tagged w/ 420
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CANNABIS CULTURE - Imprisoned marijuana activist Marc Emery has been put in solitary confinement in an American prison for unknowingly breaking an apparently unwritten rule by allowing his wife to record a phone conversation for publication as an online podcast.
On Thursday, June 3, officials at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center in the Washington gave Emery an official citation for allowing his wife, BC Green Party Director-at-Large Jodie Emery, to record a message from him over the phone, claiming it broke the prison's rule forbidding third-party calls. Emery was locked in a Segregated Housing Unit (SHU) and denied access to books, television, the telephone or contact with his wife and family. He will remain in the SHU until the prison holds an internal "disciplinary hearing" at an undetermined future date.
Emery's attorney Rick Troberman was allowed a brief visit on Tuesday, June 8 and said Marc has been locked in a very small for cell for 24 hours a day since Thursday, and could be there for a lot longer.
"We don't know how long he will be in there," Troberman said. "It's frustrating because he certainly didn't intend to break any rules and he's been doing everything he can to comply with the rules. [Recording podcasts] was something that he did regularly while in custody in Canada and there was never a problem with it. No one told him he couldn't do it here and as soon as he was told it was a violation of the rules he immediately sent a message to Jodie and told her not to broadcast it and she didn't."
Emery's wife Jodie says she is devastated she hasn't been able to talk to Marc for almost a week.
"It's horrible not hearing from my beloved husband, not knowing what's going on, when I'll be in touch with him next," she wrote in a recent blog post at Cannabis Culture. "And the solitary confinement is just the period where he waits for the punishment to be determined, as if it's not punishment enough! They can take away phone, email, AND visits."
Libby Davies, New Democratic Party MP for Vancouver East, sent a letter to Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon today (read letter below) asking him to intervene to ensure that the rights and safety of Emery, as a Canadian citizen, are being respected. Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal MP for Vancouver South and member of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, also expressed concern about Emery's treatment.
"Marc should have access to consular officials and they should be vigilant in protecting Marc's rights under law in the US," said Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal MP for Vancouver South. "Here you have a man who has pleaded guilty to charges that would never be laid against him in this country, our police forces have facilitated his arrest and extradition to the US for crimes we would never prosecute him for here, and now for essentially making a telephone call to his supporters he has been put in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is for serious disciplinary transgressions, not for something that you do when you don't even know it is against the rules. Our government should be speaking to US authorities to have Emery sentenced as early as possible and then bring him home to serve his sentence."
Troberman said he though the punishment was unfair considering the circumstances.
"It seems to me that this is a completely overblown reaction," he said. "There was nothing in the conversation that was derogatory about the Federal Detention Center or his current situation or anything else. Why they're choosing to make such a big deal of it is, frankly, a mystery to me."
Before he was put in solitary, Emery managed to send an 'email' through CorrLinks, a Bureau of Prisons messaging system, to his wife saying that he had read all the prison rules and that they didn't mention anything about recording phone calls.
"There's nothing in my rule book that says you can't record my calls, so I thought it was OK," Emery wrote in a message published in his wife's blog post.
Emery is to remain in solitary confinement until his disciplinary hearing, where he will be given further punishment, which could mean the revoking of privileges or more time in the SHU. Emery is not entitled to a lawyer during a disciplinary action.
Emery is currently awaiting sentencing after being extradited to the US by the Conservative government of Canada. Emery was raided and arrested by the US DEA and Vancouver police in 2005 for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet and using the money to fund activism. He agreed to a 5-year plea deal in exchange for his two co-accused receiving probation in Canada. After sentencing, Emery will apply for transfer to Canada for the remainder of his sentence. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews will decide if Emery will be allowed to come home.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/06/09/Marc-Emery-Put-Solitary-Confinement-US-Prison-Recording-PodcastCANNABIS CULTURE - Imprisoned marijuana activist Marc Emery has been put in solitary... more
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Confucius once said, "Only the Wisest and Stupidest of Men Never Change;" I made changes to my life, so I know that I'm neither. The greatest and most difficult change was when I finally got rid of my television over 2 years ago. Most people, when they think about addiction, it starts maybe in the teens with drinking, smoking or popping pills, but when it comes to TV, most get plopped in front of one well before turning one. Needless to say, growing up in the 80s and 90s, I was raised on cable.
I was always a fight the power, rage against the machine type of guy. I remember when my step-sister's high school boyfriend gave me Metallica's, Master of Puppets, cassette when I was in the 4th grade + the t-shirt. Yo MTV Raps and Headbanger's Ball were Saturday night staples.
Oh the nostalgia, anyway, the point is, getting rid of TV, stop drinking hard liquor, no more fast food or microwave, etc. It didn't happen over night; I still smoke pot and drink beers. Second most important was that I started reading books...and reading a lot, which made me want to research even more. Trying to get a leg up on the collapsed market, I read the Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson, which got me interested gaining a complete understanding of world history chronologically. I was laid off and unemployed as well so I had the time and I had a plan, which turned out to be a great thing for me in the long run, but I understand that isn't the case for everyone.
That's what brings me to "Conspiracy Theories." For some strange reason, I have this obsession with truth and figuring things out. I just despise lying, deceiving bullshit. Being from NY, I guess I was suffering from a post-9/11 PTSD-type situation b/c I refused to look at or see, talk about or want anything to do with bringing up the subject. It took living in California for 5 years in order for it to wear off and look into it. Obviously, by then I started hearing things about it being an inside job, so guess what, I did the research and watched Truth Rising: The 9/11 Chronicles and it blew my mind, now on my site: www.current.com/groups/conspiracy-films
For conspiracy theorists, they call it "waking up," "falling down the rabbit hole," or "breaking out of the Matrix" (from the movie, inspired by Jordan Maxwell's doc, The Matrix of Power (on my site)). It's true, b/c I've always been moderately liberal; I even voted for Obama. When I was on Facebook (got off that hell-site too) a friend sent me the link to Dr. John Coleman's, The Committee of 300 (also on my site) and I watched it. Those first couple of months after having that complete emotional, intellectual, conscious and subconscious awakening is a trip; I went through the whole range of emotions.
