State and federal drug enforcement officials say they have pulled more than 5 million marijuana plants from public and private land this year, a record amount. The state Department of Justice, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies announced Wednesday that they have seized 5.2 million marijuana plants. Most of those were on public land. John Gaines, chief of California's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, said more than half the nation's domestically produced marijuana is grown in California. State and federal agencies participating in the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting and Operation Green Acres 2 also made 143 arrests and seized 142 weapons. The marijuana cultivation season generally runs from July through October. [end]
In this year's presidential election, medical marijuana advocates in California were pretty clear on which candidate they were rooting for. On multiple occasions, Democrat Barack Obama has pledged to end the federal raids that have bedeviled the state's dispensaries for years under the Bush administration. But some of their relief has turned into concern as the incoming president has begun to consider appointments to key posts. Obama will reportedly appoint two men who have been fierce critics of medical marijuana: Eric Holder, rumored to be Obama's pick for attorney general, and Donald Vereen as transitional co-chair of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). [continues 987 words]
Top narcotics enforcers gathered Wednesday in Sacramento to announce this year's record seizure of marijuana plants from public and private lands and to decry the damage to California's natural resources caused by Mexican drug cartels' pot gardens. At a briefing hosted by the U.S. attorney's office, the drug cops said raids in 40 of the state's 58 counties yielded more than 5.2 million plants seized and destroyed. Nearly 70 percent of them were growing on state and federal land, the officers said. [continues 410 words]
Re: "Selling pot 'in the light' " (Newslines, by Ginger McGuire, CN&R, Nov. 13: Your story about Joel Castle I found to be very interesting. You did not state in the article if he was under the influence of weed when he did the interview. Interviewing someone under the influence of a drug is like reporting convoluted, fuzzy and error-laden information. What can we expect next, an Oxycontin pusher of the week story or possibly drug dealer of the year article? I know this type of juvenile minutia moves your papers in a college town with a quasi-high-school drug mentality, but please, no more pothead interviews. [continues 107 words]
I for one welcome any safe access [to medical marijuana]. It was promised that under the law (Prop 215 and SB 420)-that passed and stood the test of many lawsuits. It is about states' rights vs. federal rights. At least Joel [Castle of Chico Cannabis Club] has stepped up to the plate and is trying! Who else has? We have three "pot doctors" here in Chico, but nowhere to legally buy meds. Why is that? The Chico City Council never has any talk about this subject; it's always last on the list at meetings and is always ignored! Thanks for nothing, City Hall. I say more power to you, Joel, and keep up the good work for all of us who for whatever reasons can't fight the fight we believe in! Jay Maxwell Paradise [end]
The Arcata City Council adopted the long-awaited medical marijuana guidelines regulating cultivation and dispensing Wednesday night, despite opposition from medical marijuana patients and caregivers. The council unanimously adopted the guidelines, which aim to regulate how dispensaries operate in hopes of curbing Proposition 215 abuse, with a clarification included regarding the amount of space cultivation can take place in. Shaye Harty, who said she is a medical patient who does not grow in her own residence, urged the council to take more time to consider the language of the guidelines. She said she would not be willing to give up her partnerships with the three people that do live in the houses she grows in. [continues 324 words]
If the Arcata City Council approves of the new medical marijuana guidelines tonight, patients, caregivers and dispensaries in the inland areas of the city will have to adhere to regulations imposed on the cultivation and dispensing of medical marijuana. The council will vote on amending the guidelines, which aim to regulate how dispensaries operate in hopes of curbing Proposition 215 abuse, and add them to the recently adopted land use codes. The guidelines -- which will apply to all areas of Arcata except those that remain in the coastal zone, which is located mainly in the bottoms as well as south G Street -- will go into effect in about a month, according to senior planner Joe Mateer. [continues 457 words]
Several members of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project on Tuesday asked the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to reconsider its opposition to issuing medical marijuana identification cards to patients. Forty of California's 58 counties are distributing marijuana cards. "It's about the responsibility of government to protect its citizens." said Barbara MacKenzie, a representative of Shelter From the Storm. Lanny Swerdlow, a medical marijuana advocate, hopes the supervisors will consider dropping a planned appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court with San Diego County. "We want them to stop arresting medical marijuana patients and stop wasting taxpayer's money on frivolous lawsuits," Swerdlow said. None of the supervisors would comment about the request. [end]
LAKEPORT - The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support the Sheriff's Department application for a $275,000 grant to fund its marijuana suppression program. Funding would support two deputy sheriffs, partial payment of a prosecutor and operating expenses from the California Emergency Management Agency Drug Enforcement Section Grant, Sheriff Rod Mitchell said. More than $90,000 of a deputy's salary would be freed up to pay additional sheriff personnel. Chairwoman Denise Rushing said she wanted to make sure the application specified marijuana grows not following local, state and federal law would be subject to enforcement. [continues 368 words]
To the Editor: In 1612, the Native Americans taught John Rolf how to cultivate tobacco in Virginia. This commodity quickly grew into a thriving commercial enterprise. But along with it came a very troublesome problem. By the 1670s, the medical literature of those times began to report all of the increased tumor growths and disease occurring in the population. Despite of the warnings of those days, tobacco has flourished and remains big business. It continues to be a serious medical cause of disease and accounts for nearly 500,000 deaths each year. Most of us recognize what tobacco has caused and there are on-going attempts to wipe out some of its consequences. [continues 852 words]
