Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans is correct in saying that pot dispensaries with their cash and relatively easy-to-rob and-resell product will make them a target and potentially hot spots for law enforcement (March 5). Of course such criticism is a bit akin to closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. The cops and the stores will just have to find ways to deal with the security issue. At this point, there's too much money in marijuana. And with political heavyweights such as ex-U.S. Rep. William Delahunt involved, it seems it may be too late to get the horse back in the barn. - - Mark Bell, Chicopee [end]
Comcast Says No to Marijuana Commercial The first medical marijuana commercial slated to run on television in Massachusetts next month has vaporized - at least when it comes to airing through Comcast. The ad failed to make its debut this past week in New Jersey because Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast, rejected the ad as unsuitable. "All commercials are subject to final review by Comcast Spotlight prior to airing and during that process it was determined that the spot did not meet our guidelines," Comcast spokesman Steven Restivo said yesterday. [continues 301 words]
This blue state has chosen to make marijuana available to just about everyone who wants it ("DTA hack in the weeds after arrest," Feb. 25). Legitimate medical authorities advise that smoking it is harmful to your health. And there is a pill containing whatever people think is beneficial in pot. So, exactly who is going to benefit by opening all these street corner pot shops? The proprietors certainly. Some pols as well. Meanwhile, users of EBT cards, provided by the state's Department of Transitional Assistance, will spend their food money on it. The next step will be pot legalization like in Colorado, where there are ATM machines right in the pot shops to facilitate purchase. So, what we end up with will be another intoxicant to muddle the minds of young people. - - Robert D'Amelio, Boston [end]
The first ones who stand to make a windfall off medical marijuana aren't necessarily the dispensaries or doctors; they might just be the advertisers and the media that air their campaigns. In April, months before the first dispensaries are scheduled to open in Massachusetts this summer, what's expected to be the Northeast's first marijuana-related commercial is due to air on major networks, opening the floodgates to what could turn out to be big business for both the companies that create the commercials and the ones that run them. [continues 169 words]
Hub top cop William B. Evans yesterday slammed medical marijuana dispensaries as crime magnets, while city councilors were left fuming after state officials blew off a public hearing on the siting of two local pot shops - one of them less than half a mile from a Roxbury grade school. "I can just see this being abused big-time. You can imagine how many phony scripts are going to be out there for people with their bad backs, their ingrown toenail. You name it. And then they're going to be out there with their 2 pounds - they get two months' supply when they go in - they're going to be out there selling it," Evans said on Boston Herald Radio. [continues 519 words]
Gov. Deval Patrick and his team have a communal allergy to acknowledging their own shortcomings (see above). But evidence is overwhelming that the allegedly "rigorous" vetting process for those seeking a license to peddle "medical" marijuana in Massachusetts has been anything but. Now House Speaker Robert DeLeo is joining the chorus of voices suggesting the administration scrap it and start from scratch, and good for him. DeLeo says he has been troubled by the drumbeat of reports on problems uncovered in the original applications, such as the inclusion in some cases of misleading and outright false information. [continues 249 words]
Massachusetts viewers soon will get a hit of what's expected to be the Northeast's first marijuana-related commercial on major networks. New York-based Medical Cannabis Network has booked April airtime to advertise marijuanadoctors.com, which pairs patients with doctors who'll evaluate whether medical marijuana should be used as treatment for their serious illness or chronic pain, said founder Jason Draizin. "We consider this alternative medicine and do not condone the recreational use or marijuana," he said. The ad campaign comes as Massachusetts prepares for the opening of its first medical marijuana dispensaries this summer. [continues 225 words]
A City Hall hearing Tuesday on Boston's two proposed marijuana dispensaries is shaping up to be a showdown between the pot-shop purveyors and the city councilors who say the companies wrongly dropped their names to demonstrate local support to state health regulators. Andrew DeAngelo, the Bay Area pot magnate who plans to open a dispensary at 70 Southampton St. in Roxbury, will attend the hearing, said a Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals spokesman. Reps from Good Chemistry, which plans a pot shop at 364-368 Boylston St., also will attend. [continues 126 words]
