Law & Crime

Cannabis buds in jar. Image: WeedWorthy.com

Taxpayers are paying $60 for every pot plant the DEA destroys in Oregon

 
The Drug Enforcement Administration spent $960,000 to destroy marijuana plants in that state in 2014 as part of its "Cannabis Eradication Program," according to a recent report by NBC affiliate KGW in Portland, Ore.
Jonathan Holmgren with medical cannabis products at his home in Spring Lake Park, Minn. Holmgren is back to using the raw plant that the state still deems illegal to treat his Crohn's disease. AP Photo/Jim Mone via TwinCities.com

Some Minnesota marijuana patients opting to buy illegally

Kyle Potter ~ Associated Press ~
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Just two months after Minnesota launched its medical marijuana program, some patients turned off by high costs say they are back to buying the drug illegally because it's the only way they can afford it.
Erika Walton, 43, fills out paperwork to have a marijuana violation expunged from her record. Credit Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

The Legal Sale of Marijuana in Oregon Comes With Reprieve

 
As it prepares to begin retail marijuana sales next month, Oregon is blazing a profoundly new trail, legal experts and marijuana business people said, to rethink cannabis-related violations.
Unbalanced Scales. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Medical marijuana patient sues company over firing for drug use

Shira Schoenberg ~ MassLive.com ~

BOSTON - When Cristina Barbuto of Brewster took a job with a marketing firm, she told the company that she used medical marijuana to treat symptoms of Crohn's disease.
Billy Nicholas, chief of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township. 2007 Associated Press file photo via Portland Press Herald

Maine tribe nears deal to develop marijuana cultivation facility

Whit Richardson ~ Portland Press Herald ~
 
A Passamaquoddy leader says a letter of intent with a Colorado consultant is about hemp production, but that could change, and legal gray areas abound.
The Grass Station dispensary in Denver. Image: WeedWorthy.com

Tax quirk forces Colorado to waive pot taxes for a day

Kristen Wyatt ~ Associated Press ~
 
DENVER (AP) -- Colorado's unusual tax law is forcing the state to suspend taxes on recreational marijuana for one day.
Bud & Breakfast, in Denver, is one of a handful of marijuana-friendly accommodations across Colorado.  Image: Theo Stroomer for The New York Times

Advocates in Denver, Home to Legal Marijuana, Seek Public Place to Smoke

 
DENVER — Whether bought from a downtown shop or cadged from a friend’s basement greenhouse, legal marijuana is easy to find in Colorado. Places to smoke it, not so much.
Pre-rolled joints at a Denver dispensary. Image: WeedWorthy.com

The One Battle That Marijuana Users May Not Win

 
The issue of medical marijuana and zero-tolerance workplace policies remains a major obstacle for cannabis advocates.
A multi-agency team supporting Operation Trident, a large-scale marijuana eradication and reclamation mission, in 2010. Image: U.S. Army National Guard via Wikimedia Commons

Cannabis Seizures Plummet

 
As America's multibillion dollar cannabis industry continues to expand, the nation's drug cops are seizing less weed.
In this Sept. 26, 2014, file photo, smaller-dose pot-infused brownies are divided and packaged at The Growing Kitchen in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Colorado may ban 'candy' name on marijuana treats

Kristen WyattAssociated Press ~
 
DENVER (AP) -- Edible marijuana products in Colorado may soon come labeled with a red stop sign, according to a draft of new rules released Wednesday by state marijuana regulators.

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