From the news coming out of Washoe County, you'd almost think there's a glaucoma epidemic erupting at Lake Tahoe's Incline Village. Not one, but three licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries have been issued to companies with plans to open pot shops at Incline and nearby Crystal Bay. Incline Village has just 8,000 permanent residents, but of course this isn't really about them. The area bustles with visitors during ski season and vacationers seeking to beat the heat in summer. Lake Tahoe's South Shore casinos are just a few miles away. The region draws more than 4 million visitors a year. [continues 532 words]
The medical marijuana dispensary license applicant swore he could smell something in the air inside Clark County government, and it wasn't pot smoke. It was the malodor of politics. Why, he recently asked after we agreed he'd remain anonymous, were applicants with connections to the state's gaming industry receiving special consideration? Couldn't they have easily anticipated the state Gaming Control Board would take issue with their relationship with a drug that's against federal law to sell? Shouldn't they have done their due diligence? [continues 605 words]
If you want to know where the medicinal marijuana issue is going in Nevada, don't sweat the future location of the pot shop nearest you. Instead, just drop by Richard "Tick" Segerblom's downtown law office. There you'll find him dressed casually and working several cases at once, none of which is related to the state's ongoing marijuana evolution. Although the issue has taken up much of his time for more than a decade, he is one of the few Southern Nevada insiders not in direct line to make a score once the dispensaries are up and running. [continues 578 words]
Something new is growing at the bright green building downtown that once housed a pest control company and featured cutouts of giant roaches on its walls. "Indoor Garden Organic Superstore," proclaims the sign at 2 W. Charleston Blvd. "Grow your own," it calls to passers-by at Charleston and Main Street. "Veggies," it adds in smaller print. Veggies. That's a good one. Is the Indoor Garden Organic Superstore about to become the unofficial Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign for a downtown that one day will be home to profitable marijuana use? Will Tony Hsieh startups be partially obscured by smoke from medical marijuana fire-ups? [continues 595 words]
Boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. awoke Tuesday morning as the poster boy for marijuana law reform in Nevada. "A majority of Nevadans support Julio's SAFER choice," the billboard at 2001 Western Ave. proclaims. "Stop driving athletes to DRINK!" Sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project, which nationally advocates pot's legalization, the billboard was unveiled Tuesday at a time the state Legislature is taking a serious look at the legal use of pot for medical and even recreational purposes. The state is hardly a leader on this issue. It is, after all, 2013, and most Americans long ago stopped vilifying marijuana's use. [continues 722 words]
In her letter of Jan. 27, Theresa Null, describes an acquaintance "Sarah", who had a stressful family life, made an apparent escape but then began using medical marijuana (MMJ), which, Null claims, caused "Sarah" to sink into apathy, affecting her responsibilities and relationships. Null lists a whole litany of "Sarah" social ills (and bills) all of which she blames on (MMJ) thus dishing us up one of the most popular logical fallacies: Coincidental is not causal. Given all of the things which have happened to Sarah, bad and good, it would take a gutsy professional to assign the blame for her apathy, let alone we amateurs. Some medical marijuana strains are suggested for their calming effect, others to energize the user. [continues 78 words]
This past week 18 residents of Stephens County were given an opportunity to exercise the greatest power they will ever know as citizens of this county. These residents, of course, were those persons of the Grand Jury which reviewed the evidence of the killing of pastor Jonathan Ayers. Unfortunately these persons let this great moment pass them by. As a result, the only persons who will ever factually know what was or were not discussed behind the closed doors of this preceding are the Grand Jurors themselves, the District Attorney and any witnesses which may have been called. [continues 784 words]
Re: An Inconvenient Truth (Aug. 1.) Hurrah for this excellent and clear eyed look at Winnipeg's drug scene! Decriminalization has been recommended for some time by many informed and thoughtful voices. Surely by now no thinking person can deny that the traditional enforcement methods of the war on drugs are not working and never will. Selling and promoting the use of drugs (other than alcohol, nicotine, and possibly marijuana) should remain illegal. In fact the penalties for this should be increased and these laws enforced vigorously. It is the seller-end of the market that has to be changed to decrease the criminals' vast profits and their need to develop new markets. [continues 270 words]
In an election season full of turmoil, marijuana proved to be a central - and hotly debated - issue among Massachusetts voters. On Tuesday, however, the conversation was more one-sided than many had expected. Voters in the Commonwealth overwhelmingly expressed their support for Question 2, a ballot measure aimed at softening penalties for people found possessing up to an ounce of marijuana. As of 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, with 87 percent of precincts reporting, 65 percent of voters chose to weaken the penalties, while 35 percent preferred leaving the law unchanged. [continues 763 words]
I have a confession. I'm a Marxist. Not a Karl Marxist. A Groucho Marxist. It started in college, where I studied under Quincy Adams Wagstaff and received cultural instruction from Otis B. Driftwood. These days my attorney is J. Cheever Loophole. My physician, of course, is the noted large animal veterinarian Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush. I do my best to conceal these leanings. These days, I only smoke cigars in private and recently shaved my mustache. But now and then, my Marxist tendencies resurface, and I get an uncontrollable urge to make a rubber chicken drop from the ceiling and arch my oversized eyebrows. [continues 594 words]
Dear Editor, In a recent answer to the question, "What do you think is more dangerous to individuals and society, smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol," the Answer Girl gave several good points but also led the reader to believe that marijuana was the more dangerous of the two, which simply is not true. Marijuana is not toxic, unlike alcohol. There has never been an "overdose" on marijuana. The two are simply not in the same class of drug. It has been proven that marijuana, unlike alcohol, does not change the basic character of the user. [continues 304 words]
John K. Smith Shreveport My jaw dropped to the floor when I read that Bossier Parish expelled a Parkway student for bringing Advil to school. That is the most ridiculous application of a so-called "zero tolerance" policy I have heard to date. Instead of acting like tin-horn dictators in a banana republic, Bossier officials should admit their mistake, repeal their stupid policy, and let that poor girl back into her high school. The school system might not be experiencing the scorn and mockery they've brought on themselves just yet, but they soon will. Once again, Bossier and Louisiana will be a national butt of jokes. Let us hope the board doesn't entrench itself mindlessly in its wrong position. It can learn from this mistake and improve the schools for all students. [continues 65 words]
I suspect that Rush Limbaugh is a very lonely individual at the moment. On the heels of his resignation from ESPN, he finds himself under investigation for the illegal purchase of prescription painkillers. In the past, Limbaugh has been a fervent supporter of the "War on Drugs." Even if he's not guilty, he is now finding out what it's like to be a "person of interest". If he's not guilty, so much the better -- it should drive home to Limbaugh the helpless feeling of the innocent when they find themselves targeted by an increasingly oppressive police apparatus built for the purpose of prosecuting the "war on drugs." Limbaugh is now in a position to rethink his support for the expensive, intrusive, unconstitutional federal drug enforcement regime. [continues 81 words]
Editor, The News: The following letter was also originally sent to Fraser Valley Health Region medical health officer Dr. Gillian Arsenault: On behalf of the board of school trustees, I wish to add our voice opposing the implementation of a needle exchange program in the Abbotsford area. Already we are experiencing a number of school sites where needles have been discarded by drug users. We believe a needle exchange program will only escalate this already unsafe situation for students. The board requests the health region look at treatment centres and detoxification programs as a better way to assist the drug user, rather than further encouraging the use of drugs by supplying needles. John G. Smith Chairman, Abbotsford school board [end]