State health regulators are resisting calls to redo the licensing process for Massachusetts' first-ever medical marijuana dispensaries - - even after House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo urged them to start over amid concerns the selection team never fact checked the winning applications. DeLeo, worried about applicants who gave false or misleading statements about support from local officials, urged the Department of Health to "take a look at all the applications once again, especially those that were successful, and put those through the vetting process." [continues 283 words]
Boston's two proposed medical marijuana dispensaries - both of which have rankled city councilors over their location or claims of support - - will be the subject of a City Council hearing next week. City Council President Bill Linehan and District 3 Councilor Frank Baker announced the March 4 hearing yesterday, billing it as "an opportunity to hear questions, concerns and recommendations from city agencies, neighborhood stakeholders and the proponents themselves." "I just think it's important, anytime a new business model shows up near a residential or a business location, that people have an opportunity to come in and voice their opinion on it," Linehan said. "Because this is a state-regulated activity, there were no opportunities for the city government to get involved, until this point." [continues 162 words]
State officials are now pedaling backwards as fast as they can to get themselves out of the mess they've made of the licensing process for those "medical" marijuana shops. That would be mess number what for the Patrick administration? Now Secretary of Health and Human Services John Polanowicz is promising to pull the plug on applicants who lied on their applications. Of course, there's lying and then there's hiding the truth - like dropping the names of convicted felons from the rosters of corporate officers. Or soliciting letters of "non-opposition" from hapless politicians like City Councilor Steve Murphy, but never disclosing that the pot shop is in the heart of the Back Bay. [continues 313 words]
The war on marijuana is being replaced by regulations and bureaucracy ("Bay State approves 20 marijuana dispensaries," Feb. 1). Fears of marijuana remain, although "Reefer Madness" has been debunked. Moralists will always be able to find a few worst cases to point to. For example, people who waste their time on alcohol intoxication. But people are known to waste their time by indulging too much in romance novels, video games, sports broadcasts or even religious practices. Marijuana should not be handled as if it were plutonium. Nor should it be overregulated. It should just be legalized. - - Terry Franklin, Amherst [end]
Try not to let this story destroy your faith in the integrity of the law-abiding individuals who want to muscle into the marijuana game here in the commonwealth. You know about Bill Delahunt, the former congressman and classmate of Winter Hill hitman Johnny Martorano, who has three licenses and a $250,000 annual salary selling drugs. Delahunt, I mean, not Martorano. But Delahunt isn't the only prince of Reefer Madness. Meet Stephen Rowan DeAngelo, the convicted-felon weed dealer and now "strategic adviser" of the company that wants to put a pot store near a school in Roxbury. [continues 370 words]
A Boston police sergeant - who earned a whopping $209,800 in pay last year and was once a drug cop - is listed as the chief safety and transportation officer on an application for a controversial Roxbury medical pot shop that has ties to a convicted drug dealer. It's a planned job both his superiors and Mayor Martin J. Walsh told the Herald they knew nothing about. Sgt. Martin B. Kraft, a 31year veteran of the force and former Drug Control Unit detective, is listed as being "responsible for the safety, security and transportation of products for the organization," according to Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s application before the state Department of Public Health. [continues 346 words]
Mayor Martin J. Walsh will ask state health officials to reconsider the medical marijuana shop they provisionally approved for Roxbury, following Herald reports that a convicted pot dealer from California will serve as its "adviser." "I'm going to ask the state to go back and revisit the application," Walsh told the Herald yesterday. "I have some concerns. This is a change for people with the dispensaries coming to Boston and Massachusetts. We need to make sure the applications are thoroughly vetted and it's done right." [continues 437 words]
Co. Switched Out Prez With Weed Conviction A West Coast medical marijuana magnate and convicted felon whose role in a proposed Roxbury pot shop was downplayed as a "strategic adviser" was, in fact, the company's president until the day before the firm applied for a state weed-dealing license, the Herald has learned. Corporate filings for Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals Inc. list Stephen R. DeAngelo - who pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver 50 pounds or more of marijuana in Maryland in 2001 - - as the company president and a member of the board of directors as of Nov. 18. [continues 307 words]
