Activist's Harsh Words For City Attorney Delivered Hours Before Pot Shop Was Raided

A Los Angeles police raid of a Venice medical marijuana dispensary last week, at a time when the city of L.A. has stated it will hold off on pot-shop enforcement, happened on a day when a City Hall activist happened to have been badmouthing the City Attorney on the issue via web radio.

Zuma Dogg played audio of his Thursday web-radio show for the Weekly. He said, in part, "I'd like to send this one out to Carmen Trutanich" while calling the City Attorney "incompetent" and a "moron" over his handling of enforcement of the city's medical marijuana ordinance. Zuma Dogg described his "broadcasting-live" location as as a Venice collective with "Green" in its title.

Thursday night (reportedly at about 7:45 p.m. -- an odd time for such action) the the Green Goddess Collective at 70 Windward Ave. was raided by police. A representative of the collective told Yo! Venice! that the shop was raided for allegedly failing to shut down under the new city law and for operating without proper permits.

The representative claims the dispensary was running legally the city "until further judicial notification," and that it will ask for a restraining order to prohibit further police action against it.

While police confirmed the raid to the Weekly, a City Attorney's spokesman said he did not know anything about the police action Thursday.

Zuma Dogg over the weekend tweeted, "Was it coincidence LAPD busted a collective SAME DAY ZD said he was broadcasting @ area collective?"

Zuma Dogg says he befriended people who worked at the dispensary he had mentioned, telling them he'd give it a plug on his web radio show after finding out they played it over the store's sound system.

On Thursday he let loose with his usual mix of dance music, but stated that he was broadcasting live from a "Green' collective in Venice.
At the same time, he called Trutanich several names.

The City Attorney has held a hard line against dispensaries and has been quick to move against out-of-compliance shops that are the source of complaints in L.A. neighborhoods.

However, last month the city backed down on enforcement against pot shops after it realized its ordinance, contrary to the desires of some of those City Council members who voted for it, would only allow about 40 of nearly 600 pot shops in the city survive.
The pause in enforcement would only last until court challenges to the law were worked out in court later this month.

On the timing of the raid last week, Zuma Dogg thinks it was supicious, but he adds, "Maybe it's a coincidence."

via [LAWEEKLY]

Issue licences for cannabis: UK expert

A licence to smoke cannabis legally has been proposed by one of Britain's leading experts on the drug.

Professor Roger Pertwee said making cannabis as available as alcohol would prevent drug-related crime, and reduce the chances of people being introduced to harder narcotics.

But he cautioned that it might be necessary to prevent vulnerable individuals obtaining the drug.

"You'd need to have a minimum age of 21, and I would suggest you might even have to have a licence," said Pertwee, from the University of Aberdeen, who pioneered early research on the effects of cannabis in the 1960s and 1970s.

"You have a car licence and a dog licence; why not a cannabis licence?"

The idea would mean only those not suffering from a serious mental illness or at risk of psychosis would be legally allowed to buy the drug.

Research has shown an association between smoking cannabis and a greater chance of some individuals developing schizophrenia.

Pertwee said cannabis appeared to increase the risk of psychosis in people already predisposed to the illness because of their genes or traumatic childhood.

He called for a greater debate on the recreational use of cannabis, and said in principle he was in favour of legalisation, if the right framework could be found.

"We need to explore all the various options," said Pertwee, who is speaking at the British Festival of Science at Aston University, Birmingham, this week.

"At the moment cannabis is in the hands of the criminals, and I think it's crazy.

"We're allowed to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. Cannabis, if it's handled properly, I think is no more dangerous than that."

He pointed out that currently anyone wanting to take cannabis was forced to grow it illegally or buy it from illegal dealers.

The drug was supplied with no indication of what it contained, or what might have been added to it. People also tended to smoke cannabis in groups, which increased the likelihood of psychological dependency.

Licensed suppliers of the drug would also be less likely to provide a "gateway" to harder, more dangerous drugs.

"I think this could be the way forward, but it might not work," said Pertwee. "It depends on a private company being willing to produce a branded product."

Pertwee also highlighted the danger posed by new cannabis-like drugs being manufactured in laboratories.

Some acted in a similar way to cannabis but were far more potent, while potentially having other as-yet unknown effects.

