dont_eat_yellow_snow: 2007

12/31/07

Tough On Pot, Surprisingly Soft On Coke Dealers, Joseph Rossoniello

Bush's pick for a CA prosecutor post of hardliner Joseph Russoniello signals a possible crack down on the state's multi-billion dollar pot industry.

The man tapped by President Bush to be the top federal prosecutor for the San Francisco Bay Area was a hardline drug warrior during his tenure in the same post in the 1980s -- which could signal an escalation of the administration's crackdown on California's flourishing medical-marijuana clubs.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- who butted heads with Russoniello in the late '80s while investigating allegations about the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking in California -- is "looking into this nomination very closely," according to a Senate aide.

The appointment has many in California's medical-marijuana community wondering if Russoniello would intensify the crackdown on the state's cannabis clinics

"We don't need another pot warrior trying to run roughshod over California's medical-marijuana law," California NORML head Dale Gieringer wrote to supporters, calling the nomination "an ominous development."

There was one case, however, in Joseph Russoniello's first tenure as a federal prosecutor where he was unusually lenient to drug dealers. In the "Frogman" cocaine-smuggling case-the touchstone of the late Gary Webb's investigative book, Dark Alliance, involving a network of Nicaraguan dealers who were donating profits to the Contras, the Reagan-backed terrorists who were trying to overthrow the country's leftist government -- his office returned $36,000 that had been seized from one of the defendants as "drug money."

Read the full story HERE

By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. Posted December 30, 2007.

Great Law, Shame They Wont Use It!!!

Marijuana ticket law only catching on near Austin

Law designed to free jail space not used beyond Austin as prosecutors question propriety

10:50 PM CST on Sunday, December 30, 2007

By TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News
tellis@dallasnews.com

Texas lawmakers thought they could help ease jail overcrowding when they passed legislation allowing police to write tickets for misdemeanor marijuana possession and a few other nonviolent crimes, instead of hauling suspects to the clink.

But the new law, which went into effect Sept. 1, is being used only in Travis County. Prosecutors in Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties never set up a system to process the misdemeanor citations and, they say, they have no plans to do so.

"THE NEW LAW

The law: It gives police officers the discretion to arrest a suspect – as they have been doing – or write citations for a series of class A and B misdemeanors for possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana.

Other applications: Other misdemeanors for which officers can now write tickets include driving with an invalid license, criminal mischief, creating graffiti and theft, as long as the damage costs for each incident is less than $500.

Possible punishment: A class A misdemeanor can result in up to one year in jail and fines of up to $4,000. A class B misdemeanor can result in up to 180 days in jail and up to $2,000 in fines.

Story in Full HERE

12/30/07

Postcards from the Pugbus!!!

Various films from the ' Greenhouse Seed Co'

Latest On The San Diago MJ ID Cards...

Medical marijuana users in San Diego have a new ally in their battle to get ID cards. County officials are opposed to the law but Mayor Jerry Sanders says he supports providing pot for medical purposes. KPBS Reporter Dwane Brown has more.

California voters approved marijuana for medical use back in 1996 with Proposition 215. The ID cards are a way for police to determine whose legally eligible for medical marijuana and whose not.

But County Supervisors sued the state asking to be relieved of its duty to provide the ID cards. They claim it violates federal law.

Now court documents show the city attorney's office has filed a legal brief agreeing with the state. This follows a judges ruling that said the County must comply with state law and issue the ID cards.

A spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders says he supports medical pot for legitimate purposes. He's also told San Diego police to respect the law.

A final ruling in the legal fight is expected late next year. Dwane Brown, KPBS News.

He Lives Where????

ILOILO CITY – Police recovered a huge quantity of dried marijuana leaves during a raid Saturday morning in Buenavista town in Guimaras.

However, the subject of the search warrant was able to elude police by jumping into a river. Senior Inspector Jeffrey Rosgal, chief of the Buenavista police, said in a radio interview Saturday that they recovered one big pack of marijuana leaves and 37 small sachets containing similar leaves from the house of Wesley Yan Sarate in Barangay Sto. Rosario.

