Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

World Leaders Encourage Drug Legalization

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

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).

Stoner Photo of the Day: The Flower That Scares Big Pharma

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Growing

Photo: No Longer Sad in Western WA

Jillybean by TGA Genetics, day 65, harvested on day 66. “Just because I’m a proud granny — and this plant was just so incredibly beautiful at harvest time,” No Longer Sad tells us.

See that pretty flower?

It scares the hell out of Big Pharma.

Because when people can have their own organically grown anti-depressant, anti-tumor, anti-nausea, pain medication, what do they need Big Pharma’s high prices and harsh chemicals for?

Israeli Marijuana Raid Barges Into Swingers’ Sex Party

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Casual Encounters

Officers from the Israel Border Police thought they were hot on the trail of some illegal cannabis on Thursday night, but they stumbled instead upon a different kind of party, finding themselves barging iin on a swingers’ sex party.

The volunteer police officers raided Moshav Beit Hanan in central Israel, finding a hydroponic marijuana growing operation and two suspects, reports Yaniv Kubovich at Haaretz.

The suspects took off on foot and the police gave chase, all the way to a closed area where they stumbled upon dozens of scantily clad party-goers.

Poland Cannabis Rally Ends In Arrests

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Global, News

Photo: Jacek Turczyk/PAP

Demonstrators at the Free Hemp March in Warsaw, Poland on Saturday

A pro-marijuana rally held in downtown Warsaw, Poland on Saturday ended with police arresting 40 activists on pot charges as well as “other public offenses.”

The rally, organized by the Free Hemp Initiative, was attended by up to 6,000 demonstrators — and that’s a police estimate, so the crowd could have been even larger.

“Forty people were detained during the march, including six minors,” said Deputy Inspector Maciej Karczynski of the Warsaw Police, reports TheNews.pl. Karczynski added that 28 of those detained were arrested for possession of cannabis, while one person was detained for shoplifting.

American Express Classifies Medical Marijuana With Online Porn

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: Shadow Tech

Did you know your credit card company gets input on your medical decisions?

American Express, the most conservative of the major credit card companies, recently banned its customers from using the cards to buy medical marijuana — which is legal in 16 states. Medical marijuana joins online pornography on a short list of AmEx-banned purchases, which shows you roughly where the company’s coming from, moral judgment-wise.

So why should a financial institution get input on your medical decisions? Why should they care if you pursue one method of treatment — a natural, non-toxic herb — over harsh pharmaceuticals? Why are they acting as if a medical need for many of their customers — that is to say, doctor-recommended cannabis — is some sort of shameful vice?

Why are they treating seriously ill medical marijuana patients the same as a horned-up Bigg Juggs fan?

Police Want List Of Michigan Medical Marijuana Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

Cops want a list of medical marijuana patients in Michigan. Patients are crying foul.

Legislation that would require the names of all medical marijuana patients and caregivers in Michigan to be given to state police, who in turn would provide the list to local law enforcement, has police excited and patients mad.

Senate Bill 377, sponsored by Senator Darwin Booher (R-Evart), has been referred to the Judiciary Committee, reports Liz Shepard at the Port Huron Times Herald. Police claim the bill would help them stop wasting resources by investigating tips about people who turn out to be legal medical marijuana patients.

“If you know ahead of time, you can sort a complaint or tip,” said St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon.

Port Huron Police Lt. Scott Pike agreed that Booher’s legislation would be a timesaver because it can be difficult to verify if someone is registered with the state as a medical marijuana patient. “It would probably clear up a lot of unknowns because the system is so new,” Pike said.

Medical Marijuana Patients Number 750,000 In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 31, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: MJ Dispensaries of Southern California

Retail Market Is $1.5 Billion To $4.5 Billion Per Year

There are now more than 750,000 medical marijuana patients in California, representing two percent of the population according to the most recent data, estimates California NORML. At the high end, an estimate of more than 1,125,000 patients, or three percent of the population, is consistent with the data.

This represents a substantial increase from Cal NORML‘s earlier estimates of 300,000 in 2007, 150,000 in 2005, and 75,000 in 2004, but is in line with registration rates in other comparable states that enjoy similar wide access to medical cannabis clinics and dispensaries.

The exact number of patients in California is uncertain, because patients aren’t required to register in the Golden State. Under Prop 215, California’s medical marijuana law, patients need only a physician’s recommendation to be legal.

Birdwatcher Arrested For Sage In Botched Marijuana Bust

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 30, 2011 News

Photo: Orlando Sentinel

Birdwatcher Robin Brown was handcuffed, thrown in jail, stripped, and body cavity searched — for possessing sage.

Robin Brown Was Stripped, Subjected To A Body Cavity Search, And Spent The Night In Jail

A birdwatcher landed in a Florida jail on felony charges of marijuana possession after a clueless sheriff’s deputy mistook the sage she had in her backpack for pot.

Robin Brown, 49, of Hollywood, Florida, was arrested after Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Dominic Raimondi, 51, decided her sage was marijuana. Deputy Dumbass, I mean Raimondi, then searched her car and found more “pot,” which was also sage.

Tellingly, the dimwitted deputy’s notoriously unreliable field kit said the sage — bought at an airport gift shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico — tested positive for marijuana, reports Susannah Bryan at the Orlando Sentinel.

San Diego Medical Marijuana Ban Suspended; Signatures Filed

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 27, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Photo: California Cannabis Coalition

Craig Beresh of the California Cannabis Coalition turns in 47,000 voter signatures at the registrar’s office in San Diego at 4:20 Friday afternoon.

Strict new medical marijuana rules were scheduled to take effect on Friday in San Diego — amounting to a de facto ban, according to many activists — but the action has been suspended since 47,000 signatures were filed for a referendum to end the ban on medicinal cannabis in the city, according to the California Cannabis Coalition and Patient Care Association of California.

“We needed 32,000 signatures for the referendum to end the ban,” said Craig Beresh of the California Cannabis Coalition just before the referendum was filed.

“We will turn today over 47,000 signatures,” Beresh said. “This will suspend the ordinance. The ban on medical marijuana in San Diego will be suspended until the registrar verifies the signatures.”

“We filed at 4:20 today,” Beresh said. “So the end result… THE BAN HAS BEEN SUSPENDED AS OF 4:20 TODAY!”

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