cannabisnews.com: Anti-Measure B Argument Heard Anti-Measure B Argument Heard Posted by CN Staff on April 12, 2008 at 17:57:57 PT By Ben Brown, The Daily Journal Source: Ukiah Daily Journal California -- Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke will take under advisement arguments presented in court Friday that, if successful, could remove Measure B from the June ballot.The lawsuit, filed by Paula Laguna and George Hanamoto, asked for a writ to stop Measure B from being put on the ballot, arguing that it usurps the budgetary authority of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and that it violates SB 420, which set minimum medical marijuana limits in the state. Measure B, which was approved for the ballot by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in January, would repeal Measure G and set medical marijuana limits in Mendocino County at the state limits of six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of dried marijuana.Measure G, which was passed by a majority of Mendocino County voters in 2000, instructed law enforcement to make the prosecution of marijuana gardens of 25 plants or fewer the lowest possible priority.David Nick, the attorney representing Hanamoto, said the Board of Supervisors adopted Measure G as an ordinance late last year, making it something that cannot be repealed by the voters without usurping the board's budgetary authority. Nick said voters have the right to repeal an initiative, but not an ordinance."This measure is unlawful on its face," Nick said.Deputy County Counsel Frank Zotter said the Board of Supervisors decision to adopt Measure G as an ordinance was administrative."The board does not feel its authority was usurped; they put it on the ballot themselves," Zotter said.Nick also argued that Health and Safety Code 11362.77, which set the six-plant limit, did not allow the county to set medical marijuana plant limits at the same level as state limits, only at a higher limit. Nick also said Measure B duplicates state law, which is illegal and could cause later problems."This measure is going to receive a different interpretation by the courts in the future," Nick said.Zotter said 11362.77 did not bar counties from setting medical marijuana limits equal to the state limits, only less than.The same health and safety code also says that a medical marijuana patient can grow more than that with a doctor's note, which Zotter said he believes is incorporated in Measure B.Nick said, even if the language about plant limits was stripped out of Measure B, he would still oppose it because the repeal of Measure G would have several policy and budgetary consequences that Measure B does not address.Behnke said he would take the arguments under advisement but said he would likely not make a decision until after the April 18 hearing of Green Party member Richard Johnson's suit, which aims to stop the county from printing the June 3 ballots.Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)Author: Ben Brown, The Daily JournalPublished: April 12, 2008Copyright: 2008 Ukiah Daily JournalContact: udjrb pacific.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Related Articles:Council Unanimously Endorses Measure Bhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23821.shtmlAllman Not Taking Stand on Measure Bhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23764.shtmlMeasure B Proponents, Opponents Organizinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23756.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #19 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 21:30:54 PT The GCW You're welcome. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by The GCW on April 13, 2008 at 21:08:16 PT FoM, Thanks - CBS, no thanks. The DEA says when it comes down to it, statistics show marijuana is the most widely abused drug in Colorado. Drug???? -0- An innocent child can see it's a plant. -0-Stop allowing prohibitionists to refer to the SUPERplant as DRUG.-0-If all We had was "lax" booze laws, We'd have organized crime organizing booze sales.-0-I'd like to see this DEA analogy hit newspapers, now.-0-Sweetin, the DEA special agent in charge of Colorado.-0-The DEA special agent in charge of Colorado IS AN IMPORTANT FACET OF ORGANIZED CRIME.The DEA special agent in charge of Colorado - Sweetin - has similarities to a crime boss.-0-I can't play hockey with out an opposing team.-0-Many people have been thinking prohibition creates an unregulated market, including Myself.-0-I'm starting to realize prohibition creates a form of regulated market that is being acheived.-0-It's like Al Capone found a way to perpetuate His gold mine.And don't forget, Colorado is a mining state.-0-The DEA and the organ(ized) crime both score.-0-The Stanley Cup playoffs are going on. They can't even schedule and sell additional series match-up tickets to games till after the present match up. Either the Colorado Avalanche or the Minnesota Wild will get to sell more tickets and rake in more bucks. -The DEA wants to keep raking in the bucks... but to do so requires the game must go on.