Pot Activists Worry Cannabis Extract May Undercut Political Movement Columbus, Ohio (AP) - An experimental epilepsy drug made from cannabis plants grown in England is complicating the medical marijuana debate in hospitals and statehouses. Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidiol, or CBD, with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, that gets traditional pot users high. CBD products are the current rage in medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex manages to get FDA approval, it could undercut the political momentum of the medical marijuana movement. [continues 452 words]
Toronto police have raided a marijuana dispensary on the Danforth, a little more than a week after its owners were featured in a media interview that touted their business as "totally illegal." Chris Goodwin and Erin Goodwin, owners of Good Weeds Lounge, are charged with two counts possession for the purpose of trafficking, relating to marijuana and cannabis resin, plus possession of the proceeds of crime. Erin Goodwin is also charged with simple possession. The investigation was sparked by "community complaints," Const. Caroline de Kloet told Metro. The raid happened Thursday. [continues 78 words]
Fungi Chemical Psilocybin Can Help Elderly With Anxiety Drug advocates and medical experts will be gathering in Toronto to discuss the potential health benefits of magic mushrooms. The event, slated for Sunday at the Centre for Social Innovation, is part of a worldwide day of action organized by the 920 Coalition. The Toronto event is being organized by Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy. CSSDP co-chair Gonzo Nieto said the event is meant to bring attention to the medicinal and spiritual effects of psilocybin mushrooms and counteract stigma around their use. [continues 232 words]
Prison inmates are masters at manipulating their guards into bringing them drugs, according to Seth Ferranti, whose article "Prison Drug Smuggling: The Old Fashioned Way" appeared in the New York Times (7/18/12). Seth writes that "although part of a new guard's orientation is meant to teach how prisoners may try to prey on staff members to gain favors or leverage, guards still fall victim and with all the avenues available and all the conniving drug addicts incarcerated prisons are clearly incapable of denying prisoners their drugs." [continues 326 words]
On Oct. 21, Rich Anderson publicly announced that the legalization of marijuana is to blame for many of the problems our city is facing. Considering that under his tenure, the city has banned all access points for medical marijuana patients, and that he continues to uphold restrictive policies to keep out large legal I-502 grow operations, which bring much needed jobs and tax revenue to our city, the real problem we face is Anderson's conservative reefer-mad morality. By restricting legal access to marijuana in our city, not only does he blatantly ignore almost 60 percent of the voters' wishes, his policies are undermining the legalization effort, which in turn, allows the black market to thrive. Politics require the illusion of choice and the Reganomically trained accountant turned councilman naively believes he can eradicate marijuana in our community "by just saying no." The only real choice Mr. Anderson has is to allow marijuana here legally or illegally. Mr. Anderson has made his choice. Now it's time we make ours: Vote Nov. 4 to remove delusional politicians who represent the misguided moral minority so we can finally put an end to the failed prohibition on pot. Jamie Curtismith Everett [end]
Opponents of pot are still trying to wage social, ethical and moral arguments against the majority of citizens who voted in favor of the legalization of marijuana (Initiative 502). Legitimate concerns are lost in the perpetuation of misinformation and emotional irrationality, but what everyone seems to agree on is that marijuana does indeed grow money. So why aren't we talking about this inevitable, legal, emerging economic impact to our region and how it may help us grow out of the looming fiscal calamities that our communities are facing? [continues 470 words]
The proposed "compromise" medical marijuana bill is far from a compromise. This deal is just further proof that Gov. Mark Dayton and the police union leaders to which he is beholden have hijacked the democratic process. If Minnesotans had the opportunity to vote for medical marijuana, it would pass handily. The politicians are manipulating a system that does not allow for an initiative process. The popular support for medical marijuana in Minnesota far outweighs the popular support for Dayton, or any House member for that matter. [continues 98 words]
I found political pundit Erick Erickson's remarks in his column "The politics of pot" (1/10) to be unsupported and mainly fearmongering with outdated concepts. While Erickson takes potshots at medical marijuana and its recreational usage as dangerous "unbridled hedonism" and leading to another sexual revolution, he also makes the assumption that "perhaps we should just wait a few years then re-examine Colorado before rushing on." Where is his caution about opioid drugs? I suggest Erickson has avoided looking at medical heroin in the same light, such as the popular opiates like morphine, methadone, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone or Oxycotin, that have led to more addictions and deaths than marijuana ever has. [continues 120 words]
The CEO of The Izms says it was the ingrained drug culture at Toronto's best public and private schools that led him to start selling synthetic marijuana and pills that offer users the same effects as illegal drugs do. "My life was affected by the current system we have in place, a lot of my friends lives were affected," Adam Wookey, 28, told Metro a few days after his arrest for drug trafficking, in relation to his role as CEO of The Izms and PurePillz. [continues 1239 words]
Council Approves Temporary Ban On Permits For Recreational Cannabis Businesses The Dillon Town Council approved a temporary ban on issuing permits for recreational marijuana businesses at its Tuesday night meeting. The motion passed with a 6-1 vote. All council members were present. According to the ordinance, the moratorium will extend through Oct. 1, although the town council can opt to lift the ban at any time, if deemed necessary. "The biggest reason is because the state doesn't have any of the regulations in place yet," said Dillon town manager Joe Wray, of the purpose behind implementing the moratorium. [continues 270 words]
