By Jessica A. York/Times-Herald staff writer

Former Vallejo medical marijuana dispensary operator and “Weed Country” star Matt Shotwell, left, reacts at Solano County Superior Court to news that criminal drug charges filed against him last year have been dismissed. (Jessica A. York/staff)
 
Year-old criminal charges were dismissed Thursday against Matt Shotwell, a one-time operator of one of Vallejo’s largest medical marijuana dispensaries.
Since February 2012, when the Vallejo Police Department’s series of raids on medical marijuana dispensaries launched with Shotwell’s arrest at Greenwell Cooperative dispensary, no operators have been convicted.
“Given the facts of this case … the people feel they cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Deputy District Attorney Jack Harris told Solano County Superior Court Judge Allan Carter. Carter’s confirmation of the dismissal was met with applause from a small courtroom crowd of Shotwell supporters.
 
Full Article:
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_22841368/charges-dismissed-against-vallejo-pot-dispensary-operator-star

Full Article:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/21/some-drug-sniffing-dogs-in-washington-state-now-trained-to-ignore-marijuana/

By Marijuana Policy Project

 
This week, Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-District 1) joined the effort to end marijuana prohibition and start regulating marijuana like alcohol at the federal level. Rep. Pingree, as well as Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), signed on to co-sponsor H.R. 499, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013, on Monday, joining a bipartisan group of supporters in the House.
There are currently 14 co-sponsors of the bill.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/16466/federal-bill-to-legalize-marijuana-gains-support-in-congress/

Salon / By David Sirota

The notion of alcohol consumers piously demanding that others stop using pot probably makes you think of the beer-swilling World War II generation berating weed-smoking hippies during the 1960s. Now, thanks to the United Nations, that caricature gets an update, and the hypocrisy is at once amusing and depressing.
You may have read the headline-grabbing news that in advance of its conference on drug policy last week, the U.N. issued a report urging the United States government to block Colorado and Washington state from moving forward with voter-approved laws that allow adult citizens to use marijuana as a less harmful alternative to alcohol. What you may not have heard is that on the very same day the U.N. released that report, U.S. ambassador Joseph Torsella slammed his U.N. colleagues for drinking too much on the job. Apparently, binging at the U.N. is so commonplace and excessive that it is hindering the organization from conducting its most basic work.
 
Full Article:
http://www.alternet.org/hypocrites-un-slams-us-marijuana-legalization-scolded-drinking-job-same-day

By Wendy Osher

 
A Senate committee will hear two resolutions tomorrow seeking the release of marijuana advocate, and Hawai’i Island resident, Roger Christie on bail.
Christie, a reverend and founder of the THC Ministry, has reportedly been held without a trial date since his arrest in July 2010 on charges for allegedly growing and distributing marijuana.
Officials from the Senate Office of Will Espero noted that the THC Ministry offered cannabis as part of its services.
The language in the resolutions states that Christie has been held at the Federal Detention Center on O’ahu, with “repeated requests” for release on bail denied on grounds that he is a “danger to the community.”
The resolutions further describe Christie as “a gentle, peaceful person” who “does not pose any danger to the community whatsoever.”
 
Full Article:
http://mauinow.com/2013/03/20/resolutions-urge-release-of-reverend-held-on-marijuana-charges/

Matt Sledge
 
The NYPD spent 1 million hours making 440,000 arrests for low-level marijuana possession charges between 2002 and 2012, according to a new report released Tuesday — just as legislative leaders in Albany are deciding whether to pass a bill reforming drug laws.
The Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, pro-drug law reform groups that commissioned the report, said its findings show a “huge waste” of police resources.
“We cannot afford to continue arresting tens of thousands of youth every year for low-level marijuana possession,” Alfredo Carrasquillo, a civil rights organizer with the activist group VOCAL-NY, said in a release. “We can’t afford it in terms of the negative effect it has on the future prospects of our youth and we can’t afford in terms of police hours.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/nypd-marijuana-arrests_n_2908285.html

by Helen Avery
Amid political pressure to reduce cannabis-related crime, the legalization of the drug for medical usage could create a $40 billion industry in the US alone, opening up new investment opportunities – with Portugal, Spain, Israel, Czech Republic and Canada also on the radar for venture capitalists. Some even describe the opportunity as a new form of social-impact investing.
Full Article:
http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3174577/Cannabis-decriminalization-sparks-up-new-investing-craze.html

“The California Cannabis Hemp Initiative of 2014. It’s our chance to say “enough!” to Big Oil and forest destruction. It’s our chance to tell the government that they can no longer hide behind the lies that hemp is an evil, dangerous and useless plant. It’s our chance to tell the rest of the industrial world that we don’t need their hemp; we’ll just grow our own. And it’s our chance to show the entire world that California knows how to innovate and create new industries, to turn ideas and visions into powerful industrial revolutions. That’s the plan.”
 
Full Article:
http://thejointblog.com/support-jack-herers-vision-legalize-cannabis-in-california/#.UUfxMxfOlLq

By Terry Franklin

 
Spring is the season of political rallies, as people shake off their hibernation, and get down to the task of ending Prohibition; and while this correspondent’s bailiwick is the Northeastern U.S., and I must concentrate my focus there, be assured that this is a worldwide phenomenon. (Those wishing to publicize more details about these, or about rallies in other areas, feel free to use the comment section below.)
Four Twenty, April 20th, is a Saturday this year. Three big events grace the Northeast that day:
The 22nd occurrence of Extravaganja in Amherst, MA runs from noon till 6:00 PM on the Town Common. With the exception of the Boston Freedom Rally held in the fall, this is the largest such event in the Northeast each year. It is produced and directed by the Cannabis Reform Coalition of UMass Amherst.
Hempfest is an SSDP production on the Quad of the University of Rhode Island. It runs during the afternoon in Kingston, RI.
From 3:30 till 5:30, the NH Teapot Party is organizing a protest at the State House in Concord, NH. In the past, these events have been wild and defiant. With the ongoing trial of Rich Paul, this one should be even more so.
Those are the 3 big ones in the Northeastern U.S… but anyone in upstate NY, also has the opportunity to go to this rally just across the border in Niagara Falls, Canada. It runs from noon till 5:00.
Two weeks later, May 4th and 5th is a weekend with hundreds of marches and rallies all around the world, under the rubric of the Global Marijuana March. Many of these are rather impromptu affairs. A group of friends gets together and writes to the GMM website, saying they will be marching; but without a whole lot of planning, websites, or advertising.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/16310/rallies-to-end-marijuana-prohibition-burst-forth-like-spring-flowers/

Mark Caputo

 
John Morgan, a major fundraiser for President Barack Obama and the boss of former Gov. Charlie Crist, is taking the reins of a Florida medical marijuana initiative, promising to pump major money and political muscle into the popular issue.
Morgan, a top Florida trial lawyer based in Orlando, said he’s ready to tap a network of donors and his personal bank account to get the measure in front of voters in 2014 as a proposed constitutional amendment.
“I can get the money. I have the money. I will be joined by people with money who will help,” Morgan said. “I’ve been very fortunate in life, and I can make it happen.”
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/charlie-crists-boss-john-morgan-to-lead-pot-initiative-in-florida/2109431