Marijuana

Young voters helped pass laws legalizing marijuana in Washington and Colorado, but many still won’t be able to light up. Most universities have codes of conduct banning marijuana use, and they get millions of dollars in funding from the federal government, which still considers pot illegal.

PORTLAND – A seven-year-old girl suffering from leukemia is one of Oregon’s youngest medical marijuana patients. Her mother says she gives her daughter marijuana pills to combat the effects of chemotherapy, but her father, who lives in North Dakota, worries about the effects of the drug on her brain development.

Spokane County prosecutors are following colleagues from King, Pierce and Clark counties in saying they will no longer prosecute adults 21 and older for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. “We are not going to prosecute any new cases,” said Jack Driscoll, chief criminal deputy Spokane County prosecutor, following passage last week by Washington voters of a marijuana-legalization law. “After Dec. 6, it is legal to possess an ounce” if you are 21 or older, he said.

It’s legal. After taking more time to review the new law, Spokane County prosecutors are now following colleagues from King, Pierce and Clark counties in saying they will no longer prosecute adults older than 21 for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

OLYMPIA – Washington will be “following the will of the voters and moving ahead” with setting up ways that adults can legally obtain marijuana for recreational use, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Tuesday after meeting with federal law enforcement officials. Gregoire met with Deputy Attorney General James Cole in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to discuss how the state would implement Initiative 502, which voters passed in last week’s election.

Washington voters approved a measure this week to legalize marijuana for recreational use, leaving many in the non-stoner community abuzz with questions. Fortunately, Answer Man is here today to fill your informational void.

A crash involving marijuana and excessive speed Friday night landed six teenagers in local hospitals, one in critical condition. Spokane County sheriff’s deputies responded to the rollover crash at about 10:16 p.m. in the 13700 block of South Betz Road, northwest of Cheney, according to sheriff’s Detective David Thornburg. Upon arriving, they discovered a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder had rolled off the roadway, ejecting two of the occupants.

DENVER (AP) — Should marijuana be treated like alcohol? Or should it remain in the same legal category as heroin and the most dangerous drugs? Votes this week by Colorado and Washington to allow adult marijuana possession have prompted what could be a turning point in the nation's conflicted and confusing war on drugs. Colorado's governor and attorney general spoke by phone Friday with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, with no signal whether the U.S. Justice Department would sue to block the marijuana measures. Both states are holding off on plans to regulate and tax the drug while waiting to see whether the Justice Department would assert federal authority over drug law.

DENVER (AP) — Two states that approved recreational use of marijuana are waiting to hear how the federal government intends respond to the measures. The governor of Colorado said he planned to talk by phone with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about the measures that contradict federal law banning the use of pot.

SEATTLE – A helicopter pilot from Armstrong, British Columbia, who flew loads of marijuana into the United States from Canada has been sentenced in federal court in Seattle to 10 years in prison. The U.S. attorney’s office said 61-year-old Henry Rosenau was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to import marijuana, just before he was to go on trial for a second time. His first trial ended in a hung jury.

The state Liquor Control Board, responsible for regulating the production and sale of marijuana in Washington under Initiative 502, is preparing to move ahead with implementation plans.

Voters a continent apart made history Tuesday on two divisive social issues, with Maine and Maryland becoming the first states to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote while Washington state and Colorado legalized recreational use of marijuana. The outcomes in Maine and Maryland broke a 32-state streak, dating back to 1998, in which gay marriage had been rebuffed by every state that held a vote on it. They will become the seventh and eighth states to allow same-sex couples to marry.

LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio teenager considered by authorities to be one of the most prolific drug dealers in the Cincinnati area was sentenced on Monday to between six months and three years in a juvenile prison after a judge told the teen he was "a pretty fine young person that went down a bad trail." Tyler Pagenstecher of Mason was taken into custody immediately after the hearing and will be turned over to Ohio's Department of Youth Services. The agency ultimately will decide how long Pagenstecher will be in prison, depending on his behavior.