tagged w/ Ganja
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Had he stayed in Alberta, Tommy Chong might just well be a country and western performer today.
“But, I don’t think I’d be alive, I’d be dead of alcoholism,” said Chong, who grew up in Edmonton and Calgary before finding fame south of the border.
“I was never a singer, I didn’t think I could sing,” he said on the phone from his Halifax hotel room yesterday. “When I do sing, it is country. It’s the only music that makes me feel like I really belong.”
Chong — one half of the hippie-stoner group Cheech and Chong — is in Halifax with his wife, Shelby, for three nights of shows at Yuk Yuk’s. He was on stage last night and will be back on tonight and tomorrow.
It was music that opened the comedic doors for Chong. He was playing in a blues band and signed to Motown when he made the switch to comedy.
“I had a love of comedy all my life,” said the former cast member of That ’70s Show. “Even before high school, I always had a best friend. I was always part of a comedy team. We would be doing silly things.
“When I was with Motown, the bass player and I were kind of like a comedy team.”
Chong realized he was more into comedy when he would haunt the improv clubs in Chicago more than the blues joints. He later teamed up with Cheech Marin in Vancouver, a partnership that produced a number of films and comedy records.
Chong said his recent troubles in the U.S., which saw him sentenced to nine months for selling bongs and other drug paraphernalia online, was due to his Cheech and Chong days.
“The Bush people declared war on the counterculture. They blamed the counterculture for stopping the Vietnam War, and I think they were afraid we would cause mischief with the Iraq War. So, it was a preemptive strike.”
Chong, who recently released a biography, said it was an enlightening experience for him going to jail — the best thing that could have happened.
“It turned me bitter toward the justice department, but in prison I realized there are forces in the universe that will take care of people that do wrong,” he said.
“The same force will protect me.” Had he stayed in Alberta, Tommy Chong might just well be a country and western... more
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SAN FRANCISCO -- In an unanticipated turn of events, the bust of the world’s largest medical marijuana grow has developed into one of the shortest trials in federal court.
Opening arguments in the United States v. Charles “Eddy” Lepp were delivered yesterday morning to a freshly assembled jury. The judge gave her own speech as well, outlining the procedures in the trial, the elements of the charges, and various reflections on the importance of jury service. The government then proceeded to call all of its witnesses and present all of its exhibits. And when it was finally done, it was almost time for lunch. This approach is a novel one for the government. The prosecution in federal medical marijuana trials is typically vigorous, with witness testimony that spans a full week or more. With this case, however, it’s as though someone has suddenly pushed the turbo button.
The years of pre-trial legal wrangling weren’t exactly fast, but they did have plenty of twists and turns. For instance, Lepp came an inch shy of a key victory when the judge threw out the search warrant that was used against him in August 2004. The bubble burst on that hope, however, when the prosecutor successfully argued that law enforcement agents didn’t need a valid warrant to seize tens of thousands of plants from Lepp’s field. Deciding that issue alone took over a year and the testimony of several witnesses, those watching the case were expecting the same pace for the trial. Instead, the proceedings have whizzed by in a surreal blur.
According to the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hall, the reason for the acceleration is that the defense has stipulated two crucial facts: that the seized plants were marijuana and that they were grown on land owned by Lepp. Such stipulations remove the need for some witnesses, like those who testify about chains of evidence and laboratory test results. However, these omissions alone do not explain the brevity and the bareness of the government’s case. “We’ve boiled it down,” Hall explained to the jury during his opening statement. Indeed they have…and it seems that not much is left.
Hall’s case has focused almost entirely on the events of a single afternoon – August 9th, 2004 – when three local sheriffs took an impromptu joyride through Lepp’s field in the northern California town of Upper Lake. The sheriffs supposedly made the trip in order to observe the large marijuana crop that was said to be growing alongside Highway 20, but it ended up being much more than a quick drive. Things began to go awry when the little squad aroused the suspicions of onlookers, and it ended with the sheriffs claiming they were chased down and assaulted by people from Lepp’s property.
By all appearances, the sheriffs were mistaken for trespassers…and, as Hall described the incident, it was easy to understand why. After all, the sheriffs did enter Lepp’s property without permission, while out of uniform and riding in an unmarked truck. They proceeded to drive slowly down a private dirt road that ran along the perimeter of the field, visually appraising the crops as they went. They soon attracted shouted inquiries from people in the field, but the sheriffs simply ignored the questions put to them about who they were and why they were there. Two men in a sedan then started following them along the dirt road, eventually getting the truck to stop by passing it and then hitting their brakes. The sheriffs responded by leaping out of the truck with guns drawn, shouting, “Lake County Sheriff’s Department!” and ordering the sedan’s occupants down to the ground.SAN FRANCISCO -- In an unanticipated turn of events, the bust of the world’s... more
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Dave Lucas, who in April retrieved a little more than 30 grams of seized purple Urkel marijuana and smoking pipes from Huntington Beach police, said he disagrees with some of the guidelines.
