WOODTV.com & WOOD TV8: Grand Rapids news, weather, sports and video | Mich. court lets police use dogs to sniff outside of home
LANSING, Mich. — Police don’t need to obtain a search warrant before using dogs to sniff outside a house for drugs, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The 2-1 decision released Wednesday was a setback for Jeffrey Jones of Detroit, who was charged after a police dog detected drugs inside his home by sniffing outside the front door. Police used that information to obtain a search warrant to enter the residence, where they found marijuana and a gun.

A Wayne County judge suppressed the evidence and threw out the case, ruling that the dog sniffing was an illegal search similar to using a thermal-imaging device.

The appeals court disagreed.

Judges E. Thomas Fitzgerald and William Murphy, citing U.S. Supreme Court cases, said a canine sniff is not a search as defined under Fourth Amendment law. They also said there is no reasonable expectation of privacy at the entrance to property that is open to the public, including the front porch of a home.

A dissenting judge said the ruling erodes the privacy protections and the sanctity of the home guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

First of all, it should be noted that drug-sniffing dogs are incredibly unreliable. Second of all, in American justice, we have the right to question our accusers. How exactly do you question a dog?

Another sad erosion of our civil liberties, all in the name of finding out of people are growing a plant in the privacy of their own home, a home our Founders once believed was a man’s castle. We’ve grown accustomed to cameras in every public venue, numerous compulsory demands for our Social Security numbers, and terabytes of personal data instantly accessible on the Internet. Now even our homes aren’t safe from olfactory intrusion by dogs, thermal imaging and sonic imaging that sees right through our walls, and helicopters surveilling our property.

I don’t think that’s what they meant by:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Pot industry ranks second in GDP contribution
A B.C. magazine now places the province’s marijuana industry in second place for its contribution to the B.C. gross domestic project.

BC Business magazine said recently that it now is in second place ahead of the forest sector and behind construction.

Forest Minister Rich Coleman reacted to the announcement by saying, “There’s nothing a ministry can do to change a marketplace.”

BC Business places the provincial marijuana industry at $7.5-billion with a labour force of over 250,000.

Eric Nash of Valley-based cannabis company, Island Harvest, reacted to the news by saying, “More than 156,000 people in British Columbia use marijuana for health purposes. Thousands of unemployed B.C. forest workers could become gainfully employed in the well-established cannabis industry.”

Island Harvest has been distributing and selling medical marijuana to customers for the past six years under federal licensing from Ottawa.

Wendy Little, his partner in Island Harvest, added, “Provincially licensed operations in B.C. have been supplying marijuana to thousands of people for over 10 years now. It’s time to integrate cannabis sensibly into our economy.”

Legally-licenced growers, Little and Nash have called upon the B.C. government to implement provincial policy and declare the cannabis production sector a renewable and sustainable health based industry to create employment and economic growth.

The economics of marijuana and hemp are likely to be the deciding factors in overturning adult marijuana prohibition in North America.  With farmers needing a cash crop, drivers needing biodiesel fuels, people needing affordable medicines, the world needing sustainable food and ecologically-friendly fiber crops, and governments straining to balance budgets, the prohibition of cannabis will soon become a money-losing proposition, even compared to the profits some industries make from prohibition.

Middle class relaxing with marijuana
A variety of middle-class people are making a conscious but careful choice to use marijuana to enhance their leisure activities, a University of Alberta study shows.

A qualitative study of 41 Canadians surveyed in 2005-06 by U of A researchers showed that there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ marijuana user, but that people of all ages are selectively lighting up the drug as a way to enhance activities ranging from watching television and playing sports to having sex, painting or writing.

The study was published recently in the journal Substance Use and Misuse.

The focus was on adult users who were employed, ranging in age from 21 to 61, including 25 men and 16 women from Alberta, Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland whose use of the drug ranged from daily to once or twice a year. They were predominantly middle class and worked in the retail and service industries, in communications, as white-collar employees, or as health-care and social workers. As well, 68 per cent of the users held post-secondary degrees, while another 11 survey participants had earned their high school diplomas.

The study also found that the participants considered themselves responsible users of the drug, defined by moderate use in an appropriate social setting and not allowing it to cause harm to others.

The findings should open the way for further scientific exploration into widespread use of marijuana, and government policies should move towards decriminalization and eventual legalization of the drug, the study recommends.

