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Ireland Could Legalize Medical Cannabis Within Two Years

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2010 Global, Medical

There have been several very important developments on the Irish medical cannabis front over the past few weeks, which have led many to believe that Ireland could be set to legalize medicinal marijuana within two years.

The first significant development happened on September 10, when Ireland’s Minister for Health, Mary Harney, said she would be “open” to legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. Harney said she would get expert opinions on the matter, with a view to making a decision on the issue by the end of the year, reports Daniel O’Carroll at Irish Central.

Japan Says No To Paris Hilton After Las Vegas Drug Plea

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2010 Culture, Global

Photo: kabooom.net

Paris Hilton has canceled her tour of Asia and returned home after she was denied entry at Tokyo’s airport Wednesday following a drug violation in the United States, running afoul of strict Japanese laws that have previously tripped up celebrities as huge as Paul McCartney.

“I’m going back home, and I look forward to coming back to Japan in the future,” said a smiling Hilton before departing on her private jet, reports Associated Press writer Shino Yuasa.

The 29-year-old socialite had arrived at Narita International Airport, outside the Japanese capital, two days after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor cocaine charge in Las Vegas. Japan has strict immigration laws barring entry to those convicted of drug offenses, but exceptions are occasionally granted.

Hilton had been scheduled to appear Wednesday at a news conference in Tokyo to promote her fashion and fragrance lines. She arrived Tuesday evening, but was stopped at the airport and spent the night at an airport hotel after being questioned by Japanese officials.

Mexico Paper Asks Drug Cartels: What Do You Want From Us?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Trends Updates

The entire state of Chiahuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, is out of control. Juarez itself is a virtual ghost town with no tourism, almost completely under the control of violent drug cartels.

A Mexican newspaper in the midst of the country’s Drug War has asked cartels for guidance on whether, and how, it should publish stories on the conflict.

El Diario de Juarez has become known for its excellent reporting from the blood-soaked streets of border town Ciudad Juarez, a haven for the violent drug-smuggling cartels, reports the BBC.

But the murder of their 21-year-old photographer last week prompted the newspaper to run a front-page editorial asking: “What do you want from us?”

Activists Rallying In Seattle For Release of Canadian Pot Prisoner

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 18, 2010 Culture, Global, News

Graphic: High Times

From 12 noon until 4 p.m. Saturday, September 18, dozens of marijuana activists are scheduled to rally on an I-5 overpass in Seattle and to wave “Free Marc” signs at the traffic below.

Activists continue to call on President Obama to pardon Marc Emery, a Canadian and the so-called “Prince of Pot,” who was recently sentenced to five years in federal prison for selling marijuana seeds by mail to American customers.

“The Emery case is a prime example of the overreach of the federal government and the need for marijuana laws that match social reality in America,” said Philip Dawdy, Sensible Washington’s co-founder and vice-chair.

“It’s crazy that he’s going to prison for selling seeds and that the federal government is willing to spend millions of dollars prosecuting and imprisoning him,” Dawdy said. “President Obama should pardon Emery and get busy with reforming America’s outdated marijuana laws.

Dutch Mayor Wants To Ban ‘Too Strong’ Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 14, 2010 Dispensaries, Global

Photo: Bistra Velichkova

Coffee Chop DE OS in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, may soon be forced to stop selling its most potent cannabis and hashish — if reefer madness-infected Mayor Ferd Crone has his way.

The old “marijuana is stronger than it used to be” and “reefer madness” arguments, so popular in the United States, are taking a tour of Europe. Marijuana and hashish which he considers to be “too strong” could soon be banned in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, if local Mayor Ferd Crone has his way.

Mayor Crone has submitted his proposal to the city council, under which “coffee shops” would eventually lose their license if they sell marijuana with more than an agreed level of the main active ingredient, THC, reports Dutch News.

The THC level in marijuana and hashish in Dutch coffee shops has supposedly doubled over the past few years, from 10 percent to around 20 percent. Some samples tested by Trimbos Institute have turned up a THC level up to 64.8 percent, Volkskrant reported on Monday.

