Marijuana Blog

In 2011, the ATF issued a memo that declared that it is illegal for anyone with a medical-marijuana card to possess a gun or ammunition.

 

Monday I came across a U.S. Sentencing Commission report that looked at  federal offenders serving sentence enhancements for committing a crime with a gun present: 65 percent served five years for having a gun while committing a federal crime, 23 percent served seven years for brandishing a gun, and nine percent served ten years for firing a gun or carrying assault weapons or other proscribed firearms. It’s possible that in some of those 65 percent of cases, the guns weren’t part of the crime, but the crime was owning a gun while possessing a controlled substance. Which brought to mind the 55-year sentence meted out to Weldon Angelos, which the sentencing judge himself called “unjust, cruel, and even irrational.” 

 

The message for Californians who use medical marijuana should be pretty clear. The federal government may go after you for using marijuana, and the penalty can be harsh if you possess both legal (in California) medical marijuana and a lawfully-owned gun.

 

Fortunately, there is a mechanism for mercy. Sens. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are working together on legislation to grant federal judges more judicial discretion under the federal mandatory minimum sentencing system. 

 

Source: http://blog.sfgate.com

Montel Williams joined HuffPost Live host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin Tuesday and spoke out in favor of medical marijuana.

 

"[Marijuana] is just like any other plant-based medicine on this planet," Williams, who is battling Multiple Sclerosis, said. The former talk show host called on the government and pharmaceutical companies to invest in research so that patients like him could have a "quality medication" that isn't tainted by chemicals.

 

"I want a pharmaceutical company to step up to the plate and do what's right," he said.

 

Watch the Video HERE

TACOMA, Wash. — John Connelly leaned forward on his barstool, set his lips against a clear glass pipe and inhaled a white cloud of marijuana vapor.

 

A handful of people milled around him. Three young women stood behind the bar, ready to assist with the preparation of the bongs, as the strains of a blues band playing downstairs sounded faintly off the exposed brick walls.

 

"It feels so comfortable in here," said Connelly, 33. "It's just a great social aspect."

 

Welcome to the Stonegate – puns welcome. It's one of a tiny number of bars, cafes and private clubs catering to the stoner class in Washington and Colorado since voters last fall made them the first states to legalize marijuana for adults over 21.

 

Both states bar the public use of marijuana – which typically would include bars and restaurants – and most bars are steering clear of allowing pot use at least until officials come up with rules for the new weed industry.

 

But a few have been testing the boundaries of what's allowed in hopes of drumming up business and making a political statement.

 

"I've been running a bar a few years now, and people would always go outside around the corner, into the shadows, to smoke up," said Jeff Call, the Stonegate's owner. "People shouldn't have to hide. There's no rules yet, but I'm trying to do this thoughtfully and responsibly."

 

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com