By KEVIN CIRILLI
Former President Jimmy Carter said he is in favor of legalizing marijuana during a public panel that CNN aired Tuesday.
CNN anchor Suzanne Malveaux asked Carter whether he supported marijuana’s legalization during a forum hosted by The Captain Planet Foundation on Friday in Georgia.
“I’m in favor of it. I think it’s OK,” Carter told Malveaux. “I don’t think it’s going to happen in Georgia yet, but I think we can watch and see what happens in the state of Washington for instance around Seattle and let the American government and let the American people see does it cause a serious problem or not.”
Full Article:
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/marijuana-legalization-president-jimmy-carter-ok-with-legalizing-marijuana-84921.html?hp=l2
Month: December 2012
Does Decriminalization Work? Dramatic Decrease in California Marijuana Arrests Has Some Analysts Saying Yes
Written by: James Swift
Marijuana possession arrests in California plummeted by 86 percent following the passage of a law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the drug, according to recently-released data from the Criminal Justice Statistics Center. Arrests fell from 54,900 in 2010 to just 7,800 in 2011.
Mike Males, of the Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice, said the law may “prove much more effective in reducing simple marijuana arrests than Proposition 19, or Washington’s and Oregon’s marijuana legalization initiatives passed this year.” Nationwide, he said, the current trend toward legalization might cut total marijuana arrests by half.
Full Article:
http://jjie.org/does-decriminalization-work-dramatic-decrease-california-marijuana-arrests-has-some-analysts-saying-yes/100099
Marijuana advocate jailed – Dana Beal sentenced 4-6 years behind bars
WAHOO,Neb.—
A marijuana advocate is jailed for having drugs he’s spent years defending.
ASaundersCountydistrict court judge sentenced Dana Beal to 4-6 years in prison.
The 65-year-old was caught with more than a 100 pounds of pot in 2009. Beal’s supporters called him a visionary in court, saying he was helping those suffering.
For decades, Beal has worked to get marijuana to those who say they need it for medical purposes, smuggling it across the country. He even pleaded to policymakers to make it legal.
“Dana did what Dana did to help people who were suffering,” said friend Marie Cotter.
Full Article:
http://www.ketv.com/news/local-news/Marijuana-advocate-jailed/-/9674510/17725246/-/format/rsss_2.0/-/130sd01z/-/index.html
Bar Owner Tells Pot Smokers to Light Up
Getty Images
Thanks to a successful ballot initiative last month, Washington state residents can legally smoke marijuana in the privacy of their living rooms as of Thursday.
When that gets old, bar owner Frank Schnarr suggests, area stoners have another option: grab a booth at Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill in Olympia and toke up there.
When that gets old, bar owner Frank Schnarr suggests, area stoners have another option: grab a booth at Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill in Olympia and toke up there.
Schnarr, 62, says he is not acting out of a love of cannabis – he says he hasn’t smoked the stuff since he was a soldier stationed in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Rather, he’s looking for new sources of income.
“I stay up at night,” he said. “I’m about to lose my business. So I’ve got to figure out some way to get people in here.”
Full Article:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100297219
“I stay up at night,” he said. “I’m about to lose my business. So I’ve got to figure out some way to get people in here.”
Full Article:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100297219
Hundreds of pot smokers light up Washington in fanfare midnight countdown as state legalizes marijuana
By ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER and MARIO LEDWITH
With not an arresting officer in sight crowds of smiling people lit joints under Seattle’s Space Needle on early Thursday morning celebrating marijuana now legal under Washington state law.
Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year’s Eve-style countdown to 12am, when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.
Full Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2243954/Pot-smokers-light-Washington-Space-Needle-state-legalizes-marijuana-sex-marriage.html
What Legal Weed in Washington Means to Portlanders
By ANDREA DAMEWOOD
Not to be outdone by the hilarious Seattle Police Department’s guide to getting high now that weed is legal up there, the Portland Police Bureau issued its own (less hilarious) FAQ this afternoon.
The long and short of it: Marijuana is still illegal here. Cops don’t care (that) much about less than an ounce of weed. Don’t drive stoned. Don’t bike stoned, because you can still get a DUII.
The best way to get high in Washington?Police suggest that you get a designated driver, take public transit, or plan to stay the night in Washington. (We don’t recommend Vancouver’s Value Motel).
Full Article:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-29530-what_legal_weed_in_w.html
Former Microsoft manager wants to create high-end marijuana business now that the drug is set to become legal in Washington state
BY BRADEN GOYETTE
KIRO – Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft exec, shares plans to build a pot business.
Marijuana is set to become legal in Washington state on Thursday, and a former Microsoft manager wants to capitalize on it by opening up a chain of stores that offer the drug in a classy setting.
Jamen Shively, a corporate strategy manager at Microsoft from 2003-2009, said in an interview with KIRO-TV that he got the idea for a high-end pot business “after a few bong hits.”
Building Tractor Parts From Flax & Hemp
Written by Kelvin Heppner
Within a few years, farmers could be operating tractors partially made from the crops they are grow.
The Composites Innovation Centre in Winnipeg is working with Buhler Industries – the manufacturer of Versatile tractors – to research the use of flax and hemp fibres in tractor hoods, shields and cabs.
Dr. Simon Potter, Sector Manager for Product Innovation at the CIC, explains the project will culminate in about a year with the creation of a prototype made with flax or hemp fibre.
“You’ll actually see trial Buhler tractor being tested around the world. They are talking about testing it in places as far flung as Russia,” he says.
He says the partnership with Buhler represents the centre’s first major foray into composites for agriculture.
Full Article:
http://www.portageonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29939&Itemid=526
AZ judge upholds medical marijuana law
Posted by Phil Benson
PHOENIX (CBS5) –
A judge has ruled that Arizona’s medical
marijuana law is constitutional and that federal drug laws don’t stand in the way of public officials implementing the state law.
Judge Michael Gordon of Maricopa County Superior Court said Arizona is among an “ever-growing minority of states” legalizing use of marijuana for medical purposes and that he won’t rule the state is violating public policy.
Full Article:
http://www.kpho.com/story/20259933/az-judge-upholds-medical-marijuana-law#.UL5sg9VhMgY.facebook
Harborside Quashes Eviction Attempt from Landlord
David Downs
According to a release from Harborside Health Center this morning, the biggest pot club on the planet got a judge to quash its potential eviction by landlord Anna Chretien.
“The federal campaign to close Harborside Health Center and other state legal medical cannabis dispensaries was dealt a significant setback in Alameda County Superior Court on Friday, November 30th when Judge Evilio Grillo quashed an eviction proceeding initiated by the landlord of Harborside’s landmark Oakland location. The Judge dismissed the action, which was undertaken in response to pressure placed on the landlord by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, on the grounds that California courts cannot evict state legal medical cannabis dispensaries simply because they are breaking federal cannabis laws.”
Full Article:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2012/12/03/harborside-quashes-eviction-attempt-from-landlord