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Law Atrocious and Horrible Cannabis News

Conviction affirmed for Michigan marijuana dispensary owner serving 15-year prison term


CINCINNATI, OH — A Michigan man’s federal conviction for marijuana-related charges was affirmed last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals.


Danny Trevino, 49, of Lansing, is serving 15 years and eight months in prison after he was found guilty on five counts of maintaining a drug-involved premise, as well as multiple counts of manufacturing, distributing, possessing with intent to distribute and possessing an excess of 100 plants of marijuana.



Trevino appealed his conviction and sentence to the United States Court of Appeals, which affirmed the conviction in a July 30 opinion.



Related: Owner of five Michigan marijuana dispensaries headed to federal prison



Trevino owned Hydroworld dispensaries in Grand Rapids, Flint, Jackson, Lansing and elsewhere and had previously avoided state criminal and civil penalties.



Family members and pro-marijuana activists were upset at the length of Trevino’s prison sentence. However, the appeals court found the sentence was at the low end of the suggested length. The opinion also said a sentence length was needed that would “promote respect for federal drug laws.”



Trevino had an attitude of “defiance” of federal law during the trial, the opinion said.



Related: Michigan medical marijuana seller gets prison: ‘Federal law has not changed,’ judge says



He could not account for the difference in records of the number of plants and how many kilograms were sold, the opinion said.



“We have previously recognized that attempts to shift the blame for criminal conduct or to minimize one’s role in a conspiracy can be inconsistent with the acceptance of responsibility,” the opinion said.



During the trial, Trevino and his attorney argued the operation was legal, but the court did not allow the defense. That was the correct decision, the appeals court said. Trevino’s defense argued he was operating under the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act.



Before the trial, at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s General Office, the judge excluded any evidence that Trevino’s conduct was because he did not know the law when he was selling marijuana. Because Trevino said he believed his actions were legal, he challenged the decision in his appeal.



The appeals court said the state’s medical marijuana law cannot overrule federal law. The opinion also said Trevino did not meet the narrow legal area where he can claim lack of knowledge of the law.



Trevino’s mother, Berta Garcia, previously spoke about the charges. Both she and her son said they believe the prosecution was, in part, racially motivated.



“Another Mexican goes to prison and leaves his little girl behind,” Garcia said previously, about her 3-year-old granddaughter and Trevino’s son, Nani. “She doesn’t understand, she keeps asking why. I keep asking why, the world is asking why him? I know why. ... This is such an injustice.”



Trevino is incarnated in a federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio, according to records.
 
Compliance under state law is non admissable in a federal trial and you are not even allowed to say that in a juries presence in said federal courtroom.
 
Can anyone doubt that the money changers are in Solomon's Temple? Hmmm?

Former Anti-Marijuana Congressman And Top Trump Health Official Joins Cannabis Company Board, Documents Show


A former head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is serving as a member of the board of directors for a medical marijuana business in Georgia, according to documents obtained by Marijuana Moment.


Tom Price, who served as HHS secretary under President Donald Trump for seven months before resigning following criticism over hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, is listed as a board member of Botanical Sciences, LLC, one of six cannabis businesses to win licenses last month under Georgia’s limited medical cannabis program.


A former congressman who repeatedly voted against marijuana reform, Price’s involvement in the industry is notable on its own. But it’s also the case that as health and human services secretary, he was empowered to initiate proceedings to formally recognize cannabis’s medical value and reschedule it under federal law—a move he chose not to take. Now, he’s apparently part of an industry that’s generating billions of dollars in sales every year.


To say that Price resisted reform being joining the board of a medical cannabis company may be putting it lightly. As a congressman, he voted six times against appropriations bill amendments to simply shield state medical marijuana programs from federal interference by the Department of Justice. Those protections were eventually enacted over his objection, and remain part of federal spending law today.


On three occasions, he also opposed appropriations measures to allow U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend medical cannabis for their military veteran patients.


Price did, however, vote for more incremental measures to shield limited state laws allowing CBD from federal intervention and to protect state industrial hemp programs.


But advocates say they’re appalled to see someone who so consistently opposed broad patient access now standing to benefit from the increasingly legal industry.


“As a dad of medical cannabis patient, a parent that spent seven years at the Georgia Capitol lobbying to try to pass a medical cannabis program, I can only start to express my disappointment when I found out that Tom Price was on the board of directors of Botanical Sciences, one of the companies that received a class 1 license to cultivate and distribute cannabis here in Georgia,” Sebastien Cotte, co-founder and board member of Georgia’s Hope, told Marijuana Moment.


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Price’s wife, Betty, is a former Georgia state representative who regularly opposed modest reforms, including legislation to create the state’s existing program that allows patients to access low-THC oils for a select number of conditions.


“Tom Price at the federal level and his wife Betty Price at the state level have been strong opponents of cannabis for years,” Cotte said. “They did all they could to not only destroy our grassroots efforts in Georgia but they also tried to put every medical cannabis program in the country in jeopardy.”


Betty Price did, however, voice support for one resolution that called for minor federal rescheduling of marijuana—again, a move that her husband did not initiate when he had the power to do so as a member of Trump’s cabinet.


Botanical Sciences earned one of the highest scores among Georgia medical cannabis license applicants. The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced its intent award licenses to the company and other successful applicants in July.


“To think that someone so anti-cannabis is now on the board of a company that received a license and that he will be able to financially benefit from medical cannabis sales In Georgia is truly sickening and a slap in the face of every parents, patients and advocates who fought so hard for the past seven years to bring a medical cannabis program in our state,” Cotte said.


Former state Rep. Allen Peake (R), who sponsored the legislation that created the Georgia medical cannabis program, slammed Price’s involvement in the industry in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.


“To have a guy who fought so diligently against everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish here in Georgia and then receive a license, it was a tough pill to swallow,” said Peake, who applied for but did not receive a license. “It’s the height of hypocrisy.”


Activists similarly took umbrage when former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who opposed marijuana legalization while in office, joined the board of cannabis company Acreage Holdings.


Georgia’s medical cannabis programs allows patients with specific qualifying conditions—including cancer, epilepsy and intractable pain—to access tinctures, gel caps, topicals and oils containing no more than 5 percent THC.


Class 1 licenses, of which Botanical Sciences is set to receive one of two being awarded by officials, authorize up to 100,000 square feet of cultivation space and allow for the manufacture of low-THC cannabis medicines. Those businesses can also be issued up to five dispensary licenses.


Officials with Botanical Sciences, including founder and CEO Robin Fowler, did not respond to Marijuana Moment’s repeated requests for comment on this story.


The news about Price comes shortly after it was disclosed that President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) worked for a major marijuana business last year.


Rahul Gupta, selected to run ONDCP, worked as a consultant to Holistic Industries, a multi-state cannabis operator, for nine months in 2020.


This adds to the novelty of this particular administration pick, who had already caught the attention of reform advocates given his record overseeing the implementation of West Virginia’s medical marijuana program as state health commissioner and chair of a key advisory board. He’s also publicly recognized both the therapeutic and economic potential of cannabis reform.
 

Most Affected: Jonathan Wall Will Serve Nearly Two Years Before His First Day in Court For Cannabis

Jonathan Wall, a Maryland native, faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison over conspiracy charges of distributing cannabis as a first-time offender.

Jonathan Wall is a living reminder that the War on Drugs continues to snare new individuals in the system with its severe mandatory minimum sentences.

The 26-year-old Maryland native faces a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence over a federal distribution conspiracy charge, with the Feds alleging that Wall was part of an operation running cannabis from Humboldt County, where he lived at the time, to his native Maryland. If he goes to trial and loses, he could face up to life with his conspiracy charge of distributing over 1,000 kilograms of cannabis.

Wall, a first-time offender, is alleged to be the mastermind of the operation between Northern California, including Humboldt County, to his native Maryland. The Fed’s crackdown occurred in April 2019, with Wall in custody since July 2020. His first trial date is nearly a year away in May 2022.

While he waits, the aspiring mainstream cannabis operator attempts to maintain his composure while interned in Baltimore’s Chesapeake Detention Facility, a facility with a penchant for violence and corruption involving inmates and guards. The matters were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Unconventional Route Leads To Early Cannabis Realizations for Jonathan Wall​

Wall was born in Maryland and raised by his parents. He said they got along fine after adolescence, but had been contentious previously. Wall claimed to have had a bit of an issue with authority, stating that he “saw through the bullshit of society early on.” Happiness for Wall didn’t involve material goods like much of the world around him. Stating that he wanted to push his boundaries to find a sense of wholeness, he pursued an unconventional route.

That route included running away several times as a youth. He recalled the first time he smoked pot while on the run from home, joining a group of migrant crabbing industry workers in the back of their work van. He said everything changed from there. “Cannabis being introduced into my life allowed me to elevate my sense of consciousness and kind of see things in a different light.” Claiming to now see things differently, he said he “saw through the veil of the mundane, everyday reality, and witnessed the human experience as it truly is from a new and fresh perspective.”

