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Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2013 - PROTECT KIDS FROM DRUGS - BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY Our teens need and want us to shoulder more of the burden of preventing drug use. Protecting our kids is a parent's primary responsibility. I've yet to meet an adult who would disagree that parents or other responsible adults are in the first position to protect, provide and care for our youth.

Orlando Sentinel, 10 May 2013 - Today's moderator America's war on drugs is being fought on myriad fronts. One of the most controversial battlefields involves the schoolhouse. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Pottawatomie County v. Earls, expanded drug testing in public schools. The ruling allowed public schools not only to test athletes, but all middle- and high-schoolers involved in competitive extracurricular activities.

Effingham Daily News, 10 May 2013 - While local legislators predict the Illinois Senate has the votes needed to pass a proposed medical marijuana bill, those same legislators are taking a dim view of the proposal that would legalize a person with specific medical conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis or HIV/AIDS, the ability to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of it during a 14-day period. The House has already approved such a measure and if the Senate and Quinn sign off on the bill, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program would be created for a four-year period, after which time it would be re-evaluated.

Boston Herald, 09 May 2013 - Rules governing the sale of medical marijuana in the Bay State adopted yesterday by the state's Public Health Council left proponents wishing for more flexibility and opponents worried that the new regulations, effective May 24, may invite abuse. Heidi Heilman of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance said the law passed by voters last November was fatally flawed in ways council regulations could not repair.

Seattle Times, 09 May 2013 - IN their meeting last week, President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had a chance to consider marijuana legalization. Millions of Americans are ready for this, at least as an option for the states. Mexicans have suffered 60,000 drug-related murders in the past seven years and should be open to such a policy. But Obama and Pena Nieto made no move to consider it.

The Peterborough Examiner, 08 May 2013 - An apparent reluctance to outlaw the hallucinogenic herb salvia could mean we are learning something from expensive, wasteful and ineffective attempts at controlling soft drugs. Prohibition and the mockery the Roaring Twenties made of it are still the prime example, with marijuana laws a close second.

Appeal-Democrat, 08 May 2013 - Medical marijuana growers face permanent restrictions in Yuba City, following a split vote at Tuesday's City Council meeting to adopt a cultivation ordinance to the municipal code. The regulations have been in effect since March 2012 on a temporary basis to allow city staff to make tweaks along the way. On Tuesday, the standards became permanent when council members approved them on a 3-2 vote.

East Bay Express, 08 May 2013 - The high court's decision to uphold pot club bans could result in an extended period in which it will be impossible to buy medical cannabis in some cities but not in others - unless the legislature intervenes. The California Supreme Court upheld on Monday the right of cities and counties to ban medical cannabis dispensaries in a unanimous decision that promises to have major ramifications in the state. The ruling means that cities like Walnut Creek and counties like Riverside can continue to ban medical cannabis dispensaries in their areas - even though medical cannabis remains legal statewide. It also lets cities like Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco to continue to allow regulated medical marijuana collectives operating in storefronts - i.e., dispensaries.

The Stranger, 08 May 2013 - It's Historic, but a Nonissue Thanks to Legalization When Seattle cops cracked down on May Day protests last week, they formed phalanxes and blasted the crowd with pepper spray. But when demonstrators arrive downtown this Saturday-for a protest with its own civil disobedience-the city's top cop won't be an adversary. He'll be the keynote speaker.

The Stranger, 08 May 2013 - And the Hippies Win-Again Breaking news, everyone: It turns out that downtown business groups and pot-smoking hippies don't always get along. The powerful Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) sent a letter asking the city to deny Hempfest's permit this year-it is scheduled for the third weekend in August-saying the pot festival, which boasts hundreds of thousands of attendees, has outgrown Myrtle Edwards Park.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 08 May 2013 - A federal judge explained Tuesday that Hawaii island cannabis advocate Roger Christie could not show that the federal government's inclusion of marijuana in the most restrictive drug classification is irrational. U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi denied on March 29 the 63-year-old man's request to dismiss his marijuana charges.

Chico Enterprise-Record, 08 May 2013 - OROVILLE -- With some stipulations, it is legal to cultivate marijuana in the unincorporated parts of Butte County, but there are rules growers have to follow that have nothing to do with cannabis. Tuesday, County Public Works Director Mike Crump told the Board of Supervisors that since it adopted a medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, his department has had a substantial upswing in illegal grading, particularly in the foothills around Concow, Feather Falls and Magalia.

Chico Enterprise-Record, 08 May 2013 - Cities and Counties Should Have the Right to Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, As the State Supreme Court Affirmed Monday. Marijuana advocates have chalked up victories in places like Colorado and Washington state, but in California - the first state to pass a law allowing medical marijuana use - smaller losses keep piling up since voters approved Proposition 215 nearly 17 years ago.

Washington Times, 08 May 2013 - Meeting Revenue Goals Will Be in Voters' Hands DENVER - Recreational marijuana was sold to Colorado voters as a revenue source for schools, but some lawmakers now worry that they may wind up with all of the pot and none of the money.

The Now, 07 May 2013 - A South-Surrey based movement to put pressure on the federal government to bring affordable and accessible medical marijuana to patients has added a local MLA to its movement. Gordon Hogg, MLA for Surrey-White Rock has come out with a joint statement with the B.C. chapter of Canadian Cannabis Partners calling for a provincial review on ensuring affordable cannabis is made available to British Columbians.

Northumberland Today, 07 May 2013 - NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY - It's on the street, it's dangerous and it's legal. It's called salvia divinorum, and comes in different strengths. There is "standardized" salvia and there is "extreme" salvia that says "horse killer" on the package. But there are many other forms.

The Peterborough Examiner, 07 May 2013 - It's on the street, it's dangerous and it's legal. It's called salvia divinorum, and comes in different strengths. There is "standardized" salvia and there is "extreme" salvia that says "horse killer" on the package. But there are many other forms.

Record Searchlight, 07 May 2013 - California cities and counties can ban pot shops, the state's highest court ruled today in a unanimous opinion likely to further diminish California's once-robust medical marijuana industry. The California Supreme Court said neither the state's voter-approved law legalizing medical marijuana nor a companion measure adopted by the Legislature prevent local governments from using their land use and zoning powers to prohibit storefront dispensaries.

San Francisco Examiner, 07 May 2013 - California High Court Says Municipalities Can Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that cities and counties have the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries within their borders, despite the existence of a state law that protects patients who use the drug.

The Sonoma Index-Tribune, 07 May 2013 - Statistics rarely reveal the entire truth about anything, and numbers can be compiled and interpreted to confirm different conclusions from the same set of facts. But that caveat notwithstanding, virtually any statistical analysis of the war on drugs leads to an inescapable conclusion: It has been a hopeless failure.