Lucas, who uses marijuana for post traumatic stress disorder, said he believes dispensaries should be able to squeak out some profit.
"A lot of pharmaceutical companies do," Lucas said. "None of them are nonprofit."
Contact the writer: 714-445-6688 or ccarcamo@ocregister.comDave Lucas, who in April retrieved a little more than 30 grams of seized purple Urkel... more
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As Albertans go, they outnumber Catholics, smokers, Edmontonians, voters and overweight folk -- though a massive intake of potato chips might soon balance out the latter.
They're pot smokers, and a new study by Health Canada shows a staggering -- and presumably peckish -- 45.3% of Albertans have inhaled marijuana, with 34.7% returning for a regular hit of weed.
The 2007 federal government statistics place supposedly clean-cut, law-and-order Alberta as the second-most stoned province, just behind hippy-infested B.C., where 37.4% of citizens are repeat tokers of Cannabis sativa.
Cannabis sativa, for those who've avoided cultural contact for the past 40 years, is a psychoactive herb that generally produces pleasant emotions ranging from giddiness to well-being in smokers while stimulating hunger.
Before you start packing your bags, determined to leave this wasted western Babylon behind, take note that Alberta and B.C. aren't anomalies when it comes to dope consumption.
Just under a third of Canadians, or 32.2%, have smoked pot more than once, with another 6.9% admitting to at least trying marijuana.
Even in Newfoundland, the least cannabis-prone province, 26.4% of citizens have smoked up more than once.
It's reefer madness, no matter what side of the bong you're sitting on.
Albertans who morally support the law of the land will be horrified to think nearly half of their neighbours and co-workers are drug users, smoking from a secret stash of illegal narcotics.
Those who morally oppose the law of the land will be aghast over a justice system that labels nearly half of Albertans as criminals.
Professor Geraint Osborne, a social science/humanities researcher at the University of Alberta, is part of the latter camp -- he feels marijuana laws no longer reflect the society they are meant to protect.
"We have to start distinguishing between use and abuse of marijuana, as we do with alcohol," said Osborne.
"There are people who will abuse any substance, and others who will use that substance responsibly, and our policy has to change to address this issue."
Osborne says the sheer number of citizens who are breaking the law by smoking marijuana shows society has changed since cannabis was outlawed a century ago -- and yet users are still officially a criminal threat.
"That's why the majority are in the closet on this issue," he said.
"These are middle-class adults with kids and responsibilities, and they are not criminals at all."
The continued legal condemnation of marijuana users, according to Osborne, is the root of organized crime's interest in the drug and illegal activity connected with it.
"It's no different from bootlegging during prohibition."
For those who might be sitting on the fence over marijuana's legal and social status, hearing a university professor's sober opinion is a refreshing change, even if it reflects what many out-of-the-closet smokers have been saying all along.
Too often, the legalize-weed proponents come off as total waste-heads -- but the new numbers, suggesting widespread use by more than a third of Albertans, prove chronic smokers are to marijuana what the chronic drunk is to alcohol.
Someone whose life is consumed by a drug is not a worthy spokesman for change.
The majority of Alberta users, judging by the lack of giggling and bloodshot eyes in our offices and work spaces, are capable of handling marijuana the way they handle alcohol.
Whether you smoke it or not, agree with it or otherwise, the Health Canada study offers a clear message -- marijuana can be commonly used without harming society as a whole, just like alcohol.
If it wasn't the case, Alberta would be struggling to survive as a productive province.
For the majority of users, marijuana is a recreational treat, just like an occasional beer, or glass of wine.
And there are more than 1.2-million Albertans who've enjoyed it.
Make that 1.2-million criminals. As Albertans go, they outnumber Catholics, smokers, Edmontonians, voters and... more
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When Sylvia Quinton sees individually-wrapped cigars for sale at local gas stations, it feels like a tacit acceptance of the fact that somebody is going to be smoking marijuana.
"We need new laws to address the popular youth drug culture in the county," said Quinton, whose group, Suitland Life Development Corp., is lobbying the county to ban so-called "blunt" cigars from area stores.
But ask national policy experts, and they'll say a ban is just blowing smoke.
"This is very likely going to fail abjectly, like most other efforts to thwart the free market," said Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C., who said there is little evidence suggesting that the number of smokers will decrease.
This fall, the Prince George's County Council will decide whether it's worth a try anyway, as they consider banning sale of tobacco products normally associated with marijuana use from most stores, gas stations and liquor stores. County law already bans the sale of rolling papers, which are primarily used to make cigarettes by wrapping tobacco in the paper.
Supporters of the measure include family groups and community activists who say selling cheap cigars encourages illegal drug use. If police or county inspectors catch a store selling the products, they could face a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail if the bill passes.
