Topic: Marijuana

Ted Kennedy final request: Allow medical marijuana research

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 8:52am
in

A picture of a document in circulation has revealed the last request for medical marijuana law reform from the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

The well respected leader has further legitimised the plea of many cannabis campaigners. Now the co-signed, John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, will attract the attention of many pro-marijuana activists eager to pursue the case for lawful personal and medical use. And they will further question the DEA on their refusal to grant Kennedy's last wish.

For the benefit of us who push for change, the text has been re-typed and it's up to you, the reader, to examine the authenticity of the presented material.

The Honorable David W. Ogden
Deputy Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washingto, D.C. 20530

Dear Deputy Attorney General Ogden, Read more »

Marijuana's new high life

Submitted by Ellis Worthington on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 4:24am
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Cannabis is moving into the mainstream, with fashion, films, TV and politicians acknowledging it's here to stay.

By Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times
August 30, 2009

In June, an estimated 25,000 people attended the inaugural THC Expo hemp and art show in downtown Los Angeles, an event that pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy -- including a $22,400 payment directly to the city of Los Angeles for use of its convention center.

Barneys New York in Beverly Hills is celebrating the Woodstock spirit by selling $78 "Hashish" candles in Jonathan Adler pots with bas-relief marijuana leaves; Hickey offers $75 linen pocket squares or $120 custom polo shirts bearing the five-part leaf; and French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet is serving up white-gold and diamond custom pot-leaf-emblazoned wristwatches for $49,000 and belt buckles for $56,000. Read more »

Smoke medical cannabis, get evicted

Submitted by Ellis Worthington on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 1:57am
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How would you like to be evicted for doing something completely legal, just because someone else thought it was unsavoury? The federal government of Canada gave an elderly, disabled, sick woman permission to use an illegal flower. That means Marilyn Holsten could legally use cannabis in the privacy of her own home. She even used an odourless vapourizer to inhale cannabis, which does not produce smoke because the plant material is heated, not burned.

Marilyn Holsten has been written about extensively in the Vancouver Province newspaper. Read the news articles here. Read more »

Study Says It's Easier For Teens To Buy Marijuana Than Beer

Submitted by Ellis Worthington on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 4:26pm
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August 27, 2009
By Ty Brennan

A recent study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has some startling results about teens and drugs.

In their study, they found that 40 percent of teens could get marijuana within a day; another quarter said they could get it within an hour. In another portion of the survey, teens between the ages of 12 and 17 say it's easier to get marijuana than buy cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs. That number is up 37 percent from 2007.

But, local law enforcement says these numbers don't match up to what's happening here in east Idaho.

Kim Ellis, Pocatello Police department: "That's something that we're seeing here, but as far as what we're seeing the statistics don't bear out, that way, we're seeing a lot more underage consumption citations than marijuana, possession of marijuana." Read more »

Smoking Marijuana Does Not Cause Lung Cancer

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 1:39pm
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By Fred Gardner, O'Shaughnessy's

New research shows here seems to be something in pot that actually undermines cancer, instead of causing it. -- and the media are doing their best to ignore it.

Editor's Note: There is a groundswell of attention in the news to marijuana's role in causing and preventing various types of cancers. Last week, AlterNet published an article from the Marijuana Policy Project about a new study finding that pot smokers have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than people who don’t smoke pot. Earlier this year, the corporate media pounced on a study suggesting that men who had been using marijuana at least once per week and who had started smoking pot prior to age 18 had an elevated risk of testicular cancer known as nonseminoma, which makes up fewer than half of one percent of all cancer cases among men. Read more »

Chronic City: Fresno's Freakin' -- But Marijuana Dispensary To Stay Open

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 1:34pm
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By Steve Elliott in Chronic City

You've gotta pity the poor, put-upon city officials of Fresno. After all, they've only had 13 years to suss out Proposition 215, this newfangled medical marijuana law that's being forced upon their fair city by more progressive Californians. And, heck, it's only been a little over half a decade since the legislature amplified and clarified the intent of the law with SB 420, opening the door for medical marijuana dispensaries statewide.

So what have they been doing all that time? It's hard to say, actually. But one thing seems pretty clear: They didn't find much time to study the law.

The city of Fresno is trying to shut down Medmar Clinic, the first medical marijuana dispensary in town -- along with seven other city dispensaries -- via the monumentally lame move of filing a suit through its city attorneys. But on Thursday, a judge said Medmar did not appear to post an immediate threat to public safety. Read more »

Old KFC Starts Selling Marijuana

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 08/28/2009 - 1:25pm
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By LILY FU

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - KFC stands for "Kentucky Fried Chicken." But at one KFC location in Los Angeles, it stands for "Kind For Cures."

A space that formerly housed the fast food chain has become a medical marijuana dispensary. But instead of changing the decor, the new shop has incorporated the design of the old KFC, complete with the red roof and red-and-white striped accents, according to the LA Weekly . See a photo of the shop .

Readers got a kick out of the renaming trick. "I love this story! Great marketing on the part of the dispensary owners," wrote Steve Elliott on LA Weekly. "However, something tells me KFC (the chicken corporation, not the chronic people) isn't going to see the humor in it." Read more »

Retirees demand marijuana

Submitted by Ellis Worthington on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 6:06pm
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Orange County CA retirees demand access to medical marijuana

Crime down in states with medical marijuana dispensaries

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 1:25pm
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Angela Macdonald

There’s a lot of concern from citizens far removed from the medical marijuana movement regarding crime associated with new changes in the law. After over 70 years of misinformation and propaganda it’s no wonder confusion is so rampant.

With the exception of a few dispensaries being robbed, there have been no noticeable increases in crime near dispensaries. The simple fact that dispensaries have existed for such a short period in history also makes it very difficult to associate any increase in crime with dispensaries.

Additionally, sources like CNN have released stories this year about the possibility of an increase in crime in large cities being associated with the economy. How can one differentiate any increase in crime when factors like the economy exist. For this same reason is is impossible to say that dispensaries actually decrease crime either. Read more »

Schizophrenia link to cannabis denied

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 1:18pm
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A STUDY by North Staffordshire academics has rejected a link between smoking cannabis and an increase in mental illness.

The research found there were no rises in cases of schizophrenia or psychoses diagnosed in the UK over nine years, during which the use of the drug had grown substantially.

Pro-cannabis campaigners seized on the results as supporting the legalising of cannabis, and claimed the report had been suppressed.

But the leading expert behind the study said it could be too low-key to re-ignite the debate on whether restrictions should be removed from soft drugs.

From their base at the Harplands Psychiatric Hospital in Hartshill, the four experts reviewed the notes of hundreds of thousands of patients at 183 GP practices throughout the country to look for any changing rate in cases of schizophrenia. Read more »