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First Marijuana Coffee Shop Opens In America The first marijuana coffee shop in the US has opened, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax the policing of medical use of the drug. "We hope to have classes, seminars, even a cannabis community college, based here to help people learn about growing and other uses for cannabis." The cafe is in a two-story building which formerly housed a speak-easy and adult erotic club called Rumpspankers. It is technically a private club, but is open to any Oregon residents who hold an official medical marijuana card. There are...

PHOENIX - Three Army soldiers were among those arrested during Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's most recent crime sweep. In all 51 suspects were arrested, including 37 illegal aliens. Deputies arrested the three soldiers on drug, money laundering and conspiracy charges. The soldiers, Dwayne Campbell, Llewellyn Stamoulis and Romaine May were discovered to have 680 pounds of marijuana and $10,000 in cash during a traffic stop in north Phoenix. They were wearing military clothing and identified themselves with U.S. Government issued military identification. The driver of that vehicle was also charged with driving on a suspended driver's license. "It is...

PORTLAND, Oregon — The United States' first marijuana cafe opened on Friday, posing an early test of the Obama administration's move to relax policing of medical use of the drug. The Cannabis Cafe in Portland, Oregon, is the first to give certified medical marijuana users a place to get hold of the drug and smoke it — as long as they are out of public view — despite a federal ban. "This club represents personal freedom, finally, for our members," said Madeline Martinez, Oregon's executive director of NORML, a group pushing for marijuana legalization. "Our plans go beyond serving food...

According to the Associated Press, November 5th — Maine has become the fifth state to allow dispensaries where marijuana can be distributed to medical patients. But medical marijuana advocates say Maine won't become like Los Angeles, where hundreds of dispensaries have popped up and come under critical scrutiny. Ethan Nadelmann of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance says Maine's law has stricter provisions than California's. He says "Maine dispensaries will be licensed by the state, unlike those in California, and that Maine narrowly defines medical conditions for which patients can be prescribed pot, while California allows doctors to recommend it...

What are the odds that had a GOP Congressman had been witness to the arrest of his gay lover's marijuana arrest, minor details like this would take two years to come to the surface? Fox reporter Alison Bologna interviews Frank on the details of the arrest and questions what Frank knew and what he seems conveniently oblivious to as well. Frank as usual goes on the offense with feigned outrage: See her interview and report at the link.

BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) - FOX25 has learned that Congressman Barney Frank was present during a marijuana arrest at James Ready's home in Ogunquit, Maine. Ready is well-known for his relationship with Congressman Frank. According to a police report, police charged Ready with marijuana possession, cultivation and use of drug paraphernalia in August of 2007. Ready admitted to civil possession and paid a fine. The remaining charges were dismissed in 2008. Sources tell FOX25 that when Frank was questioned he told police that he did not live in the house and that he only smoked cigars. Congressman Frank tells FOX25 that...

<p>DENVER – The Colorado ski town of Breckenridge has voted overwhelmingly to legalize marijuana.</p> <p>Early returns Tuesday night showed the proposal winning with 72 percent of the vote.</p>

The British Government's chief drug adviser has sparked controversy by claiming ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol. Professor David Nutt, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, attacked the decision to make cannabis a class B drug. He accused former home secretary Jacqui Smith, who reclassified the drug, of "distorting and devaluing" scientific research. Prof Nutt said smoking cannabis created only a "relatively small risk" of psychotic illness. And he claimed advocates of moving ecstasy into class B from class A had "won the intellectual argument". All drugs, including alcohol and tobacco,...

An official with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign was arrested last night after cops found found ecstasy tablets wrapped and ready to be sold in his car, police said. Jason Shih, 25, was pulled over by East Rutherford cops at about 11:30 p.m. last night because he was talking on his cell phone on Route 17, said Lt. Chris Conforti of the East Rutherford police. Officers wound up finding 19 "blue star" ecstasy tablets in Shih’s car, each wrapped in its own little plastic bag.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ No tie-dye was on display at a standing-room only hearing held by a California lawmaker on Wednesday in a bid to get his marijuana legalization bill taken seriously. Instead, suits and sober discussion were the rule at the state Capitol as Assemblyman Tom Ammiano presided over what his office said was the first legislative consideration of the issue since California banned the drug in 1913.

