Sacramento News & Review, 18 Oct 2012 – I have a friend who has a medical-marijuana recommendation for menstrual cramps. But she medicates all month long. She sees it as an act of civil disobedience. I see it as being disingenuous and jeopardizing access for terminally ill patients. Who’s right? – -Lady Bud Johnson

The Record, 17 Oct 2012 – LODI – The Lodi City Council is expected to place a 45-day moratorium on the cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits until the City Attorney’s Office can sculpt an ordinance that regulates how, where and how much pot is reasonable to allow qualified patients or caregivers to grow for personal use. Lodi does not have an ordinance regulating medical marijuana cultivation, and crafting one that does not impede on a patient’s rights can be tricky, Deputy City Attorney Janice Magdich said at a City Council morning planning session Tuesday.

DrugSense

Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct 2012 – Dispensary backers, foes vie for control of Eagle Rock panel. Tensions between neighborhood leaders fighting a surge in medical marijuana dispensaries and the industry’s increasingly assertive supporters spilled into neighborhood politics over the weekend in a bitter contest for control of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council.

The Record, 14 Oct 2012 – Lincoln Unified student athletes and cheerleaders now face mandatory, random drug testing under last week’s 4-to-1 decision of district trustees. The first-in-the-area policy has the admirable goal of stopping drugs and alcohol use by Lincoln High’s athletes and cheerleaders. Somehow these students are thought more vulnerable and indeed 21 percent of the 219 drug and alcohol-related suspensions in the last three years have involved athletes and cheerleaders, according to district officials.

The Press Democrat, 15 Oct 2012 – The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and IRS are conducting a criminal investigation of family members of a Mendocino County sheriff’s captain, according to law enforcement sources. Officials on Thursday served a search warrant on property near Highway 20 in Potter Valley where agents reportedly found more than 500 marijuana plants. The property is owned by and is the residence of Johnny Johnson, the father of Sheriff’s Capt. Randy Johnson. The captain’s brother, John Johnson, also lives on the property.

San Diego Union Tribune, 15 Oct 2012 – Jan Goldsmith’s commentary ("Legalizing medical marijuana properly," Opinion, Oct. 11) is skewered with misleading facts and a "looks good on paper" federal solution to pot by requiring weed be sold to only people who are dying. Really? What about the 5,000-plus remainder of us who aren’t seriously ill or hospice bound? Do you think the 5,000-plus are going to stop smoking weed? Or will they revert back to the past of the street distribution network? How could someone with an education in law enforcement and politics be so obtuse and I mean imperceptive? Really. His is no solution. There will still be have and have-nots with marijuana. Nothing will change, except crime will go up.

West Side Index and Gustine Press-Standard, 13 Oct 2012 – GUSTINE – City leaders voted to make permanent a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, and may take further steps to curb the activities of those who hold cards authorizing their use of marijuana for medical purposes. The city has banned dispensaries the past two years through a temporary moratorium, in the hope that questions regarding the legality of the dispensaries and the city’s authority to regulate them would be answered by the courts during that time.

Willits News, 14 Oct 2012 – It’s up to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to decide Tuesday afternoon whether the operational permit for a Myrtletown medical marijuana dispensary should be revoked. The board will also discuss an annual report on the general plan update, three projects recommended for Headwaters Fund grants and two appointments to the newly formed Greater Eureka Area Municipal Advisory Committee.

Seattle Times, 14 Oct 2012 – Big-Time Operators Cratering Prices Old Outdoor Growers Feel Loss of Community LAYTONVILLE, Mendocino County – In the mountains of Mendocino County, a middleaged couple stroll into the cool morning air to plant the year’s crop. Andrew grabs a shovel and begins to dig up rich black garden beds while Anna waters the seedlings, beginning a hallowed annual ritual here in marijuana’s Emerald Triangle.