Cannabis News

grokit

well-worn member
:rolleyes:
Colorado Sheriffs Say Marijuana Legalization Should Be Overturned Because It Makes Them Uncomfortable


Today six Colorado sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to reverse marijuana legalization in their state, which they say should be overturned because it makes them uncomfortable. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith and his counterparts in five other counties say Amendment 64, the marijuana legalization measure that is now part of Colorado’s constitution, has made their jobs harder by creating a conflict between state and federal law.

“When these Colorado Sheriffs encounter marijuana while performing their duties,” their complaint says, “each is placed in the position of having to choose between violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and violating his oath to uphold the Colorado Constitution.” This supposed dilemma arises from Smith et al.’s mistaken assumption that they have an obligation to help the federal government enforce its ban on marijuana.

According to the Supreme Court’s extremely generous reading of the power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has the authority to ban cultivation, possession, and distribution of marijuana, even when those activities are permitted under state law and do not cross state lines (in fact, even when they are confined entirely to the privacy of someone’s home). The federal government therefore may continue to enforce marijuana prohibition in Colorado.

But contrary to what the sheriffs seem to think, that does not mean they are required to lend a hand, notwithstanding the Supremacy Clause, which makes valid acts of Congress “the supreme law of the land.” Under our federalist system, Congress has no authority to dragoon state and local officials into enforcing its laws—a point the Court made clear in Printz v. United States, a 1997 case involving federally mandated background checks for gun buyers.

colosheriff12z.jpg
Under the “anti-commandeering principle” that the Court applied in Printz, requiring local cops to enforce the federal ban on marijuana would be clearly unconstitutional. So when a Colorado cop encounters someone 21 or older with an ounce or less of marijuana (the limit set by state law) and does not confiscate it as contraband under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), he is not violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

(...)
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
On marijuana, state lawmakers tell feds to butt out

By John Frank
The Denver Post

August 7, 2015

TOPICS
Colorado, marijuana, National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSL


A day after lawmakers expressed concern about the federal government’s looming role in regulating state marijuana policy, a bipartisan organization of state lawmakers approved a policy statement with a simple message to Washington: leave us alone.

The lawmakers — representing 49 states — passed the resolution at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual summit in Seattle with overwhelming support on a voice vote.

Though nonbinding, it is designed to send a message to Congress and the administration to let states such as Colorado and Washington craft their own laws when it comes to marijuana and hemp, rather than imposing federal law — which still considers marijuana use illegal.

The resolution approved Thursday suggests that federal law — particularly the Controlled Substances Act — should be amended to “explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana and hemp policies without federal interference and urges the administration not to undermine state marijuana and hemp policies.”


The NCSL summit of lawmakers showcased the growing movement at the state level to legalization of pot in some form, whether for medical or recreational use. The resolution was pushed by the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization organization that lobbied lawmakers at the conference.

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What's with that picture of those sheriff and deputies above? Are they trying to look scarey or tough? Not sure what's going on with the theatrics. A bunch of drama queens - they need to fucking get over it or get different jobs.
CK
 
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MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
Colorado Sheriffs Say Marijuana Legalization Should Be Overturned Because It Makes Them Uncomfortable
.........................................................................................

Boo hoo hoo, they feel uncomfortable. That's too bad.

They are clueless.
Uncomfortable as an excuse vs a small child with epilepsy who has 50 seizures a day without mmj.
 

cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
The Next 11 States to Legalize Marijuana
By Sam Stebbins, Thomas C. Frohlich and Michael B. Sauter August 12, 2015 6:35 am EDT

Marijuana prohibition is entering its 78th year. Colorado’s marijuana law went into effect at the beginning of last year in the wake of changing attitudes. Compared to 1969, when only 12% supported legalizing pot, today a majority of Americans support legalizing recreational use of the drug.


It is legal to purchase marijuana in four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — as well as in the District of Columbia. Prior to the legalization, all of these states had already reduced the penalties for possession and use of small amounts of the drug or introduced policies permitting medical marijuana use. To identify the states most likely to legalize marijuana next, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 11 states where by law residents in possession of small amounts of the drug are not punishable by jail time, and medical marijuana use is permitted.

Click here to see the next 11 states to legalize marijuana.

A large share of U.S. states, including all 11 on this list, have decriminalized marijuana at some point. The widely-referenced, but confusing term actually means a different thing depending on where it is being used. Not to be confused with legalization, states that have decriminalized marijuana have in some way reduced the penalties for for those caught with the substance. In most cases, this means the state will no longer prosecute or jail those caught with small amounts of the drug for personal use. In some cases, getting caught with a few grams of marijuana is as serious as a traffic infraction.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/08/12/the-next-11-states-to-legalize-marijuana/
 

hd_rider

Well-Known Member
9 States Likely to Legalize Marijuana Last
Author: Marijuana World News (August 9, 2015)

Here are the nine states least likely to legalize it anytime soon and, after that, a few brief notes on a handful of states that some would think should be on the list, but might surprise us.

