CalPotNews.com

Mercury News editorial: Suspend San Jose dispensary law

Bud — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:04:11 +0000

San Jose’s new ordinance to regulate medical marijuana clubs has run into a buzz saw of challenges, not the least of which is a referendum qualified for the June ballot to repeal the regulations. Rather than take on that fight, the City Council should suspend the ordinance, as Mayor Chuck Reed has proposed, and hope [...]

Key question: Will feds respect tighter medipot rules?

Bud — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:38:54 +0000

A proposed ballot initiative aimed for the November elections begs a key question looming over California’s medical marijuana industry: Can stricter state regulation keep the federal government from shutting it down? Dispensaries, medical marijuana growers and a powerful union local are rallying behind an initiative that would regulate California’s $1.5 billion pot trade, Peter Hecht [...]

30 bales of pot found floating off L.A. coast

Bud — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:39:59 +0000

Thirty bales of marijuana with an estimated street value of $500,000 were found floating in the waters off Marina del Rey, sheriff’s deputies said Thursday. Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Carriles said a recreational boater first found five bales in the water around noon Wednesday and alerted deputies and the U.S. Coast Guard, Kristin S. Agostoni reports [...]

Nevada City woman faces pot-sales charge in Illinois

Bud — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:33:56 +0000

A Nevada City woman was arrested after being stopped in Illinois, for allegedly carrying 167 pounds of marijuana. Cara Ringland, 32, was pulled over by officers Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 80 near Peru, Ill., The Union of Grass Valley reports. She has been charged with unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, with a [...]

Trinity County MMJ grower faces federal charges

Bud — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:28:38 +0000

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted a Trinity County man on marijuana conspiracy and cultivation charges, months after a series of raids resulted in the seizure of more than 2,700 pot plants. According to a criminal complaint, William Robert Barsanti, 26, who was indicted Thursday, bragged to local sheriff’s deputies that he could [...]

Armed robbers hit Santa Cruz dispensary

Bud — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:22:27 +0000

SANTA CRUZ – Two armed men robbed a medical marijuana dispensary just after 7 p.m. Thursday. Employees inside the dispensary on the 3100 block of Paul Sweet Road reported that two armed men burst into the business wearing clown masks and sporting guns. They got away with an unknown amount of money from the safe. [...]

Dispensary tax seminars set in Oakland, Seattle

Bud — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:14:44 +0000

Has your medical cannabis business been targeted with an IRS notice or tax audit? If you haven’t been hit yet, YOU WILL! Harborside Health Center’s Stephen DeAngelo and the country’s leading tax experts on 280E will present effective strategies for dealing with current tax audits and for minimizing your 2012 tax liabilities. OAKLAND Saturday, February [...]

Live Oak’s cultivation ban tests Prop. 215 limits

Bud — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:03:41 +0000

Live Oak trail-blazed through thickets of medical marijuana law last month where few, if any, cities have journeyed. The city of 8,600 residents became one of, if not the first city in California to ban growing medical marijuana — both indoor and outdoor — but it’s one of hundreds struggling to protect residents, allow sick [...]

Cannabis bills face uphill battle in Capitol

Bud — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:08:54 +0000

The California Legislature will soon vote on two marijuana reform bills that seem to be more popular with the public than with the politicians in Sacramento: SB 129 by state Sen. Mark Leno, which would prohibit employment discrimination against medical marijuana patients, and AB 1017 by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, which would allow for reduced, misdemeanor [...]

Mendocino County uproots pot-growing permits

Bud — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:52:56 +0000

Faced with legal threats from Uncle Sam, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gutted its innovative, revenue-generating medical marijuana permitting program that allowed cooperatives to grow up to 99 plants. “The mistake was made when we pushed the envelope,” said Supervisor Kendall Smith. Rather than issuing permits — a process that was recently [...]