Running away from home eventually led to Wall becoming homeless in his teens, turning to friends, and on occasions, public parks and restrooms. The lack of a stable home led to him dropping out of school, taking his GED instead to obtain his degree. Wall said the decision allowed him to pursue an alternate route in life.

He’d spend the next few years working in local restaurants, with cannabis supplementing his income. At 20, he saw an opportunity to enter the emerging California cannabis market in Humboldt County. At the time, California was operating as a medical-only marketplace, adhering to the Proposition 215 regulations and its subsequent reforms. Wall said he wanted to help provide cost-efficient cannabis to medical patients. Income would always be welcomed, but he stated several times throughout the interview with High Times that his prime intention was to give customers medical cannabis access.

Wall saw the lifestyle as a way to gain freedom from a society he felt disenfranchised with. He saw the 2008 economic collapse and subsequent lack of prosecution as a sign that society and the system was broken, with the working class left to serve to the rich. Through cannabis and Northern California, he shared that he “saw this as an opportunity to be entirely autonomous from a system that I saw as broken.”

Wall found that autonomy and a community he lacked back at home, save for his skateboarding friends. Wall felt he was contributing to a sustainable and victimless livelihood that helped others while providing him a modest living.

The Northern California community was well aware it still faced potential dangers with violating state and federal laws. However, the Obama years and the Cole Memo gave some a slight sense that the Feds were finally coming around on federal decriminalization and eventual legalization.

Wall said operators in the area remained “naturally paranoid” during the period, still in fear of just one person tipping off the Feds. Still, he said the general consensus was that cannabis prosecution was “a 20th century invention finally existing solely in the past,” which wouldn’t cause the unfortunate damages it had for decades before.

He said sentiments began to change when President Donald Trump appointed two anti-cannabis Attorneys Generals during his term, first Jeff Sessions and then William Barr.

Federal intervention became a reality in 2019. Wall was made aware that he was the subject of a crackdown while on vacation with family in Portugal. It was during this time that he said he became aware of the severity of cannabis charges. “Everybody knows it’s federally illegal, but certainly not to that extent until the find themselves affected first-hand,” he stated.

Wall was worried he wouldn’t be allowed back into America without facing apprehension. After those fears were dashed, he first tried to get his affairs in order, but he found many in his trying opting to “cash-out” rather than support him.

Eventually, around autumn 2019, Wall left the U.S. for Central America. He would stay on the run until July 2020 before turning himself over to Feds at Los Angeles’ LAX airport. He would be shipped across the U.S. via bus and “Con-Air” flights, stopping at various prisons along the way, before reaching his current destination in Maryland. He said the journey is known as “diesel therapy.”

Wall, A First-Time Offender, Fights The Effects Of Prison, COVID-19​

While Wall awaits his hearing on nonviolent federal cannabis charges, he is housed at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore. The facility, known for its high level of violence, also endured significant exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

“This is no place you want to be,” said Wall, as he reported that stabbings occur regularly. He noted that one prisoner went so far as to have weaponized milk cartons with bodily waste against guards in an assault.

The experience has certainly created an impact on Wall, like it would almost anyone. He doesn’t consider himself institutionalized, but shared that “staying in a groove is essential to healthy adaptation.” To do so, he exercises regularly, reads often and tries to meditate for at least 20 minutes a day. A profound read has been Murray Rothbard’s The Ethics of Liberty. The book had a significance in developing his enthusiasm for Libertarianism social and economic structures. He also credited former cannabis convict turned author Richard Stratton for helping with his adjustment.

Life in the facility worsened when COVID-19 reached the prison, with Wall saying he didn’t know an inmate who didn’t contract the virus. He stated that his symptoms were minimal but remains slightly concerned about possible long-term effects. He alleges that the guards brought in the virus, saying, “It’s the only way it comes in here.” He added that instead of separating infected cellmates from other individuals, the guards would lock the door, not allowing either to leave for days at a time. He called the scenario a nightmare.

Preparing To Fight The Case​

Wall waits for his May 2022 first appearance in court. “I will have been incarcerated for 23 months as a legally innocent individual by the time I have my first appearance in court,” said Wall, asking if that timeline adhered to a citizen’s right to a speedy trial.

It is oft-reported that prisoners face harsher sentences if they forgo a plea deal and fight their charges—often forcing many to take a plea regardless or guilt or innocence. Despite the risk, Wall is ready to have his day in court. Whether guilty or innocent, Wall abhors the idea of “surrendering by copping out,” to a plea. He considers doing so accepting defeat. “I’ve known from childhood that these people were wrong,” he said of regulators. He doesn’t believe in fate, but said the case almost feels like something he’s been preparing for some time.

He calls the drug war “the most historically flagrant violation of personal property rights by the state.” Asking who is the government to regulate what a citizen can consume, he added, “especially a natural plant, widely regarded as a holistic medicine.” Wall would later explain that alcohol, pharmaceuticals and shotguns as far more dangerous, readily available legal options.

Wall’s lawyer, Jason Flores-Williams, is a noted activist and is prepared to fight the case.

Flores-Williams isn’t shying away from grand language to drive home his point. “I don’t understand this country’s commitment to ideological necrophilia, the insistence on continuing to have sex with dead ideas,” he said of the ongoing drug war and its effects.

The lawyer added, “I do not intend to live with the distinction of being the last attorney to have his client go to prison for pot.”

Despite the attention being on Wall, he hopes readers understand that he is just one of many continuing to be arrested and forced to serve years, decades for nonviolent cannabis charges. Like himself, many continue to face lengthy prison sentences despite the so-called “Green Rush” of legalization sweeping America.

He believes that without change, others like him will continue to get snared in the system while the powerful continue to escape punishment for the various allegations and crimes. “Are we tired of being lied to, tired of all the lies and the War on Drugs?” Wall asked.
 

Most Affected: Jonathan Wall Will Serve Nearly Two Years Before His First Day in Court For Cannabis

Jonathan Wall, a Maryland native, faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison over conspiracy charges of distributing cannabis as a first-time offender.

Jonathan Wall is a living reminder that the War on Drugs continues to snare new individuals in the system with its severe mandatory minimum sentences.

The 26-year-old Maryland native faces a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence over a federal distribution conspiracy charge, with the Feds alleging that Wall was part of an operation running cannabis from Humboldt County, where he lived at the time, to his native Maryland. If he goes to trial and loses, he could face up to life with his conspiracy charge of distributing over 1,000 kilograms of cannabis.

Wall, a first-time offender, is alleged to be the mastermind of the operation between Northern California, including Humboldt County, to his native Maryland. The Fed’s crackdown occurred in April 2019, with Wall in custody since July 2020. His first trial date is nearly a year away in May 2022.

While he waits, the aspiring mainstream cannabis operator attempts to maintain his composure while interned in Baltimore’s Chesapeake Detention Facility, a facility with a penchant for violence and corruption involving inmates and guards. The matters were only made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Unconventional Route Leads To Early Cannabis Realizations for Jonathan Wall​

Wall was born in Maryland and raised by his parents. He said they got along fine after adolescence, but had been contentious previously. Wall claimed to have had a bit of an issue with authority, stating that he “saw through the bullshit of society early on.” Happiness for Wall didn’t involve material goods like much of the world around him. Stating that he wanted to push his boundaries to find a sense of wholeness, he pursued an unconventional route.

That route included running away several times as a youth. He recalled the first time he smoked pot while on the run from home, joining a group of migrant crabbing industry workers in the back of their work van. He said everything changed from there. “Cannabis being introduced into my life allowed me to elevate my sense of consciousness and kind of see things in a different light.” Claiming to now see things differently, he said he “saw through the veil of the mundane, everyday reality, and witnessed the human experience as it truly is from a new and fresh perspective.”

Running away from home eventually led to Wall becoming homeless in his teens, turning to friends, and on occasions, public parks and restrooms. The lack of a stable home led to him dropping out of school, taking his GED instead to obtain his degree. Wall said the decision allowed him to pursue an alternate route in life.

He’d spend the next few years working in local restaurants, with cannabis supplementing his income. At 20, he saw an opportunity to enter the emerging California cannabis market in Humboldt County. At the time, California was operating as a medical-only marketplace, adhering to the Proposition 215 regulations and its subsequent reforms. Wall said he wanted to help provide cost-efficient cannabis to medical patients. Income would always be welcomed, but he stated several times throughout the interview with High Times that his prime intention was to give customers medical cannabis access.

Wall saw the lifestyle as a way to gain freedom from a society he felt disenfranchised with. He saw the 2008 economic collapse and subsequent lack of prosecution as a sign that society and the system was broken, with the working class left to serve to the rich. Through cannabis and Northern California, he shared that he “saw this as an opportunity to be entirely autonomous from a system that I saw as broken.”

Wall found that autonomy and a community he lacked back at home, save for his skateboarding friends. Wall felt he was contributing to a sustainable and victimless livelihood that helped others while providing him a modest living.

