The U.S. real estate market crash has lured some Canadian marijuana growers to the U.S. according to a Crime Threat Assessment report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The report states, “Some VOC (Vietnamese Organized Crime) groups have moved their marijuana grow operations to the United States where the lower cost of real estate (in some regions) allows them to operate a more profitable enterprise and where they can also avoid police/customs detection at the border.”

The report also claims that softening of marijuana laws in some states have also made the move south of the border more attractive.

For over a decade, Canada has been home to a thriving multi-billion dollar marijuana growing industry with much of the product shipped to the U.S.

More lenient penalties for growing marijuana led the majority of these growing operations to be set up in the Canadian province of British Columbia. With most growing operation set up in residential areas, however, the market price of a home can affect profitability.

While housing prices have fallen in many U.S. areas by a third or more since 2007, housing prices in most Canadian cities during that same time frame have remained stable or even increased.

RCMP: Cheap Housing Lures Marijuana Growers To U.S.

Basically, while the store is being advertised as a garden emporium, it will have experts and materials on hand to help patients who are approved for medical marijuana usage grow their own pot.

It’s like Home Depot, but for weed.

The company originated in Oakland as a small warehouse store named “iGrow.”

The company now has plans of opening a series of stores nationwide, with first stores opening in states like Arizona and New Jersey.

The company also expects to see more states approving medical marijuana in the future. The huge store opened yesterday.

Walmart of Weed Opens First Franchise in Sacramento

The letter went on to say that ‘while we cannot divulge the consequences for the students involved, we can say that the punishment given was just for the rules infraction that occured.’ Verona School District Superintendant Dean Gorrell went on to say that the letter was sent to the parents to dispel the rumor and assure them of the safety of the children. They wanted the parents to be assured that their kids were safe in the school and in the school district.

The Verona School District has not confirmed if it was actually a marijuana laced cookie and that if any of the students involved has suffered any ill effects from eating it. Still, the students were disciplined and all indications are that the food in question was definitely a pot laced cookie.

According to surveys taken by the Federal government, The District of Columbia is already the biggest consumer of pot.

The 2007 survey conducted by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that Vermont and Rhode Island were the second and third areas of the country in the most pot being consumed. The first, of course, was Washington D.C.

Many people might be wondering if all those lawmakers are using pot to self medicate themselves for mental disorders?

A criminal justice professor at Shenadoah University and once a leader of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws writes that the extent of illegal pot already being consumed in Washinton D.C. might be even higher if people felt free enough to report their use of pot openly.

It is with pure interest in the rights of citizens to know how many of them would vote to return their representatives to Washinton if those representatives admitted to needing pot for purely medical reasons and that they were breaking the law already so why not make it legal?

On the rural property in Abbotsford, police officers found one of the most well established and most highly secure marijuana grow houses that had ever been found. Located in a barn on the rural property, the owner’s of the land were running a sophisticated marijuana grow house that contained over 1,700 marijuana plants. The plants were all in varying stages of growth, which means the location has probably been growing marijuana for awhile. According to the local police department, the grow house had the capability of producing a few hundred pounds of marijuana each month.

The site of the grow house was extremely secure. The marijuana was actually found in a bunker under the barn. The bunker had a hidden retractable roof, that was further protected by a series of motion detectors and alarms. Law enforcement officials also found three rifles and some ammunition.

Beyond seizing the home, Abbotsford law enforcement officials made two separate arrests. They arrested a 48-year old, who was residing in the home, and a 31-year old, who was believed to be connected to the operation. Both men have been released from prison, but they are now awaiting further court appearances.

The men have been charged with possession and production of a controlled substance.

