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THE ABSOLUTE BEST SONG EVER!
This video gets my top vote for BEST SONG EVER for the whole decade, PERIOD!
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Pelosi Talks Medical Marijuana
Hard to believe that the entire Democratic National Convention could go by without even one speaker paying lip service to the devastating folly that is America’s war on (some) drugs, but as NORML podcaster Russ Belville reports in his latest blog post here, the subject of marijuana law reform has been all but “invisible” in Denver.
Fortunately, thousands of Digg.com users posed the following question to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi live on CNN: “As a taxable resource, what stops marijuana from being legalized, for medical or recreational purposes, throughout the country?”
(The question comes four and a half minutes into the video.)
Pelosi’s response is candid yet disappointing. While acknowledging that scientific research clearly supports the medical use of cannabis, Pelosi acknowledges that most of Congress — including many otherwise ‘progressive’ members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus — “just isn’t there yet. … There just isn’t enough support for it.”
Of course, anyone who has followed this issue knows that the Speaker’s Congressional assessment is painfully accurate.
That said, I find myself a bit incredulous when Pelosi says: “We have important work to do outside the Congress in order for us to have success inside the Congress for [the] use of medical marijuana. … [W]e need peoples’ help to be in touch with their members of Congress to say why this should be the case.”
While I agree that it’s both important and necessary for constituents to contact their elected officials, I’m disappointed that Ms. Pelosi still believes that the ‘heavy-lifting’ needed to successfully move this issue forward federally must be engaged in outside, not inside Congress.
Pardon me, but here in the real world (outside of the Washington Beltway) public voteafter public vote illustrates that the overwhelming majority of registered voters back the legalization of medical pot, and national poll after national poll consistently shows that upwards of 70 percent of the electorate support a patient’s right to use cannabis legally.
Here in the real world, numerous health and medical organizations such as the American Public Health Association and the American College of Physicians have passed resolutions urging Congress reschedule marijuana so that a physician may prescribe it, and scientific papers indicating that cannabis can inhibit diseases ranging from multiple sclerosis to cancer to MRSA are being published virtually every week.
Given this reality, I humbly submit that those of us who work ‘outside’ the so-called ‘hallowed halls’ of Congress have done our part. It’s now time for our federally elected officials, in particular Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Presidential Nominee Obama, to pledge to do theirs. Hard to believe that the entire Democratic National Convention could go by without even one speaker paying lip service to the devastat... more -
Stoner Cinema - Photo Essays - TIME
I hate to just rip off the top story on digg buts its 5 in the morning and i heartily endorse this event or product.
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Marijuana bill packs room, makes headlines
Congressional staffers and members of the press packed a hearing room on Capitol Hill Wednesday for Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) announcement of the first federal marijuana decriminalization bill in decades.
The bill, H.R. 5843, would remove federal criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, so that federal law enforcement agencies can concentrate on violent offenders and major drug traffickers.
Three members of Congress spoke at the press conference in support of the bill. Frank spoke of the misuse of resources represented by current marijuana enforcement practices, while Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) condemned the drug war's disproportionate impact on people of color.
Bill Piper, DPA's director of national affairs, highlighted the collateral consequences of marijuana arrests. Piper explained that people convicted of a marijuana charge often lose their jobs and are denied school loans and other forms of public assistance.
Last year alone, the police made almost 830,000 arrests for marijuana law offenses in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of those arrests were for posssession for personal use.
CNN covered Wednesday's event with a story quoting Piper and other advocates. You can watch a CNN clip of Rep. Frank speaking on the bill here.
DPA supporters have been advocating for H.R. 5843 since it was introduced this spring. If you have not yet taken action, urge your member of Congress to support the bill. Congressional staffers and members of the press packed a hearing room on Capitol Hill Wednesday for Rep. Barney Frank's (D-MA) an... more -
Marijuana Conspiracy / Why Cannabis is Illegal
Marijuana became illegal NOT because it was a danger to the mind and body. No, the real reason is that Big Business wants us to use petrochemicals and fossil fuels. They have little interest in NATURAL solutions. THEY have suppressed the truth concerning cannabis and purposely created the ‘menace of marijuana.’ Why? So they remain high profiteers while destroying our environment in the process.
