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Go VAPE !
American Bulls gave VAPE the buy signal
https://www.americanbulls.com/m/SignalPage.aspx?lang=en&Ticker=VAPE
Have a good Thanksgiving !
Dilly Dilly !
TRTC ranked # 1 in quarterly sales
For publicly traded cannabis companies
Terra Tech (OTCQX: TRTC) 09/30/17 $8.67m
CV Sciences (OTCQB: CVSI) 09/30/17 $5.59m
Kush Bottles (OTCQB: KSHB) 05/31/17 $4.72m
GrowGeneration (OTCQB: GRWG) 09/30/17 $4.03m
mCig (OTCQB: MCIG) 07/31/17 $3.17m
Great pictures ! They should hire you
New Jersey And Virginia Elect Pro-Marijuana Governors
Tuesday night’s elections were a sweeping win for Democrats—and especially for pot reform.
Published 4 hours ago on November 8, 2017 By Stony Bear
In what is seen as a rebuke to Trump and his administration’s policies, voters in Virginia and New Jersey elected Ralph Northam and Philip Murphy to the states’ highest position, sending Democrats to the governor’s mansion. The two replace Republican governors in states that went blue during the 2016 election.
Most notable (for our readers, at least) is that Murphy has said he plans to have marijuana legalized in New Jersey within his first 100 days. With part of Murphy’s extensive education plan depending on taxes from marijuana revenue, he is sure to make it a priority leading into his January 2018 inauguration.
Marijuana legalization has support in the state legislature, namely from Nick Scutari (the main sponsor of a bill that would legalize and tax marijuana) and Steve Sweeney (the Senate president who supports the bill). They have resisted sending the bill to soon-to-be-former Governor Chris Christie’s desk, as a veto was almost certainly be guaranteed.
“We are in the midst of the public health crisis on opiates… But people are saying pot’s OK. This is nothing more than crazy liberals who want to say everything’s OK,” said Christie in a speech earlier this year. “People like Nick Scutari and Steve Sweeney and Phil Murphy want to bring this poison, legalized, into this state under the premise that, well, it doesn’t matter because people can buy it illegally anyway. Then why not legalize heroin? I mean, their argument fails just on that basis. Let’s legalize cocaine. Let’s legalize angel dust. Let’s legalize all of it. What’s the difference? Let everybody choose.”
Phil Murphy’s campaign had a short response: “It is no surprise that we fundamentally disagree with Gov. Christie on this, as we do on so much else.”
Virginia will also join the game, with Northam pledging to decriminalize marijuana use.
He pushed the issue as a big part of his tenure as lieutenant governor, writing to the state legislature that current marijuana laws disproportionately impact African Americans. He’s also said that, as a physician, he is “increasingly convinced by the data showing potential health benefits of marijuana, such as pain relief, drug-resistant epilepsy and treatment for PTSD.”
Neither candidate’s opponent supported marijuana legalization or changing current marijuana policies.
As there were so many other political elements at play this election—namely the polarized political climate—it’s difficult to know if how greatly these issues registered with voters as they weighed other issues. Nonetheless, it is a good sign for future prospects of marijuana reform.
https://hightimes.com/news/new-jersey-virginia-pro-marijuana-governors/
He's starting to remember stuff now
Jeff Sessions: I now recall that proposal for a Trump-Putin meeting I said didn’t happen
Sessions will be remembered for how selective his own memory is, which may deliver him a perjury charge
https://www.salon.com/2017/11/02/jeff-sessions-i-now-recall-that-proposal-for-a-trump-putin-meeting-i-said-didnt-happen/
This could get interesting
Sessions in trouble...again
Trick or treat ?
GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS’S PLEA DEAL IS VERY, VERY BAD NEWS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/30/jeff-sessions-indictment-bad-news-for-attorney-general/
Corona gets it's green !
Corona Invests In The Marijuana Green Rush
Constellation brands, which brews Corona beer, made headlines today, as it becomes the first major wine, beer and spirits company to get in on the Green Rush.
Published 3 hours ago on October 30, 2017 By Tim Kohut
Talk about getting ‘twisted.’
For the first time ever, a major player in the wine, beer and spirits industry is set to link up with the rapidly expanding cannabis market, as the company that brews the popular Mexican brand beer Corona has just claimed its own stake in the marijuana green rush.
Two Worlds Collide
Constellation Brands, which also distills Svedka vodka, just invested a whopping $191 million in the Canadian-based cannabis company Canopy Growth Corporation.
The chunk of change is good for a 10 percent stake in the marijuana corporation, but the deal comes with an option for Constellation to purchase an additional ownership interest in Canopy in the future.
Since the acquisition, Constellation shares increased almost one percent during premarket trading.