The pack contained enough marijuana leaves that could later be repacked into more than 37 sachets, Rosgal said.

They also recovered two cigarette lighters and empty sachets which they believe Sarate uses in repacking marijuana leaves.

Rosgal suspects that Sarate gets his supply of illegal drugs from Iloilo City.

"We have been staking him out for almost a month now, and we were able to conduct a test-buy from him," he said. Eventually, they were able to secure a search warrant from Judge Merlin Deloria.

Rosgal said that Sarate lives in the middle of a fishpond. "From where he is, he could see us coming, so he was able to escape by jumping into the river," Rosgal said.

12/28/07

Latest on the BC3

Marc Emery has an Extradition Hearing January 21st. If you want Marc free then voting Ron Paul in the US primaries might be a good idea see HERE on Marc Emery's Myspace

US Annual Marijuana Arrests 1965 - 2006

NORML, review of 2007 news

2007: The Year In Review – NORML’s Top 10 Events That Shaped Marijuana Policy

Study: Marijuana Appears to Slow Cancer Growth according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Certain marijuana components may suppress the tumors of highly invasive cancers, a new study finds.

In laboratory tests, cannabinoids, the active components in marijuana, were found to slow the spread of lung and cervical cancer tumors, according to researchers Robert Ramer and Burkhard Hinz of the University of Rostock in Germany.

Proponents of medical marijuana believe that cannabinoids reduce the side effects of cancer treatment, such as pain, weight loss and vomiting.

The study, published in the Jan. 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, finds that the compounds may also have an anticancer effect; however, more research is needed to determine whether the laboratory results will hold true in humans, the authors wrote.

Click here for the study.

In addition to suppressing tumor cell invasion, cannabinoids also stimulated the expression of TIMP-1, an inhibitor of a group of enzymes involved in tumor cell invasion.

"To our knowledge, this is the first report of TIMP-1-dependent anti-invasive effects of cannabinoids," the authors wrote. "This signaling pathway may play an important role in the antimetastatic action of cannabinoids, whose potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of highly invasive cancers should be addressed in clinical trials."

For some interesting Cannabis and Cancer related studies from CC magazine, scroll down to 'Cannabis Cures Breast Cancer?' below.

12/27/07

Scientist fleeing research / smugglers

scientists are fleeing research work due to dope smugglers jealously guarding their routes and becoming less tolerant of scientists poking around the US/Mexican border,

"I use night-vision goggles, and you could see them very clearly" - caravans of men with guns and huge backpacks full of drugs" biologist Karen Krebbs sadly she has abandoned her 10 year study of bats after 8 years tired of "dodging bullets"

Full story HERE

Crack/Cocaine disparity

Though not Marijuana news this seriously wants looking at, the Drug Policy Alliance, lists the reasons they believe there should be no difference between a Crack offence and one for powder Cocaine, the current federal policy generates a 100 to 1 penalty ratio for crack-related offenses. At this moment you would receive 5 years mandatory minimum sentence for distribution of a 'thimble' full (approx 5 grams) while it would take a 500 gram (approx 1 lb) of powder to trigger the same sentence.

The Drug Policy Alliance urges Congress to completely eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine without increasing the penalties or penalty triggers for either drug.

full details HERE

Other Current Actions from the D.P.A

If you live in the US you can:-

Cut Those Stupid TV Ads

Tell Congress to stop wasting your tax money on those stupid anti-marijuana commercials. You know the ones that compare marijuana smokers to terrorists and claim marijuana will make you crazy, get you raped, and cause you to shoot your neighbor.

Demand a New Bottom Line for U.S. Drug Policy

Tell Congress it is time for a new bottom line in U.S. drug policy, one that focuses on reducing the problems associated with both drugs and the war on drugs.

Don't Let Democrats Chicken Out on Reform for Students

The Democratic Congress backed down from an opportunity to repeal a federal law that denies student loans and other financial assistance to students who commit drug law offenses. Tell them to do the right thing!

Governor Rell, Where is Your Compassion?

The governor of Connecticut vetoed HB 6715, a medical marijuana bill that would have provided relief to seriously ill people in Connecticut. Tell her what you think about her decision!