The bill was introduced in June at the request of County Council Chairman Samuel H. Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville. He did not return calls for comment. A council committee will review the legislation when it resumes meeting next month.
Nicknamed for the "Philly Blunt" brand, the cigars are usually cheap, sometimes flavored and have a tough outer shell that can be emptied out and filled with marijuana.
According to the county police department, 1,621 people were arrested in 2007 for drug possession. More than 1,200 of those cases were for marijuana.
A spokesman for the department declined to comment on the latest bill, saying the department had not seen the legislation.
Quinton, whose group lobbies for drug-free communities, said banning blunts is the next step in clamping down on drug use.
"Over the years, we've addressed issues of underage alcohol and cigarettes," she said. "Our kids have moved on."
Banning blunts has had a mixed track record so far. Both Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia have passed laws banning the sale, though a court in Pennsylvania last year invalidated the law there.
Attempts to apply the blunt ban across Maryland failed this year in the General Assembly over protests that it infringed on legal tobacco use. If Prince George's passes the ban, it would be the first county in the state to do so.
"This is an environmental strategy," said Quinton, who said the change would raise community "norms and perceptions."
"Anything's worth a try," she said. "At least it will put it on our radar."
Quinton compared the law to recent national changes that require people buying certain kinds of over-the-counter medicine to submit their driver's license, since the chemicals can be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
But it hasn't worked, St. Pierre said.
"Methamphetamines are just available now," said St. Pierre. "Now you and I just have to go through this nitwittery to buy something over the counter. …While it's certainly well-intentioned, the citizen in the free market pays the price primarily."When Sylvia Quinton sees individually-wrapped cigars for sale at local gas stations,... more
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The potency of cannabis gathered in police seizures has dropped, new official data reveals, casting doubt on one of the government's key arguments for reclassifying the drug from class C to class B.
Figures collected by the Forensic Science Service and seen by guardian.co.uk show that the potency of herbal cannabis, which includes the strong "skunk" strain, has dropped from 12.7% to 9.5% since 2004, when it was first moved from class B to the less serious class C.
This means that samples collected by the police are now weaker than when David Blunkett, the then-home secretary, downgraded the drug in 2004.
According to the figures the level of THC - the main psychoactive ingredient - in herbal cannabis was 12.7% in 2004, 13.5% in 2005 and 11.3% in 2006, before dropping to 9.5% in 2007, the year covered by the latest figures. Cannabis resin, a milder form, has decreased in strength from 3.4% to 2.6% between 2004 and 2007.
The FSS said the figures were not representative and were from too small a sample.
But David Porteous, a criminology lecturer from Middlesex University, said: "This information suggests that, in the time that it has been a class C drug, usage levels of cannabis have fallen and so has its strength. These findings make a mockery of the decision to re-reclassify cannabis and of the government's wider claim to base policy-making decisions on scientific research.
"Furthermore they call into question the validity of other controversial and publicly criticised government claims regarding drug policy, for example the link between cannabis and mental illness or the legitimacy of our current classification system."
Announcing the regrading of the drug in May, home secretary Jacqui Smith told the Commons that the potency of marijuana had "increased nearly threefold since 1995".
A spokesman for the Home Office said that the home secretary's assertion was based on a report from May this year entitled Home Office Cannabis Potency Study 2008. This report gave the median potency of sinsemilla (stronger strains such as skunk) as 15%, that of other herbal cannabis as 9%, and that of resin as 5%. No statistics for 1995 were given.
Another Home Office report, from April this year, also using FSS figures, casts further doubt on Smith's assertion. It says the strength of sinsemilla, intensively grown cannabis, rose from 5.8% in 1995 to 10.4% in 2007, less than a twofold increase. The strength of other forms of herbal cannabis was 3.9% in 1995 and 2.6% in 2007, a drop.
The FSS is a government organisation that supplies forensic science services to ministerial departments, government agencies and police forces. It released the new figures seen by guardian.co.uk earlier this month.
A spokeswoman for the FSS said that the figures seen by guardian.co.uk were "unlikely to be an accurate representation of THC in cannabis across the board as not all samples submitted to the FSS are routinely analysed for THC content. The FSS database also does not distinguish between sinsemilla cannabis and imported herbal cannabis."
She said the FSS had been involved in the May 2008 report used by Smith to make her decision. "The FSS participated in an in-depth study of THC content for the Home Office in partnership with other forensic agencies, and this is likely to be more representative of actual cannabis strength."The potency of cannabis gathered in police seizures has dropped, new official data... more
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BOSTON — A measure that would decriminalize minor marijuana-possession cases is on the ballot in Massachusetts largely because of one man: billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros.
Of the $429,000 collected last year by the group advancing the measure, $400,000 came from Soros, who has championed similar efforts in several states and spent $24 million to fight President Bush's 2004 re-election bid. The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy needed about $315,000 of that just to collect the more than 100,000 signatures that secured a spot on the ballot, according to campaign finance reports reviewed by The Associated Press.
