1/31/08

Action Alert: Vermont Legislature To Hold Second Hearing on Decriminalizing Pot!............ NORML.org

Dear Vermont NORML Supporters:

NORML is pleased to announce that on Friday, February 1, the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its second hearing regarding Senate Bill 238, which seeks to reclassify minor marijuana penalties from a misdemeanor to a civil violation. The hearing will take place at 9AM in Room 1 of the Vermont State House.  Citizens like you are invited and encouraged to attend. (For directions to the Vermont State House, please direct your browser HERE

As introduced, Senate Bill 238 would replace existing criminal sanctions outlawing the possession, cultivation, and sale of minor quantities of cannabis with civil sanctions, punishable by a fine only.

Specifically, the bill would impose a civil penalty of no more than $250 upon first-time offenders found guilty of possessing up to two ounces of marijuana or growing up to two marijuana plants. Offenders found guilty of possessing between two and four ounces of marijuana and/or cultivating up to five marijuana plants would face civil fines as high as $1,000. Defendants found guilty of possessing or cultivating amounts above this threshold would face up to three years imprisonment under the proposed law.

Under current state law, the possession or cultivation of any amount of cannabis is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to six months in jail.

inside_norml

City OKs Medicinal Marijuana Resolution

Berkeley City Council members unanimously approved a resolution last night to declare Berkeley a sanctuary for medicinal marijuana in the event of federal interference with dispensaries.
The resolution, which was received with overwhelming support and applause from the audience, opposes attempts by the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in Berkeley, and urges city, county and state departments to not cooperate in the event that a raid occurs.
By claiming itself as a sanctuary, Berkeley have committed to ensuring that residents are provided access to medicinal marijuana if dispensaries in the city are shut down.

What that means is up to debate at the moment, but the city would at least help a new distributor get started or help one restart after a DEA raid, council members and activists said.

The DEA has shut down five medical marijuana dispensaries in the Bay Area in the past year

Cicero Cop Will Take Drug Test!

 

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Above, Cicero Police Cmdr. Wesley Scott (center) is sworn in with two other new town police commanders in June 2005.

The Cicero police commander accused of having a burned marijuana cigarette and a bag of marijuana in his car after being stopped last weekend on Chicago's South Side is scheduled to take a drug test Thursday that could determine his future at the Police Department.
Wesley Scott, a 21-year police veteran, was cited by Chicago police Sunday night with misdemeanour Marijuana possession after allegedly running a stop sign in the Englewood neighbourhood, officials said.
Officers found about one-sixth of an ounce of marijuana on the console of his vehicle, Chicago police have said.

And so another guy is busted for weed because of an unnecessary traffic stop, although any police commander who thinks he can run red lights needs a wake up!, bastards like this guy gets smokers a bad name.

1/30/08

Video of Calif's Marijuana Vending Machines...........

This is how the AVMs — Anytime Vending Machines — work:

• Customers bring their prescriptions for approval at the AVMs, housed in enclosed room guarded 24/7.
• They are fingerprinted and photographed.
• They receive a pre-paid credit carded loaded with their individual profiles.
• They choose their dosage (3.5 grams or 7 grams) and one of five strains of marijuana.
• The marijuana is in capsule form and dispensed in vacuum-sealed packages.
• They can buy no more than 1 ounce a week.

Civilised huh!

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Medical Marijuana: New Mexico Paraplegic Sues Over Seizure of Plants, Grow Equipment

One of New Mexico's first registered medical marijuana patients is suing Eddy County Sheriff's deputies for seizing his marijuana plants and grow equipment and turning them over to the DEA. Leonard French of Malaga received a license to grow and use marijuana for pain resulting from a spinal cord injury, but that didn't stop the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, "The New Mexico state legislature, in its wisdom, passed the Compassionate Use Act after carefully considering the benefits the drug provides for people who suffer from uncontrollable pain, and weighing those benefits against the way federal law considers cannabis," said Peter Simonson, ACLU executive director,"With their actions against Mr. French, Eddy County officials thwarted that humane, sensible law, probably for no other reason than that they believed federal law empowered them to do so".

When at least four Eddy County deputies acting as members of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force showed up at French's home last September 4, he thought they were checking his compliance with the medical marijuana law, so he presented them with his license, and showed them his grow, which consisted of two small plants and three dead sprouts. They then turned the plants and the grow equipment over to the DEA, which does not recognize medical marijuana or the state laws that permit its use. French has not been charged with any offense under either state or federal law

"With the Compassionate Use Act, New Mexico embarked on an innovative project to help people who suffer from painful conditions like Mr. French's," said Simonson. "The law cannot succeed if the threat of arrest by county and local law enforcement hangs over participants in the program. With this lawsuit, we hope to clear the way for the State to implement a sensible, conservative program to apply a drug that traditionally has been considered illicit for constructive purposes."

"And maybe teach some recalcitrant cops a lesson about obeying the law".

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In Memoriam: Judge Eleanor Schockett of LEAP

Jack Cole of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition wrote the following memorial for one of LEAP's most active leaders, Judge Eleanor Schockett. We reprint it  HERE from the  LEAP web site.

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Here is the film posted Jan 18 showing the guys from LEAP, as the blurb said "In the spring of 2002, 5 current and former ranking police officers got together to discuss  the drug war and its impact on fellow officers, soon the numbers swelled to 500 as current and former DEA agents, Police chiefs, Judges and Prosecutors joined the ranks, now they have gone public and what they are saying is shaking the Drug War establishment to its roots". It is very interesting and worth a look!.

1/29/08

Man arrested with 27 pounds of marijuana

*This is so dumb

CANTON, N.Y. - Police say a traffic stop in northern New York resulted in the discovery of more than 27 pounds of Marijuana in the trunk of a car.
Police say 37-year-old Matthew Randall of Syracuse is being charged with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. Police say the Marijuana is worth $110,000 on the streets.
Police also are charging Randall with making an unsafe lane change and having no front license plate _ which were the reasons he was pulled over Monday morning by village of Canton police.

In other words this was totally unnecessary!!! why add to the risk when you are carrying such an amount of weed, this pile would get you the chair in Texas!!!

Another SWAT Raid Tragedy

This From StoptheDrugWar.org 

Earlier this month, we reported that an Ohio SWAT team had killed 26-year-old Tarika Wilson and maimed her one-year-old son -- both innocent people -- and asked members to sign our petition to Congress and state governments, "Enough Is Enough: Petition to Limit Paramilitary Police Raids in America."

There's been another tragedy, this one in Chesapeake, Virginia. The police officer who conducted the forced entry, Jarrod Shivers, is the one who was killed this time. Resident Ryan Frederick says he opened fire because he had no way to know the invaders of his home were police officers and he believed he would be killed if he didn't defend himself. He also says that all he had there were a few joints and a bong. Prosecutors have charged Frederick with first-degree murder. But suspiciously, police waited five days before going public with the evidence they claim to have. Neighbors also dispute police's claim to have knocked and waited at Frederick's door before breaking it down.

While the facts of this incident are still coming out, it seems clear that violence only erupted because of the sudden and dramatic way in which police chose to enter this home. Please sign the "Enough is Enough" petition to stop the reckless overuse of SWAT tactics and save the lives of civilians and police alike. Please tell your friends about the petition. And stay tuned for updates on this case, including further action alerts. Thanks for your help.

200 Grow rooms/plantations Raided In German Crackdown *Growers Take Note These Raids Came From 'Grow Shop' Customer List

*If you must buy this way use your head, find a secondary address, (where nothing illegal happens, D'oh) pay with cash-transfer: no credit/debit cards etc.

Police crackdown as cannabis farms grow

Cannabis farmers in Germany were the target of a massive crackdown yesterday as police raided more than 200 plantations to tackle the new soft-drug culture that has spilt over from the Netherlands.

Officers seized mature plants, packets of dried drugs and growing-equipment in the raids, which involved police forces from 16 regional states and 1,500 investigators.

“We thought he was just a passionate gardener,” an incredulous neighbour said after police stormed an apartment in Aachen near the Belgian border.

While cannabis farmers in the Netherlands remain on the police radar, in Germany they have blended into the neighbourhood.

