Cannabis Culture Headquarters is in the heart of Olympic central in downtown Vancouver. As a well-known Vancouver tourist destination, news reporters from around the world often stop by to speak with marijuana activist Marc Emery (former owner of CCHQ - now owned his wife Jodie Emery) and use the Volcano Vaporizers in our BCMP office and smoking room.

Read our coverage of the 2010 Winter games, and the international media's coverage of Vancouver's pot community!

http://cannabisculture.com/v2/content/2010/02/21/Cannabis-Cultures-Olympic-Coverage ]]> http://www.marijuana-seeds-canada.com/blogs/marijuana-news/1378742-senate-waters-down-minimum-sentence-pot-growing-bill 2009-12-18T22:38:56Z Single Marijuana Seeds info@marijuana-seeds-canada.com

On the other hand, any city that can claim Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Anne Frank is a must-see for even the most staid travelers.

Then again, Amsterdammers seem like the coolest people on the planet, not staid at all. Citizens ride their bicycles with a tidy grace around the town, some toting briefcases, some in green high heels, some on bikes they fold and carry right onto the trains.

Except ... tidy, the town is not. Too much enthusiastic renovation has stripped the "pretty" from the city. Scaffolding mars the Royal Palace on the shabby Dam Square. Construction blights the Rijksmuseum (the city's premier museum), the historic train station, the harbor and other landmarks. One can only hope the eventual result will be worth the long wait.

Bottom line? Come to Amsterdam expecting tradition, and you'll find it. Come expecting sex and drugs, and the city will oblige - but know the scene is changing. Come expecting history, architecture and the chance to see paintings that make you glad to be alive, and you'll find that, too. Whatever you want, Amsterdam will be.

Go ahead, go crazy. Just use common sense. "If you are alone and stoned and it's 2 in the morning, don't go in the parks at night. Don't walk around alone in the Red Light," said Aaron James Cole, sitting at the Basjoe Coffeehouse on a sunny morning, smoking hash.

In Amsterdam, it is legal to buy and smoke small amounts of pot and hash at coffeehouses. Prostitution in the city's Red Light District is also legal. About 25 percent of foreign tourists visit specifically to partake in these pastimes, according to Amsterdam's Mayor Job Cohen.

And that's the audience for Cole's new book, the 11th Edition of "Get Lost! - The Cool Guide to Amsterdam" (Get Lost Publishing, US$14.50). It reads like advice from a friend - a literate friend who knows a lot about drugs.

"In the book, we tell them what the locals know," said Cole, 37, breaking off bits of hash and rolling them into a joint while pedestrians outside stroll past the coffee shop window.

For instance, the book explains the difference between a coffeehouse (pot and hash and coffee), a cafe (coffee and food) and a smart shop (plants and herbs that give a high).

The book also gives tips on everything from underground nightclubs to cheap lodging and food to prostitute protocol.

The biggest mistake tourists make, Cole says, is stopping to smoke the strongest joints they can buy before figuring out where their hotel is.

Second biggest mistake? Wandering alone at night in the Red Light, where pickpockets and drug dealers prey on the doped up and the dopes.

Oddly, it's the Red Light District's beauty and central location that confuses visitors into taking less care than they should.

"It's the center of the trash and the tackiness and sleaziness, but it's also the oldest neighborhood in Amsterdam and the most beautiful," says Cole, a Californian who has lived in Amsterdam 15 years.

The scene is changing, however.

The number of coffeehouses and prostitutes are being cut to combat organized crime.

In September, the Dutch government proposed barring foreign tourists from coffeehouses entirely and reducing the amount of pot one can legally buy. That hasn't happened yet, but it's possible in 2010. Under one proposal, patrons would need a Dutch bank debit card to buy pot.

And get this - a new health law bans tobacco smoking inside businesses. Patrons now have to hide cigarettes in coffeehouses but not their joints, which are not considered health risks.

Cole can feel Amsterdam becoming more conservative.

"It's very much retro thinking. They're tightening the grips here," said Cole, who also is a drummer, professional stilt walker and father of a toddler. On the other hand, compared with other world cities, Amsterdam remains incredibly liberal.