New Mexico Medical Marijuana Law Under Attack

The federal government is trying to undermine New Mexico's medical marijuana law. The DEA and a regional narcotics taskforce recently raided the home of a paraplegic medical marijuana patient in what appears to be a cruel publicity stunt.

View Full Alert List

12/26/07

Gerald Le Dain 1924 - 2007 [supreme court judge]

Gerald Le Dain a man ahead of his time, 40 years ago this man was proposing to decriminalise possession of Marijuana, sadly his proposals were too radical for the politicians of the late 60's to implement but Judges did begin to hand out much lighter sentences, to read the full obituary in canada.com go here

What quickly became known as the Le Dain commission held 46 days of public hearings and heard from 12,000 Canadians. It issued four lengthy reports which, among other things, called for lighter sentences for drug offences, treatment for heroin addicts and warnings about the dangers of nicotine and alcohol. But it was its recommendation to decriminalize simple possession of marijuana that caused the greatest sensation.

The commission concluded that the maximum penalties for cannabis offences were disproportionate to any harm marijuana's use might cause. The number of people convicted for marijuana offences had doubled annually between 1967 and 1971, but the law was still widely flouted, catching only about one per cent of users.

"A law which can only be enforced in a haphazard and accidental manner is an unjust law"

the commission declared. Many of the Le Dain commission's recommendations were too explosive for politicians of the day to embrace. But judges soon started moderating sentences and began giving offenders absolute discharges for simple possession.

12/24/07

Two countries one Medicine????

This is Heath Canada's version of medical Marijuana;-

Appearances aside (can you say alfalfa?), lab testing
revealed that Health Canada cannabis has an
overall THC content of ~3% instead of the
advertised 10% THC content. In contrast, a strain
of VICS cannabis tested at over 12% total THC.
Government guidelines require a product with
no more than 10% THC and the company hired
to grow their supply, Prairie Plant Systems, mixed
dried leaves with buds to dilute the product and
meet the guidelines. As well as reduce the
strength of the cannabis such that it is inadequate
as a medicine, the cannabis is too finely ground
to roll in a joint. Also in question are the levels
of heavy metal contaminants (lead and arsenic),
the significant levels of bacteria and fungus-producing
micro-organisms, the use of irradiation for
sterilization, and cultivation methods.
Source: http://www.mapinc.org/print/v08/n1401/a04.html and
http://www.mapinc.org/print/v03/n1455/a13.html

Here is the Dutch version of medical Marijuana, if you are gonna do it! do it right! Canada.

Netherlands -
Cannabis Available By Prescription
The Netherlands become the first country in the
world to make cannabis available as a prescription
drug in pharmacies to treat chronically ill
patients. The government gave the green light to
over 1600 pharmacies to sell cannabis to those
with HIV, cancer, MS, and Tourette’s syndrome;
doctors and hospitals can also dispense 5-gram
doses.
Two ’strengths’ are available; 15% THC or 18%
THC. Two local firms are licensed to grow the
cannabis for sale to the Health Ministry.
Medical cannabis will cost more at the chemist
than at a local coffee shop but the government
said that the price reflects higher quality and a
6% VAT (tax).
http://www.mapinc.org/newscsa/v03/n1323/a05.html?420

12/23/07

More backward steps...............

Merced County passes ban on medical marijuana dispensaries

The Associated Press

Article Launched: 12/21/2007 03:43:32 PM PST

MERCED, Calif.—A permanent ban on medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Merced County will go into effect Jan. 17.

The board of supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to pass an ordinance similar to ones already in effect in Modesto, Merced, Los Banos and other local cities.

There aren't any pot shops in Merced County, but law enforcement officials said the ban was necessary to curb crime, keep property values high and lower demands on police.

Several medical marijuana patients told supervisors the move would push them to buy marijuana on the black market.

California voters passed a proposition legalizing medicinal marijuana in 1996, but several counties including nearby Stanislaus County have banned the dispensaries. And so the rot sets in............

