Monday, April 30, 2012

Recreational marijuana smoking unimportant, should remain illegal

By DANIELLE CARPENTER Published April 29, 2012 at 11:45pm

Pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana is a waste of time.

The Tucson Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws held its annual protest on April 20. About 50 protesters made their way to Cheba Hut for the seventh annual protest, where they held up signs to flash at traffic about legalizing marijuana. It’s sad how badly those people want recreational marijuana legalized. Medical marijuana helps people, but recreational marijuana can be dangerous.

Marijuana is the most common illegal drug found in “impaired drivers and crash victims involved in ‘drugged driving’ accidents,” according to the Alcohol Drug Abuse Help & Resource Center website. The drug interferes with the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that controls coordination, according to the center’s website. Legalizing this drug will do nothing more then increase the number of DUIs and fatal car accidents, as if Arizona needs higher numbers in that department.

A lot of people assume that marijuana does nothing bad for them. But the THC in marijuana — the reason for its effects — can interfere with the hippocampus, according to the center’s website. The hippocampus is one of the most important parts of the brain, as it controls memory, judgment and learning.

In chronic users, the impact on memory and learning can last days or weeks after marijuana’s effects seem to fade, according to a 2001 study in the medical journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Studies have shown that frequent use of the drug can actually lead to more anxiety and higher rates of mental illness like depression.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, notes that schizophrenia in particular seems to have a link to marijuana use, as a 2007 study found. This may be due to the fact that frequent use of marijuana case can cause a dire psychotic reaction in susceptible people, according to the NIDA, making it a possible factor in the onset or relapse of schizophrenia.

A 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 84 percent of employers drug test new hires, and 39 percent will randomly test employees after they are hired. (Usually, those who meet the criteria for being able to have medical marijuana are excused.)

Most employers want mature, intelligent and dedicated employees who do not abuse drugs. Some employers, such as hospitals, are even starting to look at whether or not their applicants smoke cigarettes, not just marijuana or other controlled substances.

Smoking, marijuana or cigarettes, does not make one more appealing in any way, shape or form to a handful of careers or to other people. It’s time for people to grow up, and figure out how to live life without depending on marijuana.

If even California of all states would not pass a bill legalizing weed for those 21 and older, it’s clear that protesting Arizonans are fighting a hopeless cause. Arizonans should spend their time more wisely than trying to get something as pointless as recreational pot to happen.

The outcomes of keeping recreational marijuana use illegal will save Arizona from the increase of drug-related fatal car accidents, and protect the mental health of residents. Smoking weed recreationally should remain against the law.

— Danielle Carpenter is a pre-journalism freshman. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions .

CONTINUE READING...

Cannabis Science Makes Medical Moves at The 7th Patients Out of Time medical cannabis conference in Tucson at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

press release April 30, 2012, 8:44 a.m. EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Apr 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cannabis Science, Inc. a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, was honored to be the Sponsor and an Exhibitor at the 7th national Patients Out of Time, medical cannabis conference in Tucson, Arizona. The conference was attended by patients, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, professors, supporters, and entrepreneurs of the medical cannabis industry. Our own Dr. Melamede presented patient's results that we have documented at www.cannabisscience.com .

The University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Patients Out of Time is the only accredited CME program to educate medical professionals about cannabis as a medicine. There were over 25 world-renowned doctors and scientists sharing and presenting the latest research advances as the complexity of the endo-cannabinoid system continues to unfold. Please see the previous news release from April 17, 2012 at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dr-robert-melamede-scheduled-speak-182800051.html

Speakers at the conference focused on the science and medicine of cannabinoids. Cannabis Science was overwhelmed, with great feedback by various representatives in the medical community. Prominent speakers included Dr. Robert Melamede, CEO and president of Cannabis Science; Dr. William Courtney of Cannabis Science's scientific advisory board, and Dr. Andrew Weil, best selling author, speaker, and Integrative Medicine thought-leader. Talks covered specific ailments such as PTSD, cancer, and even drug addiction; research on cannabinoid science and medical applications, and law. Dr. Robert Melamede shared pictures show on our website. Cannabis Science helps cancer patients make informed choices regarding treatments. He also spoke as to the holistic nature by which the endocannabinoid system regulated homeostasis in all vertebrates from conception till death and therefore, why cannabis-based medicines are different from all others in their ability to help with so many illnesses.

Cannabis Science demonstrated a pre-release our multi-tiered, digital educational platform to be announced in more detail later this week. Our novel platform will help to meet the ever-expanding interest in cannabis that is coming from the medical communities as the almost miraculous medical benefits of cannabis emerge from the states that support medical marijuana. Our new educational platform (see below) will bring in revenues as we fill the emerging educational need of the medical community. Realistic cannabis education programs are not currently available in the professional schools that need them to end the disconnect between medical cannabis patients an their physicians.

At the conference the Cannabis Science booth collected data from attendees interested in Cannabis Science Stock and there was a lot of interest in our new branding platform.. Attendees were given PR Packets with CBIS information on cancer, Alzheimer's, PTSD, aging, and heart disease. CBIS had attendees fill out a questionnaire to enter into a drawing for an iPad 3, a symbolic prize since Cannabis Science will launce our new digital education platform for Physicians, on the Apple iPad platform. Our congratulations to our conference iPad winner.

