One thing voters may notice in Oregon’s Voters’ Guide this election is that some big names are supporting Measure 74, a measure that would green-light state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries.
Turn on your radio Monday and you might hear a new ad with the voice of former Portland mayor and police chief, Tom Potter, supporting the measure.
“But I do support Measure 74,” he says in the ad. “It regulates medical marijuana. That change is overdue. Since medical marijuana is legal, we need to regulate it.”
The measure would allow patients like Troy Torgerson to buy pot and no longer depend on a personal grower or other patients with extra medical marijuana.
“I’m in a lot of pain, so the medicine does help a lot,” he says.
“Too many patients do not have access to medical cannabis,” says Anthony Johnson, co-author of Measure 74. “Patients that are homebound, seriously ill - a patient who gets diagnosed with cancer and must undergo chemotherapy shouldn’t have to wait three months for harvest or have to turn to the black market.”
Opponents to the measure say the measure is an attempt to legalize pot and will open more people up to drug addiction.
The Oregon Medical Association, which represents doctors, urges people to vote no, writing, it “exceeds the needs of unhealthy Oregonians and is beyond the practice of good medicine.” It will “result in the legalization of marijuana beyond any possible medical market under the medically unsubstantiated guise of medical need.”
The three major law enforcement associations - the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Oregon Sheriff’s Association and the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police – all oppose Measure 74.
“We’re at a crossroads of taking this drug to basically legality,” says the sheriff of Clatsop County, Tom Bergin, who’s one of the most outspoken opponents of Measure 74.
“And when you legalize something like this (availability) it means more abuse,” he says.
“If Measure 74 works effectively like we believe it does, it may very well help lead to legalization in the future,” says Johnson, “but that’s a debate for another time and Measure 74 should be debated on its own merits.”
There are more than 36,000 people enrolled in Oregon’s medical marijuana program which is about one percent of all Oregonians. California, New Mexico and Maine already have dispensaries.
- Article from KATU News.
Showing posts with label marijuana activist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marijuana activist. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Denver City Council Eliminates Private Cannabis Caregivers Within City Limits
In a vote Monday night of 12-1 Council members adopted a measure to limit households within the city to just twelve plants total, and only two patients per home who must also live in the household.
Despite a new State law and regulation under HB 1284 allowing for up to 30 plants with a five patient limit per private caregiver, Denver City Council members saw fit to tighten those regulations more within Denver.
The law effectively eliminates private caregivers from growing cannabis for anyone but themselves and another person in the household. Each of the possible two patients per home are allowed six plants a piece and cannot caregive for anyone outside the home. Violations of the regulation would face tough fines and possible prosecution if inspections of a home revealed gross violations or lack of continued compliance. It’s not clear how the law will be enforced.
Most of the almost two hour public comment hearing was spent with council members commenting on their personal beliefs why the measure was proper to implement.
Councilman Charlie Brown commented, saying “..if Medical marijuana people (proponents) had cooperated would we be here (making this legislation)?”
Another Councilwoman commented to citizens in the hearing that had voiced concerns of foot traffic in and out of caregivers homes near them asking them, “Do these people look like they have a debilitating illness?”.
Patients complained in and out of the hearing that not everyone has the ability to grow cannabis and the rules would limit access to those who need the more personalized services a private caregiver could offer.
New patients under ongoing formation of HB 1284 regulations are not allowed to visit medical marijuana centers within 35 days of obtaining a signed recommendation. The rule stems from wording in Colorado Amendment 20 that allows the State Health Department to reject a medical MJ application within 35 days of recommendation. Private caregivers would be the ones to fill the void of time in which patients would be rejected by medical marijuana centers.
During the hearing Denver City Council also heard from a few residents for the strict regulation and one man who stated his neighbor was growing over 60 plants and with a new born child on the way he didn’t feel his safety or his new born child’s safety were secured with having a “large” cannabis operation next door. Council members used a few small situations like this throughout their comments as reasons why the law needed to be supported.
The Denver City Council also adopted wording as part of the law that will make them revisit the regulation in two years to see if the rules are working with the city and its neighborhoods.
The new Denver regulation could face a tough challenge in court though. Boulder, Colorado resident and Medical Marijuana patient Jason Lauve was acquitted last year of felony possession charges in a jury trial, despite the fact he had 35 ounces or 17 times the amount of suggested medical marijuana listed for personal use in Colorado’s Amendment 20. Lauve was injured in an accident in 2004 at Eldora Ski Resort and says he mixes smoking and using concentrates daily to control pain better than any pain management tool he has come across. His case is important because part of Colorado’s Medical Marijuana law allows patients in court to use an “affirmative defense”, allowing themselves and their doctors the decision on an appropriate amount of cannabis to posses in managing care, also allowing more than the suggested 2 ounces and 6 plants listed in Amendment 20. Jason Lauve’s acquittal reaffirmed this right in court.
The Denver City Council addressed the issue of Court challenge and constitutionality with its city attorney stating courts recently have decided on the side of regulation and have not favored medical marijuana advocates, and the city should feel confident in litigating any issues that rise from the new law.
9 people testified at the public comment Hearing. 5 against the regulation, and 4 in favor of it.
- This article also published at John Doe Radio.
Despite a new State law and regulation under HB 1284 allowing for up to 30 plants with a five patient limit per private caregiver, Denver City Council members saw fit to tighten those regulations more within Denver.
The law effectively eliminates private caregivers from growing cannabis for anyone but themselves and another person in the household. Each of the possible two patients per home are allowed six plants a piece and cannot caregive for anyone outside the home. Violations of the regulation would face tough fines and possible prosecution if inspections of a home revealed gross violations or lack of continued compliance. It’s not clear how the law will be enforced.
Most of the almost two hour public comment hearing was spent with council members commenting on their personal beliefs why the measure was proper to implement.
Councilman Charlie Brown commented, saying “..if Medical marijuana people (proponents) had cooperated would we be here (making this legislation)?”
Another Councilwoman commented to citizens in the hearing that had voiced concerns of foot traffic in and out of caregivers homes near them asking them, “Do these people look like they have a debilitating illness?”.
Patients complained in and out of the hearing that not everyone has the ability to grow cannabis and the rules would limit access to those who need the more personalized services a private caregiver could offer.
New patients under ongoing formation of HB 1284 regulations are not allowed to visit medical marijuana centers within 35 days of obtaining a signed recommendation. The rule stems from wording in Colorado Amendment 20 that allows the State Health Department to reject a medical MJ application within 35 days of recommendation. Private caregivers would be the ones to fill the void of time in which patients would be rejected by medical marijuana centers.
During the hearing Denver City Council also heard from a few residents for the strict regulation and one man who stated his neighbor was growing over 60 plants and with a new born child on the way he didn’t feel his safety or his new born child’s safety were secured with having a “large” cannabis operation next door. Council members used a few small situations like this throughout their comments as reasons why the law needed to be supported.
The Denver City Council also adopted wording as part of the law that will make them revisit the regulation in two years to see if the rules are working with the city and its neighborhoods.
The new Denver regulation could face a tough challenge in court though. Boulder, Colorado resident and Medical Marijuana patient Jason Lauve was acquitted last year of felony possession charges in a jury trial, despite the fact he had 35 ounces or 17 times the amount of suggested medical marijuana listed for personal use in Colorado’s Amendment 20. Lauve was injured in an accident in 2004 at Eldora Ski Resort and says he mixes smoking and using concentrates daily to control pain better than any pain management tool he has come across. His case is important because part of Colorado’s Medical Marijuana law allows patients in court to use an “affirmative defense”, allowing themselves and their doctors the decision on an appropriate amount of cannabis to posses in managing care, also allowing more than the suggested 2 ounces and 6 plants listed in Amendment 20. Jason Lauve’s acquittal reaffirmed this right in court.
The Denver City Council addressed the issue of Court challenge and constitutionality with its city attorney stating courts recently have decided on the side of regulation and have not favored medical marijuana advocates, and the city should feel confident in litigating any issues that rise from the new law.
9 people testified at the public comment Hearing. 5 against the regulation, and 4 in favor of it.
- This article also published at John Doe Radio.