The book's editor, John Sinclair, wishes he'd had a coffeehouse guidebook when he first went to Amsterdam.

He is best known for his 1960s years as a pot-promoting Ann Arbor, Mich., political activist. He's now a poet, editor and grandfather.

"It usually takes about three to four times there to really know what you're doing," said Sinclair. "We remember going to Amsterdam and not knowing anything."

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1086555&lang=eng_news&cate_img=317.jpg&cate_rss=news_Features ]]> http://www.marijuana-seeds-canada.com/blogs/marijuana-news/1285262-marc-emery-scapegoat-of-canadas-u-s-dictated-drug-policy 2009-10-19T08:23:24Z Single Marijuana Seeds info@marijuana-seeds-canada.com

Mexico recently decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, coc*ine, and her*in for personal use, with countries like Brazil soon to follow suit.

Allen St. Pierre, the executive director of Norml noted the more common sense views on our nation's drug policies under the Obama administration, believing the prior administration would have strongly objected to Mexico's decriminalization law.

"If this were the prior administration they would have made hay out of it," says Pierre. He referrers to the change, as "a generational evolution that transcends continents and ideologies."

Indeed, the U.S. has taken steps to discontinue federal raids on medical marijuana facilities, and has made policy changes to put more emphasis on treatment and prevention programs as well.

However, it's unlikely the decriminalization of marijuana or other drugs would garner sufficient political support in the U.S. in the near future.

http://chattahbox.com/world/2009/09/25/latin-america-moves-to-decriminalize-drugs/ ]]> http://www.marijuana-seeds-canada.com/blogs/marijuana-news/1249282-family-guy-marijuana-episode-banned-in-venezuela 2009-09-25T11:34:41Z Single Marijuana Seeds info@marijuana-seeds-canada.com

Pot activist Marc Emery told a Vancouver business licence hearing yesterday that he was transferring control of his Cannabis Culture Headquarters to his wife, Jodie Emery.

“She is an exemplary person and she’ll be an excellent business person,” said Marc Emery, who was at city hall for a third day to appeal the city’s rejection of his business licence renewal.

Emery is surrendering himself to authorities on Monday for extradition to the U.S., where he will plead guilty to selling marijuana seeds through mail.

Emery withdrew the business licence application yesterday in order to transfer directorship of the company, Avalon Sunsplash, to his wife, his accountant and his lawyer. The new directors could then petition for the renewal of the business licence.

Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs said the city had seven points of concern with Emery’s appeal. The main one is that it is illegal for someone to run a business after they have been criminally convicted in connection with that business, he added.

“Much of city staff’s concern focused on a conviction that he has for possession in Saskatchewan a few years ago,” Meggs said.

http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver

Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt pitched a resolution last week to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities asking the federal government to inform cities when medicinal pot licences are approved.

This would allow municipalities to pinpoint where the pot is being grown and ensure homes are properly modified, he said.

“We will make sure they get the proper permits and inspections so the place won’t be a fire hazard for them or anyone else,” Hunt added.

The resolution was made on behalf of B.C. fire chiefs, who argue medical marijuana growers often alter wiring and make structural changes to their homes before starting their growing operations.

Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis said this not only creates an increased fire risk but poses health problems in the home, such as mould and improper chemical storage.

Also, when people leave a home or move out, the city doesn’t necessarily know the house was used to grow pot.

“The city doesn’t know where they are,” Garis said, adding: “It’s no different than a criminal grow-op because of the clandestine nature. Even though there are indications they should seek approval, there are no requirements.”

Garis would like the federal government to allow local monitoring of licensed growing operations to ensure medical marijuana growers submit to zoning, fire and safety regulations and their homes are safe.

Otherwise, he said, when firefighters run across these homes, they have to regulate them after the fact. Some of the worst ones have to be shut down while upgrades are made.

Garis said his colleagues in Coquitlam and Langley have run across similar problems.

“We’re talking about community safety,” he said.

Some 2,017 individuals in Canada had licences to cultivate and process medical marijuana as of July last year. Surrey has identified about nine homes where medicinal pot is being grown.

