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?

The Beach Reporter -
A unanimous decision by the Planning Commission to officially ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Redondo Beach will next be recommended for the City Council’s consideration.

The Planning Commission held a public hearing in nearly empty chambers April 17, and with zero members of the public offering input, made quick work of staff’s recommendation to transform a two-year moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries within the city to a permanent prohibition via an amended zoning code.

“This is an issue all South Bay cities have been dealing with,” said Planning Director Randy Berler. “The action was against a dispensary that came in without the city’s approval … at a time when dispensaries were popping up all over. We were one of many cities to impose moratoriums.”

With a looming expiration date, Berler and city staff recommended to the Planning Commission an outright ban of medical marijuana dispensaries and an amendment to the zoning ordinance that specifically reflects that ban. Staff did offer the commission a second option during last Thursday’s meeting, one that would permit but stringently regulate dispensaries within the city, but that alternative was quickly dismissed.

In a 100-plus-page staff report, Berler cited many articles and studies that indicated that where medical marijuana dispensaries were established, the quality of public health, safety and welfare had been compromised.

“There were communities that allowed the dispensaries and were sympathetic to their users, but there were unintended, unforeseen consequences,” Berler said Friday, mentioning for example an increase of crime and outright public use of marijuana within close proximity to the dispensary.

Berler also explained that a prohibition of medical marijuana dispensaries in Redondo was the most “legally defensible” position for the city to take, an opinion shared by City Attorney Mike Webb.

“It’s a difficult situation for a city to be in when you are stuck between federal law and state law,” said Webb.

This is one of those stories that highlights the need for you to get involved in changing our marijuana laws.  There were zero members of the public who showed up to testify in favor of a South Bay-area dispensary.  When we don’t show up, the prohibitionists always win.

We can do something to help fight this at the federal level.  Call Congress at 202-224-3121 and tell them to support Ron Paul’s HR5842, the medical marijuana patients protection bill.  This would tell the federal government “hands-off” the twelve medical marijuana states.  Maybe then the city attorneys in California won’t be so nervous about allowing dispensaries.

MSNBC Articles -Vaune Dillmann thought the wording on his bottle caps was just a clever play on the name of the Northern California town where he brews his beer - Weed.

Federal alcohol regulators thought differently. They have ordered Dillmann to stop selling beer bottles with caps that say “Try Legal Weed.”

While reviewing the proposed label for Dillmann’s latest beer, Lemurian Lager, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau said the message on the caps he has been using for his five current beers amounts to a drug reference.

In a letter explaining its decision, the agency, which regulates the brewing industry, said the wording could “mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage.”

Now who among us who have driven the long stretch of I-5 haven’t stopped for a picture in Weed, California?  In fact, I have a relative who was busted for weed in Weed; it’s apparently not a good place to stop and light up a joint.  For some reason, the police are very watchful for that sort of thing in Weed.  Who could’ve predicted it?

I’m curious about the way we consumers might be misled about the characteristics of alcohol.  It says “Try Legal Weed”?  Do you mean that drinking this will make me more creative, relaxed, happy, and insightful instead of a sloppy smelly sweaty pukey drunk?  If I drink too much, will I binge on Cheetos and suddenly like jam bands?

I’m also amused that we don’t want to put any drug references on a bottle of alcohol.  Because alcohol is like… fruit juice? milk? Gatorade?

Police: Pot-smoking event in UCSC meadow a moral slap in the face” - San Jose Mercury News
SANTA CRUZ — For those who arrest people who use, abuse or sell drugs, Sundays pot-smoking festival at UC Santa Cruz was “a moral slap in the face to the cause,” said Rich Westphal, task force commander with the Santa Cruz County Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Despite efforts by the university to control access to campus, thousands of people, many of them students from UCSC and other California colleges, gathered at Porter Meadow to commemorate the so-called 4/20 cannabis culture holiday.

UCSCs once student-only gathering to smoke marijuana is now known nationally. It has grown to 5,000 people strong over the years, its popularity attributed to articles published in high-profile magazines like Rolling Stone and High Times Magazine — along with newer forms of social media, like YouTube.

