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world. If you or a loved one is currently being investigated or has been charged with a crime, call the 420attorney/Kroger Law Group at 323-655-5700 for a consultation. The Kroger Law
<br />Group limits is practice to Criminal Defense. We handle all types of Criminal cases in both Federal and State court. http://420attorney.blogspot.com/2009/01/undercover-agents-smoke-and-take-drugs.htm
<br />l CNBC 'Marijuana Inc.' lifts the lid on weed business Thursday, January 22nd 2009 /Trish Regan's show on CNBC is no puff piece. MARIJUANA, INC.: INSIDE AMERICA'S POT INDUSTRY Thursday
<br />Thursday night at 9, CNBC …..For better or worse, pot has become a major player in American agriculture, and Regan matterof-factly notes that what corn is to Iowa, marijuana is to a
<br />fertile triangle just outside San Francisco. Fittingly for a CNBC production, Regan focuses more on the economics than the sociology of marijuana, and the numbers make her point eloquently.
<br />It costs about $400 to grow a pound of marijuana. The grower sells it to a wholesaler for about $2,500. It's then broken down in smaller quantities that can bring in about $6,000. You
<br />see the incentive here. One of the growers interviewed by Regan values his plants at about $5,000 apiece. He has 20 of them, which makes him a small grower, but still adds up to more
<br />than small change……The main response of the marijuana police, local and federal, is frustration that they can do so little about an enterprise that some officials figure may in some
<br />way involve up to 60% of county residents. Without marijuana farming, Regan's sources all agree, the county's economy would implode. "Marijuana Inc." adds up to a solid special with
<br />a well-supported and inescapable conclusion: The commerce is unlikely to change and the law has only a slim chance of doing more than containing the most violence-prone offenders. When
<br />it comes to marijuana, a whole lot of people voted some time ago to just say yes. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/01/22/2009-01-22_cnbc_marijuana_inc_lifts_the_lid_on_weed.html
<br />Oaksterdam University January 23rd, 2009 OAKLAND — You know you’re in a different kind of college when a teaching assistant sets five marijuana plants down in the middle of a lab and
<br />no one blinks a bloodshot eye. Welcome to Oaksterdam University, a new trade school where higher education takes on a whole new meaning. The school prepares people for jobs in California’s
<br />thriving medical marijuana industry. For $200 and the cost of two required textbooks, students learn how to cultivate and cook with cannabis, study which strains of pot are best for
<br />certain ailments, and are instructed in the legalities of a business that is against the law in the eyes of the federal government…..So far, 60 students have completed the two-day weekend
<br />course, which is sold out through May.…..Oaksterdam U draws its name from the jokey nickname for a section of Oakland where some of California’s earliest medical marijuana dispensaries
<br />took root. The nickname in turn was inspired by the city of Amsterdam, in Holland,
<br />where pot use is tolerated. At one point, the Oaksterdam neighborhood had at least 15 clubs and coffee shops selling pot……Despite periodic raids by federal drug agents and the threat
<br />of prosecution, clubs and cooperatives where customers can buy the drug have proliferated; California has 300 to 400, according to advocacy groups. Entry-level workers are paid a little
<br />more than minimum wage, while “bud tenders,” can make over $50,000 a year, and owners and top managers more than $100,000, Lee said…… http://hotnewstoday.net/oaksterdam-university.html
<br />Pasadena class teaches how to legally dispense marijuana By Robert S. Hong and Alfred Lee, Staff Writers /03/01/2009 PASADENA -On a recent rainy morning, Liz McDuffie was lecturing about
<br />a dozen students inside a classroom at her Medical Cannabis Caregivers Directory on Mentor Avenue. She went over the maze of legal issues surrounding the use and sale of medical marijuana,
<br />discussed the process involved in becoming a "primary care provider," and she spelled out the risks of operating a medical marijuana dispensing business. "This is a new industry that's