It's obvious Orchard Gardens principal Andrew Bott is passionate about his school and cares deeply for his students. And he worries about them all the time. He worries about them walking to school when it's icy. He worries about them taking the T late at night. And now, there's a new worry. A medical marijuana dispensary is coming to Southampton Street, less than a half-mile from the cheery-yellow Roxbury school, which houses kindergarten through eighth grade. [continues 357 words]
Politicians are now dancing as fast as they can away from the newly licensed pot shops scheduled to open in their neighborhoods. And it's not pretty. Causing the most uproar is the "medical" marijuana emporium slated for the heart of Back Bay on Boylston Street not far from the Public Garden. The Back Bay Association, which represents some 400 businesses in the area, was totally blindsided by the process, never hearing a word about the potential location or the signed lease for the property entered into by Good Chemistry of Massachusetts, which won the license. [continues 327 words]
The state's new medical marijuana law will force hard choices on employers and workers - forcing some to fire medicinal pot users while others will have to make tough calls on whether employees' drug use is interfering with their work. Public safety employers such as the Boston Fire Department say it won't tolerate pot use, even as medication. "Boston Fire does conduct random drug and alcohol testing of its uniform force," spokesman Steve MacDonald said. "Marijuana use is not allowed." [continues 364 words]
Reading the Herald's editorial on medical marijuana, warning that students will buy medicinal cannabis, one would think college students are not using cannabis already (Feb. 1). There are no new long-term consequences to marijuana use. Massachusetts residents have been using cannabis all along, and the minor consequences are here already. - - William Downing, Reading [end]
The state agency overseeing medical marijuana is steering clear of new ads promoting pot on the radio, saying its regulations apply only to dispensaries licensed to sell the product - but Bay State Republicans said state officials should have seen this coming. "The Department of Public Health's regulations for Registered Marijuana Dispensaries recognize the concerns of the substance abuse prevention community and municipalities, while also taking into account the need for qualifying patients to have access to information about RMDs," said spokesman David Kibbe. "DPH has limited certain advertising materials, including, for example, prohibiting ads that depict or encourage the recreational use of marijuana, or portray youth, or show smoking or smokable products." [continues 139 words]
Marijuana is already so available in Massachusetts that ending prohibition is unlikely to create a new army of stoned slackers on welfare, as giddily imagined by Howie Carr ("Now we're all dopes," Jan. 26). Instead, it will reduce our reliance on the most expensive form of welfare: mass incarceration. Despite Carr's protests to the contrary, our jails are swollen with nonviolent drug offenders who could be working and paying their own way, but instead are being maintained at taxpayer expense. Not to mention the people who can't get a job with a drug offense on their record and end up needing some type of public assistance. As an indignant taxpayer, Carr should lead the charge to end the legal war on marijuana as the worst possible use of his tax dollars. - - Andy Gaus, Boston [end]
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health deserves praise for the rigor with which it selected medical marijuana dispensaries ("Bay State approves 20 marijuana dispensaries," Feb. 1). The department also deserves praise for implementing a process by which those in Massachusetts who are living with chronic pain or experiencing nausea related to medical treatment will soon have another option to alleviate their pain. The Herald quotes the Massachusetts Medical Society's president, Dr. Ronald Dunlap, saying that "there is insufficient scientific information about the safety of marijuana when used for 'medicinal' purposes." How, ironic, then, that a Scientific American editorial (Feb. 1) calls for an end to the bans on scientific research into the efficacy of marijuana and other drugs perpetuated by the War on Drugs. The editorial says that marijuana has logged thousands of years in use as a therapy for "diseases and conditions ranging from malaria to rheumatism." To that list, I would add HIV/AIDS. - - Rebecca Haag, CEO AIDS Action Committee, Boston [end]
It was bound to come to this. First "medical" marijuana is being peddled in our neighborhoods and now we find out it will be advertised - - hell, is being advertised on radio. At the end of last week the Department of Public Health awarded 20 of the 35 licenses permitted under a voter-approved law to outfits vying to set up the state's first pot shops. The Boston ones are slated to open at 70 Southampton St. - less than half a mile from the Orchard Gardens K-8 School in an area already home to three methadone clinics - and at 364 Boylston St. in the heart of Back Bay and a stone's throw from dorms for students from Emerson and Suffolk. [continues 227 words]