The Northern California community was well aware it still faced potential dangers with violating state and federal laws. However, the Obama years and the Cole Memo gave some a slight sense that the Feds were finally coming around on federal decriminalization and eventual legalization.

Wall said operators in the area remained “naturally paranoid” during the period, still in fear of just one person tipping off the Feds. Still, he said the general consensus was that cannabis prosecution was “a 20th century invention finally existing solely in the past,” which wouldn’t cause the unfortunate damages it had for decades before.

He said sentiments began to change when President Donald Trump appointed two anti-cannabis Attorneys Generals during his term, first Jeff Sessions and then William Barr.

Federal intervention became a reality in 2019. Wall was made aware that he was the subject of a crackdown while on vacation with family in Portugal. It was during this time that he said he became aware of the severity of cannabis charges. “Everybody knows it’s federally illegal, but certainly not to that extent until the find themselves affected first-hand,” he stated.

Wall was worried he wouldn’t be allowed back into America without facing apprehension. After those fears were dashed, he first tried to get his affairs in order, but he found many in his trying opting to “cash-out” rather than support him.

Eventually, around autumn 2019, Wall left the U.S. for Central America. He would stay on the run until July 2020 before turning himself over to Feds at Los Angeles’ LAX airport. He would be shipped across the U.S. via bus and “Con-Air” flights, stopping at various prisons along the way, before reaching his current destination in Maryland. He said the journey is known as “diesel therapy.”

Wall, A First-Time Offender, Fights The Effects Of Prison, COVID-19​

While Wall awaits his hearing on nonviolent federal cannabis charges, he is housed at the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore. The facility, known for its high level of violence, also endured significant exposure to the COVID-19 virus.

“This is no place you want to be,” said Wall, as he reported that stabbings occur regularly. He noted that one prisoner went so far as to have weaponized milk cartons with bodily waste against guards in an assault.

The experience has certainly created an impact on Wall, like it would almost anyone. He doesn’t consider himself institutionalized, but shared that “staying in a groove is essential to healthy adaptation.” To do so, he exercises regularly, reads often and tries to meditate for at least 20 minutes a day. A profound read has been Murray Rothbard’s The Ethics of Liberty. The book had a significance in developing his enthusiasm for Libertarianism social and economic structures. He also credited former cannabis convict turned author Richard Stratton for helping with his adjustment.

Life in the facility worsened when COVID-19 reached the prison, with Wall saying he didn’t know an inmate who didn’t contract the virus. He stated that his symptoms were minimal but remains slightly concerned about possible long-term effects. He alleges that the guards brought in the virus, saying, “It’s the only way it comes in here.” He added that instead of separating infected cellmates from other individuals, the guards would lock the door, not allowing either to leave for days at a time. He called the scenario a nightmare.

Preparing To Fight The Case​

Wall waits for his May 2022 first appearance in court. “I will have been incarcerated for 23 months as a legally innocent individual by the time I have my first appearance in court,” said Wall, asking if that timeline adhered to a citizen’s right to a speedy trial.

It is oft-reported that prisoners face harsher sentences if they forgo a plea deal and fight their charges—often forcing many to take a plea regardless or guilt or innocence. Despite the risk, Wall is ready to have his day in court. Whether guilty or innocent, Wall abhors the idea of “surrendering by copping out,” to a plea. He considers doing so accepting defeat. “I’ve known from childhood that these people were wrong,” he said of regulators. He doesn’t believe in fate, but said the case almost feels like something he’s been preparing for some time.

He calls the drug war “the most historically flagrant violation of personal property rights by the state.” Asking who is the government to regulate what a citizen can consume, he added, “especially a natural plant, widely regarded as a holistic medicine.” Wall would later explain that alcohol, pharmaceuticals and shotguns as far more dangerous, readily available legal options.

Wall’s lawyer, Jason Flores-Williams, is a noted activist and is prepared to fight the case.

Flores-Williams isn’t shying away from grand language to drive home his point. “I don’t understand this country’s commitment to ideological necrophilia, the insistence on continuing to have sex with dead ideas,” he said of the ongoing drug war and its effects.

The lawyer added, “I do not intend to live with the distinction of being the last attorney to have his client go to prison for pot.”

Despite the attention being on Wall, he hopes readers understand that he is just one of many continuing to be arrested and forced to serve years, decades for nonviolent cannabis charges. Like himself, many continue to face lengthy prison sentences despite the so-called “Green Rush” of legalization sweeping America.

He believes that without change, others like him will continue to get snared in the system while the powerful continue to escape punishment for the various allegations and crimes. “Are we tired of being lied to, tired of all the lies and the War on Drugs?” Wall asked.
This is far beyond atrocious and falls under the category of fascist, thuggish, disregard for anything at all like justice.....all in IMO, of course.

Oh, by the by.....one of the key authors and driving force behind the passing of draconian Fed drug penalties was.....yeah, you guessed it.
 
I posted this so that I could strenuously object to the racist premise of this article which is to remedy past/current racism with....yeah, more racism.

I come from a generation that considered "anti-racism" to be "color blindness" and not greater application of race in daily decisions and actions.

And I love the opening of the title..."Legal cannabis is mostly white"....I got news for these idiots...the ENTIRE FUCKING COUNTRY IS MOSTLY WHITE.

And yes, consider the outrage if this article swapped the placement of "white" and "black"...or even capitalizing "White" while not capitalizing "black".

I utterly reject any and all policies, decisioins, and actions based that use race as a criteria...I condemn them as racist and have zero problem with that.

Legal cannabis is mostly white, so consider backing these Black California businesses this holiday


Nationwide, Black people were 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2018, despite similar usage rates, according to a 2020 American Civil Liberty Union report. At the same time, the U.S. cannabis industry was and still is exploding with only 10% of cannabis business owners identifying as Latino or African American. So not only are people of color more likely to get in trouble for having weed, those criminal convictions could mean they are being shut out of a $61 billion industry. While overall marijuana arrests have decreased at the national level since 2010, cannabis arrests make up 43% of all drug arrests — which is more than any other drug — and the majority of the arrests are for possession, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. According to the report, police often target people based on their perceived race rather than reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. As a result, people of color and particularly young people of color, often face implications of minor offenses like marijuana possession. Today’s top headlines Sign up for the Daily Afternoon Bulletin and get a quick summary of the day's news. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. And while California is among the states with the lowest racial disparities — partly because it’s a decriminalized state — Sacramento ranks one of the highest counties for racial disparities in marijuana arrests. Black people in Sacramento County were 4.1 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people in 2018. And this is all while California accounts for almost a third of annual U.S. retail cannabis sales with minority owners having a significant impact on the overall percentage within the industry, according to MJ Biz Daily, a cannabis business information network. So with Christmas time usually seeing a 15% to 20% week-over-week growth and the festive holiday generating $427 million in cannabis sales last year, according to the Green Market Report — there’s money to be made. With that being said, here are five Black-owned California-based canna-businesses to help start your holiday gift search.


Oakland Extracts​






Oakland Extracts offer edibles, badders and sugar and diamonds.


Viola Brands​


Established in 2011 by NBA veteran Al Harrington, Viola’s Brands is experienced in growing premium flowers, extracts and strains.


Sf Roots​


SF Roots is a cannabis brand born in San Francisco dedicated to preserving the quality standards and culture of the industry. The Black-owned business offers whole flowers, pre-rolls, concentrates and tinctures.


Ball Family Farms​


Ball Family Farms flowers are hand-crafted from raw and organic nutrients produced in-house.


Put Color Back Iinto Cannabis​


With a mission to bring awareness to the BIPOC community within the cannabis industry, Put Color Back into Cannabis offers marijuana-inspired merchandise including pins, t-shirts and tote bags.
 
"When you're smoking marijuana it's like opening up your computer and pouring water inside..." This guy..... :argh: While I would agree that young kids shouldn't be using, this kids' behavior has NOTHING to do with cannabis. And blaming any of his behavior on using is a cop out on his parents part (and 'Dr.' Phil's). This kid needs serious counseling. And possibly some pharma drugs. Cannabis is not the problem.

Dr. Phil Says Smoking Weed Makes You Violent and Lowers Your IQ


The TV host and unlicensed psychologist claims that cannabis “rewires” young brains and leads to IQ drops.

Dr. Phil is many things—an author, a television personality, a regular guest on Oprah, a daytime Emmy nominee, a bald man from the Midwest—but one thing he’s certainly not is a licensed clinical psychologist.


Phil McGraw, best known to millions of Americans as the host of popular tabloid talk show Dr. Phil, is hardly known for actually helping the people who make the often ill-advised choice to step onto his set. And Dr. Phil’s latest bit of sagely advice to young cannabis smokers was decidedly in that same vein, combining half-baked urban legends with outright misinformation about the alleged “hazards” of the devil’s lettuce.

