SACRAMENTO - When it comes to real political change, the people almost always are light years ahead of the politicians, most of whom are so worried about re-election that they take only carefully crafted positions that appeal to their core constituencies. If anything, the general election reaffirmed the big-government status quo, but there was one good sign from the national results, as voters in Washington and Colorado passed, with strong majorities, measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Voters ignored the hysteria of Republican and Democratic politicians and did the right thing. [continues 918 words]
Possible Federal Sentence of 10 Years to Life for Selling Medical Pot Unduly Harsh, Given Trend ERSTWHILE medical marijuana purveyor Aaron Sandusky of Rancho Cucamonga must have noted the irony as he cooled his heels in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 6. It was Election Day, when Colorado and Washington state voters made their states the first to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, when Massachusetts became the 18th state to legalize marijuana for medical use, and when voters in Needles voted overwhelmingly to tax medical marijuana dispensaries in their city on the eastern edge of San Bernardino County. [continues 405 words]
Marijuana is an illegal substance because the government claims marijuana is a threat. However, there has not been a single death related to marijuana, and it should be legalized. Alcohol is legal and proven to be more addictive than marijuana. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports numerous alcohol-related deaths annually. Another reason marijuana is illegal is because the government categorizes it in the same class of drugs as heroin and PCP. Pharmaceutical companies play a big role in the politics of keeping marijuana illegal. Furthermore, I strongly agree that patients should be able to use marijuana for their pain and nausea management. [continues 107 words]
Rancho Cucamonga resident and erstwhile medical marijuana purveyor Aaron Sandusky must have noted the irony as he cooled his heels in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 6. It was Election Day, when Colorado and Washington state voters made their states the first to legalize the recreational use of marijuana; when Massachusetts became the 18th state to legalize marijuana for medical use, and when voters in Needles voted overwhelmingly to tax medical marijuana dispensaries in their city on the eastern edge of San Bernardino County. [continues 478 words]
SACRAMENTO - When it comes to real political change, the people almost always are light years ahead of the politicians, most of whom are so worried about re-election that they take only carefully crafted positions that appeal to their core constituencies. If anything, the general election reaffirmed the big-government status quo, but there was one good sign from the national results, as voters in Washington and Colorado passed, with strong majorities, measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Voters ignored the hysteria of Republican and Democratic politicians and did the right thing. [continues 913 words]
To the Editor: Murder, home invasion, robbery, burglary, assault, battery, coercion, tax evasion, and medical malpractice. These crimes seem to be on an increase in Mendocino County. Lesser crimes that also seem to be on the increase include panhandling, DUIs, camping in public places, and child endangerment/child abandonment. Not classified as crimes, suicide, family alienation, community discord. While proponents of the marijuana initiative may have presented a hazy truth, I really find it hard to believe that the cultivation, processing, transportation, and consumption of marijuana is a victimless crime. I also believe that, because of the relaxed attitude toward marijuana, other drug manufacture, transportation, and consumption is on the increase. [continues 340 words]
California Entrepreneurs See It As a Growth Industry Tony Aquino, 58, is a self-described "one-per-center" who has bought and sold more than 30 Southern California properties from the coast to the desert. Walter Jimenez, 29, is a short-order cook and air-conditioning installer. They're joined by a common interest: California's latest gold rush, medical marijuana. The investor and the cook shrug off U.S. federal crackdowns in an industry valued at $1.3 billion by the California Board of Equalization, the state's tax collector. They joined more than 30 people who paid Los Angeles-based Med Men University $100 to $250 for one-day courses on how to cash in as "bud tenders" and dispensary operators. Since California first legalized marijuana for medical treatment of diseases such as cancer under a "compassionate use" law in 1996, the practice has spread to 17 other U.S. states. This month, Massachusetts became the latest, while Colorado and Washington state went further, approving recreational use. There's nothing but growth ahead, said Adam Bierman, Med Men's co-founder. [continues 260 words]
In the midst of rapid cultural and technological change, there isn't much that has stayed the same since the 1960s. Marijuana use among youth and the research practices to study its effects on the brain are no exception. Current methods to study the drug's influence on adolescents are allowing health professionals and researchers the ability to understand its impacts. Researchers at the University of California San Diego find that youth may be more susceptible than adults to marijuana's neurological effects because young people's brains are still developing. They discovered that among adolescents, marijuana use is associated with verbal learning disadvantages, attention problems, short-term memory loss, difficulty with problem-solving and trouble exercising inhibition. The studies also show that youth marijuana users require more brain-processing power to complete tasks than nonusers. The studies utilize functional magnetic resonance imaging that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow, allowing researchers to study varying patterns in the brain when tests are given to those using marijuana and those who do not. [continues 556 words]
