tagged w/ Marijuana Reform
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MPP's Aaron Smith appears on CNBC debating prohibitionist spokeswoman Calvina Fay about the merits of TaxCannabis 2010, the initiative to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Cjkyg45j64MPP's Aaron Smith appears on CNBC debating prohibitionist spokeswoman Calvina Fay... more
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MPP's Sarah Lovering appears on KTTV Fox in LA to discuss the reasons to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. Today a ballot initiative, TaxCannabis 2010, was approved that will give California voters the chance to allow adult possession and cultivation of marijuana for recreational purposes. 03/24/2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ajGkHgqOoMPP's Sarah Lovering appears on KTTV Fox in LA to discuss the reasons to tax and... more
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults, after the secretary of state on Wednesday certified the initiative for the November ballot.
It would become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana use if the proposition is approved. Marijuana use is legal for medicinal purposes in California and 14 other states, but the drug is illegal under federal law.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified that the petitions seeking to place the question on the ballot had more than 433,971 valid voter signatures, the minimum number needed to qualify.
If approved, the initiative would allow those 21 years and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Residents also could cultivate the plant in limited quantities.
The proposal would ban users from ingesting marijuana in public or smoking it while minors are present. It also would make it illegal to possess the drug on school grounds or drive while under its influence.
Local governments would decide whether to permit and tax marijuana sales.
"The tide has turned," said Dan Newman, a strategist with the campaign backing the measure. "The combination of the broken budget and dysfunctional cannabis laws have created the perfect storm for this initiative to pass in November."
Opponents refer to marijuana as a gateway drug, meaning its use is believed to lead young people to try other, harder drugs. They worry that legalization would persuade more people to try it, worsening the nation's drug culture.
"How can our kids say no when the adults around them are saying yes?" asked Aimee Hendle, a spokeswoman for Californians for Drug Free Youth.
Proponents of the measure say legalizing marijuana could save the state $200 million a year by reducing public safety costs and could generate tax revenue for local governments.
Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said certification of the ballot initiative marks a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle.
"Banning marijuana outright has been a profound disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources and making criminals of countless law-abiding citizens," he said.
The initiative is the second proposal to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. The other is a $11.1 billion water bond measure that was pushed by state lawmakers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_us/us_marijuana_legalization_california;_ylt=AiJN1z5xZW3OLQTLI8uso26WwvIE;_ylu=X3oDMTM3NmExYW1rBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzI1L3VzX21hcmlqdWFuYV9sZWdhbGl6YXRpb25fY2FsaWZvcm5pYQRjcG9zAzYEcG9zAzYEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNjYWxpZnZvdGVyc3Q-SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California voters will decide whether to legalize... more
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The following speech was given by NORML’s Deputy Director before nearly 500 attendees on Saturday, March 13, at the opening plenary of Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s 11th International Conference, at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. To read full coverage of the conference, please see DRCNet’s report here.
My name is Paul Armentano and I’m the Deputy Director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and I’m the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? Max, Amber, Stacia and the many good folks at SSDP invited me to come here today to talk to you about how and why students have a vital role to play in ending marijuana prohibition.
First let’s talk about the “why”: self-preservation. The federal government has declared war on you.
Since 1965 law enforcement in this country have arrested over 20 million people for marijuana offenses. But when you take a closer look at who is actually arrested you find that, for the most part, it isn’t the folks sitting on this panel; it’s all of you sitting out there – it’s young people.
In short – the so-called ‘war’ on marijuana is really a war on youth.
According to a 2005 study commissioned by the NORML Foundation, 74 percent of the 800,000 or so Americans busted for pot each year are under age 30, and one out of four are age 18 or younger. That’s nearly half a million young people at risk of losing their school loans, or being saddled with a lifelong criminal record at a time when they are just entering the workforce. We’re talking about an entire generation – and that’s you out there – that has been alienated to believe that the police and their civic leaders are instruments of their oppression rather than their protection.
And the sad fact is: you’re right!
The question is: What are you going to do about it?
If we’re going to finally end this 70+ year failed public policy known as marijuana prohibition, then we need students to play a lead role. Obviously those of you in this room have already taken a critical first step in leading this charge by joining SSDP and attending this conference. But there’s a lot more to be done and there’s a lot more that you can do.
I believe that it was Ghandi who demanded that those who are oppressed be a part of there own liberation, and marijuana prohibition is no different. I want you to look around you because it’s you all who will ultimately bring about an end to prohibition.