Mexico Nervous As California Votes On Legalizing Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 10, 2010 Global, News

Photo: AP

Mexican soldier caqrries marijuana plants seized near Aguililla,

To embattled government officials in Mexico, where armed soldiers patrol the streets and more than 500 people have died in cartel-related violence just this year, marijuana seems inextricably linked to the enrichment of death-dealing drug bosses who earn huge profits smuggling the illicit weed north.

“Marijuana arrives in the United States soaked with the blood of Tijuana residents,” said Mayor Jorge Ramos, whose police department lost 45 officers to “drug violence” in recent years, report Nick Miroff and William Booth of the Washington Post.

But across the border in California, cannabis has a very different reputation — that of a healing herb. After the Obama Administration said it would not prioritize the prosecution of patients and providers who were abiding by state medical marijuana laws, about 100 dispensaries opened in San Diego alone in the past year.

Health Minister Open To Medical Cannabis In Ireland

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 10, 2010 Global, Medical

Graphic: Help End Marijuana Prohibition

Ireland’s Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has said she is open to legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Harney has sought legal advice on the effectiveness of marijuana for the treatment of such conditions as multiple sclerosis and certain forms of cancer, reports Ronan McGreevy at the Irish Times.

The Department of Health and Children, in a statement, said it would contact relevant experts in the field with a view to making a recommendation to the Minister by the end of the year.

Harney said in a parliamentary question last year that she did not propose a change in the law that would allow cannabis to be used for medicinal purposes.

The department stressed there was “no question” of the Minister completely legalizing cannabis itself.

Medicinal cannabis campaigner Gordon McArdle met with Minister for Community Affairs Pat Carey on Thursday evening to discuss the issue.

Marijuana Activists Call On Obama To Pardon Canadian Prisoner

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 9, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

Marc Emery, with wife Jody backing him up, speaks to reporters outside the B.C. Supreme Court in May 2010. He is scheduled to be sentenced to 5 years in U.S. federal prison on Friday, September 10.

Marijuana activists from Washington state and around North America will gather outside the Federal Courthouse at 700 Stewart Street in Seattle on Friday, September 10, to protest the sentencing of Marc Emery, the “Prince of Pot,” who faces five years in prison for selling mail-order cannabis seeds to Americans.

Cannabis advocates are calling on President Barack Obama to pardon Emery, who faced federal charges after Drug Enforcement Administration agents entered Canada and arrested him in 2005. He is expected to be sentenced to five years in federal prison under a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors.

Marijuana Smokers Gather In Mexico, Demand Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 6, 2010 Global, News

Photo: AFP

People pose with a joint during a marijuana legalization rally in Mexico City on Sunday, September 5, 2010.

With much of the nation in the throes of a bloody drug war against violent cartels, more than 200 people gathered Sunday in a Mexico City park to smoke marijuana and demand its legalization.

The activists braved pouring rain to rally on the popular tourist drag of the Alameda to have a smoke-in protesting marijuana’s illegal status in Mexico, reports AFP.

Mexico is among a handful of Latin American countries that allow for possession of small “personal use” amounts of marijuana and other drugs.

The limit for marijuana is five grams, between an eighth and a quarter-ounce. Amounts greater than than can still get you jailed and/or fined.

Cannabis Quote Of The Day: Dr. Robert Melamede

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 30, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Nimbin Wave

Dr. Bob Melamede, president and CEO of Cannabis Science Inc.

“What we’re seeing is a global revolution that’s going to end this insane prohibition against cannabis in this country. Who in their right mind would outlaw an anti-aging drug that kills cancer cells and uses the same activity that’s found in mother’s milk?”

~ Dr. Robert Melamede, president and CEO, Cannabis Science Inc.

Editor’s note: For a fascinating interview with Dr. Bob Melamede by Michael Roberts about how relaxing medical pot laws in Europe could have an incredibly beneficial effect on U.S. states, visit our sister Village Voice Media blog, Denver’s Westword.

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