Marijuana News

February Freebies from TH Seeds: Mkage and Kushage

2012-01-31T13:10:16Z

This month we've got together with TH Seeds to give you a very special offer. For the month of February, we are giving away the brand new strain Mkage, which is the result of crossing the mind-altering MK-Ultra with the infamous S.A.G.E.

To go with it, we've got the very popular Kushage, a seed that produces bigger yields and more elegant plants than OG Kush with the falvour of S.A.G.E. and a crystal clear high.

Don't forget to check out all the other new marijuana seeds that we've added to the site recently!

Please note, this offer is while stocks last. In the even that we run out we will send similar replacements instead.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

January free seeds from CH9 Seeds

2012-01-04T11:55:38Z

Happy New Year to all our loyal customers, both old and new. All of us here at The Single Seed Centre hope you have a prosperous 2012 ahead!

To celebrate the new year, we have got together with CH9 Seeds to bring you this month's two free marijuana seeds:

Don't forget to check out the rest of the range from CH9 Seeds as well!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free Eva Female Seeds this month!

2011-12-01T09:49:09Z

It's December 1 and time to welcome a new seed bank to our monthly giveaway of free feminized seeds! Eva Female Seeds was created to give the amateur and experienced collector alike the opportunity to obtain unique varieties of marijuana seeds with exquisite aromas and remarkable powers. Varieties selected for flavour, yield and quality. In short, perfect for any collector.

The two free seeds for this month from Eva Seeds are:

Monster - A cross between a South American hybrid and a G13.
Pink Plant - A cross between Eva's most powerful sativa, High Level, and TNT Kush.

Be sure to also check out the rest of the Eva Seeds range as well!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Delicious free seeds for November!

2011-11-01T15:20:40Z

This month we welcome back Delicious Seeds to our monthly offers. We have teamed up to give away two top selling strains from the Delicious range for the whole of November.

The seeds for this month are:

Northern Light Blue
La Diva Automatic

Read more about the strains on the product pages, and don't forget to check out the rest of Delicious Seeds on the category page.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Two free seeds worth around $25 USD, from World Of Seeds!

2011-10-03T11:07:20Z

For October we are delighted to announce we've once again teamed up with the fine folks at World Of Seeds to offer two of their globally-renowned strains entirely free of charge with all orders of £20 GBP and above! They are Pakistan Ryder and Yumbolt 47 - both super popular, in-demand seeds with an international reputation. One of each will go out with all orders of £20 GBP (i.e. around $30 USD) for the rest of the month.

So if you'd like to get your hands on these free, complimentary gifts, just place an order today!

The Single Seed Centre

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Welcoming Samsara Seeds... with 2 free seeds!

2011-09-01T16:09:38Z

We recently added Samsara Seeds to our already extensive marijuana seeds selection, and are celebrating this by giving away two of them free for the whole month of September!

This month's offerings are the following two strains:

Holy Grail 69
As a result of our breeder´s fantasy, we present you a cross of our Punky Lion with pure Haze phenotype. The plant is slightly higher and hardly has leaves to shape. It spreads all over a fresh, tropical piña colada fragrance that would amaze even the most experts and sybarites of the world of cannabis.
Thunder Bloody Mary Automatic
The best properties of an excellent Mazar mother are cultivated in this variety with autoflowering pattern. This plant has even shorter growth period thanks to its rebred between Mazar and White Dwarf. Thunder Bloody Mary is an example how surprisingly nature can be.

Don't forget to check out the other strains from Samsara Seeds by clicking here!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

2x Dinafem free seeds for the rest of August!

2011-08-16T18:26:28Z

Our 7 Dwarfs Seeds promotion, whilst very popular, has sadly come to end. However, as promised, we've got another promotion to finish the month off!

We've got together with Dinafem to give you two new strains if you order from now until the end of August:

Remember, this promotion is only for the rest of the month, so if you want to get your hands on these marijuana seeds, then get your order in quick!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free 7 Dwarfs Seeds LIMITED PROMOTION!

2011-08-04T12:28:08Z

We have a very special offer this month courtesy of our friends at 7 Dwarfs Seeds. We've teamed up to offer you all two free seeds from their range of seven autoflowering seeds.

Everyone will get two free marijuana seeds chosen at random from the list below (like a lucky dip!):

If you're on our mailing list, you will have already heard about the promotion - remember, mailing list subscribers are always the first to know about our latest specials and deals. If you aren't on the list then just tick the box on your next order, or sign up at the top of the page.

PLEASE NOTE: This promotion is for a limited time only and will end in two weeks. However, we will be running an ADDITIONAL PROMOTION to finish the month off.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

July's Free Seeds - DNA's ROCKLOCK and CONFIDENTIAL CHEESE!

2011-07-04T11:58:41Z

Greetings and salutations! We are delighted to let you all know that this month's free seeds come from the world-renowned crew at DNA Genetics in the form of their ROCKLOCK and CONFIDENTIAL CHEESE (yes, we know CONFIDENTIAL CHEESE is on DNA's Reserva Privada imprint, before you start sniggering at the back!). These seeds are feminized, with a retail value of £17.66 GBP - that's just under $30 USD! As always, one of each will go out with all orders of £20 GBP or more for the remainder of the month, or while stocks last.

And of course, if you're on our mailing list, you were already told all this via e-mail on Friday afternoon.....if you'd like to be added and be ahead of the crowd, then just tick the box at the checkout when placing an order, or alternatively drop us a line at mail@thesingleseedcentre.com, and we'll add you manually.

All the best!

The Single Seed Centre

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

New free seeds - an old favourite and new classic from Green House!

2011-06-02T11:04:40Z

Hello all,

This month's free seeds come to us from the Green House Seed Company, in the form of one of 2011's hottest strains - Ladyburn 1974 - and one of our long-standing best-sellers - Lemon Skunk. These are feminised seeds, and are sent with all orders of £20 GBP and above, including shipping!

The Green House Seed Company are the world's biggest breeder, and we are delighted to have two of their top strains to give away, free, for the remainder of June (or until stocks run out).

If you'd like to be among the first to hear of our latest offers and promotions then be sure to leave the appropriate box checked when placing your order to get yourself added to the mailing list. Alternatively just drop us an e-mail at mail@thesingleseedcentre.com , and we'll do it for you! Customers on the mailing list were notified of the new free seed giveaway yesterday. Of course, rest assured we take our customers privacy very seriously, and would never, under any circumstances, share your e-mail address with any third party.

Cheers!

The Single Seed Centre.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free KANNABIA seeds this May!

2011-05-09T12:04:44Z

Apologies to all for the slight delay in announcing these, the person who normally updates this section of the website is away on holiday and neglected to explain to anyone else that it needed to be done! Of course if you are a subscriber to our mailing list you'll already be ahead of the pack.

This month's free seeds are BCN Diesel Automatic and Big Band, both coming to us from the Kannabia seedbank. Kannabia are one of the true pioneers of the industry and we are delighted to be offering these two free strains entirely free of charge for all orders totalling £20 GBP and above.

Get stuck in!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free TH Seeds - Amsterdam's Finest!

2011-03-31T10:47:50Z

This month we've teamed up with Amsterdam's finest, TH Seeds, for our free feminized seeds.

Focusing on quality and always keeping the grower in mind, TH Seeds aims to improve and create new genetics while sticking to a simple philosophy: protect genetics and serve mankind.

So, without further ado, here's this month's freebies:

Burmese Kush - Or as we like to call it: BuKu! A quick flowering OG Kush! hybrid (7 weeks), that has that signature OG Kush! flavor and strength. The flavor of the BuKu! has a distinct citric edge that everyone enjoys.

Sage 'n' Sour - Bringing some West Coast haze flavor to an East Coast legend. SAGE has been TH Seeds #1 plant for 15 years and we are sure that Sage 'n' Sour will be one of yours.

Enjoy!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free Exodus Cheese and Auto Big Bang!

2011-03-07T18:52:12Z

This month we're celebrating the recent launch of 10 new strains of marijuana seeds from Green House Seeds, by giving you all 2 of them to try!

And they are none other than...

Exodus Cheese
Automatic Big Bang

The other new strains are:

Diamond Girl
Pure Kush
Super Bud
Kalashnikova
Moby Dick
Ladyburn 1974
Super Critical
Super Critical Automatic

Click here to view the full mail shot.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free Eva Female Seeds!

2011-02-09T16:00:19Z

This month we are proud to announce that we've team up with Eva Female Seeds for the two free feminized seeds.

The Spanish breeder produces a superb range of feminized strains, all unique varieties with exquisite aromas and remarkable powers. Varieties are selected for flavour, yield and quality. In short, they are perfect for any collector.

The two strains we are giving away for the rest of the month are:

To view the full mailshot, click here.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Delicious Free Seeds!

2011-01-07T13:07:55Z

Happy New Year!

To wish you all a very happy 2011, we've got together with Delicious Seeds to bring you this very special offer. We are giving away two of their finest marijuana seeds with every order placed this month.

The two seeds are:

As always, both of them are feminized seeds. Make sure you start 2011 with a smile on your face!

To view the mailshot, click here.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Tees the season! Last minute Christmas gifts

2010-12-14T09:54:31Z

We'd like to introduce our fantastic range of original t-shirts just in time for Christmas. If you're stuck for a last minute gift idea or want to wow your friends, check out the coolest tees around... but hurry they're selling fast!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

World of FREE Seeds!

2010-11-30T16:53:26Z

This month we've teamed up with our wonderful friends at World of Seeds to give you an early Christmas stocking filler!

We've secured a secret stash of Afghan Kush seeds and are offering two free seeds worth over $30 with every* order.

» Afghan Kush Special

» Afghan Kush Ryder

To view the mail shot, click here.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Virginia Should Legalize Pot

2010-11-29T12:56:15Z

Virginia is one of 18 states where the government operates a monopoly on the distribution and sale of hard liquor. Virginia’s Alcohol Beverage Control stores are a holdover from alcohol prohibition. Lasting from 1920 to 1933, alcohol prohibition was repealed when it became clear that prohibition was financing organized crime while failing miserably at preventing alcohol use.

