WITH the Stereosonic music festival coming to Adelaide tomorrow, parents will be asking, "What do we need to do to keep our children safe?" This follows the tragically predictable death at the Sydney event last weekend of a yet another young Australian. It's as if we are faced with some sort of horrendous "toxicological terrorism" - we don't know where the next death will be, just that inevitably, there will be another. Having become a parent myself in the decade since I last wrote about drugs in The Advertiser, it's a question that has become a very personal one for me. [continues 727 words]
Counterintuitive but true: Pot can make you more productive. One of my favorite things to do is get stoned to the bejesus and clean house. And I'm not just talking about casual dusting, either; I'm talking about down on your belly, shoving the long extension vacuum tool deep under the bed and sucking up dust mites and fur balls, only to discover long-lost socks, exercise equipment, underwear (whose are those?!), and enough change to go out and buy MORE weed to smoke and then Shop-Vac the garage. In this way, stoned cleaning is a sustainable endeavor. [continues 787 words]
All Drugs Should Be Treated the Same As Marijuana Commanding a majority of the seats in the House of Commons, and with the already-established support of the courts, there is no reason the incoming Liberal government cannot make good on its promise to legalize, tax, and regulate the sale of marijuana. The ending of the prohibition on marijuana is the proper time to reconsider our society's stance on other drugs as well. Many drugs, like marijuana, are not illegal because they are inherently addictive or harmful - the arguments put forward as justification for the legalization of marijuana apply to them also. There is no reason (other than the weight of tradition and old attitudes) that a significant part of currently outlawed substances cannot be legalized, taxed, and sold. [continues 1050 words]
Editor: Last night, Wyoming PBS TV sponsored a discussion from an advocate, a medical physician, a city mayor and a law enforcement official, concerning the legalization of medical marijuana. Many semantics were brought out whereas the real issue was evaded. What is at issue is God almighty in America, the U.S. dollar and its bondage or worship between the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA. Marijuana is an herb and herbs in America are not processed by the FDA because politicians are not concerned by what a person may grow in his backyard, excepting for marijuana. [continues 148 words]
NOW THAT YOU can grow four cannabis plants at home, what kind will you grow? Yes, yes, the sticky-kind kind, otherwise why bother? But using what method? There are many ways to grow cannabis. You can grow in soil or hydroponically. Some brave souls even grow aeroponically, a method in which the roots are bare and exposed, and get sprayed with a nutrient solution. Same as with produce, there are "conventional" growing methods (meaning chemicals are used) and organic choices. Yet another option is biodynamic growing, a method designed by Rudolf Steiner that involves mystical and spiritual approaches that can include burying quartz in a cow's horn with your crop. I graduated from a Waldorf school so I'm contractually forbidden from mocking this method, but you should feel free. [continues 347 words]
You're in some strange company if you use meth When drug use began to go rampant in the United States, former Harvard psychiatrist Baba Ram Dass countered that former colleague Tim Leary's "Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out" with the idea that mankind has an innate drive to "get high" or experience altered states of consciousness. He noted there is some psychoactive product in virtually every culture on the planet except the Inuit, be it alcohol, peyote or others. He went on to state that while drugs can indeed give us a taste of a spiritual experience, they don't provide a map to get there. His answer was to find it through spiritual means. [continues 532 words]
Fungi Chemical Psilocybin Can Help Elderly With Anxiety Drug advocates and medical experts will be gathering in Toronto to discuss the potential health benefits of magic mushrooms. The event, slated for Sunday at the Centre for Social Innovation, is part of a worldwide day of action organized by the 920 Coalition. The Toronto event is being organized by Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. CSSDP co-chair Gonzo Nieto said the event is meant to bring attention to the medicinal and spiritual effects of psilocybin mushrooms and counteract stigma around their use. [continues 232 words]
