Make it more potent for the taste of it! Yeah, that's it!

When it comes to the popular recreational relaxant that is non-toxic and cannot kill you, its increasing potency is a cause for alarm:

(TIME Magazine) 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.

(Chicago Tribune) One thing has changed: Pot packs a bigger wallop now than it did in the ’70s. Today’s leaves are up to five times as potent. So, says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, still-developing brains, which are “more plastic, more sensitive to being modified,” are exposed to higher doses of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

(ABC News) With stronger pot, emergency rooms have reported more associated accidents. Just this week, seven people were killed when the driver — drove the wrong way on a New York highway and collided head on with a pickup truck. Although the drivers family has disputed the results, toxicology tests showed high levels of alcohol and marijuana.

(New York Times) “It’s like drinking beer versus drinking whiskey,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a government agency and a strong opponent of legalizing marijuana. “If you only have access to whiskey, your risk is going to be higher for addiction. Now that people have access to very high potency marijuana, the game is different.”

(Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics) The new marijuana in the market place is not the 1 percent to 2 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the psychoactive ingredient that produces the “high”. Today’s new cultivation methods are producing a drug with up to 30 percent THC, or 3,000 percent higher than the old 1960’s-1980’s available marijuana.

But if it is a popular recreational intoxicant that is toxic and can kill you, it’s increasing potency is a victory for connoisseurs and retailers:

(USA Today) A growing number of states are moving to allow higher alcohol content in beer, despite concerns from some substance-abuse experts.

Alabama and West Virginia have passed laws increasing the legal alcohol-by-volume cap for beer from 6% to as high as 13.9% this year. Similar efforts are underway in Iowa and Mississippi, two states with very restrictive limits on the sale of high-alcohol beer, said Sean Wilson, former president of Pop the Cap, North Carolina’s successful grass-roots effort that raised the state’s limit in 2005.

Vermont raised the cap to 16% and Montana to 14% last year.

The average alcohol content in beer is 4.65%, and in wine 11.45%, according to a 2002 study by the Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, Calif.

Twenty states still place some kind of limit on the amount of alcohol in beer, Wilson said.

Paul Gatza, director of the national Brewers Association based in Boulder, Colo., said limiting alcohol content restricts flavors and styles because “you can’t put as much malt or other sugars in your beer as you may want to.”

Gatza said consumers of specialty or microbrewed beers, also known as craft beers, “don’t drink to get drunk. They drink to appreciate the flavors.”

Right… and I smoke pot because I appreciate the scents.  This is a theme that goes back to the days of Nixon: the idea that people don’t drink to get drunk, they do it to socialize, but pot smokers are only smoking weed to get high.  Tell you what, next time there’s a cocktail party, swap out all the beer for O’Doul’s, all the wine with grape juice, and all the cocktails with soft drinks, and let’s see how much the alcohol drinkers can socialize without getting a buzz on.

The reason alcohol drinkers can make this absurd statement is because they differentiate between the “socializing” (getting a buzz on) and the “getting drunk” (alcohol poisoning).  They don’t conceive of a similar state for marijuana consumption.  In their mind there’s “not smoking pot” and there’s “stoned out of your mind”, with no intermediate step.  This is often because marijuana is illegal, so people who may have experimented a time or two did so under conditions that required smoking it all and smoking it quickly.  They’ve never experienced an Amsterdam-like nice mellow joint followed by a productive day.  So an increase in cannabis potency, to them, means the pot that used to get them “stoned out of your mind” will now get their kids “way stoned out of your mind”.

Meanwhile, having worked for fifteen years in bars every weekend, bars with parking lots full of cars that I can guarantee weren’t all driven by designated drivers, I can tell you that consumers of microbrews are doing it to get drunk.  The guy who was pounding 4% beers at $2 a glass will be more than happy to pound 16% beers at $5 a glass, knowing that his $20 in beer money may only get him four microbrews compared to ten tap beers, but he can get drunker quicker and take fewer pee breaks for the effort, and the beer tastes better.

Isn’t it amazing?  Here we have a drug we know kills 35,000 people a year directly from ingestion and another 40,000 due to its effects, a drug that is proven to cause serious harm to every organ in the body, a drug at the heart of a vast majority of domestic abuse cases, crimes, and assaults, and not only are states deciding to allow it to be up to four times more potent, but the marketers of the drug are boasting that it also tastes better and the increased potency doesn’t matter.  But marijuana that kills no one, is non-toxic to cells and organs, and brings people together in peace and communion, when that becomes up to four times more potent it is serious cause for alarm.

I guess we better not tell them that the marijuana tastes better these days.

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Hemp Headlines

1. New Jersey senators call for pardon of medical marijuana patient
2. Colorado cops frustrated they can’t just bust everyone they catch with marijuana
3. First Montana hemp license issued, may challenge DEA ban

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• Best of Music: Asylum Street Spankers – “We’re Winning the War On Drugs”
• Best of Music: Jon Nicholson – “Grandma’s Gettin’ High”

Cannabis Conversations

• Cheech & Chong’s live musical performance from Cypress Hill Smokeout

(Billings Gazette) The state this month issued its first license for an industrial hemp-growing operation to a woman who said she wants to develop a domestic market for the plant despite federal law barring its cultivation.

