marijuana

OB Planning Board Votes Against More Restrictive Medical Marijuana Ordinance

March 17, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Last night, Wednesday March 16th, the Ocean Beach Planning Board voted against the current proposed ordinance on Medical Marijuana dispensaries. By a vote of 6 to 1, the Board in a Special Meeting voted against the measure because of its overly stringent restrictions. They in essence agreed with critics of the ordinance, some of whom assert that the measure would effectively ban all dispensaries in OB and throughout most of San Diego. The ordinance is expected to go before the full San Diego City Council on March 28th.

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Are medical marijuana dispensaries doomed in Ocean Beach? Attend Special Meeting tonight – March 16th.

March 16, 2011 by Frank Gormlie
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Tonight, March 16th, the Ocean Beach Planning Board is holding a Special Meeting on the new proposed ordinance regulating Medical Marijuana dispensaries that is going before the San Diego City Council. If passed in its current form, the ordinance would effectively ban all dispensaries in Ocean Beach and throughout most of San Diego.

The special public forum is at 6:30 pm at the OB Recreation Center, at 4726 Santa Monica Avenue. The Board is requesting that OBcians attend and give them views of the community on this issue. The Board will probably take a position at the end of the forum and pass it on to the City.

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Jesus, George Washington and San Diego’s Medical Marijuana Struggle

November 16, 2010 by Rocky Neptun
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Editor: This two-year old post by Rocky Neptun is a constant favorite or our readers. We thought we’d just bring it out for some more sun – but please realize dear reader, that it was written in November of 2010.

By Rocky Neptun

Under the shadow of a venomous San Diego District Attorney and a cliff-hanger Attorney General election between a fanatical D.A. from Los Angeles and a sympathetic D.A. from the Bay Area, medical marijuana patients, providers and activists met near Mission Bay under the banner of “putting patients first.”

The November 14th, all-day gathering, at the Marina Village Conference Center reflected both the radiance of altruism in the medical marijuana movement, its ancient heritage, and the potential to humanize the medical-care-giving industry, as well as the dangers members and patients face from reactionary forces still fighting the obsolete cultural wars of the 1960’s.

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OB Rag Fall 2010 Elections Part 2 – Proposition 19: A Vote To Legalize Marijuana

September 30, 2010 by Doug Porter
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I read the news today, oh boy…

Pull up a chair and stayed tuned over the next few weeks as I walk you through the candidates and ballot proposals for 2010…

This should have been the easiest of all the propositions on this fall’s California ballot for me to write about, but it’s not turned out that way. It’s a very personal story, and I invite you to walk down this path with me as I explore my reasoning.

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California Marijuana Legalization Opposed by Beer Industry – duh!

September 22, 2010 by Source
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The California Beer & Beverage Distributors is spending money in the state to oppose a marijuana legalization proposition on the ballot in November, according to records filed with the California Secretary of State. The beer sellers are the first competitors of marijuana to officially enter the debate; backers of the initiative are closely watching liquor and wine dealers and the pharmaceutical industry to see if they enter the debate in the remaining weeks.

The opposition to pot among beer makers, however, is not unanimous among the CBBD’s membership. …

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The Thin Line Between Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

August 2, 2010 by Doug Porter
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Part One: Why do we do that stuff, anyway?

“Oh, there’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.” –Jimmy Buffet

The Jimmy Buffet line comes a lot closer to the mark than you might think it does.

Over the next few days I’m going to be publishing a series of essays here mostly relating to the Saturday night end of the equation. Mostly I’ll be writing about our society’s relationship with intoxicants. And by and large I’ll be talking about the top two: alcohol and marijuana. After all, with no less than two dozen places licensed to sell alcohol in the Newport business district along and pot shops, er, dispensaries springing up faster than the City can close them down, the business of buzz appears to be booming here in Ocean Beach.