<br />going to turn California around, and you're it," she told her students…….For the past two years, McDuffie has operated the MCCDirectory office inside a nondescript building on Mentor,
<br />with half of her business spot dedicated to a clothing store called Ritz Resale, which is operated by her daughter. The MCCDirectory has two stated purposes -to provide a searchable
<br />directory of physicians and caregivers who prescribe and sell medical marijuana, and to provide training for individuals interested in providing medical marijuana services…..For a $130
<br />class fee, students….. can learn about everything marijuana related -from handling encounters with law-enforcement officials to producing cannabis-infused edibles and ointments. "We're
<br />just learning about the laws and how to protect yourself," said Szamzit. "It's important knowing what's legal," Lehman said. McDuffie moves back and forth through the aisles of her classroom,
<br />touching her students' on their shoulders and looking them in the eye to get her points across. She hands out several forms during the fivehour class, some of which describe how to obtain
<br />a Department of Health Services Cannabis Card, and others with lists of regulations pertaining to marijuana dispensaries…..The key to the industry's legitimization, she believes, is
<br />in regulation and compliance. She preaches on everything from proper labeling -even doing demonstrations of new software that helps label containers of marijuana -to a medical marijuana
<br />certification program, Clean Green, that she was instrumental in founding. "It's so that people know that their cannabis is organic and safe," McDuffie said of Clean Green. Run by Chris
<br />Van Hook, a licensed USDA organic certifier based in Northern California, Clean Green independently certifies that medical marijuana, according to its Web site, complies "with national
<br />and international guidelines for organic and sustainable farming." Van Hook said he modeled the program, still in its infant stages, after the USDA's requirements…..McDuffie has also
<br />been involved in politics, founding a pro-environment political action committee in 2006 called the Coalition for a Safe and Clean Environment with fellow marijuana activist Philip Lujan.
<br />The PAC has donated $17,425 to area politicians…..But in McDuffie's view, the war against medical marijuana is now all but over -and medical pot has won. "Please -it's here," said McDuffie.
<br />"The question is, how do we gracefully make an entrance into the business community?" http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_11813775 OCTOBER 15TH, 2008 @8PM: CHRIS CONRAD & MIKKI NORRIS
<br />TOPIC: Keeping out of legal trouble: Tales of a court-qualified cannabis expert. with Chris Conrad AND Mikki Norris
<br />This is our time. This is our moment. The cannabis reform movement: Making change that we can believe in. Keeping out of legal trouble: Tales of a court-qualified cannabis expert. with
<br />Chris Conrad “The purpose of the expert’s testimony is to enlarge the vision and understanding of the triers of facts and to enable them to perform their functions intelligently…..Making
<br />change that we can believe in. with Mikki Norris Chris Conrad and Mikki Norris have spent their lives involved in cannabis horticulture, education, writing, and activism since they met
<br />at a political rally in the early eighties. Since then, the two have been recognized by High Times as “Living Legends of Pot.” Arguably, Chris Conrad’s most important work is accomplished
<br />within the legal system, helping an intelligently functioning jury “grow” out of the unforgiving soil that is the criminal justice system. By providing proper as opposed to misinformation
<br />during trials concerning yields and dosages, Chris is often able to counter exaggerated government data, but it is by promoting awareness of the harsh reality of conspiracy laws and
<br />mandatory minimum sentences that Chris and Mikki are together helping to create an intelligently functioning citizenry from which juries will be pulled in the future. Medical Marijuana:
<br />A Growth Industry In Colorado Westword /March 03, 2009 Behind a locked, unmarked door in a Colorado Springs strip mall, the state's largest marijuana dispensary is open for business.