Laura Murphy, of Bozeman, was the first to apply for the two-year license since the state Legislature approved its commercial cultivation in 2001.

Federal law prohibits such activity, but the license issued by the Montana Agriculture Department on Oct. 14 could challenge whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is willing to override the state.

Montana applied to the DEA in 2002 for recognition of the state’s hemp growing law. The request was denied, but Montana Agriculture Department attorney Cort Jensen said it could be reconsidered now that a license has gone out.

“Obviously hemp is a little different than ordinary marijuana, but they have declined in the past,” he said. In the meantime, he added: “We will administer the state law.”

In her license, Murphy was warned by Jensen that “growing hemp is still illegal.”

“You still need to get permission from the Drug Enforcement Agency in order to grow it without facing the possibility of federal charges or property confiscation,” he wrote.

You know what I’d do if I were Laura Murphy?  Plant just one industrial hemp plant.  Local and state cops aren’t going to harass her since she now has a legal Montana license to grow it, and it would be fun to see if the DEA really wants to make a spectacle out of uprooting one non-psychoactive hemp plant, prosecuting her for growing it, and seizing her property over it.  Or maybe just grow 99 hemp plants so she falls short of the five-year mandatory minimum threshold of 100 plants.  In the context of the recent Obama DOJ memo telling federal prosecutors it is a waste of resources to go after medical marijuana users in states that have declared it legal, wouldn’t it also be a waste of resources to go after hemp producers in states that have declared it legal?

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Hemp Headlines

1. Marijuana Found at Michael Jackson’s Home! Gasp!
2. New study says it’s easier for kids to get marijuana than beer
3. Washington dispensary owner busted buying marijuana in Oregon
4. UK media finally covering the study showing no link between marijuana and schizophrenia

Cultivator’s Corner with High Times’ Sr. Cultivation Editor Danny Danko

• David in San Diego: “I cannot grow inside however, I can grow on my balcony. My balcony is un covered and has full sun for half of the day. It is never dark…city lights do not allow me to have a night cycle. So…is an auto flowering strain my only option????”
• Jens in Montana: “I am really interested in using LED’s over the HPS systems, is this a good idea? I know the cost for a good LED setup is expensive right now, but I figure with the lower energy consumption and less heat, it would be worth it.”
• Matt in Oklahoma: “I just bought a homebox portable growhouse online. My question is on lighting. Various websites have different philosophies when it comes to proper lighting procedures during the plant development phases. From what I can tell, they seem to agree on that you use a CFL during the veg stage, then you switch to a HPS lighting system right before it flowers. However, I am only growing two plants, only one at a time (use dried flowers while the other plant is growing cycle). What will be the proper wattage setup for a small grow during the various phases?”

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• It’s a Rap Friday – ‘How We Roll’ by Intox

Cannabis Community

• Jessica Corry, Republican Mom for Marijuana and featured speaker at NORML CON 2009.

(Missoulian) Law enforcement reports of incidents involving marijuana continue to rise in the city of Missoula, and members of an oversight committee asked the county of Missoula on Wednesday to help reverse the trend.

A report released this week analyzing data for the last half of 2008 concluded the recommendation of voters in November 2006 that adult marijuana offenses be given the lowest priority by government officials “continues to be ignored by most of the officials in position to heed it.”

Donna Hamilton of the county-appointed Marijuana Initiative Oversight Committee presented the third semiannual report to commissioners at their weekly public meeting. It stated that while there have been modest decreases in incidents reported by the county sheriff’s department and the University of Montana, incidents reported by the Missoula Police Department seem to have risen by 50 percent since the first year.

John Masterson, chairman of the oversight committee [and head of Montana NORML], said many of the questions arising from the increase can’t be adequately answered, because the panel isn’t receiving initial incident reports from law enforcement agencies.

“We were told incident reports were impossible for us to review because they contained information about persons who were not yet charged with a crime,” he said.

Angela Goodhope, the third member of the oversight panel to testify in front of the commissioners, asked that they help law officers get on board with the initiative’s intent.

“We’re coming to you to ask for your help,” she told commissioners Bill Carey, Jean Curtiss and Michele Landquist. “Whether it’s overzealous law enforcement practice due to us voters maybe asking them to change their priorities, or whether it’s that people are flagrantly using marijuana because of (the initiative), we need to know this information.”

Remember when we complained that police shouldn’t arrest pot smokers and the cops would say, “We don’t make the laws, we just enforce them”?  So we get together and put up an initiative and the voters agree that while the law still exists, the police shouldn’t enforce them if they have anything more important to do.  So what’s the excuse now, “We just enforce the laws, even if you don’t want us to”?

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Hemp Headlines

1. Who Are You II: Industrious & Smart – More SAMHDA Stats on Adult Marijuana Users
2. On appeal, Idaho judge guts twice-passed Hailey marijuana initiatives
3. Oakland takes step toward medical marijuana tax
4. The Antidrug Campaign Tries a New Message

Pot and Politics

• Tom Daubert from Montana Patients and Families United wraps up the 2009 Montana legislative session on marijuana law reform.