Making the case for ABC privatization, Gov. Bob McDonnell has argued that selling alcohol is not a core government responsibility. Neither is criminalizing people who use marijuana.

State alcohol sales generate state revenue. Virginia brings in $324 million a year from alcohol sales. Marijuana prohibition, on the other hand, squanders tax dollars and creates opportunity costs as police focus efforts on nonviolent consensual vices. Virginia police made 19,764 arrests for marijuana offenses in 2009. Six percent of all Virginia arrests are for marijuana offenses. Police time spent busting marijuana consumers is time not spent going after child molesters, rapists and murderers.

Virginia legislators will soon get a chance to end this misuse of police resources. In the upcoming 2011 General Assembly session, Del. Harvey Morgan, R-Gloucester, has proposed a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession. HB 1443 would replace criminal penalties for simple possession with a civil fine of $500. The bill does not reduce penalties for cultivation or distribution. Courts would still have the option of mandating substance abuse treatment for at-risk youth.

In the face of continued budget woes, Virginia legislators need to ask themselves a simple question. Which is the bigger priority? Locking up nonviolent marijuana offenders or saving the jobs of police officers, firefighters and teachers? The cost of incarcerating three marijuana offenders for a year more than covers the salary of a police officer, firefighter or teacher. Morgan’s bill would save on criminal justice costs and generate millions in new revenue.

Morgan is no dope-smoking hippy; in fact, he is ideally suited to push the envelope on this once-controversial but increasingly mainstream issue. Morgan is a Republican member of the General Assembly and, more important, an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical school. His bill is grounded in legitimate clinical expertise and fiscal conservatism.

Marijuana decriminalization admittedly faces an uphill battle in Virginia. Big government culture warriors will no doubt oppose HB 1443. Make no mistake, marijuana prohibition is a cultural inquisition, not a public health campaign. If health outcomes instead of cultural norms determined drug laws, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco.

Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but criminal records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. Studies show that states that have decriminalized marijuana do not have higher rates of use than states that criminalize users. The U.S. has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available.

This is the type of abject government failure that should outrage proponents of limited government. Tax dollars are being wasted on a failed government program. Public safety resources are being diverted to further a punitive nanny state built upon a hypocritical version of morality.

The ideological arguments being used to make the case for Alcohol Beverage Control privatization apply to marijuana law reform. Criminalizing citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis is not an appropriate role for government.

Fiscally conservative Republicans and tea partiers who truly believe in liberty and limited government will support marijuana decriminalization.

Democrats who privately support marijuana law reform but fear the soft-on-drugs label need to get smart-on-drugs and get behind HB 1443. They’ve got a conservative Republican leading the way for them.

Bottom line, Virginia can no longer afford to subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors.

http://www.roanoke.com/

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Illinois House Scheduled To Vote On Medical Cannabis Bill Tuesday

2010-11-29T12:55:47Z

While medical cannabis legislation is looking very unlikely in the new Wisconsin legislative session beginning in January 2011, Illinois medical cannabis activists are reporting that Senate Bill 1381, Medical Cannabis has been put on the calendar for a debate and vote on the full bill Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

The Illinois House had previously adopted several Amendments earlier in November. If the full House passes the bill, it will need to return to the Senate for a vote on the revised bill with the House amendments. However, a Nov. 14 article in The Southern Illinoisan a Carbondale IL media source, "Local legislators say medical marijuana unlikely to be legalized" rated chances of success low.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has said he would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk. The State of Illinois webpage for SB1381 is here. The text of the bill can be found here. For information on how Illinois residents can get involved, go here.

http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-madison/illinois-house-scheduled-to-vote-on-medical-cannabis-bill-tuesday

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Northern California Cities Bring Pot Growing Into The Light To Reap Taxes

2010-11-24T12:07:37Z

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - As numerous cities get set to levy voter-approved taxes on medical marijuana retailers, some municipalities in Northern California are already moving aggressively toward creating government-sanctioned marijuana farms to help supply them.

Cities hope to rake in even more tax revenue from medical marijuana cultivation, which has remained in the shadows although it has been legal in the state since 1996.

On Monday, Oakland will begin the application process for four permits to run industrial-scale marijuana farms within city limits.

In Berkeley, a successful ballot measure to allow medical pot cultivation in industrial zones has would-be growers scrambling to score scarce real estate.

Farther north, the Sonoma County wine country town of Sebastopol passed an ordinance Tuesday allowing for the creation of two large gardens for medical marijuana dispensaries, and two more "collective" gardens where patients could grow their own.

In Eureka, the Humboldt County seat, a committee is taking applications for four medical marijuana cultivation and processing permits to serve as-yet-unopened dispensaries in the city.

All this is taking place even though the state's medical marijuana laws require any businesses in the medical marijuana trade to operate as nonprofits — and even though the amount of marijuana the cities are authorizing growers to cultivate could net a typical drug trafficker decades in federal prison.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not return messages seeking comment on how the agency might respond if the city-approved operations actually started growing pot.

Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, who co-sponsored that city's cultivation ordinance, said the DEA had contacted her office but only to request copies of the regulations and background materials. She said the agency advised her that they were conducting research into the ways various cities were handling medical marijuana regulation.

"I think that's a very hopeful sign," Kaplan said.

California voters earlier this month rejected a ballot proposition that would have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but the already thriving medical marijuana industry shows few signs of decline.

The state's loose standards for medical marijuana use allow Californians to easily obtain a doctor's recommendation for the drug. Yet the law provides little guidance for how patients or their caregivers can legally cultivate the drug, which has forced growers underground.

Oakland officials hoped to bring pot growing into the light and curtail the environmental damage, fire danger and crime associated with covert grow houses.

The City Council over the summer authorized four permits for large-scale growing. The permits would not set limits on the amount of pot that could be grown, but growers would have to implement environmental protections, security, labor standards, transparent finances and inventory tracking.

Permit holders would have to pay an annual $211,000 fee as well as a special higher tax rate levied on marijuana businesses by the city.

About 300 individuals and groups have expressed interest in obtaining cultivation or dispensary permits, city records show.

First on that list is Debby Goldsberry, a longtime fixture on the Northern California medical marijuana scene and a founder of Berkeley Patients Group, a pot dispensary in operation for more than 10 years.

Goldsberry said that two-thirds of her dispensary's patients live in Oakland, indicating a a need for more medical marijuana outlets.

"As an Oakland resident, I'm very interested in expanding any industry that can help our city," Goldsberry said.

Goldsberry also campaigned for Berkeley's Measure T, which authorizes up to six 30,000-square-foot growing facilities in the city.

Also on Oakland's list is a Boston-based company called Pharmasphere Systems. Chief executive David Darlington says the company is not interested in obtaining a permit for itself but in partnering with a grower who would use Pharmasphere's indoor growing technology.

Right now, the only plant Pharmasphere grows is Madagascar periwinkle, which contains compounds used in chemotherapy to treat some kinds of cancer. But Darlington says the business opportunity presented by medical marijuana outweighs any stigma that might be attached to being associated with pot.

"We clearly think that the risk is manageable and that the market is potentially so large that you can't ignore it," he said.

How large? An economic analysis prepared for a nonprofit seeking one of the Oakland cultivation permits found that a 100,000 square-foot growing facility could generate up to $71 million in annual sales.

Under the city's newly approved special 5 percent tax on medical marijuana businesses, sales from just that one facility would result in more than $3.5 million in additional tax revenue.

The report also estimates that the operation would create more than 370 jobs with an average annual salary of nearly $54,000.

Growers anticipate such high returns that one developer says he has received serious inquiries from about a half-dozen would-be growers for what could be Berkeley's most coveted pot-growing real estate — a defunct ink factor being offered for $2.5 million.

The 1.5 acre site includes a 37,000-square-foot building with high ceilings ideal for growing marijuana and thick concrete walls that make the facility easier to secure.

James Madsen of Orton Development, who is coordinating the sale, said potential buyers have established businesses and appear serious about delving into the science of cultivating marijuana as a medical treatment.

"For us, it wasn't an industry we sought out. It sought us out," Madsen said.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9JKLEIG3

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

OG Kush marijuana seeds - limited stock!

2010-11-19T12:31:25Z

We have had a limited amount of OG Kush seeds in from Reserva Privada. This is an extremely popular strain, and we have to stress that the stock is very limited!

Another returning strain from Reserva Privada is Purple Wreck (in regular) and we've also just got some new stock of Rocklock from DNA Genetics.

Enjoy!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Arizona Passes Medical Marijuana Law

2010-11-17T11:06:30Z

Proposition 203 legalizing medical marijuana in the state of Arizona has passed by a slim margin. However, the law is one of the most restrictive in the nation.

Election officials determined the Arizona medical marijuana “MMJ” law passed by the slimmest of margins, 4,341 votes out of approximately 1.6 million votes cast. After certification, the law requires the state to accept applications for medical marijuana MMJ clinics within 120 days.

However, the law is very restrictive. Pharmacies get first crack at the licenses. There can only be one non-profit clinic per ten licensed pharmacies. At least one non-profit clinic can be opened in each county no matter whether pharmacies elect to sell MMJ. That makes the first non-profit license issued in Phoenix very valuable.

A pharmacy license is expensive to obtain. Hence, many pharmacies will likely decline the opportunity to sell MMJ. Part of the problem is they must grow what they sell, placing the pharmacy in a new industry. Even though MMJ is legal under state laws, it remains illegal under federal laws. That could place a pharmacy in violation of federal laws, thus putting its license at risk.

Under Proposition 203, Arizona requires patients obtain a prescription from a licensed doctor, another problem. Doctors are often reticent to prescribe MMJ for fear of disciplinary action because MMJ is not on a list of FDA approved medications. Other states only require a recommendation, not a prescription.

Arizona law enforcement must respect the law. However, they likely will insist on strict adherence. A person who falls outside of the statutes, even by accident, is subject to severe criminal penalties including years in prison.

