Seattle Police Officer Charged in Large Coast-to-Coast Pot-Smuggling Operation
Posted: May 9, 2017 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, U.S. News | Tags: Associated Press, Cannabis, Clinic, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeff Sessions, Michigan, pot, Preliminary hearing, Seattle, Smuggling, United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice, United States magistrate judge Leave a comment
Mike Carter reports: Veteran Seattle police Officer Alex Chapackdee is accused of helping his brother-in-law and others smuggle at least 100 kilograms of marijuana to the East Coast. In return, Chapackdee was paid $10,000 a month, charges allege.
Federal prosecutors will ask that a suspended Seattle police officer charged with being part of a large-scale East Coast marijuana smuggling ring be held in jail pending trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida set a detention hearing Friday for Alex Chapackdee, who faces a mandatory-minimum five-year federal prison sentence — and perhaps up to 40 years — for his role in allegedly transporting hundreds of pounds of marijuana from Washington to Baltimore then driving back with boxes of cash. The court also could impose a fine of up to $5 million if he’s found guilty.
Chapackdee, a veteran Seattle police officer, appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Seattle Monday afternoon along with three co-defendants named in a 15-page complaint unsealed Monday. He was arrested last Friday and suspended from duty without pay.
[Read the feds’ complaint against Le, Chapackdee, others (PDF)]
More than two dozens shocked friends and family members crowded Tsuchida’s courtroom during the brief hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Lombardi said the serious allegations and significant penalty prompted him to seek detention for all four defendants. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] The Pros and Cons of Marijuana Legalization
Posted: November 10, 2016 Filed under: Entertainment, Health and Social Issues, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Cannabis, Election 2016, Fortune (magazine), Legalized Marijuana, pot, video Leave a comment
Ohio Man Gets Too Stoned on Weed, Calls Police
Posted: October 6, 2015 Filed under: Health and Social Issues, Humor, Law & Justice | Tags: Cannabis, Doritos, emergency, Marijuana, Ohio, Police, pot, Stoned Leave a comment
He was surrounded by Doritos, Goldfish and cookies…(Read more)
Source: TIME
Increased Marijuana, Heroin Use Contribute to Highest Reported Illicit Drug Use in More Than a Decade
Posted: September 15, 2015 Filed under: Health and Social Issues | Tags: Addiction, Cannabis, Heroin, opiates, pot, treatment 3 Comments
CHEVY CHASE, MD – Findings from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released today, reveal the percentage of Americans aged 12 or older who used an illicit drug in 2014 was higher than in every year between 2002 and 2013, driven primarily by increases in marijuana use, sustained rates of nonmedical pain reliever use, and increases in heroin use.
“With now one in ten Americans reporting illicit drug use, it’s clear that we have much more to do to prevent drug use and treat the disease of addiction,” said Jeffrey Goldsmith, MD, President of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). “As more and more states legalize marijuana and the opioid epidemic rages on, we must prioritize evidence-based prevention for our youth and access to high-quality treatment for all who struggle with a substance use disorder.”
Screen capture from CBS News
Despite the overall increase in illicit drug use, illicit use among adolescents aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 appeared to stabilize, with increases mainly seen among adults older than 25. The rise in overall marijuana use may reflect the increase in use by adults aged 26 and older and, to a lesser extent, increases in use among young adults aged 18 to 25; the percentage of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who were current marijuana users was similar to the percentages in most years between 2003 and 2013. Similarly, the rise in heroin use may reflect increases in use primarily among adults older than 25.
Alternatively, the data revealed declines in adolescent alcohol, tobacco and nonmedical prescription drug use. The percent of adolescents aged 12 to 20 who were current alcohol users and the percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 who were binge or heavy alcohol users were lower in 2014 than in any year between 2002 and 2012. From 2002 to 2014, the percentage of adolescents who were past month tobacco users declined roughly by half, and percentage of young adults who were current users of a tobacco product in 2014 was lower than the percentages in 2002 to 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
National Review Cover: Kevin D. Williamson on ‘The Colorado Pot Experiment’
Posted: June 6, 2015 Filed under: Art & Culture, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, Think Tank | Tags: Cannabis, Colorado, design, Ian Tuttle, Illustration, Kevin D. Williamson, Legalized Marijuana, Magazines, Mark Helprin, National Review, NRO, pot, Twitter Leave a comment
[Read it here at National Review Online]
Colorado’s Pot Rhetoric Hits Capitol Hill
Posted: February 20, 2015 Filed under: Health and Social Issues, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Cannabis, Colorado, pot, Washington D.C. 1 Comment
New York Post: ‘Joint Chiefs’ Nov 11, 2014
Posted: November 11, 2014 Filed under: Breaking News, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: De Blasio, Law Enforcement, Marijuana, media, New York City, New York Post, pot, Tabloid Leave a comment
Weed in Seattle: Legal But Not Cheap
Posted: July 8, 2014 Filed under: Economics, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Cannabis, pot, Reefer, Seattle, Twitter, Washington, Weed 1 CommentWeed is now legal in Seattle, but it’s not cheap http://t.co/LEAZDOGZBF pic.twitter.com/RfFCC5flS7
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 8, 2014
Pot Vending Machine: What Could Go Wrong?
