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Alaska Just Became the First Red State to Legalize Marijuana

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Photo Credit: WNDOn Tuesday, Alaska became the first red state to legally allow the possession, gifting, and growing of marijuana.

The legal change comes after Alaska voters in November approved a ballot initiative that fully legalized marijuana in the northernmost state. Alaska is the third state to legalize the drug after Colorado and Washington. Oregon and Washington, DC, will follow later this year.

As of Tuesday, Alaska’s Ballot Measure 2 lets adults 21 and older possess up to one ounce of pot, maintain six marijuana plants, and gift and transport the drug. Smoking in public remains prohibited.

The measure will eventually allow for the commercial production and sales of marijuana. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, or a Marijuana Control Board if one is created, will regulate commercial production and sales. These rules must be finalized by November 24. The board must then begin accepting and processing applications for marijuana businesses by February 24, 2016. Sales are expected to begin sometime after.

Although the measure makes Alaska unique among Republican-controlled states, it’s well within a fiercely independent and libertarian streak that has at times put the state’s residents and courts at odds with its political leaders. (Read more about Alaska being the first red state to legalize marijuana HERE)

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Chris Kyle’s Killer’s Home was Full of Pot and Drugs to Treat Schizophrenia

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By Washington Times. Authorities searching the home of the man suspected of killing “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle found marijuana, a nearly empty bottle of whiskey and a drug commonly used to treat schizophrenia.

A Texas Ranger testified Friday at Eddie Ray Routh’s murder trial that authorities found the items in the hours after the bodies of Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were found at a rural shooting range.

Routh’s attorneys have been pursuing an insanity defense, saying the ex-Marine was suffering from mental illness. The prosecution says Routh was numbed by marijuana and whiskey at the time of the shootings and should be held accountable. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Strong Cannabis Use Causes One in Four Cases of Psychosis

By Daily Mail Reporter. As many as a quarter of new cases of psychotic mental illness can be blamed on super-strength strains of cannabis, scientists will warn this week.

The potent form of the drug – known as ‘skunk’ – is so powerful that users are three times more likely to have a psychotic episode than those who have never tried it.

The study, leaked to The Mail on Sunday, will reignite debate around Britain’s drug laws – and will add weight to calls for a tougher stance towards those caught dealing or in possession of cannabis.

According to Crime Survey figures for England and Wales, more than a million youngsters aged 16 to 24 smoke cannabis. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Marijuana Use Among Adults Increasingly Climbing in Colorado and Washington

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Photo Credit: M.Scott Mahaskey / POLITICO

Photo Credit: M.Scott Mahaskey / POLITICO

Colorado and Washington, the first states to legalize pot, have seen a spike in marijuana use among adults while the rate among teenagers has remained flat, according to two studies.

The results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) showed that, between 2012 and 2013, people 26 and older were smoking more pot in those states. But the figures also revealed only a very slight uptick in marijuana use by children aged 12-17, according to The Washington Post.

The findings were backed up by a more recent study of pot use by the federal government’s Monitoring the Future survey.

The Post pointed out that the NSDUH survey was taken when Colorado and Washington had legalized pot use but had not yet implemented any marijuana markets, which started earlier this year.

Officials can expect the rates to climb even higher when the surveys will reflect the sales in legalized pot shops, according to the newspaper, which noted that the rate of marijuana use has also increased by “significant amounts” in Maine, Georgia, Maryland and Missouri. (Read more from this story HERE)

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After Legalization, Now 1 out of 8 Coloradoans Smoke Pot Regularly

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By John Ingold. As marijuana legalization took hold in Colorado, the estimated percentage of regular cannabis users in the state jumped to the second-highest level in the country, according to new federal data.

When asked, roughly one out of every eight Colorado residents over the age of 12 reported using marijuana in the previous month. Only Rhode Island topped Colorado in the percentage of residents who reported using marijuana as frequently.

The results come from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and represent the average of estimates gathered in 2012 and 2013.