The move is viewed as a risk by some, considering cannabis is still illegal on a federal scale. Constellation remains the only alcohol-business to take said risk, but chief executive Rob Sands told the Wall Street Journal that it’s a calculated move and believes he now has a leg up on his competition.
“We’re obviously trying to get first-mover advantage,” Sands said.
Sands also added that he thinks it’s only a matter of time before cannabis is legalized on a federal level.
”We think that it’s highly likely, given what’s happened at the state level,” Sands said.
While just eight states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis, there are 22 other states that have legalized medical marijuana, and that number is expected to grow. Canopy Growth happens to be the biggest licensed producer of medical marijuana in Canada, with a valuation of C$2.2 billion.
Canada is also set to legalize recreational cannabis by July 18, which bodes well for the Canada-based company. Edibles and cannabis-infused beverages are projected to be legalized the following year, which would seemingly set up a large payout for Constellation.
Corona Invests In The Marijuana Green Rush
Despite cannabis’ increasing legality in the United States, Constellation says it doesn’t anticipate selling its products in the U.S. until the plant is legalized on both a state and federal level.
Regardless of U.S. policy, there is still significant profitability to be had in Canada alone.
Many pre-existing drug companies currently utilize the plant in their medications, and a Canadian index of marijuana stocks, calculated by research house Canaccord Genuity, indicates cannabis stocks have risen as much as 36 percent over the past month.
According to analysts, a short-term option for Constellation could be developing non-alcoholic, cannabis-infused beverages to be sold only in Canada upon legalization. It has been estimated that this untapped market alone could be worth around $5- $10 billion.
Eight Capital analyst Daniel Pearlstein believes the investment will have a significant impact on a variety of industries, including alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical companies.
“This move is a complete game changer, not only for Canopy but also for the entire industry,” Pearlstein said.
https://hightimes.com/news/corona-invests-marijuana-green-rush/
Corona beer parent’s move into the marijuana business is a smart one
Published: Oct 30, 2017 3:36 p.m. ET
“The U.S. cannabis market is probably the largest in the world and it is frustrating for the CEOs who operate in the space that we are losing that opportunity for global first-mover advantage,” said Derek Peterson, chief executive of Terra Tech, a cannabis-focused agriculture company.
Terra Tech has raised $66 million in capital to fund its business, “but if we had Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs capital raising for us, we could scale up a lot quicker and more efficiently,” said Peterson. “If the U.S. market had federal support, we would have companies with $100 million market caps, we’d have M&A and IPO activity.”
Peterson is confident legalization will happen some time, even if it takes another change of administration. The U.S. public is increasingly supportive of the industry with 64% of those surveyed in a recent Gallup poll saying its use should be made legal, the highest level of support that Gallup has recorded in nearly 50 years of measurement.
“This industry is growing and outpacing smartphones -- and it is completely U. S.centric: The entire supply chain is here so the economic effects are immediate,” said Peterson.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/corona-beer-parents-move-into-the-marijuana-business-is-a-smart-one-2017-10-30
Escaping the pit of misery Dilly Dilly !
It's a High Times article. Just for laughs...
But a case of Alzheimer's could explain some of Jeff Sessions confusion. Maybe some congressional confusion.
Remember when the whole MJ sector sold off in fear when Sessions was nominated to be attorney general ?
JEFF SESSIONS CAN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING
https://theintercept.com/2017/06/13/jeff-sessions-cant-remember-anything-james-comey-trump-russia/
Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization
Congress Members With Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization
Have you ever considered the possibility that Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization? If members of Congress have the disease, then this could be the case.
October 20, 2017 By Mike Adams
There’s a possibility that some Congress members with Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization. Lately, it seems that one of the reasons nationwide marijuana legalization is not making any progress in Congress is, you guessed it, age.
This isn’t a matter of ageism. It’s a matter of neurological health.
Age and Brain Health
Most of the senators running for re-election in 2018 are over 65-years-old. The average age of those currently handling matters in the House of Representatives is nearly 60.
This means that most of these supposed ambassadors of American policy were just becoming teenagers in the mid-1960s.
This was a time when racial segregation had just come to an end. And marijuana users, in general, were regarded as troublemakers and unpatriotic. Furthermore, they were simply not of the same moral fiber of those hardworking, God-fearing citizens who made the United States so great in the first place.
However, a recent report from Stat News suggests that, in addition to the majority of Congress being too old to properly draft policies that accurately reflect the American people, it is distinctly possible that some of these men and women also suffer from serious neurological conditions. Conditions that could affect their judgment and decision-making abilities.
The Report
The story focuses on pharmacist Mike Kim. He’s the owner of Washington, D.C.’s Grubb Pharmacy, which is the oldest retail apothecary in the nation’s capital.
The story indicates that some members of Congress are presently dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. This is a progressive deterioration of the brain that destroys a person’s mental abilities.
