Tahoe Daily Tribune, 19 Jul 2012 – A second medical marijuana dispensary in South Lake Tahoe is facing closure after having its operating permit revoked last week. The city revoked Patient to Patient Collective’s dispensary permit July 11 after making several unsuccessful attempts to get the medical marijuana dispensary to properly install a fire safety wall, Interim City Manager Nancy Kerry said Tuesday.

Merced Sun-Star, 18 Jul 2012 – Pacific fishers, the weasel-like critters that live in California forestlands, have become the latest victim of the U.S. pot war. Over a five-year period, UC Davis researchers found for the first time that 80 percent of dead fishers recovered in remote stretches of the Sierra Nevada had high concentrations of a toxic chemical used by professional pesticide applicators to kill rats. The dead fishers were found between mid-April and mid-May, the season when marijuana plants are just beginning to sprout the tender shoots that small rodents nibble on.

Grunion Gazette, 08 Jun 2011 – Medical marijuana issues continue to simmer in the background, as the city conducts its day-to-day business – but this week could bring some clarity to how the city is dealing with collectives operating without a permit. During the past year, the City Council has passed restrictions on medical marijuana collectives, requiring that they be permitted by the city and that they operate at particular distances from schools, parks and each other. After more than two months of silence, the council both conducted a closed session Tuesday about legal issues regarding cooperatives and attempted to clarify the definition of parks in relation to limitations on cooperative locations with an ordinance change.

Daily Forty-Niner, 25 Oct 2010 – If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults. The only clear winners are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who have built careers confusing the drug war’s collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant.

The Guardian, 25 Oct 2010 – Hobby Growers, Medics and State Will See a Golden Harvest If State Votes to Legitimise Drug in US Midterm Elections Syreeta Lux has a vision for her marijuana plants if voters decide to legalise the drug next week. She could market her product as a premium brand heirloom strains, raised pesticide-free, each bud cultivated with tender care. She might turn her land, located in woods so dense they block out sight of the nearby Pacific Ocean, into an upmarket tourist spot, like the Napa Valley vineyards. Maybe she’d offer her seeds to science.

Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct 2010 – MANY EFFECTS OF A POT LAW ARE UNKNOWN Proposition 19 Raises a Lot of Questions About Logistics, Legality and Tax Revenues. Vote yes on Proposition 19, the measure to legalize marijuana, and the unofficial state weed and largest cash crop will be controlled like alcohol, police will focus on serious crimes and California will get billions of dollars in new taxes. That’s the pitch proponents make.

Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct 2010 – Re "The feds say no way," Editorial, Oct. 20 The Times appears to be unfamiliar with the strong legal and historical precedents to Proposition 19. While national prohibition was the law of the land (1920-33), New York, Massachusetts, California and 10 other states repealed or modified their alcohol prohibition laws, thus ceding the burden and expense of enforcement to federal authorities.

AlterNet, 25 Oct 2010 – California’s Prop 19 will be the most talked-about ballot initiative in the November election. This measure would make lawful the possession and sharing of one ounce of marijuana outside the home and allow for personal cultivation of a small marijuana garden and possession of its harvest in the home. California cities and counties would be able to opt-in to commercial sales, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. Existing prohibitions against driving under the influence and working under the influence would be maintained and prohibitions against furnishing marijuana to minors would be strengthened. After almost 100 years of marijuana prohibition in California, marijuana is more popular and accepted than ever. Prohibition has clearly failed. Prop 19 gives us another choice, one that benefits not just those who enjoy the herb, but the entire state of California and ultimately, the nation and the world. Whether you are a regular marijuana user now, an occasional toker back in the day, or you’ve never touched the stuff, there are many compelling economic, social, public safety, and civil libertarian reasons to support its legalization. Here are nineteen reasons for six distinct groups of Californians to vote Yes on Prop 19:

Daily Forty-Niner, 25 Oct 2010 – I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Daily 49er’s Oct. 18 article, "The Time to Talk About Marijuana Has Finally Come," which included some progressive reasons to vote Yes on Proposition 19. Another important reason to end marijuana prohibition and extermination that doesn’t get mentioned is because it is biblically correct since Christ, the ecologician, indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page. The only biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it be accepted with thankfulness. It truly is time to end the devil law. God bless Prop. 19.

The Reporter, 24 Oct 2010 – According to a National Drug Abuse Institute survey called "Monitoring the Future" (2009): About 7 percent of eighth-graders, 16 percent of 10th-graders and 21 percent of 12th-graders had used marijuana in the month before the survey. These statistics constitute a 20 percent decrease in teen marijuana use from 2000 to 2007. This decline is often attributed to strong cautionary messages about the use of pot. However, the decline in teen marijuana use is now slowing because it is currently the most commonly used illegal drug. Could our teens be waiting for the big party that will accompany the legalization of pot?