Medical marijuana is now being advertised on the Bay State's airwaves - - with an advocacy group promoting pot on FM radio without the restrictions that dispensaries face - a development alarming some critics. "Did you know you do not have to smoke medical marijuana to enjoy its medical benefits?" one of the radio ads by New England Grass Roots Institute in Quincy states. "This all-natural herb can be infused into almost any food or beverage. Used properly, medical marijuana adds to a healthy lifestyle. Medical Marijauna: Is it right for you? Talk to your doctor, then talk to us." [continues 459 words]
Bay State Approves 20 Marijuana Dispensaries Bay State officials took a big step into uncharted territory yesterday with the approval of 20 medical marijuana dispensaries from Cape Cod to western Massachusetts. Two pot shops were approved for Boston - one in the Back Bay and another in Roxbury. The state Department of Public Health also gave the go-ahead to dispensaries in Mashpee, Dennis, Taunton, Fairhaven, Salem, Haverhill, Holyoke, Northampton, Lowell, Ayer, Newton, Cambridge, Brookline, Quincy, Plymouth, Brockton, Milford and Worcester. The facilities are expected to open their doors as early as this summer, if they win final approvals from local permitting boards. [continues 275 words]
And the winners are . . . The Department of Public Health handed out 20 licenses for so-called "medical" marijuana shops yesterday, including one in the heart of toney Back Bay. Won't that be swell? Boston with its obvious pentup demand for the product got two of the licenses, one of which is slated for Boylston Street between Arlington and Berkeley. Now all those students from all those downtown colleges will be able to get quick relief from the stress of final exams. And the well-located shop will be just a subway ride away for the suffering populations of Boston University and Boston College. [continues 226 words]
NEW YORK - Cinematics, drugs and a gambler's roll. Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed some of the league's most controversial topics yesterday during his annual State of the NFL address. Goodell, who appeared at the Rose Theater in Manhattan, discussed the recent hot item about potentially relaxing marijuana restrictions if they can help players cope with injuries, specifically of the head variety. To take it a step further, Goodell was asked if the league would simply lift the marijuana ban altogether now that some states are doing the same. [continues 445 words]
Mayor Martin J. Walsh backed off his strong stance against medical pot dispensaries near schools and neighborhoods yesterday, admitting "you can't stop them" even as rattled Hub residents learned one weed shop won state approval to set up near a Roxbury school and another in the posh Back Bay. "I'm going to live up to the terms of the law," Walsh said yesterday. "We have requirements now that are out there, and as mayor of the city we're going to enforce those. You can't stop them. We just got to make sure when they're sited, they follow all the proper procedures." [continues 389 words]
Where else but Massachusetts could you go from prosecutor to lawmaker to pot dealer? That strange career trajectory now belongs to former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, who is about to corner a big chunk of the market in the booming medical marijuana business. All thanks to state government, of course. Of the 20 licenses handed out to pot shops by state officials, Delahunt's group landed three of them. That's 15 percent if you're scoring at home. A pretty good percentage for a political "hasbeen," as Delahunt calls himself. [continues 369 words]
A top doctor blasted Massachusetts' medical marijuana law and questioned the medicinal value of the substance yesterday as state officials gave approval to 20 pot shops. "As the state opens this new chapter in public health, the Massachusetts Medical Society must remind patients of the Commonwealth that there is insufficient scientific information about the safety of marijuana when used for 'medicinal' purposes," Dr. Ronald Dunlap, society president, said in a statement. He added that marijuana hasn't been thoroughly tested by the Food and Drug Administration, and said it poses potential health risks, especially to young patients. [continues 118 words]
Rutland nurse Allison Jones was crushed beneath a car four years ago after she stopped to help a woman in an accident. The accident left Jones with more than a dozen broken bones - including her neck, back, pelvis and all her ribs - as well as a head injury and chronic pain. A monthlong hospital stay and surgeries followed. She was put on a host of medications to try to ease the relentless aches, throbs and spasms, from morphine to Oxycontin to fentanyl patches, but they left her nauseous, depressed and in a "zombie state." She couldn't carry on a conversation. [continues 339 words]
Herald columnist Howie Carr's opposition to the repeal of marijuana prohibition is, in effect, support for maintaining =93welfare=94 to criminals such as James =93Whitey=94 Bulger (Jan. 26). Crime Inc is not the only interest group that benefits from the pot prohibition, just the most visible. These welfare benefits cost taxpayers more than the =93stoners=94 receive should they ever get on the dole. =AD Steven S. Epstein, Georgetown [end]