"All of us owe George Soros a great deal of gratitude," said Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
If the measure is approved in November, Massachusetts would become the 13th state to lift or ease criminal penalties on marijuana possession. The proposal would make having an ounce or less of the drug a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine.
A spokesman for Soros referred questions to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance. Soros' efforts to ease penalties for drug crimes have come through the alliance, where he is a member of the board of directors.
Nadelmann said Soros feels the war on drugs is draining money and resources that could be better spent.
"He
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thinks the (ballot question) is a responsible initiative to reduce the overreliance on criminal justice sanctions in dealing with marijuana," Nadelmann said. "Marijuana should not be a priority of the criminal justice system."
Soros is credited with putting financial muscle behind many of the state initiatives easing marijuana laws — beginning with a 1996 California ballot question to allow marijuana use for medical purposes. From 1996 to 2000, Soros backed medical marijuana questions there and in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada and Maine.
More recently he has focused on criminal justice reform efforts including pushing a proposal in California this year that would prohibit sending drug offenders back to prison for parole violations unless they commit a new felony, have a violent or serious record, or are considered high risk by prison officials.
He has also contributed to Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joe Biden and has helped support a group running ads opposing Republican John McCain.
Soros's wealth was estimated at $8.8 billion by Forbes magazine last year. He was also the second-highest-paid hedge fund manager last year at $2.9 billion.
Critics say marijuana decriminalization sends the wrong message to young people — that using drugs carries few consequences. Not only are there health risks associated with marijuana, they say, but users often end up moving on to more dangerous illegal drugs.
Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said the marijuana being sold on the street these days is more potent than that sold three decades ago.
"Decriminalizing marijuana is a slippery slope and sends the wrong message," he said. "Compounding this is the fact that users of marijuana are 10 times more likely to be injured, or injure others, in automobile crashes."
Leone said marijuana possession is already treated less stringently in the courts than other drugs.
The question has been criticized by others in law enforcement and drug education groups like DARE-Massachusetts — but according to the secretary of state's office, opponents haven't created a group to raise money to fight the question.
A whopping 72 percent of Massachusetts' voters favored the ballot question and 22 percent opposed it, according to a WHDH-TV/Suffolk University poll of 400 registered conducted from July 31-Aug. 3. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.BOSTON — A measure that would decriminalize minor marijuana-possession cases is... more
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NIMBIN'S Hemp Bar will close its doors on August 29 and the future of the Nimbin Museum is unclear after police issued a letter to the land owners of both buildings requesting they evict their tenants.
The letters were issued from the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office and evoke powers under the NSW Restricted Premises Act, 1943.
"The application is based on Detective Sergeant Smith's reasonable grounds to suspect that a drug is unlawfully sold or supplied on or from the premises ... and is likely to be sold again," the letter said.
One letter was presented to Judy Hales who is a member of the Nimbin Community School cooperative. The cooperative owns what is locally known as the 'tomato sauce building' and is home to the HEMP Embassy and the Hemp Bar.
Mrs Hales told The Northern Star a community school meeting was held that was open to members of the public, and it was decided they would act upon the letter.
"People were concerned about the fate of the building and didn't like to be placed under that threat," she said.
"People were also concerned about what would happen to the community sschool and its assets."
Mrs Hales said the people who ran the Hemp Bar agreed to vacate the building, saying it was 'in the best interests of the community, not just the community school'.
A similar letter is believed to have been served on the owner of the Nimbin Museum building.
The building is owned by a company associated with Sydney man, Richard Andary, who has never even been to Nimbin, according to museum founder Michael Balderstone.
The Northern Star contacted Mr Andary who declined to comment beyond saying the matter was with his solicitors.
At another meeting at Nimbin yesterday, Mr Balderstone said he would step aside if there was a way the community could take responsibility for the museum.
"I'm happy to leave if the museum can survive," he said. "I've had a lot of criticism for not stopping it (the dealing in the museum). A lot of people have said I'm too soft because I don't like seeing young boys locked up in jail.
"Since the MardiGrass we have really worked our butts off, and in the Hemp Bar I know for a fact there has been no dealing in there, and still they've done this, which is very disappointing. What happened to community policing?"
Nimbin resident Neil Pike said the museum was 'the heart of Nimbin'.
"It would be a tragedy if the museum didn't survive as a cultural icon and centre," he said.
