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preceded by release of an ovum. Children born to mothers who smoke marijuana during pregnancy are at greater risk of developing certain forms of childhood cancer, states Maisto’s book. Marijuana also increases risk of premature birth, shorter body length, and lower birth rate. http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/the-long-term-effects-of-marijuana XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX An examination of events occurring in other states provides us an opportunity to look at the depth of the problem. Not only are other states experiencing some of the same drug related issues, but also residents of California are being arrested across the nation with marijuana grown in California, no doubt under the guise of “compassionate use”. Man shot in RI home where marijuana was grown By Associated Press /Friday, April 16, 2010 PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Police are investigating the fatal shooting of an intruder at Providence home where marijuana may have been growing legally for medical purposes. Police say a man walked into the Chalkstone Avenue house armed with a pellet gun around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. A resident told police the intruder tried to rob him, so he opened fire, shooting the man once in the chest. The man was found lying in a hallway and died later at Rhode Island Hospital. Police say the shooting was a possible case of self defense. They are also looking into whether the marijuana found during a search of the home was being grown legally for medical purposes. No names were released. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view.bg?articleid=1247679&srvc=rss Kalispell murder: Suspects say they bludgeoned man for his marijuana and money By MICHAEL JAMISON of the Missoulian /Friday, April 23, 2010 KALISPELL -Two young murder suspects planned for days to steal their alleged victim's marijuana and money before bludgeoning him to death with hammers last week in Kalispell. That's the charge from prosecutors, who on Thursday leveled a litany of allegations against 21-year-old Robert Lake and 19-year-old Jeffrey Nixon. The men could face life in prison, or even the death penalty, if convicted……When officers arrived, prosecutors say Lake was caught jumping out of the apartment window and trying to flee. He told police that he'd purchased the plants, and denied being in the apartment illegally. Officers later searched Lake's home, where they discovered the missing marijuana plants, as well as Collins' keys and prescription medications. At that point, prosecutors say Lake admitted that Collins had been killed. He told investigators that he and Nixon had discussed killing Collins in order to steal his marijuana plants and money….. http://missoulian.com/news/lo cal/article_0cc00c74-4e65-11df-948d-001cc4c03286.html Argument over marijuana leads to torture, arrest By Kristina Davis, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER /Tuesday, June 8, 2010 SAN DIEGO — A San Diego County man was arrested in Washington state after he admitted to police that he tied up and tortured a man over an argument about marijuana, according to court documents…..Lacey police received a 911 call from the victim reporting that he’d been tied up and beaten for several hours in a home invasion before he was able to escape, the documents state. Arriving officers found the victim at a neighbor’s house with several bleeding cuts as well as abrasions and swelling to his face and neck. When police knocked on the victim’s home, Cowen answered the door. Cowen told police that he and two girlfriends went to the victim’s house to “party,” and his friends said the victim was planning to rob Cowen of marijuana he’d brought up from California. Cowen confronted the victim and told police he “lost control.” He forced the man into a kitchen chair, using phone cords and hoses to tie him up, and then began “beating and cutting him with a knife,” according to the documents. Cowen said he planned to release him in the morning once he “could work out with him so he would not call the cops.” Officers found a knife believed to have been used in the attack stuffed between couch cushions. Cowen was jailed on $50,000 bail. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jun/08/argument-over-marijuana-leads-t orture-arrest/Medical marijuana beatdown: Accused men due in court By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic | Posted: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 HAMILTON -Under the state's Medical Marijuana Act, Tracy Moser was allowed to process up to 1 3/4 pounds of marijuana for medical use. When law enforcement searched his business and residence after his arrest earlier this month for allegedly beating a man he thought had stolen from his medical marijuana dispensary business, they found 9 pounds of the dried drug, 5.2 pounds of marijuana-laced assorted candies, baked goods, tinctures, lotions and concentrated capsules and more than $48,000 in cash, according to court records filed Tuesday……The men allegedly thought Miller had broken into the John Stone Foundation medical marijuana dispensary in Stevensville……an affidavit this week that outlined the county's case, which began after a Ravalli County deputy was dispatched to the South Burnt Fork Road in Stevensville after a resident called to