The trigger for the latest raids was the increasing popularity of a “grow shop” that has been supplying cannabis-growing materials over the internet. Some of yesterday's police actions — apartments were being searched as far afield as Rostock on the Baltic Sea — were drawn from the shop's customer lists.                                                      German Police do not usually care if they smell Marijana unless a driver is suspected of using the drug

Full Report HERE

The Times May Be Changing On The Marijuana Issue

AUSTIN -- A few years ago, politicians who dared to suggest anything other than jail time for marijuana users were considered pro-drug fringe candidates.

Not anymore. Now all the major Democratic presidential candidates are offering more lenient stands on medical marijuana, and White House hopeful Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, has made ending the federal drug war a centerpiece of his campaign.

See more on this......... HERE

1/28/08

Marijuana Vending Machines Open In California

California's first marijuana vending machines open today. The machines can be used by patients who are prescribed marijuana for health reasons. Patients have to present a prescription and be fingerprinted before they are issued with a pre-paid credit card that stores the dosage and type of drug prescribed.

  • They can then use the card to access the Anytime Vending Machines whenever they need extra supplies.

    Vince Mehdizadeh, owner of the Herbal Nutrition Centre in Los Angeles, where one of the first machines is based, said patients could get access to prescribed drugs after hours.

    "They'll be greeted by a security guard right there. They'll slide the card in and they'll fingerprint in to verify that it's them," he said.

    "A camera takes a picture of them, verifying that they're actually at the machine. And they get the medicine and they move on."

    Owners believe that the AVMs could eventually become as common as vending machines for soft drinks or confectionery and that they could also be used to dispense other prescription drugs such as antidepressants or Viagra.

  • 1/27/08

    What A Waste Of Time, Money and Lives

    U.S. arrests for pot possession were up to 739,000 in 2006. And the cost to tax payers? $1 billion a year.

    What's the current price for a bag of weed? According to the latest figures from the FBI, the human cost is roughly 739,000 a year.

    That's the number of American citizens arrested in 2006 for possessing small amounts of pot. (Another 91,000 were charged with marijuana-related felonies.) The figure is the highest annual total ever recorded, and is nearly double the number of citizens busted for pot fifteen years ago.

    Those arrested face a multitude of consequences, primarily determined by where they live. For example, most Californians charged with violating the state's pot possession laws face little more than a small fine. By contrast, getting busted with a pinch of weed in Ohio will cost you your driver's license for at least six months. Move to Texas -- well, now you're looking at a criminal record and up to 180 days in jail. Or if you happen to be a first-time offender, possibly a stint in court-mandated 'drug rehab' (one recent study reported that nearly 70 percent of all adults referred to Texas drug treatment programs for weed were referred by the courts), probation, and a hefty legal bill. And don't even think about getting busted in Oklahoma, where a first time conviction for minor pot possession can net you up to one year in jail, or up to ten years if you're found guilty of a second offense. Thinking of growing your own? That'll cost you a $20,000 fine, and -- oh yeah -- anywhere from two years to life in prison.

    Yes, you read that right -- life in prison

     

    More on this HERE at AlterNet

    City considers aiding marijuana patients BERKELEY:

    Resolution would declare area a sanctuary for medical pot users and distributors

    Berkeley is considering a plan to help get medical marijuana to patients if the Drug Enforcement Administration shuts down any of the city-permitted cannabis clubs.

    The plan by City Councilmen Darryl Moore and Kriss Worthington already has drawn fire from the Berkeley police, the city manager's office and the DEA.

    The resolution before the City Council on Tuesday night declares Berkeley a sanctuary for medical marijuana users and distributors, and says "the city itself shall ensure a continuum of access to medical marijuana" if the DEA moves in.

    Whether that means the city selling marijuana itself or helping another distributor get started is up in the air at the moment, Moore said. He wants the police chief and city manager to come back with suggestions.

    More on this HERE from ContraCostaTimes.com

    1/26/08

    Did You Know...............

    There is evidence that cannabis has been used for over 12,000 years; there are texts from as far back as 2737B.C. which list the medicinal uses of cannabis.

    THC and other cannabinoids' have been shown to have analgesic, anti-spasmodic, anti-convulsant, anti-tremor, anti-psychotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic and appetite-stimulant properties. Research is ongoing into the Neuro protective and immunomodulatory effects of cannabis.

    Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects; however there is no credible medical report to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death in fact estimates indicate that a person would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much cannabis as is contained in one cannabis cigarette, and they would have to consume this amount in a short space of time (e.g. less than 1 hour).

    1/25/08

    Medical Marijuana users face sack if testing positive in California..........

    The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that employers can fire workers who test positive for marijuana even if they have a note from a doctor recommending its use for medical reasons.

    The 5 to 2 ruling came in a state that was the first to legalize cannabis for medical use but has followed up with ambiguity and ambivalence about making it a reality.

    In the latest ruling, the high court said a Sacramento company had the right to fire Gary Ross in 2001 after a routine drug test came back positive for marijuana. Ross showed RagingWire Inc. a copy of his physician's recommendation to smoke the drug to relieve chronic back pain from three lumbar vertebrae fractured when he fell off the wing of an F-16 as an Air Force mechanic in 1983.

    "From 1999 when my doctor started recommending medical marijuana, I can stop that spasm from getting into a knot and I don't need any pain medication," said Ross, adding he smokes only when he experiences spasms. "Prior to 1999 I was carted off in an ambulance a half a dozen times. Since 1999, only once."

    But the company fired him, arguing that drug use was illegal under federal law.

    More on this from the Washington Post HERE

    1/23/08

    New Bills Would Lessen Penalties For Marijuana

    Two bills before state lawmakers aim to loosen marijuana penalties, lessening the punishments for possessing smaller amounts of the drug or doing away with any punishment altogether in New Hampshire.

    Yesterday, backers of relaxed marijuana restrictions showed they're taking a different tack. Rather than legalize marijuana possession outright, one of the two bills before a House committee yesterday would make the penalty for possessing less than 1.25 ounces of marijuana a violation, rather than a misdemeanor. The violation could bring a fine of no more than $200.

    The bill's supporters cast the proposal as a way to keep marijuana possession charges from blocking an individual's educational and vocational opportunities, and they distinguished marijuana from other forms of illegal drugs.

    Those convicted of marijuana possession can "become ineligible for financial aid for college, cannot enlist in the armed services and can even lose eligibility for employment," Rep. Jeffrey Fontas, a Nashua Democrat and the bill's sponsor, said at a press conference before yesterday's public hearing. "This is a bill about protecting the opportunity for young people to grow up and be productive, fulfilling citizens in their communities."

    Another bill - sponsored by Rep. Charles Weed ( yes! , it really is his name) a Keene Democrat - would permit the possession of up to a quarter of an ounce of marijuana for medical or personal use. Weed also sponsored last year's proposal to legalize marijuana use and sales, a bill that went beyond what other states allows.

    A subgroup of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will study the proposals.

    Full details HERE

    If this is true these two want flogging

    image Fulton (WSYR-TV) Two Fulton women are facing charges after they allegedly forced a 12-year-old boy to smoke marijuana.

    Police say Patricia Davis, 35, and Amy VanBuren, 36, made the boy smoke in their home, back in September of 2007.  One of the women held the boy’s head still, while the other put a glass pipe containing marijuana to the boy’s mouth.

    Both of the women are facing charges of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.  They will be in the town of Granby Court on January 28.

    1/22/08

    Sweeping Changes to Medical Marijuana from Lawyer for Federal Contractor?

    marijuana_dispensaries_pictures

    (SALEM, Ore.) - Advocates for medical marijuana say a lawyer who often represents huge federal contractors is seeking to radically modify Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program.

    Oregon already has the most restrictive medical marijuana program in the nation. Advocate Dan Keys says Dan Harmon, an attorney with Hoffman Corporation, is trying to implement sweeping changes that would limit patients to possession of only two ounces and three plants.

    And he says the lawyer tried to do it quietly. One of the proposed changes we are told, would exempt employees from collective bargaining.

    Patients are not allowed to buy or sell marijuana in Oregon, even for legal marijuana use, so growing or having another person grow for them is one of the only options for actually possessing the herb.

