In Federal Court, There's No Such Thing as Medical Marijuana-So a Rural Family of Medical Marijuana Patients Is Being Treated Like Drug Traffickers

Before Rhonda Firestack-Harvey was part of a nationally watched court case that could change the course of the federal drug war, she lived quietly with her husband in their modest double-wide mobile home two hours northwest of Spokane.

Rhonda suffers from carpal tunnel and osteoarthritis. In 2011, she got a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for her achy joints. Her husband, Larry, also got medical authorization to use marijuana to treat pain caused by gout. Washington State was one of the very first states to approve medical marijuana, way back in 1998, and under state law, medical marijuana patients are allowed to grow their own medicine. When Rhonda and Larry started a grow on their property, Larry posted a sign with a green cross on it near the plants, hoping it would communicate to anyone flying over that this was a medical grow, not a criminal operation.

[continues 2240 words]

At 76, the pater familias of the legalization movement won't slow down.

I'll be honest. My expectations about a press conference with Tommy Chong, of the famous stoner duo Cheech & Chong, were that there would be some cliched humor, some pantomimed puffing, and photo ops galore for hippies of a bygone era. And there was some of that. But there was also something I didn't expect: a fresh perspective on the new pot movement.

The reason Tommy Chong matters-and the reason I'm writing about his recent visit to Seattle's CannaCon-is that each and every time there's a mention of legalization or the counterculture or pot smoking, there's inevitably a reference to Cheech & Chong. Even if the name is never spoken, a haze of Cheech & Chong wafts through the mind. (See?!)

[continues 726 words]

When it comes to marijuana, Washington comes off as the granny state of recreational pot when compared with Colorado. Let's face it, the rollout here has been glacial.

As of last week, Seattle had just nine state-licensed stores. Nine.

But change is coming to this state's nascent marijuana experiment. A major player is poised to enter the market.

Some of this state's most business-savvy Native American tribes are evaluating the risks and opportunity to grow or sell marijuana, as well as the relatively untapped potential in medical-marijuana research.

[continues 654 words]

The fate of three people accused of growing and dealing marijuana out of their rural Stevens County home will soon be in the hands of a federal jury.

Those 12 people may also decide the future of federal prosecutions targeting marijuana growers.

A Washington, D.C., civil rights attorney representing Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, Rolland Gregg and Michelle Gregg made an impassioned plea to jurors Monday afternoon to throw out what he called an "overzealous, overreaching" case built by federal prosecutors.

"They roped in this innocent family," said Phil Tefleyan, who has taken the lead in the trial of the so-called "Kettle Falls Five," which is now down to three. They face drug and firearms charges that carry mandatory prison sentences of more than a decade.

[continues 552 words]

SPOKANE - Federal prosecutors in Spokane are trying to convince a jury that a cancerstricken man and his family were illegally growing and distributing marijuana on their northeastern Washington property despite claims by the "Kettle Falls Five" that they were instead raising legal medical cannabis for their personal use.

The case against Larry Harvey's family has become a cause celebre among the marijuana community, which sees it as a disconnect between state and federal marijuana laws. Washington state last summer allowed legal recreational sales, although the raid on the Harvey home happened in August 2012. And Congress late last year effectively barred the Justice Department from interfering with states that have medical marijuana systems.

[continues 203 words]

Representatives Attend Forum on Regulatory, Social Issues

TULALIP, Wash. (AP) - The Justice Department's announcement in December that it would allow the nation's Indian tribes to legalize and regulate marijuana on their reservations brought notes of caution if not silence or opposition from many tribes.

They were reluctant given the substance-abuse problems that already plague many reservations.

But the attendance at a conference on the topic Friday gave an early indication of just how many might be weighing it, even if a thicket of potential legal issues remain.

[continues 619 words]

Wine Approach

Some in the Pot Industry Dream of Vineyard-Like Tours, but Some See Limits to That Comparison.

Jill Lane, master grower at Sky High Gardens on Seattle's Harbor Island, uncaps jar after jar of golf-ball-size marijuana buds and allows her guests sniffs of Bubblicious, Super Silver Goo and Green Crack.

