Ecosystem, Water Supply Threatened Impact on Yurok Is Worse Amid Drought WEITCHPEC, Calif. - The California National Guard on Monday joined more than a dozen other agencies to help the Yurok tribe combat rampant marijuana grows that have threatened the reservation's water supply, harmed its salmon and interfered with cultural ceremonies. Law-enforcement officers began serving search warrants at about 9 a.m. in the operation, which came at the request of Yurok officials and targeted properties in and near the reservation along the Klamath River. [continues 472 words]
Why hasn't the United States government done more since the '60s to stop the flow or destroy the source of incoming drugs from Colombia and Mexico? Why haven't we napalmed the coca plant fields in Colombia and the marijuana fields in Mexico? Why is our Air Force practicing touch-and-go missions in central Arkansas instead of flying reconnaissance of our southern borders of California, Arizona and Texas? Why aren't more observation drones being used in this so-called war on drugs? [continues 177 words]
Re: Lots of buzz over first pot licences, July 8 (and related stories) Now that neighbouring Washington state and Colorado have legalized marijuana, Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must maintain marijuana prohibition to maintain good U.S. relations. The Canadian Senate in 2002 offered a common-sense alternative to marijuana prohibition when the special committee on illegal drugs concluded marijuana is relatively benign, prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. Consider the experience of the former land of the free and current world leader in per capita incarceration. The U.S. has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana has been legally available for decades. The only winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who deliberately confuse the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
Pity the Lonely Anti-Weed Crusaders, Whose Clout Has Gone Up in Smoke As pro-marijuana forces deployed their sidewalk soldiers to gather signatures to put pot legalization on the District's November ballot, Aaron McCormick, a 47-year-old city native and father of three, watched with growing alarm. Somebody must stop this scourge, he decided. But how? McCormick says he knew of no group fighting the initiative, heard no opposition to it in his church and got no traction for his anti-weed views on his vibrant Twitter account, @blackmanhelping, where he opines on local affairs. McCormick, a construction project manager, considered challenging the ballot initiative himself, but he ultimately realized the futility of fighting an army of marijuana advocates. [continues 1402 words]
One of Florida's foremost cancer hospitals takes the job of caregiver so seriously it holds a 'Caregiver Academy' for those caring for patients following stem-cell transplants. Caring for someone who is very ill is a huge responsibility that can involve addressing basic needs such as bathing, eating, continence, dressing, toileting and transferring. A major element of Amendment 2, the ballot question Floridians will vote on in November, concerns caregivers who could assist with a recipient's use of marijuana. [continues 480 words]
I Traveled to Eastern Washing to Visit a Bunch of Pot Farms The first place your legal pot comes from is officially a mystery. When Washington State issued licenses to grow recreational marijuana, a license given to 90 applicants so far, it included a clever "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Within the first 15 days after getting a permit, growers could source their plants anywhere, including illegal sources. After all, what other kinds of sources were there? There were no such things as legal plants yet. [continues 1737 words]
Pot dispensaries sell to recreational users Re: Easy to get, easy to buy, Special Report, July 19 Thank you for Mike Hager's expose of Vancouver's unregulated marijuana dispensaries. We noticed a new Weeks store is opening at Broadway and Collingwood, a few blocks from Bayview Elementary. Despite their colleges prohibiting the practice, naturopaths and psychologists are prescribing marijuana because they can make a profit. It is impossible the more than 30 dispensaries in Vancouver exist only to treat the needs only of chronic pain patients. These dispensaries are selling marijuana to people who use it recreationally. People who want to use marijuana are able, as Mike Hager proves, to obtain it easily. Expecting unlicensed, for-profit and unregulated businesses to screen their customers is laughable. [continues 194 words]
Briere Says He'll Continue to Sell Small Amounts - Medical Note or Not - Until His Hand Is Forced The cannabis crusader behind Vancouver's largest and laxest chain of dispensaries says he will continue selling small amounts of pot to customers - even if they can't prove they need it for medicinal purposes - until the drug is legalized or he is again charged with trafficking. Don Briere says his eight-store Weeds Glass and Gifts chain will continue its practice of selling under a gram of combustible or edible cannabis to those without a federal medicinal licence or a note from a naturopath or doctor. The colourful 63- year-old entrepreneur says public opinion has shifted further in his favour from 2004 when his Da Kine Smoke and Beverage Shop was surrounded by the VPD's emergency response team and he was charged with trafficking for selling recreational pot over the counter. [continues 816 words]
