The Stoner Army

San Francisco Chronicle, 28 May 2010 - A major California labor union is organizing medical cannabis workers in Oakland, a move that analysts say will help efforts to legalize marijuana and open the door for the union to organize thousands more workers if state voters pass a measure in November to allow recreational marijuana use by adults. The 26,000-member United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 in San Jose is believed to be the first union in the country to organize workers in a marijuana-related business. It is considering new job classifications including "bud tender" - a sommelier of sorts who helps medical marijuana users choose the right strain for their ailment.

Daily Northwestern, 27 May 2010 - Tvert: Unlike Alcohol, Marijuana Causes No Deaths Outlawing marijuana steers people toward drinking alcohol, the director of a marijuana advocacy organization said in a speech at Northwestern on Wednesday evening.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 27 May 2010 - In his seminal work, "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley predicted we would lose our freedoms not because of fellow dystopian novelist George Orwell's Big Brother, but because of our own blithe acquiescence to societal and regulatory shifts. Some of you know me. I'm not a big believer in conspiracy theories. That's why Huxley's hypothesis rings more true than that of Orwell, who said in "Nineteen Eighty-Four" that freedoms would be taken away by an imposing government.

The Harvard Crimson, 27 May 2010 - In November 2010, California voters will consider a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in the state. The proposed law includes restrictions on sale and use, such as a minimum purchase age of 21, but the bill gives marijuana roughly the same legal status as alcohol.

The Billings Gazette, 27 May 2010 - Montana's medical marijuana law needs numerous clarifications and improvements. Even those of us who helped write it, and who have advocated for the rights of seriously ill patients ever since, agree wholeheartedly with law enforcement, civic leaders and others who now call for change. In fact, Patients & Families United has proposed improvements to the law in both of the last two legislative sessions. One of our bills, which passed the Senate (but not the House) in 2009, as amended would have created regulatory oversight and auditing of caregivers that pretty much everyone now agrees is sorely needed in a stricter form.

The Desert Sun, 27 May 2010 - For the first time in Palm Springs history, local medical marijuana patients can freely access a dispensary licensed under a city ordinance. California Newspaper Publishers Association The long-awaited CannaHelp dispensary, one of two allowed under a Palm Springs medical cannabis ordinance, officially opened its doors Wednesday -- registering patients and distributing medical marijuana.

The Union, 27 May 2010 - City Council Hopes to Make Decisions Now in Case Legalization Initiative Passes in Nov. Depending on what polls you read, marijuana advocates may be blowing smoke about the chances of a November legalization initiative in California.

The Omega, 26 May 2010 - Some of you may know of Mark Emery, a.k.a. the Prince of Pot, and his very public campaign against his unconstitutional extradition to the United States. Mr. Emery is, or rather was, a tax paying resident of Vancouver, BC for 16 years. He was also the owner of a marijuana seed distribution company, a pot legalization activist, publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, founding member of both federal and provincial Marijuana Parties, and ran for Vancouver city mayor on several occasions

Seattle Weekly, 26 May 2010 - Steve Sarich raises the ire of the medical-marijuana community. In a Kirkland ranch house surrounded by towering evergreens, Steve Sarich is pacing his living room, smoking a pipe, and talking a blue streak into his cell phone. Thumping music comes from the basement, where the 59-year-old onetime Penthouse photographer and serial entrepreneur runs a medical-marijuana distribution outlet called Private Island Treats. Some half-dozen employees, "volunteers," and friends in their 20s and 30s are coming and going. They include Chelsea Fennell, a 20-year-old aspiring model who became Sarich's girlfriend--and a medical-marijuana patient--after coming to his house for help with her portfolio. Sarich's two pit bulls and one Pomeranian are barking. And the TV, tuned to Fox News, is running silently.

Tri-City Times, 26 May 2010 - TRI-CITY AREA - Officials are taking steps to ensure adequate oversight of any medical marijuana dispensaries wishing to open within their jurisdictions. Local municipalities have been on the defense since the recent opening of a medical marijuana dispensary in downtown Dryden.

The Voice, 26 May 2010 - In an action comparable to other communities Memphis City Council members recently introduced an ordinance that could serve to restrict the development of medicinal marijuana-related businesses through reliance on federal laws that prohibit same. Council members proposed to add an amendment that would read, "No person or business shall engage in any activity, operation or business that is in violation of any local, state or federal statute, law, ordinance or regulation."

San Diego Union Tribune, 26 May 2010 - San Diego city and county code enforcers have ordered more than a dozen medical marijuana dispensaries to close their doors in the past few months, even as local elected leaders are working on ordinances that would provide a clear set of rules for the dispensaries to run legitimately. City officials said the crackdown is prompted by a recent spike in community complaints lodged against 117 marijuana storefronts.

Pueblo Chieftain, 26 May 2010 - Councilwoman's request for a city vote is denied. A majority of City Council brushed off a request Monday night to let city voters decide whether or not to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, choosing instead to start looking at licensing regulations in July.

The Oregonian, 25 May 2010 - Just six months after opening with great fanfare as a gathering place for users of medical marijuana, Portland's Cannabis Cafe has closed. But the marijuana-legalization group that ran the cafe said the closure is temporary and that it will reopen elsewhere as early as next month.

The Augusta Chronicle, 25 May 2010 - It's Not Always the Sellers or Users Who Suffer The drug-legalization movement has made great strides in recent years. At one point in Los Angeles, there were more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks.

Topeka Capital-Journal, 25 May 2010 - WICHITA - A physician assistant who worked at a clinic tied to 68 overdose deaths testified Tuesday that records were so disorganized that a patient was able to get more painkillers even though she went to an emergency room for an overdose two days earlier. Hien Tran said a hospital fax about the emergency treatment never made it into the patient's file at Schneider Medical Clinic in Haysville. Tran said she never would have refilled the prescription had she seen the fax.

Helena Independent Record, 25 May 2010 - A prominent Ravalli County Republican lawmaker wants to overturn Montana's 2004 voter-passed law that legalized medical marijuana, saying the current scheme controlling prescription pot is fatally flawed. Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, on Monday requested a bill to be drafted for the 2011 Legislature to repeal the marijuana law. Shockley said he believes marijuana has medical benefits and should remain legal, only in a much more controlled way.

Washington Examiner, 25 May 2010 - In his high school yearbook photo, President Barack Obama sports a white leisure suit and a Travolta-esque collar whose wingspan could put a bystander's eye out. Hey, it was 1979. Maybe that explains the rest of young Barry's yearbook page, with its "still life" featuring a pack of rolling papers and a shout-out to the "Choom gang." ("Chooming" is Hawaiian slang for smoking pot.)

Denver Daily News, 25 May 2010 - Aurora City Council To Ask Voters, Denver City Council In No Rush While some Colorado municipalities are wasting no time in trying to ban medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within city limits, Denver is in no hurry to follow suit, according to several Denver City Council members interviewed yesterday.

San Francisco Examiner, 25 May 2010 - In his high school yearbook photo, President Barack Obama sports a white leisure suit and a Travolta-esque collar whose wingspan could put a bystander's eye out. Hey, it was 1979. Maybe that explains the rest of young Barry's yearbook page, with its "still life" featuring a pack of rolling papers and a shout-out to the "Choom gang." ("Chooming" is Hawaiian slang for smoking pot.)