Cannabration

Drug war overkill: A pot bust against legal growers in Yolo County seems to go too far

1/6/2017

by Robin Abcarian
If ever you needed proof that we live in an age of confusion about marijuana laws, let me share with you the story of Ted Hicks and Ryan Mears, two Sacramento-area entrepreneurs who decided to start a legal medical cannabis business last year and ended up on the business end of assault rifles wielded by officers from a multi-agency, anti-drug task force.

I first heard about the case from Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor in September, at a “State of Marijuana” conference aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Saylor, who was on a panel discussing how cities and counties were dealing with cannabis regulation, said that Hicks and Mears and their business, Big Red Farms, were considered by county officials to be “shining stars” in the cannabis licensing arena.

“They looked for guidance, they complied, they set up irrigation systems, drainage, applied for Water Quality Control Board permits, all in place, then something like this happens,” said Saylor, who compared the raids, which took place simultaneously at four locations, to “terrorist activity.”
“The children are traumatized,” he said, “and the grown-ups are still shaking from the experience.”

Read more here.

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Marijuana Monster Money: California Makes More from Cannabis Than the Next 5 Largest Crops Combined

1/4/2017

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$24 billion is no joke.
By Phillip Smith / AlterNet
January 3, 2017

California's agricultural bounty is fabled, from the endless olive and almond groves of the Central Valley to the world-class grapes of the Napa Valley to the winter vegetables of the Imperial Valley to the garlic fields of Gilroy, and beyond. But the biggest item in California's agricultural cornucopia is cannabis.
According to report last week from the Orange County Register, California's marijuana crop is not only the most valuable agricultural product in the nation's number one agricultural producer state, it totally blows away the competition.
Using cash farm receipt data from the state Department of Food and Agriculture for ag crops and its own estimate of in-state pot production (see discussion below), the Register pegs the value of California's marijuana crop at more than the top five leading agricultural commodities combined.
Here's how it breaks down, in billions of dollars:

Marijuana—$23.3
Milk—$6.28
Almonds—$5.33
Grapes—$4.95
Cattle, calves—$3.39
Lettuce—$2.25

That estimate of $23.3 billion for the pot crop is humongous, and it's nearly three times what the industry investors the Arcview Group estimated the size of the state's legal market would be in the near post-legalization era. So, how did the Register come up with it, and what could explain it?

Read more here

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CA Narcotic Officers Want to Arrest More MMJ Patients

10/6/2014

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The California Narcotic Officers Association issued a pamphlet this summer to help officers arrest more medical marijuana patients. It’s difficult to understand why they have such a hard on for busting patients but they do. More on that later. The publication “The Latest Medical Marijuana Case Law” is written by Seth Cimino, a police officer inCitrus Heights. His prejudice is apparent in the article when he uses quotation marks when writing about patients. For example: “The appellate court decisions in these cases have helped narrow the scope of what is “reasonable” involving possession, cultivation and transportation.” Read the full paper here. (notice how the page numbers are treated differently on each page)

Because of the case law that he focuses on, LEO’s are going to try to get you to make statements that will allow them to search you and arrest you. The best advise is to NOT EVER TALK TO POLICE OFFICERS! That being said, it’s really difficult when you know you are not breaking the law and it’s pretty easy to out smart them. Here are some things you need to know to arm yourself should you have an encounter with law enforcement.

Because of People v. Waxler they have found a way to trip you up if you have cannabis in your car. These are the details that they will use to determine what is reasonable:

How much cannabis do you have?
How much cannabis do you use on a daily basis.
How long are you going to be on your current trip.

If you have more than that they are going to arrest you. He states in a scenario where the patient has more than that (in this case 5 ounces) “they are possessing way too much marijuana for the possession to be considered reasonable for their current medical needs based on time, method and distance. A person possessing or transporting marijuana outside the scope of reasonableness is subject to arrest and seizure of their marijuana.”

The main thrust of the paper is “Street Contacts and Interviewing “Qualified”Patients”. With that title and this statement “Remember to ask the right questions to lock these people into their statements.” we can see that they are looking hard to find ways to arrest medical cannabis patients.

