Marijuana

Marijuana Report: St. Louis Arrests Blacks For Possession 18 Times More Often Than Whites

In the city of St. Louis, black people are arrested for marijuana possession eighteen times more often than white people. This is the according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, which says that law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. waste billions of dollars on racially biased ... More >>

Marijuana: Springfield Politicians Again Reject Pot Reform Law, Activists Consider Lawsuit

Springfield City Councilman Doug Burlison believes that marijuana can be a helpful medicine and that it's time to stop treating it like such a harmful, dangerous drug. Compared to other local elected officials, however, he is very much in the minority -- so much so that his colleagues continue to re ... More >>

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Finally Gets Hearing on Last Day of Missouri Session

A proposal to decriminalize marijuana across the state will have a hearing this morning at the Missouri House of Representatives -- which appears to be the farthest this effort has ever gone in the legislature. It will not, however, make it much farther this time around given that today is the las ... More >>

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Afraid of Pot Reform? Show-Me Cannabis Says It Was Denied

Show-Me Cannabis, Missouri's marijuana reform advocacy group, has been spreading the word across the state about the need for more sensible pot policies -- and eventually hopes to push for legalization. Next week, the group was supposed to run a booth at Pointfest, 105.7 the Point's annual festival, ... More >>

Parkway Students Caught With Marijuana; KTVI Explores the Dangers of Pot Brownies (VIDEO)

"It's a high that won't result in higher achievement." So says KTVI (Channel 2) which has an earnest, in-depth, punny report on the dangers of marijuana -- after two Parkway West High School students allegedly brought pot brownies to school where they intended to hand them out. From a marijuana a ... More >>

St. Louis Cannabis Conference: Pro-Legalization Police Officer Says "The Public is Waking Up"

Tony Ryan, who served as a police officer for more than three decades, says he's never smoked marijuana in his life -- but now, post-retirement, he's devoting much of his energy to the cause of legalization. "Marijuana is one of the most enforced of the illegal drugs, even though it's the absolute ... More >>

Marijuana: Poll Says Majority of Missourians Favor Legalizing Pot, Regulating Like Alcohol

When advocates of marijuana legalization in Missouri successfully get a measure on the ballot to end pot prohibition -- voters of the state will support it. So says new polling data released by advocacy group Show-Me Cannabis Regulation, which says that the legalization of pot could pass as early ... More >>

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill: How Many Cases Does St. Louis Circuit Attorney Handle?

One of the more contentious proposals making headlines this month at the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen is an initiative to decriminalize marijuana in the city -- by pushing law enforcement agencies to avoid harsh prosecutions of those caught with small amounts of pot. Some new amendments are ex ... More >>

Republican State House Candidate Called Out for Support of Marijuana Legalization [UPDATE]

Update: We just heard back from Chairman of the Boone County Republican Central Committee C. Bruce Cornett. Meet Mitch Richards. He's the crazy young Republican candidate for the 47th House District in Columbia. He's pro-gun, he's pro-life, he thinks big government should butt out. But he also has ... More >>

Study: Marijuana Legalization Would Put $149 Million in Missouri's Pocket

Imagine a world where pot is legal, regulated, and taxed. In this world, Missouri is rolling around in a giant pile of money and making it rain all over the place. That's according to a new study released by the National Cannabis Coalition in conjunction with Show-Me Cannabis. The group commissione ... More >>

Larry J. Davis Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Distribution Charge

Larry J. Davis, the former St. Louis Police Sergeant who used his official position to run a marijuana distribution operation with his brother Linus Davis, pleaded guilty this morning to one felony count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and one felony count of possession ... More >>

Linus R. Davis: Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charges

​Linus R. Davis, 43, the St. Louis County man who was charged with diverting seized packages containing marijuana for distribution and sale, has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and one felony count  possession with intent to dist ... More >>

Cop Ganks Dank, Feds Spank

​Here's why your package from Humboldt didn't arrive in time for Christmas: Sergeant Larry J. Davis of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department enjoys his job so much that he allegedly took work home with him on a regular basis. Davis is assigned to the Central Patrol Division-Special Operatio ... More >>

Proposals Seek to Legalize Marijuana in Missouri

Is Missouri going to pot?​Missourians could get to vote on whether to legalize marijuana if two recently filed initiatives get enough signatures to land on the November 2012 ballot. On Monday the Missouri Secretary of State's Office approved the wording for the petitions that would legalize the pu ... More >>

