MT medical marijuana overhaul on brink of collapse

Regulation of Montana's booming medical marijuana industry teetered on the brink of collapse amid intense bargaining Wednesday by lawmakers seeking a bipartisan compromise.

Senators scrambled for the two-thirds majority now needed to pass the measure after lengthy last-minute rewrites forced lawmakers to miss procedural deadlines.

This latest hurdle is one of many that could cause the regulation in Senate Bill 423 to go up in smoke. Even if the measure clears the Senate, House Republican leaders have said they don't support the Senate's overhaul attempt and remain ardent supporters of banning the medical marijuana altogether.

Medical marijuana was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2004 and remained a mostly small homegrown operation until two years ago, when an explosion of high-profile businesses and cardholders prompted worries in communities across the state. Lawmakers from both parties entered the session promising to do something about industry, which has been targeted in recent federal raids.

But the House's measure to repeal the medical marijuana law has stalled in the Senate. And the House, where Republicans leaders were focused on repeal from the start, never advanced a regulation bill that was two years in the making and initially had the blessing of both law enforcement and the medical marijuana industry.

Lawmakers are now facing the prospect of deadlock and inaction -- raising the specter that the medical marijuana industry could continue to grow with few regulations even though leaders from both parties have said the status quo is unacceptable.

Adding to the uncertainty is a series of raids on medical marijuana businesses earlier this month as part of an 18-month federal investigation into drug trafficking and tax evasion. No charges have been filed, but federal and state authorities executed 26 search warrants and four civil seizure warrants across the state.

Man charged with robbing Erie convenience store of cigarettes

An Erie man was jailed Monday on charges that included robbery after police said he bullied a convenience-store clerk for cigarettes and walked out without paying for them Sunday night.

David J. Rapoza, 33, of the 3500 block of Eliot Road, was arraigned before Erie 2nd Ward District Judge Paul Urbaniak on charges of robbery, simple assault, retail theft and public drunkenness.

Urbaniak placed Rapoza in the Erie County Prison on $15,000 bond.

Police said Rapoza went to the Circle K store at 2917 Glenwood Park Ave. at about 8:20 p.m. Sunday and ordered a female clerk to give him cigarettes. Rapoza repeatedly swore at the clerk, scaring her into thinking that Rapoza was going to assault her, police wrote in the criminal complaint.

Police said Rapoza ran out of the store without paying for the cigarettes. He reportedly jumped into an occupied vehicle, jumped back out and began walking away from the store.

Officers who responded to the robbery call arrested Rapoza at East 30th and French streets.

Woman Irate Over Cost Of Cigarettes Assaults Clerk

Oklahoma City police said an assault on a convenience store clerk came after the clerk informed the woman that a pack of Newport cigarettes was $6.25.
According to the police report released on Monday, the clerk told the group that the cigarettes were $6.25 a pack, to which one of the people shouted, "That's too much (expletive) money!"
When the clerk informed the three they could purchase the cigarettes from another store, police said, Courtney Marlana Smith, 24, grabbed items on the counter and threw them on the floor before leaving.
The clerk told police that she went outside with a clipboard to write down the license plate of the vehicle that the three were in, but was attacked by the group outside the store.
The clerk said the trio punched and kicked her while she lay on the ground before fleeing in a tan vehicle.
Later that afternoon, police said they found the vehicle with Smith, 20-year-old Dondea Antonio Logan and a juvenile.
After inspecting the vehicle, police said they found a loaded gun that was reported stolen in Purcell.
Smith was arrested on charges of possession of a fire arm, concealing stolen property, disorderly conduct and two charges of assault and battery.
Logan was arrested on an unrelated warrant, and the juvenile was taken to his home and released to his grandmother.

E-Cigarettes May Help in Quitting Smoking

E-Cigarette or electronic cigarette is an electronic device which produces an inhaled mist, provides nicotine and stimulates the tobacco smoking. The level of nicotine without the use of a lighter helps people to quit smoke.

E-cigarette looks like a cigarette and these cigarettes are reusable. E-cigarettes come in normal flavor of tobacco. The Blue Cigarette (E-Cigarette) is a smoking cessation, it delivers the smoking experience. It has no health effects associated with tobacco smoking.

