legalization

Prop 215 Anniversary Surprise

Ed Rosenthal — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:54:46 -0800

Friday, November 6, 2009: Thirteen years ago the day after the state election when voters passed Proposition 215 and made medical marijuana legal in California. It has been momentous, a slow moving earthquake that is convulsing around the world.

On the Quiet, the US is Legalizing Marijuana

jeremiah — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:48:09 -0800

You know things are shifting in America when Fortune magazine, the bible for business journalism, runs a cover story titled “Is pot already legal?”. You also know it when Barack Obama’s Department of Justice publishes a long-expected memo signalling that the federal government will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries if they are legal under state law. That happened formally this month.

US Inching Toward Majority Support for Legalization of Cannabis

Kirk Tousaw — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:53:17 -0700

Re: U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High

Read Article

PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup’s October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54% opposed. U.S. public support for legalizing marijuana was fixed in the 25% range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but acceptance jumped to 31% in 2000 and has continued to grow throughout this decade.

Support to Legalize Medical Marijuana in New York

jeremiah — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:36:58 -0700

Proponents of legislation to legalize medical use of marijuana in New York were encouraged Monday by the announcement of a shift in federal policy first promised by President Barack Obama in his presidential campaign.

The U.S. Department of Justice Monday advised U.S. attorneys not to target medical marijuana use and distribution in the 13 states where it is legal. The Drug Enforcement Administration has previously raided such dispensaries.

U.S. Support for Legalizing Marijuana Reaches New High

jeremiah — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:58:44 -0700

Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and 54% opposed. U.S. public support for legalizing marijuana was fixed in the 25% range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but acceptance jumped to 31% in 2000 and has continued to grow throughout this decade.

BC's Business Case For Legalizing Marijuana

jeremiah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:41:57 -0700

The city of Vancouver could generate millions in tax revenue from legal marijuana.I'm writing this on the day marijuana entrepreneur Marc Emery is being taken in handcuffs to the U.S. to plead guilty for selling marijuana seeds from his multimillion-dollar Vancouver-based mail-order business.

Massachusetts Act to Tax and Regulate Marijuana

jeremiah — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:24:18 -0700

A regulated, taxed marijuana trade could help bolster the state’s economy, advocates for legal marijuana said today at a Revenue Committee hearing.

"Whether you like it or you hate it ... it is undeniable in 2009 that marijuana has become inextricably embedded in our culture," said Richard Evans, a Northampton attorney. "It is ubiquitous and it is ineradicable."

Jack Herer Strives To Recover While The Fight For Hemp Goes On

jeremiah — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:45:51 -0700

(SALEM, Ore.) - Jack Herer is a very resilient fellow. 40 years ago he was a Goldwater Republican. Nine years ago he suffered a minor heart attack, and a major stroke.

All these calamaties and more, he survived.

But his fight continues. For the last four weeks, Jack has been in a Portland Oregon hospital, slowly recovering from a heart attack. On Monday, he was discharged from Legacy Emanuel Hospital, and his family moved him to a nursing facility in Eugene, according to Oregonlive.com.

The Splitting Image of Pot

jeremiah — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:11:09 -0700

Any righteous cannabisalista knows the timeline, the grand saga of humanity’s interface with the vegetable mind of the planet. Back in 8000 B.C., before Genesis in Sarah Palin’s book, the sentient were weaving hemp plant into loincloths. The Chinese had it in their pharmacopoeia by 2700 B.C.

Pot Legalization Gains Momentum in California

jeremiah — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:08:22 -0700

Marijuana advocates are gathering signatures to get as many as three pot-legalization measures on the ballot in 2010 in California, setting up what could be a groundbreaking clash with the federal government over U.S. drug policy.

At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of more than 38 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana.

DESCRIMinalization: Decrim Myths, Decrim Facts

jeremiah — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:36:06 -0700

Click illustration to enlarge.CANNABIS CULTURE – Is marijuana decriminalization a step in the right direction or a crafty trick to widen the net of the Drug Warriors?

Chances Are High Pot Measure Will Pass

jeremiah — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:30:38 -0700

That proposed ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in California for people 21 and older - and let local government tax the sales - has a good chance of passing.

People are no longer outraged by the idea of legalization, and truth be told, there is just too much money to be made both by the people who grow marijuana and the cities and counties that would be able to tax it.

War on Drugs Conference: Legalize Marijuana, Participants Say

jeremiah — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:08:02 -0700

David Courtwright spoke about the history of drug abuse Tuesday at the Plaza Theatre. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)Legalizing marijuana in the United States would weaken Mexico's powerful drug cartels, panelists at a War on Drugs conference said Tuesday.

