Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 4:57 pm | By: Missippi Hippy
(METRO VANCOUVER) B.C.’s Prince of Pot has been granted bail and could temporarily be released from jail as early as today as he continues to await extradition to the U.S. to plead guilty to selling marijuana seeds.
Marc Emery has been held at the North Surrey Pre-Trial Centre in Port Coquitlam since turning himself over to authorities on Sept. 28.
He has promised to surrender to U.S. custody within 72 hours after an extradition order is signed, which could happen as soon as Dec. 1, which is the final day for submissions.
Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 4:30 pm | By: Radical Russ
CANNABIS CULTURE – A Canadian care home resident with full body paralysis was confined to his bed against his will after his wheelchair was seized by caregivers – all because he smokes medical marijuana to relieve his Multiple Sclerosis.
CHBC news reported yesterday that Nyle Nagy, a Kelowna, British Columbia man who lives at the Brookhaven care home, was forcefully removed from his wheelchair and put in bed for a week after manager Adrien Vaughan objected to his legal use of medical marijuana.
“She sent two men over here to take my wheelchair and tell me that I’ve got to stay in this chair for seven days, as a punishment”, Nagy told the TV crew.
“To get rid of my pain and my spasms, that’s the only two reasons I smoke it” said Nagy, who has a license from the Canadian government to smoke marijuana.
Cannabis Culture has a video interview with the man as well. This is the stigma even legal users of medical marijuana still face. Sure, places like Canada, California, Colorado, and others won’t arrest you and lock you up if you’re a legit medical marijuana patient, but medical marijuana laws don’t force employers, hospitals, care facilities, landlords, or the government to accommodate your use of medical marijuana. You’re perfectly free to use your medical marijuana, so long as you don’t mind homelessness, joblessness, removal from theorgan transplant list, and revocation of your pain medications.
Don’t like it? Well, here, try some liver-killing addictive pharmaceuticals instead. Yes, I know, they can cause constipation, sexual dysfunction, nausea, lethargy, sleep disturbance, and in severe cases, death, but the good news is that your employers, hospitals, care facilities, landlords, and the government are statutorily forbidden from discriminating against you for using those drugs, or even asking if you use those drugs in most cases, thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act. That’s a federal law, which naturally doesn’t apply to medical marijuana, because as far as the feds are concerned, medical marijuana is an oxymoron.
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm | By: Radical Russ
(MixxCelebrity) Britney Spears halted her show in Vancouver last night after just three songs because it was too smokey in the arena. The singer who is currently on the road supporting her ‘Circus’ album, walked off stage and remained backstage for over 20 minutes while an announcer told the crowd the show would not continue if people in the audience continued to smoke weed and cigarettes.
The announcer told the crowd it was “unsafe” for Spears and her dancers to continue to perform in that environment, reports Perez Hilton.
A statement released to the gossip site said: “We want to apologize to all the fans who attended our Vancouver show tonight for the brief pause in Britney’s set. Crew members above the stage became ill due to a ventilation issue.”
Production staff were reportedly worried that crew working high up would become dizzy from the smoke.
Spears herself then issued an anti-marijuana message at the end of her show, telling the audience: “Thanks Vancouver. You were wonderful. Drive safe. Don’t smoke weed!”
I’m still trying to understand weed smokers at a Britney Spears concert. I thought marijuana smoking was supposed to improve one’s appreciation of music.
Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 1:16 pm | By: Radical Russ
(TIME Magazine) California may be the center of the marijuana trade and the controversies over its legalization. But Florida has surpassed it in one important category: the Sunshine State is now the country’s leader in indoor marijuana cultivation. It is a potent distinction because most of the marijuana grown this way is cultured hydroponically — that is, mostly without soil and with a carefully calibrated cocktail of chemicals and lighting — to create some of the highest level of highs on the market.
In 2006, Florida law enforcement here discovered 480 homes growing marijuana indoors. Last year, 1,022 grow houses were busted. “This isn’t your grandma’s marijuana,” quipped a Miami-Dade narcotics officer at one bust as he tossed garbage bags stuffed with confiscated marijuana into an unmarked police truck. Levels of THC — the agent in marijuana that produces feelings of euphoria, and in some users mild hallucinations and paranoia — have risen dramatically because of indoor techniques. Thirty years ago, most marijuana contained about 7% THC. Today, indoor growers boast THC levels of 25% or higher thanks to the additional care that indoor plants receive.
