A 67 year old grandmother in Connelsville, Pennsylvania, was charged with possession and manufacturing of a controlled substance last year after she says a bearded stranger wearing a knit hat gave her some seeds. She contends she had no idea that the seeds would grow marijuana.

Alterta Kelley has no police or criminal record. Charges were filed against the woman last January after police officers observed seven four-foot tall marijuana plants in her back yard. The police were there to serve a warrant on a family member. The officer on the scene said that when he asked Ms. Kelley what the plants were, she stated she did not know what they were.

Officer Wesley Wilson wrote up in the criminal complaint that she stated at the scene that a man she didn’t know gave her the seeds and told her to plant them. Luckily for Kelley, a Fayette County Jury found her not guilty this week and her charges were tossed. The knit-hat-wearing, bearded “Johnny Ganjaseed’s” identity remains unknown.

External Links:

http://www.wtae.com/r/30141636/detail.html

Lucid Music didn’t officially become a group until the winter month of December 2005. Before then it was just two friends making music strictly for the fun of it in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They met while working at the same dead end retail store. Warren was an emcee from Long Beach California who had moved to Pittsburgh in 1999 to attend school and take care of his elderly grandmother. Marcus was a Chicago transplant who would freestyle in his grandmother’s basement while working towards a degree in business administration.

The Lucid Music sound is inspired by the hiphop it’s members grew up on. The lyrics are positive and profanity free allowing the group to perform for audiences of all ages. Jazz, rock and funk samples are used to create what can only be described as “ that old boom bap”: uptempo drums, thick basslines, melodic horns and piano. Turntablism also plays an important part of not only their sound but a live show as well.

Lucid music has distribution through Root70lounge.com, a japanese indie label, As well as international distribution with seminal hip hop label Bomb Hip Hop out of California.

Check out Lucid Music at http://ludicmusicwakeup.blogspot.com

Lucid Music
“Three Twenty” (mp3)
from “Adventures of the Invisible Band Redux”
(Bomb Hip Hop)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

News outlets are reporting the tragic death of a thirteen-year-old boy in Pennsylvania named Brandon Rice.  We’ve reported on Brandon’s story earlier this year, so imagine our surprise when we see the following headline from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

This tragic death of a teen boy could never have happened with the glass paraphernalia and natural cannabis that Pennsylvania would arrest him for.

Medical marijuana?  For those of you who missed the initial reporting of Brandon’s story, it was reported that the teen had smoked K2 brand incense sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids through a plastic PEZ dispenser!

Now the Gazette has scrubbed their headline to say “synthetic marijuana” and reposted it with other slight variations.

The AP, reposted by Huffington Post, reports that the boy had received a double lung transplant, but succumbed to his injuries this morning.

The boy smoked the fake marijuana out of a plastic PEZ candy dispenser. The chemicals in the drugs caused extensive damage to his lungs. Brandon was put on a respirator in June and had a double lung transplant in September.

So, we’re to assume here it was the K2 that scarred the boys lungs and not the freakin’ fumes from the melting plastic of a PEZ dispenser?!?  When my post on K2 has garnered over 230 comments from K2 users who had bad experiences, yet not one has died or has scarred lungs requiring a double transplant?

InvestmentWatch continues the demonization of the synthetic cannabinoids, not the plastic:

Tonya Rice told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper Brandon was put on a respirator in June after smoking Spice fake cannabis, which is said to be ten times more dangerous than cocaine.

Who said that?  Because we have some fairly good statistics on deaths from cocaine overdose:

A recent study conducted by doctors at the Forensic Pathology Service at the Institute of Legal Medicine (Seville, Spain) and published in the European Heart Journal shows that more than 3% of all sudden deaths that occurred in south-west Spain were attributed to cocaine usage.

Not to be cruel or insensitive about the boy’s death, but he didn’t suddenly die from the acute effects of K2 use.  He used it in June, fell very ill, was given a double lung transplant, and died from an infection because of his lowered immune system in October.  So, to compare, we have cocaine, which can give you a heart attack by overdose and kill you the minute you snort / smoke / inject it, versus a synthetic cannabinoid smoked through plastic, requiring a double lung transplant, leading to a fatal infection four months later in the hospital that kills one boy.  We’re not trying to say K2 is safe – it isn’t – but it’s not “ten times more dangerous than cocaine”.

