Straight from Jenji Kohan, creator of Weeds: Clues on the sniper in the bushes and story line for Season 8 (Looks like plans to retire the series have changed.): [More...]

Affidavits for arrest warrants are not evidence. Their contents may be correct, but they also may contain inaccuracies. Affidavits contain hearsay, speculation and assumptions. They are not subject to the rules of evidence. They are not tested by cross-examination. Their purpose is merely to convince a judge that probable cause exists to arrest someone for a crime.

Criminal trials take place in public. Criminal investigations should not. One sided affidavits have no place in the public domain unless and until they are admitted as evidence at trial.

Unfortunately, the Colorado Supreme Court today, in refusing to review Denver Bronco Perrish Cox's petition to keep the affidavit in support of his arrest warrant on sexual assault charges sealed, has now poisoned his chance at getting a fair and unbiased jury. [More...]

Denver gets 300 days of sunshine a year. When it rains, it doesn't last long. Not this week -- it's like Monsoon Country here. Check out these photos from our local CBS news.

This street pictured above is about a mile from me. My street didn't flood but all the backyard shrubs got felled. Residents are still cleaning up from Thursday. Here's a photo of the building across from the federal courthouse, one a few blocks away by the federal appeals court and a cool photo of the lightening. (All were submitted by viewers to our local CBS news.)

The rain just stopped while I was typing this. The sun is peeking through, and unlike Thursday, the shrubs in my backyard are still standing.

Colorado marijuana activists officially launched a petition drive yesterday to get an initiative on the 2012 ballot to amend the Colorado Constitution to legalize adult possession of marijuana for personal use.

The initiative is called The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 and you can read the text here.

86,000 valid signatures are needed to make the ballot, a relatively small number. In 2006, Colorado voters rejected a similar initiative. Will the growth and acceptance of medical marijuana in the state change the result this time around?

Key provisions in the initiative: [More...]

I think I'll just put up music all day, songs that make us think of where we were, and where we are now, and how much work there is left to do to move this country towards freedom, especially when it comes to privacy rights.

Happy July 4th Everyone, This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

If you're grilling something great, please share!

In the continuing saga of the DEA vs. Aspen, Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo says he did nothing out of the ordinary by stopping by a 65th birthday party for a long-time Aspen resident who had a pending drug charge. The party was at a local hotel. He stayed 15 minutes and didn't even have a drink. In the wake of criticism of his decision to attend the party, and whether it was a mistake, he said yesterday:

“Well, it’s hard for me to say anything else but ‘of course’ now, looking back. But in the day-to-day life of the way I’ve been for the last 30 years in Aspen, it just seems like another thing that I do. It just seems like another type of [a] day in the life of an Aspenite, and maybe even the Pitkin County sheriff. At least for the last 40 years.”

After reiterating that the majority of the Aspen community is opposed to undercover drug operations, and that they pose a safety risk, he addresses the war on drugs: [More...]

The Pitkin County Commissioners in Aspen met a few weeks ago and condemned the DEA's recent bust of a group of retirement-age drug suspects. More here.

Yesterday they wrote the DEA a letter, lambasting the agency for not telling local law enforcement what they were up to. The Commissioners urge the DEA to "“reconsider the directive you've given to your field agents and employees that places innocent people at risk.”

The letter has more details of the meeting between DEA and local law enforcement after the most recent bust.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Colorado is the latest one to advise state prosecutiorial agencies that it will continue to prosecute and impose sanctions against those involved in medical marijuana, despite the Ogden Memo and despite state law to the contrary.

Here are the actual letters, from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to the legislature, from Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh to Suthers, and similar ones from U.S. Attorneys in Northern California, Hawaii, Eastern Washington and Montana. [More...]

I hope everyone is having a terrific Easter.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Ballots have gone out for the Denver Mayoral election. Today, at the 40th annual NORML 2011 conference in Denver. Montel Williams moderated a debate panel among several of the candidates: James Mejia, Jeff Peckham, Doug Linkart, Thomas Wolf, Theresa Spawn and Chris Roemer.

Factoids: In Denver. there are 270 medical marijuana centers, 470 grow facilities and 170 infused product manufacturers. There are between 14,000 and 20,000 in Denver who have medical marijuana cards. It provides 4,000 jobs in Denver.

Candidate Chris Roemer got justly booed when he referred to marijuana as "addictive." It was during the q and a session at 55:00 into the video. [More...]

The Colorado Board of Health is up to its old tricks, now trying to change the definition of caregiver in a way that will restrict patient choice and require patients to pay for unnecessary services. From Sensible Colorado:

Once again, the Colorado Health Department (CDPHE) has launched an attack on medical marijuana caregivers. Hiding behind the Attorney General’s questionable legal interpretation, the CDPHE has rejected the proposed definition of "caregiver" as put forward by the CDPHE Medical Marijuana Advisory Board. After studying the issue, the Advisory Board concluded that providing education about medical marijuana was sufficient to meet the definition of "caregiver".

[More...]

It's opening day for the Colorado Rockies. They are playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. It's a beautiful, sunny 70 degree day here. Go Rockies!

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.