New York state assemblyman who voted against legalizing medical marijuana is arrested for pot possession

By JESSICA MONTOYA COGGINS
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Katz represents the Hudson Valley in New York and voted against legalizing medical marijuana
Maybe he’s mellowed out.
According to The New York Post, Steve Katz, a Republican state assemblyman from Yorktown, New York was arrested on pot possession yesterday despite the fact that last year he voted against legalizing medical marijuana.
A former veterinarian, Katz was pulled over Thursday morning for driving fifteen miles over the speed limit near Coeymans, New York.
The state trooper who stopped Katz noticed the smell of marijuana.
According to the New York state police, Katz was not disruptive.
Spokeswoman Darcy Wells told the media that Katz ‘was cooperative and handed the trooper a bag of marijuana.’
The assemblyman was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and is due in court later this month.
Full Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294201/New-York-state-assemblyman-voted-legalizing-medical-marijuana-arrested-pot-possession.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

War on drugs: What is it good for?

By David Case, GlobalPost
 
 

BOSTON — The global drug war is arguably America’s longest armed conflict, declared 42 years ago and still raging at a pace that would startle many citizens.
It is waged daily, on farmland and streets from Colombia to Mexico to Detroit. It has put millions of people behind bars, and has dramatically influenced our culture and worldview.
By some estimates, it has cost the nation more than $2 trillion dollars.
Ironically, the drug war was nearly stillborn.
Less than a year after he fired the first salvos, Nixon’s Republican-led Shafer commission sought to calm Americans and temper the president’s claims.
The Shafer commission concluded that the drug problem would “not collapse our society,” and noted that “the compulsive use of alcohol remains the nation’s most serious drug problem.” It cautioned against a “drug abuse industrial complex,” that could perpetuate the problem, and called for a review of programs that might be doing more harm than good.
It even recommended abolishing penalties for private use and possession of cannabis.
Nixon ignored these conclusions, and the nation forged on with a strategy that increasingly emphasized force over treatment.
Full Article:

AG says Mass. towns cannot bar marijuana centers

Massachusetts towns cannot bar medical marijuana treatment centers from being established within their borders, but they can impose zoning rules on the dispensaries, state Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled on Wednesday.
Coakley struck down a Wakefield bylaw that would have barred the treatment centers, but separately approved a bylaw adopted in Burlington that places a moratorium on the facilities until the town completes a further study of zoning issues.
 
Full Article:
http://www.necn.com/03/14/13/AG-says-Mass-towns-cannot-bar-marijuana-/landing.html?blockID=834657&feedID=11106

Are Colorado Drivers Being ‘Pot-Profiled’ Elsewhere?

BY 
Highway trooper writing ticket
 
While marijuana is legal in Colorado, it’s clearly not in Nebraska, where cops are reportedly enforcing that state’s laws by profiling drivers with Colorado license plates.

Cops Tell Dad What’s Up

One family – a father and his three kids – spent two hours waiting while cops in Douglas County, Neb., searched their Colorado-plated car after pulling them over for going two mph over the speed limit.
“When we see a nice vehicle with Colorado tags, it instantly makes us start watching you,” the state trooper reportedly told the dad. “And then we noticed how young you looked, which was another red flag. You were ultimately speeding, which is why you were stopped, and those circumstantial facts are why we obtained permission from you to search.”
The dad also reported that other “Omaha city cops” told him “when they have a slow night or they are training new officers, Colorado tags are almost always an instant, usually drug-related ticket of some sort.”
You’ve heard of racial profiling. Welcome to pot profiling.
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.lawyers.com/2013/03/colorado-drivers-being-pot-profiled/

Copenhagen looking to import cannabis from the US

Justin Cremer
img_src
 
Part of the city’s plan to legalise cannabis, which will be presented at a conference on Friday, is to explore importing from two US states that recently legalised use of the substance
Although two US states have legalised cannabis, there are still several legal barriers that would hinder Copenhagen from importing the substance (Photo: Colourbox)
Ahead of a City Council cannabis conference on Friday, Copenhagen officials say they are ready to make another push to legalise the substance.
According to prepared documents from the council, the city is proposing a three-year trial, arguing that “the legal sale of cannabis will result in decreased gang criminality, more prevention and a better life for average cannabis users”.
An intriguing element of the plan calls for the possible import of cannabis from the US states of Colorado and Washington, where voters in November legalised its recreational use.
The Copenhagen Post spoke with the deputy mayor for social affairs, Mikkel Warming (Enhedslisten), about the city’s plans.
“If we get the three-year trial, it will be important to work as quickly and effectively as possible, so we are looking abroad for where we could import cannabis,” Warming said. “Yes, we are looking at Colorado and Washington, but we’re also looking at places like Great Britain, where there is state-controlled production of marijuana for medical purposes.”
 
