Vermont attorney general backs legalization. William Sorrel, the state’s current AG, stepped forward to give the state’s already-promising legalization prospects an extra boost. Sorrell’s support follows on former Attorney General Kimberly Cheney, who came out a few weeks ago to back S.241, which would legalize and regulate marijuana in Vermont. In an official letter straight from the State Office of the Attorney General, Sorrel joins forces with Cheney and M. Jerome Diamond, another former Vermont attorney general, in one powerhouse display of support for the greenery in the Green Mountain State.
Dr. Joycelyn Elders says study and legalize. The former U.S. surgeon general delivered the keynote address at the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco, where she made an enthusiastic endorsement for Bernie Sanders' proposal to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. “I felt like the government should be involved in studying it,” she said, “and, if necessary, legalizing it.” Elders espoused the possible benefits of drug legalization as far back as 1993, when she was still in office. The opinion was unpopular with Congress and the White House, and the ensuing controversy, along with her strong opinions on sex education and condom distribution, eventually lead to her ouster by President Clinton.
Remember Stoner Sloth? The anti-cannabis advertising campaign that backfired on epic proportions cost Australian taxpayers $350,000, according to public records. But it’s about more than money: 265 public servant work hours also went toward the strange, hilarious failure. The spend included $115,000 for research and evaluation, $136,700 for production, and $99,990 for media agency Universal McCann. Advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, which made $36,386 on the job, has defended the three-toed bellyflop as a “significant return on investment and involvement.”
QUICK HITS: The DEA isn't properly tracking the seized drugs, according to a new report, leaving them vulnerable to theft or tampering and compromising the security and usability of seized drugs as evidence. * An 8-year-old boy from Oregon ate a packaged cookie he found on the ground. Unfortunately, the it was infused with 50 mg of THC, which led to his hospitalization. His mother reminded the public to keep all medicines out of reach of children. We’ll have to wait and see how the anecdote affects the state’s pending decision on edible limits. * Cannabis cultivation uses a bucketload of energy because of indoor production, a report from the data analysis firm New Frontier finds. “Marijuana is the most energy-intensive agricultural commodity that we produce,” the report says, adding that cannabis production accounts for 1 percent of the nation’s entire electrical output.