So it’s not outlandish to think that Alzheimer’s could prevent pot legalization.
Kim didn’t divulge any specific information about which members of the U.S. Senate and House might have the disease. However, he admitted that some rather influential people connected to the government are taking medication to try to tame the symptoms of this condition.
“At first it’s cool, and then you realize, I’m filling some drugs that are for some pretty serious health problems as well. And these are the people that are running the country,” Kim said. “It makes you kind of sit back and say, ‘Wow, they’re making the highest laws of the land, and they might not even remember what happened yesterday.’”
Final Hit: Possibility That Some Congress Members Have Alzheimer’s Could Prevent Pot Legalization
Medical experts say that people with Alzheimer’s should not be making any important decisions for themselves. And definitely not for the entire nation.
Shannabeth Stein, a registered nurse with over two decades of experience in the field of behavioral health, who specializes in providing daily care for Alzheimer’s patients, told High Times that the disease hinders a person’s ability to make rational choices.
“The disease is unpredictable,” Stein said. “A person with Alzheimer’s disease can have moments of clarity interspersed with irrational behavior and poor decision making.”
“Anyone in Congress that has been diagnosed with this disease and is seeking re-election next year owes it to the voters to disclose their diagnoses and use of medication so that the people can decide for themselves whether that person is still fit for the job,” she added.
Only a small percentage of Congress likely suffers from serious neurologic disorders, like Alzheimer’s. But it is interesting to consider how men and women influenced by their parents’ Reefer Madness still decide the policies of today. Ironic, when you consider that cannabis could help treat Alzheimer’s.
So it just might be time to fill Congress with some younger guys.
https://hightimes.com/news/congress-members-alzheimers-prevent-pot-legalization/
$3,115,921 revenue vs $0 previous revenue
Quarterly Report (10-q)
https://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=75901753
Gorilla Glue kicks bud in court
Gorilla Glue adhesive company and well-know weed strain “Gorilla Glue” have reached a settlement in the trademark infringement case brought by the glue maker against the developers of the GG marijuana strains.
Under the agreement, GG Strains and licensees of their numbered strains—initially named Gorilla Glue #1, #4 and #5—have agreed not to use that name and not use use any gorilla imagery or other similarities to Gorilla Glue Co., according to documents filed in an Ohio federal court, where Gorilla Glue is located.
ADDITIONAL GORILLA GLUE SETTLEMENT TERMS
GG Strains will also have to shut down its gorillaglue4.com website and transfer the domain name to Gorilla Glue the adhesive company by Jan. 1, 2020.
Other terms of the settlement include an agreement that the companies will not disparage each others’ companies, services or actions. GG Strains was given 12 months to remove the word “Gorilla,” the gorilla image and “Gorilla” trademarks.
Starting in mid-December, GG Strains has to use the words “formerly known as” when describing its brands on their website, which it has already started doing, along with a public announcement of the results of the court case.
All affiliated companies, dispensaries, cultivators and other partners also have to stop using the word “gorilla,” and gorilla imagery.
The settlement did not involve any monetary transactions between the two companies, according to attorneys for both sides.
“I hope that other industry participants will respect these companies’ resolution of the matter,” said Tom Hankinson, lawyer for the adhesives Gorilla Glue, told the Cannabist. “I can’t comment specifically on Gorilla Glue’s future activities, but it has invested a great deal in the Gorilla Glue brand.”
GG Strains officials are busily contacting partners and licensees and coming up with new names to rebrand their products, said company CEO Catherine Franklin.
Ross Johnson, co-founder of GG Strains and Gorilla Glue, estimated the dispute and the ongoing rebranding efforts cost the firm $250,000.
“We’re going to survive; we’re going to overcome it,” Johnson told the Cannabist on Wednesday. “Is it a setback? Most definitely, it is a setback. But it’s all behind us now, and it’s allowing us to move forward.”
HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH THE GORILLA GLUE NAME IN THE FIRST PLACE?
The name of this award-winning strain, Gorilla Glue, came from the stickiness of its trichomes, and their tendency to “glue” the scissors together during the trimming process. This particular case of intellectual property infringement is the second in recent months. Buds R Us dispensary in Detroit was obliged by Toys “R” Us to change its name or be sued. The owner of the dispensary agreed to change its name and logo, which was the beloved Toys “R” Us Geoffrey the Giraffe smoking a big fat joint.
http://hightimes.com/news/gorilla-glue-and-cannabis-company-reach-settlement/
FDA commissioner talks about medical mj
Good news, if it’s true. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb might start looking into medical marijuana’s many claims.
“I see people who are developing products who are making claims that marijuana has antitumor effects in the setting of cancer,” said Gottlieb at a hearing before Congress this week. “It’s a much broader question about where our responsibility is to step into this.”
