Marijuana

OLYMPIA – Governors from Washington and Rhode Island asked the federal government Wednesday to reclassify marijuana so it can be used for medical use. Gov. Chris Gregoire and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration to remove marijuana from Schedule I, which is reserved for drugs like heroin and peyote that have no medicinal use and thus are illegal under all circumstances. They want it considered a Schedule 2 drug, like morphine and codeine, which are illegal under many circumstances but can be prescribed by a doctor and filled by a pharmacist for certain conditions.

Two men have pleaded guilty to felony possession of marijuana following raids in April of several marijuana dispensaries in the Spokane area.

The Grant County Sheriff’s office today identified the man shot to death while allegedly attempting to burglarize a medical marijuana patient.

A woman shot a man in the head today as he tried to steal marijuana plants from her home in north Spokane, police said. His accomplice is still at large and possibly wounded.

A 77-year-old man who lived just miles from the Canadian border in Ferry County is accused of being a major drug trafficker. Alvin O. Shields was allowed to leave the Spokane County Jail on Tuesday, where he was booked Sunday on federal cocaine and marijuana charges that carry mandatory minimum sentences of 5 to 10 years.

OLYMPIA – Whether she realized it or not last spring when wielding her “partial veto” pen, Gov. Chris Gregoire has prompted a hodgepodge of pot laws around the state and a fair amount of confusion among the cities. In Seattle, where possession of a small amount of marijuana is less likely to bring public condemnation than drinking mediocre coffee, medical marijuana dispensaries are being told to register as businesses, pay their taxes, meet building codes and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But be advised: No-smoking laws apply to smoking medical marijuana, too.

The owners of two medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane have been indicted by a federal grand jury. Charles Wesley Wright and Jon Richard Vivian, owners of the THC Pharmacy on South Perry Street, and Jerry Wayne Laberdee and Dennis Lewis Whited, owners of Medical Herb Providers, face time in federal prison under multi-count indictments filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

A member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang pleaded guilty Friday to charges that he conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and grow more than 100 marijuana plants. Michael R. Fitzpatrick, 33, was arrested on March 3, the same day federal agents raided the purported Hells Angels clubhouse at 1308 E. Sprague Ave. and arrested Ricky W. Jenks, sergeant-at-arms for the Hells Angels' Washington chapter.

A member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang pleaded guilty today to charges that he conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and grow more than 100 marijuana plants. Michael R. Fitzpatrick, 33, was arrested on March 3, the same day federal agents raided the purported Hells Angels clubhouse at 1308 E. Sprague Ave. and arrested Ricky W. Jenks, sergeant-at-arms for the Hells Angels' Washington chapter.

It was his green tongue that helped give away Jimmy Candido Flores when police arrived at the fatal accident scene near Chico, Calif. Flores had run off the road and killed a jogger, Carrie Jean Holliman, a 56-year-old Chico elementary school teacher. California Highway Patrol officers thought he might be impaired and conducted a sobriety examination. Flores’ tongue had a green coat typical of heavy marijuana users and a later test showed he had pot, as well as other drugs, in his blood.

OLYMPIA – As Washington residents hit the parks, the malls and the supermarkets this holiday weekend, they may get a chance to take part in one bit of democracy central to most Independence Day weekends – the last big push to get signatures for ballot initiatives in this year’s election. Just as colonists struck a blow for freedom against tyranny 235 years ago with the Declaration of Independence, Washington residents can strike a blow for freedom to limit the use of gasoline taxes, give hens that lay eggs more room to move around, smoke marijuana without fear of arrest, require more training for people who care for the elderly and disabled, or buy liquor from privately owned stores.

Activists behind a new push to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Washington state say the measure is carefully calibrated to what voters will support. Leaders of the group New Approach Washington held a news conference today to announce they filed an initiative to legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Oregon lawmakers have decided to tap the popular medical marijuana program for an estimated $7 million to fund other health programs and reject a pile of bills that would have made it much tougher for people to get a medical marijuana card. It’s a legislative attitude adjustment that had marijuana advocates crying foul at the idea of doubling the annual fees charged of marijuana patients to $200. But they think they it may move Oregon closer to their goal of bringing medical marijuana into the mainstream economy where it can be readily available to anyone and taxed.

Call it the Dueling PowerPoints. Spokane’s downtown Rotary 21 club got the opening salvo April 29 when Robert Boruchowitz, a Seattle University law professor, made the case for diversion programs instead of another county jail.

A grand jury has indicted a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang on federal drug and gun charges. Michael Ryan Fitzpatrick, 33, is accused of conspiring with two unidentified people to distribute cocaine and marijuana.

Police are looking for information that might help identify the gunman who shot a 20-year-old Spokane man early Monday.