YouTube Censors Pro Prop 19 Political Campaign (w/ Video)
Last week, comedian Steve Berke launched an online political campaign in support of Proposition 19 in California with the recent release of his latest music video, "Should Be Legalized", a political commentary on Eminem's music video "Love The Way You Lie." The campaign, supported by NORML (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) was generating huge internet buzz, and had amassed 108,000 views within 2 days, when YouTube flagged it for being offensive, thus requiring users to login to view the video, killing the video's chance at becoming viral. "We were on pace to reach 1 million views within a week, and our video was rallying supporters of Prop 19 and decriminalization in every state that had it on the ballot. Then YouTube flagged us for being offensive and killed any chance we had at reaching our potential audience. Their censorship of this video is similar to the Internet censorship that takes place in repressive countries like North Korea and China." YouTube failed to give any reason to Berke for flagging the video and it is presently inaccessible to the vast majority of worldwide. “The flagging system does not have a system of recourse and re-review,” stated Berke. Fort Lauderdale attorney Norm Kent, on the Board of Directors at NORML, is among those who are outraged. "We will not let YouTube squash a vibrant political campaign the week before the historic November 2nd elections. Videos of rapper Snoop Dogg smoking marijuana are not flagged as offensive, but a song that merely names him as a marijuana user is? YouTube is effectively freezing a viral political movement as it gains momentum in time for a critical vote. They must remove the flag. If they do not, we will pursue the matter further until they do.” NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre adds, "YouTube’s building a wall around Steve Berke’s video makes no sense in light of dozens of other videos that depict normal cannabis use. YouTube, whether it means to or not, is stifling legitimate political discourse regarding an important initiative vote in California next week that seeks to legalize and tax cannabis.” "I just don't understand it," said Berke. "People smoking marijuana in videos on YouTube go unflagged, but our video, that involves actors merely pretending to smoke marijuana as political satire, is flagged immediately." “In Eminem’s video, alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, sexual assault, arson and murder are all prevalent and the video is not censored in any way. In fact, YouTube runs ads against it, not only profiting off the video, but also making it viewable to all ages at all times,” Berke added. The link to Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie" is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U&ob=av3e The link to Berke's "Should Be Legalized" is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdIYVWA0dr0 - Article from SFGN. | |
Prop 19 Down in Two New Polls
Two polls released Tuesday show Proposition 19, the California tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative, in trouble.
Whether Tuesday's million dollar gift to the campaign by financier George Soros can make a difference in the final days, or whether a postulated "Reverse Bradley Effect" is causing support for the initiative to be unreported in polls conducted by live interviewers, will be seen next Tuesday.
The latest poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows declining support for Proposition 19, California's tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative. That poll has the measure losing, with 48% opposed and only 45% in favor.
A PPP poll in July had Prop 19 winning 52% to 36% and a PPP poll in September had it leading 47% to 38%. Tuesday's poll continues the downward trend line.
A new Suffolk University poll also has Prop 19 losing, 55% to 40%. That poll showed majority support for the measure only among voters under 35, 58% of whom said they would vote for it. All other age groups opposed it. The poll also showed Prop 19 losing even in the San Francisco Bay area, with support there at only 44%.
The Suffolk University poll was a statewide poll of 600 likely voters conducted by live telephone interviews and has a 4% margin of error. Prop 19 has fared significantly better in automated polls, leading some observers to suggest that respondents are less likely to respond honestly about supporting marijuana legalization in polls with live polltakers.
The Prop 19 campaign recently released its own internal poll, which showed the measure passing 56% to 41% when people were robo-polled and leading 48% to 45% when automated and live poll data were combined.
Stay tuned. There will be at least two more polls released before election day, one by PPP and one by the Field Poll. But the only poll that counts is the one voters head to in a week.
- Article from StoptheDrugWar.org.
Whether Tuesday's million dollar gift to the campaign by financier George Soros can make a difference in the final days, or whether a postulated "Reverse Bradley Effect" is causing support for the initiative to be unreported in polls conducted by live interviewers, will be seen next Tuesday.
The latest poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows declining support for Proposition 19, California's tax and regulate marijuana legalization initiative. That poll has the measure losing, with 48% opposed and only 45% in favor.
A PPP poll in July had Prop 19 winning 52% to 36% and a PPP poll in September had it leading 47% to 38%. Tuesday's poll continues the downward trend line.
A new Suffolk University poll also has Prop 19 losing, 55% to 40%. That poll showed majority support for the measure only among voters under 35, 58% of whom said they would vote for it. All other age groups opposed it. The poll also showed Prop 19 losing even in the San Francisco Bay area, with support there at only 44%.
The Suffolk University poll was a statewide poll of 600 likely voters conducted by live telephone interviews and has a 4% margin of error. Prop 19 has fared significantly better in automated polls, leading some observers to suggest that respondents are less likely to respond honestly about supporting marijuana legalization in polls with live polltakers.
The Prop 19 campaign recently released its own internal poll, which showed the measure passing 56% to 41% when people were robo-polled and leading 48% to 45% when automated and live poll data were combined.
Stay tuned. There will be at least two more polls released before election day, one by PPP and one by the Field Poll. But the only poll that counts is the one voters head to in a week.
- Article from StoptheDrugWar.org.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Medical Marijuana Advocate Michelle Rainey Dies From Cancer
Prince of Pot Marc Emery's ex-business partner and blonde bombshell medical marijuana advocate, Michelle Rainey has died from cancer.
[Cannabis Culture Editor's note: Michelle Rainey was one of the most hard-working, vibrant, and dedicated cannabis activists on the planet. She will be sorely missed by everyone in the Cannabis Culture family, and our hearts and thoughts go out to her loved ones in this time of grief. Thanks for all the wonderful work and great times Michelle; we will never forget you! Click here to read a post about Michelle written by Marc Emery on October 5]
She had lived with Crohn's Disease since a teenager and in the last years of her life struggled against melanoma and lymphatic cancer.
Her husband Jef Tek and mother Emilie were at her side, each holding a hand, when she succumbed Wednesday night in spite of last-ditch, high-dosage experimental cannabis treatment.
The 39-year-old Rainey was the organizational force behind Emery's pot-based business empire although their relationship deteriorated and they split after being hit with a 2005 U.S. drug-and-money-laundering indictment.
Producing her own show on YouTube titled Michelle's Medicinal Marijuana, distributing cannabis education packages to those who in need and being a director for Treating Yourself Magazine, she was tenacious proselytizer for the plant and its therapeutic properties.
Rainey and Emery met in 1998 while he was living on the Sunshine Coast and she was working in a Gibsons' bank. She quit work to become his partner.
Together they established the B.C. Marijuana Party and opened a bookstore-cum-pot HQ on West Hastings Street.
In the 2001 provincial election, theirs was the first political party in provincial history to field candidates in every riding — 79 in all. Rainey ran in Peace River South operating out of The Alaskan Hotel in Dawson Creek.
She managed to get U.S. President Ronald Reagan's old campaign tour bus, nicknamed it the "Cannabus," and toured the province with then-party leader Brian Taylor, now mayor of Grand Forks.
The party captured more than 50,000 votes — 3.2 per cent — all funded by Emery's multi-million-dollar-a-year catalogue seed business.
She joked that she worked at Emery's "beck and call" — be it lining up candidates, coordinated seed-smuggling trips by pretty women back-and-forth to Europe or storing up to 40 pounds of pot for the parties.
Their economic success and celebrity, however, attracted the attention of the American drug warriors and they were busted.
She and a third co-accused, Greg Williams, pleaded guilty in April and were sentenced to two years' probation; last month Emery began serving a five-year prison term in the U.S.
"Michelle needs to be recognized as one of the greatest activists this movement has ever had," he said via an e-mail from jail.
"Michelle may have literally given her life to the movement, and when people think about what they can do for freedom in their lifetime, Michelle's life is a shining example of how much is possible, even under great duress."
In the early 1990s, Rainey began smoking marijuana in place of a daily regimen of pharmaceutical drugs she was taking to relieve the symptoms of Crohn's Disease. She said cannabis did not trigger the same debilitating side effects as the pills.
After meeting Emery, she came out of the closet about her use and in recent years became Canada's most recognizable medical pot crusader.
Her advocacy brought her into contact with numerous high-profile Canadians and she relished talking about rubbing shoulders with celebrities such as Romeo Dallaire, Henry Morgentaler, Wade Davis.
Media mogul Moses Znaimer, who made Rainey a regular at his celebrated annual ideaCity conference, flew to Vancouver to say good-bye. Her pal Dan Aykroyd telephoned his last so-long earlier in the day Wednesday.
She was greatly loved and will be hugely missed.
"I want people to keep working, keep working for change - too many sick people are still having difficulty getting their medication," Rainey recently said.
"That's what I want as my legacy — change."
Sadly, she did not live to see the historic marijuana legalization vote that will occur in California on Nov. 2.
She predicted: "Change is gong to come."
- Article from The Vancouver Sun.
[Cannabis Culture Editor's note: Michelle Rainey was one of the most hard-working, vibrant, and dedicated cannabis activists on the planet. She will be sorely missed by everyone in the Cannabis Culture family, and our hearts and thoughts go out to her loved ones in this time of grief. Thanks for all the wonderful work and great times Michelle; we will never forget you! Click here to read a post about Michelle written by Marc Emery on October 5]
She had lived with Crohn's Disease since a teenager and in the last years of her life struggled against melanoma and lymphatic cancer.
Her husband Jef Tek and mother Emilie were at her side, each holding a hand, when she succumbed Wednesday night in spite of last-ditch, high-dosage experimental cannabis treatment.
The 39-year-old Rainey was the organizational force behind Emery's pot-based business empire although their relationship deteriorated and they split after being hit with a 2005 U.S. drug-and-money-laundering indictment.
Producing her own show on YouTube titled Michelle's Medicinal Marijuana, distributing cannabis education packages to those who in need and being a director for Treating Yourself Magazine, she was tenacious proselytizer for the plant and its therapeutic properties.
Rainey and Emery met in 1998 while he was living on the Sunshine Coast and she was working in a Gibsons' bank. She quit work to become his partner.
Together they established the B.C. Marijuana Party and opened a bookstore-cum-pot HQ on West Hastings Street.
