MetaFilter posts tagged with California and marijuana

"But what will I wear in jail?"

zarq — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:28:50 -0800

The Gangster Princess of Beverly Hills. (Single page version) "Lee would go on to tell federal authorities a lot of things about herself: that she was a famous Korean pop star as well as the heiress to the Samsung electronics fortune; she was so emphatic on this last point that on police paperwork agents listed ‘heiress’ as her occupation. Back at home in L.A., Lee called herself the ‘Korean Paris Hilton’ and played the part of the spoiled socialite, with two Bentleys, a purse-size lap dog and, especially, her commanding, petulant personality that kept her posse of sycophants in check. It was as though Lisette Lee had studied some Beverly Hills heiress’s handbook: how to dress, how to behave, how to run hot and cold to keep people in her thrall – in short, how to be a modern celebrity. But all of that would begin to unravel – amid the crowd and confusion on the Columbus tarmac that June 2010 evening – once a drug-sniffing German shepherd padded over to the van and sat down, signaling a hit."
Lisette Lee was arrested by federal authorities in June 2010 after she and her associates tried to bring 500+ pounds of marijuana on a private jet from California to Ohio -- their fourteenth trafficking trip. The US Drug Enforcement Administration would ultimately estimate that in just eight months Lee's ring moved 7,000 pounds of weed and made $3 million in profits. Her response to the article, with the author's rebuttal.

Weed-Mart

Joe Beese — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:02:42 -0800

Two years ago, Mann says, he had never seen a pot plant. Today, he envisions weGrow becoming the "Wal-Mart of Weed", a vertically integrated chain of big-box stores perfectly positioned to cash in on California's booming marijuana industry as it moves from the shadows to the mainstream. In this "green rush" for semi-legal weed, Mann and his partner Derek Peterson, a 36-year-old investment banker, seek to be the modern equivalents of Levi Strauss and Samuel Brannan—the Gold Rush entrepreneurs who made a killing not from mining, but from selling pans, pickaxes, and victuals to the forty-niners.

The 411 on 420.

GrammarMoses — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 07:07:03 -0800

Check Out This Joint: How WeedMaps turned marijuana reviews into big business.

...And it was called Proposition 19

Taft — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:26:43 -0800

This November, California citizens will decide whether or not to legalize the possession, buying and selling of, and recreational use of marijuana. Early polls concerning proposition 19, also known as the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010", reveal a slight majority for legalization, as well as an interesting case of status quo bias. (Previously)

Read the initiative in full.
Proposition 19's direct clash with federal law sparks a debate about federal involvement.
The official Facebook group has exceeded 130,000 fans.

The Audacity of Dope

Chinese Jet Pilot — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:26:03 -0800

With its $41 billion deficit spiraling out of control and federal judges ordering its prisoners released to relieve overcrowding, can legal marijuana save California?

Bad medicine

kid ichorous — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:46:02 -0800

The owner of a California medical marijuana dispensary has been found guilty of violating federal drug laws. [LA Times] FTA: ...jurors had a clear sense that Lynch was not an ordinary street-corner drug dealer, but the fact that he was dispensing medical marijuana didn't matter under federal law. [...] "It was a tough decision for all of us because the state law and the federal law are at odds." Detailed coverage of the trial by Reason TV. Federal raids on California's medical dispensaries were recently featured on MeFi.

Ed and the magical plant.

skallas — Thu, 05 Jun 2003 03:44:25 -0800

Medical marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal sentenced to one day in prison. Very interesting. Is Ed too high profile to be given an average sentence, unlike other non-violent drug offenders? Is this damage control for a very controversial case involving tightly-controlled information for jurors and state vs. federal rights? Regardless, Ed continues the fight and is appealing his conviction and is also asking for Judge Breyer to step down. Previous mefi discussion here.

The Cannabis Civil War

BirdD0g — Mon, 27 Jan 2003 16:17:27 -0800

Ed Rosenthal - medical marijuana activist and one of the world's leading experts in cannabis cultivation - is currently facing a mandatory 20 year-to-life sentence in California court for operating a city grow-op. Not only was he obeying state law, but the City of Oakland requested his help. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer has already thrown out all possible defenses of this kind and is currently pursuing a gag order to stifle media and public outrage.
Forget, for a moment, that 3 out of 4 Americans are in favor of legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes. What is the purpose of voter initiatives and statewide legislation if the federal government and judicial system are willing to completely ignore the decisions of state and local government?

The war on drugs claims forest as casualty.

drezdn — Sat, 17 Aug 2002 19:39:10 -0800

The war on drugs claims forest as casualty. A forest fire that burned out of control for almost two weeks and devastated over 50,000 acres near San Diego was caused by a helicopter looking for pot farms, a California Department of Forestry investigation has concluded. [link via disinfo]

Mendocino County, CA legalizes growth of marijuana for personal use.

Mr. skullhead — Wed, 08 Nov 2000 11:37:32 -0800

Mendocino County, CA legalizes growth of marijuana for personal use.

Hooray! This is a step in the right direction.