Big business interests should not be allowed to outlaw home cultivation. You cannot patent a plant, only the strains you have created. If home cultivation is forbidden, the number of strains available to patients and public alike will be limited to those that enrich a few wealthy, greedy, morally unscrupulous people who favor "limited prohibition" in order to line their own pockets. Prohibition of marijuana is a premise built on a tissue of lies: "Concern For Public Safety." Our new laws save hundreds of lives every year, on our highways alone. In November of 2011 a study at the University of Colorado found that, in the thirteen states that decriminalized marijuana between 1990 and 2009, traffic fatalities have dropped by nearly 0 percent - now nearly ten percent in Michigan - - while sales of beer went flat. No wonder Big Alcohol opposes it. [continues 557 words]
The Bay Area Medical Cannabis Industry Seems to Be Taking Two Steps Back for Every Step Forward Lately. Notes From Four of the Front Lines. Berkeley could add a fourth licensed brick-and-mortar dispensary by the end of the year, now that the March 20 deadline to apply for such a business license has passed. The city has three existing permitted dispensaries - Berkeley Patients Group, BPCC, and CBCB - a number that's been unchanged in a decade, said Charles Pappas, a member of the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Commission. [continues 804 words]
Passing the Dutchie to the Right This Time. The idea of Higher Ground is to "elevate the dialogue," and thus it's important to remain open-minded to individuals and organizations on all sides of the marijuana-legalization conversation. With that in mind, let's light the peace pipe and reach the roach across the aisle. WHAT WOULD JESUS DOO-BIE? Strongly opposing marijuana legislation are activists Alan Gordon and Anne Armstrong, who made headlines by bum-rushing a press conference supporting a new state legalization bill in Rhode Island. The duo aren't against the notion of legal weed, but instead believe that taxing the plant is against the teachings of the Bible, and Satanic. They take issue with the language of the law, claiming medical use of cannabis (which they believe is the Biblical plant called "kaneh-bos") outweighs any laws, restrictions, or taxes. [continues 796 words]
Re: "The Christian case for drug law reform - Marijuana is not God's mistake for the government to fix, says Rep. David Simpson of Longview," March 5 Viewpoints. It is heartening to see Simpson write a well-reasoned piece advocating the repeal of marijuana prohibition in Texas. Even more heartening, he has not been summarily branded a heretic. Simpson's Christian perspective reminds us: "As ye have done unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done unto me." I believe every law has a positive intent. The positive intent of draconian drug penalties must have been deterrence: If penalties are harsh enough, people will not even think about breaking the law. [continues 79 words]
Re: "The Christian case for drug law reform - Marijuana is not God's mistake for the government to fix, says Rep. David Simpson of Longview," Thursday news story. One of Rep. Simpson's arguments for legalizing marijuana seems to be as follows: Marijuana occurs in nature, and since nature is God's handiwork, it is good and therefore governments should not oppose it. As he states: "I recognize the innate goodness of everything God made .. ." Does this include tobacco? Devastating tornadoes and earthquakes? How about all manner of deadly microbes? All of these are elements of nature. How are these innately good? Louis DeGiulio, Flower Mound [end]
Reversing an Earlier Vote, the City Council Will Permit Mobile Marijuana Dispensaries The Pismo Beach City Council did a 180 on mobile pot dispensaries this week after hearing from constituents who rely on medical marijuana for themselves and their loved ones. At an earlier meeting, the council had taken a preliminary vote to ban mobile dispensaries, without offering much explanation for that decision and without considering how it might affect residents. The council spent more time vetting the ban on Tuesday. Councilwoman Sheila Blake noted that she had spoken to the police chief, who said he was unaware of problems involving pot dispensaries operating in Pismo Beach. [continues 450 words]
Marijuana Is Not God's Mistake for the Government to Fix, Says Rep. David Simpson of Longview As a Christian, I recognize the innate goodness of everything God made and humanity's charge to be stewards of the same. In fact, it's for this reason that I'm especially cautious when it comes to laws banning plants. I don't believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix. Regrettably, that's not the course we have pursued on more than one occasion. In the name of protecting the public, certain substances have been declared evil and contraband. So evil are these substances that state and federal agents are empowered to enforce laws with little to no regard for constitutional protections of individual rights, the sanctity of one's home or the right to travel freely. [continues 276 words]
Sir Richard Branson and Nick Clegg are urging the UK to begin decriminalising the use and possession of almost all drugs, following the example of Portugal. The Virgin founder and deputy prime minister are to address a conference on fighting drug addiction today, and in an article on the Guardian website they write: "As an investment, the war on drugs has failed to deliver any returns. If it were a business, it would have been shut down a long time ago. This is not what success looks like. [continues 402 words]
Drug Seizures and Arrests Hit Highest Levels in 2013; Spike in the Use of Ice The imminent execution in Indonesia of two Australians caught there for trafficking drugs comes as Australia faces its own worsening narcotics problem. PHOTO: REUTERS Mr Suhandro Putro, representative of The Javanese Christian Church funeral home, says they usually receive orders for caskets when executions are carried out on Nusakambangan, an island off Java. The extent of the problem can be seen from the Australian Crime Commission's most recent report on illegal drugs, released last April. [continues 689 words]
Jakarta (AFP) - An Indonesian funeral home has reportedly prepared at least 10 caskets for police ahead of the planned execution of death-row convicts, including two Australian drug smugglers whose sentences have strained the country's relations with Canberra. The report came as Indonesia announced yesterday that it had on Friday night deported Ms Candace Sutton, a reporter for Australia's Daily Mail, as she had interviewed without a proper visa a relative of one of the Australian convicts in the coastal town of Cilacap. [continues 199 words]
