 165 words]
SACRAMENTO (AP) - When the California Legislature passed the state's first comprehensive medical marijuana regulations in September, pot advocates hoped the move heralded a new era of trust in their often-tumultuous relationship with wary local officials and police. So far, it hasn't turned out that way. Facing what appears to be a rapidly closing window for action, dozens of cities and counties from across California are racing to enact new bans on marijuana-growing. Some apply only to commercial cultivation, both indoor and outdoor, but many would also prohibit personal pot gardens that have been legal - or at least overlooked - for 19 years. [continues 314 words]
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A federal judge ruled Friday that Iowa State University administrators violated the constitutional free speech rights of student members of a pro-marijuana group by barring them from using the university logos on T-shirts. U.S. District Judge James Gritzner issued an order granting members of the ISU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws a permanent injunction which means university administrators cannot use a trademark policy to prevent the organization from printing shirts depicting a marijuana leaf. [continues 144 words]
90% of $15.6m of Pot Seized in 2015 Was Headed to Dispensaries The lawn isn't well-kept - it's manicured. The same goes for shrubs and flowers. As far as the house itself, the outside is in pristine model condition. What looks like a well-cared for McMansion in a Manteca or Lathrop neighborhood is sometimes a front for a burgeoning black market business - growing pot to supply Bay Area medicinal marijuana dispensaries. "About 90 percent of the large grows (seized) last year in Manteca were for dispensaries," noted Manteca Police Sgt. Chris Mraz. [continues 992 words]
Growing marijuana under any circumstances is now illegal in Lathrop. The Lathrop City Council on Monday voted 4-1 with councilman Omar Ornelas dissenting - to approve a resolution that will make it a crime to cultivate any marijuana, indoor or outdoor, within the limits even if the person is a licensed California medical marijuana cardholder. The item was requested by the council for review and is partially in response to recent amended California law that restricts the square footage that individual cardholders can use to grow marijuana - limiting the space down to 100 square-feet for individuals and up to 500 square-feet for a small cooperative of five people or less. [continues 742 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A caped green superhero stumping for marijuana legalization votes at college campuses and bars in Ohio has sparked debate over its impact on children. "Buddie" is a fuzzy, eversmiling pot bud in a bulging white muscle suit with green trunks, gloves and boots. He arrives in a truck painted with marijuana leaves declaring: "Yes on legalization." Children's health advocates opposed to legalization said Buddie is reminiscent of Joe Camel, the cartoon dromedary proven so effective at marketing cigarettes to teenagers in the 1990s that R.J. Reynolds was forced to retire his image. They said the pot mascot makes light of a dangerous illegal drug in a manner appealing to kids. [continues 303 words]
Likely Legalization Vote Prompts Action on Medical Industry SACRAMENTO (AP) - The likelihood that California voters will be asked to legalize recreational marijuana next year is prompting lawmakers to make a serious run at reining in the state's vast medical marijuana industry - a job they have deferred for nearly two decades. A pair of bills pending in the California Legislature would create the first statewide regulations for medical marijuana growers, manufacturers of pot-infused products, and distributors such as storefront dispensaries and delivery services. [continues 607 words]
With marijuana prohibition finally ending in states and cities across the land - including full legalization in Alaska, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. - who could be better than my friend Willie Nelson to lead the way for weed quality and social responsibility? The iconic musician and intrepid fighter for justice has announced that he'll market his own marijuana brand, "Willie's Reserve," and open a group of stores selling top-quality pot and paraphernalia. "I feel like I was buying so much of it, it's time to start selling it back," Willie said of his new weed venture. "I am looking forward to working with the best growers in Colorado and Washington to make sure our product is the best on the market." [continues 171 words]
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon television anchor has turned into a marijuana activist after being fired for testing positive for the drug. Cyd Maurer, a morning weekend anchor at Eugene's ABC affiliate KEZI-TV, said she was fired in May after getting into a minor accident while on assignment. In a video posted online, Maurer said that after the accident she was forced to take a drug test per company policy and failed it. Maurer, 25, said she was completely sober at work and had used the marijuana several days before. Studies show marijuana, unlike alcohol, can be detected in some people for days after use - or even weeks, in case of frequent users. [continues 139 words]