Obama's War on Weed

In a strange about-face, the president tries to hack medical marijuana off at the knees

Marijuana Can't Stay Out of the Food News

Wikimedia CommonsMarijuana can't stay out of food news. ​ There aren't many rules regarding marijuana consumption, except for those laws that make it illegal. In the past week, though, marijuana keeps appearing in food news. And it's not just pot brownies giving people the munchies. Well, in ... More >>

Illinois State Police Uncover Massive Marijuana Shipments in Metro East

​Illinois State Police have seized 743 pounds of cannabis valued in excess of $3.4 million during two traffic stops along Interstate 70 in metro East St. Louis within the past 30 days. On August 29, District 11 troopers stopped a silver Ford pickup on I-70 near Troy and located 633 pounds of can ... More >>

3 Reasons Why Medical Marijuana is Junk Science, According to Feds

Medical marijuana: You're outta here!​On Friday the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services at long last responded to an 11-year-old petition that asked the federal government to reconsider its stance on the use of medical marijuana. The ruling last week likely won't encourage Missouri to jo ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Up In Smoke In Illinois

​Illinois won't become the sixteenth state in the nation to pass a medical-marijuana law. Yesterday a bill that would have allowed the state to institute a three-year pilot program to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana failed in the Illinois House by a vote of 53 to 61. The bill faced steep o ... More >>

Cops Bust Truck Hauling Tomatoes and 600 Pounds of Pot on I-55/70

​On Monday morning, February 14, Illinois State Police found 600 pounds of marijuana in a tractor-trailer hauling tomatoes on Interstate 55/70 near Highway 159 in Collinsville. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Jose A. Martinez of Glendale, Arizona, and Manuel Medrano of Merced, Calif ... More >>

Camp Zoe Update: Highway Patrol Busted Thousands En Route To Festivals

Image viaSince 2007, state troopers have arrested more than 2,000 people at checkpoints near Camp Zoe ​Just after midnight on October 29, 2008, the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulled over a 1989 Ford van on Route 19 in Eminence, Missouri. The driver, a 23-year-old from Desoto named Joseph Wayne ... More >>

Roadblock: Highway Patrol Busted Thousands En Route To Camp Zoe

Image viaSince 2007, state troopers have arrested more than 2,000 people at checkpoints near Camp Zoe ​Just after midnight on October 29, 2008, the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulled over a 1989 Ford van on Route 19 in Eminence, Missouri. The driver, a 23-year-old from Desoto named Joseph Wayne ... More >>

Illinois Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Up In Smoke

Image sourceRIP Compassionate Use of Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program Act​"Illinois House lawmakers will likely not pass the dutchie until next legislative session."That's lede from an NBC Chicago story today on medical marijuana in the Land of Lincoln about the imminent demise of the Compassionat ... More >>

Dennis Powell: Hannibal Man Sentenced for Drugs Busted Trying to Bring Pot to Prison

hannibal.netDennis Powell​If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again. That's the lesson learned from Dennis R. Powell. Powell, 19, was being processed at the Marion County Jail in Palmyra, Missouri, this month on a previous drug charge when authorities say they discovered marijuana on the new ... More >>

Deaths Stun St. Louis Medical Marijuana Community

Two men actively involved in campaigning for medical cannabis in Missouri died in recent weeks, saddening St. Louis' tight-knit community of marijuana activists.Gary Davey, former president of the Greater St. Louis chapter of NORML, died Sunday, May 9, of a heart attack. He was 48.Rik Ebner, manager ... More >>

Serious Weight: Dealer Sentenced for Moving 8.5 Tons of Pot Over 5 Years

So, exactly how much is 8.5 tons of pot? Obligatory photograph of pot.Answer: 17,000 pounds or 7,711 kilograms or 103 Michael Phelpses or 38,555 copies of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or 453,592 Twinkies or 131,949 White Castle Sliders. That's how much mary jane an East St. Louis drug de ... More >>

"Mayor-Juana" Cottleville's Don Yarber A Hit At Missouri NORML Meeting

photo by Keegan HamiltonDon Yarber's mustache also supports medical marijuana in Missouri​Riverfront Times founder Ray Hartmann had to cancel his speaking engagement Saturday at Missouri NORML's Spring Conference on Cherokee Street.Maybe it was just the mellow attitudes of the two dozen or so peop ... More >>