I AM not a user of nicotine or marijuana. I personally do not care whether someone uses these drugs or not. The only thing I care about is respect from the smoker to not subject me or my family to the secondhand smoke. Police agencies will not equally enforce the law that prohibits marijuana use in public. According to a July 9 KOMO 1000 radio news story, a Bellevue Police spokesman said that officers will issue a citation to violators whereas a Seattle Police Department spokeswoman said that officers will approach the violator and ask the violator to "voluntarily comply with the law" and to stop using it in public. [continues 351 words]
As a health professional, I cringe every time I read that we should legalize another addictive substance, marijuana, because we can incur tax revenue. (By the way, I support use of THC in appropriate medical situations.) As a society, we must start making choices based on what is best for our collective health and work and life success. I urge people to look at the research. Marijuana use is known to cause chronic bronchitis and airway changes in the lungs; users suffer from impaired memory, thinking and problem-solving. [continues 77 words]
There were legitimate concerns with some of the Department of Health's proposed revisions of its medical marijuana rules - a hefty new fee that had yet to be justified chief among them. But rather than reconsider why users - presumably some of the state's most medically vulnerable individuals - should have to fork over an extra $50 every year as a renewal fee when the program is in the black, the department instead is abandoning plans to add criminal background checks on patients who grow their own and reduce the number of plants they can have. [continues 199 words]
Regarding "Migrant kids, I feel for you, but go back home" (Opinions, Wednesday): I disagree with the letter writer. The combination of America's insatiable drug habit and the dismal failure of the "war on drugs" is the cause of much of the violence in Mexico and Central America. Just as alcohol prohibition escalated organized crime in the 20th century, our inability to manage our drug use is currently causing much of the violence in those countries, as well as in our country. [continues 54 words]
Children and adults who suffer from epilepsy could soon find relief in medical marijuana under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Pat Quinn. During a ceremony at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Democratic governor signed the law, which adds seizures to the list of conditions that can be treated with medical-grade cannabis. Quinn called it a "lifesaving law" and said medical marijuana could offer those suffering from seizures a "positive experience when it comes to daily living." "I think it's very important that we move forward and extend the opportunity for this important life-saving law to go to all those who need it," Quinn added. [continues 191 words]
A dangerous neighborhood. The threat of arrest - or worse. An unreliable product, sold by criminals. For seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana to ease their pain, paying for their treatment can be a "risky operation," according to multiple sclerosis patient Julie Falco. But if officials at Swedish Covenant Hospital get their way, medical marijuana users like Falco could one day purchase their cannabis at a hospital dispensary - just like a patient buying a dosed antibiotic or a powerful pain reliever at the hospital's pharmacy. [continues 501 words]
THE COURT of Appeals (CA) has directed the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to proceed with the deportation of a British cannabis seed trader facing charges for money laundering and narcotics trafficking in Maine, USA. But the appellate court's Special 7th Division ordered that Gypsy Nirvana be deported directly to the United Kingdom and not be put on a flight that would pass through the United States. The court, in an 11-page decision dated June 25 but released last week, denied Nirvana's plea stopping his deportation, saying that his lawyers should have first appealed to the justice secretary and the Office of the President before seeking judicial intervention. [continues 565 words]
I am very glad the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the will of Massachusetts voters by ruling that the smell of unburnt marijuana can no longer justify searches ("Court marijuana ruling can't pass sniff test, police say," July 10). But I was disappointed in the fearmongering by critics of the ruling. Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said the searches forbidden by the ruling are no different than "stopping somebody with the smell of alcohol on their breath." As the article says, however, the court already ruled in 2011 that the smell of burnt marijuana - a much closer equivalent to alcohol-scented breath, as it signifies recent use - cannot justify a search. [continues 56 words]
Let us accept these children from Central America with grace (July 17). The hellish circumstances they came from are caused, in good part, by our own drug use. It's these drugs that feed the drug cartels and gang culture these kids are running away from to come to the U.S. We are the well from whom these children draw their misery. So let's bite the bullet ... and be generous. - - Michael J. Burke, Wakefield [end]
The grand opening of his new marijuana-themed business - The Farm Assists Cannabis Resource Centre on Gottingen Street - is Saturday, and co-owner Chris Enns said he intends to be completely open about the operation. He and partner Sherri Reeve opened the doors to the small shop in early June but wanted to delay their official opening until now. The store offers bongs, T-shirts, hemp backpacks, grinders and, in the back, about 12 strains of weed for licensed medicinal marijuana users. [continues 434 words]
