We are not sure what rock you have been hiding under lately, but if you have not seen Bria Myles then allow us to do you a favor. This smoking hot beauty was given the nickname “Chocolate Thunder” by the staff here at We Smoke Marijuana cause once you see those cheeks, your mind would shake. Tell me, you are not shaking.
This first picture is our favorite as it really highlights the ASSets of Ms. Myles. She is so
mething serious to behold. And as we take a toke of this purple gangja that we are passing around, the view just gets better and better. I will definitely smoke to that!!We are not sure what rock you have been hiding under lately, but if you have not seen... more
With Obam’s NEW Medical Marijuana law it’s okay for ANYBODY to smoke marijuana now. Federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines issued Monday by the Obama administration. FULL STORY HERE: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091019/D9BE5D2G0.html
-With Obam’s NEW Medical Marijuana law it’s okay for ANYBODY to smoke... more
Well I can't claim this as my idea, but, I don't think it is a bad one. And though I love nothing more than getting baked in the morning and eating a nice bowl of Kashii blueberry cereal or Eggo waffles, but I think I can do without for a while... It won't be easy but it is a matter of principal to at least cease buying as much of these products as you possibly can.
Fruit Flavored Snacks
Fruit Steamers™
Fruit Twistables™
Kellogg’s™ Yogos™
Fruit Leather
Stretch Island(R) Fruit Leather
On-the-Go Snacks
Gripz(R)
Rite BitesTM
Keebler(R) Cookies
Keebler(R) Cookies
Chips Deluxe(R) Cookies
E.L. Fudge(R) Cookies
Fudge Shoppe(R) Cookies
Golden Vanilla Wafers(R) Cookies
Sandies(R) Cookies
Soft Batch(R) Cookies
Vienna Fingers(R) Cookies
Carr’s(R)
Carr’s(R) Cookies
Famous Amos(R)
Famous Amos(R) Cookies
Murray(R)
Murray(R) Cookies
Murray(R) Sugar Free Cookies
You can say what you want about Nikki Manaj, but you have to admit that she has created a buzz. As of this posting, her the official Nikki Manaj Facebook Fan Page has over 500K fans and growing. And the thing about those fans is they are active and passionate about her. People lover here.
We were a hesitant on her in the begininning, but these pictures told us the where we should be. There are rumors that she wears a butt enhancer, but we are not sure.
Either way, fire up a phatty and smoke to this…………………………..You can say what you want about Nikki Manaj, but you have to admit that she has... more
Seven million Americans have been arrested since 1995 on marijuana charges and 41,000 of them are rotting in federal and state prisons. Thousands of other pot users and sellers are confined in local jails. But the public is starting to rebel against “the preposterous war on pot,” two political scientists say.
At a time when American prisons are overflowing and government budgets are busting, authorities across the United States continue to arrest and prosecute hundreds of thousands of people for marijuana possession, sometimes even for small amounts.
In this guest essay, journalist Sherwood Ross examines this excessive use of government power against citizens engaging in personal behavior that many doctors say isn’t as dangerous as drinking alcohol and far less risky than smoking cigarettes.
Read on to see what Sherwood Ross has to say, it is very informative and I recommend everyone read it once or twice. http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/110709c.htmlSeven million Americans have been arrested since 1995 on marijuana charges and 41,000... more
It was in Los Angeles in 1983, while I was attending John Burroughs Junior High, when I recall coming home and tuning into an episode of the popular ABC sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes. I remember watching intently as First Lady Nancy Reagan teetered onto the screen.
I watched that show the way I did most other American sitcoms having to do with race relations, with a studious blend of curiousity, fascination, and burgeoning media criticism. I hadn't been born in the U.S., but I'd been living in the diverse megalopolis since 1977. That was long enough to know that this country had rather serious, unresolved problems when it came to skin color, class, ethnicity, culture and language.
To say nothing of drug use.
