The federal government is not going to pull back on its efforts to curtail marijuana farming operations, Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Wednesday in Fresno.
The nation’s drug czar, who viewed a foothill marijuana farm on U.S. Forest Service land with state and local officials earlier Wednesday, said the federal government will not support legalizing marijuana.
“Legalization is not in the president’s vocabulary, and it’s not in mine,” he said.
Dictionaries for Drug Czar Kerlikowske - click here to donate online to NORML and we'll remind Director Kerlikowske and President Obama that "legalization" needs to be in their vocabularies.
Kerlikowske said he can understand why legislators are talking about taxing marijuana cultivation to help cash-strapped government agencies in California. But the federal government views marijuana as a harmful and addictive drug, he said.
“Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit,” Kerlikowske said in downtown Fresno while discussing Operation SOS — Save Our Sierra — a multiagency effort to eradicate marijuana in eastern Fresno County.
Officials say the marijuana-eradication operation will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the exact amount won’t be known until agencies can add up staffing, vehicle and other costs.
Stashers RevRayGreen (right) holding tin of federal medical marijuana delivered monthly to George McMahon (left)
It is amazing to make the statement that marijuana has no medicinal value in the state that has hundreds of thousands medical users and thousands of doctors recommending it for medical use for thirteen years. Even more amazing when you know the federal government Kerlikowske works for has patents on the medical use of cannabinoids and continues to deliver tins of marijuana joints for medical purposes to four Americans.
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 11:27 am | By: Radical Russ
To protect and serve? Does this seem like proper police priorities to you?
(KSEE Fresno) Kerman Police removed more than 30 marijuana plants from the home of a couple killed in home invasion robbery Wednesday night. It all began that morning at a home at El Mar Lane and 4th Street in Kerman. Ironically, the home was under surveillance by police when 3 men went inside and allegedly shot and killed a couple in their 60s who lived in the home. Police chased until the suspects car crashed into another vehicle at Golden State and Jensen.
Three people in the car were arrested immediately, but a fourth man ran and was later tracked down and caught.
Kerman police say the home where the couple were killed had been under surveillance for weeks, suspected of being a marijuana grow house. Police were planning on raiding the home when the suspects entered the house.
Neighbors, who identified the couple as Gary and Sandra DeBartolo, were shocked at the couples death, noting that Sandra worked at the nearby Kerman High School.
So the police are watching this home for weeks and watch three guys walk in and murder the occupants? Why do you suppose the guys wanted to invade the home in the first place? Because marijuana is illegal and they can’t buy their own at a store and they can sell what they steal for tens of thousands of dollars.
The County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to begin issuing medicinal marijuana cards before the end of the year. After a 3-1 vote, Fresno County will now become the 41st county in the state to participate in California’s Medical Marijuana Program registry.
The board of supervisors reached the decision, after several discussions, and years of research.
While marijuana use is against federal law, back in 1996 California legislatures passed the Compassionate Use Act which allows patients with a valid doctor’s recommendation, and their designated primary caregivers, to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal medical use.
In 2003, the identification card law was added in hopes of protecting medical-marijuana patients and caregivers from being put under arrest.
The health department believes more than 500 residents will sign up for the card this year.
Kudos to Fresno County for following the will of the people! Â San Diego and San Bernadino continue to fight against the ID card system in the courts under the belief that ID cards violate federal law, despite decisions we’ve had confirming the opposite. Â ID cards will make the system much easier to deal with for both patients and law enforcement.
A Fresno man is in custody today after casino security videotaped him placing a large amount of marijuana on a blackjack table, apparently as his bet. Video shows the man then reclaiming the bag of weed, but then taking just a few buds and placing those out as his bet. Even as casino security scooped up the contraband, the man seems unfazed, because he has ordered a card on the internet that he believes gives him the right to bet weed.
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 7:51 pm | By: Radical Russ
Medical IDs for Marijuana Wait for Ruling – Health – redOrbit
Jul. 9–Fresno County officials want a state appeals court to rule on identification cards for medical marijuana users before deciding whether the county should start distributing them.
The state started asking counties to issue ID cards to medical marijuana users in 2005, nearly a decade after voters approved such use in a statewide initiative.
Forty of the state’s 58 counties issue ID cards, which certify that a doctor has prescribed the drug.
Several medical marijuana users on Tuesday asked Fresno County supervisors to issue the cards. Some of them said they’ve been needlessly detained by law enforcement officials, while others said they fear arrest.
Dawn Nolan of Fresno said she has been using marijuana following a 2002 crash with a drunken driver. Now disabled, Nolan worries about driving home after purchasing marijuana in Tulare County. “I don’t want to see anyone arrested for something they need,” she said.