The numbers are among the first measurements of marijuana use in Colorado to be released after it became legal in late 2012 for people over 21 to use and possess marijuana in the state. But because they do not include data from this year, the numbers aren’t able to answer the question experts have watched Colorado closely for: How will widespread commercial sales of marijuana impact use? (Read more on the people who smoke pot regularly HERE)

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Shelters Cite Legal Pot as Part of Denver’s Rise of Homelessness

By AP. DENVER (AP) — Chris Easterling was sick of relying on drug dealers in Minneapolis when he needed marijuana to help ease the pain of multiple sclerosis. They were flaky, often leaving the homeless man without the drug when he needed relief the most.

So he moved to Denver, where legal pot dispensaries are plentiful and accessible.

Easterling is among a growing number of homeless people who have recently come to Colorado seeking its legal marijuana, and who now remain in the state and occupy beds in shelters, according to service providers.

While no state agency records how many homeless people were drawn by legal weed, officials at homeless centers say the influx they are seeing is straining their ability to meet the needs of the increasing population.

“The older ones are coming for medical (marijuana), the younger ones are coming just because it’s legal,” said Brett Van Sickle, director of Denver’s Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter, which has more than doubled its staff to accommodate the increase. (Read more from this story HERE)

78 Year-Old Mystery Man's Stop in Junction City, Kansas Leads to $15 Million Cash, Hundreds of Pounds of Pot

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78 Year Old Pot Bust DefendantWhen police in Junction City, Kansas, stopped a beat-up pickup truck for speeding in June 2013, the driver got a lot more than a traffic ticket: The stop led authorities to Massachusetts and Arizona, where they said they found about $15 million in cash, almost 400 pounds of marijuana and ledgers detailing drug deals going back to 1992.

The driver, Marshall Dion, told police he was a retiree from Tucson who was living off his $690-per-month Social Security check. He also said he had left his drug-dealing days behind, but federal authorities say he was still going strong at age 78 as a key player in a large marijuana operation. In his truck, police found $828,220 in cash. . .

Much of Dion’s life is a mystery. Public records show he has lived in Boston; Portland, Maine; Grand Junction, Colorado; and Tucson, Arizona. He told police who stopped him in Kansas that he was headed home to Tucson from Pennsylvania, where he had met with his accountant.

Dion, now 79, appeared to live frugally, despite the millions authorities found and two homes he owned in Arizona. When he was stopped in Kansas, he was driving a 2002 GMC Sierra with an old refrigerator and other junk in the truck bed. . .

In 1985, Dion crashed a single-engine plane he was piloting in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and Dion broke both his ankles. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, he was crawling along a muddy field as bills floated in the air, said Cathy Baxter, then a deputy sheriff. ‘‘This guy didn’t even admit there was any money on the plane. He said, ‘That’s not my money. I don’t know where that money came from,’’’ Baxter said.

Read more from this story HERE.

UN Official Rips US States Over Legal Pot Policies

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Photo Credit: Reuters

Photo Credit: Reuters

By Fox News.

A Russian diplomat who heads the United Nations’ drug policy office reportedly chided U.S. states for legalizing recreational marijuana and vowed to take up his concerns with officials in Washington — in the latest incident of a U.N. official meddling in local U.S. affairs.

In response, one American advocacy group suggested the U.N. agency has no authority here, and has outlived its usefulness.

Yury Fedotov, director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, addressed the ballot measures on Wednesday, on the heels of last week’s midterm elections. Last Tuesday, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., voters approved measures allowing marijuana use – following the pot path blazed by Colorado and Washington state.

But according to Reuters, Fedotov told reporters that the moves defy international drug “conventions.”

“I don’t see how [the laws] can be compatible with existing conventions,” he reportedly said, claiming he would take it up with State Department and U.N. officials next week.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: M.Scott Mahaskey / POLITICO

Photo Credit: M.Scott Mahaskey / POLITICO

Marijuana Patient Sues After Firm Won’t Hire Her

By MICHELLE R. SMITH.

A graduate student has sued a textile company for refusing to hire her for a two-month internship because she uses medical marijuana to treat frequent and debilitating migraine headaches, a decision her lawyer calls discrimination.

Christine Callaghan, who is studying textiles at the University of Rhode Island, sued Westerly-based Darlington Fabrics Corp. and its parent, the Moore Company, on Wednesday. The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Callaghan, said it believes it’s the first lawsuit of its kind in the state.

A lawyer for the company, Timothy Cavazza, said it had not yet been served with the lawsuit and it was company policy not to comment on litigation. He added that they were confident they acted in compliance with state and federal law and that the lawsuit would be dismissed.