There was no way to avoid it. Most of the kids in my public school were not from well-to-do families, but the children of the well-to-do were actually the first kids I saw with illicit drugs and cigarettes -- that was back in elementary school. After that point, I saw cigarette, drug and alcohol use everywhere, all around me, whether at the hands of rich kids buying and selling pills and powder for weekend parties, or self-destructing teens trying to flush trauma out of their bodies with copious amounts of Olde English malt liquor.
Standing in front of the television in our living room, I remember thinking, most vividly, that Nancy Reagan's head was enormous. I also clearly remember the smiles plastered on the cast member's faces as she adopted a motherly tone and explained that what the kids had to do was to "just say no to drugs."
It was an amazing bit of an accomplishment for the federal government's anti-drug crusade: let's work with Hollywood to beam the message straight into American homes, using one of the most popular shows on television at the time.
The thinking behind Nancy Reagan's appearance on Diff'rent Strokes probably went something like this: make it stern, but friendly. We want the kids to know that everything is just fine, and that everything will stay calm, as long as they say "no."
With the War on Drugs, the accompanying, implicit threat is also always there, whether it's spoken or not: If you don't listen to us, if you make a different decision, all bets are off. Once you use actually use an illicit drug -- and especially if you dare to sell one -- you have become something 'other.'
You have become a criminal.It was in Los Angeles in 1983, while I was attending John Burroughs Junior High, when... more
CILLA Black has spoken of her “moment of madness” at being a pot-smoking pensioner.
The veteran Liverpool singer and presenter was talking for the first time about being asked on a TV chat show if she had tried cannabis in later life.
She said: “I am a good Catholic girl, and you know the Catholic guilt thing, so I admitted I had.
“But I do not advocate it. What do they say – it was my moment of madness.”
Cilla, who is starring in pantomime at the Liverpool Empire this year, revealed it happened four years ago, in Los Angeles, on her 61st birthday.
She said: “It was a young guy at a private party.
“He asked if he could smoke.
“He took out this spliff, and I was kind of flattered, and he offered it to me.
“But I have not done it since.
“But I tell you what, it got me over my jet lag. I had the best sleep ever.”
She added: “It was my birthday, and I thought, well, I am a pensioner now.
“And, after all, I had jumped out of a plane the year before.”
Cilla told the ECHO she expects it to be confirmed next week she is returning to television to host a new dating show for Sky One.
The star, who presented ITV’s Blind Date for 18 years, said: “It brings the whole dating process into the 21st century using animation.”
She said: “I enjoyed the pilot. They’re taking me out to dinner next Thursday. Now, they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t want to know. And I need to know so I can organise my social life. A couple of weeks after I finish the panto I would normally go to Barbados. I think it will be a well deserved trip this year.”
Cilla stars as fairy godmother in Cinderella at the Empire from December 11 to January 4.
The all-Liverpool cast also includes Jennifer Ellison, Les Dennis, Ted Robbins and Pete Price.CILLA Black has spoken of her “moment of madness” at being a pot-smoking... more
This film explores the history of the American government's official policy on marijuana in the 20th century. Rising with xenophobia with Mexican immigration and their taste for smoking marijuana, we see the establishment of a wrong headed federal drug policy as a crime issue as opposed to a public health approach. Fueled by prejudice, hysterical propaganda and political opportunism undeterred by voices of reason on the subject, we follow the story of a costly and futile crusade against a substance with questionable ill effects that has damaged basic civil liberties.This film explores the history of the American government's official policy on... more
It has been painful from the outside looking in to watch President-elect Barack Obama begin to cobble together his cabinet officers and senior staff in regards to what prospects there are for substantive cannabis law reforms in this first term.
There are only a couple of key appointments left that may signal the political tea leafs for cannabis law reforms in Obama 1.0 — head of Drug Enforcement Administration (which serves under the Attorney General at the Department of Justice) and the Drug Czar (see below regarding rumored nominee).
Who among current Obama nominees are giving me some acid burn?