1. Alabama. This Heart of Dixie state still has several dry counties and about a third of the counties in the state are either partially dry or have localities that are dry. Although Democrats hold some local offices, Republicans dominate state elected offices and the state legislature. The state has no initiative process, and the legislature has so far failed to pass even medical marijuana legislation.

2. Idaho. This heavily Mormon-influenced state has the initiative process, but so far even campaigners for medical marijuana haven’t been able to qualify a measure for the ballot, so it’s hard to see how they could get a legalization initiative on the ballot, let alone pass it. An Idaho Politics Weekly poll from February shows what an uphill battle it is. Only 33% of respondents favored legalization, with 64% opposed (and 53% “strongly” opposed). And the conservative Republican legislature is more concerned with fending off sharia law than legalizing pot, although it did manage to pass one of those no-THC, high-CBD cannabis oil bills this year.

3. Kansas. Another state dominated by Republicans, with no initiative process, and little popular support for legalization, anyway. An October 2014 poll showed only 31% in favor of legalization and, distressingly, an ever larger percentage (33%) saying marijuana possession should be a felony. While voters in Wichita this week approved a municipal initiative decriminalizing pot, the state attorney general has already asked the state Supreme Court to overturn it. Kansas is another one of those states where the legacy of alcohol prohibition lingers, too: Almost all of its counties are either dry or semi-dry. Be glad you’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

4. Louisiana. The state has some of the country’s harshest marijuana laws, including up to 20 years in prison for repeat possession offenders and up to life in prison for pot possession if the person has a previous felony. Efforts have been afoot in the state legislature for several years to fix those draconian laws, but have so far gone nowhere. An October 2014 poll showed roughly two-thirds supported fixing those laws, but that hasn’t yet influenced Baton Rouge. Tellingly, the poll didn’t even ask whether respondents supported legalization. And there is no initiative process, anyway. In Louisiana, not sending people to life for pot would be progress.

5. North Dakota. At the top of that geographical tier of Great Plains states destined to be a bastion of reaction on marijuana legalization, the agricultural state has approved industrial hemp production (in part because North Dakota farmers can see their Canadian counterparts just across the border profiting from it), but is unwilling to move even on medical marijuana, let alone legalization. The legislature this year killed a bill to even study legalizing medical, and an effort last year to put a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot couldn’t manage to qualify. An October 2014 poll found that even medical marijuana couldn’t get majority support (47%), and the prospects for legalization were even grimmer. Only 24% supported legalization, with 68% opposed.

6. Oklahoma. Good luck. The state government is dominated by Republicans and is one of the most conservative in the country. The state has the initiative process and state Sen. Connie Johnson (D-Oklahoma City) is likely to try again to get it on the ballot next year, but even if it were to make the ballot, it would likely get creamed. A poll this month found only 31% for legalization. This is also one of those states where alcohol prohibition still lives on; about a third of the state’s counties are completely dry.

7. South Carolina. There is no initiative process here, so it will be up to the legislature, which is controlled by Republicans. The legislature passed a no-THC, high-CBD cannabis oil last year, and Republican lawmakers have introduced medical marijuana and decriminalization bills this year, but they have yet to pass. The Palmetto Politics Poll last July barely had majority support for medical marijuana (53%), and didn’t even bother to ask about legalization.

8. South Dakota. The state has the initiative process, but it also has the dubious distinction of being the only state to twice defeat medical marijuana at the polls. The Republican-controlled legislature has repeatedly refused to act on medical marijuana bills and didn’t even consider any marijuana reform bills this year. There is no recent polling on support for legalization, and given the performance of medical marijuana initiatives, even if a legalization initiative were to qualify for the ballot, it would get crushed.

9. Utah. The Mormon heartland, another state where Republicans dominate the legislature and the executive branch, and another state where the only legislative concession to pot law reform has been the passage of a no-THC, high-CBD cannabis oil bill. A March poll found 72% of Utahns supported medical marijuana, but that didn’t stop the legislature from quickly killing a medical marijuana bill this year. That poll didn’t ask about legalization; the last one that did, from 2013, was not encouraging: It had 57% opposed to legalization. Utah has the initiative process, but that won’t be much good until Utahns get on board with legalization.

