Seattle's city attorney wants a place for marijuana users to congregate, California activists start moving toward 2016, Dr. David Nutt criticizes British Ecstasy policy, Iran starts the New Year with a bakers' dozen drug executions, and more. Let's get to it:

An execution in Iran. The Islamic Republic executed more than 300 drug offenders last year. (iranhr.net)

Seattle City Attorney Wants Marijuana Vapor Lounges. In a new memo on marijuana policy, City Attorney Peter Holmes is calling for the legalization of pot vapor lounges in the city. "Single family homeowners have a legal place to consume marijuana; others however, such as out-of-town visitors, the homeless, and renters and condominium owners whose buildings do not permit marijuana use, have fewer options," he noted in the memo. "You can enforce that law much better if you, at the same time, provide an outlet for that demand," Holmes said. The lounges would be open only to those 21 and over, require customers to bring their own weed, and would only allow vaping, not smoking. Such a move would require the approval of the city council and the city health department.

Virginia Poll Finds Majority Support for Decriminalization, Medical Marijuana. A Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project finds that 74% of respondents supported allowing medical marijuana and 60% supported decriminalization. The poll also had a near-majority for legalization, with 49% in favor and 44% opposed.

California Activists Set First Meeting for 2016 Initiative. The California Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform will kick off the effort to legalize pot in the state in 2016 with a meeting in Oakland this Friday. The meeting will be a seminar examining lessons from the successful initiative efforts in Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia, as well as the roll-out of marijuana commerce in Colorado. Click on the link for meeting details.  

Medical Marijuana

Iowa Pharmacy Board Votes to Reschedule CBD, But Not Marijuana. The state Board of Pharmacy voted Monday to move cannabidiol (CBD) from Schedule I to Schedule II, but not marijuana. The board was acting on a petition from long-time activist Carl Olsen, who sought to have the whole plant rescheduled. But the board wasn't ready to do that. Olsen says while it isn't what he was asking for, it is a step in the right direction.

Sentencing

Washington State Defelonization Bill to Get Hearing. A bill that would make simple drug possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony will get a public hearing in the House Public Safety Committee on January 16. The bill is House Bill 1024, introduced by Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo), and is estimated to save the state millions in incarceration costs each year if passed. Fourteen other states have defelonized drug possession, with California being the most recent. Voters there approved a defelonization initiative in November.

Law Enforcement

Rolling Stone Exposé on Crooked Texas Border Drug Task Force. Rolling Stone has published an in-depth look at a South Texas drug task force, the infamous "Panama Unit" of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office and the Mission Police Department. The extent of the thievery and corruption is mind-blowing. Well worth the read.

International

"Illogical and Punitive Drug Policy" to Blame for British Ecstasy Deaths, Prominent Critic Says. Dr. David Nutt, the former head of the Advisory Commission on the Misuse of Drugs who was fired for failing to toe the government's hard line of drug policy, has blamed that hard-line policy for the drug overdose deaths of four men in the past few days. The men thought they were taking Ecstasy, but a British government crackdown on the drug has led to it being substituted by a more lethal substance, PMA. That's the "illogical and punitive drug policy," Nutt was referencing. "The emergence of the more toxic PMA following the so-called ‘success’ in reducing MDMA production is just one of many examples of how prohibition of one drug leads to greater harm from an alternative that is developed to overcome the block," he added.

Mexican Army Kills Nine Civilians in Cartel-Plagued Michoacan. Nine civilians have been killed by Mexican soldiers in the town of Apatzigan, Michoacan, after the army tried to take control of city hall, which had been held for days by armed civilians. It's not clear who exactly was involved, but the western Mexican state has been plagued for years by violent drug trafficking organizations, and more recently, by armed vigilantes fighting the cartels.

Iran Greets New Year By Hanging 13 Drug Offenders. New Year's Day saw 13 drug offenders hanged in Iranian prisons, including four women. All had been convicted of drug trafficking. Iran hanged hundreds of drug traffickers last year, and it looks like it's off to a quick start this year, too. 