"What kind of high is that?" asks Louise Avery, gesturing to one of the jars.

"This is for daytime: taking a hike. Beach volleyball," explains Lane to the group of visitors with Kush Tourism, a Seattle-based cannabis company. Lane continues describing strains as if the visitors surrounding the table were middle-age women in a Yankee Candle store.

[continues 1408 words]

TULALIP, Wash. - The Justice Department's December announcement that it would allow the nation's Indian tribes to legalize and regulate marijuana on their reservations brought notes of caution - if not silence or opposition - from many tribes.

They were reluctant to consider it given the substance abuse problems that already plague many reservations.

But the attendance at a conference on the topic Friday gave an early indication of just how many might be weighing it.

Representatives of about 75 tribes from around the country converged on the Tulalip Indian Tribe's resort and casino for a $605-a-head seminar on the regulatory, legal and social issues related to pot legalization.

That's a small fraction of the nation's 566 recognized tribes, and many of the attendees were from smaller tribes looking for a potential economic edge.

[end]

First Such Gathering

Event Offered Debate and Education on Merits of Legalization

Hundreds of tribal leaders, lawyers and marijuana-industry representatives gathered in Tulalip on Friday for the nation's first tribal marijuana conference, an event that served as much as a policy debate on the merits of legalization as it did an educational session.

More than 60 tribes from at least 25 states were represented, said Erica Curnutte, who organized the event.

Publicly, tribes have been wary of entering the marijuana market after the Department of Justice released a policy memo saying tribes could grow and sell marijuana.

[continues 620 words]

State Forecast

Much Cheaper Prices of Illegal Suppliers Could Lure Medical Users

OLYMPIA - Black-market marijuana costs a third as much as its state-sanctioned counterpart, and two-thirds of medical-marijuana users could head there instead of a newly regulated medical system, according to state estimates.

The analysis from the state Department of Revenue comes as lawmakers wrestle with how to regulate medical-marijuana shops and products in a way similar to the recreational system voters approved in 2012. The numbers outline the difficulty legislators will face in bringing all marijuana use into a state-controlled system.

[continues 537 words]

Several Tribes Will Discuss This Weekend Whether They Want to Get into the Cannabiz.

It should be noted that I'm not exactly a shill for the marijuana industry. (Though product samples can be dropped off at the Weekly offices: make sure to mark packages "Legal Marijuana" lest they be confiscated by the federal post office.) That said, when there's positive news related to cannabis, given my predilection for smoking the stuff, I have every intention of highlighting the study, report, innovation, or miracle cure-if only to counter the hundred years of Reefer Madness propaganda that came before. (They did have cool posters . . . ) With that pot-infused preamble in place, it's time for a joke:

[continues 727 words]

One Grower Says Regulations, Taxes and a Volatile Market Are Making the New Marijuana "Green Economy" Just a Pipe Dream So Far.

ARLINGTON - The farm near here looks much like its rural neighbors on Highway 9. But this one is under 24-hour surveillance.

Signs outside a house and two buildings warn that guns and children are not allowed. As one approaches the locked doors of the operation, there is a faint smell of marijuana.

Inside, about a dozen workers grow and harvest plants, package dry leaves and buds and prepare it for sale on the state's newly legal recreational marijuana market. The agricultural part of the operation is backed by a sophisticated business that is navigating a labyrinth of regulations, changing rules and nervous neighbors.

[continues 1451 words]

Man With Pancreatic Cancer Won't Face Charges, but Friend, Family Members Not Off Hook

SPOKANE (AP) - The Justice Department has dropped its case against a 71-year-old man charged in a northeastern Washington marijuana bust because he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Larry Harvey faced federal charges - as did his wife, two other relatives and a family friend - after they were caught two years ago growing about 70 pot plants on their rural, mountainous property near Kettle Falls. Harvey said he used the marijuana to ease pain from gout, but the government argued that the family's operation did not comply with the state's medical marijuana law, and marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

[continues 332 words]

You may like technology ( who doesn't these days?) or the energy sector ( where would we be without it?) - but if you're making a longterm bet as an investor, there's a lot going for Big Tobacco.

