The winner for Best cannabis from seed Strain was Humboldt Royal Kush grown by EarthGreenCali Farms. The strawberry dread-headed gentleman that came to the stage to claim the trophy first thanked everyone in attendance for being there and a special shout-out to Kevin Reed for putting on the event.
The second and third place was won by the dispensary, The Green Door for the strains Platinum Cookies and Candy Jack. With all the good work that The Green Door does for the city, it was a fitting tribute to the political and spiritually minded pot shop that they were recognized.
The Patients' Choice includes both indoor and sungrown cannabis; the winner reminded everyone why he thought that outdoor, organic was the way to go. In summation, he professed his love for the herb and seeds would be available soon.
Carrying the heavy-duty trophy off the stage to heartfelt congratulations of high-fives and THC infused hugs, the winner held the award high and also up in the air.
When the night ended, I followed the winning group out. With the trophy in hand the gentleman grower and entourage enter one of the more swankier hotels in SF. I watched as the doormen, bellstaff and hotel employees read the gold plaque on the crystal cup stating 'Best Cannabis Strain of 2011."
My favorite quote of the evening: After the winners were announced, hash brownies were being distributed by a sponsoring company. There was a big Santa Claus like satchel left to the right of the door with a couple of hundred wrapped brownies still in the bag. A very medicated person turned to me when passing the sack of brownies and said, "That looks like a very comfortable chair."
(Source)
Showing posts with label Cannabis Collectives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cannabis Collectives. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
45 Days are up... Were the Fed's faking?
California's four US Attorneys set a 45-day deadline for MMJ dispensaries and their landlords to make themselves scarce or face the consequences, and that deadline expired on Saturday. Whether the federal authorities have the nerve to carry out the threat remains to be seen, since their belligerence has provoked an extraordinary backlash in the media, in Congress and in the courts.
The federal authorities like to paint a picture of a free-for-all marijuana market, in which bogus dispensaries effectively hand out drugs to all-comers. But that does not account for the rapidly evolving regulatory framework imposed by states and local municipalities.
Steve DeAngelo doesn't have the luxury of worrying about a threatened US government crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries like the one he runs in Oakland, California. For him, the crackdown is already in full swing.
As the head of the largest pot dispensary in the country, with more than 80,000 customers and annual revenues of more than $20m, DeAngelo always knew he would have a big target on his back if the federal authorities chose to challenge the state laws that allow him and thousands of other operators across the United States to sell marijuana on the open market.
At the end of September – even before California's top federal prosecutors announced their intention to start filing criminal charges against medical marijuana purveyors, their landlords and the newspapers and television stations where they advertise their services – the feds fired their first shot. The Internal Revenue Service, America's tax collecting agency, sent a letter demanding an initial $2.5 million in back taxes and characterised DeAngelo's dispensary, the Harborside Health Center, as a drug trafficking organisation.
Using a provision of the tax code originally written to help seize the assets of gangsters and organised criminals, the IRS said Harborside was disqualified from claiming its ordinary business expenses – payroll, insurance, rent and so on – as deductions and needed to pay taxes on them instead.
Seeing himself not as a drug pusher but as an advocate and carer for the sick, DeAngelo is fighting with everything he has, and so is the rest of the medical marijuana movement. He has helped establish a nationwide publicity campaign to push back against the IRS and its characterization of regulated dispensaries as traffickers.
His dispensary is about to be featured in a television reality show called "Weed Wars" in which his battles with the feds will be front and centre. He and other advocacy groups have organised protest marches up and down California.
(Source)
The federal authorities like to paint a picture of a free-for-all marijuana market, in which bogus dispensaries effectively hand out drugs to all-comers. But that does not account for the rapidly evolving regulatory framework imposed by states and local municipalities.
Steve DeAngelo doesn't have the luxury of worrying about a threatened US government crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries like the one he runs in Oakland, California. For him, the crackdown is already in full swing.
As the head of the largest pot dispensary in the country, with more than 80,000 customers and annual revenues of more than $20m, DeAngelo always knew he would have a big target on his back if the federal authorities chose to challenge the state laws that allow him and thousands of other operators across the United States to sell marijuana on the open market.
