Nevada County moves closer to dispensary ban

 Dispensaries
Jun 242011
 

Nevada County officials are one step away from uniformly banning medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the county. On Thursday, the county’s planning commission voted 3-0, with two members absent, to recommend its board of supervisors adopt a ban on storefront dispensaries. If approved at the supervisors’ July 12 meeting, such businesses would have no place to function in Nevada County, as owners would be barred from opening up shop in the unincorporated county, Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee, which have all either already banned the establishments or don’t allow them under current zoning laws. At [...]

Federal judge lightens sentence for Nevada County grower

 Courts
May 212011
 
Federal judge lightens sentence for Nevada County grower

Bud’s note: Somehow I missed this Liz Kellar story about a Nevada County grower when it first ran in The Union. The story itself doesn’t have a happy ending, but neither is it the 5-year prison tragedy that was scripted by the U.S. Attorney’s office. Kellar does here what all reporters should do: Present the basic facts of the case with context and analysis from multiple sources. Maybe journalism isn’t dead after all. ================= A federal pot raid on a Big Oak Valley grower back in September 2007 was heralded by The Union at the [...]

Nevada County mom, son indicted for trafficking

 Courts
May 202011
 

A Nevada City woman and her son have been indicted by a federal grand jury on interstate pot trafficking and money laundering charges. The grand jury returned a three-count indictment Thursday against Patricia Jane Albright, 59, and Jordan Robert Wirtz, 24, charging them with conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting requirements. In January 2010, law enforcement officers identified Albright as a marijuana grower, Liz Kellar reports in The Union of Grass Valley. In early September, an undercover officer posing as a marijuana broker spoke with Wirtz at one of Albright’s [...]

Grass Valley City Council votes to ban dispensaries

 Dispensaries, Ordinances
Jan 132011
 

Medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives will not be allowed to operate in Grass Valley — at least, until the still-evolving legal landscape changes. In a 4-1 vote, Grass Valley City Council members turned aside a proposed ordinance to allow and regulate dispensaries, instead joining 214 California cities that have banned them outright, Trina Kleist reports in The Union of Grass Valley. Council members cited concern about the effects of marijuana use on young people and worries over crime associated with dispensaries in some areas, saying those who genuinely need marijuana for medical reasons can [...]

MMJ robberies top 2010 news in Nevada County

 Crime, Marijuana News
Jan 012011
 

Bud’s note: A lot of newspapers do year-end news roundups, and medical marijuana got two of the top 10 spots in The Union of Grass Valley. 1. Pot stolen by police impersonators Terry Alan McLeod, 51, and Timothy Daniel Fitzpatrick, 43, of Elk Grove, allegedly robbed four North San Juan residents at gunpoint on Jan. 2, taking medical marijuana, cash and personal property, then driving off in a pickup. McLeod and Fitzpatrick allegedly were dressed in police raid gear with badges to impersonate narcotics detectives. Christopher “Tabor” Teachout, 32, one of the victims, allegedly chased [...]

Grass Valley planners back ban on dispensaries

 Dispensaries, Marijuana News, Ordinances
Dec 222010
 

Grass Valley’s Planning Commission said no to drugs Tuesday night. In a 4-0 vote, commissioners recommended the city ban medical marijuana dispensaries in city limits rather than allow for their establishment and regulation. “I don’t believe there is a suitable location in city limits for a dispensary,” said Commissioner Patti Ingram. A final decision on marijuana regulation is expected to come from the Grass Valley City Council at its Jan. 11 or 25 meetings, Kyle Magin reports in The Union of Grass Valley. A temporary city moratorium on dispensaries expires in late February, meaning the [...]

Bud’s Blog: Grass Valley split on medical cannabis

 Bud's Blog, Dispensaries, Opinion, Ordinances
Nov 242010
 

A news blog is pretty useless when there’s no news to report, and since Election Day the cannabis headlines have become few and far between. Proposed dispensary bans passed their first vote by Los Angeles and Orange supervisors, but apart from that it’s back to grow house fires, random pot busts and small-town news. Prop. 19 coverage has disappeared, and its 2012 sequel hasn’t been scripted yet. Our focus thus reverts to local issues involving medical cannabis, and it’s a very mixed bag in California. Dispensary bans have gone viral with city councils and boards [...]

Nevada County hunkers down with dispensary bans

 Dispensaries, Legalization, Marijuana News, Ordinances
Oct 292010
 

Nevada County’s municipalities have taken a hard line on medical marijuana dispensaries this year. City councils in Grass Valley and Nevada City, as well as Nevada County supervisors, all either have passed or extended moratoriums on medical dispensaries in the past year, The Union reports. Officials are now keeping a close eye on Proposition 19, which would allow the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use, and allows local governments to control the sale of marijuana and tax the revenues. The initiative appears on the Nov. 2 ballot. Grass Valley doesn’t [...]

Killer in Nevada County pot theft denied new trial

 Courts, Marijuana News
Sep 172010
 

Louis James, convicted in July of the murder of Nevada City native Kenneth Painter, failed in some 11th-hour legal maneuvers to win a new trial. James is set to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. today, Liz Kellar reports in The Union of Grass Valley, and friends and relatives of the murder victim were planning to pack the courtroom this afternoon. But they were left pacing the halls Thursday morning as Nevada County Superior Court Judge Sean Dowling heard several motions filed by James’ attorney, Greg Klein. Klein asked Dowling to postpone sentencing and appoint an [...]

Nevada County pot verdict set aside, then appealed

 Courts, Cultivation, Marijuana News
Aug 312010
 

A Nevada City man’s pot conviction remains in limbo — and could drag on for at least a year. Eric Engstrom’s legal quagmire started after he was found guilty in March of unlawfully growing marijuana, Liz Kellar reports in The Union of Grass Valley. The verdict was set aside by Nevada County Superior Court Judge Candace Heidelberger after she found clear evidence of misconduct by the jury, but the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office has filed a notice of appeal with the state of California. The District Attorney’s Office “is asking the Court of Appeals [...]

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