Marijuana 420 News from Marijuana420.net

Sixteen people were arraigned today on felony charges stemming from the raid of two medical marijuana businesses following an undercover investigation by Oakland County law enforcement.

Authorities said the marijuana was sold illegally at Clinical Relief in Ferndale and Everybody's Café, a restaurant in Waterford Township. The arrests and drug seizures also occurred Thursday at area homes and a warehouse in Macomb County.

In 43rd District Court in Hazel Park, Magistrate James Paterson ran through suspects in an almost assembly-line style -- some live and some through a video arraignment.

Residents in 14 states and Washington can now appeal to their doctors for prescriptions for medical marijuana to help them with their pain.

Their employers, however, may not be so understanding.

In some cases, workers have been fired for failing drug tests despite having prescriptions saying, in effect, that what they are doing is legal according to the laws of their states.

As November draws close and the Loveland City Council wrestles with the price of placing the issue of licensing medical marijuana dispensaries on the ballot, many residents have made it clear they would welcome more of the sales tax-gathering businesses to the city.

A group of medical marijuana dispensary owners recently formed a group called The Loveland Association of Wellness, or LAW, creating a resolution to follow state and local laws for dispensaries and actively make their businesses more community friendly.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is going to use the $9 million the state has collected in medical marijuana fees from registrations to help pay of CO’s $60 million deficit.

The state anticipates ending the year with 150,000 applicants for medical marijuana cards, up from 41,000 in 2009. A marijuana card costs $90 per year.

While police officers arrest pot dealers fairly frequently, Orem police officers heard a pretty unusual reason for the illegal activity during an arrest this weekend.

The 20-year-old man said he was dealing the drugs in order to save up for the police academy.

“It’s probably not the first time this has happened, but this is the first time I’ve heard of someone admitting it,” said Orem Sgt. Craig Martinez. “Most drug dealers wouldn’t say they were trying to save up to become a cop.”

BOSTON — Some Massachusetts towns have given up enforcing a law that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying the law is written with too many loopholes to be effective.

The law established a civil fine of $100 for those caught with an ounce or less of marijuana. That replaced what had been a criminal offense carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine, also for possession of an ounce or less of the drug.

A group supporting the legalization of marijuana is accusing Facebook of censorship after the Web site banned the organization’s advertisement.

The ad, which depicted a marijuana leaf, began running on Aug. 7. Just over a week later, Facebook pulled it, saying the image violated its policy against promoting smoking.

Facebook may have been started by and for college kids, but it's no lefty, hippie operation. JustSayNow.com, a marijuana legalization organization launched last month by liberal blogger/activist Jane Hamsher, had been running ads on Facebook for a week and a half, but Facebook evidently won't run them anymore, on the grounds that pot leaves are inappropriate:

The Pennsylvania House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a satellite hearing on medical marijuana in Pittsburgh, PA on August 19, 2010.

HHS Committee Chair Representative Frank Oliver issued a memo yesterday:

Please be advised that on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health at 130 Desoto Street, Room G-23, Pittsburgh, PA 15320, there will be a public hearing on House Bill 1393.

A new report from the Opposition to the California Marijuana Legaliz