Global

Cannabis Tolerance Endangered In Netherlands; Protest Planned

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2011 Global, Legislation, News

In a maddening show of spineless backsliding after 35 years of tolerance, the conservative government of the Netherlands seems hellbent on turning the clock back to a darker time in Dutch history — a time when the cannabis trade was driven underground and people had to access the black market for marijuana.

And, of course, in our interconnected world, such a failure of leadership would reverberate internationally, according to expert observers.

“If tolerance ends or gets limited in the Netherlands, then politicians all over the world will say things like ‘Tolerance failed in Holland,’ and use that as an excuse to enforce their anti-cannabis propaganda, opinions and laws,” well-known Dutch cannabis blogger Peter Lunk told Toke of the Town.

‘Sweden Legalizes Cannabis’ Story Is Just A Hoax

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2011 Global, Legislation, News

Zazzle

A story which went viral on the Web today — indicating that Sweden had bravely forged ahead of its Scandinavian neighbors and legalized cannabis — appears to be a hoax.

One story on JustPaste.It, headlined “Sweden legalizes and regulates cannabis,” created a bit of a stir (and a storm of page hits) on social media networks.

However, the story, which linked to no confirming sources and listed as its source “420 Dagbladet, Stockholm, December 19, 2011,” could not be confirmed anywhere else and seems to have no validity.

“420 Dagbladet,” which would mean “420 Daily Newspaper,” doesn’t even appear to exist, either as a website or as a print publication.

Cannabis Dispensary Builds Christmas Ginger-Hash House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2011 Dispensaries, Global, Products

Vancouver Dispensary Society

The Vancouver Dispensary Society’s special Christmas ginger hash-house. Gotta love that little cotton “puff of smoke” comin’ out the chimney!

You can be sure the holidays are just around the corner when a medical cannabis dispensary builds a Christmas ginger-hash house and posts photos of it on Facebook.

Vancouver Dispensary Society, the Facebook page of The Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary in British Columbia, Canada, uploaded the photos on Saturday.

“HAVE A MERRY-JUANA CHRISTMAS AND A HASHY NEW YEAR!” the Society posted.

According to the post, the dispensary ginger hash-house’s base is made of Lebanese hash. The house walls and tree are made from Sweet Mountain kief; the windows and door are Lebanese; the snow and snowman are Bubba Kush Powder.

Marijuana Grower Avoids Prison Because His Weed Sucks

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2011 Global, Growing

Home Health Testing

Despite being caught with enough growing homegrown cannabis to land him in prison, a man in western Sweden last month escaped with probation and a fine because the pot he grew was of such poor quality.

The 35-year-old man admitted to the court he had grown the marijuana plants at home for his personal use, and stored them in the attic, reports Joel Linde at English-language Swedish newspaper The Local.

Before reaching a successful harvest, the harsh Swedish climate had killed the cannabis crop. In a last-ditch desperation effort, the determined grower tried trimming away the dead weed, but to no avail.

Since under Swedish law the entire cannabis plant is considered a drug, the man was still found guilty of possession — but the fact that the weed sucked so bad, kept him out of prison.

“That’s an evaluation that the court will make,” said Sara Malmhester at the Swedish Prosecution Authority. “If (the drugs) don’t work, it could lead to a milder sentence.”

Netherlands Delays Plan To Ban Tourists From Buying Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2011 Dispensaries, Global, Legislation

THC Finder

The Dutch make lots of money on cannabis tourism — so obviously, that’s a problem they have to fix. Wait a minute…

The conservative government of the Netherlands said on Thursday it is delaying plans to ban tourists from buying marijuana in Dutch “coffee shops” until at least May 2012 — but said it still intends to implement the ban.

Cannabis, contrary to popular belief, is still technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police “tolerate” the possession of small amounts, and pot is sold openly in the coffee shops, reports the Associated Press. Large-scale growers still face possible arrest.

The Dutch Cabinet wants to introduce a “weed pass” system allowing only legal residents of the Netherlands to buy marijuana in the shops.

Spanish Basque Country Legalizing Marijuana In 2012

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 13, 2011 Global, Legislation, News

Flashpoints

The Basque Country in Spain (yellow area on the map) is legalizing marijuana in 2012.

As the U.S. federal government torques up its war on marijuana, parts of Europe are going in the other direction. The Socialist government of the Basque Country in Spain will approve a law in early 2012 which legalizes the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis, according to health authorities in the province.

The Basque government, led by Patxi Lopez, has decided it is better to regulate clubs where consumers will be able to use marijuana which will be produced and distributed by members of the club themselves, reports Typically Spanish.

Spanish drug laws currently distinguish between possession for personal use, and production or sale. Possession carries administrative fines, but production and sale currently can result in jail time.

Government officials said the new law would better explain the consequences of consumption to the public, and would create “a certain space for personal autonomy,” adding that prohibition only leads to “clandestine action, delinquency and the black market.”

City Government Eyes Toronto’s Cannabis Vapor Lounges

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 8, 2011 Culture, Global, News

memoirsofapothead

Hot Box Cafe in Toronto

By Matt Mernagh

Mernagh.ca

Toronto’s bring-your-own marijuana scene has developed with little political resistance — until recently.

A city council item to conduct a comprehensive review of vapour lounges was sneakily passed during budget debate. Now cannabis-friendly establishments that allow people to come in and consume their own pot on-premise are wondering what’s going to happen next. Toronto Police Service have all the tools necessary to shut these places down right now, but haven’t.

Will city council meddling prompt cops to take a closer examination of their hands off policy?

Drug War Ho: Mexico’s Prez Says Cartels Threaten Democracy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 5, 2011 Global, News

World Economic Forum

President Felipe Calderon scolded “political forces” that don’t have the “vision” to support his Drug War

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico admitted on Sunday that despite five years of all-out war against the drug cartels in his country, the organizations continue to pose “an open threat” to democracy in Mexico. He must have lost the part of his speech that would have detailed how his own Drug War has done exactly the same thing.

In a frankly worded speech marking the start of his sixth and last year in office, Calderon said interference in elections by drug gangs “is a new fact, a worrisome fact,” reports Tracy Wilkinson at the Los Angeles Times. “It is a threat to everyone,” Calderon said.

President Calderon was probably thinking about last month’s local elections in Michoacan, his home state, where drug traffickers intimidated voters and told people how to vote.

Marijuana Found Growing Outside Australian Court House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 30, 2011 Global, News

emerald triangle news

A cannabis-loving prankster has thumbed his metaphorical nose at Australia’s drug laws by planting a bunch of marijuana outside a court on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.

People started calling in reports of the cannabis seedlings growing in a front garden of Bellingen Court House on Wednesday afternoon, reports AAP.

When the police showed up, they discovered around 60 seedlings, which they said they “believe” is cannabis.

Canada Prime Minister: Govt. Will Never Decriminalize Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 28, 2011 Global, Legislation

Let Freedom Rain

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: “No, it will not happen under our government”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday that his government will never agree to the decriminalization of marijuana.

Harper’s comments came in Vancouver in response to a question at a brief news conference following an event at a downtown science center, reports CBC News.

“No, it will not happen under our government,” Harper said. “We’re very concerned about the spread of drugs in the country and the damage it’s doing and as you know we have legislation before the House to crack down.”

Harper didn’t bother to detail exactly what kind of “damage” marijuana is doing to Canada, which has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world.

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