Massive Pot Bust In Ontario

Since that ruling, several cases of marijuana possession have been dismissed in the state, due to law enforcement officials’ inability to determine what, exactly, constitutes a ‘reasonable’ amount. On top of this, a November ballot measure that, if approved, will legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for non-medical purposes, could make the states’ already ill-defined marijuana laws even more difficult to understand, much less enforce.
Martin J. Mayer, a lawyer representing the California State Sheriff’s Association, says, “The way the law is now, it puts law enforcement between a rock and a hard place. The measure, if it passes, will make things even more difficult.”
But law enforcement authorities are not the only ones finding it difficult to deal with the Supreme Court ruling. Some criminal defense attorneys are saying that the new law represents a gray area that will actually make it more difficult to defend clients who possess marijuana for medical purposes.

Despite rampant confusion, on both sides of the law, as to what a ‘reasonable’ amount of marijuana might be, California’s highest court has begged off giving any clear guideline, preferring to leave it in the hands of the voting public.

The street name often refers to the legal substance as K2 or Spice. Law enforcement officials have been working to get the herb made illegal because of the similar side effects it has to marijuana. Although the bags clearly state not for human consumption, it is widely sold for just that reason.

Users may not realize that this seemingly harmless natural herb is actually laced with liquid marijuana or other chemicals. One drug court judge tells people that the K2 may potentially be 100 to 800 times stronger than actual marijuana. It is often used as a way to help wean those that are addicted to marijuana.

If a person is caught smoking the herb they can be cited for a misdemeanor. It is not illegal to possess the substance, yet. Several states have begun legislation that will prohibit the sale and possession of the synthetic drug. The synthetic marijuana will most likely be banned in several more states in the upcoming months due to the sharp increase in teen usage.

K2 also known as spice, is an herbal substance that when smoked can produce a high similar to the one that occurs when under the influence of marijuana. K2′s intended use was as an incense but now has those who would abuse it scrambling to emergency rooms, suffering from vomiting, hallucinations, increased nervousness and aggression, as well as heart palpitations. K2 has long been banned in Europe, and now the states of Missouri, Illinois, Utah, Kentucky, Georgia, North Dakota, and Tennessee, may soon join the cause expressed by Kansas Senator Jim Barnett. Barnett, who is also a physician, has expressed concerned that K2 may have great potential for abuse.

Kansas has now classified K2 as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Other substances in Kansas classified as schedule 1 substances include heroin, salvia, gypsum weed, and most opium derivatives. In Missouri, some retailers have voluntarily removed the product from their shelves. Pettis and St. Charles counties have already passed laws banning the sale and use of the synthetic substance.

The young man says he never went to work under the influence nor did he smoke the marijuana while on duty. After five years of employment, he was unexpectedly fired after a drug test revealed the marijuana in his system. The manager of the Wal-Mart store apologized to Casias but said the rules could not be bent, even in a legal use situation.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Greg Rossiter calls the situation “unfortunate” but states, they will not rehire the former associate of the year. Although medical marijuana is legal in fourteen states, there are no laws to protect users from job termination in drug-free companies.

Wal-Mart is just one of many companies that forbid drug use of any kind. Marijuana is still an illegal drug according to federal law. This makes a company liable if any injury occurs on the property at the hands of a medical marijuana user.

According to surveys done by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration marijuana usage by people over 50 years old increased from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent in the years 2002 to 2008. The biggest increase was reported among users 55 to 59 years old. Their usage more than tripled from 1.6 percent to 5.1 percent.

Their reasons for using are myriad. Some use it for medical purposes, legally in 14 states and not so legally in others. Some seniors, retired and with time on their hands, have returned to a method of relaxation remembered from their youth and still others have been using all along.

Medically marijuana has been shown to relieve many problems associated with the aging process: aches and pains, glaucoma, macular degeneration and various other conditions. Socially it soothes and relaxes. According to one senior, “Food tastes better, music sounds better, sex is more enjoyable.”

That’s not to say it’s without risk – especially for older users. Seniors are more likely to be at risk for falls if they become dizzy, and smoking marijuana increases the risk of heart disease and may cause cognitive impairment