At the end of September – even before California's top federal prosecutors announced their intention to start filing criminal charges against medical marijuana purveyors, their landlords and the newspapers and television stations where they advertise their services – the feds fired their first shot. The Internal Revenue Service, America's tax collecting agency, sent a letter demanding an initial $2.5 million in back taxes and characterised DeAngelo's dispensary, the Harborside Health Center, as a drug trafficking organisation.
Using a provision of the tax code originally written to help seize the assets of gangsters and organised criminals, the IRS said Harborside was disqualified from claiming its ordinary business expenses – payroll, insurance, rent and so on – as deductions and needed to pay taxes on them instead.
Seeing himself not as a drug pusher but as an advocate and carer for the sick, DeAngelo is fighting with everything he has, and so is the rest of the medical marijuana movement. He has helped establish a nationwide publicity campaign to push back against the IRS and its characterization of regulated dispensaries as traffickers.
His dispensary is about to be featured in a television reality show called "Weed Wars" in which his battles with the feds will be front and centre. He and other advocacy groups have organised protest marches up and down California.
(Source)
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Support for legalizing Marijuana hits all-time high
50 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, up from 46 percent last year, according to a new Gallup poll.
It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.
The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.
Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization of marijuana remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).
Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.
"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.
"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."
He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."
The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 2009 federal survey on drug use found that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.
Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.
A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.
(Source)
It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.
The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.
Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization of marijuana remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).
Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.
"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.
"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."
He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."
The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 2009 federal survey on drug use found that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.
Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.
A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.
(Source)
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Congressman Pleads with Federal Government to Reschedule Marijuana
A member of Congress is urging the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to reschedule marijuana's status as a Controlled Substance Schedule I drug.
Congressman Steve Cohen from Tennessee states in his letter to Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske that, "There is no evidence that marijuana has the same addictive qualities or damaging consequences as these harder drugs and it should not be treated as such." He goes on to explain how drug convictions for non-violent possession "crimes" have high costs - almost $7.6 billion per year is estimated to be spent on marijuana arrests and prosecutions. He also states that the damage to ruining someone's life with an unnecessary conviction is an unreasonable cost to our society, dooming these people to "second-class citizenship". He mentions the "disastrous racial disparities" in the criminal justice system, reporting that African-Americans and Latinos are much more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.
Congressman Cohen also addresses states' rights to make their own medical marijuana laws, stating, "We should not deny the thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits that marijuana provides. I strongly recommend that this administration allow states that have chosen to legalize medical marijuana to enact strong regulations without fear of prosecution.
You can read the Congressman's letter here
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sacramento's Delta Allied Growers ... Is D.O.A.
Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully announced Thursday that she will not file charges in Isleton's aborted plans for a large medical marijuana farm, but she made it clear that she believes the whole matter was bungled from the start.
"Had the marijuana cultivation farm project become operational it would have been illegal under state and federal laws and not in compliance with attorney general guidelines," Scully's office wrote in a scathing 21-page report.
The report is the latest swipe at the Delta town's failed efforts to generate revenues by approving a 15,000-square-foot medical marijuana farm on the northern edge of town.
Michael Brubeck, the would-be medical cannabis impresario who offered the city up to $25,000 a month from medical marijuana revenues, will not face charges, Scully said, and neither will any city officials.
However, she left no doubt that she believes City Manager Bruce Pope and City Attorney Dave Larsen acted improperly as they pursued a way to get the project under way.
She singled out Larsen as having a conflict of interest, saying the matter would be sent to the California State Bar Association for review.
At issue was the fact that Larsen, who is paid $150 an hour by the city for his services, also was being paid $250 an hour by the developer of the medical marijuana farm to help draft documents for the project, Scully's office said.
That issue was previously raised by a critical grand jury report, and Larsen on Thursday once again defended his conduct and said everything had been done properly and in the open.
He added that Isleton officials knew dealing with marijuana was "tricky business" but that they were rebuffed in their efforts to get advice from Scully's office on how best to proceed.
"We never got to first base," Larsen said. "There was just no willingness to talk to us in any fashion along those lines."