OK, let’s do this. May we suggest, Dr. Gottlieb, that you get in touch with a few scientists and colleagues to help you out with this important job?
How about Dr. Orrin Devinsky, who is working on cannabis-based anti-epilepsy drugs for children at New York University Langone Medical Center?
Just a thought. Surely, as a physician and public health advocate yourself, you’re looking for reasonable people.
“And I think reasonable people can ask reasonable questions about whether marijuana is a chemotherapeutic agent,” said Gottlieb, formerly the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs.
“We’ll have some answers to this question very soon, because I think we do bear responsibility to start to address these questions,” he said, responding to queries from GOP Congressman Buddy Carter, who thinks the federal government is “putting their head in the sand” about medical cannabis.
THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHALL SET YOU FREE
Dr. Orrin Devinsky: “The positive outcome in this second trial of Epidiolex in patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome demonstrates the effectiveness of this product in this particularly difficult to treat, childhood-onset epilepsy.”
Devinsky was referring to GW Pharmaceuticals’ cannabis-derived therapy that was recently filed with U.S. regulators after cutting monthly convulsive seizures by 39 percent in children with Dravet syndrome.
Gottlieb, reported Bloomberg, said there were about 20 active investigational new drug projects the FDA is reviewing for marijuana products, pointing out that most of them are for extracts.
“Delivering an active pharmaceutical ingredient through inhalation isn’t always the most efficient route,” noted Gottlieb.
Without revealing when or how the FDA would begin to review and comment on medical cannabis claims, Gottlieb said, “We will address the sweep of these questions in time.”
http://hightimes.com/news/fda-intends-to-look-into-medical-marijuana-claims/
America’s Amsterdam: July Pot Sales Top $27M for Nevada
BY MONTEREY BUD ON SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2017 AT 9:06 AM
Medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries won big in July — the first month of permissible recreational marijuana sales in Nevada — selling more than $27 million of legal cannabis.
And with nearly 43 million visitors headed to the Las Vegas Strip annually, it would appear the state has hit the tax revenue jackpot!
Nearly exceeding the combined total of Colorado and Oregon’s first month of recreational marijuana sales (approximately $14 million each), Nevada’s total sales of all things marijuana in July added just over $3.6 million to the state’s tax coffers.
Anticipated to generate approximately $56.2 million in new tax revenue by 2019, the 15 percent wholesale tax, which is paid by both recreational and medicinal cultivators, pulled down $974,060 during the first month of operations. Originally intended to help fund Nevada’s cash-strapped schools, the marijuana wholesale tax must first offset any administrative costs for the program, according to the state’s press release.
“The revenue goes to Nevada schools, via the distributive school account, after administrative costs for the Department and local governments.”
The 10 percent marijuana retail tax, which is paid by consumers of adult-use marijuana, harvested another tidy $2.71 million for the state’s “rainy day fund” in just 30 days – the sum is anticipated to exceed $63 million over the next 24 months.
The Nevada Department of Taxation, which administers both the recreational and medical marijuana programs, has processed 333 applications for Nevada’s marijuana industry and issued 250 licenses, “including 53 retail stores, 92 cultivation facilities, 65 product manufacturing facilities, 9 testing labs, and 31 distributors,” according to state records.
Primarily located in Clark County (203 licenses), the remainder of Nevada’s 250 recreational and medical marijuana licenses are scattered throughout the Silver State.
Restricted by a distribution gridlock early on, thanks to the political muscle of Big Alcohol, more than a few Las Vegas dispensary owners believe their total sales for July were restricted by a lack of supply.
https://www.marijuana.com/news/2017/09/americas-amsterdam-july-pot-sales-top-27m-for-nevada/
Its like voting in Venezuela
Russians hacked the election !
Taking a knee or signaling fair catch ?
Don't just drop back and punt.
Stand up for your country.
Hope for the best.
Roll with the punches.
Hang in there !
Everything is better with a bag of weed
DEA chief gives up and quits
Rosenberg was no fan of cannabis. Two years ago he called medical marijuana 'a joke.'
The Washington Post and New York Times have reported that Chuck Rosenberg, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will resign at the end of this week. The Times attributed Rosenberg’s departure to his growing conviction that President Trump “had little respect for the law.”
Rosenberg, who will step down on October 1, was a holdover from the Obama Administration. He’s been running the agency in an acting capacity since 2015, when he took over for then-DEA Administrator Michelle Leonhart. Leonhart resigned over her mishandling of a scandal involving DEA agents and prostitutes. Leonhart had also disagreed strongly with how President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder handled state-legal marijuana.