-0-We can eliminate all the bad organized crime guys and they will be quickly replaced so there isn't a win coming from that direction. -0- The way to win is eliminate Sweetin and all the thugs from the government side of the game; THEN WE ALL WIN. Game over. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by Celaya on April 13, 2008 at 19:51:41 PT Here's The Truth, America Excuse me if this has already been posted, but Rick Steve's new video, "Marijuana: It's Time For A Conversation," is now on-line.http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=1156862632967780733Check this out. It's well-made for middle-America. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 16:56:24 PT News Article from The Associated Press DEA: Lax Colo. Laws Welcome More Organized CrimeApril 13, 2008DENVER (AP) -- A Drug Enforcement Administration agent says softer laws on drugs mean an increase in organized crime in Colorado. The DEA says it's a direct result of changes in Colorado's drug laws. Organized crime groups and the drugs they deal are moving into Colorado at a quicker rate. "I think they believe it's a good market and I think the case could be made that it is a good market," said Jeffrey Sweetin, the DEA special agent in charge of Colorado. Sweetin said it's in part, because of Denver's law making marijuana legal in small amounts and a state-wide initiative to legalize medical marijuana. "People here think they're so far from the border, they're insulated from it," he said. "They're not insulated from it." Colorado has long been an ideal location for drug dealers. "We're really the hub of the western interstate system." Sweetin said. "If you couple that also with we're an airline hub, a major airline hub, we're a bus hub, we're a train hub; it's really the perfect location to trans-ship from." DEA agents have learned over the years that what happens in Colorado is just a small part of the problem. "We realize that these cases are not Colorado cases," Sweetin said. "Just because the dope's here, the bad guys are here, there are bosses in Mexico." Since Sept. 11, law enforcers across the country and around the world have re-focused their drug busting efforts. They now work closely together to fight crime, but working with so many different agencies presents its own challenges. "The challenge that we have now, we uncover a case and it may be tied into 12 other cities," Sweetin said. "The difficulty is knowing when to start arresting people. Because what we find as we dig away is we find these are bigger organizations than when we started." Sweetin said instead of following the drugs, they now follow the money, because money goes back to leadership. The leaders are who they are now taking down, no matter where in the world they are. "I think the best thing we can do is keep doing what we're doing," he said. Sweetin said the number of drug leaders in the world has never been more than about 50. A small number when the large amount of drugs that's produced is considered. The DEA says when it comes down to it, statistics show marijuana is the most widely abused drug in Colorado. Copyright: 2008 The Associated Presshttp://cbs4denver.com/crime/drugs.organized.crime.2.698832.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 16:03:47 PT mydnytmover I hope that we see change soon. I have been waiting for as long as I've been doing CNews to help get a good left leaning Democrat elected if possible. I never found a good one until now. I know nothing will change as long as Republicans call all the shots but finally they are fading away. Someday they will figure out where they went wrong but meantime we might move forward a lot quicker then we have in many years. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by mydnytmover on April 13, 2008 at 15:46:52 PT misspelled woops exciting [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by mydnytmover on April 13, 2008 at 15:44:01 PT FoM Your welcome, I've been watching cannabis news for some years now, is about time things are getting a little exiting [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 12:32:41 PT mydnytmover Thank you for the article. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by mydnytmover on April 13, 2008 at 12:20:56 PT: Marijuana can prevent cancer, not cause it Lanny Swerdlow • Special to The Desert Sun • April 12, 2008The Office of National Drug Control Policy has been spending millions of taxpayer dollars on advertisements and printed material declaring that marijuana causes cancer. The truth is just the opposite - marijuana can prevent cancer. Recent research has shown that the cannabinoids found in marijuana can not only halt the spread of cancer but can also kill cancer cells.A study conducted in 2005 by Dr. Donald Tashkin at the UCLA School of Medicine demonstrated that people who smoke marijuana are at less risk of developing lung cancer than tobacco smokers. The study of 2,200 people in Los Angeles found that even heavy marijuana smokers were no more likely to develop lung, head or neck cancer than non-users. In comparison, tobacco users' risk of cancer increases the