Andrew Pitsicalis, the Branding and Licensing Director for Cannabis Science, revealed the new digital platform and demonstrated the technology at the CBIS booth. Pitsicalis coordinated many interviews with Cannabis Planet TV, Arizona Clinics TV, The Phoenix Arizona Times, and local news and media. As a result, we had the honor to meet with a brain cancer survivor of an extremely dangerous surgery. In December of last year, he had a second operation to try to reduce the large mass in his brain. With stage 4 cancer, he came to Cannabis Science to help us create awareness for other cancer patients worldwide so that they too might understand there is hope with cannabis. The patient had not been a previous cannabis user, and was amazed at the impact the plant had on him. In fact, it prevented him from taking his own life, when he was no longer able to cope with having multiple grand mal seizures daily. The patients close friend begged him to smoke cannabis. When he did, he stopped having seizures. He told us he drove 7 hours to meet Dr. Robert Melamede because he was watching his videos our website and YouTube and found hope. The patient wanted to go to the conference to meet him and other doctors and scientists attending the conference.

The Patients Out of Time charity benefit dinner included entertainment by Greta Gaines from her upcoming album "Grassy Girl;" a live and silent auction, and a guest appearance by Gigi Ganjay. Greta's information may be found at www.gretagaines.com , www.cannibuzz.com , and her reel at http://www.conlincasting.net/Gretareel/Greta_Gaines/Reel.html Greta Gaines is a client of Kaneabis (a Cannabis Science company).

If you would like to view information that Cannabis Science provided to the attendees of the conference, please visit our website.

Dr. Robert Melamede stated, "Things have never been better for Cannabis Science and this was confirmed at the conference this past weekend. Not only were we part of an historic event with Patients Out of Time, the amount of consciousness and knowledge gained by everyone attending will shape the medicinal science of the industry going forward. Furthermore, our network of professionals increased substantially as we continue to grow the Cannabis Science business model. Most importantly, this conference was a success because it was about the patients, and we heard dramatic testimonials from them, It was all about doing the right things, with the right people, for the right reasons."

About Cannabis Science, Inc.

Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The second formulations will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in. To maintain that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value is scientifically absurd. Cannabis medicines, with no effective lethal dose, are far safer than aspirin, acetaminophen, and most other OTC drugs that kill thousands of Americans every year.

The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

Forward Looking Statements

This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Cannabis Science, Inc.

        
Cannabis Science Inc.
Dr. Robert J. Melamede
President & CEO
888-889-0888
info@cannabisscience.com

www.cannabisscience.com or
Robert Kane
Vice President of Investor Relations
561-234-6929
rkane@cannabisscience.com

www.cannabisscience.com


CONTINUE READING...

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Marc Emery claims victory in drug war

Marc Emery and wife Jodie embrace in the visitors' area of U.S. medium-security prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Photograph by: Contributed , Cannabis Culture

YAZOO CITY PRISON, Mississippi — Vancouver cannabis crusader Marc Emery may be facing two more frustrating years behind bars in the Deep South of the United States. But he's more confident than ever he's winning the war on drug prohibition.

The Prince of Pot believes the drug legalization campaign he's waged for more than 30 years is already over at the "intellectual" level. And it's only a matter of time before marijuana and other recreational drugs are sold in stores in Canada and the U.S. - and taxed and regulated just like liquor and cigarettes.

"The end of prohibition is close, five years for marijuana or less," he told me from inside the U.S. federal correctional complex where he's serving a five-year term for selling marijuana seeds. "And I can take a lot of credit for it."

Crisply dressed in khaki prison fatigues and black boots, Emery said he was heartened that John McKay, the former U.S. attorney who helped put Emery in jail, has had a Saul-on the-road-to-Damascus conversion and is now championing a Washington State initiative to legalize pot.

He's also encouraged that a raft of Canadian VIPs, including four former B.C. attorneys-general, have jumped on the decriminalization bandwagon.

"I'm running out of people who disagree with me anymore," the pot entrepreneur quipped, as we sipped pop together inside the visitors' area of the massive, razor-wire-clad jail northwest of the Mississippi state capital of Jackson.

The 54-year-old activist, who once raised the ire of Canadian and U.S. cops by publicly flaunting his marijuana-smoking habits, even admits he doesn't miss the weed that he first smoked in 1980, when he was 22.

"It's the most common question I'm asked in letters and even among inmates here, but I have never once thought of marijuana in the actual in two years," he said in a prison email. "Not missed smoking it. In fact, I've never thought about it once."

Emery explained that this might stem from the realization that he misses nothing except his devoted wife, Jodie, who runs what remains of his once-thriving pot empire - which, he says, grossed $15 million between 1995 and 2005.

The 27-year-old Jodie, now owner and operator of Cannabis Culture on West Hastings, flies down from Vancouver to visit him every two to four weeks.

"I think of her every hour of every day," Emery said, adding he spends much of his time practising bass guitar and honing his skills as leader of Yazoo, an interracial rock band named after the prison's rural hometown, known for its blues musicians.

"I never believed I would emerge from prison an accomplished musician, a band leader, playing music I have loved my whole life, with other far more accomplished and talented musicians," he said in another email. "This is a miracle that I'm very grateful for."

My prison visit, which Emery says is the first by any journalist in the two years since he's been locked up in the U.S., wasn't easy to arrange. And I wasn't allowed to bring in a pen, notepad, tape recorder or other reporting tools. Taking pictures on the property was also a no-no, and my rental car was searched. But what really surprised me was how tanned and fit Emery looked compared to how he appeared when I last saw him on TV in Vancouver.

I asked him whether this wasn't due to the fact that prison had forced him to give up marijuana (and that being caught with pot could lead to a whole range of punishments, including up to three months in solitary).