Meanwhile, persons who are sick with cancer, AIDS and some other ailments say MMJ gives them relief they are unable to find with traditional medication. They anxiously await for the clinics to open.

http://technorati.com/business/small-business/article/arizona-passes-medical-marijuana-law/

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Cannabis? No one cares anymore, says Arnie

2010-11-10T15:15:28Z

Arnold Schwarzenegger has caused outrage by claiming that “no one cares” about whether anyone smokes cannabis.

The California governor used a chat show appearance to defend his new state legislation that makes the punishment for possessing marijuana the equivalent of getting a traffic ticket.

To cheers from the studio audience, he told host Jay Leno: “No one cares if you smoke a joint or not.”

Under his legislation, being caught with up to an ounce of cannabis carries a penalty of no more than a R600 fine, with no arrest or criminal record.

Schwarzenegger claimed that the resources needed to enforce tougher laws on cannabis were not viable in the current economic climate.

The muscle-bound movie star was himself filmed puffing on a marijuana joint 33 years ago in a bodybuilding documentary.

And with only a couple of months left in office, he clearly feels free to speak his mind on what has become a contentious topic in California.

Randy Thomasson, president of the family values group SaveCalifornia, attacked the governor’s “virtual legalisation of marijuana”.

He argued it “definitely sends the wrong message to teenagers and young adults”.

“It invites youth to become addicted to mind-altering pot because there’s not much hassle and no public stigma and no rehab if they’re caught,” he said.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/back-page/cannabis-no-one-cares-anymore-says-arnie-1.731837

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

New feedback section

2010-11-09T15:24:38Z

We get asked all the time but customers where they can leave us their comments and praise, so we have finally gotten around to setting up a page just for this.

The only we've got, is that the page is currently empty!

So if you want to leave us a comment, message, suggestion, or just say hi, then click here to visit the feedback page now.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Prop 19 burned by California voters

2010-11-03T10:34:03Z

Hopes for recreational marijuana use went up in smoke on Tuesday after California voters said no to a ballot measure seeking the legalization of marijuana. The measure was defeated by 54 percent of voters with 80 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday.

Opponents feared passage of the measure, which would have allowed local governments to regulate and tax marijuana use, would have led to a growing problem with enforcement. While California voters approved medical marijuana use in 1996, this year’s proposition would have further strained the federal government’s enforcement efforts, which the U.S. attorney general vowed to uphold.

In a debate sponsored by Stanford NAACP on campus on Monday night, proponents of “No on 19” and “Yes on 19” debated the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana.

“The main argument is principle,” said Zaki Manian, regional director for the “Yes on 19” initiative. “And the main principle is the idea of limited government.”

Arguing that governments shouldn’t have jurisdiction over personal life choices, Manian emphasized the “basic American ideal of liberty.”

“What is the government even protecting us from?” Manian said. “It seems that they’re protecting us from a relatively innocuous drug. They’re getting a lot of power over our lives without showing that there’s real benefit to us.”

Manian said marijuana wasn’t necessarily harmful.

“Alcohol is probably the most lethal intoxicant when done in combination with motor vehicles,” Manian said. “Very few substances affect your brain in this lethal combination. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to drive while stoned, but most scientific studies have shown that people under the influence of marijuana are not nearly as dangerous as people under the influence of alcohol.”

Manian argued that too many resources were wasted on marijuana offenders who “probably needed the drug to get through the day.”

“Legalizing it would make it a controllable substance,” he said.

Daniel Khalessi ‘13 spoke in opposition to the proposition on the two-person panel. Agreeing on the “relatively innocuous effects of marijuana,” he instead emphasized the conflict it would present with the federal government.

Comparing marijuana legalization and the controversial Arizona immigration law, SB 1070, as parallel movements, Khalessi looked at the struggle between state and national power.

“Voting ‘yes’ on Prop. 19 would strengthen the people supporting the Arizona immigration law,” Khalessi said. “It undermines the authority of the attorney general.”

“It would essentially show that Arizona’s laws would be fine,” he added.

But it’s important to realize that the challenge to federal authority that gay marriages present is distinct from the Arizona immigration and marijuana legalization struggles, Khalessi said.

“The difference between gay marriages and Arizona and Prop. 19 is that with Prop. 8, you don’t get prosecuted for it,” he said. “It’s an unalienable right that you have or don’t have. People who do marijuana or get caught in the immigration laws can be thrown in jail, deported and be actually punished for it. But, you can’t be punished for marrying someone of the same sex. You just can’t do it.”

Even after the proposition’s failure to pass, “Yes on 19” proponents plan to contend the issue further.

“The movement doesn’t end here,” Manian said.

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/11/03/prop-19-burned-by-california-voters/

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

No Tricks! Just Treats!

2010-10-30T01:22:41Z

Celebrate Halloween with us with extra free seeds!

Click here to view the mailshot.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Will South Dakota Voters Pass Medical Marijuana?

2010-10-20T11:16:16Z

South Dakota medical marijuana patients and advocates are hoping that in two weeks the Mt. Rushmore state will become the 15th medical marijuana state. They came close in 2006, losing by only four percentage points, but think they can get over the top this time around.

After that 2006 defeat, activists went back to the drawing board, eventually crafting a tightly-drawn medical marijuana initiative designed to win over a skeptical and conservative prairie electorate. The result, the South Dakota Safe Access Act, known on the ballot as Measure 13, would make the South Dakota medical marijuana law among the most restrictive in the nation.

The initiative limits medical marijuana access to patients with a list of specified illnesses and conditions. It requires that patients be in a "bona fide relationship" with the recommending physician and provides for a state registry and ID card system.

Patients are limited to an ounce of marijuana and six plants. They can designate one caregiver each, and each caregiver can grow for no more than five patients. Caregivers can be remunerated for costs, but cannot make profits. There is no provision for a dispensary system.

"This initiative addresses the concerns of people in South Dakota about people who just want to use it recreationally," said Tony Ryan, a former Denver police officer who is now a spokesman for the South Dakota Coalition for Compassion, the group behind the measure. "They won't be able to get it. People were worried it would get into the wrong hands, so it is really restrictive, but it will get the medicine to the patients who need it and keep them from getting arrested or going to the black market."

"I have a really good feeling about this," said Rep. Martha Vanderlinde (D-Sioux Falls), who sponsored a 2008 medical marijuana bill in the state legislature. "I think most of the people already have their minds made up. The more people I talk to, they say why not, if it's going to reduce the pain and suffering."

Vanderlinde, who is running for reelection, has been talking to a lot of people. She said she had knocked on 2,500 doors during the election campaign, and while she didn't always bring up the initiative, many of her constituents did.

"Just today, this little old lady leaned over and whispered 'How are you voting on 13?' and I told I had already voted for it, and she said 'Good,'" Vanderlinde said. "When people ask me, I tell them how I voted and that my father voted for it, too. People told me this was political suicide at the legislature, but my constituents don't think so," said the registered nurse.

Bob Newland has been South Dakota's one man marijuana movement for years, playing a leading if behind the scenes role, in the 2006 effort. After a pot bust near Rapid City last year, he was silenced for a year in an unusual sentence from a local judge, but now he's back, and he's cautiously optimistic.

"Everything I see tells me we're going to win," said Newland. "I was very optimistic in 2006, and we had reason to be. We got 47.3%. All of those people will vote for us, so we got a hell of a start before we even got this on the ballot."

Four years have made a difference, said Newland. "The national raising of consciousness and people's realization that, yes, this is of benefit to some people and it makes no sense to punish them have increased support," he said.

And last time around, the Office of National Drug Control Policy under Republican drug czar John Walters sent representatives to South Dakota to hold press conferences with local law enforcement opposing medical marijuana. This time, there is no sign the drug czar's office will intervene in the state ballot measure contest. Newland kind of misses the drug warrior types.

"I hope they come," he said. "Everything they say sounds stupid now, and we have a president and an attorney general who said they would quit arresting people in medical states."

Indeed, it has been a low-key, low-budget affair on both sides of the issue. The organized opposition, Vote No on 13, has an amateurish web site themed around "Compassion Shouldn't Mean Addiction," and no apparent advertising budget. Its lead spokesman, Vermillion Police Chief Art Mabry, head of the South Dakota Police Chiefs' Association, is on vacation all month and unavailable for comment, and its second-line spokeswoman, Watertown Police Chief Jo Vitek, did not return repeated calls for comment.

Maybe Mabry needed that time off. He wasn’t exactly on message in an interview 10 days ago with the Rapid City Journal. "I think it's going to pass, I think South Dakota people are a caring people," he said, adding that the pro campaign will "tug at the heartstrings" of voters.

But law enforcement isn't completely lying down and playing dead. Last week, the South Dakota Highway Patrol issued a statement noting what it called a trend toward highway drug busts of people carrying medical marijuana cards from other states. It counted seven incidents.

"That was clearly a political maneuver out of bounds with what the department should be doing," said an indignant Emmit Reistroffer, who was the primary force behind the campaign during Newland's enforced absence. "We have one of the most popular east-west interstates in the country, and of course there will be some marijuana coming across. But no state allows licensed growers to take their product out of state, so pointing fingers at a handful of incidents where somebody abuses the program is really taking it out of context. I'm really disappointed," he said.

"I'm biting my nails," said Reistroffer. "We are working hard as hell, we've had some huge rallies in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, we've had patients in the newspapers, we're really pushing this grass roots style," he said from a cell phone as he canvassed voters door-to-door.

But the campaign doesn't have any money and, unlike two years ago, election dynamics are not working in the campaign's favor. Energized Republicans are expected to come out in large numbers in a bid to defeat Democratic incumbent US Rep. Stephenie Herseth-Sandlin, and a measure regarding public cigarette smoking is also on the ballot.

"We're really struggling for funds, and we're going to have to pull this off in the most grassroots way imaginable," said Reistroffer. "This could have passed easily in 2008 because of the surge of voters then, but we expect a much smaller turnout this year."

Now, barring last-minute explosive revelations, the die is largely cast. Neither side has the money for a late media campaign. Early and absentee voting has already begun, and it all comes down to getting out the vote.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2010/oct/19/will_south_dakota_voters_pass_me

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Brand new website!

