So I got to it a little late.
"The art, and science, behind growing medical marijuana; R.I. growers can attest to perils of new market" by Kay Lazar, Globe Staff March 02, 2015
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — A tiny spider mite is all it could take to cripple Seth Bock’s business.
Bock grows marijuana, legally, for a living, and the peril presented by just one small insect illustrates how difficult it can be to establish a thriving dispensary.
His is one of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island, and his experience provides vital lessons for companies in Massachusetts that have won licenses to grow and sell marijuana. The first is expected to open in April.
For marijuana dispensaries, it’s never as easy as sticking a few seeds in the ground and watching the plants, and the profits, grow. “There are so many moving parts to this business,” Bock said.
The 12 companies that survived a withering licensing process in Massachusetts will need nearly hermetically sealed buildings to grow marijuana plants. The endeavor demands painstaking attention to heat, ventilation, and humidity levels in a sprawling cultivation building. Failing to do that can result in crop-destroying mold and mildew.
There also must be unwavering vigilance for pests, especially the dreaded spider mite, which can go from being undetectable to an infestation inside a week....
There are all sorts of problems with this so might as well just junk the whole thing.
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You know, I think I'll just pass, thanks.
"Sheriffs from Colorado, elsewhere sue state over legal pot" by Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press March 05, 2015
DENVER — Ten sheriffs from three different states sued Colorado Thursday for decriminalizing marijuana — joining a handful of recent legal challenges urging courts to strike down the state’s legalization of recreational pot.
The sheriffs from Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska say that Colorado’s 2012 marijuana legalization vote violates federal law.
‘‘A state may not establish its own policy that is directly counter to federal policy against trafficking in controlled substance,’’ the sheriffs argue in the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Denver.
The lawsuit is the latest legal challenge to legal weed. Nebraska and Oklahoma have appealed to the US Supreme Court to strike down marijuana legalization in Colorado. The Supreme Court hasn’t said yet whether it will hear that case.
A group of Colorado residents have filed their own federal challenge, saying marijuana reduces property values.
Like liquor stores?
The sheriffs note that more than half of Colorado’s recreational pot sales last year were sold to out-of-state visitors, according to data from Colorado’s marijuana regulators. The sheriffs say the weed is spilling across state lines. Even in Colorado, the sheriffs say, legal weed forces police officers to violate federal drug law.
All of a sudden they don't like touri$m.
‘‘The scheme enacted by Colorado for retail marijuana is contrary and obstructive’’ to federal drug laws, the sheriffs argue.
Marijuana legalization opponents joined a news conference in Washington, D.C., Thursday and praised the legal challenges.
‘‘Although states should be able to determine appropriate penalties, we need uniform federal drug laws regarding legalization,’’ Kevin Sabet, head of the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement.
Oh, I SEE where this is all going!
But the lawsuit was brushed off by others, including US Representative Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat who supports legal marijuana.
‘‘This lawsuit is a silly attempt to circumvent the will of Colorado voters and is a waste of time,’’ Polis said in a statement....
It's not silly because I think voters are getting damn tired of being disrespected.
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So how many more homes have exploded out there?
Look how Bo$ton wants to raise some money:
"New tax on alcohol sales in Boston proposed; Money would be used for substance abuse programs" by Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff February 24, 2015
Two Boston city councilors filed paperwork on Monday to begin a process that could result in a substantial new citywide tax on the sale of alcohol, and to use the millions of dollars in expected revenue exclusively on substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.
???????
The proposal, if passed by both the City Council and the state Legislature, would impose a tax of 1 percent to 2 percent on all alcohol sales, including beer and wine, in city restaurants, taverns, bars, supermarkets, and package stores.
“It could have a major impact on the city,” said City Council President Bill Linehan, who offered the proposal along with City Councilor Frank Baker.
Oh, I'm sure it will. Sales will be going down for sure, although alcohol is remarkably useful when you are poor and homeless. Given the choice of misery or altered misery, well.... yeah, let's tax that some more.
Actually, if the tax is applied to the ever-increasing cla$$ of Bo$tonians then it should bring inn big bucks (to be wasted through fraud and abuse, of course, but you know....).
You are forgiven for asking what I'm smoking there.
Linehan said that thousands of people are afflicted by alcohol and drug addiction, many of them unemployed and a burden on the public. Helping them sober up and become productive citizens represents a huge opportunity to save public money, he said.