    For the rest of this please go here

    Health Authority board member resigns after 'bust'

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    A Saskatoon Regional Health Authority member has resigned his post on the board after police charged him last week with several counts of drug possession and trafficking.

    A Health Ministry spokesperson said Minister Don McMorris received a letter of resignation on Monday from Eric Braun, 54 (above)

    Last Thursday, the Saskatoon Integrated Drug Unit searched an apartment in the 500 block of Fifth Avenue North. Officers found more than three kilograms of marijuana, 65 grams of cocaine and crack cocaine, 200 grams of hash, and more than $23,000 cash. They arrested Braun and a 30-year-old man who showed up at the apartment with about a kilogram of marijuana in his possession.

    Court documents show Braun is charged with possession of more than $25,000, at least $5,000 of which is a proceed of crime, possession of psilocybin (commonly known as magic mushrooms), possession of less than a gram of cannabis resin, and possession of cannabis resin, marijuana, and cocaine for the purposes of trafficking.

    Last week, McMorris said he would not remove Braun from the board unless the charges were proven in court. However, he said he hoped Braun would take the "honourable" step of resigning while he is under investigation.

    1/21/08

    Medical Marijuana Legally Available in Israel

    Israel: Patients may get an approval from the government for the medical use of cannabis

    A Tel Aviv medical clinic has quietly begun giving cannabis to cancer and AIDS sufferers, legally and with Health Ministry approval. The clinic began giving the drug to patients about six months ago. By Israeli law, cannabis can legally be used as a medicine if a patient obtains a special approval from the Health Ministry. The cannabis is grown in Israel.

    The drug is approved usually only for patients with cancer, AIDS or chronic inflammation of the intestine. The clinic, which the Health Ministry has refused to identify publicly, gives out the drug in small, controlled quantities when a patient presents his license. A spokesman for the Israel Cancer Association said the drug could reduce side-effects for some patients undergoing chemotherapy or other treatments, and the organization would consider adding information about this to its Web Site

    Source Jerusalem Post

    1/18/08

     

    1/17/08

    'Aussie' Cannabis Protester Back In Court

    Peter Till outside court yesterday. Picture: Emmaline Stigwood.

    Like a man possessed, perennial Cannabis protester Peter Till arrived at Brisbane court brandishing a 4ft Marijuana plant in a bin bag

    Telling anyone who would listen, that his mission is to have the plant de-criminalized and the classification of 'dangerous drug' dropped in Queensland.

    He entered the court bare-footed and decked out in one of his trade-mark brightly coloured sarongs, passing his plant to guards to be x-ray' d and taken to a secure room Mr Till made his way to the courtroom to answer charges of a breech in his community service order.

    This isn't the first time Till has pulled the plant stunt in court, he was convicted and sentenced to two months wholly suspended for bringing a 90 cm plant last year, back then he said he uses Cannabis under supervision of a NSW doctor for a host of ills including migraine and back pain, he seemed determined to put on a bigger show this time by bringing a larger plant and ringing media outlets to inform them of his plans, he then paced up and down the corridor saying it was "all fun and games"

    Inside court the charge was dropped as Till had medical certificates to explain his absence from the community service order, Till who defends himself with a quietly spoken friend refused to answer to his name instead he yelled at the magistrate to spell her name (?)

    Magistrate Liz Hall told Till to be quiet to which Till replied "Mr Till is not here, i am not a corporation" (again ?)

    Till claimed success as he left the court building and was promptly arrested by the police, he emerged later with a new notice to appear in court charged with 'possession of a dangerous plant', he will reappear at Brisbane Magistrates court on the 16 Feb.

    First marijuana clinic in Riverside to open Thursday

    An 80-year-old great-grandmother from Temecula could be the first person to get a legal recommendation in the city of Riverside to use marijuana for medicinal reasons.

    Iris Berger said she plans to use the drug to ease the pain of arthritis in her hands and back. She is scheduled to be the first patient at a medical marijuana clinic opening Thursday at 647 N. Main St., in northern Riverside.

    "It seems to help," said Berger, whose son and daughter-in-law are longtime medical marijuana users and advocates. The couple won a three-year legal battle in late 2003 after being arrested for growing marijuana to treat their chronic illnesses.

    It means people looking for a recommendation will not have to travel out to Orange County or Los Angeles

    Berger's son, Martin Victor, said he is proud that his mother will be the clinic's first patient.

    Victor, 55, uses marijuana to soothe cluster headaches he suffers as a result of a progressive eye disease and fibromyalgia. His wife, La Vonne, 52, uses the drug because of her multiple sclerosis, emphysema, panic attacks and compressed vertebrae in her back.

    The couple was originally charged with felony counts of cultivation and distribution. Their case ended after Martin Victor pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of providing less than an ounce of pot to a roommate, who Victor said took it without his knowledge or consent.

    1/16/08

    City Council to Discuss Decriminalization of Marijuana Possession

    The Burlington City Council will debate Monday whether to put the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana to a citywide vote. Councillors Ed Adrian,and Tim Ashe,  are co-sponsoring a resolution that would put the question directly to city voters March 4. Adrian said Monday he has been working on the issue for some time, "getting support on the council." He said Gov. Jim Douglas's comment last week that he is willing to have a "conversation" about decriminalizing marijuana persuaded additional councilors to support the Burlington initiative.

    Adrian also credited Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand for raising the issue.

    In November, Douglas and Sand sparred over the issue. After Sand allowed a Windsor County woman found with 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana to enter a court diversion program rather than face criminal prosecution, Douglas ordered state law enforcement agencies to bypass Sand and refer large drug cases to top Vermont or federal prosecutors. In December, Douglas lifted that order.

    MPP Doubles Its Financial Offer to 'Liars' McCain, Romney and Giuliani

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    Just in time for the presidential caucuses in Nevada – where medical marijuana is legal – a pro-pot group is doubling its offer to pay cash money to three top Republican presidential candidates if they can back up their recent anti-weed comments.

    At issue: Republicans John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have all dissed medical marijuana on the campaign trail, disputing claims that sick and dying people get significant therapeutic benefits by smoking it.

    The Marijuana Policy Project, a non-profit working to reform anti-pot laws, had offered $5,000 in campaign donations to the three GOP hopefuls if they could put some research meat on their bones of contention with the herbal remedy. MPP is now doubling its offer to $10,000, the maximum federal contribution, tomorrow, just in time for the Republican caucuses in Nevada this Saturday.

    Though the leading Republicans want to keep marijuana illegal, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who hasn't won a major contest yet but maintains a committed throng of supporters, wants to end the federal war on drugs entirely.

    There are currently 12 states that permit the use of medical marijuana under certain circumstances.

    More on this HERE

    .................................................................................

    To read Dec 6th story on the first offer in full........ 

    'MPP to Giuliani, McCain, Romney: Prove It, or Stop Lying'

     please go HERE

    Second positive marijuana test lands wrestler 2 yr ban!!!

    This weeks 'poor sod'

    Former world wrestling champion Joe Warren will miss the Olympics after an arbitrator upheld the American's two-year suspension for a second positive test for marijuana.

    The wrestler had argued for leniency in his testimony saying he found it "hard to stop", diagnosed with major depression he says uses the drug to help him sleep, he argued that a two year ban a  was 'too harsh a penalty for using a drug that did not enhance his performance'

    I find it hard not to agree, Marijuana has been blamed for a lot of ills in this world but to say it could enhance any performance that requires standing up for any length of time is ridiculous.

    The arbitrator said Warren made a good case "for exceptional circumstances regarding his use of marijuana in May 2007", and then promptly upheld the ban!!!. Obviously not that much of a case then!, his ban will run until July 22nd 2009, so he is yet another victim of the drug war, another who has trained all his life, reached the pinnacle of his sport, he was the 132lb Greco-roman world champ in 2006, and now has to sit out the next couple of years competitions because he used a herb to help him sleep!!! Poor Sod!!!

    Warren's ban run through till July 22 2009.

    1/15/08

    And So The DEA Save The World.....not!!

    "The tentacles of the Marc Emery criminal enterprise reached out across North America to include all 50 states and Canada,"                                           Rodney Benson of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency told reporters in Seattle.

