Hemp Facts: 2009

New Fed Guidelines ... Now What?

If you are reading this post, you are most likely aware that the Obama administration issued guidelines this week clearly stating that the federal government will not arrest medical marijuana patients or providers who comply with state law.

How can you help, you ask

For starters, you can help the Marijuana Policy Project build on this fantastic news by writing your members of Congress and asking them to make medical marijuana available nationwide. MPP has the form ready to go and its fast and easy to use.

Next, you can become more KNOWLEDGEABLE! Knowledge is power is not some cheap cliche! So please check out the links on this page and visit other sites to show your support.

Here is an excerpt from a great Wall Street Journal article that came out today.

"The guidelines do little to clarify the situation in California, where voters approved a medical-marijuana initiative in 1996 but rules vary widely by county. The regulations allow doctors to recommend pot for medical use and enable medical caregivers to provide pot, though not for a profit.

Since then, the state has largely left interpretation of the law to local agencies. As a result, the amount of medical marijuana a person may have -- and the ways in which the drug may be sold -- isn't consistent."

So look, listen, read and learn and stand up for your beliefs, after all, THEY CAN'T STOP US ALL!

Want to Commemorate 9/11? Legalize 4/20 for a Better World

But then, that's only a New Scientist's perspective, right?

Far from protecting us and our children, the war on drugs is making the world a much more dangerous place.

SO FAR this year, about 4000 people have died in Mexico's drugs war - a horrifying toll. If only a good fairy could wave a magic wand and make all illegal drugs disappear, the world would be a better place.

Dream on. Recreational drug use is as old as humanity, and has not been stopped by the most draconian laws. Given that drugs are here to stay, how do we limit the harm they do?

The evidence suggests most of the problems stem not from drugs themselves, but from the fact that they are illegal. The obvious answer, then, is to make them legal.

Read the rest of the article at New Scientist ...

Pot of confusion: Officials need to get a grip on medical pot law

Thanks to the ever courageous @dangillmor:

Colorado's medical marijuana law was passed NINE [FUCKING] YEARS AGO, but some municipalities are still grappling with it as if it's brand [FUCKING] new.

As of June 30, there were more than 8,900 patients with a medical marijuana registry card, which makes it legal for them to grow small amounts, buy marijuana from certain providers, and to use it to treat various diagnosed ailments.

More than 800 Colorado doctors have signed marijuana forms for their patients. For most patients, close to 90 percent, marijuana is used to relieve severe, debilitating pain.

So you'd think we'd have the hang of this.

But no.

You wonder where people suddenly contract Tourette Syndrome? Read the whole article here.

Marijuana Nation: The War is Simply Over

From Marijuana Nation:

New CBS News Poll Finding 41% Now Support Legalization. That's even more than in a CBS News poll in March when 31 percent said they were in favor of legalization in all cases with another seven percent saying they would favor legalization if marijuana were taxed and the money went to projects

The biggest shortcoming of this coverage is that it seeks to revive the War Narrative that has caused the vast majority of the damage to human lives in the first place. Let's move on. The war is simply over.

The puritans fought the weed and the weed won.

Read the Never-Before-Published Letter From LSD-Inventor Albert Hofmann to Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has never been shy about his use of psychedelics, famously calling his LSD experience "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life." So, toward the end of his life, LSD inventor Albert Hofmann decided to write to the iPhone creator to see if he'd be interested in putting some money where the tip of his tongue had been.

Be sure to also read the comments and chime in on Anthony Citrano's Friendfeed thread.

More Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Than Starbucks

From American Public Media's Marketplace Money:

"In some Los Angeles neighborhoods, there are more medical marijuana dispensaries than there are Starbucks or McDonald's. Most sell more varieties of weed than Baskin-Robbins has ice cream flavors."

Supreme Court of the United States Bitch-Slaps San Diego into Reality

Let's allow Google News 154+ Results for the query supreme court san diego medical marijuana do the talking.

And we're fecking MOVING HERE.

Can you say, "We Owe It To The People to go next door and blow our Legal Pain Relief from arthritis and Dupuytren's Disease right into the face of these deliverance backwater assholes?"

I knew you could.

