Toke of the Town

Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

A Marijuana Bud A Day Keeps The Stroke Away

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By on Medical, News

Hey man, it beats the hell out of Bayer.

One former heart surgeon says that while some people are on a daily dose of aspirin to lower the severity of problems — and the likelihood of strokes — after a heart attack or a first stroke, there’s a better way, reports Sabrina Rodriguez at Fox 40.
Dr. Dave Allen says that marijuana is a better alternative.
“Eating a bud a day will keep the stroke away,” Dr. Allen said. “No other medicine made by man can help in this manner.”
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Israeli Medical Provider Offers Kosher Cannabis Cookies

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By on Dispensaries, Global, Medical

Abir Sultan/Flash 90
Moshe Ichiya of Cannabliss with medical marijuana in the pre-cookie stage

The graduate of a master class in pastry making has started a company registered with the Israeli Health Ministry and is now baking cannabis cookies for about 350 patients — and as of this week, they are kosher for Passover.

Moshe Ichiya, a graduate of the Estella school’s master class in pastry making, runs the company Cannabliss in a location he will describe only as being “in the center of the country,” reports Mitch Ginsburg at the Times of Israel. Cannabliss is one of several companies registered with the Health Ministry and is the sole supplier of medicinal marijuana products to the Sharett Institute of Oncology at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center.
“You see their flyers around the ward,” one recent patient said. Patients at Hadassah then call Ichiya.
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Shady Pot Dealers No Concern To Law Enforcement

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By on Culture

Flickr
Venice Beach, California

Opinion By Cheri Sicard

Special to Toke of the Town
Like many pro-cannabis activists, I found myself shocked, outraged, and saddened by the recent federal attack on Oaksterdam University and other Richard Lee-owned businesses. Oaksterdam is, after all, my alma mater. The school put me on the path to becoming the activist I am today and changed my life for the better in a profound way.
I have been pondering why, if the feds are going to target anyone, it would be Richard Lee. After all, Richard has built a successful business teaching others how to be as compliant as possible with California’s murky medical marijuana laws. His efforts also resulted in the transformation of a formerly derelict section of downtown Oakland into a safe, thriving community.
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Feds On Pot Raid? ‘There Are Just Too Goddamned Many Of Them’

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By on Culture, Medical, News

brendonRS

By Bob Starrett
Did anybody else see just a touch of fear — and dare I say shame — in the eyes and body language of some of the U.S. Marshals who came to the aid of apparently trapped DEA and IRS agents who were discovered by protesters at the Coffeeshop Blue Sky on Monday?
After they had taken down Oaksterdam University and Richard Lee’s other related businesses, the crowd caught them redhanded. Tedious as it can be, and having watched much of it live, thanks to Oaktown Pirate’s live feed, I reviewed the footage and it seemed to confirm my observations. Now, there were not a lot of protesters there. But there was no doubt that those who were there were serious about their city and their state and their rights.
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Day of Anger: SF Advocates Protest Federal Marijuana Raids

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By on Culture, Dispensaries, News

All photos by Jack Rikess for Toke of the Town


By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The demonstration that was planned for Tuesday morning to protest the most recent letters sent by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag took on an added dimension of anger and unabashed outpouring of emotion with the Feds’ untimely raid on East Bay’s Oaksterdam and Richard Lee yesterday morning.  Hundreds of patients, caregivers and activists streamed to the steps of City Hall, carrrying signs and chanting slogans to relieve the anger most were feeling from the assault on Richard Lee. 
The elegant David Goldman, from Americans for Safe Access, commanded the podium and took Haag to task for making the assumption that most patients are basically faking it and dispensaries are nothing more than illegitimate drug dealers. David and others spoke of the Attorney General’s additional comment that she is only “going after dispensaries, not patients,” which garnered many boos from the crowd.  
Supervisor David Chu, observing the crowd, said, “We’re Black, we’re Asian, we’re White, we’re Latino, and today…San Francisco is Green!” Applause echoed between City Hall and the surrounding buildings, drawing in more supporters.
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Letter To Obama: End The Assault On Medical Marijuana

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Reason
From the letter to Obama: “[Y]ou have turned your back as career law enforcement officials have run roughshod over some of the most professional and well-regulated medical marijuana providers”

Six National Drug Policy Organizations Call on President Obama to End Unnecessary Assault on Medical Marijuana Providers
 
Coalition to President Obama: “It is time for a new approach on marijuana policy.”
 
