Cape Town - The abuse of illegal and over-the-counter drugs was seemingly growing and needed to be dealt with urgently, said the chairperson of the SA Medical Association, Mzukisi Grootboom. He added that South Africa continued to be the regional hub for drug trafficking in and out of the country. "Drug dependency, in all its forms, is a massive problem that creates serious health, social, legal, and economic problems for the country. We need to stand together to deal with this and say enough is enough." [continues 287 words]
Most Drug Dealers Don't Live in Some Fine Pad on the Costa Del Sol, They Actually Live With Their Mammies. THE news that another man has been killed in a war fuelled by money made from drug dealing, begs the question how long are we going to tolerate the illegality of drugs. Yes, the word used is tolerate! How long are we going to tolerate a situation where drug money is fuelling the murderous activity of drug gangs, while the use of drugs is not decreasing, but increasing. [continues 1062 words]
The Willits City Council medical marijuana regulation ad hoc committee comprised of Mayor Bruce Burton and Councilman Larry Stranske recommended a total ban on marijuana cultivation and other pot-related businesses inside the Willits city limits. The recommendation came at Monday's special meeting of the council. Following extensive public comments and an opportunity for each member of the council to speak, no action was taken and no future date was set for any further action on either a ban or to discuss potential opportunities opened up by the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act. [continues 580 words]
There is a crystal ball to look into regarding marijuana legalization and commercialization, and it is Colorado - not Washington. Ballot Measure 2 is almost identical to the initiative Colorado passed and far different than the one Washington passed. Colorado has fully implemented its initiative, and now there are more marijuana stores in Denver than Starbucks and McDonald's stores combined. Washington has only started to implement its law, and only 19 percent of its stores have been approved. Alaskans need to know about what is going on in Colorado and ask is this what we want in Alaska? In Colorado, there's increased homelessness, increased overall crime, increased alcohol use, increased marijuana DUIs, increased marijuana disciplinary actions in schools, increased public consumption and second-hand marijuana smoke, several marijuana-related deaths, child-friendly marijuana edibles, commercialized marijuana concentrates (like shatter and crumble), increased butane hash oil explosions and extensive marijuana advertising. [continues 51 words]
Colonial Heights Man Accused of Accepting Bribe, Smuggling Contraband into Federal Prison A former federal corrections officer could spend years behind bars for accepting a bribe and smuggling marijuana and cigarettes into a federal prison in Prince George County. The former correctional officer, Jeffery T. Jones, 53, of Colonial Heights pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Richmond to two of nine counts in an indictment against him. He admitted to accepting money to provide marijuana and cigarettes to two prisoners at the Federal Correctional Complex Petersburg in Prince George. [continues 192 words]
A California Appeals Court ruled Oct. 16 neither the Compassionate Use Act nor the Medical Marijuana Program Act allows retail sale of marijuana to consumers. The judges overruled a San Luis Obispo judge's pretrial finding which included the premise that "Providing money in exchange for harvested marijuana may, in itself, constitute 'associating for the purpose of collectively cultivating marijuana.'" The panel of three judges also stated, "The Legislature did not intend such immunity [under the Compassionate Use Act] to apply where the purchaser simply signs a paper stating she is a member of the seller's collective or naming the seller as her caregiver." [continues 489 words]
Families Helpless Amid Concerns About Legitimate Operations A North Shore resident says he has nowhere to turn with concerns about a neighbour's medicinal marijuana grow-op - a federally licensed operation he believes is hurting his grandson. Darryl Janzen has lived in a duplex on Kenora Road for six years. Soon after moving in, he noticed the smell from his neighbour's legal grow-op was so powerful that it spread through the shared cinderblock wall between their homes. Janzen has taken his concerns to his landlord multiple times and also contacted RCMP. [continues 501 words]
Richmond Police Say 4 of 2012' S Homicides Had Robberies Involving Drug Marijuana might seem like a harmless drug to some, but local authorities in Richmond say marijuana deals and the large amounts of money involved in such transactions too often lead to violence. Richmond police investigators believe that four of the city's 42 homicides in 2012 were motivated by robberies involving marijuana, and about a dozen other shootings - maybe more - involved the drug. And that doesn't count the innumerable other robberies in which no one was shot, many of which never are reported because the victim doesn't want to tell the police he was selling pot or trying to buy some. [continues 898 words]
A tersely worded press release signed by Mendocino County Counsel Thomas Parker advised the county had filed a motion on December 21 to quash the federal grand jury subpoenas. "The motion is based on the grounds that the scope of the subpoenas is overbroad and burdensone, oppressive and constitutes an improper intrusion into the ability of state and local government to administer programs for the health and welfare of their residents. No court date has been set to hear the motion in US Federal Court. [continues 235 words]
A growing number of studies are concluding that teen and preteen use of marijuana leads to lower intelligence and the increased potential for psychotic behavior. Binge alcohol use also has been linked to irreversible changes in brain development. The findings are particularly troubling for the Willits area, where school surveys show local students begin marijuana use and binge drinking earlier than the California average. Biologists have known for decades there was a link between early marijuana use and psychotic behavior. There have also been well-established links between early marijuana use and poor educational achievement. [continues 612 words]
