Historic move: Seattle city attorney looks to vacate 500+ misdemeanor marijuana charges now that recreational pot is legal
SEATTLE -- In an historic move, the office of the Seattle City Attorney has asked the municipal court to vacate about 540 misdemeanor marijuana charges.
SEATTLE -- In an historic move, the office of the Seattle City Attorney has asked the municipal court to vacate about 540 misdemeanor marijuana charges.
Pot politics: Schumer joins politicians rethinking marijuana
WASHINGTON — The top Senate Democrat is using marijuana's informal holiday to announce a change of heart about the drug, another sign of the growing political acceptance of pot.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Friday he'll introduce a bill taking marijuana off the federal list of controlled substances — in effect decriminalizing its use.His bill would let states decide how to treat marijuana possession.
WASHINGTON — The top Senate Democrat is using marijuana's informal holiday to announce a change of heart about the drug, another sign of the growing political acceptance of pot.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Friday he'll introduce a bill taking marijuana off the federal list of controlled substances — in effect decriminalizing its use.His bill would let states decide how to treat marijuana possession.
Police advertise 4/20 contest to find person with 'the most marijuana’
YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Think you've got the most impressive marijuana stash?
YOUNGSVILLE, La. – Think you've got the most impressive marijuana stash?
Former House Speaker Boehner to promote legalizing marijuana
CINCINNATI — Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he has had a change of heart on marijuana and will promote its nationwide legalization as a way to help veterans and the nation's deadly opioid crisis.The Ohio Republican, an avid cigarette smoker, has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings , a multistate cannabis company.
CINCINNATI — Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday he has had a change of heart on marijuana and will promote its nationwide legalization as a way to help veterans and the nation's deadly opioid crisis.The Ohio Republican, an avid cigarette smoker, has joined the advisory board of Acreage Holdings , a multistate cannabis company.
Authorities make several large marijuana busts in Midwest
MINNEAPOLIS — Several large marijuana busts along Interstate 94 have authorities in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin wondering whether the interstate corridor is becoming a major smuggling pipeline for marijuana and other drugs.The Star Tribune reports authorities think more residents in the three states are buying marijuana where it's legal and then bringing it back home to distribute.Minnesota troopers seized more than 2,600 pounds of marijuana last year, more than six times what was confiscated the year before.
MINNEAPOLIS — Several large marijuana busts along Interstate 94 have authorities in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin wondering whether the interstate corridor is becoming a major smuggling pipeline for marijuana and other drugs.The Star Tribune reports authorities think more residents in the three states are buying marijuana where it's legal and then bringing it back home to distribute.Minnesota troopers seized more than 2,600 pounds of marijuana last year, more than six times what was confiscated the year before.
MADISON -- Rep.
Gubernatorial candidate Matt Flynn would pardon pot offenders
MADISON — Democratic candidate for governor Matt Flynn says if elected he would pardon everyone who has low-level marijuana convictions.Flynn also supports legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin.
MADISON — Democratic candidate for governor Matt Flynn says if elected he would pardon everyone who has low-level marijuana convictions.Flynn also supports legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin.
Prosecutors in pot-friendly states will decide on crackdown
DENVER — Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states' top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.When he rescinded the Justice Department's previous guidance on marijuana, Attorney General Jeff Sessions left the issue to a mix of prosecutors who were appointed by President Donald Trump's administration and others who are holdovers from the Barack Obama years.Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cases, and people familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers."There are higher priorities: terrorism and opiates to start with," said Rory Little, a former prosecutor and a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. "You also have to draw the jury pool from the local people, who appear to generally support the state policy.
DENVER — Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states' top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.When he rescinded the Justice Department's previous guidance on marijuana, Attorney General Jeff Sessions left the issue to a mix of prosecutors who were appointed by President Donald Trump's administration and others who are holdovers from the Barack Obama years.Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cases, and people familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers."There are higher priorities: terrorism and opiates to start with," said Rory Little, a former prosecutor and a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. "You also have to draw the jury pool from the local people, who appear to generally support the state policy.
California pot shops ring in 2018, ring up first legal sales: "Kind of a big deal for everybody"
OAKLAND, California — Customers lined up early to purchase recreational marijuana legally for the first time in California as the new year brought broad legalization some two decades after the state was the first to allow pot for medical use.Jeff Deakin, 66, his wife Mary and their dog waited all night and were first in a line of 100 people when Harborside dispensary, a longtime medical pot shop in Oakland, opened at 6 a.m. and offered early customers joints for a penny and free T-shirts that read "Flower to the People — Cannabis for All.""It's been so long since others and myself could walk into a place where you could feel safe and secure and be able to get something that was good without having to go to the back alley," Deakin said. "This is kind of a big deal for everybody."The nation's most populous state joins a growing list of other states, and the nation's capital, where so-called recreational marijuana is permitted even though the federal government continues to classify pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.California voters in 2016 made it legal for adults 21 and older to grow, possess and use limited quantities of marijuana, but it wasn't legal to sell it for recreational purposes until Monday.Finding a retail outlet to buy non-medical pot in California won't be easy — at least initially.