Why Some States Didn’t Make the Bottom 9

There are several states that some might have expected to see on this list, but who I think may surprise us and come around more quickly.

In the South and Mid-South, Mississippi and Arkansas would seem like good candidates to be among the last to legalize, but both states have the initiative process and some associated activism around it. They still have to get public opinion on their side, but they can circumvent sclerotic legislatures once they do. And there is hope that demographic trends will turn Georgia, of all the Deep South states, into a place where pot can be legalized at the state house before the bitter end.

On the Great Plains, Nebraska is the only state from Texas to Canada that didn’t make the bottom nine. It’s certainly as solidly conservative as the others and it just hates legalization next door in Colorado, but this is a state that decriminalized weed nearly 40 years ago. Perhaps one of these days, Cornhuskers will wake up and remember that.

In the Intermountain West, Montana and Wyoming share many of the same political and cultural characteristics as Idaho and Utah, but the influence of the Mormon Church isn’t nearly as strong. Montana has the initiative process and has used it to approve medical marijuana, only to see that rolled back by Republicans and Christian conservatives. Wyoming also has the initiative process. In both states it will be a struggle between deeply rooted Western individualistic libertarian notions and equally deeply rooted Christian conservatism, but they won’t necessarily have to wait on state legislatures.
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
But just as the end of federal alcohol prohibition in 1933 didn’t mean the end of state-level prohibition—Mississippi didn’t end it until 1966, you couldn’t drink in a bar in Kansas until 1987, and dry counties remain in a number of states—ending federal marijuana prohibition isn’t going to magically make it legal everywhere.

There are two critical factors to consider in assessing how likely a state is to get around to freeing the weed: public opinion and access to non-legislative (read: initiative and referendum) political remedies.

Opinion polls consistently show stronger support for legalization in the West and the Northeast than in the Midwest and the South. But barring access to the initiative process—which only half the states have—means that even in states where public opinion strongly favors legalization, residents are going to be beholden to the legislature to get it done. Note that so far, every state that has legalized it has done it through the initiative process. That could change this year, but it seems unlikely at this point.

But even having the initiative process isn’t going to help if popular support is lacking. That’s why some states make the list even though they have the initiative process. And even having public opinion on your side isn’t going to guarantee victory in the legislature, especially if the Republicans are in control.
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
I decided to put this here instead of under WA cannabis news.


Larry Harvey poses for a photo outside the federal courthouse in Spokane, Wash., on Feb. 12, 2015. Harvey, 71, was among a group of defendants known as the "Kettle Falls Five" in a federal case involving medical marijuana growers in rural Washington state. (Dan Pelle, The Spokesman-Review via AP)
Washington man at center of high-profile federal medical pot case dies
Larry Harvey, who had pancreatic cancer, and four others faced federal charges after they were caught growing medical marijuana on their rural property near Kettle Falls
  • 698704_Obit-Kettle-Falls-Five.JPEG.jpg

    Larry Harvey, seated, and the rest of the “Kettle Falls Five,” from left, Rhonda Lee Firestack-Harvey, Jason Zucker, Rolland Gregg and Michelle Gregg. Dan Pelle/The

  • COMMENTS (1)
    By The Associated Press

    COLVILLE, Wash. — A northeastern Washington man at the center of a nationally watched medical marijuana case has died of pancreatic cancer, six months after the federal government dropped charges against him.

    Larry Harvey was 71. He died Thursday in a hospital in Colville, Washington.

    Harvey and four others — including his wife, two relatives and a friend — faced charges after they were caught about three years ago growing about 70 pot plants on their rural property near Kettle Falls. They were known as the “Kettle Falls Five.”

    Harvey said he used the drug to ease pain from gout, but the government argued that the operation did not comply with the state’s medical marijuana law.

    Washington medical marijuana
    The Kettle Falls case: Get caught up on the federal prosecution of medical marijuana growers in rural Washington state

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    The case outraged medical marijuana advocates because Harvey faced at least 10 years in prison. Also, while marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, its recreational and medical use is legal in Washington.
I wonder how the stress that this elderly gentleman had to go through attributed to a quicker death. The family should be able to sue the Federal Government.
CK
 
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cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
Marijuana Taxes Swell, Not Up In Smoke After All

By Robert W. Wood August 21, 2015 4:54 AM

Not long ago, Colorado had a disappointing first year of tax collections from marijuana. When one projects one figure, perhaps anything less is a letdown, and the first state to legalize recreational marijuana projected a bonanza. The more skimpy actual numbers lead some to sound the alarm that marijuana taxes were going up in smoke. But now, officials say the Colorado marijuana tax revenues are up nearly 100 percent.

