Category: Marijuana

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2014: Politicians Who Oppose Marijuana Legalization Are On the Wrong Side of History

A majority of Americans support marijuana legalization. A majority of Americans support marijuana legalization – yet not one sitting governor or U.S. Senator supports it, according to a New York Times piece. Marijuana prohibition is a disastrous failure. 43 years after President Nixon launched the “war on drugs,” the U.S. arrests 650,000 people a year for marijuana possession – yet marijuana and other illegal drugs are as available as ever. Thanks to the drug war, the U.S. has less than five percent of the world’s population, yet nearly 25 percent of its prisoners. Colorado and Washington made history in 2012 becoming the first states – and the first two political jurisdictions anywhere in the world – to legally regulate the production and distribution of marijuana, and many […] Read More

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2014: Majority of Law Enforcement Officers Support Marijuana Policy Reform

Former cop: the war on drugs changed the very nature of policing for the worse. Though not conducted with the methodological rigor of the Pew poll that came out yesterday showing 54% of Americans support the legalization of marijuana and two-thirds believe drug policy should focus on treatment rather than prosecuting drug users, Law Officer magazine has provided LEAP a poll of its own showing an even more surprising finding: a majority of law enforcement officers also support marijuana policy reform. Though some of the provided answers seemed to overlap, the overall effect is one indicating broad support for change among the readership of the publication, 97% of whom indicated they are or had been in law enforcement.  Some of the most surprising results include 66% saying marijuana possession should […] Read More

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2014: Debunking the 5 Biggest Myths About Pot

The more research is released, the more legalization makes sense. Back in the 1930s, the arguments to criminalize cannabis were bizarre and openly racist. The anti-pot crusader Harry Anslinger made all sorts of over-the-top claims, such as, “Marihuana is a short cut to the insane asylum. Smoke marihuana cigarettes for a month and what was once your brain will be nothing but a storehouse of horrid specters.” Nowadays more than 100 million Americans say they’ve smoke pot, millions use cannabis regularly to treat illnesses and it is as legal as alcohol in two U.S. states. However, it remains illegal under federal law largely due to scare tactics ingrained in our society, which date back even prior to Anslinger. Today, pot legalization opponents try a little […] Read More

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2014: Study Shows Americans Are Ready to End the War on Drugs

A new national Pew poll on drug policy shows most Americans want a change. A new national survey released today by the Pew Research Center reveals that a broad majority of Americans are ready to significantly reduce the role of the criminal justice system in dealing with people who use drugs. Among the key findings of the report: More than six in ten Americans (63%) say that state governments moving away from mandatory prison terms for drug law violations is a good thing, while just 32% say these policy changes are a bad thing. This is a substantial shift from 2001 when the public was evenly divided (47% good thing vs. 45% bad thing).  The majority of all demographic groups, including Republicans and Americans over 65 years […] Read More

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2014: Uh Oh: Politicians Formerly Against Medical Marijuana Now Singing Praises of Cannabidiol

Don’t sacrifice the plant for one of its healing compounds. State lawmakers who have steadfastly opposed the legalization of medical marijuana are suddenly singing the praises of cannabidiol. What gives? Lawmakers in a growing number of states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Utah, and Wisconsin, are saying no to medical cannabis but yes to cannabidiol, a naturally occurring compound in the plant. But is this new direction in the best interest of patients? Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is one of an estimated 100 unique, biologically active compounds present in the marijuana plant. First discovered in 1940 (though its specific chemical structure was not identified until 1963), CBD is the most studied cannabinoid after delta-9-THC. Like THC, the compound acts on the endogenous cannabinoid system to […] Read More

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2014: 4 Police Tricks to Nab You For Pot and How You Can Beat Them

Cops have a massive incentive to bust people for pot. Here’s how to fight back. According to the ACLU, marijuana arrests account for over half of all drug arrests—and 88% of those charges are for simple possession. Because of decades-old grant programs, local precincts are showered with money from the federal government if they keep their arrest numbers high. Police have a built-in financial incentive to focus their arrests on low-level drug offenders to fatten their statistics, especially because these are some of the easiest arrests to make. This is a major reason why marijuana arrest rates have gone up in recent years, and why they make up the majority of all drug detentions nationally. If you’re a cannabis aficionado who chooses to indulge in the herb, you’re a walking dollar sign to […] Read More

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2013: Medical Marijuana Strain Has Hundreds Of Parents Flocking To Colorado

CBS Denver Medical Marijuana Strain Has Hundreds Of Parents Flocking To Colorado Related articles Chief Black Kettle Except from MYTHS AND TALES OF THE JICARILLA APACHE INDIANS Crime in Denver Decreases After Pot Legalization Was a Mysterious Underground Structure Found On the Moon? Several Circular Objects Surrounded Plane 2006: The Marcia Burke Encounter Colorado floods ‘completely overwhelm’ search for oil and gas leaks

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1999: Bird Food Is a Casualty of the War on Drugs

THE NEW YORK TIMES October 3, 1999 By Christopher S. Wren What do 40,000 pounds of birdseed have in common with America’s war on drugs? Nothing, says Jean Laprise, an Ontario farmer who shipped the birdseed to his American customers, only to have it seized when it crossed the U.S.-Canadian border. Everything, say the U.S. government and its critics, but for altogether different reasons. The birdseed, nearly 20 tons of it, has been locked in a Detroit warehouse since Aug. 9, when it was impounded by the U.S. Customs Service. The reason: the seed consists of sterilized seeds processed from industrial hemp. Laprise has found himself mired in one of the more bizarre episodes of Washington’s campaign to curb illicit drug use. Hemp and marijuana […] Read More

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1996: MARIJUANA – A Medicinal Marvel

Cannabis, or marijuana, has proven medical benefits and few, if any, toxic side-effects. Why, then, has it been a prohibited medicine for over fifty years? Dr Lester Grinspoon interviewed by Jana Ray © 1996 by Jana Ray For further information, contact: c/- B.C. Anti-Prohibition League PO Box 8179 Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 3R8 Canada Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 3, #5 (August-September ’96). PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia. nexus@peg.apc.org Telephone: +61 (0)7 5442 9280; Fax: +61 (0)7 5442 9381 From our web page at: http://www.peg.apc.org/~nexus/ Medicinal cannabis, also known as medical marijuana, is beginning to receive attention worldwide. Unfortunately, scare tactics and misinformation surrounding the international ‘war on drugs’ continue to dominate in the political and medical arenas, leaving many unwilling or unable to […] Read More

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HEMP: Something All Homes Should Be Made Of

Many people are becoming aware of ways to live that are more harmonious with the planet.  It seems that we are transitioning to a very ancient understanding of how to operate here on Earth, with a very advanced ‘know how’ of technologies and methods to begin making that transition. New ways of living are coming to light and although you may not hear about them often, communities all over the world are starting to implement them. A new sustainable housing project in the Northwest of Scotland will use industrial hemp as the main building material. It’s made of a prefabricated wall system called Hembuild, which is a mixture of the plant’s woody core and a lime-based binder. Another popular name for this is Hempcrete. This […] Read More