Who's Who Of Marijuana/Drug Activist Org's

Who Are......... NORML.ORG (National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

NORML Mission Statement :-

NORML's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty.

Adopted by the NORML Board of Directors, February 27, 1999

NORML Policy Statement :-

NORML supports the right of adults to use marijuana responsibly, whether for medical or personal purposes. All penalties, both civil and criminal, should be eliminated for responsible use. Further, to eliminate the crime, corruption and violence associated with any "black market," a legally regulated market should be established where consumers could buy marijuana in a safe and secure environment.

NORML also supports the legalization of hemp (non-psychoactive marijuana) for industrial use.

• Policies
  • Personal Use
  • Medical Use
  • Industrial Hemp
• Position Papers
  • Personal Use
  • Medical Use
  • Industrial Use
• Download NORML Policy Statement as a Brochure HERE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who Are DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE :-

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation's leading organization of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good.

In our vision of tomorrow, people are not punished simply for what they put into their bodies but only for harm done to others. We fight for drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights. Our work spans issues from medical marijuana to youth drug education. We work to ensure that our nation’s drug policies no longer arrest, incarcerate, disenfranchise and otherwise harm millions of nonviolent people, especially people of color.

The Drug Policy Alliance Goal's include :-

Eliminate criminal penalties for marijuana, except those involving distribution of drugs to children.

Fight for legally accessible marijuana for medical purposes.

Stop racially discriminatory drug policies and draconian enforcement tactics.

Support sensible harm reduction measures, including syringe access to reduce HIV/AIDS,

Make methadone maintenance and other effective drug treatment more accessible and available.

Remove obstacles for treating chronic pain and terminal disease with opiates and other medications.

For a complete list of DPA Goals go HERE

The Drug Policy Alliance Projects :-

• Safety First: A Reality Approach to Teens and Drugs

• New Mexico Drug Policy Project

• Proposition 36 (California)

• HelpStopAids

• International Harm Reduction Development (IHRD)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who Are STOPTHEDRUGWAR.ORG (DCRNet)

StoptheDrugWar.org (DCRNet) is an international organization working for an end to drug prohibition worldwide and for interim policy reform in US drug laws and criminal justice system Read more about DRCNet.

About the Drug Reform Co-ordination Network (DCRNet) :-

Stop the Drug War (DRCNet) calls for an end to drug prohibition (e.g. some form of legalization), and its replacement with some sensible framework in which drugs can be regulated and controlled instead. Founded in 1993 by executive director David Borden, DRCNet has from the beginning called unambiguously for an end to prohibition; we are the largest "full-purpose" national membership organization with a wide range of programs to hold that position.

DRCNet is the acknowledged leader in the field of online educational publishing in drug policy reform. Our educational programs are global in scope; currently the primary ones include the acclaimed weekly online newsletter Drug War Chronicle, and now the "Stop the Drug War Speakeasy" blogosphere network. Drug War Chronicle is a major resource used extensively by activists, media and leaders in a range of relevant professions to empower their work. DRCNet's "Prohibition in the Media" campaign, which is organized as a part of the "Speakeasy," seeks to have mainstream media outlets recognize the consequences of prohibition as such in their reporting. In 2003 DRCNet organized an educational Latin American drug legalization summit in Mexico, in which legislators from six nations including a Colombian senator and former supreme court chief justice participated, a record level of high-level political participation for a drug reform conference.

DRCNet is also a "support" organization that uses our 32,000+ online network and publishing venues to build, support and amplify the work of all the other organizations in the movement -- DRCNet in fact directly started or enabled the founding of three other organizations, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Flex Your Rights and Drugsense.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who Are MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT

About the Marijuana Policy Project

With more than 24,000 dues-paying members and more than 180,000 e-mail subscribers, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. Incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1995, MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana — both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use.

MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is prison. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.

MPP's Vision Statement

MPP envisions a country with public policies that:

1. allow for the responsible medical and non-medical use of marijuana, and
2. minimize the harms associated with marijuana consumption and the laws that manage its use.

MPP's Mission Statement

MPP pursues its work along two parallel tracks — making marijuana medically available to patients in need (known as "legalizing medical marijuana"), and taxing and regulating marijuana for general adult use (known as "marijuana regulation"). Specifically, MPP pursues the following mission (strategies) to achieve its vision:

1. Increase public support for marijuana regulation.
2. Identify and activate supporters of medical marijuana and marijuana regulation.
3. Change state laws to legalize medical marijuana and/or regulate marijuana.
4. Increase the credibility of marijuana policy reform on Capitol Hill.

To Be Continued........

Stop John Walters From Stealing Your Money

A recent investigation by the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform found that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) used taxpayer money to boost support for Republican candidates in 2006. U.S. Drug Czar John Walters and his deputies travelled to almost twenty events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the election. The taxpayer-financed trips were orchestrated by President Bush's political advisors and often combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.

The Drug Czar's office has been caught using taxpayer money to influence elections. Tell your members of Congress to amend federal law to prohibit the Drug Czar and his deputies from using taxpayer money to lobby or campaign.

For more on this plus a ready made message for your representatives (just personalize yours) at Drug Policy Alliance.

It's Time For Some Frank Talk On Marijuana

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is proposing a bill that would remove federal penalties for possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

Why do we need a federal bill?

Because the rest of the country is far behind Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon in decriminalizing the herb, with Michigan on the verge of approving a similar bill.

We need a federal bill because we need to put an end to this fruitless, expensive prohibition once and for all.

We need a federal bill because of the growing number of people across the nation who are clamoring for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses.

We need a federal bill because the prohibition of marijuana is rooted in racism, fear and greed, not science.

The Cliff Notes version of a piece written for the Virginia Law Review on how marijuana became illegal begins in about 1910 with a cast of characters that runs the gamut from migrant farm workers to polygamist pot smokers; from Pancho Villa to William Randolph Hearst; from the nation's first drug czar Harry Anslinger - who led a vicious, unfounded assault on marijuana - to the DuPont chemical company. (For the full story on why and how marijuana became illegal, go to http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/vlr/vlrtoc.htm;http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm andhttp://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html)

Franks proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 3 1/2  ounces of marijuana. Adults who consume marijuana would no longer face arrest, prison or even the threat of a civil fine. In addition, the bill would eliminate all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis between adults

This bill is based on the 1972 National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse study commissioned by then-President Richard Nixon, which reported that "the use of drugs for pleasure or other non-medical purposes is not inherently irresponsible; alcohol is widely used as an acceptable part of social activities," and added, "the actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior."

Pot was once described as a gateway drug that would lead our children on a path to dangerous drugs. Today's kids, however, are finding it easier to raid the family medicine cabinet to get high.