An example of one such drug was the painkiller JWH-081, which had been developed purely for research purposes. The drug acts on the same cannabinoid receptors in the brain which are sensitive to the active ingredients in cannabis.

Anyone could find the recipes for making these drugs in the scientific literature, said Pertwee.

"Any chemist could come along, read the paper, and make the compound," he added.

A loophole in the law opened the door to the drugs being used as "legal highs".

"It means you could buy these compounds and take them," said the professor. "I believe this is a major problem."

via PAA

Legalizing pot would free up police to fight violent crime, law enforcement group says [Updated]

Legalizing marijuana would put a big dent in drug cartels and free up police, prosecutors and judges to go after violent crimes, a law enforcement group said Monday in endorsing Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization measure.
Proposition 19’s passage in November would decriminalize an estimated 60,000 drug arrests made in California each year, said former Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray.
Beat police would have more time to go after burglars, robbers and those committing violent assaults, he said.
On-the-job experience demonstrated the futility of trying to enforce laws prohibiting the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis, Gray said at a news conference held by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a nonprofit organization supporting Proposition 19.
“I was a drug warrior until I saw what was happening in my own courtroom,’’ said Gray, a former federal prosecutor.
Current laws are making pot more readily accessible to youngsters than would be the case if it were regulated and taxed by the government, similar to tobacco and alcohol, Gray said.
Juvenile gangs use pot sales as a recruiting tool, he said. Gray was joined by former San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara in arguing that much of the money flowing to violent drug cartels comes from the illegal sale of marijuana.
Citing White House statistics, McNamara said 60% of cartel money stems from marijuana. Those who argue that a black market would remain aren’t paying attention to history, McNamara said.
After the prohibition on alcohol was repealed, bootleggers disappeared, said McNamara, now a research fellow in drug policy at Stanford University. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, based in Massachusetts, was started in 2002 by five former police officers who viewed the war on drugs as a failure. Neill Franklin, a retired narcotics officer, recently took over as executive director.
[Corrected, 4:22 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said Franklin formed the group.]
Proposition 19 would make it legal to grow, possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use. It would also permit state and local governments to regulate and tax retail sales for adults 21 and older. State officials estimate passage could generate up to $1.4 billion in new tax revenue per year.
Active law enforcement groups, including the California Police Chiefs Assn., are opposed to the measure, saying it would increase usage and promote crime. Gray, the retired judge, said he believes that many in law enforcement support legalization but are afraid to say so because of political pressure on the job.
“They have a political job, so they can’t tell the truth," Gray said. “People are free to speak out honestly only after they are retired.”
-- Catherine Saillant
via LATIMES

Canadian pot activist Marc Emery sentenced to five years in US prison

Marc Emery, Canada's enigmatic "Prince of Pot" who sold millions of marijuana seeds over the Internet, will face a five year punishment in the United States after a U.S. district judge in Seattle handed down his sentence on Friday.
Emery, founder and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, is a longtime and highly vocal Canadian marijuana activist. His wife Jodie maintains that U.S. authorities targeted his operation over other Canadian seed-sellers because of all the funding he's provided to the legal movement to regulate cannabis in the U.S.
Emery's sentence, issued by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, includes four years of supervised probation. He was convicted on a single charge of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.
U.S. authorities had described him as one of the country's "most wanted drug trafficking targets," according to CNN. The investigation, now concluded with Emery's trial and sentencing, was ongoing for over five years. Though indicted in 2005, Emery was not handed over to U.S. authorities until May 10 of this year. He pleaded guilty 14 days later.
In a press release lauding the government's efforts, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) declared a significant victory in the battle against marijuana legalization efforts.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars from Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada," read a statement from DEA administrator Karen P. Tandy. "Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on."
Emery's prosecutors vehemently denied that politics played any role in the trial.
"Marc Emery decided that U.S. laws did not apply to him, but he was wrong," U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said Friday, according to CNN. "Emery put his personal profits above the law. He made millions of dollars by shipping millions of seeds into the U.S. He sold to anyone who would pay him -- with no regard for the age or criminal activities of his customers. Now, Emery is paying the price for being part of the illegal drug trade that damages lives, homes and the environment."
Emery was facing more than 30 years in a U.S. prison before he cut a deal with U.S. authorities in Sept. 2009, agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for the five-year sentence.
"Upon my conviction, my wife Jodie will organize a campaign to have me transferred back to a Canadian jail - if transferred my sentence would reflect Canadian rules of release, so a 5-year sentence may see me released after a few years to day parole," he wrote, explaining the agreement to a guilty plea.
In a letter to the court, Emery said his seed-selling business, though a form of "civil disobedience," was "arrogant" and wrong.
"I regret not choosing other methods — legal ones — to achieve my goals of peaceful political reform," he wrote. "In my zeal, I had believed that my actions were wholesome, but my behavior was in fact illegal and set a bad example for others."
"The judge said he had received hundreds of letters — including one in crayon — supporting Emery," The Seattle Times noted.
Emery was to be transferred to a federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma following his sentencing, Cannabis Culture said. His wife and supporters said they planned to protest his imprisonment during a series of Sept. 18 rallies.
via[RAWSTORY]