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Some might argue that the U.S. Constitution delegates powers to the feds to arrest medical marijuana providers because of the schedule 1 status of cannabis in the Controlled Substance Act. However, the CSA's schedule 1 requirements are: "1) Schedule I. A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse. B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." Clearly, cannabis doesn't qualify on B and C, and the Merck Medical Manual of Diagnosis and Treatment clearly states that cannabis is not physically addictive, so it doesn't meet criteria for A either. [continues 159 words]
Reading the recent article in The Star regarding the middle-aged couple who were charged and convicted of smuggling and trafficking drugs from their house, I was appalled to see their sentence. So, they gave up their house, big deal. It should not have been a bargaining chip as Canadian law requires that you forfeit anything gained by trafficking illegal drugs. This is a serious crime as these prescription drugs are the new drug of choice that cause crime everywhere. Read the recent articles of pharmacy and personal thefts of prescription drugs in Essex County in the last month. [continues 71 words]
This letter is written in response to the "Students Should Quit Their Whining About Alex Drug Testing" letter in the July 28 edition of The Athens NEWS. While you are a student of public schools, the school DOES NOT own you or your "little feet." Getting an education isn't just about books and grades. We are also learning how to participate fully in the life of our nation. In order to participate, we need to know our rights or we might lose them. [continues 319 words]
30 Marijuana Plants Seen Growing Behind Cornfield SALEM, Ind. - Hidden behind a cornfield and a rusting barbed-wire fence, the culprits bloomed: 30 marijuana plants, their leaves emitting a pungent odor. Four Indiana state troopers surveyed the cache - which they said would fetch up to $60,000 on the street - in Salem Tuesday before deciding to remove it. "We just ruined somebody's Christmas," said Washington County Sheriff's Detective Brent Miller as he attached his business card to a piece of twine wrapped around a tree limb. [continues 626 words]
Jack Smith Parents of teenagers were probably alarmed about the rash of recent under-age drinking arrests in Eufaula. The good news? Nobody got hurt. At least not yet. The bad news? We've got a much bigger problem that hasn't yet shown up in police reports. But it will. Good, solid sources of all ages tell me Eufaula now suffers from a problem much more deadly and serious than teenagers drinking beer at the "fire spot" a few miles out past where the pavement meets the dirt road at Fox Ridge Road. [continues 894 words]
Should all junior high and high school students involved in extracurricular activities be drug tested, as permitted by law and held constitutional by the Supreme Court? Calhoun County schools will become the third district in the state - joining Logan and Braxton county schools - to begin a drug-testing program on Feb. 1 of all students participating in extracurricular activities, such as sports teams, bands, choral groups, academic teams, clubs, etc. The law maintains education is a right that cannot easily be denied, but participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege that can be withheld for violation of school policies, including drug usage. [continues 628 words]
Some inmates sentenced to jail for drug problems in Barbour County aren't exactly escaping their addictions. At least that's what the latest round of drug tests at the county jail in Clayton shows. Seven of 23 inmates in the county work release program tested positive for drugs while in jail over the weekend, Sheriff Marshall Williams Jr. confirmed Monday. All seven were removed from the work release program and will face hard time in prison. The drug searches apparently resulted from concerned relatives of inmates serving time in the county jail. The most recent drug tests were ordered after a family member complained that inmates were smoking crack-in the jail cell. [continues 446 words]
Regarding the question posed by the Publisher last issue regarding using the illegal drug Ecstasy to help make the prisoners of war talk. She could be right on target. It was reported by the New York Times two weeks later that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first study of this illegal party drug as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Conscious of the need for drugs to treat the disorder after the September 11 attacks, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a non-profit group working to have psychedelic drugs approved as medicines, applied in October for government approval of a study in which 20 people will take Ecstasy during therapy sessions. [continues 54 words]
Regarding the question posed by the Publisher last issue regarding using the illegal drug Ecstasy to help make the prisoners of war talk. She could be right on target. It was reported by the New York Times two weeks later that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the first study of this illegal party drug as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. Conscious of the need for drugs to treat the disorder after the September 11 attacks, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic [continues 88 words]
Allan Turner's Nov. 21 article on Alan Robison and the Drug Policy Forum of Texas was excellent, fair and accurate ("Professor leads the charge in battle against drug war"). The Drug Policy Forum of Texas' preferred reforms emphasize individual responsibility and would like to see the government permit responsible, mature individuals suffering from cancer and other illnesses to grow marijuana and use it in their own homes as medicine, which is now against federal law, although seven states have legalized it. [continues 205 words]