So DEA chief Michele Leonhart doesn't want her bureaucracy diminished ("Sheriffs cheer pot shot: Say DEA chief ripped Obama remarks," Jan. 25). Surprise, surprise. All bureaucrats want more money and more power. Marijuana is the linchpin of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Sheriffs and others upset over President Obama's recent comparison of marijuana and alcohol use sound like stranded Japanese soldiers who never heard that World War II ended ("Sheriffs cheer pot shot," Jan. 25). The drug war has failed, and it's immoral to keep fighting it. The decades-long drug war hasn't even dented rates of marijuana use or availability. That means it makes no sense to aggressively prosecute nonviolent cases involving this drug. That approach has wasted billions of dollars and has been carried out with stark racial bias. Last year, the ACLU found that African-Americans in Massachusetts get arrested for marijuana use nearly four times more often than whites, even though they use marijuana at the same rate. Also, decades of research have proven conclusively that the physical and psychological effects of marijuana use are less harmful than alcohol. Obama's comparison makes sense. Just as we ended Prohibition, we should end the war on drugs. Prosecutors and police might miss the drug war's funding, but the fight serves no public interest. - - Carl Williams, staff attorney, ACLU of Massachusetts [end]
Howie Carr makes fun of the "George Washington used-hemp-to-make-uniforms-for-the-Army dude crowd" (Jan. 26). Well, a hemp flag, sponsored by a Colorado hemp advocate, flew over the nation's Capitol building last July 4. And the original American flags were likely made of hemp. As reported by the Associated Press, the book "Marihuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years" says that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp, which was used for clothing and rope. In 1619 the English Crown had even ordered the Jamestown colonists to grow hemp for England's much needed maritime ropes. So, please, let's continue to learn more about our own history. - - George Mclean, Medford [end]
The beginning to the end of America was in the 1960s with the pot-smoking, feelgood hippies (Jan. 16). In the subsequent years they have taken over our government, public school system, and voting pool. Recently there has been a major push to legalize marijuana. Possibly it is because these gray-haired flower children are starting to die off and they need a new generation of liberal moonbats? God forbid we create a society of soberness ... people might wake up and realize what's going on. - - Tom Wojick, Acton [end]
Marijuana Makes You Stupid. Nobody wants to acknowledge the obvious fact, but that's what this whole legalization debate is all about. That's why most of the candidates for governor, of both parties, have come out against legalization, even if they have to obfuscate why they're opposed to the Colorado-ization of Massachusetts. After all, the pols can't offend that pivotal ganja-American voting bloc, assuming they can remember to vote in November. It's left to comedians like Jay Leno Thursday night to poke around the truth: "Doctors warn that pot smoking impairs young people's thinking, which of course makes them much more likely to sign up for Obamacare." [continues 516 words]
Say DEA Chief Ripped Obama Remarks DEA chief Michele M. Leonhart slammed President Obama's recent comments comparing smoking marijuana to drinking alcohol at an annual meeting of the nation's sheriffs this week, according to two sheriffs who said her remarks drew a standing ovation. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said he was thrilled to hear the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration take her boss to task. "She's frustrated for the same reasons we are," Hodgson said. "She said she felt the administration didn't understand the science enough to make those statements. She was particularly frustrated with the fact that, according to her, the White House participated in a softball game with a pro-legalization group. ... But she said her lowest point in 33 years in the DEA was when she learned they'd flown a hemp flag over the Capitol on July 4. The sheriffs were all shocked. This is the first time in 28 years I've ever heard anyone in her position be this candid." [continues 324 words]
The new "medical" marijuana industry in Massachusetts has inspired a slew of lobbyists and consultants and entrepreneurs to get into the weed game (we use air quotes because of course there is no such thing as "medical" marijuana - only plain old marijuana marketed to those with medical conditions). But finally it has occurred to someone that in the midst of that mad scramble for pot dollars some very real conflicts might crop up. Bay State Republicans yesterday slammed the licensing process for marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts as "politicized and secretive," noting in particular the political ties between a lobbyist for one license applicant and the head of the state Department of Public Health, which will award the licenses. [continues 219 words]
Margery Eagan may or may not still, "ahem," smoke marijuana, but that doesn't make it right ("Like it or not, recreational pot will blow into Bay State," Jan. 14). She makes fun of the people who obeyed the law, as if they were some sort of strange creatures. She seems to feel that pot doesn't hurt anyone. Well, there are plenty who say the same about cocaine, so why stop with grass? Also, does she want a stoner working on her car's brakes after having some joints at lunch? - - Jeffrey Padell, Walpole [end]