In the 2001 provincial election, theirs was the first political party in provincial history to field candidates in every riding — 79 in all. Rainey ran in Peace River South operating out of The Alaskan Hotel in Dawson Creek.
She managed to get U.S. President Ronald Reagan's old campaign tour bus, nicknamed it the "Cannabus," and toured the province with then-party leader Brian Taylor, now mayor of Grand Forks.
The party captured more than 50,000 votes — 3.2 per cent — all funded by Emery's multi-million-dollar-a-year catalogue seed business.
She joked that she worked at Emery's "beck and call" — be it lining up candidates, coordinated seed-smuggling trips by pretty women back-and-forth to Europe or storing up to 40 pounds of pot for the parties.
Their economic success and celebrity, however, attracted the attention of the American drug warriors and they were busted.
She and a third co-accused, Greg Williams, pleaded guilty in April and were sentenced to two years' probation; last month Emery began serving a five-year prison term in the U.S.
"Michelle needs to be recognized as one of the greatest activists this movement has ever had," he said via an e-mail from jail.
"Michelle may have literally given her life to the movement, and when people think about what they can do for freedom in their lifetime, Michelle's life is a shining example of how much is possible, even under great duress."
In the early 1990s, Rainey began smoking marijuana in place of a daily regimen of pharmaceutical drugs she was taking to relieve the symptoms of Crohn's Disease. She said cannabis did not trigger the same debilitating side effects as the pills.
After meeting Emery, she came out of the closet about her use and in recent years became Canada's most recognizable medical pot crusader.
Her advocacy brought her into contact with numerous high-profile Canadians and she relished talking about rubbing shoulders with celebrities such as Romeo Dallaire, Henry Morgentaler, Wade Davis.
Media mogul Moses Znaimer, who made Rainey a regular at his celebrated annual ideaCity conference, flew to Vancouver to say good-bye. Her pal Dan Aykroyd telephoned his last so-long earlier in the day Wednesday.
She was greatly loved and will be hugely missed.
"I want people to keep working, keep working for change - too many sick people are still having difficulty getting their medication," Rainey recently said.
"That's what I want as my legacy — change."
Sadly, she did not live to see the historic marijuana legalization vote that will occur in California on Nov. 2.
She predicted: "Change is gong to come."
- Article from The Vancouver Sun.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Vote 2010: Measure 74 Would Create Marijuana Dispensaries in Oregon
Oregon’s Measure 74 will create the best system in America for providing safe, legal and highly regulated access to medical marijuana for qualified patients. The measure creates a system of nonprofit dispensaries, much like pharmacies.
It will bring order, transparency and accountability to a program that now serves approximately 40,000 ill, disabled and suffering Oregonians.
The time has come to address these patients’ needs, and to place compassion and common sense above political infighting and cynicism. To do otherwise is simply not the Oregon way. The suffering of just one patient, for just one day, compels us to look for a better system.
Oregon’s current medical marijuana program is well-administered. We’ve had it for 12 years. Only patients with serious, debilitating conditions qualify for medical marijuana. More than 3,400 different Oregon doctors have recommended marijuana as a treatment option for their patients.
But doctors and patients both soon find that the law has a fundamental flaw: No pharmacies carry medical marijuana. There is no practical way for patients to obtain it. The current system says patients must grow their own — a slow and arduous process — or find someone to give it to them for free. Measure 74 would solve this supply problem in a simple way and leave the rest of the program intact.
With the passage of Measure 74, we will have safe, well- regulated and taxed dispensaries that are licensed, inspected and subject to strict regulations written by the Oregon Health Authority. These new nonprofit businesses would be directed by Oregon residents only. These people must submit to a criminal background check and will be subject to the oversight of the Oregon Department of Justice. They will be required to follow all the laws that other businesses follow and will face many additional restrictions, such as enhanced zoning guidelines.
The new system will cost taxpayers nothing, and it will create many new jobs. That’s not just our claim, it’s the opinion of state authorities who estimated the revenues and costs. They say revenues from license fees and taxes should range between $3 million and $20 million per year, while regulation will cost less than $500,000. That means Measure 74’s program will be self-financing. It even has the potential to generate millions of new dollars for Oregon’s strapped treasury.
Because the measure was crafted after experiences with medical marijuana in other states, it was written carefully to learn from experience. California’s program had no statewide regulation, and it has spawned a patchwork of confusing local rules. Colorado’s supply system provided virtually no regulation at the outset, so state legislators had to step in and fix problems. New Mexico authorized far too few dispensaries, compromising the program’s viability.
By contrast, Measure 74 will be a model of safety and regulation for the entire nation.
The new law also wisely addresses legitimate citizen concerns, such as prohibiting access to the pharmacy-style dispensaries by non-patients, or having them in residential neighborhoods or near schools. No supporter of this improved system wants to reduce the livability of our cities or disrupt the family values this state holds dear. The motivation for these changes was simple compassion, not just change for the sake of change.
The proposed law also recognizes the need for law enforcement involvement in an area that too long has been polarized by the opposing camps of pro-marijuana activists vs. criminal prosecutors. A middle way is best. Dispensaries are required to operate as traditional businesses, with leases, staffing, payroll taxes, inspections, licensing and more. They must comply with the strict rules and scrutiny that will accompany their licenses, and will face an annual review by the Oregon Department of Justice to retain their nonprofit status.
Oregon’s Medical Marijuana Program is run professionally by Oregon’s Department of Human Services, which has a $13 billion biennial budget, employs thousands of people and manages many programs with impressive inspection and enforcement powers. New, professionally run dispensaries will be governed by the Oregon Health Authority, soon to be created from the Human Services Department.
It is time that we agree to agree: That we all feel compassion for seriously ill patients, that we all share common concerns for safety and sound government, that every family is vulnerable, and that we work best when we work together.
When Measure 74 passes in November, we will, once again, come together as Oregonians and make our state a model to follow.
John Sajo is co-author of Measure 74. Assisting with this essay was Anthony Johnson, the measure’s co-author and chief petitioner, and chief petitioners Alice Ivany and Jim Klahr.
- Article from The Register-Guard.
It will bring order, transparency and accountability to a program that now serves approximately 40,000 ill, disabled and suffering Oregonians.
The time has come to address these patients’ needs, and to place compassion and common sense above political infighting and cynicism. To do otherwise is simply not the Oregon way. The suffering of just one patient, for just one day, compels us to look for a better system.
Oregon’s current medical marijuana program is well-administered. We’ve had it for 12 years. Only patients with serious, debilitating conditions qualify for medical marijuana. More than 3,400 different Oregon doctors have recommended marijuana as a treatment option for their patients.
But doctors and patients both soon find that the law has a fundamental flaw: No pharmacies carry medical marijuana. There is no practical way for patients to obtain it. The current system says patients must grow their own — a slow and arduous process — or find someone to give it to them for free. Measure 74 would solve this supply problem in a simple way and leave the rest of the program intact.
With the passage of Measure 74, we will have safe, well- regulated and taxed dispensaries that are licensed, inspected and subject to strict regulations written by the Oregon Health Authority. These new nonprofit businesses would be directed by Oregon residents only. These people must submit to a criminal background check and will be subject to the oversight of the Oregon Department of Justice. They will be required to follow all the laws that other businesses follow and will face many additional restrictions, such as enhanced zoning guidelines.
t
Because the measure was crafted after experiences with medical marijuana in other states, it was written carefully to learn from experience. California’s program had no statewide regulation, and it has spawned a patchwork of confusing local rules. Colorado’s supply system provided virtually no regulation at the outset, so state legislators had to step in and fix problems. New Mexico authorized far too few dispensaries, compromising the program’s viability.
By contrast, Measure 74 will be a model of safety and regulation for the entire nation.
The new law also wisely addresses legitimate citizen concerns, such as prohibiting access to the pharmacy-style dispensaries by non-patients, or having them in residential neighborhoods or near schools. No supporter of this improved system wants to reduce the livability of our cities or disrupt the family values this state holds dear. The motivation for these changes was simple compassion, not just change for the sake of change.
The proposed law also recognizes the need for law enforcement involvement in an area that too long has been polarized by the opposing camps of pro-marijuana activists vs. criminal prosecutors. A middle way is best. Dispensaries are required to operate as traditional businesses, with leases, staffing, payroll taxes, inspections, licensing and more. They must comply with the strict rules and scrutiny that will accompany their licenses, and will face an annual review by the Oregon Department of Justice to retain their nonprofit status.
Oregon’s Medical Marijuana Program is run professionally by Oregon’s Department of Human Services, which has a $13 billion biennial budget, employs thousands of people and manages many programs with impressive inspection and enforcement powers. New, professionally run dispensaries will be governed by the Oregon Health Authority, soon to be created from the Human Services Department.
It is time that we agree to agree: That we all feel compassion for seriously ill patients, that we all share common concerns for safety and sound government, that every family is vulnerable, and that we work best when we work together.
When Measure 74 passes in November, we will, once again, come together as Oregonians and make our state a model to follow.
John Sajo is co-author of Measure 74. Assisting with this essay was Anthony Johnson, the measure’s co-author and chief petitioner, and chief petitioners Alice Ivany and Jim Klahr.
- Article from The Register-Guard.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Prop 19 Analysis: Will Marijuana Legalization Increase Use?
