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California’s Lt. Gov. comes out in favor of legalizing marijuana

"California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) came out in favor of fully legalizing marijuana and regulating the drug like alcohol, even though he opposed legalization in 2010. The story went on to describe how many Californians think of marijuana like a cocktail, and how many affluent professionals even offer it to guests at dinner parties as part of local custom. It concludes with one final quote from the man widely expected to top the ticket of Democratic challengers to Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014: 'These laws just don’t make sense anymore. It’s time for politicians to come out of the closet on this.'" Continue reading →

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Colorado county bans commercial marijuana operations

"While the state of Colorado recently voted in favor of the ballot initiative Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana, a few counties don’t want the resulting plant growing operations in their backyards. Douglas County, where a majority of residents voted against Amendment 64, passed a ban on commercial marijuana growing operations to take effect Dec. 27, although private citizens can still have a few plants themselves. Another county, Weld, will likely have the same ban in place in January. 'That’s a revenue source that we’re not interested in having here,' Wendy Holmes, a spokesperson for Douglas County, told the paper." Continue reading →

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On ‘Intellectual Property’ and Pot

"Lawyers for Oakland pointed out in a court filing Tuesday that, while marijuana is regarded by federal law as a controlled substance with no medicinal value, the U.S. government’s own patents and research claim otherwise. One 2009 patent application, for instance, extols the pain-relieving and 'healing properties' of marijuana. The government’s own 2003 patent discusses the usefulness of 'cannabinoids' in treating 'ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases' as well as 'Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.' In July, the National Institutes of Health licensed the rights of the latter patent." Continue reading →

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Will Grigg: “Damned from Memory”: When the Drug War Turns on its Own

The 'war on drugs' is a narcotics price support program and a public works project for the coercive sector (especially the prison-industrial complex). It also provides an apparently bottomless well of revenue to fund the projects in subversion and state terrorism carried out by the CIA and its affiliates. Investigators like John McLaughlin are rewarded for gathering up huge volumes of tiny fish – and severely punished when they disturb any of the politically protected barracudas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: “Damned from Memory”: When the Drug War Turns on its Own

In Legal Showdown Over Marijuana, Oakland Dispensary Takes Leading Role

"In California, the battle between federal and state authorities over legal marijuana is coming to a head in a high-profile legal challenge. Our report comes from special correspondent Jake Schoneker of Media Enterprise Alliance, a PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab based in Oakland, Calif." Continue reading →

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The Next Seven States To Legalize Pot

"The Berlin Wall of pot prohibition seems to be crumbling before our eyes. By fully legalizing marijuana through direct democracy, Colorado and Washington have fundamentally changed the national conversation about cannabis. As many as 58 percent of Americans now believe marijuana should be legal. And our political establishment is catching on. Encouraged by the example of Colorado and Oregon, states across the country are debating the merits of treating marijuana less like crystal meth and more like Jim Beam. Here are the next seven states most likely to legalize it." Continue reading →

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Study: Booze Damages the Young Brain, Pot Does Not

"Some new science demonstrates that marijuana may not have the harmful effects critics claim. In fact, while pot had no measured impact in a new study, the very legal and very lucratively-marketed substance alcohol actually has a worse health impact on young users. Specifically, a new study of substance-using teenagers' brains shows that the regular use of alcohol had a harmful effect on the boozing group, while the toking-up group's brains suffered little alteration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Booze Damages the Young Brain, Pot Does Not

Legalise ganja to treat HIV, cancer, doctors tell gov’t

"Director of the Caribbean Drug and Alcohol Research Institute Dr Marcus Day believes the time has come for regional governments to legalise marijuana to counteract the spread of HIV. 'Cannabis actually keeps viral progression down in a body. If you are HIV positive and you are not on medication, smoking cannabis is actually therapeutic, and that's science, not people's opinion,' he said. Day believes HIV patients — especially those not on anti-retroviral drugs — should be allowed to ingest marijuana as a tea or in pastry such as brownies. Statistics show that approximately 30% of those living with HIV in the Caribbean are not on any type of treatment." Continue reading →

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Oakland Insists It Can Defend Medical Pot Club

"The city of Oakland renewed demands to stay forfeiture proceedings against a local medical marijuana dispensary whose business it defends as a matter of state's rights. Though the U.S. government says that Oakland lacks standing to try to block it from seizing Harborside Health Center, the city argued that it has an interest in protecting its economic and public health interests, and it says a stay would serve the orderly adjudication of justice. The U.S. government initiated forfeiture proceedings against Harborside Health Center's Oakland and San Jose locations in July, claiming the clubs sell marijuana in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)." Continue reading →

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How Much TSA Abuse Is Enough?

"What on Earth does the TSA have to do to bump up against some serious resistance? If you feel like you've been sexually molested, you can go and cry on YouTube, like Miss USA did, but that's about as much sympathy as you're gonna get. You were molested for everyone's protection. And let's not forget the recent firing of 400 TSA agents for massive theft. If Americans are OK with a genital grab here and there, why not expand it to other places besides the airport? The longer that this goes on, the more emboldened the state will get, and that's exactly what they'll (slowly, of course) start to do." Continue reading →

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