Category: Drug’s

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5 Nobel Prize Economists Call for End to Failed War on Drugs

London School of Economics released a report calling for experimentation in drug policy. The war on drugs is a global disaster, ranging from mass incarceration to violent, billion-dollar cartels. It is a public health nightmare, and a social justice embarrassment that targets communities of color and locks them up for profit. When the UN General Assembly convenes its special session on drugs in 2016, it should take heed of a groundbreaking report released May 7, which exposes the injustices of the drug war. Five Nobel Prize economists have weighed in on the repercussions of the global war on drugs, outlining “the effects of prohibition on security, drug prices, rule of law and public health,” according to a press release. It concludes that governments would make better use […] Read More

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Uruguay Unveils Details for World’s First National Legal Marijuana Market

It is refreshing to see a small, trailblazing country pave the way for more intelligent, coherent and humane drug policies. On Friday, Uruguay released its long-anticipated regulations accompanying the law that was signed into effect last December, which made Uruguay the first country in the world to legally regulate the production, sale and consumption of marijuana for adults. Drug prohibition has devastating effects on people’s lives around the globe, from the 650,000 marijuana possession arrests per year in the United States to the 100,000 drug war deaths in Mexico in the past 7 years. Amidst growing consensus among political leaders in Latin America that the war on drugs isn’t working, Uruguaymade this bold move in an effort to regulate an existing marijuana market currently controlled by illicit drug traffickers and to generate public […] Read More

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Federal Government To Increase Its Supply Of Marijuana For Clinical Research

The government is increasing its marijuana production quota from 21 kilograms to 650 kilograms to meet demand. Federal agencies are moving forward with plans to increase the US government’s production of research-grade cannabis. Last week, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) publicly announced in the Federal Register that it is increasing its marijuana production quota from 21 kilograms to 650 kilograms (about 1,443 pounds) in order to meet increasing demand for the plant from clinical investigators. Federal regulations permit a farm at the University of Mississippi to cultivate set quantities of cannabis for use in federally approved clinical trials. Regulators at the DEA, the US Food and Drug Administration, PHS (Public Health Service), and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse must approve any clinical […] Read More

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2014: Marijuana Treats on the Go

Just step up to the window and buy a marijuana-laced sandwich or cup of soup. A food truck out of Seattle is giving new meaning to the foodie phrase “classics with a twist.” The truck is dishing up items like grilled three-cheese sandwiches, tomato soup and truffle popcorn. The twist? They’re made with marijuana. MagicalButter.com is the purveyor of a nifty gadget for cannabis edibles lovers—the MB2, a fully automated extractor that transfers the active ingredients from the plant into butter, cooking oils, alcohol (for tinctures) or lotions. With the 2012 legalization of marijuana in their company’s home state of Washington and in Colorado (where they debuted their food truck at the Cannabis Cup in Denver on April 19 and 20), MagicalButter.com saw an opportunity […] Read More

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It’s Official: Tennessee Becomes First State to Jail Women for Pregnancy Outcomes

Against the advice of doctors, addiction specialists and reproductive health groups, Gov. Haslam signs the bill anyway Tennessee has become the first state in the nation to pass a law criminalizing women for their pregnancy outcomes. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam took the 10 days allotted to him to consider the advice of doctors, addiction experts and reproductive health groups urging him to veto the punitive and dangerous measure that allows prosecutors to charge a woman with criminal assault if she uses illegal drugs during her pregnancy and her fetus or newborn is considered harmed as a result. Haslam ignored these recommendations — and the recommendations of nearly every major medical association, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy  — and signed the […] Read More

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2014: How the Corporate Media and Journalists Perpetuate Lies and Misinformation About Drugs

Drug panics have real and damaging consequences. The following article first appeared on Substance.com:  Journalists are no less likely to take drugs than anyone else—indeed, in my admittedly anecdotal experience, they’re more likely to use. You’d think that this would make us especially skeptical both about federal policies that failed to prevent our own drug-taking and about extreme claims about drug users. But the press may actually be one of the biggest obstacles to reform. Instead of asking tough questions, reporters tend to simply parrot conventional wisdom—and reinforce the idea that the drug war is the only way, even when drug warriors’ claims contradict the evidence of the writers’ own lives. In the last month alone, we’ve seen several particularly egregious examples of mindless reporting—including one that […] Read More

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The Surprising Truth About Driving While High

The human body does not process cannabis the way it processes alcohol. The following article first appeared in Cannabis Now Magazine:  As more and more states adopt medical and recreational marijuana policies, it seems the most feared outcome of legalization is that with the passage of laws that permit any sort of marijuana use, more impaired drivers will end up on the roads. In fact, during the Denver 4/20 celebrations last weekend, tourists learned just how easy it was to get a ticket for smoking cannabis in public because of these concerns. Under Amendment 64, establishments designed for cannabis consumption (akin to a bar or lounge where alcohol is served) are prohibited. Although loopholes have allowed some such clubs to exist (by charging a cover fee but not actually […] Read More

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Medical Marijuana Is More Effective for Fibromyalgia than Prescription Drugs

The following article first appeared in High Times: For the estimated five million Americans suffering from Fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain condition of unknown etiology, pain, fatigue, and depression are often a way of life. Though the US Food and Drug Administration has approved a small number of drugs to treat symptoms of FM, many patients report that these prescription pills provide little relief. By contrast, more and more patients with FM are finding effective relief from medical cannabis. So say the results of a recent online survey of over 1,300 subjects conducted by The National Pain Foundation and NationalPainReport.com. Among those surveyed, 379 subjects said that they had used cannabis therapeutically. Sixty-two percent of them rated the substance to be “very effective” in the treatment of their condition. Only five […] Read More

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WATCH: Martin Sheen Stars in Powerful New PSA Calling for Drug Sentencing Reform

The actor and his ‘West Wing‘ alter ego have a clear message for Congress and President Obama. On Tuesday, Brave New Films released a new PSA calling on Congress to pass the Smarter Sentencing Act. The proposed sentencing-reform legislation aims to reduce prison populations and costs by creating less severe minimum terms for nonviolent drug offenders. (On Monday,Yahoo News reported that President Obama could grant clemency to “hundreds, perhaps thousands” of nonviolent drug offenders by the end of his second term.) The video was produced in partnership with the ACLU and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), and stars actor Martin Sheen. It’s titled “President Bartlet has a message for Congress,” in reference to Sheen’s role on Aaron Sorkin‘s political drama The West Wing. Watch it here: “When BNF joined with FAMM and the ACLU to […] Read More

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Whoopi Goldberg Claims Using Marijuana Changed Her Life

Whoopi described her experience with a vape pen as ‘beautiful.’ The outspoken comedian, actress, talk show host, and now marijuana-columnist Whoopi Goldberg has penned her first article for the newly launched marijuana-related website The Cannabist. And in said article, she claims that consuming THC via pen-style vaporizers has “changed” her life. Whoopi says: The vape pen has changed my life. No, I’m not exaggerating. In fact, her name is Sippy. Yes, she’s a she. And yes, I named her Sippy because I take tiny, little sips — sassy sips, even — from her. And with each sip comes relief — from pressure, pain, stress, discomfort. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Whoopi says that after quitting cigarettes two years ago, she found it all but impossible […] Read More