The Chico News & Review, 29 Nov 2012 – Two States Have Now Legalized Marijuana-Another Sure Sign That Attitudes Are Changing Slowly but surely, America is abandoning its failed war on drugs, beginning with marijuana. Voters in 18 states and the District of Columbia have approved the medical use of marijuana, and on Nov. 6 Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize marijuana for personal use.

Sacramento News & Review, 29 Nov 2012 – The city of Sacramento says I can’t grow medicinal marijuana outdoors anymore? What gives? – -Outdoor Moore Yeah. Cities and counties banning outdoor growing is all the rage these days. Fresno, Placerville, Roseville and now Sacramento are just a few. Lawmakers claim they need to regulate outdoor grows in order to cut down on complaints from neighbors and reduce the threat of violent crime caused by garden robbers. Medical-cannabis patients argue that cities are contravening state law (which allows growing) and imposing an undue burden on financially disadvantaged patients by forcing them to buy expensive indoor-growing equipment.

DrugSense

New Haven Register, 27 Nov 2012 – ARCATA, Calif. (AP) – A public university located in one of California’s prime pot-growing regions has formed an academic institute devoted to marijuana. The Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research at Humboldt State University plans to sponsor scholarly lectures and coordinate research among 11 faculty members from fields such as economics, geography, politics, psychology and sociology.

The Press Democrat, 28 Nov 2012 – Mendocino County officials are under federal orders to surrender records from their now-suspended medical marijuana permitting program, raising questions about the fate of those named in the permits as well as more than $800,000 in fees collected from pot growers. But Sheriff Tom Allman, whose department was tapped to run the program approved in March 2010, said the exercise may be worthwhile if it brings some clarity to a murky legal area in which state and federal law conflicts.

Santa Maria Times, 23 Nov 2012 – Marijuana is an illegal substance because the government claims marijuana is a threat. However, there has not been a single death related to marijuana, and it should be legalized. Alcohol is legal and proven to be more addictive than marijuana. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports numerous alcohol-related deaths annually.

Los Angeles Daily News, 26 Nov 2012 – Possible Federal Sentence of 10 Years to Life for Selling Medical Pot Unduly Harsh, Given Trend ERSTWHILE medical marijuana purveyor Aaron Sandusky of Rancho Cucamonga must have noted the irony as he cooled his heels in the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 6.

Appeal-Democrat, 25 Nov 2012 – SACRAMENTO – When it comes to real political change, the people almost always are light years ahead of the politicians, most of whom are so worried about re-election that they take only carefully crafted positions that appeal to their core constituencies. If anything, the general election reaffirmed the big-government status quo, but there was one good sign from the national results, as voters in Washington and Colorado passed, with strong majorities, measures legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Voters ignored the hysteria of Republican and Democratic politicians and did the right thing.

The Ukiah Daily Journal, 22 Nov 2012 – To the Editor: Murder, home invasion, robbery, burglary, assault, battery, coercion, tax evasion, and medical malpractice. These crimes seem to be on an increase in Mendocino County. Lesser crimes that also seem to be on the increase include panhandling, DUIs, camping in public places, and child endangerment/child abandonment. Not classified as crimes, suicide, family alienation, community discord. While proponents of the marijuana initiative may have presented a hazy truth, I really find it hard to believe that the cultivation, processing, transportation, and consumption of marijuana is a victimless crime. I also believe that, because of the relaxed attitude toward marijuana, other drug manufacture, transportation, and consumption is on the increase.

The Chico News & Review, 22 Nov 2012 – Marijuana Is Still Eco-Unfriendly, Despite Rise in Support Though public support for the recreational use of marijuana is reportedly on the rise, pot cultivation and distribution remains detrimental to the environment.