tagged w/ medical marijuana news
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By LISA LEFF
Source: AP
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal prosecutors have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries in California, warning the stores that they must shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges and confiscation of their property even if they are operating legally under the state's 15-year-old medical marijuana law.
In an escalation of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. government and the nation's burgeoning medical marijuana industry, at least 16 pot shops or their landlords received letters this week notifying them that they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California. The state's four U.S. attorneys are scheduled to announce a broader crackdown at a Friday news conference.
Their offices refused to confirm the closure orders. The Associated Press obtained copies of the letters that a prosecutor sent to 12 San Diego dispensaries. They state that federal law "takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44806723/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/calif-pot-dispensaries-told-feds-shut-down?gt1=43001
"Free the Weed!!!!"By LISA LEFF
Source: AP
SAN FRANCISCO — Federal prosecutors have launched a... more
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A teenager in Colorado Springs has been told he cannot attend school after consuming prescription THC lozenges that his doctor has turned to in order to control a rare neurological disorder. His diaphragmatic and axial myoclonus causes seizures that are only controlled by THC, but the school says that consuming the lozenges at home and then attending school violates the school's zero tolerance policy for marijuana, since the child is considered to be in "internal possession" of the banned substance after he takes it.
This isn't just stupid, it's scientifically illiterate. Surely, this kid is in possession of the metabolites of marijuana lozenges, not the lozenges themselves.
He was able to return to school in January but as the district would not allow him to possess or consume his prescribed medicine on campus, he transferred to a school closer to home so that he could walk home as needed to take his medicine.
After the district's latest salvo was delivered, the teen's father said he spoke with both the district superintendent and the district attorney and that neither were receptive to his arguments that his son needs the medicine to function, does not get high and does not smell like marijuana.
The district has refused to comment to us, other than for a spokesperson to say that the district intends to follow the letter of the law, which is that no student may possess or consume medical marijuana on school grounds.
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/08/colorado-springs-sch.htmlA teenager in Colorado Springs has been told he cannot attend school after consuming... more
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Two Lansing-area men face federal marijuana charges in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, yet the lawyer for one of the defendants says the men were in compliance with the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.
The lawyer, Bob Baldori, said that the number of plants that were seized was within state law because of the number of caregivers who were growing at the location.
Randall Lloyd Darling, 24, and Joseph David Johnson each face counts of growing more than 100 marijuana plants, according to court documents. Johnson is in his 20s, Baldori said.
The charges come with a five-year minimum prison sentence. Warrants were issued for Darling and Johnson on Jan. 20. Both are awaiting pretrial hearings.
Baldori, who represents Johnson, believes both defendants were within the state’s medical marijuana law. While Baldori said the DEA confiscated more than 200 plants from a grow operation in Mason, he added that Johnson and Darling are both patients and caregivers with the maximum-allowed five patients. Under state law, each can grow up to 72 plants and possess 15 ounces of usable product. It is also Baldori’s understanding that other caregivers were using the house as a growing site.
“These kids have not broken any Michigan laws,” Baldori said. “There were enough patients and caregivers to justify the plants.”
Attempts to reach Darling’s attorney, Jack Vogl, were unsuccessful.
Special Agent Rich Isaacson, a spokesman from the DEA’s Detroit offices, confirmed that the DEA is involved with the investigation, but he declined to give details.
U.S. District Attorney Rene Shekmer did not return calls for comment.
In a separate incident, the DEA raided a growing facility at 2630 Jolly Oak Road in Okemos on Nov. 30, seizing more than 400 plants. No charges have surfaced from that incident.
Growing just one cannabis plant is in violation of federal law, regardless of state law.
An Oct. 19, 2009, memo from U.S. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden offers guidance for federal prosecutors in medical marijuana states. It says a “core priority” for the U.S. Justice Department is targeting “significant traffickers of illegal drugs, including marijuana. … “
As a general matter, pursuit of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws,” the memo reads.
Matt Newburg, who is representing one of the growers involved with the Okemos raid, said while Johnson and Darling violated federal law, a marijuana debate will likely ensue.
“The merits (of the indictment) will be argued later on,” Newburg said. “Clearly, they (the DEA) are active.”
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-5436-dea-strikes-again.htmlTwo Lansing-area men face federal marijuana charges in U.S. District Court in Grand... more
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Prosecutors have dropped drug dealing, cultivation and possession charges against a medical marijuana dispensary owner in which a Calaveras County sheriff's deputy used a legitimate -- but stolen -- medical marijuana card to induce the man to sell him cannabis.
Jay R. Smith, 37, pleaded no contest Friday to a single charge of aiding and abetting another person to commit a felony, according to court records, reports Dana M. Nichols at the Stockton Record.