     

    Well after a three year battle costing Emery $100,000 in Lawyer fees alone and not to mention the lost revenue from seed sales (Emery and his company stopped selling seeds while this case has been ongoing) it looks like it will end with Emery doing 5 years jail time most of which can be served in Canada, and it will be 5 years by the way, he will not be eligible for any early release programs, unlike his child raping cell mates will be??, and this, for the very same offence he  was only fined $2000 for back in 1998, selling Cannabis seeds!!!, the years in between from then until his arrest, n July 2005 he carried on selling seeds worldwide, this, with the full knowledge of the Govt', Emery sent his new Cannabis seed catalogue out to every member of the Parliament, the Inland revenue Emery's company paid  $600,000 in taxes from the seed sales, and the Police dept, they deemed it not worth the trouble of arresting again for a minor offence.  Yet the DEA insisted that Emery and Co were the biggest single threat to America and American youth in particular, A "drug market kingpin" (there are a few guys in Columbia who could give you a good argument about that, he had $12 in his bank account at the time of his arrest, and no guns!!!)     

    So where are the victims of 'terrorist' Marc Emery and his Cannabis seed's???, there must be untold amounts of them filling up morgues the world over, surely there must be!!! No! there are none, there are thousands of sick folk who now have a strain of Cannabis that suits the ailment they have and which allows for some relief from their ghastly symptoms,No! no victims, in fact i only see three lives at risk, one in particular was used in a disgusting fashion, in order to make Emery roll over and cop a plea the DEA said they would drop the charges on the two lieutenants of Emery's, Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey  all the time aware that  Rainey, suffers from Crohn's disease and being incarcerated, away from her medicine, (marijuana) she could well die in a short time, how on earth could anyone with an ounce of compassion say no to a deal that removes such a threat from a friend?

    The DEA knew that Emery was looking forward to his day in court and  by offering the deal removed that threat too, its a shame it may have opened the debate in a way not seen before, it could have opened a few eyes, and the US public needs to be aware of the way its Govt' lies! and lies about the Marijuana issue, the people in the US might as well get the truth now because the world is making its own mind up about Marijuana, and in particular the use as a medicine, and i heard that some Americans have PC's and may well  read the truth on-line and pass the info round, the population of earth wont deprive their sick of a very, very good medicine just because uncle Sam says it is bad, and gleefully informs us it will make us all immoral, we will be dancing with the devil, and killing our granny after a few tokes.

    The US has spent around $30 billion on the 'drug war' and fared no better than it did in Vietnam! and like Vietnam, sadly, it is mostly the innocent getting hurt!. It really is time to withdraw from this war!, it was 30 years ago, but knowing the US we will still be calling time in 30 years, pathetic!.

    Emery himself said it quite well in THIS interview from when he was preparing for this battle,  " Americans have to surrender and realize that they have just f*cked everything up for everybody for too G*d damn long.

    Ruling Disappoints 'Medical Marijuana' Producer, (mmm i bet it does!!!)

    Health Canada's contract producer for medicinal marijuana fears patient safety and product quality will suffer as a result of a federal court ruling that relaxes government restrictions and allows other growers to become suppliers."There's all kinds of security risks. Hopefully, common sense and logic prevails sooner rather than later, for the sake of the patients," said Brent Zettl, president of Prairie Plant Systems (PPS), a Saskatoon-based company that produces medical marijuana in a former mine chamber 365 metres below the surface of the earth in Flin Flon, Man.

    A federal court ruling released Thursday by Judge Barry Strayer struck down a key restriction in Ottawa's program, which allowed medical users to grow their own pot but prohibited them from supplying the drug to more than one other user at a time. 

    Lawyers for medical users argued that restriction effectively established Health Canada as the country's sole legal provider of medical marijuana.

    They also said the restriction was unfair, and that it prevented seriously ill Canadians from obtaining the drug they needed to treat their debilitating illnesses.

    They complained the drug provided by the government was substandard and didn't meet the needs of many patients who use it to treat chronic ailments.

    Ron Marzel, a Toronto lawyer representing the group of medical users expects this week to receive the Crown's notice of appeal against Strayer's ruling.  "Why would they do that? What reason do they have?" said Debbie Palm, a grower in Nipawin who uses the medicinal plant to treat her epilepsy. "If the government appeals, it is basically declaring war on the sick of this country."

    Zettl sees it as exactly the opposite. By maintaining tight control, the government is protecting those individuals, he says his product goes through 100 tests before being shipped out to patients, however, Palm said she is in control of the entire process -- her plants are entirely organic -- whereas she has no idea if PPS uses chemical fertilizers and bug sprays,

    "I control the quality and safety of my product and if I supplied someone else, they would also know exactly what they were getting," she said. "I don't understand what everyone is afraid of."

    Palm and her husband, Joe, have a friend who refused to pay for a shipment from PPS and sent it back. The product was black and powdery and "just horrible," Joe said, adding PPS has a reputation for inferior quality. Palm thinks PPS is worried about losing its monopoly to competition but Zettl denies the company has any concerns about a slowdown in production.

    Canadian marijuana activist says he's reached a U.S. plea deal

    Marc Emery Agrees to cop a plea!

    THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

    VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A Canadian marijuana activist says he's going to prison after his lawyer made a deal with U.S. prosecutors on charges he conspired to distribute marijuana seeds into the U.S. over the Internet.

    Marc Emery, known as "the prince of pot" in Canada, said Monday his lawyers told him there was no hope to refute the U.S. allegations.

    U.S. drug enforcement officials asked for Emery's extradition in 2005 so he could face charges that he distributed millions of cannabis seeds to American customers at an annual profit of $2.9 million.

    Emery, 50, said U.S. prosecutors made the offer to his lawyer for a 10-year prison term, which he said would mean he would have to spend at least five years in prison, most of it in Canada.

    Emery is the leader of a group called the British Columbia Marijuana Party.

    The plea agreement still needs the approval of the Canadian Department of Justice.

    Alain Charette, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said the plea is in negotiations involving other parties and doesn't yet involve the department.

    Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Seattle, said it was not appropriate for officials there to comment.

    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not respond to a request for an interview.

    Selling marijuana seeds is illegal in Canada, but authorities generally ignore small operation

    1/14/08

    HEMP FOR VICTORY 1942

    Classic  US government propaganda film made during WWII touting the virtues of hemp. The film was aimed at farmers at a time when the military was facing a shortage of hemp, it shows how hemp is grown and processed into rope and other products

    EMERY AGREES TO 5 YEARS IN CANADIAN JAIL IN 'PLEA BARGAIN'

     

    This from Ian Mulgrew 

    VANCOUVER - Marc Emery, Vancouver's self-styled Prince of Pot, has tentatively agreed to a five-year prison term in a plea bargain over U.S. money laundering and marijuana seed-selling charges.

    Facing an extradition hearing Jan. 21 and the all-but-certain prospect of delivery to American authorities, Emery has cut a deal with U.S. prosecutors to serve his sentence in Canada. He also hopes it will save his two co-accused - Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, who were his lieutenants for so much of the past decade.

    The three were arrested in August 2005 at the request of the United States and charged even though none had ventured south of the border. Since then, they have been awaiting the extradition hearing. With the proceedings about to begin, Emery says his lawyer brokered the best deal possible.                                                                     Read 'F*** The DEA' further down for Marc Emery's own version of this case and the full story of how Marc became known as the 'Prince of Pot'

     

    If accepted by the courts in both countries, Emery said he will serve the full term and not be eligible for Canada's lenient get-out-of-jail-early rules.

    "I'm going to do more time than many violent, repeat offenders," he complained. "There isn't a single victim in my case, no one who can stand up and say, 'I was hurt by Marc Emery.' No one."

    He's right.  Whatever else you may think of Emery - and he grates on many people, what is happening here is a travesty of justice. Emery's case mocks our independence as a country. Prosecutors in Canada have not enforced the law against selling pot seeds and all you need do is walk along Hastings Street between Homer and Cambie for proof.

    There are numerous stores selling seeds and products for producing cannabis. Around the corner, you'll find more seed stores. You'll find the same shops in Toronto and in other major Canadian cities.

