Yearly Archives: 2013

Ignoring Drug Advisors, Britain Bans Khat

"In a written ministerial statement to Parliament last week. British Home Secretary Theresa May announced that her government was banning khat, a mild stimulant plant from the Horn of Africa widely used by inhabitants of the region, some of whom have emigrated to United Kingdom and other Western countries and brought their habit with them. In doing so, May went directly against the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the public body charged with making recommendations on the control of drugs. " Continue reading →

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80-Year-Old Man In Bedroom With Handgun Killed By Cops In Morning Pot Raid

"'When deputies approached a rear bedroom at the location, they encountered an 80-year-old male who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun. The suspect pointed the handgun at the deputies and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,' the statement read. The weapon, pot and pot-growing equipment were recovered at the home, part of a multi-unit property. Residents who lived in other units were detained for questioning and later released, according to the statement. Earlier in the day, Lt. Dave Dolson said deputies entered the home through an unlocked front door, Dolson said. One deputy fired as they encountered the man armed with a handgun, he said." Continue reading →

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Philly narcs face lawsuit by victim of drug raid on auto shop

"The officers, who entered with guns drawn and never identified themselves as cops, then asked the three men 'where the drugs and money were hidden,' the complaint reads. Officer Thomas Liciardello allegedly struck Layre on the back of the head with a steel pipe, knocking him unconscious. After Layre began to regain consciousness, the officer allegedly kicked Layre in the mouth so hard that the business owner’s front upper row of teeth separated from their roots. The suit goes on to state that $41,000 in cash taken off of Layre had been money legitimately earned by Layre and that the officers unlawfully kept $34,400 of unreported cash for themselves." Continue reading →

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Marc Emery Released from Solitary Confinement

"Emery has already served four years of a five-year sentence in the US for selling marijuana seeds online from Canada. With the permission of prison officials in the Special Investigative Service (SIS), photos of his band were put up on Emery’s Cannabis Culture blog in April. Emery was under investigation by the same SIS authorities who gave permission for the photos; they claimed that the pictures had been taken with a prohibited smart phone. Officials put him in 'the hole' while they looked into the matter. On Tuesday, June 11, Emery was released from solitary confinement after a staff person admitted he had taken the photos." Continue reading →

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France will no longer cut off Internet for illegal downloading

"The French Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday that people who illegally download copyrighted works off the Internet no longer have to fear being disconnected for a year under the nation’s controversial anti-piracy law, formally named the High Authority of Diffusion of the Art Works and Protection of the Rights on the Internet (HADOPI). The loss of HADOPI’s disconnection provision is more than just a victory for French socialists — it’s a defeat for U.S. industry groups, which fiercely lobbied prior French administrations to adopt harsh punitive measures against anyone who shares copyrighted content." Continue reading →

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Libertarian group joins fight against garage restrictions in Dearborn

"At a Planning Commission meeting Monday night in Dearborn, a leader with a libertarian group started by former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul raised questions about the city’s plan to tweak an ordinance that regulates the use of garages. In recent years, a growing number of residents — especially those in the Arab-American community — have transformed their garages into living spaces where they hang out, cook, smoke water pipes, and eat. Some have even installed sliding glass doors. City officials are concerned such activity is causing safety hazards, pointing to a fire in November that was started by a heater kept in a garage." Continue reading →

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City of Berkeley fights U.S. civil action against marijuana dispensary

"In the latest strategy against federal attempts to shut down marijuana shops, the city contends the U.S. civil action would harm the city by depriving it of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, paid over a period of years, according to Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group whose attorneys are representing the city. In May, the U.S. government filed a complaint for forfeiture against a property leased by the retail marijuana store Berkeley Patients Group at 2366 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, according to court papers filed by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag." Continue reading →

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NY school board lawyer fired for calling parent a ‘fat c*nt’

"Parents in East Ramapo, New York celebrated the firing Monday night of their local school board’s attorney in the wake of a profanity-laced tirade caught on video, WNBC-TV reported. The decision followed a protest at school district headquarters demanding the removal of Christopher Kirby, an attorney with Minerva & D’Agostino, a Long Island-based firm. However, Kirby did not provide an apology for his actions. The video, shot after the board’s July 2 meeting by a local parent, Antonio Luciano, shows Kirby calling Peggy Hatton a 'fat c-nt,' as well as accusing Luciano of 'hiding behind his women' while filming." Continue reading →

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Berlin Wall to host exhibit on the world’s tensest borders

"'It’s always a problem — in November I hung a portrait of the US wall in Mexico here and an American came by and shouted at me, ‘You can’t compare this.’ But for me, it doesn’t matter if it’s a religious, national or economic conflict — the idea that you have a problem and you can solve it by building a wall has simply been obsolete since 1989.' Wiedenhoefer said the bleak, often heavily militarised ramparts against illegal immigration, like the US fence on the Mexican border and around the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in Morocco, or along religious lines such as in Baghdad and Belfast, were tragic testaments." Continue reading →

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