Yurok Leaders Had Pleaded for Outside Help, Saying Marijuana Cultivation Was Damaging Reservation. WEITCHPEC, Calif. - First, the out-of-state license plates came to the upper reaches of the Yurok Indian Reservation, followed by dump trucks of fertilizer and heavy equipment that punched roads into tribal land. Runaway marijuana cultivation had made it unsafe to hike, pray, gather medicine and materials for baskets, or prepare sites for ceremonial dances. Chemical runoff and silt harmed the salmon, and rodenticides poisoned the rare Humboldt marten and weasel-like fisher, which the Yurok consider sacred. [continues 1160 words]
Your editorial ("Free medicinal pot - only in Berkeley," July 20) makes the assertion: "Reality check II: Regular pot can take a toll on motivation, judgment and attention to detail." That point should be rebutted by the likes of Michael Phelps, Steve Jobs, Barack Obama and Carl Sagan. I've done OK with a lifetime of cannabis use, starting five decades ago. My hopes are that the "cannabis community" can coalesce on one vehicle for legalization. They are a fractious bunch - medical, recreational, industrial ... "My weed, not yours." If we all pull on the same hemp rope, we can drag it across the line. Jay Bergstrom, Forest Ranch, Butte County [end]
WILLMAR -- The Willmar Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday to consider a conditional use permit requested by retired veterinarian Dr. Marshall Brinton to allow a medical marijuana production lab/dispensary. Brinton has requested the permit to operate the production lab/dispensary in laboratory facilities he owns at 208 Lakeland Dr. S.E. The hearing will be held in the meeting room at the Willmar Fire Station, 515 Second St. S.E. City Planner Megan DeSchepper said the conditional use permit is required because medical marijuana production is not listed as a land use in any section of the city zoning ordinance. [continues 232 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 196 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia TORONTO - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 242 words]
Alfonso Hernandez stands before a mural of Jesus Christ being ferried on a lion-drawn carriage, trailed by Catholic bishops and priests. Behind them, scores of men in crisp suits - some smiling, some somber, one in dark shades - kneel as they watch the procession. They are among the dead of Tepito. "It's called the mural of the absent. They're people from here," said Hernandez, a native of the famously tough - and famously untamable - Mexico City neighborhood. "These are people who died because of the drug wars. This is to remember them here and not just in the crime blotter of the newspapers." [continues 1312 words]
Cristian Omar Reyes, an 11-year-old sixth-grader in the neighborhood of Nueva Suyapa, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, tells me he has to get out of Honduras soon - "no matter what." In March, his father was robbed and murdered by gangs while working as a security guard protecting a pastry truck. His mother used the life insurance payout to hire a smuggler to take her to Florida. She promised to send for him quickly, but she has not. Three people he knows were murdered this year. Four others were gunned down on a nearby corner in the span of two weeks at the beginning of this year. A girl his age resisted being robbed of $5. She was clubbed over the head and dragged off by two men who cut a hole in her throat, stuffed her panties in it, and left her body in a ravine across the street from Cristian's house. [continues 1993 words]
RETIRED teacher Ambrose M. Bennett says he is seeking public support for a proposal that will legalize marijuana use in the CNMI. "I must ask our online group to be the ones to present their stance to the people of the island," Bennett said, referring to a group that has a Facebook page calling for the decriminalization of marijuana use in the CNMI. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/CLC.CNMI/). Bennett said the proposed legislative initiative will be called the Marijuana Sunshine Act, and will aim to legalize the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana in designated areas on island. [continues 107 words]
Legal marijuana sales outlets are sprouting like weeds across strait Our neighbours on the Olympic Peninsula will get their first pot shop next weekend. Sea Change Cannabis will open in Discovery Bay, near Port Townsend. Two other marijuana stores hope to be in business in Jefferson County soon. Straight across the strait from Victoria, the state liquor board has allocated six more licences to Clallam County, where stores will include Sparket and Mr. Buds in Port Angeles proper and the Hidden Bush and Weed-R-Us on the highway into town. [continues 1045 words]
Re: Good Samaritan immunity law could save lives - July 14 Regarding Kayla Follett's thoughtful commentary, the drug war is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in easily preventable deaths. Rehabilitation also is confounded. I think it's safe to say that turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
Safety League calls on Wynne to end sale of drug paraphernalia The Ontario Safety League urged the Liberal government Thursday to crack down on corner stores that sell crackpipes, bongs, grinders and other drug paraphernalia by taking away their right to sell lottery tickets. "If the convenience stores are forced to choose between the lucrative sale of lottery tickets and selling drug paraphernalia contrary to the Criminal Code, I believe they'll chose lottery tickets," league president Brian Patterson said. However, Finance Minister Charles Sousa insisted the government was powerless to order Ontario Lottery and Gaming to remove a store from its approved list of retailers unless there has been a criminal conviction, even though the province is the only shareholder in the agency. [continues 419 words]
