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The attorney for a Montana man charged in the death of a 17-year-old German exchange student says the teen and a companion had broken into homeowners’ garages three of four times before the shooting. Paul Ryan represents Markus Kaarma, who is charged with deliberate homicide in the April 27 slaying of Diren Dede in Missoula. […] Ryan says the Ecuadorian student told police the boys started “garage hopping” after learning about the practice from other students at their high school. …

The Obama administration just put in an order for nearly a ton of marijuana; 1,430 pounds to be exact. That’s a lot of weed, and the estimated street value of that much weed is approximately $650,000. What do you think would happen to a private citizen if they were caught with that much weed? They’d probably never see the moon again, except through bars, if their cell was on the external wall side of the prison, but for the Government, it’s just business as usual. What the Government actually does with the marijuana they buy is test it in attempts...

Mexican Cartels invest in medical marijuana business DEA claim Tuesday 6th May 2014 DEA confirm cartels investing in medical marijuana and legitimate pot business. The Mexican mafia are using their cash mountains to invest in the legitimate marijuana industry in Colorado, US DEA agents claim. In a move which has long been predicted, federal agents believe that Cartels have already invested millions of dollars for starters and have arrested one key player, the FDA report on a half a million dollar charge. They have invested in the pot industry and the medical marijuana business which represents a very astute move...

The opening months of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation recreational marijuana industry have seen a rise in fiery explosions and injuries as pot users try to make the drug’s intoxicating oil in crude home-based laboratories. Since Jan. 1, when sales began, the state’s only certified adult burn center has treated 10 people with serious injuries they suffered while making hash oil, compared with 11 in 2013 and one in 2012. Law enforcement and fire officials, meanwhile, are grappling with how to respond, as the questionable legality of the process has made it difficult to punish amateur chemists. Some prosecutors are charging them with...

With medical marijuana bills advancing at the Minnesota Capitol, both supporters and critics have been invoking the phrase "Wild West" when debating the merits of legislation. Without more scientific evidence about risks and benefits, the prospect of legalized medical marijuana "would be kind of like the Wild West of medicine," argued Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, during a hearing in April. In a Senate committee last week, Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, used the metaphor in a different way -- arguing that desperate patients currently face a Wild West situation of buying marijuana on the street, without knowing what they're getting. "Or...

by REBECCA LOPEZ Bio | Email | Follow: @rlopezwfaa WFAA Posted on May 2, 2014 at 10:51 PM Updated Friday, May 2 at 11:18 PM Related: More K2 overdose cases reported in Texas DALLAS -- It's cheap, easy to buy, and sold over the counter, but it is also highly addictive and dangerous. “We don't know what they are putting into these synthetic drugs," said Dr. James d’Etienne of Baylor Medical Center. And that's the problem. People are buying and smoking K2, a synthetic drug that is supposed to mimic marijuana. Within the last 24 hours, more than 30 people...

A study recently came out analyzing the damage to the brain caused by pot smoking. Unfortunately, it came out during the week of the Triduum, and a Catholic blog like this had another focus at that time. But it’s time to circle back and have a look.I wrote some time ago of my anecdotal observation that the pot smokers I knew all developed serious problems with motivation, and that the effects of being “high” lingered long after toking a joint and went on to become semi-permanent. It involved a glazed look, a shuffling gait, and a lethargic attitude largely exemplified...

Senate approves in-state tuition for undocumented students: The Florida Senate voted Thursday to let undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. The 26-13 vote came as no surprise. The sponsor, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, was confident he had the votes for week. But that didn’t stop him from getting emotional in debate on Thursday. “The eyes of America are on us,” Latvala said moments before the vote. “I think we’re setting an example. I think we’re doing the right thing.” Read more Medical Marijuana Photo Source Hightimes.com House passes non-euphoric medical marijuana bill: The Florida...

DENVER - Federal agents and local officers are raiding four marijuana businesses tied to an alleged international money-laundering scheme. U.S. marshals arrested a suspect, Gerardo Uribe, a 33-year-old Colombian. Uribe was the last of four suspects arrested under a federal indictment unsealed Monday. The indictment charged Gerardo Uribe and his younger brother, Luis Uribe, along with another Colombian, Hector Diaz, and Denver attorney David Furtado with money-laundering crimes related to the illegal cultivation and distribution of marijuana.

