DRUG WAR
Tracking of the violence perpetrated by drug cartels and the governments that battle them.
By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 8, 2010
A legislative ethics panel has thrown out a complaint against state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and others who invited international travel adviser Rick Steves to talk in October at the Capitol about topics that included marijuana. Steves, who supports decriminalizing marijuana possession, says travel can help people learn about how other cultures address social problems, which can help in the creation of better public policies related to health care, drug laws and other issues.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Celebrity Tokers, Legalization, NORML, Politics | Tagged ACLU, american civil liberties union, Olympia, Rick Steves, Washington
By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 8, 2010
You may think that Juárez is far away and that you and your children have nothing to do with rival drug gang warfare, so this doesn’t affect you. But so long as there exists a War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugs, there is the chance you can get caught up in the crossfire.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, DRUG WAR, Parents and Kids, World | Tagged Al Capone, Atlanta, California, Colorado, Denver, El Paso, Georgia, Juarez, Kansas, kathryn johnston, Lebanon, Maryland, Modesto, Portland, Sinaloa, teenagers, Tennessee, Texas
By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 5, 2010
Last week President Obama quietly announced that he would nominate Michele Leonhart to lead the Drug Enforcement Agency. Ms. Leonhart also has a record of adamantly fighting against allowing scientific research of the potential medicinal value of marijuana. Ignoring the ruling of a federal judge, Ms. Leonhart single-handedly blocked applications from respected university researchers studying medical marijuana.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Activism, NORML, Police, Politics | Tagged Administrator Michele Leonhart, African-Americans, american civil liberties union, Bush Administration, drug enforcement agency, George W. Bush, President Obama
By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 3, 2010
According to 2011 funding “highlights” released by the ONDCP (PDF link), the Obama administration is growing the drug war and tilting its funds heavily toward law enforcement over treatment. In short, the Obama administration’s appropriations for treating drug addiction are just short of half that dedicated to prosecuting the war.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Courts, DRUG WAR, Police, Politics, Prison | Tagged ONDCP, President Obama
By "Radical" Russ Belville on February 1, 2010
President Obama’s CitizenTube forum concluded today with questions about ending marijuana prohibition receiving the most votes, by far. Yet, an answer to the most popular question was absent from the president’s address, which took place on YouTube this afternoon. Last year, when marijuana reform questions topped the president’s “Open For Questions” forum, the president at least answered — albeit without serious consideration to the issue.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Legalization, MEDIA, PERSONAL, Politics | Tagged Barack Obama, President Barack Obama, President Obama, YouTube, YouTube Citizen's Forum
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 29, 2010
Federal drug-enforcement agents earlier this week seized medical-marijuana samples from a Denver lab that does potency testing for dispensaries, in what cannabis advocates say is an instance of continued official harassment of the medical-marijuana industry. A spokesperson said lab employees are baffled as to why DEA agents would raid the lab. She said the lab is designated as a caregiver for several medical-marijuana patients in the state.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Cannabis Science, Cannabusiness, Police | Tagged Colorado, DEA, Denver, Full Spectrum Laboratories
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 28, 2010
Oakland-based activists submitted 690,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office today, well over the 434,000 required to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s general election ballot in November. The initiative is being spearheaded by medical marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Economy, Legalization, Politics | Tagged California, Doug Linney, Rebecca Saltzman, Richard Lee, TaxCannabis2010
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 28, 2010
The average Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) property seizure in 1998 was worth about $25,000. In 2000 a Justice Department source told the PBS series Frontline that this figure was also the cutoff under which most forfeiture attorneys advised clients that their cases wouldn’t be worth pursuing. So a law aimed at denying drug kingpins their ill-gotten millions ended up affecting mostly those with so little loot it didn’t even make sense to hire an attorney to win it back.
Posted in Courts, DRUG WAR, Economy, Police | Tagged asset forfeiture, Radley Balko, Reason
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 28, 2010
Sorry about the tone of the headline, but how many times do I have to write the same story over and over? Just because some website says you have a religious right to use cannabis and will sell you a $250 Get Out of Jail Free card does not mean any police officer, prosecutor, or judge in the United States – including Hawaii County – will recognize that right. It’s anti-American and it is wrong and it needs to be stopped by ending marijuana prohibition for all of us.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Courts, Religion, Stupid Stoner Stories | Tagged Colorado, Hawaii Cannabis Ministry, religious freedom, THC Ministry, Trevor Douglas, Vail Valley
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 28, 2010
A House subcommittee has unceremoniously tabled a pair of bills that would have liberalized Virginia’s marijuana laws, in effect killing them. One measure would have made possession of under one ounce of pot a civil infraction punishable with merely a $500 fine. The other would have allowed doctors to prescribe marijuana for any medical condition, if the Federal government ever allows it.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Decriminalization, MEDICAL, Politics | Tagged Politicians on Pot, Republican, VA Rep. Morgan Griffith, Virginia, Washington Post
By Cannabis Karri on January 28, 2010
The Brooklyn police chased Mineo into the station after spotting him smoking and that is where, Mr. Mineo claims, that the cops tackled him kicked him and then sodomized him with a baton. The police officers then gave him a summons and threatened that they would go to his house and serve him with a felony charge if he went to the hospital for treatment. The officers are denying that part of the story, but his story is corroborated by eyewitnesses – including a transit police officer. The three officers charged in the attack are now on trial.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Courts, Police | Tagged abuse, Brooklyn, Michael Mineo, New York, New York City, NYPD, sodomy, torture
By Missippi Hippy on January 28, 2010
Click the Full Story to watch the video…
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, MEDICAL, Politics, Videos | Tagged Maryland, Mike Meno, MPP
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 28, 2010
Let’s get out of the box canyon thinking that will turn most of us cannabis consumers from “illegal drug users” to “users of medical cannabis without a prescription”, still subject to arrest and punishment. Let’s get beyond medical marijuana laws that legalize cannabis for 5% but maintain the black market pricing structure and lack of free market competition. Until cannabis is legal for the healthy people that want it, it will always be overpriced and subject to ridiculous limits for the sick people who need it.
Posted in 4:20 NEWS, Cannabusiness, Economy, MEDICAL, Police | Tagged 420 Discount Collective, Alternative Care Collective, California, collectives, dispensaries, Encino Discount Collective, Los Angeles, Richard Khoury, San Fernando Valley
out of my nose 3 [...]
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fishcreekbob: In the end when I have to use my weedeater to get in the door throwing away stuff that today I...
WakeUpDead: What will be said when in the future when they truly find the cure for cancer and cannabis was...
Winder: Yes, it will take a horrific incident like this on our home turf to make any dent in the thick skulls...
Kaylea: El Paso is so close to the border that you could shoot across the river onto the campus of University...
Behind the Lack of Medical Marijuana Research: Feds Disallowing Initiatives
By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 29, 2010
Speaking to The New York Times in a January 19, 2010 article entitled, “Researchers Find Medical Study of Marijuana Discouraged,” NIDA spokeswoman Shirley Simson said: “As the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use. We generally do not fund research focused on the potential beneficial medical effects of marijuana.”
Posted in Cannabis Science, Commentary, MEDICAL, NORML, Politics | Tagged drug enforcement administration, Huffington Post, national institute on drug abuse, New York Times, NIDA, Paul Armentano, University of Mississippi | 7 Responses