Posted: April 13, 2014 Filed under: Art & Culture, Health and Social Issues, Humor, U.S. News | Tags: Cannabis (drug), Colorado, Dispensary, HerbalColorado, Legalized Marijuana, Marijuana, pot, Twitter, Vending machine, Weed 1 CommentCheck out the official unveiling today @MontanasAvon! Thanks Liz for the pics ^_^ #zazzz pic.twitter.com/rp5FXAdtvG
— Herbal Elements (@HerbalColorado) April 12, 2014
via Twitter
Michelle Malkin: My Trip to the Pot Shop
Posted: March 26, 2014 Filed under: Health and Social Issues, U.S. News | Tags: Colorado, Dr. Ernest Conrad, Marijuana, Marisol Theraputics, Medical Marijuana, Michelle Malkin, pot, Weed 2 Comments
PUEBLO WEST, Colo. — Michelle Malkin writes: It’s 9 a.m. on a weekday, and I’m at the Marisol Therapeutics pot shop. This is serious business. Security is tight. ID checks are frequent. Merchandise is strictly regulated, labeled, wrapped and controlled. The store is clean, bright and safe. The staffers are courteous and professional. Customers of all ages are here.
“Our stash included 10 pre-rolled joints, a “vape pen” and two containers of cheddar cheese-flavored marijuana crackers (they were out of brownies). So far, just one cracker a day is yielding health benefits.”
There’s a middle-aged woman at the counter nearby who could be your school librarian. On the opposite end of the dispensary, a slender young soldier in a wheelchair with close-cropped hair, dressed in his fatigues, consults with a clerk. There’s a gregarious cowboy and an inquisitive pair of baby boomers looking at edibles. A dude in a hoodie walks in with his backpack.
And then there’s my husband and me.
Bummer: Colorado Pot Sales Less Than Expected
Posted: March 11, 2014 Filed under: Economics, Mediasphere | Tags: Cannabis, Colorado, Colorado General Assembly, Hemp, John Hickenlooper, pot, Reefer 3 Comments
Amid all the articles pimping the successful $2 million tax heist in Colorado, what’s often not mentioned is that this is less than the newly-minted state pot dealers claimed they’d pull in. Breitbart.com‘s William Bigelow offers this unwelcome measure of sobriety:
The bullish predictions about the revenue Colorado would accumulate from sales of recreational marijuana may have been quite premature. In February, Governor John Hickenlooper’s budget office estimated that recreational pot shop sales added to medicinal marijuana sales would approach $1 billion in the fiscal year beginning in July; the budget office suggested $134 million in tax and fee revenues entering state coffers.
But in January of 2014, Colorado only brought in $2 million from recreational pot shop sales, far short of what would lead to a successful prognosis from Hickenlooper’s budget office.
Money Approved For More Medical Pot
Posted: February 7, 2014 Filed under: Health and Social Issues, U.S. News | Tags: Cannabis, Carson City Nevada, Medical cannabis, Medical Marijuana, pot, Stoner, Weed 1 Comment
Tyler Williams peruses samples on the first day of recreational pot sales in Colorado. (Getty Images)
More staff has been authorized to implement Nevada’s new medical marijuana law
A panel of state lawmakers Thursday approved $365,000 to hire five administrators who will oversee applications and inspectors for pot growers, processors and dispensaries.
Finally: A Seahawks Logo Marijuana Pipe
Posted: January 26, 2014 Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment, Humor, Mediasphere, The Butcher's Notebook | Tags: Broncos, Denver, Denver Broncos, Marijuana, National Football League, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, NFL, NORML, pot, Seahawks, Seattle, Seattle Seahawks, Smoking, Super Oobie Doobie Bowl, Superbowl, Weed Leave a comment
Exclusive: Seen in tobacco store in Seattle, January 25, 2014
Sign of the times. High times.
[See Denver-Seattle ‘Super Oobie Doobie Bowl’]
And what to go better with this item than a Zippo NFL Seattle Seahawks Chrome Pocket Lighter ?
The weekend’s playoff football victories by the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks have created a teachable moment about the two leading marijuana law reform states in America, as well as a windfall for those who love dumb puns.
“Weed Bowl”, “Salad Bowl”, “420 Bowl”, “Chronic Bowl”, weed heads can’t get enough of the delicious matchup.
[VIDEO] Curiously, CNN Reporter Appears High on Weed During Segment on What? Where Were We? Oh yeah. Marijuana
Posted: January 15, 2014 Filed under: Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Anderson Cooper, Cannabis, CNN, Colorado, Contact high, Gawker, Health, Kaye, Marijuana, pot, Randi Kaye 2 CommentsFrom Hot Air: Allahpundit again…
Via Gawker, if you can’t watch the whole thing, skip to 4:00 to see why last night Anderson Cooper called this the greatest live hit the show’s ever done. My favorite moment is that big, bright, glassy-eyed smile at 5:15. (Second-favorite: The thoughtful explanation of the difference between sativa and indica.) The question here isn’t whether she’s high — the symptoms she describes are familiar even to non-users (losing her train of thought, finding things unusually funny, etc) — but whether she could have gotten this giggly from a contact high, i.e. from second-hand smoke without taking a hit herself. Answer: Yes, if she was around lots and lots of it. A single joint won’t do much to a bystander; 16 joints might. According to Kaye, she was riding around in the close confines of a limo all day with veteran potheads smoking blunts as big as cannons. Contact-high verdict: Plausible.
