Growers Must Lobby for Fair Regs, Lawyer Says A prominent San Francisco civil rights attorney told a gathering of medical cannabis cultivators in Laytonville Monday, May 19, that they must lobby the California Legislature immediately to ensure that a medical marijuana-licensing bill now making its way through the Legislature is fair to farmers, patients and dispensaries. Attorney Matt Kumin also predicted that by November 2016 a voter initiative on the state ballot could give voters the opportunity to pass a "recreational" use law allowing the commercial distribution, cultivation, and production of cannabis products for all adult use, not limited to medical. [continues 1251 words]
Just three weeks ago, a Rock Island County coalition named CAUSE organized a prescription drug take-back event. About 438 pounds of the drugs were collected on April 26 at three sites: Milan, Rock Island and Silvis, according to Tammy Muerhoff, superintendent of the Rock Island County Regional Office of Education in Moline. Muerhoff and her staff are in CAUSE, the Coalition Advocating for Underage Substance Elimination. She and other city and county officials involved in various prevention efforts gathered Wednesday at Centre Station in Moline for a media event organized by Prevention First. [continues 568 words]
Protests Bring Results but 'Still Work to Be Done', Reports Florence Kerr. Legal highs may have been effectively banned by the Government but a Tokoroa woman who started a nationwide campaign against the drugs is not resting. Julie King is short in stature - 1.52m tall - but this Kiwi battler has fought her demons and won. Until May last year the mother of four held herself captive in her bedroom for two years, suffering from bipolar disorder - a condition that causes people to swing between being manic and being depressed. [continues 479 words]
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Social media has been buzzing for weeks with jokes about how, this year, Easter Sunday shares the calendar with the pot-lover's highest holiday: April 20, or 420 in stoner lingo. Pot-smokers have long celebrated on the date by lighting up for reasons not quite clear. Yet amid the online cracks about worshipping a "higher" power, tutorials on how to make a joint shaped like a cross and photos of Easter baskets piled with pot-filled eggs, a handful of churches nationwide are using the unfortunate coincidence to make much bigger points. [continues 713 words]
In 1971, President Nixon, declaring "War on Drugs," requested congress to pass and fund legislation titled "Drug Abuse Prevention and Control" for the "... prevention of new addicts and the rehabilitation of those addicted." Legislators, to "prevent new addicts," focused on stemming the flow of drugs." But now, 43 years and billions of dollars later, recent Journal Times articles demonstrate drugs continue to flow. A man (24) and two women (26 and 29) went to prison for committing crimes to support their addiction to heroin. Deputies confiscated 19 pounds of marijuana and over $30,000 worth of heroin during two traffic stops. [continues 160 words]
(AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica - the land of late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley - politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 1033 words]
Many Countries Now Emboldened to Rethink Stance in War on Drugs. (AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a brand new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 1298 words]
After purchasing an Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper on Feb. 21, I read the opinion piece by sportswriter Jeff Schultz, "UGA's policy gets it right." Schultz was referring to the UGA athletic drug policy following the recent dismissal of a key defensive football player. His factual observations, negative feedback from football fans and comparisons with other university drug policies hit the nail on the head when distinguishing between winning at any cost versus the lives of young athletes. Within this sports column, UGA Athletic Director Greg McGarity acknowledged that other SEC athletic directors had preliminary discussions about a conference-wide policy last year. McGarity further stated, "the issue got no traction with presidents." [continues 434 words]
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Meeting With Legislators This Week When it comes to legalizing pot, you'd think you know which side the police fall on. But one law enforcement group is in Juneau this week advocating for the legalization of recreational marijuana, an issue Alaskans will decide with an August ballot initiative. "Tax and regulate, that's all we're saying," Lance Buchholtz, a 59-year-old retired sheriff from Wisconsin, told the Empire on Wednesday. Buchholtz is scheduled to meet with six state legislators on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an international nonprofit organization that calls for the end of the War on Drugs. Its members are primarily current and former police officers, prosecutors and judges who reject a blanket prohibition and propose a tightly regulated system to control the drug market. [continues 683 words]
Nations Consider Following U.S. Lead in Easing Positions on Pot (AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Argentina, the nation's drug czar, a Catholic priest who has long served in its drug-ravaged slums, is calling for a public debate about regulating marijuana. [continues 1463 words]
Minister of Native American Church Says Religious Rights Prevail LIHUE - In what members are calling a victory for human rights, a narcotics case against the minister of a Native American church who uses ceremonial peyote was dismissed Thursday in 5th Circuit Court. Jesse Shane Johnson, 38, minister for Beauty Way of the Four Directions of the Native American Church of Hawaii, said he was happy that federal laws to protect religious and ceremonial rights prevailed. "I have been praying ceaselessly this whole time and trusting in God that this would come out right with recognizing the laws that are there to protect us," Johnson said. [continues 953 words]
If you put a rat in a cage with a lever that dispenses a drug like heroin, the rat will keep pressing the lever to get the drug and forget to eat. Everyone knows that, but did you know that if you also put some other rats in with him and a wheel and other things to do, the rat will eat and play instead? The original rat experiment is offered as proof that drug addiction is a disease. The disease theory of addiction holds that addiction is a brain disease that is incurable and can only be survived by total abstinence. The preferred treatment for the so-called brain disease is not medical, but a spiritual 12-step program that requires the addict place himself in the hands of a higher power because he is helpless in his addiction! [continues 469 words]
Change in U.S. Policy Spurs Advocates Abroad In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers this week proposed a new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 1171 words]
In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 1274 words]
United States' Drug Policy Fuels Big Push for Legal Marijuana Worldwide (AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a brand new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 735 words]
(AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 779 words]
Marijuana Legalization Movement Gains a Lot of Traction Across the Globe Following New Laws in Two States. (AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalize its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Mexico City, the vast metropolis of a country ravaged by horrific cartel bloodshed, lawmakers have proposed a brand new plan to let stores sell the drug. [continues 999 words]
(AP) - In a former colonial mansion in Jamaica, politicians huddle to discuss trying to ease marijuana laws in the land of the late reggae musician and cannabis evangelist Bob Marley. In Morocco, one of the world's top producers of the concentrated pot known as hashish, two leading political parties want to legalise its cultivation, at least for medical and industrial use. And in Argentina, the nation's drug czar, a Catholic priest who has long served in its drug ravaged slums, is calling for a public debate about regulating marijuana. [continues 1650 words]
An Overdose Almost Killed Me. but I Couldn't Make Myself Stop. Ben Cimons, 23, writes of his struggle with the seductive drug that almost killed him. Recently I received an e-mail from my mother with a link to the harrowing tale of a 16-year-old Northern Virginia girl who overdosed on heroin and died, and whose companions had dumped her body. My mom wrote that she found the story "terrifying, because that easily could have been you. I thank God every day that it wasn't, and that you are safe and healthy." [continues 1682 words]
It is said that Mother Nature is no fool. She created the marijuana plant, just like she created the coca plant (cocaine) and opium poppy (morphine). But, then again, Mother Nature created tonsils. On Nov. 6, 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana, thus taking the great marijuana debate to another level. Prior to that, medicinal use was the discussion of the day. But make no mistake, the transition from medical to recreational was carefully orchestrated years ago by marijuana advocates. By that I mean the transition has come full circle. When marijuana proponents realized long ago that the country was not yet liberal enough to gain any traction on their bandwagon to legalize, they quickly adopted the medicinal angle, playing the humanity card with the notion that once medical use was accepted, then legislating recreational use was just a nine-iron away. [continues 546 words]