Marijuana Dispensaries Banned in Brentwood Dec 23, 2007

Posted by Sarin Kodchian of the Canyon News

BRENTWOOD—Tuesday night, the Brentwood City Council unanimously approved a permanent ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city,Just last year the city council approved a temporary ban pending investigation of negative impacts of facilities on neighborhoods and communities.Armed robberies, violence, illegal sales and consumption are among the most prevalent negative effects reported over a 14 month review

The ordinance would not ban health care facilities, residential care facilities, hospice, or state-licensed clinics. The new ordinance was passed quickly, with discussions and questions cut short. A second reading of the ordinance will be completed at a later meeting.

The permanent ban will go into effect 30 days following that second reading.

GET INFORMED

State by State guide to Marijuana laws in the US here

Marijuana Crop Reports..... this from NORML

Remarkably, despite being illegal for nearly 65 years, domestically grown marijuana is one of the top cash crops in the U.S.
By most rankings, America's domestic marijuana crop is easily valued in excess of $10 billion annually and usually ranks in the top 10 cash crops.
In the latest NORML Marijuana Cultivation Report, the organization ranked marijuana #4 as the most valued agricultural product in the U.S.
Ironically, back in the 1970s, there was virtually no commercial market for domestically cultivated marijuana. Today, thirty years later and after expending billions of wasted tax dollars, domestically grown marijuana now constitutes, according to the U.S. government's anti-drug bureaucracies, upwards of 35% of the marijuana consumed is "Made in the U.S.A."
Regretfully, unlike dozens of agricultural products, the tremendous wholesale and retail tax benefits from America's multi-billion dollar domestic marijuana industry is totally unrealized tax revenue for local, state and federal governments. Additionally, the government-inspired policy of marijuana prohibition creates myriad criminal justice and social problems.
If you think marijuana should be legally controlled (in a manner not too dissimilar than the current alcohol control model), please join and support NORML's law reform efforts!

Latest Marijuana Smoke Warnings Could Be Mitigated By Vaporization, news from NORML

Washington, DC: The results of a recent Canadian study identifying the presence of various respiratory pollutants in marijuana smoke should be seen as an opportunity to better educate cannabis consumers about ways to mitigate the health risks associated with smoking, NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said today.

The study, which will appear in the forthcoming issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, reports that greater concentrations of certain respiratory irritants such as ammonia, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and various aromatic amines (nitrogen-related chemicals) are produced during the combustion of marijuana than during the smoking of tobacco. (Investigators speculated that the presence of each of these chemicals was likely due to Health Canada’s use of high-nitrate fertilizer when cultivating cannabis.) By contrast, investigators also reported that mainstream marijuana smoke contained lower levels of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons compared to tobacco. Exposure to certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has been associated with increased cancer risk in animals and is suspected to play a in role in the proliferation of various human cancers, such as breast cancer and lung cancer.

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines, arsenic, and lead were not present in marijuana smoke, investigators noted.

Armentano said that many of the unwanted chemicals contained in marijuana smoke, including HCN and many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, may be reduced or eliminated by engaging in vaporization rather than smoking. “By heating marijuana to a temperature where active cannabis vapors form, but below the point of combustion, consumers significantly reduce their intake of gaseous combustion toxins, including carbon monoxide,” he said.

Most recently, investigators at San Francisco General Hospital reported in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics that the "vaporization of marijuana does not result in exposure to combustion gases, ... and is preferred by most subjects compared to marijuana cigarette." A previous clinical trial published in 2006 in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences reported that vaporization is "safe and effective" cannabinoid delivery system that "avoid[s] the respiratory disadvantages of smoking.”

Armentano also affirmed that cannabis smoking is not positively associated with cancers of the lung, mouth, or upper aerodigestive tract (e.g., pharynx, larynx, or esophagus). In 2006, the results of the largest case-controlled study ever to investigate the respiratory effects of marijuana smoking reported that pot use was not associated with cancer, even among subjects who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints over their lifetime.

