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Try legal Weed Beer!
A beer brewer in a small California town named after a founding citizen and state senator, Abner Weed, has incurred the wrath of federal regulators by his tongue-in-cheek use of the town's name on bottle caps to help brand his product.
Beer Weed brewer Vaune Dillmann faces possible sanctions or fines from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau if he continues to brew and sell beer with bottle caps printed with the label "Try Legal Weed."
Dillmann, who says his bottle caps both promote his beers and the community in which he brews them, has appealed the decision.
After all, he said, the labels on his beers have a picture of the Weed arch and the city's founding father, Abner Weed, on the label. Dillmann's bottle caps also say a “A Friend in Weed is a Friend Indeed." A beer brewer in a small California town named after a founding citizen and state senator, Abner Weed, has incurred the wrath of feder... more -
First Amendment lite
If you’re a perfume manufacturer and you’d like to name your latest fragrance Opium, no government agent will stop you. The world’s flagship soda is called Coke. A company called Chronic Candy has been selling lollipops flavored with cannabis flower essential oil for eight years. Energy drink connoisseurs routinely enjoy products with names like Fixx, Bong Water, Buzzed, and Speed Freak. Even the controversial energy drink Cocaine is for sale again, after revising its label to comply with Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
If you produce alcoholic beverages, however, puns, drug slang, and ghoulishly percussive monkeys may land you in trouble. Take, for example, the case of the Mt. Shasta Brewing Company. Located in tiny Weed, California, the microbrewery sells bottled versions of its five ales and lagers in retail stores in California, Oregon, and Washington. Since 2004 the bottle caps on all five Mt. Shasta beers have been emblazoned with a slogan that plays on the town’s name: “Try legal Weed.”
Anytime a producer or importer of alcoholic beverages wants to market a new product, it must submit a proposed label to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for approval. Earlier this year, when Mt. Shasta proprietor Vaune Dillman turned in his application for a new beer he planned to start bottling, he included the design of the bottle caps. Shortly thereafter, the TTB advised him by fax that the slogan “Try legal Weed” was an impermissible “drug reference,” adding, “We do not believe that responsible industry members should want or would want to portray their products in any socially unacceptable manner.”
To put it another way, the TTB believed the 61-year-old businessman and civic booster was guilty of a thought crime. Although no law on the books explicitly prohibits “drug references” on alcoholic beverage product labels, the bureau told him he had to stop using his socially unacceptable bottle caps. If you’re a perfume manufacturer and you’d like to name your latest fragrance Opium, no government agent will stop you. The world’s fl... more -
NZ Ministry of Health agrees with lifting ban on cannabis for medicinal use
The Ministry of Health has joined marijuana users who are asking the government to consider allowing cannabis as a form of pain relief for patients with serious medical conditions.
Billy McKee is one of those users and says he is in constant pain after losing his leg to a drunk driver. He wants the government to let him legally use cannabis for relief.
"I've tried heaps and heaps of pain relief," Mr McKee says. "I've been injured for 30 odd years. I've tried lots and lots of different things from my doctors. I get a lot of side effects from the one they give me at the moment called amatriptonine. I wake up like a zombie."
Mr McKee says cannabis works.
"I wake up in the morning, my head's clear," he says. "I can function, do things, go into parliament and ask them for changes."
Mr McKee and the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), took their argument to parliament. They say that cannabis should be allowed for medical use in New Zealand, as it is in Canada, Belgium and Germany.
And the Ministry of Health says it is not entirely opposed.
"We support the introduction of a standardised pharmaceutical form of cannabis," Bruce Atmore from the Ministry of Health says.
The form that the Ministry of Health refer to is sativex - a mouth spray that administers a standard dose of cannabis. It is allowed only with a special exemption and costs $15 a day.
However what the ministry will not support is smoking cannabis, due to the side effects caused by inhaling tar.
But the submitters had an answer for that - a machine that heats the cannabis, eventually vaporising it.
"You just inhale through the tube," explains Will de Cleenen from NORML. "There's no plant material, there's no tar, there's no toxins. All you're getting is the medicine."
The submitters say while it is promising to see the Ministry of Health supporting pharmaceutical cannabis, it is really just a token gesture because the drug is so difficult to get. It needs sign off from a GP as well as a specialist, and needs enough paperwork filled out to make your eyes water. The Ministry of Health has joined marijuana users who are asking the government to consider allowing cannabis as a form of pain relief... more -
Stoned archer banned from Beijing
Czech archer Milan Andreas has had his Olympic dreams shattered after testing positive to marijuana.
The Czech Olympic Committee has confirmed Andreas will not be included in the national squad.
"We have not had this officially, but Milan Andreas had a positive test for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active chemical in marijuana). It appears he will not be nominated for Beijing," committee spokesman Jan Martinek told the CTK news agency.