Gizmodo - Taking the $670 Volcano Vaporizer for a Test Drive

The rich even have their own, paraphernalia, utterly inaccessible to the commoner. On the other hand, if volume of sales brings prices down to $99, what does that further say about The Almighty Market's opinion about retarded marijuana laws?

When it comes to smoking, you can settle for a pipe or rolling papers. Or you can drop $670 on a Volcano Vaporizer, the king of all paraphernalia. We took one for a test run.

Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?

By Alison Stateman / Los Angeles Friday, Mar. 13, 2009

"Could marijuana be the answer to the economic misery facing California? Democratic state assemblyman Tom Ammiano thinks so. Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale — a move that could mean billions of dollars for the cash-strapped state. Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion a year in sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion a year, according to the most recent USDA statistics."

"Ammiano may be right. A few days after he introduced the bill, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that states should be able to make their own rules for medical marijuana and that federal raids on pot dispensaries in California would cease. The move signaled a softening of the hard-line approach to medicinal pot use previous Administrations have taken. The nomination of Gil Kerlikowske as the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy may also signal a softer federal line on marijuana. If he is confirmed as the so-called drug czar, Kerlikowske will take with him experience as police chief of Seattle, where he made it clear that going after people for possessing marijuana was not a priority for his force."

Game, Set, Match: The Economist says LEGALIZE NOW

"Prohibition has failed; legalisation is the least bad solution." - The Economist, March 5, 2009:

The evidence of failure
"Nowadays the UN Office on Drugs and Crime no longer talks about a drug-free world. Its boast is that the drug market has “stabilised”, meaning that more than 200m people, or almost 5% of the world’s adult population, still take illegal drugs—roughly the same proportion as a decade ago. (Like most purported drug facts, this one is just an educated guess: evidential rigour is another casualty of illegality.) The production of cocaine and opium is probably about the same as it was a decade ago; that of cannabis is higher."

In sum, the Economist councils that, "By providing honest information about the health risks of different drugs, and pricing them accordingly, governments could steer consumers towards the least harmful ones. [The Economist] first argued for legalisation 20 years ago (see article). Reviewing the evidence again (see article), prohibition seems even more harmful, especially for the poor and weak of the world. Legalisation would not drive gangsters completely out of drugs; as with alcohol and cigarettes, there would be taxes to avoid and rules to subvert. Nor would it automatically cure failed states like Afghanistan. Our solution is a messy one; but a century of manifest failure argues for trying it."

San Francisco Cannabis Freedom Day, May 2, 2009

San Francisco Cannabis Freedom Day

Saturday, May 2, 2009, 12:00 noon
Joseph Alioto Civic Center Plaza - across from SF City Hall
Vendor reservations and volunteer sign ups or call 415.456.4313
Live music from 1 pm to 6:30 pm featuring: Nick Gravenites and Animal Mind,The Mermen, The Pyrx Band, Bluesetta Band, The Miles Schon Band, special guests
Speakers include Ed Rosenthal, Dr. Michael and Michelle Aldrich, Lynnette Shaw

View Larger Map

Are the raids completely over?

I want to believe it, but after nearly 40 years fighting this battle and a lifetime of lies from the powers that be, I'm still skeptical. It's great news, if it's really true this time. I'd like to see some previously convicted dispensary owners RELEASED to really validate this and make it real.

February 26, 2009 Huffington Post:

Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference Wednesday that the Justice Department will no longer raid medical marijuana clubs that are established legally under state law. His declaration is a fulfillment of a campaign promise by President Barack Obama, and marks a major shift from the previous administration.

After the inauguration, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continued to carry out such raids, despite Obama's promise. Holder was asked if those raids represented American policy going forward.

"No," he said. "What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing in law enforcement. He was my boss during the campaign. He is formally and technically and by law my boss now. What he said during the campaign is now American policy."

March 9, 2009 LA Times:

The federal switch on raiding medical marijuana dispensaries is a good first step, but a more comprehensive policy is needed.

More news research:

Google News
Yahoo News
CANorml Coverage

Fed Raids Could End Soon, California Revenue Would Benefit $1 Billion or More

Please send your representative this letter of support for California AB 390, right now.

Right Now on KQED: Mon, Mar 2, 2009 -- 9:00 AM

Legalizing Marijuana?
A California lawmaker last week introduced a bill to "tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol." Later in the week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that the Obama administration may end raids on pot dispensaries in California. Is this the beginning of a sea change in drug policy both in California and the nation?