Officials believe marijuana laws will ease nationwide

Local, state and federal political figures told a crowd at the Colorado Cannabis Convention on Saturday that they believe marijuana laws nationwide will continue to become less restrictive, with full legalization a real possibility.

But, the politicians said, marijuana activists will need to be both patient and persistent to make that happen.

"Don't expect the legislature to solve all of these problems in one year," said state Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver. "Don't expect every piece of legislation to be perfect. The law usually moves in baby steps over time."

The legislative panel — featuring Steadman; state Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Denver; Denver Councilman Chris Nevitt; and the district director for U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. — was one of the main events of the convention's final day. (Another was a better-attended autograph-signing session by the marijuana-infused hip-hop group Cypress Hill.)

Organizers had predicted the convention could attract as many as 100,000 people; attendance was steady Saturday, but no official head count was available. Event organizer Michael Lerner, a California media magnate whose properties include Kush magazine and DailyBuds.com, said he was pleased with the event.
"Phenomenal," he said. "Completely incident-free."

Polis had been expected to speak at the legislative panel but had to cancel at the last minute. Nonetheless, Polis district director Andy Schultheiss told the crowd that Polis is supportive of marijuana activists and said the congressman from Boulder has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill that would give full protection from federal prosecution to the medical-marijuana industry and another that would legalize marijuana altogether for adults.

Polis also is a co-sponsor on a bill that would allow defendants in medical-marijuana states to raise a medical defense in federal court.
The bills have not yet had a congressional hearing.
"The number of members of Congress who say, like Jared Polis, that marijuana should be legalized is growing," Schultheiss said. ". . . Social change takes time, and we are in the middle of it now."

None of the panel members differed greatly in their opinions, and they spoke to an audience of the converted. When Miklosi said of medical-marijuana, "This can be a positive force in society," the comment drew cheers.

Earlier in the day, a panel of lawyers was less optimistic about the immediate political future of marijuana. Attorney Rob Corry said efforts at the state Capitol to craft rules for the medical-marijuana industry amounted to an attempt to "regulate us out of existence." Brian Vicente, with Sensible Colorado, said the bills would hurt small marijuana growers and patient cooperatives.

And attorney Sean McAllister urged medical-marijuana growers and caregivers to refuse to cooperate with police investigations.

"Say, 'It's medical, it's legal and other than that you can talk to my attorney,' " McAllister said.

via: Denver Post

ILLEGAL GROWERS FEAR LEGALIZED POT

California
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California | November Initiative Could Lead to Lost Income in Humboldt County

REDWAY, Calif. -- The smell of pot hung heavy in the air as men with dreadlocks and gray beards contemplated a nightmarish possibility in this legendary region of outlaw marijuana growers: legal weed.

If California legalizes marijuana, they say, it will drive down the price of their crop and damage not just their livelihoods but the entire economy along the state's rugged northern coast.

"The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating economic event in the long boom-and-bust history of Northern California," said Anna Hamilton, 62, a Humboldt County radio host and musician who said her involvement with marijuana has mostly been limited to smoking it for the past 40 years.

Local residents are so worried that pot farmers came together with officials in Humboldt County for a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday night where civic leaders, activists and growers brainstormed ideas for dealing with the threat. Among the ideas: turning the vast pot gardens of Humboldt County into a destination for marijuana aficionados, with tours and tastings -- a sort of Napa Valley of pot.