That's why I say to people, "the truth will set you free, but freedom can be scary, that's why you need the knowledge, which is the power and security you need to be able to handle what the truth may bring. But it takes time and a lot of hours. That's why I created my Conspiracy Films group. Challenge yourself, see what all these "crazy people" are talking about, watch a film or two, listen to an interview, see what some of these people have to say. Some have risked their lives and careers to even report on some of this stuff.
And its not just about the NWO. Frankly, I was pissed off and didn't want to research it anymore, so I started researching space. And guess what, you can't get away from these f*ckers. Luckily, I came across the work of Immanuel Velikovsky and the Electric Universe Theory. With just a few hours of research you'll think Einstein was a clown.
But don't believe me, find out for yourself.
I want to thank my supporters and detractors; free speech is a bitch, b/c with freedom comes responsibility. I'm man enough to own up to my words and I'll fight for my freedom of speech till death. In the meantime, I'll be in the trenches fighting the information war against the NWO.
I began with quote from Confucius and I'll end on one too: "No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."
www.current.com/groups/conspiracy-filmsConfucius once said, "Only the Wisest and Stupidest of Men Never Change;" I... more
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Bankrupt California is sorely tempted to rewrite the law for a pot of gold.
Pot is in the air here on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Not in the smoke that drifts between the cafés, second-hand shops and indie music stores of legendary Haight-Ashbury. But in the headlines of local newspapers, the posters plastered on phone booths and the ads now airing on the radio.
It has been two months since a proposal to legalize marijuana was added to California's fall referendum ballot, and the debate on the subject is in full swing. A similar vote crashed and burned in the 1970s, but proponents feel that this time they could win. Last week, councillors across the water made Oakland the state's first city to formally endorse the move, and the latest polls show public opinion is almost evenly divided.
The proposed legislation is fairly conservative. It would allow growing, selling and consuming cannabis, but local governments could opt out, smoking in public would remain illegal, cultivation would be limited to a small plot and vendors would face severe penalties for selling to anyone under 21.
But a bigger motivation is something profoundly practical: The state needs the cash. Badly.
In the wake of a brutal recession, California is heavily in debt – a $70-billion hole that is making governments at all levels rethink their spending on just about everything.
The proposed law would put a $50-an-ounce tax on all marijuana sales, which translates into an estimated $1.4-billion a year, according to the State Board of Equalization.
“It's basically the first time it's been so attractive – because of the economic times,” says Richard Lee, a driving force behind the $1-million campaign to collect more than 530,000 signatures (well over the 433,971 required) to get the issue on the ballot.
He says his desire to legalize marijuana stems from a 1991 carjacking when police took 40 minutes to respond, a delay he attributed to time wasted on less pressing criminal matters.
Three years ago, Mr. Lee, who also runs a marijuana dispensary, helped to create Oaksterdam University, which is named for the Oakland district often compared to Amsterdam and cheekily calls itself “America's first cannabis college.”
The school teaches aspiring green thumbs the history, politics, economics, legalities and, of course, the horticultural fine points of marijuana. But Mr. Lee also sees it as the birthplace of legal pot in North America. “We have made it a political issue this year ... a victory in and of itself,” he says.
“But we do plan on winning. We have labour unions and other groups that never endorsed us before that are coming aboard. … Things are reaching that tipping point.”
CANNABIS AND CLASSROOMS
There certainly are growing signs of tolerance. Last week, on the same day that Oakland endorsed the proposal, the stately New York Times published a lengthy ode to “haute stoner cuisine” that explored the impact of marijuana on the food scene and, in the process, underscoring how casual use of the drug has become.
Even without the West Coast's cultural stereotypes, California is a logical choice to make pot legal simply because it already has a thriving marijuana trade.
Since receiving the green light in 1996, the medical use of marijuana has grown into a billion-dollar industry. Los Angeles now has more marijuana dispensaries than public schools – estimated at more than 500, although that number is expected to drop precipitously when more stringent legislation comes into place in June.
Pot is now so prevalent that Oakland city attorney John Russo argued in an opinion piece for a local newspaper last week that anyone trying to enforce the current law is living in a “fairy tale” – and an expensive one at that.
In an interview, he explains that, considering the fiscal pressure on governments and “looking at how much money has gone into the prohibition against marijuana, ... I just don't think we can afford to continue to pretend the so-called war on drugs has any hope of eradicating marijuana use.
Others who back the initiative include Jim Gray, a retired Republican judge who wrote a 2001 book entitled Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It, and a former Los Angeles sheriff, Jeff Studdard, who lent his voice to the first radio ad for the Tax Cannabis Campaign.
Even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told reporters this month that he doesn't support the bill personally, but because of “all those ideas of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it.
“We ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana. What effect did it have on those countries? Are they happy with the decision?”
Even so, the measure will not pass in November without a fight. The recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California shows 49 per cent of respondents in favour and 48 per cent against – hardly a commanding lead – and the campaign to raise millions to get out the vote has so far brought in little more than $200,000.
“It's a deeply flawed initiative. … What were these people smoking when they wrote this?” asks Sacramento lawyer John Lovell, who represents some of the more vehement opponents – the state's police chiefs and narcotics officers.
He contends that even people in favour in principle will oppose the bill on other grounds, including what he claims is too lax a position on pot in the workplace.
“If I come to work and you smell alcohol on my breath, you can send me home, you can discipline me, you can terminate me,” he says. “If I come to work and my clothing smells of marijuana, I even test positive, I get to go to work that day.”
There's also the more basic argument of whether it's wise, from a policy perspective, to make marijuana more easily accessible. Proponents say it's no worse than alcohol.
But many critics (including Canada's federal government) still consider pot a “gateway drug” that can lead to far more harmful substances.