2 Foster Children Killed, 3 Others Seriously Injured After Van Crossed Yellow Lines Suspect Allegedly Removed Middle Row Of Seats, Had Children Sit On Floor QUEENS (CBS) -- A Queens woman behind the wheel of a minivan that crossed the yellow lines and crashed into another van on Monday, killing two foster children inside the van, was charged with manslaughter Tuesday, and sources tell CBS 2 drug paraphernalia was found inside her vehicle. Police say Sheila Bethea, 45, was driving a Mazda minivan with six passengers – five foster children between the ages of 5 and 15 and a 43-year-old...

In a sharply worded dissent, Justice Paul Anderson said the majority's decision "does not make sense, and borders on the absurd." He said it isn't consistent with what the Legislature intended when it wrote the state's drug laws. And he blasted Rice County authorities for charging Peck with such a serious crime. If bong water is considered a drug mixture, and it weighs enough to raise the crime to a first-degree drug offense, the presumed sentence for a first-time offender is seven years and two months in prison, and a felony drug offense goes on his or her record, Paul...

The AP reports that "federal drug agents won't pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued Monday by the Obama administration. Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law. The guidelines to be issued by the department do, however, make it clear that agents will go after people whose marijuana distribution goes beyond what is...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday. Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws. The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Farmers from North Dakota and Vermont and four others trying to plant hemp seeds at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration have been arrested. Arlington County police spokeswoman Detective Crystal Nosal says six people were charged with trespassing on Tuesday. They were among 21 people protesting the ban on farming of hemp, which is related to the illegal drug marijuana. The Hemp Industries Association says the protesters turned to civil disobedience for the first time. The group is lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They want to grow hemp for non-drug products. North Dakota farmer Wayne...

....This article is not another polemic about why it should or shouldn't be (legalized). Today, in any case, the pertinent question is whether it already has been -- at least on a local-option basis. We're referring to a cultural phenomenon that has been evolving for the past 15 years, topped off by a crucial policy reversal that was quietly instituted by President Barack Obama in February....

Whether You Like it or Not - California Will Legalize Pot Next Year (That seems to be the idea behind a new article out today) According to a well known, and outspoken leader from the left it’s a good bet that the state will legalize Pot next year. Part of the reason? The state needs...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- A police officer who admitted taking marijuana from criminal suspects and baked it into brownies with his wife will avoid criminal charges. The police department's decision not to pursue a case against former policeman Edward Sanchez left a bad taste in the mouth of at least one city official, who vowed to investigate. "If you're a cop and you're arresting people and you're confiscating the marijuana and keeping it yourself, that's bad. That's real bad," said City Councilman Doug Thomas. Sanchez, who resigned last year from the department in this Detroit suburb, declined comment Wednesday. Police Commander...

The racism of marijuana prohibition Enforcement of marijuana laws disproportionately affects young African Americans -- even though their usage rates are lower than whites'... So while the purported mainstream is delighting to "Weeds" and contemplating the new revenue that state-regulated marijuana would generate, there's even greater urgency to ending the prohibition of marijuana. California can't wait any longer to end the racist enforcement of marijuana laws.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 31, 2009 – The California National Guard is part of a 17-agency endeavor to protect the state’s forests from destructive marijuana growers. California National Guardsmen involved in Operation Save Our Sierra turned up more than 30 miles of illegally placed irrigation pipe, 17,000 pounds of garbage and 4,050 pounds of fertilizer, including some that are toxic and illegal in the United States, as well as drugs and weapons, Fresno County, Calif., July 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. David J. Loeffler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “The environmental impacts of the [marijuana] gardens include...

Last week, the Drug War Chronicle reports, the Drug Enforcement Administration made its first arrests related to medical marijuana since Attorney General Eric Holder promised not to prosecute people who are complying with state law.

The U.S. Forest Service is apologizing for warning that national forest campers who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and listen to Spanish music could be armed marijuana growers. The warning was issued Wednesday to the media by Forest Service law enforcement officials who are investigating illegal marijuana plantations in Colorado's national forests. Tortilla packaging and Tecate cans were among the items authorities found recently when they broke up a pot-growing operation in the Pike National Forest southwest of Denver. "I think that's the most entertaining story that I've heard on Latinos in quite a while," Jose Armas, a longtime Latino...

The Drug Enforcement Administration Friday announced that it found 14,500 marijuana plants growing in a Colorado national park, authorities say are linked to Mexican drug cartels...... they have seen an increase in outdoor marijuana operations run by Mexican drug cartels. In the most recent Colorado case, the marijuana was found in "the remote, rugged terrain" of Pike National Forest, which is about 60 miles southwest of Denver. "The persons who were involved in this criminal activity had no regard for the damage caused to the forest and environment by the waste they left behind," said Jeffrey D. Sweetin, special agent...