We are also finding that the medicinal use of marijuana can be beneficial to those with serious medical conditions, from life-threatening diseases to chronic pain.

Marinol, some experts say, is a good compromise because it's marijuana in pill form and, believe it or not, it's something your doctor can prescribe for you without the DEA crawling all over him.

But, it is cost prohibitive and researchers and patients are finding that because the cannabinoids used to manufacture marinol are so concentrated, they feel like they are either getting too much or not enough of the drug. Those who go for the herb claim they can better regulate their dose by toking on a joint or hitting on a vaporizer because the effects are more immediate and effective                                                                                                                     It's time for our leaders to remove the cultural and nonsensical reasons for the prohibition on marijuana and pass Frank's bill.

Pot Decriminalization Does Not Increase Marijuana Use, Scientific Journal Says

Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Liberalizing marijuana laws is not associated with increased cannabis use among the general public, according to a scientific review published this month in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry.

"[The vast majority of people who use cannabis do so for a limited period of time with few or no negative consequences," states the review. "The negative effects associated with cannabis use are small compared with the negative effects associated with other pleasure drugs, such as nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine.

[Prohibition and criminalization [are] not very likely to lead to different [cannabis] consumption rates or less risky drug use patterns, whereas it may lead to increased contacts of its users with the criminal scene and the legal system, leading to negative effects on their future development."

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the review, "Decriminalization of cannabis" appears in the journal Current Opinion in Psychiatry.

On This Day In History

March 28, 2002: Federal Judge Emmet G. Sullivan rules that the Barr Amendment, which blocks the District of Columbia from considering a medical marijuana voter initiative, infringes on First Amendment rights.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 28, 2003: The Hemp Industries Association, several hemp food and cosmetic manufacturers and the Organic Consumers Association petition the federal Ninth Circuit to again prevent the DEA from ending the legal sale of hemp seed and oil products in the US.

Dutch Health Minister Says Marijuana Is Exempt From July 1 Smoking Ban

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Dutch health minister Ab Klink said visitors to coffee shops will be free to smoke marijuana as long as it is not mixed with tobacco, after a smoking ban affecting all restaurants and bars goes into effect on July 1.

The minister was replying to questions tabled by parliamentary colleagues on whether coffee shops will become completely smoke free when the ban goes into effect.

Current tobacco laws in the Netherlands do not cover the smoking of pure marijuana or cannabis in coffee shops, he said.

Coffee shops also will be allowed to set up separate smoking areas for customers who want to smoke marijuana and tobacco, although staff will not be allowed to serve or do other work inside those areas.

Minister Klink said he would look into the ban's effect on coffee shops at the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009, including what percentage of coffee shops have opened a separate smoking area.

This Week's Corrupt Law Enforcement Stories

Well it's Friday, so it must be Corrupt Cops day!

Thanks to Stopthedrugwar.org

In Laurel, Mississippi, three former members of the Southeast Mississippi Drug Task Force have been sentenced following guilty pleas in a drug corruption scandal. The task force commander, Roger Williams, and agents Randall Parker and Chris Smith pleaded guilty in August to a variety of crimes including conspiracy to falsely and maliciously arrest another, simple assault, obstruction of justice, and embezzlement. Those charges emerged from a 2006 investigation that led to drug charges being dropped in at least 34 cases. Williams got 15 months, Smith got 12 months, and Parker got house arrest because he was the first to come forward and cooperated with authorities.

In Schenectady, New York, 85 rocks of crack have gone missing from the police department evidence room. Police believe the crack was taken and not mislabeled. The missing rocks came to light after a state judge dismissed felony charges against a Schenectady man when the crack couldn't be produced for his trial. Police are now trying to determine if the drugs were stolen or mistakenly thrown away. While they're at it, they're checking to see if anything else is missing. The investigation could take a week or more, police said.

In Bartlesville, Oklahoma, an investigation is underway into drugs missing from the police department evidence room. The opioid pain reliever hydrocodone and methamphetamine seized in a June 2006 raid in Bartlesville turned up missing in January, when prosecutors prepared to prosecute the case (although police officials maintain they told prosecutors about the missing drugs in September). Prosecutors brought in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to look around, but the bureau says the investigation could take months. The department is also undertaking an investigation. The Bartlesville Fraternal Order of Police said bravely in a statement last week it welcomed the investigations.

In Texarkana, Texas, a guard at the Bowie County Correctional Center was arrested Sunday after being caught trying to smuggle marijuana, tobacco, and cigars into the jail. James Porter, 18, was a four-month employee of Civigenics, a private company that operates the jail. His supervisor saw him acting nervously as he entered the jail, searched him, and found the contraband items wrapped in three bundles. He faces state charges of bringing prohibited substances into a correctional facility. He was also fired.

In DeKalb, Georgia, a county sheriff's office jail guard was arrested on January 19 for allegedly sneaking drugs and tobacco into the jail for an inmate. Raymond Green is charged with violation of oath by a public officer and drug trafficking by bringing contraband into a correctional facility. He faces up to five years in prison. He was arrested and fired after a three week investigation by the Sheriff's Office of Professional Standards.

In Miami, a Miami-Dade Correction and Rehabilitation officer was arrested on bribery charges for accepting gifts from an accused drug dealer and allowing him to escape. Shynita Townsend, 43, is accused of accepting diamond earrings, video games, and more than $5,000 cash from an accused dealer who was supposed to be wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet. As a result, the feds say, the dealer was able to continue dealing and, ultimately, able to flee. He remains a fugitive. Townsend is looking at up to 10 years in federal prison.

In Clovis, New Mexico, a former Curry County jail guard was convicted January 18 of smuggling drugs into the jail. Damian Pardue, 30, got into trouble after an inmate told Clovis Police detectives Pardue was delivering drugs to inmates. The drugs would be left in a crumpled bag near Pardue's vehicle, and Pardue would pick them up, take them into the jail, and then deliver them to inmates. Pardue was convicted of conspiracy to commit trafficking by distribution and bringing contraband into the jail. He will be sentenced in March, when he could get up to 18 months on the other side of the bars.

In Cape Coral, Florida, a guard at the Charlotte Correctional Institution was arrested January 19 for allegedly trying to sell two ounces of marijuana to an undercover sheriff's deputy. Sabrina Rose Brownlee, 24, and her roommate arranged to meet the Lee County Sheriff's Department narc at BA Hustler's Bar and sold him 58 grams of weed in the parking lot for $245. The two were arrested shortly afterward. Brownlee is charged with possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and selling marijuana within a thousand feet of a school. She posted a $13,000 bond last Friday morning.