"If you take away half of their money, it will hurt them," said William Martin, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies drug abuse and government policy. "You are not going to break them, but you will hurt them."

Boston Freedom Rally: 30,000 Smoke Pot, Celebrate Decrim

jeremiah — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:20:12 -0700

An estimated 30,000 people were crowded onto the Boston Common at the peak moment of the 20th annual Boston Freedom Rally on September 19th 2009.

That moment was 4:20PM ET.

The Main Problem With Mexican-Style Decriminalization: It Doesn't Go Far Enough

jeremiah — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:11:13 -0700

The range of opinion reflected in an online New York Times debate about the impact of Mexico's new drug law is revealing: Only two out of five participants are mainly critical of the change, which eliminates criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of illegal drugs, and one of them, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda, objects because he thinks the "decriminalization" is a crackdown in disguise:

Copenhagen Considers Legalizing Cannabis

jeremiah — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:34:40 -0700

CANNABIS CULTURE - A debate over legal marijuana has been raging in Denmark this summer because of an unpleasant gang war.

Prince of Pot Marc Emery on Farewell Tour As US Prison Term Looms

jeremiah — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:47:15 -0700

Marc Emery speaking in front of a crowd in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on his Farewell Tour across Canada. (Photo by Jodie Emery)Canada's Prince of Pot, Marc Emery, has less than a month of freedom remaining before he heads to the US border to be handcuffed and escorted to federal court in Seattle, where he will accept a plea bargain and probable five-year prison sentence for selling marijuana seeds over the Internet.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's Twitter Idea Sees 'High' Times

jeremiah — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:08:37 -0700

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to convert the collective intelligence of Twitter users into real-life ideas that would help the revenue-starved state.

Schwarzenegger announced this week the launch of Myidea4ca.com, a Web site that indexes ideas for California's state government submitted via Twitter. The governor is asking people to "tweet" their ideas with the hashtag identifier #myidea4ca.

New York City's Massive Marijuana Arrests

jeremiah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:23:24 -0700

New York City remains the marijuana arrest capital of the world, according to an upcoming report by Queens College Professor Harry Levine. In 1993, there were only 900 arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana, while 40,000 people were arrested in 2008--mostly young Black and Latino men. Dr. Levine calls this a "marijuana arrest crusade." What's going on here?

Legalization The Only Way To Win Drug War

jeremiah — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:49:46 -0700

Mexico has decriminalized personal drug use, but the violence of cartels will not end until all drugs are legalized and regulated.The news last weekend that Mexico has moved quietly to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana and other currently illegal drugs has clearly been a hit with Metro Vancouver drug users.

Argentina Court Ruling Allows Pot Use

jeremiah — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:58:51 -0700

The Argentina Supreme Court ruled Tuesday it is unconstitutional to punish an adult for private use of marijuana as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.

Argentina becomes the second Latin American country in the past four days to allow personal use of a formerly illegal drug.

The seven-member Argentina Supreme Court decision was unanimous, the court's Web site said.

The case in question involved five young men who were arrested for having a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets.

Mexico Decriminalizes Small-Scale Drug Possession

jeremiah — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:55:57 -0700

Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers.

Prosecutors said the new law sets clear limits that keep Mexico's corruption-prone police from shaking down casual users and offers addicts free treatment to keep growing domestic drug use in check.

Make Marijuana Legal

Loretta Nall — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:11:48 -0700

Fellow letter writer and friend Don Siebold had the following letter published in the Anniston Star on Friday.

Make Marijuana Legal

Re "Marijuana gold mine" (Speak Out, July 31):

Letter writer Loretta Nall made a credible argument for legalizing marijuana in Alabama.

read more

Cannabis Get-Together At Award-Winning Park in UK

jeremiah — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:01:47 -0700

The Legalise Cannabis Alliance from the UK will hold an anti-prohibition event at the award-winning Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham.Cannon Hill Park is one of the premier parks in the city of Birmingham as well as the West Midlands and has been awarded Green Flag status as a result of its beautiful flowerbeds, lakes, pools and a wonderful selection of tree species. But on August 9th 2009 the park will play host to a group of people who are advocating an entirely different type of plant: the much maligned cannabis plant.

BMW Owners Show Hemp’s No Longer Just for Hippies

jeremiah — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:21:02 -0700

OK, so you haven’t used Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap since your last camping trip years ago. And you never noticed those boxes of hemp granola at Whole Foods.

But if you drive a BMW or a Mercedes Benz, or wear Armani jeans or Patagonia shirts, you could be consuming hemp.

Its fiber turns up in car door panels, insulation and clothing. Its seeds make tasty granola and frozen desserts, its oil expensive cosmetics and ecologically friendly soap.