"While smoking cannabis may pose some minor respiratory risks to the user, these health risks are far less than those posed by tobacco smoking and may be significantly mitigated by engaging in vaporization as an alternative to smoking," Armentano concluded. "Unfortunately, cannabis prohibition greatly limits consumers’ access to such devices and impedes technological advancements in this area – subjecting users to respiratory risks that they would otherwise avoid."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “A comparison of mainstream and sidestream marijuana and tobacco cigarette smoke produced under two machine smoking conditions,” appears online (ahead of print) at: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/crtoec/asap/abs/tx700275p.html.

12/22/07

NO EXTRADITION FOR THE BC3 (Read the full background story in Marc Emery's interview in 'F*** the DEA')

No Extradition for the BC3!
by Marc Emery (21 Jan, 2008)

Three Canadians face extradition to, and life imprisonment in, the United States - but they've never been there!

Greg Williams, Marc Emery, and Michelle Rainey

Greg Williams, Marc Emery, and Michelle Rainey

NEW! "No Extradition" folded pamphlet PDF files -- download page one and page two, then print and distribute copies everywhere! Phone (613) 957-4222, the Canadian Justice Department, and tell the Minister of Justice it would "shock your conscience" if Canadians Marc Emery, Greg Williams and Michelle Rainey were extradited to the United States, especially when a monetary fine of $200 for selling seeds, not jail time, was determined to be adequate punishment by the BC Supreme Court (R. vs. Hunter, 2000). If Canadians have broken the law in Canada, they should be given justice in Canada -- and if they cannot be found guilty in Canada, they should not be extradited to any other country for those same charges.
Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey, and Greg Williams are Canadian citizens who were heavily involved in anti-prohibition activitism for over ten years. The United States Justice Department and DEA want Canada's government to extradite these three political activists to face 10 years up to life in US prison! The extradition hearing has been rescheduled to begin on January 21st, 2008. Canadians and Americans MUST do their part to help prevent the extradition from happening -- even a phone call makes a difference!

Ways to Help, Downloads, Links, Information, and More!

Download the NEW double-sided "No Extradition" handout (Word Document)
Donate to the Legal Defense Fund
Buy a "No Extradition" T-shirt
Purchase products from the CC Store
Download the "No Extradition" Petition (Word Document)
Download a PDF of the "No Extradition" logo
Visit the CC No Extradition forum for discussion and updates
Email Jodie Emery for the information handout (Word Document) or to get copies mailed
Write a letter to the Canadian Justice Minister and call the Justice Department at (613) 957-4222.
Use these banners to link to our website! Help prevent the extradition! (Right-click image and "Save" to your desktop.)

Send your filled-out petitions, letters, and donations to "No Extradition" 307 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC, V6B 1H6.
We need evidence for court to prove that there is strong opposition to extradition!

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

Five things you can do to help the BC 3 being extradited, full article at CC magazine

1) Contact the Canadian Justice Minister Constantly!

2) Contact The Media

3) Contact your Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly

4) Donate Or Make Purchases

5) Rally in your community

12/21/07

time lapse film of marijuana plants under lights

12/20/07

DEA GOING AFTER LANDLORDS NOW!!!

Medical Marijuana Bottle 90x90 DEA Targets Landlords in Effort to Shut Down Dispensaries

The Drug Enforcement Administration's six-month-old surge against medical marijuana in California continues to ramp up with new threats to northern California dispensaries.

Two weeks ago the San Francisco DEA office leaked to Matier and Ross, columnists at the San Francisco Chronicle, that they would send forfeiture threat letters to the landlords of all the Medical Cannabis Dispensaries (MCDs) in northern California. This tactic has been successful in southern California, where dozens of MCDs closed over the summer after the DEA threatened their landlords with the loss of their property--and even jail time!

San Francisco has 28 dispensaries going through the permit process. So far, nine dispensaries in San Francisco have reported receiving the letter. By the end of this week, we expect that all Bay Area MCDs will be under threat of eviction.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee Chair, responded in Washington, DC, last Friday night with this statement:

"I am deeply concerned about recent reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration is threatening private landlords with asset forfeiture and possible imprisonment if they refuse to evict organizations legally dispensing medical marijuana to suffering patients. The Committee has already questioned the DEA about its efforts to undermine California state law on this subject and we intend to sharply question this specific tactic as part of our oversight efforts."