In order of importance:@linkIt has been painful from the outside looking in to watch President-elect Barack Obama... more
Michael Mineo, the 24-year-old Brooklyn man who says he was beaten and sodomized by police officers on a subway platform, recounted his story to a grand jury yesterday, then told reporters he is glad his allegations are being taken seriously.
"I was violated by police and I feel like they are going to be brought to justice," Mineo said. "At first I felt like people weren't even believing me. Now that things have come into the light, I feel a little bit more better. I know that these cops are going to be brought to justice.
"That's what I want," he said.
Mineo, who walks with a cane since the Oct. 15 incident, spoke outside State Supreme Court in Brooklyn after testifying for about a half-hour before the investigative grand jury that will decide whether to indict the four officers involved in subduing him at the Prospect Park station, in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.
The four have been placed on modified duty, meaning their guns and shields were taken away and they were confined to a desk. An attorney for the officers declined to comment.
The NYPD said Mineo was smoking marijuana outside the station, then fled inside when police approached. He was caught and issued a summons for disorderly conduct after eating the marijuana cigarette, police said. Mineo claims he was assaulted, with police using a radio to sodomize him.
Two civilian witnesses did not see Mineo violated, police said, but his lawyers contend other witnesses have backed Mineo's account that he was attacked.
A fifth officer, assigned to the transit bureau, is likely to cooperate with authorities and provide testimony supporting at least some of Mineo's contentions, according to sources briefed on the investigation.
Mineo's injuries are consistent with sexual assault, his lawyers have quoted doctors as saying. Mineo, who was been hospitalized twice since the incident, says he has trouble eating and sleeping.
He also said he was "shocked" that police officers would violate him this way.
"These are people that are supposed to be protecting me, and they did this to me in broad daylight, in the afternoon," Mineo said. "I can't even step out of my own apartment. I am scared for my own safety.
"I don't know what can happen to me if I step outside."
It truly blows my mind how generous people are with their weed. I have friends that won’t let their girlfriends borrow their cars but are only too happy to share their pot with the world.
Seriously, think about the last time you were with a group of people eating a pizza. You get down to that last slice and everyone gets all tense about who gets to eat it. You start counting off how many slices each person had or how much each person paid. That shit never happens with weed. People will easily give up the last hit of a bong. And how many times have you been eating pizza and one of your idiot friends comes up and asks for a slice? It’s kinda annoying, right? Even when he or she offers to give you a few bucks for it you’re still a little pissed off. Again, with weed it’s not a problem. Sure, take a hit! What? No, you don’t have to pay me anything for it…free marijuana for everyone!
I have been to countless parties where someone I’ve just met will say, “Hey, a few of us are going to burn one outside. Wanna come?” But I have never – and I mean NEVER – had anyone at a party come up to me and go, “Hey, a bunch of us are going to fuck my girlfriend. You want in?”It truly blows my mind how generous people are with their weed. I have friends that... more
Since setting up his downtown store recently, Randy Caine has been in a fight with the City over the few hemp items he sells.
Stop selling hemp products.
That's the solution offered gift and novelty store owner Randy Caine if he wants to keep Hempyz open downtown.
On Monday, a package arrived from Langley City's law firm, Woodward Walker, ordering him to stop selling hemp products.
Caine's new store at 20505 Fraser Hwy. sells a few bath and body items containing hemp, such as lotion.
"If I remove those from the store, I would be able to re-apply [for a business licence]," Caine said the lawyers letter said.
Most of the merchandise in his 300 square foot store are objects bearing images of pot leaves.
Under City zoning, a hemp store is not allowed anywhere except Willowbrook Mall (C-3 zoning) and any store that sells any hemp item falls under the hemp category.
"Yet my neighbours carry it," Caine said of hemp products being sold at other downtown businesses not in the C-3 zoning.
The City refused to grant Caine a business licence on the grounds of zoning. Caine maintained it was a free speech issue and opened for business Oct. 24.
Under the City bylaw, a business operating without a licence can be fined $100 for each time it opens.
He's vowed to fight any City attempt to keep him from operating his store. On his opening day, Caine received a ticket fining him $100. Now he's wading through the lawyers letter.
