PEACEFUL GATHERING: Event at Vancouver Art Gallery attracts young and old as plume of smoke fills the sky It was 4:20 p.m. on April 20 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky over Vancouver, save for the massive plume of sweet-smelling smoke hovering above the art gallery. The 20th annual 4/20 protest and celebration of marijuana in Vancouver saw more than 15,000 people surround the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday with bongs, pipes and joints in hand. [continues 366 words]
The Stop the Violence BC campaign and advocates for the legalization of marijuana are responding to comments made in last week's emotionally charged city council meeting. "I think the mayor [John Dooley] is well meaning," said Dr. Evan Wood with the campaign. "But really we need an evidence-based and factual discussion. Clearly his views are inconsistent with the Chief Medical Officer of BC, the Health Officers Council representing all major regions of this province, let alone the voices of law enforcement and supreme court justices and other legal experts." [continues 982 words]
There might not be a better time for a cannabis convention. With calls for the legalization of marijuana from former B.C. attorneys general, former Vancouver mayors, current Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and B.C. health officials making headlines, it's a good time to get the issues out the public. The Cannabis Convention, organized by the International Hempology 101 Society and Vancouver Island University's Hempology 101 Club, takes place Sunday (March 18) from 1-4 p.m. in Bldg. 200, Rm. 203 at VIU. [continues 230 words]
Federal lawyer argues that Chris Bennett has failed to make case weed is in fact sacred to him A Vancouver man will appear in Federal Court on Tuesday arguing for an exemption to the drug laws because they infringe on his constitutional freedom of religion to smoke his sacred weed - marijuana. With Insite attendees allowed to inject illicit drugs, medical pot permitted, peyote and mescaline approved as sacraments, and the Brazilian syncretic religious group Santo Daime consuming the Amazonian hallucinogen ayahuasca, Chris Bennett says he is being discriminated against. [continues 656 words]
"Everything turns to water-- like cel-shaded water, and I fall onto a pirate ship as I'm smoking it. Then I start hallucinating. All of a sudden I'm in the world of Zelda, like the Deku Tree area. And I try to run, but on salvia you can't really move. So [my friend] tries to hold me back, but I fight him off and I run but my legs give in and I fall forward and hit myself on the bed. The hallucination only lasts about a minute for me. Then I'm just really happy and really hungry, so I go back to my own dorm room and I put all my bedding and my mattress inside my closet, and just sit there and listen to the Radiohead song 'Treefingers' on repeat." [continues 678 words]
Canada's 'prince of pot' tried to plant the seeds of marijuana freedom in the U.S., but ended up behind bars instead. For years, his seed catalogues were scrutinized by discerning cannabis cultivators across the U.S. and Canada, much like the ladies of Cumbria might fuss over Chiltern's inventories of sweet peas and heirloom tomatoes. There was Blue Heaven pot, capable of producing a "euphoric, anti-anxiety high," or Crown Royal, whose "flower tops come to a flat golden crown, sparkling with gems of THC," or Hawaiian Sativa, with its "menthol flavour that tingles the taste buds and tickles the brain." [continues 1507 words]
'PRINCE OF POT' IS AT A LOW The Canadian Thought His Profitable Seed Sales Could Upend the U.S. War on Drugs. But Now He Is Stuck Behind Bars in Seattle. For years, his seed catalogs were scrutinized by discerning cannabis cultivators across the U.S. and Canada, much like the ladies of Cumbria might fuss over Chiltern's inventories of sweet peas and heirloom tomatoes. There was Blue Heaven pot, capable of producing a "euphoric, anti-anxiety high," or Crown Royal, whose "flower tops come to a flat golden crown, sparkling with gems of THC," or Hawaiian Sativa, with its "menthol flavor that tingles the taste buds and tickles the brain." [continues 1548 words]
Nanaimo's Hempology 101 Club wants to offer some perspective on the controversial debate over the use and legalization of marijuana during an upcoming Cannabis Convention. The Vancouver Island University club, an activist group working within the legal system to change the laws regarding cannabis use, is hosting its first Cannabis Convention Sunday (March 28). The focus is education and organizers emphasize the convention isn't a smoking event. The main theme is the medical use of marijuana and how it's being distributed in Canada. People will also receive information about the cannabis movement and why marijuana is banned in Canada. [continues 237 words]
Dee Bettencourt's son -- her best friend -- was shot to death two years ago at age 20 when a drug deal for OxyContin went bad. Jackie Ricupero's heroin addiction cost her a 28-year marriage and, in just two years, $180,000. She stole from her kids and neighbors once her money ran out. Liisa Bennett's son has been addicted to opiates since he broke his arm at age 15 and was prescribed the painkiller Percocet. Nearly a decade later, he's been through detox about 10 times as he progressed from Percocet to OxyContin to heroin. [continues 1293 words]
To the Editor: I have known Paul DeFelice and Alan Middlemiss for more than 15 years. Paul and I were amongst the first to promote the use of hemp for industrial purposes, food and medicine in Canada. Eighteen years later we now have a legal hemp industry and legal medical marijuana in Canada. Just as saner views inevitably prevail over old superstitions and prejudices, so too will Canada see legal marijuana, regulated for adult use. Cannabis is a natural and beneficial herb that has been used by humanity for 10,000 years, and no matter what the injustice of any country's current laws might hold, you can be SURE that it will be part of human culture for another 10,000 years. [continues 152 words]