Ah, yes, “Pot 2.0: Not Your Father’s Woodstock Weed!” raises its ugly head. Except the weed from 30 years ago was supposed to be only 2% THC… at least according to the TIME Magazine story in 2004 about the previous super-pot hot-spot, Vancouver, British Columbia:
(TIME Magazine 2004) Although the actual potency of BC Bud varies from batch to batch, depending on how it’s grown, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that as much as 25% of BC Bud is made of the psychoactive drug tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In contrast, the pot that the hippie generation smoked in the 1970s had only 2% THC content, and most pot consumed in the U.S. today averages about 7% THC.
So five years ago TIME warned the smokers of 7% weed about the 25% BC Bud that wasn’t like the 2% weed of the 1970s, and today TIME warns the smokers about Florida’s 25% hydro-bud that’s not like the 7% weed of the 1970s that we were apparently smoking all the way up to 2004. Let’s look back farther, to a 2000 TIME story on Marc Emery:
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 8:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
A new study, published in the journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy, shows that one-third of teens use marijuana to treat health problems rather than recreationally, when conventional medicine fails, or access to healthcare is limited.
Researchers from University of British Columbia interviewed 63 adolescents who used marijuana. Twenty said they used marijuana to for treatment of behavioral health problems, pain, sleep difficulty, and problems with concentration.
Rather than rely on ineffective prescriptions with unwanted side effects, the teens said they used marijuana, not to get high, but to treat their health problems.
The authors write, Youth who reported they had been prescribed drugs such as Ritalin, Prozac or sleeping pills, stopped using them because they did not like how these drugs made them feel or found them ineffective. For these kids, the purpose of smoking marijuana was not specifically about getting high or stoned”.
Teenagers, then, seem to use marijuana much the way adults do. Most use “recreationally”, some use “medicinally”. For those medicinal users, it is not a surprise to me that they prefer the natural and mild marijuana to the harsh and addictive pharmaceuticals. Not a single interview with a patient goes by where they fail to tell me how much they prefer cannabis to handfuls of pills.
We’re a nation that addicts our children to high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats, and caffeine even at pre-school ages. If a child is slightly rambunctious or drivingly inquisitive we have some sort of pill to bring them back into “the norm” of child behavior. Nine million of these kids don’t have any sort of health insurance to get those pills in the first place. We think nothing of giving our kids all sorts of over-the-counter cold and flu remedies. Are we surprised some reject it all for a natural remedy?
Bratzer has been with the Victoria police for only three years, and already the 31-year-old officer has stepped forward to question the basis of the country’s drug laws.
“As a police officer, you always want to help people, so it’s very frustrating to be a police officer and enforce laws that are not necessarily helpful,” Bratzer told the Georgia Straight by phone.
Last month, he addressed participants in a cannabis convention held at the University of Victoria, where he presented his proposals for a post-prohibition era.
Step one, he said, is to legalize all drugs. Step two is for the provincial government to regulate drugs in the same way it regulates alcohol. Step three, he continued, is to decide what to do with the “peace dividend” or the funds that government can save by stopping the war on drugs.
Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 9:49 am | By: Radical Russ
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Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 5:12 pm | By: Radical Russ
Compassion clubs and other medical marijuana distributors should have restrictions on them lifted, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled on Monday.
To the delight of a packed courtroom in Vancouver, Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg said federal regulations that limit people’s access to medicinal cannabis are “constitutionally invalid” and gave the government a year to amend the rules.
The current rules under the federal medical marijuana program limit a supplier from providing marijuana to more than one patient and restrict growers from sharing a common space.
Koenigsberg found [grower Mathew] Beren guilty on two drug-related charges Monday but granted him an absolute discharge because he grew marijuana exclusively for the Vancouver Island Compassion Society.
It’s one of the most frustrating things about medical marijuana: we worked hard to convince the people that sick, disabled, and sense-threatened citizens should not go to jail for using marijuana as medicine. But because the law still considers most marijuana users criminals, the people fear the diversion of medical marijuana into “criminal” marijuana, so most medical marijuana states place severe restrictions on medical marijuana distribution and possession and growing and selling.