Many were also enthusiastic about promoting the Humboldt brand of pot. Some discussed forming a cooperative that would enforce high standards for marijuana and stamp the county's finest weed with an official Humboldt seal of approval.

Pot growers are nervous because a measure that could make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use will appear on the ballot in November. State officials certified Wednesday that the initiative got enough signatures.

The law, if approved, could have a profound effect on Humboldt County, which has long had a reputation for growing some of the world's best weed.

In recent years, law enforcement agents have seized millions of pot plants worth billions of dollars in Humboldt and neighboring counties. And that is believed to be only a fraction of the crop.

"We've lived with the name association for 30 or 40 years and considered it an embarrassment," said Mark Lovelace, a Humboldt County supervisor. But if legalization does happen, he said, the Humboldt County name becomes the region's single most important asset.

"It's laughable at this point to try to be hush-hush about it," he said.

Humboldt County's reputation as a marijuana mecca began in the 1970s. As pot users began to notice a decline in the quality of Mexican weed, refugees from San Francisco's Summer of Love who moved to the forested mountains along California's conveniently remote North Coast began figuring out better ways to grow their own. The Humboldt name soon became a selling point for marijuana sold on street corners across the country.

These days, the small towns in this region about five hours north of San Francisco are dotted with head shops and garden supply stores.

California is one of 14 states that allow people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )

For decades, the outlaws, rebels and aging hippies of Humboldt County have been hoping for legalization. But now that it appears at hand, many clandestine growers fear it will flood the market with cheap, corporate-grown weed and destroy their way of life.

About 20 pot growers gathered on a patio outside the meeting Tuesday to discuss the dilemma posed by legalized pot. Many wore baseball caps and jeans, just like farmers anywhere else in America. No one addressed anyone else by name, a local custom driven by fear of arrest, but that didn't stop some in the group from lighting up their crop.

Many complained that legalization would put them in the same bind as other small farmers struggling to compete against large-scale agribusinesses.

A dreadlocked younger grower who said he had already been to prison for marijuana objected that no one could replicate the quality of the region's weed. When he was a kid, he said, "Humboldt nuggets -- that was like the holy grail."

"Anyone can grow marijuana," he said. "But not everyone can grow the super-heavies, the holy bud."

Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet, which is puny by Humboldt County standards. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.

Some growers Tuesday fantasized about mobs of tourists in limos streaming to the county. Others were not thrilled with the idea of paying taxes on their crop.

Many agreed with the sentiment on a sticker plastered on a pizza joint's cash register: "Save Humboldt County -- keep pot illegal."

BALLOT MEASURE

Use: California is one of 14 states that allows people to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal. ( And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how California votes. )

Measure: Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25 square feet. City and county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.

In Oregon: In 1973, Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize marijuana, making the sentence for possession of less than an ounce akin to receiving a traffic ticket.

via: NORML

Marijuana legalization

Pot advocate Mason Tvert filed language on Wednesday for a November ballot initiative that would allow Coloradans 21 and older to use marijuana. Does that mean Colorado is about to be embroiled in a full-scale movement to legalize weed?

Not necessarily.

"There isn't some large campaign being launched," says Tvert, reached during a business trip in San Francisco. "It's just something we wanted to make sure was possible if we decided to do it." He explains the he and his colleagues at SAFER, the marijuana reform organization Tvert runs, wanted to file the appropriate paperwork for such a contingency before key election deadlines had passed. But they're far from launching an official political operation.

After all, Tvert, who's never one to turn down a press opportunity, wasn't really looking to get the word out about the filing at all. "If we knew this was happening, we'd be the first ones to let people know about it," he says.

If Initiative 47, as its titled on state paperwork, moves forward, it would ask voters to authorize a comprehensive regulatory system that would control marijuana similarly to how the state currently manages alcohol, says Tvert. In this model, both pot shops and pot grows would have to be licensed, there'd be limitations as to where one could use it and nothing in the law would supersede current rules about driving under the influence of drugs.

A lot of considerations will go into whether or not advocates decide this is the year to fight marijuana prohibition in Colorado, says Tvert. That includes timing issues, funding potential and what happens with current state attempts to regulate medical marijuana.

If the time does seem right, rest assured Tvert will have a whole lot more to say about it.

via: Westworld