OAKLAND, California — Customers lined up early to purchase recreational marijuana legally for the first time in California as the new year brought broad legalization some two decades after the state was the first to allow pot for medical use.Jeff Deakin, 66, his wife Mary and their dog waited all night and were first in a line of 100 people when Harborside dispensary, a longtime medical pot shop in Oakland, opened at 6 a.m. and offered early customers joints for a penny and free T-shirts that read "Flower to the People — Cannabis for All.""It's been so long since others and myself could walk into a place where you could feel safe and secure and be able to get something that was good without having to go to the back alley," Deakin said. "This is kind of a big deal for everybody."The nation's most populous state joins a growing list of other states, and the nation's capital, where so-called recreational marijuana is permitted even though the federal government continues to classify pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.California voters in 2016 made it legal for adults 21 and older to grow, possess and use limited quantities of marijuana, but it wasn't legal to sell it for recreational purposes until Monday.Finding a retail outlet to buy non-medical pot in California won't be easy — at least initially.
California gets ready to ignite cannabis culinary-arts scene
SAN DIEGO — The sauvignon blanc boasts brassy, citrus notes, but with one whiff, it's apparent this is no normal Sonoma County wine.
SAN DIEGO — The sauvignon blanc boasts brassy, citrus notes, but with one whiff, it's apparent this is no normal Sonoma County wine.
Joy to the weed! Marijuana gifts increasing as more states legalize
PORTLAND, Maine — Peter Bernard's Yuletide plans include dressing up in a tuxedo emblazoned with marijuana leaves, donning a green Santa hat and doling out cookie bars made with marijuana to his friends from a big pillowcase."That's me exercising my right to give marijuana this Christmas," said Bernard, a Taunton, Massachusetts, pot lover who heads the Massachusetts Growers Advocacy Council when not doubling as "Pot Santa" at events for weed enthusiasts.Not everyone's plans are quite so flamboyant, but for many pot lovers, this Christmas is much more about reefer than wreaths.
PORTLAND, Maine — Peter Bernard's Yuletide plans include dressing up in a tuxedo emblazoned with marijuana leaves, donning a green Santa hat and doling out cookie bars made with marijuana to his friends from a big pillowcase."That's me exercising my right to give marijuana this Christmas," said Bernard, a Taunton, Massachusetts, pot lover who heads the Massachusetts Growers Advocacy Council when not doubling as "Pot Santa" at events for weed enthusiasts.Not everyone's plans are quite so flamboyant, but for many pot lovers, this Christmas is much more about reefer than wreaths.
Los Angeles won't join California's legal pot party Jan. 1
LOS ANGELES — There will be no legal pot party in Los Angeles on Jan. 1.California kicks off recreational sales on New Year's Day, becoming the largest state in the nation with legal marijuana.
LOS ANGELES — There will be no legal pot party in Los Angeles on Jan. 1.California kicks off recreational sales on New Year's Day, becoming the largest state in the nation with legal marijuana.
LA will become largest US city with recreational pot
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is in line to become the nation's largest city with legal recreational marijuana after the City Council voted Wednesday to license sales and cultivation next year.The landmark vote came after a hearing in which council members characterized the rules as a work in progress almost certain to see revisions next year, after California launches its recreational pot industry in January.City Council President Herb Wesson's office said the city rules would take effect immediately after the signature of Mayor Eric Garcetti, which is expected."The other cities in this nation, they are looking to L.A.," said Wesson, predicting the city model would become a template for legalization elsewhere.Under the Los Angeles regulations, residential neighborhoods would be largely off-limits to pot businesses, and buffer zones would be set up around schools, libraries and parks.However, with the new year just weeks away — and the holidays coming — industry experts say it's not clear how many businesses, if any, will be ready to open their doors on Jan. 1 to hordes of anxious customers.If demand is not satisfied in the legal market then "you are just giving oxygen to the black market we all want to eradicate," said Adam Spiker, executive director of the Southern California Coalition, a cannabis industry group.Medical marijuana has been legal in the state for two decades.The dense set of regulations passed Wednesday dictate where pot can be grown and sold in the new marketplace, along with how businesses will be licensed.Businesses that want to participate in the marketplace need local permits before they can apply for state licenses required to operate in 2018.The state and hundreds of cities are faced with the challenging task of trying to govern the vast, emerging industry with a projected value of $7 billion.
