WeedLife News Network

A race starting in Houstonians' livings rooms could set the stage for one of the state's most expensive gubernatorial races ever.

According to the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland, some 45,000 people between the ages of 15 and 34 meet the criteria for marijuana dependence.

In 2021, fewer people in Ireland were charged or issued a summons for possessing drugs following the introduction of a new scheme that allows for cannabis possession to be treated with a warning, reported The Irish Times.

According to Garda Press Office’s figures, as of December 14, 2021, up to 5,957 people were either charged or issued a summons in connection to drug possession for personal use compared to 11,127 in 2020 and 9,923 in 2019. This means that the number of people charged was nearly halved.

The expansion of the Adult Cautioning Scheme covering section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (regarding possession of illegal drugs) only covered simple marijuana possession. The cautioning scheme is run by An Garda Síochána (the Irish police dept.) along with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was extended across possession of cannabis for personal use, trespassing, trading without permission and laws relating to specific events, according to the Times.

These changes in the number of people charged for possessing marijuana come “against an international trend towards legalization, but also warnings from the psychiatric profession as to the harmful effects of the drug.”

Irelands’ Psychiatrists Warn About Potency 

In 2021, the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland warned that increasingly high potency of marijuana and widespread belief the plant is harmless was generating “devastating effects.”

You may have noticed both U.S. political parties are currently haunted. The apparitions? Ghosts of elections past.

As it stands today, Republicans are doing the better job of exorcising their electoral demons, with Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia as perhaps the most stunning example. The challenge now is President Biden’s, to deliver a common sense, easy-to-understand victory for the American people in time for 2022. He has a clear opportunity in cannabis legislation. 

If we could, like Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol, make phantom visits to the dinner tables of present-day voters, we would see how average Americans are struggling with the contradictions of today’s cannabis policies. 

We’d hear the outrage. How can this nation continue to tolerate the impacts of unfairly targeted cannabis enforcement, which falls heavily on people of color and undermines their employment, education, and housing opportunities—often forever?

But mostly, we’d hear the anger at Washington. Why can’t leaders deliver a rational, consistent, nationwide cannabis policy? Why the constant gridlock? Why the harmful holdup? Both parties would be rewarded for achieving cannabis reform.

Ramone Marcio Martinez, 39, of Salt Lake City, carved the number 6 into the woman's left hand to remind her she had 6 months to 'love him or be killed'

A self-proclaimed Utah “millionaire” is accused of kidnapping a woman and holding her captive in his home for weeks. He reportedly beat her repeatedly and carved the number six into her hand — a reminder that the victim had a six-month deadline to “love him or be killed.”

On December 29, Ramone Marcio Martinez, 39, of Salt Lake City, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping, assault, and five counts of aggravated assault in the case, which is being classified as domestic violence, according to local reports. The unidentified victim managed to escape with a single text message to her friend saying she was being held captive. An investigation was launched after the friend alerted the police.“The victim had texted him begging for help and that she was scared for her life,” according to a police booking affidavit, obtained by ABC 4.

Who is Ramone Marcio Martinez?

A LinkedIn profile shows that Martinez is the CEO of Truu Med, a medical cannabis doctor referral service. The company connects patients with doctors that will write a letter on behalf of the patient. Last year, he appeared on a local news outlet to discuss his business.

In 2019, he gave an interview to CBS affiliate KUTV regarding the regulation of the medical cannabis industry in Utah. "We welcome the regulations to come; we don't mind the oversight whatsoever," he said at the time. Martinez is being held in the Salt Lake County jail. 

Martinez tortured victim for weeks

When the police responded by going to Martinez's home in the Poplar Grove neighborhood, he reportedly "had his hand in his hoodie pocket and I could see the outline of a handgun which he was holding onto."

Court documents indicate Marienville-based State Police filed criminal charges against 55-year-old Terry Hubert Webb. According to a criminal complaint, around 5:20 p.m. on December 4, Marienville-based State Police initiated a traffic stop after observing a vehicle making a traffic violation.

One of the passengers in the vehicle, identified as Terry Hubert Webb, was subsequently found to be in possession of a white powder substance in a plastic baggie. When asked about the substance, Webb reportedly stated it was cocaine, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Webb was also found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana, three plastic containers with marijuana residue, a white and blue metal container, a black metal smoking device with marijuana residue, and a red plastic straw with white residue.