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California’s Cannabis Culture – a Short film

July 27, 2010 by Source
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by Amanda Van West

I’m a 24 year old filmmaker from Santa Clara, California, currently finishing my MA degree in International Broadcast Journalism at Westminster University in London. I’ve worked on short documentaries in California, Mexico, Nicaragua, and London.

“California’s Cannabis Culture” is a short documentary that was created for my final MA project. I filmed everything around Northern California between May and June, and finished the documentary in London. It’s an exploration of the marijuana scene in California, in light of the upcoming possibility of Proposition 19 passing in November. California has long had a reputation of being marijuana-friendly, so I wanted to showcase a bit of the culture and investigate what changes might happen, if any, should it become fully legalized in November.

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Legalization of Pot in California Could Hurt Mexican Cartels

July 17, 2010 by Source
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by R. M. Schneiderman / Newsweek / July 17, 2010

So far, no modern country has ever legalized marijuana production—not even the Netherlands. Yet with heavy drug-related violence plaguing the U.S.-Mexican border, some analysts and policymakers now say that America should legalize weed in order to reduce the power of Mexico’s drug cartels.

Marijuana carries the least amount of overhead cost for many of the cartels and provides some of their cash flow for buying guns and influence. Estimates vary, but analysts say pot accounts for somewhere in the range of 20 to 50 percent of the cartels’ profits. But that could soon change with competition from El Norte: California has a proposition set for the November ballot—on which voters are roughly split—that would legalize the drug’s domestic production and sale.

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Prop 19: Imperfect, but worthy of your vote

June 28, 2010 by Dixon Guizot
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At first glance, the November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California seems like a no-brainer. It will boost tax revenues. It will lighten the burden on our prison system and allow law enforcement to focus on more serious issues. It will move billions of dollars out of the hands of drug traffickers and into the legitimate economy, creating thousands of jobs. Overall, it will end the prohibition of a relatively harmless drug that has demonstrated medical benefits and is enjoyed by millions of recreational users.

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Beach marchers call for marijuana legalization

May 3, 2010 by Dixon Guizot
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by Shane Finneran / Exclusive to OB Rag /

About 75 demonstrators calling for the legalization of marijuana marched on the Pacific Beach boardwalk between Crystal Pier and Belmont Park on May 1. Participants spoke on a megaphone and carried signs with messages such as “Respect State Law,” “Prohibition Empowers Drug Lords,” and “Marijuana Is Better Than Alcohol.”

The two-hour march, which began at 11am, was organized by the Southern California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a San Diego marijuana dispensary. SoCal NORML director Craig Beresh led the group in chants encouraging the legalization and taxation of marijuana.

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In Search of the 420 Celebration in OB

April 21, 2010 by Frank Gormlie
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Closing in on the 4th hour of the afternoon on April 20th (4/20), I grabbed my camera and note pad and headed for the beach. I was in search of the 420 celebration, hoping to catch OBceans partying for the holiday at 4:20 pm. I also hoped I would have more luck than other reporters searching for the same.

Easing my car into the lifeguard parking lot, I scanned the beach for a cannabis style floatopia or some such event. Yet, I saw only a couple here and there on the sand, enjoying the last rays of a sun about to be gobbled up by in-coming clouds. No mass gathering of youthful civil disobedients on this beach, flaunting johnny law to light up on this holiday.

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The true meaning of ‘420’

April 20, 2010 by Source
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Originally posted April 20, 2009

Warren Haynes, the Allman Brothers Band guitarist, routinely plays with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, now touring as The Dead. He’s just finished a Dead show in Washington, D.C. and gets a pop quiz from the Huffington Post.

Where does 420 come from?

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California marijuana legalization battle heats up

March 30, 2010 by Source
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Far from being a war between hippies and police, the fight to legalize marijuana in California centers on whether decriminalizing and taxing cannabis can help fill the state’s fiscal hole.