The occasion for Dr. Phil’s intervention against weed came when he had a woman named Bree on his show, who was joined by her 11-year-old son, J.J. The child’s mother claimed that J.J., who is a regular pot smoker, had become violent and misbehaved at home and at school—even going so far as to threaten her with a steak.

At that point, Dr. Phil began to spout off a totally non-scientific and rather ridiculous lecture about the deadly, mind-killing dangers of cannabis. He explained:

“Your brain grows until you’re 25 at least, and it’s constantly changing. When you get to be 18, 19, 20, it’s actually pruning itself back. When you smoke marijuana, it’s like opening your computer up and pouring water inside. A lot of things short out, and it connects where it’s not supposed to, and really creates problems.
Even occasional marijuana smokers will look at a multi-point drop in IQ, even with just occasional use—like once a week, or two or three times a month. You’ll see IQ drop and motivation will drop across time.”
And while no one will disagree that an 11-year-old child should be doing his homework rather than puffing trees, smoking cannabis simply won’t “short your brain.”





While it is true that the brain is still in a state of constant development until the mid-20s, nothing else that Dr. Phil said had any basis in science, said Dr. David Juurlink, a head of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Dr. Juurlink told Vice:

“It’s ludicrous to equate smoking cannabis with pouring water on a computer.”
Dr. Michael Verbora, chief medical officer for Aleafia Network, took similar issue with Dr. Phil’s strange idea of some “brain rewiring” caused by the plant. Verbora added that often times, cannabis users who are so young are already at-risk due to their troubled homes and lower incomes, where mental illness risks typically run higher.

But the idea that weed smokers face “a multi-point drop in IQ” from even occasional ingestion of the plant flies in the face of multiple peer-reviewed scientific studies and has “been debunked,” Dr. Verbora said, noting that only one study showed a slight intelligence decline—and even that effect was only temporary.
Even Dr. Phil’s antiquated description of cannabis as “dope” capable of turning a child violent shows what a quack the talk show host is, Dr. Verbora said.

He added:

“I’ve treated 5,000 patients and 5,000 out of my 5,000 say cannabis makes them feel relaxed and calm. No intelligent physician or doctor would ever use the word ‘dope’ to describe cannabis.”
Dr. Juurlink pointedly added:

“Maybe Dr. Phil should redirect hyperbole to alcohol, tobacco, opioids and benzos, all of which are considerably more harmful, as is exploiting your troubled pre-teen on national television.”
 

A 90-year-old was serving life for marijuana despite serious illness. Now he's going home​

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/casey-tolan
By Casey Tolan, CNN

Updated 6:55 AM ET, Thu December 16, 2021
210929114755-01-estrada-elias-exlarge-169.jpg


(CNN)In a dramatic reversal, a 90-year-old, seriously ill federal inmate serving life in prison for a nonviolent marijuana trafficking crime will go free after a judge granted him compassionate release on Tuesday -- overturning his previous order denying release.
Horacio Estrada-Elias, who was the subject of a CNN investigative story in September, is set to be freed this week after more than a dozen years behind bars.
"It's a huge blessing for all of us," his daughter Elizabeth Estrada said Tuesday. "We're so excited for the whole family to finally be together."
Estrada-Elias suffers from congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease, and also contracted the coronavirus while in prison, according to court affidavits filed by doctors. His prison doctor predicted in April 2020 that he had "less than 18 months" to live, and his warden recommended release, noting his spotless disciplinary record and writing last year that "he has been diagnosed with an incurable, progressive illness in which he will not recover."
Federal Judge Danny Reeves denied Estrada-Elias' motion for compassionate release in July, arguing that a life sentence is "the only sentence that would be appropriate."
Compassionate release became a life-or-death lottery for thousands of federal inmates during the pandemic
Compassionate release became a life-or-death lottery for thousands of federal inmates during the pandemic
But last month, an appeals court ordered Reeves to reconsider. Two judges on a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that Reeves had "abused (his) discretion" by ignoring the fact that Estrada-Elias is unlikely to reoffend and "overly emphasizing" his nonviolent crimes. One judge dissented.
On Tuesday, the day after the formal appeal mandate was transmitted to his court, Reeves issued a new opinion approving compassionate release.
"The defendant's medical condition constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason for release... when considered in conjunction with the defendant's advanced age," Reeves wrote, reducing Estrada-Elias' sentence to time served.
Estrada said her father's lawyer had expected the judge would take longer to issue a new ruling, potentially requiring a hearing or legal briefings, but she guessed that "something softened his heart."
Horacio Estrada-Elias in a 2014 family photo, with, from left to right, his sister Amanda Estrada, his sister Sylvia Ramirez, and his daughter Elizabeth Estrada.


Horacio Estrada-Elias in a 2014 family photo, with, from left to right, his sister Amanda Estrada, his sister Sylvia Ramirez, and his daughter Elizabeth Estrada.
Now, Estrada-Elias will be released from prison in Minnesota and fly to the San Diego area on Friday, Estrada said. He'll live with his sister, and the family plans to set up a medical bed to take care of him at home.
Reeves has an especially tough record on compassionate release, rejecting the vast majority of more than 100 release motions that came before him since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of court records. In his earlier opinion, he had argued that the large volume of marijuana that Estrada-Elias trafficked had shown "a flagrant disrespect for the law that can only be reflected in an equally severe sentence."
His reversal "seems to be rooted in common sense and human dignity as opposed to legal formalities," said Alison Guernsey, a University of Iowa law professor who has studied compassionate release cases and reviewed Reeves' opinion. She said it is uncommon for inmates who are denied compassionate release to win on appeal.
A court staffer for Reeves, who was nominated to the bench by former President George W. Bush and serves as the chief judge in his district, declined an interview request for him.
Estrada-Elias was sentenced to life in April 2008 after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to traffic tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana into and around the United States. Reeves, who handled his case, was required to give him a life sentence because he had previous drug convictions.

But the mandatory minimum law that applied was taken off the books in 2018. If Estrada-Elias hadn't been subject to the mandatory minimum, the guideline for his sentence range would have been about 12 to 16 years in prison, according to court documents.
Estrada-Elias' case is an example of the wide disparities across the country in compassionate release during the pandemic. In 2020 and the first half of 2021, some federal courts granted more than 40 percent of compassionate release motions in their districts, while others granted less than 3 percent, according to data from the US Sentencing Commission -- even though judges in all of the districts are applying the same laws, which allow compassionate release in "extraordinary and compelling" cases.
In Estrada-Elias' district, the Eastern District of Kentucky, judges granted about 6% of compassionate release motions, the data shows.
Guernsey, the law professor, said the vast disparity in grant rates between courts "really calls into question the equity of compassionate release."
"It appears to depend not on the gravity of your medical condition or the type of extraordinary and compelling circumstances that will dictate whether you're released," she said, "but almost a fluke of geography."



 
As our asshole politicians....ALL of our asshole politicians....fight viciously over legislation whose main purpose is to perpetuate their power, this absolutely unconstitutional shit has been allowed to continue. So, just what the fuck are these jerk-offs doing for their money....oh, feathering their own bed, is what.

Taking clause of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution (often referred to as the Bill of Rights....RIGHTS, our individual rights....get it politicians?? Hmmm??)

“Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”​

Kansas and California cops used civil forfeiture to stage armored car heists, stealing money earned by licensed marijuana businesses


The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.​

Because the continued federal prohibition of marijuana makes banks and payment processors leery of serving state-licensed cannabis suppliers, many of those businesses rely heavily on cash, which exposes them to a heightened risk of robbery. As a new federal lawsuit shows, that danger is not limited to garden-variety criminals. It includes cops who use federal civil forfeiture laws to steal money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses.

Five times since last May, sheriff's deputies in Kansas and California have stopped armored cars operated by Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that serves marijuana businesses and financial institutions that work with them. The cops made off with cash after three of those stops, seizing a total of $1.2 million, but did not issue any citations or file any criminal charges, which are not necessary to confiscate property through civil forfeiture. That process allows police to pad their budgets by seizing assets they allege are connected to criminal activity, even when the owner is never charged, let alone convicted.

Empyreal, which is represented by the Institute for Justice, argues that the seizure of its clients' money violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution. In a complaint it filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Empyreal says it is "entitled to protection from highway robberies, regardless of whether they are conducted by criminals or by the Sheriff and federal law-enforcement agencies acting under color of law."

On May 17, Dickinson County Sheriff's Deputy Kalen Robinson pulled over one of Empyreal's vans on Interstate 70, ostensibly because the Colorado tag number was partially obstructed by the license plate frame. Robinson grilled the driver, who explained that she planned to pick up cash from licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Kansas City, Missouri, the next day, then take it to a credit union in Colorado, which would entail traveling through Kansas again on the same highway. Robinson let the driver proceed on her way without issuing a citation, but the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) kept an eye on the van the following morning as it visited the Missouri dispensaries.