<br />The operation's aromatic showroom is packed floor to ceiling with pot and anything and everything related to it. "Welcome to Cannabis Therapeutics. Intended for prescribed medical use
<br />only!" announces a large sign on the wall. Glass cases display Baggie upon Baggie of pot — 35 varieties in all. Those looking for cheap medicine can go for the $250-an-ounce, bargain-basement
<br />Holland's Hope or upgrade to $300-an-ounce Thunderstruck or $400-an-ounce Purple Haze. Big spenders can opt for top-shelf meds such as a crop of Chocolate Chunk priced at $500 an ounce…..This
<br />arrangement has proved lucrative: Lee, 44, says his dispensary earns about $105,000 a month, $75,000 of which he says goes back out the door for more monthly product…. http://thinkoutsidethecage2.blo
<br />gspot.com/2009/03/medical-marijuana-growth-industry-in.html New Web Site To Find Medical Marijuana Near You Launched Posted on 2009 March 21 by bbvm A new Web site has been launched,
<br />which helps people locate medical marijuana.WeedMaps.com maps out where you can find marijuana and marijuana groups near you…..Although it may sound illegal but the site purports to
<br />only track medical marijuana.WeedMaps.com is a Web site “where medical marijuana patients can connect with other patients in their area, to freely discuss and review local cannabis co-operatives
<br />and dispensaries,” according to Weedmaps.com. The site promotes that “anyone can register and moderation is minimal.” Weedmaps.com offers maps of the locations of dispensaries, listings
<br />for the dispensaries, and more. http://bbvm.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/new-web-site-to-find-medical-marijuana-near-you-launched/An examination of events occurring in other states provides
<br />us an opportunity to llok at the depth of the problem. Not only are other states experiencing some of the same drug related issues, but also that residents of California are being arrested
<br />across the nation with marijuana grown in California, no doubt under the guise of “compassionate use”. Court: No new trial for Calif. convicted killer WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme
<br />Court says a convicted killer whose lawyer convinced him not to pursue an insanity defense does not deserve a new trial…..Mirzayance was convicted of fatally shooting and stabbing his
<br />19-year-old cousin…..He told police that he killed her
<br />because she had "pissed him off" and he had smoked marijuana. A urine test, however, showed no marijuana in his system. A jury convicted Mirzayance of first-degree murder, although his
<br />lawyer had sought lesser charges….. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRu6APJt1IENkntwrFzfqah7d7CQD974F1J 82 Police: Elementary Student May Have Traded Sex For Drugs
<br />Marijuana Found At Discovery Elementary In Palm Bay WESH.com /Jan. 11, 2009 PALM BAY, Fla. -Police said on Friday that a girl at a Palm Bay elementary school traded sex for drugs. Palm
<br />Bay police said they want to know where the elementary school student got the marijuana she brought to school……At Discovery Elementary School, students told a resource officer that a
<br />sixth-grade boy had marijuana. Police said they found him with the marijuana on the way home. Martinez said that boy had gotten it from a female student. An investigation led to a sixth-grade
<br />girl, and now police are investigating rumors that she got it in South Florida in exchange for sex….. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28586736/Authorities intercept marijuana shipment Advocate
<br />Florida parishes bureau Published: Jan 13, 2009 -Page: 5B -UPDATED: 12:05 a.m. HAMMOND — Narcotics agents with the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office and Hammond Police intercepted an
<br />apparent long-distance marijuana package sent by private delivery service, leading to the arrest of a Hammond man, deputies said Monday……The package contained approximately 1.3 pounds
<br />of marijuana…..Derek Hammond accepted the package from an undercover agent delivering it after Hammond asked the agent whether the package was from California. The agent said it was,
<br />deputies said. Hammond later told agents the package was his and “Donald Robinson” was a fictitious name…… http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/suburban/37485624.html Ten arrests made in
<br />alleged Santa Cruz-Texas pot operation By Jennifer Squires -Sentinel Staff Writer /01/16/2009 SANTA CRUZ -Sheriff's deputies investigating an interstate drug ring arrested 10 people
<br />during raids at 11 homes…..All are suspected of growing or selling marijuana re-sold at exorbitant prices in Texas…..The large drug operation was apparently funneled through Robert David
<br />Scott, 39, of Aptos, who once a week sold 5 pounds of pot at $4,000 a pound to a Texas man. Carney said the unidentified Texan flew to Santa Cruz weekly to pick up his marijuana order,
<br />then shipped it through a private service to Denton…..During the raids, deputies confiscated more than $14,000 cash, 9 pounds of pot packaged to sell, nearly 1,300 marijuana plants and
<br />indoor marijuana growing equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars……Nearly everyone arrested Thursday claimed to be medicinal marijuana users and had medical recommendations…..Deputies
<br />are still searching for other assets from the drug sales, although he speculated much of the money may have been spent. One alleged grower used it to pay for graduate school, he said.
<br />The Sheriff's Office reported seeing an increase in interstate pot sales in the past couple of years. "The interesting thing is it seems like in the past year we're dealing with agencies
<br />calling us from Texas and all over the U.S. telling us people are shipping marijuana from California," Carney said. Sheriff's Office drug detectives
<br />have found more indoor grow houses recently, many of which are operated to augment someone's income. "Honestly there are probably so many grow houses in the community," Carney said.
