Fed memo renews medical marijuana push on Beacon Hill
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
Medical marijuana proponents are citing a U.S. Justice Department memo released this week in their effort to convince the Massachusetts Legislature 
to become the 14th state to pass a law legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
The October 19 memo generally discourages federal prosecutors from expending resources pursuing individuals who are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.
The memo, which describes prosecution of significant traffickers of illegal drugs and the disruption of drug manufacturing networks as “core priorities,” was signed by Justice Department Criminal Division Assistant Attorney Lanny A. Breuer and top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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18 indicted in Central Valley marijuana, mortgage scheme
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
Federal prosecutors announced 18 indictments Thursday in a pot cultivation and mortgage fraud scheme that purchased homes in Elk Grove 
and Sacramento and converted them into bustling “grow houses” for tens of thousands of marijuana plants.
Nine people are in custody. Authorities are searching for other indicted suspects who may have fled from the Bay Area to China.
The individuals were charged with orchestrating bogus real estate transactions to buy 51 houses in the Central Valley, then establish indoor pot-growing operations using sophisticated lighting and irrigation and stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of electricity.
“They came into our cookie-cutter residential neighborhoods and created cookie-cutter marijuana factories,” said Gordon Taylor, assistant special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Sacramento.
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Tags: Elk Grove, Sacramento
Evans opposes marijuana dispensaries
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
Efforts to bring medical marijuana dispensaries to Evans took a hit Tuesday after Evans City Council members directed the city attorney to 
create a code for the city that would make it impossible to sell medical marijuana in the city.
The council did not vote on a measure at the work session. However, it appears the city will oppose allowing dispensaries to legally sell medicinal marijuana, mainly because of the burden it creates for the city’s police department, both financially and regarding possible liability.
“When there’s this much ambiguity, and we have no protection and no assistance from the state or the feds, and we’re forced to put that kind of burden on our police department and our staff — I don’t want to put them in that position — I don’t think that’s in the best interest of protecting the citizens of this community, which ultimately is our primary responsibility,” Evans Mayor Lyle Achziger said during the work session.
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Tags: Evans City, marijuana dispensaries
3,300 pounds of marijuana seized at county truck stop
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
In what officials say is the biggest drug bust this year by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit, officers seized 
about 3,300 pounds of marijuana from a tractor-trailer at an East County truck stop Tuesday night.
An SIU K9 officer and his drug dog found the marijuana hidden among watermelons and crates of lemons in the tractor-trailer, which was parked at the Flying J Travel Plaza truck stop, located in Patton Village at Texas 242 and U.S. 59, according to an MCSO press release.
No arrests have been made and the investigation continues.
Deputies and the drug dog were checking the Flying J truck stop for various things, said Lt. Phillip Cash, who heads the SIU.
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Harvest Time In Spain
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
One of the best things about living in Spain is the fields and fields of crops. We pass by them when we’re on our way to see David’s family in their small 
village, or getting lost trying to find the water reserve, or when we’re simply just out and about exploring our surroundings. It’s refreshing to know that fresh produce is being harvested, that nature is being valued and preserved, and that the people here are still able to live off of the land.
We’ve seen everything from peaches and pomegranates to kale and medlar and my chef husband opens my eyes to all of these, for without him, I wouldn’t be able to tell one crop from another. I also certainly wouldn’t have a clue what type of fruit a medlar is. (For those unfamiliar like me, David ate this fruit when he was a kid, check out Wikipedia’s definition.) And the best indicator of what’s in season are the outdoor markets—as the persimmons replace the artichokes and the peaches overflow in an abundance. Even the date and olive trees that occasionally line the streets are bulging with fruits soon to be enjoyed.
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Prosecutors, police ease up on pot
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
Though the state hasn’t yet decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, courts in the state might already be coming close.
Under state law, possession of a small amount of marijuana is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, up to a $2,000 fine, and in some cases loss of driver’s license. But prosecutors have the power to reduce charges, and that’s become the growing trend.
“I would say that it’s common with most judges I’ve talked to across the state that, much more often than not, a misdemeanor drug case is brought as a Class B misdemeanor, which is a $1,200 fine and no jail time, and a drug assessment,” said Judge Edwin W. Kelly, administrating judge for the District Courts in the state. “But it’s still a crime.”
Prosecutors also have the option of reducing the charge even further to a violation, which means no jail time, a fine, and no criminal record. If the state were to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, a person caught in possession would be charged with a violation.
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Tags: marijuana policy
AP Newsbreak: New medical marijuana policy issued
Oct 25, 2009 Online Issue
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.
Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
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Tags: Medical Marijuana Policy
