Prohibition

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Only six percent of Americans think minor marijuana possession should result in jail time, according to a new poll. The poll also found that a strong plurality of Americans think the use or possession of cannabis should not have any punishment at all.

Notably, the new Reason-Rupe poll is one of the few surveys in which the usual incarceration vs. treatment questions have been expanded to include no penalty at all, reports Mike Riggs at Reason.com.

When asked, "Which approach do you think government and law enforcement should take toward someone found smoking marijuana or in possession of a small amount of marijuana?", six percent said possession should be punishable with jail, 20 percent said it should result in mandatory substance abuse counseling, 32 percent said users should be fined, and 35 percent said people caught with small amounts of cannabis shouldn't be punished at all.

The results, according to Reason.com, suggest that Americans have grown comfortable with the idea of decriminalizing pot, that is, reducing the penalty for minor possession to a civil fine. They are also more sympathetic than ever to the idea of full legalization.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

As photographers snapped pictures, New Jersey Senate candidate Don DeZarn took a deep toke of marijuana smoke. His wife, capturing the scene on a cellphone, asked him who it was for.

"Who is this for?" repeated DeZarn, exhaling smoke, reports Mike Davis of The Times of Trenton. "This is for all my brothers and sisters who are currently being held prisoners of war by our government as a result of the War On Drugs."

DeZarn, 46, running on the Libertarian ticket, called it a public statement for marijuana legalization; no police were on hand to arrest him. Legalizing, regulating and taxing cannabis is one of the chief planks of his campaign platform for the state senate; he also calls for cutting property taxes and increasing government transparency.

The fact that our state freely regulates, sells and taxes alcohol -- while prosecuting people who use marijuana in the privacy of their own home -- is insanity to me," DeZarn said. "It's completely insanity that we spend that type of money when there's far worse things out there."

DeZarn said marijuana should be regulated similarly to alcohol, in order to add tax money to the state's coffers while saving on the costs of arresting and charging pot smokers.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The New York Legislature decriminalized marijuana in that state back in the 1970s. But simple marijuana possession is still the #1 cause of arrest in New York City, with 149,951 pot busts last year. What gives?

NYPD cops use the "public view" exception to the decrim law to trap people, that's what. Officers will misleadingly ask a suspect to "take the pot out of your pocket," and then bust them for "public display" of the weed, which ups what would have been a traffic ticket-like event into a violation with arrest and possible jail time.

More and more civil rights activists have noticed this disturbing phenomenon, and the NYPD is increasingly coming under pressure to stop its dishonest tactics when it comes to busting pot smokers. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried last year to remove the "public view" provision in the criminal code last year, reports John Surico at the Village Voice, and even NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has asked his officers to back off with the pot arrests, already.

Happily, it seems this is finally starting to have an impact, 35 years after decrim.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Regular marijuana smokers are no more likely to develop lung cancer than those who smoke only occasionally, according to a new study. The study's results back up those of other large-scale studies.

The finding of no significant increase in lung cancer risk held true whether marijuana users smoked once, twice, or more each day, and regardless of how many years they had smoked, Dr. Li Rita Zhang reported at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, writes Michele G. Sullivan of the Oncology Report Digital Network.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Berkeley Patients Group, widely considered a national model for regulated medical marijuana providers and one of the oldest nonprofit medical cannabis collectives in California, on Wednesday announced it will fight a civil asset forfeiture suit served against its landlord in an effort to shutter the licensed business and seize the property from which it operates.

Berkeley city officials stood with representatives of Berkeley Patients Group (BPG) at a Wednesday press conference to defend the non-profit collective and announce a resolution condemning the actions of the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney.

In response to a similar case filed against Harborside Health Center by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in June 2012, city officials in Oakland filed a lawsuit to prevent the closure and stop Haag’s suit from moving forward. This response and the resolution from Berkeley City Council represent a growing demand from state and local officials that the Obama Administration allow states to determine marijuana policy per its stated policy.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A former worker for the City of Niagara Falls, New York has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for selling imported Canadian marijuana.

Wally Reynolds, 37, told officers he resorted to selling weed because he had been laid off from his former job working for the city, reports WIVB.

Reynolds allegedly admitted he sold marijuana between June 2004 and February 2010, and also managed others who distributed pot throughout the western New York state area, according to assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten, who handled the case.