LAKE FOREST - Two raids conducted at Lake Forest medical marijuana dispensaries Friday afternoon have owners and volunteers at other dispensaries on high alert. Advocates for the centers argue the raids and subsequent arrests are connected to attempts by the city to strong-arm the facilities into shutting down. The searches of 215 Agenda and The Health Collective, conducted by the narcotics division of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, were "completely separate" from the city's attempt to shut down 22 Lake Forest medical marijuana dispensaries through a lawsuit that alleges the businesses violate the city's zoning code, said City Attorney Scott Smith. [continues 1119 words]
In case you haven't noticed, there's a low-level civil war under way south of the border, and the bad guys seem to be winning. In the 24 months since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against Mexico's drug cartels, over 6,500 soldiers, narcos, cops, judges and innocent bystanders have been gunned down, beheaded or blown up. Absolutely no one is safe. In May the country's top law enforcement officer was riddled with bullets after his bodyguards dropped him off at home. The assassins were waiting on the other side of the door - literally an inside job. [continues 750 words]
Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States of America. With him come many story lines and interests streaming from the glaring lights of the television. History was made: The first black president was elected. It meant something different to the black community. So why is it important? Of what real significance is the election of the first black man as the 44th president? To the black community or more accurately, to this black author, President-elect Obama's significance is currently outside of the realm of politics. If support for Obama was only because of his political views, then even this author would have little reason to lend political support. [continues 550 words]
If you're reading this column you probably live somewhere in the vicinity of UC Berkeley, a university that is famous (or infamous) for a few things. One would be deeply depressed nerds bawling over their latest midterm-a stereotype I see a great deal (in the mirror). Another may be the amazing scientific research that goes on in the laboratories all around campus, or the infectious activist spirit, the large homeless population, a fantastic academic environment and last, but certainly not least, marijuana. Yes, everyone from Berkeley has almost certainly come in contact with Cal's favorite plant somehow, most likely by walking down Telegraph Avenue. I never really enjoy it when I'm out for a stroll and the unmistakable smell mauls my nostrils, but in the end it's just another one of those lovable Berkeley quirks. [continues 616 words]
I am a graduate of Arroyo High School, Class of 1969. This is regarding the news article in your newspaper "Record year for pot seizures": In order to send the correct message to our young people, we have forsaken a billion dollars in tax revenue. The $14 billion marijuana crop harvested by Los Angeles County this season, taxed at 7.25 percent would have yielded more than a billion dollars in revenue. And that is only the detected portion of the crop. Cannabis is by far the leading cash crop in California, and the nation as well. What drives this profitability? Why prohibition, of course. The failed and utterly disproven notion of prohibition reaps its reward. Jay Bergstrom Forest Ranch, CA [end]
Recent rains this fall may have dampened the prospects of any marijuana still remaining outdoors, but the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force remains busy with drugs in Mendocino County. Any marijuana plants still outside may as well be left there, Bob Nishiyama, Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force commander said Thursday. Nishiyama said he sees connections between marijuana and other drugs in his job as MMCTF commander. Previously in mid-October Nishiyama had seen a grower raided by Campaign Against Marijuana Planting spend money from last year's crops on "crank," or methamphetamines, to make up for the loss of his plants this year. [continues 286 words]
Part 1 appeared in the November 12 TWN and covered the recent action by the California Supreme Court and the specific protections provided to valid state medical marijuana cardholders. The court is currently reviewing the three medical marijuana cases of the People vs. Kelly; Phomphakdy; and Wood and is expected to eventually rule on whether the current medical marijuana Health and Safety Code violates the state constitution and/or whether there was an alternative to invalidating the entire section. In August 2008, the California Attorney General issued a comprehensive set of "guidelines to ensure the security and non-diversion of marijuana grown for medical use." The guidelines reinforce specific protections to medical marijuana patients holding a valid state issued card against arrest and seizure. For those claiming medical marijuana protection without a card, the issue may be left up to the courts to resolve. For co-ops, collectives and dispensaries, implementation of the newly issued guidelines will likely change how medical marijuana is grown and distributed to patients in California. [continues 415 words]
To the Editor: Mendocino County law enforcement is reportedly conducting a major sweep of marijuana growers, big and small. I've heard reports that there are so many marijuana arrestees in jail that people are sleeping on the floor. Some have been arrested for a single plant! Meanwhile, the epidemic of heroin overdoses in the county among young people continues. I know of two in Fort Bragg in the past couple of months, and one probation officer tells me she's lost 9 probationers to drug overdoses in the past year. Methamphetamine continues to plague our young families, leading to domestic violence and removal of children from their parents due to neglect by meth-using parents. [continues 344 words]
After 15 Years of Devotion to the Medical Marijuana Movement in Santa Cruz, WAMM Founders Michael and Valerie Corral Face the Loss of Their Land and the End of a Dream. On Friday, Oct. 10, one of the final days of the marijuana harvest in her garden, Valerie Leveroni Corral feels the first real chill of fall on the deck of the home she built in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Stepping around her geriatric dog Ebo and over a deaf cat lying supine in a pool of morning sunlight, she pulls a coat on over her tiny frame and gets into her old Volvo station wagon to drive the gravel road to the garden. [continues 4187 words]
I am a graduate of Arroyo High School, Class of 1969. This is regarding the news article in your newspaper "Record year for pot seizures": In order to send the correct message to our young people, we have forsaken a billion dollars in tax revenue. The $14 billion marijuana crop harvested by Los Angeles County this season, taxed at 7.25 percent would have yielded more than a billion dollars in revenue. And that is only the detected portion of the crop. Cannabis is by far the leading cash crop in California, and the nation as well. What drives this profitability? Why prohibition, of course. The failed and utterly disproven notion of prohibition reaps its reward Jay Bergstrom Forest Ranch, CA [end]
Inside California