Though smoking pot is illegal, no one was arrested at the weed-smoking exhibition that unfolded Sunday.

And that’s because Santa Cruz is one of the cities that has voted to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for police.

As I scan the news reports of 4/20, I’m finding very few arrests and no reports of violence or disruptive, anti-social behavior.  Most police understand that marijuana smokers are not a threat to ordered society.  Ask any cop whether he or she would like to try to control 5,000 marijuana smokers or 5,000 beer drinkers in public.

Like other articles, this one tries to scare the reader by bringing up the two shibboleths still trotted out by drug warriors, “Driving While Stoned” and “What About The Children?”  Concerned citizens called to wonder why police weren’t arresting attendees for DUI as they left the gathering, and some teenagers were able to get into the gathering.

For the former, could it be that most police recognize that a couple puffs on a joint isn’t the biggest traffic danger in the world?  Or perhaps the people who drove away didn’t show any signs of driving impairment?  Until taxicabs and buses are the only vehicles I see entering or leaving bar parking lots, I think our police have far more drunk drivers to worry about than stoned drivers cruising a little too slow, missing their freeway exit, or idling at the In’N'Out drive-thru window.

As for the latter, whether it is alcohol or marijuana, teenagers will get a hold of it.  Marijuana is far less harmful.  But if this were a outdoor microbrew festival, the legality of beer lets security and police set up restricted areas with checks for ID and sometimes ID wristbands.  You don’t see any spontaneous open-air beer festivals popping up nationwide - since it is legal we can do a better job of keeping the minors out.

Boat loaded with marijuana washes ashore off San Diego
An 18-foot boat loaded with marijuana has washed into rocks along the shore in San Diego’s Sunset Cliffs area.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack says the boat was already abandoned when authorities responding to a distress call found it Monday morning.

Mack says the damaged craft capsized and sank before it could be hoisted off the rocks.

And in related news, scuba shops in the Southern California area are reporting a massive increase in sales to stoners looking to take up scuba diving. 

But seriously, once again you can see the great lengths people will go to in a prohibitionist world to get their marijuana.  Boats, trains, trucks, buses, even submarines are being used to bring drugs into America.  Let us grow our own and we’ll never have to waste another Coast Guard minute responding to shipwrecked ganja boats.

‘420’ gathering brings more than a thousand to Redwood Park | The Eureka Reporter
Consuming comestibles from ganja ice cream to hash lollipops — or even hash itself — more than 1,000 people gathered at Redwood Park on Sunday to celebrate “420” — a reference commonly used when referring to marijuana culture.

Along with the sizable crowd, 10 police officers were visible patrolling the scene.

It was something to see, with loud, persistent bongo music louder and camp tents set up alongside beach blankets.

Right around 4:20 p.m., a section of the crowd began to go wild.

A cloud of smoke rose above the heads of a small group, as its members began to smoke a joint that was at least a foot long and as wide as a hearty burrito.

Woman Shot by Off-Duty Officer Had Marijuana, Alcohol in System - FOX6 San Diego
A woman shot by an off-duty San Diego police officer in Oceanside last month had a blood-alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit and also had marijuana in her system, according to search warrants made public Monday.

Oceanside police investigators have determined that a near-collision on Old Grove Road evidently led to the March 15 confrontation during which off- duty San Diego police Officer Franklin White opened fire on 27-year-old Rachel Silva’s car, wounding her and her 8-year-old son.

White and his wife were southbound in their black Mercury sedan when, according to a witness, Silva steered her Honda out of a gas station directly into their path, forcing the officer to swerve sharply to avoid a crash.

White, 28, then continued down the road for a short distance and pulled into a parking lot outside a Lowe’s store, according to Oceanside police investigators.

As he did so, Silva, whose son was seated next to her, reportedly tailgated him, revved her engine and yelled, prompting the 911 call from White’s wife, a Carlsbad police dispatcher, Oceanside police have said.

The off-duty officer stopped his car, and Silva pulled alongside. White responded by displaying a pistol and backing his car away as Silva, in turn, made an emergency call, reporting a man with a gun, according to police.