Baumgarten claimed that Reynolds supervised other individuals in a "drug conspiracy" that imported marijuana from Canada into the United States.

He was convicted of conspiring to possess and distribute more than 100 kilograms of cannabis, and after pleading guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, was sentenced to a mandatory minimum five years in prison.

Reynolds had faced up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $2 million.

The plea was the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.

(Graphic: YNN)

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The California Supreme Court on Monday held that localities may entirely ban medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within their jurisdictions in a closely watched case, City of Riverside vs. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center.

The result of the Court’s ruling is that tens of thousands of legitimate medical marijuana patients in California will be without safe and legal access to medical marijuana. To date, more than 200 localities have banned dispensaries outright; many more are expected to do so after Monday's ruling.

While there are more than 50 localities in California that have adopted ordinances that comprehensively and successfully regulate medical marijuana and provide meaningful patient access, many others have enacted bans over frustration and hostility at the burden of medical marijuana regulation falling at the local level.

It is likely that the Court’s decision Monday, absent action by the Legislature, will lead to more localities enacting bans.

Eleven other medical marijuana states regulate the production and distribution of medical marijuana at the state level. California is unique in placing the responsibility to regulate entirely at the local level and in its complete absence of statewide oversight.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Mayor Vincent Gray and the District of Columbia Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday launched D.C.'s first campaign against "synthetic marijuana" use among District youth. The zombie-themed campaign will highlight the negative side effects and dangers of the illegal drug, which really shouldn't be called "marijuana" at all, since -- unlike cannabis -- it can be dangerous.

Synthetic smoking mixes go by a variety of different names such as Spice, Spice Gold, K2, Zombie World, Scooby Snax, and Potpourri. They are often packaged in bright, colorful three-ounce plastic pouches decorated with designs, graphic imagery, quotes from cartoon characters and popular movies, and other recognizable mainstream logos.

Public health and law enforcement officials have traced the sale of the drug to many D.C. tobacco shops and smoke shops, gas stations, convenience stores and over the Internet.

"One of my top priorities is to ensure that District youth have an opportunity to learn, live, and grow in a city that takes a proactive approach to ensure their right to a healthy, safe and drug-free life," Mayor Gray said. "The new campaign designed to create awareness of the extreme dangers and negative effects of synthetic marijuana is remarkable and very necessary.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The federal crackdown on medical marijuana continues, with the feds sending landlord threat letters from the U.S. Department of Justice to collectives. A new round of letters went out this week to landlords and collectives throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Many California cities have had similar federal interference recently, including Oakland, Berkeley, Fairfax, Long Bach, Santa Ana and others.

Los Angeles has lost more than 80 collectives, and San Francisco has seen more than a dozen permitted medical cannabis dispensaries close due to the federal threats of asset forfeiture, prosecution and imprisonment.

California's Patient Advocacy Network is responding with a Day of Action on Monday, May 6. "Feds Out of California" rallies will be held from noon until 1 p.m. in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento, with more details to be announced.

• San Francisco: Noon, Federal Building, 90 7th Street, S.F., CA 94103

• Los Angeles: Noon, Edward R. Royal Federal Building, 255 E. Temple St., L.A., CA 90012

• Sacramento: Noon, Federal Building, U.S. District Court, 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Supporters are encouraged to contact California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Monday, May 6, to demand that she stand up for California and defend Prop 215, the medical marijuana law. Ask that Atty. Gen. Harris work to stop the federal attacks on collectives, patients, property owners and banks.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A Dutch mayor has warned his city's 13 cannabis cafes ("coffee shops") that he will take legal action if they continue with plans to sell marijuana to non-residents this Sunday.

The local cannabis cafe association announced its intentions earlier that all outlets will sell to people who don't live in the Netherlands on Sunday, when the Dutch celebrate the end of World War II, reports Dutch News.

Under recently adopted rules, the cafes, known as coffee shops, are now only allowed to sell marijuana to people who officially live in the Netherlands.

But a court ruling last week in favor of one coffee shop -- closed by Mayor Hoes because it sold to foreigners -- has given rise to hopes that the ban on sales to foreigners would be lifted.