In Des Moines, Iowa, a former state prison guard was sentenced last week to nearly six years in federal prison for cooking and selling methamphetamine. Milton Ringgenberg, 50, pleaded guilty to charges of manufacturing five grams or more of meth and conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five grams or more of meth in October. He admitted that he and his wife, Brenda, cooked and sold meth in the Webster County area. Brenda was sentenced earlier to five years in prison. There is no indication the Ringgenbergs sold their speed inside the prison at Fort Dodge, where he had been employed.

Your Govt Is Lying To You / The NORML Truth Report

In 2003, NORML.ORG published a comprehensive report entitled, "Your Government Is Lying To You (Again) About Marijuana: A Refutation Of The Drug Czar's 'Open Letter To America's Prosecutors."

NORML’s report publicly addresses an ‘open letter’ to America’s prosecutors (dated November 1, 2002) from the White House’s Scott Burns, Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In the letter, Burns insisted, "Nationwide, no drug matches the threat posed by marijuana," and urged law enforcement officials to "aggressively prosecute" marijuana violators. The ONDCP's letter, full of half-truths and outright lies regarding marijuana's alleged dangers, purposely misrepresented the available research in an attempt to justify federal and state policies that result in the arrest of more than 650,000 Americans annually on minor marijuana possession charges.

As a result, NORML has updated and greatly expanded our 2003 report. Like our initial paper, the "NORML Truth Report" relies on the federal government's own science, data, and statistics to rebut the Drug Czar's lies and propaganda.

NORML believes there is nothing to be gained by exaggerating claims of marijuana’s harms. On the contrary, by overstating marijuana’s potential risk, America's policy-makers and law enforcement community undermine their credibility and ability to effectively educate the public of the legitimate harms associated with more dangerous drugs. In addition, exaggerating the dangers associated with the responsible use of marijuana results in the needless arrest of hundreds of thousands of good, productive citizens each year in this country. We cannot remain silent and permit this taxpayer-funded propaganda to occur without a challenge, and we encourage all concerned citizens to refer to this report for the truth and science regarding marijuana and marijuana policy.

It’s time to begin an honest public education campaign about the minimal risks presented by marijuana. Let’s allow science, not rhetoric, to dictate America's public policy regarding marijuana. As you will see, the facts speak for themselves.

• ALLEGATION #1 - “There is a serious drug problem in this country.”
• ALLEGATION #2 - “Nationwide, no drug matches the threat posed by marijuana.”
• ALLEGATION #3 - “60 percent of teenagers in treatment have a primary marijuana diagnosis. This means that the addiction to marijuana by our youth exceeds their addiction rates for alcohol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy and all other drugs combined.”
• ALLEGATION #4 - “We may never rid this country of every crack pipe or marijuana plant. However, research proves that we have made substantial success in reducing drug use in this country.”
• ALLEGATION #5 - “The truth is that marijuana is not harmless.”
• ALLEGATION #6 - “As a factor in emergency room visits, marijuana has risen 176 percent since 1994, and now surpasses heroin.”
• ALLEGATION #7 - “Smoked marijuana leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by the use of cocaine and heroin.”
• ALLEGATION #8 - “One recent study involving a roadside check of reckless drivers (not impaired by alcohol) showed that 45 percent tested positive for marijuana.”
• ALLEGATION #9 - “The truth is that marijuana is addictive. … Marijuana users have an addiction rate of about 10%, and of the 5.6 million drug users who are suffering from illegal drug dependence or abuse, 62 percent are dependent on or abusing marijuana.”
• ALLEGATION #10 - “Average THC levels rose from less than 1% in the late 1970s to more than 7% in 2001, and sinsemilla potency increased from 6% to 13%, and now reach as high as 33%”
• ALLEGATION #11 - “The truth is that marijuana and violence are linked.”
• ALLEGATION #12 - “The truth is that we aren’t imprisoning individuals for just ‘smoking a joint.’ … Nationwide, the percentage of those in prison for marijuana possession as their most serious offense is less than half of one percent (0.46%), and those generally involved exceptional circumstances.”
• ALLEGATION #13 - “The truth is that marijuana is a gateway drug. … People who used marijuana are 8 times more likely to have used cocaine, 15 times more likely to have used heroin, and 5 times more likely to develop a need for treatment of abuse or dependence on ANY drug.”
• ALLEGATION #14 - “The truth is that marijuana legalization would be a nightmare in America. After Dutch coffee shops started selling marijuana in small quantities, use of the drug nearly tripled … between 1984 and 1996. While our nation’s cocaine consumption has decreased by 80 percent over the past 15 years, Europe’s has increased … and the Dutch government has started to reconsider its policy.”
• ALLEGATION #15 - “The truth is that marijuana is not a medicine, and no credible research suggest that it is.”

Drug Czar’s Office Lies About New Hampshire Pot Proposal

March 26th, 2008 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

It took less than one week for the White House to begin publicly lying about New Hampshire House Bill 1623, which seeks to make the possession of up to one-quarter ounce of pot a fine-only offense.

In a factually and grammatically challenged press release, Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns alleged that the proposal — which passed the House last week by a 193 to 141 margin — would decriminalize the “manufacturing” and “distributing” of “over 90 marijuana joints.”

Okay, aside from the fact that the measure applies to possession offenses only, one has to ask, what is up with the White House calculators? If one-quarter ounce of pot equals roughly seven grams, and if one joint contains roughly one gram of marijuana, then what the Hell does the Drug Czar’s office think is in the other 83+ joints?

Of course, regardless of whether it’s the Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns, White House Drug Czar John Walters, or UN Drug Czar Antonio Maria Costa, there’s not a Drug Czar alive who can’t help but lie about marijuana.

To read the ‘box set’ edition of the White House’s lies about pot — and NORML’s comprehensive rebuttal — click HERE

 

 

 

 

Dillon Couple Can Use Medical Marijuana While Case Prosecuted

DILLON (AP) — A Dillon couple charged after a marijuana bust at their house will be allowed to continue using the drug for medicinal purposes while they’re awaiting trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

District Judge Loren Tucker said that although prosecutors allege that Scott H. Day and Summer Sutton-Day were growing 96 marijuana plants to deal the drug, a doctor’s approval that they get to use the drug to help alleviate pain from a variety of ailments justified their continued use. He rejected a request from Beaverhead County Attorney Marv McCann that the couple be denied any access to marijuana.

