Sacramento News & Review, 03 Jan 2013 – Colorado and Washington residents pushed marijuana out of the closet in 2012. Will California be the next state to legalize marijuana? When news broke on election night that Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana, patrons at the trendy Casselman’s Bar & Venue in Denver erupted in cheers, then hugged each other and cried. Organizers and friends of the state’s Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol thanked everyone-elderly black ladies, young hipsters, business execs-and there were far more people in suits than in tie-dye that night. And nary a hint of ganja smoke inside the hip establishment.

Los Angeles Times, 04 Jan 2013 – The Development Is Likely to Make Such Facilities an Issue in the Mayoral Race. Prospects that the emotional debate over medical marijuana dispensaries will bleed into the Los Angeles’ mayoral race increased sharply this week when an initiative to keep some pot shops open qualified for the ballot.

Chicago Tribune, 02 Jan 2013 – Few Cartel Ties Found in Forest Operations WELDON, Calif. – A few minutes after 4 a.m., agents in camouflage cluster in a dusty field in central California. "Movement needs to be slow, deliberate and quiet," the team leader whispers. "Lock and load now."

The Chico News & Review, 03 Jan 2013 – Solitary Confinement Can Drive Men Mad One of the positive consequences of California’s fiscal distress has been its reconsideration of its over-reliance on prisons. State officials and the public at large have begun to realize that, when schools and universities and programs for the poor and elderly are being cut, it makes no sense to pay $44,000 a year to imprison, say, a low-level drug dealer.

Good Times, 02 Jan 2013 – One Local Woman’s Mission To Use Marijuana And Hemp To Help Returning Veterans There were approximately 21.5 million U.S. military veterans in 2011, including more than 13,000 living in Santa Cruz County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sacramento News & Review, 03 Jan 2013 – Forget 2014 or 2016: What’s Going to Happen With Cannabis Next Year in California? While "wait and see" seems to be the prevailing attitude when it comes to sweeping cannabis-law reform in California, leaders in the state’s marijuana industry say 2013 will be a year of action.

The Press Democrat, 03 Jan 2013 – Marijuana may afford Rep. Jared Huffman common ground with conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill. Huffman, the liberal Democrat representing Northern California’s pot-rich Emerald Triangle, said he has engaged two other freshmen lawmakers on the idea of letting states, not the federal government, set rules for the intoxicating plant.

The Malibu Times, 03 Jan 2013 – The Number of Malibu-Area Panga Boat Incidents Increased in 2012; Issue Heats Up After Coast Guard Officer Killed Near Port Hueneme. Congressman Henry Waxman and members of the California Congressional Delegation recently wrote to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to express concern about increased panga boat smuggling activity along the Southern California coast and request a briefing on how the federal government is improving coastal security.

Sacramento News & Review, 03 Jan 2013 – I am a cannabis user. My kids are old enough now to ask me about marijuana. What is the best way to talk to them about cannabis? – -High Dad For far too long in mainstream American culture, pot smokers have had to hide their cannabis use from just about everyone. Your parents, your children, your pastor and your square friends all had to be prevented from knowing that you like to smoke a little weed. Someone snitching to your boss or the cops, or your kids inadvertently spilling the beans at school or church are all very valid concerns. Fortunately, the tide is changing.

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