"There is a certain amount of illegal activity happening, there is no doubt about it, but most of the crime in this town comes from alcohol." NIMBIN'S Hemp Bar will close its doors on August 29 and the future of the Nimbin... more
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Sonya is doing great. She’s getting her fourth infusion this week , which means she’s just about 33% done with the treatments. She’s happy. She loves her life. She feels good a hell of a lot more than she feels bad. The nausea from the chemo is controlled with cannabis, as are the discomforts and anxieties associated with going through this, not to mention that she hasn’t had the usual problem of loss of appetite. I ask the oncologists why they don’t recommend cannabis to ALL their patients. They admit that it works wonders- which is more than the federal government admits-but they are afraid of backlash from the state if they recommend this medicinal weed. Instead, they prescribe Marinol, which is synthetic THC. Sonya’s doctor tried telling me that Marinol is pure THC, but I know better- so of course, I told him so. Marinol is synthetic THC in a pill form. Maybe it doesn’t have the chlorophyll, but it’s far from pure, like the organic base it starts from. I have taken Marinol, and I can tell you that it is20nothing at all like smoking cannabis and was not an enjoyable experience.. When I first felt the effects of the Marinol that I had taken, I called the person that I had gotten it from-pissed off that I had been mislead, because I was tripping off it. I thought I had gotten something else but it was Marinol all right. That’s what the hospitals can prescribe without fear.. Those poor cancer patients. Even before we knew that Sonya had cancer, we knew that cannabis worked miracles for providing relief her from daily-turned-almost hourly- abdominal cramps. Strange how it takes misfortune like this to add credibility to what I tell you, for those who want to laugh off the issue and pretend it’s about losers wanting to get stoned. The DEA holds the position that marijuana has NO medicinal value and ...I swear this is true...that it is more dangerous than cocaine or meth. DOES ANYBODY ACTUALLY BELIEVE THESE LIES?!?!
I’m guessing that nobody does believe the lies but they are ok with not changing because they are afraid of what could happen if pot was legal. Presently, we have 12 states where doctors recommend marijuana to ease suffering in constant threat of Federal recourse. Feds say pot is a schedule 1 controlled substance( most dangerous with no medicine) while schedule 2 controlled substances( less dangerous and containing some medicinal value) are cocaine and meth. Don’t20believe me? Don’t want to know? Want to pretend that legal cancer stick you’re smoking is safe and not the most addictive drug we know of? Want to believe there are actually reported deaths from marijuana smoking in some medical journals somewhere? Want to believe that spending 7 billion dollars to fight a weed isn’t your problem? Feel ok that more people are arrested for marijuana than murder, rape, and armed robbery combined?People might give me shit for being so vocal about an issue that we’re brain washed into thinking we should be ashamed to talk about, but fuck that. It must be confusing as hell to be a school kid growing up today where you can see truthful documentaries on A&E or catch “American Drug War”( watch it!) on Showtime or You tube, and then you go to school and get lied to. I don’t mind telling the truth. Unless a doctor recommends it, kids should NOT smoke pot but they should know that the strongest financial force behind its prohibition has always been alcohol and tobacco. What? Kids should be sparred the knowledge that our government is based on big business? If you were going to outlaw a drug from a society, what would you base it on? Danger to health? Death toll? Addiction strength? Behavioral issues? Loss of motor skills? We don’t do it that way in America. We don’t do that at all. Compare ou r top two killers with our top two accepted and used drugs. Hmmm.Sonya is doing great. She’s getting her fourth infusion this week , which means... more
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About 100 demonstrators showed up at Santa Barbara's landmark dolphin fountain at the end of Stearns Wharf today to show solidarity in the face of the federal government’s recent threats to shut down the numerous medical marijuana dispensaries in town. Although the march began an hour behind schedule at 1 p.m., those involved gradually picked up intensity and fervor as they moved up State Street. Proudly sporting T-shirts reading "I Am Not a Criminal," and "No Access Is Not a Solution," the protesters chanted "Protect our rights! All of our rights!" as they made their way from the waterfront to the heart of downtown.
From the beginning, protest organizers stressed sticking together and obeying traffic laws to avoid injury. No police officers were present, but members of the group were peaceably assembled on both sides of State Street. Participants in the protest ranged from medicinal cannabis users to patients rights advocates to one or two people who claimed merely to like "smoking bud," and were generally supportive of the cannabis club concept.
"It's not right that the federal government is trying to control peoples' lives," said a man named Seamus. Along with national medical marijuana activist Elvy Musikka — who is one of the few people in the country provided cannabis by the federal government for medical reasons — Seamus carried a sign at the head of the march that read: “CANNABIS. The Most Efficient. The Most Reliable. The Safest Part of My Treatment."
The march was the latest public battle in the ongoing weed war between the federal government and California, where voters approved using cannabis for medical purposes in 1996. The City of Santa Barbara recently approved an ordinance to standardize the cannabis dispensaries, which had grown rapidly for such a small city over the past two years.
