Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Cannabis Contradictions: People vs. Politicians [Infographic]

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Culture, Legislation, Medical

Marijuana has traditionally been regarded as such a third-rail issue that mainstream politicians have lacked the courage to address it.

As far as the U.S. federal government is concerned, legalizing cannabis even for very sick people is off the table, and not a valid subject for discussion.

But the public sees it differently.

Canada To Cite US Medical Cannabis States To Justify Pot Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Global, Medical, News

Freaking News

Editor’s note: Canadian medical marijuana patient, activist, and blogger Matt Mernagh won perhaps the biggest marijuana court victory in Canada’s history last year, forcing the Canadian government to argue in court for the validity of its marijuana laws.

Here, previous Toke of the Town contributor Mernagh shares his plans and insights regarding his next court appearance.

By Matt Mernagh

Mernagh.ca

To save Canada’s marijuana laws from becoming null and void, U.S. state medical marijuana programs will be cited as working examples of what other countries have created. Canada’s federal legal medical marijuana program is similar to what U.S. states have, a Canadian prosecutor will argue in May before the country’s second highest court.

It’s one of many arguments designed to overturn a landmark court ruling (R v. Mernagh) that eliminated Canada’s weed laws, decimated their federal government-run medical marijuana program, and allows me to legally grow and possess my own without a government license of any kind.

The feds really need to win their appeal if marijuana is to remain a prohibited substance, so naturally they’ve thrown plenty of arguments on why the ruling must be overturned by two of three justices on the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Worth Repeating: Like Dangerfield, THC Doesn’t Get Any Respect

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Culture, Medical

Every Truck Job

“I smoked half a joint the other day, and it made me so hungry I ate the other half.” ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Worth Repeating

By Ron Marczyk, R.N.

Health Education Teacher (Retired)

This post is dedicated to the great comic genius Rodney Dangerfield, who in life had a lot in common with THC, the cannabis plant’s main cannabinoid molecule.

THC is responsible for the the “high” that helped Rodney survive and manage severe anxiety and depression caused by a childhood filled with parental neglect and abuse, and childhood PTSD.

Rodney’s anxiety behavior of twitching and jerking on stage was not an act.

But it was marijuana that saved Rodney’s life and helped him achieve self-actualization through a comic genius that is in effect a dual form of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence.

‘American Weed’ TV Series Premieres Wednesdays

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Culture, Dispensaries, Products

Steve Schrenzel/NGT

The Stanley brothers inspect young crops at their medical marijuana growhouse.

A new TV series called “American Weed” is premiering on the National Geographic Channel tonight (Wednesday, February 22) at 10 p.m. ET/PT. According to NatGeo, the show “goes inside Colorado’s pot culture and explores the legal world of medical cannabis from various perspectives, including the growers, patients and dispensary owners, cops, caregivers and opponents.”

The all-new series “finds Colorado medical marijuana businesses under scrutiny and facing mounting pressures from local residents,” according to National Geographic.

U.S. Becoming More Progressive On Marijuana Than Canada

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Culture, Global

Cannabis Culture

While Canada moves toward stricter sentencing with the mandatory minimums included with Bill C-10, many states in the U.S. are shifting in the opposite direction, toward control and regulation of the marijuana trade, according to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

A high-profile group of current and former law enforcement officials allied under the LEAP banner points to the 16 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that have already passed laws allowing the medicinal use of cannabis, the 14 states that have taken steps to decriminalize marijuana possession.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian senators, the law-enforcement officials point out the failure of the War On Drugs in the U.S., and that the country now seems to be moving in another direction even as Canada is poised to tighten the screws.

U.S. Cops Call On Canadian Prime Minister To Legalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Simple Cannabis

Canada Risks Repeating ‘U.S. Mistakes’ With Mandatory Minimum Sentences In
Bill C-10

A high-profile group of current and former law enforcement officials from the United States is calling on the Canadian government to reconsider the mandatory minimum sentences for minor marijuana offenses proposed in Bill C-10, arguing that the taxation and regulation of cannabis is a more effective policy approach in reducing crime.

The law enforcers on Wednesday released a letter outlining their concerns, addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian senators. It is signed by more than two dozen current and former judges, police officers, special agents, narcotics investigators and other criminal justice professionals, all of whom are members of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Dutch Weed Pass: Ban On Foreigners Takes A Big Hit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Kush And Orange Juice

Yeah, it’s nice being able to buy connoisseur-grade cannabis and smoke it on the premises in Dutch coffee shops. But the conservative government is trying to ban foreigners from the shops with the unpopular Weed Pass.

Cities Allowed To Decide For Themselves On Enforcement

The Dutch “Weed Pass,” which in effect would have banned foreigners from the famed “coffee shops” which sell cannabis in the Netherlands, took a big hit Tuesday as the Ministry of Security and Justice announced that cities may decide what action — if any — they take against shops which defy the ban.

“Municipalities may decide themselves what sort of action they take against coffeeshops which choose not to comply with the weedpass,” the Ministry announced.

Minnesota: Support Legalization On This Year’s Tax Form

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 News

Dan Vacek/Minnesota Grassroots Party

Minnesota residents: Help legalize marijuana by writing Grassroots code [15] on your state tax form for 2011. Marking the box will not increase your tax or reduce your refund! Tell your friends to do the same.

If you live in Minnesota, you’ll have an opportunity this year when you file your state tax form to support a great cause: the Minnesota Grassroots Party. After an absence of a few years, the party is back on the tax form after fielding a candidate in the 2010 statewide election.

Marking the State Elections Campaign Fund box — and filling in “15” to support the Grassroots Party — will not affect the amount of your refund or the amount of taxes you owe. It will, however, instruct the state of Minnesota to direct $5 from the campaign fund to the Grassroots Party.

R.I. Governor Slams Obama’s Medical Marijuana Crackdown

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Broadcast Engineering

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee said the results of the Obama Administrations crackdown on medical marijuana were “Utter chaos”

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, under political fire for blocking three medical marijuana dispensaries authorized back in 2009 and selected in 2011, says the real problem is the inconsistent policy of the President he endorsed in 2008.

When asked by Rolling Stone magazine what the result has been of the Obama Administration’s effort to prevent states from implementing laws allowing the distribution of medicinal cannabis, Gov. Chafee replied, “Utter chaos,” reports Ted Nesi at WPRI.com.

The governor has faced protests and legal threats from medical marijuana patients and advocates since suspending Rhode Island’s dispensary program in May 2011.

8th Grader Suspended For Pot Prank With Bag Of Oregano

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2012 News

FARK.com

An eighth-grade student in North Carolina was suspended from school after pulling a prank on a classmate with a bag of oregano following a lecture on the dangers of marijuana. A civil liberties group has lined up in his corner, but officials at the school aren’t backing down.

The boy was thrown out of school for 55 days for the incident at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw, N.C., reports My Fox Orlando. Hidebound school officials point at the district’s policy manual, which says students can get a 10-day suspension for “possessing illegal or counterfeit drugs” and “misuse of chemical/material (organic or otherwise) that causes or is purported to cause a hallucinogenic/mind altering effect.”

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