The only reasons this K2/Spice shit even exists on store shelves is because (1) the adults who want real cannabis that has never killed anyone or scarred anyone’s lungs aren’t allowed to have it and (2) the adults who get the real cannabis anyway are piss tested for it.  The only reason anyone would smoke anything through a Pez dispenser is because some states, like Pennsylvania, make such draconian paraphernalia laws against glass / wood / stone pipes.

Brandon’s parents, however, didn’t see the fact that prohibition led to these circumstances, and instead have been fighting for even more prohibitions:

Since Brandon’s hospitalization, the Rice family has spoken out about the drug which damaged their son’s lungs — with brand names such as K2, Spice, Blaze, Ivory Wave, White Rush, Starry Nights and Vanilla Sky — in hopes that other children will not be harmed.

A bill to ban sale of synthetic marijuana in Pennsylvania was signed June 28, just weeks after the Southmoreland eighth-grader was placed on a respirator. More than 30 other states have also banned the drug and others are considering it.

For everyone who screams “What About The Children?!?” when we bring up marijuana legalization, for everyone who worries that legal pot would mean teenage boys would have greater access to pot, ask yourself if you’d rather be a mom or dad chewing your kid out when you find his pipe and stash of natural cannabis, or if you’d rather be a mom or dad planning your kid’s funeral because he tried a more dangerous way of getting a marijuana high?  Because banning K2, Spice, Blaze, Ivory Wave, White Rush, Starry Nights and Vanilla Sky isn’t going to work; it will just lead to newer versions of synthetic cannabinoids that aren’t banned (didn’t the seven brand names I just listed give you that clue?)

Finally, if you really believe that a prohibition will be the best way to protect your children’s lungs, I don’t understand why the parents aren’t marshaling resources to prohibit Marlboro, Camel, Pall Mall, Kool, Virginia Slims, Lucky Strike, and Winston?

Still, the story is a sad one and we do mourn the loss of a anyone’s child.  We don’t advocate children doing drugs, period, except for medical reasons (and even then we think some of those are over-prescribed… Ritalin, we’re looking your way…)  But it wasn’t synthetic pot that killed Brandon Rice and it was prohibition of cannabis that brought him synthetic pot.

Donations can still be made in Brandon’s memory to any PNC Bank branch location using account number 6006292603 or mailed to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403.

Checks or money orders should be made payable to COTA, with “In Honor of Brandon R.” written on the memo line of the check.

Secure credit card donations are also accepted online at www.COTAforBrandonR.com

Two people are facing serious drug charges after they have been accused of openly selling marijuana pipes and bongs at a southwestern Pennsylvania county fair. A drug task force detective accuses thirty-three-year-old Stephen Krug and 24-year-old Maria Zelik, both from Freedom, PA, of selling the drug paraphernalia out in the open.

Originally posted here:
Pennsylvania Couple Facing Paraphernalia Charges

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Hemp Headlines

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

1. 71-year-old busted for $1 million marijuana grow op, may face ten years
2. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallon says no way no how will there ever be a marijuana law reform on her watch
3. Ohio activists fail to qualify medical marijuana initiative for signature gathering
4. 13-year-old critically damages lungs smoking K2 out of a Pez dispenser
5. Vermont couple busted for paraphernalia sales in Pennsylvania

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• Greg “Peg Leg” Rosen live in studio performing “Pickle My Bones”

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• Eric Matuscek from Starbudz dispensary with an update on his prosecution

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1. Pennsylvania reintroduces senate bill for medical marijuana, includes home grow and dispensaries
2. Washington Gov. Gregoire threatening to partial veto dispensaries while keeping registry for patients included in SB 5073
3. California appeals court rules Starbucks doesn’t have to identify job applicants they may have discriminated against by asking about marijuana convictions

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• Groovin’ Thursday: JazzChronic – “Rollin’ Thick”

Southern California Scene with Hollywood Hemptress Tere Joyce

• Shilo Jinglefoot, author of “Ganja-licious: A Higher Level of Food”

Radical Rant

• So… smoking which of these plants is a dangerous criminal act?

