Round Up: 4/25/10

Upcoming Marijuana March Reaches 300 Cities; You on the List?

NORML hails the passage of another milestone for the Global Marijuana March with Georgetown, Guyana and Ryebrook, NY, as the 299th and 300th cities convening a march, rally, forum or benefit for the reform of cannabis laws on the weekends of Saturday May 1st and May 8th. NORML and numerous other reform groups called for more cities this year to participate so that organizers could meet and surpass their stated goal of more than 200 cities
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Ottawa police Chief supports decriminalization

Ottawa police Chief Vern White says he isn’t interested in giving marijuana users criminal records, and would support discussing decriminalization — with one caveat.

“My only concern about the word ‘decriminalizing’ is the suggestion to the public that (marijuana) is not a dangerous drug,” he said. Otawa Police Chief supports decriminalization.

The Citizen asked White about decriminalization following a recent community meeting.

An Angus Reid poll released earlier this month shows a majority of Canadians remain in favour of legalizing the plant. And last Tuesday, hundreds flocked to Parliament Hill to smoke up in an annual ritual in support of decriminalization.

“If this is about, ‘we don’t want people to have a criminal record for possession of marijuana,’ that message is a good message,” White said. “Because I don’t want them to have a criminal record for possession of marijuana either.”

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Quadriplegic Arrested and Jailed for Growing Marijuana April 25

John Haring is a 45 year-old man from Clearwater, Florida, who has been suffering from chronic pain for more than twenty years.

As related in a feature on TampaBay.com, when he was 24, Haring suffered an accident while working as a truck driver in Ohio. His rig rolled as he tried to avoid a kid who suddenly came in the way of the 18-wheeler that he was driving. His injuries left him without the use of his fingers and his legs; he has spent time on a wheelchair since

In order to manage the pain that he suffers from arthritis, among other things, he has, over the years, been prescribed with prescription painkillers. Thus far, however, these medicines have not worked well. So he turned to marijuana, growing them in his home in Clearwater.

This would have been perfectly alright if he had been living in California, and if a doctor legally advices him to turn to pot and writes a prescription for it. The thing is, Haring lives in Florida – a state where marijuana – even when used for medical purposes – is illegal.

Santa Cruz County cops bust six, seize more than 1,000 marijuana plants in undercover operation

SANTA CRUZ — Six county men were arrested, and more than 1,000 marijuana plants were seized from three properties Thursday during an undercover operation, sheriff's deputies announced Friday.

"With that amount of plants and that many players, this is clearly a sophisticated operation," Sgt. Dan Campos said. "This is an example of many marijuana growing operations in the county. It's a subculture that thrives here."

Deputies served search warrants at several locations, including on Swanton Road and Last Chance Road near Davenport, South Rodeo Gulch in Soquel, Encina Drive in Live Oak and on Empire Grade Road in Bonny Doon, Lt. Jim Hart said in a news release.

They seized more than 1,000 plants valued between $180,000 and $300,000, along with $6,000 cash, he said.