CannaZine

Marijuana Martyr : The Story of Bernie Ellis

Áine MacDermot — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:20:11 +0000

Bear witness with me please to the end of what has been nothing less than a slow and torturous cannabis prohibition persecution, sorry, prosecution of a most decent fellow named Bernie Ellis. On his bucolic and much-loved Tennessee farm Mr. Ellis … Continue reading →

Mexico sees sense in war on drugs

Áine MacDermot — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:57:53 +0000

On 18 August Mexican security forces discovered the body of the mayor of Santiago “handcuffed and blindfolded” and dumped on the side of the road. Edelmiro Cavazos‘s death was the latest in a conflict that has claimed 28,000 lives over the past … Continue reading →

Did the Veterans Administration Unseat Marijuana From Schedule I?

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:33:35 +0000

To be a Schedule I drug, a substance must meet 3 qualifications: There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision, AND The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in … Continue reading →

In drug war, the beginning of the end?

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:16:46 +0000

Between 1971, when Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs, and 2008, the latest year for which official figures are available, American law enforcement officials made more than 40 million drug arrests. That number roughly equals the population of California, or … Continue reading →

Cannabinoids: The Marijuana Miracle Medicine

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:34:40 +0000

With protections for VA medical marijuana patients now secured by VHA DIRECTIVE 2010-035, some are wondering why the DEA continues to treat marijuana as a Schedule I drug. And what — if any — is the significance of the Directive in light of last year’s federal … Continue reading →

The 8 Most Absurd Excuses for Trying to Defeat Legal Pot

Áine MacDermot — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 05:02:22 +0000

As California gets set to vote on Prop 19 – an initiative to legalize marijuana statewide – some people’s minds are being completely blown, man. But it’s not the people smoking the stuff, it’s the people trying to keep it … Continue reading →

Used plastic + hemp = lumber

Áine MacDermot — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:15:05 +0000

A UNC Charlotte researcher with a passion for sustainability is creating a new building material out of recycled plastic bottles and an ancient grass. Dr. Na Lu, an assistant professor at UNCC’s Department of Engineering Technology, has created a material … Continue reading →

From the Family of Jack Herer: The Hemperor would Support Prop 19

Áine MacDermot — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:44:41 +0000

From the Family of Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes Van Nuys, California, August, 2010 Dear Friends of Hemp and Cannabis, Our father, Jack Herer, was a man of leadership, compassion and idealism. He worked relentlessly for decades … Continue reading →

Has the time come to legalize drugs?

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:53:05 +0000

BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMER, Miami Herald Legalization of drugs — long an issue championed mainly by fringe groups — is rapidly moving to the mainstream in Latin America. Last week’s surprise statement by former Mexican President Vicente Fox in support of … Continue reading →

Free Marc Emery, Political Prisoner in the U.S.

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:26:26 +0000

The FREE MARC campaign wants the Canadian government to repatriate Marc Emery from the US federal prison system so he can serve his sentence in his home country of Canada. Marc Emery is a political prisoner, imprisoned for activism and funding … Continue reading →

Mexico’s drug war

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:30:09 +0000

More than 28,000 people have died in Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s nearly four-year war against drug cartels. The government of Mexico says a majority of those killed were traffickers, dealers and their associates, including kingpins Arturo Beltran Leyva in 2009 and Ignacio … Continue reading →

California Cannabis Hemp & Health Initiative 2012

Áine MacDermot — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 07:34:48 +0000

Help California re-legalize hemp for industrial, medical, nutritional and personal use (for persons 21 or older). The first step is to place the initiative on the November 2012 ballot. This is important because the current proposed initiative (tax and regulate) … Continue reading →

Mexico rethinks drug strategy as death toll soars

Áine MacDermot — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 04:57:02 +0000

MEXICO CITY — The drug war in Mexico is at a crossroads. As the death toll climbs above 28,000, President Felipe Calderon confronts growing pressure to try a different strategy — perhaps radically different — to quell the violence unleashed by … Continue reading →

Mexico and drugs: Thinking the unthinkable

Áine MacDermot — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:27:28 +0000

THE nota roja, a section reporting the previous day’s murders and car crashes in all their bloodstained detail, is an established feature of Mexican newspapers. It is also an expanding one, as fighting over the drug trail to the United … Continue reading →

Sacrifice of the Innocents: Drugs, Money and Murder in Mexico

Áine MacDermot — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:42:28 +0000

In Roberto Bolano’s novel 2666, the women of the city of Santa Teresa are being brutally raped and relentlessly killed. The culprits are unknown, but a shadowy alliance of drug dealers, police officers and local government officials is never far from … Continue reading →

Marijuana Legalization in Mexico Gaining Support

Áine MacDermot — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:26:22 +0000

The idea of legalizing marijuana in Mexico has gained increasing favor, especially among a vocal group of academics, intellectuals and politicians. Wearing a pressed shirt and tie, banging away on his laptop, law professor Alejandro Madrazo Lajous doesn’t come across as … Continue reading →

Colorado: First legal challenge to HB 1284

Áine MacDermot — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:49:19 +0000

In the first challenge to a municipality’s House Bill 1284-given right to ban dispensaries within its jurisdiction, Westminster medical marijuana center Herbal Remedies is suing the city for shutting down it and other like-minded businesses. Herbal Remedies’ attorney Sean McAllister … Continue reading →

O’Shaughenessy’s: The Best Medical Marijuana Medical Journal

Áine MacDermot — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:08:56 +0000

This must be about the tenth year that this amazing publication has come out. I am lucky enough to have a copy of every edition. The writers are first in their classes starting with Dr. William O’Shaughnessy himself in 1838 … Continue reading →

Denver ordinance would limit number of pot plants grown in residential areas

Áine MacDermot — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:22:58 +0000

No Denver resident would be able to grow more than 12 medical-marijuana plants in their home under a proposed ordinance that won initial approval before the City Council on Monday night. The proposal, from Councilwoman Jeanne Robb, would place the … Continue reading →

Judge refuses to honor medical marijuana card

Áine MacDermot — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:14:43 +0000

WAILUKU – A judge said the court wouldn’t recognize a medical marijuana card for a man who was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service as part of five years’ probation in a drug case. Kaleo Roberson, 35, also … Continue reading →