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kxl.com LISTEN: Congressman Greg Walden (OR-... (Fri May 18 22:01:21 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(65%), $propaganda_theme3(65%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $opioid(100%), $narcotic(100%)]

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Straight.com
Canadian organizations band together to fight for craft cannabis
Straight.com
The other four organizations joining forces with the Ethical Cannabis Producers Association are the Cannabis Trade Alliance of Canada, the Craft Cannabis Association of BC, Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada, and the Canadian Association of ...

CNBC
Cannabis CEO: Legal weed could mean fewer prescriptions for opioids in the US
CNBC
Cannabis CEO: Legal weed could mean fewer prescriptions for opioids in the US. 6:53 PM ET Thu, 17 May 2018. Jim Cramer sits down with Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton after his company applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

CNBC
CEO of cannabis company says legal weed could result in fewer opioid prescriptions in the US
CNBC
Legalizing marijuana at the federal level in the U.S. could result in fewer prescriptions of addictive substances such as opioids, Canopy Growth founder and CEO Bruce Linton told CNBC on Thursday. Linton, whose Canada based-company has partnered ...

and more »

The Globe and Mail
A gold-rush attitude won't help Canada's marijuana industry
The Globe and Mail
Nowhere is this more apparent than with the pending legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. Not surprisingly, there has been tremendous focus on the approval date for Bill C-45. But as that day approaches, it's increasingly clear how much ...
Canadian Cannabis Companies Continue Global Domination Through Expansion & InnovationStockhouse
Canadian Cannabis Oil Exports Quadrupled in 2017Motley Fool
5 Companies To Watch As Marijuana Legalization ApproachesOilPrice.com
Seeking Alpha -Herb (blog) -Marijuana Business Daily
all 47 news articles »

CBC.ca
Will Yukoners get 'value' with legal pot? Government sets marijuana price at $8 per gram
CBC.ca
The Yukon government aims to undercut the illegal marijuana market in the territory, setting the price for pot at $8 a gram, which officials say is cheaper than marijuana sold illegally. "Our plan is to try to ... The store will sell cannabis and oils ...

The Trump Justice Department makes it possible.

Responding to myriad tales of abuses, like many other states, Missouri has reformed its asset forfeiture laws to require a criminal conviction before cash or property is seized and, in a bid to prevent "policing for profit," to require that money seized by state law enforcement agencies goes solely to the state's schools.

Somebody needs to tell the cops. As Kansas City TV station KMBC reported, state and local law enforcement agencies seized more than $19 million in the past three years, but only some $340,000 has actually made it to the schools. That's a measly 2% of the seized cash.

That's because the cops, with the help of the Trump Justice Department, are doing an end run around the state law. Under the Justice Department's Equitable Sharing Program, which was suspended late in the Obama administration but reinstated last year by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, state and local law enforcement agencies can hand their cash-laden cases over to federal prosecutors instead of turning them in to local district attorneys. And when they do, the reporting agency gets to keep 80% of the seized cash, with the Justice Department getting the rest.

The scheme subverts state law not only by diverting much-needed funding for schools to police agencies, but also by allowing state and local cops to seize cash and goods under the federal law, which does not require a criminal conviction first. In this manner, Missouri's cops are not only ripping off the schools, they are also giving a big middle finger to the state's democratically elected representatives who passed the asset forfeiture reform law.

The cops like things just as they are.

"We can immediately put that back in our tool belt if you will,” said Major Derek McCollum, the head of the Kansas City Police Department's Asset Forfeiture Squad. The money buys "computer type equipment, covert surveillance type equipment," McCollum told KMBC, adding that he didn't feel like law enforcement was taking money from the schools.

The Missouri School Board Association begs to differ.

“Absolutely, the constitution says it is,” said association attorney Susan Goldammer of the forfeiture money. "We still have school districts that don't have air conditioning or have concerns about asbestos. We've got many, many school buildings in the state that are way more than 100 years old,” she added.