According to a research, it was found that 31% of smokers after 6 months stopped smoking completely. However, around 66% of people said that they smoked fewer tobacco cigarettes and around 50% said they reduced their nicotine use.

The study included around 5,000 buyers; most of the participants had been smoking from last 6 or more years. Around 4.5% of people didn’t respond to it, they might were not able to quit smoke.

Meanwhile, it can appeal to non-smokers, especially children. The study has been not verified by any reports, though e-cigarette smokers self reported it. The US Food and Drug Administration is in a fix whether they should regulate it or ban it.

People who smoke can quit the habit with the puffing on a fake cigarette.

Stun gun used in cigarette hold-up

POLICE are investigating an armed hold-up on a Bankstown general store in Sydney's west by a man armed with an electric stun gun who stole at least 30 packets of cigarettes.

Police say a middle aged man walked into the general store at the corner of Picnic Point Rd and Doris St, Picnic Point, about 4pm yesterday afternoon.

He asked for three packets of cigarettes.

As the female owner of the business was about to hand over the cigarettes the man grabbed the packets and demanded she hand over all her cash.

The owner has told detectives the man produced an electric stun device and activated it before walking over to the cigarette cabinet and taking at least 30 packets of assorted cigarettes with a total value of up to $600.

He ran out of the shop and into a waiting car described as an old model square shaped burgundy/red coloured four door vehicle with yellow number plates. It was being driven by a second man.
No one was injured in the hold up.

The armed man is described as Caucasian appearance, middle aged, pale skin, fat build, about 170cm tall, blue eyes, short shaved blonde hair. He was wearing a baggy cream coloured t-shirt and cream coloured long pants.

3 million euro worth of cigarettes confiscated by customs

Mobile teams of the National Customs Authority discovered over 3000 boxes containing 30,000,000 Jin Ling cigarettes produced in the warehouse of Galaxy Tobacco SA Company in Sfantu Gheorghe, Central Romania, a press release of the institution informs. According to information remitted to HotNews.ro, cigarettes were destined to European markets or third party countries and their value is 3 million euro.

According to the National Fiscal Administration Galaxy Tobacco produced in its warehouse at Sfantu Gheorghe 10,000 boxes of cigarettes that it already sold, and the average estimated market value is 10 million euro. Galaxy Tobacco is the former national company Tutunul Romanesc whose privatization was one of the most controversial sales of the Romanian state. The company has always been the center of financial scandals.

Survey shows fewer Williamson students smoke, drink

The good news comes after the same report last school year showed an upswing in alcohol and cigarette use among students who took the survey anonymously.

The survey continues to suggest that students here fall below the national average in nearly every category of substance usage.

Students in grades 4, 7, 9 and 11 usually take the survey in the spring of an academic year. This new report represents about 7,000 students who took the survey last school year.

Jason Golden, the district's chief operating officer, presented the new data to school board members at their work session last week, explaining that as children get older, they tend to experiment more.

The report also showed a decrease in the use of hallucinogens and steroids among 9th- and 11th-graders.

Highway Reopens After Smoke Caused Closing

U.S. Highway 17 along the South Carolina coast is again open to traffic after a six-mile stretch in Charleston County was closed overnight because of smoke from a wildfire.

Officials say that blaze near the Santee River that has been burning since Wednesday is largely contained and has consumed about 2,600 acres. The highway closed about midnight and reopened Friday morning.

Weather conditions are expected to improve during the next couple of days with rain expected in the area this weekend.

Firefighters have also largely contained a second blaze in the Lowcountry, a 500-acre fire in rural Dorchester County.

Text messages used as smoking cessation tool

Because cell phones are now such a regular feature of our everyday lives –and because many people possess phone deals that give them unlimited text messaging – the researchers argue that text messages can be used as a cheap and convenient method of amassing data about smoking habits.

They say that by encouraging smokers to send a few texts each day which detail their smoking behaviours, health experts can help to monitor and assess the frequency of patients’ cigarette smoking sessions. When asked how many cigarettes they smoke daily smokers often provide inaccurate data, because they forget or misjudge their daily consumption levels.

The researchers, who are from the University of Michigan and the University of California, carried out tests in which they used training games to hone individuals’ self-control abilities. They used cell phones to gather data because doing so saved the cost of providing test subjects with new equipment, and was also convenient for the subjects.