TORONTO - The Ontario Safety League urged the Liberal government Thursday to crackdown on corner stores that sell crack-pipes, bongs, grinders and other drug paraphernalia by taking away their right to sell lottery tickets. "If the convenience stores are forced to choose between the lucrative sale of lottery tickets and selling drug paraphernalia contrary to the Criminal Code, I believe they'll chose lottery tickets," said league president Brian Patterson. However, Finance Minister Charles Sousa insisted the government was powerless to order Ontario Lottery and Gaming to remove a store from its approved list of retailers unless there has been a criminal conviction, even though the province is the only shareholder in the agency. [continues 248 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
The law commanded the agency to have at least one treatment center open and serving patients in each county by early last winter. The law is also explicit that until treatment centers are open, qualified patients with a recommendation or their designated caregiver registered with the department may obtain marijuana from the "black market" or grow; clearly, an incentive for prompt compliance by the department with its duties. The department is fiddling and diddling in its duty to register treatment centers. Meanwhile it objects to caregivers with the ability to get marijuana for patients to do so for more than one patient. It is blind to the fact that most patients do not have the ability to grow or otherwise get the variety of the herb they need "on just about every busy street corner or side alley in the commonwealth." [continues 62 words]
Boy Can't Use Cannabis Oil Treatment, the Most Effective Remedy to Combat His Epilepsy OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. "He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy. "He was horseback riding. He was in a boat, he went tubing. He was so happy. We had a little glimpse of what life could be like." [continues 411 words]
This letter is in response to Steve Lafleur's letter to the editor - The case to legalize soft drugs - published in the July 10 edition of The Daily Press. The article creatively tries to convince readers "issues of morality should not be legislated." In my opinion morality can and should be legislated. Let's take for example the fines police can give you if you don't use your seatbelt. One can say it is wrong for people to be forced to use a seatbelt because it only impacts the individual. It should be my choice to use the seatbelt, or not. [continues 154 words]
OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. "He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy. [continues 616 words]
Re: Witness of drug overdose fearful to contact emergency services, by Kayla Follett, Page 8, Truro Daily News, July 16, 2014 To the editor, The drug war is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in easily preventable deaths. Rehabilitation also is confounded. I think it's safe to say turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D. C. [end]
Calls Grow to Keep Drug Items Out of Convenience Stores The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
She Blames Political Pressure for Her Ouster. A University of Arizona researcher who claimed she was dismissed after she lobbied for her study of marijuana for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is fighting to get her job back. Sue Sisley has filed a formal appeal with the University of Arizona asking that she be reinstated as assistant professor with the Department of Psychiatry, assistant director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program and as a researcher. And a Change.org petition to bring back Sisley so far has collected more than 31,000 signatures. [continues 967 words]
I think I have figured out something. Let's combine Josh Moon et al., including Big Brother, and we have a solution for Alabama and America. Legalize pot in America, and Congress will make some important decisions about immigration, the IRS and phony scandals, and even future phony scandals. It might require food because pot makes you hungry, I hear, so the cost of groceries might go up exponentially. Reduce the speed limit to 25 on the Interstate and in Montgomery, because pot makes you sluggish when trying to decide what those yellow things are that hang from poles and wires and have green, yellow and red colors. To a pot user, 25 is like flying an F-22 Raptor with four tires on the Interstate. [continues 127 words]
Boy went from 67 epileptic seizures a day to 10 days seizure-free following treatment using a liquid form of medical marijuana Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The boy from Constance Bay suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. [continues 1004 words]
Boy with rare form of epilepsy has found relief OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time in kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure free, his mother says. [continues 630 words]
Use of cannabis oil suppresses seizures, but is not legal to sell in Canada OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. [continues 611 words]
Parents face complicated procedure OTTAWA * Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures lasting three to four minutes each, which have made it hard for him to attend kindergarten. That's all changed for the better. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he had no seizures, says his mother, compared with the 67 seizures he had the day before. [continues 551 words]
Boy takes extracted oil, in violation of new regulations OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure free, his mother says. [continues 625 words]