Ho, ho, ho. We have a Christmas stocking full of corrupt cops this week. Without further ado, let's get to it:

In Atlantic City, New Jersey, a Cumberland County jail guard was arrested last Friday for allegedly smuggling marijuana, tobacco, and vitamin supplements to inmates. Joshua Minguela is accused of smuggling goods between August 2013 and January 2014. He is charged with official misconduct, conspiracy, and drug charges.

In Derry Township, Pennsylvania, a former Derry Township police officer was arrested Monday for stealing prescription drugs from the evidence room. Sgt. Brian Romberger, who was primary evidence custodian at the time, went down after police discovered pills missing from evidence. During an investigation, authorities discovered that Romberger was falling asleep on the job and having other difficulties functioning, and he then admitted he took and consumed the missing pills -- at least 375 of them, including Percocet, oxycodone, hydrocodone, Xanax, Opana, and more. He is charged with theft, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.

In Birmingham, Alabama, a former sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty Monday to pressuring a woman to cook and sell meth for him. Grady Keith Concord, 42, admitted approaching the woman and asking her to make the drug for him. He also supplied her with pseudoephedrine, a key precursor ingredient. He denied threatening to arrest her if she didn't cook for him, but conceded his position as a deputy may have influenced her. He copped to extortion under color of official right, manufacturing methamphetamine and manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine on premises where children are present. No word on sentencing yet.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a former Tulsa police officer was sentenced last Wednesday to four years in prison for taking bribes to use police databases to provide information to an informant who used the information to burglarize buildings where large amounts of money was suspected to be. Tyrone Jenkins had pleaded guilty to receiving bribes, two counts of computer crime, and one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The cocaine charge derived from Jenkins's setting up a deal between the informant and another man.

In Albany, New York, a former Saratoga County sheriff's deputy was sentenced last Thursday to five years in federal prison for taking money to drive a drug dealer to Warren County to sell cocaine. Charles Fuller had been arrested last spring, and his defense blamed his behavior on gambling debts and alcohol use. He copped to a single count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He went directly from court to prison.

NYPD officers are involved in two out of three of our corrupt cop reports this week, and a pair of thieving San Francisco cops round out the rogues' gallery. Let's get to it:

In New York City, an NYPD officer was arrested last Friday for driving a drug dealer around, warning a cocaine dealer that police action was coming, and offering to arrange a heroin deal. Officer Merlin Alston allegedly told one cocaine supplier to "ghost" and "be gone" from a corner when police were coming, helped another dealer deliver cocaine, and offered to help the latter deal score some heroin. He is charged with official misconduct and conspiracy.

In San Francisco, two San Francisco police officers were convicted last Friday of stealing thousands of dollars worth of cash and other property from suspected drug dealers. Officer Edmond Robles and Sgt. Ian Furminger were found guilty by a federal jury of five and four counts respectively. There could be more guilty verdicts or plea bargains to come in this scandal, which began Public Defender Jeff Adachi released surveillance videos showing officers walking out of cheap SRO hotels with bags of residents' possessions.

It never ends. More jail guards with contraband issues, another cop with a serious pill problem. Let's get to it:

In Kerrville, Texas, a Kerr County jail guard was arrested Sunday on charges he smuggled drugs and other contraband into the jail. Carl Birdwell, 22, went down after an investigation that began in December when administrators noticed "suspicious activity" in and outside of the jail. He was one of 11 people indicted in the contraband scheme. He allegedly smuggled alcohol, tobacco, pills, a cell phone, and more to inmates. He is charged with organized crime offenses.

In Knoxville, Tennessee, a former Newport Police detective was sentenced Monday to 7 ½ years in federal prison for peddling pain pills. James Finley Holt, 59, went down after a snitch agreed to help federal law enforcement, telling the feds he had sold him stolen items, which Holt then sold at a convenience store he owned. Further investigation revealed that Holt was buying and selling hydrocodone and Xanax, sometimes in his Newport police cruiser. When agents executed search warrants, they found cocaine, pills, and a bottle of testosterone in his locker, nine different prescription pill bottles, loose pills, and a grinder in a safe under his desk, more pills and pill bottles in his cruiser, and a sawed off shotgun at his home. He was convicted of federal drug distribution charges.