    The last time Emery was convicted in Canada of selling pot seeds, back in 1998, he was given a $2,000 fine. Emery has flouted the law for more than a decade and every year he sends his seed catalogue to politicians of every stripe.

    He has run in federal, provincial and civic elections promoting his pro-cannabis platform. He has championed legal marijuana at parliamentary hearings, on national television, at celebrity conferences, in his own magazine, Cannabis Culture, and on his own Internet channel, Pot TV.

    Health Canada even recommended medical marijuana patients buy their seeds from Emery. From 1998 until his arrest, Emery even paid provincial and federal taxes as a "marijuana seed vendor" totalling nearly $600,000.

    He is being hounded because of his success. The political landscape has changed dramatically as a result of Emery's politicking for cannabis. Emery challenged a law he disagrees with using exactly the non-violent, democratic processes we urge our children to embrace and of which we are so proud.

    But along the way he has angered the anti-drug law-enforcement community - the same gang that insists we must continue an expensive War on Drugs that has failed miserably for more than a quarter century and does more harm than good.

    Canadian police grew so frustrated that neither prosecutors nor the courts would lock up Emery and throw away the key, they urged their U.S. counterparts to do the dirty work. And that's what's wrong.

    Emery is being handed over to a foreign government for an  activity we are loath to prosecute because we don't think it's a major problem. His two associates were charged only as a way of blackmailing him into copping a plea.

    It's a scandal.

    Emery is being made a scapegoat for an anti-cannabis criminal law that is a monumental failure. In spite of all our pricey efforts during the last 40 years, and all the demonization of marijuana, there is more pot on our streets, more people smoking dope and more damage being done to our communities as a result of the prohibition.

    There is a better way and every study from the 1970s  Le Dain Commission onward has urged change and legalization.

    Regardless of what you think of Emery, he should not be facing an unconscionably long jail term for a victimless, non-violent crime that generates a shrug in his own country. Emery is facing more jail time than corporate criminals who defrauded widows and orphans and longer incarceration than violent offenders who have left their victims dead or in wheelchairs.

    And while he has long seemed to court martyrdom, Emery is by no means sanguine about what is happening. He is angry at local lawyers for failing to come up with a viable defence.

    "They had two years and $90,000 and they came up with nothing," he fumed. "John Conroy called me up and said 'take the deal - Michelle will die in jail. Michelle will die in jail!' What can I say to that?"

    Rainey, who has a medical exemption to smoke marijuana, has Crohn's disease. Incarceration in the U.S. would deprive her of her medicine, and she fears it could lead to her death.

    "It's an ugly situation but Marc expects miracles," Kirk Tousaw, one of the lawyers involved, told me. "There aren't any here."

    He's right. Our extradition law puts Canadian citizens at the mercy of foreign governments and judges can't do much about it. Emery is being forced to accept a deal because not only are two of his friends in jeopardy if he doesn't, but also to go south for an unfair trial would mean serving as much as 20 years in prison, perhaps more.

    One of his friends, for example, was handed a 30-year sentence for growing 200 plants. This is wrong.

    If Emery has been breaking the law and must be jailed, our justice department should charge him and prosecute him in Canada. It's time for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to step in and say, sorry, Uncle Sam, not today - not ever.

    imulgrew@png.canwest.com

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    Mark Emery V the USA

    Guest Opinion: DOC Policy Would Violate Medical Marijuana Law

    By EDWIN L. STICKNEY

    The Montana Department of Corrections is trying to ban the use of medical marijuana by anyone on parole or probation. This proposal is almost certainly illegal for numerous reasons. Among these is the fact that Montana's medical marijuana law clearly allows anyone suffering from certain medical conditions, with a doctor's recommendation, to use medical marijuana.
    The law specifies only one exception, and that is people who are "in" a corrections facility. That means that every other qualified patient, even those on probation or parole (who are not in prison or jail), can use medical marijuana as needed. As a state agency, the department's highest obligation is to honor the state's laws.
    But as a lifelong physician and past president of the Montana Medical Association, I see important medical and scientific reasons to be alarmed by what the Department of Corrections is trying to do. In my view, it represents a grave and unacceptable intrusion on the physician-patient relationship. Although it would affect an extremely small number of people, probably fewer than a dozen, it could affect them grievously.

    For the rest of this from Dr Stickney at  BillingsGazette.com go HERE

    Be Compassionate

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    Once again a Canadian court has spoken up and said it's time for the federal government to stop choking off supplies of medical marijuana to the more than 2,000 users it licenses. And once again, the government is expected to seek every conceivable obstacle, use every possible loophole and exhaust every avenue of appeal that might help delay the adoption of a logical, humane medical marijuana policy.

    Until last week, licensed users had three options for obtaining the drug lawfully: buy the much-criticized weed from the federally contracted factory in Flin Flon, Man., master the art of cultivating it themselves or designate a personal grower. But no grower was allowed to provide pot to more than one patient. This rule was intentionally designed to prevent the creation of California-style "compassion clubs" or backyard patient collectives.

    In other words, the law recognized the usefulness of medical marijuana as a natural means of reducing pain and nausea in sufferers of cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS -- but if those sufferers were not content to buy from the government, they were denied the most cost-effective method of obtaining it themselves. Compassion clubs offer benefit beyond the mere operation of economies of scale: they allow patients to regulate the content and quality of their own medication, and they naturally evolve other social features, allowing the severely ill to make new friends, share health advice, and comfort one another.

    For the rest of this article from Colby Cosh, National Post please go HERE


    Have you been arrested and charged with marijuana possession or cultivation for the purposes of trafficking?

    Click here now for more information

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    Do You Want to Sell Marijuana Legally?

    Sell Marijuana Legally tells you everything you need to know. Written by government licenced certified organic marijuana growers, Sell Marijuana Legally gives you the inside scoop on how to get your marijuana growing licence to grow, distribute and sell medical marijuana.

    CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE...

    Medical Marijuana Grower Ready To Expand After Ruling

    VICTORIA - A company in Duncan on Vancouver Island is gearing up to supply nearly 300 customers with medical marijuana in the wake of a federal court ruling striking down a key restriction on sales of the drug. 

    Island Harvest applauded the decision to declare unconstitutional a regulation that had prevented growers from selling marijuana to more than one patient.

    Federal Court Judge Barry Strayer said the Health Canada policy violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    "We were so happy," said Eric Nash, who owns Island Harvest with wife Wendy Little. "Of course, we're not holding our breath, because we know the government will appeal."

    Health Canada has said it's reviewing the court decision, but declined further comment.

    Under Canada's medical marijuana regulations, people can apply to be approved as a legal user. Once approved, they can grow it themselves. They can buy it from the federal government, which has contracted a company to grow it in an abandoned mine shaft in northern Manitoba. Or, under the regulation declared unconstitutional, they could designate a person to grow it for them, but that person is limited to growing for that one person only.

    Under that regulation, Island Harvest could only sell to two patients - one each for owners Nash and Little. 

    Nash called the ruling a victory for patients and businesses alike.

    "It allows us to supply more patients, to help more people, and basically, as a business, actually have a potential to make some income," he said. "The impact on us is quite profound, because we've had hundreds of patients request our certified organic product over the last couple of years.

    "Of course, now we have to scramble to get product available," he said. "It's a big difference supplying hundreds of people than it is two people."

    A meeting has been scheduled with federal prosecutors and a B.C. Supreme Court judge next week to discuss the case

    © Canwest News Service 2008

    For more information about Island Harvest and certified organic Medical Marijuana please visit HERE

    1/13/08

    Reform in the States for 2008

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    DPA's work for reform at the state level makes an immediate difference in people's lives, helping to support the broader vision of a wholesale end to the war on drugs. In 2007, our work brought syringe availability to New Jersey and Los Angeles, passed a medical marijuana law in New Mexico, and protected treatment-instead-of-incarceration in California.

    With many state legislatures going into session in January, DPA's 2008 state work is kicking into high gear. Prominent themes for this year across several of the states we work in include medical marijuana, overdose prevention, effective treatment and sentencing reform.