As California moves toward the legalization of marijuana — next month, voters will decide on Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 — a key question remains: could the new law produce a whole generation of stoners?
Opponents of legalization say, yes, fearing it will lead to a massive increase in pot smoking among youth. But some supporters suggest the opposite: legalizing cannabis could de-glamorize it and ultimately prompt reductions in toking. Who's right?
That question is surprisingly hard to answer, but two recent research reports offer some potentially useful insight. The first, a Rand Corporation report that led to related testimony before the California legislature on Sept. 21, discusses the effects of price changes and taxation on consumption of drugs.
A newer report, released Thursday, comes from the new scientist-led International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). It takes a historical look at how U.S. drug policy has affected use, and suggests how to regulate drugs effectively.
One thing the ICSDP report makes clear is that current U.S. drug policy has no effect on marijuana prices or use. While spending on federal drug law enforcement has increased 1,200% and marijuana arrests have risen 150% since 1981, the rate of marijuana use nationwide has bounced around, with no relationship to these efforts.
"No scientific evidence demonstrates an association between the amount of money governments spend on drug law enforcement and rates of drug use," says Dr. Evan Wood, a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, founder of ICSDP and lead author of the report. "And some nations like the U.S., which spend the most have among the highest rates of drug use."
Meanwhile, according to national surveys, high school students continue to report that marijuana is universally available, purity has increased and prices have fallen.
The Rand report forecasts how legalization and taxation of marijuana could affect its market price and overall use in California. Although the public tends to view drug users, and addicts in particular, as too irrational and irresponsible to base their behavior on drug prices, research debunks these notions. Studies on legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, for example, show that taxing them and raising prices can often be quite effective in lowering consumption — even among the heaviest users. "After legalization, we expect a large price drop. That's the biggest take away message from this report," says Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center and lead author of the report. "We expect the price [of marijuana] to drop at least 80%. There are a couple of other figures out there, ours falls in the middle and you can quibble about the details but there's a general agreement that the price will drop."
The trick is to determining how high to set the tax — the price has to be high enough to minimize consumption, but low enough to avoid creating a black market. Kilmer says that the current price for an ounce of good sinsemilla (a type of highly potent marijuana) ranges from $250 to $400. "If that drops down to $50 to $60 an ounce, it would require a really large tax to get [the price back up to that level]. But if the tax is set too high, [we] worry about tax evasion," he says.
Experts disagree on how much tax evasion occurs under California's tobacco tax regime, with smokers ordering cigarettes by mail to avoid state taxes, for instance. Some put the figure at 1% to 4%, but the agency that administers the state's tobacco taxes has said that the rate is more like 15%. Either way, the majority of cigarette taxes do seem to be paid rather than evaded.
Kilmer notes, however, that if Prop 19 passes, each local jurisdiction can set its own tax rate, which could prompt a "race to the bottom," as localities compete for a piece of the pie. "Regardless of how you feel about Prop 19, how to stop a race to the bottom is going to be important for everyone. No one wins if we end up with a really low tax rate on a really low price," Kilmer says. To prevent that, he suggests that the state government could withhold certain types of funding to localities that set marijuana taxes under a certain limit.
But let's say the price of marijuana does end up dropping precipitously. What effect might that have on consumption? Neither report can answer that. "Ultimately, we don't come up with a conclusion at all on a consumption increase," Kilmer says, explaining that many factors other than price can affect use.
The highest rates of marijuana use reported in the U.S. were in the late 1970s and early '80s, despite harsh drug laws. At the time 60% of high school seniors reported trying marijuana at least once; by comparison, the rate in 2009 was 42%. And what became of Generation X? The kids seem to have turned out all right.
Other countries that have decriminalized or quasi-legalized marijuana — such as Portugal and Holland — also have not seen social disasters because of their drug laws. In fact, they have benefited from reduced enforcement costs and increased access to addiction treatment.
One study did find that rates of marijuana use among Dutch youth increased when "coffee shops" — cafes where selling and smoking of marijuana are permitted — were proliferating and being widely marketed. But, overall, even those elevated rates of use were no higher than U.S. rates under marijuana prohibition. "It wasn't the decriminalization, it was commercialization that could have caused this," says Kilmer.
Advertising and commercialization may end up being cause for concern in the U.S. as well, given that medical marijuana ads already seem to be sustaining some newspapers. But, then again, even if Prop 19 passes, marijuana wouldn't be completely legal — it would still be prohibited under federal drug laws, which could put pressure on the Obama Administration to enforce them (though this Wall Street Journal article suggests that supporting legalization measures could be a boon for Democrats — putting similar measures on other states' ballots could draw out some key voters on Election Day).
Many questions remain about what will happen if Proposition 19 passes, but the only result I can unequivocally predict is that drug policy debates will finally become less theoretical — and much more interesting.
- Article from TIME.
Opponents of legalization say, yes, fearing it will lead to a massive increase in pot smoking among youth. But some supporters suggest the opposite: legalizing cannabis could de-glamorize it and ultimately prompt reductions in toking. Who's right?
That question is surprisingly hard to answer, but two recent research reports offer some potentially useful insight. The first, a Rand Corporation report that led to related testimony before the California legislature on Sept. 21, discusses the effects of price changes and taxation on consumption of drugs.
A newer report, released Thursday, comes from the new scientist-led International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). It takes a historical look at how U.S. drug policy has affected use, and suggests how to regulate drugs effectively.
One thing the ICSDP report makes clear is that current U.S. drug policy has no effect on marijuana prices or use. While spending on federal drug law enforcement has increased 1,200% and marijuana arrests have risen 150% since 1981, the rate of marijuana use nationwide has bounced around, with no relationship to these efforts.
 | |||
"No scientific evidence demonstrates an association between the amount of money governments spend on drug law enforcement and rates of drug use," says Dr. Evan Wood, a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, founder of ICSDP and lead author of the report. "And some nations like the U.S., which spend the most have among the highest rates of drug use."
Meanwhile, according to national surveys, high school students continue to report that marijuana is universally available, purity has increased and prices have fallen.
 |
The Rand report forecasts how legalization and taxation of marijuana could affect its market price and overall use in California. Although the public tends to view drug users, and addicts in particular, as too irrational and irresponsible to base their behavior on drug prices, research debunks these notions. Studies on legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, for example, show that taxing them and raising prices can often be quite effective in lowering consumption — even among the heaviest users. "After legalization, we expect a large price drop. That's the biggest take away message from this report," says Beau Kilmer, co-director of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center and lead author of the report. "We expect the price [of marijuana] to drop at least 80%. There are a couple of other figures out there, ours falls in the middle and you can quibble about the details but there's a general agreement that the price will drop."
The trick is to determining how high to set the tax — the price has to be high enough to minimize consumption, but low enough to avoid creating a black market. Kilmer says that the current price for an ounce of good sinsemilla (a type of highly potent marijuana) ranges from $250 to $400. "If that drops down to $50 to $60 an ounce, it would require a really large tax to get [the price back up to that level]. But if the tax is set too high, [we] worry about tax evasion," he says.
Experts disagree on how much tax evasion occurs under California's tobacco tax regime, with smokers ordering cigarettes by mail to avoid state taxes, for instance. Some put the figure at 1% to 4%, but the agency that administers the state's tobacco taxes has said that the rate is more like 15%. Either way, the majority of cigarette taxes do seem to be paid rather than evaded.
Kilmer notes, however, that if Prop 19 passes, each local jurisdiction can set its own tax rate, which could prompt a "race to the bottom," as localities compete for a piece of the pie. "Regardless of how you feel about Prop 19, how to stop a race to the bottom is going to be important for everyone. No one wins if we end up with a really low tax rate on a really low price," Kilmer says. To prevent that, he suggests that the state government could withhold certain types of funding to localities that set marijuana taxes under a certain limit.
But let's say the price of marijuana does end up dropping precipitously. What effect might that have on consumption? Neither report can answer that. "Ultimately, we don't come up with a conclusion at all on a consumption increase," Kilmer says, explaining that many factors other than price can affect use.
The highest rates of marijuana use reported in the U.S. were in the late 1970s and early '80s, despite harsh drug laws. At the time 60% of high school seniors reported trying marijuana at least once; by comparison, the rate in 2009 was 42%. And what became of Generation X? The kids seem to have turned out all right.
Other countries that have decriminalized or quasi-legalized marijuana — such as Portugal and Holland — also have not seen social disasters because of their drug laws. In fact, they have benefited from reduced enforcement costs and increased access to addiction treatment.
One study did find that rates of marijuana use among Dutch youth increased when "coffee shops" — cafes where selling and smoking of marijuana are permitted — were proliferating and being widely marketed. But, overall, even those elevated rates of use were no higher than U.S. rates under marijuana prohibition. "It wasn't the decriminalization, it was commercialization that could have caused this," says Kilmer.
Advertising and commercialization may end up being cause for concern in the U.S. as well, given that medical marijuana ads already seem to be sustaining some newspapers. But, then again, even if Prop 19 passes, marijuana wouldn't be completely legal — it would still be prohibited under federal drug laws, which could put pressure on the Obama Administration to enforce them (though this Wall Street Journal article suggests that supporting legalization measures could be a boon for Democrats — putting similar measures on other states' ballots could draw out some key voters on Election Day).