But Sheriff Margaret Mims asked supervisors to hold off on a decision until the appeals court rules. She said issuing the cards might encourage medical marijuana users to drive under the influence of the drug.
Now that’s an interesting criticism – If you give someone an identification card it will lead to DUIs. Here in Oregon, we have a statewide mandatory registration card system and over 20,000 registered patients. In 1998, when the program started, Oregon had 538 driving fatalities, 233 were alcohol-related. In 2006, those numbers had dropped to 477 driving fatalities, with 177 alcohol-related. In 1998 there were a total of 22,578 DUII arrests in Oregon; in 2005 the number had dropped to 19,521. There are no statistics specifically for DUIMJ that I could find, but if giving 20,000 people medical marijuana ID cards is leading to more DUIIs and deaths, then DUIIs and deaths from alcohol must have dramatically plummeted.
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm | By: Radical Russ
FRESNO, Calif. — The Fresno County Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing on the local implementation of the statewide Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program, 9 a.m., July 8, in the County Board Chambers in the Hall of Records at 2281 Tulare St.
Although 40 California counties have implemented the program – including Merced, Tulare, Inyo and San Benito as well as Los Angeles, Orange and Kern – Fresno has yet to act.
Aaron Smith, California organizer for the Marijuana Policy Project, noted that the program – mandated by a state law that went into effect in 2004 – benefits law enforcement by removing the burden of verifying patient documentation from officers on the street. The ID card provides a means for local peace officers to easily identify bona fide medical marijuana patients during enforcement stops.
“We are merely calling on the Board of Supervisors to follow existing state law so that suffering patients like Diana do not have to live in fear of false arrest at the expense of local taxpayers,” Smith said. “It is the duty of the county’s leaders to protect their most vulnerable citizens and to make the jobs of local law enforcement easier by providing them with all the tools available. This program is a major step in the right direction.”
To help educate the community about this and other medical marijuana issues facing Fresno, MPP will host a free screening of the award-winning medical marijuana documentary “Waiting to Inhale,” followed by a panel discussion, July 7, at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 2672 E. Alluvial Ave., in Clovis.
I’m coming at you from Oregon, where our medical marijuana law requires an ID card for all patients, caregivers (I’m one), and growers. California has mandated that all counties offer an ID card program, but participation in the program is optional.
I guess I don’t understand why Californians would not want a mandatory, statewide ID card system. I hear the complaint, “I don’t want to be on some government list!” Well, do you have a Social Security Number? Then you’re already on a government list!
I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was the first time my caregiver card meant something to me. I was transporting two fairly-bushy four-foot plants to one of our cardholder meetings. They were covered with thin white plastic garbage bags, but with the light streaming through you could make out the silhouette of some fine Oregon cannabis.
I looked into my rearview and there was one of Portland’s finest tailing me. I got that initial adrenaline rush all us stoners get when there is suddenly a cop driving behind you, especially when you’re carrying ounces of ganja. Then I remembered, “Hey, I’ve got a caregiver card. If he pulls be over, I just show him my license, registration, insurance, and caregiver card and I’m driving away scot-free!” The panic subsided. The cop never pulled me over. But that feeling of relief definitely trumps any sort of paranoid thought I ever had about being on some “gub’mint list”.
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Today we visit with Philippe Lucas from the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. He fills us in on their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Health Canada medical marijuana program, and explans the history of Ottawa’s reluctance to get involved with medical marijuana.
Aaron Smith from the Marijuana Policy Project joins us from Fresno, California. He’s promoting a screening of the documentary “Waiting to Inhale” near Fresno in an effort to educate the public and policymakers. Fresno is considering how to adopt the state-mandated ID card system for medical marijuana patients.
The screening is free and hill be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno at 2672 E. Alluvial Ave., Clovis, CA. The date is next Monday, July 7th, at 7pm, and following the screening is a panel discussion.
Also, you get to hear my spiced-up rendition of my ode to the DEA’s 35th birthday today.
So, it’s Canada Day, eh? Enjoy your NORML Daily Audio Stash!
RevRayGreen: MASS TWEET THIS -@ChuckGrassley Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer sadness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
RevRayGreen: @ChuckGrassley http://bit.ly/55Ejsi Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer madness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
SneakerPimp: one last thing Puff puff pass to any one who wants it
SneakerPimp: i wanna here about the imminent MiniSpof sounds like time for some
SneakerPimp: im estatic and excited for NSL today.
SneakerPimp: mountain time wake n bake
SneakerPimp: oh yea also wake n bake
SneakerPimp: its central im high as a kite everybody
SneakerPimp: ill grab that WUD
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
Drug Czar Kerlikowske: “Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit”
Remember, the man is legally required to say these things…
sounds like time for some 
mountain time wake n bake 
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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