She then reversed her car, as well, sideswiping White’s in the process. At that point, the officer opened fire through his closed driver’s side window, shattering it, police said.

The first bullet went through the darkly tinted front passenger window of Silva’s vehicle, striking her son in the left leg, and four others pierced her windshield. Two of those slugs struck her in the upper right arm.

Silva and her child both spent about five days in a hospital.

The night of the shooting, Silva was driving on a suspended license and facing a drunken driving charge in connection with a prior arrest. Police ordered her blood taken at the hospital.

So let me get this straight. A drunk woman is driving on a suspended license with her eight-year-old. She whips out of a gas station and nearly hits the car of an off-duty cop. She has a bit of road-rage and follows the cop. Suddenly the cop, who she doesn’t know is a cop, flashes a handgun. Drunk woman panics and tries to escape, sideswipes cops car, so he begins opening fire?

Now, how exactly does the marijuana have anything to do with this? You had me at “twice the legal limit” for alcohol and “suspended license”. Finding marijuana “in her system” just means she smoked pot sometime within the past few weeks; it doesn’t turn her into a road-raging demolition derby driver (that’s the alcohol talking).

As for this cop, if he feels his life is threatened, he absolutely has the right to open fire. But he’s in his closed, parked car and she couldn’t have possibly built up any serious speed pulling away from the man threatening her with a gun. And at that short distance, could the cop not have seen the eight-year-old? Do you think maybe he should have flashed his badge instead of his gun?

Los Angeles Loyolan - Marijuana revisited
LMU’s Division of Student Affairs’ recently released newsletter, “Cannabis Conundrum,” showcases an increased level of drug use on campus, raising issues of social and cultural dimensions behind the use of marijuana.

The newsletter cites marijuana as one of the most used drugs on campus, analyzing its increasing consumption on campus and the reasons why a student would begin using marijuana.

The “Cannabis Conundrum” claims the short-term side effects of marijuana include “impairments in learning, memory, comprehension, concentration, intense anxiety, paranoia and immediate increased risk of heart attack.” The newsletter further states that in the long term, marijuana usage may also cause “psychosis, schizophrenia, and other mental, physical and social problems.”

Once again, we have overzealous college administrators leaping on the reefer madness bandwagon, spouting such nonsense about marijuana leading to psychosis, schizophrenia, amotivational syndromes, and heart attacks.  (For a minute, I thought Loyola Marymount must be in the UK!)

However, it is refreshing to read that many of the students at Loyola are better informed about the facts regarding marijuana use and enforcement than are the administrators trying to protect them from the “devil weed”.

One student remarked, “To say marijuana causes schizophrenia is ridiculous. It’s a latent psychological disorder and smoking more weed does not make you more likely to experience it.”

Another student observed, “It makes no sense to me that a girl coming home from a party who throws up into a bush has nothing to worry about, while a kid sitting in his dorm with a bong and a towel under the door gets hunted down like a criminal.”

Regarding so-called amotivation, another student said, “I believe in the power of self-determination. I feel like some people have the ability to make [marijuana] part of their lives and others don’t.”

The pamphlet tries to scare students by showing an graph of the increase in marijuana busts on campus alongside a decrease in overall GPA during the same four year stretch.  Even one of the faculty weighed in on that argument, saying, “I don’t feel like [the graph] is reflective of an increasing use of pot on campus; rather, I feel like it’s reflective of enforcement being increased.”

The only conundrum about cannabis on campus is why we continue to steer our young people toward socializing and relaxing with alcohol and not cannabis, which is proven to be far safer.

Triplicate.com
Citizens packed the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors chambers Tuesday, spilling into the hallways waiting for their chance to speak on a proposal to greatly reduce the amount of medical marijuana people can grow and possess.

Today, the county’s medical marijuana guidelines allow a person to cultivate up to 99 plants in a 100-square-foot area and possess up to 1 pound of processed pot. The county wants to reduce these numbers to six mature plants and 4 ounces.