The issue has already been raised by the Canadian Fire Chiefs, B.C. Fire Chiefs, and to the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

In a letter to the UBCM, Garis noted research conducted by the Centre for Criminal Justice Research at the University of the Fraser Valley found homes containing a marijuana growing operation have a one in 22 probability of having a house fire. In homes without growing operations, the probability is one in 525.

Without proper regulations, he said, medical marijuana growing operations represent the same threat to public safety as illegal operations.

Meanwhile, Surrey has seen an 80.9-per-cent decline in the number of illegal marijuana growing operations between 2004 and 2008 as a result of its electrical fire safety inspection team. Some homes busted by the city have had upwards of 200 pot plants.

Homes used to grow pot are identified by reports of unusually high electricity consumption— typically at five times the average for a typical single-family residence.

But Garis said growers are becoming more savvy at hiding their operations by stealing power to avoid detection.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+scrutinizes+medical+marijuana+sites/1990277/story.html

ANP says ministers plan to continue the 30-year-old soft drugs policy which allows users to have up to five grammes marijuana without facing prosecution. But, the sources say, ministers are concerned at the size of some cannabis-selling cafes – known as coffee shops – and about the involvement of organised crime in production and supply.

Ministers want instead to see a return to small coffee shops which serve a local market, ANP says. The introduction of passes would make it difficult for foreign tourists to use them.

A government-backed experiment with a coffee shop membership system is soon to start in Maastricht, which is visited by tens of thousands of French, Belgium and German tourists hoping to buy marijuana a year.

New legislation will be introduced in the spring, the sources say.

In July, a government commission concluded that the current practice of ‘turning a blind eye’ to soft drugs had led to increased involvement by organised crime. It recommended a return to smaller coffee shops.

Last year, divisions between the current coalition government emerged over the approach to soft drugs. The Christian Democrats and ChristenUnie said they wanted an end to the blind-eye policy. Labour says closing coffee shops would lead to an increase in crime and drugs-related nuisance.

Coffee shop owners said they were not sure if introducing passes for Dutch nationals would be legal and warn of an increase in street dealing if foreign tourists were kept out.

The Netherlands has some 700 cannabis cafes, but dozens are under threat of closure by 2011 because they are too close to schools.

Local councils already have the right to decide whether or not to allow coffee shops within their area at all.

http://www.dutchnews.nl

After working initially with human cancer cell lines, Ines Diaz-Laviada and colleagues from the University of Alcala in Madrid also tested one compound on mice and discovered it produced a significant reduction in tumor growth.

Their research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, underlines the growing interest in the medical use of active chemicals called cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana.

Experts, however, stressed that the research was still exploratory and many more years of testing would be needed to work out how to apply the findings to the treatment of cancer in humans.

“This is interesting research which opens a new avenue to explore potential drug targets but it is at a very early stage,” said Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, which owns the journal.

“It absolutely isn’t the case that men might be able to fight prostate cancer by smoking cannabis,” she added

The cannabinoids tested by the Spanish team are thought to work against prostate cancer because they block a receptor, or molecular doorway, on the surface of tumour cells. This stops them from dividing.

In effect, the cancer cell receptors can recognize and “talk to” chemicals found in cannabis, said Diaz-Laviada.

“These chemicals can stop the division and growth of prostate cancer cells and could become a target for new research into potential drugs to treat prostate cancer,” she said.

Her team’s work with two cannabinoids — called methanandamide and JWH-015 — is the first demonstration that such cannabis chemicals prevent cancer cells from multiplying.

Some drug companies are already exploring the possibilities of cannabinoids in cancer, including British-based cannabis medicine specialist GW Pharmaceuticals.

It is collaborating with Japan’s Otsuka on early-stage research into using cannabis extracts to tackle prostate cancer — the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men — as well as breast and brain cancer.

GW has already developed an under-the-tongue spray called Sativex for the relief of some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, which it plans to market in Europe with Bayer and Almirall.

