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Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 2:21 pm | By: Radical Russ
(The Romeo Observer) Members of the Northwest Zero Tolerance Coalition learned that new marijuana laws are leading to strains on law enforcement.
Assistant Prosecutor Bill Dailey of the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office spoke to the coalition about some of the drug use problems he has seen in the county, mainly with medical marijuana.
He said he is concerned it will be more readily available to students due to people owning medical marijuana cards that grow their own plants.
“I think there is going to be more marijuana available to our young people and I think that it’s because there is now a lawful way for it to be out in the stream of commerce,” he said. “The same thing has happened with Vicodin and OxyCotin pills.”
I think if medical marijuana were as toxic, addictive, and laden with side effects as Vicodin and OxyContin, that statement would scare me more. Or if I didn’t know that in the medical marijuana states that have been at it long enough to collect data, fewer teens are using marijuana and their use rates are declining faster than the national average.
“Not to offend anybody, (but) in my opinion, it’s pretty amorphous criteria to get a card,” Dailey said. “There are people I know who have got a card for asthma, which is kind of surprising.”
I don't think Georgine would be offended; I think she'd see it as a teachable moment.
Well, you wouldn’t be surprised if you met Georgine DiMaria or any one of the dozens of medical marijuana patients I’ve met who use cannabis to treat asthma. THC is a bronchodialator – it opens up the breathing passages – and other cannabinoids work as anti-spasmodics.
He said that the offices don’t want to bug people who are lawfully following the program. He said that part of him wonders why the state didn’t just totally legalize it so there could be quality control and regulation instead of the current “middle ground.”
That part of you would be called the “logical” part, Mr. Prosecutor. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that refrain from law enforcement. “Just legalize it,” one cop told me, “either it’s illegal for everybody or it’s legal for everybody, but this in-between some-legal some-not shit is impossible for us to deal with.”
We’re working on it. In the meantime, the way you folks in law enforcement have gone about scaring the hell out of people regarding marijuana for the past seventy years has made it very difficult for us to just legalize it. Only people’s compassion for the desperately sick and disabled people suffering with pain has allowed us even this tiny bit of marijuana regulation for a small subset of its users. So if the slow process from prohibition to regulation temporarily makes your jobs a bit more difficult, excuse me if hundreds of thousands of marijuana patients and twenty million marijuana arrestees don’t shed a tear.
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Part one of Chris Goldstein in medical marijuana debate against Terrence Farley, a former county prosecutor and the now head of the NJ Narcotics Task Force Commanders Association.
Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 11:14 am | By: Radical Russ
(Detroit Free Press) Employers are facing tough issues as they try to navigate the state’s fledgling medical marijuana law, such as the difference between “smoke” and “ingest.”
Or whether company policies on drug testing still apply in a state where 63% of voters approved a new law last fall allowing medical use of marijuana.
One section of the law says a registered user can’t be “subject to arrest, prosecution or penalty in any manner or denied any right or privilege including … disciplinary action by a business … for the medical use of marijuana.”
Another portion of the law says “nothing in this act shall be construed to require an employer to accommodate the ingestion of marijuana in any workplace or any employee working while under the influence of marijuana.”
A third section says no one can possess or use medical marijuana on a school bus or on school grounds, but smoking pot is expressly prohibited only on public transportation or in any public place. It’s unclear… whether it’s OK for a certified user to eat, for example, marijuana-laced brownies in a public place.
Why the hell not? Geez, what do you think happens, the super-potent Not Your Father’s Woodstock Weed™ causes the brownie eater to strip off their clothes and run naked through the park? I can understand an objection to smoking marijuana in a public place where others may not appreciate the smell, but this idea that we need to confine people who use a certain medicine to the shadows is unAmerican and repulsive!
My father is disabled and among the handful of pills he must take every day are some Vicodin, a very addictive, very powerful, potentially fatal drug. Yet nobody is telling my dad he can’t pop open his pill bottle at the public park when it’s time for his medicine. Why would they?
If an employer were to require his employees to be free from the influence of Vicodin while on shift, we could certainly understand that. But would he require that they not take Vicodin once they get off work?
How people who’ve never used marijuana perceive marijuana fascinates me. People who can openly tolerate parking lots at taverns and .08 BAC laws freak out over the idea that a pot smoker might drive a car. People who can accept a Marinol bottle with the warning “until you know how you’ll react to Marinol, don’t drive or operate heavy machinery” implode at the thought of a medical marijuana patient driving a forklift or a school bus. People who make jokes at work about their hangovers or go to work sick loaded on anti-histamines and psuedoephedrine will regale you with the notion that a person who fails a marijuana metabolite pee test is an unsafe worker and a drain on company productivity.
