While a shepherd watched his flock by night… via The Independent

Italy’s highest court ruled that an Italian shepherd’s smoking habit could be justified because he only had sheep for company.

The 45-year-old shepherd was caught with marijuana in his car as he was setting off for an extended period with his flock in the mountains of Alto Adige, in the far north of the country. Police found 38 grams (about 1.3 ounces) in the car, and the shepherd, identified only as Giorgio D., was convicted of possession. But upholding an appeal against the verdict, the Court of Cassation ruled that the shepherd was justified in possessing this small quantity of the drug on account of “the long and solitary period” he was about to spend “in the countryside and the mountains, due to the migration of his flock of sheep”.

As a matter of fact, I’m feeling a little sheepish right now

The Vatican has been accused of putting the lives of thousands at risk by attempting to influence UN drugs policy on the eve of a major international declaration.

The Vatican’s objection to “harm reduction” strategies, such as needle exchange schemes, has ignited a fierce debate between the US and the EU over how drugs should be tackled.

A new UN declaration of intent is due to be signed in Vienna on 11 March. However, there are major disagreements between member countries over whether a commitment to “harm reduction” should be included in the document, which is published every 10 years.

Now the Vatican has issued a statement that claims that using drugs is “anti-life” and “so-called harm reduction leads to liberalisation of the use of drugs”. The Vatican’s last-minute intervention appears to have led to Italy withdrawing from the EU consensus on the issue and thrown the talks over the declaration into confusion.

via Vatican’s stance on UN drugs policy ‘risks lives’ | World news | The Guardian .

There is nothing “so-called” about the harm reduction demonstrated by clean needle exchange programs and they do not lead to more use of drugs.  But at NORML we’re concerned only with marijuana, so let me tackle the Vatican’s “anti-life” statement.

Certainly the Holy See doesn’t mean the use of all drugs is “anti-life”.  Pope Benedict knows there are all manner of drugs that are used to save and prolong life.  The Catholic Church is even accepting of using drugs for fun:

While the Catholic church hasn’t taken a public stance on Viagra, an official at a local diocese told us, “This isn’t in the same category as the Pill; the Pill has to do with human life, but Viagra doesn’t. Viagra could be used within a marriage.”

Sure, that’s true, and there are even some men who truly need Viagra in order to maintain a healthy sex life.  But the non-medical use of Viagra as merely a chemical tool for having more fun cannot be overlooked.  In other words, there are both medical and recreational uses for Viagra, just as there are for coca plants, opium poppies, and cannabis bushes.

With the Holy See condemning needle exchange, I must interpret that as abuse of drugs is “anti-life”.  However, Viagra can kill you and marijuana cannot, so how can the Vatican condemn needle exchange without condemning misuse of Viagra?  Abusing Viagra will end your life, how much more “anti-life” can you get?  Using marijuana recreationally can never kill you, how much more “pro-life” could a drug be?  (And if you have both Viagra and marijuana, you have a really excellent evening!)

Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-07-16

Download audio file (NORML_Daily_AudioStash_2008-07-16.mp3)

It’s the middle of the week and I’m hip deep in prep for the upcoming Eugene hempfest.  Plus my Oregon NORML Executive Director, Madeline Martinez, is headed to her first board meeting as a board member for NORML, and I’ve got video tape to edit and produce for her presentation.

It’s crazy.  I’ve got five different business cards — Oregon NORML, NORML Daily Audio Stash, OCTA Political Director, The Russ Belville Show, and Belville Office Software Specialists — and yet prohibitionists keep telling me smoking pot will make me an unproductive, amotivational drag on the economy.

Today’s show features two of the men who together have probably read more and conducted more research on marijuana than anybody.  Dr. Mitch Earleywine joins us to talk about an interesting new study that shows teen us of marijuana may be a “gateway to nature” – controversial and interesting idea.

Then Paul Armentano (NORML’s Deputy Director) visits to talk about an Italian study that compared whole plant cannabis extracts to single compound extracts (e.g., only THC or only CBD) and found a possible “synergistic effect” that makes whole plant cannabis extracts far superior in treating certain types of pain.  Those medical marijuana patients who have always said the raw plant does more for them than the Marinol or Cesamet pills are on to something.

All right, it’s back to my chores.  Who would’ve thunk being a professional pothead would be so much work?  Enjoy your Stash!

Rasta pot smokers win legal leeway in Italy | International | Reuters
ROME (Reuters) – Rastafarians caught in possession of marijuana in Italy may now have legal recourse, thanks to a high court ruling made public on Thursday.

Italy’s Court of Cassation ruled that since the Rastafari religion considers marijuana a sacrament, its members should be given special consideration when it comes to possession — and how much makes a drug trafficker.

The case before the judges dealt with a reggae musician who was sentenced to 16 months in prison by a lower court in Perugia after being found in possession of enough marijuana to roll 70 cigarettes.

The Court of Cassation annulled his sentence, saying the amount appeared appropriate for personal use considering the heavy amounts that Rastafarians smoke, and ordered an appellate court in Florence to review the case.

“He was convicted because of the amount … for trafficking, but it was for his own personal use,” said the defendant’s lawyer, Caterina Calia.

Rastafari, a religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, considers Ethiopia its spiritual home and that country’s former emperor, Haile Selassie, a divine figure.

Up to 10 percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastas, but they are virtually unheard of in Roman Catholic Italy.

No disrespect intended, but personally, I find the religious use exception for ganja sacrament a bit troubling.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely 100% agree that if you sincerely believe ganja is a sacrament that brings you closer to Jah / God / Allah, then you should be free to smoke it.

What troubles me is that I’m an atheist, so I have no mystical supernatural tales to protect my use, and I shouldn’t need any.  Why is it that people who can never in a court of law prove that God wants them to smoke weed get immunity from prosecution, but I go to prison because I only believe in stuff that can be proven?

Then there is the question of which religions get that special immunity.  No religion under 70 years old need apply.  Rastas may get this break in Italy, but in the US sincere Americans who believe in ganja sacrament get to do time because their religion is younger than marijuana prohibition, so they must have formed the religion as an excuse to get high.

It’s like the medical marijuana situation.  Of course I want cancer and HIV patients to have medical marijuana; you’d have to be blackhearted not to.  But I want perfectly healthy people to have that right, too.

I guess it just seems absurd to me that if you had Jamaican Rasta, a disabled Californian, and me all passing around the same blunt, you’d have a believer, a patient, and a criminal.