Quick Hits (News)Medical Marijuana Users hold MeetingBy: Patricia Jiayi Ho (Visalia Times-Delta) Jack Herer, 65, of North Fork, smokes marijuana Sunday at the Patient Education Meeting for medical marijuana awareness and defense at the PPAV Hall. Herer said that he suffers from six different ailments including headaches. He suffered a stroke in 2000. Marijuana Task Force Recommends DA's Limits With Minor ChangesBy: Leann Whitten (The Eureka Reporter) The county's Medical Marijuana Task Force will recommend the Board of Supervisors deem three pounds of dried cannabis "a reasonable amount" for medical marijuana patients to cultivate, possess and consume per year at the board's meeting. Judge Busted for Buying PotBy: Jack Moran (Mail Tribune) Gold Hill's longtime justice of the peace will appear in Jackson County Circuit Court on marijuana possession charges, after police orchestrated a meeting in which he allegedly bought the drug. Study: Marijuana use Increases Among AdultsBy: CNN CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Habitual marijuana use increased among U.S. adults over the past decade, particularly among young minorities and baby boomers, government figures show. |
Growin' Our Own (Feature stories)The Kid in ActionBy: Elmore Stone It is nice, oh so nice, to find out about medical marijuana patients winning in court. Not only that, but to have the court order the return of their weed and other stuff is absolutely outstanding and damn near unheard of. That said, here is the story of Jory, the defendant, and counsel for the defense Dennis (The Kid) Roberts. Talk about one hell of a ride! Token JusticeBy: Steve Kubby By continuing to target medical pot patients, the federal government turns its back on millions of voters, the wishes of the dying and the authority of the courts. The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February, 2000 when researchers in Madrid Spain announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the most psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Medical Pot Users Win Key RulingBy: Henry Weinstein (Times Staff Writer) The U.S. can't prosecute patients who use it on the advice of a physician and obtain the drug at no charge, an appeals court panel rules. People who use marijuana for medical purposes won a victory from a federal appeals court that ruled they cannot be prosecuted by the federal government so long as they grow their own or obtain pot from other growers without charge. High Court Ruling Unleashes Chaos Over SentencingBy: Laurie P. Cohen and Gary Fields (staff reporters of the Wall Street Journal) 'Boiling Frustration' On Bench When the Supreme Court last month struck down tough sentencing guidelines used in Washington state, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor dissented. She feared the ruling would wreak havoc on the nation's federal courts. She was right. Although the 5-4 ruling technically affects only one state's court system, the Justice Department is forcing prosecutors of federal crimes to draft indictments and sculpt plea bargains in compliance with it. That has thrown into confusion the sentencing of nearly 250 federal defendants every day. And tens of thousands of old cases are up in the air again as defense attorneys try to get long sentences thrown out. |
Pipeline (Other stuff)We're not U.S.'s biggest bud pusher says the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceBy: Jim Bronskill (Canadian Press) OTTAWA -- Canada's budding reputation as America's pot pusher is getting a shakedown from some new figures that tell a different tale. U.S. Correctional Population Hits New HighBy: Fox Butterfield (NY Times) The number of Americans under the control of the criminal justice system grew by 130,700 last year to reach a new high of nearly 6.9 million, according to a Justice Department report released today (July 26, 2004). Let States Make this ChoiceBy: Unknown The court could clear up doubts about the power of prosecutors to harass medical marijuana patients. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear a case about medical marijuana should clear the air in a controversy over the power of the federal government to intervene in states' medical decisions. Governor's Veto of SB 1494 Creates Legal Confusion Over Medical MarijuanaBy: Dale Gieringer (California NORML) Gov. Schwarzenegger disappointed medical marijuana supporters by vetoing Sen. Vasconcellos' medical marijuana "clean-up" bill, SB 1494, which was intended to clear up misconceptions caused by bad drafting language in SB 420. |
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