Emery insisted this was not so. It was simply that he was much less stressed and had far fewer legal/ money worries than when, at the helm of the world's largest marijuana seed-selling business, he was facing the sobering prospect of extradition to the United States.

Judging by what he says and how he appears, he's fitting well into prison life as the only Canadian among 1,700 mostly black inmates, many of them serving what appear to be cruelly long sentences for crack cocaine and other drug offences.

Coming from outside with no "cultural baggage" obviously helps, as it does for former newspaper publisher Conrad Black, another Canadian celebrity who's been doing hard time in the U.S. south.

But Emery says prison life is probably harder on Black because he's older and used to luxury in his life. "I come from a more working class/ middle class background so it's not so difficult for me," he said.

The Mississippi climate is also in his favour.

Indeed, Emery says he far prefers the fresh air and sunny climate in the Magnolia State to the "morose" Vancouver weather.

"And I have never had an unkind word spoken to me by any inmate in two years," he said.

"And I am frequently asked, probably every day, for some help or information, as they think of me as a useful, knowledgeable person."

What perhaps misses most are fresh vegetables. However, little niceties are generally only a postage stamp away.

Yes, in the absence of cash, the $1 postage stamp is the universal prison currency.

And he says you can buy services like getting your hair cut, your cell cleaned, your running shoes washed or your headphones fixed for one to five stamps.

Smoking is officially prohibited, but contraband cigs tend to get broken up into four or five small cigarettes and sold for, say, stamps apiece. That means a single street cigarette can fetch $25 . . . with a couple of batteries and a piece of toilet paper serving as a makeshift lighter.

So life is not overly harsh. Indeed, Emery, who shares a cell, thinks he has fewer grey hairs now than when he did when he was in Vancouver.

"I didn't know your hair could reverse its direction like that regarding colour," he told me. "I was losing my hair from 2002 to 2004. When I look at my hair, its thicker than it was some 10 years ago."

But is the natural-born showman, known in Vancouver for his take-no-prisoners outbursts, really a changed individual? Can a leopard change his spots?

Well, he says he's matured and learned to tone things down: "Confrontation will get you nowhere good in prison."

Violence in a medium-security prison, though, is always just around the corner. And Emery tells me that only a couple of weeks ago a Hispanic inmate suspected of being an informant was bludgeoned half to death by two others. He was apparently beaten over the head by a metal door-locker lock inside a sock.

Emery's official release date is July 9, 2014. But he could be free as early as next year, if Ottawa allows him to be transferred back to Canada.

On his return to B.C., he plans to have a big welcome-back bash outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, followed by a world tour with Jodie, including stops in Jamaica and Italy.

As for his career future, he says he'll finish the autobiography he's writing and try to become a radio talk show host, a job he used to do back in his hometown of London, Ont.

"One of the problems of the so-called entertainment right-wing radio shows I hear on many AM and FM channels here is they don't respect facts or balance.

"The discussion is all one-sided, and often just derision, insult and talking in a circular manner," he said.

"I believe I can provoke but still welcome all sides in a discussion."

Like it or not, in other words, you'll be hearing a lot more from Emery whatever band -- or bandwagon -- he's heading.

jferry@theprovince.com

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Marc+Emery+claims+victory+drug/6538092/story.html#ixzz1tTmf0274

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Advice from a patient!

Ed Bland

ALL NEED 2 KNOW THIS ! ----------------->: ♥ ~My name is Ed Bland & live in Somers on Flathead lake. I use 2 have George's marine service ( father ). I wrecked my motorcycle with no helmet on. Montana told me it was worst wreck 2 live through with no helmet on in Montana. I am not telling you this 4 sympathy, but 2 let you know the severity of it. I broke all ribs on right ( 6 in 3 places each), 7 ribs on left ( 4 in 2 places each). Split brisket, broke right caller bone, broke pelvic bone in 7 places having to be taken to Idaho specialist 2 bolt a brace on pelvic bone. Missoula life flight picked me up at wreck site at Sealy Lake. I died 3 times in that flight, was in a coma for 87 days & if memory serves me right was diagnosed as a 5.5 brain injury. When I woke I had 2 relearn everything. I could not speak but they told me 2 blind 2 for yes & 3 for no. I had 2 go through all 3 rehabs, then got 2 return home. I had next 2 no memory. I didn't even know what house looked like, or what I had done 4 a living but could tell you how 2 use all tools & equipment in shop. I had a friend come visit me & asked me 2 get a medical card & try cannabis & did. I WAS AMAZED ! My memory not only started returning but stayed ! I have muscle paralisis on right of my body & it is so obvious of my muscles relaxing that all can see it in my walking & hear in my speech. Is hard 2 move tongue 2 speak. But 4 me the big part is how it slows my thought process down enough so can communicate !
I have been doing much research as 2 why it is helping me. I learned early in life that if you want 2 fix something then first you must understand the working of it. I only graduated high school & no more but did best could. The brain has a connection that converts info & passes it on. There lets say is like taking morris code & converting it into words. At that connection there is a goo that covers it. That is what I believe the THC helps make this in the brain. ~ ♥

Friday, April 20, 2012

Marc Emery is a Canadian activist imprisoned in the United States for selling marijuana seeds through the mail

Marc Emery

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Marc Emery is a Canadian activist imprisoned in the United States for selling marijuana seeds through the mail and using the proceeds to finance advocacy and political campaigns in the United States and worldwide from 1994-2005. See www.FreeMarc.ca for more information

 

......

