News Nuggets

COLORADO

State lawmakers yet again push for cannabis DUI limits

If at first you don’t succeed . . . Colorado lawmakers, once again, are considering a bill that would set limits on driving under the influence of cannabis—an effort state officials have visited three times before. The bill, and ones similar to it, is controversial because it proposes setting a specific blood-level limit to measure whether or not a driver is too incapacitated (or “high”) to drive. Similar to the DUI provisions adopted by voters in Washington state—which also approved legalizing possession of under an ounce by adults 21 and older—Colorado’s bill would determine that 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter in someone’s system is too impaired to operate a vehicle. Cannabis advocates disagree, stating that blood THC limits will not accurately show whether or not a driver is “high,” and recommend that it is better to stick with current protocol: police officers observe a suspected motorist to determine if that person is or is not under the influence of cannabis.

Colorado Springs council candidate is reaping in green campaign contributions

The race for the April 2 elections for Colorado Springs City Council are on—and one candidate is getting plenty of medicinal support. For District 3, former council member Tom Gallagher—who is running against incumbent Brandy Williams, Keith King and Jim Bensberg—raised nearly $3,500, with most of the contributions coming from the MMJ industry, according to the Colorado Springs Business Journal. Gallagher’s donors include Modern Medicine, Indispensary, Rocky Mountain Miracles and Rocky Road Remedies.

Denver officials will consider giving recreational cannabis sales a nay or yay next month

Is Denver ready for recreational cannabis? Residents will find out next month when the City Council is scheduled to discuss whether or not local officials will allow licensing cannabis sales in light of Amendment 64’s pending implementation statewide, The Denver Post reports. In Denver, 66 percent of the electorate voted for A64, which legalizes possession of under an ounce by adults 21+.

MMJ-related crime is a concern to some officials, such as Denver Police Chief Robert White. “It should be noted that our biggest challenge in terms of marijuana are burglaries,” White told the Post. In 2009, 10 burglaries—some residences—in which cannabis was on the premises were reported. Last year, 102 cannabis-related burglaries were reported.

The council was going to vote on whether or not to license recreational cannabis sales this month—but opted to delay the vote until April to hear from other interested parties. The council will also vote on whether or not to allow smoking lounge-type establishments where patrons can legally consume cannabis.

MICHIGAN

Rep. Mike Callton pushes for a bill to protect patients, dispensaries

Rep. Mike Callton has been garnering support for a bill that aims to protect dispensaries and allow patient-to-patient sales, according to The Michigan Daily.

Callton’s bill proposes that cannabis patients may buy and sell from one another if a local government, such as a city or county, gives it the permission to do so. Callton’s actions come on the heels of a State Supreme Court ruling that shut down Compassionate Apothecary in Mt. Pleasant. The court’s ruling essentially determined that patient-to-patient sales were not covered by Michigan’s Medical Marihuana Act.

Callton has expressed his frustration with the court ruling, stating, “We have 126,000 medical marijuana patients in Michigan and there are not enough caregivers to provide for them.”

MMJ registry sees sharp rise in number of patients

With a total of 124,175 new cardholders noted in an MMJ registry, Michigan is now seeing an overall four percent increase in patients from last fiscal year.

A large part of the increase is concentrated within counties such as Branch, Allegan and Cass, which have experienced a respective 49, 33 and 56 percent increase, according to a recent post from MLive.com

As a result the state has taken in a large sum of revenue in registration and card fees alone, approximately $9.9 million.

Leoni Township favors distance for canna-businesses

A Leoni Township planning commission convened last month to discuss the placement of dispensaries near schools, according to a recent Michigan Live article.

Concerns over dispensaries being established too close to schools and other sensitive places arose given the township’s moratorium on medical cannabis—slated to end this May. Though Leoni school superintendent Scott Kozoi stated he had no issue with existing cannabis businesses, almost all local residents came to the consensus that new MMJ-related storefronts should be kept away from residential areas while most agreed they should be kept away from schools.

