• • All users of marijuana, recreational or medical, may grow marijuana for their personal use. People who wish to grow marijuana must be 21 years of age or older and may only grow up to six plants.
   
  • People who grow marijuana at home must do so in their own domicile and no more than one home grow is permitted per residence.
   
  • People who grow marijuana may share up to one ounce of marijuana with another person who is 21 years of age or older. Sharing must be done without compensation; marijuana may not be sold nor may the grower accept cash donations for the product.
   
  • Possession limits will be modified to reflect the larger amount of marijuana that may be produced by six plants. Eight ounces of marijuana would be permitted in the person’s domicile where the plants are grown and the grower may not transport more than one ounce of marijuana.
   
  • Hash oil may not be produced by anyone without a license.

• Chief among them is reliance on access to tax-free medical marijuana through the I-502 system for medical patients who can’t (because of illness, say) or don’t want to undertake the challenge of growing a medically effective strain of cannabis.

   

  That tax-free status could be achieved, in her early proposal, through untaxed low-THC (but high in other palliative cannabinoids) strains and/or by the Department of Health setting up simple rules to validate a patient’s medical-need status.
• The ID would absolve the patient from state taxes (oh, dream of dreams), and also provide young patients between 18 and 21 access to medical cannabis.

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• Event organizer Kevin Sabet, a former presidential drug adviser who co-founded the anti-legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, encouraged a nuanced conversation about marijuana before introducing a panel including Barry McCaffrey, the Clinton administration’s drug czar, and Stuart Gitlow, a board member of Sabet’s group and a leader of the American Medical Association, which opposes legalization.
• Gitlow said there is “no legitimate research at this time that the plant marijuana has medical value,” eliciting a heckler's response that research shows allowing marijuana for medical use may reduce painkiller overdose deaths
• “We’ve got a disaster facing us,” he said about marijuana legalization. “We’ve lost the message war on health … We’ve lost the political war … We’ve lost the media war.”
• “There is nothing funny about drug abuse,” he lectured. “In terms of public policy, I think we’ve embarked on a rolling disaster. … Do we want a stoned society? No more than we want a drunk society – that would be my answer.” 

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• “I don’t want to listen to these lies,” a bearded heckler announced, walking out as Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland took the podium at the conservative think tank.

• Harris, author of a budget rider that would have blocked a decriminalization law in the nation’s capital, said marijuana use can cause a drop in IQ and, he said, has no proven medical value.

    “The people voted,” a second protester shouted. 

    An undeterred Harris continued: “We can’t have a discussion about legalization for adults” without considering the possible “spillover effect” on teenagers.

    “Relaxing laws clearly leads to more teenage drug use,” he said, because “the message that it’s dangerous will be blunted.”

• “This is about justice,” a third protester shouted on her way out the door.

    As Harris shared that a pharmaceutical company leader expressed concern to him about Maryland’s decriminalization of marijuana, security guards worked to force out a man suspected of planning to interrupt.

    “Don’t tread on D.C., respect the will of D.C. voters,” the man said after an argument with guards.
• Harris’ effort to block decriminalization in the nation's capital failed – the law took effect in July – after he conceded the district could respond by ending enforcement of all laws against marijuana.
• Fleming told the anti-marijuana gathering the drug is a “highly addictive substance” and said it’s a gateway to more serious drug use. “Humans do not just decide they’re going to go out and use meth,” he said, adding that "more likely than not," meth users first smoked pot.
• Fleming, a medical doctor like Harris, said he considers many claims about the medicinal benefits of marijuana to be “complete rubbish.”
• Fleming also warned that “if we continue to relax our laws on the acceptance of marijuana, we’re going to see greater addiction [and] greater government dependency.”

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  APOC mulls subpoena of marijuana advocate Charlo Greene's financials

• Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers (“everybody’s got one already”), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars.
• the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called them “little goodies.” And then Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man’s “exotic vehicle” outside a local bar.
• under a Justice Department program, the value of assets seized has ballooned to $4.3 billion in the 2012 fiscal year from $407 million in 2001. Much of that money is shared with local police forces.
• a Philadelphia couple’s home was seized after their son made $40 worth of drug sales on the porch.
• In September, Albuquerque, which has long seized the cars of suspected drunken drivers, began taking them from men suspected of trying to pick up prostitutes, landing seven cars during a one-night sting. Arkansas has expanded its seizure law to allow the police to take cash and assets with suspected connections to terrorism, and Illinois moved to make boats fair game under its D.W.I. laws, in addition to cars. In Mercer County, N.J., a prosecutor preaches the “gospel” that forfeiture is not just for drug arrests — cars can be seized in shoplifting and statutory rape cases as well.
• Much of the nuts-and-bolts how-to of civil forfeiture is passed on in continuing education seminars for local prosecutors and law enforcement officials, some of which have been captured on video.
• In the sessions, officials share tips on maximizing profits, defeating the objections of so-called “innocent owners” who were not present when the suspected offense occurred, and keeping the proceeds in the hands of law enforcement and out of general fund budgets.
• Officials offered advice on dealing with skeptical judges, mocked Hispanics whose cars were seized, and made comments that, the Institute for Justice said, gave weight to the argument that civil forfeiture encourages decisions based on the value of the assets to be seized rather than public safety.
• Sean D. McMurtry, the chief of the forfeiture unit in the Mercer County, N.J., prosecutor’s office,
• made it clear that forfeitures were highly contingent on the needs of law enforcement. In New Jersey, the police and prosecutors are allowed to use cars, cash and other seized goods; the rest must be sold at auction. Cellphones and jewelry, Mr. McMurtry said, are not worth the bother. Flat screen televisions, however, “are very popular with the police departments,” he said.
• “If you want the car, and you really want to put it in your fleet, let me know — I’ll fight for it,” Mr. McMurtry said, addressing law enforcement officials on the video. “If you don’t let me know that, I’ll try and resolve it real quick through a settlement and get cash for the car, get the tow fee paid off, get some money for it.”
• Prosecutors estimated that between 50 to 80 percent of the cars seized were driven by someone other than the owner, which sometimes means a parent or grandparent loses their car.

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• While a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana in Florida fell just short of the 60 percent approval needed to pass, more than half of the voters supported it. The Legislature should take the hint and craft responsible medical marijuana legislation before its supporters push the issue back onto the ballot. Writing a narrowly tailored state law that can be easily adjusted would be more responsible than forcing this complicated issue into the Florida Constitution.
• The Legislature should concentrate on the three issues that were most problematic with Amendment 2. First, lawmakers should clearly define and list the conditions that can be treated by medical marijuana. There should be no room for doctors' interpretations such as the "other conditions" language used in Amendment 2. Lawmakers also should develop a procedure for adding to the list of treatable medical conditions in the future. Clarifying these issues would help prevent abuse by patients and physicians.

• Second, the Legislature should write strict rules for caregivers and limit the role to people without criminal backgrounds.

   

  Finally, lawmakers must address the issue of criminal and civil liability. During the Amendment 2 campaign, there was broad disagreement from both sides about exactly what civil and criminal immunity meant for recommending doctors, patients, caregivers and dispensaries. Lawmakers should sort it out.

   

  Though it failed to win the 60 percent required for approval, Amendment 2 got more votes — more than 3.3 million or 57 percent — than any of the candidates for governor and Cabinet. It is clear that a significant majority of voters want to see marijuana for medical use legalized in the state. Legislators should step up before Amendment 2 supporters try to revive their efforts in 2016.
• Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have now legalized some form of medical marijuana. Most have done so by legislative statute. The paths some of those states followed can serve as road maps for Florida lawmakers. Legislators have acted with compassion regarding marijuana for medical use before, and they should do it again next spring.

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• Federal Prosecutors Appear to Concede Cannabis’ Medical Benefits
• Assistant US Attorney Gregory Broderick stumbled badly in his cross-examination of Dr. Carl Hart in federal evidentiary hearings to determine the constitutional basis of the federal Schedule I classification of cannabis, appearing at times to even tacitly endorse the idea that cannabis has medical value.

• Broderick asked Hart about the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which is published by the American Psychiatric Association and contains a definition of “substance use disorder” (AKA addiction) which has been regarded as definitive by courts. Noting that the substance abuse standard promulgated by the 4th edition of the DSM (the DSM-IV) results in an oft-quoted 9% rate of dependence among lifetime users of cannabis, Broderick requested Hart’s comment.

   

  But Hart appeared to stun Broderick with his response that the newest version of the DSM, the DSM-V, explains that tolerance and withdrawal from cannabis are “normal symptoms to be expected of legitimate medical cannabis use” in states where it is legal.
• Asking about the legal troubles of his adult son and other members of his family, Broderick tried to insinuate that these troubles had spurred Dr. Hart on to some kind of personal mission to legalize drugs. “I’m a black man in America,” Dr. Hart replied. “You’d be hard pressed to find someone like me who isn’t closely connected to someone” who has been through the penal system.

• Broderick’s attempts to discredit Dr. Hart’s credentials backfired even worse. At one point, the prosecutor asked why Hart was an expert in medical matters when he doesn’t hold an M.D. (Hart’s PhD is in neuropsychopharmacology). “I teach at Columbia’s medical school,” Hart replied. “I train doctors.”

   

  Soon after, when Broderick brought up the fact that the American Medical Association had released statements calling cannabis a “dangerous drug,” Hart replied: “Think about what you just said. The AMA committee reads research, such as what I conduct, to form their positions. So why would I go to them for their opinion?”

