http://www.420girls.com/420/forums 420 Girls Cannabis High Hemp Marijuana News Entertainment and Education. HUGE Stoner Community with picture galleries of Stoner Chicks, Links, Facts, Forums, Information, and so much more. en Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:29:25 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/images_greenish/misc/rss.jpg http://www.420girls.com/420/forums http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11671&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:10:15 GMT Guys like Al Capone would see to that. Big Al, they say, was knocking down $60 million per year in the late 1920s from alcohol alone, during a period when our government brain trust decided the best way to get people to sober up was to pass an 18th Amendment banning the sale, transportation and... Guys like Al Capone would see to that. Big Al, they say, was knocking down $60 million per year in the late 1920s from alcohol alone, during a period when our government brain trust decided the best way to get people to sober up was to pass an 18th Amendment banning the sale, transportation and manufacturing of alcohol in America.

Big Al wasn't that smart, but he was smart enough to know a sucker when he saw one and Uncle Sam was the biggest sucker of all.

Unfortunately, Uncle Sam doesn't learn from his mistakes (don't get me started).

This War On Drugs he is waging today is a loser, serving only to create more Al Capones than ever before and draining our resources to the point that we may soon spend more to eradicate and incarcerate than educate.

The definition of insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Last week there was a raid on some federal land around here where they say some Mexican nationals were growing a thousand or more marijuana plants.

It was a sizable bust and the law enforcement task force filled bags and bags of the weed that an estimated 15 million Americans smoke at least once per month.

It made great headlines, but if you read between the lines, it won't make a difference. Especially not to the so-called Mexican cartel leader who probably sent a handful of poor laborers up here to plant and grow pot.

The poor guy they caught was probably living in the woods, working his tail off by day, sleeping in the dirt by night, supplied with tortillas and beans and maybe, if he made it home with the pot, a pocketful of pesos.

He didn't make it home with the pot, but to the guys at the top, who sit in Mexican palaces and control everything around them, last week's bust was nothing. A few seeds lost, maybe some tortilla money and a few laborers who could be replaced with the snap of the fingers.

I ran across a column last week from the former governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson headlined, “Legalize Marijuana To Stop Drug Cartels.”

In it, Johnson indicates that Mexican drug cartels make at least 60 percent of their revenue from selling marijuana in the United States.

The FBI, he writes, estimates that the cartels now control distribution in more than 230 American cities.

“How are they able to do this?” he asks. “Because America's policy for nearly 70 years has been to keep marijuana — arguably no more harmful than alcohol — confined to the illicit market, meaning we are giving criminals a virtual monopoly on something that U.S. researcher Jon Gettman estimates is a $36 billion per year industry, greater than the corn and wheat combined.”

I know.

“Marijuana is a gateway drug! If we legalize it our kids will smoke it and then start shooting heroin into their eyeballs!”

I don't think so. Most people I know say they had a drink long before they smoked pot. Our parents kept the liquor cabinet well stocked.

Besides, any high schooler will tell you it may be more difficult to buy beer than pot in Nevada County.

Dealers don't ask for IDs.

Since the bad guys always control the illegal drug trade — much as Capone and his men did in the Roaring 20s (an estimated 227 gangsters were killed during a four-year span in Chicago) — there is a lot of blood, as the various cartels fight for control of the industry.

“The violence in Mexico is out of control and is destroying that country,” Johnson writes. “Some schools are even teaching their students to duck and cover to avoid being caught in the crossfire.”

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has finally concluded that a new approach is needed and that an open debate on legalizing and regulating marijuana in particular may be the only way to end the violence that has killed more than 28,000 Mexicans in just the last four years.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government hasn't been interested in joining that debate, which makes you at least wonder what's really behind the so-called War On Drugs (again ... don't get me started).

What our government ought to figure out is why its citizens like to get stoned and/or drunk every day. What are they trying to escape?

Ten minutes of CNN might answer that one.

According to the Proposition 19 advocates (on the November ballot to legalize marijuana), there is an estimated $14 BILLION in marijuana sales each year in California alone and the cash-strapped state gets nothing.

Under Prop 19, juveniles would not be allowed to legally purchase or possess marijuana, just like alcohol today.

And ... just as with alcohol ... you wouldn't be allowed to drive under the influence of marijuana.

Advocates argue that legalization would allow our cops and courts to focus on the really bad crimes, saving hundreds of millions of dollars currently spent arresting, jailing and prosecuting non-violent pot growers and users.

And then there are the taxes. The state tax collector and Board of Equalization estimate that California — facing a $20 billion shortfall and no budget — could generate more than $1.4 billion by taxing marijuana, adding it to the list of so-called “sin taxes” that includes alcohol and tobacco.

I'm not a huge fan of taxes, but I'd rather see some of the pot money go to our schools and highways than to fund some Fat Cat's illegal empire.

At the end of the day, argue Prop 19 advocates, “Outlawing marijuana hasn't stopped 100 million Americans from trying it.”

It should not go unnoticed, as you head to the polls in November, that the most strident opponents of California's Prop 19 are the drug lords and growers who stand to lose their tax-free fortunes. They would love your support.


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: theunion.com
Author: Jeff Ackerman
Copyright: 2010 Swift Communications, Inc.
Contact: TheUnion.com Online News | Grass Valley & Nevada County California
Website: Jeff Ackerman: Pot busts — Reading between the lines | TheUnion.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...een-lines.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11671 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11672&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:10:15 GMT The freshly appointed National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, who assumed his post on 1 July, has his hands full. Although the partial decriminalization of cannabis at the beginning of this year didn’t transform the capital into the new Amsterdam, as some headlines suggested, the accessibility of soft drugs, Vobořil says, has secured the Czech Republic one of the highest rankings in Europe regarding cannabis use.