Currently, three cannabis businesses operate in Leoni Township. Two of them are located near schools.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

San Luis Obispo orders return of collective’s meds

They say you can’t fight city hall . . . but you can certainly get your cannabis back from the police if a judge takes your side. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge John Trice recently ordered sheriff’s officials to return medical cannabis and other items after felony narcotics charges against a collective’s driver were dropped, according to CalCoastNews.com.

Chance Everett Simmons, who was a driver for the Central Coast-based Ethnobotanica Patients Collective, was arrested Jan. 5 in Oceano after sheriff’s deputies found cannabis in his vehicle. Charges were later dropped, and Ethnobotanica executive director Ryan Booker said Simmons was engaged in a lawful activity at the time of his arrest. Trice’s order said, “Good cause exists to return the property as the case has been dismissed and the property has no evidentiary value.”

Santa Cruz considering new dispensary at River Street industrial area

The Santa Cruz Planning Commission is still in the process of considering approval of a new dispensary—but is taking time to address any community concerns, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports.

The Planning Department recommended the project as a way to support a “public health need” for access to cannabis, the Sentinel states. Currently, only one other dispensary is authorized to operate in the city.

Attorney David E. Thompson has filed an application to open Surf City Collective, a 1,500-square-foot dispensary and 3,000-square-foot marijuana grow at a River Street commercial building on the outskirts of the Harvey West industrial area. For the dispensary to open at the River Street site, the Planning Commission would have to approve an exemption to a rule passed by the City Council in 2010 that restricts dispensaries to within 600 feet of residential zones.

U.S. Magistrate Judge allows Harborside asset-forfeiture case to proceed

Federal prosecutors can proceed with their efforts to shut down Harborside, according to a U.S. magistrate, KTVU.com reports. Federal prosecutors have been pushing asset forfeiture proceedings against Harborside since last year, arguing it defies the federal government’s criminalization of cannabis. Oakland city officials argued that shutting down Harborside would cause the community great harm.

Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker said officials were going to consider an appeal, which would require City Council approval, or other options. “We’re disappointed,” she told various media outlets, “but we have strong convictions about the harm Oakland will suffer and is already beginning to suffer as a result of the forfeiture actions.”

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Julio César Chávez fined nearly $1 million for testing positive for cannabis

Mexican national and boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been suspended for nine months and fined nearly $1 million dollars after testing positive for cannabis, the Los Angeles Times reports. He was suspended and fined $900,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after he was tested following his September 2012 middleweight fight against Sergio Martinez. In 2009, Chavez tested positive for another banned substance after his fight with Troy Rowland. In that case, he was suspended for seven months. Chavez told the Times that he was sorry for his actions and only ingested the plant to curb his stress before a fight.

Chavez’s cannabis fine is the second largest in the sport—second only to Mike Tyson’s $3 million fine for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997.

February poll: The Golden State continues to support legalization and dispensaries

More and more California residents support legalizing cannabis in record-breaking numbers, according to a February field poll, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fifty-four percent said cannabis should be sold with age limits and other restrictions similar to those placed on alcohol. Support is strongest in the Bay Area, especially among young, single men. The poll also showed strong opposition to the recent medical marijuana dispensaries federal crackdown. Sixty-seven percent of voters in the poll were against the federal actions, and 72 percent are in favor of the state’s current medical cannabis law. Some findings in the results of the field poll also show favor allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in the community they live in.

The poll shows the highest level of support for cannabis legalization in four decades.

Former Cudahy City Council member sentenced for trying to extort a “dispensary”

Osvaldo Conde, a former member of the Cudahy City Council, was sentenced to three years in federal prison last month in a case involving bribery of a dispensary, according to 89.3KPCC. Two other former Cudahy city officials—including former Mayor David Silva—were sentenced for their role in the extortion case, but got lesser sentences.

The three men were caught planning to accept a total of $17,000 in bribe money from on an informant who was posing as someone who wanted to open up a dispensary in the city.

“We sought a higher sentence for [Conde] because he was the leader of the criminal activity in which all defendants were involved,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Akrotirianakis said.

