News

iBAKE University Launches New Website, Offers $99 Enrollment

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 27, 2012 News, Products

The online cannabis educational program iBAKE University has announced the launch of its new website, www.ibakeuniversity.com. Thurlow Weed, CEO of No Excuses Entertainment, LLC, also announced that iBAKE University will continue their $99 enrollment for the month of January 2013.

“If you’re interested in growing, cannabis law, or if you’re interested in starting up a new CannaBiz, iBAKE University is the program to get started with,” Weed said.

Does Teen Pot Use Cause Psychosis, Or Does Teen Psychosis Cause Pot Use?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 26, 2012 Medical, News

Addiction Inbox

Marijuana use may be linked to the development of psychotic symptoms in some teenagers, but the reverse could also be true: psychosis in adolescents may be linked to later pot use, according to a new study from the Netherlands.

“We have focused mainly on temporal order: Is it the chicken or the egg?” the study’s lead author Merel Griffith-Lendering, a doctoral candidate in the Netherlands, wrote to Reuters. “As the study shows, it is a bidirectional relationship.”

Contest Announced: Best Cannabis Picture of 2012

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2012 Culture, News, Products

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Pictured: “Holland” strain from CannaRx in Seattle

No Excuses Entertainment, LLC’s iBAKE TV and Mj Spectator Team Up For Best Cannabis Picture of 2012 Contest

Now you can turn that killer cannabis photo into cold hard cash.

No Excuses Entertainment, LLC, iBAKE TV & Mj Spectator have teamed up to bring the cannabis industry the Best Bud Picture of 2012 contest. First place will receive $1,000 cash, Second Place will receive $500 cash, and Third Place will receive $250 cash.

Entries must be uploaded by February 10, 2013, according to the sponsors, and the winners will be announced at the 2013 Medicated Chef Contest, February 16, 2013 at The Oriental Theater in Denver, Colorado.

California Lt. Gov. Newsom Calls For Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2012 Legislation, News

Justin Sullivan

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom: “These laws just don’t make sense anymore”

Newsom Adds Voice to Growing List of Prominent U.S. and World Leaders Calling for Alternatives to Failed Drug War

California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom is the latest elected official to call for marijuana legalization. In a Friday front page New York Times story, Newsom said he believes marijuana prohibition is counterproductive and voiced his support for making marijuana legal.

“These laws just don’t make sense anymore,” said Lt. Gov. Newsom, widely considered a leading contender for California’s governor in 2016. “It’s time for policitians to come out of the closet on this.”

Newsom first came to international prominence when, in 2004, as the newly-elected mayor of San Francisco, he issued a directive to the city-county clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Teen Pot Use Shows No Effect On Brain Tissue – Unlike Alcohol

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

Tobacco News

New Study Scanned Brains of 92 Subjects, 16 to 20, For 18 Months

A teen who uses alcohol is likely to have reduced brain tissue — but a teen who uses marijuana is not, according to a new study.

Scientists looked at the brains of 92 adolescents, ages 16 to 20, before and after an 18-month period, reports Kathleen Miles at the Huffington Post. Half of the teens — who already had histories of alcohol and marijuana use — continued to use both in varying amounts during that year and a half. The other half of the teens abstained or consumed very minimally, as they had during adolescence.

N.J. Apologizes For Privacy Breach In Medical Marijuana Email

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2012 Dispensaries, Medical, News

State of New Jersey Department of Health

New Jersey’s Health Department has apologized after an email from the department included the visible email addresses of all recipients — revealing the email addresses of medical marijuana patient in the state. The department claimed it was taking steps to prevent the error from happening again.

Toke of the Town originally broke the story on Tuesday after registered New Jersey medical marijuana patient Susan Sturner let us know about the email which violated the privacy of patients.

DC’s First Marijuana Dispensaries 3 Miles From FBI Headquarters

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2012 Dispensaries, Growing, News

Weed Quotes

The District of Columbia’s long-awaited medical marijuana program took a big step forward this week when officials issued occupancy permits for DC’s first marijuana cultivation center and dispensary. Both locations are less than three miles from the J. Edgar Hoover Building, headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The step was widely viewed as one of the last hurdles to a working medical marijuana program that almost 70 percent of DC voters approved in a referendum 14 years ago, reports In The Capital. Congress spent years blocking funding for the program before finally getting out of the way after President Obama was elected. Then a tortuous three-year regulatory process began, which has only recently been completed.

D.C. Approves Harsh New Drug Laws Aimed At Young People

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2012 Legislation, News

M.V. Jantzen/DCist

D.C. Council Legislation Criminalizes Possession of “K2,” “Ivory Wave” and Other Synthetic Drugs

Councilmembers Ignore Plea from D.C. Advocates to Reject Criminalization, Regulate Retailers Instead

The Council of the District of Columbia on Tuesday approved legislation that would subject people to juvenile detention or jail for up to six months for simple possession of certain synthetic drugs. People in their teens and twenties are more likely to possess synthetic drugs than older adults, according to the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

Annual National Survey: Teen Marijuana Use Down Slightly

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2012 Culture, News

Alternative Care Clinic

One of the nation’s foremost surveys on teen drug use has found that teen marijuana use is down slightly nationwide. It also shows teen cigarette use has reached an all-time low, highlighting the potential benefit of regulating marijuana and controlling sales to teens.

The annual Monitoring the Future Survey released today by the National Institutes of Health found that from 2011 to 2012:

• Daily marijuana use decreased among 8th- and 12th-graders, while remaining the same for 10th-graders.

• Past-30-day marijuana use decreased among 8th- and 10th-graders, while increasing only slightly among 12th-graders.

• Annual marijuana use decreased among 8th- and 10th-graders, while remaining the same for 12th-graders.

N.Y. Times Ad: Prohibition Is Finally Coming To An End

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

Drug Policy Alliance

Full Page New York Times Ad in Thursday Paper: “80 Years After the End of Prohibition, Prohibition is Finally Coming to an End”

Comes on Heels of Obama Response to Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington: “We’ve Got Bigger Fish to Fry”

In Thursday’s New York Times, a drug policy reform organization is running a full-page ad that thanks voters in Colorado and Washington and emphasizes the growing support for drug policy reform among people from across the political spectrum who are renowned for their leadership in law, health, business, media and politics. Last month, Colorado and Washington became the first two states in the country – and the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world – to approve legally regulating marijuana like alcohol, with both states’ initiatives winning by decisive margins.

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