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is in line to become the nation's largest city with legal recreational marijuana after the City Council voted Wednesday to license sales and cultivation next year.The landmark vote came after a hearing in which council members characterized the rules as a work in progress almost certain to see revisions next year, after California launches its recreational pot industry in January.City Council President Herb Wesson's office said the city rules would take effect immediately after the signature of Mayor Eric Garcetti, which is expected."The other cities in this nation, they are looking to L.A.," said Wesson, predicting the city model would become a template for legalization elsewhere.Under the Los Angeles regulations, residential neighborhoods would be largely off-limits to pot businesses, and buffer zones would be set up around schools, libraries and parks.However, with the new year just weeks away — and the holidays coming — industry experts say it's not clear how many businesses, if any, will be ready to open their doors on Jan. 1 to hordes of anxious customers.If demand is not satisfied in the legal market then "you are just giving oxygen to the black market we all want to eradicate," said Adam Spiker, executive director of the Southern California Coalition, a cannabis industry group.Medical marijuana has been legal in the state for two decades.The dense set of regulations passed Wednesday dictate where pot can be grown and sold in the new marketplace, along with how businesses will be licensed.Businesses that want to participate in the marketplace need local permits before they can apply for state licenses required to operate in 2018.The state and hundreds of cities are faced with the challenging task of trying to govern the vast, emerging industry with a projected value of $7 billion.
"Yes We Cannabis!" Group puts pressure on politicians to decriminalize marijuana
MILWAUKEE -- A local group hopes to put the pressure on politicians to decriminalize marijuana in Wisconsin.Representatives from Southeastern Wisconsin NORML, held a fundraiser called "Yes We Cannabis!" in Milwaukee on Thursday, November 16th.
MILWAUKEE -- A local group hopes to put the pressure on politicians to decriminalize marijuana in Wisconsin.Representatives from Southeastern Wisconsin NORML, held a fundraiser called "Yes We Cannabis!" in Milwaukee on Thursday, November 16th.
Democratic governor candidate Matt Flynn favors legalizing pot
MADISON — Democratic candidate for governor Matt Flynn says if Wisconsin voters want to legalize marijuana, he's all for it.Flynn on Tuesday called for the Republican-controlled Legislature to put a non-binding referendum on the November 2018 ballot asking if there's support for the legalization and sale of marijuana.If it would pass, Flynn says as governor he would push the Legislature to follow through.There have been small signs of movement in the current Legislature among supporters of legalizing marijuana.
MADISON — Democratic candidate for governor Matt Flynn says if Wisconsin voters want to legalize marijuana, he's all for it.Flynn on Tuesday called for the Republican-controlled Legislature to put a non-binding referendum on the November 2018 ballot asking if there's support for the legalization and sale of marijuana.If it would pass, Flynn says as governor he would push the Legislature to follow through.There have been small signs of movement in the current Legislature among supporters of legalizing marijuana.
65 pounds of marijuana found in couple’s Amazon order
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Police are investigating after a Florida couple found 65 pounds of marijuana in their Amazon order, according to WFTV."We love Amazon and do a lot of shopping on Amazon," the customer, who was not identified.The customer and her fiancé ordered 27-gallon storage containers, so they could put some items away in storage.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Police are investigating after a Florida couple found 65 pounds of marijuana in their Amazon order, according to WFTV."We love Amazon and do a lot of shopping on Amazon," the customer, who was not identified.The customer and her fiancé ordered 27-gallon storage containers, so they could put some items away in storage.
Hawaii says its 1st state to go cashless for marijuana sales
HONOLULU — Hawaii said Tuesday that it will be the first state to require marijuana sales to be handled without cash, saying it wanted to avoid robberies and other crimes targeting dispensaries.Medical marijuana dispensaries in Hawaii won't be allowed to accept cash beginning Oct. 1 and will require people to use a debit payment app instead.
HONOLULU — Hawaii said Tuesday that it will be the first state to require marijuana sales to be handled without cash, saying it wanted to avoid robberies and other crimes targeting dispensaries.Medical marijuana dispensaries in Hawaii won't be allowed to accept cash beginning Oct. 1 and will require people to use a debit payment app instead.
$9.2M initiative: Colorado schools bulk up staff in marijuana-prevention push
DENVER — Colorado has given 42 school districts and charter schools a combined $9.2 million to hire people and create programs to keep marijuana out of the hands of students.The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2wzAAB0 ) the money is going to schools located near legal pot shops and is funded by proceeds from marijuana sales.Districts are hiring nurses, social workers and counselors with the grant money to discourage underage marijuana use.The Jefferson County School District plans to hire six social emotional learning specialists and three school nurses.
DENVER — Colorado has given 42 school districts and charter schools a combined $9.2 million to hire people and create programs to keep marijuana out of the hands of students.The Denver Post reports (http://dpo.st/2wzAAB0 ) the money is going to schools located near legal pot shops and is funded by proceeds from marijuana sales.Districts are hiring nurses, social workers and counselors with the grant money to discourage underage marijuana use.The Jefferson County School District plans to hire six social emotional learning specialists and three school nurses.
AG Jeff Sessions has warned of pot crackdown; task force giving him no ammunition
WASHINGTON — The betting was that law-and-order Attorney General Jeff Sessions would come out against the legalized marijuana industry with guns blazing.
WASHINGTON — The betting was that law-and-order Attorney General Jeff Sessions would come out against the legalized marijuana industry with guns blazing.