“They may utilize whatever the M.D. prescribes for them,” Tucker said Tuesday.
Day, 34, and Sutton-Day, 29, are facing felony charges of production, possession and intent to distribute dangerous drugs. The couple’s home north of Dillon was raided on Feb. 1.
Law officers assert they found an elaborate growing operation that included lights, a ventilation system and other hydroponics equipment, court records said. Officials also said they recovered scales, plastic bags and other items that show the couple’s intent was to sell marijuana

The History Of Marijuana - Threat Or Menace

Narrated by James Woods 

>

An Appeal From Drug Policy Alliance

Remember the Aid Elimination Penalty of the Higher Education Act we’ve been talking about? it's   the federal law that denies student loans and other education assistance to students convicted of a drug law violation. Tens of thousands of students have been kicked out of college,  mostly for simple possession of Marijuana. Momentum is building to repeal this unfair law this year, but we need your help.
A few months ago, Rep. Barney Frank (MA) introduced legislation (H.R. 5157) to repeal the Aid Elimination Penalty. It now has 80 co-sponsors, more than enough to show House leadership that there’s support for ending the draconian penalty this year.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (CT) has introduced legislation (S. 2767) that would give judges the option of letting students keep their school loans as part of any sentence to ensure they finish college. If enough senators co-sponsor S. 2767 we believe we can pass it this year--and that’s where you come in.  
Please take a few minutes today to call your two U.S. senators and urge them to co-sponsor S. 2767.

Phone calls will make the biggest impact in this campaign. But if you can't call, you can look up the email addresses and fax numbers for your two U.S. senators a      http://www.senate.gov/ .

It is vital  all senators--Democrats and Republicans--hear from you. Congress needs to know that the American people want this law repealed. People shouldn't be discriminated against simply for what they choose to put into their own bodies absent harm to others, and people convicted of drug law violations shouldn’t be denied opportunities to finish school and put their lives back together.

Thank you,

Bill Piper
Director of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance

 

 

Breaking News: NORML Teams Up with Rep. Barney Frank To Introduce Federal Decriminalization Legislation

Dear NORML Supporters:

NORML is pleased to announce that it has partnered with our longtime ally, Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible cannabis consumers.  The bill, referred to by Frank as the 'Make Room for Serious Criminals Act,' is the first federal cannabis decriminalization bill introduced in Congress in 24 years.

“It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this [issue],” Frank said Friday during an appearance on the nationally syndicated television program 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' in which he announced the imminent introduction of the measure.

As drafted, Frank's proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana.  Under this measure (based on the recommendations of the 1972 National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, also known as the Shafer Commission), adults who consume cannabis would no longer face arrest, prison, or even the threat of a civil fine.  In addition, this bill would eliminate all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis between adults.  In short, for the first time since 1937, the possession, use, and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults would be legal under federal law!

Marijuana decriminalization currently enjoys support from the majority of Americans.  According to a recent CNN/Time Magazine poll, 76% of US citizens favor a cannabis policy that does not place responsible adult cannabis consumers at risk of arrest and prosecution.  Nonetheless, nearly 830,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges this year, 89% of which were for personal possession.

Currently, twelve states, representing over a third of Americans - Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon, along with numerous major cities such as Seattle, Milwaukee, Madison, and Ann Arbor -- have enacted various forms of marijuana decriminalization, replacing criminal sanctions with the imposition of fine-only penalties for minor pot violators.  Similar proposals have passed this year in the House in New Hampshire and the Senate in Vermont, and Massachusetts will be voting on a similar initiative this November.

NORML is pleased to be leading the effort for sensible cannabis law reform at the federal level.  With your support, we look forward to ending the obsolete and destructive practice of arresting responsible adult cannabis consumers.

Regards,

Allen St. Pierre
NORML
Executive Director
director@norml.org

Recent Research on Medical Marijuana

Emerging Clinical Applications For Cannabis & Cannabinoids
A Review of the Recent Scientific Literature, 2000 — 2008

Despite continued political debates regarding the legality of medicinal marijuana, clinical investigations of the therapeutic use of cannabinoids are now more prevalent than at any time in history. A search of the National Library of Medicine's PubMed  website quantifies this fact. A keyword search using the terms "cannabinoids", 1996" reveals just 258 scientific journal articles published on the subject for that year. Perform this same search for the year 2007, and one will find over 3,400 published scientific studies.

As states continue to approve legislation enabling the physician-supervised use of medicinal marijuana, more patients with varying disease types are exploring the use of therapeutic cannabis. Many of these patients and their physicians are now discussing this issue for the first time, and are seeking guidance on whether the therapeutic use of cannabis may or may not be appropriate. This report provides this  by summarizing the most recently published scientific research (2000-2008) on the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids for 17 separate clinical indications in the diagram below.

NORML.ORG Report  HERE

Michigan's High Hope's For Medical Marijuana

The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care is seeking to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes in the state.

The state Board of Canvassers has approved petitions collected by the group, and the proposal is pending in the Legislature.

If the Legislature doesn't pass the proposal into law within 40 days, it will be placed on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

Leaders in the House and Senate have said legislative action on the initiative is unlikely. Gov. Jennifer Granholm said she opposes the proposal. It is thought as many as 40 to 50,000 residents of Michigan may be eligible for Medical Marijuana if this goes through

For full details of the initiative, eligibility, proposed penalties for abusers of any new law, etc,  please go HERE

Judge Zohrab! How Do You Sleep?

Police call at George Moanaroa's address in Blenhiem District, New Zealand on some unrelated matter  when they notice a dozen 6ft high Cannabis plants happlily growing in the garden, so they arrest him, 'surprise surprise', when he is in court last week the Judge (Tony Zohrab) say's " I am not sure that councelling will do you any good so I am sentencing you instead to 100 hours community work!, Doesn't sound so bad does it? till you read this guy is 69 years old! This is ridiculous, even if he was growing the plants just to get high and didn't need the Marijuana for medicine,  SO WHAT!, what a waste of time and money, anyone who gets to 69 can do what ever they want in my book, OK, within reason!, but giving him 2 1/2 weeks work at an age when he should have legally retired at least 5 and even 10 years ago is a disgrace, if this wasn't a case to just give the old sod a bollocking and steal his plants i don't know what is. Seriously,i know 100 hours 'scrubs' isn't the worse injustice you ever saw and i doubt anyone is planning a mass protest over this, but, imagine if the guy has a stroke or his heart gives up because of this enforced work! he could have effectively  received a death penalty for 12 plants, SHAME ON  YOU JUDGE ZOHRAB.

Any growers in the Blenheim District that want to drop a bud off at Georges place ?, i'm sure his address will not be hard to find in the Town Hall records.

That Was Then............

"The same pack of wolves which has just fallen on its prey....     The [Jewish person's] life... a parasite in the body of other nations..." Genocidal Maniac  Adolf Hitler 1925

This Is Now............