According to a 2009 report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, for the third time in a row, Czechs rank among top four heaviest cannabis users in Europe, and almost half of those aged between 15 and 24 have used marihuana at least once.

"To buy a narcotic in a small village you need to know phone numbers, dealers," Vobořil says. "In the capital going to Wenceslas Square is enough."

Praguers know well that it takes as much as asking a bartender, or heading to spots like Chapeau Rouge or Můstek after dark.

For those not well-versed in the city’s green scene, there are ample online forums where willing individuals offer help with supply, share links and emails, including for instance this one.

Tomáš Gřivna, PhD expert in criminal law at Prague’s Charles University, emphasizes that despite partial decriminalization, marijuana is still illegal in the Czech Republic.

"The only change in law that occurred, is such that possession of some amounts of certain drugs is a minor offense now, and not, as yet, a crime," he explains.

The possession of more than the allowed 15 grams of cannabis is subject to a fine of up to CZK 15,000, or imprisonment of up to one year.

That’s theory. In reality, not many drug users care about the margins of legality as punishment for cannabis use is rare. According to the mentioned EMCDDA report, 87 % of all drug law offences in the Czech Republic were related to supply; less than 10 % concerned use.

"The police doesn’t pay any attention," says Josef Kavka, a student at Charles University. "Among my friends 50% use cannabis once a month, 20-30% once a week, the rest avoids it."

According to Vobořil, due to lack of resources, the drug squad of 150-200 is forced to mainly focus on riskier drugs like methamphetamines and heroine.

To curb the number of soft-drug users, he suggests law changes that would also penalize club owners, not just sellers, as well as tougher punishment for suppliers. He mentions that, currently, the law doesn’t distinguish between a regular dealer and one who supplies the underage.

A key ingredient to remedy the widespread use of cannabis, though, he says, is greater public awareness. "What we need is closer communication with local communities and social services, like in United Kingdom where BAP teams adjust antidrug policy to particular areas."

News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: ENCOD
Author: Tomasz Sokołów
Copyright: 2008 European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies
Contact: Encod.org
Website: PRAGUE HIGH - Encod.org


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...ague-high.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11672 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11673&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:10:15 GMT Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic former mayor of San Francisco, will co-chair the campaign to defeat Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot in November, according to a press release today. Her co-chair will be L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. This is a huge win... Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic former mayor of San Francisco, will co-chair the campaign to defeat Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot in November, according to a press release today.

Her co-chair will be L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. This is a huge win for the opposition. Feinstein's already voiced opposition, but she seems to be really putting some force behind it with this move.

"California will not see a single positive result if Proposition 19 passes," said Senator Feinstein. "It is a poorly constructed initiative that will cause harm to Californians on our roadways, and in our schools, workplaces and communities. I look forward to working with Sheriff Baca to ensure we defeat Proposition 19 in November."

(Proponents believe prohibition of marijuana impinges on the rights of Californians to do as they please with a substance no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, wastes precious law enforcement resources, and leads to racial-profiling.)

Regardless, Feinstein represents probably the key constituency supporters will need for Prop. 19 to pass: moderate Democrats who haven't smoke weed since college and are largely persuadable on this issue either way.

The partisans on the issue are already in their respective camps. The "pro" side now has two challenges: Get their staunch partisans, who probably aren't very reliable voters, to come out. And, persuade moderates, make them feel comfortable with legalization. Feinstein just made that second task harder.



NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: laweekly.com
Author: J. Patrick Coolican
Copyright: 2010 LA Weekly, LP
Contact: Los Angeles News, Events, Restaurants, Music LA Weekly
Website: Sen. Dianne Feinstein To Chair No On Prop 19 - Los Angeles News - The Informer


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...prop-19-a.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11673 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11674&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:10:15 GMT After a California court of appeal rejected the city of Anaheim's argument that marijuana's federal outlaw status allowed the municipality to ban medical pot dispensaries, a pro-cannabis group is urging all cities in California that ban pot shops to change course.

"It's long past time for local officials to implement California law and embrace the need for safe access to medical marijuana," Don Morgan, associate director of Americans for Safe Access, states. "Patients should not have to be held hostage by hostile jurisdictions."

The group argues that the the Fourth District Court of Appeal's decision earlier this month in the Qualified Patients Association v. City of Anaheim case sets somewhat of a precedent, even if the case has not been decided (it was sent back to Superior Court in Orange County for more deliberation).

Appeals court Judge Richard Aronson wrote, "Just as the federal government may not commandeer state officials for federal purposes, a city may not stand in for the federal government and rely on purported federal preemption to implement federal legislative policy that differs from corresponding, express state legislation concerning medical marijuana."

Joe Elford, ASA's chief counsel, argues that the decision "makes clear that regulation of dispensaries, rather than an outright ban, is consistent with State law and is not preempted by federal law."

In letters, the group has asked 134 cities and 9 counties "to reconsider [their] ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in light of the recently published decision."

Interestingly, the group holds up Los Angeles, which has had years of wrangling over how to regulate pot shops, of an example of how to do it the right way -- legalize pot shops, but with rules. In L.A.'s case, however, things remain chaotic:

After outlawing all but 41 pot shops out of nearly 600 in the city, authorities are backing off on enforcement against those that remain open as issues over the legality of its ordinance play out in court his month.



NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: laweekly.com
Author: Dennis Romero
Copyright: 2010 LA Weekly, LP
Contact: Los Angeles News, Events, Restaurants, Music LA Weekly
Website: http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/m...ns-challenged/


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...pot-shops.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11674 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11675&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:10:15 GMT The Denver Post thinks you should choose between your medicine and your job Quote: When it comes to medical marijuana, employers ought to have wide latitude in deciding how to handle workers who use the substance legally. Beyond the law, the rationale that employers... The Denver Post thinks you should choose between your medicine and your job

Quote:
When it comes to medical marijuana, employers ought to have wide latitude in deciding how to handle workers who use the substance legally.

Beyond the law, the rationale that employers have in enforcing anti-drug policies should be obvious.

Workers who operate heavy equipment or drive buses, for instance, shouldn’t be under the influence of a drug that could impair their reaction time.

People who are in severe, chronic pain, which has been the favorite reason cited by applicants for Colorado medical marijuana cards, are likely to have difficulty doing those kinds of jobs anyway.

As Colorado’s new regulatory framework for medical marijuana takes effect, we hope more of the cardholders who have schemed their way into the system are weeded out.

That, in and of itself, will vastly cut down on the number of conflicts between users and employers.

The more sensitive calls employers will have to make include whether medical marijuana use would make a difference in the performance of someone who runs a cash register, or answers telephones.

via Give employers final say on pot – The Denver Post.


Here’s the problem, Denver Post editorialists: employers aren’t making the decision to keep the medical marijuana patient from smoking a joint before he runs the forklift or drives a bus. They are discriminating against the users of one particular legal medicine for all hiring and firing decisions. They are basing employment decisions on pot-free pee over performance. They are making Colorado’s sick and disabled decide between employment and health care.

Nobody supports the idea of safety-sensitive workers medicating on the job site. That’s why medical marijuana laws in all fourteen states recognize the right of an employer to not be required to accommodate medical marijuana use in the workplace. Nobody writing those laws and voting on those initiatives thought that meant no right to work for sick and disabled people.

Furthermore, Denver Post, you are supporting a dangerous concept held by many in business when it comes to workplace safety – the idea that workers with pot-free pee are safer workers. First of all, the defense that employers need to test worker’s pee in order to maintain a “drug free workplace” doesn’t hold up when you realize the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 does not require pee testing. It requires a policy statement, an awareness program, notification to employers about the policy, and a punishment or program for employees convicted of a workplace drug violation… but “force your employees to pee in a cup to see if they smoked a joint last night” ain’t in there.

Second, pee testing doesn’t catch the vast majority of dangerous impairments. A pee test can tell you a medical marijuana patient used cannabis last night to help quell pain, steady spasms, or quiet seizures so he can get a good night’s sleep and awake refreshed for work. But it won’t tell you if another worker used Ambien the night before and is still a bit drowsy in the morning. It doesn’t look for many prescription drugs that can cause impairment. It doesn’t catch the worker distracted by emotion or fatigue. It doesn’t tell you whether the worker played beer pong the night before and is coming to work hungover.

Speaking of the hangover, that hilarious recovery from a drug overdose we celebrate in major motion pictures, far more danger and lost productivity are wrought in the workplace from that legal, non-medical use of alcohol than the legal medical use of cannabis:

Quote:
(Alcoholism – About.com) Dr. Jeffrey Wiese, medical professor at the University of California… reviewed medical studies on alcohol use published between 1966 and 1999.

Wiese’s research appeared in the June 6, 2000 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, a biweekly journal published by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.

Although hangovers might be considered trivial – just deserts for the overindulgent – it has substantial economic consequences, Wiese said in his report. (United States, $148 billion.)

Researchers also found that people with hangovers posed a danger to themselves and others long after their blood alcohol levels had returned to normal, suggesting that hangovers could be more insidious than actual inebriation.
Ironically, if you are an alcoholic and you join Alcoholics Anonymous, you are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act on 1973. For that matter, if you decide to quit marijuana use and join Marijuana Anonymous, you’re protected because of your status as a recovering drug addict. So, Denver Post, you’re saying if you use marijuana medically to solve a health problem, your boss can discriminate against you and force you to quit, but if marijuana use has become a health problem and you decide to quit, your boss can’t discriminate against you.

Which just illustrates the Denver Post’s characterization of medical marijuana and its users. You don’t like people using cannabis, period. The line about the “severe, chronic pain” as if those users were liars and frauds, never considering that maybe the forklift operator or bus driver has a nausea condition that requires medication after work in order to eat. The “cardholders who have schemed their way into the system” line shows they think only bedridden, frail, terminal, unemployable people should benefit from Amendment 20. Surely nobody who can work a job should ever need medical marijuana!

Imagine the reaction if the Denver Post had just suggested that employers should be allowed to determine which medicines a doctor can recommend to a patient. In essence, that is what they have done; they’ve given employers veto power over a doctor’s plan for patient care, at least if the patient wants to remain employed enough to pay for patient care.

Finally, Denver Post should be informed that while employers can discriminate against legal users of the 10%-20% THC found in natural herbal cannabis, employers cannot discriminate against legal users of the 100% THC found in synthetic prescription Marinol. Both cause the same failure on most workplace pee tests, but since Marinol is Schedule III and federally-prescribable, its use is covered by the Americans with Disability Act. However, Marinol is far more psychoactive and impairing and contains a little disclaimer:

Quote:
Until you know how you may be affected by Marinol, do not drive or operate heavy machinery.
So once you do know how it affects you… go ahead and drive the forklift or bus?


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Opposing Views: Issues, Experts, Answers
Author: NORML
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: 2008-2010 Opposing Views, Inc.
Website:Opposing Views: Denver Post: OK to Discrimate Over Medical Marijuana


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...marijuana.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11675 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11667&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:01:24 GMT Marijuana has been illegal for years, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying to legalize it. Every year on the first Saturday of April, Hash Bash in Ann Arbor rallies for the legalization of marijuana, held on the University of Michigan’s campus. At Hash Bash, they rebel by smoking marijuana in public.

Quote:
Despite the 2008 passing of a law legalizing marijuana for medical use, Eastern Michigan University Police Chief Greg O’Dell said any usage of the drug, with or without a card, is prohibited on campus.
During Hash Bash this year, people everywhere were handing out business cards of doctors known to give the OK on receiving medical marijuana cards. This is because in 2008, the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act passed, which allows someone to legally smoke in public and buy marijuana from a licensed medical marijuana store such as 3rd Coast Compassion Center on 19 N. Hamilton St. in Ypsilanti. However, someone should be carrying a Medical Marijuana Registry Identification Card.

Although people are blatant about marijuana on U-M’s campus, the policies at Eastern are a completely different story. According to Greg O’Dell, the police chief at EMU, marijuana is prohibited on campus for any reason, including medicinal uses.

Brian Fitzgerald, head of Housing and Dining Services said though there were meetings in place discussing the possibility of allowing medicinal marijuana on campus, after looking at the possibilities, and other universities in Michigan as well as other states, EMU’s administration came to the conclusion that keeping campus a drug-free zone was best for the school.

The consequences for students are caught with marijuana on-campus will most likely be treated as a conduct issue, and the first offense would be a $100 fine. This applies to students who have a medical marijuana card and/or are not aware of the on-campus rule.

As for off-campus activities, stipulations are in order to buy and sell marijuana. The buyer has to have a card on them telling the seller that they had some kind of health condition allowing them to smoke it and the seller also has to have the same type of card.

In order to be cleared to smoke medical marijuana you need to have a medical condition. The conditions that will get a person a card without much question are cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Nail Patella syndrome. Other health conditions can get a person a medical marijuana card, but they have to meet other specific criteria.

“You can find people who will hand out medical marijuana cards like candy. As long as you have $250,” Matt Lafleur, 23, said.

Lafleur is in the process of getting his card right now. “Contact doctors online, in the Metro-Times newspaper or in smoke shops,” he said.

He applied for a medical marijuana card because of his migraines. He was denied twice. Then, while shopping in a smoke shop, he was handed a card with a doctor’s name on it, and from then on he was set. It still has to be processed through the state, but as long as a doctor gives the okay, the state will not argue.

A doctor, who you will never have to see again, will send the state papers. It takes about 20 to 30 days to process the papers and then about 21 days to get the card. However, if a person has not gotten his or her card within that 21-day waiting period, he or she can legally smoke medicinally.

People’s Choice Alternative Medicine located in Ann Arbor is a private medical marijuana club run like a co-op. In order to join the club you need to have papers, such as your medicinal marijuana card, and a doctor’s OK. You can’t just walk in from the street and buy marijuana.

Adam Centofanti the general Manager of the club said, “The word dispensary is like a four letter word here in Michigan. Places like California have…dispensaries. The difference between having a private club and having a dispensary is a dispensary has customers who come in, buy the marijuana, and leave. They don’t have any part in running the business. People’s Choice Alternative Medicine is a safe haven for growers, patients and caregivers. We are the liaison in the mix”.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Eastern Echo
Author: Andrea Lorfel
Contact: Eastern Echo
228 King Hall
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Copyright: 2010 The Eastern Echo
Website:The Eastern Echo


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...marijuana.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11667 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11668&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:01:24 GMT The Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH) goal is to educate people about the medicinal and industrial uses for cannabis in our global society in order to restore hemp cultivation and end adult cannabis prohibition. Oregonians for the Cannabis Tax Act 2012 (OCTA 2012) will... The Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH) goal is to educate people about the medicinal and industrial uses for cannabis in our global society in order to restore hemp cultivation and end adult cannabis prohibition.

Oregonians for the Cannabis Tax Act 2012 (OCTA 2012) will soon begin gathering the initial 1000 registered Oregon voters' signatures needed to sponsor the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 petition. After gathering these required first signatures, the Office of the Secretary of State will certify a ballot title with the Attorney General, proposing a statutory initiative for the General Election of November 1, 2012.

OCTA 2012 will set aside two percent of the profits from the sale of cannabis in adult-only stores for two new state committees that will promote Oregon industrial hemp biodiesel, fiber and food.

It will also legalize the sale, possession and personal private cultivation of marijuana. People who want to cultivate and sell marijuana, or process commercial psychoactive cannabis, would be required to obtain a license from the state. Adults could grow their own marijuana and the sale of all cannabis strains' seeds and starter plants would be legalized with no license, fee nor registration. The profits from the sale of cannabis to adults will add hundreds of millions of dollars into the state general fund, as well as drug treatment and education.

This versatile plant, cannabis, can be put to use as fuel, fiber, medicine, delicious and nutritious food and thousands of other products. It will resolve many needs and put Oregon on a path to lead the way toward economic and environmental sustainability. Legalizing hemp and cannabis will create tens of thousands of new jobs, revitalize our farming communities, boost tourism, and create millions of dollars in revenue for the state. If you don't know much about cannabis, we urge you to take the time to learn about the plant.

Please tell ten friends about OCTA 2012 and get involved! We will need 90,000 valid signatures by July, 2, 2012 to qualify for the November 2012 ballot.

When it is passed, this groundbreaking legislation will:

Protect children! This is the real Protect Our Children initiative. The Cannabis Tax Act (CTA) will take the lucrative marijuana market out of the blackmarket where children and substance abusers often control it today, and place it in stores, where the age limit of 21 and older is strictly enforced.

Help farmers! We will license farmers to cultivate cannabis for both medicinal and adult private use. Farmers will be able to grow industrial hemp without a license, for paper, fabric, protein and oil.

Allow doctors to prescribe untaxed cannabis through pharmacies, so patients won't have to grow their own or buy medicine illegally.

Raise millions of dollars in new public revenue, lowering the tax burden on all and saving you money. Take the profit out of crime.

Restore industrial hemp, the most productive agricultural source of fiber protein and oil. Hemp seed oil is diesel fuel. The first cordage, cloth and paper were invented from hemp fiber.

Wipe out the black-market. The CTA allows police and the courts to concentrate on real criminals that hurt others, not arrest, prosecute and jail harmless, productive adult cannabis users. Stop our government from tearing families apart. Let's show real family values and end cannabis prohibition.



NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: crrh.org
Contact: [url=http://www.crrh.org/]CRRH/url]
Copyright: CRRH.org 2010
Website:CRRH's Cannabis Tax Acts (CTA) would comprehensively reform marijuana laws by regulating and taxing adult sales; licensing the cultivation of the drug for sale in adult-only businesses; allowing adults to grow their own and farmers to grow industrial


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...hemp-crrh.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11668 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11669&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:01:24 GMT CENTRAL CITY, Colo. -- Don Boring owns a grocery store, a liquor store and now, a medical marijuana dispensary. The main difference among them is that he has to produce his own pot inventory. Colorado set a Sept. 1 deadline for dispensaries to show they grow at least 70 percent of the pot they... CENTRAL CITY, Colo. -- Don Boring owns a grocery store, a liquor store and now, a medical marijuana dispensary. The main difference among them is that he has to produce his own pot inventory.

Colorado set a Sept. 1 deadline for dispensaries to show they grow at least 70 percent of the pot they sell - the first requirement of its kind in the 14 states, along with Washingon, D.C., that have medical marijuana laws. Lawmakers added the requirement to Colorado's new law in hopes of keeping small-time caregivers from growing pot in their basements to sell to dispensaries.

Boring knows the types well. When he opened Annie's Dispensary last spring, he got so many visits from caregivers trying to sell him pot that he came up with a name for them - "guys on bicycles with backpacks."

Boring doesn't see those guys anymore.

"The days of the guys on the bicycles with a backpack selling marijuana are over, and I think that's a good thing," Boring said.

Lawmakers who supported Colorado's new pot law hoped the grow-your-own requirement would force shadowy corner pot shops to close and alleviate fears that the marijuana fueling Colorado's pot industry is coming from illegal sources. Lawmakers wanted to keep better track of how medical marijuana is produced.

But dispensary owners complain the growing requirement is confusing and impossible to enforce.

For one, the law isn't clear on how pot shops arrive at the 70 percent figure. Is it 70 percent by weight? Is it determined by the month? By the day? And what about pot shops barred by zoning from adding a growing operation? The law isn't clear, and pot shop owners have a lot of questions about how the growing requirement will be enforced.

"It's the equivalent of requiring a grocery store to produce 70 percent of its own corn. You're asking a retailer to also become a producer," said Brian Vicente, head of Sensible Colorado, a marijuana-legalization advocacy group. Vicente serves on a state advisory panel trying to clarify how the pot law's requirements will work. "Nothing about this requirement is clear," he said.

State authorities say it could be a year before pot shops know how the growing requirement will be measured. A month ago, Colorado received 809 applications for marijuana center licenses, though state officials say it will be next July before it will start awarding the licenses.

Matt Cook, the senior director for medical marijuana enforcement for the Colorado Department of Revenue, said the state received an additional 309 applications for "infused product" manufacturing - think pot brownies and such. The state also received 1,219 permit applications for "premises cultivation," or growing pot.

All combined, the state has collected $8.2 million in application fees for the three types of licenses, Cook said, with the money to be used to set up a new state office to regulate the nascent pot business.

Dispensary owners say the state must be joking if it thinks it can keep track of all medical marijuana.

Take a single marijuana plant, Boring explained. Some plants produce one ounce of smokable marijuana, while others are capable of producing 10 ounces or more, depending on how well they're cared for. So what keeps an unscrupulous marijuana center owner from claiming to be raising more pot than he is?

"How are they going to know? Are they going to come check on my plants every day? It doesn't make sense at all," Boring said. "It's just going to be impossible to enforce."

Veronica Caprio, owner of 420 Highways in Idaho Springs, complained that the vagueness of the state's growing requirement forces many dispensary owners to lie. She says many are still mapping plans to grow enough pot to supply their patients.

"It's too broad for me to honestly answer," she said of the growing requirement. "Do I think I can get to 70 percent? Absolutely. Can I produce it right now? Hell, no."

Danyel Joffe, a Denver lawyer who specializes in advising medial marijuana business owners, says other states are watching to see how Colorado attempts to enforce its growing requirement.

"No one has tried anything like this before on this scale," Joffe said. "We're going through the birth pains of a whole new industry. I'm telling my clients to grit their teeth and stick through it."


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Covering Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley in Central California - Fresno Bee
Author: KRISTEN WYATT
Contact: fresnobee.com - Help
Copyright: Copyright The Fresno Bee
Website:Colo. pot sellers face new growing requirement - National Wire - fresnobee.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...quirement.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11669 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11670&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:01:24 GMT Sheriff's deputies seized more than 400 pounds of marijuana Tuesday afternoon from a woman who they say was impersonating a U.S. Army recruiter.

The deputies stopped the woman on Interstate 20/59 after noticing that the U.S. Government tags on the front and back of the GMC Yukon she was driving didn't match, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff Ted Sexton said.

The woman initially denied having drugs in the car when deputies asked about a strong smell of marijuana, he said.

The woman was nervous and visibly shaking, he said, and complained of nausea before admitting that there were drugs in the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle turned up 403 pounds of marijuana wrapped in clear plastic and concealed in black canvas bags in the rear and luggage areas of the SUV. The marijuana was bundled into 20 bales. Narcotics officers estimated that each pound was worth around $1,000, which would put the street value of the marijuana at $403,000.

“We're in the middle of harvest season, so we anticipate to see more of these,” Sexton said.

Deputies charged Jeri Shonte Lacy, 31, of Dallas, Texas with trafficking in cannabis. She was released from the Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $100,000 bail.

Sexton would not say where Lacy was traveling from, or where she was going.

“It's under investigation and we're trying to make cases on both ends,” he said.

Sexton said that the deputies are part of the department's criminal traffic unit, a group of officers trained to monitor the interstate and heavily traveled roads. Officers in the unit have made cash seizures, drug seizures and arrested people on terrorist watch lists and people in possession of forged identification, he said.

The FBI may charge Lacy later with impersonating an Army recruiter and using counterfeit government tags, he said.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: TuscaloosaNews.com | The Tuscaloosa News | Tuscaloosa, AL
Author: Stephanie Taylor
Contact: Staff Listing | TuscaloosaNews.com
Copyright: 2010 TuscaloosaNews.com
Website:Deputies seize more than 400 pounds of marijuana | TuscaloosaNews.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...marijuana.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11670 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11660&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT California wildlife officials say two men are in custody after a group of marijuana growers started to toss bags full of pot into a pickup truck belonging to game wardens they mistook for their suppliers. State Department of Fish and Game spokesman Pat Foy says two wardens in Tehama County were... California wildlife officials say two men are in custody after a group of marijuana growers started to toss bags full of pot into a pickup truck belonging to game wardens they mistook for their suppliers. State Department of Fish and Game spokesman Pat Foy says two wardens in Tehama County were looking for deer poachers Monday night in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when they heard footsteps behind them.

They turned and saw five men hauling large military-style duffel bags and sleeping bags. Foy said the men approached the wardens' truck as if to toss the bags in the bed.

The wardens began shouting commands at the group and managed to handcuff two, one of whom was carrying a shotgun. Three others escaped into the forest.

The wardens recovered 127 pounds of processed marijuana.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: GadsdenTimes.com | Gadsden Times | Gadsden, AL
Author: The Associated Press
Contact: Staff Listing | GadsdenTimes.com
Copyright: 2010 GadsdenTimes.com
Website:Busted pot growers mistake wardens for suppliers | GadsdenTimes.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...suppliers.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11660 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11661&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT In the latest front/affront in the war on a medicinal herb, the U.S. government, with help from the Arkansas National Guard, state police and the sheriff, invaded the gardens of Carroll County residents, terrorizing citizens, endangering lives and wasting resources. Shame on all those participating... In the latest front/affront in the war on a medicinal herb, the U.S. government, with help from the Arkansas National Guard, state police and the sheriff, invaded the gardens of Carroll County residents, terrorizing citizens, endangering lives and wasting resources. Shame on all those participating in these unconstitutional, tyrannical, police state tactics.

Greedy billionaires created the war on marijuana, and more than 70 years later their sham continues to ruin countless lives and make criminals out of productive citizens.

The history of marijuana prohibition is a sordid tale indeed. It wasn't really about cannabis the "drug," but rather the financial impact of hemp on the timber and plastics industries. It was about money for rich people. Some things never change.

Back in the 1930s, new processing technology made hemp a far superior alternative to timber for paper and pulp -- cheaper, better quality and much more environmentally friendly.

William Randolph Hearst, for whom the term "yellow journalism" was coined, owned much of the timber industry. He used his newspaper empire to gin up a bogus, and racist, case against cannabis to protect his timber holdings.

At the same time, Dupont had just patented plastic formulas using petroleum products, and hemp oil threatened the enormous profits those patents would reap. Dupont's banker, Andrew Mellon, was also Secretary of the Treasury, and he appointed a nephew to head the new anti-narcotics bureau and the crusade to demonize cannabis. Think Reefer Madness.

In the years since, the government has religiously suppressed the truth about cannabis, and money remains the motivation. Marijuana prohibition brings billions to the police/justice industry; it's a huge boon for lawyers, jail builders and jailers, police forces, probation officers, organized crime and laboratories.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, there were 9.5 million marijuana arrests in the U.S. between 1995 and 2008, 89 percent for possession. Growing even one plant is a felony. With a 2006 study showing nearly 15 million U.S. residents admitting to using marijuana in the previous month, the economic futures of lawyers, prosecutors, jailers and police look very bright.

Fifteen states now allow cannabis for medical use and the Veterans' Administration acknowledges its medicinal benefits, so it's hard to fathom that this war continues with such ferocity. The evidence of the herb's medicinal value is unquestionable, even with the government suppressing most of the research, including its own.

But, keeping cannabis outlawed benefits wealthy and influential competitors like the paper, pharmaceutical and liquor industries, and exploiting fear and lies helps get politicians elected.

Cannabis is probably the most beneficial and potentially profitable plant on the planet. It grows almost everywhere, is renewable and biodegradable, and requires little irrigation and few, if any, pesticides.

It can be used for fuel, building materials, plastics, paper and clothing. It's a nutritious food source and a safe and effective medicine. Those are the truths the government doesn't want you to know.

Among the tens of millions of marijuana users in this country are doctors, lawyers, law enforcement officials, politicians and every other type of professional. Many long-term, regular users are healthy, productive members of society and pillars of their communities, people who don't buy the government's lies and have embraced a safe herb that relaxes them and helps tap into their creativity.

Alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs, all legal, account for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, yet there's no evidence of marijuana killing anyone. Just listen to any commercial to hear the long lists of prescription drugs' side effects; makes mild euphoria and the munchies seem pretty benign. So why does the government condone the use of far more dangerous drugs while continuing this sham war on marijuana? Follow the money.

Proponents of prohibition cling to the debunked "gateway drug" theory -- that marijuana use leads to harder drugs. Because of prohibition, marijuana users are forced to deal in the same black market that sells hard drugs, but saying that hard drug users started with marijuana is like saying children who shoplift candy become serial killers.

Cannabis doesn't harm society, cannabis prohibition does -- it ruins lives and bankrupts poor people. In many places, possession is treated as a minor offense, while growing for personal use remains a felony. This encourages consumers to buy on the black market and enriches the drug cartels the government is purportedly fighting. The best way to fight drug cartels is to allow cultivation for personal use.

Marijuana use is accepted by our society with a nod and a wink, presidents and senators have used it and comedians often make reference to their partaking. It's all kind of a joke -- until the laws are enforced. Then lives are ruined.

Government intimidation to stay quiet is intense, but if people don't stand up, this will become even more of a police state than it already is. It's time to declare war on the war on cannibas.

Bill King


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Lovely County Citizen: Newspaper serving Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Author: Bill King
Contact: Lovely County Citizen: Contact Us
Copyright: 2010 Lovely County Citizen
Website:Lovely County Citizen: Editorial: Editorial - Just say NO (09/01/10)


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...st-say-no.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11661 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11662&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT THOMAS TWP. — The Great Lakes Bay Region is now home to at least two medical marijuana patient compassion clubs. John F. Roberts, who was the leader of the Bay City-based Tri-City Compassion Club, left the group three weeks ago to form an offshoot, which has retained the Tri-City Compassion Club... THOMAS TWP. — The Great Lakes Bay Region is now home to at least two medical marijuana patient compassion clubs.

John F. Roberts, who was the leader of the Bay City-based Tri-City Compassion Club, left the group three weeks ago to form an offshoot, which has retained the Tri-City Compassion Club name and meets at his Saginaw County home.

The group he left has taken the name Mid-Michigan Tri-City Compassion Club.

Roberts’ club meets Mondays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at his home, 7247 McCliggot in Thomas Township. Roberts said the meetings, which kicked off with about 15 participants, have dwindled to about four or five attendees.

Mid-Michigan Tri-City Compassion Club has more 300 members, according the its president, Kim M. Zimmer. She said her club granted Roberts the right to use its former name when he left.

Roberts said that club, which meets at 316 S. Henry in Bay City, is a “dispensary.”

Zimmer declined an opportunity to respond to Roberts’ allegations or speak about club matters, but a link referencing the compassion club on the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association website says: “Our club meets monthly to discuss issues that (affect) the medical marijuana community in Michigan. Topics include the law, how to become a qualifying patient, how to find a caregiver, how to grow marijuana, where to buy marijuana, seeds or clones and many other topics that will answer your questions and help you locate the resources you need.”

The Saginaw News couldn’t confirm the existence of a third, invitation-only compassion club named the Bay City Compassion Club, which Roberts said also meets in the Great Lakes Bay Region.

Roberts, 49, gained name recognition in medical marijuana circles after his home was raided by Saginaw County sheriff’s deputies and federal agents April 15, and a second time July 6 by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, days after he organized a medical marijuana rally and protest near the Saginaw County Governmental Center.

Federal agents seized harvested marijuana, grow equipment, computers and marijuana-derived products during the second raid. Roberts has not faced charges associated with the raids, though representatives for the DEA say the case is not closed.

“A lot of people are very nervous and very scared because of the raids,” Roberts said. “It’s put a lot of things underground.”

Roberts’ Tri-City Compassion club focuses on networking patients with caregivers, education and is “not about smoking,” he said.

“If you are looking at medical marijuana and you want to heal yourself, why would you want to do something that’s not conducive to your lungs and wastes 60 percent of the medicine,” Roberts said. “Granted, smoking does provide relief and does have medicinal value, but why not use more beneficial methods?”

Roberts said the use of edibles, topical oils and Rick Simpson hemp oil — a concentrated extract from the cannabis plant — are his passions.

The club plans to move from Roberts’ home to another a building in coming weeks, he said.