Elvy Musikka takes a smoke break
Wednesday’s action was specifically to protest a move by the federal government earlier this month, when representatives from the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration met with the owners of buildings that house cannabis dispensaries. The agents threatened to use federal racketeering laws to confiscate the properties if the cannabis dealers were not evicted. Since then, most if not all of the dispensaries in Santa Barbara have received eviction letters and some are already clearing out.About 100 demonstrators showed up at Santa Barbara's landmark dolphin fountain at... more
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Bulgarian priest Cyril Papudov is under constant monitoring by the police as he has marijuana planted in his garden, ananova portal reports. he was arrested seven times, and he firmly states that the good harvest of cannabis is actually a gift from God and that the plant grew on its own. It is interesting that the police can no prove that the priest planted the drug plant, so they are constantly watching him. - He is a priest and people believe him, but it unlikely that he has cannabis planted in his garden just to admire it – said a source from the police of Petrich.Bulgarian priest Cyril Papudov is under constant monitoring by the police as he has... more
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Derek Pedro's first trip to Hempfest was a "nerve wracking" one.
He says Ontario Provincial Police asked him and Alison Myrden, both federal medical marijuana exemptees, to get out of their truck during a spot check Wednesday.
Their supply of marijuana was weighed.
"It was pretty unusual," Pedro said Sunday at Hempfest.
"To weigh medicine, I've never heard of that."
He and Myrden waited about 45 minutes before being cleared to go.
"It was nerve wracking. You're talking to somebody that's had quite a few experiences, unfortunately, with the law and medical marijuana," he said.
"I just want to be left alone just like anyone else that's sick. But yet wherever I go I'm asked, 'What is it that you have?'"
"It's a little intrusive, but at the same time I want to defend my position so I have to talk about it."
The self-employed handyman has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It's a rare genetic disorder that has caused him migranes, joint pain and operations on his knees and shoulders.
He started taking pain medication when he was 14. Pedro was taking 400 Percocet pills a month before he started smoking marijuana in 2004.
"We're exempt from the law, but yet we're persecuted on a daily basis," said Pedro.
"We're sick, but yet we still have to endure stresses — stresses that the average person with a regular prescription doesn't have to go through."
The police check won't stop him from attending Hempfest in 2009. Derek Pedro's first trip to Hempfest was a "nerve wracking" one.
He... more
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-- Rob Van Dam stated during a Between The Ropes radio interview yesterday that his wife Sonya is going through the fourth of 14 chemotherapy treatments during her battle with cancer. He said she has actually been able to maintain a healthy weight despite the treatments, and credits marijuana for her good health.-- Rob Van Dam stated during a Between The Ropes radio interview yesterday that his... more
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A draft of the proposed new licensing scheme to allow industrial hemp production in NSW is available for public comment for 28 days.
The Iemma Government passed the Hemp Industry Bill in June this year, paving the way for a new industrial hemp industry in NSW.
Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald put out an invitation to farmers to comment on the proposed licensing regulations, which are necessary to ensure the crop is grown only under licence and only by applicants of "good repute".
“The licensing scheme will be finalised after the 28-day consultation which ends on September 19,” Mr Macdonald said.
Mr Macdonald said industrial hemp would provide farmers with the additional option of another fast-growing summer crop that can be used in rotation with winter grain crops.
“Industrial hemp fibre produced here in NSW could be used in paper products and textiles, load bearing masonry for building, insulation, as an additive to wool in soft textured durable yarns and also as an alternative to fibreglass," he said. A draft of the proposed new licensing scheme to allow industrial hemp production in... more
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Pharmacists and chemists have found another use for the multipurpose cannabis as a source of antibacterial chemicals for multidrug resistant bacteria. Ironically, inhaling cannabis is known to damage the lung's ability to fend off invading pathogens, but the ingredients in cannabis, particularly the cannabinoids, have antiseptic properties. Although scattered research has been conducted since the 1950s, no comprehensive study existed that relates the structure of cannabinoids with antibacterial activity. Giovanni Appendino, Simon Gibbons, and coworkers attempted to remedy that problem by examining the activity of five common cannabinoids and their synthetic derivatives.
Five of the most common cannabinoids.
All five cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBG, CBC, and CBN) were potent against bacteria. Notably, they performed well against bacteria that were known to be multidrug resistant, like the strains of MRSA that plagued U.K. hospitals. CBD and CBG have the most potential for consumer use because they are nonpsychotropic.
Besides identifying antibacterial capability, the researchers wanted to figure out why these cannabinoids are so good at killing bacteria. They obviously are very effective at specifically targeting some vital process in the bacteria. Unfortunately, even after extensive work at modifying the cannabinoids and comparing their activities, that targeting mechanism remains a mystery. The scientists were able to figure out that the position of the n-pentyl chain (orange) relative to the terpenoid moiety (blue) serves to control lipid affinity.
These cannabinoids are promising enough to warrant rigorous clinical trials. They are applicable as topical antiseptics, biodegradable antibacterial compounds for cosmetics, and systematic antibacterial agents.
