Tonight the Sacramento City Council voted to halt issuance of any new medical marijuana dispensary permits until the dust settles from the federal crackdown. But don’t take this to mean that the city will be surrendering to the bullying of the feds, not as long as there is revenue to be collected from the pot shops. In fact, tonight’s vote actually extended the deadline to submit new permit applications until May 2012 and it extended the final day that dispensaries can operate without a permit from January 2012 to August 2012. Read full story here.
Landlords are on Frontlines of Pot War
Federal prosecutors are shutting down California pot dispensaries with the efficiency of a nuclear bomb.
Instead of chasing around the dispensary operators, they are focusing on those who lease commercial spaces to them. Even though California legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes 15 years ago, the federal government still considers it a controlled substance. And landowners are subject to federal law which prohibits any owner, lessee, agent, employee, occupant, or mortgagee, to knowingly and intentionally rent, lease, profit from, or make available for use, with or without compensation, any place for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, distributing, or using a controlled substance. Title 21 U.S.C. Section 856(a).
And what are the consequences for violating 856(a)? Forfeiture of the property to the federal government. Furthermore, violating federal law is a felony and carries a penalty of up to 40 years in prison. Each new forfeiture action serves as a strong deterrent for other property owners around the state. Full story here.
Defending the Red Rabbit
The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission has provided some additional perspectives regarding the big red $800,000 rabbit housed in the new terminal at Sacramento International Airport. The piece has received mixed reviews and perhaps they have felt the need to defend the poor thing. Here are their explanations in a nutshell:
- not typically what people think of when they think of Sacramento (perhaps trying to abolish the image of a cowbell?)
- the commission believed it would create buzz for Sacramento (that it has certainly done)
- iconic, fun, whimsical (“whimsical” is just a nice way of saying “arbitrary, pointless”)
The artist is Lawrence Argent, and he too is sticking up for his work:
- red = Ferrari = speed (perhaps suggestive of the velocity by which passengers will depart the terminal when they catch sight of the artwork?)
- many stories from different cultures are associated with the rabbit (more on this below)
- playing around with the idea that something has come from the outside and leapt into the building
Maybe if we look at the famous rabbits we already know or the traits that rabbits have come to symbolize, we can come to understand “Leap” a little better.
Rabbits as Cultural Icons:
- childhood, purity (i.e., Peter Rabbit)
- sexuality (i.e., Playboy Bunnies)
- fertility
- mischief
Famous Rabbits:
- Bugs Bunny
- the March Hare
- Br’er Rabbit
- the Trix rabbit
- Peter Rabbit
- Roger Rabbit
- Thumper
- Duracell Bunny
CA Medical Pot Crackdown: AG Gives Her Two Cents
A few weeks ago, Washington bullies swept in on California’s medical marijuana playground, intent on shutting them down permanently. Today in comes Big Sister to see if she can break up the fight a bit. CA Attorney General, Kamala Harris, issued a statement warning the feds to show some restraint:
an overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine in California
The question is whether a focused approach will be sufficient to curb the “proliferation of gangs and criminal enterprises that seek to exploit the medical marijuana law.”
First Social Security COL Adjustment Since 2009
The US Social Security Administration announced today that Social Security recipients will be getting a pay increase in 2012. Here is a link to the press release. A cost of living adjustment is based on the Consumer Price Index, which did not increase in 2010 or 2011, so this is the first increase of its kind since 2009.
The 3.6 percent cost of living adjustment will benefit some 60 million social security beneficiaries across the nation. However, by SSA’s own admission, some of these people will see no increase at all due to an increase in Medicare premiums. So, no change really.
The SSA also announced that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will increase from $106,800 to $110,100, affecting about 10 million taxpayers. However, some of these people may be able to offset the tax increase by finding additional credits and deductions. So, no change there either.
Even if you’re not one of the 10 million, you’re not out of the woods. You’re not getting tax relief anytime soon either. The temporary 2011 Social Security tax rate reduction (from 6.2% to 4.2%) — which affects all workers — will expire if nothing more is done to either revive it or further reduce it.
Feds Say CA Pot Shops are Just Fronts for Illegal Trafficking
Today the US Attorneys announced that they are cracking down on marijuana dispensaries in California, not because they are illegal under federal law (although they are) or because they are not paying their taxes. No, the real problem is that many of them, as they are currently operating, are illegal under California law.