"It's much easier for law enforcement to stomp on cockroaches than to fight wolves..." US Drug Czar John Walters 2007

M M M M M M.

This Weeks Colorful 'Corrupt Cop' Stories

Brought to us by Stopthedrugwar.org (21/3/2008 week)

A crooked Boston cop is headed for prison, a sticky-fingered Indianapolis cop now faces charges, and the trial of two Maryland prisoners accused of killing a guard is opening a window into corruption in the now shuttered House of Corrections. Let's get to it:

In Boston, a former Boston police officer was sentenced Monday to 18 years in federal prison for protecting cocaine shipments for FBI agents posing as drug dealers. Former Officer Nelson Carrasquillo was one of three Boston officers nailed in the sting; one other was sentenced to 13 years, while the other has yet to be sentenced. They were arrested in 2006 after traveling to Miami to collect $36,000 in payment from the supposed dealers. Carrasquillo provided counter-surveillance services, monitored Boston police radio, and guided a drug dealer in his travels, prosecutors said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Indianapolis, an Indianapolis police officer was arrested Monday for stealing a $725 money order during the search of a drug suspect's home and cashing it for himself last year. Officer Jason Edwards, 36, is charged with forgery and theft. Edwards was one of a group of narcotics officers who raided the home last December. The suspect later reported that the money order, with which he intended to pay his rent, was missing. His bank told him the money order had been cashed, with Jason Edwards in the "pay to the order of" line, and a Jason Edwards signature on the back. The suspect then contacted police, and Edwards subsequently admitted to taking the money order, although he claimed he found it on the ground outside . The eight-year veteran is now suspended without pay.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Baltimore, 21 prison guards at the Maryland House of Corrections were implicated in contraband smuggling and other corrupt activities, according to state police reports given to defense attorneys for two inmates accused of killing a guard at the now shuttered prison. That guard, David McGuinn, was one of two killed at the prison during 2006, which led Gov. Martin O'Malley to shut it down shortly after he took office. Defense attorneys for the inmates are using the state police reports to allege that corrupt guards involved in smuggling "ordered the hit" on McGuinn, that they moved critical evidence -- the shank used to stab him -- and that they beat up an inmate and planted the shank on him to cover-up a beating they inflicted on him the day of McGuinn's death. Look for more to be revealed as this case moves forward

AND FINALLY...........

You Know the Drug War's Gone Too Far When It Shows You Its Penis!

Allegations of weird and inappropriate behavior by narcotics officers have become so commonplace that one struggles to feign shock or surprise upon learning of them.

A drug informant's allegations that a Marin narcotics agent offered her leniency in exchange for three-way sex - and then sent a photo of his penis to her cell phone - have left a legal mess at the Hall of Justice that could take months to clean up. [Marin Independent Journal]

This poor woman agreed to cooperate after being arrested for selling an ounce of marijuana, and the next thing she knows, there's a penis in her phone. Prosecutors subsequently dropped the charges against her, so the penis was ultimately the only punishment she received. Not a bad deal by drug war standards, but it does make you wonder…

Will investigators be contacting other female informants this detective worked with? My understanding is that people who like to show other people their penis tend to do so habitually. For all we know,( and i bet its not far off the truth) this cop could have been going around for years targeting women for arrest and then texting them pictures of his penis.

The bottom line is that the entire process of turning arrestees into informants is at best, inherently coercive, and at worst, morally dubious to begin with. When you have undercover cops making shady deals with drug defendants, it's just a matter of time before someone sees a penis, and another drug war cop ends up looking like one!.

HYPOCRACY AND ARNIE (ONE IN THE SAME)

This Weeks 'Dumbest Move'

SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian man's complaint of an break-in at his home went to pot Friday when police arrested him for growing marijuana.
The 35-year-old man in the central Australian city of Adelaide called police to report that six men had broken into his house through a window and stolen parts of his cannabis plants, South Australia Police said.

  The police were unable to find the intruders but brought a drug warrant to search the home, where they found six large cannabis plants growing in two bedrooms, police said in a statement.
The man was charged with cultivating cannabis for sale.

"Members of the public are reminded that the growing of cannabis is not only illegal but can also attract other criminal activity such home break-ins and assaults," the statement said.

That was a pretty stupid move but in the comments under another Marijuana bust report was something far more stupid :-

Mr. Burns wrote on Mar 20, 2008 3:46 PM: HERE

" I love just about all of God's creations, even sharks and poison oak. But marijuana is one evil, evil plant. These men should get the death penalty! "

Can you believe that?, i am not violent or a sex offender but i  would like to stick my dick in this guy's ear and F*** some sense into him, what a TWAT!

MARIJUANA PROHIBITION AND PUBLIC SAFETY

After seven interviews with  Police Officer and Detective Howard Wooldridge of Lansing, Michigan (retired) concerning the “War on Drugs,” hundreds of readers responded. U.S. taxpayers do not understand the incredible deception perpetrated on them by the Drug War. You might even term it a “racket” by those who stand in the power corridors of Washington, DC.

Officer Wooldridge talked with Senator Biden (D-DE) last month. Senator Biden (D-DE) said at a hearing in February 2008 that drug prohibition touches 60 percent of all crime in America. Wooldridge advised to dramatically reduce crime, death, disease and drug use, the U.S. must end the prohibition approach on the 10 most used drugs.

“My experience agrees with the senator’s statement,” Officer Wooldridge said. “As a police officer, my goal was to keep my community safe, once they left their homes. What are the steps to ending this 94 year running failed policy of prohibition?

“Many experts agree that the first drug to become legal and regulated will be marijuana. As DEA law judge Francis Young concluded after an exhaustive study of cannabis: “Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.” Its use has rarely been a public safety issue. One cannot overdose on it. Moreover, its legalization would be a tremendous boost to improve public safety. Why? Road officers spend million of hours searching cars for a baggie of pot. They could concentrate on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers. They would be re-directed to find and arrest the child predators on line looking for a 13 year old girl. Federal agents could completely focus on Al Qaeda and stop wasting time on medical marijuana gardens in California.”

If you would like to read this interesting, enlightened view on the drug war please go HERE

Did You Know?.... Yet Another F*** up by George Bush

In British Columbia the economy has been in steady decline for a decade or more, although its tourist and media industries are growing, these have not yet compensated for the demise of mining and the crises that have afflicted the logging industry. George Bush dealt the most punishing blow to British Columbia's economy in recent years by imposing a 27% tax on imports of Canadian softwood ( since ruled to be an outright violation of America's free-trade responsibilities) The Canadian government calculated that in three years after the tax was imposed in May 2002, some 7,000 jobs were permanently lost in logging, sawmilling and remanufacturing across British Columbia. "Including indirect impacts," it added, "job losses have risen to a reported 14,000. A common myth assumes that these impacts will disappear with a settlement in the softwood dispute and that jobs will come back, but this is not the case."

