Pot Restaurant Testing the Boundaries of Medical Marijuana

posted by Zach Patton

Colorado voters approved a medical-marijuana law in 2000. But since then, THC-users have had to make do getting their drugs from medical dispensaries. The facilities were efficient, but there was nowhere to hang out once they'd gotten the marijuana, no place to chill.

A new eating establishment in Denver is filling that (ahem) pot hole.

From local news station KDVR:

A new restaurant on Broadway in downtown Denver claims it is the first of its kind... anywhere. Ganja Gourmet serves food items laced with marijuana. And not just brownies. This place has all kinds of different dishes made with pot sprinkled in. [...]

Ganja Gourmet claims to be the first of its kind, serving up more than just brownies. Dishes include lasagna, gourmet pizza, jambalaya, paella, even chocolate mousse and cheesecakes.

And it's legal.

Would-be patrons must show their medical-marijuana cards to get in.

From a business standpoint, it's kind of brilliant. Patrons come in, eat your food, get high, get the munchies, order more food, get high...

Federalism For and Against

posted by Alan Greenblatt

The Bay Area is a rich source of stories today concerning federalism.

First, there is what appears to be the final chapter in the federal government's five-year quest to put Ed Rosenthal in jail. Rosenthal was convicted of selling medical marijuana, a prominent case among many concerning this crime that fans of federalism have cited as an example of federal overreach.

Rosenthal has already served a day in jail for selling pot, but federal prosecutors sought a longer sentence by digging up old tax-evasion and money laundering charges. A district court judge dismissed these additional charges yesterday, saying they were a blatant case of prosecutorial piling on.

Federalism abuses run both ways, however. The latest example of municipal foreign policy comes, of course, from Berkeley, where the city council Wednesday became the first public entity in the country to endorse the idea of a war-crimes trial for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Germany in response to Abu Ghraib.

Meth: Good News and Bad

posted by Josh Goodman

The first time I glanced at the National Association of Counties' latest report on meth, I thought it vindicated the meth precursor laws that have popped up over the last couple of years. The second time, I decided the exact opposite is the case.

You know the types of restrictions I'm talking about. They're the local, state and federal laws that limit the amount consumers can purchase of cold medicines that contain products used for meth production and require that the medicines be kept behind the counter.

NACO asked 500 county law enforcement officials about their jurisdictions. The good news is that only 12% of them reported an increase in meth lab seizures over the past year, while 46% reported a decrease and the rest saw no change. Assuming law enforcement didn't simply become less vigilant last year, it sounds as though the precursor laws are reducing meth labs.

Here's the bad news: almost everything else.

Pee in a Cup. Right Now.

posted by Christopher Swope

How's this for a double dog dare? Bridgeport, Conn., Mayor John Fabrizi,  who not long ago confessed to a coke habit, declares that he's now so clean that he's willing to be tested "any time, any place, anywhere."

The Connecticut Post decided to take Fabrizi up on his offer. A few days ago, editor Michael Daly invited hizzoner down to the paper's offices. Fabrizi cleared his schedule, drove with Daly down to a testing center, and provided the necessary ingredient for a urinalysis right on the spot.

"He came down to the paper and I made the offer and he said, `Let's go right now,'" Daly said. "It took me back a little bit, but I wasn't going to interrupt the flow of things."

Um, well said. The mayor, by the way, passed the test.

The Question of Good Taste is Another Matter Entirely

posted by Zach Patton

Smoking marijuana: not okay.

Spray-painting huge marijuana leaves on the outside of your house: fine, apparently.

That's the verdict in Winsted, Connecticut, where town officials (begrudgingly, it seems) said there's nothing illegal about the pot paintings on the home of town resident Christopher Seekins (who was arrested five months ago for growing weed in his house).

Seekins -- whose house is on High Street -- says the ganja decor is in support of the legalization of marijuana.

Meth to Their Madness

posted by Alan Greenblatt

If you've spent any time talking to officials with the National Association of Counties in recent years, you've certainly heard something about the methamphetamine epidemic. They'll tell you it's put a huge strain on hospitals, law enforcement and environmental cleanup efforts -- all before they even get to meth's health effects on users.

Jack Shafer, the media critic of Slate magazine, has long been skeptical of the scare claims about meth. He's made it something of a hobbyhorse and here he takes his best shot at NACo's study, released last week, on the effect of meth on hospital ERs.

A Mile High

posted by Ellen Perlman

If I were to say, "Holland," what is the first thing that comes to mind? "Drug-addled populace?" "Crime run rampant?" "A society in ruins?"

Probably not. Yet how can that be when marijuana is perfectly legal there? Cafes sell small amounts to adults, and still, the country seems to be rather civilized and highly functioning.

Here, a group of pot proponents wants to put a question on the Colorado ballot that allows adults to possess small amounts of marijuana for their own use. Some state residents are sure to be up in arms about the idea. But should indignation be the automatic response?

Meth Message

A proposed ordinance in Phoenix to make it tougher to buy pseudoephedrine, a major ingredient in meth, is going to “send a powerful message.” So says Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. To whom, I wonder?

Law-abiding citizens get messages. People who care about consequences get messages. Answering machines get messages.

Meth addicts riding a high -- they don’t much get messages. People who have experienced the rush, the euphoria, from trying meth for the first time never stop looking to repeat it. They speak about meth as a family member, as someone they love, says Matt Farnsworth who has trailed addicts and produced two movies about people hooked on the drug. That includes more than half the folks in one Iowa town.

That doesn’t mean the addicts and the drug makers won’t notice obstacles at the pharmacy. And it makes sense for states and localities to make it as difficult as they know how for addicts and drug makers to get their hands on the ingredients they need to make the poison.

But as far as messages go, it’s going to take a lot more to pull people back from this particular edge. Hiding the pseudoephedrine at the drugstore is more like holding onto the ankle of someone already hanging off the cliff.

Mile-High City, Indeed

Denver, CO, residents could soon be allowed to smoke marijuana legally, if voters approve a ballot measure in November. The City Council there this week announced that the measure--which would make it legal for adults to posses and use small amounts of pot--would be put to a vote this fall.

Council members were quick to point out that they had no choice: A pro-legalization group gathered enough signatures to guarantee a vote. The measure would allow Denver to regulate and tax marijuana, in much the same way as alcohol.

Denver would actually be the second city in the country to legalize pot. Voters in Oakland, CA, approved a similar measure last year. But the new law in Oakland hasn't been enacted, since it conflicts with California state law. If the Denver measure is approved, it could similarly go up in smoke. 

Rocky Mountain News: Pot law makes ballot