Challenges were set for smokers with the aim of improving their self-control: a major factor in whether they are able to overcome nicotine cravings which offset many people on their paths to giving up smoking.

The World Health Organization estimates that there are 1 billion male smokers and 250 million smokers worldwide. Tobacco consumption is a major cause of illness and death. When primary breadwinners die or are too ill to work due to smoking-related disease, entire families can be thrown into poverty, the WHO reports.

Worse Than Cigarettes, Crack and Daytime TV

I went to bed, thankful that our bedrooms were on the second floor and confident that the floodwaters wouldn’t follow me upstairs.

I got into bed adjusting the covers and my life jacket.

I wasn’t comfortable around water. We could never understand why Bridget, our daughter, could love sailing so much when I had to take Dramamine before getting into the Jacuzzi.

I know kids with parents over 7 feet tall will be dunking by preschool, and kids with tiger moms will be brilliant and in therapy for the rest of their lives, but sailing?

While rolling over (challenging when wearing a bulky life jacket), I realized what I had passed on to the kids: my allergies.

I finally got to sleep listening to the soft sounds of the waves breaking downstairs.

Early the next morning I walked past our living room, ignoring the croaking of the frogs atop their lily pads and the lone fisherman in waders next to the fireplace. I searched out and asked (with a strong hint of begging) two able-bodied neighbors what we should do next.

And they are good neighbors. They reminded me of just what this country was built upon hundreds of years ago: friends helping friends harvest that crop, raise that barn and kill those pesky Indians.

But we all knew what was lurking in our living room.

Wes Craven was behind the camera, and this was something worse than Jason, Attila the Hun or Lady Gaga.

It was Mold and Mildew.

That’s right, Mold and Mildew—the real reason dinosaurs became extinct.

Oh, there are other deadly duos: Hitler and Himmler, Sturm und Drang (German, too, but not as bad) and Rodgers and Hammerstein (torturous, boring musicals).

But Mold and Mildew are silent assassins that slip into your respiratory system under the guise of innocent drywall, their ugly spores forming a rave in your lungs forcing you to cough up noxious, infected sputum and then, very much like the black plague, kill you.

Or something like that.

I’d rather be bitten in half by a great white shark.

My good neighbors and I jumped right into the lake and began ripping up the carpet (I was the only one wearing a haz-mat suit) and in no time at all we had huge, sopping chunks of carpet littering our front yard.

I thought of leaving the carpet there and maybe adding a Buick before remembering we weren’t in West Virginia.

One of the good neighbors vacuumed up the water (“vacuuming water” is an astonishing concept that I’ve always thought unattainable—much like splitting an atom or Simon Cowell being modest), while I ripped off the baseboards (a favorite nesting place for Mold and Mildew to spawn their pernicious brood!).

The drywall was mushy, and knowing very little about drywall, except that it’s a compound word, I called a drywall “expert” to come out and assess.

He was sympathetic to our position and gave us his professional opinion: “If I don’t remove this rotting drywall already festering with Mold and Mildew, you, your family, and all your distant relatives will be dead in a week.”

A bit skeptical but also hysterical, I agreed to pay for the immediate removal of the drywall and though thinking the cost of his kid’s college tuition was a bit high, I still felt responsible for saving June’s Aunt Pat on the East Coast.

Last chance to snap up rare cigarette cards in Somerset

The closing date to bid for rare cigarette cards being auctioned by a West memorabilia firm is fast approaching.

The London Cigarette Card Company, which despite its name is based in Somerton, has 430 lots up for auction.

The birth of cigarette cards dates back the 1890s when manufacturers used to wrap cigarettes in paper and place a protective piece of card inside.

Owing to the consumer audience being largely male, the cards would often depict beautiful women or sportsmen.
The star lot is a collection of 50 cricketers produced in 1896 – they are the third-oldest cigarette cards ever printed. Other lots include actresses of 1900s London, a 1913 lot entitled 'Battlefields of Great Britain', 1940s Screen Lovers, Footballers and Clubs, Marilyn Monroe and Dan Dare.

Cigarette sales sting outcome pleasing

Only two retailers in the MidCentral and Whanganui district health board regions have been caught selling cigarettes to minors in the past six months.

