Following a protest Wednesday by more than 150 people at the Oakland County courthouse, medical marijuana advocates said they plan to gather Monday in Pontiac and Lapeer for more protests against the arrests of patients and raids on dispensaries selling the drug. Oakland County authorities said the protests would not alter their tactics, such as last month's raids that shut dispensaries in Ferndale and Waterford, and closed a center in Waterford where patients gathered to use the drug. A protest is to be held at 12:30 p.m. Monday outside the Lapeer County Sheriff's Office and a second is to be at 3:30 p.m. outside the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Rick Thompson of Oak Park-based Michigan Medical Marijuana Magazine said Friday. [continues 142 words]
A Wall Street Journal Roundup CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Mexican authorities say 25 people have been killed in a series of drug-gang shootings in Ciudad Juarez, marking the deadliest day in three years for the border city. Prosecutors' spokesman Arturo Sandoval says that in the worst attack, gunmen burst into a house and killed two young men-then killed four other people just for being witnesses. Mr. Sandoval spoke Friday about the death toll Thursday. He said it was the deadliest day in three years in the city across the border from El Paso, Texas. [continues 172 words]
Marc Emery, Canada's "Prince of Pot" and a powerful voice in the debate over the decriminalization of marijuana, was sent to federal prison for five years on Friday for selling millions of cannabis seeds by mail and phone order, the culmination of a five-year prosecution and plea agreement that saw Emery extradited from Vancouver. In a statement to U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez and in a letter to the court, Emery admitted his attempt to force a change in U.S. and Canadian drug laws through "civil disobedience" and flouting the laws was "overzealous and reckless." [continues 508 words]
Kentucky's two illustrious candidates for the Senate seat to be vacated by Jim Bunning, Mr. Paul and Mr. Conway, are arguing over financing the War on Drugs. Mr. Paul says that Federal money should not be given to the states to fight what is essentially a local problem. Mr. Conway believes that the War on Drugs cannot be fought on the local level without Federal help. That Federal support for local drug task forces is key in fighting the war. [continues 343 words]
Sure, we're faced with seemingly insurmountable problems, but I'm heartened by the efforts of diverse groups of Californians to limit government and create a more freedom-friendly future. I, as a nattering nabob, see negativism everywhere. The Legislature manages to do just about everything wrong. The Obama administration - like the Bush administration - is an embarrassment bordering on a disaster. Debt is rising, freedom is receding, and our governments keep getting bigger and more wasteful. But even I can't avoid the hopeful signs apparent almost everywhere. I spoke Tuesday to about 300 conservatives in Silicon Valley about the problem of public employee pensions. This group was energized by local election prospects in November. It's a long shot for conservatives to expect big wins in the Bay Area, but don't try telling that to any of the activists who were in attendance. Up the road, in San Francisco, Public Defender Jeff Adachi jumped through the final legal hurdle recently and has placed a serious pension reform measure on the November ballot. If reform can happen in San Francisco, it can happen anywhere. [continues 856 words]
Sentenced to five years behind bars, Canada's Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, was led off to an American penitentiary Friday repenting his seed-selling sins and professing love for his wife. "I love you, Jodie!" he mouthed silently to her as he was led away. There may be a place for and time for a debate over the legalization of marijuana, the judge told him, but this is not the time or the place -- marijuana is illegal. In a beige prisoner's jumpsuit, Emery sat throughout the 15-minute hearing with his hands folded under his chin. [continues 812 words]
A young offender on Friday surprisingly entered guilty pleas to drug-trafficking charges halfway through his trial for selling ecstasy to two girls who died after taking the drugs. The 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, had previously pleaded not guilty to selling drugs to several teens from Paul Band First Nation. The change of pleas means the case will be back in court Nov. 19 for sentencing. The teens who died were Trinity Bird, 15, and Leah House, 14. [continues 150 words]
Telling the truth about smoking pot nearly two decades ago is jeopardizing a computer programmer's residency in Canada. Chris Tarttelin, who moved to Saskatoon in October 2008 with his wife and two children, has been told by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to get a psychological assessment by Sunday for the marijuana he smoked when he was 18. The order stems from questions asked during a doctor's visit as part of the British citizen's application for permanent residency in Canada. [continues 1032 words]
In Rare Request, Defense Lawyer For Alleged Kingpin 'La Barbie,' A Texas Native, Asks Americans To Pursue Deportation MEXICO CITY - Edgar Valdez Villareal, a U.S.-born alleged drug lord who was captured in Mexico last week, wants to return to his roots in Texas to face trial rather than stay in a Mexican jail, his lawyer said. Mr. Valdez, called "La Barbie" in Mexico for his green eyes and sandy colored hair, has a reputation for beheading opponents in Mexico's violent drug wars. He fears that he will get killed in a Mexican prison, according to Kent Schaffer, his Houston-based lawyer. [continues 858 words]