The cannabis community is a minority group that spans all social, economic, religious, racial, and national boundaries.  There is no “typical” marijuana user any more than there is a “typical” oxygen breather.

Canadian Majority Would Legalize Marijuana: Angus Reid Global Monitor
Adults in Canada believe the consumption of cannabis should be allowed in their country, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 53 per cent of respondents support the legalization of marijuana.

Less than 10 per cent of respondents believe other drugs—such as ecstasy, powder cocaine, heroin, crack cocaine and crystal meth—should be legalized.

In July 2002, Canada became the first nation in the world to regulate the consumption of cannabis for medical reasons. In the 2004 federal election, the Marijuana party—which seeks the outright legalization of the substance—received 0.3 per cent of the popular vote.

In November 2004, the Canadian federal government—headed at the time by Liberal prime minister Paul Martin—re-introduced a controversial bill that sought “alternate penalty frameworks” for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill, which would have allowed any person caught with 15 grams of the drug or less to face fines instead of criminal charges, was never put to a vote in the House of Commons.

Earlier this month, Debbie Stultz-Giffin—a member of Maritimers United for Medical Marijuana—urged the current administration to abandon its proposal to authorize a mandatory six-month prison sentence for marijuana growers, adding, “With the federal government talking about pulling exemption holders grow permits and forcing us to buy our marijuana from the government, it’s going to put a lot of medical marijuana patients in a precarious situation.”

I believe we are close to reaching the tipping point where a majority of North Americans favor the legalization, or at least decriminalization, or marijuana.  It looks like Canada is there already, and I know we’re close to that here on the West Coast.  Soon, as more stalwart drug warriors are swept out of Congress and statehouses in the upcoming election, I believe that younger, more liberal officials will take their place.  As our representatives begin to match the population that has come of age with legal medical marijuana and a more relaxed cultural attitude toward cannabis, I believe that we will see the end of adult marijuana prohibition in my lifetime.

I will never say that smoking marijuana makes you stupid.  However, some stupid people do smoke marijuana.  You’d think most people wouldn’t need to be told that you shouldn’t bring your stash to a courtroom, but then again, this is a country where we have to place “dramatization” disclaimers on flying cars in TV ads so people won’t sue when their new ride won’t fly.

It’s only an added bonus that this story comes from one of the seventeen or so places in North America named after my ancestors.

Authorities to courthouse’s visitors: Leave drugs at home — – chicagotribune.com
BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Visitors to St. Clair County’s courthouse are being put on notice that bringing drugs into the building isn’t a bright idea.

Three people have been arrested at the Belleville courthouse in less than a week after they allegedly were found to be carrying drugs at a security checkpoint.

Sheriff’s officials say bailiff Josh Pea arrested a man Monday who was carrying marijuana in one of his pockets. The man was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Last Wednesday, Pea nabbed a man who swallowed a bag of suspected cocaine he refused to turn over the bailiff. That man was charged with obstructing a peace officer.

The next day, Pea arrested another man at the checkpoint who was also carrying marijuana.

The Marijuana Express Card.  Don’t leave home with it!  And for crying out loud, don’t take it to court with you!  Next week, Damon Stoudamire and Michael Vick explain why marijuana and airports usually don’t mix.

The Associated Press: 75 students arrested in San Diego State University drug bust
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested and six fraternities were suspended after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.

A five-month investigation prompted by a cocaine overdose death last year led to the arrests of 96 people, 75 of them San Diego State students. A second drug death occurred while the investigation went on.

Twenty-nine people were arrested early Tuesday in raids at nine locations including the Theta Chi fraternity, where agents found cocaine, Ecstasy and three guns. Eighteen of them were wanted on warrants for selling to undercover agents.

Two kilograms of cocaine were seized in all, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 in cash, authorities said.

The district attorney’s office said search warrants were served in San Diego and suburban La Mesa, including the Theta Chi fraternity house and several apartments.

A member of Theta Chi sent out a mass text message to his “faithful customers” stating that he and his “associates” would be unable to sell cocaine while they were in Las Vegas over one weekend, according to the DEA. The text promoted a cocaine “sale” and listed the reduced prices.

San Diego State suspended Theta Chi and five other fraternities Tuesday pending a hearing on evidence gathered during the investigation. Members of at least three fraternities were arrested, according to law enforcement.

Investigators infiltrated seven fraternities in the course of the probe.