Many of those who once worked in the traditional industries have been quick to redeploy their skills into producing vast quantities of Marijuana out along the logging trails miles from anywhere, these guy's now earn a living growing under lights, under the ground inside buried sea-going containers, they get the power from lines running from the hydro dams, as Senator Larry Campbell, the former mayor of Vancouver says this type of grow-op is almost impossible to locate, he say's "do you know how many logging trails there are? I mean, you can bring in every Black Hawk helicopter you want. Forget the haystack - you're looking for a needle in a jungle!" As for electricity, the lamps feeding the cannabis may need huge amounts of power by domestic standards, but by the standards of the province's vast hydroelectric capacity, the usage is negligible. And when the harvest comes 3 and 4 per year there is no need of all this very high quality weed in their own country,  so they ship it various ways into the US, In British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province, 50lb of bud is  worth US$55,000 (about £27,500) at wholesale prices. In Spokane, two and a half hours from the border, its value has almost doubled to $100,000. take it to California you can add  another $50,000 to this. If it goes to Kentucky it could sell it for $200,000 - almost four times the value in British Columbia.  Bush has inadvertently helped make the Canadian provinces  the single biggest per capita producers of Marijuana in the world, he has also given a few million Americans a taste of some of the finest Marijuana you can buy and created a huge demand for BC bud in the process! Bravo Mr Bush, how apt your name now seems, the DEA must love you, we certainly do.

Spanish Government Acknowledges the Medical Value of Cannabis in Trial

A judge of the town of Ferrol declared a patient, who grows and uses cannabis to treat pain and spasticity due to spinal cord injury, not guilty, because he "did not commit a crime" against public health. In Spain it is legal to grow cannabis for personal use in his own property, even for recreational use. However, 32- year old Juan Manuel Rodríguez did not cultivate cannabis at his home, but in a nursing home of the national health service and he was denounced by the director of the centre.

Meanwhile the Spanish government acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis in some illnesses. The current national plan on drugs issued by the Health Ministry says that "the therapeutic potential of cannabis has been widely reviewed" and that "there is scientific evidence for therapeutic use in nausea and vomiting due to antineoplastic treatments, lost of appetite in AIDS and terminal cancer, and the treatment of neuropathic pain in multiple sclerosis."

Reefer Madness, Old World Style

This from NORML.ORG

The British press enjoys a cozier relationship with their government than their American counterparts. Perhaps this is the reason why the British media has campaigned shoulder to shoulder with Parliament to reclassify cannabis — just four years after bureaucrats made its possession a verbal infraction.

Just last week, NORML reported on a BBC television reporter’s absurd ‘documentary’ that purportedly showed the “dramatic” and “unpleasant” effects of marijuana by injecting herself with pure THC on film-a manner of administering cannabis that no recreational user would ever engage in.

With this in mind, we were hardly surprised to see this recent headline from across the Atlantic: Cannabis-smoking mum stabbed herself to death. Never mind that she was on meth and thought her dog was talking to her.

Excerpts after the jump.

A mother driven insane by cannabis stabbed herself repeatedly through the chest with a carving knife after claiming she was spoken to by a dog.

Julie Cross told friends the animal was “trying to tell her something” before picking up the 5in blade and ramming it at least five times into her chest and abdomen.

An inquest was told the former receptionist, from Goring, used speed and cannabis on a daily basis and in the weeks running up to her death had slashed her wrists and smeared her blood across a crucifix and also hung a noose from her attic.

Katie Leason, spokeswoman for mental health charity Rethink, said the case further proved that cannabis causes severe mental illness. “We don’t believe there is any doubt about it now. There is a proven link between the drug and psychosis,” said Ms Leason….

It had led to her spending much of her last year in and out of the Mill View psychiatric hospital. The inquest heard that during what was described as a “very difficult life” Miss Cross had made repeated attempts on her own life, starting at the age of 14.

So here we have a woman who regularly heard voices, had a history of suicide attempts since childhood, who was using methamphetamine regularly (mentioned only ONCE in the article), and who finally, tragically, killed herself. To the British press, this scenario is clear evidence that marijuana will make you commit suicide!

And these are not the only ‘pot will make you nuts’ headlines coming from the UK. Note these other recent headlines and leads, the first of which is from the same publication as the above story:

Cannabis drove Brighton man to kill himself
The Argus (UK), February 22, 2008
“A web designer killed himself after being driven mad by cannabis.”

Cannabis users risk their sanity
Oxford Mail (UK), March 5, 2008
“Oxfordshire’s top drugs officer said the county is on the verge of a mental health epidemic unless more is done to tackle cannabis abuse.”                                                                               Children as young as 10 on cannabis
Daily Post (UK), February 9, 2008

Hmm, so pot will drive us mad, target our children, and make us kill ourselves. Where have I heard this before?

 

If you would like to see the origin of this bullshit please scroll down and watch the classic film REEFER MADNESS from March 3 2008

Alert: Legal Challenge to Massachusetts Marijuana Laws Begins March 20!

This appeal is from NORML.ORG

On Saturday, September 15, 2007, NORML Founder Keith Stroup and High Times associate publisher Rick Cusick were arrested for smoking a joint at the 18th annual Boston Freedom Rally on the Boston Common. This is an event held each year to protest the continued arrest of responsible cannabis consumers in that state, and depending on the weather, it attracts from 15,000 to 50,000 supporters to the Common.

Keith and Rick have candidly acknowledged that they were sharing a joint, but they have pled not guilty and announced their intentions to challenge the constitutionality of the Massachusetts marijuana laws, and to argue for a jury instruction informing the jurors of their common law power to refuse to convict an individual, if they do not believe the offense should be a criminal matter. This long-held power of jurors is generally called jury nullification.

There were nearly 830,000 Americans arrested on marijuana charges last year, and more than 88% of those were for personal use. In Massachusetts there were more than 8,900 marijuana arrests last year, with more than 7,300 for personal use. It is time we stopped treating responsible cannabis consumers like criminals.

As our press advisory indicates, the pretrial hearing in this matter is scheduled for next Thursday, March 20. If you live in the Boston area, please consider coming down to the court to show your support on the morning of March 20th. If you cannot attend, please consider making a generous contribution to help us cover the necessary costs of bringing this legal challenge to Massachusetts' marijuana laws. We must have the courage to stand up and demand our rights.

Together we can finally win the struggle and stop the practice of arresting cannabis consumers.

