In six months, California will join Maine, Nevada and probably a few other states in deciding whether or not to legalize the large-scale commercial production of marijuana. Residents will be inundated with wild claims about the promises and pitfalls of these initiatives. You will hear debates about government revenue, criminal justice benefits, the environment, and the effect of legalization on Mexican drug-trafficking organizations. Public health conversations may prove especially contentious. Some will claim that legalization will constitute a net gain for health. Others will say the exact opposite. [continues 628 words]
You may not like President Obama's political philosophy or leadership style, but you have to admit that he is one cool president. If you're unconvinced, consider his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30. His poise and charm were on full display, and his comedic timing was impeccable. Still, his best joke made me cringe a little: he said that his popularity rating had been rising. In fact, he said, "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major." [continues 615 words]
DESERT HOT SPRINGS - Two years ago, in this desolate Coachella Valley town surrounded by scraggly mesquite, voters heartily endorsed marijuana as a cure for their ailing economy. For decades, Desert Hot Springs had relied on its steaming mineral waters to lure tourists to local motels for healing baths and spa treatments. But the town of 28,000 mostly suffered. A third of its residents lived in poverty, and the city filed for municipal bankruptcy in 2001. A housing bust seven years later deepened the fallout. [continues 1192 words]
BALTIMORE - A crowd quickly gathers here on one of West Baltimore's many drug-infested street corners. But it isn't heroin they're seeking. It's a heroin antidote known as naloxone, or Narcan. Two city health department workers are holding up slim salmon-colored boxes and explaining that the medication inside can be used to stop someone from dying of a heroin overdose. Most onlookers nod solemnly in recognition. They've heard about the drug. They want to know more. [continues 1016 words]
SACRAMENTO - Devout cannabis advocates and social justice reformers believe this may finally be the year California voters legalize marijuana, and that optimism has led to a mashup of proposed statewide ballot measures - more than 20 filed so far. They vary from a one-sentence constitutional amendment that simply declares California adults are free to "grow, own (and) purchase" marijuana to a 62-page treatise on how to best regulate and tax legal pot. But just one has attracted the deep-pocketed donors and leading advocacy groups to emerge as the clear favorite to make the November ballot - the so-called Adult Use of Marijuana Act. The initiative would allow those age 21 and older to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana, making California the fifth state in the nation to legalize recreational use. [continues 478 words]
WASHINGTON - When Congress in effect lifted the federal ban on medical marijuana just over a year ago, Californians drove the change, which was tucked into a spending package by a liberal congressman and a conservative colleague. A year later, marijuana legalization advocates are conflicted over how big a victory the congressional vote, which was repeated last month, has turned out to be. "The number of raids has dropped substantially, though not completely," across the country, said Mike Liszewski, government affairs director for Americans for Safe Access, a medical-marijuana advocacy group. A federal court ruling this past fall, if it is upheld, would limit federal agents from targeting all but operations that are clearly flouting state law, he said. [continues 526 words]
The Lodi City Council is scheduled to adopt an ordinance prohibiting outdoor marijuana cultivation at its Wednesday meeting. If adopted, the ordinance would prohibit all outdoor cultivation of marijuana within the city. In addition, the ordinance would regulate indoor cultivation of marijuana to a residence or garage. Only qualified patients and caregivers would be permitted to cultivate marijuana. According to the Oct. 1 city council agenda, when the ordinance was introduced, the Lodi Police Department and Code Enforcement received just five complaints of marijuana being grown outdoors within the city limits. [continues 232 words]
City staff has 45 days to come up with ordinance on medicinal grows The Lodi City Council approved a temporary ban on qualified patients and caregivers growing medical marijuana outdoors, but will still allow indoor cultivation as long as it cannot be seen or smelled from the public right-of-way. On Wednesday, the council in a 4-0 vote OK'd the temporary ban that gives city staff 45 days to come up with a permanent solution or ordinance regulating the grows. If it will take staff longer, the council can extend the ban up to a year. [continues 562 words]
Storefront medical marijuana dispensaries will be banned in unincorporated areas now that the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors has adopted an ordinance banning pot establishments. The board adopted the ordinance Tuesday afternoon, after approving an interim zoning ordinance in April 2010 and extending it on March 1 of this year. The permanent ordinance will become effective in 30 days. The Board of Supervisors' only discretion is for areas outside any of the seven cities in San Joaquin County, so the board's action Tuesday means only that dispensaries can't be operated in communities like Woodbridge, Acampo, Lockeford, Clements and Morada. [continues 354 words]
If marijuana is legalized on Tuesday, don't expect the Lodi Police Department to suddenly have a lot more time. A review by the News-Sentinel found that the number of marijuana arrests in Lodi is far below the state average. In 2008, the most recent year that data is available, a paltry 1.5 percent of all arrests in Lodi were marijuana-related, according to the state attorney general's office. By comparison, statewide marijuana-related offenses accounted for five percent of all arrests. Overall, there were only 15 felony marijuana arrests in Lodi in 2008. [continues 1093 words]
