Criminal justice class this morning very interesting topics about government laws
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
stupid people
It’s always the little stuff that gets you.
A man pulled over inValdosta, Florida Brunswick, Georgia this week for a window tint violation was revealed to be Aubrey Lee Price, a banker who was charged in the summer of 2012 with wire fraud after he embezzled up to $21 million in various investment schemes.
Price, who was last seen boarding a ferry in Key West, Florida, from which he supposedly jumped overboard, had been declared dead in 2012.
The traffic cops’ suspicions were raised when Price presented multiple and conflicting forms of identification. When informed that he would remain in jail until a positive identification was made, he broke down and confessed.
“He said, ‘Sit down. I’m going to make you famous,’“ the officer recounted. “He was tired. I reckon he was ready to get caught.”
Price faces up to 30 years in prison, plus time for the tinted windows.
A man pulled over inValdosta, Florida Brunswick, Georgia this week for a window tint violation was revealed to be Aubrey Lee Price, a banker who was charged in the summer of 2012 with wire fraud after he embezzled up to $21 million in various investment schemes.
Price, who was last seen boarding a ferry in Key West, Florida, from which he supposedly jumped overboard, had been declared dead in 2012.
The traffic cops’ suspicions were raised when Price presented multiple and conflicting forms of identification. When informed that he would remain in jail until a positive identification was made, he broke down and confessed.
“He said, ‘Sit down. I’m going to make you famous,’“ the officer recounted. “He was tired. I reckon he was ready to get caught.”
Price faces up to 30 years in prison, plus time for the tinted windows.
DENVER (AP) — Long lines and blustery winter weather greeted Colorado marijuana shoppers testing the nation's first legal recreational pot shops Wednesday.
It was hard to tell from talking to the shoppers, however, that they had waited hours in snow and frigid wind."It's a huge deal for me," said Andre Barr, a 34-year-old deliveryman who drove from Niles, Mich., to be part of the legal weed experiment. "This wait is nothing."
The world was watching as Colorado unveiled the modern world's first fully legal marijuana industry — no doctor's note required (as in 18 states and Washington, D.C.) and no unregulated production of the drug (as in the Netherlands). Uruguay has fully legalized pot but hasn't yet set up its system.
Colorado had 24 shops open Wednesday, most of them in Denver, and aside from long lines and sporadic reports of shoppers cited for smoking pot in public, there were few problems.
"Everything's gone pretty smoothly," said Barbara Brohl, Colorado's top marijuana regular as head of the Department of Revenue.
The agency sent its new marijuana inspectors to recreational shops to monitor sales and make sure sellers understood the state's new marijuana-tracking inventory system meant to keep legal pot out of the black market.
Denver International Airport erected signs warning travelers that they could not take marijuana home with them.
Keeping pot within Colorado's regulated system and within the state's borders are among requirements the U.S. Department of Justice has laid out to avoid a clampdown under federal law, which still outlaws the drug.
The other state that has legalizes recreational pot, Washington, will face the same restrictions when its retail shops start operating, expected by late spring.
The states' retail experiments are crucial tests of whether marijuana can be sold like alcohol, kept from children and highly taxed, or whether pot proves too harmful to public health and safety for legalization experiments to expand elsewhere.
"This feels like freedom at last," said Amy Reynolds, owner of two Colorado Springs medical pot shops. Reynolds came to Denver to toast the dawn of pot sales for recreational use. "It's a plant, it's harmless, and now anyone over 21 can buy it if they want to. Beautiful."
Marijuana skeptics, of course, watched in alarm. They warned that the celebratory vibe in Colorado masked dangerous consequences. Wider marijuana availability, they say, would lead to greater illegal use by youth, and possibly more traffic accidents and addiction problems.
It was hard to tell from talking to the shoppers, however, that they had waited hours in snow and frigid wind."It's a huge deal for me," said Andre Barr, a 34-year-old deliveryman who drove from Niles, Mich., to be part of the legal weed experiment. "This wait is nothing."
The world was watching as Colorado unveiled the modern world's first fully legal marijuana industry — no doctor's note required (as in 18 states and Washington, D.C.) and no unregulated production of the drug (as in the Netherlands). Uruguay has fully legalized pot but hasn't yet set up its system.
Colorado had 24 shops open Wednesday, most of them in Denver, and aside from long lines and sporadic reports of shoppers cited for smoking pot in public, there were few problems.
"Everything's gone pretty smoothly," said Barbara Brohl, Colorado's top marijuana regular as head of the Department of Revenue.
The agency sent its new marijuana inspectors to recreational shops to monitor sales and make sure sellers understood the state's new marijuana-tracking inventory system meant to keep legal pot out of the black market.