Del Norte County’s attorney, Dohn Henion, said the county cannot set limits on medical marijuana possession that are less than what the state allows, which is six mature plants and 8 ounces.

One of those afforded the opportunity to speak was Doug McCarty, who helped come up with Del Norte County’s original plant count and possession limits.

He said the 99-plant and 100-square-foot rule was designed following scientific guidelines for plant yield. The amount of marijuana produced by six plants would not be enough, he said, and might cause people, such as himself, to seek their medication elsewhere.

“This would force me to get my medication from the streets,” McCarty said, something he does not want to do.

A cannabis consultant and expert witness hired by local medical marijuana advocates, Jason Browne, echoed McCarty’s statements.

“The current system you have right now is scientifically based,” Browne said. “The number of plants to determine yield is irrelevant. It’s the size of the canopy.”

Pot yield is directly correlated to canopy size, he said, and with six plants, patients might not be able to grow enough marijuana to sustain themselves.

Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson said the number of illegal marijuana grows in the county is increasing, and the temptation to abuse the medical marijuana laws is there because of the street value of weed.

As the debate continued, one woman said she exemplifies the reason medical marijuana was legalized by California.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she said her condition continues to get worse.

The cost of electricity hinders her from growing marijuana year-round, she said, which is what she would have to do if the plant count was lowered.

I know many people around the country would be thrilled with six plants and four ounces. To the uninitiated, 100 square feet of 99 marijuana plants sounds incredible. But as the patient in this piece points out, that may be the one outdoor grow she is able to afford for the year.

Law enforcement always claims that higher limits lead to corruption and street dealing, and I don’t doubt that a tiny few will abuse any regulatory system. However, in my experience with Oregon’s 24 plant, 24 ounce limits, I’ve found that the more people grow, the more they share. Fewer people will need the street dealer. Higher limits help remove the medical marijuana patients from the dealer’s customer base.

Of course, if the county sheriff were really concerned about the high prices of street marijuana tempting medical marijuana patients to sell their crop, then he should be joining LEAP and supporting the end of adult marijuana prohibition. So long as there is illegal “street” marijuana and semi-legal “medical” marijuana, there will always be the corrupting influence of prohibition profits tainting the medical marijuana programs.  You cannot have a black market run alongside a white market without both becoming a little grayer.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008, Tucson, AZ. Toward a Science of Consciousness 2008, at the Tucson Convention Center, Tucson AZ. The eighth biennial Tucson conference continues an interdisciplinary tradition of intense, far-ranging and rigorous discussions on all approaches to the fundamental issue of how the brain produces conscious experience. An estimated 800 attendees from 6 continents will participate in 400 presentations included in 21 Pre-Conference Workshops, 12 Plenary sessions, 21 Concurrent Talk sessions, 2 Poster Sessions and, for the first time, an interactive Art and Technology of Consciousness Exhibit. For more info, see http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/tucson2008.htm

Friday, April 11, Portland, OR. - A double showing of the documentary film, Dispensing Cannabis: The California Story will be held at the Studio 6 Theater beginning promptly at 7pm and again at 10pm. In this hour-long documentary, voices from inside discuss practices and issues involved in distributing medical cannabis. Of the twelve states in 2006 that permit medical cannabis use, California is the only state that allows for the distribution of the medicine. How and where do people get their medicine? How does one insure that their medicine is clean, safe and is sufficient quality? Tours of five cannabis dispensary models provide an unprecedented look into this quasi-legal business. Doctors, lawyers, law enforcement, patients and caregivers share their perspectives and concerns.

Sunday, April 13, 2008, Los Angeles, CA. Medical Marijuana Comedy Show ExtravaGANJA at the Comedy Store (Main Room), 8433 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. This show will feature the comedic talents FreddyLockhart, Ngaio, Darwin Hines, Tere Joyce, Tasty Jeff (Jeff Richards of SNL fame) and more! There is also rumor of an appearance by Russell Peters himself. Meet Jack Herer, author of ‘The Emperor Wears No Clothes’ and help him with the California Hemp & Health Initiative 2008. Meet Richard Eastman and support the L.A. County Medical Marijuana Exposition & Patients’ Festival. Show time is 8:30 pm. Doors open at 8:00 pm. Tickets are only $20 w/ a $5 discount for members of compassion clubs. Additional details at HowardDover.com. This is a 21+ event with a 2 drink minimum.