A new push to criminalize a little-known herbal hallucinogenic isn't worrying Vancouver head shop owner Chris Bennett just yet. In fact, he says any controversy over salvia divinorum is good for business. "Whenever I get a little bit of TV coverage on salvia, I get a burst of business," says the owner of Urban Shaman, where the sage is sold for up to $20 a gram in higher concentrations. "It's more middle age people that start coming in. The college kids all know about it." [continues 59 words]
A new push to criminalize a little-known herbal hallucinogenic drug isn't giving Chris Bennett cold sweats just yet. In fact, the Vancouver head-shop owner says any controversy over salvia divinorum probably will be good for his business. "Whenever I get a little bit of TV coverage on salvia, I get a burst of business," said the owner of Urban Shaman, where the sage is sold for up to $20 a gram in higher concentrations. "It's more middle-age people who start coming in," he says. "The college kids all know about it." [continues 230 words]
This is in regards to Bonnie Dykes' letter "Local woman disgusted by actions of lawbreakers." From the tone of her letter, I am sure Bonnie considers herself a righteous Christian. In response to her rallying against a plant, I would ask her who she thinks created cannabis? And what of God's Covenant of Genesis 1:29? ["Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;".] [continues 458 words]
Salvia Divinorum, a Hallucinogenic Popular on Campus, Could Also Be Useful in Treating a Variety of Mental Illnesses Hunter knows how to mellow out on marijuana. It's something he does all the time. But the first time he smoked the leaves of a plant dubbed the "magic mint," he felt as if he'd been slammed into another dimension. As drug trips go, this one was more terror than pleasure. "The first time I did it was with a lot of people," recalls Hunter, a Toronto university student who asked that his real name not be used. "That was probably a bad idea because I did it and before I even knew what was happening . . . Then someone was around me and they just tapped my shoulder, and . . . it felt like spikes going into my body. I felt like I was being stabbed, but obviously it was the Salvia." [continues 704 words]
Editor: In response to the article "Church of Cognizance out of line with Zoroastrian religion" by Adam Gaub: Despite the statements made in Adam Gaub's article by modern-day American descendants of the Zoroa-strian religion claiming that marijuana was not the plant used for the sacramental haoma, the reality of the matter is this: The American Zoroastrian community itself acknowledges that the identity of the true haoma has been lost to time. In the case of Persian references, despite the claims of the North American Mobeds Council, a number of orthodox Zoroastrian sources see haoma as "very possibly 'marijuana' or 'hashish' (Cannabis Sativa)." (The Zarathustran Assembly) [continues 589 words]
The following is part of a series of articles The Camrose Booster will publish in the coming months recognizing some of the history of the Camrose Police Service which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this fall with a special Police Ball on October 21. This article was created with contributions from stories published in 1996. The Camrose Police Service D.A.R.E. program has come a long way. As the Camrose Police Service prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program is coming up on its 10th year of operation. [continues 421 words]
TABLE OF CONTENTS: * This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2006/ds06.n433.html#sec1 (1) City Throws Out Pot Charge (2) Wiretap Whistleblower Or DEA Dupe? (3) Sweep Yields No Drugs (4) Medical Marijuana On Agenda * Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2006/ds06.n433.html#sec2 Drug Policy (5) Drugs Kill More Than Car Wrecks (6) Winning The Drug Peace (7) Reconstruction and the War on Drugs (8) Mysteries Of Getting High Law Enforcement & Prisons [continues 274 words]
TABLE OF CONTENTS: * This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n424.html#sec1 (1) DEA Is Opposed On Painkiller Approval (2) Timoney's Son Busted (3) Teen Antidrug Campaign: Ads Take New Form (4) Dozens Held In Warrant Sweep At Apartments * Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n424.html#sec2 Drug Policy (5) On The Docket: Religious Freedom vs. Drug Laws (6) Court Discusses Hallucinogenic Tea Case (7) Meth Still Driving People Nuts (8) Liberalism's Brain On Drugs (9) Ridgefield School Board Suspends Security Firm [continues 248 words]
It's Got To Be Organic, And If You're Not Using An $800 Vaporizer To Inhale... Where wine is concerned, there is much to know. Even the actor Paul Giamatti, who played a wine connoisseur in last year's hit movie Sideways, reportedly didn't know that the chianti he ordered at lunch during filming would be red. Legions of drinkers pore over the subject as if fact-gathering itself were the addiction. And so it is with another of the world's most popular intoxicants: marijuana. [continues 882 words]
A Deep Cove woman who faces a minimum 10-year U.S. prison sentence for allegedly moving and watering marijuana plants at a Bel Air, California residence eight years ago, is appealing an extradition order from the U.S government. "I face something that's incredibly scary, " says Renee Boje. "It's been devastating for me. It's caused a great deal of stress in my life. I feel I don't need to be persecuted in this way. On July 29, 1997 Boje, a recent graduate from Marymount University, was working on her first freelance arts project illustrating a book called, How to Grow Medical Marijuana. [continues 813 words]
