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Marijuana: A failure to regulate, but not by dispensaries
There is a false assumption that medical marijuana regulation does not exist in Los Angeles
Amanda Reiman, lecturer at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare and policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance.Los Angeles Times (US)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Times' Sept. 27 editorial, "In a haze on pot policy," says, "In the face of this chaos, the federal crackdown is, to some, good news -- finally, definitive action is being taken to stem the uncontrollable expansion of medical marijuana franchises.” The federal crackdown in L.A. is thought to be in reaction to a void of attempted regulation. But while the city itself may have run into barriers to the regulation of medical marijuana, the industry has been working to ensure community safety and patient access. -
L.A. repeals its ban on pot stores
The 11-2 vote to rescind the measure approved in July leaves the city with no law regulating about 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries
Los Angeles Times (US)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
After struggling for years to regulate storefront pot shops, the Los Angeles City Council retreated Tuesday, voting to repeal the carefully crafted ban on medical marijuana dispensaries it approved a few months ago. The move shows the political savvy of the increasingly organized and well-funded network of marijuana activists who sought to place a referendum overturning the ban on the March ballot, when the mayor and eight council seats will be up for grabs. -
Veteran Emerald Triangle pot growers see their way of life ending
Pioneering marijuana cultivators in the hills of Mendocino and Humboldt counties are being pushed to the margins by the legalization they long espoused
Joe MozingoLos Angeles Times (US)
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Battered by competition from indoor cultivators around the state and industrial-size operations that have invaded the North Coast counties, many of the small-time pot farmers who created the Emerald Triangle fear that their way of life of the last 40 years is coming to an end. Their once-quiet communities, with their back-to-nature ethos, are being overrun by outsiders carving massive farms out of the forest. Robberies are commonplace now, and the mountains reverberate with the sounds of chain saws and heavy equipment. -
75 years of racial control: happy birthday marijuana prohibition
Amanda Reiman, Policy manager, Drug Policy AllianceThe Huffington Post (US web)
Friday, September 28, 2012
As we approach the 75th anniversary of marijuana prohibition in the United States on October 1, it is important to remember why marijuana was deemed illicit in the first place, and why we as Americans must open our eyes to the insidious strategy behind 75 years of failed policy and ruined lives: "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."- Harry Anslinger, first US Drug Czar. -
Breda urges new cabinet to reverse cannabis club rules
Dutch News (Netherlands)
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Breda city council is to urge the new coalition cabinet to scrap the introduction of a members only system for the country’s cannabis cafes, arguing it has created more problems than it has solved. Labour councillors have taken the lead in writing to the cabinet negotiators Henk Kamp and Wouter Bos, urging them to focus on solving problems associated with soft drugs rather than create new ones. The four big cities, Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, are opposed to the introduction of the card system. (See also: Government says it will press on with cannabis card plans) -
Illicit drugs 'going out of fashion'
Latest Home Office figures record a decline in illicit drug use in England and Wales, including of mephedrone and Spice
The Guardian (UK)
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Illicit drug use in England and Wales is firmly on a downward curve, with the latest annual figures confirming the long-term trend that they might simply be "going out of fashion". The latest figures published on Thursday even record a decline in recently banned so-called "legal highs" such as mephedrone and Spice (synthetic cannabis). "More generally, drug use having become more normalised in society, might then be just as prey to fashion as any other cultural artefact. Drugs don't appear to be 'cool' these days as they once were," writes Harry Shapiro, editor of Druglink magazine. -
In a haze on pot policy
The Obama administration's long-standing policy of taking a hands-off approach to states that had legalized medical marijuana suddenly has some bite
EditorialLos Angeles Times (US)
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Late last year, U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. affirmed the Obama administration's long-standing policy of taking a hands-off approach to states that had legalized medical marijuana, saying federal resources wouldn't be expended on enforcement actions as long as purveyors obeyed state law. On Tuesday, Los Angeles got a taste of the current interpretation of that policy — which is that our dispensaries are out of bounds. Federal officials started their first major operation in L.A. by raiding dispensaries. (See also: Marijuana: A failure to regulate, but not by dispensaries) -
U.S.-led "war on drugs" questioned at U.N.
Reuters
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala all called for a vigorous global debate of drug laws at the United Nations on Wednesday, raising new questions about the wisdom of the four-decade-old, U.S.-led "war on drugs." Although none of the leaders explicitly called for drugs to be legalized, they suggested at the U.N. General Assembly that they would welcome wholesale changes to policies that have shown scant evidence of limiting drug flows. Guatemalan president Perez Molina said his government "would like to establish an international group of countries that are well disposed to reforming global policies on drugs." -
B.C. municipal leaders vote to work toward decriminalizing marijuana
The Canadian Press (Canada)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
British Columbia’s municipal politicians, sensing shifting emotional attitudes towards marijuana and a possible major new revenue source, voted to lobby Ottawa to decriminalize pot and study the benefits of taxing and regulating cannabis. The mayors and councillors from across the province clapped and cheered after voting to support marijuana decriminalization during a stirring debate in a crowded hall at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities convention. (See also: B.C. mayors vote to decriminalize pot: That was the easy part) -
U.S. raids L.A. marijuana shops
Officials send warning letters to property owners and operators of an additional 67 dispensaries, giving them two weeks to comply with federal law
Los Angeles Times (US)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Federal officials brought their war on medical marijuana dispensaries to Los Angeles, raiding several shops and issuing warning letters to dozens more. Officials at the U.S. attorney's office said it was the first large-scale federal action taken against cannabis shops in the city, and said more will probably follow. "We couldn't do all of L.A. at once," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the office. "There's just too many stores." The crackdown adds a dramatic element to the already tense fight over the fate of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
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