On Tuesday’s The O’Reilly Factor, Bill gives background on a recent incident in which elementary school children were caught selling marijuana to their classmates. Needless to say, O’Reilly is none too pleased. Video...

If Colorado is any indication, marijuana legalization might be a winning issue — but may pose a problem for Republicans. A new poll released by Quinnipiac University shows that adults there agree with the recent decision to make weed legal in that state. Colorado voters said that they support legalization by a margin of 54 to 43 percent. However, not every group is down with the doobie: 63 percent of Republicans disapprove of marijuana legalization, along with 62 percent of voters older than sixty five. If those trends hold true elsewhere in the country, it means that ending marijuana prohibition...

The State of Colorado will start phasing in mandatory lab testing of marijuana edible products on May 1. Currently, marijuana product testing of any kind has been performed strictly on a voluntary basis. As Colorado ramps up its lab testing, CBS4 requested permission to perform independent lab tests of edible products but was forbidden by the Marijuana Enforcement Division. In a letter banning independent lab testing, MED Director Lewis Koski states, “licensed labs are only allowed to accept samples from ‘Retail Marijuana Establishments’ only.” (snip) But according to the labs, potency is just one issue with marijuana products. “We’ve found...

A gunbattle inside a North Park marijuana dispensary midday Friday left a robber dead and a security guard wounded, police said. Two men with handguns held up the shop to steal marijuana San Diego police homicide Lt. Manual del Toro said. Del Toro described the fleeing robber as a black man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, and wearing a blue hoodie. Around the corner, at Holistic Health Gurus, office worker Michael Adams arrived after the shooting and was surprised to hear what happened. "Ray Street is very artsy," Adams said. "It's very surprising to have any...

FRIDAY, April 25, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- American teens' use of marijuana doesn't increase when states approve the drug for medical use, a new study finds. "Any time a state considers legalizing medical marijuana, there are concerns from the public about an increase in drug use among teens," principal investigator Dr. Esther Choo, an attending physician in the department of emergency medicine at Rhode Island Hospital, said in a hospital news release. Choo's team examined 20 years of data from states that do and don't permit medical marijuana use. They found that legalizing medical marijuana did not lead to increased...

WASHINGTON – Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says he thinks the federal government should legalize marijuana. The 94-year-old retired justice tells NPR that public opinion has changed on the issue. Stevens also says that there isn't much distinction between marijuana and alcoholic beverages.

Avid marijuana fan Willie Nelson’s 44-year-old daughter Paula was arrested for marijuana possession on 4/20 in Menard, Texas, KXAN Austin reports. Willie, of course, has had numerous run-ins with the law over him having weed and the law being against that. Paula took the arrest as an opportunity to tout marijuana legalization and pimp out her new record on her Facebook page (where she also proudly posted her own mugshot): “I want to make sure that everyone knows i am not bad mouthing the officers involved in my arrest. I know they were just doing their jobs.. And they...

LITTLE FALLS, Minn. — A Minnesota man who killed two teenagers who broke into his home can be heard on an audio recording talking to himself for hours after the shooting and at one point, apparently describing the slain teens as "vermin." Byron Smith, of Little Falls, faces first-degree premeditated murder charges in the deaths of 18-year-old Haile Kifer and 17-year-old Nick Brady on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. Smith, 65, claimed he was defending himself and feared for his life after several break-ins at his home. Prosecutors, though, say Smith planned the killings. They say he sat in a chair...

Young adults who smoke marijuana may be at risk for serious or even fatal heart problems, according to a study by French researchers on Wednesday. The findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association raises new concerns about the safety of marijuana, just as many parts of the world are relaxing laws on its use and medicinal marijuana is gaining popularity for treating certain health conditions. ...

Polling numbers and political maneuverings are increasingly confirming what I first reported months ago. The tea party movement is no longer the large dominant force in the GOP that it was in 2010 or even 2012. But just because the "tea" might be a bit weaker, Republicans hoping to hang on to their elected positions or who seek to claim elected office need to understand that the political atmosphere might still be lightening up. In the South, which has been the hotbed for the tea party cause, many big contested GOP nominations that were expected to go to candidates "they"...

While Americans of all ages in Colorado happily celebrate the legalization of marijuana in various forms on April 20, 2014 as a “smoking holiday” the mental health and safety risks are being ignored by the media.