I worked for 15 years for King County (Seattle) in the computer department and served for many elections. It was a ton of fun, fascinating to watch, and great to work with so many good people. Here's how it works: Counting the ballots on election night is purely theater, a show put on for the benefit of the media, mainly, and the parties and organizers for candidates and the issues. The idea was to get a reasonably complete and accurate...
After yesterday's run of passing all the cannabis issues, all states in the union now have some sort of legal cannabis on the books, except Idaho where having anything to do with the plant brings a possible felony. Now, some states only allow "hemp" and derivatives (CBD), but Idaho prohibits even that.
For the first time in 12 1/2 years of living off my solar panels and batteries, I finally depleted my batteries last night. I've been close a few times, my experience has been that three days of stormy overcast was pretty much the limit for my system. Not generally a problem in the desert because three days of overcast is very unusual. But here in the Pacific Northwest during fall and winter, weeks of overcast is quite normal. I knew I wouldn't...
Looks to me like ISP gets the award for warning about cannabis edibles being handed out for Halloween. They even included photos of counterfeit candies. I'm watching for the similar warning (from cops, of course) about fentanyl "laced" cannabis. Be on the lookout for your local idiots to make fools of themselves....
I voted yesterday. I had my choice of qualified, though boring, candidates for local offices. There were virtually no initiatives or referendums which was most unusual for Washington. I then drove to the dropbox, and it was done. I could have gone to the mailbox, but the dropbox was a right-hand turn. My county already has a 75% return rate, with 95% anticipated. We had a 55% return rate for the primary, and the auditor counted the ballots nine...
The family situation I eluded to a while back persists, and until that stabilizes or resolves I feel the need to stick around. The other factor delaying my departure for points south are the unknowns around the virus. Way up here on the Olympic Peninsula the outbreak is under control, there are about 3 or 4 new cases reported every month with zero active cases at the moment. The two factors which contribute to this success are the diligence of...
Four states are voting to legalize a cannabis market this time. Others have medical marijuana issues on the ballot, but as usual I tend to ignore those. Arizona -- Arizona has such a well-developed medical marijuana program that it looks like a fully legal market in other states. Should the ballot measure pass, transition to the fully legal market will be almost instantaneous. And pass it will. Unlike the last time they tried to legalize, there...
Stores opened in Maine this weekend, 4 years after voters passed their legalization initiative. You see, the governor didn't like the law the voters passed, preferring the underground market which has done quite well for those four years. As is typical, launch day had few stores open with very limited supply, long lines of buyers, and high prices. In Vermont cannabis was legal, but you couldn't sell it. That was corrected last week when the...
Gov Newsom signed into law an appellation rule for cannabis. Appellation refers to a particular area where a crop is grown; it protects the growers against fakers relying on the reputation of the protected growers. The laws are legally quite strong. "Champagne" is the classic example of a protected appellation. Napa Valley and Sonoma County are appellations for CA wines. Now the cannabis growers can rely on the same protections the grape...
Tis the season for the myth that "marijuana-laced" candy is being handed out to children. This has not happened in reality. A big "tell" that you're looking at the myth is use of the word "laced" which is never used in cannabis circles. Another is that the report comes from a small-town sheriff or minor police officer from a prohibitionist state. Actually, be suspicious of ANY law enforcement officer making such a claim. Ignorant cops like to...
I came across this story from Bedford, Illinois, WBIW.com. A Mr. Lantz and Ms. Thornton were busted for selling marijuana: According to a probable cause affidavit on Thursday, September 3rd at approximately 11:59 p.m. a confidential informant was given an undisclosed amount of cash to purchase marijuana from Thornton. The informant recorded the drug deal. An undercover officer also witnessed the drug deal.The informant purchased 18 grams of...
I renewed my medical marijuana card the other day. That might seem
odd in a legal state, but I can explain. First, here’s an overview
of the medical marijuana program in Washington. The voters passed I-692 in 1998 to enable a basic medical marijuana program. Similar to others already passed, “caregivers” could grow a small number of plants to supply their “patients” for money to cover the grower’s costs. Both parties would need to...