Rosenberg moved over to guide the DEA after serving as chief of staff to then-FBI Director James Comey. Comey was fired by President Trump earlier this year, and the action did nothing to improve the relationship between the President and his acting DEA administrator. When Trump suggested that police “please don’t be too nice” when handling criminal suspects, Rosenberg rejected his comments in an email sent to DEA employees. “We have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong,” he wrote.
Not a Fan of ‘Smoking the Leaf’
The DEA head was certainly no friend of the legal cannabis industry. Rosenberg once allowed that cannabis was “probably not” as dangerous as heroin, while also stating that “marijuana is not medicine.” In late 2015, several patient advocates called for his resignation after Rosenberg called medical marijuana “a joke.”
Here are a few of his further comments during that 2015 Q&A with reporters: “What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not. We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine — that is a joke.” Rosenberg added: “There are pieces of marijuana — extracts or constituents or component parts — that have great promise. But if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana — which is what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana — it has never been shown to be safe or effective as a medicine.”
Eight months into his term, President Trump has yet to nominate a candidate to head the DEA. While Rosenberg’s presence in no way prevented the White House from doing so, his absence may put a bit more pressure on the administration to fill the post. The DEA is an agency of the Justice Department, which is overseen by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/dea-head-chuck-rosenberg-resigns-now-who-takes-over
Indirect ownership by spouse, Amy's shares
1. The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities
6 acres of ivxx greenhouse buds !
Terra Tech Corp. Signs Second Craft Cultivator in State of California
September 19, 2017
COMPANY SIGNS CANNABIS CRAFTSMAN TO CULTIVATE ALL-NATURAL, SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED CANNABIS
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/19/17 -- Terra Tech Corp. (OTCQX: TRTC) ("Terra Tech" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated cannabis-focused agriculture company, today announced that it has signed its second Craft Cultivator to grow the Company's proprietary high grade "IVXX" cannabis flowers and oils. The farm, Cultivar Inc., is located in Salinas, California and is approved for up to six acres (approximately 244,000 square feet) of cannabis cultivation, to be grown in high tech, climate-controlled greenhouses.
I guess Amy wanted to sell ?
Most directors sell shares after they get fired.
DP can sell her shares or live with the wrath of Amy.
Hopefully, that's all of Amy's shares
Indirect ownership by spouse, Amy's shares
The directors that got fired had shares
.
Drunk posting isn't always 100 % accurate :)
I'll try to do better next time when I'm soberer.
The Reserve OC acquisition
Terra Tech expands retail dispensary operations into Santa Ana, California
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/13/17 -- Terra Tech Corp. (OTCQX: TRTC) ("Terra Tech" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated, cannabis-focused agriculture company, announced today that it has expanded its retail operations into Southern California through the acquisition of 100% of the assets of Tech Center Drive Management LLC ("Tech Center Drive"). Tech Center Drive operates The Reserve OC medical cannabis dispensary at 2911 South Tech Center Drive Santa Ana, CA 92705.
Under the terms of transaction, Terra Tech has the right to operate the dispensary, and to consolidate 100% of Tech Center Drive's financial results into the Company's financial results. In addition, upon receiving regulatory approval from the city of Santa Ana, Terra Tech has the option to acquire the cannabis retail permit associated with the dispensary for no additional consideration.
Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech, commented, "The Reserve has a reputation for first-rate, patient-focused customer service and is expected to generate steady cash flow to the Company. This represents another milestone in our M&A strategy to rapidly expand our retail operations without needing to invest significant time or funds into building dispensaries. We plan to use the successful blueprint from the Blüm Oakland dispensary to grow sales at the Reserve and, in due course, will re-brand the dispensary to Blüm, which is our recognized cannabis retail brand in Northern California and Nevada."
https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/thereserve
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-reserve-santa-ana-2
Big court win for dispensaries
The judge said Thursday that he was convinced the state had proven what was necessary to trigger the exception to alcohol businesses' exclusive distribution rights.
"There is a substantial amount of evidence that there is a need for additional distributors over and above the liquor distributors," Russell said. "The testimony was overwhelming."
Federal judge blocks prosecution of pot growers
Federal judge blocks prosecution of Northern California pot growers
By Bob Egelko Updated 3:42 pm, Friday, August 11, 2017
A judge in San Francisco, in the first known ruling of its kind, has halted federal prosecution of two North Coast marijuana growers because Congress has prohibited the Justice Department from interfering with states’ medical marijuana laws.
Anthony Pisarski and Sonny Moore pleaded guilty in 2014 to conspiring to possess and grow marijuana on a farm in Humboldt County and faced a three-year prison sentence under federal guidelines. But U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg suspended further proceedings in the case this week and said the prosecution was barred by restrictions Congress first added to the Justice Department’s budget in late 2014, and has renewed ever since.
