fire truck lent by Dr. Bronner's for SSDP/Prop 19 campus tour
This Year's Top 10 Domestic Drug Policy Stories
This was your year on drugs. Or at least, your year in drug policy reform. Here's our top 10 drug policy issues of the year.
State Courts
not business as usual at the courthouse in Missoula (image courtesy Wikimedia)
Montana Marijuana Prosecution Runs into Jury Pool "Mutiny"
You've heard of jury nullification? How about jury pool nullification? That's basically what happened to a small-time marijuana charge in Montana last week.
Missoula District Court: Jury Pool in Marijuana Case Stages 'Mutiny'
A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court. Jurors â well, potential jurors â staged a revolt. They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they werenât about to convict anybody for having a couple of buds of marijuana.
Bloomfield Township Sued Over 'Unconstitutional' Medical Marijuana Ordinances
Two Oakland County attorneys filed a lawsuit against Bloomfield Township in an attempt to overturn local medical marijuana ordinances they say conflict with state law and make it too difficult for a registered patient to use the drug. It's the latest medical marijuana challenge in Oakland County, which has become home to a number of lawsuits and criminal cases that could shape interpretation and application of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 for years to come.
Get out of Dixie, Michael! (Lapihuska facing camera, image courtesy Alabamians for Compassionate Care)
Busted CA Medical Marijuana Patient Now Free to Leave Alabama
An Alabama medical marijuana nightmare is about to come to an end for a card-carrying California patient.
ACLU Sues Birmingham, Among Other Cities, for Banning Medical Marijuana
The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan ?sued the cities of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Livonia today?, claiming their ordinances banning medical marijuana are in direct violation of the 2008 ?Michigan Medical Marihuana Act?.
Rules May Bar Lawyers from Aiding in Setup of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Arizona
Patients, doctors and dispensaries seeking legal help navigating Arizona's new medical marijuana law could find themselves up the creek without a lawyer. The ethics counsel for the State Bar of Arizona said it is a violation of the rules laid out by the Arizona Supreme Court for attorneys to help clients break federal laws prohibiting selling or possessing marijuana.
Los Angeles Medical Marijuana Rules Might Be Amended
The Los Angeles City Council will consider amending its medical marijuana ordinance because one of its provisions unexpectedly disqualified dozens of dispensaries from continuing operations.
Medical Marijuana: Possible Lawsuit Against CO Health Department Over License Ap Rejections
The rejection of nearly 2,000 medical marijuana applications due to a new health department policy has generated anger among patients and doctors no longer allowed to write recommendations. A representative of the advocacy group Sensible Colorado, which took part in a successful court challenge against the department last year, confirms that the organization is considering similar action this time around.
Cops Used Fake Patient IDs to Buy Medical Pot; Was It Entrapment?
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies used phony Michigan medical marijuana cards -- created on a county computer -- to trick state-approved medical marijuana providers into selling the drug to the police. Days after the drug buys, county narcotics agents raided two medical marijuana dispensaries. Defense attorneys for more than two dozen people arrested in the raids are crying foul, saying their clients were trapped into lawbreaking while trying to stay within the state law.