The South Gate, Michigan City Council unanimously clarified the smoking ban rules on Tuesday night when it comes to city parks. The city has recently added some designated smoking areas to some parks,  but apparently some confusion over what people might be smoking needed some clarification.

Paul Adams, the director of Parks and Recreation, wants it to be known that designated smoking areas in the parks are for tobacco use only, and not for medicinal marijuana consumers. He told the council before the vote, “We want to make it clear that there are to be no intoxicants in the park, you can’t use drugs or anything that will change your emotional state while at the park”.

The clarification was also suggested from the South Gate police department that the city clarity the rules for those using medical marijuana. Adams said that the police told him they have had to approach some people smoking marijuana in the park, and inform them that medical marijuana was not allowed in city parks. The park has always had a prohibition of consumption of alcohol, narcotics and drugs in the park.

External Links:
http://southgate.patch.com/articles/medicinal-marijuana-clarified-as-banned-from-parks

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1. Protest planned over St. Charles, Missouri, citation of legalization petitioners
2. Polish parliamentarian threatens to smoke pot in Parliament
3. Americans for Safe Access files California medical marijuana regulation language
4. Michigan effort to legalize marijuana underway

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• Melodramus – “Fly Away”

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• Harvard Emeritus Dr. Lester Grinspoon on his friend Carl Sagan, the pharmaceuticalization of medical marijuana, “All use is medical”, and the medical marijuana industry (full interview here)

Last summer, we brought you the story about a  Michigan medical marijuana dispensary and clinic owner whose business was offering free medical marijuana to patients who registered to vote. Shekina Pena, the owner of Your Healthy Choice Clinic in Lansing, Michigan, got into legal trouble when her clinic  offered of a half of a gram of medical marijuana in exchange for registering.

The offer came right before  a vote for city council seats in Lansing where medical marijuana clinics and dispensaries are a hot button issue for city council. They had approved of capping the number of medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits and setting up a $1,000 annual application fee.

At the time, Pena told an NBC affiliate that she was just trying to fight to get the voters to the polls since Lansing has 4 to 5 thousand people in the area that are patients or caregivers. She said that it was her hope that those 4-5 thousand come to the polls and vote for whomever they felt was supporting the efforts for local access for medical marijuana. She said she is definitely encouraging her patients to support the city council members who are supporting the medical marijuana industry.

But then the state’s attorney general, at the prodding of a state senator, said that maybe Pena had crossed the line into criminal territory, trying to “buy votes”. She was charged with violating Michigan election law and charged with a misdemeanor count of trying to influence voters with a “valuable consideration”  - not money in this case, but with the ½ gram of marijuana. She could have received a penalty of 90 days in jail, and a $500 fine.

However, this morning, a jury of her peers decided to acquit Ms. Pena of all charges. The 34 year old owner of Your Healthy Choice Clinic said she wasn’t influencing votes, and her attorney told media that the jury got it right.

The Attorney General Bill Schuette’s spokesperson, had another take on the verdict. He told the Lansing Journal that “something whacky” was going on at that dispensary and that they are looking at the verdict before they decide what to do next.

External Links:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-freemarijuana-vot,0,649852.story

 A quick feel-good story, and a great idea for small NORML chapters, the Ann Arbor Medical Cannabis Guild in Michigan decided to hold a one month food drive that would be coordinated between the nine medical marijuana non-profit collectives that are included in the group.

The Cannabis Guild was organized between the non-profits as a way honor their mission of dedication to helping the community at large. Collectively, they donated 3,000 pounds of canned and non-perishables, far beyond their original goals.

Getting involved in the community has raised awareness of the Cannabis Guild, and the members are hoping that the alliance of medical marijuana non-profits will add more members and head other community projects in the future.

External Links:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/medical-marijuana-community-donates-146-tons-of-food-2012-01-09

Today, a group in Michigan are anxiously waiting for the okay for the Michigan State Secretary so they can get started on the task of collecting signatures to get a legalization effort on the November Ballot. They hope to begin that process this week. The proposed measure would amend the state constitution and would would end the prohibition of marijuana in the state of Michigan. It would also allow the cultivation, use, sale and distribution of cannabis to those over the age of 21.

The coalition of patients and activists call themselves the Committee for a Safer Michigan and say that the medical marijuana law that was passed in the state in 2008 has had too many legal challenges, and the adversarial stance against medical marijuana by the Michigan Attorney General, Bill Schuette, have electrified activists to move towards a legalization effort this year.

