2011 June

‘Mr Nice’ Tells Story Of Cannabis Smuggler Howard Marks

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 Culture, Global, Products

Mr. Nice, a riveting British film which will be released in the United States on Friday, June 3, tells the story of the legendary Howard Marks, a Welsh-born Oxford University student whose initial dabbling in marijuana dealing led to a career as an international cannabis smuggler. His chosen vocation resulted in supposed connections to the Irish Republican Army, MI-6 and the Mafia — all amid side jobs and cover gigs as travel agent, teacher and spy.

Watching an advance screening copy of the movie last night, Viki and I were glued to our seats by this compelling tale of a rural young Welshman’s transformation into one of the biggest cannabis dealers on the planet. Howard Marks, with his sharp, analytical business mind and fearless, calm demeanor, would have done well at anything, but thank goodness he chose the noble calling of weed smuggler.

From its evocative early scenes of the 1960s where the innocent young Marks is introduced to the world of hashish, to his meetings with IRA operatives in Ireland, members of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love in California, and hash smugglers in Pakistan, Mr. Nice almost always hits the sweet spot, with star Rhys Ifans doing an incredible job of capturing Marks’ character.

Ex-Mayor Convicted Of Selling Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 News

Photo: KOMO News

Ex-Mayor Floyd “Butch” DeRosia was arrested in April 2010 on charges of selling marijuana to an informant. He was convicted by a jury on Wednesday.

A Snohomish County, Washington jury on Wednesday convicted a former Granite Falls mayor of dealing marijuana.

Floyd “Butch” DeRosia faces up to six months in jail after the verdict, according to Deputy Prosecutor Halley Hupp. DeRosia is scheduled to be sentenced later this week, reports the Everett Herald Net.

DeRosia was one of more than a dozen people arrested last year as a result of a two-year “investigation” into “drug trafficking” in Granite Falls. City police officers worked undercover with detectives from the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force and informant snitches.

World Leaders Urge An End To Marijuana Prohibition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 Global, News

Graphic: Virgin

Feel that? It’s the political ground shifting underneath our feet.

On Thursday, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an international organization consisting of high level current and former heads of state, along with policy experts, released a report suggesting world governments give up the War On Drugs and consider more rational harm-reduction policies, including removing all criminal penalties for the possession and use of marijuana.

The Commission, which includes former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, among many others, urged leaders to consider alternatives to incarceration for drug use to shift their focus toward treatment of drug abusers, rather than punishment and interdiction for recreational users.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Legalized In Vermont

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Prohibition’s End

Vermont Governor Pete Shumlin on Thursday signed S. 17, a bill authorizing up to four dispensaries where registered patients can buy medicinal cannabis, augmenting the state’s already-existing medical marijuana law.

Vermont joins Colorado, Maine, New Mexico, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Arizona and Delaware on the list of states that explicitly allow cannabis dispensaries. Washington, D.C., is also in the process of implementing a program that will allow five marijuana dispensaries in the nation’s capital.

“This is a great day for a lot of patients throughout the state that, until now, have been unsure how to go about obtaining medicine their doctor has recommended,” said Dan Riffle, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project.

Cannabis Quote of the Day: Carl Sagan

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2011 Culture

Carl Sagan portrait by Pat Linse

“I am convinced that there are genuine and valid levels of perception available with cannabis (and probably with other drugs) which are, through the defects of our society and our educational system, unavailable to us without such drugs.”

~ Carl Sagan

Are You As ‘Fed’ Up As Me With Federal Marijuana Policies?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2011 Culture

Photo: Eric Kayne

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

I am totally Fed up.

If you haven’t heard already, ex-presidents, prime ministers, eminent economists and the Big Dudes of the business community will be meeting to discuss how the world’s drug policies “just ain’t working.” The quote is mine.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy will host a press conference at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Thursday, to pull the trigger on their findings that describe the Drug War as a failure and call for a “paradigm shift” in approaching the issue.

The commission will demand that the focus change from criminal justice towards a public health approach. The global advocacy organization Avaaz, which has nine million members, will present a petition in support of the commission’s recommendations to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The commission cites such factors as the cartel-related violence in Mexico, President Barack Obama’s comment that it was “perfectly legitimate” to question whether the War On Drugs was working, and the wider global economic crisis. These factors have the world leaders questioning whether it is time to change our course when it comes to the War On Drugs.

Californians, Contact Your State Legislators About Marijuana Now

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: CA NORML

This Friday, June 3, is the last day for bills to be voted on in the California Legislature for passage to the other legislative house.

Two major marijuana bills are before the Legislature and need action — one each in the Senate and the Assembly. It’s time to contact your state legislators now and tell them you support SB 129 and AB 1017. Below, you can find easy links to do just that.

Legislation that would make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against persons who are authorized under state law to use medical marijuana is pending in the California Senate.

Senate Bill 129 declares it unlawful under state law “for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person’s status as a qualified patient or a positive drug test for marijuana,” if the drug test result is indicative of previous, off-the-job marijuana use (e.g., a positive test for marijuana metabolites on a urine screen).

World Leaders Encourage Drug Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Ramble On

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and other world leaders, including the former Presidents of Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Switzerland, are endorsing a new report that calls for a paradigm shift in global drug policy.

On Thursday, the former presidents of several countries, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, former U.S. Fed Chairman Paul Volcker and other luminaries will release a new report calling the global “War On Drugs” a failure, and encouraging nations to pursue legalizing and regulating drugs as a way to stop the violence inherent in the illegal drug market.

The 24-page paper, by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, argues that the decades-old “global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.”

“Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won,” the report said.

Public Forum Will Support North Carolina Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 1, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graphic: The North Carolina Cannabis Patients Network

If you or someone you care about has cancer or another debilitating medical condition that modern medicine is not helping — or the medicine is causing more side effects than it is worth — and you’ve considered using medical cannabis, you know how important legal access can be.

North Carolina House Bill 577, the “North Carolina Cannabis Act” would help seriously ill patients by providing them with safe and legal access to medical marijuana, and a public forum has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, to help educate legislators and the public about the bill.

The day will kick off with a press conference at 9:30 a.m., in room LB 1328. The North Carolina Cannabis Act House Bill 577 of 2011’s Public Forum is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Legislative Auditorium between the House and Senate Chambers. A lunch break at 1 p.m. out on the Halifax Mall, between the legislative buildings, will be sponsored by the North Carolina Cannabis Patients Network (NCCPN).

Monthly Archives: June, 2011