The report that the pioneer pot state reaped $44 million in only the first five months of 2015 is a big relief. The same period last year netted the state only $25 million. The healthy uptick in the numbers will mean copious revenues going into public schools, plus many other dollars added to Colorado's general fund. It seems apparent that this comparative gravy train will fuel other states in assessing taxes on the burgeoning business the crop has become.


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Colorado is one of four states that have legalized recreational marijuana despite the continuing federal classification of cannabis as a controlled substance. Many more states have legalized medical marijuana, and with a growing number of states looking to add recreational marijuana, there is no question that taxes play a large part. Colorado has its own tax oddities.

Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights—also called TABOR—requires the state to issue refunds to taxpayers if the state’s spending or revenue collections exceed the previous projections. To try to avoid the refund requirement, legislators introduced HB 15-1367, creating a ballot initiative to allow Colorado voters to approve of the state keeping the $58 million in marijuana revenue.Regardless of whether the ballot initiative passes, Colorado did lower the sales tax on marijuana from 10% to 8% beginning in July 2017. The tax holiday is expected to cost about $100,000, plus $3.6 million for a one-day elimination of the 15% excise tax.

If voters agree to let Colorado spend the tax money, the earmarks are pretty clear. Colorado has already approved Proposition AA, which outlines how marijuana taxes would be spent. If voters vote no, Colorado will have to issue refunds to growers and users. Some would go via the state’s tiered refund system, with $19.7 million returned to cultivators who pay the 15% wholesale excise tax rate. Plus, on January 1, 2016, the government will reduce the sales tax rate on marijuana from 10% to 0.1% until the reduction in collections equals $13.3 million or June 30, whichever occurs first.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/marijuana-taxes-swell-not-smoke-085400362.html
 

vapebuddy13

Your resident Super Hero
:rolleyes:
Colorado Sheriffs Say Marijuana Legalization Should Be Overturned Because It Makes Them Uncomfortable


Today six Colorado sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to reverse marijuana legalization in their state, which they say should be overturned because it makes them uncomfortable. Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith and his counterparts in five other counties say Amendment 64, the marijuana legalization measure that is now part of Colorado’s constitution, has made their jobs harder by creating a conflict between state and federal law.

“When these Colorado Sheriffs encounter marijuana while performing their duties,” their complaint says, “each is placed in the position of having to choose between violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and violating his oath to uphold the Colorado Constitution.” This supposed dilemma arises from Smith et al.’s mistaken assumption that they have an obligation to help the federal government enforce its ban on marijuana.

According to the Supreme Court’s extremely generous reading of the power to regulate interstate commerce, Congress has the authority to ban cultivation, possession, and distribution of marijuana, even when those activities are permitted under state law and do not cross state lines (in fact, even when they are confined entirely to the privacy of someone’s home). The federal government therefore may continue to enforce marijuana prohibition in Colorado.

But contrary to what the sheriffs seem to think, that does not mean they are required to lend a hand, notwithstanding the Supremacy Clause, which makes valid acts of Congress “the supreme law of the land.” Under our federalist system, Congress has no authority to dragoon state and local officials into enforcing its laws—a point the Court made clear in Printz v. United States, a 1997 case involving federally mandated background checks for gun buyers.

colosheriff12z.jpg
Under the “anti-commandeering principle” that the Court applied in Printz, requiring local cops to enforce the federal ban on marijuana would be clearly unconstitutional. So when a Colorado cop encounters someone 21 or older with an ounce or less of marijuana (the limit set by state law) and does not confiscate it as contraband under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), he is not violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

(...)
I like how they think it should be overturned and made illegal again instead of legalizing it Federally :rolleyes::shrug:
 

cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
Mother I hope this insanity can finally be brought to an end. Too many have suffered for lack of political will. And finally the truth is coming out. It will be OUR obligation to be sure that, with the changes, folks like this guy are released from prison rather than just being forgotten...
 

Amoreena

Grown up Flower Child
Dr. David Casarett has written a new book ...
I saw Dr. Casarett on a TV program yesterday speaking with/to a group of doctors in Pittsburg about the book. It was recorded within the past month or three at a college and there was a 3-person panel plus audience.

The only panel member against use was Will Jones: http://fusion.net/story/22102/why-s...sidents-arent-sold-on-marijuana-legalization/. He believes it should be researched ad nauseam and eventually dosed like a manufactured medicine rather than treated as a naturally growing flower/plant already used for eons. Made no sense at all, IMO; he sounded like a fucking idiot.

Overall, seeing the discussion made me feel hopeful about medical cannabis' future for folks in places where it isn't yet permitted.
 
