From all over the world, people regularly make hazy pilgrimages to the Mecca of cannabis smoking, Amsterdam. It is not only home to liberal drug laws and a huge selection of cannabis cafes; it is also a stunningly beautiful city with picture perfect canals all over the place, historic churches lurching out of the scenery and quaint buildings on every corner. You can’t help but want to move there. 

But chances are you have been there and bought the t-shirt — and now, Amsterdam is threatening to ban foreign “weed tourists,” anyway.

So why not try an alternative cannabis-conscious destination? Such as…

Read more: http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/03/5_best_cannabis_holiday_destinationsthat_arent_ams.php

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner recently broke the Department of Justice’s relative silence on the federal medical marijuana crackdown in California.

Speaking at a luncheon in Sacramento, Wagner said the idea for the crackdown came from the four CA U.S. Attorneys and not from Washington D.C., showing an incredible lack of oversight for millions of dollars in law enforcement resources, if true. He also said the government was only targeting dispensaries making huge amounts of cash, meaning just the successful ones.

Read more: http://the420times.com/2012/03/u-s-attorney-speaks-out-on-federal-medical-marijuana-crackdown-in-ca/

The Internal Revenue Service is using tax audits to rule that state-sanctioned cannabis businesses are deemed “drug trafficking organizations” under Section 280E of the IRS code which was created decades ago. Through this definition of the tax code, the IRS is denying legitimate businesses from making normal deductions such as rent payments, payroll, insurance, and other usual business expenses incurred, and demanding large taxes and fines on the industry.

A national coalition of leaders of the medical cannabis community, collectives, health support groups, and activists have formed the 280E Reform Campaign to stop the attacks by the IRS and educate attorneys, accountants, and business owners how to maximize the deductions on their tax returns despite Sec. 280E.

The second in a series of national IRS 280E Tax Audit Seminars in medical cannabis states is scheduled for this Saturday, March 10, 1-6 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott, 925 Westlake Ave. N, Seattle, Washington 98109.

A press conference with the presenters prior to the seminar is scheduled for 12:15 PM with national and local press already slated to be present.

Washington State’s I-502 initiative will legalize an ounce of marijuana, a pound of edibles, or 72 ounces of tinctures, create a state-licensed distribution and retail for marijuana, but also institute a “per se DUID” statute that has some marijuana activists rejecting this opportunity to legalize marijuana. In Colorado, a bill to institute a “per se DUID” that was killed last year is back in the legislature. And in the halls of the ONDCP, institution of these “per se DUID” statutes is a major policy goal of the Drug Czar.

In examining the issue, it would be helpful for everyone in the debate to have a good look at the facts. One fact that has been surprisingly omitted thus far in the debate is the fact that thirteen US states currently have “per se DUID” statutes far worse than what either Washington or Colorado are proposing.

Read more: http://stash.norml.org/thirteen-states-have-marijuana-per-se-duid-statutes

As we reported yesterday, Vice President Biden is in Latin America and is hearing a lot from leaders there that the War on Drugs is failing miserably.His response was predictably stupid.

“It warrants a discussion. It’s totally legitimate for this to be raised. It’s worth discussing … but there is no possibility that the Obama-Biden administration will change its policy on legalization.”

Yeah, that’s our Vice President. But beyond Biden’s inability to form coherent sentences is the absolute refusal of The Obama Administration to consider a different path. The U.S. is dooming so many countries to incredible violence and political corruption.

What does the portly pervert, drug addict and defacto head of the Republican party — Rush Limbaugh — have to say about medical marijuana?

Not a lot, it turns out. He mentions it now and again, just throws it in from time to time, but there is certainly a lack of any coherent thought on the matter. Even this pain management expert can’t seem to get a grip on it. For instance, there is this:

“The FDA says there’s no — zilch, zero, nada — shred of medicinal value to the evil weed marijuana. This is going to be a setback to the long-haired, maggot-infested, dope-smoking crowd.” That is not a position. That is just Limbaugh being Limbaugh.

