Three Casper residents demonstrated for the legalization of medical marijuana and industrial hemp products Saturday, part of what they say will be regular demonstrations at Conwell Park. As people in passing vehicles stared or honked -- one person gave the group a thumbs-down sign -- demonstrators held signs that said "Help end marijuana prohibition," "Cannabis -- fuel, paper, food and medicine" and "Cannabis cures cancer." The demonstrators are part of the new group Wyoming Cannabis Activists. The organization had simultaneous demonstrations at the Cheyenne Depot in the capital city, at which 10 people showed up, and in Jackalope Square in Douglas, at which local resident and U.S. Senate Republican candidate Thomas Bleming demonstrated, said Marcia Stuelpnagel, co-founder of Wyoming Cannabis Activists. [continues 362 words]
A small but important study that has shown remarkable results using a combination of the drug MDMA - known on the street as ecstasy or "Molly" - and conventional therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder could be of significant value to thousands of veterans in Texas. The South Carolina study, performed by Dr. Michael Mithoefer and his wife, Ann, under the auspices of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, involves the short term use, under close psychiatric care, of the drug 3,4-methylenedioxyN- methylamphetamine, known medically as MDMA. [continues 1006 words]
It's time for Illinois lawmakers to move beyond state-sanctioned medical marijuana and, as they say, legalize it. That's the view of four Chicago-area Democratic officeholders. They held a news conference Monday, calling for the state to decriminalize marijuana possession and - eventually - legalize recreational use of the leafy plant. "The main difference between the War on Drugs and Prohibition is that, after 40 years, this country still hasn't acknowledged that the War on Drugs is a failure," Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey said. [continues 219 words]
WATERFORD - A group called iCare that formed last year in response to youth heroin deaths and suicides now wants to take the next step. One of iCare's major goals this year is to help start a support program in the Waterford area - called the Landing - for teen drug and alcohol abuse problems. Cindi Schweitzer, co-owner of Integrity Funeral Services, 29134 Evergreen Drive, Rochester, became a founding member of iCare and is its present chairwoman. She said iCare "started last year because we were burying children from overdoses. Families were just so broken, and it's like the community is paralyzed when that happens." [continues 380 words]
For many, Sunday marked the observance of Easter, the most important holiday in the Christian calendar, and an excuse for the less faithful to enjoy a visit from everyone's favourite bunny. For many others, this Easter was also cause to spark up a fat one, as they marked 4/20, the most important holiday in the marijuana calendar. Either way, it meant a lot of chocolate was consumed. The goal of the 4/20 movement is to advocate for pot legalization, but in the absence of serious movement on that file (Justin Trudeau's vague promises aside), it can also serve as a reminder that there is still a struggle for people who are using weed to treat chronic pain, glaucoma, seizures and a host of other ailments. [continues 495 words]
Tens of Thousands Flock to Events With No Major Problems As the sun rose at Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Sunday, David Garcia- high on the Holy Spirit as well as just plain high - contemplated the unusual convergence of prayer and pot in Colorado this year. "It's a beautiful sight," Garcia said. He said he was raised Christian and said he smoked marijuana before going to the annual sunrise service. "Man didn't create weed. God created weed." Sunday was the first time in 11 years that Easter and the day marijuana enthusiasts call 4/20 fell on the same day. And perhaps the most whipsaw 14 hours in Red Rocks history - churchgoers singing "Amazing Grace" in the morning, Snoop Dogg singing "Smoke the Weed" in the evening-was a fitting peculiarity for a day when a green sheen spread across Denver like never before. [continues 482 words]
Referendum Supporters Mobilize With Election Six Months Away One of the hottest political campaigns of 2014 will kick into high gear this weekend as proponents of legalizing medical marijuana mobilize for a day of political organizing. From locations in Fort Lauderdale, West Delray and 11 other communities, they'll be conducting phone banks, hoping to start converting casual supporters into committed voters. "We're trying to get our volunteers mobilized and get the word out to as many people as we possibly can," said John Makris, a Boca Raton CPA who is a volunteer organizer for United for Care: People United for Medical Marijuana. [continues 548 words]
OKLAHOMA CITY - Two candidates who plan to make legalization of marijuana their top priority have filed to run for governor in Oklahoma. Forty-six-year-old Oklahoma City lawyer Chad Moody filed Thursday to run against incumbent Gov. Mary Fallin in the Republican primary. Thirty-four-year-old Christian motorcyclist Joe Sills became entered the race as an independent candidate. Sills arrived wearing a leather jacket and backward camouflage hat when he came to the Capitol to file Thursday. Both Moody and Sills say legalizing marijuana is their top priority. Sills and Moody join Fallin, Democratic state Rep. Joe Dorman of Rush Springs and independent Richard Prawdzienski of Edmond in the race. [end]
DENVER - Two hot-button marijuana measures dealing with the potency and appearance of edibles will be considered by Colorado lawmakers in the final weeks of the legislative session. Legislators heard testimony Thursday on both bills but votes were not expected until next week. One bill would set possession limits for concentrated forms of marijuana such as hash oil. Currently, Colorado adults can possess up to an ounce of marijuana without regard to whether it's leafy flowers or concentrated oils. However, in its concentrated form, an ounce of pot has far more servings than the same amount in plant form. [continues 321 words]
One American debate that doesn't seem to fade away is the war on drugs, and specifically the war on marijuana. Like those that came previously, the millennial generation has a unique standpoint on the topic. "I wouldn't really care, because I don't use drugs," said Christian Precise, 15. "But overall, it really doesn't seem to be much of a problem. People know the risks. It's their body. They should be able to do what they want with it." [continues 324 words]