CONTINUED>>> http://blog.norml.org/2010/03/19/why-students-hold-the-key-to-ending-marijuana-prohibition/The following speech was given by NORML’s Deputy Director before nearly 500... more
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A shooting and a death which was the result of beating, connected directly to medical marijuana, have now managed to prompt new calls by law enforcement officials and marijuana advocates for Washington State to try and change the way the drug is regulated and protection is offered to those who grow and use it.
Reports have revealed that last week, a man died in Orting, Wash., after he was severely beaten up when he confronted people who were trying to steal some marijuana plants from his property. In addition, on Monday, a renowned medical-marijuana activist shot an armed man who had broken into his residence in a suburban area, near Seattle, where he cultivates and distributes marijuana plants.
On Tuesday, the police placed 5 men under arrest and slapped them with charges of robbery linked with the shooting incident. One of the men arrested is in a critical state, after having been shot by Steve Sarich, who runs a group called CannaCare from his house, and he himself has suffered minor injuries.
The crimes are being viewed as the most violent ones ever recorded in the area, related to marijuana, and have ignited the demand for better regulation once again.
"Any person making medical marijuana is going to be a target because they have a valuable commodity", said Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County
http://topnews.us/content/213437-debate-over-medical-marijuana-sparked-once-again-due-violenceA shooting and a death which was the result of beating, connected directly to medical... more
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Members of Parliament from three parties—Conservative, Liberal, and New Democrat—are poised to present petitions with thousands of signatures seeking to stop the extradition to the U.S. of Canada’s Prince of Pot, Marc Emery.
The politicians are Conservative MP Scott Reid of Ontario, Vancouver South Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, and Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies, the Georgia Straight has learned.
“That’s correct,” Reid’s aide Mike Firth confirmed by phone from Ottawa. “We haven’t arranged a day yet. We’re still trying to get a day when the three of them will be available at the same time.”
Last summer, Emery entered into a plea bargain with American authorities that will likely see him thrown in a U.S. jail for at least five years for distributing marijuana seeds.
The petitions ask Conservative justice minister and attorney general Rob Nicholson not to sign the extradition papers of the Vancouver-based cannabis activist.
In a phone interview, Jodie Emery, Marc Emery’s wife, related that she and her husband met Reid at a Liberty Summer Seminar organized by the Ontario-based Institute for Liberal Studies.
“Scott Reid was there one year, and we talked to him and he understands that prohibition is a bad idea,” she said.
Emery also recalled that Reid told them his wife once used marijuana when she was undergoing a series of medical treatments. “She doesn’t need it anymore, I don’t think,” she said. “He said it helps with the nausea. So I guess he’s willing to say that he thinks this [the extradition] is wrong too. There are a lot of Conservative party members who said they don’t like this happening.”
Reid wasn’t available for comment.
By Davies’s estimate, the offices of the three MPs have received petitions signed by about 12,000 people who are opposed to Emery’s extradition.
She confirmed that her office is communicating with Dosanjh’s and Reid’s offices to pin down a day when they will bring the petitions to the floor of the House of Commons.
“I’m very happy that we should try and do it on the same day,” Davies said by phone from Ottawa. “You can’t necessarily do it one after the other because the Speaker recognizes you not necessarily in the order you want.”
In a separate interview, Dosanjh said that presenting petitions in the House is one of the duties of MPs.
Said Dosanjh on the phone from Ottawa, “Members from three different parties are doing it—it’s really a nonpartisan issue.”
In an interview with the Straight in December, after he was released on bail from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, Marc Emery said that American authorities are out to get him because of the significant work he has done on legalizing marijuana.
Emery cited a media statement issued by then–U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration head Karen Tandy following his arrest in 2005. The release stated that his arrest was “a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the U.S. and Canada, but also to the marijuana legalization movement”.
- Article from The Georgia Straight.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/03/11/NDP-Liberal-Conservative-Politicians-Petition-Stop-Marc-Emerys-Extradition-USMembers of Parliament from three parties—Conservative, Liberal, and New... more
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NORML - With New Jersey recently becoming the 14th medical marijuana state, activists in marijuana law reform have been celebrating. After all, over 82 million Americans now live in states where medical use of marijuana is legal – that’s 27% of the US population! Last election, Massachusetts became the 13th decriminalization state, which means over 107 million Americans live in a state where possession of small personal amounts of marijuana no longer merit an arrest – that’s 35% of the US population.