ATLANTA (AP) - A former Georgia deputy sheriff was indicted Wednesday on federal charges for her role in setting up a "no-knock" drug raid that severely injured a toddler when a flash grenade detonated in his playpen. Former Habersham County Deputy Nikki Autry, 29, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of providing false information in a search warrant affidavit, Acting U. S. Attorney John Horn said. Autry also is charged with providing false information to obtain an arrest warrant. [continues 93 words]
SANTA ANA (AP) - The Orange County district attorney's office has formed a special committee to review its use of jailhouse informants following misconduct allegations that have sidetracked some criminal cases. The committee of independent experts has begun looking into its practices and plans to release its recommendations by year's end, the DA's office announced Monday. The committee includes a retired Orange County judge, a former county Bar Association president, a retired Los Angeles County prosecutor and an ethics lawyer. A law school professor is a committee adviser. [continues 155 words]
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that will prevent doctors and hospitals from denying organ transplants to medical marijuana users just because of their pot use. The Democratic governor announced Monday that he signed AB258 by Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine of San Rafael. Supporters say some patients who use medical marijuana have been denied life-saving organ transplants because they are treated by doctors as drug abusers. Marijuana is often prescribed to cancer and other patients to help with pain and side effects of treatment. Levine's legislation ensures that medical marijuana users have the same right to access organ transplants as other patients by prohibiting a hospital or doctor from disqualifying a person solely because of medical marijuana use. [end]
OAKLAND (AP) - Members of a commission led by California's lieutenant governor said Tuesday that legalizing the recreational use of marijuana could generate enough tax revenue to fund drug education and counseling centers at every high school in the state, a potential upside that should be seriously considered as activists work to put a pot-legalization initiative before voters next year. Meeting at a youth center in a part of East Oakland scarred by violence, poverty and addiction, the panel held a public discussion on the issue that could make or break a legalization campaign in the nation's top pot-producing state: concerns about keeping the drug out of the hands of minors and young adults once it can be purchased as easily as a six-pack of beer. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the commission's chairman, acknowledged that crafting a system of retail sales and regulations that satisfies fearful parents will be a tough sell. [continues 398 words]
James Boles doesn't look like an undercover cop. That's kind of the idea. His hair is cropped short and his goatee is scraggly. He wears the band T-shirt and the jeans that you'd expect of a construction worker. His shoes bear the worn out soles of somebody that has spent a lot of time and a lot of miles walking up and down the streets chasing the dragon. Addicts talk about how the high never feels as good as it does the first time, and one quick glance at Boles and you see a guy who will do anything to get back to that place. If you passed him on the street you'd think that he was a guy who hadn't slept for two days. A tweaker. Or as one of his friends put it, somebody that "looks like s*." [continues 1389 words]
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The Assembly voted Thursday to make permanent a program that allows pharmacies to sell syringes to drug users as a way to prevent diseases spread by needle-sharing. AB1743 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, passed on a largely party-line, 43-26 vote and heads to the Senate. The bill also removes a 30-syringe limit, making California the 46th state to allow for bulk syringe sales. Ting's office estimates a 100-syringe box can cost about $30, while a single syringe is less than a dollar. [continues 366 words]
LATHROP - Barber poles let people know where they can get a trim. Red crosses on a building or a blue sign with a white H? That means that you're either at or nearing a hospital. So how about the green cross? Well, in Lathrop it really doesn't mean anything since the City Council decided on Monday on a 4-0 vote to outlaw medical marijuana collectives, cooperatives and dispensaries that have appropriated the symbol as an identifier after California allowed "compassionate use" with the passing of Proposition 215 in 1996. [continues 671 words]