“I think ordinary people understand it is not a positive social good for people to get high,” Mr. Lovell says. “Because when they get high, when they get intoxicated, when their five senses are compromised, they make bad decisions.”
Californians also must bear in mind what happened in Alaska, which became the first state to legalize pot in 1975, when it voted to allow possession of a small amount for personal use, only to reverse its decision 15 years later.
Even some of the big players in the state's medical-marijuana industry oppose legalization, which they fear would drive down prices and disrupt the virtual monopoly they enjoy.
It also would launch a state-wide experiment in behavioural psychology, Berkeley economist Alan Auerbach says. Making the drug cheaper and easier to obtain may well cause usage to skyrocket, whereas taxing it too highly risks creating a black market for contraband pot much like the one for cigarettes.
Enforcement would probably remain a problem, especially if many local governments opt out, but Prof. Auerbach says it wouldn't be the first time a government has had to find a way to impose a new sin tax. “The world didn't end when we adopted state lotteries,” he explains.
POT TOURS AHEAD
Looking ahead to November, Mr. Russo, the Oakland solicitor, remains optimistic. “I think California may lead the way on this one,” he says.
CONTINUED>>> http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/29/Debt-Reduction-Dilemma-Legal-Pot-1-Billion-YearBankrupt California is sorely tempted to rewrite the law for a pot of gold.
Pot is... more
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The weed may be fake, but the potential dangers are real.
That’s the message health authorities in Canada and the United States are sending out about a herbal incense product that, when smoked, mimics some of the effects of marijuana.
Sold online and in head shops under brand names such as K2, Spice and Yucatan Fire, the packets of dried herbs (including white and blue water lily, dwarf skullcap and blue lotus) are infused with one or more synthetic cannabinoids — molecules that mirror the psychoactive properties in marijuana.
Though the products are typically marketed as incense or potpourri, “It is believed that these products are generally smoked by consumers for their stimulant properties,” said Ashley Lemire, a Health Canada spokesperson.
And while these products can deliver a marijuana-like high, they’ve also been known to have other side-effects, authorities say.
In late March, the American Association of Poison Control Centers issued a warning about the imitation pot, saying users reported a racing heart rate, agitation, anxiety, confusion and nausea.
“Parents should be on the lookout for what looks like incense in their child’s room and watch to see if their children seem more anxious than usual,” the warning said.
A memo from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration last year referred to the herbal products as “stealth marijuana.”
In just the past few months, several U.S. states have outlawed or are planning to outlaw the sale of certain synthetic cannabinoids, whose long-term health effects have not been fully studied, authorities say.
In Canada, synthetic cannabinoids are already considered a controlled substance, but that hasn’t stopped herbal products containing those illegal ingredients from entering the country.
Lemire said Health Canada is working on distributing information to law-enforcement agencies and border officials to help them identify products containing the illegal substances so they can be “seized at points of entry into Canada and removed from retail outlets.”
Health Canada was spurred to act after police departments contacted the agency uncertain whether the products were legal to sell or purchase, she said.
One website that sells K2 products is www.k2-incense.com, where three-gram pouches of K2 herbal blends go for between $30 and $60.
In an e-mailed statement, the website’s operators, who refused to identify themselves by name, said their products are “sold strictly as incense” and that they are safe. “We do not condone misuse/abuse of the product,” the statement said.
The statement also said that the K2 brand has been “hijacked” by counterfeiters who sell a poor-quality product made in amateur chemists’ kitchens, basements and garages.
“More bans of our product will result in more counterfeiters and more issues. Brings you back to the Prohibition of the ’20s and the counterfeiters making alcohol in filthy warehouses and basements. Long live the government and its eternal wisdom!”
Jodie Emery, the wife of high-profile Vancouver marijuana activist Marc Emery, who recently surrendered to authorities on charges of selling marijuana seeds to Americans, said she doesn’t think the market for synthetic marijuana is as big in Canada compared to the U.S. because real marijuana is so much more accessible north of the border.
She said she knows people who’ve tried the imitation pot, and the reaction is always negative.
Instead of mellowing them out, she said, “it makes them anxious.”
- Article from Vancouver Sun.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/30/Health-Authorities-Caution-Against-Dangers-Fake-PotThe weed may be fake, but the potential dangers are real.
That’s the message... more
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The Canada Border Control Services Agency says it will confiscate any marijuana at the border, even if it is medically prescribed.
Having a medical marijuana card cannot affect a Montanan’s ability to visit Canada; however, all drugs found at the border crossing will be confiscated.
Lisa White, spokesperson for the Canada Border Control Services Agency, said that despite rumors to the contrary, a traveler’s enrollment in the Montana’s medical marijuana program is not reason to refuse entry into our northern neighbor.
“In and of itself, it is not a valid reason to deny entrance,” she said.
Health Canada, the federal department that runs the country’s health care system, has a medical marijuana program, and the drug is allowed for those suffering from “grave and debilitating illnesses” like cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.
However, according to White, Health Canada does not recognize the medical marijuana programs of any other country. Therefore, a person could not bring a personal amount of the drug across the border, despite the fact that it was medically prescribed.
White said any marijuana found at a border crossing would have to be “abandoned to the crown.” She said officers would not turn the car back because that would violate the country’s drug laws.
“They have to confiscate it,” she said.
- Article from Montana Standard.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/31/Canada-Confiscates-Medical-Marijuana-BorderThe Canada Border Control Services Agency says it will confiscate any marijuana at the... more
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Unfortunately, what happened to medical marijuana patient Edward Boyke, Jr last month in Michigan is hardly an aberration as NORML still receives calls and emails nearly every day from lawful medical marijuana patients being terrorized by local and federal drug agents, often destroying their legal supply of medical cannabis and cultivation equipment–effectively making the arresting cops prosecutor, judge and jury.
Thankfully, in Saginaw Michigan, post this embarrassing incident with Mr. Boyke, police seem to now ‘get it’.