However, after watching fourteen years of marijuana activism focused solely on those who use cannabis for medicine, I must warn activists that medical marijuana is not getting any better and the time for re-legalization of cannabis for all adults – even the healthy ones – is now.
Medical marijuana was a great 20th century strategy to get the sick and dying off the battlefield in the war on drugs. It was the perfect vehicle to enlighten the public, who for so long have been indoctrinated into the reefer madness that classifies cannabis like LSD and heroin. But in the 21st century the idea that marijuana is only a medicine is beginning to take hold and governments and voters are crafting ever-more-restrictive medical marijuana laws. For the vast majority of cannabis consumers this threatens to move us from the category of “illegal drug users” to “possessors of medicine without a prescription” – a step up, perhaps, but still left facing criminal prosecution.
CONTINUED>>> http://blog.norml.org/2010/03/03/medical-marijuanas-not-getting-any-better-the-time-for-re-legalization-is-now/
CHART>>> http://stash.norml.org/wp-content/uploads/medipot-states-20101.jpgNORML - With New Jersey recently becoming the 14th medical marijuana state, activists... more
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HONOLULU - Yesterday, the Hawaii Senate passed by overwhelming, veto-proof margins three measures that will greatly improve marijuana laws in the state:
· SB 2213 passed 20-4, with one excused. This bill would allow counties to license medical marijuana dispensaries.
· SB 2141 passed 24-1. This bill would increase the ratio of plants, ounces and caregivers allowed for each medical marijuana patient.
· SB 2450 passed 22-3. This bill would remove criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $300 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense.
The bills now go to the state House.
"These votes show that Hawaii's Senate supports sensible marijuana policies that will serve the best interests of state citizens," said Eric M. McDaniel, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project. "Hawaii's most vulnerable citizens deserve safe and reliable access to their medicine, and no Hawaiian deserves to go to jail simply for using a substance that is safer than alcohol. If House members agree, I would strongly encourage them to pass these measures as well."
The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, headed by Pamela Lichty and Jeanne Ohta, and the Peaceful Sky Alliance, headed by Matt Rifkin, played crucial roles in getting these measures through the Senate.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/03/04/Hawaii-Senate-Overwhelmingly-Passes-Bills-Improve-Marijuana-LawsHONOLULU - Yesterday, the Hawaii Senate passed by overwhelming, veto-proof margins... more
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There were cannabis creams and THC soda, doctor green thumbs, hemp nurses, and even a marijuana chef all taking part in the green festivities at HempCon 2010.
Thousands of medical marijuana consumers, advocates and vendors crowded the Los Angeles Convention Center Saturday for the three-day event.
Sporting an artificial marijuana leaf lei, Pomona resident Lastarr Lang said the convention is a chance for medical marijuana patients to learn about new products while vendors promote their gadgets - but for smokers like her it's also about building community.
"There's a lot of people who benefit so much from marijuana...it's good to see them all here enjoying the great atmosphere."
A lupus patient, Lang said marijuana helps her control chronic pain.
"If I wasn't smoking I would be on Vicodin, Naproxin or some other narcotic," Lang said. "I'd become a zombie."
For medical marijuana smokers, the convention offered a massive selection of rainbow-colored glass pipes in every size and price range imaginable. There were also vaporizers on display, for those who prefer inhaling cannabis rather than smoking it, and reusable pot containers for those interested in going green.
Tucked between a hydroponic water system vendor and hemp retailer was also Chef "Herb."
Herb Seisel III by birth, the 25-year cooking vet said that after cooking in restaurants and hospitals for more than two decades he realized that he wanted his food to help people.
By coming up with a line of THC cooking oil and butter, Seisel said he can help patients get their daily dose of cannabis while savoring delicious meals.
"The THC lingers a lot longer when you eat it...it creates a better body high."
Convention attendees had to take his word for it. No marijuana consumption of any kind was allowed at HempCon, even in edible form. Even garden specialists had to use rosemary plants or fakes to simulate the plant.
The irony of hemp not being allowed at a hemp convention reflects the controversy over conflicting laws about marijuana use in California.
Since 1996 medical marijuana has been legal under California state law thanks to Proposition 215 and the Compassionate Use Act. In recent years, the number of dispensaries has exploded, with an estimated 800 to 1,000 in Los Angeles alone.
