• Cannabis & Hemp - International

    When did Canada go from laid-back to straight-laced on marijuana policy?

    by Marc-Boris St.-Maurice Founder, Bloc Pot and the Marijuana Party of Canada.

    I can totally understand why legendary stoner comedians Cheech and Chong might be tempted to take a shot at Harper. OK, I think calling the prime minister a “douchebag” is overly harsh language – I always thought you could catch more flies with honey – but as actors they can get away with it.

    Of course, the real irony here is that they are not “acting” one bit. However crass the comment, it could not have been more sincere. In 2003, Chong and his son were arrested for the interstate distribution of drug paraphernalia – their company “Chong Glass” had been selling pipes and bongs with the icon’s image on them. Chong pleaded guilty and served nine months in jail to save his son from prosecution.

    Prior to the arrest, Tommy was somewhat vocal about legalization, but since his stint in the joint, he has become a full-blown activist. His show has gone from comedy classics to political theatre. Adversity breeds activism, and going to jail certainly qualifies as adverse.

    But when did Canada go from laid-back-ganja-cool to button-down-straight-laced?

  • Cannabis & Hemp - What You Can Do

    Stop Michele Leonhart

    The DEA has raided five medical marijuana providers in the past few weeks. DEA acting administrator Michele Leonhart is out of control, and it’s time to demand a response from President Obama. Tell the president that he needs to find a DEA administrator who respects patients’ rights and local sovereignty.

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Hot Off The 'Net

    The Link Between Marijuana and Schizophrenia

    By Maia Szalavitz

    Since the days of Reefer Madness, scientists have sought to understand the complex connection between marijuana and psychosis. Cannabis can cause short-term psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and paranoia, even in healthy people, but researchers have also long noted a link between marijuana use and the chronic psychotic disorder, schizophrenia.

    Repeatedly, studies have found that people with schizophrenia are about twice as likely to smoke pot as those who are unaffected. Conversely, data suggest that those who smoke cannabis are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as nonsmokers. One widely publicized 2007 review of the research even concluded that trying marijuana just once was associated with a 40% increase in risk of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    Hemp History

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 7-17-10

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 7-17-10. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2982

    Question of the Week: What is hemp’s history in United States?

    A 2000 report from the United States Department of Agriculture recounted,

    “The first records of hemp cultivation and use are from China, where the species most likely originated. Migrating peoples likely brought hemp to Europe where, by the 16th century, it was widely distributed, cultivated for fiber, and the seed cooked with barley or other grains and eaten.”

    “The Puritans brought hemp to New England in 1645 as a fiber source for household spinning and weaving … Cultivation spread to Virginia and, in 1775, to Kentucky, where the crop grew so well a commercial cordage industry developed. The hemp industry flourished in Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois between 1840 and 1860 because of strong demand for sailcloth and cordage by the U.S. Navy.”

    For her article in the 2009 UCLA Law Review, Christine Kolosov, reported,

    “So important was hemp to the earliest settlers that in 1619, the Jamestown colony passed a law making it illegal not to grow the crop. Colonies in Massachusetts and Connecticut passed similar laws in 1631 and 1632. The first drafts of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were both penned on hemp paper, and hemp cultivation continued well into the twentieth century as patriotic farmers responded to the government’s call by drastically increasing production during World War I and World War II.”

    But according to the USDA,

    “Production peaked in 1943 and 1944. After the war, production rapidly declined as imports resumed and legal restrictions were reimposed. A small hemp fiber industry continued in Wisconsin until 1958.”

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Hemp chapter of Drug War Facts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected].

  • Cannabis & Hemp

    US CA: OPED: Decriminalize Marijuana: It’s Far Less Harmful

    Newshawk: http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
    Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jul 2010
    Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
    Webpage: http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_15525522
    Copyright: 2010 San Jose Mercury News
    Contact: [email protected]
    Author: Larry A. Bedard, MD
    Note: Larry A. Bedard, MD, is past president of the American College
    of Emergency Medicine and is a California Medical Association
    delegate. He wrote this article for this newspaper.
    Cited: Proposition 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+19

    DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: IT’S FAR LESS HARMFUL THAN ALCOHOL

    The California Medical Association in October declared the
    criminalization of marijuana to be a failed public health policy. Its
    assessment is appropriate.

    Marijuana prohibition is a classic case of the so-called cure
    (criminalization) being worse than the disease (the private
    recreational use of marijuana).

    Consider the questionable efficacy of our present policy. Forty-three
    percent of Americans over the age of 12 admit to having used
    marijuana, and nearly one in 10 Californians use it now. At an
    estimated $15 billion, marijuana is California’s largest cash crop.

    Now let’s consider the costs of prohibition. In the Golden State,
    taxpayers spend $300 million annually to arrest and prosecute 60,000
    people — largely Latinos and African-Americans — for possessing
    minor, recreational amounts of marijuana. Prohibition is also
    empowering drug cartels, particularly criminal enterprises in Mexico,
    which now reap between 60 percent and 70 percent of their total
    revenue from the exportation of marijuana to America and threaten to
    turn Mexico into a “narco” state.

    [snip]

    Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n561.a06.html

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Drug Policy

    US OR: Crime, Medical Marijuana Initiatives Qualify for Ballot

    Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jul 2010
    Source: Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)
    Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/YNoZGytL
    Copyright: 2010 Statesman Journal
    Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/QEzJupzz
    Author: Peter Wong, Statesman Journal
    Cited: http://www.coalitionforpatientsrights2010.com/
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis – Medicinal – U.S.)
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries

    CRIME, MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVES QUALIFY FOR BALLOT

    Both Receive Enough Signatures for Voters’consideration Nov. 2

    Oregonians will vote Nov. 2 on mandatory prison time for repeat
    felony sex offenders and drunken drivers, and state licensing of
    dispensaries for purchases of medical marijuana.

    Secretary of State Kate Brown announced Friday that both had obtained
    more than the 82,769 signatures required to qualify them for the ballot.

    Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n560.a04.html

  • Cannabis & Hemp

    Column: Legalized Pot? Like Getting Bonged in the Head

    Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jul 2010
    Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
    Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/H11qQ2tj
    Copyright: 2010 PG Publishing Co., Inc.
    Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/pm4R4dI4
    Author: Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    Cited: Proposition 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+19
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?261 (Cannabis – United States)
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis – Medicinal – U.S.)

    LEGALIZED POT? LIKE GETTING BONGED IN THE HEAD

    In November, Californians will have the opportunity to vote on a
    ballot initiative legalizing all marijuana use, whether medicinal or not.

    According to the latest poll of likely California voters, Proposition
    19 will pass. This will put the Obama administration in an awkward position.

    The federal government is already suing Arizona for its recently
    enacted immigration law. What will the Obama Justice Department do
    when a state goes rogue by establishing its own rules when it comes
    to licensing and taxing the sale of weed?

    Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0441.html

  • Cannabis & Hemp

    US CA: Opposition to Pot Measure Gains Narrow Lead in Poll

    Newshawk: Please Support Prop. 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
    Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jul 2010
    Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
    Page: AA1, continued on page AA7
    Copyright: 2010 Los Angeles Times
    Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/bc7El3Yo
    Author: John Hoeffel
    Referenced: The Field Poll http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2342.pdf
    Cited: Proposition 19 http://www.taxcannabis.org/
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Proposition+19

    OPPOSITION TO POT MEASURE GAINS NARROW LEAD IN POLL

    In Contrast to Earlier Results, Survey Finds That 48% of Likely
    Voters Are Against Prop. 19

    Californians who intend to vote in November narrowly oppose
    Proposition 19, which would make the state the first to legalize
    marijuana possession and sales, according to a recent survey.

    The Field Poll found that 48% of likely voters oppose the measure and
    44% support it, a contrast with two polls taken in May that showed
    voters were leaning slightly in favor of the measure.

    [snip]

    Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n536.a01.html

  • Cannabis & Hemp

    US ME: State Awards Six of Eight Licenses to Dispense Medical Marijuana

    Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jul 2010
    Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
    Webpage: http://mapinc.org/url/EOeDMAHB
    Copyright: 2010 MaineToday Media, Inc.
    Contact: http://www.pressherald.com/readerservices/Send_a_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
    Author: John Richardson, Staff Writer
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?253 (Cannabis – Medicinal – U.S.)

    STATE AWARDS SIX OF EIGHT LICENSES TO DISPENSE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

    Northeast Patients Group Earns the Chance to Distribute the Drug in
    Cumberland County and Three Other Regions.

    PORTLAND – Cumberland County’s first medical marijuana dispensary is
    expected to open this fall on Congress Street in Portland.

    York County may have to wait a little longer.

    Maine awarded six operating licenses Friday for nonprofit
    dispensaries around the state, and one of the licensees plans to
    lease part of the former Key Bank building at 959 Congress, near the
    corner of St. John Street.

    However, officials rejected all six license applications to operate a
    dispensary in York County and set a new deadline of Aug. 20 for the
    next round of applications. That could push back the opening of a
    dispensary in that part of the state until early next year. New
    applications also must be sought for the Down East facility.

    Northeast Patients Group won the right to open the dispensary in
    Cumberland County, one of eight public health districts in Maine. The
    group, which has Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion on its board of
    directors, also won licenses to operate dispensaries in three other
    districts around the state: Augusta-Waterville, Thomaston-Rockland
    and Bangor-Hermon.

    [snip]

    Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10.n535.a07.html