Sacramento News & Review, 14 Mar 2013 – Proposition 215 allows medical-cannabis users to consume their medicine anywhere cigarette smoking is allowed. Why aren’t we all enjoying a medical-cannabis spliff on the patio at Old Soul at Weatherstone with all the cigarette smokers or on the patios of other coffeehouses and bars? – -Midtown Lalo

DrugSense

Chico Enterprise-Record, 13 Mar 2013 – OROVILLE — An innocuous proclamation on the consent agenda is not the kind of thing that usually triggers a heated dispute among Butte County supervisors, but one did this week. At the request of Chico Supervisor Maureen Kirk, the board was asked to adopt a proclamation declaring 2013 "The Year of Child."

Record Searchlight, 13 Mar 2013 – Shasta County supervisors Tuesday added a $75,000 code enforcement job to the county’s roster to help deal with medical marijuana violations. The vote comes about a month after supervisors discussed the suggestion from County Executive Officer Larry Lees at a meeting where they rejected the idea of forming a pot committee to help tackle the growing needs and concerns from county residents.

Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar 2013 – Re "Medical pot is here to stay," Column, March 8 I’m glad that Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl has the marijuana he needs to help him cope with symptoms related to his cancer and treatment. But I’m sorry that his remarks at a City Council hearing on banning pot shops – "You want to kill me?" – were not balanced by someone like me, who could have said, "You are helping to destroy a family member."

Record Searchlight, 12 Mar 2013 – Although I have never used cannabis, I have been in favor of legalizing it for several reasons – freeing up our jail cells for more deserving criminals, the tax revenue, and, like cigarettes and alcohol, people are going to do it anyway legal or not. But then after suffering continually from my neighbors’ "legal" habit, I find myself repenting of any favorable feelings towards unrestricted use of the "weed." When he and his friends sit outside on his own property and smoke, it permeates my home and I find myself suffering from severe asthma attacks. The thick stench of a skunk wakes me in the wee hours of the morning coughing and wheezing, struggling to catch my breath. At first I would get up and walk outside all around my home looking for the culprit until I realized exactly where the stench and irritant was coming from.

DrugSense

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DrugSense

Sacramento News & Review, 07 Mar 2013 – Thank you so much for your column. As a stoner who loves to read, The 420 combines my favorite pastimes. I’ve had a question about dispensaries for a while, and maybe you can help: The other day, I stopped at a dispensary in Sacramento (don’t want to get anyone in trouble), and I was surprised to find they had a tax on their weed. They had plenty of signs that informed of the tax, and they even listed the price before the tax and after the tax. The weed was great, and it was only a $1.20-per-gram tax, so it wasn’t too much of a big deal, but is it allowed? This has been the only dispensary to ever tax me. I know the laws are already pretty confusing, but I thought that the only reason dispensaries were allowed to operate was because they don’t explicitly say they sell weed, but rather that they exchange weed for a "donation." It is through this loophole that they are able to slip through the federal law that prohibits selling weed. Or am I completely mistaken about everything?