The law seems pretty clear to me: no disciplinary action for using medical marijuana. Accommodating it at work would mean building a smoking tent outside for your cardholders and allowing them to take breaks to medicate on the job; nobody is suggesting that. What we’re suggesting – and the law supports – is that a person cannot be fired, not hired, or punished solely for being a medical marijuana patient. If you drug test them and they test positive for marijuana metabolites, that test simply reveals they are a medical marijuana patient, a status you cannot punish them for. How much clearer could it be? If you catch them with weed on the job site (smokeable or in a brownie), you have a cause for action, but if you just catch them with inactive metabolites in their pee, let them work.
Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 3:13 pm | By: Radical Russ
One of the ways we are growing the NORML grassroots network is by taking the example set by our strong state-level chapters, usually based in state capitals and/or large urban centers, and expanding them to more areas of the state. This process, called sub-chaptering, allows a state-level chapter to create remote outposts of their organization so distant members can meet in a closer location.
The sub-chapters aren’t official NORML chapters like a full-fledged affiliate. Rather, they are just a group of members of the state affiliate who happen to meet in a remote location. As such, they are subject to the bylaws of their state affiliate and given only as much autonomy as the state affiliate grants.
Michigan NORML pioneered this process and now boasts 26 sub-chapters all throughout the state. I’m happy to announce that the second state to take this on, Oregon NORML, has now added three new sub-chapters in Salem, Pendleton, and the North Coast of Oregon. These locations will soon begin holding meetings for Oregon NORML to help medical marijuana patients and support cannabis legalization all across the state as Oregon prepares for a legalization initiative in 2010.
Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 4:43 pm | By: Radical Russ
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) – Grand Valley State University student Derek Copp, shot and injured by a deputy in a marijuana raid, was sentenced Monday to probation, fines and community service.
Ottawa County Circuit Judge Edward Post handed down the sentence five months after the shooting that led to campus protests: 18 months probation, 40 hours of community service and $300 in fines. He also gave Copp permission to leave the state.
Ottawa County Deputy Ryan Huizenga was sentenced to six months probation, $400 in fine and 80 hours of community service after pleading guilty to reckless discharge of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
Huizenga has returned to duty after a stint on paid administrative leave.
Copp, 20, was shot in the chest and seriously injured March 11 when the West Michigan Enforcement Team raided the off-campus apartment he shared with another student.
Copp sold an undercover officer 3.3 grams of marijuana — about one-eighth of an ounce — for $60 shortly before drug officers raided his apartment at 10255 42nd Avenue in Allendale Township.
Huizenga was entering the rear sliding glass door of Copp’s lower-level apartment when he fired the shot. Prosecutors say he mistakenly had his finger on the trigger, instead of the trigger lock, which led to the shooting. Copp was at the door, pulling open the curtain, when the shot was fired.
The lede in this story mentions that this was a “pot bust gone awry”. I disagree. When you are sending armed officers, guns drawn, to arrest people in their homes at night by approaching their back door, there is nothing “awry” about someone getting shot. Why didn’t the original undercover officer arrest Derek for the initial marijuana sale?
Because the cops want to get the bigger bust. Going after that bust gets them bigger headlines, cash and property to seize for profit, and the adrenaline rush of “taking down the bad guys”. They’ve been trained to believe that behind every pot smoker’s door lies a well-armed drug baron ready to go out in a hail of gunfire.
So a cop with an itchy trigger finger shoots an unarmed man in his home and for his efforts he gets a paid vacation and a slap on the wrist. For surviving the gunshot, Derek gets to pay money for legal fees and gets the same slap on the wrist. That’s drug war justice for you.
Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 8:25 am | By: Radical Russ
Detroit, Michigan, July 13, 2009 – On Aug 8th & 9th Southwest Detroit/Corktown will host Michigan’s first major event dedicated solely to medical marijuana. Anchored at the Burst Complex, 2520 22nd Street and spilling over onto several adjacent properties, the Expo will run from 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM on Saturday, August 8th and 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM on Sunday, August 9th. Over 5,000 visitors are expected to attend the MMM Expo 2009. No medical marijuana will be bought, sold or exchanged at this event and there will be no open possession or public use of medical marijuana on the premises. Event details, speakers and online class registration may be found online at: www.mmmexpo2009.com.
MMM Expo 2009 is dedicated to increasing public awareness of Michigan’s medical marijuana law. It is expected to draw a wide range of people including patients, caregivers and various other members of the medical marijuana community. Also, anyone interested in learning more about medical marijuana are welcome to attend.
“Michigan’s Medical Marijuana Act of 2008 passed by an overwhelming majority,” said event organizer Brian Johnson. “The citizens of Michigan supported protecting medical marijuana patients as a general concept. At this event they can learn the specifics of exactly how the whole system works. We want to get information into the hands of people who need it.”
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 5:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
(The Detroit News) Former Michigan State and Lions Charles Rogers talks of getting hooked on prescription pills and admits to a past daily marijuana habit, according to excerpts from an interview for an upcoming segment on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”
“Regularly, regularly, yeah I blew every day,” Rogers tells ESPN and former Detroit Free Press reporter Jemele Hill, answering the question how often he smoked marijuana while in the NFL. “But you know, I was doing something wrong. You can’t smoke in the league, so I was wrong.”