    The passage of medical marijuana legislation in New Mexico last year has helped to create momentum for other states in 2008. We will be educating legislators and advocating for medical marijuana access this year in Alabama, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey.

    Overdose prevention also has momentum this year thanks to a 2007 law passed in New Mexico. New Mexico's 911 Good Samaritan law helps protect people who are witnessing an overdose from drug possession charges if they call emergency services. DPA will be working in several other states to pass similar lifesaving legislation. More on this HERE

    To learn about the latest developments in your state, make sure you're signed up for DPA's action alerts. To receive alerts specific to your area, be sure to indicate what state you're in.

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    FIGHTING THE DRUG CZARS PROPAGANDA TOUR

    10533 Last year, activists met the Office of National Drug Control Policy with sharp questions and literature at every stop on the Drug Czar's tour to promote potentially harmful random student drug testing. Just last month, following education efforts by the Drug Policy Alliance of New Jersey, a New Jersey school district recommended against moving forward with a random student drug testing proposal. Our public education efforts about the dangers of random student drug testing are working.

    But the ONDCP persists in pursuing its failed strategy.  Despite such strong opposition, the Drug Czar's staff are intensifying their efforts to convince local educators to start drug testing students--randomly and without cause. This winter, the ONDCP is hosting five student drug testing summits over the next two months -- more than double the number they held in the same time frame last year.

    We will not let the Drug Czar have the last word on random student drug testing.

    For full details of this and the planned action including summit dates and venues please go HERE

    To learn more about the Drug Policy Alliance or sign up for E-Publications go HERE

    section_title_text_news

    1/12/08

    Doctors hazy on medical pot - study

    OTTAWA -- Physicians who approve the use of medicinal marijuana say their clinical knowledge of the drug is hazy and they rely heavily on their patients to help them craft treatment plans, according to interviews conducted for Health Canada.

    The doctors' knowledge of medical marijuana "had most often come directly (in anecdotal form) from their patients' experience with the drug," concludes the study of physician attitudes by Montreal firm Les Etudes de Marche Createc.

    "This model obscures the boundary between physician and patient and contravenes conventional medical practice which relies almost exclusively on scientific evidence-based information," the study says.

    "Many physicians expressed concern about this blurring of boundary."

    The study, from March to June 2007, drew from a pool of 917 doctors across the country. The group was then narrowed to 30.

    Overall, the group did not view marijuana as a "high risk" drug and agreed that the positive effects for medical purposes outweighed its negative effects.

    But doctors still felt they needed to know much more about marijuana.

    Health Canada has authorized its use for severe pain, nausea and muscle spasms among those with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, arthritis, cancer and HIV/AIDS, and for seizures from epilepsy.

    this from wwwedmontonsun.com

    UK: I was right to downgrade cannabis: David Blunkett (Ex UK home secretary)


    David Blunkett has made an unexpected announcement, speaking out against the British Govt's attempt to re-classify cannabis back to a class 'b' drug, the former Home Secretary has launched an unprecedented attack on Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his cabinets plans to apply tougher sentences on otherwise law abiding citizens who choose to use cannabis instead of alcohol.

    According to Blunkett, reclassifying cannabis risks wasting police time pursuing casual users of the drug, he is also quoted as saying he feels "politically liberated", " i don't want the children of my cabinet colleagues or the shadow cabinet to find they are treated differently than their own parents were at university" he continued, " there has been a marked fall in cannabis use, which is a result of people being better informed of the risks involved with using he substance", "I dont want the police to have to chase those foolish enough to break the law using small amounts of cannabis, i want them to focus on the pushers and traffickers",

    he said, " I understand the politics of sending signals, but i hope we don't throw the baby out with the bath water. the police said my changes would give them the freedom to target class 'a' drugs", "i would like them to continue doing that"

    More on this HERE at
     
    http://cannazine.co.uk

    Cannabis Chronicles - The Reasons Behind Gordon Browns Marijuana Madness

    The governments constant referrals to the "social problems" caused by cannabis have been put firmly into perspective for what they are this week, as new figures released by the Department of Health have shown what can only be described as a "catastrophic" rise in the numbers of young people being treated for alcohol abuse, or dying as a result of it!

    People are literally drinking themselves to death as a result of this 24 hour availability of alcohol.

    A drug which suffers far more widescale abuse than cannabis ever has, a drug which brings with it far more social implications than cannabis does, as well as being a drug which kills far too many UK citizens every single year and without fail.

    These are the facts, no matter how the government attempts to spin them and no matter how the Labour-supporting press reads otherwise. But with increasing pressure from the big spending 'alcohol lobby', who feed literally millions of pounds per year into the Exchequor, the government seem ill-prepared to do anything at all about it

     

    The rest of this interesting article from CannaZine HERE

    Appeals court snuffs out warrantless marijuana search

    This from the San Francisco Chronicle

    Police can't enter a home without a warrant just because they see someone inside smoking marijuana, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

    In overturning a Pacifica man's conviction, the state Court of Appeal in San Francisco said officers may enter someone's home to preserve evidence of a crime - but only if the crime is punishable by jail or prison.

    Under a 1975 California law, the court noted, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of as much as $100, with no jail time even for a repeat offense. That means police who see someone smoking can enter only if they have the resident's permission or a warrant from a judge, the court said.

    The case dated from March 2005, when Pacifica officers came to an apartment where loud noises had been reported, smelled marijuana as they approached, and looked through an opening in the window blinds to see someone smoking what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette among a group of people.

    Over the objections of John Hua, who lived at the apartment, police entered and found two marijuana cigarettes in the living room, 46 marijuana plants in a bedroom and an illegal cane sword on a bookshelf, the court said. After a San Mateo County judge upheld the search, Hua pleaded no contest to cultivating marijuana and possession of the cane sword and served a 60-day jail sentence, his lawyer said.

    In defense of the search, prosecutors argued that police had reason to believe there was more than an ounce of marijuana elsewhere in the apartment - enough to subject Hua to a possible one-year jail sentence - and that Hua or others might be committing felonies by handing marijuana cigarettes to each other.

    The court said the first argument was based on "mere conjecture" and the second was a misinterpretation of the law, which prescribes the same maximum $100 fine for giving away a marijuana cigarette as for smoking it. Justice Mark Simons wrote the 3-0 ruling.

    The court recognized that "California's law treats possession of marijuana as the least serious crime," said Hua's lawyer, Gordon Brownell.

    As West Coast coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Brownell recalled, he drafted the 1975 marijuana law for then-state Sen. George Moscone, the San Francisco Democrat who later became the city's mayor and was assassinated in 1978. The law was signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown, now the state attorney general and head of the office arguing to uphold Hua's conviction.

    Deputy Attorney General Ronald Niver said he would recommend appealing the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

    "It's difficult to accept the proposition that if you see marijuana in one room, you cannot draw the inference that there's marijuana in another room," he said. "It's like saying that if you see the streets are wet, you can't infer that it's raining."

    Another Breakthrough Discovered in Medical Marijuana Cancer Treatment

    marijuana_leaf330 

    Researchers learned that cannabinoids have been associated with anti-carcinogenic effects, which are responsible in preventing or delaying the development of cancer.

    (SALEM, Ore.) - A new study reveals that Medical Marijuana can be an effective treatment for cancer, that is the word announced by doctors in Germany who concluded that this clarification of the mechanism of cannabinoid action may help investigators to further explore their therapeutic benefit.

    The medical article was originally published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access and online on December 25th 2007.

    Cancer cells that were treated with combinations of cannabinoids, antagonists of cannabinoid receptors, and small interfering ribo nucleic acid or 'siRNA' to tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) were assessed for invasiveness, protein expression, and activation of signal transduction pathways.

    The biggest contribution of this breakthrough discovery, is that the expression of TIMP-1 was shown to be stimulated by cannabinoid receptor activation and to mediate the anti-invasive effect of cannabinoids.

    In other words, they learned that treatment with cannabinoids, one of the active ingredients of the medicinal side of marijuana, has been shown to reduce the invasiveness of cancer cells. Prior to now the cellular mechanisms underlying this effect were unclear and the relevance of the findings to the behavior of tumor cells in vivo remains to be determined.