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cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
Well, this will help a lot... NOT! :(

Teenagers Use E-Cigarettes to Vape Marijuana, Study Says

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Jenna Birch
Contributing Writer
Tumblr Contributors
September 8, 2015
tumblr_inline_nud0acABmG1t4rmqt_1280.jpg


Teens love vaping cannabis because it emits less of a smell than smoking it in its traditional form. (Photo: Getty Images)

Experts are already concerned about the rising rate of e-cigarette use among teenagers, but a new study out of Yale shows they might have a new concern: many high schoolers are also vaping marijuana.

According to the survey of 3,847 Connecticut students published in the journal Pediatrics, 27.9 percent of the teens copped to using e-cigarettes. Of the group who had experimented with e-cigarettes, 18.7 percent said they had also vaporized cannabis. Roughly 26.5 percent of those who had ever smoked pot in their lives had also vaped it.

Teens reported using e-cigs to vape hash oil and a waxy substance that contains THC, the main ingredient in marijuana that makes people high. Lead author Meghan E. Morean, an assistant professor of psychology at Oberlin College, was working in the lab of senior co-author Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin at Yale when she picked up on the trend.

Morean notes several studies had already noted the use of e-cigs to vape pot when she heard teens might be catching on, too. “Several high school students who were participating in an unrelated study had mentioned that teenagers are using e-cigarettes to vaporize cannabis in Connecticut,” she tells Yahoo Health. “After doing some background research, we realized that there were no scientific studies on this topic.”

Related: Your Body After Vaping an E-Cigarette

Originally designed for nicotine solutions, e-cigarettes have been used with cannabis-containing substances like hash oil for some time. “But we did not expect that teens would be using e-cigarettes for this purpose, especially at the rates we observed,” Morean says. “However, teenagers are resourceful, and in light of the rapid increase in the popularity of e-cigarettes among teens, perhaps it was only a matter of time until they put the two together.”

Providing some of the first documented evidence that vaping cannabis is trending among teens, Morean hopes the study raises awareness that teens are catching on to something potentially dangerous.

“Vaporizing cannabis is more discreet than smoking marijuana in traditional forms, like joints or pipes, because the smell of the vapor is not as strong as smoked marijuana,” she says. “In addition, forms of cannabis that can be vaporized, like hash oil, often are considerably more potent than marijuana that is smoked.”

If it’s easier to hide, the concern is that more teens will be getting high.
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
@Nesta I really liked that book. I encourage everybody to read the sample of the book above.

There is a thread started about teens vaping bad drugs in their ecigs. Is called Dangers of Vaping CNN Story. It's under the same category as this - News and Activisim.
 
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bounce5

Well-Known Member
Puerto Rico cannabis news for those who can read Spanish....also a couple are in English.

In Puerto Rico there's been quite a few articles about cannabis in the past month. Medical Marijuana is on it's way. It passed a few months ago. In the article about cultivation for medical marijuana it is obvious that this is meant to be controlled by corporate interests...According to the new law those who use medical marijuana won't even be allowed to smoke it. They are allowing are pills, oral drops, inhalaters, topicals, creams, and vaporization. Patients aren't allowed to grow any of their own cannabis. And for those who do there are a lot of restrictions. For example they have to have two guards on the premises at all times, it can only by grown hydroponically...and there are a lot of costs. I've also noticed that a lot of this information isn't being broadcasted on the evening news. You really have to be on the look out to find information about this.

Luz verde al cultivo de marihuana en Puerto Rico
http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/luzverdealcultivodemarihuanaenpuertorico-2095981/

Se cuaja reglamento sobre el uso medicinal del “cannabis”

http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/secuajareglamentosobreelusomedicinaldelcannabis-2094052/

Dramáticos testimonios de pacientes de cáncer que favorecen el uso de cannabis

http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/...sdecancerquefavorecenelusodecannabis-2095455/

Secuestraron más de una tonelada de marihuana en Puerto Rico
http://www.territoriodigital.com/nota3.aspx?c=2143752406678283

Piden colocar estrictos controles para despacho marihuana medicinal
http://www.metro.pr/locales/piden-c...cho-marihuana-medicinal/pGXohy!fgcopp2gvKhuU/

Médicos y religiosos abogan a favor del cannabis medicinal
http://www.metro.pr/plus/medicos-y-...r-del-cannabis-medicinal/pGXohq!kcHtzoOG5LL2/

Legalized Pot Could Help Solve The Puerto Rico Debt Crisis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/legalized-pot-can-help-so_b_7935048.html

DigiPath Labs Provides Insight on Proposed Puerto Rico Medical Cannabis Law
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...erto-rico-medical-cannabis-law-300139753.html
 
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