The undercover probe, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall, was sparked by the cocaine overdose death of a student in May 2007, authorities said. As the investigation continued, another student, from Mesa College, died Feb. 26 of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house, the DEA said.

OK, first of all, anyone who would send out a mass text message advertising to sell cocaine should have his scholarships and grant money revoked and given to a student with with some sense.  Advertising one’s felonies through traceable mass electronic communication doesn’t sound like the work of someone with stellar SATs.

However, are 75 arrests really required here?  As we know, every one of those students, if convicted, will lose all federal student financial aid.  They will have a drug conviction on their records for life as they enter the job marketplace.  Surely, not all 75 of these arrests are for the kingpins of this enterprise.  There was no violence involved.  Isn’t this a bit of overkill?

Nobody wants college kids dying from cocaine overdoses.  One of the reasons we lobby so hard for the end of adult marijuana prohibition is that it removes marijuana from the cohort of really dangerous illegal drugs and provides young people with the safest choice of recreational intoxicant.  It’s sad that two kids died from cocaine, but how many students every year die from alcohol overdoses?  When are the feds initiating a massive undercover probe to root out underaged drinking on campuses?

Just catching up on some of the reports from the March this weekend:

Close to 500 protesters took to the streets [of Calgary, Alberta, Canada] Saturday in favour of marijuana’s medicinal use and making it more accessible to those suffering debilitating pain.

Amid the incense aromas and reggae beats, several hundred Austinites rallied at the Capitol on Saturday for the legalization of marijuana for personal and medical use.

Rolling out at high noon May 3, the Ninth Annual Million Marijuana March smoked through downtown Portland as part of Oregon NORML’s protest of pot prohibition and to support the use of medicinal marijuana through Oregon’s sometimes controversial Medical Marijuana Act.

“These guys are easy compared to the anarchists,” said Sgt. Voepel of the Portland Police Department, “they’re on time, and they’re orderly.”

According to the Sarge, the only rabble rousers during the march were two drunkards who were pestering people but were unconnected to the peaceful pro-pot gatherers. No pot smokers were spotted.

Read the rest of this entry by clicking here

Just stopping in for a second… the March in Portland was fantastic.  Police estimated 750 people marching, and we had three local TV stations covering us, with a different member of the Board of Directors of Oregon NORML (myself on the CBS affiliate) quoted in the report.  They gave us favorable coverage, especially of our announcement of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) for 2010, our initiative to tax and regulate cannabis for adults and sell through Oregon liquor stores.

Audio and video coming soon… but I’m on my way to the after-party concert with Los Marijuanos, Chief Greenbud, and more.

Hollywood gets political with its stoner movies
Pot, stalk and smoking pipe barrels. Devil weed. Mary Jane. Playing twister. Reefer. No matter what you call it, cannabis continues to spark debate in popular culture. More than 70 years into the drug’s prohibition at the hands of U.S. lawmakers, it seems Hollywood is ready to blow smoke in the face of current policy.

The proof can be seen in a new crop of films that don’t just depict glassy-eyed potheads giggling at moronic gags in the tradition of Cheech and Chong, but go much further, suggesting pot as the symbolic cure for personal and cultural oppression.

Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978) was the first film to show rampant pot use without exacting a moral price for all that fun, offering an emotional and cultural antidote to overt anti-drug films such as Reefer Madness.

Around the same time Cheech and Chong started their big screen puffing, the American government banned the word “hemp” from all school text books, insisting any mention of the once powerful hemp industry (predicted to be the No. 1 crop in the U.S. by Popular Mechanics in 1938) would only confuse youngsters who didn’t understand the difference between useful hemp fibre and the combustible of choice among teens.

Read the rest of this entry by clicking here

NORML is pleased to announced that Salient Media is offering NORML supporters and chapters 25% off of its new film, Totally Baked. I watched the movie with friends for 4/20, and I highly recommend it! This movie will be one of your stoner-movie favorites.

Totally Baked is a comedy that focuses on why marijuana should be legalized and features new and exclusive music from Brian Johnson of AC/DC and stars some of the country’s hottest comedians. Additionally, Salient Media will be donating 10% of all direct sales to NORML to help reform marijuana laws.

Anyone interested in purchasing the Totally Baked DVD should enter the promotion code ‘high’ at Salient Media’s website to receive their 25% discount.

NORML is pleased to bring you yet another way to celebrate cannabis culture with Totally Baked during this highly celebrated time of year.

Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA
Pro-pot activists say it’s high time the federal government legalizes marijuana.

And hundreds of those who believe Canadians should have the right to smoke up without fear of being charged took to the streets of Niagara Falls to draw attention to their cause.

“You need to legalize it,” said Marco Renda, one of the demonstrators who took part in what has come to be known as the annual Highway 420 Anti-Prohibition Rally.

“I have no problem with the government regulating it, just like they do alcohol.”

The rally, which was staged for the first time in Niagara Falls about five years ago, began around 3 p.m. on a grassy patch land on Victoria Avenue overlooking Highway 420.

CTV British Columbia- Thousands smoke pot in Vancouver for ‘420′ - CTV News, Shows and Sports — Canadian Television
The smell of pot was in the air as thousands assembled on the lawn of the Vancouver Art Gallery for a collective toke.

It was a grass-roots celebration of the freedom to smoke marijuana on April 20 — known as ‘420′ among pot users as the time to get high.

Amid the tents, the music and, barely seen through the smoke — were messages on signposts by organizers about legalization of marijuana.

At pot rallies, things get hazy at 4:20 : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News
It was a warmer-than-average, sunny day in Boulder on Sunday.

And around 4:20 p.m. on the University of Colorado campus, the sky grew unusually hazy.

Cheers erupted along with a heavy cloud of smoke as an estimated 10,000 people - mostly CU students joined by friends from out of town and some local residents - lit up to celebrate at an annual pot-smoking rally.

Some said they were there to advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Others - including some who came just to watch - said it was all for fun.

“It’s like, why do people drink beer on St. Patrick’s Day?” said a 22-year-old “super senior” who didn’t want to give his name. “It’s a holiday. Like the Fourth of July.”

CU police monitored the gathering, with 15 campus officers and six Boulder County sheriff’s deputies stationed around the perimeter and directing traffic.

According to a news release, the focus was to “maintain a safe environment and discourage potentially hazardous activities.”

No citations were issued and there were no arrests, although there were four medical incidents and two people were transported to local hospitals, the release stated. One person was treated for a seizure, the other for dehydration.

Meadville (Pennsylvania) Tribune - Two arrested at marijuana ’smoke-in’
A marijuana smoke-in at Meadville’s Diamond Park has two teen-agers facing drug-related charges.

Numerous fliers posted all around Meadville had promoted the event for 4:20 p.m. on Sunday and drew about 40 onlookers.

cbs4denver.com - Up To 1,000 Attend Marijuana Rally At Denver’s Civic Center Park
DENVER (AP) ? As many as 1,000 marijuana smokers lit up at Denver’s Civic Center park as police on horses and motorcycles looked on during a nationwide annual celebration of the drug.

Denver police say they arrested only one person during the rally, held on April 20 each year across the country by marijuana revelers.

NORML Founder Keith Stroup was a guest on my XM Satellite radio show today, at exactly 4:20pm Eastern.  You can listen to our interview using the little audio player on my site - but the post won’t be available until Sunday evening, since we must wait until the audio has played on our rebroadcasts on terrestrial stations (if you’re in the Portland area, you can catch the show from 8am-10am on AM 620 KPOJ or listen to their live stream on your computer.

The gist of our conversation revolved around the mainstreaming of the “420″ holiday, as reported on MSNBC:

Capitalist buzz surrounds stoner ‘holiday’ - Life- msnbc.com
A once clandestine counterculture pot-smoking “holiday” observed each April 20 has crossed into the mainstream this year with public gatherings that will attract thousands of participants and marketing campaigns that tout a trio of marijuana-themed movies.

As anti-drug activists chafe, the so-called “420” pronounced “four-twenty” celebrations “are taking on a life of their own,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, who has been working on marijuana issues for 17 years.

Don’t forget about NORML’s 420 MoneyBomb, happening tomorrow.  You can join NORML for the reduced price of $4.20.  It costs money for public-relations campaigns; do something tangible to help end adult marijuana prohibition.

NORML To Hold First Annual 4/20 Moneybomb - Organization’s Facebook Supporters Reach 420,000
NORML is offering supporters the opportunity to join NORML for only $4.20 this Sunday, April 20th, available exclusively at www.420moneybomb.com.

All supporters who take advantage of this celebratory, one-day-only offer will receive a special NORML sticker, Freedom Card, and a one-year NORML membership, which usually costs $35.