MEXICO CITY - The U.S. government has ceased providing Honduras with radar tracking information out of concern that a new policy allowing its forces to shoot down aircraft suspected of hauling narcotics does not have enough safeguards to prevent error. A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa distributed Tuesday said other U.S.-financed counternarcotics programs would not be affected, but that Washington already has ceased sharing certain types of information and assistance with Honduras. A policy to shoot down drug-laden aircraft has come into favor and fallen out of favor in the past in Latin America, depending partly on the mood in Washington. [continues 661 words]
Is the war on drugs over? When it comes to marijuana, it soon could be in Illinois. Two bills making their way through the state House of Representatives would severely decriminalize use and possession of cannabis. Although opponents see a danger in giving up on marijuana - calling it a gateway into harder and more addictive drugs - the reality is that many of those who grew up during the marijuana "explosion" are now the ones responsible for creating the laws. These changes are reflective of a generation that commonly tried marijuana and considered it a less of a danger than alcohol. [continues 366 words]
I am one of the many parents pushing for medical cannabis here in Georgia for our children with seizure disorders. Our 8-year-old daughter, Alaina, suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. We fought to educate the legislators and the public that this is indeed life-saving medicine, without the side effects of the many FDA-approved drugs our children are forced to take today. We never dreamed that we would succeed in that fight so quickly, and get a bill introduced this session, only to have it come crashing down due to political games played with our sick children. [continues 565 words]
I was struck by the photo of state Rep. Rick Jasperse high-fiving another legislator subsequent to the passage of his gun bill on the last day of the session. The bill allows guns in churches. On his website, Jasperse describes himself as a Christian, like many in the General Assembly. I'm wondering if such elation was showed when bills were defeated allowing the use of medical marijuana for Georgia's sick children and requiring insurance companies to cover children with autism. Or when a bill was passed requiring drug testing for SNAP applicants, the poorest among us. [continues 56 words]
SPRINGFIELD - Legislation to expand the use of medical marijuana to severely epileptic children and to lower the penalties for possession of pot for recreational purposes advanced Tuesday at the Illinois Statehouse. Three different measures got out of Democratic-led House and Senate committees with only token opposition to a Democratic-led push to go beyond last August's vote to allow only sick Illinoisans to use the drug legally on a pilot basis. Pushed by the parents of severely epileptic children, legislation sponsored by Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, would permit minors with seizure disorders, including epilepsy, to take a derivative of medical cannabis. [continues 328 words]
It's about what you'd expect in a liberal state controlled by Democrats: The legislature reduced penalties for drug and property crime, spent more money on community supervision of offenders and closed three prisons in three years. But it didn't happen in California or Massachusetts. It happened in deep-red Texas. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has said things like "Obama's socialist policies are bankrupting America." But when it comes to crime and punishment, he thinks blindly harsh policies are also unaffordable. "We are not a softon-crime state, but I hope we get the reputation of being a smart-oncrime state," he said at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. "You want to talk about real conservative governance, shut a prison down." [continues 430 words]
Support for decriminalizing recreational marijuana use and increasing its medicinal availability spreads like an oil spill. Colorado and Washington's decriminalization, coupled with President Barack Obama musing that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol - though he hopes his children will avoid the former as a bad habit - accelerate the change. Supporters seek to end so-called victimless crimes and regulate a popular activity wrongly stigmatized. Revenue hungry states like Maryland, with Senate Bill 658, consider joining them. But the movement misreads American history. It took roughly 125 years for the United States to get its drinking problem under control. Temperance movements swept the country in the mid- and late-1800s after alcohol consumption peaked at 7 gallons per capita annually. And that was mostly whiskey and rum, not beer and wine. [continues 532 words]
Now that people in Colorado (and, soon, Washington state) can buy marijuana about as easily as they can pick up a 12-pack of Bud Light, it's a good time to ask: How risky is it to turn to pot? President Barack Obama has already shared his opinion, telling The New Yorker magazine, "I don't think (marijuana) is more dangerous than alcohol." The president's opinion stands in stark contrast to official federal policy that still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, in the same class as heroin and LSD. [continues 1036 words]
Our president recently said that marijuana was no more harmful than tobacco. Since marijuana is now legal in a couple of states, there is a push to legalize it by those who claim it is not harmful. The evidence does not support their claim. Dr. Kevin Sabet served in the Obama administration as senior advisor at the White House office of National Drug Control Policy. He is now director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He says, "The marijuana conversation is one mired with myths. Many Americans do not think that marijuana can be addictive, despite scientific evidence to the contrary." The American Medical Association has come out strongly against the legal sales of marijuana. According to the National Institute on Health, one in six 16 year-olds who try marijuana will become addicted to it. It has also been linked to an eight point redirection in IQ; and that if used strongly it is connected to mental illness. [continues 133 words]