When I first began my Vancouver hemp store, HEMP BC, in July 1994, my first hires were Ian Hunter and Danna Rozek, two people I'd met in the months prior to opening my retail shop at 324 West Hastings (across from the location, 18 years later, of Cannabis Culture Headquarters). I noticed right away that Danna and her friend, also hired at Hemp BC, Cindy Lassu, were 'Deadheads,' totally committed to the culture and language and music of the Grateful Dead.

I remember my surprise and curiosity when Ian and Danna both yelled elatedly at 4:20 pm each afternoon I was in their company, "It's 4:20, smoke 'em if ya got 'em." I had never heard that phrase or ritual before, and yet I'd been smoking pot (in London, Ontario) since 1981. I moved to Vancouver in March of 1994.

I thought it was an odd west coast thing, something peculiar to Vancouver. In conversations I had with High Times editor Steve Hagar, I learned that it first became a ritual in the high schools of central California around 1976 or so. Up to the mid-70's, high school classes went to 4 pm, so by the time school was out, and you got out of class, 4:20 pm became a time of congregation to smoke a joint.

Some of those high school students were followers of the Grateful Dead, joining in the legendary treks across America following that ubiquitous San Francisco band on what is known as 'Dead Tour.' There they continued their smoking pot at 4.20 pm ritual with an enthusiastic "It's Four Twenty!"

So starting in those California high schools, those students graduated and continued their ritual in the very iconoclastic society of "Deadheads" that followed the band the Grateful Dead on their tours across America and Europe in the mid and late 70's. 4:20 become an established part of Deadhead culture by the early 80's, and when ever one Deadhead wanted to see how hip you might be, the question "What time is it?" began to be a litmus test of the culture. If you gave the regular time, you were 'straight,' but if you responded "It's 4:20!" (no matter what time it was), you were cool, 'one of us.' In Deadhead culture, at 4:20 pm, one yelled out to friends, "It's 4:20!" and joint smoking ensued.

When in July 1994, in my little revolutionary activist headquarters HEMP BC shop open on Hastings St. in downtown Vancouver, I allowed the staff and any customers to smoke pot in the store, so at 4:20 pm every day, Danna, Ian, Cindy, and by November 1994, Dana Larsen, would yell "It's 4:20" and everyone would light up. Back then, even most of our customers had never heard this '4:20' thing before, as only a few months earlier, neither had I.

In March 1995, while working as manager of my Hemp BC store, Danna and Cindy asked me at my desk, "Marc, can we have a 420 celebration next door at Hemp For Victory Square (which is what we called Victory Square at Cambie & Hastings back then) on April 20?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, " You mean we should go over and smoke in the park at 4:20 on April 20 because that's the 4th month, 20th day?"

"No," replied Danna, " I mean we should party over there all day on April 20, not just at 4:20 in the afternoon."

"My God, no, that's decadent, we can't party all day" I said, being very much of the Ayn Rand school of cannabis liberation, and thinking a day-long party was unthinkable to my capitalist work ethic.

So Danna and Cindy went back to work in the store. An hour later Danna came back to me and said, "Even though you don't approve, can we do it anyway?"

I thought about that and asked, "Well, what would you do?"

Danna replied, "We'd get a PA system, invite a few bands, give speeches, smoke lots of pot, from, say, noon to 5 pm."

"Do you think we'd get away with that?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes! It'll be so much fun."

"All right. You can give it a shot." I conceded.

"Will you help us because you have the money and we'll need electrical power, cables, PA equipment, and other things?" she cajoled.

"Okay," I remember laughing at her audacity, "I'll help you."

On April 20, 1995, it was a beautiful sunny day, and 6 cables ran from various electrical outlets at Hemp BC seventy-five feet to Victory Square to supply power for the PA system, the microphones, amplifiers. The party began around noon but because it was a very new idea, never done on April 20 any time before, there were about only 150 people by 2 pm, peaking at 250 people at 4:20 pm. Nonetheless, open pot smoking went on for about 6 hours without any police interference, much to my surprise, only 25 feet from a major intersection of Hastings and Cambie. Everyone who came seemed to have a wonderful time.

The following year, in 1996, at Victory Square again, 500 people came at its peak. For 1997, we moved the event to the Vancouver Art Gallery, its current location, where about 1,000 people came. By 2003 and 2004, 3,000 people attended at its peak at 4:20pm, but in 2005, the number attending exploded to 6,000, and every year since then, numbers increase, with 10,000 in 2009, 13,000 in 2011, and upwards of 15,000 expected this year.

You can see video of Vancouver 4/20 from 2006 to 2011 at the website www.Vancouver420.com. My pioneering video website www.Pot.tv has archival footage of the 4/20 from 2002 to 2005. When YouTube came out, videos of our smoking protest party went viral and the event was emulated in other cities. Now the Vancouver event is so popular, hundreds of people come as early as 9 am to start the party, with thousands at the art gallery grounds by noon, and by 3 pm it is densely packed.

From 2000 to 2008, the master of ceremonies was activist David Malmo-Levine, who at 4:10 would ask people in the crowds to sit down while he and other 'volunteers' tossed joints out to the masses, making sure all would have something to smoke at 4:20 pm. Then Peter Tosh's 'Legalize It' would play at 4:20 pm and a huge, incredible plume of bluish smoke would rise above the assembled mass; you could smell it 3 to 4 blocks away, and on video and in photographs looked spectacular.

Over the years pot vendors selling joints, bags of pot, pot cookies, pot brownies, and various cannabis consumables became a prominent aspect of the festivities. Never in the history of the 4/20 celebration have police interfered with selling or consumption of cannabis. Beautifully, there have been very few incidents of cannabis overuse and virtually no unhappy medical emergencies.