Basics Of Marijuana Growing (Indoors)

WARNING FOR GROWERS, There are some basic precautions you should take so that you don't end up as part of any new Operation Green Merchant that the DEA could resurrect :-

-When buying your equipment/supplies do not use credit/debit cards, always pay with cash.

-Do not have anything delivered to your house (or where your garden is) go and pick up yourself.

-Don't mention Marijuana to the grow-store guy's, you will put yourself and the store owner at risk, you may also be banned and have to find another supplier (click the link for Operation Green Merchant  for more on this) 

-Do not steal electricity, your supplier wont mind your usage increasing but will target you if your bill hasn't risen too, plus it is extremely dangerous,  never be tempted to play around with your power supply,  again you could be the cause of a street wide outage which could lead back to you. (if you cut your neighbors  power during the Super Bowl or the Oscar's the police could be the least of your worries)

-Do not tell your friends or family, however much you trust them, when you finish your first crop you will rightly feel proud and want to show people what you have achieved, it's quite natural, I've been there, it is very satisfying to beat the odds and finish a crop, but, in the same way you have a secret, a friend or family member might also be hiding some illicit act (not that i see anything to do with Marijuana as illicit! **) and  you run the risk of becoming their  'get out of jail-free' card should they find themselves in trouble with the police.

-When bringing your supplies home, try to disguise your purchase with an old box/boxes, just in case you have a nosy neighbor

-When you have finished your harvest don't 'all of a sudden' be smoking huge joints, especially while everyone is in the midst of a drought, people will put 2 and 2 together and though your buds should by now be safely away  your equipment will more than likely be sat in your place, it will be all the drug squad need to prove you are a grower. 

The Green Merchant Operation was the DEA's attempt to stop indoor Marijuana growing by targeting legitimate hydroponics supply stores they subpoenaed United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery records associated with hydroponics stores, getting information on tens of thousands of people suspected of procuring hydro equipment for marijuana growing, this, despite the fact a fraction of hydro growers in the US are growing Marijuana

The Green Merchant scheme backfired on the DEA. The general public and Libertarian politicians heard that innocent hydroponics store owners had been convicted of marijuana charges solely based on questionable testimony from tainted informants. People found out the DEA entrapped suspects, ruined lives and businesses, and sent harmless people to prison. The DEA came off not as heroic anti drug crusaders, but as Nazis.

 

Magic Plant......The History Of Marijuana

On This Day In History.......17 March

March 17, 1999: A report by the Institute of Medicine for the Office of National Drug Control Policy states that "there is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs" and "scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic values of cannabinoid drugs for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

On This Day In History........March 16

March 16, 2000: Patrick Dorismond, an unarmed security guard, is shot and killed by undercover New York City police officers who had unsuccessfully tried to sell him marijuana in a "buy-and-bust" operation. [The shooting was the third time in 13 months that New York City police officers dressed in plainclothes shot and killed an unarmed black man. Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, marijuana arrests rose from 720 in 1992, to 59,945 in the first eleven months of 2000.]

Ex Sheriff Shows Ultimate Arrogance

Senate should reject medical marijuana bill, so say's Steve Brienen former Mclean County Sheriff, he writes...........

Once again legislators are attempting to pass a bill in the Senate pertaining to medical use of marijuana. As a former law enforcement officer and two-time cancer survivor, I see no valid reason for this to come to pass.
First, there is already a law on the books allowing medical use of marijuana with a prescription. Any physician may issue this for his/her patients. This prevents abuse by not only the patients but by those who would call themselves ``caregivers'' under the new law.
Senate Bill 2865 would allow one `caregiver' ''to distribute the drug for up to five `patients' ''and be allowed to produce the plant in his/her home. They may also be paid for doing this.
It also would allow "visiting qualified patients'' from out of state to be provided with the drug.
While receiving chemotherapy for over a year in 1989 and again for eight months in 2004, I was provided medications, when needed, that eased my discomfort and enabled me to remain alert at the same time. Those medications still exist.
As far as enforcement is concerned, this would be another disaster for our police.
How, pray tell, do we enforce a law like this without entering someone's home or business? Then what mountain of paperwork will be needed to prove the plants and material used in the production of this drug were indeed used legally or illegally?
How do we prevent the ``visiting patients'' from out of state from receiving this drug, going back home and selling it themselves or using it for other than medical reasons? Enforcement will not be possible.
Please contact your state senators on this. I also urge my fellow law enforcement officers to do the same.

I URGE YOU NOT TO!
I URGE YOU NOT TO! AGAIN.

Why the hell would you want to stop sick people getting relief????, nowhere in this bill does it say that conventional drugs will be replaced by Marijuana, you know? this guy is lucky, 1, he survived cancer, 2, he was ok on conventional drugs, others are not so lucky, some have shocking reactions to regular treatments and have constant nausea coupled with loss of appetite at a time they need to be eating in order to fight their cancer,there is nothing better to quell nausea and stimulate the appitite than Marijuana, this, of course, is just one treatment of one illness, there are many ailments that can be relieved with Marijuana whether the Sheriff believes it or not. He worries about how "pray tell" this would be enforced "without entering peoples homes"?, i always thought if the police had evidence of criminal activity they would apply for a warrant and in they come!, and here's an idea Former Sheriff, why not just legalise Marijuana for every adult, that way you wont have to worry about anything regarding Marijuana and you could get on with catching violent criminals, imagine the extra time and budget the police would have!. He say's " i see no valid reason this should come to pass" No buddy, you will never 'see' anything with your eyes closed!!. If you want to see a much more enlightened view please watch the video below .............

L.E.A.P, LAW ENFOREMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION (First posted here on 1.18.2008)

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.

Marijuana Farmers Could Face Stiffer Penalties

TALLAHASSEE - Lawmakers are considering a bill that would enhance the penalties for people who grow marijuana in their house.

Florida ranks second only to California in the number of grow house operations, a trend that has exploded in recent years.

Records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show Hernando County contributed 20 of the 188 operations broken up in Florida last year.

In 2006, Hernando County had three.

Under current law, growers with fewer than 300 plants are charged with cultivation of marijuana versus a more serious trafficking charge.

The Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act would drastically drop that threshold and make it a second-degree felony to have 25 or more plants in a house.

Florida's statewide prosecutor, William Shepherd, applauds the measure as an "excellent response" to the burgeoning trend among drug dealers.

"It shows a reaction to the modern reality that these grow houses are multi-million dollar operations," he said.

House Bill 173 also cracks down on grow house operators who rear their children among the leafy plants.

Shepherd says youngsters are at risk not only from the chemicals and fertilizers used to boost productivity, but also from armed rivals.

The bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Nick Thompson, R-Fort Myers, gave a presentation Tuesday that included a picture of bullet holes above a crib in a grow house.

