Washington

A veteran Seattle police officer has been arrested and charged with smuggling over 100 kilos of pot to the East Coast. Federal prosecutors have accused Officer Alex Chapackdee with transporting hundreds of pounds of pot from Washington to Baltimore, and returning with boxes full of cash. The officer has reportedly been under FBI surveillance since last year, after a public corruption case was opened alongside the drug smuggling case.

According to the charging documents, Chapackdee has been accused of assisting a drug trafficking ring run by his brother-in-law, Tuan Van Le.

“420” is not just a fun three-character term: it represents a sacred day in the cannabis community. This past 4/20 in Denver, “420” took on a new meaning as the International Church of Cannabis opened its arms to “Elevationists.”

While the church’s “religion” is called “Elevationism,” what its members follow isn’t necessarily a religion as much as a spiritual thought. Steve Berke, one of the church’s founders, tells me that “We aren’t saying we invented Elevationism. Elevationism goes back in history and the history of marijuana dates to ancient China.

Despite Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions’ big talk about walls, shuttered health clinics, and legal weed crackdowns, the first federal budget of 45’s term contained little to no funding for the border wall or medical marijuana shutdowns, and a less than 1% cut to Planned Parenthood’s funding. In general the new budget is a win for reason and common sense – that is, unless you’re a cannabis consumer in Washington D.C.

In the three years since voters in Washington D.C.

Seven marijuana activists were arrested on federal charges yesterday for offering free joints to Congressional staff, even though they were in compliance with Washington D.C. laws.

On 4/20, the D.C. Cannabis Campaign (DCMJ) brought 1,227 joints to offer to any willing Capitol Hill staff in order to show support for House bill H.R. 1227 , which would cut back federal cannabis prohibition. The activists deliberately set up on non-federally-owned land, so that they would remain in accordance with D.C. law, which allows individuals to possess and give away small amounts of marijuana.

This didn't stop the U.S.

4/20 might be a celebratory time for most cannabis users across the nation, but marijuana advocates are not losing sight of the uphill battle. After this weekend's post-holiday festivities settle down, dozens of marijuana activists, including a number of military veterans, will head to the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. to spark up joints.

The event, “Monday @ High Noon”, will take place on April 24, and is meant to call attention to the harsh federal stance that has hindered the cannabis industry from blossoming.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly may have gotten a bit ahead of himself earlier this week, when he told a portion of the American public sitting at home watching “Meet the Press” that marijuana was “not a factor” in the War on Drugs.

Perhaps he didn’t consider his comments would soon spread across the Internet like wildfire and be covered by virtually every major news organization across the nation.

Nevertheless, it appears that Kelly’s running of the mouth may have steamed his boss over at of the Justice Department, who just so happens to be pot-hating U.S.

(DHS) Secretary John Kelly says that the Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce marijuana laws and make marijuana a major part of its criminal enforcement efforts.  This has been the fear of many activists, industry professionals, and consumers, as many of us were crossing fingers and hoping for a hands-off approach be the federal government.As reported by The Washington TimesJohn Kelly is a retired Marine Corps general who as commander of U.S.

“Yeah, marijuana is not a factor in the drug war.” ~ Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly
Good to know; now somebody please inform our Attorney General.
After last Sunday’s NBC Meet the Press interview where Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. John Kelly explained to Chuck Todd that marijuana is “not a factor in the drug war,” Atty. Gen.

At least one Trump administration official isn’t spewing the same anti-marijuana comments as his colleagues are.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly told host Chuck Todd that marijuana is “not a factor” in the ongoing drug war, reports the Washington Post.
In the interview, Todd asks Kelly if marijuana legalization would alter border efforts to control drug smuggling.
“Yeah, marijuana is not a factor in the drug war,” answered Kelly.
Kelly then went on to explain which illegal substances are actually worth the concern:

It’s three things.

How much marijuana has been grown in Washington? Over 150,000 pounds of useable marijuana produced in fiscal year 2017 under Washington’s Legal System. Washington’s legal marijuana market is booming, which is resulting in a lot of cannabis being grown.According to the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, there has been 363,268 pounds (lbs) of marijuana harvested in fiscal year (FY) 2017, which began on July 1, 2016 and ends on June 30.