The restrictions, in an amendment sponsored by Reps. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach (Orange County), forbid department spending that would interfere with implementation of a state medical marijuana law. Last August, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the amendment barred federal prosecution of people who are complying with their state’s medical marijuana law, despite a federal law that forbids use or possession of the drug.
The evidence shows that Pisarski and Moore “strictly complied with all relevant conditions imposed by California law,” Seeborg said in his ruling Tuesday.
The defendants, who are free on bail, will seek to withdraw their guilty pleas, said Pisarski’s lawyer, Ronald Richards.
“We’re finally seeing the tide turning and the law changing,” Richards said. “I never thought I’d have the right to stop a federal criminal prosecution.”
He said other marijuana defendants in California have challenged their federal prosecutions since the appeals court ruling, but this is the first successful challenge.
The victory will be temporary, though, if Congress allows the budget amendment to expire. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called for removal of the restrictions from the budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, and Seeborg said prosecutors could then ask to reopen the case.
But Richards said the budget amendment cleared its first Senate subcommittee with bipartisan support, and he’s confident it will be renewed.
Pisarski, now 38, and Moore, 41, were arrested in July 2012 by state officers who said they found 327 marijuana plants, along with two loaded guns and $416,000 in cash. Searches over the next year uncovered more firearms, cash and gold and silver bars on the property in a remote part of central Humboldt County.
The two men presented evidence that they grew the marijuana for nearby nonprofit collectives, which reimbursed them for their costs. Moore said he was also a caregiver for his mother, and that she had a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana.
State prosecutors filed no charges. In arguing for the federal conspiracy charge, U.S. prosecutors contended the cash, gold and silver showed that Pisarski and Moore were selling pot for profit outside the bounds of the California law, and thus were not protected by the budget amendment.
But Seeborg observed that legal transactions for medical marijuana “are often made in cash because banks are unwilling to help facilitate the business.” And he said the “presence of cash, precious metals, and weapons is equally consistent with the operation of a rural, cash-intensive enterprise.”
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/NorCal-pot-growers-prosecution-blocked-by-11753672.php?cmpid=twitter-desktop
Things are looking up
Spent the last year rocky mountain way
Couldn't get much higher....
Rocky mountain way
Better late than never
You know the words better than I do ....
Everybody must get stoned
Rocky mountain way is better than the way we had.
The truth is strong
DOJ Task Force Recommends Against Federal Crackdown on Marijuana
Marijuana Policy Project | August 4, 2017
Recommendations would preserve current policy of not interfering with medical and adult-use businesses that comply with state law and federal guidelines, urge continued study
WASHINGTON, DC — A Department of Justice task force subcommittee on marijuana policy is not recommending any policy changes that would target state-legal marijuana programs or businesses operating in compliance with state laws, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The task force asked for continued study and dialogue on the issue. The recommendations are meant to inform ongoing policy decisions and are non-binding.
Since August 2013, Dept. of Justice policy has been not to enforce federal marijuana laws against individuals or businesses in states that are complying with state medical or adult-use marijuana laws, provided that one of eight federal priorities is not implicated.
In 2014, Congress passed an amendment to an omnibus spending bill that prevented the Dept. of Justice from spending any resources to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana laws.
This amendment was subsequently renewed, but it now stands to expire on Sept. 30 unless it is approved in a congressional conference committee or Congress fails to pass a budget.
While on the campaign trail, President Trump was asked his view on state marijuana policy reform, and he consistently said it should be a states’ rights decision.
Twenty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted effective medical marijuana laws.
Marijuana is legal and regulated for adults in eight states, and adult possession and limited home cultivation are legal in the District of Columbia.
According to an April poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, 73 percent of U.S. voters “oppose government enforcement of federal laws against marijuana in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.”
Ninety-four percent of U.S. voters support allowing adults to legally use marijuana for medical purposes, and 60 percent support making marijuana legal in the United States.
“The task force’s recommendations reflect the fact that the Dept. of Justice has more important priorities than harassing legitimate, taxpaying businesses,” said Don Murphy, director of conservative outreach for the Marijuana Policy Project.
“In states that have approved marijuana for medical or adult use, these businesses are creating jobs, generating revenue, protecting consumers, and making their communities safer,” he says.
“The vast majority of Americans want the federal government to let states determine their own marijuana policies. We hope the attorney general is paying attention and maintains the current policy of non-interference,” Murphy added.
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2017/75360/doj-marijuana-task-force-recommends-non-interference-study-state-laws/
Justice prevailed
Federal task force reportedly recommends more marijuana study, no crackdown
BY JULIA MANCHESTER - 08/04/17 07:29 PM EDT
The task force Attorney General Jeff Sessions established to crack down on marijuana use has come up with no new policy recommendations for the attorney general, The Associated Press reported Friday.
