Uncle Sam will no longer bother with medical marijuana users and their caregivers, so long as they adhere to medical pot laws in the 14 states that have them, according to new guidelines Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday. The guidelines, laid out in a memo sent to all United States attorneys, formalize earlier statements by both Holder and President Barack Obama that the administration has no interest in pressing a clash between federal and state pot laws that brought frequent marijuana dispensary raids and occasional prosecutions of backyard growers during the Clinton and Bush eras. [continues 979 words]
THE WORLD OF SALVIA - Bill Cooper hardly expected to dial into a world of Mazatec Indian shamanism when his phone went dead and he borrowed his son's. Then he saw one of the text messages: "hey, when were you fixen to blaze the salvia." Cooper, a bill collector, suspected it was code lingo for marijuana. But under parental pressure his 15-year-old finally told him "something horrifying," Cooper said. see salvia, page 15 He and other Brentwood teens smoked a little-known Mexican sage sold legally to adults in California, and apt to launch users into a strong, hallucinogenic and sometimes fearful mind trip. [continues 941 words]
Bill Cooper hardly expected to dial into a world of Mazatec Indian shamanism when his phone went dead and he reached to borrow his son's. Then he saw one of the text messages: "hey, when were you fixen to blaze the salvia." Cooper, a bill collector, suspected it was code lingo for marijuana. But under parental pressure his 15-year-old finally told him "something horrifying," Cooper said. He and other Brentwood teens smoked a little-known Mexican sage sold legally to adults in California, and apt to launch users into a strong, hallucinogenic and sometimes fearful mind trip. [continues 943 words]
Governor Speaks of Legalization OAKLAND -- In the East Bay's growing hotbed of marijuana-related commerce, an uptown stretch some call "Oaksterdam," the buzz just got thicker. They're talking about it at Oaksterdam University, where seminars fill up months in advance about marijuana law, cultivation, bud-tending and other pot topics. At a shop across Broadway that sells the latest hash-making machines and German vaporizers, a dozen people wait for patient ID cards in the back, some with babies on their laps. [continues 768 words]
OAKLAND -- Here in the East Bay's growing hotbed of marijuana-related commerce -- an uptown stretch that some call "Oaksterdam" -- the buzz just got thicker. They're talking about it at Oaksterdam University, where seminars fill up months in advance on marijuana law, cultivation, bud-tending and other pot topics; and at a shop across Broadway that sells the latest hash-making machines and German vaporizers, while a dozen people wait for patient ID cards in the back, some with babies on their laps. [continues 779 words]
Back when he started cooking "crank" five years ago, Ryan Spencer had little trouble shopping for ingredients. He bought or stole pseudoephedrine pills by the boxful. He would hop from pharmacy to pharmacy, gathering enough of the cold and allergy medicine for a decent batch of methamphetamine. For iodine he would drop by the local feed store. Red phosphorous proved harder to find, so Spencer would soak matchbook strike pads in acetone and scrape it off. That was until lawmakers and police clamped down on bulk sales of pseudoephedrine and a host of volatile chemicals used to make the potent stimulant known as "meth," "zip," "Tina" and "hillbilly crack." [continues 752 words]
'Cranksters' Adapt Despite Crackdown On Home Labs Back when he started cooking crank five years ago, Ryan Spencer had little trouble shopping for ingredients. He bought or stole pseudoephedrine pills by the boxful. He would hop from pharmacy to pharmacy, gathering enough of the cold and allergy medicine for a decent batch of methamphetamine. For iodine he would drop by the local feed store. Red phosphorous proved harder to find, so Spencer would soak matchbook strike pads in acetone and scrape it off. [continues 2317 words]
A day after federal agents seized thousands of marijuana plants and a booty of pot-laced candy and soda pop in raids on warehouses in Emeryville and Oakland, local medical cannabis advocates reacted coolly -- bitter at another federal plunder on a substance the state deems legal for the sick, but leery of an operation that packaged its products to mimic popular brands of sweets. The raids on a business called Beyond Bomb netted some 10,000 rooted plants, thousands of tiny plant "clones," as well as boxes of candy and soda with take-off names such as "Pot Tarts," "Toka-Cola," "Stoney Rancher" and "Munchy Way," with labels to match. [continues 861 words]
SAN FRANCISCO - Marijuana celebrity Ed Rosenthal walked free from a federal courtroom Wednesday after a judge handed him a one-day prison sentence on a federal marijuana conviction that could have brought him decades behind bars. A crowd of marijuana supporters cheered loudly in court, spilling gleefully into a hallway that smelled faintly of weed. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan shook his head in dismay. Rosenthal, 58, has already served the time. He shouted defiance and said he would appeal his conviction. [continues 545 words]