"That ass should f off... really... Since this stupid rule there's an increase of shady dealers running around the city in the evening," commented Roy Kwarten. "And they sell a lot more than just cannabis. People who just enjoyed a smoke on the 'weed'-boat or coffee shop seldom bother anyone... These dealers are something else altogether, though. And they attract too many junkies, as well."

The bigger northern cities in the Netherlands, Amsterdam in particular, have said they will "use their discretion" about imposing the ban on foreigners, which means, in effect, they are ignoring it.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Longtime cannabis advocate Ed Forchion, the N.J. Weedman, has turned his attention to the marijuana laws themselves. Forchion, a Pembertown Township resident, has posted a 12-page legal motion online which he said can be used by anyone arrested for marijuana possession in New Jersey.

"I'm tired of being a one-man gang," Forchion said, reports Mike Davis at The Times of Trenton, N.J. "I've been arguing these arguments for years. I'm just putting it out there. I don't care who does it, but let's get it done."

Forchion filed the brief in response to his most recent bust, after two Evesham, N.J., police officers found two joints on him after a vehicle stop on April 15.

"It's just like taking aspirin or Motrin," Forchion said. "I've got three joints with me right now. This could happen to me every day. I just about always have something on me."

Forchion argues that his arrest -- and all cannabis arrests since January 18, 2010 -- should be declared null and void.

That's because former N.J. Gov. Jon Corzine on that date signed the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act into law. The Act allows patients with specific serious illnesses to register with the state, and to buy cannabis from one of six allowed dispensaries (only one of which is open so far).

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

As President Barack Obama departs for a three-day trip to Mexico and Central America to meet with several regional counterparts, advocates are urging him to put drug policy reform at the top of the agenda.

The failed Drug War has wreaked havoc throughout Latin America. In Mexico, the War On Drugs has caused an estimated 70,000 deaths, 25,000 disappearances and more than 250,000 internally displaced people since 2006.

Meanwhile, drug trafficking organizations have increasingly moved or expanded their operations to Central America, which has become one of the most dangerous regions in the world, according to the United Nations. And rather than reducing the supply of or demand for drugs, prohibitionist drug policies have only enriched criminal organizations while increasing rates of incarceration and drug-related harms.

Obama is scheduled to meet Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Thursday and then travel to Costa Rica on Friday to meet with President Laura Chinchilla, as well as heads of state of the other Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. Many of these leaders have voiced support for alternatives to drug prohibition -– including exploring options for legally regulating marijuana and other drugs -– in order to reduce the power and profits of violent drug traffickers.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Two medical marijuana activists continue to rally support for cannabis legalization after the search of their home and the seizure of their children last Tuesday.

Lindsey and Josh Rinehart, of Boise spoke in support of medical marijuana, carried signs, and talked to the media at Monday's rally on the Idaho Statehouse steps, reports KTVB.

About a dozen others, many of them Compassionate Idaho members, joined the Rineharts at the rally.

The event came six days after police searched the Rineharts' home, saying they found marijuana and "drug paraphernalia." The couple's two children were turned over to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Rinehart said she had the cannabis for medicinal reasons, and said taking her children away was wrong.

"I have multiple sclerosis," she told KTVB. "I am not a criminal because my kids were taken away."

Lindsey said that she should be able to use medical marijuana to treat her MS, and that she is fighting to get her boys back.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Funny how everyone in Washington suddenly seems to be a marijuana expert, now that the herb is legal in the Evergreen State. In one of the latest examples of how an advanced cluelessness can make its way into the press, prosecutors and crime lab scientists are claiming that the differentiation between marijuana and hemp in the state's legal marijuana law could make it impossible to go after any pot "crimes" at all.

The problem supposedly stems from a part of I-502 meant to distinguish marijuana from industrial hemp, which is grown for its fiber and seed oil. Washington law now defines marijuana as having more than 0.3 percent of the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, delta-9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

Scientists (who really should know better) with the state crime lab clain that "often," even potent marijuana can have less than 0.3 percent, claiming that it's only when heated or burned that "another compound" turns into delta-9 THC.

"That means if people get caught with more than an ounce of marijuana, or if police bust illicit grow operations, prosecutors might not be able to prove the plants or material seized meets the definition of marijuana, The Associated Press inaccurately reported on Wednesday.