The 19-year-old insists he smoked the drug in September last year without a thought for the consequences.
"The Olympics should have been the height of my career and instead it has turned into the greatest upset," Andreas said of his Olympic participation. Czech archer Milan Andreas has had his Olympic dreams shattered after testing positive to marijuana. ... more -
Rastas can keep their weed
"Italy's supreme Court of Cassation has ruled that members of the Rastafari faith can possess 'abundant' quantities of marijuana because smoking it is an integral part of their religion.
The ruling was made in response to an appeal by an Italian against his sentence of one year and four months, as well as a 4,000-euro fine, for possession of some 50g of marijuana inflicted by a Perugia court in 2004.
The Rastafari faith, the court pointed out, allows its member to smoke even 10g of marijuana a day.
Rastas believe that marijuana grew on the tomb of King Salomon and that by smoking it they can drawn strength from his wisdom."
Picture: http://flickr.com/photos/greenhem/179275631/ "Italy's supreme Court of Cassation has ruled that members of the Rastafari faith can possess 'abundant' quantities of marijuana becau... more -
Marijuana initiative would allow pot sales at Ore. liquor stores
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Related Content
KATU Poll: What do you think of the idea?
Story Published: Jul 7, 2008 at 1:02 PM PDT
Story Updated: Jul 7, 2008 at 5:45 PM PDT
By KATU Staff Video SALEM, Ore. - Relax it and tax it.
That's the motto behind a new cannabis initiative that would allow Oregon's state-controlled liquor stores to legally sell marijuana to adults.
Initiative backers said their plan would send 90 percent of the proceeds from the state's sale of marijuana to Oregon's General Fund, which could lower Oregonians' state tax burden.
Smaller percentages would go to funding drug abuse education and treatment programs.
The initiative would also legalize the growing of hemp, a non-drug variant of cannabis that can be used to make industrial-strength fibers and bio-fuels.
Supporters claim that allowing cannabis cultivation and sales through state liquor stores would add $300 million in combined tax revenues and savings to Oregon's budget.
Paul Stanford of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said the measure would also put a dent in illegal dealing of the weed.
"We want to take marijuana out of the hands of children and substance abusers, who control the market today, and put it in the hands of the state's liquor control commission and the age limit of 21 will be strictly enforced," Stanford said at a press briefing.
Supporters have two years to collect nearly 83,000 signatures to get the measure on the November ballot in 2010.
YouNewsTV™ Related Content KATU Poll: What do you think of the idea? Story Published: Jul 7, 2008 at 1:02 PM PDT ... more -
Marijuana: future wonder drug for beauty?
Researchers have found that a chemical in marijuana aka cannabis could be a miracle cure for acne and other skin problems, according to Fox News.
Researchers have found that a chemical in marijuana aka cannabis could be a miracle cure for acne and other skin problems, according t... more -
Feds Deliver the Weed to the Wrong Person!
Oops! Federal Express accidentally delivered 200lbs of pot to the wrong person in Baltimore, and the recipient tipped off police. Cops then posed as FedEx agents when making the drop-off to the original recipient, who was promptly busted. The sender, however, has not been identified. Oops! Federal Express accidentally delivered 200lbs of pot to the wrong person in Baltimore, and the recipient tipped off police. Cops... more
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FedEx delivers 200 lbs. of pot to wrong address
"FedEx prides itself on reliability. But a mistaken delivery tipped off police to a 200-pound shipment of marijuana that someone tried to send from Pembroke Pines, Florida to Baltimore via the shipping company. Police tell The (Baltimore) Sun they learned about the shipment when it was delivered Tuesday to the wrong resident.
Authorities posed as FedEx employees and arrested the shipment's intended recipient, 30-year-old Richard Gwatidzo. Officials say he was charged Thursday with possession of a large quantity of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute along with other drug related charges.
Police say they also seized eight other FedEx boxes with nearly 400 pounds of the drug. Authorities are trying to determine the sender's identity." "FedEx prides itself on reliability. But a mistaken delivery tipped off police to a 200-pound shipment of marijuana that someone tried... more -
marijuana used to help the skin problems
The body makes chemicals similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, to help the skin, scientists reported.
In the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, researchers said that learning more about so-called endocannabinoids could lead to drugs that treat acne, dry skin or skin tumors.
The researchers treated the cells that produce oil for the skin with endocannabinoids to make them produce more oil.
One scientists said the products could include new skin creams.
"This research shows that we may have something in common with the marijuana plant," said Dr. Gerald Weissmann. "Just as THC is believed to protect the marijuana plants from pathogens, our own cannabinoids may be necessary for us to maintain healthy skin and to protect us from pathogens."
just another way marijuana could enhance the lives with skin disorders... The body makes chemicals similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, to help the skin, scientists reported. ... more -
DMX arrested yet again
Once the most talked-about and popular rapper in the game, DMX continues his downward spiral as he was arrested yet again.
