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DrugSense Weekly, 12 Feb 2010 - ************ JACK COLE ON THE DAN YORKE RADIO SHOW Retired Det. Lt. New Jersey State Trooper Jack Cole who is also the Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is on the phone to talk about decriminalizing marijuana and the benefits of legalizing drugs so that we can control them rather than the drug dealers controlling them.

El Paso Times, 12 Feb 2010 - War on Drugs: PRESIDENT FINDS RECEPTION IS MIXED AFTER RECENT SLAYINGS JUAREZ -- Anger, fear and skepticism received Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Juarez on Thursday.

Denver Post, 12 Feb 2010 - HIGHLANDS RANCH -- From the outside, Chris Bartkowicz's house looks like most of the others in his Highlands Ranch neighborhood. The interior is a different story. Bartkowicz has built a large medical-marijuana growing operation in the basement of his $637,000 suburban home, and he is far from alone.

Vancouver Sun, 12 Feb 2010 - An RCMP review of medical marijuana licences found 70 cases across the country of holders violating the terms of their licence agreements. The 2009 report said that in 40 of the cases, those with permits for medical pot production were trafficking excess marijuana to make a profit, RCMP Cpl. Dan Weatherby said Thursday.

Asheville Citizen-Times, 12 Feb 2010 - Spending By Jackson Sheriff Detailed In C-T Probe SYLVA -- Jackson County has taken over control of spending from a tax on drug dealers following questions on how the money was being handled by Sheriff Jimmy Ashe.

Telegraph-Journal, 11 Feb 2010 - Drugs: Medical Ethicist Says Safe Injection Locations 'Brilliant' At Preventing Overdose Deaths SAINT JOHN - There would be no downside to setting up a safe injection site in Saint John, says a medical ethicist and board member of AIDS Saint John.

City on a Hill Press, 11 Feb 2010 - Medical marijuana patients are concerned about the high price of medical cannabis in Santa Cruz and want more dispensaries. But the Santa Cruz Police Department is concerned about what such an increase could mean for the community. On Jan. 26, the members of City Council extended their moratorium on medicinal marijuana dispensaries, a temporary ban that has been in place since June 2009. The moratorium allows operating dispensaries to remain in business but prevents new ones from opening up. This allows the City Planning Commission four more months to continue its study on medicinal marijuana sales in the city.

New Zealand Herald, 11 Feb 2010 - A Law Commission report calling for possible decriminalisation of some drug use and allowing cannabis for medicinal use is set to be rejected by the Government. The commission said it agreed with vigorous law enforcement on commercial drug dealers, but that there should be less emphasis on punishment of personal possession and use, and more emphasis on delivering effective treatment to addicts.

Daily Vanguard, 11 Feb 2010 - Students Unable To Use Medical Marijuana On Campus The university is unable to accommodate medical marijuana usage on campus, regardless of a student's possession of appropriate medical marijuana authorization.

New Times, 11 Feb 2010 - New medical marijuana operations proposed in the Nipomo area have SLO county officials scrambling to their legal books in a move that could kill the prospect of a local dispensary once and for all. Every incorporated city within the county boasts either a temporary or permanent ban on dispensaries, leaving only the unincorporated areas open to applicants. An existing county ordinance allows dispensaries in commercial areas, provided they're not near schools, youth centers, and the like.

The Craig Daily Press, 11 Feb 2010 - Craig -- In a time when many local businesses are struggling, Craig Apothecary has quadrupled its business. Since opening in August 2009, Craig's only medical marijuana dispensary has seen its client base jump from 20 to 60 individual patients.

Summit Daily News, 11 Feb 2010 - Commissioners Extend Moratorium On Businesses BRECKENRIDGE -- Medical marijuana dispensaries won't be opening in unincorporated Summit County until at least June, since Summit County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to extend a moratorium on the businesses.

Napa Valley Register, 11 Feb 2010 - Napa's experiment with medical marijuana dispensaries should start small, with a single, heavily regulated clinic, the Napa City Council said Tuesday night. If the first dispensary works out, the city will consider allowing a second operation a year later.

Monterey County Herald, 11 Feb 2010 - Monterey has sued the proprietor of a medical marijuana dispensary alleging that the business violated the city's zoning codes by setting up shop in town last fall. City officials filed the complaint against MyCaregiver Inc. and director Jhonrico Carrnshimba on Monday, after the City Council voted 4-1 in closed session Feb. 2 to authorize legal action against the clinic, which has been operating at 554 Lighthouse Ave. since November.

Houston Chronicle, 11 Feb 2010 - MEXICO CITY -- Though they represented just a fraction of the thousands of people killed by gangland violence in Mexico, the murders of 12 teenage students in Ciudad Juarez is igniting calls for an overhaul of the drug-war crackdown on which President Felipe Calderon has staked his presidency. "It really captured a lot of people's attention in a way that the literally tens of thousands of other killings have not," said political scientist David Shirk, who specializes in Mexico's drug war at the University of San Diego. "The impression of a lot of Mexicans is that things are getting worse because of what the government is doing, not despite it."

Asheville Citizen-Times, 11 Feb 2010 - SYLVA - The Department of State Treasurer asked Jackson County to take better control over spending money that came from taxing drug dealers. Responding to an article Sunday in the Citizen-Times, state Fiscal Management Section Director Sharon Edmundson said in a letter that two county officials should sign off on checks from the narcotics fund.

Waushara Argus, 10 Feb 2010 - On Saturday, February 6, a crowd gathered at the Berlin Library from noon to 3 p.m. to attend the T.H.C. Expo ("Talking Hemp and Cannabis") to learn about Wisconsin's Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) that was introduced by Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison), Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and a number of other legislators in November 2009 and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Public Health in both the assembly and the senate. Assembly Bill 554/Senate Bill 368, similar to the medical marijuana bill that passed in Michigan in November of 2008, would make it legal for those who have certain illnesses or diseases to purchase and use marijuana for medicinal purposes when prescribed by a physician.. Passing of the bill would mean that those who suffer from Cancer and are having chemotherapy could use marijuana to relieve the nausea and vomiting often brought on by the chemo treatment. Those who suffer from seizure disorders, AIDS, severe glaucoma, Crohn's Disease, Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Hepititis C, Alzheimer's Disease, and other illnesses that cause wasting away, severe pain, or persistent muscle spasms would be able to use the medicinal marijuana legally. Advocates of the JRMMA are hopeful that the bill will pass out of the Committee for Public Health by March 4 and pass by April 22, with Wisconsin becoming the 14th state to legalize medicinal marijuana. Thirteen other states have passed similar laws, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Penticton Western, 10 Feb 2010 - Health Canada permits for medicinal marijuana use were not enough to keep two men from being arrested at an Okanagan Falls property. The Penticton RCMP Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on an Allendale Lake Road home and outbuilding on Monday. Officers seized about 200 marijuana plants they say resembled "small Christmas trees as opposed to mere plants."

El Paso Times, 10 Feb 2010 - EL PASO -- The City Council heard more than two hours of testimony, but in the end backed away from supporting legalized marijuana as a way to combat drug violence in neighboring Juarez. The council voted 6-2 Tuesday to condemn the violence in Juarez and deleted a paragraph that called for the legalization of marijuana and government regulation of its sale.

The Record, 10 Feb 2010 - Ordinance Likely to Limit Dispensaries, Regulate Locations STOCKTON - A policy that would allow dispensaries to sell medical marijuana moved closer to adoption Tuesday, members of the City Council telling staff to draft an ordinance regulating its sale.