Toke of the Town

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Medical Marijuana, Hemp Bills Introduced In Virgin Islands

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By on Global, Legislation, News

American Medical Marijuana Society

Bills which would legalize the production of industrial hemp and the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes will be considered on Monday and Tuesday, August 13 and 14, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Senator Terrance “Positive” Nelson, the first and only Rastafarian senator in the Virgin Islands, is bringing the bills forward. Senator Nelson has vowed to bring marijuana legislation before the Senate, and has other senators who have publicly supported him and these bills for ballot referendums.
Senator Nelson has also said publicly that he is working on a marijuana decriminalization bill that will be presented before the end of this Senate session. Toke of the Town has seen a draft of the as yet unnumbered bill, which is not yet final.
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Mexico/U.S. Caravan Highlights Failed Drug War

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By on Culture, Global

Caravan for Peace

“Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity” to Embark from San Diego August 12 Calling for End to Drug War that Has Killed 60,000 in Mexico
Javier Sicilia and other Victims from Mexico and United States to Make 6,000-mile Journey Through 20 Cities to Honor Lives Lost to Drug War, Culminating in International Day of Action in Washington D.C.
Caravan Proposes Comprehensive Solutions to Violence: Explore Drug Regulation, End Weapons Trafficking, Prevent Money Laundering, Eliminate U.S. Military Aid, and Ensure the Safety of Migrants
On Sunday, August 12, a broad bi-national coalition of more than 100 U.S. civil society organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), Global Exchange and the Drug Policy Alliance will join the Mexican Movement for Peace with Justice & Dignity (MPJD) to embark on the “Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity” across the United States. 
The Caravan will be led by renowned Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, who emerged as a leader of the MPJD after his son Juan Francisco was killed in senseless prohibition-related violence last year, together with  family members of Mexican victims of the drug war. They will unite with victims and supporters from the United States for a month-long voyage across the continental United States.
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Cannabis In Israel: A Million Users Want To Change The Law

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By on Culture, Global

Cannabis N.I.

By Amos Silver
In Israel there is a group of about 15 percent of the population that is legally defined as offenders (the data is not accurate due to possible self-incrimination respondents), some even serving prison sentences. The group is an almost perfect cross section of the population in all other aspects.
Some serve in the army, pay taxes and are political activists, some of them belong to more vulnerable populations, some didn’t serve in the army and some own a cat. The rest are divided between the other layers of society. The only common thing among them is the reason they’re defined as criminals, besides that they are generally law-abiding as the rest of the population.
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Drug Legalization Debate Escalating In Latin America

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By on Global, Legislation, News

NTN

Front Page New York Times Article Describes Uruguay Government’s Proposal to Legalize and Sell Marijuana – Joining Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Belize and Others in Proposing Drug War Alternatives 
Ethan Nadelmann, DPA Executive Director: The Genie Has Escaped the Drug Prohibition Bottle
One by one, the dominoes are starting to sway.
Monday morning, the front page of The New York Times featured an article titled “South America Sees Drug Path to Legalization,” which discusses the growing debate on alternatives to the Drug War. Throughout Latin America, both former and current heads of state are demanding that the full range of policy options be expanded to include alternatives that help to reduce the prohibition-related crime violence and corruption in their own countries – and insisting that decriminalization and legal regulation of currently illicit drug markets be considered.
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Croatia Will Decriminalize Marijuana In 2013

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By on Global, Legislation

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.
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Belize To Consider Decriminalizing Marijuana Possession

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By on Global, Legislation, News

Nick Miroff / The Washington Post
A sign greets visitors to Caye Caulker, Belize, with a warning: Though marijuana and cocaine are readily available to tourists, drugs are illegal in Belize

Belize Announcement on Heels of Uruguayan President’s Proposal to Legalize and Sell Marijuana
DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann: Alternatives to Prohibition Growing Trend in Latin America and Caribbean 
The government of Belize released a press statement on Monday announcing the appointment of a committee to evaluate a proposal to decriminalize marijuana possession. The committee – to be headed by a former police minister – was appointed by the Minister of National Security.
The proposal seeks to remove criminal penalties for possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana and instead impose fines and mandatory drug education. Currently, possession of less than 60 grams of marijuana is punishable by a fine of up to US $26,000 and/or up to three years in prison.
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Yikes: Google Wants To Help With The War On Drugs?!