According to TMZ, X was arrested in Arizona for violating the terms of his Miami bond stemming from a previous arrest.
Will DMX ever learn his lesson?
Read here.....
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.7239 Once the most talked-about and popular rapper in the game, DMX continues his downward spiral as he was arrested yet again. ... more -
Skunk smokers 18 times more likely to develop psychosis
That 'sticky-icky' you might have been smoking could make you eighteen times more likely to develop psychosis, compared to those who only smoke hashish.
Dr. Marta Di Forti of Kings College London conducted the research into skunk use and found rather alarming results. 80% of people who had experienced psychosis - delusions and paranoia - had smoked some hi-grade, compared to 76% of people who had no mental health problem who had smoked hash.
That 'sticky-icky' you might have been smoking could make you eighteen times more likely to develop psychosis, compared to those who o... more -
McCain evokes war on drugs
US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain waded into drug policy Wednesday, on the second day of a Latin America tour meant to burnish his foreign policy and national security credentials.
McCain wrapped up an overnight stay in Colombia, the world's top producer of cocaine, and was to travel to Mexico, the main route for illegal drugs flowing into the voracious US market, later in the day.
"Drug cartels have basically taken control of some towns on the Mexican border," McCain told ABC News Wednesday, speaking from Colombian seaside resort of Cartagena.
"There is clearly a continued threat of drugs pouring into the United States of America, which can harm us and our young people very badly."
The Arizona senator praised progress Colombia has made against drugs and the leftist insurgent FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, after a lengthy meeting late Tuesday with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
"Certainly it's my view that significant progress has been made against the FARC in the presidency of President Uribe," McCain said of the rebel group, whose hostages include three US nationals seized in 2003 during anti-drug operations in the region.
McCain, in a tough battle against Democrat Barack Obama to win the White House in the November 4 election, is hoping to use the Latin America trip to score points over Obama in the arenas of trade and foreign policy.
He was accompanied by his wife Cindy McCain, independent Senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
McCain also gave his backing to the US-Colombia free trade pact agreed by Uribe and US President George W. Bush but now stalled in the US Congress, where opponents cite Colombian government violence against trade unions.
On Monday, McCain savaged Obama over his opposition to the pact and accused him of being unwilling to recognize the magnitude of the Uribe government's duel with FARC, the long-running leftist rebel movement.
"He doesn't support the Colombian free trade agreement. I think it would have very serious consequences if we rebuked our closest ally," McCain said.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) meanwhile launched a new attack against McCain, accusing him of appeasing big business at the expense of US workers.
"We are seeing nothing but a continuation of the economic policies that have failed working people, not just the working people in Colombia but working people in this country," said DNC vice-chair Linda Chavez-Thompson.
"Senator McCain is going to follow George Bush's failed economic policies, we can't afford that," she said on a conference call with reporters.
Mark Levinson, chief economist of the Unite Here trade union, said McCain should worry more about the plight of US workers than new trade pacts.
"It is clear that whatever he is doing, it is not in the interests of US workers," he said.
"The situation with the Colombia trade agreement is a particular outrage.
"There are more trade unionists killed in Colombia than the rest of the world combined.
"While John McCain is in Colombia, Senator Obama is in Ohio, ground zero of the affect of these bad trade deals in the US economy.
"We think this just highlights the stark difference between these two candidates."
McCain was to leave for Mexico City later Wednesday for talks on Thursday with President Felipe Calderon, the recipient of fresh US aid for its fight against drugs.
The US Senate last week approved a 1.6-billion-dollar, three-year package of anti-drug assistance to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean known as the "Merida Initiative."
An underworld war between rival drug gangs and police has escalated into open bloody conflict in Mexico in recent weeks, with more than 1,500 people killed this year, some 500 of them in the northern border city of
US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain waded into drug policy Wednesday, on the second day of a Latin America tour meant to bu... more -
Cop chokes marijuana suspect
WKRN News 2 reports that “the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after video shot from inside a Mount Joliet patrol car shows an officer choking a suspect.”
In the video, the officer has both hands around the neck of the suspect and is telling him to “stick your tongue out.” The suspect, James Anders, then passes out.
According to WKRN, “The incident began with a traffic stop. Officer Cosby said he smelled burning marijuana, ordered Anders out of the car and told him to spit out something he had in his mouth. … Cosby didn’t find any marijuana in Anders’ mouth but did find a small bag of the drug inside his car.”
Anders was arrested on charges of possessing marijuana, resisting arrest, and tampering with evidence. The charges were later dismissed because of the police officer’s behavior. Cosby was reprimanded and the tape was handed over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
This video is from WKRN News 2, broadcast July 1, 2008.
