LAKEWOOD - Medical marijuana dispensaries would have to fire employees who have not lived in Colorado for two years, under a potential new rule that state regulators considered Monday. Marijuana retailers oppose the plan, saying it interferes with their right to hire employees, and some are threatening a lawsuit. The dispute stems from the marijuana regulation bill the Legislature passed this spring, House Bill 1284. The bill set up a system for licensing marijuana shops and cultivation operations, but it left the job of working out details to the Department of Revenue. [continues 251 words]
Editor: In view of the many comments online in support of medical marijuana contradicting the professional articles giving MATT Force and a DEA Agent's negative opinion about medical marijuana, this is just in from the MPP (Marijuana Policy Project). The DEA has gone rogue. Despite clear evidence from the Department of Justice directing them to do otherwise, agents are conducting raids of homes and businesses where the occupants are acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. These agents are storming onto the property of law-abiding citizens with guns drawn, destroying marijuana plants being grown for patients, stealing computers and cash, and even trashing the place behind them when they leave. [continues 321 words]
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif -- The majority of the 45-minute public comment period at Tuesday's city council meeting was carried by people speaking against a proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensiaries. "This is the beginning of a group that will be here for every meeting for eternity if this ban goes through," said Shelly Arnold, a Tahoe Wellness Collective employee. "This movement is here to stay and we are not going away. You are dreaming if you think this is just going to blow off the map and we are not going to be here to address this." [continues 499 words]
OWOSSO -- The City Council decided not to move forward with a moratorium on businesses associated with medical marijuana during its meeting Monday night. However, the council did decide to create a subcommittee to further explore how the Medical Marijuana Act that Michigan voters approved in 2008 ties in with the city's zoning regulations. "This is a major discussion probably with every city in the state," interim city manager Donald Crawford said, noting ordinances recently passed in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills completely banning medical marijuana are being challenged by the ACLU. [continues 247 words]
Residence halls at the University of Colorado don't have discount arrangements with medical marijuana dispensaries, despite what Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said this morning while debating his Democratic challenger Stan Garnett, CU officials said. In response to a question about whether marijuana should be legalized, Suthers referenced CU as an example of the hypocrisy of law enforcement's current relationship with marijuana in Colorado. "We have situations now where dorms at CU have discount arrangements with particular dispensaries," Suthers said during this morning's attorney general debate on radio station AM 760. [continues 679 words]
CORUNNA -- The City Council Monday approved a six-month moratorium on permits or licenses for those hoping to open up medical marijuana-related businesses in the city. The moratorium will give the city council and the planning commission six months to look into potential modifications to the code of ordinances that may establish regulations to control the sale and dispensation of medical marijuana, according to the resolution. "There are several grey areas that have been pointed out that different communities are struggling with," City Manager Joe Sawyer said, adding these grey areas are creating difficulties for local communities that are trying to grasp how medical marijuana businesses fit into local zoning. "It has to do with where can this be sold, under what conditions, what terms, what zoning does it belong in." [continues 202 words]
OAKLAND -- The nation's top narcotics watchdog, the Drug Enforcement Administration, has requested information about Oakland's ordinance permitting large-scale medical pot growing facilities. DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said agents wanted to know if the ordinance on the city website was a draft or a final version. He would not specify why the agency wanted the information, but the inquiry raised speculation that the new plans have put Oakland in the agency's cross hairs. Payne downplayed the speculation but said, "Anytime there is large-scale marijuana cultivation, it is something that would interest us." [continues 210 words]
FLORENCE -- In a 4-3 vote Monday evening, the Florence City Council did not have a majority vote of three quarters, or six out of seven council members, to put Ordinance 4-2010 on the Nov. 2 ballot, which would have asked voters whether to prohibit the operation of medical marijuana centers, optional premises cultivation operations and medical marijuana-infused products manufacturers' operations. Council members Nichole Prickett, Bruce Schneider and Charles Giebler, along with Mayor Paul Villagrana voted to allow the measure, while council members Ron Hinkle, Larry Baker and Joe Caruso voted against putting the measure before Florence citizens. [continues 680 words]
Jacob Sullum's July 30 column is right -- legal pot would be a boon to economy. But he omitted benefits beyond taxability and jobs. It also would deal a body blow to the Mexican drug cartels and U.S. drug dealers whose turf battles cause unnecessary deaths. If Proposition 19 passes in California, legalizing pot, other Western states appear ready to swell the trend. In these recessionary times, with every level of government desperate for more revenue yet reluctant to raise taxes, it could become a groundswell in the direction of sanity, given that President Richard Nixon's "War on Drugs," begun in the '70s, has not been won and never shall be. Meanwhile, we waste billions on all levels of jurisdiction, trying in vain to cope with 24/7 drug traffic. Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park [end]
What do Maui Wowie, Acapulco Gold and Albino Rhino all have in common? The answer, surprisingly enough, goes beyond the fact they're all strains of marijuana. They were all filed as trademarks by Colorado-based syndicate Panatella Brands. Over the past few years, public antagonism toward cannabis has largely subsided. Medical marijuana dispensaries are commonplace in states permissive of marijuana use, particularly California. In April, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office instituted a new trademark category: "Processed plant matter for medicinal purposes, namely medical marijuana." [continues 414 words]
TRAVERSE CITY - The city soon will have detailed rules that dictate where, when and in what quantity people can grow and distribute medical marijuana. City commissioners on Monday gave the green light to a series of medical marijuana-related regulations. The move capped a months-long effort to iron out land-use issues related to the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act. The act, approved in 2008, allows patients to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and 12 plants. It also allows designated caregivers to grow and distribute plants to up to five patients. [continues 477 words]