The Public Health Service said the results of controlled purchase operations (CPOs) showed retailers were taking their role in the battle against under-age smoking seriously.

Since 2009, the Public Health Service has carried out 20 purchase stings in the MidCentral and Whanganui DHB regions and visited 238 tobacco retailers.

Health protection co-ordinator Tui Shadbolt said under-aged volunteers were only able to buy tobacco in 4 per cent of stores in the region in the past year.

Only two stores sold tobacco to minors in the past six months – one in Horowhenua and one in Tararua, but no sales to under-aged volunteers were recorded in the Palmerston North, Manawatu and Whanganui regions.

In both cases, the store owners were issued with written warnings.

Mrs Shadbolt said it was not policy to release names of the store owners unless they were being prosecuted.

Mrs Shadbolt said the results were pleasing.

"Overall, this is an improvement in compliance and shows the success of educational visits to local retailers. The aim of visits is to improve understanding of the potential impact for youth who start smoking and remind retailers of the need to ask younger customers for proof of age."

Prior to December 2009 the Ministry of Health had contractors run CPOs within the region only once or twice a year.

The ministry-run CPOs recorded sales to youth at 30 per cent of retailers visited, but Mrs Shadbolt said education programmes with retailers had also helped to bring numbers down.

"Their attitude is really changing. Our volunteers are coming out of these shops not only having been denied, but with their tails between their legs after also having been given advice they shouldn't be smoking at their age."

The Public Health Service has nine trained youth aged 14 to 16 who work as volunteers in the CPO programme.

But while CPOs were working well, regional smokefree officer Barry Thackwell said he was keen to hear from concerned parents or anybody else who suspected shops were selling cigarettes to under 18-year-olds.

Women get physical after refused cigarettes

Two women, ages 23 and 22, were issued summonses for assault Tuesday night. They punched and kicked a 30-year-old woman, police said, reportedly because she wouldn't give them cigarettes. The 23-year-old also had a warrant from the Richland County Sheriff's Office.

100 block of Rowland Avenue, Mansfield -- A 48-year-old man will be issued a summons for a dog barking after police went to his residence early Wednesday for the sixth time this month to address the problem.

100 block of Western Avenue, Mansfield -- Police serving a warrant Tuesday afternoon reported a strong odor of marijuana. They reported seeing marijuana on the mantle, digital scales on a coffee table and a grinder on the dining room table. A 3-year-old boy was in the residence. A 23-year-old man was issued summonses for child endangering, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. A 20-year-old man who was the subject of the warrant also was issued a summons for child endangering.

Walmart, 2485 Possum Run Road, Mansfield -- A 19-year-old woman was issued summonses Tuesday afternoon for theft and obstructing official business. She reportedly tried to leave without paying for two DVD movies and eyeliner, then would not give police her address or the names of two people who were with her.

100 block of Glenwood Heights, Mansfield -- A 19-year-old woman told police Monday night that someone used her personal information to run up a cable bill of $100.

First block of Western Avenue, Mansfield -- An 18-year-old man reported early Tuesday the theft of a stereo from an unlocked vehicle and unspecified items from the trunk.

200 block of Avalon Drive, Springfield Township -- A 58-year-old man reported Sunday night the theft of 45 methadone pills from a prescription bottle.

2800 block of Holtz Road, Jackson Township -- A 52-year-old man told police Saturday that someone shot his car. Sheriff's deputies found a bullet under the trunk carpeting.

Circle K, 881 South Main Street -- An employee said a man walked out of the gas station Tuesday without paying for an item. He then ran north on Main Street.

200 block of West 5th Street -- A mother said her 16-year-old son left Tuesday and hasn't returned. She said it has been an ongoing problem. The boy is on probation.

RIDE check by Hanover police uncovers contraband cigarettes

The Hanover Police Service conducted three RIDE programs this past week resulting in 75 vehicles being checked in the Town of Hanover. During one check, a vehicle was stopped and as a result, police entered into a contraband cigarette investigation. The search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a quantity of contraband cigarettes as well as five morphine tablets.

Hanover Police have charged a 67-year-old man from the Municipality of Brockton with possession of a controlled substance. He was released from custody for court in Walkerton. The investigation continues involving the illegal possession of the contraband cigarettes with assistance of the Ontario Ministry of Finance.