Other attempts to exploit the cannibinoid system have met with mixed success. Sanofi-Aventis was forced to withdraw its weight-loss drug Acomplia from the market last year because of links to mental disorders.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Cannabis+chemicals+help+fight+prostate+cancer/1908592/story.html

The decision follows a case of five young men who were arrested with a few marijuana cigarettes in their pockets.
But the court said use must not harm others and made it clear it did not advocate a complete decriminalisation.

Correspondents say there is a growing momentum in Latin America towards decriminalising drugs for personal use.

The Argentine court ruled that: “Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state.”

Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti said private behaviour was legal, “as long as it doesn’t constitute clear danger”.

“The state cannot establish morality,” he said.

The initiative has been supported by the government – Congress is expected to introduce amendments to the current drug laws.

But the court said it was not advocating a complete decriminalisation of the drug – a move possibly aimed at deflecting criticism from the Church and conservatives, says the BBC’s Candace Piette in Buenos Aires.

The eight-page statement also called for a comprehensive policy against illegal drug trafficking.

Health fears

The move has been criticised by some campaign groups who say it will encourage damaging behaviour and lead to health problems.

“There will be an increase in the drug trade and the people that fall into addiction will not, unfortunately, access treatment,” Claudio Izaguirre, director of the Argentine Anti-drugs Association told Reuters.

“My country doesn’t have the necessary health coverage for what will happen,” he said.

Argentina’s move follows rulings by several other countries across the region, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.

Last week, Mexico enacted a law decriminalising possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine and heroin – the country is in the midst of a drugs turf war which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the last three years.

The aim of such moves is to enable police to focus their efforts on the big criminals in the drugs trade rather than dealing with petty cases, says our correspondent.

But it also marks a shift a dramatic regional shift to the decades-old US-backed policy of running repressive military-style wars on the drug trade, she adds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the city discriminated against Kenneth James after raiding his home, seizing his pot plants, disconnecting his water supply and putting a “Do Not Occupy” notice on the door in April 2007.

James, who was in the process of renewing his federal permit to grow pot for medicinal use, was told he and his partner Peter Moynan could not return to the house until they removed the carpets and curtains, had the home professionally cleaned and paid the city $3,009.

He can return home only now, after the tribunal ordered the city to cease its actions, rescind the cost order and remove the notice.

“I conclude the city discriminated against Mr. James when it rigidly imposed the bylaw against him, while failing to take into account, adequately or at all, his disability, the very reason he was growing marijuana in the first place,” tribunal member Kurt Neuenfeldt said.

He said city officials failed to take any steps to get all the relevant information about James’ disability and didn’t even consider whether he would need accommodation.

Even when the city knew James had received his renewed permits in May 2007, it was still demanding he clean up the house and pay the $3,009.

The city claims it was acting under its Controlled Substance-Safe Premises bylaw, which had been adopted two months earlier as a health and safety precaution.

Maurice Roy, city manager of permits and licensing, told the tribunal that it’s well-known there are mould issues connected with growing marijuana. He said he didn’t seek more information because he “always takes the RCMP at their word.” He was unavailable to comment Friday.

James’ lawyer Fred Kaatz said that before the order, James had had a permit for six years to grow marijuana. “It just seems to me they were a little callous as to the needs of my client,” he said. “All he wanted all along was to get back into his house and not pay $3,009.”

Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma said the city was reviewing its controlled substance bylaw following the tribunal decision.

“We’re going to have another look at it,” he said. “Obviously the Human Rights Tribunal found something not satisfactory.”

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/international-cannabis-news/100280-bc-salmon-arm-officials-criticized-evicting-marijuana-grower.html

But at least one Australian researcher says the study needs more evidence.

Previous research has suggested cannabis use increases the risk of being diagnosed with either psychosis or schizophrenia.

This latest study, led by Dr Martin Frisher of Keele University, examined the records of 600,000 patients aged between 16 and 44, but failed to find a similar link.

“An important limitation of many studies is that they have failed to distinguish the direction of association between cannabis use and psychosis,” the authors write in the latest edition of the journal Schizophrenia Research.

They point out that “although using cannabis is associated with a greater risk of developing psychosis, there is also evidence of increased cannabis use following psychosis onset.”

Not as predicted

Frisher and colleagues compared the trends of cannabis use with general practitioner records of schizophrenia and psychosis.