The following charges were filed against Webb through Judge Daniel L. Miller’s office on December 29, 2021:

– Possession of Controlled Substance, Misdemeanor
– Marijuana-Small Amount Personal Use, Misdemeanor
– Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Misdemeanor
– Disorderly Conduct Hazardous/Physical Offense, Summary

These Iowa senators would like to see recreational cannabis pass in 2022, but will the rest of the state government let it happen?

A trio of Democratic lawmakers in Iowa want to bring cannabis legalization to the ballot. 

The idea comes via three state senators, Joe Bolkcom, Janet Petersen and Sarah Trone Garriott, who said at a press conference on Tuesday that they intend to push a constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational pot use for adults aged 21 and older. 

“Marijuana prohibition has been a costly failure,” said Bolkcom, who represents Iowa City (home to the University of Iowa), as quoted by local television station KWQC. “It’s ending across America because it has caused far more harm than good.”

The station reported that the proposal “requires a simple majority in both the state house and senate in two consecutive General Assemblies to be included on a ballot,” and that once it is in on the ballot, “more than half of Iowans need to vote for the amendment for it to become a part of the state’s constitution.” KWQC added that the three lawmakers “already submitted language to the Legislative Services Agency to propose this amendment in the next legislative session.”

“Right now, you can go to Hy-Vee or Kum & Go, and buy a six-pack of beer,” Bolkcom said, according to the television station.

States making up 44% of U.S. population have followed Colorado in legalizing adult use

Most states in the U.S. are in violation of a major federal drug statute.

The 1971 Controlled Substances Act lists marijuana in the most dangerous category defined in the law, on par with cocaine and heroin because of its supposed potential for abuse and lack of medical applications.

But 36 states plus the District of Columbia allow either full legalization for adult use or wide scale medical use, putting them at odds with federal law. Congress so far has been unable to come up with a solution, despite support from leading Democrats for a smoother relationship between the states and the federal government.

State acceptance happened quickly, with Colorado and Washington the first to legalize adult use less than 10 years ago.  By the first of the year, marijuana possession will be legal for all adults in 18 states — including Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Virginia — that make up 44% of the national population.

That number has recently been growing: The governors of New Mexico and Virginia signed their legalization laws just this year. Montana’s, enacted through a ballot measure in 2020, will go into effect New Year’s Day.

A company denied licenses to grow medical marijuana in Missouri urged the state Supreme Court last week to compel regulators to provide application info that the health department has argued it’s constitutionally obligated to protect.

At issue is the Department of Health and Senior Services’ refusal to turn over applications of successful license holders, despite being ordered by lower courts to disclose them.

In its filing with the Missouri Supreme Court, DHSS argued that the administrative hearing commission acted outside of its authority and requested the lower court’s decision be reversed in order to uphold the confidentiality outlined in the state’s constitution.

James Layton, an attorney arguing on behalf of DHSS, said during the December 14 hearing that it is the right of applicants who submitted information for it to be kept confidential and urged the Missouri Supreme Court to “vindicate” the rights of those who invested their money, personal interest and confidential information.

“If that right is to be breached,” Layton said, “they are entitled to some process before that happens.”

As this Congressional session comes to an end, many people have been disappointed by the lack of action on important legislation. One of those is cannabis. Going forward, pro-cannabis legislators ultimately have choices to make. If comprehensive cannabis legislation is dead in this Congress—and it is—is any alternative palatable? Is the status quo of prohibition preferable to holding out hope for broad-based legislation at a later date?

The reality that is holding Congress back from passing federal cannabis legalization is a simple one that often undermines complex, multi-faceted policy changes that have deep divisions within the legislative branch: there is not a sufficient coalition of House members and a filibuster-proof majority of senators who agree on comprehensive legalization. That result is often frustrating or bewildering for supporters of reform for two reasons. First, they look at national polling and see not just a majority, but a supermajority of Americans who support full-scale cannabis reform. Second, there are majorities of House and Senate members who would say yes to the basic question: ‘Should cannabis be legalized nationally?’