But marijuana - medical or otherwise - continues to be illegal under federal law. And Los Angeles city officials have launched new efforts to reduce the number of dispensaries.
Some convention attendees still felt nervous speaking publicly about their drug usage.
"There are still people who will harass you if they find out you're a smoker," said Debbie, a 54-year-old woman who refused to give her last name.
The Palm Springs resident said she was pleased to see the marijuana community out in full force, and she hoped that smoking would be legal soon. But until then she still felt she had to hide her marijuana use, even though she's been smoking more than 40 years.
"So many people are still ignorant," Debbie said.
"They believe it's reefer madness...and that may never change."
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_14442630
http://www.dailynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2873518There were cannabis creams and THC soda, doctor green thumbs, hemp nurses, and even a... more
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Probable Cause Found Against Marijuana Grower in First Court Appearance
A Highlands Ranch man who until last week made his living growing marijuana in the basement of his home walked into a courtroom wearing a tan prisoner's jumpsuit Thursday, the first steps in what legal experts say could be a precedent-setting journey through the federal justice system.
After a routine hearing, a magistrate judge found there is probable cause for the drug-distribution case against Chris Bartkowicz to continue toward trial and set his bail at $10,000.
Bartkowicz, who was arrested Feb. 12 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents after they seized more than 200 marijuana plants that Bartkowicz said were for medicinal use, is the most high-profile person involved in medical marijuana in Colorado to face federal prosecution. He is also one of the only people nationwide to face federal charges since a Justice Department memo in October said federal agents should respect state medical-marijuana laws.
That convergence of circumstances -- federal law, in which all marijuana is illegal, versus Colorado's constitutional protection for medical marijuana -- makes the case fertile legal ground. Bart kowicz's attorney hinted during the hearing Thursday that little in the case would be routine.
"There are complex legal issues that haven't been addressed in this state," said the attorney, Joseph Saint-Veltri.
Saint-Veltri has declined to comment on the defense he intends to mount, but legal experts say it would be nearly impossible for Bartkowicz to claim a medical defense in federal court. In several federal cases involving medical marijuana in California, judges have blocked such testimony.
"Federal judges prohibit the defense from even uttering the words 'medical marijuana,' " said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance Network.
Such restrictions leave medical-marijuana providers exposed in court, said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the group Americans for Safe Access.
"If you get prosecuted in federal court, it's an all-but-guaranteed conviction," Hermes said.
But two elements could add fresh legal intrigue to Bartkowicz's case. The first is that Colorado's legal protection for medical marijuana is written into the state's constitution, whereas other medical-marijuana states have lower protection. Denver medical-marijuana attorney Warren Edson said that could give Bartkowicz a stronger argument that his prosecution violates states' rights.
"We don't really know," Edson said. "It's something we haven't been able to argue in court yet."
The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has ruled in a prior case that the federal government can regulate marijuana, even if it is grown, sold and used entirely in a medical-marijuana state.
The other wild card is the Justice Department's October memo, which said the government wouldn't target people in "clear and unambiguous" compliance with state medical-marijuana laws. Hermes said it is possible that defense attorneys could use the memo as ammunition in a federal case. Indeed, there is a defense called "entrapment-by-estoppel," where defendants argue the government fooled them into breaking the law by leading them to believe what they were doing was legal.
But prominent California medical-marijuana attorney Bill Panzer said the memo likely doesn't offer enough protection for that defense.
"All it says," Panzer said, "is you might not want to go after a cancer patient."
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n125/a07.html?999Probable Cause Found Against Marijuana Grower in First Court Appearance
A... more
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City Sues Three Collectives and Moves to Evict 18 Others From Their Stores, Saying They've Violated State Laws
Los Angeles city prosecutors Thursday escalated their efforts to shut down medical marijuana dispensaries, suing three collectives and moving to evict 18 others from their stores.
The actions, which stem from undercover police operations at the dispensaries, follow City Atty. Carmen Trutanich's pledge to take aggressive steps to reverse the rapid spread of pot shops. Hundreds have opened while the City Council debated an ordinance to regulate them. The council passed the law last month, but it has not taken effect.
The lawsuits against Organica, which straddles Culver City and Los Angeles, and two Holistic Caregivers outlets in South Los Angeles allege that they have repeatedly violated state laws and seek injunctions to force them to stop selling marijuana.