They argue if cannabis use does cause schizophrenia, then an increase in cannabis use should be followed by an increase in the incidence of schizophrenia.

According to the study, cannabis use in the UK between 1972 and 2002 has increased four-fold in the general population, and 18-fold among under-18s.

Based on the literature supporting the link, the authors argue that this should be followed by an increase in schizophrenia incidence of 29% between 1990 and 2010.

But the researchers found no increase in the rates of schizophrenia and psychosis diagnosis during that period. In fact some of the data suggested the incidence of these conditions had decreased.

“This study does not therefore support the specific causal link between cannabis use and the incidence of psychotic disorders,” the authors say. “This concurs with other reports indicating that increases in population cannabis use have not been followed by increases in psychotic incidence.”

More evidence

Professor Joseph Rey of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, who’s previous research has identified a link between cannabis and schizophrenia, is sceptical of the study’s results.

“Not showing that there is a link does not mean there is no link,” he says. “There might be other factors at play that may reduce the incidence of diagnosed schizophrenia.”

According Rey, “this study is just a start and the evidence suggesting that cannabis use does increase the risk of schizophrenia is quite strong. We need more evidence to counteract what we already know.”

The authors of the study say that while they cannot completely dismiss all alternative explanations of their data, such explanations “do not appear to be plausible”.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/09/01/2673334.htm

In a split, 2-1 decision released on Friday, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that Calgary police should not have requested Enmax to install the device to create a record of when electrical power was being consumed at Daniel James Gomboc’s southwest home in January 2004, before obtaining a warrant.

“It has been famously said that, ‘The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,’” wrote Justice Peter Martin, who ordered a new trial for Gomboc.

“The actual prohibition is much broader: in our society, absent exigent circumstances, the state has no business in the homes of the nation without invitation or judicial authorization.”

Lawyer Charlie Stewart, who represented Gomboc – convicted of producing marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking at Court of Queen’s Bench in 2007 – said the decision affects every grow op case in Alberta in which police have used the DRA technology.

“It’s interesting to think of all the people who have pleaded guilty or been convicted under these circumstances,” said Stewart. “It’s a question of the legitimacy of the search.”

With the information from the DRA probe, police obtained a search warrant and found a two-stage grow op involving hundreds of plants.

They also seized 165.3 kilograms of bulk marijuana, 206.8 grams of processed and bagged marijuana, as well as numerous items related to the grow op.

With the decision, all evidence gathered in the search would be inadmissible at trial.

Martin, who was supported in his decision by Justice Ron Berger, said the homeowner’s expectation of privacy extends beyond data about electricity consumption.

“It is also objectively reasonable to expect that the utility would not be co-opted by the police to gather additional information of interest only to police,” wrote Martin.

“Indeed, I expect that the reasonable, informed citizen would be gravely concerned, and would object to the state being allowed to use a utility to spy on a homeowner in this way.”

In a lengthy dissenting opinion, Justice Clifton O’Brien agreed with QB Justice Marsha Erb’s original trial decision to convict.

“When combined with the other (indications), the DRA information supported the issuance of a warrant,” O’Brien said. “Further, the regulatory regime in Alberta concerning the usage of electricity negates any confidentiality on the part of a customer vis-a-vis the police, relative to his or her usage thereof.”

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Alberta+court+rules+marijuana+grow+detector+violates+privacy/1920767/story.html

It’s a grim fact of life that the vast majority of humans are prone to blindly follow leadership. Further complicating matters, in males the capacity to dominate is governed by the capacity to deceive.

Thankfully, in females the capacity to lead is evenly distributed between those who are honest and those who can lie. But think of it, what greater power of persuasion can we exert than making people slaves out of fear based on a lie?

Cannabis is the most studied, medicinally active and industrially versatile plant on earth. This means it has enemies in almost every economic sector. Competition separates good and evil. Evil is a means to an end. Dominance.

And since the government lies as it claims such importance for sending a clear message, it’s left to a fraction of the 30% of critical autonomous thinkers to set the record straight.

So be it.