Many baby boomers (Americans in the generation born between 1946 and 1964) are continuing to use illicit drugs as they grow older, causing the rate of illicit drug use to go up within the 50 to 59 year old age segment of the population. According to a new analytical publication produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), those aged 50 to 59 reporting use of illicit drugs within the past year has nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007 while rates among all other age groups are statistically staying the same...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Baby boomers, now well into middle age, are still turning on to illegal drugs, doubling the rates of illicit drug use for the older generation, according to U.S. government statistics released on Wednesday. The rates of people aged 50 to 59 who admit to using illicit drugs in the past year nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007 while rates among all other age groups are the same or decreasing, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported. "These findings show that many in the Woodstock generation continue to use...

Two people have been arrested on drug charges during an investigation at a church in Echo Park. Police went to the Royal Temple of Zion at 2415 Eads St. in response to neighbors' complaints of marijuana being sold in the residential area. Church officials said the place was operating as an approved medical-marijuana dispensary. But police say it has not obtained a permit allowing it to stay in business, so its current pot sales are illegal.

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico enacted a controversial law on Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging government-financed treatment for drug dependency free of charge. The law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer face criminal prosecution; the law goes into effect on Friday.

More than 140,000 cannabis plants destroyed in police operation 18-Aug 11:22 More than 140,000 cannabis plants were seized and more than 1100 people arrested in police's national cannabis operation. The number of plants destroyed during the 2008-09 operation increased by 17,000 from 2007-08, Detective Senior Sergeant Scott McGill at Police National Headquarters said. More than 820 searches had been conducted in this year's operation, leading to about 141,000 plants being destroyed , 1125 people arrested, 191 firearms seized and about $400,000 worth of stolen property recovered. Based on the New Zealand Drug Harm Index, it was estimated that $379 million...

More than a dozen years ago, California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana for people with serious illnesses. Many used it to relieve pain or other symptoms — and that's still true. But medical marijuana has now become a thriving business in California that serves a lot more than just sick people. In some parts of Los Angeles, medical marijuana is more common than McDonalds or Starbucks. Places where you can buy a Big Mac or a double tall mocha latte are outnumbered by pot stores, at least 2 to 1. Signs like this are beginning to crowd...

(Aug. 6) -- With buzz about the Obama Joker poster still in the air, another reworking of the president's image is causing a stir. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has produced a psychedelic, '60s-style poster featuring a photo of college freshman "Barry" Obama smoking. Above his super-bad Panama hat is the slogan: Yes We Cannabis. Artist Sonia Sanchez created the poster for NORML's annual conference using a picture taken at Occidental College in 1980 by the future president's classmate Lisa Jack. In the original photo, Obama is holding a real cigarette to his lips. Sanchez tweaked...

Hundreds of people attending a music event at a Fayette County church watched on Saturday as teams of police officials raided the compound and arrested dozens of people on drug charges. District Attorney Nancy Vernon called it a very dangerous situation as drug task force members joined state and local police officers in the raid Saturday at the Church of Universal Love and Music in Bullskin Township, where 300 to 600 people attended the three-day "Funk Fest." "All of a sudden the police and everybody came barging in," concertgoer Kelly Azelin said. "I was scared cause they had all these...

Nice done movie answering to some semi-intelligent comments about the Netherlands. Made my day :o)

Apple's App Store is never short of controversy, from shaking babies, to explicit racy content. The latest disputable app to be approved by Apple and hit the store is 'Cannabis,' an application that assists users in finding the nearest available marijuana supply. The application is available for $2.99, and is developed by the "Cannabis lifestyle" folks over at Ajnag, yet they insist that the app should be used for medicinal purposes only. It will not share the location of illegal dealers, and Ajnag claims not to promote the illegal use of the drug.

A New York Times article on Sunday discussed the debate over whether more and more potent types of cannabis affect the levels of addiction to the drug. This particular issue has become part of the larger debate over whether marijuana should be legalized or decriminalized. Antidrug activists say that if the drug is legalized, more people will use it and addiction levels, made worse by the increased potency, will rise too. Legalization advocates note that pot addiction is not nearly as destructive as, say, abuse of alcohol. What would be the effect of legalization or decriminalization on marijuana abuse and...

CYPRESS, Calif. -- A local mother is accused of leaving her two children home alone in a house filled with maggots, knee-high trash and overflowing toilets while she smoked pot with a friend.