Activists Plan 'Mushroom Day' In Support of Psychedelic Drugs The first and, thus far, only time I did magic mushrooms, I did not have any epiphanies about my life, my spiritual existence or the universe as a whole. I did, however, develop a fascination with the carpet and wallpaper of the Amsterdam cafe where I was sitting. And eight years later, I can vividly recall the feeling of pure joy that lasted throughout the night, with its soundtrack of early Jimi Hendrix. [continues 1058 words]
Health Care: Researchers Say Substances May Help Treat Addiction, Depression, Anxiety A trip to the doctor's office could someday mean a trip inside the doctor's office, if researchers calling for further study into the use of psychedelics for treating illness get their way. Dr. Evan Wood, co-director of the Urban Health Research Initiative at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS, is one of four medical researchers behind an analysis published Tuesday focusing on the resurgence of research into psychedelic substances for treating illnesses, including addiction, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. [continues 575 words]
TRENTON - Does marijuana have any connection to religious scriptures and priesthood? Anne Armstrong, a self-described Originalist Judeo-Christian who hopes to influence Pope Francis and President Barack Obama, says the cannabis flowering plant is indeed mentioned in the original Hebrew language editions of the Bible as a key ingredient in an oil mixture for priests. In Exodus 30:23, many English-language interpretations of the Bible refer to the herb in question as "sweet-smelling cane," but Armstrong, 55, of Providence, Rhode Island, said the correct Hebrew-to-English translation would be "cannabis" as she chilled Saturday afternoon in the rear courtyard behind NJ Weedman's Joint restaurant off East State Street. [continues 341 words]
Last Thursday I put out my joint, stepped out the door of my Joint, and crossed the street to pay a formal visit to City Hall. After meeting the City Council members I realized I shouldn't have put that joint out - I should've brought it with me and passed it to them. First impressions are lasting, and mine will always be how tense the Council members were. I remember thinking, they should keep calm and smoke weed. The City Council meets every other Thursday, so I took a petition full of citizen signatures and a group of medical marijuana patients and Joint staff with me to 1. introduce myself; and 2. ask the Council to consider an "initiative" that would put Trenton at the forefront of NJ marijuana law reform, alongside Asbury Park, which recently came out of the cannabis closet as a town thanks to the efforts of marijuana activists within the Libertarian Party. The AP City Council even passed a resolution calling on Governor Christie and the State Legislature to tax and regulate! [continues 1055 words]
A US Ultimatum Demanding That Mexico Ban Previously Legal Narcotics 'Forced Addicts and Producers to Take Up Arms' Mexico's drug trade is synonymous with violence, corruption and cartel bosses battling for territory. But it could have been so different, it's claimed in a new book, had the US not issued an ultimatum 75years ago which ignited the war on drugs - leading to death and destruction on both sides of the border. Documents in the book reveal that Mexico legalised drugs in 1940, after doctors convinced the then president, Lazaro Cardenas, that prohibition was damaging public health. Doctors believed that the best way to tackle drug-related ills was to treat addicts rather than lock-up smugglers and producers. [continues 620 words]
Editor: Re: Pro-pot pastor shifts services to porch, Aug. 7. The so-called "Pastor" Robin Douglas of the "Holy Smoke Church" is making the front page again. He is doing the same thing as Walter Tucker did in Ontario around 1970-1980. Tucker called his church "The Church of the Universe," and he and his followers used marijuana as a sacrament and used the argument that he could do so because of freedom of religion. Tucker clogged up the courts for years, costing the justice system tens of thousands of dollars. [continues 181 words]
A cannabis evangelist is vowing to refuse an order from the City of White Rock to tear down the marijuana-focused "church" in his beachfront home by the end of the week. Several months ago, Robin Douglas erected a large tent for Church of the Holy Smoke patrons to gather in the backyard of the home he rents across the road from the tourist promenade along White Rock's beach. Mr. Douglas said up to 50 people a day drop by the makeshift lounge to hang out, smoke cannabis and ponder questions "regarding their spirituality." He said he guarantees patrons protection from police if they are inside his yard, but makes sure they know they could be arrested if they leave the sanctuary. [continues 643 words]