WKRN News 2 reports that “the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after video shot from inside a Mount Joliet patrol ca... more -
Why isn't it legal? Marijuana Policy Project @ the Playboy Mansion
Interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical marijuana. Kat Von D, LA Ink, Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction, Jackie Martling, Adrianne Curry, Margaret Cho, Scott Kirkland, Crystal Method, Christopher "Kid" Ried, Kid 'N Play, House Party, Rob Kampia. The Marijuana Policy Project. Bernie Ellis CORRECTION In the video Bernie Ellis is identified as a doctor with a DR in front of his name. He is not a doctor nor did he claim to be, this is a technical mistake that is being fixed as soon as possible. Interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical marijuana. Kat Von D, LA Ink, Perry Farrell, Jane's... more
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2008 Chicago Hempfest
The "Highest Click In Chicago" gets it poppin at the 2008 Chicago Hempfest!
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Method Man Weighs In On Soulja Boy/Ice-T Controversy
The Soulja Boy/Ice-T situation has not died yet. What this so-called "beef" has become is a huge talking point in the industry where everyone has said their piece regarding the situation. The latest to weigh in is none other than Method Man. Method Man appeared on Phoenix radio station Power 98.3’s The Nutz in the Morning show to lend his thoughts.
“It could get better,” Meth stated when addressing the state of Hip Hop today. “The state of music itself is in such turmoil because these kids have finally recognized their power. I’ve been telling them for years that they are the ones that have the power and set the trends. There doing it and they don’t even know they are doing it. All that downloading their doing is crippling the music industry.”
Did Method Man have anything else to say? Find out here.......
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.7224
The Soulja Boy/Ice-T situation has not died yet. What this so-called "beef" has become is a huge talking point in the industry where ... more -
No Smoking Please, Unless it's Pot
Okay, I SMOKE. Shoot me! It’s a TERRIBLE habit and now-a -days, practically illegal to do anywhere except in the privacy of your home or on a dirty sidewalk.
Maybe if New York City followed Holland's lead I could stop. Holland officially outlawed the use of tobacco in the country's infamous weed loving cafes. However the wacky tobacky may be freely smoked in over 700 "coffee shops".
Talk about a great way to take the edge off a bad day. Okay, I SMOKE. Shoot me! It’s a TERRIBLE habit and now-a -days, practically illegal to do anywhere except in the privacy of your home... more -
Americans are world's top drug users despite harsh drug laws
Americans are the world's top consumers of cannabis and cocaine despite punitive US drug laws, according to an international study published in the online scientific magazine PLoS Medicine.
The study, released Monday, revealed that 16.2 percent of Americans had tried cocaine at least once, and 42.4 percent had used marijuana.
In second-place New Zealand, just 4.3 percent of study participants had used cocaine, and 41.9 percent marijuana.
The research was conducted at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, based on World Health Organization data from 54,068 people in 17 countries.
Rates of participation differed from country to country, and researchers noted uncertainty over how honestly people report their own drug use.
"Nevertheless, the findings present comprehensive data on the patterns of drug use from national samples representing all regions of the world," a PLoS statement said.
A vast majority of survey participants from the United States, Europe, Japan and New Zealand had consumed alcohol, compared to smaller percentages from the Middle East, Africa and China.
The data also revealed socioeconomic patterns in drug use. Single young adult men with high income had the greatest tendency to regularly use drugs.
Drug use "does not appear to be simply related to drug policy," the researchers wrote, "since countries with more stringent policies toward illegal drug use did not have lower levels of such drug use than countries with more liberal policies."
In the Netherlands, where drug policy is more liberal than the United States, 1.9 percent of survey participants said they had used cocaine and 19.8 percent marijuana.
Twelve US 12 states including California permit medical use of marijuana, but possession and use remains prohibited under federal law.
And despite the US government's massive anti-drug efforts, the United States remains the world's top drug market, one amply supplied by South American cartels.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency has observed ever larger quantities of illegal drugs pouring into the country.
"We are seizing greater quantities of illegal drugs than ever before," said a DEA statement last week.
In 2007, agents seized 41 metric tons of cocaine in just two raids, and denied drug traffickers record-breaking revenue of 3.5 billion dollars for the year, it said.
Americans are the world's top consumers of cannabis and cocaine despite punitive US drug laws, according to an international study pub... more -
Some proof that marijuana is a powerful medicine
Marijuana contains an amazing chemical, beta-caryophyllene, and scientists have thoroughly proven that it could be used to treat pain, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis.
Jürg Gertsch, of ETH Zürich, and his collaborators from three other universities learned that the natural molecule can activate a protein called cannabinoid receptor type 2. When that biological button is pushed, it soothes the immune system, increases bone mass, and blocks pain signals -- without causing euphoria or interfering with the central nervous system. Marijuana contains an amazing chemical, beta-caryophyllene, and scientists have thoroughly proven that it could be used to treat pain,... more
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