J. Nat. Prod., 2008. DOI: 10.1021/np8002673 Pharmacists and chemists have found another use for the multipurpose cannabis as a... more
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Photo by Paul Wellman: A month's supply of marijuana cigarettes (approximately 300) provided by the federal government.
At noon on Wednesday, August 27, dozens of medical marijuana patients and proponents are expected to gather at the dolphin statue near Stearns Wharf and walk up State Street toward the County Courthouse. They’ll be protesting the recent threats by the federal government to punish Santa Barbara landlords who rent to state- and city-sanctioned cannabis dispensaries. The federal crackdown in Santa Barbara is the latest battle in the long-simmering war over medical marijuana, a state’s rights showdown in which voters and lawmakers from California and other states have deemed the drug legal for patients but the feds continue to consider an illicit, medically useless substance.
Leading the charge on Wednesday will be Oregon’s Elvy Musikka, one of the few Americans provided marijuana by the federal government for medical reasons. Musikka, who’s used the ancient herbal remedy to treat glaucoma for more than 25 years, is one of the most compelling cases cited by cannabis-as-cure advocates to show how the drug helps sick people. And, explained march organizer, dispensary founder, and t-shirt manufacturer Mark Russell on Tuesday, Musikka and her tins full of government-grown marijuana cigarettes are also the best examples to show why the feds’ crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries is unwarranted, hypocritical, and harmful to patients. Musikka brought one such tin — which held 230.74 grams of low-grade marijuana grown by the University of Mississippi and rolled into 300 or so joints — by The Independent’s offices on Tuesday, and argued that locally operating dispensaries are the best way for any patient to obtain medical marijuana.
The march comes at a crucial time for dispensaries in Santa Barbara. Earlier this year, the City of Santa Barbara — whose citizens overwhelmingly voted in 2006 to make all marijuana enforcement the lowest police priority — followed the lead of other California cities in passing an ordinance to accommodate and regulate the numerous medical marijuana distributors that began setting up shop in town a couple years ago. The shops are deemed legal by California law, because in 1996 voters passed Proposition 215 to allow for sales of medical marijuana, a move that was further explained and strengthened by the State Assembly’s passage of bill 420 in 2003.Photo by Paul Wellman: A month's supply of marijuana cigarettes (approximately... more
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Illegal Stop, Search Lead To Dismissed Case
RACINE -- The Racine County Sheriff's Department made two costly mistakes when deputies arrested a man for marijuana possession and manufacturing in October 2006, according to court rulings.
Those mistakes - an unlawful traffic stop based on a cell phone call and search of the contents of a digital camera and GPS device found after the arrest - have forced the District Attorney's Office to drop all six charges against the suspect.
Dean Brown, 39, was arrested Oct. 13, 2006, after Racine County deputies caught up with him following a cell phone call from a driver who believed Brown was acting suspiciously, possibly trespassing. The deputy who made the traffic stop reportedly smelled raw marijuana in the car and searched the vehicle. In the car, the deputy allegedly found garbage bags full of marijuana plants. In total, deputies allegedly recovered nearly 36 pounds of marijuana with a possible street value as high as $140,000.
Deputies also found a digital camera and GPS unit. The camera contained images of marijuana growing in fields. Members of the Racine County Metro Drug Unit checked out recently used coordinates on the GPS unit and discovered several marijuana grow sites.
Brown was then charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and four counts of manufacturing marijuana.
Brown's attorney, Patrick Cafferty, challenged the charges. He filed motions to suppress all evidence in the case, saying the deputy did not have grounds to stop his client in the first place and that any evidence obtained from the searches of the contents of the camera or GPS unit was inadmissible because deputies did not have warrants to search the contents of the devices.
Cafferty's challenges were successful.
The four manufacturing marijuana charges were dropped in April 2007, after Circuit Court Judge Emily Mueller ruled in the defense's favor, saying that deputies should have obtained a search warrant for the camera and GPS device before looking at their contents.
Mueller also ruled that the traffic stop was unlawful, but the state appealed that. The Court of Appeals upheld her ruling late last month, and the state has now dismissed all charges against Brown.
The Court of Appeals ruling on the traffic stop said that a 911 call by a motorist did not give the Sheriff's Department "reasonable suspicion" to stop Brown's vehicle.
"The right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures" is contained within the state and federal constitutions, the court's opinion stated. The court said that police may approach people to investigate possible criminal behavior without probable cause to make an arrest, but that the officer must be able to state facts that led up to the approach.
However, the opinion states, the Supreme Court of the United States "has long held that 'good faith on the part of the arresting officers is not enough,' " and that if that was all that was required, "the protections of the Fourth Amendment would evaporate."
The Sheriff's Department receives training on conducting legal stops and searches, said Lt. Dan Klatt, spokesman for the department, but deputies must make judgment calls. He said there is no easy answer.