Marijuana Is Still Eco-Unfriendly, Despite Rise in Support Though public support for the recreational use of marijuana is reportedly on the rise, pot cultivation and distribution remains detrimental to the environment. Pot presents a host of environmental issues including high energy costs for indoor growing, irresponsible forest clearing, illegal stream diversions, and fertilizer and pesticide runoff that can kill wildlife and stimulate blue-green algae blooms, according to Grist. And that's not to mention the high cost of transportation-most reefer is shipped hundreds of miles from production to customer. Some experts believe many growers in Colorado and Washington-both of which voted recently to legalize recreational marijuana use-will opt to cultivate indoors even during summer months, to avoid prosecution by the Federal Drug Administration. [end]
Re "Marijuana is legal!" by Ngaio Bealum (SN&R The 420, November 15): The voters of Colorado and Washington state have made it clear that the federal government can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not a public-health campaign. It's time for politicians to catch up with the people and end marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
I love your column-however, I need to make a small criticism of one "factoid." You said that buds in glass jars will retain their potency for a few months, but I've been curing with mason jars for more than a decade and have been able to keep the jars in my basement cellar for up to two years with no discernible change in potency. My question: With the coming ban on home cultivation in Sacramento, I'm thinking about doing a "safe-deposit box" concept, where friends could rent outdoor space, allowing them to cultivate in an area in rural Placerville. Would that work? [continues 476 words]
Federal authorities have subpoenaed financial records the county of Mendocino keeps regarding its medical marijuana ordinance, official sources confirmed. County officials confirmed Tuesday that a federal grand jury issued a subpoena to the Mendocino County Auditor-Controller's Office for records of funds paid to the county under its medical marijuana ordinance, County Code 9.31. The subpoena arrived in late October, according to one source. The reason for the request is unclear as local and federal officials remain quiet regarding the subpoena. [continues 192 words]
Following a statewide trend, the Sacramento City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night outlawing the outdoor cultivation of medicinal marijuana in residential neighborhoods. After nearly an hour of testimony, the council followed through on a vote last month signaling its intent to join Elk Grove and other cities around California that are placing tighter restrictions on marijuana cultivation. The council voted 6-2 to enact the ban. Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy, the chief proponent of the ban, said outdoor cultivation had led to crime and fear in her northern Sacramento district. [continues 318 words]
California officials are warning against "drugged driving " after a statewide survey found drugs that can affect driving in one of every seven weekend nighttime motorists - nearly twice the number of those with alcohol in their system. The survey results, announced Monday by the California Office of Traffic Safety, found that 14% of drivers surveyed tested positive for driving under the inf luence of impairing drugs - both illegal and prescription - and 7.3% of drivers tested positive for driving with alcohol in their system. [continues 144 words]
The arguments claiming that decriminalizing marijuana will end the influence of Mexican drug cartels and bring in billions of dollars in tax revenue are incessantly echoed in America - and both were strategically used this year to successfully convince voters to legalize the drug in Washington and Colorado. Students, especially, have been quick to embrace these arguments and are at the forefront of the movement to end the prohibition of marijuana. Young adults ages 18 to 29 are twice as likely to favor legalization than adults over 60, according to a 2011 Gallup poll. [continues 582 words]
Northtown Books welcomes Martin A. Lee to talk about his new book Smoke Signals, a groundbreaking social history of cannabis on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. A panoramic, character-driven narrative that explains why marijuana affects so many aspects of American life, Smoke Signals chronicles the development of a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and grew into a widespread populist revolt against prohibition. The great leap forward came in 1996, when California voters shocked the political and medical establishments by passing Proposition 215, which authorized doctors to approve marijuana use by patients. Similar laws have since been enacted in 16 other states and the District of Columbia. [continues 169 words]
Though it may seem the dust has barely settled from California's failed effort in 2010 to legalize marijuana under Proposition 19, the winds of change may be blowing here again, this time from the north. Washington state voters, along with those in Colorado, have voted to legalize marijuana for adult use and to regulate within state borders production, transportation and sales. We plan to capture much-needed revenue while moving from a law enforcement model to a public health approach, emphasizing treatment and education over handcuffs and jail. [continues 473 words]
MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND STATES RIGHTS: POT DISPENSARY OWNER FACES 10 YEARS IN JAIL FOR VIOLATING FEDERAL LAWS While Aaron Sandusky and his supporters contend he committed no crime under California state law, he stands to spend many years - and possibly the rest of his life - behind bars. Sandusky was president of Upland-based G3 Holistic, a medical marijuana dispensary, which in California, is legal. In October, however, he was convicted in federal court of eight counts related to growing, possessing and intending to sell marijuana for profit. [continues 1842 words]
In October 2010, with a quixotic marijuana initiative leading in California polls, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder answered an urgent letter from retired heads of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. "Let me state clearly that the Department of Justice strongly opposes Proposition 19," Holder wrote, declaring he would "vigorously enforce" federal law if California voters passed the measure, which would have legalized recreational marijuana use for adults over 21 and allowed retail sales of pot. This year, Holder notably declined to respond as the retired DEA administrators sent him another anxious letter expressing opposition to marijuana legalization efforts. This time, voters in two states, Washington and Colorado, voted 55 percent to 45 percent to legalize marijuana beyond medical use, upping the stakes in America's marijuana debate. [continues 801 words]
Inside California
