DANBURY, Conn. (AP) -- A national marijuana advocacy group has dumped its Connecticut chapter after police say an officer threatened a state senator. The action came as a legislative committee prepared to vote Tuesday on a proposal to decriminalize marijuana. The panel ran out of time and didn't act. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, says the chapter's affiliation was withdrawn after Dominic Vita's arrest. Vita was charged Friday with disorderly conduct. He's accused of sending an e-mail saying he was "getting ready to go postal" and implied harm against Sen. Toni Boucher (boo-SHAY'), who opposes the bill. Vita has apologized and says he accidentally sent it to a state address instead of a friend. [end]
CHICO -- Safety concerns over medical marijuana plants growing in residential areas could result in zoning regulations on where in town pot plants can grow. Faced with concerns from a Chico woman two doors down from a home growing medical marijuana, city councilors on the council's Internal Affairs subcommittee directed staff to look into making changes in the city's Municipal Code that could restrict growing to areas zoned for light industrial use. However, because the city's Planning Department is currently immersed in the process of updating the city's General Plan, any zoning change recommendations will come as time allows. [continues 293 words]
Re: "Is U.S. high on pot legalization?," May 12. To quote columnist Mindy Jacobs "and our medical pot regulations are so complex -- thanks to the constant tug of war between the government and the courts over how the scheme should be run -- that no one really has a clue how it's supposed to work." It should also be noted that Health Canada (which manages the medical marijuana licence department) has repeatedly violated court orders, and the whole program has been ruled "unconstitutional" by at least four judges. If the public knew what we Medical Marijuana Licence Holders already know about the Health Canada fiasco, the tide of public opinion would shift hard in favour of legalization. But public opinion should not even factor into this discussion, because the public is so miserably misinformed on this topic that their opinions are useless. Legalizing marijuana is simply the right thing to do, and all science and history supports this. Russell Barth (Public opinion, informed or not, always counts.) [end]
I'm responding the the outstanding column by Dr. Ronald Frasier: "Arizona could make medical marijuana a reality." I'd like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation, has the rare potential side effect of death. In other words, if I take this medication as prescribed, I can die as a result. On the other hand, marijuana has never been documented to kill a single person in the 5,000 year history of its use. For me, marijuana is the more effective medication. Right now, if adult citizens of Arizona opt for the safer and more effective medication, they are subject to arrest and being sent to jail with violent criminals. Is something wrong with this situation? I think so. Shouldn't adult citizens have the freedom to choose what goes into their own bodies in the privacy of their own homes? KIRK MUSE MESA [end]
CLEVELAND -- A federal drug enforcement agent has pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment that accuses him of framing 17 people during controlled drug buys through an informant. Lee Michael Lucas, 41, of Cleveland appeared Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver on charges, including obstruction of justice and violating civil rights. Lucas allegedly used a drug informant in 2005 to make controlled drug buys and then put false information in his reports on the transactions He was released on personal bond, and has a Jan. 6 trial date. The informant pleaded guilty in 2007 to related charges and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. [end]
Good grief. So now, in order to pull the politicians' fat out of the fire, we're supposed to legalize marijuana so we can tax it to help us out of the hole in which they put us. OK, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't exactly say it should be legalized, rather we should start the debate. He's kidding, right? We already have passed Proposition 215, which allows for the use of medical marijuana. You see how well that's working. Guess those lawsuits and the harassment up and down the state by counties and cities trying to thwart the proposition don't count. [continues 434 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]
Fox Encouraged About US Cooperation In Drug War KENNESAW, Ga. -- Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Tuesday he is encouraged that the Obama administration accepts some U.S. responsibility for drug violence ravaging Mexico, but he is not yet persuaded it will lead to concrete U.S. actions. "The responsibility is here as well as it is in Mexico, so it's a joint responsibility," he said in an interview in suburban Atlanta with The Associated Press. "Finally they have accepted this." [continues 429 words]
While Schwarzenegger Wants to Debate Pot Legalization, Californians Are Ready to Do It and the Mainstream Media Lets You Know Where You Can Buy Some. It looks as if marijuana has reached a tipping point. Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he welcomed a debate on legalizing and taxing pot. And of course, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco has a bill that would do just that. Ammiano estimates that California could reap $1.3 billion a year in marijuana tax proceeds. And the governor's surprising comments indicate that he wants Ammiano's bill to get a full airing. [continues 224 words]
Arnold Schwarzenegger proved last week he's not a girly-man when it comes to the debate over whether marijuana should be legalized and taxed in California. Gov. Arnold called for a large-scale study of the consequences of legalizing pot for recreational use in California and suggested that the study might benefit from looking at the effects of drug legalization moves already made by European countries. Arnold earned high praise from drug-law reformer Ethan Nadelmann for doing what most politicians are too chicken to ever do -- go on record as being in favor of honestly discussing the pros and cons of ending drug prohibition. [continues 722 words]
I am writing this letter regarding the April 19 Open Forum letter "Legalizing drugs is not the answer to the problem" The government does indeed determine what drug/narcotic is legal or illegal such as, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Drugs are categorized by the FDA and the DEA as either legal or illegal depending on their potential for abuse. The war on drugs has not been very productive besides putting more drug dealers/users together. Most of the individuals that are being arrested on drug charges are small-time street-level drug dealers. A recent study by the Department of Justice states that approximately 13 percent of all federal inmates are in prison for violent crimes or had a prior criminal record before being incarcerated. Nearly 55 percent of federal prisoners are serving time for a drug offense. [continues 210 words]
San Mateo County supervisors unanimously passed a slate of regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated area despite last-minute appeals by users and owners to tweak the language regarding the word "sales" and allow edible products like brownies on-site. The Board of Supervisors approved the ordinance 4-1, with Supervisor Rich Gordon absent. The ordinance includes 21 provisions regulating the location, security, products allowed and a ban on advertising and sales of cultivated marijuana on site. Violations are misdemeanors. [continues 288 words]