In the wake of recent attacks on medical marijuana providers and patients by multiple branches of the federal government, including Monday’s raids on Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California, a coalition of six national drug policy reform organizations is appealing to President Obama and his administration to follow its own previously stated policies respecting state medical marijuana laws.
In the letter, posted in full below, the organizations call on the Obama Administration to bring an end to the federal government’s ongoing campaign to undermine state efforts to regulate safe and legal access to medical marijuana for those patients who rely on it.
 
The Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy Report 2012, reportedly being released in the coming days, is expected to cling to failed and outdated marijuana policies which further cement the control of the marijuana trade in the hands of drug cartels and illegal operators, endangering both patients in medical marijuana states and citizens everywhere.
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Toke Interview: ‘Heart of Dankness’ Author Mark Haskell Smith

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By on Culture, Growing, Products

Library Foundation of Los Angeles

Editor’s note: Los Angeles writer Mark Haskell Smith’s new book Heart of Dankness sprang from his news coverage of the Cannabis Cup for the L.A. Times. Novelist Smith sampled varieties of marijuana that were unlike anything he’d experienced before, unlike any typical stoner weed. In fact, it didn’t get you “stoned,” as such. This cannabis possessed an ephemeral quality known as “dankness.”

Haskell began a journey into the international underground where super-high-grade marijuana is developed. He tracked down the ragtag community of underground botanists, outlaw farmers, and renegade strain hunters who pursue excellence and genetic diversity in cannabis. The dank journey climaxes at Amsterdam’s Cannabis Cup, which Mark portrays as the Super Bowl/Mardi Gras of the world’s largest cash crop.

Cannabis writer and connoisseur Caitlin Podiak got a chance to chat with Haskell Smith about the book, about good cannabis, and about what, exactly, constitutes a state of dankness. Enjoy!

Discussing Dankness
By Caitlin Podiak
Special to Toke of the Town
Caitlin Podiak: Your quest for the “heart of dankness” centers on the annual High Times Cannabis Cup event in Amsterdam. But how relevant do you think those awards are to cannabis users in California? I know many of the strains we have here come from Dutch seeds, but beyond that, I wonder how much the Amsterdam Cannabis Cup results should matter to us in the United States.
Mark Haskell Smith: Oh, I think they’re very relevant to what goes on in California. The strains that win the Cannabis Cup ultimately become the popular strains you find in medical dispensaries or being sold by dealers. AK-47, Super Silver Haze, Willie Nelson, Lavender, LA Confidential… these are all fairly common strains nowadays, but they were first introduced at the Cannabis Cup. I imagine Kosher Kush, which is originally a SoCal strain, will become huge in the next year or two because it just won the Indica Cup in Amsterdam. It’s sort of like Coachella for cannabis. It’s where the unknowns get their shot at the big time. And that resonates in California. We want those seeds.
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Oaksterdam Pledges To Reopen Wednesday After Marijuana Raid

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By on Culture, News

SF Weekly

After federal agents swept across a formerly down-on-its-luck area of downtown Oakland, raiding the businesses owned by ganjapreneur Richard Lee which had revitalized the community, officials connected with Lee’s flagship Oaksterdam University vowed the cannabis college would reopen on Wednesday.

U.S. Marshals and agents from the IRS and DEA on Monday morning raided all of the downtown businesses connected to Lee, including Oaksterdam, the medical marijuana dispensary Coffeeshop Blue Sky, and a plant nursery connected to the dispensary, reports Chris Roberts at SF Weekly.

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City, State Officials Protest Federal Marijuana Crackdown

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By on Dispensaries, News

MMJ Truth

It can be hard to find areas of agreement in politics — but the federal government’s assault on medical marijuana patients and providers has resulted in a lot of city and state officials finding common ground in California.
On Tuesday, on the steps of City Hall (Polk Street entrance) at 11:30 a.m., an overwhelming number of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be joined by representatives from the offices of the City Attorney, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, State Senator Mark Leno, and the Board of Equalization to show their support for medical cannabis patients by delivering a strong message to the Obama Administration regarding recent actions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State’s four U.S. Attorneys against local medical cannabis dispensaries.
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