The DEA's actions call for a coordinated response to this latest attempt to destroy safe access to medicine in San Francisco and California. The Drug Policy Alliance, Americans for Safe Access, Marijuana Policy Project and California NORML are working on a coalition to make the strongest impact and stop the deterioration of safe access across the state.
Our immediate goal is to have San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom take a public stand supporting medical marijuana and Rep. Conyers, and opposing the DEA's gross intimidation tactics and its overall surge (over 50 MCDs have been raided this year--more than three times last year's total).

WHAT YOU CAN DO

San Francisco Residents: Call Email or Fax Mayor Gavin Newsom!

Telephone: (415) 554-6141
Fax: (415) 554-6160
Email: gavin.newsom at sfgov dot org

Sample Phone Script:

Hello, my name is _______________. I am a San Francisco resident [and a medical cannabis patient]. Please tell Mayor Newsom that I am concerned about the threatening letters sent to landlords of dispensaries in the city. I respectfully ask that he make a public statement in support of dispensaries and their landlords and urge Congressman Conyers and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold hearings on the raids in medical cannabis states. Thank you."

Sample Email/Fax:

December 19, 2007

The Honorable Gavin Newsom
City Hall, Room 200
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102

Dear Mayor Newsom,

The San Francisco Chronicle reported the intention by the Drug Enforcement Agency to send letters to property owners who lease to medical cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco threatening arrest and asset forfeiture. This is a grave menace to the medical cannabis patients and their source of safe and legal access to their medicine. We write to you to express concern and ask for your support as our City's leader.

During the drafting of the Medical Cannabis Act, you demonstrated your support for safe access to medical cannabis by convening a working group of city officials to review the City's policies. We thank you for this act of support for the regulations process, patients, and the legality of medical cannabis dispensaries. In light of the difference between Federal and California law, it takes strong leadership to take such a step in representation of the City.

It is clear that, although appreciated, support by the Board of Supervisors in the form of a resolution will not suffice in preventing the closure of City's legal medical cannabis dispensaries. As the official head of this great City, it is your voice that the Federal government must hear in defense of the regulation process, which your guidance helped to create. Thus, we urge you to make a public statement in support of the legality of dispensaries, the regulation process, and landlords who lease to legal businesses in the City and County of San Francisco.

In addition, we appeal to the infallible sense of civic duty you have exemplified in challenging the Federal Government on the issues of same-sex marriage and immigration. As in those issues, there is a broad level of support for dispensaries as a model for safe and legal access to medical cannabis. The residents and city officials of San Francisco have a history of voting in favor of laws protecting safe access to medical cannabis. Thus, we ask that you also urge Congressman Conyers and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold stand alone Congressional hearings on raids in medical cannabis states.

Please heed the call of the City's most vulnerable and vocal community.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here].

Click to continue

12/19/07

MORE CIVIL ABUSE FROM THE DEA this story from Drug Policy Action Network

The DEA is yet again undermining state medical marijuana laws, this time raiding the house of a paraplegic medical marijuana patient in New Mexico and threatening to prosecute him in federal court. While the patient is protected from prosecution under state law, there are no protections for medical marijuana patients under federal law. To make matters worse, federal agencies are blocking the FDA from even considering marijuana's medical benefits. I urge you to change that.

On August 28th agents of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration searched the home of Leonard French, a paraplegic man who lost the use of both of his legs in a motorcycle accident. Mr. French suffers chronic pain and muscle spasms due to a spinal cord injury, and qualified as a medical marijuana patient under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act state law that passed earlier this year. Medical marijuana offers him relief with fewer side effects than other pharmaceuticals he's tried. He is licensed by the New Mexico Department of Health to possess and use marijuana to alleviate his conditions.

This is only the DEA's latest attack on the right of states to take care of their citizens in need. It's also only the latest scandal to be connected to federally-funded regional narcotics taskforces. From the wrongful conviction of dozens of people in Tulia, Texas to the harassment of music lovers in Flint, Michigan, these taskforces are at the center of some of our country's worst civil rights abuses.

