Results tagged “marijuana”

The McHenry County sheriff's office made quite a find recently, bringing a new definition to the term "bumper crop." Sheriffs found over 500 marijuana plants growing amongst corn in several locations in fields near Richmond. The plants were "ready to harvest" and could have brought in almost $600,000 if they made it to the streets. Authorities are still trying to figure out who planted them. [Tribune]

The Reader's Mick Dumke has an interesting solution for how to help the City close that budget gap: legalize marijuana and tax it. Mayor Daley has supported decriminalizing marijuana in the past (before he was against it). And Lord knows he loves to tax stuff. This could possibly work. But it's only a matter of time before he privatizes

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has a thought on the ordinance the Cook County Board passed last week, decriminalizing marijuana: not so fast. Dart expressed some concerns with the new ordinance, saying, "I think any time you're talking about legalization or downgrading there needs to be a very thorough discussion. It needs to be based on facts and analysis. I don't know if that was done." Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has not officially approved the bill but has indicated he doesn't plan to veto it. [WBBM]

In a surprise move, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has reversed course and now says he won't veto the new measure the Cook County Board passed yesterday, decriminalizing marijuana in unincorporated parts of Cook County. According to Chicago Breaking News:

In a move that's caught almost everyone by surprise, the Cook County Board yesterday voted to decriminalize marijuana in very small amounts in unincorporated parts of Cook County. Under the legislation passed, sheriffs can arrest someone possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana on misdemeanor charges or simply issue a $200 ticket. The measure was introduced by Commissioner Earlean Collins who admitted personal motivations: her grandson was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana. Collins, though, made a salient point: arresting marijuana offenders is crowding jails. According to the Sun-Times, she said:

• Bail was set at $1 million for the cab driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger.
• University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman spoke briefly today on ending the admissions process at the school that gives favor to certain "connected" students.
• The FBI is now investigating a suspicious package found this morning at Riverside Plaza.

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for pot at this year's World Baseball Classic, meaning he's banned from international play for the next two years. Meanwhile, he will face no disciplinary action from either the Cubs or Major League Baseball. In a statement released by the team yesterday, Soto said:

If U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk gets his way, more potent marijuana will soon garner a harsher punishment. Under Kirk's proposed legislation, a first-time offense for selling or distributing marijuana with a THC content of more than 15 percent would earn you 25 years in prison. Kirk plans to unveil his proposed legislation at a press conference later today. We're not even going to wade into the "Legalize It" debate but 25 years seems a bit steep.

Supporters of State Bill 1381, proposed to create the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, are exhaling in relief today as the bill narrowly passed the state senate yesterday by a vote of 30-28. According to the Tribune, details of the act:

75 marijuana plants were found in a Winnetka home on Wednesday when police executed a search warrant on a home in the 300 block of Hawthorn Lane. Police also found “further evidence of the production, use and distribution of [marijuana],” according to a Winnetka Police release.

Olympic athletes, sports writers, and now simple towns folk: no matter who you are, it seems the gods are against you when it comes to just unwinding with some Phish and weed. This time, Mother Nature played the NARC. Those gusty winds we dealt with yesterday were also felt in South Bend, Indiana where they somehow tripped a home security system off at a residence. Police responded to the call but upon arrival, while they found no signs of a security problem, their police dog sensed drugs on the premises. Sure enough, the police uncovered "19 marijuana plants and 40 grams of processed marijuana." No one has been arrested but prosecutors are considering charges against the homeowner.

With the economy in the tank, Lord knows we could all use a little extra money these days. We're always looking for a way to supplement our salaries, whether it's selling back old clothes to thrift stores or selling our plasma. One Grand Rapids sports writer, however, thought he had found a better way to supplement his income: selling weed. David Mayo (right), sports writer for the Grand Rapids Press, was charged with manufacture of more than 20 but less than 200 plants, a seven-year felony, and maintaining a drug house at his home. a two-year, high-court misdemeanor. We knew print media was having a hard time of it these days, but this bad? [via Awful Announcing]

Add Samuel Randall to the list of "Chicago People Who We Need To Party With." Randall was arrested yesterday for possession of six pounds of cannabis. That amount has a street value of $18,000 or enough to get one through an East Coast leg of a Phish tour. Zing! Randall was pulled over by police after he was spotted driving the wrong way down a one-way street yesterday afternoon. During the stop, officers spotted two bags of the wacky weed in one of the car's cup holders and smelled the rest in a shopping bag on the front seat. Everyone knows you hide that stuff in the spare tire wheel well in the trunk. Though, judging by the mug shot, it appears as if Randall was sampling his own product too much to think through the haze.

If you like smoking grass, Chicago Heights is your place to be. The south suburb's city council used its home rule authority to puff-puff-pass an ordinance that says anyone caught with 30 grams or less of marijuana will only be ticketed instead of facing criminal charges.

City attorney TJ Somer said addressing such offenses as ordinance violations rather than crimes helps "unclog" the criminal justice system while providing extra revenue for the city. That's because the city doesn't have to share revenue from fines with the Cook County Circuit Court system.