If that doesn't exude elitism and arrogance (as if he gave a f*** about public dollars!)
So what local watering hole does he go to after taxpayer-funded "work?"
“Dollar for dollar, it’s the best buy we can get,” Linehan said in an interview. “Once they get straightened out, there are no more demands from them for free hospital services, for shelter, for other services. They get jobs and start paying taxes.”
Except there are no jobs, and the ones that are there are being filled by illegal immigrants pouring into this sanctuary state (where they decide which laws to enforce).
“There is momentum in favor of this,” Linehan said. “It’s time to put up or shut up.”
Are Bostonians completely embarrassed by this guy, or is racism okay at the end of it all?
Boy those Native Americans get kicked around and no one gives a damn!
Alcohol is already subject to an excise tax, and the Legislature passed a state law in 2009 to add a sales tax of 6.25 percent on top of the excise tax. But voters repealed that new sales tax on alcohol, 52 percent to 48 percent, in a statewide referendum in 2010. Proponents had promised to use a portion of the money raised to underwrite treatment programs.
Damn voters, and it's a tax upon a tax, huh?
When does it all end for those wanting 30% raises, Bill?
Last year, Linehan and Baker proposed adding a sales tax on alcohol at supermarkets and package stores. But Linehan said the pair dropped the proposal after hearing from retailers who complained that the proposal unfairly singled out their industry while leaving alone alcohol sold at restaurants, taverns, and bars.
That led to this year’s proposal, which is still being met with opposition.
“We are opposed to an increase in the sale taxes,” said Frank Anzalotti, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, which represents about 2,000 retailers of alcoholic beverages statewide, including hundreds in Boston. “Alcohol is already taxed. It would mean a tax on a tax.”
That's all they know how to do, the money junkie $cum.
“We just can’t turn to an increase in taxes whenever there’s a problem,” said Bob Luz, president and chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.
Why not?
Asked about the proposal, the office of Mayor Martin J. Walsh released a statement saying that the mayor “understands the critical need for additional funding for treatment programs in Boston,” but was noncommittal on support for the measure.
Pffft!
Related: Grant to help relaunch drug treatment center for homeless women
Also see:
Boston takes a census of its homeless population
Survey finds acute homelessness in Boston
At least it is not a crime -- yet.
Maybe the best thing is to remove them so the neighborhood will look better.
Problems worsen for two drug treatment centers
Claims are being denied.
Walsh “looks forward to learning more about the proposal during the Council’s process, and will review the specific policy if it reaches his desk,” the statement continued.
The proposal is expected to be taken up on Wednesday by the City Council, but no vote on the measure is likely to come for at least several weeks, Linehan said.
If the City Council passes it, the proposal — known as a home rule petition — would have to be approved by a majority vote of both the House and the Senate and signed by the governor.
Walsh, in his state of the city speech last month, said he was troubled by the closing of a bridge to Long Island, the site of addiction treatment facilities and the city’s largest homeless shelter. The bridge was closed due to structural deficiencies.
Walsh, who has publicly acknowledged his own alcoholism, said in his speech that closing the bridge “hit me hard.”
“Nothing is more important to me than protecting our most vulnerable neighbors, whether the addicted or the homeless,” Walsh said.
Whatever, Wal$h. Seems like you are spending a lot of your time as an Olympic pitchman more than anything else.
Governor Charlie Baker has moved forcefully to address the toll taken by opioid-related addiction since taking office in January. Last week, he appointed a 16-member working group to hold public meetings, assess the resources devoted to the problem, and submit “specific, targeted recommendations” by May.
See: Governor announces new panel on opioids
At the time of his announcement, Baker highlighted a startling fact: an estimated 978 people died of opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts in 2013, a 46 percent increase over the previous year.
I had no idea that the CIA-smuggled poison had killed so many.
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Related:
"Making Boston yet a more expensive place to visit and live isn’t the best way to cure an expensive, and deadly, problem."
For once we agree!
"Police keep Amherst’s Blarney Blowout contained" by Eric Bosco, Globe Correspondent March 07, 2015
Related: "Police have identified off campus housing like Hobart Lane and the North Village Apartments as areas to watch. They’ve set up cameras to help with crowd control and have been monitoring social media. 14 different law enforcement agencies will be in town."