Then there is this: 

A federal judge in Sacramento this week dismissed a federallawsuit filed in November by members of the NORML Legal Committee against the US Department of Justice, US Attorney General Eric Holder, and DEA Director Michele Leonhart. The lawsuit (read it here), one of four filed simultaneously in the state’s four federal districts, argues that the Justice Department’s ongoing crackdown against medical marijuana providers and distributors in California is in violation of the Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution because the use of cannabis therapeutically is a fundamental right. Petitioners also argue, using the theory of judicial estoppel, that the Justice Department had previously affirmed in public memos and in statements made in federal court that it would no longer use federal resources to prosecute cannabis patients or providers who are compliant with state law.

On Wednesday, US District Judge Garland Burrell, Jr., rejected those arguments and and granted the respondent’s dismissal motion. He denied petitioners request for public hearings prior to making his ruling.

Judge Burrell rejected plaintiffs’ Ninth and Tenth Amendment challenges, finding: “Since the Supreme Court has held the that CSA’s (federal Controlled Substances Act) categorical prohibition of the possession, manufacturing, and distribution of marijuana does not exceed Congress’ authority under the Commerce Clause (Article I Section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution), plaintiffs do not have a viable …. claim.”

Read more: http://blog.norml.org/2012/03/02/federal-governments-crackdown-on-medical-cannabis-not-unconstitutional-federal-judge-rules/

As several states are considering or implementing policies that require recipients of government benefits such as welfare to undergo drug tests, the federal government has shown approval for the same flawed rationale. Last week, President Obama signed into law an agreement reached by Congress which maintains the payroll tax cut and extends unemployment benefits, but also allows states to drug test people who seek unemployment benefits if they were fired from their previous job for using drugs or if they are seeking a job that would ordinarily require drug tests.

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, H.R. 3630, was signed on February 22, 2012. Section 2105 amends the Social Security Act by allowing states to drug test applicants for unemployment benefits and deny those benefits in the case of a positive result.

What percentage of those applying would be forced to pee in a cup? Although the numbers are unclear, Republicans had cited a study claiming 84% of employers required new hires to pass a drug test. Initially, Republicans had pushed for drug testing all applicants, but this was opposed by Democrats. In order to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment, however, Democrats caved on the issue of drug testing.

Read more: http://blog.norml.org/2012/02/29/first-the-states-now-congress-oks-drug-testing-for-unemployment-benefits/

Never mind what your ears, your eyes and your brain tell you. The Mexican Drug War, despite the fact that it has produced a river of blood and no results, is “not a failure,” claimed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

The bloodshed began in earnest in December 2006, and has, to date, claimed more than 40,000 lives in Mexico, according to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), which published an online Google map of the killings, reports Daniel Hernandez of theLos Angeles Times.

Secretary Napolitano on Monday called the drug policies of both the U.S. and Mexico “a continuing effort to keep our peoples from becoming addicted to dangerous drugs” at a press conference in Mexico City, reports Rafael Romo at CNN. She made the remarks after meeting with Mexican Interior Minister Alejandro Poire.

The Internal Revenue Service is threatening to turn back the clock on medical marijuana. But now a national alliance of industry leaders, patients and elected officials is fighting back with a new project aimed at education and policy change.

The 280E Reform effort says it plans to bring an end to the current IRS campaign to close medical cannabis dispensaries.

The IRS campaign of aggressive audits — sometimes resulting in collectives being held responsible for millions in supposed back taxes — began a couple of years ago and uses Section 280E of the IRS code to deny dispensaries the ability to claim any legitimate business expenses. Denied expenses include essential items such as rent, payroll, and all other necessary business expenditures.

​​These denials result in huge back tax bills for the affected dispensaries that, if not changed, threaten to destroy the financial viability of every medical marijuana dispensary in the country — thereby putting an end to safe and affordable access to cannabis for medically qualified patients.

Read more: http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/02/the_irs_is_coming_are_medical_marijuana_dispensari.php