Using the drug for medical purposes has been legal for 14 years in the western state. But a new initiative that will appear on the ballot in November elections is seeking to legalize recreational marijuana use.

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California High Court Strikes Down Medical-Marijuana Limits

January 21, 2010 by Source
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California medical marijuana patients won a court battle Thursday.

In a unanimous decision, the state Supreme Court struck down a state law that set an 8-ounce limit on the amount of medical marijuana a patient can possess at one time. The court, in a ruling issued in San Francisco, said the measure approved by the Legislature in 2003 was an illegal amendment of the medical marijuana law enacted by state voters in 1996.

The initiative, known as the Compassionate Use Act, doesn’t set a limit and allows patients to possess the amount needed for “personal medical purposes.” The court ruled in the case of a Los Angeles County patient, Patrick Kelly, who was prosecuted and sentenced to probation for possessing 12 ounces.

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San Diego – A View From the Beach

January 7, 2010 by Source
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Occasionally news in San Diego affects us at the beach. Here are a few recent headlines of interest to sand crabs, seagulls and smoldering fire pits:

Lawyers Group Honors Judge Boycotted by DA Dumanis

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka in town pushing for jobs

City Council declines endorsement of medical marijuana regulations

Court upholds San Diego School District’s right to assure that school construction jobs will employ local residents

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Is there a medical marijuana patient in the San Diego DA’s office?

November 18, 2009 by Source
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By Eugene Davidovich

Medical cannabis, although legal to use in California, is not as easy to obtain as some may think. Unlike doctor prescribed medication which is readily available at the local pharmacy, medical cannabis is neither recommended nor prescribed, and therefore isn’t available for purchase as a prescription. It requires a different distribution and production method.

To achieve medical grade and maximum therapeutic efficacy, cannabis must be carefully cultivated under strict lighting, watering, and maintenance schedules. Medical cultivation requires both expertise in cultivation and hefty equipment setup costs.

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83% in poll believe marijuna should be legalized

November 11, 2009 by Frank Gormlie
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OCEAN BEACH, CA. We did a poll recently, asking our readers what should be done about marijuana. The vast majority – 83% – believe the herb should be legalized in some way or form. Another 6% voted for the status quo – limiting sales to people with prescriptions through licensed dispensaries.

Only 6% stated that it should be kept illegal and that we should “build more jails.” Another 6% admitted that they were “too stoned to care.”

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Obama Administration to ease Federal marijuana prosecutions

October 19, 2009 by Source
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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

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Two Local OBceans on Medical Marijuana Task Force

October 17, 2009 by Source
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Two local OB residents are sitting on the newly-appointed and created Medical Marijuana Task Force. OB Business owner David Martin and Larry Sweet, a medical marijuana patient from Ocean Beach were both appointed to the 11-member Task Force by the San Diego City Council.

The Task Force has been charged, as its first order of business, to provide land use and zoning recommendations for the medicinal marijuana collectives by January 2010.

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Much marijuana ado about nothing

October 5, 2009 by Source
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by Arthur Salm / San Diego News Network / October 5, 2009
____________________________
Somewhere, a dog has bitten a man. And from the desk where I write, I can — by leaning back a little and looking around the orange tree – report that the sun has risen in the east.

Not only that:

Some of the local establishments that have been authorized to dispense marijuana for medical reasons may have been dispensing marijuana to individuals who may have partaken of the substance for non-medical reasons. Worse, the establishments may have dispensed the aforementioned substance with full knowledge, or at least, a pretty damn good idea that their customers intended to go straight home and crank up “Dark Side of the Moon,” and don’t even pretend that you don’t know what I mean.

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City Beat: Dispensaries raided for acting like for-profit businesses

September 10, 2009 by Source

The police raids on numerous San Diego County medical marijuana dispensaries that took place throughout the afternoon are the culmination of a five-month investigation, CityBeat has learned. A law enforcement source close to the operation and familiar with the details told CityBeat the investigation revealed that many of the marijuana collectives and co-ops were functioning as for-profit businesses, and thus lost the protection granted to them by voters under Proposition 215 in 1996.