AMHERST — A heavy police presence at the site where last year’s Blarney Blowout raucous celebrations took place stopped the formation of any large gatherings Saturday afternoon.
That's what I'm told Russia does.
Officers blocked the entrances to the Puffton Village and Townhouse apartment complexes where rowdy students gathered in last year’s blowout, which resulted in 55 arrests by Amherst police, according to a report released in September by former Boston police commissioner Edward F. Davis.
The report had been commissioned by the University of Massachusetts Amherst chancellor in response to last year’s destructive Blarney Blowout.
But on Saturday, just six arrests were made, said Town Manager John Musante.
“The police seemed to do a good job making sure nothing got out of control,” said Ron Levgoren, a freshman communications major. “I was a little disappointed that nothing really happened at my first Blarney Blowout, but everyone is in a good mood even though there’s no huge gathering.”
Officers from 14 police departments, as part of a Western Massachusetts Mutual Aid agreement, helped in the effort to quell the pre-St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
About 5,000 students were attending a free concert at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon, according to Captain of Administration Jennifer Gunderson of the Amherst Police Department. The concert was scheduled to prevent any sort of large off-campus student gathering that could disrupt the peace in town.
Related: Boston police join teens at open mic night
Hands Up! Don't Shoot!
The lack of a large off-campus gathering left students waiting for more from their Blarney weekend.
“We’ve just been sort of hanging out waiting for something to do and the only thing left is the bars opening,” said Courtney Lee, a senior majoring in public health.
How sad.
Public health major, huh?
What a sad commentary on our society.
Earlier this week, six bars in Amherst center agreed to delay opening until 4 p.m. to avoid drawing large crowds of students into town center.
Ever go down there on a Saturday night?
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What an intolerant bunch of a$$holes, huh?
Related: Keene City Council committee rejects Pumpkin Festival permit for this year
A few always have to ruin a good time.
"Lynn officials have been closely studying the trends in an effort to save lives. The city receives a $100,000 grant annually to look for solutions and to enhance drug education and prevention. Part of the funding goes toward supplying Narcan, a drug that can counter an opioid overdose, to police officers, treatment centers, and relatives of drug users."
Notice no one in power ever asks where the stuff is coming from and who is bringing it here? It's all reactive as opposed to proactive like so many other efforts.
So which pharmaceutical company makes Narcan?
"Surge in heroin overdoses puzzles health workers" by Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff January 29, 2015
Heroin overdoses and deaths in Massachusetts surged last month after a decline over the summer, a sign that the wave of opioid addiction is overwhelming some efforts to curb the crisis.
Ten months after then-governor Deval Patrick declared a public health emergency, State Police recorded 114 suspected opioid fatalities in December, nearly double the 60 that were tallied in November.
The authorities believe one reason for the sharp increase is a return of heroin that is mixed with potentially deadly additives to produce an explosive high. Early last year, heroin tainted with fentanyl — an opioid used in end-of-life care that is up to 100 times stronger than morphine — was blamed for a spike in overdoses that took hundreds of lives in Massachusetts in only a few months.
Isn't that something that needs to be prescribed?
Another reason could be that tighter restrictions on prescription opioids are pushing more buyers to gamble with heroin, which generally is cheaper and more accessible, medical officials said.
Whatever is driving the surge, its toll has stunned workers in addiction treatment and prevention.
Yeah, whatever it is and where is it coming from?
“The month of December was like nothing I have ever seen,” said Joanne Peterson, executive director of Learn to Cope, a support organization for families afflicted by drug abuse. “It’s like a live horror movie, like there’s this monster plucking people away from their families. Not only do you hear about one a day, you hear about several a day.”
The depopulation agenda slowly at work?
Monday brought a new reminder of the lethal trend, when two women were found dead in Lowell of suspected heroin overdoses.
See: 2 women found dead of possible heroin overdoses in Lowell
Earlier, police and health care workers were startled by a string of overdoses during the holidays.
Among the victims....
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Also see: Mass. heroin deaths down in January, but officials still worried
Well, which is it?
Heroin deaths surged in Middlesex County in 2014
Okay, two out of three.
Time to get her to a hospital:
"Man arrested after OD victim is left at Cape Cod Hospital" by Mario Vasquez, Globe Correspondent February 22, 2015
A 31-year-old Boston man was arrested on drug charges Sunday after he went to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, dropped off a woman who died of an overdose, and then fled, Barnstable police said.