Host: Michael Krasny

Guests:

Judge Jim Gray: PRO LEGALIZATION!
John Lovell, lobbyist for California Peace Officers' Association
Stephen Gutwillig, California state director of Drug Policy Alliance

Rasmussen, CBS, and Zogby polls all approach 50% PRO Legalization

According to three of the leading mainstream polling organizations, yes, Americans are Growing Kinder to Bud.

The political and statistical web site, FiveThirtyEight.com, which correctly forecasted the results of the last presidential election in 49 of 50 and home of Nate Silver, innovator of the PECOTA (Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm), has "compiled a database of every past poll I could find on this subject, including a series of Gallup polls and results from the General Social Survey, and could never before find more than 36 percent of the population (Gallup in October, 2005) stating a position in favor of legalization."

While somewhat sobering in terms of timeframes for complete Federal Legalization, the results are tremendously encouraging for HR5843 as near term positive step toward that eventuality. And yeah, you can thank your mom and dad, because it's WE who constitute the demographic tipping point over the past 40 years of activism:

The pro-legalization position may have some generational momentum as well. According to an AARP poll conducted several years ago, while just 8 percent of Americans aged 70 or older had ever tried pot, lifetime usage rates grow to 58 percent among 45-49 year olds.

As always, we invite you to obey the law as it is no matter how stupid, so that you can put all that righteous energy to work for The Revolution. We need your help, we can't take it the last ten yards over the goal line without you.

Nulle Bastardo Carborundum.

California Stepping Up Campaign to End Prohibition

Click to PUSH FOR ONE MILLION DIGGS on this important breakthrough! We're starting with less than 10,000; but with a goal and the POWER OF THE TWEEPLE ... Yes We Can! So crack open a new case of your favorite Energy Drink and go RT ballistic all day and all night! Let's make it happen!

California State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano will announce legislation on Monday to legalize marijuana and earn perhaps $1 billion annually by taxing it.

American Crop, American Revenue: End Prohibition Now

Cardoso, Gaviria, Zedillo Urge Obama to Decriminalize Marijuana

Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Former presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia said the U.S.-led war on drugs has failed and urged President Barack Obama to consider new policies, including decriminalizing marijuana, and to treat drug use as a public health problem.

Among the group’s proposals ahead of a special United Nations ministerial meeting in Vienna to evaluate global drug policy is a call to decriminalize the possession of cannabis for personal use.

“We need to break the taboo that’s blocking an honest debate,” Cardoso said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro to present the report. “Numerous scientific studies show that the damage caused by marijuana is similar to that of alcohol or tobacco.”

Read the entire article and pass it on!

Do not let the media bury HR5843 legislation!

How can this be possible? Click the search link and you'll find NOT ONE SINGLE NEWS STORY in all of Google News about HR5843.

Really???

How can that be possible. Yes, there are new items about "decriminalize marijuana" but why do NONE OF THEM reference the Current Active Legislation that can and will End Prohibition THIS YEAR, if we demand it?

And why wasn't this $10 Billion per year REVENUE included in the Economic Stimulus bill? Why do our elected officials continue to throw that money away? Worse, they are giving it away to criminals, instead of putting the money to use educating the public and treating those with addictive personalities or genetics?

Don't let the mainstream media get away with this cheap trick of keeping the public in the dark. Link to, or repost this blog post everywhere you possibly can.

What Michael Phelps Should have Said

From The Agitator:

Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll apologize for smoking pot when every politician who ever did drugs and then voted to uphold or strengthen the drug laws marches his ass off to the nearest federal prison to serve out the sentence he wants to impose on everyone else for committing the same crimes he committed. I’ll apologize when the sons, daughters, and nephews of powerful politicians who get caught possessing or dealing drugs in the frat house or prep school get the same treatment as the no-name, probably black kid caught on the corner or the front stoop doing the same thing.

READ THE WHOLE LETTER, IT'S *WAY* WORTH THE 4-5 MINS!

