Cannabis Culture Magazine

A High to Remember

jeremiah — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:23:04 -0800

There has been a long debate over legalization, but is marijuana a good thing? Recent studies show that while certain chemicals in marijuana damage adolescent brains, they are beneficial to adults, especially those with diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Veronica Campbell, a neuropharmacologist from Trinity College in Dublin, says that marijuana truly works both ways.

More Prohibition Fatalities

Kirk Tousaw — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:56:53 -0800

CN BC: ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Suspected In Fatality

RCMP here have issued a warning against consuming magic mushrooms, after the death of a B.C. man.

Cpl. Bryson Hill said preliminary results from an autopsy performed on a 23-year-old man who died while in the Halfway Hot Springs Nov. 8, indicate his death could be linked to him taking what he thought were hallucination-causing magic mushrooms or psilocybin mushrooms.

News reports identified the man as Dieter Eggers of Taylor, near Fort St. John.

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STOP BILL C-15!: New Drug Law Will Drive Up Prison Costs

jeremiah — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:25:06 -0800

A federal bill that would impose mandatory jail time for serious drug crimes would increase the workload of the parole system, and the government intends to inject more than $100 million over five years to ease the burden, according to the commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada.

Commissioner Don Head said at a Senate committee hearing Thursday that if the bill is passed, CSC will receive an additional $116.5 million over the next five years to support an expected increase in cases for the National Parole Board.

No Dope: Man to Smoke 115,000th Joint

jeremiah — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:14:15 -0800

When you think of the world's most prolific pot smokers, certain names come to mind: Snoop, Cheech and Chong, Willie Nelson.

How about Irvin Rosenfeld?

The 56-year-old Fort Lauderdale stockbroker will put his name among the greats when he sets a world record tomorrow for weed consumption while lighting up his 115,000th joint.

The best part is that it's all legal.

"Yep, provided by Uncle Sam," Rosenfeld told NBCMiami.com. "They grow it for me, I find that quite ironic."

Jail, "Socialism", Slavery and Brutality

David Malmo-Levine — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:36:23 -0800

Jail’s brutality begins with a vibe similar to after-school detention. Slowly you feel your life slipping away – tick tock, tick tock – as a mind-numbing boredom sets in.

Of course, detention is half an hour and jail is months, sometimes years. Then add on the anxiety of possible murder and rape. And of course the claustrophobia of being crammed into a small space like a bunch of sardines during flu season, while your wife or girlfriend is out there meeting less-incarcerated men and you get a real sense of the brutal vibe in here.

Dear Governor Henry; Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Ed Rosenthal — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:25 -0800

Would you like to be the judge? Would you like it to be your responsibility to decide peoples’ fates? Should they live or die? Should they be free or imprisoned?

State governors make these judgments all the time. A signature or its denial can mean love, caresses, the joys of freedom-- its denial, more time in a 6 x 9 with somebody who you would prefer not to associate with.

Sitting on Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry’s desk is a recommendation for Will Foster’s release. All it needs is the Governor’s signature. There is no time frame in which it needs to be signed.

Prince of Pot Temporarily out of Jail

jeremiah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:39:35 -0800

Jodie and Marc Emery, at Mr. Pickwick’s on Denman Street, enjoy their first meal together since Marc was temporarily released from jail yesterday. The marijuana activist, facing extradition to the U.S., is free for at least two weeks on a $50,000 bail bond. (Photo by Stig Nielsen)Marc Emery, self-proclaimed Prince of Pot and marijuana activist, was released from jail temporarily yesterday as he awaits his extradition to the United States.

Sacked Adviser Urges Cannabis Probe

jeremiah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:46:33 -0800

Sacked government drugs adviser Prof David Nutt has called for a Royal Commission to investigate whether cannabis should be decriminalised.

Editors note: Read more about the David Nutt affair here on Cannabis Culture.

Prof Nutt told the BBC the possibility of allowing Dutch-style cannabis cafes should be "explored".

The War on the War on Drugs

jeremiah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:46:51 -0800

“It makes no sense to spend the kind of money we spend as a society locking up people for using drugs and using the criminal justice system to address the problem." —Former Gov. Gary Johnson