Later that day, Robinson stopped the van again as it traveled west on Interstate 70, seizing more than $165,000 in cash from its vault. In September, the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to keep the money. If the government prevails, the Dickinson County Sheriff's Department will get up to 80 percent of the loot under the Justice Department's "equitable sharing" program.

In the affidavit supporting the federal forfeiture complaint, DEA Special Agent Bryson Wheeler noted that "marijuana is a controlled substance and illegal under both federal and Kansas state law." But Empyreal argues that the DEA's participation in this scheme ran afoul of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, a spending rider that bars the Justice Department (which includes the DEA and the FBI) from using any of its funds to interfere with the implementation of state laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana. Because the DEA violated that restriction, the company says, it also violated the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. And because the seizure was motivated by the prospect of financial gain, the lawsuit says, it violated the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process.

The stops and seizures in California raise additional legal issues, because that state, unlike Kansas, allows the sale of marijuana for medical or recreational use. It also explicitly protects companies like Empyreal from harassment by local or state law enforcement agencies. A 2020 law says a business that "transports cash or financial instruments, or provides other financial services does not commit a crime under any California law…solely by virtue of the fact that the person receiving the benefit of any of those services engages in commercial cannabis activity as a licensee pursuant to this division." Despite that law, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies stopped Empyreal vans three times in November, December, and January, seizing more than $1 million.

On November 16, Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Franco pulled over one of the company's vehicles, supposedly because it was following a tractor-trailer truck too closely. Like Robinson, Franco did not issue any citations. But after the driver told him the van was carrying cash, the lawsuit says, Franco "asked many questions about the nature of Empyreal's business." Even though it should have been clear that Empyreal was not violating any state laws, the cops seized about $700,000. The sheriff's office later told the company's lawyer the money "was transferred to the FBI for civil forfeiture."

On December 9, Empyreal says, the same deputies pulled over the same vehicle, driven by the same employee, ostensibly because he "slightly exceeded the speed limit and prematurely activated his turn signal." But once again, no citation was issued. According to the lawsuit, "the driver's operation of the Empyreal vehicle was completely lawful." The company says "the deputies had planned the stop in advance and would have pulled over the driver and the Empyreal vehicle regardless of how carefully or lawfully it was driven."

The deputies claimed a drug-sniffing dog alerted to the van, which Empyreal says also is not true: "Video footage from the vehicle does not show the dog alert on the vehicle. Instead, it shows the dog is barely interested in the vehicle."

This time the cops seized about $350,000. The deputies, who were audibly excited about the $700,000 haul, were somewhat disappointed by the relatively small size of the second seizure. Based on an audio recording by the van's security system, the lawsuit describes this exchange:
"One of the deputies said, 'That's it?' and chuckled. He then said:
'You set the bar too high.' When another deputy remarked that he thought they'd get 'a million or two,' the [first] deputy responded, 'At least we got over a million'"—apparently referring to the combined take from the two seizures. The FBI later told Empyreal's lawyer it had also taken possession of the money seized on December 9, pending federal forfeiture proceedings.

From San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus' perspective, involving the feds has clear advantages. Money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses is not subject to forfeiture under California law. Even if it were, law enforcement agencies would be entitled to just 65 percent of the proceeds, compared to as much as 80 percent under federal law. And for cash forfeitures involving $40,000 or more, California requires "clear and convincing evidence," while federal law says "a preponderance of the evidence" is good enough.

Recognizing the allure of those terms, California legislators have prohibited federal "adoption" of seizures initiated by state or local law enforcement agencies. But that restriction does not cover seizures by anti-drug task forces that include federal as well as local agencies. Empyreal suspects the California stops involved such a task force: the Inland Regional Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Federal participation still implicates the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment. Empyreal says three of the four businesses whose money it was transporting on November 16 had medical marijuana licenses, while all of the money seized on December 9 came from businesses with such licenses. The company also argues that Dicus, one of the defendants named in the lawsuit, exceeded his own authority by allowing or instructing his deputies to stop, search, and rob the company's vans without any evidence of state crimes.

The third California stop sheds some light on that strategy. On January 6, the lawsuit says, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies stopped an Empyreal driver who was "picking up an order of rolled coin boxes from Empyreal's vendor, which happens to be located in San Bernardino County, in order to replenish its rolled coin supply." After the deputies realized that the coins had nothing to do with cannabis, they decided not to seize them. "When the Empyreal driver asked a deputy why Empyreal vehicles were being stopped so frequently," the company says, "the deputy told him it was 'political' but declined to elaborate."

Whether that response alluded to Dicus' own motivation or a federal agenda, it certainly does not sound like a reason that would pass muster under the Fourth Amendment. Empyreal argues that "pretextual traffic stops" aimed at supplementing police budgets rather than enforcing state law cannot qualify as "reasonable."
In addition to the cannabis industry, Empyreal, which operates in 28 states and has more than 200 employees, serves traditional businesses such as restaurants and convenience stores. Empyreal says it and its clients "operate in full compliance with

applicable state cannabis laws and all applicable federal and state money laundering compliance requirements," including the relevant provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act and marijuana-specific guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

"Empyreal is proud to provide a professional and secure solution for our customers to safely transport their deposits into the financial system, which increases transparency and makes communities safer by getting cash off the streets," CEO Deirdra O'Gorman says in a press release.

"Because both we and our clients operate completely within the law, we have never had problems until recently. To continue serving our clients, we have no choice but to stand up for our constitutional rights."

Empyreal has reimbursed its clients for the money seized in Kansas and California, so it is already out $1.2 million, along with the legal cost of contesting the forfeitures. The company says it is trying to avoid further trouble by routing money from marijuana businesses around Kansas and San Bernardino County, which leads to needless extra travel. Empyreal has suspended plans for a "vault and currency processing facility" in Dicus' jurisdiction. It says it had already invested $100,000 in that project and continues to pay $21,000 a month in rent and utilities for the building. Empyreal says the threat of continued harassment and seizures has cost it clients and endangered the expansion of its business, especially in California.

"What is happening to Empyreal potently illustrates why we call civil forfeiture 'policing for profit,'" says Institute for Justice attorney Kirby Thomas West.
"Law enforcement is trying to take more than a million dollars without charging anyone with a crime. That is absurd and deeply unconstitutional. It is yet another reason why lawmakers need to eliminate civil forfeiture altogether."
 

Guns or marijuana, but not both


While marijuana became legal for adults to purchase in Montana on New Year’s Day, a key federal agency has confirmed a fact underreported in coverage of the state’s new marijuana program: It remains illegal under federal law for individuals to simultaneously possess marijuana or marijuana products and firearms, and penalties for violating that law are severe. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed the policy to Montana Free Press last week, noting that the federal Gun Control Act prohibits a person who possesses a controlled substance from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Cannabis is currently recognized as a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance.
“The Gun Control Act (GCA) prohibits a person who uses a controlled substance from possessing a firearm or ammunition,” ATF Public Information Officer Crystal McCoy told MTFP.

The question is complicated by a federal form required for purchasing a firearm. It asks the applicant, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” The form does not specify that even if marijuana is lawful in the applicant’s state of residence, it remains unlawful in the eyes of the bureau.
“Anyone who is currently using marijuana, whether for ‘medicinal’ purposes or otherwise, should answer ‘yes’ [on the form],” McCoy explained via email.

McCoy further noted that the Bureau’s position is longstanding. She cited a 2011 open letter penned by Arthur Herbert, the Bureau’s Assistant Director of Enforcement Programs and Services, offering guidance on the subject.



“Marijuana, as mentioned above, is listed in the [Controlled Substance Act] as a Schedule I controlled substance … and Federal law does not provide any exception allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes, even if authorized by state law,” Herbert wrote at the time.

McCoy additionally cited a 2011 case in which S. Rowan Wilson, a medical marijuana patient in Nevada, claimed in court that the policy violated her constitutional rights. In 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Wilson and in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice and ATF.

In Montana, enforcement of the policy largely hinges on self-reporting, since the state is prohibited from tracking marijuana customers or putting them on a list. The Montana Department of Revenue and Department of Justice both declined to provide comment for this story. DOJ suggested contacting a federal agency.
Violations of the law are punishable with a fine of up to $10,000 and a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

As the libertarian Reason Foundation points out, the policy is unlikely to change until either marijuana is descheduled from the list of federally controlled substances or the Gun Control Act is amended to include exceptions for medical marijuana patients or states with legal marijuana markets.
 
Fuck them and the horse they came in on.....

Feds Clarify That Medical Marijuana Recommendations From Doctors Don’t Excuse Positive Drug Tests​



A top federal health agency is proposing changes to drug testing policies for federal workers to clarify that having a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana or any other Schedule I drug is not a valid excuse for a positive drug test.

The proposal from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), comes in a pair of notices published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

While it is already the case that participating in a state medical cannabis program doesn’t shield federal workers from being fired over marijuana use, the new language being floated for addition to urine and oral fluid testing policies would further clarify the federal government’s prohibitionist stance:

(iii) A physician’s authorization or medical recommendation for a Schedule 1 controlled substance is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result.