What You Should Do:

1) Sign Representatives John Olver and Dana Rohrabacher's Congressional Sign-on letter to DEA in support of Professor Lyle Craker's application for a Schedule I license to produce research-grade marijuana for FDA-approved clinical studies at the University of Massachusetts. The deadline for signing on is September 7th.

2) Support legislation that protects medical marijuana patients from arrest, and re-direct federal law enforcement resources towards violent drug cartels.

3) Reform the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program and other federal law enforcement grant programs to reduce civil rights abuses and focus local police on violent crime.

If you live in the US i would urge you to click on the Drug Policy Alliance sign below and let your views be known, you'll find a form you can send to your Senator and Representatives there

12/17/07

Full 5 min call to 911 from cop who stole weed and thinks he is dying from eating brownies

YouTube - Weed Stealing Brownie Eating Pothead COP - 911 Call VERY FUNNY!!!

Its a shame this girl didnt call 'dirty' Sanchez, she may have had more luck, read on :-

US student tries to score dope at cop shop

University-grade criminal mastermind

By Lester Haines → More by this author

A 20-year-old North Dakota State University student has been arrested for "criminal attempt and possession of drug paraphernalia" after trying to score some marijuana at a West Fargo police station, In-Forum News reports.

Grace Sium rang the cop shop at 3.15am last Saturday enquiring as to where she might acquire some blow. Despite the dispatcher's repeated protestations that "selling and possessing marijuana was illegal", Sium persisted. Accordingly, the dispatcher admitted the cops had puff in the witness locker, and said if Sium swung by they would "hook her up".

Officer Ken Zeeb - who arrived for work at 3.45am - recalled: "The dispatcher got on the intercom and said, 'You know what? She's here. She just handed me $3 for marijuana'." Zeeb quickly moved to cuff the master criminal, and later explained: "She didn't seem like she was really under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She understood what was going on and articulated herself well."

Zeeb, who has worked narcotics for over seven years and "and has arrested people for trying to buy drugs at a house as it was being searched by police", admitted the bust was "about the craziest thing I've ever come across". He rightly concluded: "This is something that you couldn't even make up."

Sium is now languishing in Cass County Jail. She declined to respond to a phone message left for her on Saturday. ®

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CANNABIS CURES BREAST CANCER ?

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Cannabis Compound Stops Spread of Breast Cancer: Medical Research Study
by CBC News (19 Nov, 2007)

Cannabis cures cancer - how many more studies are needed?

More and more studies prove cannabis fights cancer

A compound of the marijuana plant may prevent aggressive breast cancers from spreading throughout the body, new research from the United States suggests. A team of researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute say cannabis compound CBD (cannabidiol) could provide a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy for cancer treatments. Previous research has shown the compound can block human brain cancers, and recent lab experiments have shown it may be able to do the same for breast cancer.

"Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer. Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients," said researcher Dr. Sean McAllister in a release. "This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects."

CBD works by blocking the activity of gene Id-1, which is associated with metastasis -- the spread of cancer cells away from the original tumor site. The compound does not share marijuana's psychoactive properties.

"We know that Id-1 is a key regulator of the spread of breast cancer," said senior author Dr. Pierre-Yves Desprez in a release. "We also know that Id-1 has also been found at higher levels in other forms of cancer. So what is exciting about this study is that if CBD can inhibit Id-1 in breast cancer cells, then it may also prove effective at stopping the spread of cancer cells in other forms of the disease, such as colon and brain or prostate cancer."

Researchers stressed that they were not encouraging cancer patients to smoke pot, adding that it would be highly unlikely for patients to receive an effective concentration of the compound in that way. The team's findings were published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

-Article from CBC.ca

Cannabis and Cancer Studies from SafeAccess.ca: safeaccess.ca/research/cancer.htm