   

  The intellectual mismatch between the two adversaries became so painfully apparent that at one point Broderick attempted a joke to relieve the tension. “I was a political science major,” Broderick protested. “Not neuroscience.”

   

  But the joke was on him later in the examination when Broderick appeared to misunderstand some of the nuance of Hart’s explanations of NIDA operations. “I thought you were a political science major,” Hart retorted, as laughter exploded in the courtroom.

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• The Man Who Accidentally Gave Kids Marijuana On Halloween

• These Senior Citizens Are Serving Life in Prison Over Pot

• How Florida's Medical Marijuana Amendment Managed to Plunge South

• Parents of toddler Cooper, treated with medicinal cannabis, told police would be called if drug used again

• THE Melbourne couple that controversially gave their sick toddler cannabis oil now fear for their son’s life after hospital doctors last night threatened to call the police if the drug was administered.  <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) --> 

   

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  Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace discharged their son Cooper from The Northern Hospital in Epping before the cannabis could be confiscated.

  They now feel they have nowhere to turn because doctors refuse to use the drug on hospital grounds.

  It is the first time the family has been prepared to reveal the name of the hospital that has been supporting the use of the cannabis oil and tincture for the treatment of the three-year-old’s life-threatening seizures.

  Hospital records show staff at The Northern previously included cannabis oil on Cooper’s drug chart.

• Real-life Breaking Bad dad grew cannabis to support family - but knew nothing about drugs

• A real-life Breaking Bad dad set up a cannabis factory to support his family after losing his home and livelihood following a cancer operation.

  Shane Cousins, 40, was hoping to copy US crime drama chemistry teacher Walter White, who builds a crystal meth empire after he is diagnosed with cancer.

  Only the dad-of-three, who had been forced to leave the car-valeting business he part owned when the seven-hour operation to remove a golf-ball sized lump in his neck left him unable to work, did not have a clue about cannabis .

  The former glass factory worker, who lives in the small former coal-mining town of Ystradgynlais in South Wales, didn’t even know how he was going to sell his crop.

  “I didn’t even know whether it was ready,” he told Wales Online .
• Shane was shopped by a friend who rang the police in front of him after an argument.

• Shane’s debt had spiralled to £50,000 by the time he started his drugs venture - and he hoped to make thousands from it.

  His life had fallen apart after his operation, which left him unable to work.

  And although turned out to be benign, he had to have an operation lasting more than seven hours to remove it.

  By 2008 he had lost his home in Seven Sisters in Neath Port Talbot and later moved to Abercraf, near Ystradgynlais.

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• Two Redheaded Strangers
• Willie Nelson Feels Maureen Dowd’s Pain

• WASHINGTON — WHEN Willie Nelson invites you to get high with him on his bus, you go.

  The man is the patron saint of pot, after all, and I’m the poster girl for bad pot trips.
• I needed a marijuana Miyagi, and who better than Nelson, who has a second-degree black belt in taekwondo and a first-degree black belt in helping Norml push for pot legalization?
• “Maybe she’ll read the label now!” he said, laughing, adding that I was welcome to get high on his bus “anytime.”

• So, Sensei, if I ever decide to give legal pot a whirl again, what do I need to know?

  “The same thing that happened to you happened to me one or two times when I was not aware of how much strength was in whatever I was eating,” Nelson said, in his honeyed voice. “One time, I ate a bunch of cookies that, I knew they were laced but I didn’t worry about it. I just wanted to see what it would do, and I overdid it, naturally, and I was laying there, and it felt like the flesh was falling off my bones.

  “Honestly, I don’t do edibles,” he continued. “I’d rather do it the old-fashioned way, because I don’t enjoy the high that the body gets. Although I realize there’s a lot of other people who have to have it that way, like the children that they’re bringing to Colorado right now for medical treatments. Those kids can’t smoke. So for those people, God bless ’em, we’re for it.”

• He showed me his pot vaporizer, noting: “Everybody’s got to kill their own snakes, as they say. I found out that pot is the best thing for me because I needed something to slow me down a little bit.” He was such a mean drunk, he said, that if he’d kept drinking heavily, “there’s no telling how many people I would have killed by now.”

  I asked him about the time he was staying in the Carter White House — on bond from a pot bust — and took a joint up to the roof.

  “It happened a long time ago,” he said, adding slyly, “I’m sure it happened.”

  Did he also indulge in the Lincoln Bedroom?

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  “In what?” he replied, mischievously. “I wouldn’t do anything Lincoln wouldn’t have done.”

  Given all the horrors in the world now, I said, maybe President Obama needs to chill out by reuniting the Choom Gang.

  “I would think,” Nelson said, laughing, “he would sneak off somewhere.”

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• Man Assaulted And Arrested By Police For Filming Military-Style Drug Raid