Important stoner alert: huge marijuana protest at LOVE PARK, Philadelphia 7/10, @ 4 p.m. SMOKE DOWN PROHIBITION https:// www.facebook.com/ events/469747533199955 . I usually say joint, but lately I haven't been Passing the Joint much because I've been taking bong rips - oops, Chalice inspirations. I have several Chalices, which are my sacramental bongs. Don't laugh; some use cannabis religiously, so if you're using a bong - oops, Chalice for religious purposes, shouldn't it be protected by the First Amendment? I think so. [continues 1063 words]
INDIANAPOLIS - On the altar, behind a row of flickering candles, the silhouette outline of a marijuana leaf shined in lights. Colored balloons occasionally bounced through the air as the minister of music led a band in a pew-shaking rendition of "Mary Jane," the funk tribute to the drug. And Bill Levin, who was introduced as "the Grand Poobah" of this new church, finished the gathering with a simple message: "Light up, folks!" As legislation that proponents call a religious freedom law took effect in Indiana on Wednesday, Mr. Levin's First Church of Cannabis held its first service in a quiet neighborhood on this city's Eastside. Mr. Levin, who is 59 and known around here for his wild puff of white hair, dreamed up the church as a way to test the state's new, much-debated law: If the law protects religious practices, he figured, how could it not also permit marijuana use - which remains illegal here - as part of a broader spiritual philosophy? [continues 709 words]
Proponents behind White Rock's marijuana-focused religious organization are calling for a worldwide boycott of the city, following an order issued Friday to dismantle the gathering place or face fines. Robin Douglas - who calls himself Pastor Robin, a title he says will soon be official - told Peace Arch News Monday the boycott led by the Church of the Holy Smoke is in protest of "their violation of human rights and freedom of religion." "They gave us a notice that we have to have our tent down by Friday (June 26) or else they're going to start to issue us a $150 fine," Douglas said. "If they're going to give us a ticket... the City of White Rock has to, by law, ticket everybody that has a tent on the property, otherwise it becomes selective prosecution. [continues 526 words]
I'm going to cause a rip in Trenton. No not a bong rip, I take those all the time I'm talking about a rip (Religious Interruption in Procedures). We live in America and despite the claim that we have religious freedom in America we don't. The very prohibition issued by the founding fathers in the Bill of Rights was: "the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion" We commonly call this our Right to Religious Freedom, the first amendment. [continues 1043 words]
A makeshift church erected on White Rock's Marine Drive is the subject of a city bylaws investigation following concerns it appears to encourage drug use. The complaint regarding the tent structure was received June 4, officials confirmed. But the man behind the tan-coloured lounge - which is adorned on the outside with signs stating 'Best Buds' and 'Open to all 18+' - said that aside from one neighbour, negative reaction to the 'Church of the Holy Smoke' only started Wednesday, as word of its presence started to draw attention. [continues 708 words]
Imaginative Approaches to Pot Laws. It's no surprise that some of the people working to reform marijuana laws are a little out of the norm, shall we say. And with the era of Reefer Madness waning, it also makes sense that weed advocates and drug-policy reformers would begin to try new-some might even say wacky-approaches. Here are some personal favorites. Hundreds of cities and municipalities in legal states have attempted to ban marijuana with various ordinances, but now there's one related to the smell itself. The city of Pendleton, Ore., recently banned the odor of weed within the city limits. To counter this ridiculous regulation, a man wrote the local paper, the East Oregonian, suggesting that if they are opposed to the aroma of ganja, they should also ban farts-as that dank cloud truly is offensive. "While farting may be legal in Oregon, many (including myself) are offended by the flatulent stench," wrote Peter Walters. "Too often, homeowners and businesses fail to contain farts to their property, forcing the rest of us to put up with the smell. Some habitual farters argue that they need to fart for medical reasons, but that doesn't mean my kids should have to smell their farts. The city council should stop looking the other way and pretending not to notice . . . I call on our city council to set aside all other work and address this problem." [continues 623 words]