For 2011 and 2012, the event has become very sophisticated, with excellent musical entertainment organized by Adam Bowen, featuring musicians and genres from across the musical spectrum, with prominent staging and sound amplification. Media from all over Canada photograph, videotape, broadcast and cover the event. As always since the beginning, www.CannabisCulture.com has coverage of the event.

In the recent decade, April 20 celebrations by the cannabis culture began to be seen everywhere around the world, certainly every major city in the United States and Canada now has a April 20 celebration, and in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. That's the power of YouTube and 4/20!

This day is now famous everywhere in the world now as 'the national holiday of the cannabis culture,' but we're proud it started here in Vancouver first, 17 years ago, in 1995!

Marc Emery is a Canadian activist imprisoned in the United States for selling marijuana seeds through the mail and using the proceeds to finance advocacy and political campaigns in the United States and worldwide from 1994-2005. See www.FreeMarc.ca for more information

Monday, April 16, 2012

Richard Lee Endorses Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ in Legislation, News

Monday, April 16, 2012 at 8:04 am

Cannabis icon Richard Lee, in one of his first statements since the raid on Oaksterdam University, has endorsed the Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment. 

"Can you imagine seeing your life's work raided and seized?" Lee asked in a telephone interview. "Many patients like me can."

At age 27, while working as a lighting technician, Lee fell off a scaffold and broke his back. A paraplegic, he must now use a wheelchair. Standard prescription pills didn't ease the pain, but medical cannabis did.

On April 2, the DEA, IRS, and U.S. Marshals raided Richard Lee's famed cannabis trade school, Oaksterdam University, in Oakland, California. Since opening in 2007, Oaksterdam has provided cannabis industry training to about 15,000 experts and activists, and is fully compliant with state and local law.

Although Lee was detained during the raid, he was not arrested, but still fears prosecution.

Because of prohibition, a conviction involving cannabis can result not only in jail time, but also in the denial of federal benefits such as college loans, public housing and professional licenses.

"Medical cannabis prohibition is unjust and counterproductive," Lee said. "Because I believe what I have done is moral and ethical, I am standing up for my rights: My right to use medical cannabis to alleviate my suffering; my right to be free of discrimination and interference from the state with regard to my use; my right to access goods and services to enable my use.

"In short," Lee said, "I'm standing up for my rights by endorsing the Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment."

Lee noted that the U.S. Justice Department may well have had a much more difficult time targeting him if he and his school had been protected by a similar amendment in California.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment is a proposed citizen-initiated amendment to the Ohio Constitution, slated for the ballot in the fall of 2012. It focuses on extending to patients eight rights based on the Bill of Rights within the Ohio Constitution.

The amendment also establishes an Ohio Commission of Cannabis Control to not only support, uphold and defend these rights, but also to regulate medical cannabis in Ohio.

Getting the OMCA on ballot will require the collection of 385,000-plus signatures by July 4, 2012. Thousands of people have contacted the campaign to help and securing funding for a complementary paid signature effort is the only obstacle left in getting on the ballot this year.

"Imagine election day 2012," Lee said. "All eyes are trained on Ohio - a perennial swing state during a high profile presidential race. Five million voters affirm the right to use cannabis as medicine. This may represent one of the strongest statements that cannabis reform has ever had the opportunity to make.

"I ask all Ohioans and reformers to stand with me, stand together and stand up for the right to use cannabis as medicine," Lee said. "Support the Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment and help get it on the ballot in the fall." CONTINUE READING…

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Sunday, April 15, 2012

RE: Chuck Byrnes from HempRock Radio “Burnman”...

 

 

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High Everyone. We're sad to say our friend and fellow activist, Chuck 'the Burnman' Byrnes from HempRock Radio and TV, is loosing his battle with cancer!

I know he'd love to hear from you all so we're asking those of you who can't visit him or reach him by phone, to please leave a message for him on the HempRock Hempline. I will be collecting them over the next few days and will burn them all on a CD for him to listen to. You can leave up to a 3 minute message.

Thanx from me and Burnman!


HempRock Hempline 513-68-4-HEMP (4367)

Friday, April 13, 2012

Could marijuana politics become a ‘front burner’ issue in Campaign 2012?

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Libertarian presidential hopeful Gary Johnson is seeking funds from America's 50 million admitted cannabis users to help raise his profile in the 2012 campaign.

 

April 12, 2012

Gary Johnson, the likely Libertarian presidential nominee who served two terms as the Republican governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, has thrown down the gauntlet to President Obama on federal medical marijuana policy.

In an April 10 blog entry on his web site, Johnson asks readers to help him debate the War on Drugs with Obama and Mitt Romney – and he accuses Barack Obama of lying to voters about his medical marijuana position when he sought the presidency in 2008.

Johnson points out that in Obama’s quest for the White House, he clearly stated he would not squander time and money on prosecuting medical marijuana providers in states that have already legalized cannabis as medicine. “I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users,” Obama said four years ago. “It’s not a good use of our resources.”

Yet the Obama administration has continued expending federal resources doing just that, with most of the focus on prosecuting medical marijuana providers.

Johnson says he intends to put discussion about the legalization of marijuana on the “front burner” in the 2012 campaign.

His challenge to the president and likely Republican nominee comes just days after DEA and IRS agents raided Oaksterdam University in Oakland, seizing files and briefly detaining founder Richard Lee, a wheelchair-bound quadriplegic who uses cannabis to treat spastic muscles. Lee is concerned he may face federal drug charges.

