cannabisnews.comcannabis newsNew Laws Have Tougher Penalties for Pot Growers- June 29, 2008 Florida -- Starting Tuesday, a new state law will bring harsher penalties for marijuana growers. Under the new Florida law, a "grow house" will be classified as a building containing 25 or more marijuana plants. Before, the threshold was 300 plants. The charge will remain a second-degree felony. "Our laws were way out of date on that," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum told the Tallahassee Democrat.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24046.shtml Pot: Now Starring in Your Favorite Movie- June 29, 2008 USA -- Judd Apatow had a problem. The test screenings for his movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin were killing. But the jokes that were really landing were the ones featuring pot. Sophomoric, Cheech-and-Chong-y cheap yuks about weed. But funny ones. He called his old friend Garry Shandling to ask whether he should leave them in. They went with the only responsible choice: comedy comes first. The film opened, and nobody made a big deal about the pot.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24045.shtml Dutch Marijuana Coffee Shops Brace for Smoking Ban- June 28, 2008 Amsterdam, Netherlands -- This city's famed marijuana bars have weathered many challenges over the years and are still smoking. But now they face an unwelcome blast of fresh air: On July 1, the Netherlands will be one of the last European countries to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in compliance with EU law. The Health Ministry says the ban will apply to cafes that sell marijuana, known as coffee shops. But this being Holland, which for centuries has experimented with social liberalism,...http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24044.shtml Pot May Ease Nerve Pain, Study Shows- June 26, 2008 California -- New research on "medical marijuana" shows that smoking pot may ease nerve pain at the expense of certain mental skills. Researchers at the University of California, Davis report that news in the June edition of The Journal of Pain. They studied 38 adults with nerve pain (neuropathic pain) who had smoked pot in the past but abstained from smoking marijuana for 30 days before the study.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24043.shtml NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 26, 2008- June 26, 2008 California: County Officials Finalize Mendocino Vote Count June 26, 2008 - Ukiah, CA Ukiah, CA: Mendocino County voters narrowly decided to repeal an eight-year-old county law that legalized the possession of up to 25 marijuana plants, election officials affirmed this week.After tabulating over 11,000 additional absentee ballots, county officials confirmed the June 3rd election result in favor of initiative Measure B - which passed 52% to 48%.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24042.shtml Higher Education Has a Different Meaning- June 26, 2008 Los Angeles, CA -- Marijuana plant Like other universities, Oaksterdam offers wide-eyed pupils an enlightening classroom experience to spark their curiosity. But at Oaksterdam, the homework assignments involve baking the perfect pot brownie, the lessons teach students how to greet DEA agents who've just kicked down the front door, and the diploma confers the status: certified budtender.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24041.shtml High Hopes for Medical Pot Users- June 26, 2008 California -- It is almost certain that the 56 percent of California voters who approved Proposition 215 in an attempt to legalize medical use of marijuana did not intend for employers to discriminate against persons who take advantage of the law they passed. As it has evolved since passage, the 1996 initiative lets cities and counties issue medipot usage cards to users who smoke the weed to ward off pain caused by ailments from migraine headaches to a wide variety of cancers. Where they exist,.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24040.shtml Tvert Pushes Pot Smoking at DIA- June 25, 2008 Colorado -- Attention: You are now free to float about the cabin. Well, not yet, but maybe someday - that is, if Mason Tvert has anything to say about. Tvert, a crusader for legalizing marijuana, has called for pot-smoking lounges in the nation's airports. His reason for doing goes beyond his cannabis liberation mission: He wants to help make flying safer.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24039.shtml Feds Launch Massive Pot Sting- June 25, 2008 California -- Motorcades of government SUVs poured through Humboldt County communities Tuesday as hundreds of federal and state agents began their search for commercial marijuana growing operations in a multi-day investigation the FBI has dubbed Operation Southern Sweep. The bureau's spokesman Joseph Schadler reported 450 agents with several federal agencies would be serving search warrants and collecting evidence on properties where corporate marijuana growing operations were suspected.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24038.shtml Fed Raid Rumors Spark Panic- June 25, 2008 California -- A swarm of federal agents arrived in Humboldt County this week to carry out a massive marijuana sting operation, but rumors of their arrival preceded them, and reportedly sparked a bit of panic in some segments of the community. It was the talk of local blogs, left at least one local dispensary answering frantic calls from harried customers and prompted a flurry of activity in some sectors.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread24037.shtml |