Beyond the medical recommendation issue, the notices also propose revised language that would more broadly clarify that passive exposure to, or accidental ingestion of, any illicit drugs—and not just marijuana—is not a valid excuse for a positive urine or oral fluid test.

The current policies on urine drug testing focus on marijuana as the one controlled substance for which passive expose (i.e. secondhand smoke) or ingestion of infused food products is “not a legitimate medical explanation” for a positive test result:

(i) Passive exposure to marijuana smoke is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive THCA result.

(ii) Ingestion of food products containing marijuana is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive THCA result.

But the SAMHSA proposed expanded language in one of the new notices that would apply the policy to any drug, while citing marijuana as an example along with poppy seeds:

(i) Passive exposure to a drug (e.g.,exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke) is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result.

(ii) Ingestion of food products containing a drug (e.g.,products containing marijuana, poppy seeds containing codeine and/or morphine) is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive urine drug test result.

In the separate notice for oral fluid drug testing, the federal agency is floating a somewhat similar expansion from the current policy, which states:

(i) Passive exposure to a drug (e.g., exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke) is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result.

(ii) Ingestion of food products containing marijuana is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result.

The new proposed language reads:

(i) Passive exposure to a drug (e.g.,exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke) is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result.

(ii) Ingestion of food products containing a drug (e.g.,products containing marijuana) is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive drug test result…

In this case, the current approach already includes all drugs when it comes to passive exposure, while focusing only on marijuana when it comes to infused foods. Under the revision, both categories of positive tests would apply to all illegal controlled substances while citing cannabis as an example.

A 60-day public comment period on the proposals is now open until June 6.

As more states have moved to legalize marijuana in some form, policymakers and officials have been grappling with drug testing protocols, with varying results.

For example, the director of national intelligence (DNI) said late last year that federal employers shouldn’t outright reject security clearance applicants over past use and should use discretion when it comes to those with cannabis investments in their stock portfolios.

FBI updated its hiring policies last year to make it so candidates are only automatically disqualified from joining the agency if they admit to having used marijuana within one year of applying. Previously, prospective employees of the agency could not have used cannabis within the past three years.

The Department of Transportation also took a different approach to its cannabis policy in 2020, stating in a notice that it would not be testing drivers for CBD.

And while the Biden administration has instituted a policy of granting waivers to certain workers who admit to prior cannabis use, it’s come under fire from advocates following reports that it fired or otherwise punished dozens of staffers who were honest about their history with marijuana.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has previously attempted to minimize the fallout, without much success, and her office released a statement last year stipulating that nobody was fired for “marijuana usage from years ago,” nor has anyone been terminated “due to casual or infrequent use during the prior 12 months.”

A powerful congressional committee released a report last year that urges federal agencies to reconsider policies that result in the firing of employees who use marijuana legally in accordance with state law.

Military branches in general have been notably consistent in their policies—prohibiting service members from using any form of cannabis, including hemp-based products that have been federally legalized.

On Wednesday, for example, members of the Navy were specifically told not to drink a new Rockstar energy drink from Pepsi that contains hemp seed oil.

That advisory from the Naval War College is a follow-up on an initial Navy-wide notice in 2018 that informed ranks that they’re barred from using CBD and hemp products no matter their legality. Then in 2020 it released an update explaining why it enacted the rule change.

In 2019, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced a policy barring all active and reserve service members from using hemp products, including CBD. DOD more broadly reaffirmed that CBD is off limits to service members in earlier notices published in 2020.

About one year after hemp was federally legalized, the Air Force sent out a notice that similarly warned against using CBD products that are commonly found on the market.

A Massachusetts base of the U.S. Air Force told pilots last year that they could face disciplinary action for possessing any type of hemp product, even if it’s “for your pet.”

Officials with the military branch also said the previous year that it wants its members to be extra careful around “grandma’s miracle sticky buns” that might contain marijuana.

The Coast Guard said that sailors can’t use marijuana or visit state-legal dispensaries.

And NASA, which is not part of the military, warned that CBD products could contain unauthorized THC concentrations that could cost employees their jobs if they fail a drug test.

SAMHSA, which is one of the agencies behind the new proposed drug testing notices, may have influenced these prior policy updates. It released guidance to federal agency drug program coordinators in 2019 that outlined concerns about THC turning up in CBD products and causing failed drug tests. The agency issued an updated warning in 2020 after several more states voted to legalize marijuana.
 
As an equal opportunity critic, I like to point out utter stupidity wherever I find it....and so, I bring to you Laura Ingraham.


Fact check: Fox News’ Laura Ingraham claims that marijuana causes mass shootings


Here are just some reasons why Laura Ingraham’s statement is absolutely absurd, and none of them have to do with marijuana legalization.​

We’re only halfway through the year, and there has been over 200 mass shootings all around the United States already.
The deadliest of these, the Uvalde school shooting targeting a fourth grade elementary class, was considered the worst since Sandy Hook. This is clearly a systemic problem within the United States, but Fox News host Laura Ingraham doesn’t think so: she made it clear that she’s anti-marijuana legalization by blaming the mass shootings on cannabis laws.
During her talk at The Ingraham Angle last week on Fox News, she said:
“This is something that the medical community is well aware of. Yet, you get the sense that billions of dollars on the line are more important than our kids,” she said.
“And what’s happening especially to young men in the United States, who are frequent users of the high-potency THC that’s now in marijuana products sold legally in dispensaries across the United States. I mean, this at the very least needs a serious national conversation.”



Yes, she said that.
We’re in shock that someone in this day and age still actually believes pot psychosis is a thing. I mean, that’s so Reefer Madness. Did Laura Ingraham get her research from watching the 1936 propaganda film and nothing more? Because that sounds like it, and she makes herself sound so detached from reality.
There are just so many ways her irrational statement didn’t have any legs. She said that she heard about some vague reports the shooter was smoking weed, but Ingraham thinks that the issue really all lies in the legalization of marijuana and the lax laws surrounding it.

Fact check​

Here are just some reasons why Laura Ingraham’s statement is absolutely absurd. Leave marijuana legalization out of it!
  • Lax gun laws: According to the Small Arms Survey as reported by BBC, back in 2018 there were around 390 million firearms circulating in the United States, making the ratio of gun ownership 120.5 guns for every 100 residents. The report also states that gun ownership has increased significantly in the last few years, resulting in 11 million people exposed to guns within their homes.
In addition, the Small Arms Survey states that Americans are the #1 country whose citizens own guns. And Harvard researchers correlate this with their findings that when this many people own guns in a developed country, this will lead to many more gun homicides. And of course so many Americans own guns – it’s far too easy to get your hands on one! No matter where you live, you will come across dozens, maybe even hundreds of shops that sell guns. There are gun shows that take place almost every weekend, and you can buy a gun from a friend or family member.
Only store gun purchases require a background check, if any. That’s where firearm buyers have to fill out a form either from the ATF or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Such a background check only takes a few minutes and denials for gun ownership are rare. In fact, cannabis users can’t even own guns.
However, there are states with stricter gun laws such as in Washington DC, Chicago, and New York.
  • Marijuana legalization has been linked to a reduction in violent crime: There have been several studies documenting how legalizing marijuana has led to a reduction in violent crime rates. In one study in June 2020 conducted by the National Institute of Justice on the Effects of Marijuana Legalization on Law Enforcement, they said that “legalization has apparently coincided with an increase in crime clearance rates in several areas, suggesting that legalization may result in a net positive redistribution in police human resource allocation. In addition, fewer persons are being processed by the criminal justice system on nonviolent marijuana possession offenses.”
In Washington State, for example, the Drug Policy Alliance reports that since they have legalized marijuana in 2012, there has been a reduction in violent crime rates while overall crime rates have stayed at a 40-year low. The National Incident-Based Reporting System also says that violent crime continues to significantly decrease in Washington.
  • Shooter profiling: Scientific American released a profiling compiled by criminologists, looking at the life histories of mass shooters in the United States. Entitled, The Violence Project, one can find similarities among the shooters, and there is nothing that points to cannabis use. Some notable points here are the fact that almost half of all the shooters were able to get their guns legally from a licensed dealer, private sale, or other form of legal means while others borrowed guns and the rest have unknown origins.
The Violence Project also identified that the most common motivation for the mass shootings was psychosis, which is a type of mental disorder wherein the person can no longer identify what’s real or what isn’t. They also tend to have difficulties with employment, interpersonal conflict with family, friends, or coworkers. More than half of the shooters already had a criminal record, while a great deal of them suffered from a history of trauma or had some form of domestic abuse.
These are the facts, and there’s nothing that links to marijuana use, not even close. Sure, individuals with psychosis shouldn’t use cannabis, but that isn’t even discussed in the profiling. The two issues here are strikingly clear and worrisome: our gun laws are far too lax, while psychiatric care is declining rapidly. Given that the average age of shooters is 18, we need to start paying closer attention to the children we’re raising, look for cues, and find a way to stop exposing them to guns.
 
