Quick Hits (News)Medical Pot Okayed in VermontBy: Darren M. Allen (Rutland Herald) MONTPELIER - A measure legalizing the use and possession of marijuana by people suffering from AIDS, cancer or multiple sclerosis crossed its final legislative hurdle, ending 19 May 2004, paving the way for it to become law without the signature of Gov. James Douglas. Court Okays Growing PotBy: Maria Alicia Gaura (SF Chronicle) A Santa Cruz medical marijuana collective shut down by federal agents two years ago can grow and distribute marijuana for its patients while its civil lawsuit against the federal government is decided by the courts, a federal judge has ruled. Cops Force Students to DisrobeBy: Norml Newsbrief It was supposed to be business as usual just another police dog drug search at Kent County High School in Maryland's Eastern Shore, but it ended up with 16 students patted down and two female students ordered to strip down and be inspected by a female sheriff's deputy. International Ecstasy Ring RaidBy: Henry K. Lee (SF Chronicle) Three East Bay residents and a San Jose man were among more than 150 people arrested for their roles in an international ring that authorities said was responsible for smuggling 15 percent of the party drug ecstasy into the United States. |
Growin' Our Own (Feature stories)Your Papers PleaseBy: Elmore Stone Here - answer these two questions, quick. The first question is: What was the difference between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union? Answer: The Soviet Union won. The second question is: What is the difference between Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and medical marijuana in California? Answer: Not a god damn thing. Your papers please. Yep. That is the direction California may be heading with medical weed. Patients can thank the do-gooders, fools in the legislature, the Attorney General, the Attorney General's medical marijuana task farce assholes and some pro-marijuana organizations for this turn of events. Your papers please. Medical Marijuana Caught in Legal HazeUsers in Chowchilla and Clovis sue authorities over handling of cases. By: Marc Benjamin and Charles McCarthy (The Fresno Bee) Three Valley medical marijuana users say law enforcement and the judicial system function backward for them, that they are guilty until proven innocent. A Chowchilla man and a Clovis couple, each eventually cleared of marijuana charges, showed medical certification when they were arrested. They still went to jail and had to prove their innocence in court. Judge Takes Leave From Bench to Join Senate RaceBy: Scott Martelle (Times Staff Writer) UKIAH, Calif. - Jim Gray, rigid as a judge's gavel, stood at the front of a high-ceilinged tavern here and ran through a list of political positions he hoped would appeal to Mendocino County's famously idiosyncratic voters. Pot should be legal. Genetically modified foods should be labeled. The Patriot Act should be gutted. "We are galloping, racing toward a police state," said Gray, his voice curt and direct. "This Patriot Act is the most recent, but our civil liberties are in jeopardy." Woman has led Fight for Medical Marijuana to a new HighBy: Martha Mendoza (AP) Santa Cruz, Calif. - What do you do when you sue U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and win? Fifty-one-year-old Valerie Corral, a sinewy 5-foot tall great-granddaughter of Italian immigrants, throws back her head laughing, her hands reaching to the clouds, hips wiggling, feet stomping. |
Pipeline (Other stuff)Deputies Return Seized MarijuanaBy: Channel 17 News (Bakersfield, Ca.) Due to what Sheriff Mack Wimbish has called a "mistake," a local man has reclaimed his stash of marijuana from deputies. Tuesday (May 26th), the Sheriff's Department released five big bags of medical marijuana to Reverend Victor Love. $31,000 a Year to Lock up a Drug AbuserBy: R. Konrad Moore Most public spending decisions involve some measure of oversight. The criminal justice system is an exception. The cost of incarcerating one person in prison for a single year in California is nearly $31,000. Yet, in sentencing offenders to prison, judges are not expected to - indeed, they are not statutorily permitted to - consider cost. Legal pot use Draws a CrowdBy: Chris Togneri (Modesto Bee) A group of about 60 medical marijuana advocates gathered at a farmhouse in rural Winton for a rally they dubbed "Weedfest." Time to cut Through the Legal Haze of MarijuanaBy: Eurekea Times-Standard editorial There has been a lot of debate about medical marijuana laws -- most of it revolving around how much should be allowed for consumption, distribution and production for medical purposes. Click here for the full story. |
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