Support for medical marijuana at 74 percent

The heavy-handed tactics by the federal government come at a time when half the country favors legalizing marijuana, and not just for medical use. In an October 2011 poll by Gallup, a record-high 50 percent of Americans favored the legalization of marijuana, and a Harris Interactive Poll in March of 2011 found 74 percent support for legalizing medical marijuana.

Johnson points out that not only has Obama failed to keep his promise on medical marijuana, he has failed to respond to citizens who took action on the issue: “President Obama also REJECTED a citizens’ petition to legalize marijuana as well as a citizens’ petition asking that marijuana be reclassified from a Schedule I drug, which is reserved for dangerous drugs, like heroin, with no medical value, to a Schedule II substance,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson is in the midst of a fundraising drive to help him raise his national profile. While Johnson polls quite well in a three-way race against Obama and Romney in New Mexico, where voters know him, he is less of a known quantity at the national level and is currently polling just 7 percent against the incumbent and the likely Republican nominee. He hopes to raise funds to change that by reaching out to those who support legalizing marijuana.

Why did Obama lie about medical marijuana?

“I can’t wait to ask Obama why he lied to us about medical marijuana in 2008 and why his Justice department is arresting and prosecuting people involved in the legal supplying of medical marijuana in states that allow it,” Johnson wrote. “I want to debate whether it makes sense to legalize marijuana and I’m ready to take on Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on this issue, but I need your help.”

Johnson has acknowledged using medical cannabis while recovering from a paragliding accident in 2005.

Donate to Johnson’s campaign

The campaign has set up a special donation site, http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/marijuana, to help solicit at least $1 from each of the 50 million admitted marijuana smoker in the United States. To mail a check or money order, send your contribution to:

Gary Johnson 2012

P.O. Box 1985

Salt Lake City, UT 84110

On the donation page, Johnson states his position succinctly: “This debate isn't just about pot. It's about common sense. It's better to deal with drugs in the daylight as a health issue instead of leaving it in the dark where it breeds more crime and violence. Imagine a pot-friendly, fiscally savvy, open-minded President in the White House. If we all pitch in a little, it can happen.”

The Libertarian Party will hold its convention in Las Vegas the first weekend of May, with Johnson expected to win a first-ballot nomination. The threshold for appearing in presidential debates is 15 percent, and Johnson hopes to raise his profile so as to achieve that number and appear in the fall presidential debates against Obama and Romney. According to veteran Republican strategist Roger Stone, if Johnson can appear before a national television debate audience alongside Obama and Romney, “all bets are off” on the 2012 outcome.

In addition to his pro-legalization policies, Johnson has promised to submit a balanced budget to Congress in first year as president. He also supports gay marriage, Second Amendment rights and repeal of the Patriot Act.

If you like writing about U.S. politics and the 2012 campaign, enter "The American Pundit" competition. Allvoices is awarding four $250 prizes each month between now and November. These monthly winners earn eligibility for the $5,000 grand prize, to be awarded after the November election.

SOURCES & RESOURCES:

Help me debate the war on drugs with Obama and Romney, www.garyjohnson2012.com

Can climbing Mt. Everest help prepare you for a presidential campaign? www.bearingdrift.com

Medical Marijuana dispensaries stay open despite federal deadline, SF Weekly, April 9, 2012

Agents in Oakland raid leader of medical marijuana movement, L.A. Times, April 2, 2012

Gary Johnson 2012: Letter from California, by Roger Stone at huffingtonpost.com

Researchers study neuroprotective properties of cannabis, www.foxnews.com, March 20, 2012

Additional sources linked ot in text.

Punditty is based in Berkeley, California, United States of America, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

Marijuana-Laced Wine Grows More Fashionable in California Wine Country

Apr 14, 2012 4:45 AM EDT

Wines fermented with weed were a novelty in the early 1980s, but now quite a few California winemakers are producing cannabis cuvées on the sly—with cabernet the variety of choice.

Last year, at a Burgundy dinner in New York, I was given a wine that smelled like no Burgundy I’d ever encountered. Instead, it had a pungent herbal aroma that called to mind a college dormitory on a Saturday night—that, or a Grateful Dead concert. The devilish grin on the face of the friend who offered me the mystery liquid confirmed it: what I had in my hand was a glass of pot wine—yes, as in marijuana-laced.

In the spirit of inquiry, I took a sip, and while it neither got me stoned nor made me want to ditch the glass of 1985 Roumier Bonnes-Mares that I was holding in my other hand, it was certainly a novel experience. But it turns out that pot wine isn’t such a novelty in California wine country; there apparently are quite a few winemakers surreptitiously producing cannabis cuvées.

Curious to learn more about this weediest of wines, I recently spoke with a California vintner who makes it on the side. For obvious reasons, he didn’t want his real name used, so I will refer to him as “Bud.” He told me pot wine holds an important distinction: in his view, it is “the only truly original style of wine created in the New World.” Bud said he is just one of a number of winemakers on the Central Coast who are blending two of California’s most prized crops. The recipe for pot wine, such as it is, consists of dropping one pound of marijuana into a cask of fermenting wine, which yields about 1.5 grams of pot per bottle; the better the raw materials—grapes and dope—the better the wine.

The fermentation process converts the sugar in grapes into alcohol, and alcohol extracts the THC from marijuana. Bud goes for maximum extraction: he keeps his weed wine in barrel for nine months before bottling it. He said he and other winemakers produce pot wine in small quantities, to be shared in “convivial moments with like-minded people.” Those who enjoy it evidently enjoy it a lot: Bud said that at certain wine events in San Francisco, New York, and Las Vegas, “I can’t show up unless I have some with me.”

