By NINA GOLGOWSKI
Side business: Former Manhattan assistant district attorney, David Leung, 44, faces felony charges of selling marijuana on the same streets he use to legally clean
A former Manhattan assistant district attorney has been indicted on felony charges after police say he was caught selling marijuana through a delivery service on the same streets he use to legally work.
David Leung, 44, who had an interesting reunion with former courthouse co-workers last month, was arrested in September after allegedly exchanging an envelope containing marijuana to an undercover agent.
Leung, who worked from 1993 to 2004 under Robert Morgenthau, was found additionally carrying seven bags of marijuana totalling more than eight ounces in his car, according to the criminal complaint.
Full Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266747/David-Leung-Former-Assistant-Manhattan-DA-busted-felony-pot-sales.html
Month: January 2013
Inslee encouraged by pot talk with AG Holder
By Bob Young Seattle Times staff reporter
Gov. Jay Inslee said his conversation Tuesday with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder convinced him Washington state should continue making rules for a legal marijuana industry as mandated by voter-approved Initiative 502.
Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson met with Holder because of the conflict between federal law, which bans all marijuana, and the state’s law, which makes possession of an ounce of pot legal for those 21 and older.
Inslee said the 45-minute conversation was “very satisfying” and a “confidence-builder” about the state’s ability to move forward implementing legal marijuana. “We went in thinking we should continue with rule-making and nothing I heard should dissuade us,” Inslee said.
Full Article:
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020190301_insleeholderpotxml.html#.UP8oVYI303I.facebook
Marijuana Penalty Reduction Bills Filed in Texas
By Sativa Galore
AUSTIN, TX – Two separate Texan lawmakers have filed separate bills in the state legislature to relax marijuana laws in the Lone Star State, although the proposals stop short of decriminalization or the legalization of medical marijuana.
Representative Harold Dutton (D-Houston) has filed a penalty reduction bill that would reclassify possession of up to one ounce of marijuana from a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum $2,000 fine and 180 days in jail, to a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a possible $500 fine and no jail time. While stopping short of decriminalization, the penalty reduction proposal would be significant for a state known to have some of the toughest drug laws in the country.
Meanwhile, Rep. Elliot Naishtat (D-Austin) has filed a bill that would not legalize medical marijuana in Texas, but would provide some protection for medical marijuana patients to avoid punishment.
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/14918/marijuana-penalty-reduction-bills-filed-in-texas/
Medical marijuana, other pot bill filed in the Oklahoma Senate
By Chris Cordt
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. —
A pair of marijuana bills have been filed in the Oklahoma Senate.
Senate Bill 902 directs the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to develop rules for use of medical cannabis. It was filed by Senator Constance Johnson, a Democrat who represents the Oklahoma City area.
Right now, nearly 20 states allow some form of medical marijuana.
Senate Bill 914, also filed by Sen. Johnson, would reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Full Article:
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/medical-marijuana-other-pot-bill-filed-oklahoma-se/nT4Sf/
Senate Bill 902 directs the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to develop rules for use of medical cannabis. It was filed by Senator Constance Johnson, a Democrat who represents the Oklahoma City area.
Right now, nearly 20 states allow some form of medical marijuana.
Senate Bill 914, also filed by Sen. Johnson, would reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Full Article:
http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/medical-marijuana-other-pot-bill-filed-oklahoma-se/nT4Sf/
Overkill in the war on pot
By Marie Myung-Ok LeeJanuary 22, 2013
As a candidate in 2008, Barack Obama emphatically stated that medical marijuana use was an issue best left to the states. One of the first promises he made as the newly elected president was that he was “not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws.” This was even reiterated formally in the so-called Ogden memo of 2009, in which the Department of Justice instructed U.S. attorneys that federal enforcement should apply only to medical marijuana operations that were not in clear compliance with state law.
Obama has since “clarified” those promises, but it still makes no sense that Matthew R. Davies, a business school graduate who set out in 2009 to create a medical marijuana dispensary that would be in full compliance with California law, is facing up to 15 years in prison — with a mandatory five-year sentence.
This is just one more puzzling incident in the history of a president who not only made these promises but has also admitted to heavy recreational use of marijuana himself in his youth. As a second-term president, with little to lose, why is he continuing his odd campaign on a state-approved industry that employs people, pays taxes and distributes a safe and clinically useful product?
Lost in this fray is the fact that marijuana is medicine. My son is autistic and has an autoimmune gastrointestinal problem for which, at my suggestion, his doctor prescribed him Marinol (a synthetic THC drug). When that proved ineffective, the doctor agreed to prescribe medical cannabis, which is legal in Rhode Island where we were living and, unlike in some states, such as California, is approved for pediatric use. At the time, our son was eating his clothes. Whether as an autistic behavior or because of gastric pain, we weren’t sure; but every day, unless we had him shirtless, he would consume the entire front of his cotton shirt, and sometimes his jacket, on the bus to and from school.
