Medical marijuana dispensaries and 215 patients would not be targeted by the investigation, Schadler said. The Humboldt Cooperative, a medical marijuana dispensary in Arcata, said Tuesday evening that federal agents had not interfered with business.

”We're not here to set policy or interfere with California's compassionate use laws,” Schadler said. The FBI is investigating “for-profit and corporate grow operations beyond the scope of 215.”

Among the twelve states that have legalized the use and cultivation of medical cannabis, all but one (New Mexico) have experienced an overall decline in teen marijuana use since the enactment of their medi-pot laws. (Data was unavailable for New Mexico, which passed its law last year.) In seven of the twelve states, marijuana use among young people declined at rates that exceeded the national average.

“It’s a clear shield for commercial operations,” said Mike Sweeney, 60, a supporter of both medical marijuana and a local ballot measure on June 3 that called for new limits on the drug in Mendocino. “And we don’t want those here.”

The outcome of the ballot measure is not known, as votes are still being counted, but such community push-back is increasingly common across the state, even in the most liberal communities. In recent years, dozens of local governments have banned or restricted cannabis clubs, more formally known as dispensaries, that provide medical marijuana, in the face of public safety issues involved in its sale and cultivation, including crime and environmental damage.

California's medical marijuana patients are one step closer to being protected against work place discrimination after a bill made its way through the state Assembly this week.

Assembly Bill 2279, authored by Assemblyman Mark Leno and co-authored by Eureka's Assemblywoman Patty Berg, would make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of their status as a medical marijuana patient or caregiver or for failing a drug test.

”Voters have said that marijuana has legitimate medical uses, and this bill says workers shouldn't be punished for having medical needs,” Berg said in a statement.

They injected THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells. After three weeks, tumors shrank by about 50%, compared with tumors in untreated mice, says Anju Preet, PhD, a HarvardUniversity researcher in Boston who tested the chemical. Preet notes that animals injected with THC seem to get “high,” showing signs of clumsiness and getting the munchies. “You would expect to see the same thing in humans, so if this work does pan out, getting the dose right is going to be all important,” she says.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer.

Hosted by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws at UCSB, the contest aimed to promote the decriminalization - and use - of cannabis. High points of the afternoon included musical performances from various local artists, dance competitions and nine different joint- and blunt-rolling competitions, such as the “primo joint” and “fattest fatty.”

NORML club founder and UCSB Alum Loren Vazquez said she was pleased to see the crowd of locals come out in support of her club and its patron plant.

“It was just another great turnout, despite Extravaganza [taking place at the same time],” Vazquez said.

He praised a Fresno jury for convicting Ricardo Montes and Luke Scarmazzo on Thursday on federal drug trafficking charges, one of which carries a minimum sentence of 20 years.

"These were drug dealers selling marijuana. This case is that simple," Scott said.

The attorney took aim at Montes' and Scarmazzo's defense during their trial, in which their lawyers argued that their business was "aboveboard" and in compliance with state law.

Scott argued that Montes' and Scarmazzo's California Healthcare Collective flouted state law, too, because it turned a $9 million profit from 2004 to 2006. State law requires that medical marijuana dispensaries operate as nonprofit establishments.

I just came back from the still very pot friendly San Francisco, so it seemed fitting to post this article from the San Francisco Chronicle about the various views on medical Marijuana from our current presidential candidates.

As the candidates prepare for a May 20 primary in Oregon, one of 12 states with a California-style law, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has become an increasingly firm advocate of ending federal intervention and letting states make their own rules when it comes to medical marijuana.

His Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, is less explicit, recently softening a pledge she made early in the campaign to halt federal raids in states with medical marijuana laws. But she has expressed none of the hostility that marked the response of her husband's administration to California's initiative, Proposition 215.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, has gone back and forth on the issue - promising a medical marijuana patient at one campaign stop that seriously ill patients would never face arrest under a McCain administration, but ultimately endorsing the Bush administration's policy of federal raids and prosecutions.

From what I can tell, Obama has a good stance on medical Marijuana, just look at these stickers on CelebStoner.com.

The Press Democrat has word that a Santa Rosa, California medical Marijuana dispensary owner was denied a move to Cotati, an adjacent town in Sonoma County, California. Here's a snip from the article:

The City Council unanimously rejected the Santa Rosa pot purveyor's bid for a license to operate on East Cotati Avenue, saying the building she had chosen did not meet parking requirements.

Now, Frank, the owner of the three-year-old Organicann dispensary on Santa Rosa Avenue, is looking at another location because the lease is set to expire.

Frank has applied for permits to set up shop in the unincorporated county on East Todd Road, about a mile from her current location, a Sonoma County planning official said.

I know Dona, she's a really nice lady and is out there to help everyone who needs it. I'm sad to see her leave that location, but I know she will thrive wherever she goes. Look for me at the Organicann booth at the Harmony Festival 2008 in Santa Rosa!

Here is a following to our previous post about recent court ruling that found employers had the right to fire an employee for using medical marijuana during non-work hours. In an effort to protect medical marijuana patients rights, Assembly Bill 2279 is headed to the Assembly floor for a vote in the near future. 

"The California Supreme Court decision said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace," said Leno in a previous statement. "Long ago, the legislature prohibited patient use of medical cannabis in the workplace or during working hours. AB 2279 is merely an affirmation of the intent of the voters and the legislature that medical marijuana patents need not be unemployed to benefit from their medicine."

Would your employer fire you for taking the Valium that your doctor prescribed you? I didn't think so. Why should they be able to fire you for utilizing any medicine that your doctor has given you a prescription for?