Question #1 Who is your doctor?

Where was your appointment?
Tell me about your appointment.
Was it like other doctor’s visits you’ve had in the past?
Would you send your mother or child to this doctor if they were very sick and needed accurate and appropriate medical care? (he adds here, “One of my favorites. You’d be surprised how many people say no.”)

He also adds: “Is their recommendation generic or does it have a specific dosage or plant count on it? Remember per the footnotes in the People v. Kelly decision, a doctor cannot recommend a plant count, only a dosage amount. Is it a blanket diagnosis for all qualified patients or specific per the qualified patient’s current medical needs? Is there a trend of doctor shopping by “qualified” patients?”

Question #2 What medical condition do you have that would require you to use medical marijuana?

Does their answer meet the “seriously ill” standard set forth in the Health and Safety Code?
Do they know what their ailment is? (really??)
Discuss each ailment with them. (HIPAA law allows you to say it’s none of your business)
Is the ailment/illness short term or chronic?

Question #3 How much marijuana “medicine” do you use a day to relieve your ailments?

Does it seem like an appropriate amount to use? (They are NOT doctors and not authorized to make this judgement)

Question #5 What time of day do you use?

Are they using before work, on their lunch break, at home, before bed?
What do they do for a living? Are they driving or operating machinery? (He notes here that “Per 11362.785, an employer may terminate an employee who tests positive for marijuana. Is he suggesting that law enforcement get involved with the Human Resources Department of every citizen’s employer? Outrageous!)

Question #6 What is your preferred method of use?

Are they eating it or using it in salves, wraps or tinctures? (This one gets tricky. He states that 90% smoke it and that it’s too valuable to be wasted in edibles and butter. He reminds them that “the manufacture of honey oil involves butane” and is a crime. Making butter or infused oil is not. Neither is bubble hash both of which can take large amounts of cannabis.)

Question #7 Do you cultivate or purchase marijuana? If so, where and for whom? (He advises: “They may admit to growing dope in their home - good probable cause for a search warrant.” He goes on to list a bunch of questions designed to lock you into statements that build his case. Just say “I’m not going to answer that question”.

He quotes an article from the American Medical Association that give us an opportunity to turn it around on them. “Given that medical marijuana is approved for mostly chronic conditions that require long-term dosing, physicians must be aware of the development of tolerance and dependence.” Ok, great. My tolerance after 10 years is so high I need more and more medicine.

This paper is a shocking testament to the fact that law enforcement hates the Compassionate Use Act, doesn’t think the voters have the right to change the law through the initiative process, and isn’t about to enforce the law as most of their citizens want them to. Educate yourself. Don’t share more than necessary if you find yourself in a law enforcement encounter. Donate today to a cannabis advocacy non profit today. Cannabis isn’t going to legalize itself and law enforcement wants to force us back into the failed War on Drugs and Just Say NO!

Susan Soares
C.A.R.E. Executive Director
www.JustSayCARE.org
www.Facebook.com/JustSayCARE

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Politicians Start to Say "Me Too" to Marijuana

10/3/2014

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Too Stoned to Drive? There’s an App for That.

7/28/2013

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We are going to be putting together a Best Of video of people smoking cannabis and checking their impairment levels with the CheckPlusBalance App. If you are interested in collaborating send an email to Susan@Cannabration.com.
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By Press Release July 27, 2013

"Use of this performance-based technology better promotes responsible cannabis use and addresses public demands for alternative ways to discourage driving under the influence," says NORML's Paul Armentano

CheckPlusBalance provides a quick, private, accurate and objective measure of personal performance. It helps responsible people quickly, privately and accurately determine their impairment level prior to driving. CheckPlusBalance can help individuals assess their performance regardless of the cause of possible impairment, including marijuana, alcohol, medication, illness or fatigue.

CheckPlusBalance was developed specifically to help people who want to be confident that they can perform at a safe level after taking medication, alcohol, recreational drugs, or who have any reason to confirm their current level of functioning.