"This is a useful way of spending our money?" he questioned.
He has until Thursday to comply with the City's conditions, according to the letter otherwise the City will begin legal action, Caine told the Langley Advance.
He said the letter also said the property owner may be liable for allowing a business that violates zoning and business licensing laws.
"I'm really unclear as to how I'm going to proceed," he said.
He said maybe he will stop selling the hemp products and put up a sign saying "that there are museum pieces."
The City has no plans to go after other retailers that are voilating their zoning by selling hemp products. Administrator Francis Cheung said City council has to decide how the municipality dedicates it resources.
"We don't have any direction at this point from council to go after them," he said.Heather Colpitts
Langley Advance
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Since setting up... more
Tax Cannabis 2010 faces hurdles as it prepares for its test on the California ballot next November. It's Dec. 14 and news that the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 has qualified for the California ballot next year has just exploded in time for the evening news cycle. I am sitting on a sofa in a nearly empty room at Oaksterdam University, filing an update to my scoop for AlterNet and waiting for a chance to speak more at length with Richard Lee, the man behind the measure.Tax Cannabis 2010 faces hurdles as it prepares for its test on the California ballot... more
By AMY HALLORAN, Special to the Times Union
First published in print: Friday, November 7, 2008
The Narcotic Farm may sound like a mythical place full of poppy fields, but it was a Lexington, Ky., drug-treatment facility from 1935 to '75, created after the criminalization of narcotics in the 1920s made prisons too crowded. In addition to holding federal prisoners, the facility also housed addicts who voluntary entered and could check in and out at will.
Nestled in farm country, the facility had a mission of rehabilitation and could house up to 1,500 patients/inmates at a time. Residents worked the fields and handled animals, growing and preparing most of their food.
They made their clothes, learned needle trades, or worked on cars and learned auto mechanics to help them once they checked out or were released.
Now, the place is the subject of a book, "The Narcotic Farm" (Abrams; 208 pages; $29.95), a documentary film of the same name, put together by filmmakers J.D. Olsen and Luke Walden, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor Nancy D. Campbell.
Olsen is coming up from New York City on Saturday for two events with Campbell: a 1 p.m. book signing at the Book House at Stuyvesant Plaza and a multimedia performance at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy. Walden cannot make the event because he recently relocated to Oregon from New York City.
"We decided that there were a lot of human interest elements that didn't fit into the film or the book," said Campbell, who teaches in the science and technology studies department.
"We wanted to convey the ethos of The Narcotic Farm, what it felt like to be there, and how people felt about it. We felt that a performance piece was a way to do that."
The performance will layer images, music and words, and will feature many photographs that didn't make the book or film. Campbell and Olsen will read from works by people who were treated at The Narcotic Farm, such as William S. Burroughs II, whose semi-autobiographical book "Junky" described, among other things, his time in Lexington.
Music was an important part of The Narcotic Farm. Not only were Chet Baker and Sonny Rollins treated there, but musicians could play for up to six hours a day there. Bands performed on weekends and holidays. People from Lexington also attended the concerts.
So local jazz musicians Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius and Jonathon Greene will be threading music through the event.
"Tadd Dameron actually composed while he was inside The Narcotic Farm and sent his scores out," Campbell said of the jazz pianist, "(but) that's the only case we know of where somebody was actually composing while he was at the farm, although in the practice room there were chord progressions on the walls. We tried to select tunes that were either written or made famous by jazz musicians who were there."
Pianist Kasius helped select music for the event at The Sanctuary with guidance from jazz historian Hal Miller.
The two chose a dancey piece by Duke Ellington, even though he was not a veteran of the institution, because they wanted to represent a swing band that played at The Narcotic Farm.