And, opening a new front, the city attorney's office sent letters to 18 landlords saying that dispensaries on their property are breaking the law and should be evicted.
"Law enforcement targeted them and then brought the evidence to us," said Assistant City Atty. Asha Greenberg, who has spearheaded the legal action against dispensaries.
On Thursday, police and federal agents raided Organica. The dispensary's operator, Jeff Joseph, was arrested, but no charges have been filed.
The three lawsuits are similar to one the city attorney's office filed against an Eagle Rock dispensary called Hemp Factory V. Last month, a Superior Court judge sided with Trutanich and agreed that state law does not allow collectives to sell marijuana, a decision believed to be the first in the state to question a practice that is now widespread.
The judge ordered Hemp Factory to stop selling marijuana. Greenberg declined to say whether it has complied. "We'll deal with them as soon as I get a little time," she said.
Organica and Holistic Caregivers have been targets of law enforcement for several years.
The Holistic Caregivers stores, on Crenshaw Boulevard and South Vermont Avenue, are among a number owned by Virgil Grant. One in Compton was identified as the dispensary that sold marijuana to a driver allegedly under the influence in 2007 when his truck hit a vehicle that a California Highway Patrol officer had pulled over. The accident killed the stopped vehicle's driver and paralyzed the officer.
Federal, state and local officials conducted undercover buys and raids at Grant's stores. Grant pleaded guilty last year to possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The Drug Enforcement Administration launched an investigation of Organica, which is on Washington Boulevard, in March 2008 and raided the dispensary four months later. The store was raided again in August.
In October, when he threatened to prosecute dispensaries for selling marijuana, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley singled out Organica.
Joseph closed his dispensary after the second raid, saying that he wanted to wait for the city's ordinance so he would know how to operate legally. He reopened in December, he said, to try to comply with that ordinance.
Under that law, dispensaries registered with the city in 2007 and still in business will be allowed to stay open. Organica was one of the 186 registered stores.
In a call from jail, Joseph sounded despondent. "This is stupid. This should not be happening," he said. "I have no idea what to do. I really was in a situation where I had to stay in compliance."
In addition to the lawsuits, the city attorney's office also notified 18 landlords and dispensary owners that state law allows it to evict the stores, if the landlords do not do so. "It allows us to step into the landlord's shoes," Greenberg said.
She declined to identify the locations or release a copy of the letter, but said all the stores were the target of police operations. "These are all cases investigated by LAPD based on community complaints," she said.
The letters give the property owners 30 days to tell the city attorney's office what action they have taken.
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n125/a10.html?1192City Sues Three Collectives and Moves to Evict 18 Others From Their Stores, Saying... more
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — There may be nothing like the real thing, but some industrious marijuana users have seized on an obscure but easily accessible substance that mimics the drug's effects on the brain — creating a popular trade in legal dope that has stymied law enforcement authorities.
The users are buying a product known as K2 — or "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" — that is commonly sold in head shops as incense. Produced in China and Korea, the mixture of herbs and spices is sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing.
Though banned in most of Europe, K2's key ingredients are not regulated in the United States — a gap that has prompted lawmakers in Missouri and Kansas to consider new legislation.
"This isn't Jerry Garcia's marijuana," said state Rep. Jeff Roorda, a Democrat from the eastern Missouri town of Barnhart. "They've used chemicals to avoid creating something that's already illegal."
Authorities in Johnson County, Kan., discovered ex-convicts on probation smoking K2, and said it is spreading to high school students.
"This has become extremely popular," said Linda Weber, owner of The Vise smoke shop in the St. Louis suburb of St. Peters, who said she only sells to adults.
She said she sells about 60 packages a week, with suppliers calling her weekly to pitch new brands. She said she's keeping an eye on what state lawmakers decide, though, because "I definitely don't want to be selling it if it comes out that it's harmful."
K2 costs between $20 and $50 for three grams — similar to the street price of marijuana — but with the key advantages of being legal and undetectable in drug tests.
The key ingredients are believed to be the unintended result of scientific research on marijuana's effects.
Dr. John Huffman, a Clemson University organic chemistry professor, was researching the effects of cannabinoids on the brain when his work resulted in a 1995 paper that contained the method and ingredients used to make the compound. That recipe found its way to marijuana users, who replicated Huffman's work and began spraying it onto dried flowers, herbs and tobacco.