Scully's report said the city was uncooperative, delayed providing documents and provided misleading information as she investigated what was going on in the community of 840 residents.
"Rather than choose to cooperate, the city manager and the city attorney chose to fight the investigation by withholding some public records, disclosing some uncompleted and unsigned documents, and keeping the city council in the dark about letters from the DA and the United States attorney," her report concluded.
The medical marijuana farm idea never got far. After initial construction of frames for some grow houses, Brubeck and his Delta Allied Growers operation pulled out of the plan when threatened with prosecution by U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner.
A grand jury report issued in June indicated that 1,000 marijuana plants that had been brought onto the site were buried using a bulldozer and the plan was abandoned.
(Source)
"Had the marijuana cultivation farm project become operational it would have been illegal under state and federal laws and not in compliance with attorney general guidelines," Scully's office wrote in a scathing 21-page report.
The report is the latest swipe at the Delta town's failed efforts to generate revenues by approving a 15,000-square-foot medical marijuana farm on the northern edge of town.
Michael Brubeck, the would-be medical cannabis impresario who offered the city up to $25,000 a month from medical marijuana revenues, will not face charges, Scully said, and neither will any city officials.
However, she left no doubt that she believes City Manager Bruce Pope and City Attorney Dave Larsen acted improperly as they pursued a way to get the project under way.
She singled out Larsen as having a conflict of interest, saying the matter would be sent to the California State Bar Association for review.
At issue was the fact that Larsen, who is paid $150 an hour by the city for his services, also was being paid $250 an hour by the developer of the medical marijuana farm to help draft documents for the project, Scully's office said.
That issue was previously raised by a critical grand jury report, and Larsen on Thursday once again defended his conduct and said everything had been done properly and in the open.
He added that Isleton officials knew dealing with marijuana was "tricky business" but that they were rebuffed in their efforts to get advice from Scully's office on how best to proceed.
"We never got to first base," Larsen said. "There was just no willingness to talk to us in any fashion along those lines."
Scully's report said the city was uncooperative, delayed providing documents and provided misleading information as she investigated what was going on in the community of 840 residents.
"Rather than choose to cooperate, the city manager and the city attorney chose to fight the investigation by withholding some public records, disclosing some uncompleted and unsigned documents, and keeping the city council in the dark about letters from the DA and the United States attorney," her report concluded.
The medical marijuana farm idea never got far. After initial construction of frames for some grow houses, Brubeck and his Delta Allied Growers operation pulled out of the plan when threatened with prosecution by U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner.
A grand jury report issued in June indicated that 1,000 marijuana plants that had been brought onto the site were buried using a bulldozer and the plan was abandoned.
(Source)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Sacramento Bee enjoy's "Elevated" Ad Sales; Thanks Medical Marijuana!
Now that the Sacramento Bee has begun publishing medical marijuana collective advertisements the weekly paper has reported much "higher" profits... as I understand it the Sac Bee could charge a medical cannabis dispensary as much as $3,000 for a full page, color ad in the Ticket section.
Just three months ago, the Sacramento News and Review began printing 30 pages of ads in a special medical marijuana 420 section.
According to Jeff vonKaenel, the CEO and President of the free alternative weekly newspaper, the section includes ads from nearly 50 dispensaries. A full page ad goes for about $2,000.
"It has been very lucrative," vonKaenel said. "We've been making tens of thousands of dollars a week on that. At a time when many newspapers are scaling back staff, The Sacramento News and Review said it was able to hire more reporters and expand its distribution largely because of medical marijuana ad sales.
(Source)
Just three months ago, the Sacramento News and Review began printing 30 pages of ads in a special medical marijuana 420 section.
According to Jeff vonKaenel, the CEO and President of the free alternative weekly newspaper, the section includes ads from nearly 50 dispensaries. A full page ad goes for about $2,000.
"It has been very lucrative," vonKaenel said. "We've been making tens of thousands of dollars a week on that. At a time when many newspapers are scaling back staff, The Sacramento News and Review said it was able to hire more reporters and expand its distribution largely because of medical marijuana ad sales.
(Source)
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