Marijuana advocates feared that a report released by the Trump administration's Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety would link violent crime to marijuana. But the AP, citing portions of the report it had obtained, said that the document recommends that officials continue weighing whether to change or rescind the Obama administration's largely hands-off approach to enforcement.
Advocates hailed the news on Friday.
“The task force’s recommendations reflect the fact that the Dept. of Justice has more important priorities than harassing legitimate, taxpaying businesses. In states that have approved marijuana for medical or adult use, these businesses are creating jobs, generating revenue, protecting consumers, and making their communities safer," Don Murphy, the director of conservative outreach at the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.
“The vast majority of Americans want the federal government to let states determine their own marijuana policies. We hope the attorney general is paying attention and maintains the current policy of non-interference," he continued.
Sessions has appeared eager to crack down on marijuana as attorney general.
“We’re seeing real violence around that. Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think and there’s big money involved," he said in February.
Marijuana is illegal under federal law, however the Obama administration took a more laid back approach to states that had legalized it. The former president said in 2016 that it should be treated as a public health issue "the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.”
Obama's Justice Department said in 2013 it would not directly challenge state marijuana legalization laws and would soften enforcement of federal laws against the drug's sales in states allowing the practice.
Eight state and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, while 21 states allow the use of medical marijuana.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced a bill to legalize the substance on Tuesday.
"Our country’s drug laws are badly broken and need to be fixed," Booker said in a statement. "They don’t make our communities any safer."
The Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/345413-justice-dept-task-force-on-marijuana-recommends-more-study-no
Justice dept declined to comment :)
Sessions may be moved to DHS
The DHS position would prolly be a better fit for him than AG
Some Trump aides push to move Sessions from attorney general to Homeland Security
By JUSTIN FISHEL MERIDITH MCGRAW Jul 29, 2017, 1:04 PM ET
Some senior White House aides are encouraging President Trump to move embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his post as attorney general to the now-vacant leadership spot at Department of Homeland Security, ABC News has learned.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-aides-push-move-sessions-attorney-general-homeland/story?id=48926082
Sessions may be moved to DHS
Some Trump aides push to move Sessions from attorney general to Homeland Security
By JUSTIN FISHEL MERIDITH MCGRAW Jul 29, 2017, 1:04 PM ET
Some senior White House aides are encouraging President Trump to move embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his post as attorney general to the now-vacant leadership spot at Department of Homeland Security, ABC News has learned.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-aides-push-move-sessions-attorney-general-homeland/story?id=48926082
Older and PTSD vets just get seroquel
Seroquel is powerful anti-psychotic prescription medicine. The VA doctors prescribe it like aspirin for troublemaker patients to calm them down. My dad was at the VA back in 2015 suffering with dementia. It was awful. I would visit him at the VA and he would be totally incoherent after they gave him seroquel. So I asked the doctor if they could try using CBD instead of seroquel to calm him down. The VA doc just said that the VA doesn't allow us to experiment on older folks like your dad.
For sleepless vets prescribed Seroquel, the nightmare was just beginning
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo taken, May 26, 2010, Shirley White holds a box of prescription medication while sitting next to her husband Stan White in the their son's bedroom in Cross Lanes, W. Va. Andrew White, 23, died in his sleep Feb. 12, 2008, while taking a powerful antipsychotic prescribed as a sleep aid. (GENTNER/AP)
Andrew White returned from a nine-month tour in Iraq beset with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder: insomnia, nightmares, constant restlessness. Doctors tried to ease his symptoms using three psychiatric drugs, including a potent anti-pyschotic called Seroquel.
Thousands of soldiers suffering from PTSD have received the same medication over the last nine years, helping to make Seroquel one of the Veteran Affairs Department's top drug expenditures and the No. 5 best-selling drug in the nation.
Several soldiers and veterans have died while taking the pills, raising concerns among some military families that the government is not being up front about the drug's risks. They want Congress to investigate.
In White's case, the nightmares persisted. So doctors recommended progressively larger doses of Seroquel. At one point, the 23-year-old Marine corporal was prescribed more than 1,600 milligrams per day — more than double the maximum dose recommended for schizophrenia patients.
A short time later, White died in his sleep.
"He was told if he had trouble sleeping he could take another (Seroquel) pill," said his father, Stan White, a retired high school principal.
An investigation by the Veterans Affairs Department concluded that White died from a rare drug interaction. He was also taking an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety pill, as well as a painkiller for which he did not have a prescription. Inspectors concluded he received the "standard of care" for his condition.
It's unclear how many soldiers have died while taking Seroquel, or if the drug definitely contributed to the deaths. White has confirmed at least a half-dozen deaths among soldiers on Seroquel, and he believes there may be many others.
Spending for Seroquel by the government's military medical systems has increased more than sevenfold since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. That by far outpaces the growth in personnel who have gone through the system in that time.