Campbell first learned of The Narcotic Farm while studying drug policy. Four chapters of her last book, a scholarly history of addiction research called "Discovering Addiction" (University of Michigan Press, 2007) focused on the laboratory at The Narcotic Farm.
moreBy AMY HALLORAN, Special to the Times Union
First published in print: Friday,... more
A friend of mine (who shall go unnamed) recently harvested about a half a pound of quality marijuana from his backyard. He grew it from some seeds he got for free, watered it regularly and after a few months, had enough to last him through next harvest. Cost? Almost nothing. A little water, plus time and sunshine, no fertilizer or pesticide needed. And here in California, totally legal with a medical referral. Sounds like a great deal: free weed! And it was good, too. It also made me think about the value of growing your own medication.A friend of mine (who shall go unnamed) recently harvested about a half a pound of... more
BOSTON - A day after voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to decriminalize marijuana, Hampden District Attorney William M. Bennett said Wednesday that he will drop all pending charges of possessing an ounce or less of marijuana and will no longer prosecute new cases.
Bennett said he wants to honor the spirit of the ballot initiative, which makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana punishable with a civil fine of $100. The law will take effect in late December or early January, officials said.
"I'm going to act as if the law were in effect now," said Bennett, who campaigned against the ballot question and said he hopes the results don't send the wrong message.
Bennett said he didn't know how many pending marijuana possession charges would be dismissed, but said he didn't think it would be significant. In the future, he said, he wants to focus on arresting drug dealers.
Voters approved the ballot question by about 65 percent to 35 percent.
District attorneys, county sheriffs and police chiefs all opposed the question, saying marijuana leads to use of harder drugs and causes serious health and safety problems.
Bennett said because of the strong support of the question he won't support any effort to repeal or amend the law. Prosecutors or police might eventually ask the state Legislature to alter the pending ballot law.
Elizabeth D. Scheibel, the district attorney for Franklin and Hampshire counties, said prosecutors would likely talk about their next step and what, if any, action they would pursue on Beacon Hill in response to approval of the ballot question.
The ballot question establishes a new system of civil penalties for possession, while retaining current criminal laws against cultivating, dealing and driving under the influence of marijuana.
Bennett said he also plans to end a program in his office that provides counseling for first-time drug offenders. The so-called diversion program includes a lot of marijuana cases.
In other post-election developments, Gov. Deval L. Patrick reiterated Wednesday that he plans to run for a second term. Patrick said he doesn't plan to accept a job in President-elect Barack H. Obama's administration.
"Are you asking me if I am going to Washington again?" Patrick said at a Statehouse press conference. "No, I am not. I intend to stay in my job. There is a lot of work to do. There is a very ambitious agenda. Frankly, if the people will have me, I intend to be here for a second term as well."
Speculation also continued about whether U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., would become secretary of defense or secretary of state under Obama. After he was re-elected on Tuesday, Kerry said he would be willing to discuss a job with Obama.
If Kerry left, Patrick said he would consider a change in state law to appoint a successor rather than fill the seat through a special election. Under the current law, the governor must call an election within 145 to 160 days of receiving a resignation letter. A primary would be held five or six weeks beforehand further reducing the time candidates would have to raise money for a campaign.
Also Wednesday, during a news conference in Springfield, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said he is looking forward to returning to Congress with a stronger Democratic majority in place.
Neal, who ran unopposed on Tuesday, said he will remain a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Neal, a former Springfield mayor, was first elected in 1988. During Tuesday's election, Democrats enjoyed a net gain of at least 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, giving the party at least 250 posts in the 435-member chamber. In the U.S. Senate, the net gain for Democrats was at least five, providing the party with a minimum 56 Senate seats, counting two independents who caucus with Democrats. By DAN RING
dring@repub.com
BOSTON - A day after voters overwhelmingly approved a... more
A former Ann Arbor Police Department records clerk was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation for having a marijuana-growing operation in her Putnam Township home.
Dawn Marie Hamell, 47, earlier pleaded guilty in Livingston County Circuit Court to one count of delivery or manufacturing 5-45 kilograms, or about 12.5 pounds
to 99 pounds, of marijuana in exchange for a second count being dismissed.
She faced up to seven years in prison, but was sentenced to probation under a plea deal with prosecutors.