Instead of turning forfeitures over to the state's school system, the state Highway Patrol spent $70,000 on new weapons. And in Phelps County, which sits astride the east-west throughway Interstate 44 and which profited the most from asset forfeiture, the sheriff spends the money on the department's buildings—not school buildings.

State Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-St. Louis) is working on a partial fix. He has authored House Bill 1501, under which only cases involving more than $50,000 could be handed over to the feds. (He had originally pegged the figure at $100,000, but has now halved it after "pushback from law enforcement.")

Dogan told KMBC that cases over $50,000 account for about 20% of asset forfeiture cases statewide and that he believes many smaller seizures are from innocent victims or involve rights violations.

"We can eliminate that incentive for them to just take money or take property,” Dogan said. "The government seizes their money and says, ‘we think you're a suspected drug dealer.' The government never produces any drugs, never charges you with a crime and then you have to spend more than they've actually seized trying to get your property back. That's unfair."

The $100,000 version of Dogan's bill is currently stalled in the legislature. Facing law enforcement opposition, the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee voted in February to postpone action on it, and the bill has no hearings scheduled and is not on the House calendar.

Perhaps he can get the $50,000 version moving. In the meantime, Missouri's cops continue to perversely profit from prohibition, while the state's schools are out of luck.

 

 

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Forbes
New Study Highlights The Social Impacts Of Cannabis Legalization In California
Forbes
The survey yielded three clear groups. The "consumers,” whose average age is 39-years-old, and have used marijuana or products containing cannabinoids in the past six months. “Acceptors,” whose median age is 49-years-old, and haven't used cannabis in ...
BDS Analytics, a Boulder-based cannabis data leader, lands $3.5 million investmentThe Denver Post

all 8 news articles »

Telegraph.co.uk
Estonian district adopts cannabis leaf as its flag symbol after online poll
Telegraph.co.uk
... logo to Estonia's heraldry commission where it won approval. Estonia's Green Party and the Ravikanep NGO are lobbying to legalise medical marijuana in the IT savvy EU Baltic state of 1.3 million people, but their campaign has so far met with little ...
Thanks, Internet: Estonian Town Gets Cannabis Leaf as Its EmblemNew York Times

all 10 news articles »

Forbes
Congressional Committee Protects Medical Marijuana From Jeff Sessions
Forbes
While the provision has been federal law since 2014, when it was first attached to legislation that funds the U.S. Department of Justice, its continuance has been in question because of recent efforts by Republican leadership to prevent votes on ...

and more »

The Guardian
Surge in young Americans using marijuana as first drug
The Guardian
Once age, sex and ethnicity were taken into account, the team found that those who smoked marijuana first were more likely to be current heavy marijuana users and have cannabis use disorder than those who used other substances first. They were also as ...
Marijuana by the NumbersHigh Times

all 6 news articles »

CBC.ca
Tell us where people are growing medical cannabis, town asks ...
CBC.ca
A small township south of Ottawa wants Health Canada to tell municipalities where people are growing medical cannabis after a fire at a house where more than ...

and more »

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kwhl.com Alaska marijuana business license applications piling up Alaska marijuana business license applications piling up (Thu May 17 18:29:26 2018 PDT)

kwhl.com Alaska (AP) b The number of applications for marijuana business licenses is outgrowing the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Officeb s approval system. (Thu May 17 18:29:26 2018 PDT)

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kwhl.com Alaska (AP) b The number of applications for marijuana business licenses is outgrowing the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Officeb s approval system. (Thu May 17 18:29:26 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(70%), $propaganda_theme2(70%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $chemicals(50%), $plants(100%), $intoxicant(100%), $depressant_intoxicant(50%), $alcohol(50%), $cannabis(100%), $cannabis_industry(85%), $cannabis_jobs(50%), $school(100%), $msm(50%), $mockingbird(50%), $assoc_press(50%)]

ktuu.com (US) The Morning Edition heads to the Cake Studio where owner Will McDonald shares trends and flavors for 2018. (Thu May 17 18:27:55 2018 PDT)

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