Only patients and advocacy groups (like the nearly 30 NORML chapters in Michigan and other pro-reform organizations in the state, such as Americans for Safe Access) are working to keep law enforcement honest and respectful of the needs of medical cannabis patients.
Question: Is the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Department and DEA going to compensate Mr. Boyke to the tune of $7,000 after they illegally destroyed his private property?
MORE ON LINK
http://blog.norml.org/2010/05/22/saginaw-cops-and-dea-reflexively-destroy-medical-marijuana-patients-property/
Image= http://media.mlive.com/saginawnews_impact/photo/r1--3ajpg-6677aeb4c4c08b34_large.jpgUnfortunately, what happened to medical marijuana patient Edward Boyke, Jr last month... more
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Cannabis therapy may reduce symptoms and prolong survival in patients diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS aka Lou Gehrig’s disease), according to a scientific review published online last week by the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.
Investigators at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle and Temple University in Pennsylvania reviewed preclinical and anecdotal data indicating that marijuana appears to treat symptoms of ALS as well as moderate the course of the disease.
Authors wrote: “Preclinical data indicate that cannabis has powerful antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. … Cannabis also has properties applicable to symptom management of ALS, including analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. … From a pharmacological perspective, cannabis is remarkably safe with realistically no possibility of overdose or frank physical addiction. There is a valid, logical, scientifically grounded rationale to support the use of cannabis in the pharmacological management of ALS.”
They added, “Based on the currently available scientific data, it is reasonable to think that cannabis might significantly slow the progression of ALS, potentially extending life expectancy and substantially reducing the overall burden of the disease.”
Investigators concluded, “There is an overwhelming amount of preclinical and clinical evidence to warrant initiating a multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of cannabis as a disease-modifying compound in ALS.”
Writing in the March 2004 issue of the journal Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Other Motor Neuron Disorders, investigators at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reported that the administration of THC both before and after the onset of ALS symptoms staved disease progression and prolonged survival in animals compared to untreated controls. To date, however, no clinical trials have assessed the use of marijuana or any of the plant’s cannabinoids on patients diagnosed with ALS.
Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a fatal, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the selective loss of motor neurons in the spinal cord, brain stem, and motor cortex. An estimated 30,000 Americans are living with ALS, which often arises spontaneously and afflicts otherwise healthy adults. An estimated 70 to 80 percent of patients with ALS die within three to five years following the onset of disease symptoms.
http://blog.norml.org/2010/05/19/marijuana-may-extend-life-expectancy-of-lou-gehrig%e2%80%99s-disease-patients-study-says/Cannabis therapy may reduce symptoms and prolong survival in patients diagnosed with... more
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Few phrasings have encapsulated the need for marijuana legalization better than this: "You can hold people accountable for their actions and not put the blame on what's in their body."
Words which were spoken two weeks ago by retired Superior Court Judge James R. Gray - a conservative judge from conservative Orange County, a former staff judge advocate for the U.S. Navy, and a father of three; a man who does not condone marijuana use, nor use it himself; and who is by all accounts one of California's fiercest advocates for its legalization.
Or, consider the similar sentiment expressed by Colorodoan mother - and loyal Republican - Jessica Corry:
If we believe that smaller government is better government, we must trust people to choose what to put into their bodies. If we support legalized access to alcohol, cigarettes, and 700-calorie cheeseburgers, we should legalize marijuana - a far less harmful substance.
A Denver-based attorney, Ms. Corry was named one of Colorado's most influential women by the Denver Examiner, has worked for Senators Fred Thompson and Olympia Snowe - and is also the co-founder of "Guarding Our Children Against Marijuana Prohibition".
Further examples of conservative figures who unambiguously support California's upcoming marijuana legalization initiative are not difficult to come across (Ron Paul, Bob Barr, and Tom Tancredo come to mind). In truth, there is an argument to be made that they are much more vocal in their support than many of their liberal counterparts have been (one thinks immediately of Senator Barbara Boxer, who has come out against the proposition, and is not coincidentally in the middle of the closest re-election battle of her career).
These figures on the right are not mentioned here anecdotally. No coalition could more forcefully push the "Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010" across the finish line than one which includes law enforcement, mothers, and civil libertarians of all stripes. These three groups represent the three central arguments for legalization, respectively: the fiscal, practical, and Constitutional. And what a coalition such as this would simultaneously accomplish (deeply symbolically at that) is the formation of the first truly bipartisan movement of the decade.
As the perennial proverb goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Consider briefly the arguments themselves. A substantial swatch of California law enforcement feel, like Judge Gray, that the War on Drugs has been an unequivocal failure. Since the 1970's, we have spent as a nation close to five hundred billion dollars on this crusade, and here are the results: one-third of U.S. prisoners are non-violent drug offenders, and 47% of them are marijuana-related. And after a 40-year long "war", 42% of living Americans have smoked marijuana at least once (of those willing to admit). Prohibition has deterred no one.
This means a gross diversion of law enforcement's attention, and vastly bloated spending. As Judge Gray put it in a 2001 California Lawyer article, "The diversion of billions of dollars from the prosecution of violent street crime and fraud to the prosecution of hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug sellers and millions of drug users (is) a distinct problem of drug prohibition." Not that the illegal drug trade hasn't produced enough violence on it's own: "When drug dealers shoot police officers, witnesses, innocent bystanders, or even each other, that is a drug prohibition problem rather than a drug problem. Today, when the distributors of Coors and Budweiser have a problem with each other, they take it to court, but the distributors of illicit substances take their problems to the streets."
Just as they did during the 1996 medical marijuana debate in California, opponents will scream in response the favorite mantra of the religious right: the children, the children, the children. It is not fantasy to predict that the talking points will be recycled: "If you legalize it, the floodgates will open, and teens everywhere will become potheads."
The response to this is a slightly counterintuitive feature of the California initiative that needs to be central to the pro-legalization message, and it needs to come from voices like Judge Gray: passage would actuallydecrease access to marijuana for minors.