2010-10-12T14:34:55Z

As you may have noticed, we launched our brand new website yesterday! We thought we were long overdue a bit of a spruce up, and we've also tried to make the site easier to use, navigate and of course shop for your marijuana seeds. As well as the new design, we've added new categories such as the autoflowering seeds category that you kept asking us for!

In addition to the new design, we have recently added some new seed banks to the site including Cali Connection Seeds, Kannabia Seeds and 7 Dwarfs Seeds. Check them out!

And don't forget, all orders are now going going with two free seeds! We've currently got a couple of DNA Genetics strains, Rocklock and Lemon Skunk.

Let us know what you think of the new design!

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free feminized marijuana seeds from DNA Genetics

2010-10-04T10:29:22Z

This month's free seed offer is courtesy of DNA Genetics. We're giving away two of their feminized marijuana seeds with every single order placed on the site! (Minimum £20/$30)

The free femininzed seeds are:

Click here to View the mail shot.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

More Polling Evidence: Californians Want Legalized Pot

2010-09-27T20:40:43Z

More polling evidence is in: Californians support Proposition 19, the statewide ballot initiative to legalize marijuana.

After an up-and-down year of polling on the topic, a preponderance of evidence now weighs in favor of Californians supporting legalization, as the latest poll from Field Research, released on Sunday, shows Prop. 19 passing 49 - 42 percent.

This follows a poll last week from North-Carolina-based Public Policy Polling, whose automated survey showed Californians supporting Prop. 19 47 - 38 percent.

Field's latest poll is the most significant to be released thus far, and here's why.

Field is probably the most respected polling firm in California, and, until today, its numbers had showed Prop. 19 failing. The last time Field polled on Prop. 19, in early July, the firm found Californians opposing the measure 48 - 44 percent. It looked then as if Prop. 19 would have quite a hill to climb.

At the same time, automated polls and internal surveys by the pro-Prop. 19 campaign had found that the measure was popular, and would pass. Survey USA, another automated polling firm, had shown legalization as wildly popular in April. The Public Policy Polling survey last week, while encouraging, came from yet another national, automated polling firm. While last week's news was encouraging to supporters of legalization, no live-interview poll had weighed in favor of Prop. 19's passage.

Now, Prop. 19 is considered to be popular by two recent polls with different methodologies.

Field Research has possibly been the most influential entity in the push to legalize marijuana in California. As national news outlets turned their attention to California's budget crisis and the troubling proximity of Mexico's drug war to U.S. borders, Field conducted a statewide poll asking whether a slew of means should be examined to confront California's fiscal armageddon. A stunning 56 percent of Californians thought legalization of marijuana was a good option.

The next month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said marijuana legalization deserved serious discussion. (Interesting side note: one of Schwarzenegger's enemies in the state house, Tom Ammiano, to whom the governor would pen an official letter in October, the first word of each line spelling "fuck you," was the leading proponent of legalization in the legislature.)

The April 2009 Field poll, followed by Schwarzenegger's acknowledgement of legalization as a serious possibility, moved the paradigm on marijuana legalization. Before that, one didn't get the sense that it was taken seriously. But thanks to the finding of Field, as a respected polling institution, legalizers were emboldened. Ultimately, Oaksterdam University (where they teach marijuana growing) founder Richard Lee decided to move ahead with the plan to legalize and put it on the ballot in 2010, against the advice of more staid voices in the national legalization advocacy community.

Now, a year and a half later, Field's methodology has weighed in again.

Prop. 19 looked unlikely, or at least borderline, until yesterday.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/09/more-polling-evidence-californians-want-legalized-pot/63616/

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Prop 19 Would Help - Not Hurt - Medical Marijuana Patients

2010-09-24T09:09:43Z

Are they misinformed or deliberately lying? I don't know anymore.

A group of medical marijuana dispensaries organized as the California Cannabis Association has come out against Prop 19, California's "Tax and Regulate Cannabis" initiative to legalize marijuana.

The coalition claims that Prop 19's provisions giving local jurisdictions the power to regulate cannabis sales, including the right to choose whether to allow commercial or other outlets, would enable them to prohibit the sale of medical marijuana to patients, something that under California they currently can't do. In the words of Cascade Wellness Center head Amir Daliri, quoted in the Associated Press, "The people who would be most affected are the sick, the elderly - patients who cannot grow their own and cannot travel to pick up a prescription."

The claim is completely false. As attorney J. David Nick explained in a widely disseminated legal analysis exhorting people to get on board and support the initiative, section 2B of the Prop 19 text explicitly guards against that:

Section 2B presents the controlling and relevant purposes for understanding what Prop. 19 can and cannot do. This section EXPRESSLY excludes the reach of Prop. 19 from the CUA and MMP. Sections 2B (7 & 8) specifically state that the purpose of this initiative is to give municipalities total and complete control over the commercial sales of marijuana "EXCEPT as permitted under Health and Safety Sections 11362.5 and 11362.7 through 11362.9."

Even without that protection, Nick further explains, it would be virtually impossible for the courts to interpret Prop 19 as allowing cities or counties to gut the state medical marijuana law, because of the rules of statutory construction:

Although extrinsic materials (such as legislative committee memos or voter pamphlet arguments) may not be resorted to when the legislative language is clear, courts may never ignore the purpose of the legislation. Every interpretation a court gives a statute must be consistent with the purpose of the legislation. This is why statutes have long "preambles" which explicitly state the purposes of the legislation.

Unfortunately, the press has largely given the group a pass. In the press mentions I could find of the story, LA Weekly, Capital Public Radio, KTVU and the aforementioned AP piece, campaign spokeswoman Dale Sky Jones is quoted making the opposite claim, that the initiative actually would clarify and improve protections for medical marijuana patients. But that important information appears toward the end of the articles, and the casual reader is left with the impression simply that different activists are saying different things, not necessarily knowing what to believe. I think the media professionals covering this should have taken the extra few moments needed to glance at the initiative text, or better yet spoken with a qualified attorney or legal analyst about it. They then could have verified that the campaign quotes were right and the opposition's wrong, and reflected that in their reporting.

Fortunately, only some medical marijuana people are so shortsighted as to oppose this historic and important measure. Harborside Health Center in Oakland, and the Berkeley Patients Group are among the top quality groups lending their support to Prop 19. But it's still worth asking, why are some other medical marijuana providers opposing it?

Famed Canadian Marc Emery, from his US prison cell offered the obvious explanation: money. I've been charitable about this in saying that there's a little more to it than that. The medical marijuana providers have by and large created a good and wholesome environment, bringing dollars in for sure, but providing high-quality, compassionate services for their clientele. They've risked a lot to do it -- Daliri's center is among those to suffer raids on their operations -- and they don't want to see the world they've brought into being fall into nothingness in the face of the hugely increased competition that legalization of marijuana for anyone will surely bring. I happen to think that legalization will bring more opportunities for everyone in the industry, including the current medical marijuana providers, but I could be wrong. Maybe they will be put out of business.

But that's not a reason to allow the continued mass law enforcement campaigns against marijuana users and sellers to continue -- more than 61,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession in California in 2009 alone. And these people were smart enough to start and maintain successful businesses, therefore they're smart enough to accurately understand the Prop 19 legislation, if they want to, so I say enough is enough. Whether they are doing it deliberately, or out of deliberate ignorance, they should stop spreading misinformation about Prop 19. Shame on the California Cannabis Association. And YES on PROP 19!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-borden/prop-19-would-help-not-hu_b_735846.html

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New Rules Could Snuff Out Some Dispensaries

2010-09-14T17:04:17Z

The San Diego City Council directed the City Attorney's Office on Monday, to develop a zoning ordinance for the city's 125 medical marijuana dispensaries.

The ordinance is expected to be similar to one approved in June by the County's Board of Supervisors last June.

The new zoning regulations would require medical marijuana dispensaries to be at least 1000 feet away from schools, churches, parks, playgrounds, libraries, child care centers, youth facilities, and other dispensaries.

All dispensaries would be required to be a non-profit and apply for a conditional use permit. The dispensaries would only be allowed in industrial and commercial zones, without any residents living nearby.

This is only be the beginning of the process to create ordinances to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. The Medical Marijuana Task Force, established in 2009, made several recommendations to the Land Use and Housing Committee, including requiring collectives to have security guards present during operating hours, more lighting outside dispensaries, limited operating hours, and rules regulating the types of signs dispensaries can use.

The city developed the Medical Marijuana Task Force to help city council create guidelines for medical marijuana patients, primary caregivers, marijuana cooperatives and collectives, and police enforcement.

Once the ordinance is written, it will go to the Planning Commission and return to the City Council for a final vote.

A statewide ballot measure to legalize Marijuana in California has been backed by a group of former law enforcement officials. The group includes former or retired police officers, judges and prosecutors.

They say keeping marijuana illegal props up drug cartels, and steers law enforcement away from more serious crimes.

Voters will have the final say on Proposition 19 in November. If passed, adults would be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/-New-San-Diego-Rules-Could-Snuff-Out-Some-Pot-Dispensaries--102830454.html

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Current Freebies: Super Lemon Haze and Bubba Kush from Green House Seeds

2010-09-06T13:38:11Z

Just a quick post to let everyone know what the current free feminized seeds are.

We have two strains from Green House Seeds:
- Super Lemon Haze (2008 & 2009 HTCC Winner)
- Bubba Kush

Remember, you only get them if you spend more than £20 ($30 approx.)

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein To Chair No On Prop 19

2010-09-03T15:32:56Z

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic former mayor of San Francisco, will co-chair the campaign to defeat Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot in November, according to a press release today.

Her co-chair will be L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca. This is a huge win for the opposition. Feinstein's already voiced opposition, but she seems to be really putting some force behind it with this move.

"California will not see a single positive result if Proposition 19 passes," said Senator Feinstein. "It is a poorly constructed initiative that will cause harm to Californians on our roadways, and in our schools, workplaces and communities. I look forward to working with Sheriff Baca to ensure we defeat Proposition 19 in November."

