Berkeley Patients Group finally in the clear with Feds ... Cities move to slow legal cannabis ... Opposition to Prop. 64 includes Dennis Peron ... Nine states voting on cannabis ... U.S. pot smuggled to Mexico ... A 50-year-old musical warning ... and more.
LEGISLATION
San Bruno imposes moratorium on sales and cultivation // The Daily Journal
Saying they need more time to prepare, the San Bruno City Council this week approved an “urgency ordinance disallowing pot sales, distribution, storage and a variety of other drug-related activities which could be legalized next month under voter approval of state Proposition 64.”
Ban on sun-grown cannabis passes in Palo Alto // mercurynews.com
“Pot growers in Palo Alto will have to limit their activities to the indoors if California voters legalize marijuana in November, the Palo Alto City Council decided Monday."
COPS & COURTS
DEA drops forfeiture plans for Berkeley dispensary // Cannabis Now
Berkeley Patients Group announced “their lawyers were in the process of settling with the federal government, who was seeking BPG’s property and assets for selling marijuana, which is federally illegal.
“Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop the forfeiture action in early October, the company stated, though the papers are not finalized.”
Santa Ana to pay trashed dispensary $100,000 // OCregister.com
“The city will pay a Santa Ana marijuana dispensary $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit in connection with a controversial raid last year where police officers were caught on hidden video eating snacks and making disparaging remarks about a handicapped woman.” [Editor’s note: If you’ve never seen the security camera video of this, have a look by clicking on the headline.”]
Triple shooting in bad pot deal unsolved // Press Democrat
“The deadly shooting [in Sebastopol] echoes the troubling eruption, played out time and again on the North Coast, of violence among people involved with one of the region’s most lucrative crops.”
ELECTION
Why the father of Prop. 215 opposes Prop. 64 // Merryjane.com
Dennis Peron says, “If we buy into this, it’s going to ruin marijuana. It’s the wrong message to kids. It’s the wrong message to everyone. I think the people [behind Prop 64] are drunk on power and money. They’re never going to give up. They wanna sell it like beer and liquor. I’m against that.”
Why NORML executive supports Prop. 64 // Merryjane.com
“Stop putting our brothers and sisters in jail,” says Bruce Maargolin. “Let’s take the stigma out of marijuana and let it be what it should be: A sacred herb given to us by the divine for whatever purpose we want, whether it’s medical, so-called recreational, or spiritual.”
The two sides of Prop. 64 // KALW- Crosscurrents
One thing both sides can agree on: California’s current marijuana laws are not working.
There’s more to Prop. 64 than the right to smoke // OCregister.com
“Proposition 64, on its surface, poses a simple question: Should people be free to smoke pot in California?
“But the 62-page initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot asks voters to determine much more than that.” Click the headline to get details.
Is Mendo ballot measure a cannabis industry power grab? // Press Democrat
“The measure, known as the Mendocino Heritage Act — written, financed and promoted by the county’s pot growers and dispensaries — represents the industry’s vision of government regulation, one that clashes with the county’s political establishment and local regulations under development.”
Nine states considering cannabis on ballot // Washington Post
“Voters in five states will decide whether to fully legalize recreational use, while voters in four more will weigh in on whether to allow medical marijuana.” The outcome, for or against, is expected to impact the national debate.
“Brain on drugs” actor favors legalization // The Rooster
The actor in the famous “This is your brain on drugs” public service announcement from the Reagan era says, "'I'm 100 percent behind legalizing it, are you kidding?’ he asks. ‘It's healthier than alcohol. And the violence is 99 percent down from alcohol.’" [Editor’s note: See the PSA, and the rest of this story, by clicking the headline.]
BUSINESS
“People of color” encouraged to join cannabis industry // East Bay Times
“Would-be pot entrepreneurs, as well as the simply curious, packed Yoshi’s in Oakland Monday for a conference aimed at increasing the number of nonwhites in the booming cannabis industry, citing the fact that people of color have been most impacted by marijuana-related arrests.”
“Drug Free work place” may be outdated, group says // SacBee.com
“If prosecutors can’t keep up with the maze of competing marijuana laws these days, one might forgive regular folks who feel a little hazy about them.
“And workplace attorneys say the issue promises to become even more puzzling for employers and employees alike on Nov. 8, when voters will decide whether to allow or expand legal access to marijuana in nine more states.”
OPINION
Time now for a musical editorial (from about 50 years ago):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFcUto0xje0
IN OTHER NEWS….
Now high grade marijuana is going to Mexico // KPBS.org
“Mexico’s demand for potent California strains is on the rise as Mexican drug cartels have mostly failed to make a competitive homegrown product.”
[New content is generally posted on Friday.]