How do we know this? Essentially, the proposal treats marijuana regulation identically to alcohol. You'll have to be 21 to buy it or use it, and you can't smoke it in public or on school grounds. Now, we could additionally debate whether alluring dangers always have and always will exist amongst teenagers; we could toss around the basic psychological precept that if you forbid people things they like, or that they think they might like, you only make them want that thing more (whereas by legalizing it, you strip it of its exotic appeal). But fortunately we have facts, so we don't need to travel the long route: From 1996-2006, the first ten years of legalized medical marijuana in California, pot use among teens did, in fact, decrease. For 11th graders, it went down 30%; and for 7th and 9th graders, it went down 45%
This is part of the larger systemic argument being made by Gray, and organizations like LEAP, a collection of 30,000 police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA agents and others who are actively against drug prohibition. "Prohibition never works as well as regulation and control," Gray said, at a Siskiyou County forum two weeks ago. "You don't see students on high school campuses selling Jim Beam bourbon or Marlboro cigarettes, do you? But they sell marijuana all the time." And here's the clincher: "This is far too dangerous to leave to the drug dealers." Dealers who, it is worth reminding, do not check for ID.
Enter Jessica Corry. There will always be parents who cling to the notion that they can protect their children from ever being offered drugs, or alcohol, or cigarettes, and then there are those who live in reality. "In a perfect world, my kids would never experiment with marijuana or alcohol," Ms. Corry wrote in a HuffPost piece, "but as a realist, I also fear the pain alcohol could cause in their later lives far more than I fear any detrimental consequences of marijuana use."
CONTINUED>>>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-armento/get-your-government-hands_b_578431.html
- Article from The Huffington Post.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/18/Get-Your-Government-Hands-My-MarijuanaFew phrasings have encapsulated the need for marijuana legalization better than this:... more
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CANNABIS CULTURE - A group of Vancouver marijuana activists occupied Conservative MP James Moore's Port Moody office on Tuesday to demand an end to the extradition of 'Prince of Pot' Marc Emery.
At about 11am, a activists from the British Columbia Marijuana Party and Cannabis Culture, including this reporter, stormed through the front doors of the office of Conservative Heritage Minister James Moore. The lone secretary on duty was shocked and appalled to see the mega-phone wielding group crowd into the small office and gather around the front counter.
"We're going to be protesting in your office today," BCMP director Jacob Hunter told the lady working behind the counter.
"Uh, no you won't," she said looking flustered as she grabbed the telephone and frantically started dialling.
But we did! We sang chants, shouted drug war facts into the megaphone, and pulled out huge bags of weed and rolled joints on the front counter. Police showed up shortly afterwards and immediately began checking medical cards after seeing the large 200-gram bag of pot brought by a legal medical patient. One cop grabbed a bag of weed and threw it across the room to another cop, suggesting that it be confiscated. He was quickly informed that it was legal and stood down.
At first, police wanted to arrest the protesters for "assault by trespassing" but after several minutes of heated debate and negotiations the police called The Crown who told them to leave us alone.
The cops did what they were told; instead of busting anyone, two unusually enlightened police officers sat with protestors and discussed the destructiveness of the drug war. By the end of the conversation, we were exchanging email addresses so we could send them info about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group dedicated to ending prohibition.
We soon realized the door to Mr. Moore's personal office was wide open, so we made our way in and began looking over his bookshelf and rolling joints on his desk.
CONTINUED>>> http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/13/Free-Marc-Emery-Activists-Occupy-Conservative-MPs-OfficeCANNABIS CULTURE - A group of Vancouver marijuana activists occupied Conservative MP... more
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Judge Andrew Napolitano, host of Fox News.com’s Freedom Watch, has long been on the right side of the war on drugs, and his scathing critique of the deplorable police actions in Columbia, Missouri is no exception.
(To recap for those who have not yet seen the video: under the cover of darkness, a team of militarized SWAT agents enter a family home and immediately engage in gunfire — killing one of two family dogs and wounding the other — and likely inflicting lifelong trauma to the family’s seven-year-old son. Police ultimately seized a small amount of marijuana residue and associated paraphernalia, which resulted in a misdemeanor charge and a $300 fine.)
In fact, Napolitano’s very first question to befuddled Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid is: “When are the cops who did this going to be arrested and put in jail where they belong?” It’s a valid question that, not surprisingly, leaves the new mayor speechless.
In less than a week nearly one-million people have watched the graphic and sickening footage from Columbia. It has, quite understandably, inspired public outrage and, apparently, some welcome changes in police procedure.
Yet as NORML Outreach Coordinator Russ Belville astutely points out on today’s edition of the NORML Stash blog, none of these minor amendments to protocol in any way gets to the heart of the problem, and that is this: Police and politicians still “accept the premise that this level of force is appropriate to keep people from using marijuana.” Ultimately, this societal mentality must change.
That is why, while on the one hand NORML (obviously) supports cannabis medicalization and decriminalization efforts, we also recognize that these efforts fall woefully short for many Americans. In short, the only way to fully protect all our citizens from these kinds of abhorrent events is through the legalization and regulation of marijuana for all adults. Help us make this a reality.
Stop the violence. Join NORML.
http://blog.norml.org/2010/05/11/fox-news-host-calls-for-jailing-missouri-swat-cops-over-botched-pot-raid/Judge Andrew Napolitano, host of Fox News.com’s Freedom Watch, has long been on... more
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Someone threw a molotov cocktail through the window of a Billings, Mont., business that provides marijuana for medical use early Monday and spray-painted "NOT IN OUR TOWN" on its storefront, the second such act in as many days, authorities said.
The incidents come as the Billings City Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on a six-month moratorium on approving additional marijuana businesses.
A rock was used to break the glass of Montana Therapeutics at 4:30 a.m. Monday, and a beer bottle filled with gasoline was lighted and thrown inside, according to Sgt. Kevin Iffland of the Billings police. A passerby reported the fire.