Seroquel is approved to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, but it has not been endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for insomnia. However, psychiatrists are permitted to prescribe approved drugs for other uses in a common practice known as "off-label" prescribing.
But the drug's potential side effects, including diabetes, weight gain and uncontrollable muscle spasms, have resulted in thousands of lawsuits. While on Seroquel, White gained 40 pounds and experienced slurred speech, disorientation and tremors — all known side effects.
Last year, researchers at Vanderbilt University published a study suggesting a new risk: sudden heart failure.
The study in the January 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found that there were three cardiac deaths per year for every 1,000 patients taking anti-psychotic drugs like Seroquel. Seroquel's unique sedative effect sets it apart from others in its class as the top choice for treating insomnia and anxiety.
AstraZeneca PLC, maker of the drug, said it is reviewing the study. The FDA is conducting its own review, citing the limited scope of the Vanderbilt study.
According to the Veterans Affairs Department, Seroquel is only prescribed as a third or fourth option for patients with difficult-to-treat insomnia stemming from PTSD.
Marine Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, was being treated for PTSD when he died in his sleep at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in May 2008. Oligschlaeger was taking six types of medication, including Seroquel, to deal with anxiety and nightmares that followed two tours of duty in Iraq.
The military medical examiner attributed the death to "multiple drug toxicity," indicating that Oligschlaeger, too, died from a drug interaction. Because of the complex reactions between various drugs, medical examiners do not attribute such deaths to any one medication.
After consulting with physicians, parents Eric and Julie Oligschlaeger now believe their son died of sudden cardiac arrest caused by Seroquel.
"Right now, I'm so angry, and I believe someone needs to be held accountable," said Julie Oligschlaeger, of Austin, Texas. "The protocol absolutely has to change."
The Defense Department's deputy director for force health protection, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, said the government has not seen any increase in dangerous side effects from Seroquel and other drugs.
Physicians interviewed by the AP said they began prescribing Seroquel because it was the only drug that offered relief from the nightmares and anxiety of PTSD.
"By accident, some people were giving them Seroquel for anxiety or depression, and the veterans said, 'This is the first time I have slept six or seven hours straight all night. Please give me more of that.' And the word spread," said Dr. Henry Nasrallah of the University of Cincinnati, who has treated PTSD patients for more than 25 years.
Most of the soldiers and veterans seeking treatment for PTSD do so at hospitals run by the VA or the Defense Department.
The VA's spending on Seroquel has increased more than 770 percent since 2001. In that same time frame, the number of patients covered by the VA increased just 34 percent.
Seroquel has been the VA's second-biggest prescription drug expenditure since 2007, behind the blood-thinner Plavix. The agency spent $125.4 million last fiscal year on Seroquel, up from $14.4 million in 2001.
Spending on Seroquel by the Department of Defense, has increased nearly 700 percent since 2001, to $8.6 million last year, according to purchase records.
Nasrallah and others said they use drugs like Seroquel off-label because so few treatments are approved for PTSD. The FDA has only cleared two drugs for the condition, the antidepressants Paxil and Zoloft, and they do not always work.
The only published study on use of Seroquel for PTSD-related insomnia involved just 20 patients who were followed for six weeks at a VA medical center in South Carolina. The study, which showed moderate improvement in sleep, was funded by AstraZeneca at the request of VA psychiatrist Dr. Mark Hamner, who has studied the use of Seroquel for PTSD.
In his written conclusion, published in 2003, Hamner urged caution in interpreting the results because of the study's small size and short duration.
Hamner is working on larger, federally funded studies of Seroquel. For now, he acknowledges, there is little published research on the use of the drug for PTSD.
"Clinical judgment is really the best we can use at this time because there isn't really a good database to facilitate decision-making," said Hamner, who works at the Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center in Charleston, S.C.
He stressed that VA guidelines require doctors to monitor patients for dangerous side effects with drugs like Seroquel.
The drug, approved in 1997, is AstraZeneca's second-best-selling product, with U.S. sales of $4.2 billion last year. But that success has been marred by allegations that the company illegally marketed the drug and minimized its risks. AstraZeneca agreed to pay $520 million in April to settle federal allegations that its salespeople pitched Seroquel for numerous off-label uses, including insomnia.
Pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing drugs for unapproved uses. AstraZeneca also faces an estimated 10,000 product liability lawsuits, most alleging that Seroquel caused diabetes.
Since White died, his family has been searching for an explanation — and for a way to prevent other deaths.
"We trusted the knowledge of the physicians, that they weren't going to do any harm," White's father said. "And we also trusted the drug companies because that's who provides the research for the physicians. That's what our battle is now: trying to get changes made."
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/sleepless-vets-prescribed-seroquel-nightmare-beginning-article-1.206526