Many questions remain about what will happen if Proposition 19 passes, but the only result I can unequivocally predict is that drug policy debates will finally become less theoretical — and much more interesting.
- Article from TIME.
Remembering John Lennon (w/ Video)
John Lennon, who would have turned 70 on Saturday, is still being noticed by the FBI 30 years after his death. AP reports that FBI agents seized a set of Lennon's fingerprints from a Manhattan memorabilia shop on Wednesday. The signed fingerprint card, made at a police station on May 8, 1976, was reportedly bought by an unidentified concert promoter at a Beatles convention two decades ago. Store owner Peter Siegel said Homeland Security also had inquired about the card.
It was in the U.S. where the Beatles reportedly first tried marijuana, proffered by Bob Dylan at New York's Delmonica Hotel during their 1964 tour.
On December 10, 1971, Lennon appeared at a John Sinclair Freedom Rally at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Sinclair was a Michigan activist who was sentenced to 9 1/2-10 years in jail for possession of a couple of marijuana joints. Yippie! Jerry Rubin organized the event, as part of a series that lead up to the 1972 Republican convention.
\
On the bill were Michigan natives Stevie Wonder and Bob Seeger, plus Phil Ochs, Steve Miller, Commander Cody, Allen Ginsberg, Chicago Eight members David Dellinger, Renne Davis and Bobby Seale (ungagged), and, in his first American performance since the break up of the Beatles, John Lennon with Yoko Ono.
Stevie Wonder, aged 21, came on at 2:30 AM and said, "This is to any undercover agents in the crowd" and played "Somebody's Watching You." Later a FOIA investigation revealed FBI agents were taking down every word.
Lennon came out, announced, "The Pope smokes dope" and performed his composition "The Ballad of John Sinclair" and three other original songs with Yoko. Two days later, an appellate court freed Sinclair on bail.
Afterwards, Phil Ochs was wiretapped and followed, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated proceedings to deport Lennon because of old pot bust in England. The protracted fight soured him from performing for political causes, but he was planning to do so when he was shot dead in 1980. (Source: Stand and Be Counted by David Crosby and David Bender.)
Harvard psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon, the author of Marijuana Reconsidered, met Lennon when he testified as an expert witness at the INS hearings that Attorney General John Mitchell had engineered. Grinspoon, who tried marijuana deliberately after studying it for years, told Lennon that cannabis appeared to make it possible for him to "hear" his music for the first time. Grinspoon writes, "John was quick to reply that I had experienced only one facet of what marijuana could do for music, that he thought it could be very helpful for composing and making music as well as listening to it." The 2006 film The U.S. vs. John Lennon details Lennon's trials.
In his autobiography Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut, Yippie! Paul Krassner recounts smoking with John and Yoko in 1972. Lennon discounted theories that Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison may have been political assassinations. "No, no," John said, "they were already headed in a self-destructive direction." A few months later, he reminded Krassner of the conversation and added, "Listen, if anything happens to Yoko and me, it was not an accident."
But Lennon lives. Ann Arbor just held its 40th annual Hash Bash, and "Imagine" has become the world's peace anthem. A working class hero is, indeed, something to be.
Read more at http://www.johnlennon.com/
Ellen Komp edits the award-winning Very Important Potheads blog.
Article By: CCulture
It was in the U.S. where the Beatles reportedly first tried marijuana, proffered by Bob Dylan at New York's Delmonica Hotel during their 1964 tour.
On December 10, 1971, Lennon appeared at a John Sinclair Freedom Rally at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Sinclair was a Michigan activist who was sentenced to 9 1/2-10 years in jail for possession of a couple of marijuana joints. Yippie! Jerry Rubin organized the event, as part of a series that lead up to the 1972 Republican convention.
\
On the bill were Michigan natives Stevie Wonder and Bob Seeger, plus Phil Ochs, Steve Miller, Commander Cody, Allen Ginsberg, Chicago Eight members David Dellinger, Renne Davis and Bobby Seale (ungagged), and, in his first American performance since the break up of the Beatles, John Lennon with Yoko Ono.
Stevie Wonder, aged 21, came on at 2:30 AM and said, "This is to any undercover agents in the crowd" and played "Somebody's Watching You." Later a FOIA investigation revealed FBI agents were taking down every word.
Lennon came out, announced, "The Pope smokes dope" and performed his composition "The Ballad of John Sinclair" and three other original songs with Yoko. Two days later, an appellate court freed Sinclair on bail.
Afterwards, Phil Ochs was wiretapped and followed, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service initiated proceedings to deport Lennon because of old pot bust in England. The protracted fight soured him from performing for political causes, but he was planning to do so when he was shot dead in 1980. (Source: Stand and Be Counted by David Crosby and David Bender.)
Harvard psychiatrist Lester Grinspoon, the author of Marijuana Reconsidered, met Lennon when he testified as an expert witness at the INS hearings that Attorney General John Mitchell had engineered. Grinspoon, who tried marijuana deliberately after studying it for years, told Lennon that cannabis appeared to make it possible for him to "hear" his music for the first time. Grinspoon writes, "John was quick to reply that I had experienced only one facet of what marijuana could do for music, that he thought it could be very helpful for composing and making music as well as listening to it." The 2006 film The U.S. vs. John Lennon details Lennon's trials.
In his autobiography Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut, Yippie! Paul Krassner recounts smoking with John and Yoko in 1972. Lennon discounted theories that Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison may have been political assassinations. "No, no," John said, "they were already headed in a self-destructive direction." A few months later, he reminded Krassner of the conversation and added, "Listen, if anything happens to Yoko and me, it was not an accident."
But Lennon lives. Ann Arbor just held its 40th annual Hash Bash, and "Imagine" has become the world's peace anthem. A working class hero is, indeed, something to be.
Read more at http://www.johnlennon.com/
Ellen Komp edits the award-winning Very Important Potheads blog.
Article By: CCulture
Friday, October 8, 2010
Facebook Billionaire Gives Money to Legalize Pot in California
Dustin Moskovitz confirmed tonight that he has recently given $50,000 in support of Proposition 19, which is seeking to legalize marijuana in California this November.
He had previously donated $20,000 to supporters of the act, which would allow people 21 years old or older to possess, cultivate or transport cannabis for personal use and would permit local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of the substance.
Not too many other billionaires have come out in favor of legalizing pot but one who has is Peter Lewis, who donated $12,800 to Oregon’s medical marijuana ballot this November, according to my colleague Clare O’Connor. (Read her September post). Lewis, who was arrested for drug possession in New Zealand a decade ago, has been a longtime supporter of the issue; he apparently smoked marijuana for pain relief after his left leg was amputated.
Moskovitz, who is now the America’s youngest billionaire and who is played by actor Joseph Mazzello in the just released Facebook movie “The Social Network,” had no other comment at this time.
Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008 and started Asana, a software company that allows individuals and small companies to better collaborate. The company, which has several of the same early backers as Facebook, lists some of its values as pragmatism, chill-ness and being a mensch. For now, we estimate that his entire $1.4 billion fortune comes from his 6% stake in Facebook.
- Article from Forbes
He had previously donated $20,000 to supporters of the act, which would allow people 21 years old or older to possess, cultivate or transport cannabis for personal use and would permit local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of the substance.
Not too many other billionaires have come out in favor of legalizing pot but one who has is Peter Lewis, who donated $12,800 to Oregon’s medical marijuana ballot this November, according to my colleague Clare O’Connor. (Read her September post). Lewis, who was arrested for drug possession in New Zealand a decade ago, has been a longtime supporter of the issue; he apparently smoked marijuana for pain relief after his left leg was amputated.
Moskovitz, who is now the America’s youngest billionaire and who is played by actor Joseph Mazzello in the just released Facebook movie “The Social Network,” had no other comment at this time.
Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008 and started Asana, a software company that allows individuals and small companies to better collaborate. The company, which has several of the same early backers as Facebook, lists some of its values as pragmatism, chill-ness and being a mensch. For now, we estimate that his entire $1.4 billion fortune comes from his 6% stake in Facebook.
- Article from Forbes
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sorry for not posting yesterday. Very Busy
Working on more awesome stuff to make this blog better.
Here is a news clip,
regular posting will resume as scheduled, See ya on Friday.
Peace & Green
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Boston Freedom Rally: Thousands Attend Marijuana Rally
The 21st Annual Boston Freedom Rally, sponsored by MassCann, the state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, was the second since the loosening of Massachusetts marijuana laws in January 2009.
The new law makes possession of up to an ounce of the drug punishable only by confiscation and a $100 fine. Under the former law, violators faced up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, and the listing of the offense on their criminal record.
MassCann and some attendees said yesterday that the relaxed penalties, approved by voters in 2008, are a step in the right direction, but that the state’s laws still demonize what they see as a benign and healing substance.
Park rangers and Boston police were on the scene, with much of the Charles Street side of the Common reserved for police parking.
Two people were arrested for possession with intent to distribute Class D marijuana and 34 civil citations were issued for possession of marijuana, said police spokesman Eddy Chrispin. Otherwise, there were no other reported crimes and the rally was orderly, Chrispin said.
Frank Capone of Medford, a member of MassCann’s board of directors, said the crowds at the rally were diverse.