Rogers was a two-time All-Big Ten receiver and an All-American in 2002 for the Spartans before the Lions selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
A much-hyped selection given his local roots and his hefty contract — he signed a six-year, $55 million deal — Rogers, a Saginaw native, caught two touchdown passes in his NFL debut, a 43-24 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7, 2003.
That was the high point of a career that fell hard and fell quickly.
Rogers missed much of his rookie season with a broken collarbone, then suffered a similar injury early in the 2004 season. But the big blow came in 2005, when he was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He returned from the punishment but was mostly ineffective, with nine catches and one touchdown in the season’s final seven games.
Speaking of that third season, then-Lions president Matt Millen tells ESPN’s Hill: “He was average. Something clearly was wrong. He looked like a different guy.”
Gee, Matt, on your 4-12 2005 team, “average” would have been spectacular, wouldn’t it? (And no, I’m not just bitter because one of those four wins was on opening day against reen Bay.)
I hate the headline and tone of this article, which would have you believing that Charles Rogers is a sad case of a talented athlete whose career was ruined by weed. But think about it for a second. Do we think he just started smoking marijuana when he was drafted by Detroit? I doubt it. Instinct tells me he “blew every day” while he was becoming a two-time All-Big-Ten receiver, All-American, and #2 overall NFL draft pick. Then he suffers a broken collarbone – a very painful injury – twice in his first two years in the league. He uses cannabis, I assume, as part of the pain relief and prescription pills for the rest. Then he’s suspended for “substance abuse”, which has to be the weed, because they won’t suspend you for legit prescriptions. So, again I assume, he has to quit the cannabis, but the pain still remains, so he has to keep using the pills, perhaps more of them since cannabis tends to moderate the need for opioids.
I’m betting the mind fog from prescription pills plus the fear of leaping over the middle for the tough catch and getting pegged in that collarbone by Brian Urlacher twice a year would turn anyone into “a different guy”.
Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 3:16 pm | By: Radical Russ
(Detroit News) Warren — Authorities have charged four teens in connection with the beating death of a man Sunday over a $5 bag of marijuana, officials said.
The suspects have been identified as Kevin David Antone, 18, of Warren; Thomas Henry Post, 17, of Roseville; Jacob Steven Androsuk, 17, and Brandon Lee Ebel, 16, both of Warren, officials said.
All four face second-degree murder charges as well as a count of armed robbery and a count of conspiracy to commit robbery in the death of Michael Daniel McCarthy, 46, according to authorities. Second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison.
Police say the group of young men hit McCarthy over the head with a piece of cement, then stomped on him for several minutes, after he refused to hand over a bag of drugs provided by Ebel.
The argument began after Ebel showed up at his father’s home in the 8600 block of Stephens Street to sell his father a baggie of the drug, Dwyer said. McCarthy, a friend of the father, also took a bag.
The teen left, but then returned, angry, with three friends. The teens argued with McCarthy over the $5 bag before beating him and taking off.
The police chief in a statement said, “The loss of any life is tragic, but more often than not acts of extreme violence are the result of this type of criminal behavior involving drugs.” Really? I’ve purchased more than a few “baggies of the drug” and never once experienced any type of criminal behavior.
However, I was never forced to buy a baggie of weed from my friend’s teenage son, either. Did the police chief ever stop to think that a 46-year-old man wouldn’t be buying marijuana from violent criminal teenagers if he could purchase it in a well-lit, secure marijuana store from another adult who checks ID? When’s the last time you heard tell of four teenagers selling a six pack of beer to their old man and a six pack to his friend, then beating the friend to death over a dispute on the transaction?
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 [...]
Radical Russ: Testing, testing, 347-994-1810, chat with "Radical" Russ at the Cannabis Café, private invite for Stashers only!
RevRayGreen: I was like 14/15 back then..old fuckng school sht
RevRayGreen: @MH.....white x's, yellow jackts,BB's.then it became just caffeine pills
SneakerPimp: im diggen yesterdays stash daily toker tunes segment awesome
WakeUpDead: Just got done with yesterdays stash and now the new one is up, very cool.
SneakerPimp: ah fresh stashieness
SneakerPimp: nice pic there mr ruben
Missippi Hippy: black beauties - got 'em by the pharm sealed 1000 in the 80s
Adam: Kieth Stroup told me that he has new book coming out, it will cover the time periods after High in America was published.
Adam: I recommend that you all read High in America: The True Story Behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana.
Read it FREE online HERE
http://tinyurl.com/cxzc3h
slash5city: ah the mid 80's spof ..the summers of 3d weed.... head down to the smoking area at school buy a 2$ pin joint or two from the one dealer then [...]
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
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. […]
Stash for Thu, Nov 19, 2009
reen Bay.)
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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