Drugs have been on the periphery of the California wine scene going back a long time. In the late 1960s, Ridge Vineyards, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Silicon Valley and one of California’s most storied wineries, was something of a magnet for counterculture types. In his 2001 book, Zin: The History and Mystery of Zinfandel, David Darlington wrote that on “spectacular Monte Bello Ridge, psychoactive drugs proved quite popular; one Ridge acolyte—a full-bearded, red-headed individual named Jerry—reportedly ate LSD sixty-four days in a row, and bottling was frequently performed by someone who held a 750-ml glass vessel with one hand and a joint of primo sinsemilla with the other.” Having tasted Ridge wines from that period, I can tell you that they have aged beautifully and that I have never found any decayed roaches in the sediment. I can also tell you that this sort of thing no longer happens at Ridge.

“People love wine, and they love weed.”

potwine-steinberger-tease

Getty Images; AP Photo

It is unclear when pot wine originated, but Bud told me that it was being produced in California as far back as the early 1980s. At the time, the Reagan administration was ratcheting up the war on drugs, and marijuana wine had a whiff of danger about it. Bud said it typically was made then with rosé wines and that because of the legal risk involved, bottles were selling for more than $100. (Bud recently tasted a bottle from 1985 and found that it had held up amazingly well and was still very aromatic). These days, though, the marijuana is typically blended with robust reds such as cabernet sauvignon and syrah, and because cannabis has largely shed its illicitness in California, there is not much of a paying market now for pot wine; it’s really just a party drink that winemakers break out whenever the mood strikes.

Crane Carter, who is president of the Napa Valley Marijuana Growers, an organization he founded and which two years ago was granted membership in the Napa Valley Farm Bureau, says pot wine is increasingly fashionable in wine country. He told me that in Napa, much of the marijuana is used for wine comes from Humboldt County, which is California’s weed capital, but there’s also plenty of locally grown grass. Carter said cabernet, Napa’s main grape, is the variety of choice for marijuana-seasoned wine, and that fruit from the Stag’s Leap district is thought to pair particularly well with pot. According to Carter, pot wine delivers a quicker high than pot brownies, and the combination of alcohol and marijuana produces “an interesting little buzz.” He believes cannabis wine has a bright future in Napa. “People love wine,” he says, “and they love weed.” CONTINUE READING…

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Reply from Senator Rand Paul‏

April 12, 2012

Dear Ms. Krider,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the legalization of marijuana. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

The Ending Federal Prohibition on Marijuana Act of 2011 (H.R. 2306) would amend the Controlled Substances Act to remove marijuana from the list of substances illegal under the Act, except that it would remain illegal to ship or transport marijuana to states or localities where it remains illegal. H.R. 2306 was introduced on June 23, 2011, and referred to the House Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committees, where it awaits further consideration. Please be assured I will keep your thoughts in mind should this or similar legislation come before me in the Senate.

Once more, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance in the future. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Sincerely,

Signature

Rand Paul, MD
United States Senator

Statement from Attorney General Jack Conway on HB 4

Office of the Attorney General
Statement from Attorney General Jack Conway on HB 4

Press Release Date:
Friday, April 13, 2012

Revision Date:
Friday, April 13, 2012

(Revised to correct date of the special session.) 

Contact Information:
Shelley Catharine Johnson
Deputy Communications Director
502-696-5659 (office)

"It is certainly disappointing that lawmakers were unable to pass comprehensive legislation during the regular session of the General Assembly to fight prescription drug abuse in Kentucky. It is my understanding that Gov. Beshear will place HB 4 on the call for a special session of the General Assembly to begin on Monday, April 16.

As lawmakers renew their discussion of this important legislation, I am hopeful they will not use the Free Conference Report version of HB 4 as a starting point, but rather the original legislation proposed by Speaker Stumbo, which I supported.

To aggressively fight this epidemic, several things must be accomplished. Prescribers of Schedule II and III opiates, with reasonable exemptions for many in the medical community, must be required to use KASPER. Law enforcement must have greater access to KASPER data, so that we can identify disturbing prescribing trends. We need greater regulation of pain clinics to put an end to entrepreneurs using prescriptions to line their pockets with cash and to ensure that pain clinics are not dispensing drugs in a way intended for pharmacists.

In its current form, HB 4 does not accomplish the goals we have outlined. Lobbyists for the medical community have watered down this bill to the point that it would place even greater restrictions on law enforcement access to KASPER data, making it more difficult to do the job we are seeking to do. Lobbyists also persuaded the Senate to remove another critical portion of HB 4 that would require doctors to register and use KASPER. Currently, only about 25 percent of prescribers in Kentucky use this important law enforcement tool.

For the many families devastated by this scourge, I hope that the General Assembly, and the Senate in particular, will act in good faith to represent the larger public interest and not let special interests write the prescription drug legislation.

In the Office of the Attorney General, we pledge to act in good faith to ensure that legislation passed by the General Assembly works fairly and effectively."

Saturday, April 7, 2012

An honest opinion by an “idiot”....Sen. McConnell

mcconnell 001

War On Drugs Has Long Been Lost

By Joseph Fraser

Posted: 12:00am on Mar 31, 2012

We call ourselves a free country, yet it is illegal to use marijuana on a recreational basis.