The latter, however, is the wrong question to ask. Often, in a legislative body, the issue is not whether a law should be reformed, but how that law should be reformed. And there’s the rub for federal legalization legislation. Liberals and progressives in the Democratic Party cannot agree with moderate and libertarian Republicans on what cannabis reform should look like, even if majorities agree that the law should be changed. And as pro-cannabis reform members from both sides dig their heels in on the importance of provisions that are close to their heart (and the heart of their base), it makes assembling that coalition impossible.

Here are the fault lines

Liberal Democrats and especially the party’s most progressive members are unwilling to support legislation that does not incorporate significant social equity and racial justice provisions into it. Their argument is a straightforward and convincing one: the War on Drugs was waged on the backs of Black Americans, Latinos, and indigenous populations, and reform should not proceed without a significant effort to right the wrongs of the past.

Moderate Republicans and libertarian members of the party see the issue from a market perspective. They believe government should get out of the way and let cannabis be treated as an agricultural commodity in which the business community and the free market—rather than government prohibition—should prevail. (It should be noted that most pro-cannabis Democrats and Republicans do agree on some restorative justice such as pardons and record expungement for non-violent cannabis offenders.)

Last month marked five years since Massachusetts voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but state lawmakers find themselves weeding through proposed restrictions on a product that researchers say can harm the health of youths.

On a 2016 ballot question, Massachusetts residents approved legalization, joining California, Maine and Nevada voters in doing so that year. Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon previously had legalized recreational marijuana.

Under the Massachusetts law, adults older than 21 are permitted to use, grow and sell marijuana in limited quantities without legal consequences. The state began allowing licensed recreational sales in 2018, bringing 14 recreational dispensaries, out of a total of 165 in the state as of Sept. 1, to Berkshire County.

But, some state lawmakers are proposing restrictions. State Rep. James O’Day, D-Worcester, has proposed raising the minimum age for recreational use to 25, citing a desire to keep young people safe. Separately, state Rep. Bradford Hill, R-Ipswich, filed a bill to limit serving sizes, flavors and levels of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Gov. Charlie Baker had expressed concerns when he signed the legalization bill into law in 2017.

A Louisiana woman is facing felony drug charges following a traffic stop in Madison County.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers stopped Natalie Borchers, 44, of New Orleans, for a speeding violation on I-70 on Friday, Dec. 17.

During the traffic stop, troopers said criminal indicators were observed and a drug-sniffing K9 alerted to the vehicle.

During a search of the vehicle, troopers found 50 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, 20 pounds of marijuana, and 3 pounds of psilocybin-laced tablets worth approximately $153,000.

A Louisiana woman is facing felony charges after 50 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, 20 pounds of marijuana, and 3 pounds of psilocybin-laced tablets worth approximately $153,000 were found during a traffic stop in Madison County. (Ohio State Highway Patrol)

Colorado Department of Corrections officials say there is a scourge of narcotics flowing into the state’s facilities, including ultra-potent, hard-to-detect synthetic drugs that can be absorbed into paper and mailed to inmates.

The Limon case, which came before the arrests of five prison staff accused of smuggling drugs into the facility, was one of at least three fatal drug overdoses inside a Colorado prison in the past 13 months. The deaths underscore what the CDOC says is a scourge of narcotics flowing into the state’s facilities, including ultra-potent, hard-to-detect synthetic drugs that can be absorbed into paper and mailed to inmates.

Congressional Democrats are gearing up for a sweeping set of initiatives aimed at decriminalizing marijuana that they plan to take action on this spring.

The federal proposals seek to establish 21st-century banking services for the nearly $18 billion industry and purge the criminal records of thousands of marijuana offenders.

“The growing bipartisan momentum for cannabis reform shows that Congress is primed for progress in 2022, and we are closer than ever to bringing our cannabis policies and laws in line with the American people,” Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) wrote in a memo to the Congressional Cannabis Caucus on Thursday. 

The memo is a road map to dozens of bills that seek to reimagine the role of the federal government in every aspect of the cannabis industry, with some measures receiving GOP support.

Bills like the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, sponsored by Lee and Blumenauer, seek to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act and purge records for those convicted of using marijuana.

“We are getting closer to passing the MORE Act, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act,” lawmakers wrote.

U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) released a memo on behalf of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus that they co-chair. The memo lists the numerous pieces of marijuana legislation filed on Capitol Hill and explains which should be among the reform priorities for 2022, reported Marijuana Moment.