Now the potheads want to pay their fair share. California marijuana consumers are trying to balance the state budget by regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana. They sale that taxes on marijuana could pay the salaries of 20,000 teachers.

Five members of the “Rainbow Family” — a loose-knit band of hippies that preaches love, tolerance and peace and is best known for its large gatherings every July — were arrested Tuesday night by Boulder County sheriff’s deputies after a violent brawl broke out at the group’s campsite near Ward. at a fight had broken out among a group of a dozen people camping out in the area of Ruby Gulch, located on state Forest Service property ... When deputies arrived, witnesses reported that one man, a Nederland resident aged 34 or 35, was hit in the back of the...

Authorities have recorded more than 370 incidents, including 120 violation notices, in the past week as people flock to the Santa Fe National Forest ... between 10,000 and 12,000 people are expected to attend the gathering from July 1-7. Forest Service spokesman Lawrence Lujan says most of the violation notices handed out since June 14 are related to alcohol, and drug and traffic violations. Some of the people who were issued notices were required to appear Monday in federal court in Albuquerque.

B A controversial law in Massachusetts could go national if Congressman Barney Frank gets his way. Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana. It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100. "I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and...

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., wants to legalize marijuana and has introduced legislation that would accomplish his goals. "Criminalizing choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not appropriate in a free society," he said in his new announcement about his plans for two bills. One proposal would remove federal penalties for using marijuana and the second would let people in states where "medical marijuana" is allowed use it freely. The cosponsors on the bills include Reps. Ron Paul, R-Texas and Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y....

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are expected to attend July 1-7. The gathering will be 22 road miles northeast of Cuba and southeast of the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.

The District ranks highest in the country for cocaine use and alcohol dependence, and has the third-highest percentage of marijuana usage, according to a new study. The study by the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is the result of national drug survey results from 2006 and 2007 of residents of the District and 50 states, compiled through interviews and calculated estimations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Someone really is reading those comments left on Barack Obama's Web sites: the president himself. The White House on Monday changed the name of a major office to reflect how much the administration is using the Internet to sell its agenda and communicate directly with voters. For a candidate who harnessed the Internet to win the presidency, the move — announced on the White House Web site, naturally — underscores Obama's understanding of new media's power. "This office will seek to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing this country, through meetings...

With little notice and even less controversy, marijuana is now available as a medical treatment in California to almost anyone who tells a willing physician he would feel better if he smoked. Pot is now retailed over the counter in hundreds of storefronts across Los Angeles and is credited with reviving a section of downtown Oakland, where an entrepreneur sells out classes offering "quality training for the cannabis industry." The tabloid LA Journal of Education for Medical Marijuana is fat with ads for Magic Purple, Strawberry Cough and other offerings in more than 400 "dispensaries" operating in the city. Los...

Paul, Frank introduce bill to legalize hemp @ 2:04 pm by Eric Zimmermann An unlikely duo has teamed up to legalize hemp. Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) have introduced legislation to exclude "industrial hemp" from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act. (h/t Washington Independent). Introducing the legislation, Paul said: It is unfortunate that the Federal Government has stood in the way of American farmers, including many who are struggling to make ends meet, competing in the global industrial hemp market. Indeed, the founders of our Nation, some of whom grew hemp, would surely...

THE HAGUE, 04/04/09 - Contrary to what is often claimed by supporters of the tolerant Dutch drugs policy, cannabis usage by young people in the Netherlands is not lower but actually higher than average in Europe, it emerges from the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) over the year 2007. On usage of cannabis, the Netherlands scores above the European average. Over one-quarter (28 percent) of the youngsters aged 15 and 16 surveyed said they have used cannabis sometime in their life, compared with an average of 19 percent in Europe. Current cannabis usage (at least once...

Adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study. Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect brain regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills. The findings are of particular concern because adolescence is a crucial period for brain development and maturation. The researchers caution that the study is preliminary and does not demonstrate that marijuana use causes the brain abnormalities. However, "Studies of normal brain development reveal critical areas of the brain that develop during late...

Marijuana, a commonly abused drug among high school and college students, is linked to a severe form of vomiting syndrome and compulsive bathing behavior. This form of severe vomiting sickness is increasingly recognized with widespread abuse of marijuana. The syndrome usually subsides with strict abstinence from marijuana abuse. This obscure clinical manifestation of severe vomiting sickness due to chronic abuse of marijuana was recognized by Dr. Sontineni and his colleagues at the Creighton University of Omaha, NE. Recent research into the neurobiology of cannabis has led to the identification of different receptor types including two specific types that mediate neuropsychiatric...