Infographic by Clarity Way
Infographic by Clarity Way
Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~
Infographic by Clarity Way
| Gaia Health |
Worth Repeating
By Ron Marczyk, RN
OK, somebody please talk me off the ledge on this one…
It has already started… This is what a dying war on marijuana looks like.
The U.S. government is in an untenable position; the war on marijuana has failed completely, but the U.S. government also holds the sole medical marijuana patent ever granted, which proves that cannabinoids from cannabis are powerful medicines that can save thousands of lives annually and save the government billions of dollars in health costs, treating everything from cancer to neurological diseases.
But after 75 years of misinformation and brainwashing the U.S. population, and the world, that marijuana is an evil drug that must be eliminated, how can it now do a 180 degree turn and sell marijuana as a medicine to the same population? The coming verbal somersaults will be amazing!
| Where’s Weed? |
Advocates Outraged; Vow To Reverse New Law With A Referendum
The Los Angeles City Council, after having flirted with the idea for some time, on Tuesday voted to ban the medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, claiming “neighborhood concerns” were a factor in the decision, along with recent court rulings questioning the right of cities to regulate the cannabis collectives.
The majority view of the council has evolved, reports Dennis Romero of LA Weekly, to the outlook that the city’s dispensary scene was not foreseen by state legislators when they allowed collectives as part of SB 420, which in 2003 clarified and expanded Proposition 215, approved by state voters back in 1996.
| Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center |
Oakland, California: Starting at noon a few hundred cannabis supporters and activists gathered on the steps of Oakland’s City Hall to show support for Harborside Health Center and to protest President Obama’s early evening fundraiser at the picturesque Fox Theater.
On July 11, Harborside Health Center in Oakland and San Jose was served an official Complaint for Forfeiture of Property. The complaint is signed by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvan Perteet, and DEA Agent David White, filed on July 6 in the District Court, San Francisco Division and received by the court on Sunday, July 9. The complaint seeks forfeiture of real estate and improvements on the grounds that cannabis is being distributed on the premises, in violation of federal law.
Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside, Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Judge Jim Gray, and others spoke under the hot East Bay sun to the cheers and applause of the cannabis crowd that assembled in the commons of City Hall.
| The Sofia Echo |
Beginning January 1, 2013, Croatia will no longer criminally prosecute citizens caught with small amounts of marijuana and other drugs. Possession for personal use is being downgraded to a minor offense in the former Yugoslavian republic.
But growing cannabis, even for personal or medical consumption, will remain a criminal offense, and those growing it will still risk facing a fine and up to three years in prison, reports the Croatian Times.
| Redheaded Blackbelt/Celebitchy |
| Steve DeAngelo, left, and Donald Trump |
By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
On Monday, July 9, this office filed civil forfeiture actions against 1840 Embarcadero, Oakland, California, and 2106 Ringwood Avenue, San Jose, where Harborside, a marijuana dispensary claiming over 108,000 customers, operates.This office has used its limited resources to address those marijuana dispensaries that operate close to schools, parks and playgrounds. As I have said in the past, this is a non-exclusive list of factors relevant to whether we should commence civil forfeiture actions against marijuana properties, and circumstances may require us to address other situations.I now find the need to consider actions regarding marijuana superstores such as Harborside. The larger the operation, the greater the likelihood that there will be abuse of the state’s medical marijuana laws, and marijuana in the hands of individuals who do not have a demonstrated medical need.The filing of the civil forfeiture complaints against the two Harborside properties is part of our measured effort to address the proliferation of illegal marijuana businesses in the Northern District of California.U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag in San Francisco
America loves Donald Trump. He’s has a big show, property all around the world, and for some, they wished he’d be our next commander-in-combover. Does America listen to what The Donald has to say because he’s sexy, smart, and for the world of ideas he brings to better us all. No. We listen to The Donald because he’s rich.
America loves a winner. And they love losers too.
In the middle of staggering unemployment, we loved to hear the phrase, “You’re fired!” To see someone leave the boardroom angry and utterly humiliated on national TV keeps the Atlantic City hotels full and the Trump good name fresh in the hearts of many Americans.
Steve DeAngelo is big too. He’s big in the cannabis world. How big? He’s the kind of big that lands you on the Feds’ radar for being too just too damn big.