Smith was sentenced to pay a $160 fine and serve 90 days in jail, but will not be subject to probation. The plea deal means he will be able to continue work as a medical marijuana patient advocate, Smith said.
His arrest on January 4, 2010, prompted protests by medical marijuana patients and providers. At the time, Smith was operating K Care Collective, a medicinal cannabis dispensary.
Calaveras County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Avila, also known as "that sleazy piece of shit," posed as a legitimate medical marijuana patient named Robert Shaffer of Ione, California, and contacted Smith seeking to buy cannabis.
Deputy Avila had "gained possession" (I guess that's what they call stealing when a deputy does it?) of Shaffer's medical marijuana card in late 2009 during an earlier drug case against Shaffer. Deputy Avila then proceeded to falsify the birthdate on the card to persuade Smith to sell him marijuana.
Avila claimed he obtained the medical marijuana card "from an investigation we conducted," but also claimed he "did not recall" which officer obtained it, or how it was obtained.
Smith said that when he called Shaffer's physician, Dr. Philip A. Denney of Carmichael, the card proved to be legitimate. So he agreed to sell marijuana to Avila, not knowing the officer had stolen Shaffer's identity.
Both Dr. Denney and Shaffer both later objected, saying they had not consented to Deputy Avila's use of Shaffer's medical marijuana card, and that they did not know of Avila's plans to do so.
"It just smacks of entrapment and sleaziness to me," Dr. Denney said after learning the recommendation he had written for Smith had been stolen by Deputy Avila.
Smith delivered the marijuana to the man he thought was Shaffer in the Valley Oaks Center parking lot in Valley Springs.
Then-Sheriff Dennis Downum claimed that meeting someone in a parking lot is not within the legal guidelines for selling medical marijuana. Prosecutors agreed and pressed the case.
Smith said he pleaded no contest to save money. He said he had already spent $45,000 on attorneys, and going to trial would have cost him another $12,000, far more than the $160 fine in the plea bargain.
Court documents do not indicate who the other person was who committed a felony allegedly aided by Smith.
"The charge is a trade-off," Smith said. "There was nothing discussed in there about who that person was. And Shaffer had nothing to do with my case."
According to some activists in Calaveras County, the Sheriff's Department has targeted everyone who sells medical marijuana to patients.
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/02/charges_dropped_sleazy_deputy_stole_medical_mariju.php#moreProsecutors have dropped drug dealing, cultivation and possession charges against a... more
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Which Dangerous Toxins Are in Your Pot?
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Real estate brokers say that Colorado's medical-marijuana law has sparked a land rush, as entrepreneurs lured by a growing number of licensed users search for properties for growing or selling pot.
In a down real estate market, landlords who might otherwise wait for more conventional tenants are snapping at the opportunity presented by medical-marijuana dispensaries, said Darrin Revious, a broker with Shames Makovsky Realty.Real estate brokers say that Colorado's medical-marijuana law has sparked a land... more
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Colorado's state health board has rejected a move to limit medical marijuana suppliers to helping only five patients at a time, allowing dispensaries to continue to thrive in Colorado.
The board voted 6-3 Monday night to defeat the proposal by the state health department. The roughly 100 people still left in the hearing room after about 12 hours of testimony and deliberations applauded and yelled in support.
The law doesn't address dispensaries, businesses that have sprouted in Colorado to serve patients. Backers of the amendment say the dispensaries didn't exist when the law was passed.
There are 9,112 people registered to use medical marijuana in Colorado, up 2,000 just in the last month. Ron Hyman, the state health department registrar who oversees the medical marijuana registry, predicted that at that rate, 15,000 people will be signed up by the end of the year. He credited the growth to the confidentiality of Colorado's registry and to the Obama administration's announcement that it would no longer raid medical marijuana facilities.
This is just buts and pieces of the story. Go to the link to read it all. Peace.Colorado's state health board has rejected a move to limit medical marijuana... more
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The Reefer Report is a weekly medical marijuana news program. In this episode: Feds suggest five years for Lynch, RI will vote on dispensary bill today, Maine medical marijuana accessability goes before voters, NORML releases 420 ad, MPP does its own ad campaign in Illinois, dispensary makes its way to Western Slope, NY Senate sponsor hopeful of positive movement, man gets marijuana back from police, Sacramento robberiesThe Reefer Report is a weekly medical marijuana news program. In this episode: Feds... more
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I sat down with the owner of one of Denver's premier medical marijuana dispensaries for this Q&A. We talked about everything from the most popular strain of medical marijuana, to growing advice.I sat down with the owner of one of Denver's premier medical marijuana... more
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