Denver International Airport erected signs warning travelers that they could not take marijuana home with them.
Keeping pot within Colorado's regulated system and within the state's borders are among requirements the U.S. Department of Justice has laid out to avoid a clampdown under federal law, which still outlaws the drug.
The other state that has legalizes recreational pot, Washington, will face the same restrictions when its retail shops start operating, expected by late spring.
The states' retail experiments are crucial tests of whether marijuana can be sold like alcohol, kept from children and highly taxed, or whether pot proves too harmful to public health and safety for legalization experiments to expand elsewhere.
"This feels like freedom at last," said Amy Reynolds, owner of two Colorado Springs medical pot shops. Reynolds came to Denver to toast the dawn of pot sales for recreational use. "It's a plant, it's harmless, and now anyone over 21 can buy it if they want to. Beautiful."
Marijuana skeptics, of course, watched in alarm. They warned that the celebratory vibe in Colorado masked dangerous consequences. Wider marijuana availability, they say, would lead to greater illegal use by youth, and possibly more traffic accidents and addiction problems.
DENVER — At 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day, in an industrial area a few miles from downtown Denver, a former Marine named Sean Azzariti walked into a giant store and bought a bag of weed. Legally. To smoke just for fun, if he’s so inclined.
Azzariti’s transaction — 3.5 grams of Bubba Kush for $40 and 50 mg of Truffles for an additional $9.28 — was the first in the state’s grand experiment in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
The first-in-the-nation law was greeted with long lines at retailers and a lot of “Rocky Mountain High” jokes. But beyond the buzz, the measure represented the institution of a major new public policy in America — one opponents fear will turn the state into a dangerous land of debauchery and that backers hope sets a nationwide precedent.
If Colorado is able to successfully legalize marijuana without causing a social backlash, the tourism, tax and other considerations are likely to compel several other states to quickly follow suit.
Backers say enough signatures have been collected to put legalization before voters this year in Alaska. Oregon would probably come next, and by 2016, they hope to see measures on the ballot in six other states: Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada. Supporters are also hopeful that lawmakers will push for legalization in Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Washington state has legalized pot, but sales there won’t begin for at least a few months.
If problems arise in Colorado — whether that means residents get sick of stoner-tourism or there are a rash of marijuana-related accidents or crimes — it could set back a decades-old movement that has gained substantial momentum in recent years.
Azzariti’s transaction — 3.5 grams of Bubba Kush for $40 and 50 mg of Truffles for an additional $9.28 — was the first in the state’s grand experiment in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
The first-in-the-nation law was greeted with long lines at retailers and a lot of “Rocky Mountain High” jokes. But beyond the buzz, the measure represented the institution of a major new public policy in America — one opponents fear will turn the state into a dangerous land of debauchery and that backers hope sets a nationwide precedent.
If Colorado is able to successfully legalize marijuana without causing a social backlash, the tourism, tax and other considerations are likely to compel several other states to quickly follow suit.
Backers say enough signatures have been collected to put legalization before voters this year in Alaska. Oregon would probably come next, and by 2016, they hope to see measures on the ballot in six other states: Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada. Supporters are also hopeful that lawmakers will push for legalization in Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Washington state has legalized pot, but sales there won’t begin for at least a few months.
If problems arise in Colorado — whether that means residents get sick of stoner-tourism or there are a rash of marijuana-related accidents or crimes — it could set back a decades-old movement that has gained substantial momentum in recent years.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
mary jane 4:20
DENVER — At the stroke of 8 a.m. on Wednesday Colorado became the first state in the nation where small amounts of retail marijuana legally can be sold in specialty shops.
The much anticipated first pot sales unfolded in a handful of stores across the state, ushering in a new era as many on both sides of the legalization debate watched the early transactions.
“One minute exactly until we make history,” shouted a harried Jay Griffin, the 43-year-old general manager of Dank Colorado, a tiny shop tucked into a nondescript office building in an industrial district of Denver. With hip, urban decor, the store looked much like an upscale coffee house.
A line of about 40 people stretched down the hallway, waiting patiently and without incident as Steve “Heyduke” Judish, a 58-year-old retired federal worker, stepped to a counter to become the first customer at the first retail store in Colorado to get its license last month.
Judish peeled off $30 cash and walked out with 1/8 ounce of Larry OG, a potent strain of marijuana that connoisseurs like for its euphoric rush. “It’s cool to be part of history,” he said with a grin. He had put his name on a list to be the first customer 14 hours earlier.
But, really, he said he had been waiting 40 years for the moment.
In November 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, making it legal for people over 21 to buy small amounts of recreational marijuana beginning on New Year’s Day 2014.