"I would like to apologize for my behavior and what we were doing in our home," Hamell said prior to sentencing.
She said she and her husband, William Russell Hamell, have since redecorated the former pot room to a bedroom.
Defense attorney David Goldstein said his client helped her husband in the growing operation "for their own personal use and were not selling (the marijuana) for profit." However, Goldstein said, William Hamell "would give marijuana to others" to alleviate their pain from a medical malady.
Both Goldstein and Judge Stanley J. Latreille noted the irony of the situation since Livingston County voters passed a ballot proposal Tuesday legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.
"This is a woman who has an ongoing substance abuse problem," Goldstein said, although he said she has not used drugs since her arrest.
Oakland County sheriff's officers, Hamburg Township police and undercover narcotics officers raided the couple's Wynns Drive home, off Darwin Road, on May 9 after an informant tipped off police to the growing operation. Officers then used an Oakland County Sheriff's Department's helicopter equipped with heat-detecting equipment, which found a heat signature compatible with a marijuana-growing operation.
Officers said they seized 11 guns and about 30 pounds of packaged marijuana, grown by people they described as "experts" at indoor cultivation.
Police also confiscated 44 marijuana plants. The street value was about $200,000, police said.
Police also seized $28,170 in cash and are attempting to seize the Hamells' home, worth about $300,000 under drug forfeiture laws.
William Hamell, 59, was sentenced in October to probation and ordered to wear an electronic tether for 90 days after he pleaded guilty to both charges.
Dawn Hamell said she was fired from the Ann Arbor Police Department where she had worked since 1991.
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa Roose-Church at (517) 552-2846 or at lrchurch@gannett.com.Woman gets probation for pot-growing operation
By Lisa Roose-Church
DAILY PRESS... more
I’ve become my own worst nightmare, a medpot horror story
Matt Mernagh
NOW writer and med pot activist Matt Mernagh, who suffers from fibromyalgia, scoliosis and arthritic pain, was arrested August 16 with 37 plants and charged with possession of marijuana, possession for the purposes of trafficking and production of marijuana. The trial date has not been set. The following is an account of his 13 days in the Don Jail.
After years of reporting on drug war horror stories, I’ve finally become one myself. Busted, evicted from my apartment and missing my ferrets, I’m now an unwilling resident of the Don Jail. And the worst part of all is that the government has taken away my medicine.
Instead of the pot that has kept excruciating pain and sadness at bay for 10 years, I am met twice daily by a nurse and a guard who roll by with a pharma cart to dole me out legal drugs. They watch closely to make sure I pop their prescriptions – but they sure aren’t available when the side effects come.
And there are plenty. The heavy doses of opiates and antidepressants wreck my appetite and thought processes – I’m too drugged even to remember phone numbers – and throw my body out of whack. The surreal setting of the Don is no place to enjoy a drug-induced freak-out.
Despite the fact that I’m a compassion club user with a doctor’s note detailing my condition, the herb alternative to stomach-turning, mind-stunning opiates isn’t legal for me. Or for 5,000 other med pot patients roaming city – leaving them vulnerable to my fate, too. Only 2,000 people across the country have been able to score a Health Canada exemption.
Friends and family observing me at near-daily court appearances scarily watch me slowly descend into sickness. Will someone please adjust my dosages? Officials push pills at me, but it’s inmates who are actually monitoring my health. Like Paul, a native peer counsellor battling his own drinking demons, who listens to my mind-addled woes and keeps reminding me, “You gotta keep eating, brother.”
But while some fellow prisoners are critical to my survival, others keep the fear quotient perpetually high. Going to and from bail court for example, is an inherently dangerous exercise. At these moments, inmates from different ranges mingle in tight confines, waiting to be chain-ganged and loaded onto the van.
I’m strip-searched several times in this area, sometimes full routine. “Shake your hair, lift your scrotum, turn and spread your cheeks, squat and cough.” Guards seem to amuse themselves with wisecracks verging on harassment as they look at dicks and assholes. I’m very skinny – and standing there naked, I hear one of them ask, “Have I seen you working on Church and Wellesley?”