Cannabis is the plant which is both called "hemp" and "marijuana". As "hemp", Cannabis sativa is valued for the prolific way in which it grows, its small ecological footprint, and the many uses of the resultant plant. Among the products hemp can be made into are: textiles, rope, oils that can be used to for fuel or to create food products (high in vitamin k), and the waste product from manufacturing these items can be used to make paper. Marijuana became illegal NOT because it was a danger to the mind and body. No, the real reason is that Big Business wants us to use pe... more -
Eco-friendly fashion / Benefits of hemp go beyond medicine
Did you know that growing cotton uses 22.5 percent of all the insecticides used globally? Growing enough cotton for one t-shirt requires 257 gallons of water. On top of that, bleaching and then dyeing the resulting fabric creates toxins that flow into our ecosystem. The use of rayon for clothing is contributing to the rapid depletion of the world's forests. Petroleum-based products are detrimental to the environment on many levels. Fortunately there are alternatives.
There are a variety of materials considered "environmentally-friendly" for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the renewability of the product. Renewable resources are items that can be replenished in a relatively short amount of time (as opposed to millennia).
The second factor is the ecological footprint of the resource - how much land (usually measured in acres) it takes to bring one of the individuals (plants or animals) to full growth and support it.
The third thing to consider in determining the eco-friendliness of a particular product is how many chemicals it requires to grow/process it to make it ready for market.
HEMP
By far, the crop with the most potential for eco-friendly textile use is hemp. The ecological footprint of hemp is considerably smaller than that of most other plants considered for their fibres. Hemp plants grow very quickly and densely which makes it difficult for weeds to take hold, eliminating the need for herbicides and artificial fertilizers. It requires no irrigation as it thrives on the amount of water in the average rainfall, and it is highly pest-resistant.
Hemp has naturally long fibres which makes it suitable for spinning with a minimum of processing. Those fibres are also long-lasting, in fact, historically hemp has been used for making naval ropes that were used in and around water because they resist rot. If it held up to those conditions, imagine how well it will wear as a pair of jeans, or a shirt.
Hemp fabrics come in a variety of weights and textures. You can purchase fabric or clothing, woven or knit; buy yarn, rope, belts and a wide range of products made of this versatile plant. Did you know that growing cotton uses 22.5 percent of all the insecticides used globally? Growing enough cotton for one t-shirt requir... more -
Marijuana, la dose non è uguale per tutti. Rasta assolto dalla Cassazione.
L'uomo, sorpreso con un etto di marjuana, era stato condannato a 16 mesi di carcere. La Corte ha riconosciuto che per la sua religione fumare spinelli ha un valore sacro. L'uomo, sorpreso con un etto di marjuana, era stato condannato a 16 mesi di carcere. La Corte ha riconosciuto che per la sua reli... more
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Austria legalises medicinal cannabis cultivation
Austria's parliament, for the nation’s medical and scientific purposes, has adopted a new bill allowing the cultivation of cannabis. This will, of course, be under the Health Ministry's control.
The bill, approved by parliament during a late-night session Wednesday, will give the health and food safety agency AGES the exclusive right in Austria to grow the plant, which is otherwise categorized as a drug.
Michael Bach, president of the Austrian pain studies association OeSG, welcomed the new legislation, saying: "Any initiative that makes it possible to develop and provide new drugs for pain therapy is welcome."
"Substances drawn from cannabis have been used for medical purposes more and more in the last few years," he added.
Possession of or dealing in cannabis incurs a 6-month prison sentence in Austria. Austria's parliament, for the nation’s medical and scientific purposes, has adopted a new bill allowing the cultivation of cannab... more -
An American pastime: smoking pot - TIME
The Netherlands, with its permissive marijuana laws, may be known as the cannabis capital of the world. But a survey published this month in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science, suggests that the Dutch don't actually experiment with pot as much as one would expect. Despite tougher drug policies in this country, Americans were twice as likely to have tried marijuana than the Dutch, according to the survey. In fact, Americans were more likely to have tried marijuana or cocaine than people in any of the 16 other countries, including France, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and Colombia, that the survey covered. The Netherlands, with its permissive marijuana laws, may be known as the cannabis capital of the world. But a survey published this mo... more
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Marijuana initiative would allow pot sales at Ore. liquor stores
YouNewsTV™
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 -
Toke up before boarding?
Air travel is a total hassle, man, and marijuana advocates in Denver say everyone would find the normally excruciating process a lot more pleasant if they could enjoy a few bong hits before boarding. It might even help solve a few of the problems that airlines have been experiencing lately. The way they see it, if people can knock a few back before a flight, they should be able to spark one up. They're calling on airports nationwide to install marijuana lounges.
