A federal judge today tossed Governor Jan Brewer’s lawsuit against the state’s Medical Marijuana Act, saying in her ruling that the state’s complaint wasn’t ripe.U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton dismissed the case without prejudice and invited the state to file an amended complaint to correct the flaws in their argument…
Two hunters found 126 pounds of bundled pot lying in the desert near Sasabe, about a month after Border Patrol agents discovered 220 pounds of pot south of Dateland.Arizona’s desert has apparently become a treasure-hunters paradise — if your idea of treasure is tens of thousands of dollars worth of…
The Sinaloa drug cartel recently suffered what local law enforcement agencies are considering a “significant blow” — a 15-month investigation has led to the arrest of more than 200 people, the seizure of hundreds of pounds of various drugs, and close to $8 million in cash.Just how “significant” a blow…
“No sir it wasn’t me, sir — I swear it wasn’t!”That’s what Jermaine “Huggy” Hopkins, the fat kid in the film Lean on Me, famously told his prickly principal (played by Morgan Freeman) to get out of a jam in the 1989 classic.The line apparently didn’t work as well on…
Governor Jan Brewer’s lawsuit against Arizona’s medical marijuana law took a beating today in federal court, where a judge told the state’s lawyers to pick a side on the issue.Brewer and her legal enforcer in the case, state Attorney General Tom Horne, campaigned against Prop 203 before voters passed it…
Three men being sought by the Arizona Department of Public Safety are suspected of helping to smuggle tons of pot for various Mexican cartels.Christian Palacios, a Valley resident and the only U.S. citizen in the trio, and two Mexican nationals, Julio Cesar Alavarado Yanez and Osvaldo Moreno Herrera, were higher-ups…
Tempe police teamed up with Nevada authorities this week to bust the Yoki A Ma’ medical marijuana club, arresting six people.It’s the latest arrest of people accused of operating clubs that distributed medical marijuana to state-registered patients, and the second to involve a business named in the legal action against…
All charges have been dropped from September’s high-profile bust by the Drug Enforcement Agency of a Tempe medical marijuana clinic.The DEA arrested James Chaney and Rachel Beeder of Arizona Go Green Co-Op on September 29 following a morning raid on the clinic and Chaney’s Phoenix home. About 60 or 70…
Maybe one reason marijuana prohibition is still in effect is this:Law officers face being fired merely for stating publicly their views on legalization.That was the case for Joe Miller, a former Mohave County probation officer whose supervisors terminated him after his name appeared on a letter — with 31 other…
The rate of Arizonans applying for medical-marijuana cards has slowed down in the last couple of months, a stat that could indicate public confusion about pot’s newfound legality. A quick look at a recent update on the state Department of Health Services website shows that 14,852 people have been approved to legally possess…
Richard Valdemar believes the central character of his medical-marijuana story would be executed by a Mexican drug cartel if he was named, so he refers to him as “Winnie.”As Valdemar relates in newly released cable-and-Internet-show video and recent article in a police magazine, Winnie is the son of two Northern…
Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies claim to have delivered a “death blow” to a Mexican drug trafficking ring that was running $33 million worth of drugs through Arizona every month.Authorities announced this morning the results of “Operation Pipeline Express,” a 17-month investigation into a drug trafficking ring that…
Jason Alistair Lowery, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer who was busted in a marijuana smuggling sting last week — and then led authorities on a high-speed chase through the desert while throwing bundles of weed out of his ICE-owned vehicle — is to be held without bail,…
Jason Alistair Lowery, 34, is a deportation officer with U.S. Immigration and customs enforcement. He’s also allegedly a weed smuggler who led authorities on a 45-minute chase — in his government-owned vehicle — after getting busted in a marijuana smuggling sting.Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Carrick Cook tells New…
A man wearing a gas mask was involved in a shooting in Mesa early this morning during what appears to be a botched weed robbery.According to Mesa police, about 1 a.m. today, a Mesa cop made a traffic stop in the 600 block of South Mesa Drive. The driver, whose…
Before Wednesday’s raid of a marijuana promoter Al Sobol’s compassion club, Phoenix police officials discussed a pending court case on the legality, in general, of such clubs. Cops then decided to move forward with the raid based on the same, thorny legal questions now before a Maricopa Superior Court judge…
President Obama doesn’t just want to seize the property of California medical-marijuana dispensaries and hit them with huge tax bills.Now the Obama Administration plans to prosecute people who place ads for dispensaries — and possibly the newspapers that print them.One of the four U.S. Attorneys in California, Laura Duffy, told…
The feds launched a new assault in their fight against medical marijuana today, threatening to seize the property of California medical marijuana dispensaries unless they close within 45 days.If there’s no push-back from the states that have legalized weed for qualified patients, including Arizona, it looks like this could be…
The Drug Enforcement Agency wants to make it clear that it’s not just going after kingpins. Any “individual” or organization involved in growing or distributing pot for recreational use can be a target of an investigation, the DEA warns through a U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman. As we mentioned on…
The owner of a Tempe medical marijuana club raided by the DEA last week was already being sought by cops for possession of methamphetamine, records show.James Chaney, 37, was arrested along with co-worker Rachel Beeder, 25, on September 29 during the morning raid of the Arizona Go Green Compassion Club…
Days after helping Phoenix police take down violent gang members, the DEA has gone after a softer target: A medical marijuana club in Tempe.Agents began showing up at the AZ Go Green Co-Op at 426 East Southern Avenue around 8 a.m., according to a news report by Channel 10 (KSAZ-TV)…
The U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau — which, as we noted earlier this week, is the same agency that lets drug cartel members buy guns — is warning firearms dealers not to sell guns to medical marijuana users.The ATF wrote a letter to firearms dealers earlier this week warning…