“No.”
“Sure you’re not a faggot?” he persists.
The strange thing I realize is that even the guards don’t run this place. It seems to run itself. During another body search, one of them asks: “Did I see you on the CBC last night in their marijuana movie?” referring to a documentary about the Prince of Pot.
“Yup, that’s me!” I brighten. A second guard barks, “When are you going to make it legal?” Hmm, I want to answer, maybe when I stop getting busted.
I’m supposed to be dressed in respectable clothing for bail hearings, but my friends can’t get my duds together in time for my first hearing and I end up pimp-rolling to my bail appearances, decked out in the Don’s orange jumpsuit, looking guilty or incredibly stylish, depending on your taste.
Pot activist Dame Ophelia Bottom eyes me in court, throwing me that “I want that jumpsuit” look. It opens from the tits to the crotch and is a natural burlesque costume in its unique way. Inmates figure the Don apparel would fetch 2 grand on eBay.
moreI’ve become my own worst nightmare, a medpot horror story
Matt Mernagh
NOW... more
Most voters in Fayetteville believe enforcement of misdemeanor marijuana possession should be the lowest priority for police.
Fayetteville's police chief says that doesn't matter because state, not city, laws establish marijuana offenses, and city laws cannot counteract the state's.
Unofficial results were as follows: For 16, 951 65. 87 % Against 8, 782 34. 13 %
The initiative was sponsored by Sensible Fayetteville, a coalition of the Alliance for Drug Reform Policy in Arkansas, The Omni Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology, the Green Party of Washington County, the University of Arkansas student branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas Inc.
Sensible Fayetteville Campaign Director Ryan Denham said he and fellow coalition members collected more than 3, 686 signatures in August to get the initiative on the ballot. The group launched various campaigns throughout the year to gain publicity.
"We think these election results send an extremely important message," Denham said. "I'm not surprised since national statistics say that 70 percent of Americans feel that misdemeanor marijuana offenses should be a low priority. It clogs courts and jails and puts a burden on taxpayer resources."
The amendment is similar to the one approved in Eureka Springs and seeks to make "investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures and prosecutions for adult marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the city of Fayetteville's lowest law enforcement and prosecutorial priority."
Similar laws have also been passed by communities in Missouri, Montana, Washington, California and Colorado.
Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor said approval of the ordinance won't impact law enforcement related to marijuana possession because state law remains in force.
"Like I've said many times, I just don't see that it will change much," he said. "Misdemeanor marijuana possession is already low priority for us. I'm not saying we don't arrest people for it. It's a Class A misdemeanor and by law, you have to be ticketed and finger-printed for it, which means you'll have to go to jail."
Tabor said Fayetteville police officers often receive special assignments, in which officers patrol for DWI and seat belt enforcement.
"We don't do that with misdemeanor marijuana arrests," he said. "We may have 20 years ago, but it's become a lower priority since then."
Denham said his group's focus is on adults who fall under misdemeanor offenses, which is possession of 1 ounce or less. He said enforcement of the law, as written, only serves to increase law enforcement expenditures and overcrowd jails.
"It's a failed public policy," he said of the state's existing law. "Marijuana use has increased since 1937, when we started the war on marijuana. The millions of dollars that we're pouring into this war haven't done anything to deter marijuana use or availability. We're spending upwards of $ 70 million to arrest, prosecute and jail otherwise non-violent offenders. In Fayetteville, we're spending $ 4 million for the full justice package. It just doesn't make sense."
In Arkansas, Denham said, citizens have the right to petition local, county and state government for changes in law. Approving the ordinance locally, he said, could prompt support for similar legislation in other cities, eventually influencing state law.
"This builds public support for future efforts," he said. "We want to continue to educate the public about marijuana policy in the United States. We also expect to see the number of arrests decrease for adult marijuana possession.Most voters in Fayetteville believe enforcement of misdemeanor marijuana possession... more