    For more on this story from Salem news.com HERE

    1/11/08

    North Carolina Cancer Patient Shot by Police: Victim of War on Medical Marijuana, Activists Say.

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    Medical marijuana advocates in Texas lament the fate of a cancer patient turned federal fugitive who was shot and killed during a drug raid last week at his North Raleigh home.

    Stephen Scott Thornton, 45, of 5401 Alpine Drive died Friday afternoon from wounds received as sheriff's deputies and Wake County Alcohol Beverage Control officers forced their way into his home that morning to search for evidence of marijuana plants.

    On the Web site of Texans for Medical Marijuana, a grass-roots organization that lobbied for legalizing the drug for pain management, Thornton in 2006 described himself as a thyroid cancer survivor who used marijuana to control chronic pain, eliminate nausea and gain weight.

    A Wake County sheriff's deputy, Sgt. Ronnie Byrd, was shot in the leg during the raid. Byrd was treated at WakeMed and released.

    The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident, standard procedure when a law officer shoots someone. No ABC officer or Wake deputy has been placed on administrative leave as a result of the shootings. ABC Chief Lew Nuckles declined to comment Tuesday.

    "It's being investigated by the SBI, and we don't want to hinder their investigation," Nuckles said.

    When sheriff's deputies and ABC officers entered Thornton's home, they found evidence of a full-scale marijuana-growing operation, including 43 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, soil additives, lights and plant-growing chemicals, according to a search warrant made public Monday.

    Thornton was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. He fled Texas in late 2005, before he was to be sentenced by a federal judge for possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance and for distributing marijuana and marijuana plants.

    Texans for Medical Marijuana disbanded in May after two bills the group supported to legalize the medical use of marijuana stalled in the state legislature. Its former executive director, Noelle Davis, did not know Thornton but said that he was likely living with a lot of shame because he had to use an illegal substance for relief from his illness and that his fear of prison was probably compounded by the prospect of receiving inadequate medical treatment.

    "It could have been a death sentence for him," said Davis, who now works as a consultant for the Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States.

    A Republican activist and medical marijuana advocate, Ann Lee of Houston, called Thornton a casualty of a failed war on drugs.

    "They took a life because of it," said Lee, whose paraplegic son is a medical marijuana user. "Why have they spent $30 billion and not achieved a single goal?"

    Davis said Texans for Medical Marijuana did not endorse the distribution of marijuana, but the organization did acknowledge the practice.

    "We have to understand why people go to those extremes," she said. "When your quality of life is on the line, you are going to take a risk."

    Thomasi McDonald

    January 9, 2008

    The News & Observer

    Initiative Would Make Marijuana Legal For Sick

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    Arizona voters may get a chance this year to do what they thought they were doing in 1996: allow people who are ill to possess and use marijuana legally.
    An initiative being crafted would spell out that individuals who are certified by their doctors as needing the drug would be able to possess small amounts — the details are still being worked out — without running afoul of state law. They also would be able to grow their own drugs.
    Backers, organized as the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project, have until July 3 to get the 153,365 signatures necessary to put the measure on the November ballot.
    Financing for the initiative is coming from the national Marijuana Policy Project which bills itself as the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the country. It already has kicked in $10,000.
    That organization is no stranger to state initiatives: It also was behind a 2006 Nevada ballot measure to decriminalize marijuana and instead regulate and tax it. But that initiative picked up just 44 percent of the vote.
    Two years earlier, though, it financed a successful medical initiative in Montana.
    Dan Bernath, a spokesman for the national group, said it appears voters are more willing to allow people who are ill to use marijuana than to make its possession legal for everyone.
    That has proven to be the case in Arizona, where by a 2-1 margin voters in 1996 approved a law allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana — and various other illegal drugs — to patients who are seriously or terminally ill.
    That law was ratified again two years later by voters after state legislators attempted to partially repeal it.
    But a 2002 initiative, which included a provision to reduce the penalty for possession of up to 2 ounces to a fine, picked up just 43 percent of the vote.
    The new initiative comes because the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency effectively quashed the 1996 law by threatening to revoke all prescription-writing privileges of any physician who prescribed otherwise illegal drugs to their Arizona patients. The result is no Arizona doctor has written such a prescription.
    Alternate language for this measure, still being worked out, would allow doctors to “recommend” marijuana.
    That distinction is crucial: The U.S. Supreme Court, in a historic 2003 ruling, blocked the DEA from going after California doctors who, using that state’s law, recommend a patient use marijuana.
    That still leaves the question of how patients are supposed to get the drugs in the first place.
    Courts have allowed agents to pursue suppliers. And some of the “dispensaries” in California have been raided.
    Bernath said that is why states which have adopted medical marijuana laws since California allow patients or a “designated caregiver” to grow a set amount of the drug.
    “This keeps it small enough that the federal government doesn’t turn its attention to those kind of things,” he said.
    That defeated 2002 initiative attempted to deal with the supply problem by allowing anyone with a doctor’s recommendation to get up to 2 ounces of marijuana, free, each month from the state Department of Public Safety, which presumably would have obtained its supply from drugs seized from those who lack the necessary state permission.
    That initiative was opposed by Janet Napolitano, then the state attorney general and, at the time, a candidate for governor, despite her admission of having indulged.
    “I experimented in college a little bit and regret doing it,” she said at the time. “When you’re in college you do a lot of dumb stuff.

    biggerhonk_med

    The Truth About Driving When You're High on Marijuana

    This from StoptheDrugWar.org

    Concerns about stoned drivers careening across our nation's highways are frequently cited as a justification for the continued criminalization of marijuana. Given the massive casualties associated with drunk driving, it's easy to understand how the specter of increased roadside fatalities can be effective in reinforcing negative attitudes about marijuana. However, a new report reveals that, while stoned driving isn't smart, it's hardly the death sentence some would have us believe.

    NORML's Paul Armentano has prepared a scientific review of over a dozen studies evaluating marijuana's effect on psychomotor skills and the risks posed by marijuana intoxication behind the wheel. Armentano finds that marijuana impairment is generally "subtle and short-lived," falling far short of the threats posed by drunk driving.

    Although acute cannabis intoxication following smoking has been shown to mildly impair psychomotor skills, this impairment is seldom severe or long lasting. In closed course and driving simulator studies, marijuana’s acute effects on psychomotor performance include minor impairments in tracking (eye movement control) and reaction time, as well as variation in lateral positioning, headway (drivers under the influence of cannabis tend to follow less closely to the vehicle in front of them), and speed (drivers tend to decrease speed following cannabis inhalation). In general, these variations in driving behavior are noticeably less consistent or pronounced than the impairments exhibited by subjects under the influence of alcohol. Also, unlike subjects impaired by alcohol, individuals under the influence of cannabis tend to be aware of their impairment and try to compensate for it accordingly, either by driving more cautiously or by expressing an unwillingness to drive altogether. [see original for citations]

    Of course, the point here isn’t that one should get stoned and cruise the strip blasting Led Zeppelin. But this is information one would want if they were trying to create a smart marijuana policy as opposed to the disgraceful mess of legislative lunacy currently passing for marijuana law in America.

    Whenever someone claims that marijuana makes you sick or crazy; that it will cause you to crash your car, kill your comrades, or catastrophically co-opt your common sense, just look for the corpses. Where are they? I've looked high and low, but I can't find the disastrous consequences of marijuana use apparent anywhere other than the Drug Czar's predictably propagandized press releases.

    But to be fair, there are two horrible things about marijuana that everyone should be mindful of and they are as follows: 1) the smell attracts cops, nosy neighbors, and mooches and 2) the stuff remains detectable in your system for up to a month, thereby enabling various authorities to become needlessly aware of your activities.

    If not for these two unfortunate conditions, the marijuana war wouldn't even begin to work, and the blockheads who've been bothering to fight it would've wandered off decades ago.

    Full text of the report, "Cannabis and Driving: A Scientific and Rational Review," is available online at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459.

    For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.

    Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Fri, 01/11/2008

    Abuse of cannabis puts 500 a week in hospital in UK

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    By James Kirkup and Richard Edwards

    Last Updated: 2:48am GMT 11/01/2008

    The public health impact of the Government's decision to downgrade cannabis is disclosed today in official figures showing a 50 per cent rise in the number of people requiring medical treatment after using the drug.