Ann Arbor- Thousands of marijuana supporters rallied Saturday in support of legalization of the drug at the University of Michigan Diag. The 41st annual Hash Bash began at high noon and featured medicinal users, caregivers and supporters of marijuana. Charmie Gholson, communications director for Safer Michigan Repeal Marijuana Prohibition 2012, and Charles Ream, coordinator for the Safer Michigan Coalition, were emcees for the event. This year activists collected signatures to amend the Michigan Constitution to allow for marijuana use for all reasons for adults at least 21 years old. The group has about 15,000 signatures so far of the 323,000 needed to get the issue on the November ballot, officials said. [continues 256 words]
Last month the California Second Appellate District threw out the city of Long Beach ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. If allowed to stand this ruling could disallow the Mendocino County zip tie program. The October 4 ruling determined the City of Long Beach ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries exceeded the intent of the state's compassionate use act to protect medical users from state and local prosecution. The basis for the ruling concluded since Long Beach imposed fees and issued permits for dispensaries to operate it had gone "beyond decriminalization into authorization." This puts the ordinance into violation of federal law by obstructing federal enforcement efforts. The court stated "the CUA simply decriminalizes (under state law) the possession and cultivation of medical marijuana; it does not attempt to authorize the possession and cultivation of the drug." [continues 240 words]
I am writing in response to the recent shutdown of the Metrotown Medicinal Marijuana Dispensary. There has been a new wave of these shutdowns by the RCMP in B.C. since June. Unless someone needs to use medical marijuana dispensaries for their medicine, they may not understand the importance of having them available to us, the patients. Unless they have been prescribed opiates for long term usage, they cannot understand the anxiety of waking up in the morning and not knowing what day it is or where they are. Sure, these moments are momentary but they cause great anxiety and stress. [continues 494 words]
Outgoing Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott has ruled the August 18 shooting of Mariano Lopez-Fernandez, 31, of Boonville, by the Mendocino County SWAT Team was justified. The district attorney's office conducted an on-scene investigation following the shooting, interviewing witnesses and gathering forensic evidence. The district attorney concluded Lopez-Fernandez died after he "took a position of cover behind a large group of trees and pointed a loaded semi-automatic rifle at the SWAT team. The three deputies on the SWAT team fired at Lopez-Fernandez from a distance of 10 to 15 feet" with their rifles. Lopez-Fernandez was struck several times, and although deputies stopped shooting once he dropped his weapon and "immediately rendered first aid," he was pronounced dead at the scene. [continues 234 words]
Mendocino National Forest will become the place for the latest showdown between growers on public lands and law enforcement with the debut of Full Court Press last week by representatives of local, state and federal agencies. The new effort to take back the public lands from drug cartels and prevent or reduce the environmental damage the indiscriminate growing of marijuana causes is scheduled to be in place by the next growing season. While full details are still being worked out, including how it will be funded, representatives from all six counties involved, as well as state and federal agencies, met last Thursday and Friday to kick off the coordinated effort. [continues 425 words]
One Sacramento man is dead and three others are in custody following an apparent home invasion robbery attempt in Laytonville Saturday morning. One of the occupants at the home was also shot in the leg. The investigation is still in its early phases and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office have released few details. When deputies responded to the Laytonville residence following the 7:21 a.m. 9-1-1 call, they found the masked body of Timothy Burger, 21, of Sacramento, lying just outside. [continues 656 words]
Why the DEA targeted the 99-pot plant collective farm owned by Joy Greenfield in a Covelo raid earlier this month remains a mystery that is unlikely to be enlightened soon. Until an arrest is made, the DEA and US Attorney's office are not required to share any information while it remains "under court seal." Greenfield followed the Mendocino County rules; registering her grow as a collective supplying the Light the Way dispensary in San Diego; paying her $1,050 registration fee; buying zip ties for each plan; and having the site inspected by Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies prior to the raid. She was the first to take advantage of the new Mendocino County pot-growing ordinance approved in March. [continues 246 words]
To the Editor: I find it tragically ironic that after so many years of cannabis prohibition - with the last 40 or so being especially intense - governments have decided to try to recoup some of their wasted billions on that effort via various regulatory schemes involving legalized medical marijuana. Government once vilified and hunted down users of marijuana as if they were dogs. Now it is trying to make money off of the same plant, with a perverse twist on the old saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Daniel Williams Bonita Springs, Fla. [end]
More And More Children Are Testing Positive For Opium Addiction In Afghanistan, Some From Second-hand Smoke And Some Because Their Parents Give It To Them, Dan Williams Reports. Look closer at the drawings on the wall of the Sanga Amaj clinic, and a wrenching motif emerges. One 11-year-old's family tableau shows father and mother huddled over heroin kits as their sons watch helplessly. Another sketch is of smiling youngsters around a poppy plant that has been crossed out in red, like a traffic no-go sign. [continues 810 words]
Goodness. I just love living in a state totally controlled by Republicans. "Is price too high for punishment?" (News, May 23) pointed out that Georgia should be looking to Texas, and model a program here like theirs. The idea of modeling anything after Texas got my attention really quick (I hope we don't copy their textbook commission). The take-away message here is that changing the lives of nonviolent offenders is all about saving money. It's never about doing the right thing for nonviolent citizens. It's never about the human capital absolutely wasted, if not destroyed, in our prison system. It's never about perpetuating a permanent underclass that will never be able to productively contribute to society. I won't even delve into the issue of how harsh and inflexible our sentencing is. [continues 69 words]
