Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A former U.S. Border Patrol agent who smuggled bundles of marijuana from the Arizona-Mexico border is set to be sentenced today, The Republic reports. Anaya, who also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while committing a drug offense, was caught on surveillance loading bundles of pot into his patrol car between Yuma…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Justice Department has announced an end to challenging state laws that permit residents to use marijuana for recreation and medical use, the USA Today reports. The directive was sent to federal prosecutors nationwide. But there are conditions. The Justice Department, for example, will still go after anyone who sells pot to…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Drug smugglers have shown no end to new ways to bring drugs into the U.S. On Tuesday, authorities said a Canadian scuba diver tried to smuggle $40,000 worth marijuana into the U.S. by swimming across St. Clair River in Michigan, the Lansing State Journal reports. The scuba diver, who has not yet…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA continues to crack down on medical marijuana stores in states where voters legalized the use of medical pot. The latest law enforcement effort is targeting medicinal pot shops cropping up in metropolitan Seattle, Q13 Fox reports. The DEA sent letters to shops that are close to schools or playgrounds and…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The DEA has alarmed marijuana advocates after sending cease-and-desist letters to 11 dispensaries in the Seattle area, the Seattle Times reports. Although state law permits medical-marijuana dispensaries, federal law bans all forms of pot. The letters, however, don’t signal a war against state marijuana laws, according to the DEA. The dispensaries were…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Cameras are helping Border Patrol make arrests in areas where agents can’t always monitor, the Brownsville Herald reports. The technology in the lower Rio Grande Valley also helps agents keep an eye on the suspects while authorities move in. Border Patrol spokesman Henry Mendiola said told the Herald. Last week, agents seized…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Police who use drug-sniffing dogs outside of homes to detect crimes without a warrant are violating the ban on unreasonable searches, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Tuesday, the New York Times reports. In this case, a police dog detected the odor of marijuana outside a Florida house, and authorities used the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Maryland Senate approved decriminalizing of possession of small amounts of marijuana over the objections of federal law enforcement Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. Maryland joins other states and cities across the country decriminalizing pot. Colorado and Washington, for instance, have legalized marijuana. Unlike like full legalization in those states, Maryland makes…