Break & enter
Hanover Police received a report of a residential break and enter in the 600 block of 13th Avenue in Hanover on March 13. The investigation determined that unknown suspects forced open a door leading into the vacant residence. Once inside the suspect(s) appeared to remove some small household articles. The investigation is continuing.

Domestic dispute
Hanover Police responded to a report of a domestic dispute in the area of the 400 block of 5th Avenue in Hanover on March 16 at about 1 a.m. The investigation determined that an argument between a male and female resulted in the physical altercation.

Police arrested a 21-year-old Hanover man for one count of assault. He was later released on an officer in charge undertaking with conditions.

The You Docs: Are e-cigarettes helpful?

We normally cheer anything that can help you kick butts, but we're urging a bit of caution about electronic cigarettes, or "nicotine delivery devices." E-cigs look like cigarettes and come in cute colors and wild flavors, such as chocolate, cherry and cigar. They use batteries to vaporize a nicotine/propylene glycol solution. You inhale - or, in the new parlance, "vape" - a shot of nicotine that's supposed to be a tiny fraction of what's in tobacco products. We're big boosters of nicotine patches, gum and lozenges to help get you off cigs.
However, one study found that the amount of nicotine released by e-cigs varies from 6 mg to 24 mg. (The average cigarette contains 10 mg.) Just be aware that you may get more nicotine than you think.
Still, e-cigs don't contain the thousands of other chemicals packed in your smokes.
Some may have trace amounts of tobacco carcinogens. One thing that troubles us is that you apparently get some of the toxin propylene glycol.
How much isn't clear. And another concern is the dearth of research on e-cigs. They debuted in the United States a little more than three years ago.
Although they appear to be safe, the Food and Drug Administration already has cited five distributors for poor manufacturing processes and claiming the products help people stop smoking without proving it. Although the risks may be slight and the devices are promising, using them makes you a guinea pig in an unofficial market test of an unregulated product.

Singapore Custom Bans Moon Mountain

Singapore Custom has banned the use of illegal brand of Moon Mountain cigarettes. As per reports, the custom had seized 32,000 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, which included 16,500 packets of Moon Mountain cigarettes in Woodlands on March 11.

In addition, four men involved in the crime, including three Singaporeans and a Chinese national, were arrested on the spot. The network of the smugglers has still not been tracked, but the authorities are digging all the possible options so that perpetrator can be nabbed and suitably punished for the crime.

Citing concern over the network of smugglers, Singapore's Custom officials reportedly claimed that no licensed supplier of the Health Sciences Authority is selling the Moon Mountain cigarettes in Singapore.

Moreover, the custom officials appealed the public to refrain from this brand and assured that such illegal practices will not be tolerated within the periphery of Singapore.

New Hampshire Experiments with Lower Cigarette Taxes

File this under “Adventures on the Laffer curve.” The New Hampshire House is seeking to lower its cigarette tax from $1.78 per pack to $1.68. Almost every other state has increased cigarette taxes over the past few decades. In New York, an individual pays an extra $4.35 per pack (minimum, not including any local taxes) of cigarettes, about $.20 per cigarette.

Some legislators believe it will bring increased revenues, through increased cigarette sales and other economic activity near the border, among other things. The opponents do not believe this:

But state Rep. Christine Hamm, a Hopkinton Democrat, called the move “fiscally stupid.”

“No state has cut their tobacco tax and seen a revenue increase,” she said.


According to this data from the Tax Foundation, it isn’t clear that any states have actually tried cutting their tobacco taxes (is this something that we would expect a lawmaking body to try?), so I’m not sure that statement is relevant. From 2000-2010, cigarette taxes in the 50 states either stayed steady or increased.

According to this map, Vermont ($2.24/pack), Maine (2.00), and Massachusetts ($2.51) all already have higher state taxes per pack. A $.10 per pack decrease isn’t incredibly significant, but it will be interesting to see what happens to tax revenues and other economic activity on the New Hampshire border.

Prove you smoked ITC cigarettes, tobacco giant tells cancer patient

Responding to a cancer-stricken customs officer’s allegation that tobacco giants ITC got “paid” scientists to file affidavits in consumer court, where his Rs 1 crore law suit against the company is being heard, the ITC said the complainant has no proof of the purchase of cigarettes.

Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise Deepak Kumar, who lost his voice after his larynx was removed to prevent the spread of cancer to other parts of his body, alleged that the four scientists -- Jeffrey Idle, Michael Lewis, Jaques Lelorier and Cyril Fisher -- have long been associated with the British American Tobacco Company (BAT), which holds 30 per cent stake in ITC.

The four scientists have argued, through independent affidavits, that there is no conclusive proof that cigarette smoking can cause cancer of larynx, a condition that severely damaged Kumar's vocal chord, voice box and other areas of throat (Ciggy biggy’s smokescreen in landmark cancer case, Mumbai Mirror, December 7, 2010).

Arguing on behalf of ITC, senior counsel Navroze Seervai said, “The complainant has not produced any receipt that shows that he bought ITC-made cigarettes.

There is no proof that he ever smoked ITC cigarettes. Also, cigarettes are not addictive and the concept of addiction is still not very clear.”

Seervai said Kumar came up with a “hopelessly delayed” case. “Why did he wait till he developed cancer? He has not been able to show that the product of ITC is defective. He has a case under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) only if the product is defective.

Tobacco Free Missouri says statewide policy is needed

More communities are enacting smoking ordinances, but one organization says until there’s a change in policy, the health of Missourians is still largely at risk. Tobacco Free Missouri is an advocacy group that — among other things — provides resources and technical support to communities crafting smoking bans or restrictions.

Spokeswoman Kendre Israel says Maryville was the first Missouri community to pass a non-smoking ordinance a few years ago, which was not comprehensive; the community has since strengthened that ordinance to make it comprehensive, meaning it covers all public places, including bars, restaurants and businesses.

About 15 Missouri cities now have smoking restrictions in place, and while Israel says it’s a step in the right direction, a report from the Centers for Disease Control says Missouri still has a high rate of smoking compared to other states.

An indoor clean air act has been introduced in the Missouri House, sponsored by Representative Jill Schupp of Creve Couer. The bill is not currently on the calendar. Missouri has the lowest cigarette tax in the nation — Governor Nixon and lawmakers have indicated they will not seek to raise it.

Despite opposition from businesses, Tobacco Free Missouri Spokeswoman Kendra Israel says studies conducted by several reputable researchers show that smoking bans do not cause drops in revenue.

Kick Butts day aims to keep kids away from tobacco

Abbie Miller said she is looking forward to helping students avoid using tobacco by her participation in Kick Butts Day on Wednesday. The Hilldale eighth-grader is a member of Students Working Against Tobacco, an organization holding a variety of anti-tobacco events that day.

Event organizers estimate that a minimum of 300 to 500 students in several area schools will hear the Kick Butts Day message.

Miller said she and the other SWAT students believe they can either stop teens from using tobacco or quit if they have begun. The Hilldale group plans two public awareness actions.

“We’re going to make table tents with information on them about why they shouldn’t smoke,” Miller said. “We’ll put them on the tables in the cafeteria. They’ll have statistics and messages like ‘Don’t Smoke’ and pictures and stuff. We’ll make 128 table tents.”

Miller said her group will also hand make 50 posters with similar health warnings to be placed throughout the school. She said it’s important to hold this type of event for children at the middle-school level.

“This is so kids can make a choice not to smoke,” she said. “It’s better for everyone if they don’t smoke or do tobacco. I hope they understand that they shouldn’t give in to peer pressure, and that tobacco is really, really bad for you.”

Tricia Wall, SWAT coordinator for Muskogee and Wagoner counties, said it’s important to have teens involved in this type of event.

“They’re the main target of the tobacco industry, in their effort to replace those (customers) who are dying,” Wall said. “We lose 1,200 people every day to tobacco-related illnesses and diseases, and so they’re targeting the teenagers to be able to replace those people as far as customers and to keep their revenue flowing.”

Wall said, according to the Oklahoma State Health Department, 6,200 kids under the age of 18 become new smokers every day. This doesn’t include the 216,000 kids who are subject to secondhand smoke, which causes more than 5 million deaths worldwide each year.

Wall said participating schools are spread across the county and city.