cannabisnews.com: Officials Say MMJ Used As Cover For Pot Ring function share_this(num) { tit=encodeURIComponent('Officials Say MMJ Used As Cover For Pot Ring'); url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/26/thread26247.shtml'); site = new Array(5); site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit; site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit; site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit; window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500'); return false; } Officials Say MMJ Used As Cover For Pot Ring Posted by CN Staff on January 07, 2011 at 15:26:40 PT News Story Source: Huffington Post CO -- The Colorado Attorney General's office and the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force have arrested 9 people for allegedly selling pot in the Northern Front Range. Authorities are accusing the group of using state medical marijuana rules as a cover for their illicit operation.The suspects are currently in custody, accused of illegally cultivating marijuana in Erie, Fort Collins, Longmont, and Westminster, and selling it throughout Colorado and New Mexico. KDVR reports that police seized 110 pounds of processed pot. The Denver Post reports that the organization kept binders of medical marijuana patient records to make themselves look like legal medical-marijuana caregivers.In a statement, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers--a staunch opponent of of the Medical Marijuana Industry--should be taken as an example of the risks associated with the medical cannabis industry."This case, while disturbing, should come as no surprise to Coloradans who have been concerned that there is a nexus between Colorado's booming medical marijuana industry and illegal distribution of the drug... This case counters the contention among marijuana advocates and some public officials that a regulated medical marijuana system will undercut the illicit market for marijuana."Source: Huffington Post (NY)Published: January 7, 2011Copyright: 2011 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/mAr236NcCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on January 09, 2011 at 18:27:33 PT If someone would give me a pot ring.... I might get married again! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on January 09, 2011 at 18:25:33 PT I want a like button for CNews. So, I can easily encourage runruff to keep making posts about pot rings and such. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by runruff on January 08, 2011 at 11:40:45 PT Pot ring? I use Bon Ami, it is bio friendly and does not score my pots!When I lived out in the wilderness I used old mans beard, a tree moss, for cleaning my pots. It also makes the best toilet paper. You have to moisten it first otherwise it scratches a little.Indian soap plant is good for all kind of washing. It works very well on the body with good lather and smell. You can pick it and dry it for later which is very handy.I would seem officials do not know much about pot rings? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Garry Minor on January 08, 2011 at 05:21:26 PT Newt Gingrich? Washington PostPrison reform: A smart way for states to save money and lives By Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan Friday, January 7, 2011; With nearly all 50 states facing budget deficits, it's time to end business as usual in state capitols and for legislators to think and act with courage and creativity.We urge conservative legislators to lead the way in addressing an issue often considered off-limits to reform: prisons. Several states have recently shown that they can save on costs without compromising public safety by intelligently reducing their prison populations.We joined with other conservative leaders last month to announce the Right on Crime Campaign, a national movement urging states to make sensible and proven reforms to our criminal justice system - policies that will cut prison costs while keeping the public safe. Among the prominent signatories are Reagan administration attorney general Ed Meese, former drug czar Asa Hutchinson, David Keene of the American Conservative Union, John Dilulio of the University of Pennsylvania, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Richard Viguerie of ConservativeHQ.com. We all agree that we can keep the public safe while spending fewer tax dollars if we spend them more effectively.The Right on Crime Campaign represents a seismic shift in the legislative landscape. And it opens the way for a common-sense left-right agreement on an issue that has kept the parties apart for decades.There is an urgent need to address the astronomical growth in the prison population, with its huge costs in dollars and lost human potential. We spent $68 billion in 2010 on corrections - 300 percent more than 25 years ago. The prison population is growing 13 times faster than the general population. These facts should trouble every American.Our prisons might be worth the current cost if the recidivism rate were not so high, but, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, half of the prisoners released this year are expected to be back in prison within three years. If our prison policies are failing half of the time, and we know that there are more humane, effective alternatives, it is time to fundamentally rethink how we treat and rehabilitate our prisoners.We can no longer afford business as usual with prisons. The criminal justice system is broken, and conservatives must lead the way in fixing it.Several states have shown that it is possible to cut costs while keeping the public safe. Consider events in Texas, which is known to be tough on crime. Conservative Republicans joined with Democrats in adopting incentive-based funding to strengthen the state's probation system in 2005. Then in 2007, they decided against building more prisons and instead opted to enhance proven community corrections approaches such as drug courts. The reforms are forecast to save $2 billion in prison costs over five years.The Lone Star State has already redirected much of the money saved into community treatment for the mentally ill and low-level drug addicts. Not only have these reforms reduced Texas's prison population - helping to close the state budget gap - but for the first time there is no waiting list for drug treatment in the state. And crime has dropped 10 percent from 2004, the year before the reforms, through 2009, according to the latest figures available, reaching its lowest annual rate since 1973.Last year we both endorsed corrections reforms in South Carolina that will reserve costly prison beds for dangerous criminals while punishing low-risk offenders through lower-cost community supervision. The legislation was a bipartisan effort with strong support from liberals, conservatives, law enforcement, the judges and reform advocates. The state is expected to save $175 million in prison construction this year and $60 million in operating costs over the next several years. snipped [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on January 07, 2011 at 20:50:25 PT some crime this is no different than the occasional abuses that happen with prescription drugs.How did OxyContin get so common that it became known as "hillbilly heroin"? A lot of "rings" like this one. Including factories that must be sending almost as many crates out the back door as through the front door.the difference with cannabis is that we could stamp all this out by repealing prohibition. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Hope on January 07, 2011 at 17:40:51 PT *sigh* Wouldn't it be nice if this all went smoothly and easily? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on January 07, 2011 at 15:38:23 PT Denver Post US CO: Officials: Drug ring used medical-marijuana laws as cover Webpage: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17035804 Pubdate: 7 Jan. 2011 Source: Denver Post (CO) [ Post Comment ] Post Comment