LATHROP - It's like Redbox but for medical-grade pot. The patient swipes their card, selects their option, walks inside and gets their single gram of "medicine" without ever having to interact with a single person. And the City of Lathrop isn't quite ready for it. Despite an impassioned plea by a representative of a Tracy medical marijuana dispensary and a cooperative that operates a local deliver service, the Lathrop City Council voted 4-1 Monday night to enact a 45-day moratorium that will prevent a dispensary for opening in the community. [continues 553 words]
It was big news Monday when Attorney General Eric Holder told the American Bar Association in San Francisco, "Certain low-level nonviolent drug offenders who have no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels will no longer be charged with offenses that impose draconian mandatory minimum sentences." It was big news because the Obama administration finally looked to what it could do about racial disparities under federal jurisdiction - - instead of pointing at what others in the criminal justice system are doing wrong. [continues 425 words]
Ripon hopes to be among the California cities banning medicinal marijuana dispensaries. At Tuesday's Ripon City Council meeting, elected leaders will look at a first reading and review the introduction of such an ordinance during the 7 p.m. open session. The ordinance reads: "The Ripon Municipal Code to prohibit the establishment of and the operation of Medical Marijuana dispensaries, cooperatives and collectives in the City of Ripon." This ordinance also falls in line with the recent California Supreme Court ruling that gives cities and counties the right to band medical marijuana dispensaries within their borders, despite the existence of a state law that protects patients who use the drug. [continues 220 words]
Thanks so much for calling for marijuana to be classified like alcohol in your latest column. I hope you'll keep watching and covering this issue as the push for legalization heats up, and I thought you might be interested in hearing about a group of police, prosecutors and judges who are pushing in favor of legalization. These members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) fought on the front lines of the war on drugs, witnessing how prohibition only serves to make substance abuse and market violence problems worse. Now, they are actively working to change the debate on drug policy issues so that more voters understand that continuing to keep marijuana illegal harms public safety, not protects it. [continues 358 words]
San Joaquin County is a trendsetter when it comes to crime and non-punishment in California. The county jail was severely overcrowded long before the state lost the judicial lottery and was ordered by the nation's highest court to release 33,000 prisoners by 2013. Catch and release replaced catch and incarcerate years ago for a repertoire of serious misdemeanors as well as low-level felonies in San Joaquin County. In such cases unless you had previously ignored an order from a judge you were just cited when caught and then sent on your merry way. [continues 485 words]
Allow me to state that I am anti-drug use but I believe we are going about it the wrong way. I believe a pragmatic approach is what is needed. Dennis Wyatt's analysis ("California could make Mexican drug cartels bolder" - July 31) of the Mexican drug cartels is well done but only deals with the current situation. I believe we need to change the playing field. His first point is that the cartels that control multi-billion of dollars won't go quietly into the night. I agree that they won't if they have a choice and profits are what give them a choice. The partial legalization of marijuana protects the drug cartels by restricting the supply. Restricting the supply drives the price up and increases the profits. Lets look at this issue from the cartels point of view. [continues 487 words]
The war, as they say, is going badly. This week's massive marijuana raid in the Mendocino National Forest is a clear indicator we're in deep trouble. Legalizing marijuana isn't going to do the trick and reduce crime. Fifty massive grow gardens raided were clearly not for medicinal purposes. There is strong evidence tying them into the Mexican drug cartels. California National Guard troops joined federal and local enforcement agencies as well as the Forest Service. The heavily armed presence was in response to the fact many of these grow gardens have armed guards. And they are confronting anyone who comes near them including hikers. [continues 403 words]