<br />"I looked at our stats from this year and last year, our indoor grow stats have just gone kind of crazy….. http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_11473549?nclick_check=1 Troopers
<br />Seize Pot, Continue 'Controlled' Delivery TheOmahaChannel.com /Thurs., Jan. 22, 2009 OMAHA, Neb. -State troopers found 152 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80
<br />Wednesday morning, and then continued with a "controlled" delivery…..They arrested a California couple who allegedly tried to take possession the drugs. Eliodoro Cabrera Jr., 29, and
<br />Cynthia Hinojosa,24, both of California, were charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana….. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28796382/Drug bust yields 162 pounds of marijuana Arrest»
<br />Street value of confiscated pot estimated at $600,000 By Melinda Rogers /The Salt Lake Tribune /01/24/2009 A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is being credited for catching a woman transporting162
<br />pounds of marijuana through Salt Lake County on Saturday evening…..The trooper and tank discovered five or six large duffle bags full of pot in the back of her charcoal gray Toyota Tundra.
<br />The street value of the drugs is estimated at $600,000…..Before the trooper searched her vehicle and found the drugs she told him that she was from California and was driving to visit
<br />friends in Minnesota, he said. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11548843 Stop Medical Fraud Marijuana in New Jersey! S.119 seeks to legalize marijuana for so-called medical reasons. Proponents
<br />of such legislation prey on the sick and dying to promote their agenda of smoking pot. Proponents of S119 want you to believe that “medical” marijuana will only be smoked by those who
<br />have extreme serious medical conditions. THIS IS UNTRUE. This is who is really smoking marijuana under the guise of medicine in states that has already passed such legislation: Oregon
<br />Voters in in the state of Oregon approved a “medical” marijuana act in 1998. The program is run as a state registry program within Oregon’s Department of Health. As of January 1, 2009,
<br />the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program has 20,842 individuals that legally hold “medical” marijuana ID cards and of those, 88% are treating “severe pain” rather than the more serious conditions
<br />such as cancer (3.4%), glaucoma (1.6%), and HIV+/AIDS (1.9%). Another 2,204 applications for ID cards are pending. Source: Oregon.gov, Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) http://oregon.gov/DHS/ph
<br />/ommp/index.shtml Rhode Island The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act was enacted on January 3, 2006. As of December 30, 2008, 561 individuals are participating
<br />in the program. Of those 561 participants, 63.71% are treating what the department labels as chronic disease or condition (chronic pain, severe nausea and severe persistent muscle spasms)
<br />rather than the more serious
<br />conditions such as cancer (11.95%), glaucoma (1.69%), HIV+/AIDS (4.50%), and Hepatitis C (9.7%). Source: Rhode Island Department of Health http://www.health.ri.gov/hsr/mmp/Colorado Voter
<br />in the state of Colorado passed a “medical” marijuana amendment in 2000. The program is as a registry program within Colorado’s Department of Health and Environment. As of December 31,
<br />2008, the Marijuana Registry Program has 4,819 individual that legally hold registry ID cards and of those 87% are treating “severe pain” and 21% are treating “muscle spasms rather than
<br />the more serious conditions such as cancer (4%), glaucoma (2%), and HIV+/AIDS (2%). Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Medical Marijuana Registry Update. http://www.cdphe.s
<br />tate.co.us/hs/Medicalmarijuana/marijuanaupdate.html HAWAII Of the 4,560 patients registered for medical marijuana use in the state in December, 68 percent, or 3,102, received physicians'
<br />certifications to use marijuana for the "debilitating medical condition" of severe pain. That was followed by 1,167 certifications for multiple conditions, 70 for persistent muscle spasms,
<br />61 for HIV or AIDS, 55 for cancer, 48 for severe nausea, 25 for seizures and 14 for wasting syndrome. Source: Article in the Maui News titled Careful what you ask for, dated 2/9/09.