I put this article here as I can't imagine a more myopic response to what is going on in Ukraine right now than the title of this article.

Russian war might be push Ukraine needs to legalize marijuana


While recreational cannabis remains illegal in Ukraine, the country is slowly moving towards legalizing the plant’s medicinal use.​

The Russian war has affected the mental health of many Ukrainians, something that might push the country to legalize medical marijuana.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Minister of Healthcare, Viktor Liashko, wrote on Facebook that the cabinet had approved a bill to legalize medical cannabis, allowing the drug to treat a variety of conditions, among them, the trauma enacted by the war.

“We understand the negative effects of war on mental health. We understand the number of people who will need medical treatment due to this exposure. And we understand that there is no time to wait,” reads the post.
Why Marijuana Is Still Taboo In Russia And Ukraine

Per NPR, the bill will regulate “the circulation of cannabis plants for medical, industrial purposes, scientific and scientific-technical activities to create the conditions for expanding the access of patients to the necessary treatment of cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from war.”

Liashko’s post explains some of the benefits of cannabis use, including that it can help treat and prevent a variety of conditions, among them, PTSD, sleep disorders and neurological diseases.

According to The Kyiv Post, the draft bill will now move on to Parliament where it’ll have to earn at least 226 votes in order to be approved. The bill is a reworked version of a previous bill that was denied last year, one that lawmakers believe will have more now support due to the country’s ongoing struggle with Russia.
While recreational cannabis remains illegal in Ukraine, the country is slowly moving towards legalizing the plant’s medicinal use. According to a 2020 poll, 65% of the Ukrainian population supports the use of medical cannabis and President Volodymyr Zelensky campaigned while openly supporting cannabis legislation.

Despite the fact that the bill regulating medical cannabis was denied in the near past, the country did legalize the use of certain medical cannabis products.
 
Fuck the Feds



Politics

EPA Warns Workers They’re Banned From Using Marijuana Or Investing In The Industry In New Memo



The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reminding its workers that they are prohibited from using marijuana—or directly investing in the industry—regardless of state law and changes in “social norms” around cannabis.

In an email with the subject line “Employee Obligations Regarding a Drug-free Workplace” that was sent out on Thursday and obtained by Marijuana Moment, EPA’s acting assistant administrator in the Office of Mission Support said that the agency wanted to reiterate the federal cannabis ban in light of updated guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

While hemp containing no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight is federally legal, EPA said that “legislative efforts by U.S. states and jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, as well as foreign countries, to remove criminal prohibitions on medical or recreational use of marijuana or on CBD products do not alter Federal law or Executive Branch policies regarding a drug-free workplace.”

“Despite changes in state laws and social norms, the use of marijuana is illegal under Federal law, even when obtained through prescription or when used in a jurisdiction where such use is permitted,” it says.

EPA said that employees who use marijuana off-duty or on-duty marijuana could be subject to “disciplinary action, a negative suitability determination, and may be determined ineligible for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position, as applicable.”

Additionally, the agency said that employees who work in “designated security positions” or who are “directly investing in stocks or business ventures pertaining to marijuana growers or retailers” could lose their ability to access sensitive materials or be rendered ineligible for such roles.

However, indirect investments related to cannabis growers or retailers—such as investments in a publicly traded, diversified mutual fund—are “not relevant for purposes of determining eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position,” the memo says.

“Employees who are using illegal drugs are expected to discontinue such use and to refrain from using illegal drugs in the future,” it continues. “Employees who believe that they may have a drug problem are encouraged to consider available treatment, counseling, or rehabilitation programs, as appropriate.”

Marijuana Moment reached out to EPA to verify the authenticity of the email, but a representative was not immediately available.

Workplace drug testing issues continue to be raised, especially as more states move to legalize cannabis in some form and many industries are facing workforce shortages.

For example, the White House recently made clear that people who want to even intern at the president’s office will be required to disclose prior drug use—including any cannabis consumption that was legal under state law—and they could be denied eligibility over it.

Appropriations legislation and attached reports passed by the House last year directed federal government agencies to reconsider policies that fire employees for using cannabis in compliance with state law.

As noted in the new EPA letter, the White House OPM recently issued a memo to federal agencies that says admitting to past marijuana use should not automatically disqualify people from being employed in the federal government.

Last month, a congressman sent a letter. to the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation, stating that the agency’s policies on drug testing truckers and other commercial drivers for marijuana are unnecessarily costing people their jobs and contributing to supply chain issues.

Relatedly, a top Wells Fargo analyst said in February that there’s one main reason for rising costs and worker shortages in the transportation sector: federal marijuana criminalization and resulting drug testing mandates that persist even as more states enact legalization.

Meanwhile, in April, a top federal health agency proposed changes to drug testing policies for federal workers to clarify that having a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana or any other Schedule I drug is not a valid excuse for a positive drug test.

Also earlier this year, a coalition of more than two dozen congressional Democrats filed bill on promoting workplace investment to combat climate change, and they said they want to boost the workforce nationwide by protecting people in legal marijuana states from being penalized due to federal drug testing policies.
 

U.S. English Teacher Sentenced to 14 Years in Russia for Pot ‘Smuggling’

Another foreign traveler in possession of cannabis, U.S. Embassy diplomat Marc Fogel, has been sentenced to prison time in Russia.

Former U.S. Embassy diplomat Marc Fogel was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison for cannabis trafficking. Aside from his role at the U.S. Embassy, Fogel was working as an English teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, Russia. On August 15, 2021, he was caught in possession of 17 grams (or 0.6 ounces) of cannabis in his luggage at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. He had diplomatic immunity until May 2021.

According to a recent Moscow court ruling, “The American citizen Fogel has been found guilty” because of “large-scale drugs smuggling, large-scale illegal storage of drugs without a commercial purpose.”

Fogel said that a doctor had recommended medical cannabis to him in the U.S. to treat pain that followed after he had spinal surgery. “He insists that it was medical marijuana and claims that a doctor prescribed it to him in the United States, which is allegedly confirmed by an entry in the medical record,” said Moscow human rights committee member Alexander Khurudzhi. Furthermore, Fogel argued that he did not know that medical cannabis was illegal.

A Russian news agency called Interfax reported that Fogel has plead guilty to these charges: “On June 16, 2022, the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region found U.S. citizen Marc Fogel guilty of committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 229.1 (drug smuggling), Part 2 of Article 228 (illegal acquisition, possession, transportation, manufacture, and processing of narcotic drugs) of the Russian Criminal Code, and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment to be served in a high-security penal colony,” Interfax wrote.

This ruling occurred in the same jurisdiction that is discussing the detainment of WNBA athlete Brittney Griner, who was arrested for possession of vape cartridges in February. Most recently, Lebron James called out for support. “We need to come together and help do whatever we possibly can to bring BG home quickly and safely!! Our voice as athletes is stronger together,” James said on Twitter, in partnership with a support campaign called “We Are BG” from Uninterrupted.

“For over 100 days, BG has faced inhumane conditions in a Russian prison and has been denied communications with her family and loved ones,” Uninterrupted wrote and shared on social media. “As a decorated Olympian and member of an elite global sport community, BG’s detention must be resolved out of respect for the sanctity of all sport and for all Americans traveling internationally. It is imperative that the U.S. Government immediately address this human rights issue and do whatever is necessary to return Brittney home.”

According to TMZ, famous Boxer Roy Jones Jr. (who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia) is currently assisting with getting Griner released. However, most recent coverage reports that Griner’s detention will last until at least July 7.

In Russia, both adult-use and medical cannabis is illegal. This isn’t the first time that cannabis has gotten foreign visitors to Russia in hot water. In 2019, a 26-year-old woman traveling from India to Israel was found in possession of nine grams of cannabis—to which she received over seven months of time in prison for drug trafficking (although she was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January 2020). Similarly, a 19-year-old film student traveled to Russia with 19 grams of medical cannabis and spent a month in prison, and left with a 15,000 rubles fine ($230 in U.S. dollars).

In the case of Griner, U.S. Cannabis Council CEO Steven Hawkins told AZcentral.com that cannabis possession is frequently used as a way to convict targeted individuals. “In this case, Russian authorities appear to be using alleged cannabis possession as a pretext for holding a prominent American as leverage. Brittney Griner must not be used as a pawn by Russia. We urge the U.S. government to use all available channels to secure her speedy return home.”
 

U.S. English Teacher Sentenced to 14 Years in Russia for Pot ‘Smuggling’

Another foreign traveler in possession of cannabis, U.S. Embassy diplomat Marc Fogel, has been sentenced to prison time in Russia.

Former U.S. Embassy diplomat Marc Fogel was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison for cannabis trafficking. Aside from his role at the U.S. Embassy, Fogel was working as an English teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, Russia. On August 15, 2021, he was caught in possession of 17 grams (or 0.6 ounces) of cannabis in his luggage at the Sheremetyevo International Airport. He had diplomatic immunity until May 2021.