“There are businesspeople here today, and there are moms and dads,’’ said Capone, 25, who was registering people to vote. “They’re all saying they don’t want to be called criminals anymore.’’
Cher Kore, who was roaming the Common collecting donations for MassCann, said legalizing and taxing marijuana can benefit smokers and nonsmokers alike.
“It’s about getting marijuana into the right hands to keep people safe,’’ Kore said. “We don’t have the money to afford universal health care right now, but if we taxed marijuana, we would.’’
In an interview behind the main stage after her speech, Stein said she agreed.
“We have a terrible problem with violence resulting from the black market of marijuana,’’ she said. “We are allowing millions to flow into the criminal economy. By bringing it into a legal framework, we can stop that money and use it in our communities.’’
Some posed for pictures with a 6-foot-long joint, held by Adam Fithian, who had made it from tomato cages and tape. Fithian is a singer for the band Prospect Hill, which was getting ready to perform at the rally for the third straight year.
Fithian supports legalization and said the movement needs to work hard to convince skeptics.
Nick Murray, a political science major at the University of New Hampshire, who drove to Boston to attend the rally, said civic engagement is crucial to the cause.
“Young people don’t vote enough,’’ Murray said. “That’s the way to change things.’’
Though the rally advocated ideas, many used it to further commerce. Dozens of vendors sold wares ranging from T-shirts to peanut butter sandwiches to hemp, pipes, and bongs.
Greg Berry and Ray Agrinzone of printer SmartyPrintz.com drove from Waterbury, Conn., to sell T-shirts reading: “Grassachusetts Welcomes You. Governor Deval Passit.’’ Berry and Agrinzone said they sold 400 shirts out of backpacks last year, but yesterday they paid MassCann $350 for a booth.
Some were on the Common mainly to soak up the scene and the late-summer sun.
“I don’t smoke,’’ said Stacy, an Emerson College sophomore who asked that her last name not be used. “I’m here for the jewelry and to take some good photos.’’
- Article from Boston Globe on September 19, 2010.
The new law makes possession of up to an ounce of the drug punishable only by confiscation and a $100 fine. Under the former law, violators faced up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, and the listing of the offense on their criminal record.
MassCann and some attendees said yesterday that the relaxed penalties, approved by voters in 2008, are a step in the right direction, but that the state’s laws still demonize what they see as a benign and healing substance.
Park rangers and Boston police were on the scene, with much of the Charles Street side of the Common reserved for police parking.
Two people were arrested for possession with intent to distribute Class D marijuana and 34 civil citations were issued for possession of marijuana, said police spokesman Eddy Chrispin. Otherwise, there were no other reported crimes and the rally was orderly, Chrispin said.
Frank Capone of Medford, a member of MassCann’s board of directors, said the crowds at the rally were diverse.
“There are businesspeople here today, and there are moms and dads,’’ said Capone, 25, who was registering people to vote. “They’re all saying they don’t want to be called criminals anymore.’’
Cher Kore, who was roaming the Common collecting donations for MassCann, said legalizing and taxing marijuana can benefit smokers and nonsmokers alike.
“It’s about getting marijuana into the right hands to keep people safe,’’ Kore said. “We don’t have the money to afford universal health care right now, but if we taxed marijuana, we would.’’
In an interview behind the main stage after her speech, Stein said she agreed.
“We have a terrible problem with violence resulting from the black market of marijuana,’’ she said. “We are allowing millions to flow into the criminal economy. By bringing it into a legal framework, we can stop that money and use it in our communities.’’
Some posed for pictures with a 6-foot-long joint, held by Adam Fithian, who had made it from tomato cages and tape. Fithian is a singer for the band Prospect Hill, which was getting ready to perform at the rally for the third straight year.
Fithian supports legalization and said the movement needs to work hard to convince skeptics.
Nick Murray, a political science major at the University of New Hampshire, who drove to Boston to attend the rally, said civic engagement is crucial to the cause.
“Young people don’t vote enough,’’ Murray said. “That’s the way to change things.’’
Though the rally advocated ideas, many used it to further commerce. Dozens of vendors sold wares ranging from T-shirts to peanut butter sandwiches to hemp, pipes, and bongs.
Greg Berry and Ray Agrinzone of printer SmartyPrintz.com drove from Waterbury, Conn., to sell T-shirts reading: “Grassachusetts Welcomes You. Governor Deval Passit.’’ Berry and Agrinzone said they sold 400 shirts out of backpacks last year, but yesterday they paid MassCann $350 for a booth.
Some were on the Common mainly to soak up the scene and the late-summer sun.
“I don’t smoke,’’ said Stacy, an Emerson College sophomore who asked that her last name not be used. “I’m here for the jewelry and to take some good photos.’’
- Article from Boston Globe on September 19, 2010.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Cypress Hill Plan Marijuana Dispensary Chain
Stoner icons CYPRESS HILL are looking to cash in on the "inevitable" legalisation of marijuana in their native California by preparing to open their own dispensaries.
The hip-hop trio, who are among the celebrities leading the charge for the legalisation of the drug, insist it won't be too long before state lawmakers agree to allow weed lovers to smoke up a storm in special cigar store-like businesses, and Cypress Hill want to be a part of the explosion of 'hash houses'.
Bandmate B-Real tells Hustler magazine, "They have to figure out where you'll be able to purchase it (marijuana). I don't think it will be available in a normal liquor store right away. I think it will stay in (medical) dispensaries, but the dispensaries will change to being more like cigar shops.
"Then you'll see a Cypress Hill Shop. We're looking towards that now... We're going to be involved in some capacity."
- Article from Contactmusic.com.
The hip-hop trio, who are among the celebrities leading the charge for the legalisation of the drug, insist it won't be too long before state lawmakers agree to allow weed lovers to smoke up a storm in special cigar store-like businesses, and Cypress Hill want to be a part of the explosion of 'hash houses'.
Bandmate B-Real tells Hustler magazine, "They have to figure out where you'll be able to purchase it (marijuana). I don't think it will be available in a normal liquor store right away. I think it will stay in (medical) dispensaries, but the dispensaries will change to being more like cigar shops.
"Then you'll see a Cypress Hill Shop. We're looking towards that now... We're going to be involved in some capacity."
- Article from Contactmusic.com.
Green Party U.S. Senate Candidate Calls for the Repeal of Federal Laws Criminalizing Marijuana
Duane Roberts, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, calls for repealing federal laws prohibiting marijuana from being used for “medicinal, recreational and industrial purposes.” Roberts urges passage of Prop 19 saying it will send a message to the political establishment:
“As I officially kick off my campaign for the U.S. Senate today, one of the first declarations I make is to call for the repeal of all federal laws on the books which make it a criminal act for people to grow, sell, and use marijuana for medicinal, recreational, and industrial purposes.
“According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 800,000 people are arrested each year in this country for using a plant of which the evidence suggests is far less dangerous to consume than alcohol, tobacco, and some well-known prescription pharmaceuticals.
“This is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money. Not only does this clog the court systems and fill up the jails and prisons with non-violent offenders, but it diverts the limited resources of police, prosecutors, and judges away from pursuing individuals who engage in violent crimes against others.
“Repealing federal laws criminalizing marijuana will save the U.S. government billions of dollars it spends trying to eradicate this plant and give the people of each state an opportunity to experiment with different models of legalization, as California is doing with Prop 19.
“Recent polls suggest a majority of Californians support Prop 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. If this initiative passes, it will be for the first time since 1913 that it will be legal under state law for people to possess marijuana for personal consumption.
“Despite some flaws in the way it is written, I strongly urge all Californians to vote ‘yes’ on Prop 19. Don’t make perfect enemy of the good. Its passage will create huge shock waves throughout the entire political establishment — everywhere from Sacramento to Washington, D.C.
“By casting your ballot in favor of Prop 19, you’ll be sending a strong message to politicians across the nation that the one hundred year old witch hunt they’ve been waging against persons who grow or use marijuana — fueled by racism, fear, paranoia, and utter stupidity — is over with.”
- Article from Vote For Duane.
“As I officially kick off my campaign for the U.S. Senate today, one of the first declarations I make is to call for the repeal of all federal laws on the books which make it a criminal act for people to grow, sell, and use marijuana for medicinal, recreational, and industrial purposes.
“According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 800,000 people are arrested each year in this country for using a plant of which the evidence suggests is far less dangerous to consume than alcohol, tobacco, and some well-known prescription pharmaceuticals.
“This is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money. Not only does this clog the court systems and fill up the jails and prisons with non-violent offenders, but it diverts the limited resources of police, prosecutors, and judges away from pursuing individuals who engage in violent crimes against others.
“Repealing federal laws criminalizing marijuana will save the U.S. government billions of dollars it spends trying to eradicate this plant and give the people of each state an opportunity to experiment with different models of legalization, as California is doing with Prop 19.
“Recent polls suggest a majority of Californians support Prop 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. If this initiative passes, it will be for the first time since 1913 that it will be legal under state law for people to possess marijuana for personal consumption.
“Despite some flaws in the way it is written, I strongly urge all Californians to vote ‘yes’ on Prop 19. Don’t make perfect enemy of the good. Its passage will create huge shock waves throughout the entire political establishment — everywhere from Sacramento to Washington, D.C.