Fire crews quickly put out the small blaze, Deputy Fire Marshal Trevor Schilling said.
About 5 a.m. a day earlier, surveillance video showed two young men spray-painting "NOT IN OUR TOWN" on the front of Big Sky Patient Care and throwing a rock through the front door followed by a flaming bottle, Big Sky owner David Couch said.
Nobody was injured in either instance.
Trevor McFarren, co-owner of Montana Therapeutics, said his business provides marijuana for about 50 people and has never had a problem, a complaint or even a bad phone call since opening in January, he said.
McFarren said he believes that Monday's council vote is linked to the attack, which he said caused about $2,500 in damage.
"I'm sure they're trying to fuel the fire about" the vote, he said. "It's more of an attack on the community than anything." Couch also said he has not had any complaints since his business opened in April. He declined to say how many patients Big Sky has.
"If anything good comes out of this, it will probably be a desire for more education in the general public," he said.
Police have no suspects, Iffland said. Surveillance video may have captured what happened, but the building's owners do not want to release the video to police until they speak to their attorney, Iffland said.
Detectives were investigating whether the acts were committed by those who oppose such businesses or by business rivals, Iffland said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE2>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/10/AR2010051004566_2.html?hpid=sec-nation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/10/AR2010051004566.html?hpid=sec-nationSomeone threw a molotov cocktail through the window of a Billings, Mont., business... more
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Alex Jones puts into perspective the radical behavior of SWAT teams and other government enforcement agencies who recently raided and terrorized a family and killed two dogs in order to bust a man for one gram of marijuana.
At the same time, the CIA and other agencies of government have admittedly carried out narcotrafficking operations for decades. This is especially true in Afghanistan, where troops guard opium crops, and the fight against the Taliban and al qaeda is mired in drug trafficking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WcuYafh1ek&feature=player_embeddedAlex Jones puts into perspective the radical behavior of SWAT teams and other... more
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CANNABIS CULTURE - The extradition order to send marijuana activist Marc Emery to the United States for an expected five-year prison term has been signed by the Canadian Minister of Justice, Rob Nicholson.
Cannabis Culture has learned that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada made their decision shortly after Emery turned himself in to Canadian authorities this morning: The Prince of Pot will be handed over to the United States for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet.
READ THE JUSTICE MINISTER'S LETTER CONFIRMING HIS DECISION (PDF)
"I am absolutely devestated that this Conservative government has opted to send my husband, a Canadian citizen, to the United States for a 'crime' that amounts to a $200 dollar fine in Canada," said Marc's wife Jodie Emery. "This case is about silencing my Husband for his marijuana activism. This Conservative government has declared a culture war in Canada and my husband is it's latest victim."
Marc spoke to reporters outside of the downtown Vancouver Law Courts before turning himself in, and said orders to extradite him would be the equivalent of outsourcing our justice system. He said he hopes some good comes from his imprisonment.
"If he sends me away, it will anger millions of Americans and millions of Canadians," he told the press. "I need them to be angry, otherwise we won’t get any change on this drug war."
Marc's lawyer and fellow marijuana activist Kirk Tousaw told Cannabis Culture that in all likelihood, Marc would be sent south across the border by the end of the week where he will eventually appear before a sentencing judge. Marc is expected to be sentenced to five years as part of a plea deal arranged with American prosecutors.
YOU CAN STILL HELP! Please contact Judge Ricardo Martinez in Seattle, Washington and tell him that he should let Marc Emery return home to Canada with a no-prison sentence instead of the 5-year term in the plea deal.
Mail: Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez
U.S. Courthouse
700 Stewart Street, Suite 13134
Seattle, WA
98101-9906
USA
You can also contact Conservative Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews and tell him to allow Marc to sever his time in Canada as part of the Treaty Transfer process.
Office of Public Saftey
Phone: 613-944-4875
E-mail: webmail.psepc-sppcc.gc.ca
Web Contact Form: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/abt/min-eng.aspx
CLICK HERE for more contact info.
You can also call the Minister of Justice's Rob Nicholson and voice your displeasure in his decision.
(613) 995-1547
(905) 353-9590
(905) 871-9991
(905) 354-0527
NichoR@parl.gc.ca
Honourable Robert Nicholson
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
CLICK HERE for more information of how to HELP MARC EMERY
Opting to wait until Marc was in custody on a bail technicality, Nicholson sent the order to Marc's lawyers shortly after he entered custody. Marc had expected to be out on bail again today as the Justice Minister was expected to request another extension on the controversial move.
Marc's case started in 2005 when American Authorities raided his Vancouver store and offices with the help of the Vancouver Police Department. Marc, whose business sold marijuana seeds to "Overgrow the Government" donated all the proceeds of his business to various activism groups working to legalize marijuana and medical marijuana.
"Today's decision is another step in Canada's adoption of the failed and harmful drug war approach that, ironically, the American government is moving away from," said Tousaw. "Canadians are deeply opposed to this extradition and the outsourcing of Canadian criminal justice policy. This unpopular decision is sure to hurt the Conservative government at the ballot box in the next election. Mr. Emery is resolute and told me, from his jail cell, to never give up the fight for cannabis freedom."
MORE INFO AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE...