Seriously? Think about this, marijuana funds 60 percent of illegal drug operations across the United States. This market dictated by violence and extortion is really an unregulated form of capitalism. Ever wonder what capitalism would be without regulation? Just look at what the war on drugs has done to America. Some $1.5 trillion spent and nothing gained on the home front when it comes to the usage of drugs.

Ever wonder why? It's simple, you can't legislate free will, and any time the government deems it necessary to do so, it costs the taxpayer unmeasured amounts. Why unmeasured? With so much money spent to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is likely we are borrowing money from the Chinese government to tell Bob he doesn't have the freedom to enjoy a plant at his own discretion.

Isn't it apparent that we have lost the war on drugs after arresting so many millions? According to Adam Liptak of The New York Times in 2008, "The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners."

On average, it costs our country about $40,000 per prisoner per year. It just doesn't seem to be the real reason behind the drug war, does it? It's almost like another dirty little government secret. It appears to be a racially motivated legislation. We all know minorities are filling these prisons, and we also know that the majority of these prisoners are criminally prosecuted and incarcerated based on nonviolent drug offenses.

Is it really worth $40,000 to keep one individual from getting high?

Meanwhile, this country is $16 trillion in debt. Do you want to cut grandma's health care? Or should we cut back on the cost of the drug war by legalizing marijuana? You can't have an honest conversation about reducing the nation's debt burden without considering it.

America is known for its agricultural resources which it shares with people across the globe. So why should we be ashamed of producing a useful product that people might enjoy too? Everyone knows that hemp, a non-psycho-tropic form of marijuana, can be used to make lots of products. In fact, hemp was used to make rope for years, right here in Kentucky.

Instead of wasting money subsidizing farmers to not grow in this country, let the farmers earn an honest living, so they can once again put their children through college. Why is it in America we continue to hold back an industry because a certain uneducated part of the country doesn't understand it or doesn't believe in a person's right to get high? News flash: Folks are still getting high, legal or not, like it or not.

Our government thinks it has the right to dictate a way of living to the American people. I say enough is enough. It is high time we start dictating to them what it is we will spend our money on. Let's be serious in 2012 America, and it all starts with legalizing marijuana. It's just common sense

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/31/2133547/war-on-drugs-has-long-been-lost.html#storylink=cpy

Friday, April 6, 2012

Petition to END THE WAR ON DRUGS

Last week Avaaz Executive Director Ricken Patel hand-delivered our over half a million signatures to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, world leaders and the global media in New York. At the meeting Ban Ki Moon heard our call to action and agreed to create a new UN task force to develop a comprehensive approach to drugs and organized crime. This is a major step forward towards ending the war on drugs as the approach will include a public health, education and prevention focus. We will continue to push to make sure this senseless and brutal war is ended. Stay tuned for how together we can keep up the pressure!
Update June 1 2011
Amazing! In just a few days, we blew past our goal of 500,000 voices calling for an end to the war on drugs. Our message will be hand-delivered to world leaders on Thursday, June 2 at a press conference in New York and to the UN Secretary-General on Friday, June 3. The event will feature a live counter of petition signatures, so every one of us counts -- let's keep spreading the word and building this campaign!
Posted May 30 2011
In 72 hours, we could finally see the beginning of the end of the ‘war on drugs’. This expensive war has completely failed to curb the plague of drug addiction, while costing countless lives, devastating communities, and funneling trillions of dollars into violent organized crime networks.
Experts all agree that the most sensible policy is to regulate, but politicians are afraid to touch the issue. In 72 hours, a global commission including former heads of state and foreign policy chiefs of the UN, EU, US, Brazil, Mexico and more will break the taboo and publicly call for new approaches including decriminalization and regulation of drugs.
This could be a once-in-a-generation tipping-point moment -- if enough of us call for an end to this madness. Politicians say they understand that the war on drugs has failed, but claim the public isn't ready for an alternative. Let's show them we not only accept a sane and humane policy -- we demand it. Sign the petition and share with everyone -- when we reach 1/2 million, it will be personally delivered to world leaders by the global commission.
For 50 years current drug policies have failed everyone, everywhere but public debate is stuck in the mud of fear and misinformation. Everyone, even the UN Office on Drugs and Crime which is responsible for enforcing this approach agrees -- deploying militaries and police to burn drug farms, hunting down traffickers, and imprisoning dealers and addicts – is an expensive mistake. And with massive human cost -- from Afghanistan, to Mexico, to the USA the illegal drug trade is destroying countries around the world, while addiction, overdose deaths, and HIV/AIDS infections continue to rise.
Meanwhile, countries with less-harsh enforcement -- like Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Australia -- have not seen the explosion in drug use that proponents of the drug war have darkly predicted. Instead, they have seen significant reductions in drug-related crime, addiction and deaths, and are able to focus squarely on dismantling criminal empires.
Powerful lobbies still stand in the way of change, including military, law enforcement, and prison departments whose budgets are at stake. And politicians fear that voters will throw them out of office if they support alternative approaches, as they will appear weak on law and order. But many former drug Ministers and Heads of State have come out in favour of reform since leaving office, and polls show that citizens across the world know the current approach is a catastrophe. Momentum is gathering towards new improved policies, particularly in regions that are ravaged by the drug trade.
If we can create a worldwide outcry in the next 72 hours to support the bold calls of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, we can overpower the stale excuses for the status quo. Our voices hold the key to change -- Sign the petition and spread the word.
We have a chance to enter the closing chapter of this brutal 'war' that has destroyed millions of lives. Global public opinion will determine if this catastrophic policy is stopped or if politicians shy away from reform. Let's rally urgently to push our hesitating leaders from doubt and fear, over the edge, and into reason.