"Are you high?" It's a phrase commonly used to indicate that the person you're talking to has just said something less than rational. I'm going to invest all my money in ostrich farming! "Are you high?" The guy I just started dating is scheduled to make parole in 2017! "Are you high?" I'm going to punish my boss's political opponents by shutting down two lanes of traffic on ... You get the point. We don't associate being stoned, roasted or buzzed with having good ideas. So what to make of the Democrats' latest proposal to reach out to young voters? [continues 507 words]
Gov Hopefuls Say They Won't Push Full Legalization It's a question of toke as I say, not as I did for the majority of the candidates for Massachusetts governor. While four of the candidates vying for the state's top job - including Republican Charlie Baker and Democrat Steve Grossman - admitted to previously inhaling yesterday, none of them would support a push to fully legalize marijuana in the Bay State. "Legalizing marijuana is not a priority of mine," said Democratic candidate Juliette Kayyem yesterday during an in-studio interview on Herald Radio. She went on to admit she has smoked marijuana. [continues 332 words]
I'm thrilled that Charlie Baker, Juliette Kayyem, Don Berwick and yes, Steve Grossman, were once little stoners. Clearly the evil weed hasn't shut down their big brains, diminished their ambition or quashed their quest for big bucks. How fun to imagine a long-haired Stevie Grossman toking up in his tie-dye shirt, ear pressed against an old, huge stereo speaker blasting "Purple Haze." I can almost hear Little Stevie belting out, "'scuse me while I kiss the sky!!!" [continues 380 words]
Jonah Goldberg scored a lot of points in his column on marijuana legalization ("States' rights going to pot," Jan. 6). However, his referring to legalizing cannabis (marijuana) as "Colorado's collective experiment" is a little backwards. The original prohibition on alcohol is often known as the "Great Experiment." The sequel, cannabis prohibition, has been another dismal experiment. Ending cannabis prohibition isn't the experiment, it's simply ending one of America's worst policy failures in history. - - Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
On Jan. 1, the Centennial State (it hasn't yet changed its nickname to "The Rocky Mountain High State") became the first place in the country to legalize marijuana sales for recreational purposes. And Brandon Harris is stoked. The 24-year-old Harris drove 20 hours from Cincinnati, along with a smoking buddy, to be the first Ohioans to buy legal pot in Colorado. "It's such a big day in history," Harris told the Washington Times. "The fact that we don't have to be criminals and can just smoke, and not be looked down on, or have to mess with the local police." [continues 697 words]
Want Private Security on Growing Sites Cops say they fear the legal pot farms allowed under the state's new medicinal marijuana law could turn into crime magnets that will draw armed criminals and turn into a law enforcement nightmare. "If someone is going to go in and try to wipe out these facilities, chances are they would be armed," Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association said about the prospect of robberies. "Their intent there is to take a significant amount of drugs." [continues 294 words]
DENVER (AP) - Crowds were serenaded by live music as they waited for the nation's first legal recreational pot shops to open yesterday. They ate doughnuts and funnel cakes as a glass-blower made smoking pipes. Some tourists even rode around in a limo, eager to try weed, but not so eager to be seen buying it. And when the sales began, those who bought the drug emerged from the stores, receipt held high and carrying sealed shopping bags, to cheers. [continues 212 words]
As recreational pot use becomes legal in Colorado today, those of us who live in Boulder are wondering what will change. Marijuana use is already ubiquitous. Open up the free newspapers on campus at the University of Colorado, and ads for "medical" marijuana fill the pages. Funny how a "medicine" whose primary benefits are restricted to glaucoma, chemotherapy-induced nausea and peripheral neuropathy - conditions far more likely to afflict the elderly - is being marketed to college kids. But today pot entrepreneurs will be able to push Purple Haze, Blue Rhino and Sour Diesel without the fig leaf. [continues 316 words]
WASHINGTON - Federal Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York says documents called "statements of reasons" are an optional way for a judge to express "views that might be of interest." The one he issued two months ago is still reverberating. It expresses his dismay that although his vocation is the administration of justice, his function frequently is the infliction of injustice. The policy of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses has empowered the government to effectively nullify the constitutional right to a trial. As Lulzim Kupa learned. [continues 673 words]
