Violent Attack Leaves Couple and Children 'Traumatized' Some of the children in the home had to witness their father being viciously assaulted. Acting Det. Anna Sinclair A young family in southwest Edmonton is traumatized after a violent home invasion in which police believe they were mistakenly targeted Friday night. A total of five suspects were involved in the assault on a 36-year-old man outside his home on McAllister Crescent, which began around 11:20 p.m. Friday night. Initially, three masked men confronted the man when he went out to the family's vehicle. He was threatened with a firearm, then severely beaten and dragged back into the home, according to police. [continues 219 words]
Maryjane, Weed, Dope, Pot ... Whatever You Want to Call It, It Has Taken Root to Call Tucson Home In upcoming weeks, Earth's Healing dispensary will get to christen a 10,000 square-feet cultivation site with new medical marijuana strains. The one they are most proud of was donated to the dispensary by a caregiver who wanted the special medical strain he'd been harvesting for years to have a legacy. The so-called Champasu is highly enhanced with CBD, or cannabidiol, one of the major medicinal compounds of ganja. CBD is used for treating chronic pain, diabetes, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other neurological disorders. [continues 662 words]
A Judge Upholds a 1970 Federal Law Classifying Marijuana As a Dangerous Drug. SAN FRANCISCO - Efforts to legalize marijuana suffered a defeat in court Wednesday when a judge upheld the constitutionality of a 1970 federal law that classifies cannabis as a dangerous drug akin to LSD and heroin. U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, announcing her decision at a hearing in Sacramento, said she could not lightly overturn a law passed by Congress. Mueller agreed last year to hold an extensive fact-finding hearing on the issue, raising the hopes of activists seeking to legalize marijuana and worrying opponents who consider the drug a threat to health and public safety. The hearing marked the first time in decades that a judge was willing to examine the classification of marijuana under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. [continues 460 words]
An addictions expert at the University of B.C. is renewing the argument for prescribing heroin to addicts who have tried and failed to kick their habits. Dr. Martin Schechter says there is a small subset of heroin addicts who have tried to quit but cannot succeed using traditional methods such as detox programs or methadone treatment. Schechter says giving these people access to heroin in treatment, rather than leaving them to find it on the street, is better for them and for society. [continues 200 words]
Business caters to medical marijuana users: enjoy coffee, rent a bong GUELPH - The owner of a new marijuana lounge in downtown Guelph says "the motivation for the idea is purely selfish." "It is to have a place for myself and people like me, who have medical prescriptions, to hang out and smoke marijuana," said Anthony (Tony) Veder, owner of the DLR 420 Vapour Lounge on Macdonell Street. Veder made the comments in an interview just after the opening of the operation. [continues 746 words]
Delegates consider the finer points of a pro-pot campaign Washington's weed warrior gives politicians something to put in their pipe and smoke The ganja smoke hung thick in the air over the hall packed with red-eyed delegates from up and down British Columbia's West Coast who had gathered to ponder how to "free the weed." Not. In fact, the mayors, councillors and industry reps attending the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) conference session about the success of Washington State's marijuana legalization drive might as well have been listening to a corporate marketing presentation about a new product or a slick Power Point slide-show on urban planning metrics. [continues 597 words]
Public response to the opening of the DLR 420 Vapour Lounge downtown where patrons can go to smoke marijuana in a cafe setting speaks volumes about how much public attitudes have changed about pot since I was young. I heard about the lounge, like most people, from a story published earlier this month in the Mercury. Only then did I realize the person behind it was Guelph merchant Tony Veder. I bumped into Veder downtown at Planet Bean just after the story broke. He told me he had been doing his best to dodge newspaper and television reporters who were trying to track him down for an interview. [continues 549 words]
DENVER - While federal law makes their entire industry illegal, many marijuana store owners, growers and retailers fear something completely different: Big Tobacco. Today, most legal recreational marijuana operations are small, limited to a single state and barred from ever getting large by regulators who want to keep a close eye on the fast-growing industry. But those small operators struggle to get bank loans for expansion, often produce an inconsistent product and sometimes have no idea how to balance supply and demand for their crops. [continues 963 words]
In November 2012, Washington state voters approved Initiative 502 legalizing recreational marijuana. Part of the appeal of legalization was the potential of a new revenue source for cities. To date, Washington has brought in over $31 million in excise tax revenue from marijuana sales, expected to reach over $362 million by 2019. Yet none of the excise tax revenue is shared with cities, and only a small portion of retail sales tax is retained by cities. Washington state relies on local cities to enforce marijuana laws. Cities need to receive a share of the excise tax revenue to help deal with the additional impacts created by the legalization and sale of marijuana, including enforcing regulations and increased demands on our police. [continues 85 words]
