Speakers line up to argue for or against banning marijuana cultivation in Santa Cruz County.  (March 24, 2015)

KSBW

Speakers line up to argue for or against banning marijuana cultivation in Santa Cruz County.  (March 24, 2015)

KSBW

It came down to one vote Tuesday as the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to ban commercial marijuana grows in unincorporated Santa Cruz County.

Before the vote, public comments lasted for more than three hours. Passionate pleas were made on both sides of the debate. 

The Santa Cruz County board chamber was packed with growers, medical marijuana patients, and neighbors who are impacted by illegal and legal marijuana cultivation.

Judge Kimberly Mueller, the federal magistrate who made history by granting defense requests for a five-day hearing on the constitutionality of the continued inclusion of cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, was originally scheduled to meet with the parties of US v Schweder et al for a status hearing this week — but has delayed that meeting until April 15th.

The United Nations' drug conventions were recently discussed in Vienna by the Commission on Drugs and Crime.
The results of this convention make it clear that, with regards to international laws regarding cannabis, the United Nations commission on drugs and crime is way behind despite a world-wide shift forwards. 

Even before the meeting, the International Narcotics Control Board, INCB, which oversees the implementation of the U.N. drug conventions, warned member states for being too progressive, like Uruguay and the United States, where already four states have regulated the recreational use of cannabis.
UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki Moon has urged Member States to debate all options at UNGASS 2016. 

Mainers 21 and older would be allowed to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow their own plants, and pot sales would be subject to a 10 percent tax under a proposal by a national group advocating for legalized recreational use in the state.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which led the successful drive to legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado, will unveil its plan Tuesday. It is the second one to be released in the state this year and sets the stage for dueling campaigns pushing for legalization referendums in 2016.

Marijuana policy project plan

The marijuana legalization plan presented by the Marijuana Policy Project would:

• Allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow six plants.

A panga boat stocked with nearly three tons of marijuana worth about $3 million was spotted in the Channel Islands, and three men on board -- all citizens of Mexico -- were arrested, authorities said Monday.

Alfonso Ramirez-Lopez, 40; Marco Montes-Lopez, 46; and Daniel Garcia-Sanchez, 32, are being held without bail on federal drug trafficking charges, according to U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. 

The boat was spotted about 12:40 p.m. Saturday near San Miguel Island by an off-duty officer with the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to a sworn affidavit by a DEA agent obtained by The Times.

BOSTON - Attorney General Maura Healey detailed her opposition to legalizing marijuana on Monday while distinguishing that stance from her prior support for a voter referendum that decriminalized possession of up to one ounce of the drug.

"I supported the effort to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana a few years ago, and I appreciated the motivation behind that move and ultimately, the law," Healey told Boston Herald Radio. "What I oppose though now is full legalization of marijuana."

BOSTON (CBS) — Some state lawmakers are working on a proposal that would allow the use of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.

Advocates are planning their own petition right now to put the question to voters next year, but state Sen. Pat Jehlen, D- Somerville has other ideas to avoid a ballot question.

“We think it’s a better idea to do it through the legislative process,” Jehlen told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. “People have to vote yes or no [on the ballot], whereas if you propose a bill in the Legislature, there can be amendments, there can be hearings, and a number of people will have a chance to be heard.”

Massachusetts voters have previously decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana and medical marijuana was approved in 2012.

Maine is moving forward with marijuana legalization as two pro-pot groups launch spring petition drives to ask residents to legalize recreational consumption in 2016. While their goals are the same, the organizations remain divided on who exactly should lead the charge. The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which played a key role in Colorado’s legalization effort, wants its proposal to go before voters next year. Legalize Maine, however, wants marijuana legalization in the state to be a domestic effort, according to the Associated Press.

After news broke that Florida’s Republican governor Rick Scott’s administration had forbid state employees from using the phrase “climate change” during official business, many conservatives claimed that people were overreacting. After all, they reasoned, Rick Scott wouldn’t seriously punish scientists for talking about climate change.

Oh yes, he would.