Cannabis Fantastic

In Canada, the rules on who can grow medical cannabis are under attack as the federal government is expected to announce changes in the program. The Canadian Press has learned that the federal government is poised to tighten the rules concerning private growers of medical marijuana. Patients are now waiting for an announcement of the [Read on . . .]

Today, June 17th, marks the 40th birthday of the United States War on Drugs. Forty years ago, President Richard Nixon made the declaration that we were waging a war on drugs as part of the comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control act of 1970. In the last 40 years since Nixon’s declaration we have spent more than a trillion dollars, arrested millions of non-violent drug users, built thousands of jails to house the new criminals and all while not reducing drug use or the availability of illegal drugs. Countless family members have been incarcerated and even killed in the commission of fighting this war.

A Korean-American hip-hop artist who was born in South Korea but maintains a home in Atlanta, Georgia was sentenced by the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday for the charge of using marijuana while he was in the US. Crown J, whose real name is Kim Kye Hoon, currently spends most of his time in the US working on his music career.

All that will be put on hold as he will spend eight long months in a Korean prison, spend an additional two months on probation and will have to pay heavy fines along with doing 80 hours of community service after his release.

On the heels of the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s report that the global war on drugs has been a dismal failure, one group has taken a stance to support the current efforts. The impressive collections of past world leaders, a current leader and prominent global businessmen asked for nations to consider a better approach to drug abuse than prohibition early this week.

Catholic bishops of Mexico have come out against the request for leaders in Latin America to legalize the consumption of marijuana. They called the fight against drug abuse a global effort and talk of legalizing in some countries as harmful to those fighting hard to stem the epidemic.

The City of Sheddocksley, NorthField and Bridge of Don were the latest targets in a larger police plan of enforcing drug policies called Operation Maple. Several pubs volunteered to take part in the operation that allowed police officers staff the door to check patrons with a device that would swab their hands for drug residue.

Anyone who’s hand sweat tested positive for drugs was spoken to by the police and searched.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy, an international organization that monitors drug use, and drug laws world-wide has reviewed the current, “war on drugs” policies and issued a report. Not surprisingly, they have declared the global war on drugs a failure and is urging nations to consider legalizing many drugs, including cannabis, to undermine organized crime and protect citizens.

They call the failure devastating on individuals and societies around the world in their report that was available today. They say that “experimentation by governments with models of legal regulation of drugs” is a more humane and just way to deal with drug problems in societies at large.

Trying to keep a campaign promise to make drug sentencing more fair, the Obama administration issued a statement through US Attorney General Eric Holder to the US Sentencing Commission this week to amend its guidelines to reduce sentences for crack offenses.

The harsh prison sentences that are levied against crack defendants in comparison to other cocaine users has long been a source of contempt among defense lawyers and civil rights activists because the sentences disproportionately impact minorities.

A woman in Florida who was arrested for felony marijuana possession is suing for wrongful arrest. She might just have a case, she was charged with marijuana possession even though the bag they caught her with turned out to be Sage. 49 year old, Robin Brown says a Broward County Sheriff’s deputy caught her while she was bird watching back in March of 2009. He used his field kit on the herb she had in a bag, and said that in the field it tested positive for marijuana.