"People who use it are idiots," said Huffman, referring to K2 smokers.
A proposed bill in Missouri would make possession a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison — identical to punishments given to users of real marijuana. A similar bill in Kansas would make possession a misdemeanor punishable, with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, also the same as marijuana convictions.
The products are sold widely, but authorities in other states contacted by The Associated Press, including Pennsylvania, California and Michigan, said they haven't heard of their use as a drug.
Police in Missouri and Kansas said they've become aware of K2 in recent weeks.
In the rural southern Missouri city of West Plains, K2 is sold in a head shop just blocks from the high school. A botched attempt by teens to steal K2 from the shop brought the substance to the attention of police.
"A 10-year-old child could walk into a head shop and buy it," said West Plains Detective Shawn Rhoads. "It's not a tobacco, it's not regulated by anything. It would be like sending my 10-year-old son into Wal-Mart to buy potpourri."
Although it is legal, the military has banned possession of K2. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has classified it a "drug or chemical of concern."
Conner Moore, 20, who is taking a semester off from Moberly Community College, said he and his friends started smoking K2 after reading online news articles and postings about the substance. He compares the high to smoking medical marijuana. The high, he says, is shorter.
"We just got on forums and looked it up and saw what other people said about it," he said. "Obviously if it comes out being bad, I'll obviously stop using it," Moore said. "There's really no sites out there that says what is in K2."
There is no data on the drug's toxicity or how long it stays in the body. In mice, it can lead to a lower body temperature, partial paralysis and the temporary inability to feel pain, according to the DEA.
One of the few studies of the compound's use was performed by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a Portugal-based agency of the European Union, in November 2009. The study found the amount of synthetic compound varies widely between brands, and that despite being widely available, it isn't clear how many Europeans use it.
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said K2 isn't much discussed within marijuana culture. "If government is genuinely concerned about controlling cannabis-related products, there is really only one thing that seems to have an effect: a tax stamp," St. Pierre said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hhrocWpopbwneo54MKsW25e2gxDgD9DU50QG1JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — There may be nothing like the real thing, but some... more
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This fifteen second Flash animation from NORML touting the economic benefit of marijuana legalization was too objectionable to CBS, who canceled NORML’s contract to place the following on the giant “Super Billboard” in Times Square:
We also noted the hypocrisy of telling us that NORML’s ad was too contentious an issue ad for the billboard while running – on Super Bowl Sunday – the controversial Focus on the Family anti-abortion ad featuring college QB Tim Tebow and his mother:
Now courtesy of Huffington Post we can show you another acceptable advertisement for CBS Billboards in Atlanta:
...but this billboard in Atlanta is perfectly acceptable
http://stash.norml.org/wp-content/uploads/cbs-atlanta.png
It does not matter which side of the abortion debate you lie, you can certainly agree that abortion is one of the most contentious and controversial issues of our times. NORML, Focus on the Family, and the African-American anti-abortion outreach group Life Education and Research Network that funded these latest Atlanta billboards are all non-profit advocacy organizations lobbying for very controversial issues.
However, the anti-abortion groups seem to have no trouble getting their message out on CBS airwaves and billboards, while NORML is denied four times in two years the opportunity to pay to use the same airwaves and billboards.
I also find it interesting that the groups whose messages are accepted by CBS are trying to criminalize a legal activity (abortion), a policy position only supported by 42% of the American people surveyed in the latest Quinnipiac University poll; whereas NORML’s message of legalization rejected by CBS is a policy position supported by 44% to 53% of the American people surveyed lately by Gallup and Angus Reid. Even more interesting when CBS itself polled support for legalization at 41%.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeH5HrG7IfM&feature=player_embedded
http://blog.norml.org/2010/02/15/cbs-rejects-norml-legalization-billboard-but-accepts-black-children-are-an-endangered-species-anti-abortion-billboard/This fifteen second Flash animation from NORML touting the economic benefit of... more
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We’re using MyBarackObama.com-Like Social Tools to Legalize Marijuana in the United States!
With this read, use your imagination as to how you can utilize MarijuanaLobby.com (with the same technical infrastructure) to greatly help Legalize Marijuana in the United States.We’re using MyBarackObama.com-Like Social Tools to Legalize Marijuana in the... more
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MarijuanaLobby.com seeks to unify American Patriots and Policy Makers Online in our continued efforts to legalize responsible Marijuana use for Adults and Research Science in America. MarijuanaLobby.com is the Grassroots Network: Our technology enables local-State Group Information-Networks to organize and aggregate fresh news and information towards local policy awareness and democratic action.