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards

• Message Monday – ‘Freedom Fighters’ by Ruffstar Family

Chapter of the Week – Georgia NORML at University of Georgia

• Executive Director Wojciech Kaczkowski

NORML regrets to inform you that a pair of proposals seeking to reform Montana’s marijuana laws were defeated recently in partisan votes.

On Monday, March 23, members of the House Judiciary Committee deadlocked 9 to 9 on House Bill 541, which sought to reclassify the possession of thirty grams or less of marijuana from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil infraction. Not one Republican voted in favor of the bill. An effort by supporters to raise the measure for reconsideration on Friday also failed.

In other disappointing news, members of the House Human Services Committee voted 8 to 8 on Friday, March 27, to table Senate Bill 326, which sought to expand Montana’s medical marijuana program. Once again, no Republicans endorsed the bill.

A motion on the House floor to reconsider the bill failed 47 to 51.

Obviously, these results are not what we hoped for. That said, we must keep in mind that our efforts, and your assistance, succeeded in killing several pieces of bad legislation that would have increased marijuana penalties in Montana. It is also worth noting that Senate Bill 326, a highly ambitious proposal, received legislative approval from the Senate before deadlocking in the House. These are significant victories that we can build upon in the coming years.

Thanks again to each of you who contacted your state elected officials in support of these and other measures. If you would like more information on Montana’s ongoing marijuana law reform efforts, please contact Montana Patients and Families United at: info@mtmjpatients.org.

Thank you for supporting NORML’s efforts in Montana.

It looks like decriminalization in Montana is dead today, as the House Judiciary Committee voted on party lines, 9-9 (Democrats in favor, Republicans opposed) to move the bill forward, and a tie means it doesn’t move forward.  HB 541 would have added this section to Montana law:

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Simple possession of marijuana as civil infraction — civil penalty — arrest prohibited. (1) A person commits the civil infraction of simple possession of marijuana if the person possesses not more than 30 grams of marijuana or any of its derivatives.

(2) A person found to be in violation of subsection (1) shall, in addition to any confiscation as provided by Title 44, chapter 12, pay a civil penalty of $50.

(3) A person believed to be in violation of only 45-10-103(2), subsection (1) of this section, or both may be issued a citation by the jurisdiction in which the person is believed to be in violation of subsection (1) but may not be arrested or taken to or booked into a detention facility. Identifying information relating to the person may not be entered into any manual or electronic database or recordkeeping system other than that necessary for the enforcement of this section.

(4) Upon issuance of a citation, the person believed to be in violation of subsection (1) may pay the civil penalty by mail or may elect to contest the citation at a time and place provided in the citation.

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Hemp Headlines

1. Seattle Police Chief to Be Named Drug Czar Today
2. Decriminalization hearing in Montana
3. Kentucky legislators place Senate drugged driving bill as amendment to House crime bill
4. Minnesota medical marijuana passes 2nd committee vote without dissent

Cannabis Science

• Dr. Mitch Earleywine discusses appearance on CBS Health debate and Dr. Kevin Sabet’s op-ed against legalization

Daily Toker Tunes

• Reggae Wednesday – ‘Nice and Proper’ by Jah Elect

Cannabis Conversation

• John Masterson from Montana NORML on decrim bill hearing

Hey, Stashers, I’m trying out a new format for the Stash blog post.  What do you think?

In Montana, a higher percentage of marijuana possession cases result in arrest than cases of aggravated assault, vehicle theft, and rape. Supporters of House Bill 541 believe that reducing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana would allow law enforcement to focus on more violent crimes, and reduce the burden on overcrowded court systems and jails. They believe that criminalizing individuals and forcing them to live with the stigma of arrest and incarceration is damaging, and that the punishment does not fit the crime.

If the bill passes, possession of marijuana in the amount of 30 grams or less would result in seizure and a $100 fine. Opponents warn that this is too risky, and they are concerned that this leniency would alter public perception and send the message that marijuana is not a big deal.

Proponents of HB 541 want to make it clear that they are not advocating marijuana use, but attempting to revise a policy that they believe is harmful, ineffective, and expensive. Opponents caution that passing this bill would send the state on a slippery slope, and urge legislators to keep this in mind.

via Marijuana Law- Does the Punishment Fit the Crime? | News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana | Local Top Stories.

Bless the editor who gave the green light to that lede!  I’ve often said that for cops, arresting pot smokers is like shooting fish in a barrel.  We’re cooperative, compliant, honest, non-violent, and unfortunately, usually all too eager to present the officer with an airtight case.  If your job required you to deal with the worst of the worst, violent, predatory, scum of the earth criminals, drunken louts beating their girlfriends, and the sheer boredom of waiting for traffic stops, a nice easy marijuana arrest makes for a better evening.

You can visit the link to see video of hearing on HB 541.  I also particularly liked the comment from Jim Hemmerich, though I don’t think cannabis use is a vice.