  • Your view: how dangerous is cannabis?

    Since cannabis was downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug, the number of adults being treated in hospitals and clinics in England for its effects has risen to more than 16,500 a year. In addition, the number of children needing medical attention after smoking the drug has risen to more than 9,200.

    Doctors say cannabis abuse can contribute to a series of mental health problems

    Almost 500 adults and children are treated in hospitals and clinics every week for the effects of cannabis.

    Its health toll is revealed in official data compiled by health authorities and obtained by The Daily Telegraph.

  • Full Story from 'The Daily Telegraph'  HERE

    More on this story from the 'Daily Mail' HERE

    BTW, Both these papers are known for their right wing views in the UK and do love to bash the Labour Govt and the decision to downgrade Cannabis from a class 'B' to a class 'C'  whenever possible.

    Hmmmm. Did I Leave the Water Running?

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Overwatering your plants is never a good idea, especially if they're illegal. Police were called to a three-family house in New Haven Wednesday on a report of a water leak from a second floor apartment into the first floor.

    Firefighters responded to the apartment, where they say they found a large marijuana growing system operation with a leaking watering system.

    State and local police returned with a search warrant Thursday and found more than 331 marijuana plants with a street value of about $1.6 million, police said.

    Mario J. Pena, 29, of New Haven, was arrested and charged with possessing marijuana with intent to sell, illegal cultivation of marijuana and operating a drug factory, state police said. He was being held on $500,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in court Friday.

    This from the 'associated press'

    I am resisting saying anything about these  $5000 plants the police keep finding,  but i would love to see those babies, they must look like beanstalks!!!!!! $5000 each plant indeed!!!!!!

    A medical marijuana dispensary could soon be opening in Templeton

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    (So it's not all bad news!!!)

    Reported by: Lauren Knight

    TEMPLETON

    A medical marijuana dispensary could soon be opening in Templeton.

    The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission approved a permit request to open a facility to provide cannabis to patients with a prescription. The facility will provide counseling and educational services to patients when they receive the marijuana.

    "Finally, they approved us to open. So that means we'll be able to serve the community pretty soon and we look forward to being an example of how a dispensary can be a positive part of our community," said Austen Conella.

    There is a two week appeal period for those opposed to the permit. If there are no appeals, the dispensary could open in 30 days.

     

    To watch the video report from 6 action news go HERE

    Court strikes down limit on medical marijuana

    A Federal Court judge has struck down a government regulation which prevents medical marijuana growers from producing the drug for more than one patient.

    The decision by Judge Barry Strayer essentially grants medical marijuana users more freedom in picking their own grower, rather than relying on the government as a supplier.

    Medical marijuana patients had argued that the restriction was unfair and prevented seriously ill Canadians from obtaining the drug they needed to treat their debilitating illnesses.

    Currently, medical users can grow their own pot but growers can't supply the drug to more than one user at a time.

    Lawyers for the medical users said that restriction effectively established Health Canada as the country's sole legal provider of medical marijuana.

    They complained the drug provided by the government was substandard and didn't meet the needs of many patients who use it to treat chronic ailments.

    This from wwwthestar.co

    There is more on the effects of this ruling in 'The Canadian Press'  HERE

    Medical Marijuana Payback Burns Colorado Police, Aurora Grower Blazes New Legal Trail

    this story from washingtonpost.com

    Policing pot in Colorado is about to get a lot more complicated. The kick-in-the-door raids SWAT teams have long employed could now cost cities hundreds of thousands of dollars following two landmark court decisions upholding the state's constitutional protection of medical marijuana. Under the rulings, police departments are required to return any marijuana and paraphernalia taken from state-sanctioned growers, and can be sued by those growers if the crops aren't preserved.

    The largest case thus far involves Kevin Dickes, who intends to sue the Denver suburb of Aurora for over $360,000 in pot damages. It comes less than a month after a judge ordered the return of an estimated $200,000 of medical marijuana to a couple in Fort Collins.

    Dickes, a 38-year-old Desert Shield Marine who suffers from debilitating pain after catching grenade shrapnel in the Gulf, says he was treated worse by Colorado police than by anyone in Iraq. In April, 2007 officers raided his home after receiving a tip from a neighbor and, according to his lawyer Robert J. Corry Jr., threw the disabled veteran to the ground, held him at gunpoint and ransacked his home. They found 71 marijuana plants, at least 65 of which they confiscated illegally, and they charged Dickes with felony cultivation. After eight months of legal wrangling, the Arapahoe County district attorney dismissed the charges, determining that Dickes was in fact a certified grower. But, by then, his plants were long dead.

    the rest of this story can be found HERE

    1/10/08

    Police: Illinois Flower Shop Grew Marijuana

    ALTON, Ill. —  Authorities in Madison County say the owner of an Alton florist shop and three of his kids grew a lot more than flowers.

    Jeffrey Izard, his 22-year-old daughter and his two sons, ages 24 and 30, were charged Wednesday with possessing marijuana with plans to deliver the drug. All are free on $15,000 bond.

    Alton police and federal agents reportedly found marijuana and related growing equipment in the Izard apartment above Kinzel Flower Shop, as well as in a nearby house the father owned.

    Jeffrey Izard says he made "a foolish mistake" and that he's generally been a good, law-abiding citizen.

    1/8/08

    Marijuana Bust And A Quick Math Lesson!!!

    COLORADO SPRING, Colo. -- Police in Colorado Springs seized about $403,000 worth of marijuana from a home that police say was the site of a major marijuana cultivation operation.

    On Jan. 5, investigators got a tip that marijuana was being grown at a home on Argus Drive, said Colorado Springs Police spokesman Lt. Skip Arms.

    Officers asked to talk with the homeowner and "were stuck with an overwhelming smell of raw marijuana," Arms said.

    The officers searched the home and found 342 marijuana plants, 1,440 grams of refined marijuana, 63 grams of mushrooms, 161 grams of Peyote and three firearms, Arms said.

    The marijuana is described as high grade, Arms said, that yields much higher levels of THC (the main chemical in marijuana). Well that's the report from the 'Denver channel.com'.

    Now the math lesson, Lets suppose the 342 plants was an average 'skunk', developed to grow under lights indoors, these plants would produce  1 female for each male, now we are down to approx' 171 females, the sheriff says this haul is worth $396,000, ( I've knocked $7,000 off to cover the Weed and mushrooms he had dried already and the guns???) this means each plant would have to produce $2,321 worth of Marijuana, assuming average skunk sells at $4,000 per kilo, (2.2 lbs)  that means each plant must produce around 580 grams,(1lb 3 oz), to give you an idea how far off the mark the police are,  below I've posted a few examples from one of the finest Marijuana seed companies in Holland,  'Sensi-Seeds' who are a multi-award winning Cannabis seed Company their plants are bred to produce maximum yields of maximum potency Marijuana,  these are the average yields when grown under ideal conditions, all 3 are known as quite 'heavy croppers' :-

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    Sensi Seeds Big Bud
    Indoor Flowering: 50-70 days Height: 140-160 cm Yield: up to 120 gr New improved 10 seed box

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    Sensi Seeds Afghani #1
    Indoor Flowering: 45 days Height: 100-130 cm Yield: up to 125 gr New improved 10 seed box. An absolute must for the true Indica love

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    Sensi Seeds ED ROSENTHAL SUPER BUD
    Flowering: 55-65 days. Height: 110-140 cm. Yield: 135 gr. Ed Rosenthal Super Bud is gourmet ganja with cash-cropping potential - the only drawback being that growers may find those harvests hard to part with.

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    As you can clearly see the average yield of dried Marijuana is only 100 to 125 gramme, (4 to 5ozs) not 580 grammes (19oz) and nothing close to the amounts the Police, DEA and Sherriffs office bandy around, just another example of 'F*** the truth' in the never ending 'Drugs War'.

    PS, I had thought the sheriff's valuation of $2,300 was way over the top, i since found that the DEA actually calculate on $5,200 per plant!!!, incredible.