Federal officials arrested 11 members accused of being members of the Juarez Drug Cartel who they say are responsible for distributing cocaine and marijuana in the Chicago area. According to WBBM, "Between December 2007 and July 2008, the cocaine was sold wholesale to for $20,000 to $22,000 per kilogram, while marijuana sold for $500 to $1,050 per pound". Feds think members rounded up in the arrest are also linked to a Little Village triple murder which officials are calling a "drug hit."

Ah, the true localvore challenge: Is the ganj you smoke grown locally? According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, tighter border control has pushed some drug cartels to grow their crops on American soil. Super American soil. As in National Parks. Between 75 and 80 percent of marijuana grown outdoors in the US is grown on state or federal land.

A young Chicago man, Antonio D. Johnson, was arrested in Iowa early Thursday morning for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. It was a cut-and-dry arrest until the patrol car ride to the police station. It seems Antonio had several small bags of marijuana on him that the police hadn't found during a pat down, so he did what any other sensible person arrested for public intoxication would do: he tried to hide the weed in the cop car. Johnson tore a hole in the seat and stuffed 12 bags into the hole. FAIL. Officers found an unlucky 13th bag in his jacket pocket and tacked on possession of a controlled substance, drug tax stamp violation, criminal mischief and attempting to conceal evidence to his charges.

Indiana state troopers found thousands of marijuana plants growing in a wooded swampy area of Kosciusko County which included two residential areas and a Girl Scout camp. The majority of the plants (around 5,000) were found on a "remote" part of the 220-acre Camp Ella J. Logan Girl Scout Camp. Sherri Weidman, Chief Executive of the Limberlost Girl Scout Council said the area was "only accessible by wading through muck or taking a canoe" and that camp employees were "dismayed" when they heard the news. Three residents were arrested and taken to court attorney-less last Monday with charges of possession and intent to distribute. While no Girl Scout was found high or suspiciously gnawing through boxes of Samoas, parents were still notified when they picked up their daughters from camp. [WBBM]

We know not everyone just says no, but if you're going to do drugs, please try not to be a child abuser or a moron. A Wisconsin woman and her friends taught her two-year-old how to smoke a joint. Krystle Webber, Sean Held and Dane Ashley all pleaded guilty to charges, and Webber has since regained custody of the little boy, but apparently they filmed the incident, and that video has now surfaced.

Is Illinois heading towards legalized medical marijuana? State Senator John Cullerton (pretty website!) hopes so. He's sponsoring a bill that the Senate Public Health Committee approved 6-4 yesterday. A similar measure failed in the Senate last year, but try, try again.

An employee of the Cook County public defender's office was arrested today for accepting a package that contained 38 pounds of marijuana. Bad news for the proposed hospital plus helipad in Streeterville: According to two experts, the helipad is "high-risk." A building on the UIC campus was evacuated today after a biohazard alarm went off. Wonder what that sounds like. So the CTA funding bull bill that was supposed to come up for a...

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom...

What is it with the wives of Chicago sports stars? A few years back, Antonio Davis's wife made headlines for her bouts of road rage and attacking fans at the UC. Now Misty McMichael, the wife of former Bears wild man Steve "Mongo" McMichael, is making headlines after being arrested for speeding, marijuana possession and possession of an unregistered gun last week. Lincolnshire police investigator John-Erik Anderson stated that, "[The arresting officer] asked the occupants...

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a...

Music festivals are lots of things to lots of people: to the City, they represent quality of life and revenue draws from tourism; to music fans, they can be a great way to see many of your favorite bands all at once, while checking out new music; to some, they're like a vacation in your own town. But to activists and social movement groups, they're also an opportunity to reach out to people that might...

Chicagoist loves getting free stuff. Whether it's Free Cone Day, burritos, or bags of useless trinkets, we revel in all things gained sans payment. But, when a goodie bag containing condoms, a racy catalogue from Lover's Lane, an explicit CD, coupons for sexual favors and suntan lotion packets with marijuana leaves on them is given to a 12-year-old girl, the buck stops there. As was the case last weekend when Pam Richard took her three...

The NBA's annual draft took place Thursday night, and the Bulls added three new faces to the roster. With the ninth pick--which the Bulls had via the Knicks due to the Eddy Curry trade--they selected Joakim Noah from Florida. If nothing else, he certainly made the biggest fashion statement of the night with his seersucker suit, bow tie and crazy hair. Picking Noah was certainly consistent with GM John Paxson's style of going after players...

On Friday night at the 5400 block of S. Kilbourn police seized 992 pounds of marijuana. The street value of the weed clocks in at around $2.7 million and according to the authorities the marijuana looked as if it had been recently shipped. As a point of reference for the mass amount of marijuana seized, the following weigh approximately the same; the hog shot by an 11-year old in Alabama, this totally real video of...

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network." It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by...

We were told it would be in the 80s and sunny today. We are upset. But enough about us: A drunk driver struck an ambulance in Joliet early Saturday morning. 40-year-old Eric Perry was driving drunk in his minivan when he blew a red light and slammed into the ambulance, which was carrying David Powers, 46. The force of the crash sent the ambulance into two other vehicles; a total of five were injured. Powers...