Steve Angelo, like Donald Trump, had his own reality show. Some would say that wasn’t the first instance of Steve DeAngelo reaching for fame. That he’s been catering to the limelight since the early 2000’s when he arrived on the California cannabis scene. Prior to that, as an activist and entrepreneur, his resume was pretty solid.
At Obama Fundraiser in Oakland, Patients Demand End to Federal Attacks
President Obama’s visit to Oakland follows aggressive DOJ actions aimed at shutting down city-permitted dispensaries
Hundreds of medical marijuana patients and advocates are staging a rally on Monday in downtown Oakland at a fundraiser for President Obama’s re-election campaign. The president’s visit to Oakland follows a recent forfeiture action aimed at shutting down Harborside Health Center, a city-permitted dispensary that has operated since 2006 without incident.
Earlier this year, the Obama Justice Department raided and shut down another of Oakland’s permitted dispensaries, Blue Sky, leaving the city with a dwindling number of facilities to serve Oakland’s patient population. Protesters will demand an end to federal interference and call for the firing of Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for northern California.
What: Rally and press conference to protest federal attacks on the medical marijuana community and on Oakland’s dispensaries in particular
When: Monday, July 23rd Press Conference at 1:45 pm (Rally Noon-5pm)
Where: Press conference at Oaksterdam University, 1600 Broadway, Oakland (Rally at City Hall Plaza)
| Jamie Scott Lytle/North County Times |
| Mother Earth’s Alternative Healing Cooperative Inc. co-founders Bob Riedel and Brenda Perez in 2009 |
Sole legal medical marijuana dispensary to challenge U.S. Attorney for straight legal test of California state law, to announce plans for ongoing defense of legitimate medical marijuana operations
Advocates, patients, and concerned citizens in support of the only state- and county-approved legal medical marijuana dispensary in California’s four-county southern border region on Monday announced plans to unveil strategy to defend one of the model medical marijuana dispensaries in the nation at a press conference on the steps of San Diego’s federal court building.
Representatives of Mother Earth’s Alternative Healing Cooperative said they would announce the plans and a specific challenge to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy at the press conference on the steps of the U.S. federal court house in San Diego on Monday, July 23 at 11 a.m.
| Burien Daily |
Real Legalization Or ‘Decrim On Steroids,’ I-502 Appears Headed For Victory
Washington state’s Initiative 502, which would legalize and tax marijuana and sell the herb through state-licensed stores, got a big funding boost over the weekend, receiving $1.25 million in new donations. The funds allowed I-502’s backers to buy a $1 million TV advertising blitz in August, according to campaign manager Alison Holcomb.
Meanwhile, a new statewide poll, paid for by Seattle TV station KING 5, found that a healthy 55 percent of Washington voters support I-502 ,with just 32 percent opposed.
The first marijuana legalization initiative to ever make the state ballot in Washington, I-502 raised the $1.25 million from just four deep-pocketed donors, including matching $450,000 contributions from Progressive Insurance founder Peter Lewis — well-known for his financial support for drug policy reform — and from the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.
| Charles Haynes/Wikipedia |
| Foie gras with mustard seeds and green onions in duck jus |
The World According To Jack
I’m Tired of Having Shit Jammed Down My Throat
Commentary By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent
Gavage; (French orig., to gorge)
1. Practice of feeding an animal against their will
2. Supplying a nutritional substance by means of a plastic tube.
On July 1st of 2012, California banned Foie Gras from being sold in state’s restaurants or stores. Those epicureans among us know that Foie Gras is made from the liver of a goose or a duck that has been forcibly enlarged by being fed utilizing a long funnel that transfers corn or other grains directly into the bird’s stomach. The mash is forced down their throats many times a day fattening up the birds for slaughter while producing, some say an exquisite liver-like substance in the process. That’s basically Foie Gras, not counting thousands of years of French history.
This popular and well-known delicacy is like smashed giblets drenched with butter purée and pressed in a liver-casing that’s guarantees a creamy rich good time. Now it is prohibited to sell Foie Gras in California, just as it has been outlawed Illinois and in London for some time.
So your first thought is, when they outlaw Foie Gras, only outlaws will have Foie Gras.
Wrong, Ducky. When the ban came down prohibiting the fatty bloated liver spam, dedicated activists hardly wasted any time responding with the birth of the Foie Gras Black Market. The parallels to the prohibition on… alcohol are uncanny.