Medical high jinks leave Tom Cruise camp fuming
Tom Cruise isn’t getting any giggles from a new strain of medical marijuana being marketed as “Tom Cruise Purple.”

Word is that the actor’s lawyers are taking a serious look at the strong brand of bud after we brought it to their attention.

One of Cruise’s friends found it “outrageous” that licensed cannabis clubs in Northern California are selling vials of pot featuring a picture of Cruise laughing hysterically.

Like other followers of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, Cruise is opposed to the use of psychotropic drugs.

Staffers at several California clinics we called said they were forbidden to discuss any of the herbal varieties in their “inventory.”

But one weed devotee said, “I heard it’s the kind of pot that makes you hallucinate.”

Tom Cruise Purple, huh? Does it make you jump on a couch and sing in your underwear? Now Tom’s been on a rampage against modern psychiatry and an over-reliance on psychotropic prescriptions; I can even agree with him on that point to an extent. But you’d think someone who is so against the modern pharmaceuticals could at least see the benefit in natural herbal remedies. We’re on the same side on this one, Tom, you just don’t know it yet.

Panel rejects drug testing for welfare recipients | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
A state Assembly committee on Tuesday turned down a bill inspired by a Riverside County teen as part of a contest.

“R.J.’s Law,” which Riverside high school sophomore R.J. Feild pitched to Assemblyman John J. Benoit, would have required state welfare recipients do undergo random drug testing.

Feild was born 2 pounds, 2 ounces, and was addicted to heroin with traces of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in his system. He also suffers from spastic triplegic cerebral palsy.

His biological mother used drugs while pregnant with him and collected state funding.

“By defeating R.J.’s Law, Assembly Democrats signaled their acceptance of the status quo, a welfare system that enables drug addicts with taxpayer money,” Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, said in a news release.

“R.J.’s Law would have dramatically reformed this system of dependency and would have prevented many children from being born with the traumatic consequences that R.J. has had to suffer. I am proud of R.J. for sharing his testimonial to thousands who heard his story and it’s my hope that other state legislatures around the nation will take up this issue.”

And so what would be the punishment for the mother on welfare who tests positive for drugs?  The end of her welfare check?  Why, that should make her stop doing drugs!  Nothing works better on a heroin addict than taking away their income, right?  No way would any landlord kick a  pregnant heroin addict out on the streets if she couldn’t make rent because she had no welfare check.  She’s certain to get all sorts of great pre-natal care while she’s homeless, rummaging through garbage for food and committing crimes to get a fix.

All that a law like this would do is put the children of addicts at even greater risk.  It is sad that some people get hooked on heroin, but drug testing everyone who needs financial assistance seems a bit drastic.  Just because you’re down on your luck doesn’t mean that you use drugs.

Monday & Tuesday, March 31 - April 1, 2008, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Rethinking Treatment: Recognizing and Responding to the Spectrum of Substance Use, at Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC. For more info & to register, see www.keepingthedooropen.com, or contact Dave Peterson at dave@devonknight.com or 604-677-2759.

Thursday, April 3, 2008, New York City, NY.  Drop the Rock Coalition Meeting - Ending New York’s draconian Rockefeller drug laws, at the Correctional Association of New York, 2090 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., Suite 200 (@ 125 th Street), NYC.  For more info, call Caitlin Dunklee at 212-254-5700 x339 or email cdunklee@correctionalassociation.org.

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, April 3-5, 2008, Pacific Grove, CA. The Fifth Annual Clinical Conference On Cannabis Therapeutics: Re-Entering Mainstream Medicine. At the Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA. Hosted by Patients Out Of Time. For more info & to register, see www.medicalcannabis.com/

If you have events you’d like to hear featured on our NORML Daily Audio Stash Reformer’s Calendar, just send me an email with all of the relevant details.  Set the subject line to “Events” and email it to stash@norml.org.

