AltWeeklies Wire
Smack Time: Is There Really a New Heroin Epidemic?new
A spate of recent media reports have claimed that America -- and especially the New York metro area -- is suffering from a terrifying new heroin epidemic. Curious, I decided to revisit a world that had once held me in its clutches for so long. This time around, I brought along a notebook and a clear head.
New York Press |
Matt Harvey |
10-22-2009 |
Drugs
How Today's Pot Debate is Like the Fall of Prohibitionnew
Law-enforcement maverick Norm Stamper noted "striking" parallels between Prohibition of a bygone era and today's drug debate. "Major difference? It took us only 13 years to end the former" over "essentially identical" reasons: violence, overdose deaths on bad "bathtub gin," public health and revenue.
San Diego CityBeat |
John R. Lamb |
10-07-2009 |
Drugs
A Year Late, L.A. Tries to Uninvite its Unvetted Pot Shopsnew
The Los Angeles City Council now faces one of its potentially most expensive legal battles ever, a war over medical pot that could draw in shady drug dealers, serious medical-marijuana activists, gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown -- and even U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
L.A. Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
09-25-2009 |
Drugs
Ganjapreneurs Are Cashing in on Colorado's Booming Medical Pot Businessnew
To meet an increased demand, at least seventy new Colorado dispensaries have opened, forty in the metro area alone. Many of these are operated by what insiders are calling a "second wave" of ganjapreneurs -- savvy, experienced businesspeople and professionals.
Success at Colorado Springs Medical Marajuana Dispensariesnew
"We have, I think, something like 13 [medical marijuana] dispensaries in Colorado Springs -- in one of the most conservative cities in the country."
Colorado Springs Independent |
J. Adrian Stanley |
09-03-2009 |
Drugs
Altered State: Legalization, Cannabis Clubs and California's Marijuana Sea Changenew
Legalization and pot clubs in California grow increasingly popular, but law enforcement and government officials still can't think outside of the box.
Sacramento News & Review |
Nick Miller |
08-27-2009 |
Drugs
Cancer: A New Front in the War Against Pot?new
A California panel concludes that cannabis causes cancer. But the research is still young, the industry seems undeterred and pro-legalization advocates don't seem fazed by the ruling or its potential consequences -- which they contend will not deter marijuana usage.
East Bay Express |
Paula Lehman |
08-26-2009 |
Drugs
Smokey Dare: Maybe it's Time to Regulate Marijuana Like Cigarettesnew
Not many supporters of regulated marijuana have undertaken the work completed recently by ProtectYouth.org, which has spent the past year or so compiling reams of government and law enforcement data to support a fairly straightforward, reasonable case.
Dallas Observer |
Patrick Williams |
08-24-2009 |
Drugs
Marijuana Decriminalization Moves Forward on Several Fronts in Californianew
Reform advocates are making an intriguing argument: if state or local governments legalize and tax even a fraction of marijuana sales, the state could see billions of dollars in new annual revenue and reduced enforcement costs.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Sarah Phelan |
08-19-2009 |
Drugs
How Federal Restrictions Created Colorado's Medical Marijuana Industrynew
The friction between federal and state law has created a booming industry in Colorado, with enterprising men and women stepping in to provide services physicians can't. The rest of the state may be in a recession, but Colorado's medical marijuana industry is thriving.
Boulder Weekly |
David Accomazzo |
08-17-2009 |
Drugs
Colorado School District Considers Drug Testing Studentsnew
Parents might have a tough time dealing with estimates of rampant drug use in our high schools, but they also need to know that the solutions start at home.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Kirksten Akens |
08-13-2009 |
Drugs
Will Medical Marijuana Come to Pennsylvania?new
Here in Pennsylvania, my friend Barry the Pot-Dealing Samaritan is risking his freedom to provide a sick person with the medicine he needs to fight cancer. Prison time. Fines. A criminal record that would follow him for his entire life.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Brendan Skwire |
08-10-2009 |
Drugs
Cannabizness: New Mexico's Medical Marijuana Industry is About to Bloomnew
Want to break into the marijuana business? You too can learn how to grow it, cook it, distribute it and, best of all, it's 100 percent legal. If Canntechs were to advertise on late-night television, that might be the pitch.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
07-24-2009 |
Drugs
L.A.'s Yawning Loophole for Pot Dispensaries Spawns a Woodstock Economynew
In 2005, every city in California was busy adopting ordinances to allow for medical-marijuana storefronts while keeping out the bad actors and illegal peddlers. But the Los Angeles City Council couldn't get it done.
L.A. Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
07-17-2009 |
Drugs
Louisville's War on Drugs Is a Never-Ending Storynew
With the help of federal dollars, Louisville wages a war on drugs. But is this fight futile?
LEO Weekly |
Jonathan Meador |
07-10-2009 |
Drugs