“By casting your ballot in favor of Prop 19, you’ll be sending a strong message to politicians across the nation that the one hundred year old witch hunt they’ve been waging against persons who grow or use marijuana — fueled by racism, fear, paranoia, and utter stupidity — is over with.”
- Article from Vote For Duane.
Friday, September 10, 2010
'Prince of Pot' Calls Prosecution 'Political'
Marc Emery -- "Prince of Pot," purported political prisoner and shameless self-promoter -- will soon become Marc Emery, prison inmate.
When he faces a federal judge Friday in a Seattle courtroom, the Canadian marijuana seed dealer will almost certainly be sentenced to a five-year term in federal prison.
A plea agreement inked earlier this year to end the five-year-old prosecution guarantees as much. Should U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez impose another sentence, either Emery or the prosecution could pull out of the deal.
That practical certainty hasn't stopped Emery from using Friday's hearing to draw attention to two of his favorite causes -- marijuana legalization, and himself.
Emery, a 12-time candidate for elected office in Canada and magazine publisher, spent millions of dollars gained through a mail-order seed business to advocate for marijuana law reform in Canada and the United States. After a lengthy extradition fight, Emery pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug crimes, which he described as "civil disobedience."
Writing the court in preparation for Friday's hearing, Emery cast his multi-million-dollar marijuana seed business as having been a tool in his fight against marijuana prohibition. He and his attorneys again reiterate bellicose statements made by then-Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy in which she described Emery's 2005 arrest as a blow against the marijuana legalization movement.
In a letter to the court, Emery was contrite. He'd previously fought extradition and, through his supporters, continues to conduct small rallies demanding his release.
"It has always been my sincere belief that the prohibitions on cannabis are hurtful to U.S. and Canadian citizens and are contrary to the constitutions of both countries," the 52-year-old wrote in the Sept. 1 letter.
"I regret not choosing other methods -- legal ones -- to achieve my goals of peaceful political reform," the former candidate for Vancouver, B.C., mayor continued. "I have no one to blame but myself. … In fact, one of my heroes, Mahannes Gandhi (sic), often said that an important principle of civil disobedience is acceptance of punishment by the state without complaint.
"I, too, accept my punishment without complaint."
When he and two coworkers were arrested following a lengthy DEA investigation, Emery's was one of dozens of businesses selling marijuana seeds. Emery's attorneys point out that a simple Internet search shows those businesses continue to operate without drawing the ire of the U.S. government.
For reasons never explained by the Justice Department, Emery was the sole Canadian on the Attorney General's most wanted list of drug traffickers. At the time, violence was on the rise among British Columbia-based gangs largely funded by the province's illicit marijuana crop.
In contrast to the gangs often targeted by federal law enforcement in partnership with Canadian authorities, Emery ran his operation out of a Vancouver storefront. Sales of his seeds -- roughly 3 million of which were sent to customers in the United States -- were taxed by the Canadian government.
Asking that Martinez impose the agreed term, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg disputed claims by Emery that he was targeted because of his political activities. Emery, the federal prosecutor contended, poses "serious dangers … to the community through his distribution of large volumes of a harmful controlled substance which, in turn, fueled the potential for marijuana grow-related violent crime."
"From the Department of Justice's perspective, the focus of this case always has been, and should remain, on Emery's long term and repeated violations of the U.S. drug laws," Greenberg told the court.
"The government's case," he continued, "was investigated and prosecuted without regard for Emery's personal politics, his political agenda, or the ways in which he chose to spend the proceeds of his drug crimes."
That claim -- that the Department of Justice was disinterested in Emery's activism -- runs counter to Tandy's statement issued the day the "major North American marijuana trafficker" was arrested in Nova Scotia.
In full, Tandy stated the following:
"Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the U.S. and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement.
"His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today.
"Emery and his organization have been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets -- one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."
Emery attorney Richard Troberman cited Tandy's statement as evidence that his client was targeted for fighting against the drug war.
Noting that Greenberg handled the case with "professionalism and integrity," Troberman described the federal prosecutor's claim of disinterest in Emery's political activities as "absurdly naive."
Troberman argued his client was targeted by the DEA because he, unlike his competitors in the marijuana seed business, used his profits to fund pro-pot initiatives, including medical marijuana reforms in several U.S. states.
"The only thing that makes Mr. Emery unique or different from most of these other seed sellers is that Marc donated his proceeds to help fund lawful marijuana legalization efforts throughout the United States and Canada," Troberman told the court. "On this record, no one can or should take the government seriously when it claims that this case was not politically motivated."
Emery's supporters are expected to gather outside the Stewart Street courthouse Friday afternoon in preparation for his sentencing. Through his Cannabis Culture magazine, Emery's supporters also contend rallies will be held in 57 cities around the world to ask that he be allowed to serve his time in a Canadian prison.
Speaking to her husband's magazine, Jodie Emery reiterated that the seed business was run "with the explicit goal of funding the marijuana legalization movement."
"He paid his income tax on seed sales, and operated openly and transparently," Jodie Emery said, according to Cannabis Culture. "Marc and I have no savings, bonds, stocks, property, cars, homes, or anything of value. On the day of his arrest, he had $11 in his bank account.
"Marc Emery sold seeds not for personal profit, but for drug policy reform and progress that has, since he started in 1994, been very successful."
Currently housed at the SeaTac Federal Detention facility, Emery is expected in court at 1:30 p.m. Friday. He pleaded guilty to drug charges in May.
- Article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
When he faces a federal judge Friday in a Seattle courtroom, the Canadian marijuana seed dealer will almost certainly be sentenced to a five-year term in federal prison.
A plea agreement inked earlier this year to end the five-year-old prosecution guarantees as much. Should U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez impose another sentence, either Emery or the prosecution could pull out of the deal.
That practical certainty hasn't stopped Emery from using Friday's hearing to draw attention to two of his favorite causes -- marijuana legalization, and himself.
Emery, a 12-time candidate for elected office in Canada and magazine publisher, spent millions of dollars gained through a mail-order seed business to advocate for marijuana law reform in Canada and the United States. After a lengthy extradition fight, Emery pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug crimes, which he described as "civil disobedience."
Writing the court in preparation for Friday's hearing, Emery cast his multi-million-dollar marijuana seed business as having been a tool in his fight against marijuana prohibition. He and his attorneys again reiterate bellicose statements made by then-Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy in which she described Emery's 2005 arrest as a blow against the marijuana legalization movement.
In a letter to the court, Emery was contrite. He'd previously fought extradition and, through his supporters, continues to conduct small rallies demanding his release.
"It has always been my sincere belief that the prohibitions on cannabis are hurtful to U.S. and Canadian citizens and are contrary to the constitutions of both countries," the 52-year-old wrote in the Sept. 1 letter.
"I regret not choosing other methods -- legal ones -- to achieve my goals of peaceful political reform," the former candidate for Vancouver, B.C., mayor continued. "I have no one to blame but myself. … In fact, one of my heroes, Mahannes Gandhi (sic), often said that an important principle of civil disobedience is acceptance of punishment by the state without complaint.
"I, too, accept my punishment without complaint."
When he and two coworkers were arrested following a lengthy DEA investigation, Emery's was one of dozens of businesses selling marijuana seeds. Emery's attorneys point out that a simple Internet search shows those businesses continue to operate without drawing the ire of the U.S. government.
For reasons never explained by the Justice Department, Emery was the sole Canadian on the Attorney General's most wanted list of drug traffickers. At the time, violence was on the rise among British Columbia-based gangs largely funded by the province's illicit marijuana crop.
In contrast to the gangs often targeted by federal law enforcement in partnership with Canadian authorities, Emery ran his operation out of a Vancouver storefront. Sales of his seeds -- roughly 3 million of which were sent to customers in the United States -- were taxed by the Canadian government.
Asking that Martinez impose the agreed term, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg disputed claims by Emery that he was targeted because of his political activities. Emery, the federal prosecutor contended, poses "serious dangers … to the community through his distribution of large volumes of a harmful controlled substance which, in turn, fueled the potential for marijuana grow-related violent crime."
"From the Department of Justice's perspective, the focus of this case always has been, and should remain, on Emery's long term and repeated violations of the U.S. drug laws," Greenberg told the court.
"The government's case," he continued, "was investigated and prosecuted without regard for Emery's personal politics, his political agenda, or the ways in which he chose to spend the proceeds of his drug crimes."
That claim -- that the Department of Justice was disinterested in Emery's activism -- runs counter to Tandy's statement issued the day the "major North American marijuana trafficker" was arrested in Nova Scotia.
In full, Tandy stated the following:
"Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the U.S. and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement.
"His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today.
"Emery and his organization have been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets -- one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."
Emery attorney Richard Troberman cited Tandy's statement as evidence that his client was targeted for fighting against the drug war.
Noting that Greenberg handled the case with "professionalism and integrity," Troberman described the federal prosecutor's claim of disinterest in Emery's political activities as "absurdly naive."
Troberman argued his client was targeted by the DEA because he, unlike his competitors in the marijuana seed business, used his profits to fund pro-pot initiatives, including medical marijuana reforms in several U.S. states.
"The only thing that makes Mr. Emery unique or different from most of these other seed sellers is that Marc donated his proceeds to help fund lawful marijuana legalization efforts throughout the United States and Canada," Troberman told the court. "On this record, no one can or should take the government seriously when it claims that this case was not politically motivated."