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By on Global, News

StopOxy.com

What’s the difference between Google and law enforcement? Not much, apparently.

Like an overbearing, clueless cousin, Google is putting itself into the fight to disrupt global drug cartels with a two-day summit in Los Angeles. The summit, “Illicit Networks: Forces In Opposition,” is put on by Google Ideas, the company’s “think/do tank,” and is part of the company’s effort to “answer humanity’s most intractable problems.”

Do you see the problem here? Anybody who pisses off government officials can be declared “illicit” and Google’s all-too-willing help could turn it into yet another technological tool of the all-seeing Surveillance State.

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UK Agents Search, Question Brit Veteran On Way To Netherlands

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By on Culture, Global

NORML UK
Des Humphrey (right) with Dutch coffeeshop entrepreneur, Nol Van Schaik
 

By Chris Bovey
NORML UK
Frequent travelers are used to heightened security at airports these days. It’s standard practice for hand luggage to be x-rayed and to have to walk through a metal detector. But British army veteran and medicinal cannabis activist Des Humphrey, got more than he bargained for last weekend when he arrived at Bristol Airport in England to fly to Amsterdam to attend the 25th anniversary of the Birdy Coffeeshop in Haarlem, invited by owner Wilco Sijm.
After Des’ bags had been x-rayed, the UK border staff then emptied their entire contents, rummaging through all his clothes, checking the pockets and performing swab tests on them. His wheelchair was given a full once over: checking the wheels, under his seat, every square inch. Des himself was fully patted down and his pockets were emptied.
When they had finished and Des thought he was finally on his way, he was then stopped again by a British policeman who informed him the border agency staff were looking for cannabis and proceeded to question him on his cannabis usage. Well, those who know Des Humphrey also know that he is more than happy to talk about cannabis and, as you might expect, ended up having a nice chat with the police officer.
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‘Prince of Pot’ Has Two Years Left In Prison Sentence

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By on Global, News

Green Wellness
Marc Emery: Two years to go

Marc Emery, the self-proclaimed “Prince of Pot” who is doing time in a United States federal prison, now has just two years left of his five-year sentence for selling marijuana seeds to American customers from his headquarters in Canada.

His wife, Jodie, who has spearheaded the Emery empire in the Prince’s absence, is marking the occasion with him in Mississippi, reports James Lewis at Vancouver’s CKNW radio.
“Eighty-five percent of the five-year sentence — that’s July 9, 2014 (when) he would be released,” Jodie said. “But we know that next year, Marc is eligible to apply for transfer to Canadian prisons, and he’ll be doing that in April.
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Colombia Decriminalizing Possession of Marijuana and Cocaine

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By on Global, Legislation, News

StoptheDrugWar.org
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has called for a new direction in drug policy

Colombia Part of Growing Trend in Latin America; Last Week President of Uruguay Called for Legal Regulation of Marijuana
 
Colombia’s Constitutional Court on Friday approved the government’s proposal to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cocaine and marijuana for personal use. Anyone caught with less than 20 grams of marijuana or one gram of cocaine for personal use may receive physical or psychological treatment depending on their “state of consumption,” but may not be prosecuted or detained, the court ruled.
Colombia, famed in the 1970s for the “Colombian Redbud” and “Santa Marta Gold” marijuana that flooded the U.S., is part of a growing trend in Latin America.
Last week, the government of Uruguay announced that it will submit a proposal to legalize marijuana under government-controlled regulation and sale, making it the first country in the world where the state would sell marijuana directly to its citizens. The proposal was drafted by Uruguayan President José Mujica and his staff and requires parliamentary approval before being enacted. 
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