Previous CC Magazine articles about cannabis and cancer studies

THC for Tumors
March, 1999

US Federal Report Backs Medical Pot
May, 1999

Cannabinoid Research Around The World
July, 1999

THC Destroys Brain Cancers
May, 2000

Pot Shrinks Tumors
June, 2000

THC-Tumor Research Funding Cut
February, 2001

Cannabinoid Treats Tumors
January, 2002

Cannabinoid Anti-Tumor Effect
July, 2003

Cannabinoids Destroy Cancer
February, 2004

Study Finds No Lung Cancer-Marijuana Connection
May, 2006 - Washington Post

THC May Fight Lung Cancer
April, 2007

Cannabis for the healing of the nations

More About The Breast Cancer/CBD Study

From California Pacific Medical Center

Our research team is studying the potential of the endocannabinoid system to control cell fate with the goal of developing therapeutic interventions for aggressive cancers. This newly discovered biological system can be regulated by many different classes of cannabinoid compounds that work through specific cellular receptors. The cloned cannabinoid receptors have been termed cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and (CB2).

Delta-9 THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol), a mixed CB1 and CB2 receptor agonist, is the primary active constituent of Cannabis sativa and is currently being used in a clinical trial for the treatment of aggressive recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Cannabinoids are also being used in clinical trials for purposes unrelated to their direct anticancer activity. The compounds have been reported to be well tolerated during chronic oral and systemic administration.

In addition to Δ9-THC, cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG) are also present in reasonable quantities in Cannabis. CBN has low affinity for CB1 and CB2 receptors, whereas the non-psychotropic cannabinoids, CBD and CBG, have negligible affinity for the cloned receptors. We have determined that these additional cannabinoids are also effective and inhibiting aggressive cancers. Importantly, we have discovered in vitro that a synergistic increase in the antiproliferative and apoptotic activity of cannabinoids can be produced by combining specific ratios of CB1 and CB2 receptors agonists with non-psychotropic cannabinoids.

We are currently determining the molecular mechanism that may explain the synergistic increase in anticancer activity that is observed with the combination treatments. We are also studying whether this combination strategy will lead to greater antitumor activity in vivo.

In addition to the combination therapy project, we are working in collaboration with Dr. Pierre Desprez to develop novel inhibitors of Id-1 using cannabinoid compounds. Id-1 is a helix-loop-helix protein that acts as an inhibitor of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that control cell differentiation, development and carcinogenesis. Past research of Id-1 expression in normal and cancerous breast cells, as well as in mouse mammary glands and in human breast cancer biopsies, demonstrated that increased Id-1 expression was associated with a proliferative and invasive phenotype. Specifically, it was found that Id-1 was constitutively expressed at a high level in aggressive breast cancer cells and human biopsies, and that aggressiveness was reverted in vitro and in vivo when Id-1 expression was targeted using antisense technology.

Importantly, we have recently discovered that CBD, a nontoxic cannabinoid that lacks psychoactivity, can inhibit Id-1 gene expression in metastatic breast cancer cells and consequently their aggressive phenotype. The down-regulation of expression was the result of the inhibition of the endogenous Id-1 promoter and corresponding mRNA and protein levels. CBD and compounds based off of its structure can therefore potentially be used as therapeutic agents. CBD also inhibits breast cancer metastasis in vivo.

Based off of our recent findings, we are currently involved in 1) developing novel CBD analogs for the treat of aggressive breast cancers 2) discovering the detailed mechanisms through which cannabinoid compounds regulate Id-1 expression.

fieldrose999
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12/16/07

F*** THE DEA

DONT LET THE DEA GET AWAY WITH THIS NON-SENSE, IT IS BAD ENOUGH WHAT THEY TRY IN THE STATES, HELP STOP THIS INJUSTICE.

HERE IS THE BULLSHIT FROM THE DEA

HERE IS THE TRUTH FROM MARC EMERY IN HIS OWN WORDS

(WARNING This story contains some coarse language and mature subject matter, please dont let this put you off reading this interview everyone should be concerned at this action by the DEA)

DEA Administrator ADMITS that the arrest was POLITICALLY motivated!
Karen Tandy, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, released this statement on her DEA stationery on July 29, the day of Marc Emery's arrest:
Major North American Marijuana Trafficker and Self-Proclaimed "Prince of Pot" aka Marc Scott Emery Arrested Today.
Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also the marijuana legalization movement.
His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today.
Emery and his organization had been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets - one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on.
Read and download the official document here!