PATIENT: I’m desperately sick! Can I please use marijuana?
PEOPLE: Sure, we’re down with that.
PATIENT: Great! Where can I buy some?
PEOPLE: Oh, we can’t let you buy any. If we let people sell marijuana, why, some teenager might get high!
PATIENT: But I can’t grow it and I don’t know anybody who has it!
PEOPLE: I guess that’s your problem.
PATIENT: But I’ll die without marijuana!
PEOPLE: Well, at least no teenagers will get high.
PATIENT: Are you kidding? Teenagers can get weed better than I can!
Until marijuana is legal for healthy people, there will always be problems getting marijuana to sick people.
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 pm | By: Radical Russ
(CNN) — Forests in the Pacific Northwest are dying twice as fast as they were 17 years ago, and scientists blame warming temperatures for the trend, according to a new study.
The study, to be released Friday in the journal Science, is the first large-scale analysis of environmental changes as contributing factors in the mortality of coniferous forests.
The data for this research was gathered by generations of scientists over a 50-year period at multiple sites in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and southwestern British Columbia. Seventy-six forest plots, all more than 200 years old, were monitored by scientists doing some of the most rudimentary research — counting trees.
The study primarily focused on three types of coniferous trees: pines, firs and hemlocks. Older-growth forests — some up to 500 years old — have trees of all ages, and researchers found that mortality rates have increased for all age groups. Since mortality rates went up across the board, scientists ruled out a number of other possible causes, including ozone-related air pollution, long-term effects of fire suppression and normal forest dynamics.
In the end, California had the highest tree death rate. Of the three types of coniferous trees studied, pines were found to be dying at the fastest rate. Ultimately, higher tree mortality may lead to significant shifts in forest structure and function, the report states.
If only I could think of a way to reduce the need to cut down so many of these trees for paper and building materials, while simultaneously fighting global warming by creating huge “carbon sinks” that would take in greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and expel healthy oxygen, and providing an alternative fuel source for the gas-burning vehicles that contribute so heavily to pollution and global warming…
I know if I just smoke another joint, it will come to me…
West Vancouver police surprised parents and teachers last spring by quitting a popular drug-awareness program that uniformed officers had been delivering in elementary schools for more than a dozen years.
“There is no evidence that it’s been successful in reaching its goals,” Cpl. Fred Harding told the North Shore News in explaining the decision to withdraw from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program.
Nevertheless, West Vancouver school district is working to replace the program. Early next year, it will be training teachers to implement a replacement program, which is expected to be offered in Grades 6 and 7 after spring break, says superintendent Geoff Jopson.
DARE has been both controversial and popular for many years. It was created by DARE America but is delivered in B.C. by the RCMP and local police forces. Of B.C.’s 60 school districts, all but four offer it in at least some schools.
We’ve known for five years now that the DARE program (drug abuse resistance education, a.k.a. cops coming into classrooms saying “drugs ‘r’ bad, mmmkay?”) – our own government even said, “All of the evaluations suggested that DARE had no statistically significant long-term effect on preventing youth illicit drug use.”
Having cops teach kids about drugs is like having pharmacists teaching a defensive driving course.
RevRayGreen: I'll post a pic of me and my son....gimme a minute
Missippi Hippy: Guess what... I'm gonna be a new... ummmmm well, my pet piggie Ganja is in labor and they ain't mine in the same sense. See what your wife [...]
RevRayGreen: days they didn't talk back..or act disrespectful..
RevRayGreen: feel so lucky my son is 18 going 19 and my daughter 16 going on 17..relish the days that can't talk back
Urb Age: Congrats Spof thats awesome. My little Clara is about to hit 20 months. Im not the activist I used to be, but its made me a better man.
Urb Age: Heck I was gonna go up there, but just not feeling well this weekend..Dang it, I hate it when that happens..
RevRayGreen: wishing I was hanging at NORML cafe...
JohnH: Just a quick comment about tokin' and sperm motility....been tokin since age 14 and have 8 kids ranging in age from 30 to 9...(what can I say, I found 2 [...]
slash5city: really ..oprah 35 yr or more in the closet toker ...outed ....o my god !!
SneakerPimp: that would be huge news just imagen the headline
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
Marc Emery out on bail until extradition
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