In an interview recently, Schuette said the law was full of holes and accused activists who helped pass the 2008 medical marijuana law of purposely making the wording of the law vague. Michigan has 129,500 patients currently enrolled in the medical marijuana program.

Detroit Attorney, Matt Abel, who is working on the amendment drive, said that the abuse and violations by the police and prosecutors of the Michigan Voter approved medical marijuana law had left activists with few options beyond amending the state constitution. He said they must act now, or face years of sorting out the law and creating reform. Marijuana activists in the state have already been practicing collecting signatures; they are also trying for a recall effort against the states Attorney General Bill Schuette. They have until March to collect about 800,000 to place that on the November Ballot as well.

External Links:

https://help.repealtoday.org/

One of the most tragic tales I’ve reported in my time at the Stash Blog is the tale of Rachel Hoffman.  She was a 23-year-old college student in Florida who got caught selling small amounts of pot.  Cops terrified her with threats of prison, but offered her a way out by helping them as a “confidential informant” – a snitch – against two known violent drug dealers.  She was sent on the sting to buy 2 ounces of cocaine (which she never did or sold), 1500 ecstasy pills, and a handgun.  Cops found her shot, execution style, in an empty lot after the dealers got Rachel to go off the sting’s plan and accompany them in their car.  The cops were supposed to be following and watching her the whole time, but they lost the suspects and didn’t find Rachel’s body until 36 hours later.

Unfortunately, the tale of Rachel Hoffman isn’t a singular tale I can file and forget.  Some story like it seems to pop up every six months or so.  Here is the latest, from Detroit, where a teen girl was found murdered, mutilated, and set on fire in retribution for her snitch work, which she agreed to when terrified by police about her inevitable time in prison for smoking pot.

(Detroit News) Shelley Hilliard, 19, a transgender woman, was about to be arrested for possession of marijuana Oct. 20 when police offered a way out, according to testimony during a court hearing Thursday. She could set up a drug deal.

With the police listening on speaker phone, Hilliard used her cellphone to call Qasim Raqib, telling him she had someone (an undercover agent) who wanted to buy $335 worth of cocaine and marijuana, according to testimony during Raqib’s preliminary examination Thursday in 36th District Court.

Of course, Raqib was released shortly after his arrest, as drug dealers often are, since they can afford to make bail.  He then went and bought a burner cell phone and called Hilliard and lured her to meet him.  God only knows why, but she agreed.

She was driven to the site by Robert Mullen, a taxi driver who testified during the hearing that he took Hilliard on all her calls.

During the drive, Hilliard told Mullen she was worried about payback by Raqib for turning him in. Mullen arrived at the dark neighborhood to find three people, but couldn’t identify them.

Soon after dropping Hilliard off, Mullen got a call from her sounding scared, testified Mullen. The phone then sounded like it fell to the ground and went dead, he said.

Newt Gingrich would just say she shouldn’t have done that.

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• Russ Belville on ReThink Reviews on the Young Turks Network

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1. Montana SB423 Referendum officially qualifies for the ballot
2. Phoenix Fire Dept. warns of dangers of home grows
3. Michigan insurers want protection from medmj claims
4. Papa John’s backs pizza guy who narced on legal medical marijuana patients

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• Electric Tuesday: Yourname – “Tired High”

Todd’s Toker Topics

• Stoner Time

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• Drug Czar “Gateway” Gil Kerlikowske uses lies, half-truths, and misdirection to answer Rep. Steve Cohen’s call for marijuana rescheduling

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1. New York City Police Commissioner calls for an end to the “public view” trick by NYPD to bust pot smokers>
2. Houston police officers allegedly ate suspect’s pot brownies, bragged about it on in-car messaging
3. Michigan lawmakers propose a one-year residency requirement to get medical marijuana
4. White House’s “We The People” petitioning system dominated by NORML’s call for legalization of marijuana.

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• Electric Tuesday: Journeyman and BARRcode – “Criminal Minds (Unique 3′s Dubstep Mix)”

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• Marijuana and Employment

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• Serra Frank – Moms for Marijuana International
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1. Boston Freedom Rally goes off without arrests in the Boston Common last Saturday
2. Montana medical marijuana registry numbers down by 15% following new “repeal lite” law
3. Colorado ACLU backs the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol effort
4. Michigan’s Attorney General decides that landlords can outright ban medical marijuana in their properties

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• Roots Monday: Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends – “I Didn’t Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)”

Grassroots Activism

• Kelly Maddy on the upcoming Cannabis Revival in Joplin, Missouri, this Saturday

Radical Rant

• Latest FBI arrest numbers show marijuana is once again the majority of the “War on Drugs”