say a man bleeding from a head wound had shown up at his home…..In a subsequent interview, Miller allegedly admitted he had been selling marijuana he received from a man named Jesse Shoup since he'd arrived in Ravalli County two months ago……. http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_64def60e-68dc-11df-87c7-00 1cc4c03286.html Robbers shock medical pot growers with stun gun Associated Press /03/24/10 COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Colorado Springs police say medical marijuana growers were beat up in an early-morning robbery at their home. Police say three people wearing orange masks beat up the home's residents, shocked them with a stun gun and stole their marijuana plants around 5 a.m. Wednesday. Police say the homeowners had a growers' permit for the marijuana. http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/west/robbers-shock-medical-pot-growers-with-stun-gun-89052842.html Firebombings in Montana’s Medical Marijuana Stores May 11, 2010 In the meeting scheduled to be attended by the City Council, Montana, on Monday night,the council is expected to take up the issue of regulating medical marijuana. The recent fire bombings at the city’s medical marijuana stores in the last two days have only intensified the issue of regulating medical marijuana……In the recent incidents, “Not in out town” was painted on the businesses as reported by the police. Big Sky Patient Care was the first to be impacted early on Sunday morning said Police Sgt Kevin Iffland. On Monday it was the turn of Montana Therapeutics. In both cases rocks were thrown through the front door and then a Molotoc cocktail followed. Fortunately in both the cases the fire was put out quickly and without much damage…..Evidences of firebombing that has been found by the investigators are being looked at carefully. They are also working closely with the business which has a surveillance video. The business is however reluctant to hand over the tape on account of security concerns. The firebombings have also prompted the police to increase the vigil in the areas where medical marijuana stores are located. http://www.timesne wsline.com/news/Firebomb-in-Montanas-Medical-Marijuana-Store-1273597726/Authorities: Million dollar pot business busted Birkett says investigators seized 'thousands of pounds' of marijuana By Art Barnum, Tribune Reporter /May 21, 2010 Local law enforcement officials, conducting a yearlong investigation dubbed "Operation Chicago Haze," have arrested a dozen people alleged to be members of one of the region's largest marijuanaselling rings……the investigation resulted in the confiscation of "thousands of pounds of high-grade marijuana, as well as cash, guns and vehicles…..confiscated almost $1 million in cash that was to be used to buy more marijuana to bring into the area for sale and distribution. Two of the defendants were arrested recently with "bags full of cash" amounting to $571,000, said Tatarelis. The cash is thought to have been destined for California to pay for the purchase of more marijuana. Two other defendants with $320,000 in cash were in a truck headed for California when they were stopped by Nebraska police….. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-0523-dupage-pot-20100521,0,5027794. story Woman Busted With 506 Pounds Of Pot On Jet Feds: Lisette Lee Stuffed Drug Into 13 Suitcases /Jun 16, 2010 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -A California woman traveling with a bodyguard on a private jet was arrested at an Ohio airport with 506 pounds of marijuana stashed in 13 suitcases, federal authorities said…… Lee told investigators that she chartered the plane from Van Nuys, Calif., to Columbus to visit a boyfriend and transport equipment to a horse farm. She said it was her fourth such trip. She said a friend paid her $60,000 to take more than a dozen suitcases from Los Angeles to an unattended hotel room in Columbus, stay for a few days and then bring back fewer pieces of luggage, authorities said. Lee later told investigators that she and her entourage knew the horse story was phony and that they were likely involved with "weapons and money laundering or something," authorities wrote in court papers…… http://wcbstv.com/wa tercooler/pot.private.jet.2.1755510.html MEG agents seize 233 pounds of pot Thomas Geyer /The Quad-City Times /Saturday, June 19, 2010 A Davenport man is facing drug charges after agents with the Quad-City Metropolitan Enforcement Group found more than 200 pounds of marijuana wrapped in plastic and stored in a gun case in an apartment, officials said……Endress said of what led authorities to knock on Reistroffer’s door. “While talking to him they could smell the cannabis and realized they needed to get a search warrant. You can’t hide the odor of 233 pounds of marijuana.”