(Proponents believe prohibition of marijuana impinges on the rights of Californians to do as they please with a substance no more harmful than alcohol or tobacco, wastes precious law enforcement resources, and leads to racial-profiling.)

Regardless, Feinstein represents probably the key constituency supporters will need for Prop. 19 to pass: moderate Democrats who haven't smoke weed since college and are largely persuadable on this issue either way.

The partisans on the issue are already in their respective camps. The "pro" side now has two challenges: Get their staunch partisans, who probably aren't very reliable voters, to come out. And, persuade moderates, make them feel comfortable with legalization. Feinstein just made that second task harder.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/election-2010-1/sen-diane-feintstein-to-chair/

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Colo. Pot Sellers Face New Growing Requirement

2010-09-02T13:40:42Z

Central City, Colo. — Don Boring owns a grocery store, a liquor store and now, a medical marijuana dispensary. The main difference among them is that he has to produce his own pot inventory.

Colorado set a Sept. 1 deadline for dispensaries to show they grow at least 70 percent of the pot they sell – the first requirement of its kind in the 14 states, along with Washington, D.C., that have medical marijuana laws.

Lawmakers added the requirement to Colorado’s new law in hopes of keeping small-time caregivers from growing pot in their basements to sell to dispensaries.

Boring knows the types well. When he opened Annie’s Dispensary last spring, he got so many visits from caregivers trying to sell him pot that he came up with a name for them – “guys on bicycles with backpacks.”

Boring doesn’t see those guys anymore.

“The days of the guys on the bicycles with a backpack selling marijuana are over, and I think that’s a good thing,” Boring said.

Lawmakers who supported Colorado’s new pot law hoped the grow-your-own requirement would force shadowy corner pot shops to close and alleviate fears that the marijuana fueling Colorado’s pot industry is coming from illegal sources. Lawmakers wanted to keep better track of how medical marijuana is produced.

But dispensary owners complain the growing requirement is confusing and impossible to enforce.

For one, the law isn’t clear on how pot shops arrive at the 70 percent figure. Is it 70 percent by weight? Is it determined by the month? By the day? And what about pot shops barred by zoning from adding a growing operation? The law isn’t clear, and pot shop owners have a lot of questions about how the growing requirement will be enforced.

“It’s the equivalent of requiring a grocery store to produce 70 percent of its own corn. You’re asking a retailer to also become a producer,” said Brian Vicente, head of Sensible Colorado, a marijuana-legalization advocacy group. Vicente serves on a state advisory panel trying to clarify how the pot law’s requirements will work. “Nothing about this requirement is clear,” he said.

State authorities say it could be a year before pot shops know how the growing requirement will be measured. A month ago, Colorado received 809 applications for marijuana center licenses, though state officials say it will be next July before it will start awarding the licenses.

Matt Cook, the senior director for medical marijuana enforcement for the Colorado Department of Revenue, said the state received an additional 309 applications for “infused product” manufacturing – think pot brownies and such. The state also received 1,219 permit applications for “premises cultivation,” or growing pot.

All combined, the state has collected $8.2 million in application fees for the three types of licenses, Cook said, with the money to be used to set up a new state office to regulate the nascent pot business.

Dispensary owners say the state must be joking if it thinks it can keep track of all medical marijuana.

Take a single marijuana plant, Boring explained. Some plants produce one ounce of smokable marijuana, while others are capable of producing 10 ounces or more, depending on how well they’re cared for. So what keeps an unscrupulous marijuana center owner from claiming to be raising more pot than he is?

“How are they going to know? Are they going to come check on my plants every day? It doesn’t make sense at all,” Boring said. “It’s just going to be impossible to enforce.”

Veronica Caprio, owner of 420 Highways in Idaho Springs, complained that the vagueness of the state’s growing requirement forces many dispensary owners to lie. She says many are still mapping plans to grow enough pot to supply their patients.

“It’s too broad for me to honestly answer,” she said of the growing requirement. “Do I think I can get to 70 percent? Absolutely. Can I produce it right now? Hell, no.”

Danyel Joffe, a Denver lawyer who specializes in advising medial marijuana business owners, says other states are watching to see how Colorado attempts to enforce its growing requirement.

“No one has tried anything like this before on this scale,” Joffe said. “We’re going through the birth pains of a whole new industry. I’m telling my clients to grit their teeth and stick through it.”

Source: Associated Press (Wire)

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Paris Hilton charged with illegal drug possession

2010-08-31T15:03:05Z

LOS ANGELES — Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was charged with felony cocaine possession but denied the drugs found in the purse she carried were hers, US media reported.

People magazine said Hilton faces up to four years in prison if convicted on the drug charge.

Following the socialite's weekend arrest with her boyfriend, Las Vegas nightclub executive Cy Waits, police said they found 0.8 grams (.03 ounces) of cocaine, wrappers typically used to roll marijuana cigarettes, asthma medication and 1,300 dollars in cash.

Police pulled over the black SUV Waits was driving on Las Vegas' renowned Strip after smelling marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Hilton was conditionally released shortly afterwards.

An arrest report cited by US media said Hilton was escorted to a hotel "at her request" to use the bathroom shortly after police stopped the car.

While in a holding room, she took lip balm from her purse.

"As she began to open it, I saw a small bundle of what I believed to be cocaine in a clear baggy begin to fall from the purse and into my hand," Lieutenant Dennis Flynn of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote in the report.

Asked whose cocaine was in the purse, Hilton told Flynn she "had not seen it" and thought it was chewing-gum, according to the report.

Hilton also told police she had borrowed the purse and that the cosmetics did not belong to her, though the asthma medication, cash, credit cards and Zig-Zag wrappers were hers.

Her lawyer, David Chesnoff, encouraged people "not to rush to judgment until all of the facts have been dealt with in a court of law," according to a statement released to US media.

It has been an eventful few months for Hilton, 29, who was briefly detained by police in July on the French island of Corsica after being caught with less than a gram (.04 ounces) of cannabis in her handbag.

The great-granddaughter of the Hilton hotel chain's founder, she shot to fame in 2003 when her boyfriend leaked a video of their sexual escapades on the Internet. Hilton also starred in the reality TV series "The Simple Life."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ineHLiGvEdmRq8SlXY0gya6lSCqg

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Californians Must Look at Science of Marijuana

2010-08-23T11:03:22Z

Like so many political debates in our society, the argument over Proposition 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana in California, is portrayed as good vs. evil, black vs. white, us vs. them – while nobody is looking objectively at the medical science of marijuana. If research does enter the debate, each side touts the scientific bits that bolster its arguments and then ignores the rest.

The California Society of Addiction Medicine is in a unique position: We take no position on Prop. 19, but we wish Californians would look at the research before they make up their minds on how to vote.

We are the doctors who specialize in the treatment of drug abuse; we work every day with people addicted to drugs, including alcohol. We are a diverse group of doctors committed to combining science and compassion to treat our patients, support their families and educate public policy makers.

Less than one-third of the Society of Addiction Medicine’s 400 physician members believe prison deters substance abuse. Most believe addiction can be remedied more effectively by the universal availability of treatment. When, according to the FBI, nearly half – 750,000 – of all drug arrests in 2008 in the United States were for marijuana possession, not sales or trafficking, we risk inflicting more harm on society than benefit. Prop. 19 does offer a way out of these ineffective drug policies.

However, two-thirds of our members believe legalizing marijuana would increase addiction and increase marijuana’s availability to adolescents and children. A recent Rand Corp. study estimates that Prop. 19 would produce a 58 percent increase in annual marijuana consumption in California, raising the number of individuals meeting clinical criteria for marijuana abuse or dependence by 305,000, to a total of 830,000.

The question of legalizing marijuana creates a conflict between protecting civil liberties and promoting public health, between desire and prudence, between current de facto legalization in cannabis clubs and revenue-generating retail marijuana sales.

Each individual, family, politician and community must struggle with these competing agendas in making a decision about whether marijuana should be legal. The society wants to make sure voters understand three basic facts about how marijuana affects the brain:

- — The brain has a natural cannabinoid system that regulates human physiology. The flood of cannabinoids in marijuana smoke alters the brain’s delicate balance by mimicking its chemistry, producing a characteristic “high” along with a host of potential side effects.

- — Marijuana is addicting to 9 percent of people who begin smoking at 18 years or older. Withdrawal symptoms – irritability, anxiety, sleep disturbances – often contribute to relapse.

- — Because adolescent brains are still developing, marijuana use before 18 results in higher rates of addiction – up to 17 percent within two years – and disruption to an individual’s life. The younger the use, the greater the risk.

Marijuana is a mood-altering drug that causes dependency when used frequently in high doses, especially in children and adolescents. It’s important that prevention measures focus on discouraging young people from using marijuana.

Prop. 19 erroneously states that marijuana “is not physically addictive.” This myth has been scientifically proven to be untrue. Prop. 19 asks Californians to officially accept this myth. Public health policy already permits some addictive substances to be legal – for instance, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. But good policy can never be made on a foundation of ignorance. Multiple lines of scientific evidence all prove that chronic marijuana use causes addiction in a significant minority of people. No one should deny this scientific evidence.

Physicians see many people who seek help in quitting marijuana. If Californians decide to legalize marijuana, who will pay for the additional treatments that will be needed? This question becomes profoundly more relevant if your own child has become devoted to smoking pot. If marijuana is legalized, a truly fair, socially just public policy would use tax revenue from marijuana sales to pay for increased treatments.

The Society of Addiction Medicine strongly recommends that, if marijuana is legalized, restrictions must minimize access for anyone under 21, and a tax on revenues must be directed to treatment.

http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Is Obama Planning to Allow More Medical Marijuana Raids?

2010-08-20T13:14:04Z

In the aftermath of a couple very questionable DEA raids of medical marijuana providers, not to mention the nomination of notorious drug warrior Michele Leonhart to head the DEA, we're forced to question once again whether President Obama intends to abide by his pledge to tolerate medical marijuana in states that have legalized its use.

I'll be the first to tell you that the medical marijuana situation has improved considerably since Obama took office. The aggressive anti-pot posturing of the previous administration has largely subsided, and the DEA's hideous practice of raiding medical marijuana facilities has certainly declined. But in light of recent events, the future of federal medical marijuana policy is anything but certain.