Police received a call around 5:44 a.m. that an unresponsive 22-year-old woman had been dropped off at the hospital’s emergency room, according to a police statement. The woman had no vital signs and was declared dead of an apparent overdose.
A description of the vehicle used by the person who left the woman, a red Hyundai Elantra with a Pennsylvania plates, was broadcast to police in the area.
Around 7:30 a.m., a Barnstable police sergeant saw a vehicle matching the description on Route 28 in Hyannis and pulled it over.
The driver, Clinton Brown, was determined by police to have had his license revoked, and he was arrested. The car was searched, and $6,000 in cash and a pound of marijuana were found, police said....
He must have done all the heroin.
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"Man denies drug chrages after leaving OD victim at hospital" by Jan Ransom, Globe Staff February 23, 2015
A Boston man was arraigned on drug charges after he dumped the body of a woman who died of an apparent overdose at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis and then bolted from the scene, the Cape and Islands district attorney’s office said Monday.
Clinton Brown, 31, was arrested Sunday morning after he left an unresponsive 22-year-old woman at the hospital.
The woman, whom authorities have not yet identified, was declared dead because of an overdose.
Further information, including details about Brown’s relationship to the woman, was not released.
“The case is still under investigation,” Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe said.
Brown fled the scene in a red Hyundai Elantra with Pennsylvania plates after leaving the woman in the emergency room at around 5:44 a.m.
He was spotted and pulled over nearly two hours later by Barnstable police on Route 28 in Hyannis. Police allegedly found $6,000 in cash and a pound of marijuana.
He was arraigned Monday in Barnstable First District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance and operating a vehicle with a revoked license.
Brown was ordered held on $5,000 bail and is due back in court March 23.
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Related:
"Two Martha’s Vineyard men were arrested Friday afternoon on drug-related charges, the Oak Bluffs Police Department said in a statement. Emmett M. Cook, 21, of Edgartown, and Patrick E. Mchugh, 29, of Oak Bluffs were arrested in the parking lot of Our Market in Oak Bluffs by detectives from the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force. Cook was found carrying $500, three plastic bags that contained suspected heroin, two folded pieces of paper that each contained a brown powder presumed to be heroin, a Clonazepam pill, and a hypodermic needle, the statement said. Cook faces two drug-possession charges and a charge of conspiracy to violate drug laws, the statement said. McHugh was charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws and knowingly being present where heroin is kept. Both men are to be arraigned in Edgartown District Court on Monday."
"Transit Police arrested a man wanted on several drug charges after he attempted to sell shoes outside the MBTA’s JFK/UMass Station on Friday morning, officers said in a statement. Around 9:30 a.m. Transit Police saw a man, later identified as Joshua Erlandson, 25, of Dorchester, selling shoes outside the MBTA’s JFK/UMass station. Erlandson was attempting to sell a $180 pair of sneakers for $90, according to the statement. After speaking with Erlandson, Transit Police discovered there were several warrants issued from Boston Municipal Court Central Division for his arrest. The warrants were for multiple drug charges, including distribution of class C drugs and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Erlandson was arrested and transported to Transit Police headquarters."
See: Boston Deacon Lived Double Life
"A 15-year-old boy was arrested Friday night in East Boston on charges of heroin distribution and carrying a loaded gun, police said. A 29-year-old man was also arrested and charged with drug possession, according to police. At approximately 6:15 p.m., members of the Boston Police Drug Control Unit were conducting serveillance in the Maverick Square/Jeffries Point Area of East Boston after they received earlier complaints about drug activity and gunshots fired in the neighborhood, according to police. Officers spotted the teenaged boy in the area of 37 Lamson Street and saw him get into a dark vehicle, then exit after a short drive around the block, police said. Police stopped the vehicle, recovered drugs which were visible and arrested the driver, Daniel Frometa, 29, of Winthrop, for possession of Class A drugs, according to police. Officers continued to watch the teenager and saw him meet with another man who was known to officers from previous drug investigations. Police suspected the youth was armed based on his gestures, according to police. Police frisked the teenager and found a loaded silver and black AMT .45 caliber firearm, police said. The youth, who is from East Boston, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, and distribution of heroin, according to the police statement. He was also issued a civil citation for possession of marijuana after police found he was carrying a plastic bag containing the drug."
I hope you understand if I forget to return today.