more they smoke.Data in Dr. Tashkin's study suggest that people who smoke marijuana are less likely to develop lung cancer than people who do not smoke anything at all. Since marijuana smoke contains the same cancer-causing agents as tobacco and the only difference between the nonsmokers and the marijuana smokers was their use of cannabis, then it is not an unreasonable hypothesis that marijuana can prevent the development of cancer.In 2003, Dr. Manual Guzman at the Complutense University in Madrid Spain published a research paper entitled Cannabinoids: Potential Anticancer Agents. Dr. Guzman's research on the brains of laboratory rats found that the cannabinoids in cannabis inhibit tumor growth and are selective antitumor compounds, as they can kill tumor cells without affecting noncancerous cells.Investigators at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health reported in January 2008 that the administration of cannabinoids halts the spread of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lymphoma. The report noted that cannabis offer significant advantages over standard chemotherapy treatments because the cannabinoids in cannabis are both non-toxic and can uniquely target malignant cells while ignoring healthy ones.Is the evidence incontrovertible that cannabis can inhibit the spread of cancer, kill cancer cells and prevent the development of cancer?No it is not - but doctors are telling millions of people to spend billions of dollars and ingest all kinds of supplements on way less evidence than there is to support the anti-cancer properties of cannabis.When taking any kind of medicine or supplement, a person needs to decide if the claimed benefits of a product outweigh the risks. Many times the answer is no.Cannabis is not one of these products, as there has never been a single death attributed to cannabis more: http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/COLUMNS26/804120315/1026/news12 [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Hope on April 13, 2008 at 12:15:36 PT Comment 1 Sweet.Thanks, John. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 12:02:58 PT museman The way I look at this whole amazing time is it's time again to stand up against what has divided us for so long. People matter. Spirituality matters. Tolerance matters. Love matters. These good things don't ever get totally squashed because they can't be squashed.I agree no Hillary. We won't vote is she gets the nomination. We'll let it all go then and not have any hope for our young people's future. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by museman on April 13, 2008 at 11:56:14 PT FoM Here's my political stance;"Please NOT HILLARY!!"Obama gets it by default. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by museman on April 13, 2008 at 11:52:29 PT FoM "I see the culture of the 60s breaking out all over."Great ideas never die or fade away, the status quo just puts up a hell of a fight while they are becoming real. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 11:38:00 PT museman My interest in Senator Obama is because of the people who are on board with him. I see the culture of the 60s breaking out all over. That's why this campaign means so much to me. I got a call from a lady from Hawaii about Senator Obama last night. I am truly amazed at what is happening. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by museman on April 13, 2008 at 11:23:43 PT Fom: Old Hippie Great song. I liked it, thanks.However, the prediction of 'species extinction' in reference to a way of life still embraced not just by 'old hippies' but an entire new generation (who I have to admit look eerily alike to the appearance of our own youth) may be a bit wishful to the 'country-music' lifestyleReminds me of a time about 20 years ago, while I was attending a Rainbow Gathering, in town getting mail.There was this 50-something overweight balding red-neck who looked over at us and said with all the bluster and guffaw an American redneck is capable of; "Now there goes a dyin' breed."I am still laughing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 10:28:07 PT Old Hippie That's another good one. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on April 13, 2008 at 10:11:23 PT xcellent song, John If country was a little more like these guys play, I might listen more often ...another for your consideration?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05PBA_F23hg&feature=related [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 13, 2008 at 08:47:22 PT John Tyler That is a great song. I agree with it 100%! Have a Happy Sunday! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by John Tyler on April 13, 2008 at 08:10:24 PT OT but worth it Here is a song I heard part of the other day on the radio. I looked it up on Youtube. It is really a good song if you like that kind of tune. It is by the Bellamy Brothers. It came out in 1976. Give it a listen it will make you feel good. It’s just a click away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU9BPwcPaO4 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment