“With the recent decision to end decades of pot prohibition in Uruguay making it the first entire nation to take the step, analysts widely anticipate similar efforts around the world to accelerate. Voters in Colorado and Washington state have completely nullified the federal and international marijuana regimes. Across Latin America and Europe, meanwhile, drug policy has been hotly debated, with at least two nations so far — Portugal and the Czech Republic — decriminalizing all drugs. In response to the trends, UN narcotics bureaucrats, whose generous tax-funded salaries depend on the perpetuation of the war on various plants and substances, have responded with outrage and concern.”
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Medical marijuana kids bring Oklahoma families to Colorado
“Within 15 minutes of receiving her first dose, Zoey said a new word, Johnson said. Age 6 at the time, Zoey had the developmental level of a 2-year-old. Johnson’s father, Marty Piel, is expected to appear at a hearing along with other proponents before Oklahoma state lawmakers on Feb. 12. He said they hope for some kind of narrow exception in the state’s drug laws for children like Zoey. Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, said the agency is currently opposed to legalizing medications such as Charlotte’s Web. He said the agency believes for safety’s sake, the drug should go through the same federal approval process as others.”
6 Red States That Are Turning Green at a Rapid Clip
“Oklahoma’s marijuana penalties are among the most severe in America. First-time marijuana possession offenses are punishable by up to one-year incarceration and subsequent offenses are punishable by up to ten years in prison. Selling marijuana is punishable by up to life in prison! But voters are ready for a change. 57% of Oklahomans back amending pot possession penalties to a fine-only offense and 71% back the legalization of the plant for medical purposes. Legislation to legalize and regulate the possession, cultivation, and retail sale of cannabis for all Oklahoma adults is pending in the state Senate. However, Gov. Mary Fallin has stated that she opposes legalizing pot.”
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/6-red-states-are-turning-green-marijuana-rapid-clip?paging=off
American Farm Bureau calls for end to federal ban on hemp
“The American Farm Bureau Federation has approved a new policy resolution that urges the repeal of the classification of industrial hemp as a controlled substance. The effort, led by the Indiana Farm Bureau at the national group’s annual meeting last week in Texas, puts one of the largest and most influential mainstream farm lobbying organizations squarely in the pro-hemp camp and on record opposing ‘the classification of industrial hemp as a controlled substance.’ The Farm Bureau before passed a policy resolution supporting industrial hemp research in 1995.”
http://www.kentucky.com/2014/01/22/3046585/american-farm-bureau-calls-for.html
In Breakthrough, Farm Bill Includes Hemp Amendment
“The omnibus federal farm bill approved by Congressional conference committee negotiators this week and destined to be quickly signed into law includes the hemp amendment that was approved by the House last year. The 10 states that have already passed laws allowing hemp production are California, Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Hemp bills have been introduced in 11 states this year, including Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, New Jersey (carried over from 2013), New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington (two bills were carried over from 2013) West Virginia, and Wisconsin.”
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jan/29/breakthrough_farm_bill_includes_breakthrough
Cancer Patient Loses Doctor, Treatment Delayed Due To ObamaCare
Cannabinoid Protects Against Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage
“The administration of the non-psychotropic cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) protects the liver from damage caused by alcohol consumption, according to preclinical data published online in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Investigators from China and the US assessed whether cannabidiol administration can protect against alcohol-induced steatosis (excessive fat build up in the liver). They reported, ‘[C]annabidiol protects mouse liver from acute alcohol-induced steatosis through multiple mechanisms including attenuation of alcohol-mediated oxidative stress … and increasing autophagy (degradation of dysfunctional cells).'”
Cannabis Has Been Studied More Than Many FDA Approved Drugs
“Opponents of legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes are fond of arguing that the plant must be subjected to the same standards of clinical study and FDA review as conventional medicines. According to a just-published analysis of some 200 newly FDA-approved medications, few conventional drugs are tested in multiple, large-scale clinical assessing safety and efficacy trials prior to market approval. By comparison, there exists over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature referencing the cannabis plant and its cannabinoids, nearly half of which were published within the last five years.”
http://www.hightimes.com/read/cannabis-has-been-studied-more-many-fda-approved-pharmaceuticals
Don’t just legalize marijuana, free prior offenders
“When Colorado legalized marijuana via its 2012 ballot initiative, it made no stipulation about the fate of those already convicted of marijuana crimes. If you were sitting in prison for selling pot, you’re still there. If you were ever convicted of a felony marijuana charge, it’s still on your record. The United States is one of only 22 countries that doesn’t guarantee what’s called ‘retroactive ameliorative relief’ in sentencing. This puts us in the company of such bastions of social justice as Pakistan, Oman and South Sudan. If Germany were to legalize marijuana, on the other hand, those convicted of weed crimes would see their sentences commuted, according to the USF report.”
Drug Dealers Unfazed By Legal Pot: “Nobody Wants To Be On A List”
“Sitting in a vegetarian café near his Denver apartment that has a bathroom covered in graffiti like ‘Urban Farming Is The Future!,’ Mario said he feared being on a medical registry while still in school. ‘I’m afraid that information could get somehow compromised,’ he said about his fears of his loans being affected by being on a medical registry. ‘The last thing I’d want is to get my federal funding cut off.’ Owners have had to pay for an endless list of essentials, from applying for new licenses, packaging the many pounds of green stuff they grow, and instituting the state’s mandatory radio frequency identification system that tracks every single marijuana plant ‘from seed to sale.'”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/drug-dealers-unfazed-by-legal-pot-in-colorado