USA Today posted a blog entry about the juror in a Marijuana trial that was caught smoking a joint, outside the building. This "juror number 2" was caught smoking during the break in the trial of a woman accused of marijuana possession.

"I've had prospective jurors get lost before, but it never occurred to me that they might be getting ready for a marijuana trial by, allegedly, smoking marijuana," Judge Sherman Ross says.

Is there a Marijuana Darwin Awards?

We very recently had a story about Timothy Garon. He was a medical marijuana patient who was in need of a liver transplant, but had been turned down due to the fact that his doctor had prescribed him medical marijuana. The "Seattle Times" is sadly reporting that Mr. Garon has passed away.

"Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant"

I simply can not believe that a man has died unnessiscarily due to the fact that he was legally prescribed marijuana by his physician in a state where voters had passed a law to allow its use. Please read more for how you can get involved and possibly stop this crime from happening in the future.

I found this post on WashingtonWatch via reddit and thought our readers would be interested in this tidbit of information.

H.R. 5843 is described as an "Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults". The bill has been introduced by US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and co-sponsored by US Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX). If passed, this legislation would legalize the possession, use and non-for-profit of up to 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of Marijuana. Under this legislation, adults who consume Marijuana would no longer face arrest, prison or civil fines.

This bill will not affect federal laws prohibiting the sale of Marijuana for profit, nor the import, export and cultivation of Marijuana. It will also not alter the legal status of Marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug according to the Controlled Substances Act.

It seems that on 4/17/08 the act was referred to House committee as well as the Committee on Energy and Commerce, we will keep a close watch on this one. We'd have a kinder, gentler America with legalized Marijuana, as well as a cash surplus from taxing it.

"Not only should it be legalized, it should be mandatory." -Bill Hicks

The article is clearly anti-marijuana from the first sentence, but John Arnold got off lightly after having his house raided. Arnold claims that he smoked marijauana in order to kick his heroin addiction.

 

John Arnold, 42, walked free from court, despite being nabbed with 41 plants and sophisticated growing equipment after a raid on his home.

Just a few months before, another cannabis grower got six months behind bars when he was caught growing a farm which contained just seven more plants.

I think this is interesting as it shows judges are fairly lenient towards pot. If this had happened to say, a ketamine dealer (also a Class C drug in the U.K.) I doubt he would have gotten off so lightly.

 

It seems that Rep. Barney Frank was not joking when he said on HBO(story) that he would introduce a bill that would allow adults to possess up to 3.5 ounces of Marijuana for personal use.

"I do not believe that the federal government should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals," Frank said in a statement, adding that it's "not appropriate in a free society."

It seems Frank's indulgences are limited to puffing on cigars between votes. He indicated last month on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher that he does not smoke marijuana

This is the first time that Frank has pulled for the decriminalization of personal pot use since he was in the state Legislature in the 1970s.

"When I got to Congress, frankly, I was feeling more cautious," Frank told Maher. "I finally got to the point where I think I can get away with it."

Read the full story here. I think that Barney is right, we may be at a place in history that would allow the personal use of Marijuana by adults, legally.

We bring you yet another opinion piece on the state of Marijuana's status as a dangerous, illegal substance-- this time, in Scotland.

Gordon Meldrum, deputy director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said: "When cannabis was reclassified, the Scottish Police Service effectively made no change and the day-to-day reality is that there has been no change in policing style or stance.

"We still treat people found on the street with cannabis in exactly the same way. We still see cannabis as a dangerous drug and a number of recent studies have confirmed that. Cannabis is still viewed very much as a gateway drug – it's still the first drug that children and young people will try. We've a focus on cocaine and heroin, but we've never taken our eye off the ball as far as cannabis is concerned."

Woah there laddy, a dangerous drug? Studies have confirmed that? Really, where?

The MPP posted word that a house vote on medical Marijuana in Minnesota is imminent. Here's a snip:

The issue has arisen several times over the years, but has failed to pass the House. It passed the Senate last year, so if the House passes the measure – as Huntley expects – it heads directly to Pawlenty.

Many legislative committees heard testimony last year, so none was accepted on Wednesday.

Huntley said there are two changes from a year ago. One is that the College of American Physicians has endorsed medical marijuana use.

The other change, he said, is that "some of the people who testified last year have died."

The Seattle Times has an opinion piece of the state of Marijuana laws, so, can we talk?

So, can we talk?

I think we should. As a nation, we spend at least $7.5 billion annually enforcing our marijuana laws. In 2006, the latest year for which we have numbers, a record 830,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana — 89 percent of them simply for possessing it.

Our criminal-justice system wastes time and resources with these low-level marijuana-possession cases while half our violent crimes go unsolved. And those facing the judge are disproportionately African American and Latino.

It's a nice read, it brings up some good points, but they've all been brought up before. We need a leader in the U.S. who is ready to decriminalize Marijuana for adults. Stop busting Marijuana users and go get those rapists and meth heads.

KHNL says that there is a bill proposed in Hawaii to allow a $1M secure grow facility for medical Marijuana patients.

Friday, the State House discussed a proposed bill to have a secure growing facility for medical marijuana on Maui.

Hawaii's medical marijuana law passed in 2000 and some believe it has flaws.

The law remains silent as to how patients actually obtain the marijuana leaving people like Iggy in a sticky situation.

Iggy has a medical marijuana certificate."It leaves this huge grey area, I'm allowed to have it, but where am I gonna get it from so it's kinda forcing patients to go on the black market," he said.

The Concord Monitor posted an op/ed about a recent bill to reduce penalties for Marijuana posession.

The hearing on HB 1623, the bill to reduce penalties for marijuana possession, made for some interesting drama in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

The most eye-opening statement came from Berlin Police Chief Peter Morency, president of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police. Morency claimed that "87 to 90 percent of our crime rate is directly related to drugs and alcohol." This mention of drugs and alcohol in the same breath got the attention of Democratic Rep. Timothy Robertson of Keene. Robertson asked Morency if, following the logic of marijuana prohibition, he would be in favor of reinstituting alcohol prohibition.