Full Article:
http://cphpost.dk/local/copenhagen-looking-import-cannabis-us

Police Sgt. to Take City to Court

Police-city-badge
 
A St. Louis Police Sgt., lobbying for lighter penalties for marijuana possession, is now headed to court to try and get a gag order against him lifted.
Sgt. Gary Wiegert is a part time lobbyist for the group “Show Me Cannabis.
His attorney is Al Watkins: “It is not the police department’s job, role or under any circumstances do they have the authority to dictate what he’s lobbying for.” said Watkins.
The Police Department put a gag order on Sgt. Wiegert and attorney Watkins will seek an injunction against the department.
“There is no reason for anyone in the heartland of America to sit down and roll over when their constitutional rights have been impeded.”
 
Full Article:
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/03/12/police-sgt-to-take-city-to-court/

Texas pot smokers may skip jail if new bill passes

Smoking marijuana
 
Pot smokers in Texas may not have to worry about serving time in jail if House Bill 184 gets passed.
The House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence will hold a hearing Tuesday on the bill that would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Under H.B. 184, sponsored by State Rep. Harold V. Dutton Jr. (D-Houston), individuals found in possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would be charged with a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 and no possibility of jail time. Currently, possession of up to two ounces of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,000 in fines, 180 days in jail, and the suspension of the individual’s driver’s license.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ksat.com/news/Texas-pot-smokers-may-skip-jail-if-new-bill-passes/-/478452/19275306/-/xn3mqe/-/index.html#.UT5zHl3Zh-w.facebook

Flax and Hemp at the JEC


 
The eco-design and mechanical-performance advantages of flax and hemp will be heavily highlighted at this week’s 2013 JEC Europe trade show in Paris (March 12-14).
A special forum on Wednesday 13 March from 2:30-5:30pm chaired by Arnaud Duval of Faurecia will explore the potential of bio-composites for automotive applications, in thermoplastic composites, lightweight structure and electric cars.

The following day (March 14 10:30 am-5:30 pm), Ignaas Verpoest of CELC (The European Confederation of Flax and Hemp) will host the Bio-based Materials and Sustainability Conference exploring many more aspects of natural fibres in the composites arena.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ecocomposites.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10352%3Aflax-and-hemp-at-the-jec&catid=3%3Anews-free&Itemid=2

Florida Could Be Overrun By Pot Smoking Grandmas and Grandpas

Andrew Ian Dodge
florida, could, be, overrun, by, pot, smoking, grandmas, and, grandpas,
 
Will Florida be the next state to legalize medical marijuana? Will it follow states like Colorado in making it easier for citizens to access marijuana for medical needs? A bill in the Florida legislature is trying to do just that. And there is man running for governor of the state who wants to make sure that chronically ill patients can get medical cannabis without living in fear of arrest by the police.
The bill is named for a strong medical marijuana supporter whose home was raided by the police a few days after testifying in support of the bill. Below are some details of the proposed bill:
“Florida State Senator Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, introduced the bill last week. It’s called the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act, SB 1250. Representatives from Clemens office said if passed it would mean you can smoke marijuana if you’ve been medically diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition including epilepsy, chronic back pain, depression, multiple sclerosis, among other medical conditions.”
Cathy Jordan suffers from Lou Gehrig’s Disease and uses cannabis to alleviate some of her pain. Obviously the raid on her premises was a way of intimidating her and her husband from publicly supporting the bill. Her husband is a disabled Vietnam vet. The law enforcement community is wheeling out their consistent opposition to legalization of cannabis for medical use, citing “no proof” of its benefits.
 
Full Article:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/29268/florida-could-be-overrun-by-pot-smoking-grandmas-and-grandpas