"All we're saying is, in light of the fact drunk and disorderly incidents on airplanes are becoming more common, it really makes sense to allow adults the choice to use marijuana," says Mason Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, the organization calling for the lounges. "There's no rational reason our government would allow people to use alcohol and not use marijuana."
Well, except for the fact the feds classify marijuana a Schedule 1 drug, putting it alongside heroin, mescaline meth and acid on its list of Drugs That Definitely Are Evil.
Tvert says many travelers consider flying stressful, so they'll have a drink - or two, or three, or... - before boarding. That can lead to problems, such as the case last week where a JetBlue passenger allegedly lit up a cigarette and socked a flight attendant. She blamed the crew for serving her three vodkas. U.S Attorney Troy Eid told the Rocky Mountain News the feds are seeing a record number of passengers - often drunk - misbehaving on airplanes. "I think sometimes people think this is a joke," he says. "They think it's funny. And they're going to find out otherwise as we do more and more of these cases."
SAFER says giving people the option of smoking a joint before their flights would relax them without making them unruly. But don't expect the feds or the airports to go along with the idea. Chuck Cannon, a spokesman for Denver International Airport, told the Denver Post he doesn't foresee marijuana smoking in the airport. "Marijuana is illegal isn't it?," he says. "All the bars and restaurants are concessions and they sell what they sell. I do not know that we are going to tell them what they can sell. Alcohol is legal and tobacco is legal and marijuana is not."
Tvert said he doesn't have a problem with alcohol being sold in airports -- although some people do, and say it should be banned -- but says people should have another option. "It is irrational and potentially dangerous policy to continue allowing passengers to get drunk before and during flights while prohibiting them from simply making the safer choice to use marijuana prior to boarding," Tvert says. Air travel is a total hassle, man, and marijuana advocates in Denver say everyone would find the normally excruciating process a lot m... more -
New Laws w/ Tougher Penalties for Florida Pot Growers.
Starting Tuesday, a new state law will bring harsher penalties for marijuana growers. Under the new Florida law, a "grow house" will be classified as a building containing 25 or more marijuana plants. Before, the threshold was 300 plants. The charge will remain a second-degree felony.
"Our laws were way out of date on that," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum told the Tallahassee Democrat.
The law also allows law-enforcement agencies to dispose of grow-house equipment after taking pictures or recording video.
Tallahassee police say that in the past, they have had to store every single marijuana plant and piece of equipment until the people arrested went to trial.
"The storage is expensive, and we spend a lot of time packaging the material, time we could be investigating other criminal activity," said David McCranie, spokesman for the Tallahassee Police Department.
Also, it will be a third-degree felony for someone to own, lease or rent a place while knowing that it is being used for drug trafficking or making drugs.
...but why? Starting Tuesday, a new state law will bring harsher penalties for marijuana growers. Under the new Florida law, a "grow house�... 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 -
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 stud... more -
Marijuana potency reaches 30-year high in 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.
A report says marijuana potency has increased, posing health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless.
The latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75 percent the previous year.
The 9.6 percent level represents more than a doubling of marijuana potency since 1983, when it averaged just under 4 percent.
"Today's report makes it more important than ever that we get past outdated, anachronistic views of marijuana," said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He cited baby boomer parents who might have misguided notions that the drug contains the weaker potency levels of the 1970s.
"Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade, with serious implications in particular for young people," Walters said. He cited the risk of psychological, cognitive and respiratory problems, and the potential for users to become dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
While the drug's potency may be rising, marijuana users generally adjust to the level of potency and smoke it accordingly, said Dr. Mitch Earleywine, who teaches psychology at the State University of New York in Albany and serves as an adviser for marijuana advocacy groups. "Stronger cannabis leads to less inhaled smoke," he said.
The White House office attributed the increases in marijuana potency to sophisticated growing techniques that drug traffickers are using at sites in the United States and Canada.
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Working out may prevent drug and alcohol addiction
A report from the office last month found that a teenager who has been depressed in the past year was more than twice as likely to have used marijuana than teenagers who have not reported being depressed -- 25 percent compared with 12 percent. The study said marijuana use increased the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent.
"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the University of Mississippi study.
"Particularly worrisome is the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction," Volkow said.
But there's no data showing that a higher potency in marijuana leads to more addiction, Earleywine said, and marijuana's withdrawal symptoms are mild at best. "Mild irritability, craving for marijuana and decreased appetite -- I mean those are laughable when you talk about withdrawal from a drug. Caffeine is worse."