NORML Blog » Blog Archive » NORML’s Weekly Legislative Round Up
NEBRASKA: In a major victory for pot-law reformers, Legislative Bill 844 – which sought to recriminalize minor marijuana possession offenses in Nebraska — has been amended. Under current state law, first-time marijuana possession offenses are punishable by a non-criminal citation and a $100 fine. As introduced, LB 844 sought to impose a sentence of up to 90 days in jail for first-time marijuana offenders. As amended, the proposal would increase the maximum fine for pot possession to $300, but would not impose criminal sanctions. The bill now awaits action from full legislature.

CALIFORNIA: California’s Dale Gieringer submitted written testimony opposing Assembly Bill 2389, which seeks to require drug testing for recipients of certain state benefits or cash assistance. Gieringer will testify before the Committee on Human Services in opposition to the proposal at a legislative hearing on Tuesday, April 1. Gieringer will also testify at an upcoming hearing in support of AB 2279, which seeks to end state employment discrimination against qualified medical cannabis patients.

HAWAII: The House Judiciary this week passed an amended resolution (HCR 49) that seeks to allow for state-qualified farmers to provide medical cannabis to authorized patients. The Senate Judiciary is expected to vote imminently on a separate measure, House Bill 2675, which seeks to establish a legislative task force to study issues pertaining to the legal supply of medical marijuana for authorized patients.

And finally, in non-state related legislative news, several newspaper columnists and editorial boards this week have endorsed Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank’s pending legislation to strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible cannabis consumers.

Oakland pot candy maker pleads guilty
The owner of an Oakland factory that produced marijuana candy with names like Buddafinga and Mr. Greenbud has pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana.

Michael Martin, 33, of El Sobrante entered a guilty plea at a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 2 by Judge Claudia Wilken.

Martin is the owner of Tainted Inc., which started as a boutique business that made chocolate truffles and grew into a large marijuana-candy maker that bought chocolate by the ton, authorities said.

When the federal government charged Tainted Inc.’s owner and employees in September, authorities said the company supplied the marijuana-laced candies to cannabis clubs in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, British Columbia and Amsterdam.

Before surrendering to face the charges in October, Martin blasted the U.S. government for what he called an unfair attack by federal bullies on ailing patients who rely on medical marijuana.

Martin said he joined the medical-marijuana movement after seeing his father die painfully of prostate cancer in 2002 after a 10-year battle. His father refused to use marijuana because of a federal ban on all types of the drug. Martin said he uses medical marijuana to ease pain after a fall left him with seven screws and a steel plate in his left heel. He said he also has degenerative cartilage in his right knee.

The DEA loves to go after manufacturers of marijuana edibles. Note that Tainted Inc., was only distributing to places where medical marijuana is legal under state law (California, Washington) or federal law (Canada), or the country where recreational use of marijuana is tolerated in coffeeshops (the Netherlands). But to the DEA, this is a big headline where they can show pictures of marijuana and guns and cash on the evening news along with a story about pot being made into candy. The intended inference is that the dreaded pot dealers are coming to hook your kids with pot candy, which ignores the fact that at every location where these candies are sold, one’s ID is checked for age 18 or above and in the medical dispensaries, a doctor’s recommendation is also checked.

MyFox Los Angeles | Citizens Learning about Being a DEA Agent
The Drug Enforcement Administration wants people to know exactly what it’s like to do some of the dangerous work that agents do every day… so the DEA started the “Citizens Academy” program.

You’ve really got to click the link and watch the short video.  It features one of those “shooter simulations” that police use for testing.  Various encounters are role played with the subject either shooting or not shooting at targets that represent dangerous criminals and innocent bystanders.  It’s a bit scary when one of the reporters guns down one of the innocents and the drug warrior laughs about what bad headlines that will produce.  Ha ha ha, innocent person gunned down by heavily armed police trying to stop weed smoking.  Very funny.

