DEA resumes threats against landlords renting to dispensaries…. Cannabis college recognized by Dept. of Higher Ed…. Softer possession legislation passes CA Senate…. and more!
Seattle Times // The Drug Enforcement Administration notified eleven cannabis dispensaries in and around Seattle this week that they could be shut down because they’re too close to prohibited areas such as parks and schools.
SFGate // Closer to home, dispensaries in San Jose received the same notices last Friday: landlords must make their tenants stop selling cannabis or face prison terms and potential loss of their property.
And seven cannabis outlets in San Francisco are being investigated by the DEA.
Denver Post // Oaksterdam University is a pioneer in training workers in various aspects of the cannabis industry, but Clover Leaf University in Denver seems to be the first to have received accreditation from a state Dept. of Higher Education.
Sen. Mark Leno // Judges could decide whether drug possession in “low-level, non-violent” cases should be prosecuted as felonies or misdemeanors if legislation passed today by the California State Senate moves successfully through the State Assembly. Senator Mark Leno, who represents San Francisco, authored the measure, SB 649.
Fox News // Eighty five percent of those questioned in a recent poll approve of medical marijuana. Fox News conducted the poll in February and released the results this week.
East Bay Express // The racial inequality in cannabis arrests in California goes back over a century, according to a paper published in the academic journal, Race, Gender and Class. East Bay Express reporter David Downs summarizes the findings, which claim judges “should and could” stop the War on Drugs because of institutional racism.
Alt.Radio // Monday’s “Alternative Radio” program on KALW was a lecture by Martin Lee about CBD and medical cannabis in general. If you missed it, I summarized his recent Commonwealth Club presentation on the topic here.
ASA // The California Medical Cannabis Policy Summit & Lobby Day is scheduled this weekend. But it’s not a day, it’s all weekend, according to this announcement on the Americans for Safe Access website.
Huffington Post // Maybe you’ve heard of real estate porn. It’s possible that magazines featuring pot, such as High Times, could be classified as pot porn in Colorado.
Laughing Squid // Cannabis poster boy Willie Nelson turned 80 Tuesday. Could he replace Ian McKellen as Gandalf in “The Hobbit 2?” Here’s Willie’s spoof audition reel. “If the smoke is white, we have a new Gandalf.”