Mike Riggs has a story in The Daily Caller today that isn't going to make anyone feel better about the situation:

But the White House and the Justice Department both told TheDC that Holder’s memo does not give dispensaries carte blanche to grow or sell marijuana, and that recent raids don’t conflict with what Obama expressed while campaigning.

“I wouldn’t say the memo ‘discourages’ certain raids,” a DOJ offical told TheDC. Rather, “it talks about prioritizing resources most efficiently.” And both the White House and the DOJ argued that the gist of the Holder memo was that the DEA would “not focus its limited resources on individual patients with cancer or other serious diseases.”

Admittedly, the Holder Memo does suck if you actually read it. Alas, we find ourselves confronted with the exact sort of shameless backtracking that the memo was so deliberately crafted to allow for.

Whether Obama is breaking the various vague promises he's made with regards to medical marijuana policy is debatable depending how one interprets events up to this point. But there's no doubt that he's positioning himself to horribly piss off the large majority of Americans who've long opposed federal harassment of patients and providers. To whatever extent to ugliness of Bush era medical marijuana policy is behind us, Obama would be wise to keep it that way.

http://www.stopthedrugwar.com/speakeasy/2010/aug/18/obama_planning_allow_more_medica

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

The Drug Czar's Only Job is to Oppose Legalization (And He Sucks at It)

2010-08-19T10:09:03Z

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske is back in damage control mode again following Mexican President Felipe Calderon's call for a debate on legalizing drugs.

Kerlikowske, known officially as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, spoke this morning at a border security conference in El Paso, where he tried to debunk the belief that taxing and regulating currently illegal narcotics would somehow put narco-traffickers out of business.

“[Traffickers] would not change their ways and turn to legal pursuits if drugs were legal,” he said. “Legalizing drugs makes them cheaper, makes them more accessible and therefore makes them more widely abused.” [Texas Tribune]

I would love for Kerlikowske to explain to me how legalization is going to completely change everything, yet somehow fail to affect the illicit market. Rather obviously, if drugs become much cheaper, the cartels get screwed. That is so painfully simple, I'm running out of ways to explain it.

As usual, the argument once again comes down to this ridiculous division over whether or not legalization hurts drug kingpins. It shouldn't take more than a kernel of common sense to solve this riddle, and if that's too much to ask, history has also settled this debate rather decisively for us. We did once ban the most popular drug in the country, and then legalized it again, so there's plenty to be learned from that experience if one is so inclined. Alcohol prohibition was the only period in American history during which the alcohol industry was controlled by murderous gangsters. Everyone knows that.

Of course, the only reason we even have a drug czar is to confuse people about how drug policy actually works. We've spent enormous sums over the years empowering government propagandists to distort the debate, and if there's anything remarkable about Kerlikowske's various comments on legalization, it's how bland, brief and boring they've been. His job is literally to clarify the Obama administration's opposition to legalization in as few words as humanly possible, so as to avoid getting anyone excited. His goal is to make the conversation less interesting, and he does a pretty good job.

Unfortunately for the drug czar, it really doesn't matter very much how he expresses his opposition to legalizing drugs. He's just the latest stooge to be tasked with the miserable duty of dealing with us, and as long as we keep forcing the subject, we're scoring points.

http://www.stopthedrugwar.com/speakeasy/2010/aug/18/drug_czars_only_job_oppose_legal

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

Free Feminized Marijuana Seeds!

2010-08-11T11:27:03Z

Free Feminized Seeds With Every Order

Yes, you've heard correctly... We are now giving away 2 free feminized seeds with every order placed on The Single Seed Centre!

You kept asking us for them, and we've finally given in. So from this day forth, it's freebies galore!

All you have to do to be eligible for the free seeds is spend a minimum of £20 ($30).

Click here to view the mailshot.

Worldwide Marijuana Seeds - single seeds from all the top seed banks.

The Green Rush: Bay Area Cities Prepare For The Potential Passage Of Prop 19

2010-08-05T09:47:36Z

In California, 2010 could be remembered as the year when marijuana went legit.

If Proposition 19 is approved by voters in November, the state's largest cash crop - with an estimated annual value of $14 billion - would be sold and taxed like alcohol or cigarettes. According to the state Legislative Analyst's Office, Prop 19 could potentially yield hundreds of millions in tax and fee revenues as well as significant savings in corrections spending.

Several Bay Area cities are trying to get ahead of the curve by proposing laws that encourage the sale and cultivation of marijuana. Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and San Jose have all put forth proposals to regulate and tax cannabis sales. Last week, Oakland made national headlines when the city council approved a proposal permitting four industrial marijuana cultivation facilities. City officials estimate an annual windfall of up to $38 million.

KALW's Ali Winston has been looking at the various legalization proposals, and he joins us in the studio.

* * *

HANA BABA: So, what are these cities proposing exactly, and how does that change the current state of affairs?

ALI WINSTON: Well, what we're seeing right now is a number of cities throughout the state trying to get out in front of Proposition 19 and make sure that they get revenue right off the bat from marijuana sales, be it for medical use or adult use, recreational use. So what we're seeing is proposals from Oakland, Berkeley, Sacramento, Stockton, Richmond, Long Beach, San Jose is expected to put one forth--they're putting forth proposals to tax marijuana at a rate of two to five percent for medical use, and about ten percent for recreational use. So they're looking to get pretty serious revenue out of these sales. Oakland alone expects up to $38 million annually from marijuana sales.

BABA: So, notably absent from that list of cities is San Francisco. Why is that?

WINSTON: Well San Francisco has said that they don't believe that cannabis sales should be taxed, so they haven't put forth a regulatory structure. But a lot of other cities are, and I spoke with James Anthony, an attorney who works with the growers and distributors about those other municipalities.

JAMES ANTHONY: What you've seen in the last couple of weeks, and we'll see until, oh, the next week or two in the middle of August, is a rush by cities to get tax language on the November ballet. They're up against that deadline, if there is to be a tax on medical cannabis or on adult-use cannabis, that tax has to go on the November ballot.

BABA: So, Ali, how are people reacting to these proposals? Are the producers happy?

WINSTON: Here's the thing: for the most part, it seems like the customers are really happy with the idea of bringing marijuana out and into the open, be it for medical use or recreational use. It takes away some of the stigma and allows cities to generate revenue without unpopular tax hikes. But there are concerns. Small- and mid-sized growers are really concerned about being crowded out of the industry by large-scale operations such as these four industrial-sized grows that have been approved recently in Oakland.

BABA: Which are what exactly? Do they take the form of something as big as a factory farm? How big is it?

WINSTON: Something like that. One facility that's been proposed would be about 100,000 square feet large and would produce 21,000 pounds of pot annually with probably about $60 million worth of marijuana being sold from it. It has people really worried. I spoke with one grower recently, Dan Scully, who supplies organic marijuana to the Harborside Health Center dispensary.

DAN SCULLY: It's very important that they keep in mind the small growers, if they really want this to be controlled and regulated and taxed, they have to be aware of the people who are currently producing and try not to shove them into the black market.

WINSTON: I should note that the Oakland City Council has agreed to revisit the issue of allowing small and medium growers after they come back from their recess. But the only reason that this was even considered was because of really sustained protests by small and medium growers during the public debates over the ordinance.

BABA: So if we're talking about these large, industrial-sized factory farms, there has got to be an environmental impact as well.

WINSTON: That's right, Oakland's plan has been discussed as having a negative environmental impact. First of all, only indoor grows will be allowed, and given the size of the proposed facilities, they would use a ton of electricity and possibly a lot of pesticides as well. In Berkeley by contrast, the ordinance that has been proposed would allow outdoor facilities and would also require growers to use organic methods wherever possible and control the use of pesticides and such chemicals.

BABA: So this is all setting the stage for the possible passage of Prop 19. Does it look like legalization is a lock for November?

WINSTON: No, not by a long shot. Prop 19 has to pass and right now the polls are pretty close. And there's something else to think about, come November. The attorney general's race between San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley--the attorney I spoke with, James Anthony, had a lot to say about this issue and believed that it could really impact local growers.

JAMES ANTHONY: The Republican candidate for attorney general, Steve Cooley, who is currently the Los Angeles County district attorney, has made it quite clear that in his legal opinion, any sales of medical cannabis is illegal under state law. This has been a major contributing factor to the utter failure to regulate in the city of Los Angeles. And it could only be disastrous for the medical cannabis movement as well as for cannabis liberation more generally.

WINSTON: On the other hand, if Kamala Harris becomes the states next attorney general, things could look a lot different because she's been really supportive of marijuana legalization. So in the end, the attorney general's race is just about as important as Prop 19 is.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/kalw/detail?entry_id=69316

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Officials unhappy over prospect of pot convention at Silverdome

2010-07-30T09:18:20Z

PONTIAC — A cannabis convention being put together by a California-based company at the Silverdome has raised the ire of county and city officials.

The 1st International Cannabis Convention & Halloween Harmony & Harvest Fest is being planned for Oct. 29-31 at the Silverdome.

The event’s promoter is Medical Marijuana Inc., a publicly traded company that has developed a “suit of solutions to deliver an efficient and secure infrastructure for the medical marijuana industry,” according to its website.

Medical Marijuana Inc. advertises itself as providing tools to manage a medical marijuana business in full compliance of laws and regulations regarding cannabis.

The company’s site also states it “ensures that collectives operate within the guidelines of all laws and regulations regarding the tracking of cannabis from grow cycle to final distribution.”

Just last week, the Pontiac City Council voted to place a six-month moratorium on growing or distributing medical marijuana within the city while leaders study the impact of the newly enacted medical marijuana law on the state and communities.

The 80,300-seat Silverdome was home of the Detroit Lions until 2002 and was sold last year for $583,000 to Triple Properties Inc. of Toronto.

Pontiac City Council President Lee Jones questioned what attendees will be doing for those days during the festival or how promoters will be able to control the atmosphere.