The project analyzed data on 62,797 cannabis samples, 1,302 hashish samples, and 468 hash oil samples obtained primarily from seizures by law enforcement agencies in 48 states since 1975. WASHINGTON (AP) -- Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to pe... more -
It's Natural... It Come's from Seed...
: ) ... It make's me feel like a kinder,nicer,happy,mellow,fellow...eye's lit low,cool as smooth as jello,A gift from nature indeed,pleasure compacted in a little green seed...A miracle herb,that calm's my every nerve,Consuming it's splender in tea's and/or inhalation of leave's and bud's make's me feel superb...Elevated to happiness letting go,any of all pain and stress,Curing me of illness,as it caresses my head,and it take's away the heaviness that incongest's my chest...It help's me rest and relax,the million's of year's it's has been here,it never cause any natural death's,just very long Nap's...From it's hemp we make clothes and rope...We can drink it in tea and put it in our food's,or enjoy it's medicated smoke to help aid in time of pain or just to make the anger go away...Unlike pill's or Drug's made from the formula's of man,that harm's you in short term or long term Abuse,there's no Chemical's,..just a simple living plant...Nature's gift,a blessing that sprout's out from the ground just like tree's and fruit,without taxing and altering we should put this Green Wonder to Great Use...Legalize it...Legalize what Mother nature put here for Animal's and Human being's...It's Nature's Blessing,LOVE in a little green seed.. : ) ... It make's me feel like a kinder,nicer,happy,mellow,fellow...eye's lit low,cool as smooth as jello,A gift from natur... more
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Marijuana Orgasms and the Oregonian Newspaper
Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
When I chose this title I thought I was being a smart aleck. I checked Google I found over 50 articles on the same subject.
Scene from the propaganda movie "Reefer Madness" from 1938
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Response to February 4th 2008 editorial in The Oregonian.
This is not what you may think but it could be because marijuana acts like a comforting tranquilizer. But that is not exactly what I am writing about.
The Oregonian seems to be getting some perverse superpleasure writing about how bad it is with the pejorative words "abuse", "workplace hazard" and "out of control medical marijuana program" and that the Oregon Marijuana law is a "bad law".
They decry that Oregon has the highest rate of marijuana use and the highest rate of marijuana abuse. Both of these allegations are perversely false and they should know it. It reminds me of the "Reefer Madness" movie. Perhaps they saw it and believed it.
Oregon has possibly the toughest marijuana law. They do not mention that about 2,700 doctors have signed the applications for patients they certify are eligible for the about 20,000 patients who have permits. If the Oregonian thinks these patients are bamboozling the doctors they are totally mistaken.
The U.S. government estimated that there are 300 thousand Oregon marijuana users. It is a cheap, safe, quick-acting tranquilizer. These patients are getting to doctors as soon and fast as possibly and the number of permit card holders is increasing by about 100 per week.
The Oregonian's allegation that medical users use it to "get high" is ridiculous. It costs too much to be used so frivolously. I must admit some high schoolers do get high. How would they like to be in high school these days?
For the Oregonian to infer and publish that it was for "terminal cancer patients" shows their ignorance. However if it is good for a dying patient in pain, why should it not be good for a chronic pain patient with many years ahead? There is some strange perverse sophistry going on here.
The Oregonian fails to address the "on the job hazards" of Oxycontin use, alcoholic hangovers, heavy anti-depressant or tranquilizer use, all of which are far more dangerous than marijuana use which even with heavy use ceases its brain effects in about four hours.
The DEA's administrative judge, Francis J. Young, after hearing two weeks of testimony, wrote: "nearly all medicines have toxins, potentially lethal affects, but marijuana is not such a substance...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care" (DEA Docket No. 86-22, 57)
By the way, marinol, the pure substance in marijuana, is an FDA approved prescription drug. If one is bad and dangerous, both are! In fact, marinol is worse than marijuana.
I hope the Oregonian writers can get over this obsessive-compulsive activity and get themselves educated. At one time cannabis medications were the most prescribed in the U.S. Furthermore, cannabis has been used as medicine for about 4,000 years and NEVER caused a death. Even aspirin is far more dangerous. Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com ... more -
Pour me a pint of that Legal Weed
Once again, conservatives get uptight over a little wordplay, I'm interested just because Im a micro-brew fanatic
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Federal decriminalization bill intoroduced
Bill would end federal authority to arrest adults for pot possession. US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced the bill to Congress. It is the first federal decriminalization legislation introduced in 24 years. Bill would end federal authority to arrest adults for pot possession. US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) introduc... more
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Legalize it...
Just Relax and let the kush take its course...
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Legalize It
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Legalize It