Carly Iafrate, the attorney who filed the lawsuit for Callaghan, said if employers are allowed to discriminate against medical marijuana patients, then its legalization would become “an empty promise.”

“People with disabilities simply cannot be denied equal employment opportunities on the basis of the type of medication required to treat their particular condition,” she said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Colorado Residents Get A "Marijuana Tax" Refund

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Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

Thanks to TABOR, Colorado’s taxpayer bill-of-rights law, tax revenue that comes in over a certain threshold is mandated to be returned to the taxpayers. Colorado is expecting excess revenue this year, as Governor John Hickenlooper has said, and a rebate will be in order.

Why? Well, partly because taxes raised from the sale of marijuana have fueled the government’s coffers above and beyond what had been expected:

Gov. John Hickenlooper’s proposed $26.8 billion Colorado budget, unveiled Monday afternoon, includes two rebates for taxpayers.

Read more from this story HERE.

Halloweed? Police Warn of Pot-Spiked Candy (+video)

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Photo Credit: REUTERSThe Facebook page of the Denver Police Department is warning that mass-produced candy can by sprayed with hash oil, and once the spray dries, there is no way to tell that the candy has been infused.

The station reported that the Denver PD Facebook page features Patrick Johnson, owner of marijuana shop Urban Dispensary. In the film, Johnson urges parents to inspect any candy their children bring home after trick-or-treating on Halloween to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with.

Read more from this story HERE.

The Terrible Truth about Marijuana: Expert's Devastating 20-Year Study Finally Demolishes Claims that Smoking Pot is Harmless

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Photo Credit: AlamyBy Ben Spencer.

A definitive 20-year study into the effects of long-term cannabis use has demolished the argument that the drug is safe.

Cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs, the study found.

The paper by Professor Wayne Hall, a drugs advisor to the World Health Organisation, builds a compelling case against those who deny the devastation cannabis wreaks on the brain. Professor Hall found:

Last night Professor Hall, a professor of addiction policy at King’s College London, dismissed the views of those who say that cannabis is harmless.

‘If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin or alcohol,’ he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Marijuana-smoking Mountie found dead

By Yahoo News. A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer [Corporal Ronald Francis] with a medical marijuana prescription for job-related stress has died of an apparent suicide after provoking a nationwide debate over his smoking in uniform…

Francis had smoked medical-grade marijuana to relieve post-traumatic stress related to 21 years on the job…

Francis’s struggles came to light in video footage of him smoking cannabis in his RCMP red serge uniform.

“I get up in the morning, have my coffee and the marijuana. I go at lunchtime, have a marijuana joint, and then again in the evening. That would be my medical regime,” he had told public broadcaster CBC…

Later he was charged with [and pled guilty to] assaulting two fellow officers and breaching an undertaking to not possess or consume alcohol and non-prescription drugs.

Read more from this story HERE.
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More people hospitalized by bad batch of synthetic marijuana

By Ryan Hughes.

A bad batch of synthetic marijuana continues to put people in Berks County in the hospital. The emergency department at Reading Hospital is still flooded with patients overdosing and getting sick on a bad batch of K2.

Hospital officials told 69 News they have seen 25 additional cases related to K2 in the last seven days. That’s now 55 total emergency department visits over the last three weeks.

“I’d like to see it gone and I’ll do anything in my power to help get rid of it,” said Felicia Harrell, who has several friends who overdosed on K2 and landed in the hospital.

The drug is cheap and easily accessible. Harrell said a big source is coming from Reading.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Television Reporter Quits On Air to Promote Medical Marijuana Business

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Photo Credit: YouTubeAfter reporting on the Alaska Cannabis Club on Sunday night’s broadcast, KTVA’s Charlo Greene identified herself as the business’s owner.

“Everything you’ve heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all my energy toward fighting for freedom and for fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska,” she said. She then used an expletive to quit her job and walked off-camera.

In a statement on KTVA’s website, news director Bert Rudman apologized for Greene’s “inappropriate language” and said she was terminated.

Greene is the professional name used by Charlene Egbe. She told The Associated Press on Monday that she knew about a month ago that she would be leaving the way she did. No one else at the station knew anything about it, she said.

Read more from this story HERE.