….Endress was surprised that MEG agents seized so much of the low-grade marijuana. “Nowadays we seize mostly the California medical marijuana, which has a street value in the Quad-Cities of $5,000 per pound,” he said. With the California dispensaries of medial marijuana getting less attention from federal authorities, he said, “California is supplying the Quad-Cities with most of the marijuana these days.” California medical marijuana sells for a higher price because it is of higher quality and has a much higher THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, content….. http://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-a nd-courts/article_b7676470-7bfa-11df-bb4c-001cc4c002e0.html Speeding stop nets marijuana By Mark Young /The North Platte Telegraph /Tuesday, April 6, 2010 A Nebraska State Patrol trooper out of Troop D, headquartered in North Platte, conducted a traffic stop on the afternoon of April 3, which led to the arrest of two California residents after discovering more than 24 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle……The canine alerted to the odor of marijuana from the trunk of the vehicle and a subsequent search led to the seizure of 24.2 pounds of marijuana, which was sealed in two large vacuum-sealed bags inside of a large duffle bag in the trunk. The trooper also discovered a small amount of methamphetamine….. http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2010/0 4/06/news/60006007.txt Medical marijuana facing a backlash Cops say proliferation of pot shops leads to robberies, DUIs By MATT VOLZ /Fri., May 21, 2010 HELENA, Mont. -The vandals struck in the middle of the night, hurling Molotov cocktails through the windows of two medical marijuana businesses and spray-painting "NOT IN OUR TOWN" just before the Billings City Council was supposed to take up a ban on any new pot shops. Montana and other states that have legalized medical marijuana are seeing a backlash, with public anger rising and politicians passing laws to slow the proliferation of pot shops and bring order to what has become a wide-open, Wild West sort of industry. They are looking to avoid what happened in California, which allowed the pot industry to grow so out of control that at one point Los Angeles had more medical marijuana shops than Starbucks — about 1,000 by one count. "Yeah, it's out of control — and it needs control, if not extinction," Montana Sen. Jim Shockley said Friday. "There's no control over distribution. There's no control over who's growing it. There's no control in dosage."…..Medical marijuana has been around for more than five years in in Montana, but the boom came this past year. The number of registered users in Montana, a state with a population of just under 1 million, has gone from 2,923 last June to about 15,000 today. The number of registered suppliers has increased from 919 to about 5,000. The number of DUI arrests involving marijuana has skyrocketed, as have traffic fatalities where marijuana was found in the system of one of the drivers, Montana narcotics chief Mark Long told a legislative committee last month. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37282436/ns/us_news-life/from/ET Washington, Foristell join list banning fake marijuana By Associated Press /April 7, 2010 WASHINGTON, Mo. (AP) — The eastern Missouri towns of Washington and Foristell have passed laws making it illegal to possess or sell products containing the so-called synthetic marijuana. St. Charles city and county have also banned the product marketed under names such as "K2," ''Spice" and "Summit." State lawmakers are considering a statewide ban. The Washington Missourian reported that a few weeks ago, police investigated after a woman was hospitalized after smoking some of the product and taking a drug. http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-mo--syntheticmarijuana,0,4719997.story Campuses scramble to deal with medical marijuana By Dan Boniface /April 29, 2010 DENVER (EdNews) -Across the street from the University of Colorado's flagship campus in Boulder you'll find Dr. Reefer, a small storefront bedecked in neon and an easily identifiable marijuana leaf. Inside, the air is heavy with the pungent aroma of marijuana. "Bud Bud tendress" Lauren Townsend, 21, explains to a visitor how some student customers buy cannabis-infused sodas or brownies so they can discreetly ingest the drug in the campus library while they study. She demonstrates how to hold the soda bottle so any reference to marijuana is obscured. Or, clients can buy the more typical form of marijuana to be smoked in the privacy of their own homes. Within 500 feet there are three other medical marijuana dispensaries also targeting students, the maximum allowable in Boulder in that amount of space. Other college towns in Colorado are experiencing a similar phenomenon, leaving campus officials scrambling to come up with policies on the budding use of medical marijuana by students -and, in some cases, staff. It's no easy task considering ambiguities in the state's ever-changing medical marijuana laws, threats of lawsuits by pro-pot advocates or cities attempting to set limits of their own….. http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=137838&catid=339 Georgia bans K2 synthetic marijuana Ewa Kochanska /Atlanta Political Buzz Examiner /May 25, 2010 Governor Sonny Perdue announced on Monday that he has signed a bill to outlaw the use and sales of synthetic marijuana (K2) in Georgia. H.B. 1309 places the drug on Schedule I controlled substances list right along Heroin and above Cocaine, Ritalin and Opium which are all on Schedule II list……K2, also knows as “fake weed, “Spice,” Genie,” or “Zohai,’ is a legally sold herb coated with a synthetic chemical that mimics similar “high” to marijuana's when smoked. The “Genie” is usually marketed as a spice or an incense, and is easily accessible online, in some convenience stores and spiritual and herbal shops. It can cost as much as $35 per ounce. "Clemson