Legislation to allow for the physician supervised use of marijuana has been re-introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Senate Bill 1003 would allow state-authorized patients to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The measures also seeks to allow for the state-licensed distribution and sale of medical marijuana by authorized ‘compassion centers.’ Nearly 80 percent of Pennsylvanians support the measure according to a 2010 Franklin & Marshall poll. SB 1003 has been referred to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, but has yet to be assigned a hearing.

Please contact your state senator and urge them to support SB 1003. For your convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to him or her when you enter your contact information below.

Thank you for supporting NORML’s marijuana law reform efforts in Pennsylvania. For more information, or to become involved in this campaign, please contact Philly NORML or Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana.

See the original post:
Legislation to Allow for Medical Use of Cannabis Reintroduced in Pennsylvania Senate

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1. Pennsylvania re-introduces medical marijuana bill
2. Montana’s “repeal lite” bill making its way to governor’s desk
3. Colorado dispensaries and manufacturers threatened by federal letter reminding them marijuana is still illegal

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Radical Rant

• Oklahoma bill to give life sentences for hash making would be a worse penalty than faced by a recent child-rapist.

(Philadelphia Weekly) Outside Room 404 of the Criminal Justice Center on 13th and Filbert streets, men sitting on the long, wooden bench in the blindingly white marble hallway slide over to make room for the latecomers. On one end of the bench, a man nods off. On the other, a few guys trade stories about the “bullshit” that landed them here. In the middle, laughter and a heated debate over the Eagles and Andy Reid’s coaching skills fill time as the men wait to enter Philly’s Small Amounts of Marijuana program, the diversion court started by District Attorney Seth Williams back in June.

Inside the courtroom, it’s time to get down to business. Offenders caught possessing 30 grams or less get to make a deal: Agree to pay a $200 fine and attend a three-hour treatment class and avoid going to trial and risking jail time. Since there’s no legal representation in the court, the director presiding over the process makes sure to state the rules clearly. “We will not hear testimony or the particulars of your case. Upon successful completion of this class, your record will be expunged within six months. You may pay cash or money order on the date of your class.” Most defendants nod their head in agreement and opt for the fine and treatment class.

“The diversion court is … working better for the people, as well as saving significant money for the city,” says Chris Goldstein, communications director for the Philly chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which was instrumental in getting the policy changed. “But I’d like to see us take on a serious debate about decriminalizing marijuana.” The end goal, says Goldstein, is for Philly to catch up to the rest of Pennsylvania. “It’s possible we will see the city come in line with the rest of the state, in terms of issuing tickets on the street.”

PhillyNORML did a great job crunching the numbers and remains one of our leading NORML Affiliates, setting the standard for effective activism in a major American city.  You can follow our coverage of PhillyNORML leading up to this story.

Dr. Harry Levine is also cited in the story.  He will be joining us on Tuesday’s NORML SHOW LIVE to discuss his research into Philadelphia’s racial disparities in marijuana law enforcement.  Another frequent guest of NORML SHOW LIVE, Maj. Neill Franklin of LEAP, is also quoted in the full piece in Philadelphia Weekly:

Many associated with law enforcement say the funding puts pressure on police departments to make the low-level marijuana arrests. “The police are sent to make arrests, clear corners … that will never end as long as they cater to the illegal drug market,” says former cop Neill Franklin.

During his 33 years on the Baltimore and Maryland state police narcotics forces, Franklin has seen the escalating war on weed first-hand, having locked up countless pot smokers, pot dealers and pot growers. Now, he’s fighting tooth and nail to keep legalization at the front of everyone’s minds. As the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (its tagline is “Cops say legalize drugs”), Franklin has penned dozens of editorials and appeared on countless talk shows calling for nothing less than strict, legalized pot regulation. He calls Philly’s diversion court is “modest reform,” and questions the rationale behind its creation. “If it makes no sense to charge, convict and sentence someone for using marijuana, why is it a police priority to arrest that person?”