New Hampshire Governor Really Doesn't Like Pot

In 2008, the New Hampshire House approved a measure to bring the possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana down from a misdemeanor to a simple $200 fine. The bill died in the state Senate, when the Governor said he'd veto the legislation because he felt it sent the wrong message to youth.

In 2009, both houses approved medical marijuana and the regulations governing dispensaries, which Gov. John Lynch promptly vetoed because of his perceived potential for abuse.

On Wednesday, the state House once again approved the 2008 decriminalization measure, though this time, they limited it to adults and required anyone under 18 caught in possession to complete community service and take a drug awareness class.

Once again, the Governor has promised a veto.

Lede: Colorado Wants the California Treatment

A bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers trying to regulate the state's medical marijuana industry is calling on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to stop raids of medical marijuana operations, saying the raids are making it harder to create rules to keep tabs on the booming industry.

Denver Post

"Heads vs. Fed" Tour Rolls into Washington

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Sheriff, Deputy, County, Reporter & Paper Sued

Dave Lovejoy was a candidate for Rockingham County (NH) Sheriff in 2008, when the person holding the office and one of his deputies leaked information about Mr. Lovejoy's annulled criminal record to the press, just over a week before the election.

Sheriff James "Dan" Linehan and his second-in-command Maj. Mark Peirce unlawfully told Portsmouth Herald reporter Karen Dandurant that Mr. Lovejoy had been "involved in a case of simple assault" in 1989. It appears that the Sheriff's office did not tell Ms. Dandurant that the case had been annulled, but when reached for comment, Mr. Lovejoy informed her of this fact. Under New Hampshire law, annulled cases can not be disclosed under any circumstances.

The state Attorney General's office investigated and last week, both Sheriff Lineham and Major Peirce resigned. To avoid prosecution, Mr. Lineham promised that he'd never seek another law enforcement position and both relinquished their law enforcement credentials.

On October 27th of 2008, Karen Dandurant of the Portsmouth Herald wrote an article, which included comments by the Sheriff about Mr. Lovejoy's knowledge of courtrooms because he's been involved in 22 civil cases and she discloses that the paper was "provided" with information about Mr. Lovejoy's arrest. When reached for comment, Mr. Lovejoy told the reporter that the case was part of a "domestic dispute" and that his conviction had been annulled.

Ms. Dandurant is no longer employed by the paper, but because a crime has been established by the state's AG, Mr. Lovejoy has filed a four-count lawsuit against the former Sheriff, the Deputy, the county, the reporter and her paper. He has also asked the county delegation to name him interim Sheriff based on his status as runner-up in 2008.

Student Journalists Learn Real World Lesson

Student journalists at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois wanted to run an article about alleged drug use and drinking among the student body, but school administrators objected to the article's use of anonymous sources and told them that it was unfit to print in its current form.

Staffers at the paper decided to insert a blank page as a form of protest, but school administrators demanded a delay to "resolve sourcing questions".

After a meeting between the young journalists, their parents and faculty, the paper's staff was under the impression that publication would be on hold until next month, but instead, the admistration demanded an immediate printing without the contreversial article and another one about teen pregnancy. The students were given less than two hours to lay out their paper and were threatened with a failing grade, if they did not comply.

This resolution has prompted the students and their pro-bono attorney to complain about both, censorship and compelled speech.

WBBM - CBS 2 - Chicago (Video)
WBBM - CBS 2 - Chicago (Text)

Smoking the Opposition

Earlier this evening on his FoxNews show, Geraldo Rivera came out of a story about a marijuana cafe soon to open in Portland to in-studio guests, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, who were there to promote their upcoming "Make it Legal" tour.

After Geraldo introduced his guests and exchanged familiarities, Tommy Chong made a simple argument in favor of rescheduling marijuana from Class 1 to Class 2, which would make it available nationwide on a prescription basis.

Afterwards, Mr. Rivera turned to panelist Ann Coulter, who stated almost word-for-word much the same thing she said in a previous Geraldo At-Large segment on 10/25, which I'm posting below and transcribing as follows;

It's one thing, people who have cancer and it helps with the nausea and it makes them hungry, but by the way, I've known people with cancer who needed pot and nobody had any trouble getting it. So, I think it's about right, the way it is now.

IOW: We shouldn't change the drug laws and guarantee that everyone who needs pot for medical purposes can safely buy it from a regulated source, perhaps even pay for it with their insurance because Ann Coulter's friends don't fit a police officer's profile.



After Ms. Coulter's cultural arrogance on 10/25, Geraldo does a Sesame Street piece about the Attorney General's announcement that the feds would bend to state law when it's properly applied and turned to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who argued that it would have been all right for the feds to have deprioritized enforcement, but they shouldn't have told anyone.

ETA: Here's a link to Cheech & Chong's 11/16 appearance.