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/05/10/Its-Official-Conservatives-Extradite-Marc-EmeryCANNABIS CULTURE - The extradition order to send marijuana activist Marc Emery to the... more
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twitter.com/Day2Day_GodStar 1stFirst:-->Marijuana Could Treat PTSD(Post Traumatic Syndrome)- ->According to a new study published by the Journal of Neuroscience, a synthetic drug that acts similarly to THC can prevent stress-induced enhancement of fear memories in rats, revealing that THC could potentially help treat PTSD.- ->Israeli researchers suggest that they might one day be harnessed to prevent or treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).- ->Studies found that a synthetic drug that acts like one of the active components in marijuana (THC) can prevent stress-induced enhancement of fear memories in rats. PTSD is basically a syndrome in which fear-filled memories intrude on daily life and sleep—so preventing stress from strengthening memories of fear could potentially prevent or treat it.------------------------------------------------------------------------------2ndSecond:- ->THC Can Potentially Fight Cancer Cell Growth/Marijuana May Help MS Patients- ->According to a new study published in Thailand, THC can help fight cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer of the bile duct. According to the researchers, THC can help retard the abnormal cell growth.->Cancer patients, glaucoma patients and others can benefit from medical marijuana, and now a new analysis shows that it can help multiple sclerosis (MS) patients find relief from the muscle spasms that are the hallmark of the debilitating autoimmune disease.-“The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in MS appears to be comprehensive, and should be given considerable attention,” said lead researcher Dr. Shaheen Lakhan, executive director of the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation.------------------------------------------------------3rdThird:- ->A puff a day might keep Alzheimer's away, according to marijuana research by professor Gary Wenk and associate professor Yannic Marchalant of the Ohio State Department of Psychology.--------------Wenk's studies show that a low dosage in the morning of a certain cannabinoid, a component in marijuana, reversed memory loss in older rats' brains. In his study, an experimental group of old rats received a dosage, and a control group of rats did not. The old rats that received the drugs performed better on memory tests, and the drug slowed and prevented brain cell death. However, marijuana had the reverse effect on young rats' brains, actually impairing mental ability.------------------------------------------------Alzheimer's is a disease unique to humans and the memory loss in the rats was a natural decline, but rat brains are similar enough to human brains to serve as partial models for humans, Research on marijuana as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease began because of the drug's success in slowing progression of multiple sclerosis and reducing patients' pain, Wenk said. Alzheimer's affects a similar part of the brain that MS does.Other research has shown that young people who take Advil regularly for arthritis, drink alcohol in moderation or smoke cigarettes reduce their risks of developing Alzheimer's as they age, but marijuana is the first substance that has worked on older brains in experiments.------------------------------------------------------------------4thFourth:- ->Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer/Marijuana’s Impact On Brain Function “Minimal”- ->A study from 2006 found little connection between smoking marijuana and lung cancer.People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests.While a clear increase in cancercancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.-----Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.------------- ->According to a literature review published in Psychological Medicine, long-term use of marijuana has minimal effect on brain function.Authors wrote, “We reviewed literature reporting neuroimaging studies of chronic or acute cannabis use published up until January 2009. … Sixty-six studies were identified, of which 41 met the inclusion criteria. Thirty-three were functional (SPECT/PET/fMRI) and eight structural (volumetric/DTI) imaging studies. … Only three of the structural imaging studies found differences between users and controls.”
Investigators concluded, “Minimal evidence of major effects of cannabis on brain structure has been reported,” noting that marijuana users and controls perform similarly on cognitive tasks.
According to a 2001 study published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, long-term cannabis smokers who abstained from pot for one week “showed virtually no significant differences from control subjects (those who had smoked marijuana less than 50 times in their lives) on a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests.” Investigators added, “Former heavy users, who had consumed little or no cannabis in the three months before testing, [also] showed no significant differences from control subjects on any of these tests on any of the testing days.” ----------------------------------------------5thFifth: - ->New Evidence That Marijuana is Safe, Effective/Study Finds Marijuana Can Effectively Treat Neuropathic Pain - ->Studies from a medical marijuana conference held in Germany show that marijuana is a safe, effective solution for certain conditions.Canadian researcher Mark Ware presented results of a yearlong safety study known as the COMPASS study, which compared 215 patients who used marijuana to manage chronic pain with comparable control patients who did not use marijuana. Ware and colleagues report “no difference in serious adverse events” between the two groups, concluding, “Cannabis use for chronic pain over one year is not associated with major changes in lung, endocrine, cognitive function or serious adverse events.”
A much-awaited study came from the University of California, San Francisco, where Donald Abrams and colleagues tested the effects of adding marijuana to the therapeutic regimen of chronic pain patients on long-term morphine or oxycodone therapy. Unfortunately, because the researchers were crunching numbers right up until the conference, the abstract doesn’t include a lot of details. But the study shows that marijuana did indeed add significant pain relief on top of that already provided by the narcotic painkillers. The scientists conclude, “Cannabinoids may augment the analgesic effects of opioids, allowing longer treatment at lower doses with fewer side effects.”
Meanwhile, British researchers added to the body of evidence indicating that marijuana can aid the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Two-hundred and seventy-nine patients received either a standardized cannabis extract, given orally, or a placebo. Patients receiving the extract were twice as likely to experience relief of muscle stiffness, and also reported relief of body pain, spasms, and sleep problems.- ->A study has found that the cannabinoids found in marijuana can effectively treat neuropathic pain.Cannabinoids provide significant pain relief to patients suffering from neuropathy, according to a review published in the October issue of the journal Neurotherapeutics.
Investigators from the University of Georgia, Science and Behavior Program reviewed the analgesic properties of cannabis and cannabis-based agonists in over three dozen preclinical and clinical trials. Google:Day2day1nSociety - -> For more information on medical marijuana fact's & on it's research Go To : Http://www.420times.com/twitter.com/Day2Day_GodStar 1stFirst:-->Marijuana Could Treat PTSD(Post Traumatic... more
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http://www.ajnag.com/blogs/4-20-release-nike-sb-skunk-dunks-ajnag-style
Today is April 20th, a special day amongst Potheads. Guess what! Today is a special day amongst Sneakerheads also… I know, I know, you are wondering what April 20th, Cannabis, and Sneakers could possibly have in common. Well to start, the sneakers are called “Skunk Dunks” made by Nike SB. They are Quick strike release models that dropped on…. Wait for it… wait for it… you know it, 4-20! Ok, so that doesn’t really make cannabis and sneakers have much in common. However, let me describe the kicks before you puff, puff, pass… Judgment. Wait… never mind just peep the ill stills kid!http://www.ajnag.com/blogs/4-20-release-nike-sb-skunk-dunks-ajnag-style
Today is... more
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thevirtueallliberal — April 29, 2010 — Looks like we have some more of those Republican "family values" at work, ha...?