I'm all for legalizing drugs - with just a couple of conditions. First, they are free to anyone who wants them. They must use them, though, in specially created drug dens on federal government land in the middle of nowhere in Nevada preferably near the nuclear waste depository site. When they enter the drug den they sign an agreement that they cannot leave until they are sober. Before they are issued their first free drugs at the drug den, they must sign an affidavit waving any right to free public health care to treat illnesses directly related to drug use. [continues 740 words]
Maggie Gutierrez was concerned that Manteca's new laws restricting marijuana use would make it illegal for her husband to get the only "medicine" that has been effective at easing pain from a severe back injury that used to keep him bed ridden. Larry Teunissen was worried that the new city laws would make it impossible to grow medicinal marijuana in his back yard. City leaders Tuesday assured those who are complying with Proposition 215 won't be impacted with Manteca's move to prohibit pot dispensaries from opening up within the city limits as well as rules designed to prevent medicinal marijuana growers form becoming victims of criminals when they grow their own pot. [continues 485 words]
Regarding Dennis Wyatt's April 17 column ("Manteca's move to force medical pot growers inside"): Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should be regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. [continues 67 words]
Manteca leaders are about to make two things clear - there will be absolutely no pot dispensaries allowed in the city and they will restrict the growing of marijuana for personal use to the fullest extent of the law. The City Council on Tuesday will consider a sweeping ordinance that will just say no to pot dispensaries and impose specific guidelines on those individuals that have legal medical identification cards and primary caregivers on how marijuana may be grown. The ordinance being pondered on Tuesday when the council meets at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St., will: [continues 356 words]
Is it reasonable to require those who are legally growing marijuana for legitimate medicinal purposes to do so inside a closed structure or face prosecution? Not according to some detractors who believe the proposal before the Manteca City Council Tuesday is against court decisions and Proposition 215. They contend it is infringing on their freedom. For starters, municipalities are empowered by Senate Bill 420 that passed in the aftermath of Proposition 215 to adopt such restrictions. Proposition 215 wasn't a free-for-all nor did it actually allow for pot dispensaries where you could go purchase marijuana. It was broadly written. Senate Bill 420 was adopted by the California Legislature to clear up confusion as Proposition 215 did not specify how qualified medical patients that couldn't cultivate their own would obtain pot nor did it say how much pot could be grown for medicinal purposes. The subsequent law set a ceiling of six mature plants for anyone with a legitimate doctor's note for the use of marijuana or to have at any time as much as eight ounces of weed that could be obtained from a patients' cooperative or collective. A subsequent court ruling said such limits weren't legal due to voters not specifying any in Proposition 215. That since has been challenged by the state. [continues 623 words]
A temporary restraining order barring Quick N' East Markets from selling marijuana in downtown Manteca has been extended for 90 days. San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Lesley Holland Wednesday extended her original temporary restraining order that was due to expire on Thursday to allow both sides to prepare arguments at a later date on whether she should issue a permanent injunction. The extension came on the same day that the Secretary of State confirmed that a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older had qualified for the November ballot. Currently, it is legal in California to use pot for medicinal purposes providing one has a doctor's prescription. The current law as outlined in Proposition 215, though, give discretion to the cities and counties as to whether they will allow so-called marijuana clubs. [continues 312 words]
Richard Norris, 36, wants to create a non-profit marijuana dispensary in Manteca saying he can bring in funds for police, fire, and the small businesses he sees struggling in the down economy. Norris promises to be at the Manteca City Council meeting tonight to make his pitch in the three-minute time frame members of the public are allotted when they are not listed on the agenda. He said he is continuing to use that format to get the council members to see his side of the issue. [continues 471 words]
Call It Reefer Madness. Oakland voters on Tuesday created a business-tax category for the selling of pot from store front operations. The pot clubs that under California law are licensed to sell pot for medicinal purposes were paying $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts. Since passage of Measure F, that tax rate will jump to $18 per $1,000 of sales. Backers of legalizing marijuana applauded the move as it adds to the effort to legalize pot. There is one slight problem with all of this. If doctors are prescribing marijuana for medical reasons, then how can it be taxed? Prescription drugs are exempt from taxes. Marijuana is a drug and if a doctor is writing out a note allowing a patient to legally buy it then it is a prescription as well. [continues 580 words]
