For 15 years, medical marijuana dispensary owners in California have struggled to find their legal footing amid federal, state and local rulings.
Lynette Shaw is the owner of Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Since 1997, she said, she has worked with the town of Fairfax to develop rules for the dispensary, which town officials credit for helping to reduce street-corner marijuana dealers.
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Using the World Series as their stage, Senate leaders and health officials are calling on Major League Baseball to get tough on tobacco.
Dr. Cynthia Simmons, Arlington’s public health authority, and Pamela Walker, her counterpart in St. Louis, Mo., are asking their respective hometown baseball players to refrain from using smokeless tobacco throughout the Series, because kids are watching. Ream more »
An undercover investigation has exposed the widespread sale of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes at shops in East Sussex. Counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes are being sold in High Street shops in Sussex, a BBC investigation has found. Covert filming uncovered the illegal trade in four stores in Hastings in East Sussex. The Tobacco Retailers Alliance (TRA) said counterfeit cigarettes put the health of smokers at a greater risk because they did not meet UK standards.
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ABC enforcement agents have begun confiscating synthetic marijuana from stores in East Alabama, Capt. Hal Taylor of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s Montgomery office says.
The confiscations are the result of Gov. Robert Bentley signing an executive order last week criminalizing the product, which goes by the names “spice” or “K2.”
Taylor said store owners have until Oct. 24 to remove the product without facing criminal charges.
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The Nottawasaga OPP executed a search warrant for a drug investigation in a residence on North Street in Angus on Oct. 13.
During the course of the investigation, police seized a quantity of marijuana, 27,680 illegal cigarettes, oxycocet pills and cash. A 73-year-old Essa Township resident has been charged with possession of a controlled substance (marijuana) for the purpose of trafficking, and possess a controlled substance (oxycocet) under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. Ream more »
Teens: Cigarette smoking may be declining among the general population, but news from the American Cancer Society says that teenage girls aren’t so quick to kick the habit. In fact, young women today are out-puffing their male classmates. Although the number of teen smokers has dropped in recent years, the decrease has not been equal among boys and girls. Four years ago, smoking by high school seniors of both sexes was about even. Twenty-eight percent of the seniors smoked. Now 16 percent of senior boys smoke while 20 percent of senior girls light up. Ream more »
The reply to a recent RTI filed by NGO Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) has brought to fore the large share of investments made by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in tobacco companies such as Indian Tobacco Company (ITC), VST Industries and Dharampal Satyapal Ltd (DS Ltd).
As per the reply, LIC held 99,58,91,658 equity shares in ITC as of March 31, 2011, which has almost doubled from 51,11,04,115 shares in March 2009. The current book value of these shares is around Rs 3,500 crore.
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Brookline’s selectmen have thrown their weight behind a resolution that would ban tobacco sales at schools and pharmacies.
At their Tuesday evening meeting, the board unanimously voted for the article, which Town Meeting member Tommy Vitolo is bringing to the Special Town Meeting in November. The article was one of several the selectmen considered at the meeting. Ream more »
Many state governments are struggling to make ends meet, and many are laying off cops and teachers.
CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that, as a result, some states are losing billions of dollars to smugglers in an illegal trade that can be more profitable than drug dealing.
On Interstate 95, at the Virginia-Maryland border, CBS News observed police closing in on a suspected smuggler. He was not running drugs, but something even more profitable.
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Drivers who test positive for marijuana or report driving within three hours of marijuana use are more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in crashes, Columbia University researchers find.
The researchers also found evidence that people who smoke dope more often, or who have higher concentrations of its compounds in their blood, face higher crash risks.
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