"Each decision is based on a case-by-case situation," Klatt said. "There are rules of evidence, but there are some exigent circumstances. It ends up being what the officer perceives. If he perceives one of these exigent circumstances apply, that's what he's basing his decision on at the time."
In this particular case, the court has ruled that the deputies' actions were not in line with the law that governs traffic stops and searches. While the police work led to evidence against Brown, when the court suppressed the evidence it became unusable in court, effectively ending the case.
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin Illegal Stop, Search Lead To Dismissed Case
RACINE -- The Racine County... more
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Eight years ago when the state legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, it failed to set up a distribution system.
Patients were given permission to grow their own, but were not given a legal way to purchase marijuana seeds.
A patient's access to pot and its seeds was among the topics discussed at an informational hearing at the State Capitol Monday.
Lawmakers will use information gathered at the hearing to try to reform the state's medical marijuana law next year.
"People register with the program because they want to be legal under state law, and then they are told they have to go to the black market to get their medicine to smoke or ingest ... to cook with. So it's a horrible grey area and it really needs to be addressed," said Pam Lichty of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.
Some want to set up cannabis clubs where people with certificates can legally purchase pot.
Others support the idea of small farms where a limited number of patients can lease land and the services of farmers to grow marijuana for them.
The legislature passed a bill this year calling for a task force to review the state's medical marijuana law.
But Gov. Lingle vetoed that bill.Eight years ago when the state legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, it failed... more
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NEWTON, Mass. — Firefighters assigned to perform a routine cleaning of Newton Fire Chief Joseph LaCroix's official car said they made a surprising discovery: marijuana.
The alleged discovery of a small amount of the drug Thursday beneath the driver's seat of the city-owned Crown Victoria is under investigation by police in LaCroix's hometown of Marlborough, even though the car was in Newton at the time it was found, city spokesman Jeremy Solomon said.
LaCroix, who met with city officials in Newton before turning the marijuana in to Marlborough police, issued a statement yesterday denying that the marijuana was his.
"The discovery came as a shock to me," LaCroix said in the written statement. "I have never imperiled the safety of Newton firefighters or the general public by using or possessing illegal drugs."
LaCroix, 62, joined the Newton Fire Department in 1972, and has been chief since 2003. His statement said he was cooperating with the investigation, and he apologized for any embarrassment the incident caused to fire officials, Mayor David Cohen, or Newton residents.
Firefighters at Fire Station 3 in Newton alerted LaCroix to the marijuana after they discovered it in his car. It is routine for firefighters to clean the chief's car, Solomon said. LaCroix then met with officials from the city's human resources, legal, and executive departments, before going to Marlborough police.
"The city does not suspect Chief LaCroix of using drugs, ... based on our informed observation of his conduct that day and his overall job performance," Solomon said.
Solomon would not specify why LaCroix was advised by the city to turn the drug over to Marlborough authorities, saying only that the decision "was based on the details of the incident, which are under investigation."
No charges have been filed. Marlborough police captain Paul Valianti declined to comment.
In a separate incident, Newton firefighter Keith Eppich, 30, of Norwood, was charged with possession of heroin Thursday after Boston police allegedly saw him buy the drug. He was to be arraigned yesterday in Dorchester.
Eppich joined the Newton Fire Department in 2004 and was placed on administrative leave yesterday, Solomon said. The city expects to hold a disciplinary hearing on conduct unbecoming a Newton firefighter next month.
The two incidents involving drugs in the Newton Fire Department follow an Aug. 6 contract determination by a state labor panel that was largely favorable to the firefighters union that, among other things, set aside a request by the city to impose random drug testing on firefighters.
The Joint Labor-Management Committee ruling ended a five-year contract dispute between Cohen and firefighter's union. Firefighters won five years of retroactive raises, more money for education, and eliminated a controversial clause requiring firefighters to present a doctor's note confirming they or their family members are ill.
Solomon said the issue of random drug testing would probably be raised again in January, when the parties are expected to begin collective bargaining on the next contract.NEWTON, Mass. — Firefighters assigned to perform a routine cleaning of Newton... more
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After a medical marijuana rally at the state capitol Monday, activists are moving ahead with a lawsuit.
Medical marijuana activist Steve Sarich, Director of CannaCare, filed a suit in Thurston County Court. He wants to change the way pot is classified. "We don't want marijuana to be a Schedule One narcotic in the state of Washington. We've got a conflict in law."
Sarich was one of a hundred patients who showed up to protest the Health Department's cap on how many plants a patient can have. "Every single patient that I know that grows has more than six plants. They need more than six plants to get by," said Sarich.
The state wants to define just how much a 60-day supply is, but protesters disagree on how much is enough.
Sarich worries about the options for patients. "They will now have two choices. Either they can take the chance of becoming felons and possibly losing their home or they can go without medication," said Sarich.
After a medical marijuana rally at the state capitol Monday, activists are moving... more
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