University organic chemist John W. Huffman created the K2 compound in the mid-1990s to mimic the effects of cannabis on the brain…….This past February, a poison center in Missouri notified centers nationwide about K2 after they had an influx of patients with serious health problems resulting from the use of the drug. "At first we had about a dozen cases, but then it really blossomed. By the first week of April, we had 40 cases,…… nationwide, there have been 352 reported cases of K2 poisoning in 35 states. According to USA Today, several cities and a dozen states have either banned the substance or are considering doing so. Kansas banned the drug March 10. Kentucky followed April 13. Alabama's ban takes effect July 1. Legislatures in Missouri and Tennessee have passed bans that will take effect unless vetoed by their governors. Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey and New York are considering bills to outlaw the drug. The substance has been outlawed in Europe for a while now. http://www.examiner.com/x-6571-Atlanta-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2010m5d25-Geor gia-bans-K2-synthetic-marijuana Educators see rise in student drug use, blame medical marijuana By AMIE THOMPSON /Tribune Staff Writer /May 30, 2010 In April, an aide brought a student to C.M. Russell High School Principal Dick Kloppel's office. It was 8:15 a.m. and the student smelled of marijuana. The aide suspected that the student was high. The girl told Kloppel she drove her boyfriend to school and that he was smoking his medical marijuana in the car. He is a Montana "green-card" holder, meaning he can legally possess and smoke marijuana to alleviate pain. Kloppel then inspected the student's car. "You could smell the marijuana from outside the car. It was almost blue in the car," he said. Through the smoke, Kloppel spotted a baby seat in the back. The principal believed that the couple's 4-month-old baby likely had been riding in the car. "Looking at her (the student), there was no way she wasn't high. But she said she wasn't using it, and there was nothing in her possession," Kloppel said. With no admission of guilt, there was nothing the administration could do but send her back to class. This instance is not isolated. More Great Falls teenagers are smoking marijuana than counselors and administrators have ever seen before. Kloppel and Fred Anderson, principal at Great Falls High School, say that is because of the growing use of medical marijuana in the community. "I strongly believe it is directly attributable to the increased availability of the drug through caregivers and cardholders," Kloppel said. Counselors say students have taken a more casual approach to marijuana in the past year. They keep hearing students tell them it is medicinal and helps calm them down and relieve stress. With no way for officials to test students for marijuana besides taking them to the hospital for a blood test, students — with or without a green card — go unpunished for using the drug. "Right now, we don't have a policy," Kloppel said in a recent interview. "This has become an epidemic," CMR counselor Earlene Ostberg said. "Some of these kids were going to go to college and now are just going to get a job." In a February 2009 survey among the city's high-schoolers, 48 percent reported that they have used marijuana, and 5 percent reported using it 10 to 19 times in the last 30 days. The number of students who said they experimented with marijuana was up nearly 10 percent from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The latest national statistics conducted by the CDC show 38.1 percent of teens had used marijuana at least once in their lifetime, according to the 2007 survey. "But our data doesn't reflect how much it's increased since they started opening up the marijuana stores," said Mikie Messman, Chemical Awareness/Responsive Education program coordinator for the school district. Kloppel and Anderson say there is no question that that the use is higher than last year. "It's worse than the early '70s," Kloppel said. What is different is that marijuana use this year seems to be across all groups and cliques at the high schools. "It really does not have boundaries — even athletes," Anderson said. "There used to be a group you could ID, but now it doesn't have boundaries." Authorities used to be able to pinpoint the distribution points, but "now if you can get it anywhere, where do you go?" There are no avenues of control, he added. "There are a lot of kids that don't (use marijuana), but there are a lot more kids that do that didn't use to," Kloppel said…..Montana's medical marijuana law states that it is not appropriate for the workplace, but there is no mention of school. Kloppel worries about the implications: What if the student with a green card smokes marijuana at lunch and shop class is next? What if the student will be using a saw? What about driver's education, he wonders. For those growing numbers of students smoking illegally, the same concerns hold true, since it is hard to prove a student is under the influence of the drug. Even when the administration can add consequences for those students smoking marijuana, it is of little concern to the students involved. "All the detention that worked with people that are pretty rational tends not to work with marijuana,"……."I asked a group of students how difficult it was to get pot and how many