IF SOUTH Africans are not asking President Jacob Zuma to resign, they are calling for dagga to be legalised. These requests made up the majority of the recommendations made to Zuma on social networking sites following an invitation by the Presidency for people to send suggestions for the president's State of the Nation Address. A thread of people on Twitter repeated: "@PresidencyZA: Why not legalise cannabis to increase revenue & save tax rands by freeing up crowded prisons & courts? #DaggaDebate #SONA2015." [continues 483 words]
We have heard a great outcry for the legalization of marijuana in the past few years. Even so-called experts such as our party leaders and doctors are getting on the bandwagon. Dr. Jurgen Rehm, director at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health states, "Canada's current system of cannabis control is failing to prevent or reduce the harms associated with cannabis use." Consider this logic: he admits it harms people's mental health and yet he would like to make it more accessible. [continues 520 words]
In the past year, to my great satisfaction, the NJ family court has taken a beating in both the federal and state appeals courts. In Malhan vs Malhan, five parents filed a class action lawsuit in federal court alleging that the NJ family court system fails to provide adequate "due process" rights to parents in child custody proceedings. Surender Malhan, the father, lost his custody rights on a mere two hours' notice based on a bogus accusation from the mother without him having an opportunity to refute his estranged wife's allegations. [continues 1074 words]
Forecasts of Big Tax Windfall, Dire Social Consequences Don't Prove Entirely True DENVER - Before Colorado became the first state to allow marijuana for recreational purposes, supporters boasted that legalization would generate a sizable tax windfall, while opponents warned it could have serious social consequences. Just over a year into the state's experiment with sanctioning pot sales to adults 21 and over, neither prediction is proving entirely true. Marijuana so far hasn't been the boon or bane that many expected, offering potential lessons to other states considering legalization. [continues 878 words]
Some Oklahoma Legislators Are Against the AG's Decision to Join a Lawsuit Against Colorado. OKLAHOMA CITY - Some Oklahoma lawmakers disagree with Attorney General Scott Pruitt's decision to file suit over Colorado's legalization of marijuana. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, said the lawsuit filed last month by Pruitt and Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning undermines states' rights. In their lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court, Pruitt and Bruning are asking that the Colorado law be deemed unconstitutional and tossed out, and they are asking the nation's highest court to force the federal government to enforce federal law prohibiting the sale of marijuana. They also seek to recover their legal costs for filing the suit. [continues 516 words]
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a vocal proponent of states' rights, drew criticism Monday from fellow Republicans who oppose his attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Colorado's marijuana legalization law. State Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, and six other GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Pruitt criticizing his decision to join Nebraska in asking the high court to invalidate Colorado voters' 2012 determination to legalize marijuana for recreational use. They want him to remove Oklahoma from that legal fight, saying he should not meddle in the affairs of another state. [continues 545 words]
Does Amendment 64 immunize individuals who make marijuana hash oil in their home from prosecution, as a defendant in Mesa County claims in a criminal case there? Surely not. As Attorney General John Suthers says in a brief filed in that case, "the defendant agrees that his actions resulted in an explosion, injuries, damage, and 'potentially put others in danger.' He nevertheless insists that the voters created a constitutional right protecting butane-fueled explosions in kitchens and garages throughout the state. However, this court should reject the defendant's interpretation because the voters would not have understood the amendment to authorize such irresponsible and dangerous use." [continues 304 words]
By virtue of a single comma, the Colorado attorney general's office says making marijuana hash oil at home is still illegal under state law, despite other laws legalizing marijuana use, cultivation and possession. The opinion of the state's top lawyer comes in a brief filed in a criminal case against a Mesa County man. The man, Eugene Christensen, is charged with arson, reckless endangerment and manufacture of marijuana concentrate. The last charge is a Class 3 drug felony, punishable by two to four years in prison. [continues 408 words]
Tom Rael's first epiphany came two years ago when he looked up from his drink and caught his reflection in the bar mirror. His eyes were red and dull because he was perpetually stoned, toking every hour or so to maintain a constant high. His face was slack and prematurely lined. He looked too old for someone barely 30. "What have you become?" he asked himself. He stopped drinking, but he kept smoking. Cannabis was natural, he figured, so it was harmless, right? But two years later, he went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and listened to someone describe a dry drunk, resentful and constantly simmering with anger and frustration. Rael felt a jolt of recognition. [continues 1314 words]
A year ago, as Colorado cities and towns were preparing for the first recreational marijuana stores to open, most were optimistic they were prepared. Still, many officials held their breath. Local government leaders from Denver to smaller cities and rural hamlets say the pivotal first-year rollout went smoothly, and in some cases it has proved quite profitable for local coffers. "To be able to pull that off in that short amount of time, and to one year later have a pretty good understanding of what the rules of the road are, it's a pretty monumental achievement," Kevin Bommer said. As deputy director of the Colorado Municipal League, he has tracked the experiences of cities and towns across the state. [continues 1811 words]