RFT Founder Ray Hartmann to Speak at Missouri NORML Conference on Saturday

Ray Hartmann at the University of Missouri, his alma mater​If you see smoke wafting out of the Randall Building at 3022A Cherokee Street on Saturday don't call the fire department. It's probably harmless.The Missouri chapter of NORML -- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law -- ... More >>

Missouri State Troopers Nab 3,700 Pounds of Marijuana

Missouri Highway PatrolA file photo from a 2009 Missouri bust that netted just 1,350 pounds of pot.​Updated: 3:27 p.m.Just spoke to Sgt. Jim Haggett of the Missouri Highway Patrol's Troop E. Haggett informs that while large, Sunday's bust of 3,669 pounds of pot is shy of the record 4,100 pounds of ... More >>

Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber Continues to Blaze A Path to Medical Marijuana in Missouri, Passes Sticky Issue to Voters

Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber and his wife Sylvia​Last time we covered Cottleville, Don Yarber, the city's 70 year-old mayor, was extolling the benefits of medical marijuana (his wife used it to combat the side effects of breast cancer chemotherapy) and cajoling state lawmakers to let voters decide ... More >>

Readers discuss the highs and lows of medical marijuana, while Skip Olsen's reputation goes up in smoke

A Trip to the Sprawling Weed Fields of...Nebraska?

Remember ditch weed? That lowly form of cannabis that the Missouri Highway Patrol loves to spend time and money eradicating? Well, here's a little history lesson on the stuff for you, courtesy of local pot activist Mark Pedersen and plant geneticist Dr. Dave West.The pair were traveling through east ... More >>

St. Louis NORML Chapter Holding "Prince of Pot" Protest Tomorrow

www.seattleweekly.comMarc Emery: The Baron of the Bong​Marc Emery calls himself "The Prince of Pot." Others have dubbed him "The Johnny Appleseed of the Sticky." The Vancouver, British Columbia native has earned both titles. He is the editor of Cannabis Culture magazine and the founder o ... More >>

Illinois Lawmakers High On Medical Marijuana Bills

http://www.ratemyeverything.net/Illinois lawmakers (including one from Alton) recently introduced medical marijuana legislation in the state's House and Senate. And, unlike in Missouri, both of the bills have made it out of their committee hearings and are one step closer to becoming law.Via the Chi ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Comes to the Midwest

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CMAG/938-022~Marijuana-Posters.jpgStarting next month, residents of Michigan will be able to petition their doctor for a pot prescription of up to twelve plants. Michigan is the first non-coastal state east of the Rocky Mountains to enact such a law.Techn ... More >>

Meanwhile, In California

While a handful of lawmakers and activists are fruitlessly lobbying for Missouri to become the fourteenth state to sanction marijuana for medical use (a topic that was covered in-depth in RFT's dead tree edition this week), a legislator from San Francisco has introduced a bill to California's genera ... More >>

Pot Hole: A southwest Missouri hamlet is leading the latest fight to legalize medical marijuana

Inhale to the Chief

Missouri could join roughly a dozen states that allow doctors to authorize patients to use marijuana for medical purposes. Last week State Representative Kate Meiners (D-Kansas City) introduced House Bill 277 that would change Missouri laws regarding the classification of marijuana as a contr ... More >>

Libertarians shun Chief Wana Dubie.

Critics say he's just blowing smoke.

Redman

Red Gone Wild (Def Jam)

Redman

9 p.m. Thursday, January 25. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room (6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City).

DUI or DWB?

Murphy Lee's publicist says the rapper was pulled over for Driving While Black

Just One Toke?

They may have been hippies, but Brewer & Shipley always bathed

Smokin' Groove

What to look for at the Bearcat Harvest Festival

Joint Effort

Music, politics and business converge at NORML's 30th- anniversary celebration

Letters

Week of May 30, 2001

The Media Go to Pot

How news outlets blew the medical-marijuana story

Cultivating Injustice

The perfectly imperfect case for legalizing medical marijuana

Pot Luck

Calling the cops was probably the last thing Jim Hammond should have done

WHY BE NORML?

How a respected economist became St. Louis' No. 1 advocate for legalizing pot