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How many people were arrested in California for marijuana last year?

7/27/2013

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Are you under the delusion that marijuana is legal in California??? Check out this 2012 crime report. Over 21,000 Arrested in California on Marijuana Charges in 2012
LET'S END THIS MADNESS!!!!

http://www.canorml.org/news/2012_marijuana_arrest_data

#C.A.R.E. #JustLegalizeIt2014 #HempCanSaveThePlanet

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Artist call for marijuana legalization

7/14/2013

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We are putting an album together to support the legalization of cannabis in California. There is a producer and publisher on board. If you have a song about the legalization of marijuana or the plant in general but don't have a distribution plan contact me @Cannabration. We are also looking for visual artists and social networking volunteers.

Marijuana isn't going to legalize itself! Get involved today if you want to #JustLegalizeIt2014 #Cannabration #HempCanSaveThePlanet

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What did the Washington Liquor Board do about cannabis concentrates?

7/9/2013

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Unfortunately the cat is out of the bag in regards to concentrates. I had hoped that it would not get popular until we achieved legalization in the US. I think this not only complicates the issue, but opens up the opposition to new weapons to use against us. What we need to remember is that responsible cannabis use would include concentrates IF they are being used to regulate dosing. High concentrates of cannabis can allow the patient to smoke LESS since it's so highly concentrated and that is a good thing! ~Susan Soares

by Mark Kleiman

A friend who follows drug policy is puzzled by this line in a Reuters story about the semi-final rulemaking for Washington’s regulated cannabis market.

Responding to concerns of fueling a black market, the board also clarified that highly potent marijuana extracts,which have gained in popularity in recent years, may be legally sold so long as they are adulterated with at least trace amounts of an inert substance, such as vegetable oil.

Yes, it’s rather hard to figure out what that means, but the reporter – working within space constraints – can certainly be pardoned for not explicating fully. Here’s the story as I understand it:

The Liquor Board faced a legal question and a policy question.

The legal question is whether the initiative-passed statute the Board is supposed to implement, which permits the sale of ”useable marijuana” (defined as flowers) and of “marijuana-infused products,” does or does not allows the sale of concentrates such as hashish or “hash oil.” The lawyers for the Board decided that it didn’t. But – as I among others pointed out – that created a definitional puzzle. Clearly, a drop of butane hash oil in a gallon of olive oil would constitute a “marijuana-infused product.” But how about a drop of olive oil in a gallon of BHO? At what magical point does diluted BHO become infused olive oil?

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The State tells Judge "it's probative value is near zero and it's prejudicial value is very great" when referring to the amount of THC Trayvon Martin had in his blood!

7/8/2013

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I'm fixated on the Trayvon Martin murder trial. I've been watching it on HLN while I work around the apartment. But today something came up that forced me to blog about, impairment and nanograms of THC in your system.

The State tried to keep out the evidence that Trayvon had THC in his system because they said that it would be impossible to tell what effect that THC would have had. The question is:

Judge Debra Nelson has ruled to allow Trayvon Martin's toxicology report into evidence in the murder trial of George Zimmerman.

The report showed he had 1.5 nanograms per milliliter of THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- in his blood. He also had 7.3 nanograms of another type, THC-COOH, and traces in his urine.

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It was interesting for me to watch the state argue that it would be impossible to tell how #Trayvon would react to smoking pot. How would they be able to determine if it would make him more or less aggressive? My experience in court was pretty much the opposite.

I had my doctor on the stand testifying that the strains that I was growing were selected because of the proper effect on my pain management. We conferred quite frequently about the different methods of ingestion, extracting the proper compounds of the cannabis I was growing, and which strains relieved which symptoms. At one point, the DA said "and I'm just going to call it #DOPE because that's what it it!" The court let the DA determine my medical needs over my doctor's opinion!!

#Cannabration #TrayvonMartinMurderTrial #TrayvonTHC #Legalizeit2014 #CannabisLegalization #Dope

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