Medical marijuana cured him. But it wasn’t as easy as running out and buying him a joint. When we first considered cannabis, my husband and I made a decision not to procure it illegally. That was complicated because although medical marijuana was legal in Rhode Island at the time, dispensaries were not, and we needed information about what kind of marijuana might help our son.
Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lee-medical-marijuana-20130122,0,6773192.story
Obama has since “clarified” those promises, but it still makes no sense that Matthew R. Davies, a business school graduate who set out in 2009 to create a medical marijuana dispensary that would be in full compliance with California law, is facing up to 15 years in prison — with a mandatory five-year sentence.
This is just one more puzzling incident in the history of a president who not only made these promises but has also admitted to heavy recreational use of marijuana himself in his youth. As a second-term president, with little to lose, why is he continuing his odd campaign on a state-approved industry that employs people, pays taxes and distributes a safe and clinically useful product?
Lost in this fray is the fact that marijuana is medicine. My son is autistic and has an autoimmune gastrointestinal problem for which, at my suggestion, his doctor prescribed him Marinol (a synthetic THC drug). When that proved ineffective, the doctor agreed to prescribe medical cannabis, which is legal in Rhode Island where we were living and, unlike in some states, such as California, is approved for pediatric use. At the time, our son was eating his clothes. Whether as an autistic behavior or because of gastric pain, we weren’t sure; but every day, unless we had him shirtless, he would consume the entire front of his cotton shirt, and sometimes his jacket, on the bus to and from school.
Medical marijuana cured him. But it wasn’t as easy as running out and buying him a joint. When we first considered cannabis, my husband and I made a decision not to procure it illegally. That was complicated because although medical marijuana was legal in Rhode Island at the time, dispensaries were not, and we needed information about what kind of marijuana might help our son.
Full Article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lee-medical-marijuana-20130122,0,6773192.story
Duncan Jones, David Bowie’s son and director of ‘Source Code,’ tweets support for medical marijuana after wife is diagnosed with cancer
David Bowie’s son has lit up the Twitterverse after taking a stand supporting medical marijuana.
Duncan Jones, the 41-year-old director of the edgy sci-fi thrillers “Source Code” and “Moon,” tweeted Sunday in support of the drug that has helped his cancer-stricken wife cope with the effects of chemotherapy.
“Its been both wonderful & at times hilarious to see @rodeneronquillo finding a world of relief from cancer through these drugs,” Jones posted.
“Those who have an issue with marijuana for medicinal use, all I can say is you have no idea what a boon it is for cancer pain management.”
Full Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/duncan-jones-pipes-support-medical-marijuana-article-1.1244284
Old Tokes Home
Al Madrigal investigates medical marijuana’s effects on America’s most vulnerable, Jazzy-riding citizens.
Hawaii – Souki Introduces Bill Legalizing Recreational Use of Marijuana
by Dave Smith
Image from University of Minnesota.
The newly designated speaker of the state House of Representatives today introduced a bill that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
House Bill 150 introduced by Rep. Joe Souki of Maui would legalize the use and possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by persons 21 or older, and allow for personal cultivation of the plant. It would also provide for the establishment of marijuana dispensaries licensed by the state.
Full Article:
http://bigislandnow.com/2013/01/18/souki-introduces-bill-legalizing-recreational-use-of-marijuana/
Weedman Still Defiant, Even on his Day of Reckoning
Jan Hefler
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Ed Forchion, widely known as NJ Weedman, wassentenced to probationWednesday for possessing a pound of pot. But first he got in a few defiant jabs at the prosecutor, the judge, and a legal system that he says criminalizes a plant.
At a hearing in Mt. Holly, Assistant Prosecutor Mike Luciano pushed for a 12-month prison term. “He’s one of the most interesting characters I’ve come across,” said Luciano, who earlier was mailed an unsolicited package of marijuana seeds by the longtime marijuana activist.
Full Article:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/burlington/187350291.html
Washington Marijuana Grower Awarded $40,000 Settlement from Illegal Search
By Thomas H. Clarke
The city of Bothel, WA was ordered to pay nearly $40,000 to a marijuana grower in a civil lawsuit stemming from the illegal search and seizure of property from his home during an investigation into a marijuana-grow operation.
U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ordered the settlement on Wednesday as a result of a civil lawsuit filed by marijuana grower Eric Scott Levine against Snohomish County and the City of Bothell.
Levine will receive a $25,000 settlement for the illegal search and seizure of property from his home, and an additional $14,700 in attorney fees.
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/14694/washington-marijuana-grower-awarded-40000-settlement-from-illegal-search/