Emery's supporters are expected to gather outside the Stewart Street courthouse Friday afternoon in preparation for his sentencing. Through his Cannabis Culture magazine, Emery's supporters also contend rallies will be held in 57 cities around the world to ask that he be allowed to serve his time in a Canadian prison.
Speaking to her husband's magazine, Jodie Emery reiterated that the seed business was run "with the explicit goal of funding the marijuana legalization movement."
"He paid his income tax on seed sales, and operated openly and transparently," Jodie Emery said, according to Cannabis Culture. "Marc and I have no savings, bonds, stocks, property, cars, homes, or anything of value. On the day of his arrest, he had $11 in his bank account.
"Marc Emery sold seeds not for personal profit, but for drug policy reform and progress that has, since he started in 1994, been very successful."
Currently housed at the SeaTac Federal Detention facility, Emery is expected in court at 1:30 p.m. Friday. He pleaded guilty to drug charges in May.
- Article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Marijuana Activists Stage Mexico City Smoke-Out To Protest!
With the nation in the throws of a violent drug war, over 200 people gathered in a central Mexico City park Sunday to smoke marijuana and demand it be legalized, an AFP reporter witnessed.
The protestors withstood drizzling rain to hang out on the popular tourist drag of the Alameda to smoke the herb, which remains illegal in Mexico, although the country is among a handful of Latin American nations that allow for the possession of a small "personal dose" of the drug.
Many participants smoked out of pipes decorated with skulls, which were said to allude to traditional pre-Hispanic cultures, as music was played and a petition was circulated to call for legalization.
Support for legalizing such so-called "soft drugs" in Mexico has grown, especially among left wing parties as a means to curb drug gang-related violence that has left some 28,000 people dead in the last four years.
Former president Vicente Fox (2000-2006), who led the conservative party of current President Felipe Calderon, has repeatedly voiced his own support for such a move.
- Article from France24.
The protestors withstood drizzling rain to hang out on the popular tourist drag of the Alameda to smoke the herb, which remains illegal in Mexico, although the country is among a handful of Latin American nations that allow for the possession of a small "personal dose" of the drug.
Many participants smoked out of pipes decorated with skulls, which were said to allude to traditional pre-Hispanic cultures, as music was played and a petition was circulated to call for legalization.
Support for legalizing such so-called "soft drugs" in Mexico has grown, especially among left wing parties as a means to curb drug gang-related violence that has left some 28,000 people dead in the last four years.
Former president Vicente Fox (2000-2006), who led the conservative party of current President Felipe Calderon, has repeatedly voiced his own support for such a move.
- Article from France24.
"Prince of Pot" To Be Sentenced Friday, September 10
Marc Scott Emery, the leader of the BC Marijuana Party and well-known marijuana activist and businessman, will be sentenced in a US Federal Courtroom in Seattle, Washington on Friday, September 10.
Marc Emery is expected to be formally sentenced to the 5-year term he agreed to in his plea deal. If the judge sentences him to more or less time, the deal will be null and void, and a trial will ensue with the possibility of 30 years to life in prison.
Jodie Emery, wife of Marc Emery, will be at the US Federal Court (700 Stewart Street, downtown Seattle) at noon on Friday to meet with supporters and media.
“It’s nerve-wracking to go through this process,” Jodie said, “but Marc and I are both doing our best to stay strong. We know he is a political prisoner and, no matter the outcome on Friday, we just want him to be brought home to serve his sentence in Canada.”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is responsible for Marc’s repatriation to Canada. He has received hundreds of letters and phone calls asking him to approve Marc’s transfer treaty request to come home, as required by law and the Charter.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, on the day of Marc’s arrest in 2005, said that he was targeted as “the founder of a legalization group” and it was “a significant blow to the marijuana legalization movement” because “hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery’s illicit profits were channeled to drug legalization groups active in the United States and Canada”.
(The press release can be found online at www.FreeMarc.ca under “Who Is Marc Emery” or by downloading the original file at http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/files/Tandystatement.jpg)
Though the DEA and the media have reported that Marc “made millions of dollars”, Jodie Emery insists the money was all given away to activism groups and events.
“Marc started selling seeds with the explicit goal of funding the marijuana legalization movement, which he did tremendously well, to the tune of $4 million dollars over the decade he was in business," she said. "He paid his income tax on seed sales, and operated openly and transparently. Marc and I have no savings, bonds, stocks, property, cars, homes, or anything of value. On the day of his arrest, he had $11 in his bank account. Marc Emery sold seeds not for personal profit, but for drug policy reform and progress that has, since he started in 1994, been very successful.”
On Saturday, September 18, rallies are being held in over 57 cities in North America and abroad. This is the fourth Worldwide Rally to Free Marc Emery since 2005. Thousands of people support Marc Emery and have participated in activism to raise awareness of his history and current incarceration.
Marc is currently imprisoned at the maximum-security SeaTac Federal Detention Centre. He was subjected to three weeks in solitary confinement for a “prison podcast” recording, but has been in general population since.
Article From: Cannibus Culture
Marc Emery is expected to be formally sentenced to the 5-year term he agreed to in his plea deal. If the judge sentences him to more or less time, the deal will be null and void, and a trial will ensue with the possibility of 30 years to life in prison.
Jodie Emery, wife of Marc Emery, will be at the US Federal Court (700 Stewart Street, downtown Seattle) at noon on Friday to meet with supporters and media.
“It’s nerve-wracking to go through this process,” Jodie said, “but Marc and I are both doing our best to stay strong. We know he is a political prisoner and, no matter the outcome on Friday, we just want him to be brought home to serve his sentence in Canada.”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews is responsible for Marc’s repatriation to Canada. He has received hundreds of letters and phone calls asking him to approve Marc’s transfer treaty request to come home, as required by law and the Charter.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, on the day of Marc’s arrest in 2005, said that he was targeted as “the founder of a legalization group” and it was “a significant blow to the marijuana legalization movement” because “hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery’s illicit profits were channeled to drug legalization groups active in the United States and Canada”.
(The press release can be found online at www.FreeMarc.ca under “Who Is Marc Emery” or by downloading the original file at http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/files/Tandystatement.jpg)
Though the DEA and the media have reported that Marc “made millions of dollars”, Jodie Emery insists the money was all given away to activism groups and events.
“Marc started selling seeds with the explicit goal of funding the marijuana legalization movement, which he did tremendously well, to the tune of $4 million dollars over the decade he was in business," she said. "He paid his income tax on seed sales, and operated openly and transparently. Marc and I have no savings, bonds, stocks, property, cars, homes, or anything of value. On the day of his arrest, he had $11 in his bank account. Marc Emery sold seeds not for personal profit, but for drug policy reform and progress that has, since he started in 1994, been very successful.”
On Saturday, September 18, rallies are being held in over 57 cities in North America and abroad. This is the fourth Worldwide Rally to Free Marc Emery since 2005. Thousands of people support Marc Emery and have participated in activism to raise awareness of his history and current incarceration.
Marc is currently imprisoned at the maximum-security SeaTac Federal Detention Centre. He was subjected to three weeks in solitary confinement for a “prison podcast” recording, but has been in general population since.
Article From: Cannibus Culture
Monday, September 6, 2010
Activist Barry Cooper Charged with Impersonating a Private Investigator
To describe the tale of former Texas drug cop Barry Cooper as "strange" is to make what observers could legitimately call, "an understatement."
Yet, thanks to actions by his former colleagues in Texas law enforcement, the wild odyssey of America's top drug war insurgent has just become even more bizarre.
Cooper and his wife Candi recently beat a charge of Making a False Report to a Peace Officer in Odessa, Texas, where in Dec. 2008 they tricked local police to raid a fake marijuana grow operation as part of a reality show pitch.
On Thursday, August 26, just two days after Odessa declined to prosecute the charge, officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Barry in a SWAT-style operation outside his home in south Austin. He was charged with Operating an Investigations Company Without a License, a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Offenses in this category are policed by The Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau.
"Police approached me with tires screeching, full body armor and guns drawn," Cooper said Thursday, appearing on the Texas Capitol steps to record a video blog and press statement. "Within minutes I was placed in the back of an unmarked unit and rushed away. I really believed I was going to be shot and it felt more like an abduction than an arrest."
Yet, thanks to actions by his former colleagues in Texas law enforcement, the wild odyssey of America's top drug war insurgent has just become even more bizarre.
Cooper and his wife Candi recently beat a charge of Making a False Report to a Peace Officer in Odessa, Texas, where in Dec. 2008 they tricked local police to raid a fake marijuana grow operation as part of a reality show pitch.
On Thursday, August 26, just two days after Odessa declined to prosecute the charge, officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Barry in a SWAT-style operation outside his home in south Austin. He was charged with Operating an Investigations Company Without a License, a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of one year in prison. Offenses in this category are policed by The Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau.
"Police approached me with tires screeching, full body armor and guns drawn," Cooper said Thursday, appearing on the Texas Capitol steps to record a video blog and press statement. "Within minutes I was placed in the back of an unmarked unit and rushed away. I really believed I was going to be shot and it felt more like an abduction than an arrest."
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