In Orange County California, people were asked to sign a petition supporting the legalization of pot . The only problem was it was a complete lie . What they were really signing was to register as Republican voters . When people found out what they were really signing, needless to say they were very upset (That's an understatement) . Kent Jones of the Rachel Maddow show reports on this case of Republican voter Fraud.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFwAE_N5wL4&feature=player_embeddedthevirtueallliberal — April 29, 2010 — Looks like we have some more of... more
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New Zealand police have shut a chain of home garden supply shops called Switched On Gardener that they allege form part of the backbone of the country's illegal cannabis industry.
All 16 branches of the chain were closed after employees allegedly sold drugs, cannabis plants and growing equipment and offered cannabis-growing tips to undercover officers, deputy police commissioner Rob Pope said today.
The closures were part of a major crackdown on the drug that has resulted in raids on 35 gardening businesses across New Zealand and the arrest of some 250 people, including employees, managers and company directors.
Some of those arrested were charged with selling drug-growing equipment, including 600-watt light bulbs, fertilizers including one called Budzilla, soil test kits, insect sprays, and magazines on cannabis, Mr Pope said.
The Switched On Gardener chain, which advertised on nationwide television, mainly sold garden supplies and equipment to home gardeners.
In New Zealand it is illegal to manufacture or sell equipment knowing it will be used to grow or make drugs.
More than 100 commercial cannabis growing operations allegedly linked to the businesses were found and dismantled during the operation.
Police said dried cannabis was found in at least one Switched On Gardener shop, while LSD, methamphetamine, ecstasy and firearms were seized by search squads from some other premises.
"We've got strong evidence of its (Switched On Gardener's) complicity in supplying equipment for cannabis growing on a sophisticated scale,'' Mr Pope said.
The national gardening chain would not have turned a profit if it hadn't been knowingly supplying equipment and advice to cannabis growers, he noted.
Offenders can be sentenced to a maximum of seven years in prison for cultivating cannabis in New Zealand, while supplying the drug can attract a maximum sentence of 14 years. Public campaigns to decriminalise cannabis so far have been unsuccessful.
- Article from The Associated Press.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/04/28/New-Zealand-Grow-Store-Busted-Cannabis-CrackdownNew Zealand police have shut a chain of home garden supply shops called Switched On... more
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who has assailed medical marijuana dispensaries as illegal, profit-reaping operations, is targeting the legitimacy of the November ballot initiative to legalize recreational pot and allow local governments to tax and regulate its use.
In a letter to attorney general Jerry Brown, Cooley charges that the title and summary for the measure is "wrong and highly misleading" and should be disallowed.
Cooley, a Republican candidate for state attorney general, charges that the initiative offers false promises of providing "major tax and other fiscal benefits" for the state and local governments and regulating marijuana like alcohol.
Cooley argues that the burden will fall on "local governments to promulgate comprehensive cannabis-related regulations." He said that will "unduly burden local governments" and "lead to a chaotic and confusing result."
He also argues that the measure, which would allow Californians over 21 to grow pot in 25-square-foot residential spaces, would also "create an absolute right to cultivate marijuana on private property" and, possibly, on public lands.
Cooley's April 13 letter was followed 10 days later by a memo in The Huffington Post from the Drug Policy Alliance, an group advocating alternatives to the drug war.
In "Dismantling the Talking Points of Marijuana Prohibitionists," Tony Newman and Stephen Gutwillig of the Alliance argue that "the California ballot initiative simply acknowledges that marijuana is here and that it's more sensible to regulate this massive market."
"The bottom line," they wrote, "is that marijuana is California's largest agricultural commodity, freely consumed by millions...with no financial benefit to the state...This is a reality we literally can't afford to ignore any longer."
- Article from The Sacramento Bee.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/04/29/LA-DA-Continues-Anti-Marijuana-CrusadeLos Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who has assailed medical marijuana... more
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CANNABIS CULTURE - Four-Twenty, the international day of celebration for the cannabis culture held annually on April 20, saw record numbers of marijuana consumers and legalization advocates at huge rallies across the planet this year.
Pot-puffing citizens from cities in Canada, the United States, and other points across the globe came out in force to proclaim their love for the cannabis plant and tell authorities it is time to end marijuana prohibition. Despite a few minor unexpected incidents in Vancouver and Toronto, the rallies were a huge success with activist organizers claiming their highest numbers ever.
Rallies were reported in Canadian cities including Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Hamilton, Ottawa and more.
US cities know to have rallies included Denver, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Oakland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Miami and many others.
Pot consumers were also expected to hold rallies in Australia, New Zealand and other points in Europe (updates will be posted as they come in).
Cannabis Culture was on-hand for the celebration in Vancouver, where overcast skies and occasional rain didn't stop record numbers of smokers and vendors from piling onto the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery earlier and in stronger numbers than years previous.
Hundreds of vendors set up booths and patrolled the crowd, openly selling an amazing spectrum of marijuana strains, extracts, and edibles, as well as pipes, bongs, T-shirts and tons of other pot-themed products to a crowd estimated at over 10,000.
One one side of the Art Gallery, prominent pot activists including David Malmo-Levine, Jacob Hunter and Marc and Jodie Emery rallied the crowd and spoke about the dangers of current government drug policies. On the other side of the large building, live bands performed while onlookers smoked large bongs and budder tokes. Joints were thrown to the crowd for a massive 4:20 smoke-down that filled the air with a dense cloud of sweet and skunky smoke.
\VIDEOS AND FULL STORY ON LINK///
CONTINUED>>> http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/04/21/Record-Numbers-Celebrate-Marijuana-420CANNABIS CULTURE - Four-Twenty, the international day of celebration for the cannabis... more
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