Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Brit Police Claim Odor Of Cannabis Plants Causes Cancer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Global, Growing

Think American cops are dumb? From time to time, police in other countries step up to the plate and prove that they can make statements every bit as stupid as those from their American brothers in blue.

Case in point: After a “drugs factory” (what the Harborough Mail chose to call a pot patch) was raided, local yokel police passed on this dire admonition to a wide-eyed public:

Police are warning that when cannabis plants reach the final stages of maturity the odour they release has carcinogenic properties … Officers who deal with the plants use ventilation masks and protective suits and people who have plants in their home, especially anyone with young children, may be exposing their family to a health risk.

Yep, and remember you read it here, first, folks: Just smelling one of those horrible cannabis plants can give you cancer!

Of course, that’s complete horse shit, and anybody who’d believe it either hasn’t looked into the subject or is a damn fool… or likely both of the above, in the case of most police officers.

N.H. House Votes 162-161 To Decriminalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Legislation, News

MilitantLibertarian.org

The New Hampshire House has passed a bill — by the narrowest possible margin, 162-161 — to decriminalize possession of up to a half ounce of marijuana.

Republican Speaker of the House Bill O’Brien abstained from voting, allowing the bill to get through by one vote, reports Kevin Landrigan at the Nashua Telegraph. The bill, HB 1526, cleared the House after O’Brien announced he was letting the measure pass by not voting.

Under current New Hampshire law, anyone possessing a half ounce of marijuana can face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. This bill would make such possession a civil violation on the first offense, with a fine of up to $250, and a fine of $500 the second time it occurred.

Afghan Air Force Transporting Drugs? U.S. Investigating

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Global, News

Wikipedia

Afghan Air Force L-39 Albatross jets: drug smugglers?

The United States is looking into claims that some members of the Afghan Air Force (AAF), which was established largely with American funds, have used their airplanes to transport drugs, a U.S. military spokesman said on Thursday.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the drug-running allegations, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, are linked to the shooting deaths last year of eight U.S. Air Force officers at the airport in the Afghan capital city of Kabul, reports CNN.

Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Should Be Legal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

CNN

Pat Robertson: “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol”

Says He ‘Absolutely’ Supports the Colorado and Washington State Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiatives

Pat Robertson is the latest and maybe the most surprising person to come out in support of legalizing marijuana. Last week on his show, The 700 Club, the signature program on his Christian Broadcast Network, he spoke out passionately against locking people up for possession of marijuana and noted that it was costing us billions of dollars.

Then on Wednesday, in an interview with The New York Times, Robertson, 81, went even farther by saying that he not only supported legalizing marijuana but that he “absolutely” supports the Colorado and Washington state marijuana legalization ballot initiatives on the 2012 ballot.

Legal Marijuana’s Top 10 Greatest Hits

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, Products

Courtesy of Strain Exchange

WeedMaps put together all its medical marijuana dispensary listings and came up with Legal Weed’s Top 10 Greatest Hits, based on the number of locations where each strain is sold.

Five Things You May ‘Know’ About Marijuana That Aren’t True

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 7, 2012 Culture

Anita Toke/Tokin’ Art

It goes without saying that certain “cultural perceptions” about cannabis are wrong. To correct these marijuana myths to a crowd of potheads would be a classic case of singing to (an albeit higher) choir. I’m gonna do it anyway.

As editor of Toke of the Town and marijuana/dispensary reviewer for the Seattle Weekly, I live and breathe marijuana (see what I did there?) every day, and have a great chance to fully inform myself and others.

But when speaking to members of the general public, I’m often struck (and stop that! It hurts) by the wide prevalence of beliefs about marijuana that have been scientifically disproven for years or decades.

Israel Loses 15 Tons Of Medical Marijuana A Year

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 7, 2012 Global, Growing, Medical

Optimal Health

An Israeli medical marijuana worker carries freshly harvested cannabis flowers

Israel is a world leader in medical marijuana use, according to anesthesiologist and pain relief expert Dr. Bareket Schiff-Keren, who said as much in his testimony to the Knesset Committee on Drug Abuse on Tuesday. But there’s a problem with the system: about 15 tons of medicinal cannabis are stolen each year, according to police records.

Israel Police representative Eyal Zilberman told the committee that medical marijuana is being sold on the black market, and the fields to grow cannabis are not properly secured to prevent theft, reports Lahav Harkov at The Jerusalem Post.

Don’t Rush Out To Buy Those Marijuana Diet Pills

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 7, 2012 Medical, News

Rollitup

Scientists have discovered that blocking a marijuana-like chemical in the brain drastically increases fat burn, allowing people (OK, in the study it was mice) to eat more and exercise less without gaining weight.

University of California Irvine pharmacology professor Daniele Piomelli and his colleagues found a way to breed mice who had naturally low levels of the endocannabinoid 2-AG, reports Dennis Romero at LA Weekly. “These modified mice ate more and moved less than typical mice, but did not gain any weight, even when they were fed a high-fat diet,” the researchers noted.

Now, while that may sound as if a cannabinoid-blocking pill would allow you to eat all the junk food you want, not exercise, and still not gain any weight, you might wanna hold off just a minute before stocking your freezer with Klondike bars.

Medical Marijuana Patient, 55, Denied An Apartment

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 6, 2012 Medical, News

SodaHead

A 55-year-old man in Colorado has been denied residence by an apartment complex after his daughter revealed that he had a medical authorization to use marijuana.

Marlena Martino said that managers at Minnequa Shores apartment complex in Pueblo, Colorado, rejected her father’s application for a lease due to his medicinal cannabis use, reports Jeff Tucker at The Pueblo Chieftain. Managers at the apartments declined to comment on their drug policy.

“We go to sign the lease and the woman brought up their policy on drugs and crime,” Martino said. “I told her about his medical marijuana certificate and she said we couldn’t sign the lease.

“What I don’t understand is how you can pick and choose which laws to follow?” Martino asked. “Who are you to decide what’s valid?”

New Hampshire Medical Marijuana Press Conference Wednesday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 6, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Two New Hampshire lawmakers on Wednesday will discuss the details of SB 409, the medical marijuana bill they are sponsoring this year.

Sen. Jim Forsythe (R-Stafford) and Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster) will be joined in the lobby of the New Hampshire State Legislative Office Building in Concord by supporters of the bill, including Matt Simon, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, and John Tommasi, a retired Salem police sergeant. Several patients who would benefit from medical marijuana will also attend.

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