<br />link: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/514619.html For proponents of S119 to insist that it is the seriously ill that they are seeking to protect is not only laughable
<br />but also offensive to those who have worked hard to see marijuana use by our youth drop. “Medical” marijuana impacts youth. It is a step towards legalization of marijuana. Too often
<br />it is an excuse for recreational use. www.SAMforNewjersy.org Pals pack alleged stabber's hearing By Nelson Daranciang /Feb 10, 2009 Benjamin Davis apparently smoked some marijuana that
<br />had been spiked with LSD before he allegedly stabbed two hikers at Koko Head Crater on Feb. 1, says a friend…..The two hikers who were stabbed at the top of Koko Crater Trail identified
<br />Davis as their attacker.…..Tanaka said the only clothing Davis was wearing when he attacked him was boxer shorts. Police later found Davis in a tree wearing one shoe but otherwise nude…..Iwamoto
<br />suffered multiple stab wounds to his head, chest, abdomen and both hands. He said Iwamoto had stab wounds or cuts to the left temporal artery and left jugular vein and two collapsed
<br />lungs. He also suffered skull and neck fractures…… http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090210_Pals_pack_alleged_stabbers_hearing.html 3 arrested, $1 million in pot seized in bust outside
<br />W Hotel in Dallas By DONNA FIELDER /Denton Record-Chronicle /Sunday, February 15, 2009 Denton County sheriff's narcotics investigators last week seized $1 million in top-grade marijuana
<br />and arrested three people in connection with the bust outside Dallas' exclusive W Hotel……Dimitriy Goncharuk, 30, originally from Russia but now of Hollywood, Calif., remained at the
<br />Denton County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail Saturday…..Ashley Bowerman, 28, of Colorado and Jody Bogumil, 29, of Grass Valley, Calif., were each released on $50,000 bail…..The key
<br />
<br />opened storage units that held duffel bags containing 200 pounds of "hydro" marijuana. "This is the highest-grade marijuana," Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Wawro said. Such marijuana brings $5,000
<br />to $6,000 a pound…..Davis said the two women were college students recruited to drive the Winnebago to Dallas and were to be paid $15,000 each for the trip. It's the latest ploy to try
<br />to get drug runs past law enforcement officers, he said. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/crime/stories/DNpotbust_15met.ART.Central.Edition1.4c50fcb.html Medical
<br />Pot Traded for Cash Near Dutch Bros, Handgun in Another Deal February 16, 2009 -9:34 AM The Grants Pass Department of Public Safety made three juvenile arrests in an apparent theft of
<br />medical marijuana that immediately ended up being sold on the street illegally…..In one case the drug was traded for a handgun…….It was determined that medical marijuana had been stolen
<br />from a residence.……Through further investigation, it was determined that one of the suspects sold some of the marijuana for $30 while another traded some of the stolen marijuana for
<br />a .22 caliber pistol, which was recovered…..http://www.ktvl.com/news/medical_1188996___article.html/dutch_bros.html Truck headed to Westborough contained $2.1M in marijuana By Benjamin
<br />Paulin, Globe Staff /February 21, 2009 A truck heading to Massachusetts that was stopped by police in Arizona contained 1,400 pounds of marijuana, a haul worth $2.1 million on the street,
<br />authorities said……The truck was headed from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. to Westborough,…..The vehicle, owned by M & G Enterprises in East Hartford, Conn., contained frozen food products
<br />along with boxes loaded with marijuana…… http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/02/truck_headed_to.html Warren County Drug Task Force Rounds Up Marijuana Traffickers Posted:
<br />4:12 PM Mar 6, 2009 "Operation California Connection" began at 8 Friday morning, Friday March 6th and picked up 8 of the 9 individuals wanted here in Warren County….."This is a drug
<br />trafficking organization actually consisting of 11 people, 2 other people in California, that were trafficking some in the neighborhood of 200 pounds a month of marijuana….."A lot of
<br />it was being transported in rental cars we determined that during the investigation. They would make periodic trips to California to pick up the marijuana and return here with it," Loving
<br />explains.…..During the final stages of the investigation, Task Force officers received 7 warrants and seized 12 pounds of marijuana, nearly $75,000 dollars in cash, 4 vehicles, 2 guns
<br />and marijuana-selling paraphernalia…..The California officials were also working Friday morning to locate and arrest the two traffickers located in Turlock, California. All 11 individuals
<br />are charged with "Engaging in Organized Crime-Criminal Syndicate" which is a "Class B" felony and carries a punishment of 10 to 20 years in prison. http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/40864462.html
<br />Calif. man sentenced for flying marijuana to Wis. Associated Press /March 11, 2009 MADISON, Wis. -A failed script writer has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison
<br />for flying $500,000 worth of marijuana to Wisconsin on his private plane…..Ryan was arrested Oct. 18 after landing at a remote airport in southwestern Wisconsin with 157 pounds of marijuana.
<br />He
<br />told Crabb he grew and sold marijuana to raise money for a movie project. Federal prosecutors say he was motivated by greed….. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-potpilot-sentence,0,6464191
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