"When you decide to raise small children with $100,000 of contraband, you put them in jeopardy," Shepherd said.

The presence of children hikes up the trafficking charge to a first-degree felony.

Another target of the bill is the financiers, who actually buy the house and support its operation.

Current law treats them as accessories, but Thompson's proposal would change that to a third-degree felony.

Law enforcement's crackdown on outdoor operations during the past decade drove growers inside.

That's opened the door to more sophisticated setups that produce high-quality hydroponically grown marijuana.

The going rate is about $4,000 to $6,000 per pound and is considered worth its weight in cocaine.

The bill has passed all House committees and is ready for a vote by the chamber. It still has three committees to pass in the Senate.

Santa Cruz medical marijuana ID card cost higher

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—The cost of medical marijuana identification cards is going up in Santa Cruz County.

Since the county program started nearly five years ago, $35 medical marijuana IDs good for three years have been issued to more than 1,600 residents.

But the IDs are only legally binding in Santa Cruz County, so the county is joining the state medical pot ID program. State-backed cards cost $101 and must be renewed annually.

The Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to the change Tuesday.

Santa Cruz officials assure medical pot users that information on patients is confidential, noting it is entered into a secured database at the county level before it is sent to the state.

So the ID card will now cost 10 x more per year ( $35 per 3 yrs = $12 per year, new cost $101 per year) why on earth should anyone have to pay for a licence to buy the medicine they need?, this on top of a Doctors fee!, it's all wrong!

A Little On The DPA and Recent Marijuana History

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the nation's leading organization of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good.

In their vision of tomorrow, people are not punished simply for what they put into their bodies but only for harm done to others.  They fight for drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights.

DPA is working hard state by state to educate lawmakers about marijuana and to make cannabis available for medicinal purposes for seriously ill people. Through DPA's advocacy and commitment from patients and the governor, a compassionate use bill brought medical marijuana access to New Mexico in early 2007. DPA is doing similar work in states ranging from Connecticut and New Jersey to Alabama. For more information on our work in the states, please visit our state-by-state page. For more background on marijuana regulation and criminalization, read on.

In 1937, with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act, the United States effectively banned recreational and medicinal use of cannabis.(1) Many nations followed suit and in 1961, through the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, fifty-four nations agreed to "[a]dopt such measures as may be necessary to prevent the misuse of, and illicit traffic in the leaves of the cannabis plant."(2) Despite such restrictive control, cannabis has become the most widely used illicit drug in the western world.

Since the 1970s pressure has been building to move away from the total prohibition of cannabis. Over the past century, numerous reports from independent, government-sponsored commissions have documented the drug's relative harmlessness and recommended the elimination of criminal sanctions for consumption-related offenses.(3) Opinion polls show growing support for cannabis reform and scientific, medical and patient communities consistently provide evidence of the drug's therapeutic potential. As the public increasingly demands legal access to cannabis for both medicinal and other responsible uses, policy makers are being forced to consider how to regulate the drug.

The Netherlands has led the way in cannabis reform since it amended its Opium Act in 1976 to distinguish among drugs according to levels of risk. Identifying cannabis as a "soft drug," the Dutch government decided to treat possession and cultivation of up to 30 grams as activities "not for prosecution, detection or arrest." This policy of tolerance paved the way for the "coffee shop system" of publicly distributing both marijuana and hashish.

More recently, in 1996 the voters of California passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, so that sick and dying patients could legally use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Cannabis buyers' clubs, not unlike the Dutch hash coffee shops, have emerged to provide marijuana to those with legitimate medical need. Despite the federal government's ongoing efforts to stymie Prop. 215 by shutting down the clubs, states continue to consider similar ballot initiatives.

Cracks in prohibitionist cannabis control systems constantly form. These cracks take different shapes in different countries, reflecting the diversity of political, social and cultural conditions. As clinical trials get started in the United Kingdom, as more Australian states lower penalties for personal possession and use, and as more continental European countries choose not to enforce criminal sanctions for personal possession, alternative ways of regulating cannabis will continue to develop. Whether individual governments choose to play a role in the drug's responsible regulation remains to be seen.

Notes:

1. Medicinal use was still technically legal but the tax proved to be prohibitive for most therapeutic uses.

2. Quoted in Abel, Ernest L. Marihuana, the First Twelve Thousand Years. New York McGraw-Hill. 1982. p.254.

3. For more information on these reports see Morgan, John P. Zimmer, Lynn. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. New York: The Lindesmith Center. 1997. pp. 1-

If you want to see a statement of objectives and/or learn more about DPA and it's work please go HERE

Alan Young On CTV's 'The Verdict' followed by Marc Emery On Why He Copped A Plea...................

 

Illinois On Way To Becoming 13th State To Legalize Medical Marijuana

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --

Well it has taken from 1978* but finally.............

A state Senate committee took a step toward legalizing the use of medical marijuana Wednesday, voting to let people with debilitating illnesses like AIDS or cancer use marijuana to ease their symptoms.

Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said the committee's 6-4 vote provides "a glimmer of hope" that the legislation eventually will pass the General Assembly. The legislation passed the Public Health Committee last year but was voted down by the Senate.

"We expect that this is the type of bill which is a long battle," Cullerton said. "This is about the patients. It's not about somebody abusing this law to illegally obtain marijuana."

The bill, which would make Illinois the 13th state to pass a medical marijuana law, heads to the Senate for a full vote.

The plan allows people with a doctor's permission to receive a state registry card allowing up to eight cannabis plants in their homes and 2 1/2 ounces of "usable cannabis." The proposal also carries tougher penalties than current law on possession charges.

Proponents of the measure claim marijuana is a legitimate alternative for people who can't get relief from traditional drugs.

Julie Falco, 42, who has had multiple sclerosis for two decades, said the side effects from prescription muscle relaxants and antidepressants left her debilitated.

"I didn't know where the MS began or ended and where the pharmaceuticals came in," the Chicagoan said. "It left me flattened, hopeless and depressed."

Falco claims bouts of depression and insomnia evaporated after eating three bite-sized marijuana-infused brownies a day.

But opponents fear that the plant's therapeutic approval would fuel its abuse.

The bill makes it tougher for authorities to enforce drug laws, said Laimutis Nargelenas, deputy director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

"I think this bill has so many loopholes in it," Nargelenas said. "It would make it almost impossible for us, without providing all of these other safeguards, to deal with drug traffic that has nothing to do with the individuals that are sick."

*Technically, Illinois authorized medical marijuana in 1978. But implementation was left to the Public Health Department and it never took action, so the law has been in limbo.

 

The bill is SB2865.

On the Net: Go Here (http/www.ilga.gov/)