“The crazy part is we didn’t know anything about it until fliers started showing up at the local party stores,” Jones said. “No one had any conversations with the City Council or the mayor’s office and that is not the way we want to brand our city.”

Jones said he felt city officials were purposely not informed the festival would take place.

“As far as embracing it or supporting it, as of right now, I’m not,” said Jones, adding that officials still have to figure out how the city will operate regarding medical marijuana.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said his being disappointed in this event being allowed to take place is a gross understatement.

“I know these gentlemen are fairly new to this community, but it is not a great way to ingratiate yourself by highlighting the joys of marijuana smoking,” he said.

Patterson and Jones said the event has the potential to create a police problem in a city dealing with a law enforcement department that has had its staff reduced.

“It is a sign of things that are not going well with their booking calendar if they have to bring in something like that,” said Patterson, calling it an attempt to turn Pontiac into the pot capital of the world.

“This is not sitting well with the authorities in Pontiac or the county,” he said.

Silverdome spokesman John Mozena said Medical Marijuana Inc. is only renting the facility and the owners of the Silverdome are not promoting it.

Medical Marijuana Inc. has a track record and the company’s business model is assisting patients and caregivers in the industry with being in compliance with state laws, he said.

“We recognize the city has concerns and we as the venue support anything they want or need to do to make sure the city’s ordinances are followed, but at the end of the day it is the responsibility of the promoters and the vendors to ensure that all federal, state and city laws are followed,” Mozena said.

http://www.dailytribune.com/articles/2010/07/29/news/doc4c521c886534e184215077.txt

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Oakland ready to approve four marijuana factories

2010-07-20T10:32:32Z

California could take another step towards confirming itself as a rival to Amsterdam today when Oakland city council votes on setting up and licensing four major marijuana factories.

Marijuana would be mass-produced, packaged and distributed for sale from the four centres. As well as marijuana for medical purposes, the factories would produce items such as cannabis body oil and baked goods.

The cash-strapped council is keen to approve the plan in order to generate cash through permit fees and taxes. The plan was agreed in principle at a council meeting last week.

One of the council members backing the plan, Rebecca Kaplan, told National Public Radio: "Creating a regular, responsible, regulated permitting system to enable the creation and regulation of these industrial facilities is an important step in terms of public safety, providing jobs and revenue."

If Oakland goes ahead, it will be the first place in the USA to license such premises.

California currently allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes but in November is to ballot on a proposal that would make it legal for recreational use too.

Existing small growers are protesting against the Oakland plan, describing it as creating the equivalent of McDonalds or Wal-Mart and threatening to put them out of work.

One of the 400 small growers supplying Oakland dispensaries at present, Dan Scully, told Associated Press: "Nobody wants to see the McDonalds-isation of cannabis. I would compare it to how a small business feels about shutting down its business and going to work at Wal-Mart. Who would be attracted to that?"

The small growers supply four dispensaries in Oakland, of which the biggest is the Harborside health centre. They argue that the drug's industrialisation will reduce the number of varieties on offer to customers.

But Kaplan counters that the small growers can be a fire hazard, citing fire brigade reports about the danger of the many high-powered lamps used indoors to help cannabis grow.

One of the companies planning to bid for a permit if the city council gives the plan the go-ahead is iGrow, a warehouse that supplies information and equipment for growing cannabis, but not the weed itself.

Oakland, like other cities throughout California, is suffering severe debt problems in spite of budget cuts and redundancies.

It voted last year to tax marijuana dispensaries, which is estimated to bring in about $1.5m (£980,0000) this year. Tax from the four marijuana factories is estimated to be much more.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/20/marijuana-factories-weed-oakland

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Oakland pot expansion a step closer

2010-07-14T13:19:10Z

Oakland inched toward a plan to allow industrial-scale production of medical marijuana, sparking a lively debate between supporters and opponents who filled the Public Safety Committee meeting Tuesday evening.

The proposal crafted by City Councilmembers Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan would prompt the first major expansion six years after Oakland first authorized the distribution of medical marijuana in dispensaries.

The Committee voted 3-1 in favor of the plan to license large-scale indoor cultivation of medical marijuana generally grown by either small growers or in illicit warehouses. Both are poorly regulated, according to a staff report prepared for Kaplan and Reid.

If approved by the committee and full City Council, four large growers would be permitted in the first year.

Some opponents Tuesday argued that four is too few.

One grower said he embraced regulation but argued that the plan would force medium- and small-scale cultivators to close down, move, or "go back underground into the dark ages."

Others argued that the expansion goes too far, too fast.

The ordinance doesn't yet set a limit on the size of the large cultivators. But it would take 45,000 square feet to produce the 6,000 pounds of cannabis consumed annually through Oakland medical dispensaries, according to Kaplan and Reid's report.

Reid said the plan is only a start.

Under their plan, the growers would have to be cooperatives, in keeping with California law.

They would also have to pay $5,000 for a permit and a $210,000 regulatory fee. Along with a $60,000 dispensary permit fee, the revenue would be used to pay for the more than $1.2 million Kaplan and Reid estimated will be needed to run the expanded program, including Oakland police, tax auditors and other staff.

The plan also would permit Oakland's four licensed dispensaries to sell to retailers across California.

Those dispensaries generated $28 million in gross sales in 2009.

The Public Safety Committee, however, postponed a proposal to increase the number of dispensaries to six.

Elsewhere, cities have recognized the benefit of regulating and expanding the lucrative industry, which has generated new jobs and businesses.

Berkeley recently took steps toward expanding the city's medical marijuana industry.

The City Council voted to place two proposed laws on the November ballot allowing as many as 11 large-scale medical marijuana producers.

Likewise, Mendocino County upped the limit on outdoor pot farms that have permits from 25 to 99 plants per land parcel.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15509896

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Happy July 4th! Dinafem Giveaway!

2010-07-03T22:40:06Z

To celebrate July 4th, we've teamed up with our good friends at Dinafem to giveaway TWO free autoflowering seeds with every order!

To view full details and the mail shot, click here.

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Montel Williams pleads for medical marijuana

2010-06-29T16:20:36Z

Former talk show host Montel Williams will urge lawmakers to pass New York’s medical marijuana bill at a press conference in Albany on Tuesday.

Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses medical marijuana as part of his treatment, has a residence in New York and has asked Gov. David Paterson and members of the state Legislature to pass the measure sponsored by Sen. Tom Duane, D-Manhattan.

Already legal in 14 states - and with legislation pending in several others - marijuana for medical use has provided relief to patients with debilitative illness and raised millions in taxes for local governments from Maine to California, according to a statement from the Marijuana Policy Project.

New York’s medical marijuana bill was passed 11-5 by the state Senate Codes Committee in March, a month after winning approval by the Senate Health Committee.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 71 percent of state voters think medical marijuana is “a good idea.”

http://libn.com/blog/2010/06/29/montel-makes-medical-marijuana-plea/

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Will Marijuana Be OK in Detroit?

2010-06-18T11:43:55Z

Michigan — Detroiters are one step away from a November vote on whether to allow possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The Detroit City Council’s Internal Operations Committee declined Wednesday to vote on amending a city ordinance that would allow anyone 21 and older to legally possess less than 1 ounce of marijuana on private property. The issue is now headed to the Detroit Election Commission for approval of the ballot language.

Advocated by the Coalition for a Safer Detroit — the group that successfully got medical marijuana placed on the ballot in 2004, which passed — the ordinance would amend Chapter 38 of the city code regulating controlled substances.

Tim Beck, a registered medical marijuana user who filed the petitions, says the amended ordinance would “free up the Police Department to pursue crimes with actual victims.”

In 2009, Beck said, there were 1,500 arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Detroit.

Detroit police spokesman John Roach said the department’s legal staff is still researching the impact of legalized recreational marijuana.

The City of Denver and the State of Alaska have similar laws. Legislation in Seattle and California has been proposed.

Dennis Mazurek, assistant corporation counsel with the city’s Law Department, told the council’s Internal Operations Committee that the ordinance amendment violates state law, specifically, the Michigan Public Health Code, and cannot be enacted. The state allows only registered medical marijuana use.

According to the City Clerk’s Office, the coalition submitted 5,750 signatures in May; 3,895 were required and 4,598 were validated.

The City Charter allows voters to enact a city ordinance, or initiative, like this one by petition.

Under the charter, the City Council is required to act within 30 days or pass on the initiative, which the council’s Internal Operations Committee did Wednesday by not voting on it.

The initiative will now be reviewed by the Detroit Election Commission, which must approve the petition for the November ballot.

Beck is confident voters will pass the ordinance, as they passed the medical marijuana ordinance in 2004.

“It’s going to win,” he said. “I have no doubt about that.”

http://www.freep.com/

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CA Ballot Initiative Catalyzes National Debate on Marijuana Prohibition

2010-06-09T18:40:25Z

Trying to get people to stop consuming cannabis has been central to our nation’s “war on drugs” for decades. This war has cost the country billions, if not trillions, of dollars. Most important, it is an abject failure. Yet the policy has been in place for so long that it has simply become part of the status quo. It’s just accepted, part of the way things are.

That is, until California put an initiative on its November ballot to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis. Now the issue is getting real attention from politicians, news organizations and regular people. NPR today started its week-long series, “The New Marijuana.” Via NPR:

What happens in the Golden State this year could have a big impact on the rest of the country. If California decides to make all marijuana legal and starts reaping tax revenue, other states may be tempted to follow, as they have before.

But then, what will the federal government do? Pot remains an illegal drug under federal law. The Justice Department, under the Obama Administration, in most cases has no desire to go after medical marijuana. But it’s highly doubtful that recreational pot will get the same free pass from the feds.

The decision to devote a week to the issue of marijuana comes in the wake of a much-publicized AP story that analyzed the last 40 years of our war on drugs and found it to be a failure. CBSNews.com decided to create a special report series, “Marijuana Nation.” There has also been a host of new polling on the issue of legalization, not just in California but nationally and in several Western states.

The California ballot initiative has served as a catalyst, bringing the issue of our drug policies to the forefront and significantly increasing news coverage. This is our moment as a country to re-examine our failed marijuana prohibition and have an honest debate about it.