“4/20 is a special date when cannabis consumers celebrate marijuana and all of its various unique cultural interpretations and accoutrements,” NORML Outreach Coordinator Ron Fisher said today. “With the introduction of two new federal pro-reform bills, this year’s 4/20 celebrations provide citizens nationwide who support cannabis law reform unique opportunities that NORML strongly encourages them to exercise: join NORML for $4.20 on 4/20, celebrate 4/20 responsibly, and, most importantly, lobby for reforms on 4/21.”

NORML’s 4/20moneybomb, inspired by Representative Ron Paul’s fundraising success in his recent presidential campaign, is only one part of NORML’s online outreach strategy, which includes a daily podcast, NORML’s blog, and popular pages at Facebook and MySpace.

Started only last September, NORML’s Facebook Cause group, the largest group of self-identified cannabis law reform supporters in the world, reached a membership total of 420,000 members Tuesday. “Coincidence? A propitious omen to say the least,” commented NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre.

Federal Decriminalization Bill Introduced — Bill Would End Federal Authority to Arrest Adults for Pot Possession - NORML
US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced legislation in Congress today to strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible adult cannabis consumers. The measure, H.R. 5843, known as an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” is the first federal decriminalization legislation introduced in 24 years.

“It’s time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this [issue],” Frank said. “The notion that you lock people up for smoking marijuana is pretty silly.”

Frank’s pending bill, co-sponsored by presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), seeks to eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana. Under this measure, adults who consume cannabis would no longer face arrest, prison, or even the threat of a civil fine. The bill also eliminates all penalties for the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of pot.

NORML Legal Counsel Keith Stroup, who worked closely with Frank’s staff to draft this legislation, said, “If passed by Congress, this legislation would legalize the possession, use, and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults for the first time since 1937.” The bill incorporates the basic recommendations of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (also known as the Shafer Commission).

Currently, twelve states have enacted various versions of marijuana decriminalization, eliminating criminal penalties for minor pot violations. According to federal data, passage of these laws has not subsequently led to increased marijuana use.

“This newly introduced legislation seeks to bring the federal government into line with the over 100 million Americans who currently live in a state or municipality that has already decriminalized cannabis possession,” NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said today. “This year, the masses in the U.S. celebrating 4/20 really have something to rejoice, and to now lobby for.”

Similar statewide legislation is pending in New Hampshire and Vermont. Additionally, Massachusetts voters will decide on a statewide decriminalization measure this November.

(Washington Post) Two teams of researchers with access to thousands of documents gathered for lawsuits over the painkiller V i o x x allege that Merck waged a campaign of deception to promote its drug, moving slowly to warn of possible hazards while at the same time dressing up in-house studies as the work of independent academic researchers.

V i o x x, whose generic name is rofecoxib, went on the market in 1999. It became a “blockbuster,” with $2.3 billion in sales in 2003, but Merck voluntarily withdrew it in September 2004 after several studies showed that it increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Since then, Merck has been named in 26,500 lawsuits by people who say the drug harmed them. Last fall, the company created a $4.85 billion fund to settle the claims while not admitting that V i o x x caused heart attacks, strokes or deaths.

(Washington Post) Federal regulators suspect that Baxter International’s recalled blood thinner, heparin, was intentionally contaminated to increase profit, the head of the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. Baxter recalled most of its heparin products in February after reports of allergic reactions and deaths. An FDA investigation later uncovered a heparin-like substance in some batches of the drug’s active ingredient, which is made in China.

FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach added that the FDA is not investigating the motive, but would leave that to Chinese officials.

Maybe if our federal government stopped spending so much time and resources fighting the medical marijuana that never killed anyone, they could step up regulation and testing of the pharmaceuticals that are killing people.

(Sorry about the weird spelling of V i o x x. Our servers keep eating the post if I spell it correctly. Must be some sort of spam protection.)

Super High Me | Screenings
Super High Me opens on the West Coast on 4/11 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland at the following fine venues:

Admiral Twin
2347 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116

Cinema 21
616 NW 21st Ave
Portland, OR 97209

Roxie Cinema
3125 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Regent SHOWCASE
614 La Brea Ave.
Hollywood, CA, 90036

NORML is excited to partner with Doug Benson in the Roll Your Own screenings taking place all over the country on 4/20. Take a look at the list to see if there is a screening near you. If not, go ahead and set up your own free screening and invite all your friends.