While dressed in a cowboy hat, boots and Wrangler jeans, Howard Wooldridge sits on his one-eyed American Paint horse, Misty. He looks like he could be out of a scene from a Western movie. Instead he is waving down traffic at the intersection Cherokee and Kettleman lanes. Describing himself as a modern-day Paul Revere, Wooldridge, 59, has taken to the streets on horseback to encourage people to vote for Proposition 19, a statewide initiative to legalize pot. As people drive through the Lodi intersection, they honk horns, give thumbs up, wave coffee cups and cheer. [continues 516 words]
A Galt marijuana dispensary will have to temporarily close if a judge's proposed ruling stands. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang issued a temporary restraining order against the Galt Wellness Center, requiring the pot dispensary to close while the court process proceeds, which could take longer than a year. The center has five days to respond, and then the judge will make a final decision, said George Mull, the attorney for the collective. Chang most likely will make a decision late next week. [continues 341 words]
If marijuana is legalized, one proponent of the drug says San Joaquin County could soon see a new type of tourist who doesn't swirl, sniff and sip from a wine glass, but instead rolls, lights and tokes a joint. The debate on legalizing marijuana has taken on new life with the state mired in a multi-billion dollar deficit, a change in administration in Washington, D.C., and growing social acceptance for marijuana. A San Francisco lawmaker has introduced legislation to legalize the drug, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he's open to hearing proposals on the issue. [continues 1121 words]
Jean Cowsert was the only community member to speak at the Galt City Council meeting about the possibility of medicinal marijuana dispensaries coming to town, and she ended her comments with, "Hope I didn't kill it, but I'm sure it's dead anyway." The council voted 4 to 1 to continue a temporary ordinance preventing the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries for 10 months and 15 days. That is the maximum amount of time the city could extend the temporary ban under state law. [continues 406 words]
After getting several inquiries about opening a medical pot outlet in Lodi, city officials are seeking a temporary ban to give them time to study the issue. The city of Lodi received three inquiries in March, about a week after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice will only target marijuana distributors violating both state and federal law. Because there is no policy in Lodi, Deputy City Attorney Janice Magdich will ask the council on Wednesday to approve a 45-day moratorium on the opening or approval of dispensaries in the city. [continues 754 words]
San Joaquin County residents seeking medical marijuana may obtain an identification card beginning Monday. The patient or primary caregiver must submit written documentation from a physician stating that the patient has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate, according to Shene Bowie, program coordinator for the county's Public Health Services Department. The physician must be licensed to practice medicine in California. The county also requires: Proof that the applicant lives in San Joaquin County. [continues 139 words]
Beginning about the first of the year, San Joaquin County residents will be able to acquire medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. The first step toward carrying out the state-mandated program took place Tuesday, when the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to issue medical marijuana identification cards. A public hearing on a proposed $141 annual fee for the ID card is scheduled for Nov. 4. County Public Health Director Bill Mitchell said that demand for medicinal marijuana cards hasn't been great in San Joaquin County, but he and Supervisor Leroy Ornellas wonder how many will want a card once the card's availability is announced. [continues 285 words]
Locals prescribed marijuana to fight pain and illness may soon be breathing cloudy sighs of relief, with a nonprofit group announcing Monday through a lawyer that it would fight city plans to close its downtown medical marijuana dispensary. Tracy code enforcement officer Pat Zona told the Valley Wellness Center Collective in a Nov. 22 letter that it would expose itself to daily fines if it continued selling marijuana. The letter gave the wellness center until 5 p.m. today to appeal. [continues 196 words]
Since several cities in the Sacramento area have banned or restricted medical marijuana dispensaries, Galt officials think the city may be approached in the near future about allowing one to open there. To prepare for that possibility, the City Council will consider issuing a 45-day moratorium on medical marijuana at Tuesday's council meeting. California voters approved The Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which allows people to obtain and use medical marijuana under certain specified circumstances. However, Senate Bill 420, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2004, authorizes cities and counties to regulate the distribution of medical marijuana within their communities. [continues 465 words]
I'm writing about: "Sheriff's Department destroys 3,200 marijuana plants". I'm sure many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department Narcotics Unit. Without operations like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth -- very little. Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth more than pure gold -- and completely tax free. Any marijuana growers or sellers arrested will soon be replaced; they always are. Kirk Muse Mesa, AZ [end]