WASHINGTON

Gov. Jay Inslee says Washington intends “to do it right”

Cooperation is the name of the game for Gov. Jay Inslee. The governor recently penned a letter spelling out how he intends the state to move forward with the legal and voter-approved adult-use cannabis market ushered in by Initiative 502. Inslee is exploring multiple options in this matter, considering digital plant tracking and more stringent auditing. The state’s Liquor Control Board is currently working on regulations.

“The world is watching,” Inslee wrote concerning Colorado—which, like Washington, legalized cannabis possession of up to an ounce by adults 21 and older last November—and his home state, and added, “We intend to do it right.”

Cannabis consultant—a desirable state job?

Apparently a lot of people think they have what it takes . . . to be a cannabis expert. The Washington State Liquor Board received more than 100 submissions from people seeking to be one of the state’s official consultants on all things green and leafy, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Washington officials are looking to hire a team of consultants to help them create rules and regulations for Initiative 502. At press time, the board was scheduled to review the 112 submissions and announce its choice by March 5.

Drug Czar says feds will still go after Washington’s “distributors and large-scale growers”

Despite the fact that Washington has legalized cannabis for recreational use by adults 21 and older, Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske just isn’t having it. The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy recently said the federal government will continue to prosecute growers and distributors. In an interview with Canadian magazine MacLean, Kerlikowske said, “You’ll continue to see enforcement against distributors and large-scale growers as the Justice Department has outlined. They will use their limited resources on those groups and not on going after individual users.” Late last year, President Barack Obama said that he has “bigger fish to fry” when he was questioned about prosecuting people in Washington or Colorado, who legalized limited possession despite the fact that cannabis is illegal at the federal level. The threat of prosecution “would no doubt have a chilling effect on the recreational marijuana industry, and thwart state efforts to experiment with new approaches to achieving public health and safety goals,” according to thinkprogress.com.

THE NATION

Oregon’s SB 281 could add PTSD to list of qualifying conditions

Medical cannabis advocates met last month in Oregon to aid those who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), according to a recent Cannabis Culture bulletin.

The advocates are backing SB 281, which would add PTSD to the list of conditions allowed by the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act.

Currently, veterans who suffer from PTSD cannot acquire medical cannabis through the program unless they have other qualifying conditions. However, Oregon’s laws do allow patients to acquire the plant for pain caused by PTSD.

 North Carolina medical cannabis bill introduced

State Rep. Kelly Alexander introduced a bill last month that could potentially lead to the legalization of medical cannabis in the state, according to News 14 Carolina.

While North Carolina has had the opportunity to allow dispensaries to sell to patients via past legislation, Alexander’s Bill 84 is receiving more acceptance given that state residents are becoming more accepting of MMJ.

The bill would allow patients to grow their own cannabis and let them possess up to 24 ounces.

Alexander is a funeral director who has drawn on his personal experiences of “meeting the families of people who could have benefitted from medical cannabis.”

“Compassion centers” might be in West Virginia’s future

West Virginia is looking to join the medical cannabis club. The Panhandle State is considering a bill that would allow patients with certain medical conditions to use cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation, according to the Coal Valley News. In the past, similar bills have failed.

HB 2230, or The Compassionate Use Act For Medical Cannabis, would allow patients to possess up to six ounces and establish five “compassion centers” across the state. Patients would also be allowed to grow up to 12 plants in their homes.

“A majority of West Virginia voters want to see the state take a more sensible and compassionate approach to medical marijuana,” Matt Simon, a legislative analyst for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project told the News. “We sincerely hope the state’s representatives recognize that many of the voters who support medical marijuana are the same voters who elected them to office.”

THE WORLD

Czech Republic lawmakers approve medical cannabis

After a decisive victory of an 83 percent approval vote in the upper Parliament of the Czech Republic, President Vaclav Klaus is expected to sign a bill that allows for the partial legalization of medical cannabis use, according to the Associated Press.

The law is creating some controversy, as for the first year the law is in effect the country will only import cannabis. Though there are plans to give licenses to in-state farmers, critics are speculating that users will turn to a black market for their supply of MMJ.

Those who wish to use medical cannabis must receive a prescription.