cardholders they knew of. They then added that when the cardholders get their pot, they would invite people over and party for several days," she said. "The use of marijuana in Great Falls is crazy," CMR senior Jessica Kohlhepp said. She smells it before school, at lunch and even in the classrooms. "I see it all the time. I smell it all the time," she said. Kohlhepp stopped smoking marijuana her sophomore year after she ended up in the emergency room. She had smoked a joint that was laced with either meth or angel dust. While it didn't cost Kohlhepp her life, the incident did cost her the trust and respect of her family and friends. "I'm a well-put-together person, so my parents didn't even even suspect," she said. Now she has her life back on track. She graduates today and will move to Billings to start cosmetology school next month. "If I could talk to a kid before they tried it, I would say don't try it. It will mess up your life. You can't trust your dealers — even if they are your friends," she said. Messman, who has served as a school representative for the Juvenile Drug Court program since its inception in January 2006, said the statistics show kids are choosing marijuana over alcohol and other drugs. "From that (starting) date until May 1, 2010, we've had 53 kids participate in Juvenile Drug Court. Of those 53, 51 named marijuana as their drug of choice," Messman said. "These are kids who have committed crimes and drugs or alcohol have been a major contributor to their criminal behavior." Kloppel and Anderson said kids believe that using marijuana while driving will not result in a DUI, like it would if they were drinking alcohol. One of the scariest things Messman is noticing is that kids are trying marijuana even before they are in high school. "These kids are starting very, very young — "12, 13 years old," Messman said. Make that 4 months old, Kloppel pointed out, if you consider the baby in the back of the student's car he searched. http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100530/NEWS01/5300301 Doctor fined for role in marijuana clinic By RICHARD HANNERS Whitefish Pilot /Wednesday, June 2, 2010 The Montana Board of Medical Examiners says a Whitefish physician's past work with medical marijuana patients "amounts to unprofessional conduct" and has ordered her to pay a $2,000 fine. The board also ordered Dr. Patricia Cole to abide by a number of conditions for 12 months. She 'specifically is prohibited from serving as the consulting physician for third parties or caregivers in mass conference-like settings akin to that which gave rise to this action." According to the board's May 21 order, Cole saw 151 patients seeking state medical marijuana cards over a 14 1/2-hour period during an October 2009 medical marijuana conference in Great Falls. The board collected charts for 20 of these patients from their medical marijuana provider and submitted them to a peer review. The peer reviewer concluded that Cole breached her statutory obligations to comply with "generally accepted standards of practice" and the state's Medical Marijuana Act, including: Documentation was lacking whether she personally took comprehensive past or present medical histories, performed physical examinations, or performed medical marijuana risk-benefit analysis……The board also unanimously adopted a position paper on mass screenings by medical marijuana providers, where large groups of people are charged $100 to $150 for a doctor's recommendation to smoke marijuana. The board pointed out on May 21 that it "takes no position on the general suitability of marijuana in the treatment of medical disorders," but that it "does have an obligation to protect the public by ensuring that physicians provide medical services via a bona bona fide physician-patient relationship that meet the generally accepted standards of care." The board said it was concerned about reports that physicians were certifying patients for medical marijuana "in a mass screening format" and through online consultations. Whether for student athletes or medical marijuana, mass screenings and group evaluations "inherently tend towards inadequate standards of care," the board said. Physicians found to be practicing below the acceptable standard of care would be subject to disciplinary action for unprofessional conduct, the board warned. http://www.flatheadnewsgroup.com/articles/2010/06/03/whitefishpilot/news/news_8724499387_01.t xt Talkers | Pot not to blame for bear mauling, judge rules Blame pot? Not! /June 5, 2010 HELENA, Mont. | A Montana judge said it’s not a worker’s fault he got mauled by a grizzly bear at a tourist attraction, even if he smoked marijuana before trying to feed the animal. Brock Hopkins acknowledged smoking pot before arriving to work at Great Bear Adventures on Nov. 2, 2007. When he entered the bear’s pen, he was attacked and had to be hospitalized. The owner of the attraction near Glacier National Park said that Hopkins was a volunteer and that his use of marijuana caused the accident. But Judge James Jeremiah Shea of the Montana Workers’ Compensation Court ruled that Hopkins is eligible for benefits. Shea said Hopkins was paid and therefore was an employee. The judge also concluded Hopkins’ use of marijuana was not the main cause of the attack. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/05/1995831/talkers-pot-not-to-blame-forb ear.html#ixzz0qJ83YHuR