Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Narcotics Detectives said they have busted two marijuana grows Monday, worth an estimated street value of $8.7 million.

Detectives said the eradication began early Monday morning and lasted through the day into the evening hours. One of the grows was located off Tepusquet Road near Colson Canyon. The other was located off San Marcos Pass near Kinevan Road.

Detectives said they found more than 570 plants and 100 pounds of processed marijuana in the North County bust. They estimate that to value about $6 million. The plants were described as "unusually large and very carefully maintained" by some of the veteran Narcotics Detectives.

msn.com
keyt.com

On Sunday, a couple hundred people gathered near the Oakland Airport for a celebration of the grand re-opening of the country's largest cannabis-friendly hydroponics superstore, weGrow, formerly known as iGrow.

The new branding is part of an ambitious national expansion. In less than a year, weGrow has become the first superstore of its type, sometimes jokingly referred to as the "Home De-Pot" of hydroponic stores. Oakland Local reported on iGrow as part of a 6-part Cannabis Business series in March. Now weGrow has an operational store in Burlingame, one soon to open in Sacramento, and over 70 franchise stores already under contract across the nation.

oaklandlocal.com

In this Sunday's paper (and online) you may have read an interesting feature by Deborah Netburn about a woman in her 50s who grows her own medical marijuana in the room once occupied by her daughter who has recently left the nest.

The Costa Mesa legal secretary combats her rheumatoid arthritis by eating the various strains of marijuana that she and her husband grow in their home.

latimes.com

Proposition 19, the November state ballot measure that would legalize marijuana, will not immediately establish a regulated system of sales, so it is correct to say the law would not immediately generate billions in new tax revenue. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is disingenuous to suggest (as he did in his Sept. 24 Times Op-Ed article) that it's wrong to support Proposition 19 on the grounds that it will generate additional revenue for the state; it will, but Schwarzenegger says not enough. Proposition 19 is in fact good policy and an important part of what must be a multifaceted solution to the budget crisis.

latimes.com
fox13now.com
nbcsandiego.com

Wer am Arbeitsplatz kifft, läuft Gefahr, gefeuert zu werden. Nicht so William Breathes. Er wird dafür bezahlt, Joints zu rauchen. Denn Breathes schreibt für eine Lokalzeitung die ersten Marihuanakritiken Amerikas.

Wenn William Breathes sich einen Joint anzündet und tief inhaliert , dann horcht er ganz genau in sich hinein. Das Kratzen im Hals, die Intensität des Rausches, natürlich auch der Geschmack - das alles wird ganz genau analysiert und protokolliert. So viel Sorgfalt muss schon sein, denn Breathes kifft nicht einfach so zum Vergnügen. Er verdient damit sein Geld. Er ist einer von Amerikas ersten Haschisch-Rezensenten.

ftd.de
via

Kalifornien soll in einer Volksabstimmung über die Legalisierung von Marihuana entscheiden. Vor dem Votum formieren sich ungewöhnliche Fronten - Polizisten sind für die Freigabe, Kiffer paradoxerweise dagegen. Nur: Sollten die Befürworter gewinnen, droht eine Klage aus Washington.

Hamburg - Er ist der Martin Luther King der kalifornischen Cannabis-Konsumenten: Jahrelang kämpfte Dennis Peron dafür, dass Marihuana in seiner Wahlheimat als Medikament anerkannt wird. Doch am 2. November wird der 65-Jährige nicht für die endgültige Legalisierung der weichen Droge stimmen. In einem Internetvideo ruft er zum Boykott der entsprechenden Gesetzesinitiative auf: "Bitte wählt nicht", appelliert der weißhaarige Aktivist. Warum der Sinneswandel?

spiegel.de

Der kalifornische Gouverneur Arnold Schwarzenegger, am bekanntesten als Roboter-Darsteller in den Terminator-Filmen, hat den Gesetzesentwurf 1449 unterzeichnet, der den Besitz von bis zu einer Unze (28.5 Gramm) Marijuana entkriminalisiert.

Ab Januar 2011 gibt’s nur noch eine Busse von 100$ – kein Gerichtsverfahren, keinen Eintrag ins Strafregister. Der Staat spart dadurch Millionen ein. 2008 hatte es noch über 60’000 Gerichtsverfahren gegeben.

hanfverband.de
indymedia.org
orf.at
premiumpresse.de
kurier.at
kleinezeitung.at

SAN FRANCISCO — Possessing up to an ounce of marijuana in California is now no more serious than getting a speeding ticket.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law late Thursday that reduces possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to an infraction, with a maximum punishment of a $100 fine.

Even as a misdemeanor, possession of up to an ounce of pot was still punishable only by a $100 fine and no jail time. But offenders also faced arrest, a possible court appearance and a criminal record.

grandforksherald.com
latimes.com
nytimes.com
leginfo.ca.gov
stopthedrugwar.org
policelink.monster.com
Former Dope-Smoking Governator Does Good, Lessens Pot Penalties
Hemp, Hemp Hooray!: Schwarzenegger Decriminalizes Marijuana In California
drugpolicy.org
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