It's not just that tobacco boasts the best historical performance of allU. S. industries. The industry's future seems especially bright. As marijuana gradually becomes a legal drug, Big Tobacco is poised to dominate the market.

According to the 2015 edition of Credit Suisse's Global Investment Returns Yearbook, a dollar invested in tobacco in 1900 would have turned into $ 6.3 million by the end of 2014, by far the best performance of all the industries that existed at the start of the 20th century.

[continues 549 words]

We should support comments by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson agreeing with recent court decisions that cities, towns and some areas of counties have the right to ban the sale and some processing of recreational marijuana.

We now are seeing some of the negative effects of recreational marijuana in our communities. Since the passage of I-502 there is evidence of brain damage to our young, damage to their immune systems, damage to their reaction and judgmental decisions that effect their daily life, more involvement by police in marijuana incidents, particularly in fatal and injury traffic accidents and explosions from manufacturing hash oil that have killed people and caused property damage.

[continues 146 words]

A federal judge declined Thursday to throw out the criminal case against the marijuana farmers dubbed the "Kettle Falls Five," setting up the likelihood of another trial delay two years after charges were filed.

When it commences, it may be the trial of the Kettle Falls Four.

The attorney for Larry Harvey, patriarch of the family now facing federal criminal prosecution for what they say they believe was a legal medical marijuana grow near Colville, said he's confident the U.S. attorney's office will drop the charges against the 71-year-old based on his failing health.

[continues 441 words]

Dual Markets

Dispensaries Squeezing Us Out, Recreational Firms Have Complained

OLYMPIA - A measure seeking to reconcile Washington state's medical-marijuana industry with its heavily taxed recreational sector passed the Washington state Senate on Friday.

Senate Bill 5052 passed on a bipartisan 36-11 vote and now heads to the House for consideration. It is one of several measures brought forth by lawmakers this year after efforts to address the dual markets died in the House last session.

"The Senate sent a strong and clear message to the people of this state today that we're taking this issue seriously and we're going to keep working on it for the safety of our patients and the safety of our children," Republican Sen. Ann Rivers of La Center, Clark County, who sponsored the bill, said after the vote. "There's tremendous will to get this done. We have got to get rid of the gray and black market."

[continues 389 words]

As Valley Moves Toward a Moratorium, Citizen Wants Consistent Laws

As the Spokane Valley City Council moved its proposed marijuana moratorium on to a second reading without much commotion or public testimony, Tara Harrison listened from the back of the room.

Harrison works at the Herbal Connection in the Garland District and she's been at many Spokane Valley City Council meetings when marijuana was on the agenda.

On Tuesday evening, Harrison didn't get up to speak in front of the council, but she has an idea for the Valley City Council.

[continues 296 words]

Despite a year to research and ponder how to make legal cannabis - medical, recreational and industrial (hemp) - workable in this state, the Legislature is already in the middle of another mess. Some separate 18 cannabis-related bills were introduced in the House early on. Legislators decided that in order to get a better handle on them, they should all be rolled into one big bill, never mind the contradictions, duplications, etc., contained therein.

Reconciling the laws, the proposed bills, and orchestrating a new industry into a viable enterprise is definitely a complicated undertaking, and definitely should not be left to the Liquor Control Board to randomly decide. So much more must go into the decision-making besides visions of pots o' gold tax receipts. With the systems set up correctly, the taxes will come. But the needs of patients and customers must come first, like any business.

[continues 513 words]

About a year ago, the Yakima City Council heard accusations of hypocrisy as it supported a request by the Association of Washington Cities for the state to share recreational marijuana taxes with cities. The council's move came just weeks after the City Council had voted to ban marijuana businesses, and critics said the city can't have it both ways.

But the city -- and the association -- argued that with the drug being legal after voters approved Initiative 502, the city faced increased law enforcement needs to combat offenses such as driving under the influence and minors in possession. Our position was that cities like Yakima needed to document the extra law enforcement and health care costs if it wanted a piece of the revenue pie.

[continues 359 words]