Federal prosecutors have evidence that many of the pot dispensary storefronts are just that —fronts for illegal drug trafficking operations. They say that these operations have reached levels that were never intended when medical pot was legalized back in 1996.
Here’s what makes them illegal:
- large-scale commercial operations
- drug trafficking across state lines
- owners reaping huge profits
- non-medical usage of product
Not all pot shops in California fit this description, and that’s why only certain shops are being targeted by the feds. But today’s announcement was certainly meant to shake things up in an industry that was never meant to become an industry.
Feds Threaten to Shut Down CA Pot Shops
It seems the recent IRS audit of Harborside Health Centerwas only foreshadowing of something bigger. The tax problems were the least of their worries.
Several California marijuana dispensaries received love letters this week from the US Attorneys Office demanding that they shut down in 45 days or face criminal charges. Pot dispensaries operate legally under California law, but they are in violation of federal drug laws, and we all know which law prevails in situations like these.
Letters also went out to landlords graciously giving them the option of evicting their pot-selling tenants or risk seizure of their property by the federal government. Those who have followed this power struggle for the last few years are not surprised by what is going on; they see it as the United States simply following through on its threats.
Those who operate pot dispensaries understand that only a limited segment of the population will accept the position that they provide an indispensable service to society. Instead they focus on all the tax dollars that they have generated over the years. Even so, I think they’re wasting their breath. The feds have sent a very strong and clear message lately, through multiple agencies, including the FBI, IRS, DEA, even the EPA.
See full AP story here.
There should be more information tomorrow because the US attorneys are supposed to make a special announcement.
Realignment of California Prison System
Beginning in October, some criminals who would have normally been placed in California state prisons will be redirected to their individual county facilities. This is being done in an effort to combat the severe overcrowding problem in state prisons without simply letting inmates go free. But in case you were picturing a mass caravan of inmates on October 1st, none of the inmates who are currently in state prisons will be moved to the counties. Only the new non-violent offenders will go to county jails where it is thought they will be able to rehabilitate more quickly and smoothly.
It’s the largest shift that we’ve ever seen in the state’s history.
~ Barry Krisberg, UC Berkeley
Those who oppose realignment in California doubt that there is sufficient funding and programs in place to handle this major change. Furthermore, many county jails will be hard-pressed to take any more prisoners since they are at capacity also. See full story here.
The Postage Stamp Controversy
The United States Postal Service has always honored great men and women by putting their faces on postage stamps. But nobody ever really aspired for that honor because it has also always signified that you were, well . . . dead. In fact, 5 years dead — that was the rule. But not now. The USPS recently announced that it will begin to honor living souls starting in 2012.
And you can vote for your top 5 living candidates on Facebook, Twitter, or through the mail. Then the Postmaster General’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC) will convene to pour over all the nominees and make their selections.
I wonder if this is a good idea. The USPS, in an effort to appear “relevant and contemporary” has definitely stirred up a little controversy.
The 5-year rule just makes sense.The thing about a dead guy is he can’t do anything further to tarnish his reputation and cause anyone to regret honoring him on a stamp. And the 5-year buffer even gives a little more time to uncover any skeletons. Of all the living people who deserve to be recognized on a stamp, how many people are going to vote for their favorite author or philanthropist? They won’t. There are going to be 50,000 votes for Lady Gaga and Brian Wilson. I’m certain that celebrity stamps would be hugely popular, but what happens when these living celebrities do something distasteful or illegal after the stamp has been put into circulation? I don’t know, maybe it wouldn’t matter. The government may not approve, but I doubt the popularity of the stamp would suffer.
Read the entire USPS Press Release here.
NASA Shouts “Fore!”
You know when your tee shot is headed straight for the golfers in front of you, and you don’t think it has enough on it to actually harm anybody, but you also know that shouting “fore!” is the courteous thing to do?
The old junker satellite known as UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) that was launched in 1991 is going to be plummeting to earth by week’s end, but NASA calculates the risk of harm to be very low.
They just want us to be aware.
Q: Where might the debris land?
A: Pretty much anywhere on land or sea
Q: How heavy is this space junk?
A: The 26 pieces that are likely to survive the heat of re-entry weigh a total of 1,100 pounds
Q: What are the chances of human casualty?
A: 1 in 3,200
Don’t worry though. NASA reminds us that “Since the beginning of the space age, there has been no confirmed report of an injury resulting from reentering space objects.”