Roberts said smoking of marijuana, sales or exchange are prohibited at meetings.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather - MLive.com
Author: Gus Burns
Contact: Contact Us - MLive.com
Copyright: 2010 Michigan Live LLC.
Website:New Thomas Township-based medical marijuana patient compassion club 'is not about smoking' | MLive.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...about-smo.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11662 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11663&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT VANCOUVER, Canada — Officials in Canada will spare the lives of some two dozen bears rounded up on the site of an illegal marijuana operation shut down last month, authorities told AFP. Police encountered the bears in August at Christina Lake in a remote part of British Columbia. Officials in... VANCOUVER, Canada — Officials in Canada will spare the lives of some two dozen bears rounded up on the site of an illegal marijuana operation shut down last month, authorities told AFP.

Police encountered the bears in August at Christina Lake in a remote part of British Columbia.

Officials in Canada's westernmost province, who told AFP the bears were fed dog food to keep them nearby to deter drug thieves, ordered a reprieve sparing the lives of the animals following an online public campaign.

Late Tuesday, provincial Environment Minister Barry Penner told AFP the property owner, who he said was under investigation and could still face charges, had been ordered to continue feeding the bears until mid-November, by which time they are expected to start hibernating.

"Rather than cutting the bears off... they (will) be gradually weaned," said Penner.

He said when the bears awake in spring, they may learn to stay in the wild and avoid people.

"I hope it will have a happy ending but there's no guarantee," Penner said.

In the past three years some 1,264 black bears were destroyed because of bear-human conflicts in British Columbia, according to provincial statistics.

As many as 160,000 black bears live in British Columbia, fully one quarter of Canada's population.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Google
Contact: Google
Copyright: 2010 AFP
Website:AFP: Reprieve spares lives of bears at Canada marijuana compound


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...-compound.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11663 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11664&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT BOULDER COUNTY - The illegal marijuana grow operation discovered by a hiker west of Lyons has now grown to two sites containing around 7,500 plants, which are worth about $1 million according to authorities.
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The Boulder County Sheriff's Office and Longmont Police Department say the second grow site discovered on Tuesday covers about 5 acres of U.S. Forest Service land and contains about 4,000 plants.

Authorities found the original marijuana grow site southeast of Raymond where they say about 3,000 marijuana plants were growing with a well-organized, sophisticated irrigation system. Initially, it was reported there was about 30 plants. They say the plants are between 3 and 6 feet tall with a street value of $500,000. Combined with the value of the plants found at the second grow site, the entire crop has a street value of $1 million, officials say.

The two grow sites are believed to be maintained by the same people because authorities say the two sites are close enough together and have the same irrigation system.

On Monday, authorities were tipped by a hiker who stumbled upon the growing operation. When a task force went to the area Monday, they saw a man fleeing the area. The suspect is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds.

Authorities do not know if the man is armed, but say he could be dangerous.

After searching the area, deputies say the camping equipment found at the scene indicate there were more people involved in the growing operation. Authorities say they didn't find any evidence which would have indicated the people involved were armed.

Investigators were back on scene on Tuesday collecting plants and searching for any evidence of more grows in the area, and brought in a helicopter to help search.

"What they did today is they wanted to go up and do more searching up there because in the past, what we've been told is that when you have a grow like this in an isolated area, a lot of times there is another grow, or maybe even more than one grow, so they began searching with a helicopter," Cmdr. Rick Brough with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities say this discovery of about 7,500 plants is the largest on public lands since August 2009, when more than 14,000 plants were found in the Pike National Forest.
Deputies say this year's grow was located on land belonging to the U.S. Forest Service, Boulder County Open Space and a private land owner.

A spokesperson for the DEA says Colorado is seeing less marijuana confiscated from public lands than other states. Utah has confiscated more than 100,000 plants so far this year. One theory as to why Colorado is seeing less is because medical marijuana can be grown legally in many communities.

But the thousands of plants near Raymond will be leaving soon.

"Tomorrow we'll most likely try to airlift them out to where we can take them to somewhere where they can be destroyed," Brough said.

The Colorado National Guard will be providing two helicopters on Wednesday morning to airlift the marijuana to a loading area, where it will be taken by truck to a site to be destroyed, according to authorities.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Breaking News, Local News, World News and more...
Author: Jeffrey Wolf
Contact: 9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Contact 9NEWS
Copyright: 010 Multimedia Holdings Corporation
Website:9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | $1 million in marijuana found near Lyons


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...ear-lyons.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11664 http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11665&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:51:03 GMT MANHATTAN, Kan. | Officers with an eastern Kansas county confiscated more than 800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1.6 million. Geary County Sheriff Jim Jensen says the marijuana was found Saturday during a stop on Interstate 70. Jensen says St. Mark Maschmeier pulled over a... MANHATTAN, Kan. | Officers with an eastern Kansas county confiscated more than 800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1.6 million.

Geary County Sheriff Jim Jensen says the marijuana was found Saturday during a stop on Interstate 70. Jensen says St. Mark Maschmeier pulled over a tractor-trailer truck for a routine traffic stop near Manhattan and searched the vehicle after becoming suspicious of the driver.

Jensen says Maschmeier discovered the marijuana bales, which weighed 830 pounds, concealed in a false ceiling compartment. Jensen said it was one of the largest marijuana seizures in Geary County history.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that the driver of the truck, who was from California, was arrested and is being held in Geary County jail.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Kansas City's Best Source for News, Weather, Sports & More | KansasCity.com
Contact: Kansas City's Best Source for News, Weather, Sports & More | KansasCity.com
Copyright: 2010 KansasCity.com
Website:Police confiscate 800 pounds of marijuana in Kansas bust - KansasCity.com


http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...nsas-bust.html ]]> Cannabis News 420 Girl http://www.420girls.com/420/forums/showthread.php?t=11665