Blumenauer said “the table is set and the time is right for comprehensive cannabis reform, which will make a huge difference for people around the country. We’ve watched this issue gain more momentum than ever with the American people—almost 70 percent of whom, including a majority of Republicans, want to see federal reform.”

Priorities for 2022

Federal descheduling of marijuana remains the first priority. “We are getting closer to passing the MORE Act, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act,” the lawmakers wrote. The memo also states that it is “imperative that the Biden administration utilize power available to the executive to pardon and commute sentences for individuals with cannabis-related offenses.”

“It’s important that the federal government not waste resources with any state-legal interference. That means redirecting the Department of Justice must not interfere with state-legal businesses before we secure the SAFE Banking Act through the U.S. Senate,” concluded the memo.

Members of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in Mckinleyville on Wednesday after discovering a hash oil lab in his home, and for illegally owning an alligator.

According to HSCO, members of the marijuana enforcement team served a warrant to a residence located on Cochran Road, where an indoor lab was discovered.

The HCSO said that 42-year-old Ronnie Miller was reportedly operating the BHO. Deputies found over 509 pounds of processed cannabis, 499 pounds of bud, 364 pounds of shake, and 165 pounds of butane hash oil. Along with that, deputies also located three guns; including what the sheriff's office called a "ghost gun" assault rifle. All of this, while Miller's two children were living next to the operation.

Additionally, California Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens located an illegally-owned dwarf alligator being showcased in a tank at the residence. The CDFW is working to coordinate the safe removal and re-homing of the alligator.

Mexican drug cartels are horning in on America's burgeoning multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, illegally growing large crops in the hills and valleys of Northern California.

The state legalized marijuana in 2016 for adult recreational use, yet the black market continues to thrive with thousands of illegal grows. Criminal syndicates, in turn, are cashing in across the U.S. on the "green gold rush."

They're undercutting prices of legalized products offered by permitted farmers who follow the rulegs and pay taxes.

Lured by America's push toward legalized cannabis, cartels have abandoned many decades-old marijuana farms in Mexico, moving their operations to Northern California where they can blend in seamlessly alongside legitimate grows, said Mike Sena, executive director of Northern California's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces.

"Why try to bring that bulk marijuana into the United States, when you can just grow it in the United States in remote locations like Mendocino County and then move it across the entire country?"

Bureau of Land Management rangers and special agents, alongside various law enforcement partners, eradicated more than one million marijuana plants and close to 180,300 pounds of processed marijuana this year from illegal grow sites statewide on BLM lands as part of the California Department of Justice’s annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP, program.

In addition to marijuana and chemicals, ammunition and weapons were also seized. The trash and litter these operations leave behind also impacts public lands: almost 300 miles of waterline, 583 propane tanks were collected during these operations, as well as more than 67,000 pounds of grow site infrastructure.

“The BLM is proud of its law enforcement Rangers and Special Agents for conducting this important work,” said BLM California State Director Karen Mouritsen. 

“These illegal operations have a devastating impact on our environment and the health and safety of communities, which we cannot tolerate. The BLM looks forward to working with the Attorney General’s Office again next year on this very important effort.”

In a dramatic reversal, a 90-year-old, seriously ill federal inmate serving life in prison for a nonviolent marijuana trafficking crime will go free after a judge granted him compassionate release on Tuesday — overturning his previous order denying release.

Horacio Estrada-Elias, who was the subject of a CNN investigative story in September, is set to be freed this week after more than a dozen years behind bars.

“It’s a huge blessing for all of us,” his daughter Elizabeth Estrada said Tuesday. “We’re so excited for the whole family to finally be together.”

Estrada-Elias suffers from congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease, and also contracted the coronavirus while in prison, according to court affidavits filed by doctors. His prison doctor predicted in April 2020 that he had “less than 18 months” to live, and his warden recommended release, noting his spotless disciplinary record and writing last year that “he has been diagnosed with an incurable, progressive illness in which he will not recover.”

But last month, an appeals court ordered Reeves to reconsider. Two judges on a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that Reeves had “abused (his) discretion” by ignoring the fact that Estrada-Elias is unlikely to reoffend and “overly emphasizing” his nonviolent crimes. One judge dissented.