According to a recent Moscow court ruling, “The American citizen Fogel has been found guilty” because of “large-scale drugs smuggling, large-scale illegal storage of drugs without a commercial purpose.”

Fogel said that a doctor had recommended medical cannabis to him in the U.S. to treat pain that followed after he had spinal surgery. “He insists that it was medical marijuana and claims that a doctor prescribed it to him in the United States, which is allegedly confirmed by an entry in the medical record,” said Moscow human rights committee member Alexander Khurudzhi. Furthermore, Fogel argued that he did not know that medical cannabis was illegal.

A Russian news agency called Interfax reported that Fogel has plead guilty to these charges: “On June 16, 2022, the Khimki City Court of the Moscow region found U.S. citizen Marc Fogel guilty of committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 229.1 (drug smuggling), Part 2 of Article 228 (illegal acquisition, possession, transportation, manufacture, and processing of narcotic drugs) of the Russian Criminal Code, and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment to be served in a high-security penal colony,” Interfax wrote.

This ruling occurred in the same jurisdiction that is discussing the detainment of WNBA athlete Brittney Griner, who was arrested for possession of vape cartridges in February. Most recently, Lebron James called out for support. “We need to come together and help do whatever we possibly can to bring BG home quickly and safely!! Our voice as athletes is stronger together,” James said on Twitter, in partnership with a support campaign called “We Are BG” from Uninterrupted.

“For over 100 days, BG has faced inhumane conditions in a Russian prison and has been denied communications with her family and loved ones,” Uninterrupted wrote and shared on social media. “As a decorated Olympian and member of an elite global sport community, BG’s detention must be resolved out of respect for the sanctity of all sport and for all Americans traveling internationally. It is imperative that the U.S. Government immediately address this human rights issue and do whatever is necessary to return Brittney home.”

According to TMZ, famous Boxer Roy Jones Jr. (who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia) is currently assisting with getting Griner released. However, most recent coverage reports that Griner’s detention will last until at least July 7.

In Russia, both adult-use and medical cannabis is illegal. This isn’t the first time that cannabis has gotten foreign visitors to Russia in hot water. In 2019, a 26-year-old woman traveling from India to Israel was found in possession of nine grams of cannabis—to which she received over seven months of time in prison for drug trafficking (although she was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January 2020). Similarly, a 19-year-old film student traveled to Russia with 19 grams of medical cannabis and spent a month in prison, and left with a 15,000 rubles fine ($230 in U.S. dollars).

In the case of Griner, U.S. Cannabis Council CEO Steven Hawkins told AZcentral.com that cannabis possession is frequently used as a way to convict targeted individuals. “In this case, Russian authorities appear to be using alleged cannabis possession as a pretext for holding a prominent American as leverage. Brittney Griner must not be used as a pawn by Russia. We urge the U.S. government to use all available channels to secure her speedy return home.”
On the other hand, he has to be an utter moron to take cannabis into Russia after his diplomatic immunity had been expired....same with that basketball player. Not a nice place to play.
 
On the other hand, he has to be an utter moron to take cannabis into Russia after his diplomatic immunity had been expired....same with that basketball player. Not a nice place to play.
Maybe it was a planted :wink:

'It's Easy To Ruin Someone's Life': Kaliningrad Case Revives Discussion Of Russia's Fake Drug Prosecutions​

April 19, 2020 08:40 GMT

Some police in Russia’s Kaliningrad have been charged with planting drugs on a suspect. It is a rare development in what activists say is an alarmingly common phenomenon. (illustrative photo)

Some police in Russia’s Kaliningrad have been charged with planting drugs on a suspect. It is a rare development in what activists say is an alarmingly common phenomenon. (illustrative photo)
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KALININGRAD, Russia – Prosecutors in this western Russian city have opened a criminal investigation into an unspecified number of police officers on suspicion of fabricating a drug-possession case in order to inflate their job performance.
The case has once again cast the spotlight on what rights activists say is a widespread practice among Russian law enforcement of planting drugs on people and compelling confessions from them for a variety of reasons, such as the desire to meet case quotas, to settle business disputes or personal scores, to quell political dissent, or to silence inconvenient journalists.
“Planting drugs is often used for political pressure or simply to improve one’s performance statistics,” said Kaliningrad defense lawyer Maria Bontsler. “‘If there aren’t enough cases, now let’s make one.’ But these cases are truly terrifying. It is very easy to ruin a person’s life. A few grams [of drugs] and a person can go to prison for many years.”
The area of Kaliningrad where Filatov's client says he was detained

The area of Kaliningrad where Filatov's client says he was detained
The officers suspected in the Kaliningrad case are attached to the narcotics department of a special Interior Ministry section covering the transportation sector. Only one of them – Senior Lieutenant Ruslan Yakovenko – has been identified, according to lawyer Vladislav Filatov, who is defending the 22-year-old local man who is the alleged victim in the case. His name is also being withheld.
“According to the case materials, officers of the narcotics department…with the assistance of an informant, found a person on whom the drugs could be planted in order to improve their service performance record,” Filatov told RFE/RL.
After the young man was arrested in January, police said they found 1.2 grams of amphetamine in his backpack.
The alleged victim, a student who completed his military service in the National Guard, was threatened with a prison term of three to 10 years if he were charged with being part of a “criminal group.” As a result, he signed a statement he said was written by the officers saying that he had purchased the drugs as a result of a random opportunity and that he was alone.
After he signed the statement, Filatov said, the young man was released on his own recognizance pending trial.
The officers involved allegedly fabricated documentation indicating that they had been investigating and surveilling the young man prior to his arrest.
Lawyer Vladislav Filatov: Monstrous provocation

Lawyer Vladislav Filatov: "Monstrous provocation"
“I was sure the drugs had been planted and I appealed to the Federal Security Service (FSB),” Filatov said. As a result, a criminal case was opened on March 13 against the officers and the civilian informant who was allegedly working with them.
“You can’t just call this abuse of power,” Filatov said. “It is actually a monstrous provocation with the falsification of evidence. Any law-abiding citizen could have ended up in my client’s position. This is the first case I’ve ever had where we have managed not only to establish that the case was a provocation but also that the drugs were planted.”
Critics believe such cases are quite common in Russia. Every year, more than 100,000 people are convicted under Article 228 of the Criminal Code, which outlaws the production, possession, or sale of narcotics and prescribes prison terms from three to 10 years.
The phenomenon made national and international headlines in June 2019 when investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was arrested in Moscow and charged under Article 228.
In the wake of ardent protests -- including by prominent journalists and cultural figures -- prompted by strong indications the evidence in the case had been fabricated, officials dropped the charges and dismissed several police officers and Interior Ministry officials involved in the case. Five former police officers are currently facing trial in connection with the case.
Igor Lyakhovets attends a court hearing in Moscow in January 30.
SEE ALSO:

Former Russian Police Officer Suspected In Illegal Arrest Of Journalist Remanded In Custody​



But activists point to many other dubious cases. In December 2019, a young man in the Siberian city of Omsk named Dmitry Fyodorov was arrested on drugs charges. After he was released on his own recognizance, he released a social-media video in which he described how the drugs had been planted on him and how he’d been held by police incommunicado for almost 24 hours.
A few days later, his decapitated body was found near a local railway. Police said the death was either an accident or a suicide, but supporters and relatives believe he was murdered.
Protesters in Omsk rally to call for an investigation into the death of Dmitry Fyodorov.
SEE ALSO:

Siberian Man Found Decapitated After Claiming Police Framed Him​



In November 2019, Karelia regional activist Yekaterina Muranova, who was accused of “extremism” and “justifying terrorism” for her public comments about an explosion at the Arkhangelsk FSB office in October 2018, described how police allegedly fabricated a drugs case against her in order to intimidate her. Police held her in isolation for 16 hours before she was fined 4,000 rubles ($54) for possession of marijuana.
“Now I’m afraid to leave my house,” she told RFE/RL at the time. “They might come up and say that I killed or robbed someone. They want so badly to put me in prison, to ruin my life somehow.”
In March 2018, Kaliningrad resident Aleksandr Zakamsky, who was facing amphetamine-possession charges that he denied, died in a pretrial detention jail. Before he was found hanged with a bedsheet, he’d complained of brutal torture by jail guards. The 25-year-old’s widow is convinced he was murdered.
Defense lawyer Bontsler believes there are many such cases and advises citizens to be vigilant when approached by police.
“I always tell people that the most important thing is that they have no fingerprints,” she told RFE/RL. “When they ask you, ‘What is in your pockets,’ do not under any circumstances reach in there. If they find something, say, ‘It isn’t mine,’ and do not touch it.”
 
Maybe it was a planted :wink:
Yeah, but in the article he admitted that it was his medical marijuana and cited his Dr's prescription to the Russians.
 

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