Editor, Manteca Bulletin, You recently wrote a column for the Manteca Bulletin titled, "Hey, man, like tax me, like a lot, like now". I'll abstain from attempting to criticize this tired, dated "impersonation" of what you deem marijuana smokers to sound and think like, because doing so would be participating in said (untrue) cliche. After all, abstinence works, right? I couldn't help but notice that while you claim that MPP's ad is "empirical evidence" that marijuana destroys brain cells, you didn't actually refute the statement made in the ad that the taxes collected from regulating marijuana would pay the salaries of 20,000 teachers. You simply said it was stupid. This is a familiar tactic of those who continue to support the prohibition of marijuana: citing no credible facts whatsoever and, instead, relying on many people's assumption that marijuana is dangerous. Loren Poin Manteca July 10, 2009 [end]
Editor, Manteca Bulletin, Excess is death and moderation is life. Really Dennis, your anti-Berkeley bias (Dennis Wyatt's July 10 column: "Hey man, like tax me, like a lot, like now") is shooting your professional journalistic integrity right out of the saddle! Is this not a free society? Nothing that isn't overtly dangerous should be made arbitrarily illegal. No commonly used herb, commodity or comestible should be denied to any free adult in America. We are free to choose, as individual adults, what, how much and how often we may indulge in. After all it's not marijuana that's harmful per se; but the habitual over-use of it can have a dulling effect on the mind. Just like alcohol, marijuana should be regulated and taxed because, unlike alcohol, there are no documented incidents of death caused by marijuana use. That's right, zero direct fatalities! [continues 192 words]
Want proof positive that marijuana causes brain damage? The Marijuana Policy Project has put together a 30-second commercial urging folks up in Sacramento to legalize pot. That by itself would simply mean they hold a different opinion than many people have about whether marijuana should be accepted and has no serious side effects. It isn't until you see the commercial you realize that marijuana obviously kills off brain cells. It starts with a woman going into detail about the California state budget mess. Then she delivers the line that is empirical evidence that pot use dulls the senses - well, at least, common sense. The line? "The governor and legislature are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes - we're marijuana users. Taxes from California marijuana users could pay the salaries of 20,000 teachers." [continues 490 words]
Tom Ammiano is pushing a bill in the Assembly to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California. It would be easy to dismiss this as an opportunistic move by a San Francisco liberal to use the state's current budget crisis as the gateway, so to speak, to legalize pot by proclaiming it could raise billions of dollars in additional tax money every year. An analysis predicts a $50 an ounce tax would generate $1.3 billion year in new state taxes, drop its street value by 50 percent and increase consumption by 40 percent. There are some people, though, who argue Ammiano is all wet about the 40 percent jump in consumption since pot is so readily available right now that they don't expect much of a jump. [continues 764 words]
The Manteca Unified School District through health services will once again recognize Nation Ribbon Week. Beginning Monday, several of the kindergarten-through eighth-grade sites have made the following plans: Veritas The message at the district's newest campus says it all: "Veritas Vipers, Sssay no to Drugsss." The school located south of the Highway 120 Bypass will kick off the week Monday with an assembly, allowing students to make their drug-free pledge. On Tuesday, Oct. 25, students could "Team Up Against Drugs" by wearing sports jerseys of their choice. [continues 810 words]
It could be illegal 45 days to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Manteca for at least 45 days. The City Council is considering the adoption Tuesday of an urgency interim zoning ordinance outlawing operations that dispense medical marijuana in Manteca. If Manteca doesn't adopt the urgency measure during the 7 p.m. meeting at the Civic Center, there would be nothing stopping anyone from opening a medical marijuana operation next to a church, school or a park. Police Chief Charlie Halford believes there is a serious risk to public safety and health if the prohibition isn't adopted and implemented immediately. [continues 111 words]