The sooner you become a MarijuanaLobby.com member the sooner you can start sharing your experiences about how unfair Marijuana’s reputation still is, and how America (you) ultimately support(s) legalization, because so many have yet to come out in support of it — but this is change, Social Change, Join Us — Help Change This!MarijuanaLobby.com seeks to unify American Patriots and Policy Makers Online in our... more
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A pot-smoking parolee in Colorado faces criminal charges for allegedly offering a cash bribe to try to pass a drug test. Police said a 34-year-old man tried Jan. 3 to bribe a state worker to allow him to use a device called a "Whizzinator" to pass a drug test he had to take while on parole. The man allegedly said he had a medical marijuana card, though officials couldn't confirm whether that was true.
Colorado's medical marijuana law allows convicted criminals to get cards, but those on parole still must pass drug tests. State lawmakers are currently weighing new marijuana rules that would prevent people on parole from having the cards.
Prosecutors said the man offered a state worker $300 after the worker found him with the "Whizzinator," a device of tubing and heater packs attached to a prosthetic penis sold to cheat drug tests.
An arrest warrant affidavit reported by The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel Thursday said a caseworker became suspicious about his urine sample after he tried to block the worker's view while he was providing his sample.
When asked to raise his shirt and lower his pants, the man was seen wearing the "Whizzinator." The man allegedly offered the state worker $300, then $500, to throw away the device. The worker refused.
The caseworker took the device, and the man left.
That same day, the man called state parole officials and said he had panicked after smoking marijuana on New Year's Day, the anniversary of his father's death, saying he was "having a very hard time dealing with it."
The man now faces felony bribery charges and is being held in the Mesa County Jail. He was on parole for a 2007 menacing conviction.A pot-smoking parolee in Colorado faces criminal charges for allegedly offering a cash... more
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"Laws would be more stringent than other states', Morhaim says.
Hoping to make Maryland the 15th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana, legislators introduced a pair of bills Tuesday in the General Assembly that would let doctors approve access to marijuana for their patients and sanction dispensaries, and even pharmacies, to distribute the drug.
The legislation would allow the use of marijuana by patients who have a "debilitating medical condition," such as seizures, severe chronic pain or severe nausea as a result of cancer treatment. They would have to register with the state and obtain marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries and pharmacies that might be interested in supplying it.
"The overarching goal is to make medical marijuana available, as would be any other serious drug to help patients, with the same protections and judicious use," said Del. Dan Morhaim, a Democrat from Baltimore County and an internist and emergency medical physician, who sponsored the legislation in the House of Delegates. Sen. David Brinkley, a Republican from Frederick, is the bill's sponsor in the Senate.
Patients would need approval from doctors with whom they have a long-standing relationship and would not be permitted to grow marijuana on their own.
Morhaim said those two elements make Maryland's measure more stringent than laws passed recently in other states, which allow people to grow their own pot and have come under pressure from critics who say doctors permit use of the drug too easily.
Maryland is the latest state to try to increase access to marijuana following the Obama administration's loosening of federal policy on marijuana enforcement last year.
The measure builds on a little-known 2003 Maryland law that allows defendants charged with marijuana possession leniency if they can prove medical necessity.
That law, however, does medical patients a disservice, said Sen. Jamie B. Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat, during a news conference Tuesday attended by supporters of the legislation, including two people who said they used the drug to cope with their illnesses.
"We are implicitly inviting people who are sick to go out and find illegal drug dealers to procure what for them is medicine," he said. "That is not acceptable in a civilized society."
Debby Miran, 55, of Towson said she has struggled for years with leukemia, and smoking marijuana helped her cope for four months after a bone-marrow transplant. After the transplant, she lost her ability to taste, suffered severe nausea and at one point weighed less than 100 pounds. Marijuana was the only thing that worked, she said.
"My goal was not to get high, but rather to stimulate my appetite," she said. "There are many Marylanders suffering a variety of illnesses. I know; I've been there. We should make medical marijuana available to them."
http://www.mpp.org/assets/images/feature-images/Maryland.png
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bal-md.hs.marijuana27jan27,0,806070.story"Laws would be more stringent than other states', Morhaim says.
Hoping to... more
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