Washington state passed a similar measure, but officials there say it will be later this year before the state is ready to open stores.
Internationally, Uruguay has cleared the way for state-sanctioned marijuana sales, but these also are not yet up and running. The Netherlands has long had an informal decriminalization policy, and patrons can buy marijuana products in Amsterdam coffee shops, but Colorado is the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated and tracked from seed to store.
Residents with Colorado identification can buy up to an ounce of marijuana at a time. Those with an out-of-state ID can buy up to one-quarter of an ounce. Buyers are limited to those amounts at individual stores each day but are not restricted from shopping from store to store.
Under state law, however, buyers are only allowed to possess up to one ounce. Stockpiling carries legal risks, officials say
Proponents have long called the legalized sales a a windfall for state coffers since retail pot will come with a hefty 25% state tax on top of the usual sales tax of 2.9%. By some estimates it is expected to generate $67 million a year, with $27.5 million designated for schools, officials said.
Although Colorado issued more than 130 retail licenses last month, the labyrinth of expensive rules and regulations, the logistics of setting up shop with adequate supply and ensuring security meant not every owner who got a license opened on Wednesday. Eight stores in Denver were expected to open.
Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, which typically trumps state law, but the Department of Justice in August issued a memo to federal prosecutors saying they should not pursue prosecution for recreational pot in Colorado and Washington.
While the excitement level was high in the retail shops, not all were cheering Colorado’s new place in the history books.
Kevin Sabat, co-founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) called the landmark “the beginning of the era of Big Marijuana not unlike what we saw in this country with Big Tobacco.”
“This is an industry that makes money off addiction,” he said, adding that he worried children will be targeted and swayed into thinking marijuana is harmless. He vowed to continue the fight against legalization in other states. “We don’t think legalization is inevitable.”
The much anticipated first pot sales unfolded in a handful of stores across the state, ushering in a new era as many on both sides of the legalization debate watched the early transactions.
“One minute exactly until we make history,” shouted a harried Jay Griffin, the 43-year-old general manager of Dank Colorado, a tiny shop tucked into a nondescript office building in an industrial district of Denver. With hip, urban decor, the store looked much like an upscale coffee house.
A line of about 40 people stretched down the hallway, waiting patiently and without incident as Steve “Heyduke” Judish, a 58-year-old retired federal worker, stepped to a counter to become the first customer at the first retail store in Colorado to get its license last month.
Judish peeled off $30 cash and walked out with 1/8 ounce of Larry OG, a potent strain of marijuana that connoisseurs like for its euphoric rush. “It’s cool to be part of history,” he said with a grin. He had put his name on a list to be the first customer 14 hours earlier.
But, really, he said he had been waiting 40 years for the moment.
In November 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, making it legal for people over 21 to buy small amounts of recreational marijuana beginning on New Year’s Day 2014.
Washington state passed a similar measure, but officials there say it will be later this year before the state is ready to open stores.
Internationally, Uruguay has cleared the way for state-sanctioned marijuana sales, but these also are not yet up and running. The Netherlands has long had an informal decriminalization policy, and patrons can buy marijuana products in Amsterdam coffee shops, but Colorado is the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated and tracked from seed to store.
Residents with Colorado identification can buy up to an ounce of marijuana at a time. Those with an out-of-state ID can buy up to one-quarter of an ounce. Buyers are limited to those amounts at individual stores each day but are not restricted from shopping from store to store.
Under state law, however, buyers are only allowed to possess up to one ounce. Stockpiling carries legal risks, officials say
Proponents have long called the legalized sales a a windfall for state coffers since retail pot will come with a hefty 25% state tax on top of the usual sales tax of 2.9%. By some estimates it is expected to generate $67 million a year, with $27.5 million designated for schools, officials said.
Although Colorado issued more than 130 retail licenses last month, the labyrinth of expensive rules and regulations, the logistics of setting up shop with adequate supply and ensuring security meant not every owner who got a license opened on Wednesday. Eight stores in Denver were expected to open.
Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, which typically trumps state law, but the Department of Justice in August issued a memo to federal prosecutors saying they should not pursue prosecution for recreational pot in Colorado and Washington.
While the excitement level was high in the retail shops, not all were cheering Colorado’s new place in the history books.
Kevin Sabat, co-founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) called the landmark “the beginning of the era of Big Marijuana not unlike what we saw in this country with Big Tobacco.”
“This is an industry that makes money off addiction,” he said, adding that he worried children will be targeted and swayed into thinking marijuana is harmless. He vowed to continue the fight against legalization in other states. “We don’t think legalization is inevitable.”
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