News

DEA, U.N. Strong-Arm Canada On Legal Med Pot Program

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: Matt Mernagh

Activist Matt Mernagh: Cannabis sovereignty for Canada!

It would be reasonable to assume that Canada is in charge of its own medical marijuana program — wouldn’t it?

Apparently not. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the United Nations are offering unsolicited “advice” and “expressions of concern” to our neighbors to the north due to Canada’s 5,000 legal medical marijuana patients.

Thanks to prominent Canadian cannabis activist and writer Matt Mernagh for this excellent guest post, and for being on top of the story. ~ Steve Elliott

Stossel To Look At Drug Prohibition Thursday Night

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: OregonLive.com

John Stossel: “It’s not the intoxicant that causes crime — it’s prohibition.”

Host John Stossel will take a look at the effects of prohibition during part of his Fox Business Network show, Stossel, Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

“In part of my show tonight, I’ll talk about how laws against prostitution, organ selling, and drug use hurt more people than prostitution, organ selling, and drug use do,” Stossel wrote Thursday.

Stossel notes that the first argument against legalizing drugs is usually “Then more kids will abuse drugs!”

“But there’s little evidence for that,” Stossel points out. “The Netherlands has officially ‘tolerated’ marijuana for 30 years. So is there violent marijuana crime? No. Fewer young people in Holland smoke marijuana than do Americans. Legalization took the mystique away. A Dutch minister of health said, ‘We’ve succeeded in making pot… boring.’ “

Determined In Dixie: ‘Medical Marijuana By 2012 In Alabama’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2010 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: Loretta Nall

Loretta Nall: “We plan to keep fighting”

Alabama is the last state many would expect to legalize medical marijuana; after all, the Heart of Dixie isn’t exactly known for its liberal ways.

But one determined group of Southerners there exemplifies the rebel stubbornness for which the state is famous — by refusing to give up their fight for the safe, legal, medicinal use of cannabis.

The brave efforts of Alabamians for Compassionate Care (ACC), ably led by legendary libertarian and former gubernatorial candidate Loretta Nall, have arguably made the state a good bet to be the first former member of the Confederacy to get a medical marijuana law.

For the past several years in a row, ACC has, against all odds, gotten a bill onto the floor of the Alabama Legislature, and 2010 is no exception. House Bill 642, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act is expected to come before the House Judiciary Committee later this month.

Toke of the Town got a chance to chat with Nall about the state of medical marijuana in Alabama.

CBS Reverses Decision; Accepts NORML Marijuana Legalization Ad

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 4, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: NORML

The fight around CBS’s initial refusal to run a pro-legalization ad from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) ended in victory Wednesday afternoon, reports Te-Ping Chen at Change.org.

Last month, CBS denied NORML’s request to place an ad in Times Square that featured the potential billions of dollars in tax revenue that would result from legalizing marijuana.

Remember, this is the network that runs stoner-friendly ads for their Showtime Network show, Weeds. CBS is also the network that had no problem running an extremely controversial anti-abortion ad aimed at peak viewership during the Super Bowl.

University Looking For Marijuana ‘Addicts’; Will Pay $150

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2010 News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

Ever known someone who wanted help quitting pot? Me neither.

They might have an easier time finding unicorns.

The University of Washington says it is looking for people who want to quit pot.

The UW School of Social Work’s Innovative Programs Research Group is looking for 70 “marijuana-dependent adults” in the Puget Sound area to participate in a clinical research trial testing approaches for people who want to stop using cannabis, reports KING5.com.

The university says research has shown that nearly 3.6 million Americans use pot on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, UW then puts its reputation as a center of higher learning in serious danger by absurdly claiming that “between one-third and one-half of those are dependent.”

Canadian Cop Ordered To Stay Quiet About Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2010 Global, News

Photo: LEAP

Officer David Bratzer: “I will try to find other venues to present my views about drug policy”

The BC Civil Liberties Association has filed a complaint against the Victoria Police Department for muzzling one of its officers, reports ‘A’ News.

Constable David Bratzer was scheduled to speak at a harm reduction meeting in Victoria Wednesday night representing the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Bratzer says the War On Drugs is not winnable and is doing more harm than good.

But the Chief of the Victoria Police Department doesn’t want Bratzer to share those views.

DEA Marijuana Seizures Double; Mexican Pot Production Up By 35%

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Denver Post

The total amount of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) nearly doubled from 2008 to 2009, according to numbers disclosed by the agency as part of their budget request for 2011.

Meanwhile the cultivation of cannabis in Mexico rose 35 percent in 2009, to nearly 30,000 acres, according to a report released by the U.S. State Department.

Marijuana seizures by the DEA went from 1,539 metric tons in 2008 to 2,980 metric tons in 2009.

Decriminalizing Marijuana Could Save Rhode Island $11 Million Annually

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: xCannabis

According to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron’s estimates, reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine would save Rhode Island about $11.1 million per year in reduced expenditures on police.

Miron also estimates that taxing and regulating marijuana would save the state roughly $40.5 million per year in reduced expenditures on police, prosecutors, judges and prisons. Taxing and regulating marijuana could also generate about $7.6 million per year in tax revenue, according to Miron.

Miron will testify Thursday before Rhode Island’s Marijuana Prohibition Study Commission and explain how changing the state’s current medical marijuana policies could save tens of millions of dollars annually, and possibly even generate additional tax revenue.

No Free Speech In Canada: Pro-Legalization Cop Muzzled In B.C.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 2, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: Seriously Free Speech

A pro-legalization Canadian police officer has been ordered by his department’s leadership not to show up at a drug policy event where he was scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an international group of cops, judges and prosecutors who oppose the “War On Drugs,” is criticizing the gag order from the Victoria, British Columbia Police Department that limits the freedom of speech of one of its officers.

Officer David Bratzer, who volunteers with LEAP while off duty, was ordered not to speak at an official, City of Victoria-sponsored event on harm reduction scheduled for Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

Even though the event is scheduled outside his regular working hours, management from the Victoria Police Department, without Bratzer’s knowledge, informed city staff that he was being “withdrawn from speaking.” Then on February 24, a senior officer at the department directly ordered Bratzer not to participate in the event.

N.H. House Considering Marijuana Decriminalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 2, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: The Boston Phoenix

New Hampshire’s House is considering decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, a year after the Legislature voted to legalize medical use of the herb.

Governor John Lynch, who vetoed the medical marijuana bill last year, also opposes the bill to decriminalize a quarter-ounce (seven grams) or less of cannabis, according to the Associated Press.

The Legislature’s attempt to legalize medical marijuana last year fell just two votes shy in the Senate of overriding Gov. Lynch’s veto. The House successfully overrode the veto.

Browsing: News