Facebook and CurrentTV Communities Enjoin Kellogg's Boycott

In support of HR 5843 IH, Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults (Introduced in House), Marijuana Reform Activists of all ages, professions, and personal histories have enjoined a Global Boycott of Kellogg's Brands as an overwhelming tide of support the the decriminalization of hemp in the U.S. Join this viral movement for meaningful social progress and help spread the word by any or all of the following:

Join the Friends of Phelps Facebook group, right now.
Join and Support NORML for the long haul.
Support the community of Current TV viewers and spread the word.
See Seth's "Really?" SNL segment on Hulu.
Follow @HR5843 on Twitter for up to the minute legislative alerts and updates

Friendfeed Fires up a Big Phatty for Phelps

Join the great debate in response to GeekAndaHalf's:

Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. says it will not renew its sponsorhip contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because he has acknowledged smoking marijuana last fall. The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior — caught on camera and published Sunday — is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg.

Hypocrisy of Olympic Proportion

John V. Santore, campaign organizer, and former congressional speechwriter writes:

While marijuana laws have changed over time, and while past administrations have attempted to show that the situation isn't as dire as it appears to be, drug policy in the United States is immensely hypocritical and destructive. Today, public figures justify past drug use as "youthful indiscretions" and the matter is dropped. But huge numbers of ordinary Americans are introduced to the jail system because of minor drug offenses, and as the records show, the overwhelmingly disproportionate nature of drug arrests creates a justified perception of injustice and both economic and racial bias.

Will Michael Phelps have to go to court for his actions? No. (Nor should he have to.) Will any law enforcement jurisdiction in America conduct a systematic raid of a college dorm at a prominent university with the goal of arresting everyone in possession of marijuana? Of course not. If such an action was taken on a broad scale, the arrests would likely be in the thousands. At the same time, will poor Americans, overwhelmingly minority in ethnicity, continue to be arrested by local police for the possession of small amounts of pot? Absolutely.

Now Is The Time To Decriminalize Weed

From CNBC's Cliff Mason:

The war on drugs does two things: it makes the business of drugs more profitable and more violent, and it sends lots and lots of people to prison.

Wouldn't it be better if we could bring this business out into the open, slap some taxes on it, and keep people from shooting each other? Of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in this country, more than half are in prison for drug-related offenses. That's unconscionable, and I believe future generations will see this fact, more than the pseudo-legalization of torture under the Bush Administration, as the great moral failing of our time. As the late, great Milton Friedman, an opponent of the War on Drugs from the very beginning when Nixon initiated hostilities, put it, "there is no light at the end of that tunnel. How many of our citizens do we want to turn into criminals before we yell "enough?"

No one believes that illegal drugs are anything but harmful, but Americans, or at least our leaders, use that fact to stop any discussion of a rational policy to deal with the problem.

We've tried [war] for over 30 years, and the only thing the policy succeeds at is ruining lives. What kills me is that nobody seems to care, not about the human cost, or even about the financial cost.

Marijuana, Inc: The Business Boom Ahead

Finally! With both Wall St. and Congress (HR5843) getting a clue, the end of prohibition could indeed be very close!

While it may not be traded on Wall Street any time soon, marijuana has become a booming cash crop. CNBC's Trish Regan goes behind the scenes to explore the inner workings of this secretive industry, focusing on Northern California's "Emerald Triangle," now the marijuana capital of the U.S. In this scenic pocket of America, the pot business, much of it legal under state law, now makes up as much as two-thirds of the local economy.

CNBC Poll

Add your vote now!

Are Marijuana Stocks Getting High?

The Trading Goddess blog thinks maybe so.

U.S. industrial hemp development continues

Biomass Magazine:

While a number of states allow hemp research, North Dakota was the only one to allow hemp cultivation until Vermont granted permission earlier this year.

Hemp pellets have a heat content similar to wood pellets at 7,247 British thermal units per pound with a 19 percent ash content.

In 2007, a Canadian prototype biomass research facility, ViFam Pro Services of Kirkland, Quebec, test[ed] hemp leaf biomass for heating pellets which were then analyzed at the Twin Ports Testing Labs in Superior, Wis. This past year, the tests were repeated using hemp biomass, stalk and leaf.

The pellet made from just hemp stalk had a higher energy content and lower ash content at 7,890 Btu per pound and nine percent ash content.

[F]igures from Canada show straw yields of 6 tons per hectare (2.47 acres) and 1.5 tons of fiber, in addition to 200 liters (50 gallons) of oil pressed from the seed.