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2010/06/07/ca-ballot-initiative-catalyzes-na...

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The Legal but Largely Unregulated World of Pot

2010-06-08T12:49:30Z

In his nondescript San Francisco flat, Kevin Reed operates a sleek, efficient marijuana delivery service.

Five drivers deliver the product — glistening green buds in white paper bags — to neighborhoods throughout the city. Two operators work the phones. Flat-screen TVs display security feeds of the surrounding neighborhood.

Mr. Reed, who had a clean-shaven head and wore a pinstriped shirt, calls his business the Green Cross. It is the only pot delivery service in San Francisco with a city permit, for which Mr. Reed paid $15,000.

Getting the permit was a laborious, three-month process, and this is why Mr. Reed is watching the proliferation of rival pot delivery services — none licensed — with dismay.

“I have to compete with the guy who has 2,000 plants in a field behind his house,” Mr. Reed said in a lilting Alabama accent as he smoked a joint. “And is selling his pot for $200 an ounce in the newspaper, delivery fee included. And not paying Uncle Sam a dime.”
In the new marijuana economy, the guy with the pot field behind his house is increasingly at odds with a growing class of Bay Area cannabis merchants.

A patchwork of local, state and federal laws — some in direct contradiction to one another — has led to a freewheeling marketplace for Bay Area pot, some of the world’s finest. With a state ballot measure to legalize the drug set for November, the economic activity has reached a fever pitch, drawing in local politicians, trade unionists, doctors and a variety of entrepreneurs.

Some of the activity is still blatantly illegal. In Oakland, a house where growers surreptitiously used eight car batteries to cultivate 300 pot plants recently burst into flames. And, in a practice that growers now say is widespread, pesticides not meant for consumable crops are being sold in hydroponic “grow” shops throughout the region, often in unlabeled vials.

Other activities occupy a more informal gray area. Posts on Web sites like budtrader.com propose to exchange marijuana for Nintendo systems and offer warnings about “rippers” who cheat or steal from suppliers.

With so much cash flying around, these transactions also attract crime. Last week, a San Francisco State student who ran an unlicensed delivery service out of his apartment took an order over the Internet. When he went to deliver a pound of marijuana to Richmond after midnight, the student was robbed of the pot and $1,000.

Still other activities are perfectly legal. The 29 licensed medical marijuana stores, or dispensaries, in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley are prohibited from turning a profit, but many are thriving. Harborside Health Center in Oakland is the largest medical marijuana store in the world — it shares 52,000 registered members with a sister location in San Jose. Harborside puts these earnings into free programs — like yoga classes and cannabis for low-income members — and makes charitable contributions.

“Some people think that our movement is being hijacked into big business,” said Jeff Jones, a proponent of the legalization initiative and a longtime medical marijuana activist. “I think we are just maturing.”

It has been 13 years since voters passed Proposition 215, which laid out narrow rules for patients with a doctor’s prescription to grow and consume marijuana. More state rules followed, and local governments have added their own regulations.

Municipal governments decide how many dispensaries can operate within the city limits — Oakland allows four, Berkeley three, while San Francisco sets no cap. Some city and county governments limited how much medical marijuana can be legally grown by individuals and dispensaries.

Marijuana remains a controlled substance — and illegal — under federal law. But most local authorities take a laissez-faire approach to marijuana businesses that would appear to be only loosely connected to medical treatment.
But legal ambiguities aside, pot is rapidly evolving into a legitimate business in the Bay Area.

Last week, Rebecca Kaplan, a member of the Oakland City Council, appeared at a news conference of union leaders to announce that pot industry workers — including bud tenders– would become members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5. It was a move that dispensary operators and legalization proponents applauded as bringing new legitimacy to their industry.

“This is a good day for Oakland,” Ms. Kaplan told reporters. “Having the workers in a union adds another check and balance as this movement grows.”

Ms. Kaplan is also working on a proposal with Councilman Larry Reid to regulate marijuana production by licensing about four indoor pot farms in the industrial areas of Oakland. The city already limits indoor residential medical marijuana growing to 72 plants for individuals and 6 mature plants plus 12 immature ones per patient for dispensaries.

The Council will consider the new plan in July, and if it passes, the AgraMed company will be poised to apply. The company proposes to build a 100,000-square-foot medical marijuana megafarm beside Interstate 880 near Oakland International Airport that, according to projections, could generate 58 pounds of pot a day and $59 million a year in revenue.

“I think the City of Oakland has shown a lot of courage in managing cannabis from a common sense standpoint,” said Jeff Wilcox, president of AgraMed and a member of the steering committee of the initiative to legalize marijuana. “They have rationally looked at it and found a way to develop it into a real industry that serves individuals, that serves the community.”

Mr. Wilcox is hoping to bring a degree of corporate structure to the medical marijuana industry. In March, he approached the city with an economic study that proposed a 3 percent “production tax” on AgraMed, which he said could generate $1.8 million a year for the city. AgraMed would also create 371 jobs, many of them unionized, according to the study.

Mr. Wilcox estimated that AgraMed would cost $20 million to develop – — a risk he said he was willing to take even though the company would be technically illegal under federal law, and facility operators would be subject to prosecution.

Mr. Wilcox’s vision can be seen at his 7.4 acre complex of low buildings. Although he said construction would not begin until the Council signed off and his permit was granted, Pacific Gas and Electric recently increased the power supply to one of his buildings by about 2,000 amps. Martin Kaufman, Mr. Wilcox’s associate, estimates that the facility will require 600,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month to power the grow lights needed for 30,000 plants, which can be harvested six times a year.

Because marijuana is illegal, many growers are reluctant to open their operations to scrutiny. Currently, there are no local, state or federal agencies to provide that oversight. In this regulatory vacuum, private businesses — essentially self-deputized regulators – — have emerged to do things like certify that marijuana is organic and test the product for contaminants.

The issue of testing is particularly sensitive because growers are turning to an array of growth-enhancement products and illegal pesticides to protect their lucrative crops.

“Medical cannabis has had to be produced and procured in a not-quite-above-board way,” Councilwoman Kaplan said. “I think we’re really at a turning point that we can handle this in a regulated and permitted way.”

Many Bay Area dispensaries participate in civic projects and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. And as the November balloting get nearer, advocates of legalization are gathering new and powerful allies.

Some medical marijuana activists worry that there is now a divide between the well-connected dispensaries and smaller, more informal groups of growers and consumers who for years have been part of the medical marijuana scene.

“To me, it’s a money movement now,” said Chris Smith, who is part of 40 Acres Medical Marijuana Collective, an underground medical marijuana group in Berkeley. “Most of them probably got a little political pull or a little political networking; they got lawyers; they got money for lawyers; they jump right in to position.”

40 Acres Collective consists of about 100 growers and users who gather to share pot, money and plants.

Mr. Smith said the collective would like to be able to get a city permit and become a licensed dispensary. But the city has capped the number of pot clubs at three, and all the spots are taken. Mr. Smith said he worried that 40 Acres Collective might ultimately be shut out.

As he showed off several rooms filled with marijuana plants beginning to flower, the collective’s members gathered in another room to celebrate the 76th birthday of Mr. Smith’s father, Scott Smith Jr., a former Black Panther who taught his son to garden.

The celebration was to be followed by an event called “the weed Olympics,” in which the participants try to out-smoke one another.

“Medical marijuana is not really a business, you know?” said the younger Mr. Smith, as people around him laid out pot cookies, tiny pot-laced pineapple upside-down cakes and decorative pot plants for the party. “It’s a community-based organization. There is revenues being exchanged, transactions happening, but that’s not really what it’s about.”

http://www.nytimes.com/

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Legal Marijuana Will Cut Crime, Improve Life

2010-06-07T16:02:41Z

Our state is in the midst of what is shaping up to be the worst budget crisis in memory. It is time for concerned Californians to rally behind the Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative on the November ballot. The Initiative legalizes marijuana in California for adults over the age of 21 and empowers local governments to tax its sale.

Setting money aside for a moment, the Initiative makes sense on safety alone.

According to White House statistics, more than 60 percent of sales by Mexican drug cartels in the United States in 2006 were of cannabis. Even Red Ribbon Week, the massively popular school anti-drug movement, got its start after the tragic kidnapping and murder of a Drug Enforcement Agency agent by large-scale marijuana traffickers from a Mexican cartel. By legalizing and regulating the sale of cannabis, Californians remove the market for a large percentage of their business. It is within our power to cut these violent and deadly cartels off at the knees.

What's more, FBI statistics show that in 2008, more than 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved in California. During that same time period, some 61,000 Californians were arrested for misdemeanor cannabis possession. Literally thousands of hours and millions of dollars in law enforcement resources are siphoned away from protecting our families in the name of enforcing current cannabis laws.

Shouldn't we put our law enforcement agents back to work keeping us safe from truly dangerous violent crime?

Regulation of cannabis makes it infinitely safer, too. When cannabis is illegal, children become drug dealers to other children. The schoolyard and the playground become the marketplace. Drug dealers don't check ID, but a regulated, transparent cannabis market would. In addition, decriminalization would remove the social stigma that often prevents problem users from reaching out for the qualified medical or psychological help they need.

As if these myriad critical issues of health and safety weren't enough, the fiscal benefit to our state by passing the Control and Tax Cannabis Initiative would be simply staggering.

According to the California Board of Equalization, if cannabis were taxed like alcohol, we could raise $1.4 billion per year ---- That is "billion" with a "B," a truly jaw-dropping sum. California also would realize an annual savings estimated at $200 million by a recent NORML study by avoiding the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of nonviolent cannabis users.

Just imagine what the Temecula Valley Unified School District, Hospice of the Valleys, Head Start, Boys and Girls Club and countless other worthy organizations right here in our own local neighborhoods could do with more than $1.4 billion per year to make real, meaningful improvement to our quality of life.

We have the power to take charge and make change. Now is the time to get educated about Tax Cannabis 2010 and to join me in voting for the initiative when we go to the polls on Nov. 2.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/article_517d4548-c97d-5481-bb1...

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