Tag: marijuana

In an 88 page opinion based on principles of human rights, Justice Arturo Zaldívara of the Mexican Supreme Court has paved the way for legal marijuana in Mexico.

The vote by the court’s criminal chamber declared that individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. While the ruling does not strike down current drug laws, it lays the groundwork for a wave of legal actions that could ultimately rewrite them, proponents of legalization say.

Justice Zaldívar writes: "...[T]he state recognizes an individual’s autonomy to engage in recreational activities that do not harm others.

[More...]

Those who feared Colorado marijuana stores would sell to minors should take a deep breath and relax. The Denver Post reports:

Authorities in Denver and Pueblo, working with regulators from the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, have conducted 20 undercover stings in which they see whether a store will sell pot to someone under 21. Sixteen of the compliance checks have occurred in Denver, home to most of the state's recreational marijuana stores.

So far, no store has sold to someone under 21 in the checks.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd came to Colorado and wanted to try the state's newly legal pot. Rather than smoking a joint, she decided to try a pot-infused candy bar. She says she nibbled the end of the bar and not feeling the high, nibbled a bit more. She ended up gob-smacked by her piece of candy -- it laid her out for 8 hours and made her delusional and paranoid. She blames her experience on labeling deficiencies on the candy and criticizes Colorado's regulatory system.

Why would an intelligent adult like Dowd, who is obviously not a regular marijuana user, not inquire about potency or dosage before she experimented? When she first felt the effects, why didn't she turn on her computer and do a google search -- she would have quickly learned she should drink a lot of water and "this too, shall pass."

Instead of accepting personal accountability for her actions, she blames the candy, the manufacturer and retailer's lack of warning labels, Colorado's regulatory system -- everyone but herself. Her column reeks of a "reefer-madness" mentality. Her tale includes references to a man jumping off a roof, a man who kills his wife and stoned driving. [More...]

The DEA, IRS and Denver Police Department have raided multiple marijuana businesses today -- more than a dozen. Westword has all the ongoing details. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver has confirmed the raids:

"The Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Denver Police Department and state and local law enforcement are today executing lawfully obtained search warrants and seizure warrants."

...."Although we cannot at this time discuss the substance of this pending investigation, the operation under way today comports with the Department's recent guidance regarding marijuana enforcement matters."

Westword reports Swiss Medical in Boulder was also raided. The Denver Post has more and says it's the largest raid since medical marijuana became legal. Photos here.

Meet William "Billy" Burton. He's a Thalidomide baby born with short arms and twisted hands. In 1992, at age 29, he was traveling abroad and ran into financial difficulties. He attempted to smuggle 12 pounds of marijuana from the Philippines to Australia.

Interrogated without counsel and under duress, Billy was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. When sentenced, he was eligible for release in 8 years. But the Philippines later changed its laws on parole and retroactivity and his minimum time to serve on a life sentence became first 30 years, then 40 years. He wouldn't get released until 2032.

Now 48, and having served the past 19 years at the maximum security New Bilibid Prison, south of Manila, this week Billy was granted a conditional pardon due to his deteriorating health by Philippines President Benigno Aquino III . He's been released to go home to Britain.

Here are some happy photos of him being released from prison.

His release is the culmination of a 20 month effort by organizations in Britain, including Fair Trials International and supporters of the UK Thalidomide Trust. Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne says he also was supportive.

The D.E.A. exercised its emergency rule making authority today and banned five chemicals used in smokable herbal products it calls fake marijuana. Included are the chemicals in Spice, K-2, Blaze and Red X Dawn.

Except as authorized by law, this action makes possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the United States. This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety.

The ban will be in effect for a year. The DEA says:

They are designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances are reserved for those substances with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use for treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

The text of the rule, as appears in the Federal Register, is here. [More...]

105 tons of marijuana seized in Mexico. (Lots more pictures below the fold.) The Mexican authorities at a press conference held by Brigadier General Staff commander of the Second Military Zone, Alfonso Duarte Mujica, said it began with a random observation by the Tijuana municipal police who noticed a convoy of vehicles accompanying a tractor trailer. A shootout ensued and they called for backup and the military and other law enforcement groups quickly arrived. They detained a bunch of people who took them to houses in three different poor neighborhoods of the city, and then they got to a warehouse where they located six tractor trailers loaded with the pot.

So whose pot was it? Apparently not the cartels'. Gen. Duarte Mujica says there are no more cartels in Baja and Tijuana. [More...]

Forget the Geek Squad, here comes the Grow Squad. Are these the Best Buys of the future?

Via the Chicago Tribune, Congressman Mark Kirk is introducing a bill to set penalties at up to 25 years for some pot offenses, that would apply to first time offenders:

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk will call for legislation Monday that would toughen drug-trafficking laws regarding a highly potent form of marijuana, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison for a first-time offense. The law would target offenders who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent.

Paul at NORML has more. You can send Rep. Kirk your thoughts here.

The Toronto Star reports:

Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China. The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly ``cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

Batteries of tests were performed on the substance. It had a high "THC" content. Other items in the tomb indicated the deceased was of "high social standing."

The tomb also contained bridles, archery equipment and a harp, confirming the man's high social standing.

A pot-smoker is arrested every 38 seconds in America. The newest figures for 2006 show marijuana arrests are at an all-time high. Via NORML:

Police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana violations in 2006, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report, released today. This is the largest total number of annual arrests for pot ever recorded by the FBI. Marijuana arrests now comprise nearly 44 percent of all drug arrests in the United States.

89% of those arrested in 2006 were charged only with possession. And, get this:

The total number of marijuana arrests in the U.S. for 2006 far exceeded the total number of arrests in the U.S. for all violent crimes combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

In the past 15 years, marijuana arrests have increased by 188%. As NORML says,

"This effort is a tremendous waste of criminal justice resources that diverts law enforcement personnel away from focusing on serious and violent crime, including the war on terrorism."

[Photo via CelebStoner]

Keith Stroup probably regards his arrest yesterday at a Boston marijuana reform rally as a badge of honor.

While delivering a speech at yesterday's Freedom Rally, he announced:

"Eight hundred thousand people were arrested last year for marijuana. Every 41 seconds someone gets arrested for marijuana. I got arrested a couple of hours ago right here."

In all, there were 60 arrests. Those arrested received "Class D" tickets. Even with bad weather, 5,000 attended the event.