Medical Marijuana Activists Get 5 Years Each - KCRA 3 News Story - KQCA Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An El Dorado County couple were sentenced to five years in federal prison Wednesday for growing and selling marijuana, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.

Dr. Marion “Mollie” Fry, and her husband, Dale Schafer, were convicted in August.

Fry and Schafer were charged with growing and selling in their hometown of Cool.

They claim they were acting under state law.

Schafer said his wife was targeted by the federal government after she prescribed marijuana to patients under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

Fry, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, said she used marijuana to treat the side effects that were a result of her chemotherapy sessions.

Keep in mind that during these federal trials, defendants are forbidden from even saying the words “medical marijuana”.  They are not allowed to present the evidence of their medical needs, their patients’ medical needs, or the fact that they were dutifully following the laws of California.  This is a travesty of justice.

Call your California State representatives now and urge their support for the following bills:

SJR 20: A resolution authored by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) that calls for an end to the DEA raids in California, the resolution also denounces the federal government’s recent tactic of threatening to seize the property of landlords who rent to medical marijuana facilities. Further, SJR 20 urges Congress and the President to enact federal legislation that would protect medical marijuana patients and providers from arrest and prosecution.

SB 1098: A bill authored by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) that provides tax-amnesty to medical marijuana dispensing collectives for the period prior to October 2005, when the state was not accepting sales tax payments, making it impossible for dispensaries to pay.

AB 2743: A bill authored by Asm. Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) that directs state and local law enforcement agencies to not cooperate with the DEA or other federal law enforcement agencies in their attack on sick and dying medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

AB 2279: A bill co-authored by Asms. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), and sponsored by Americans for Safe Access, prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees and applicants for employment based solely on their use of medical marijuana while away from work.

If you have news and events you’d like mentioned on our Monday Reformer’s Calendar, send your press release by email to stash ‘at’ norml.org.

Tuesday, March 18 - NEW HAMPSHIRE: On Tuesday, March 18, the House of Representatives will vote on House Bill 1623, which seeks to decriminalize marijuana possession. If you have not already done so, please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote “yes” on HB 1623. Also, if you reside near the New Hampshire State House, you may wish to meet up with other local activists on Tuesday morning to watch the proceedings and show your support for sensible marijuana law reform.

Tuesday, March 18 - CALIFORNIA: Volunteers needed for Drug War Awareness Event at the Santa Clara University School of Law in San Jose, California. From 12pm-1pm, Judge Jim Gray is going to speak on behalf of LEAP. In addition to the speaker event, there will be various reform organizations tabling outside between the law library and one of the main campus buildings. You can help by volunteering to table at the event! If you can help out anytime from 10am-4pm, please contact Lauren Vasquez at lvazquez821 ‘at’ yahoo.com.

Friday, March 21 - MICHIGAN: Michigan’s Oakland County NORML is holding an online fundraiser from March 21st through March 30th for Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, otherwise known as the BC 3. A group activists and businesses have come together to match your donation dollar for dollar, currently up to $500. We are working on more matching sponsorships to push that amount even higher. For more information check out our website at: www.oaklandnorml.org

This announcement just in from the Drug Policy Alliance:

I am excited to announce that the Drug Policy Alliance Network (DPA’s lobbying arm) is sponsoring a ballot measure in California that represents the biggest sentencing and prison reform in United States history.

The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) is unprecedented in scope and magnitude. It will transform California’s dysfunctional, $10-billion-a-year prison system, reversing its rampant and costly expansion. NORA will, within just a few years, reduce by tens of thousands the number of people unjustly and unnecessarily incarcerated, while maintaining public safety. At the same time, it will provide a comprehensive model for a public health approach to substance use.

Success in California will transform the drug policy reform landscape nationwide!

At a time when one in 100 adult Americans is in prison, California faces a prison overcrowding crisis that may be the worst in the nation. The system is at 175% of capacity. This is due in large part to excessive incarceration of nonviolent offenders, many of whom are drug law violators. Overcrowding has been exacerbated by the state’s failure to provide meaningful recidivism-reduction programs, including addiction treatment and other rehabilitation services.

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