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Court in San Diego Medical Marijuana Case Denies Valid Request for Dismissal

September 4, 2009 by Source
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SAN DIEGO – A San Diego County Superior Court today denied medical marijuana patient Donna Lambert’s request for dismissal. Ms. Lambert’s supporters urged District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis not to pursue the case, to uphold the state’s medical marijuana laws and to turn law enforcement’s attention to matters of public safety not politics.

“I’m disappointed at today’s ruling, but I am resolved to fight this egregious case against me,” said Ms. Lambert, who faces seven felony counts for providing medical marijuana to another qualified patient.

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If Pot Prevented Cancer You Would Have Read About It, Right?

August 17, 2009 by Source

Two just published studies assessing adults’ risk of cancer have reported wildly divergent, and fairly extraordinary, outcomes. One study you may have read about. The other has been ignored entirely by the mainstream media. But no doubt the results of both will surprise you.

First, the study you may have heard of. …

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Growing Like Weeds: OB Medical Pot Clinics Sprouting Up All Over

August 10, 2009 by Doug Porter
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by Doug Porter

It’s been a good couple of months for some commercial property owners in the 92107 area.

Since the Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by the County of San Diego that sought to block implementation of the provisions of California’s 1996 Proposition 215, two stores that dispense medicinal marijuana have already opened and another four are expected to open during the next few weeks.

Not everybody is happy about all these new leases being signed. …

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OB Community Bulletin Board – Aug 3rd – 9th

August 3, 2009 by Staff
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OCEAN BEACH, CA. This is the latest OB Community Bulletin Board. If you have any news, commentary, info, or advice you’d like to share, simply post it in the comments section.

In the meantime, we’re start it out with the following newsy bits.

HOOPERS’ TRIAL SET FOR SEPTEMBER …

4th MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY TO OPEN IN OB – …

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San Diego Still a ‘Bad Trip’ for Medicinal Marijuana Users

July 9, 2009 by Source
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by Will Carless / Voice of San Diego

In theory, life should be getting easier for San Diegans who want to buy, grow, sell, transport or smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Last year, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued long-awaited guidelines aimed at clarifying the state’s laws on medicinal marijuana. …

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US Supreme Court Upholds Medicinal Marijuana – Throws Out San Diego County’s Appeal

May 18, 2009 by Source
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A major victory was scored Monday, May 18th, by medicinal marijuana advocates at the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court refused to hear our very own San Diego County government’s attempt not to have to issue medicinal marijuana identification cards.

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420: Thoughts on pot vs. alcohol from a former police chief

April 20, 2009 by Source

by Norm Stamper, Former Police Chief of Seattle

As 5:00 p.m. rolls around my interior clock starts chiming. I’ll have an ice-cold, bone-dry martini, thank you. Jalapeno olives and a twist. If the occasion calls for it (temperatures in the twenties, a hot political debate on the tube) I may substitute two fingers of Kentucky sour mash. Four-twenty?

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Why Marijuana Legalization is Gaining Momentum

April 9, 2009 by Source
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Back in February, we detailed how record numbers of Americans — although certainly not yet a majority — support the idea of legalizing marijuana. It turns out that there may be a simple explanation for this: …

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How to stop the drug wars

March 9, 2009 by Source
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A HUNDRED years ago a group of foreign diplomats gathered in Shanghai for the first-ever international effort to ban trade in a narcotic drug. On February 26th 1909 they agreed to set up the International Opium Commission—just a few decades after Britain had fought a war with China to assert its right to peddle the stuff. Many other bans of mood-altering drugs have followed. In 1998 the UN General Assembly committed member countries to achieving a “drug-free world” and to “eliminating or significantly reducing” the production of opium, cocaine and cannabis by 2008.

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