Bruce Codere

Fox Creek, Alta.

http://www.canada.com/Cannabis+nearly+smoking+tobacco/1912205/story.html

At first, enforcement of that prohibition was sporadic. In the 1930s and 40s, there was an average of just one or two prosecutions a year. By the late 1960s, recreational marijuana use had grown to the point that hundreds, and eventually thousands of young Canadians a year were being introduced to the criminal justice system thanks to their use of pot.

The most recent stats show that more than 40,000 Canadians are regularly being charged with marijuana possession every year. Cannabis sativa has become by far the most popular illegal drug in the country, with some surveys suggesting that 10 million Canadians aged 15 or older have used marijuana at least once in their lives.

The growing prevalence of pot use included many people who began experimenting with marijuana’s medicinal properties — using the drug not primarily to get high but to address some health complaint.

Prescription to proscription

That marked a return to marijuana’s early history in North America, when it enjoyed such widespread use in the 19th century that it was routinely prescribed for such conditions as rheumatism and was even sold in drug stores.

But the adoption of strict drug laws in the 1930s put an abrupt end to the legal use of marijuana for any reason — including as a health product. Medicinal marijuana use was driven underground for decades to come.

By the 1990s, the pressure to revisit marijuana’s health uses was building. Surveys found that 80 per cent of Canadians favoured legalizing marijuana use for medical reasons. Non-profit groups — often called compassion clubs — sprang up across Canada to facilitate the distribution of marijuana to members who said the drug provided them relief from a variety of health complaints that no other medication could match.

Challenges grow

Other users made no secret of their use of marijuana for their ills, and they openly challenged authorities to lay possession charges, which the authorities did. The case of one such user — Terrence Parker — was the one that changed everything.

The Toronto man had been charged with pot possession many times, as he made no secret of using it to control his epileptic seizures. But his lawyers used a different defence for his 1996 charges. This time, they said the charges violated Parker’s charter rights.

The defence worked. On Dec. 10, 1997, a judge ruled that people must be able to access necessary medical treatment without fear of arrest. Parker became the first Canadian to be exempted from further prosecution for either possession or cultivation of marijuana. A subsequent appeal upheld the lower court ruling. Justice Mark Rosenberg of the Ontario Court of Appeal wrote that “forcing Parker to choose between his health and imprisonment violates his right to liberty and security of the person.”

Still, the legal evolution of medical marijuana had more distance to go. There were no guidelines on how the few Canadians who’d been given an exemption from Canada’s marijuana possession laws were supposed to get their drug — which, after all, was still illegal to distribute.

A medical marijuana template is born

In 2001, Ottawa came up with a solution to the problem, becoming the first country to adopt a formal system to regulate the medicinal use of marijuana — the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations.

The policy allowed people suffering from terminal illnesses or severe conditions such as epilepsy, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and cancer to use the drug if it eased their symptoms.

Some people would be able to grow marijuana themselves under strict guidelines. Others would be allowed to buy it from companies licensed by the government. Ottawa awarded the first (and so far, the only) federal licence to supply marijuana to a Saskatoon-based company, Prairie Plant Systems. The pot is grown in an underground mine in Flin Flon, Man.

In early 2003, the Supreme Court of Ontario ruled that the medical access regulations were unconstitutional because they were failing to provide a legal supply of the drug. Ottawa responded later that year with a plan to provide dried marijuana or seeds to Canadians authorized to take marijuana for medical reasons. That plan — occasionally tweaked — remains largely intact to this day.

The specifics

So far, the exemption from criminal prosecution for marijuana possession applies to fewer than 3,000 Canadians — patients who have satisfied the rigorous medical and legal conditions Ottawa has set to win the official all-clear.

By some estimates, hundreds of thousands of other Canadians may also be using marijuana for medical reasons, but have not formally applied for authorization to make their use legal.

Why so few? Well, there’s a lot of paperwork, for one thing. People who want to use marijuana legitimately must submit a detailed application for authorization and include two photos. Their doctor must also fill out a medical form that spells out why the applicant’s medical condition satisfies the conditions for an authorization. Depending on the nature and severity of the illness, the doctor will be asked to spell out that conventional therapies failed or were medically inappropriate.

If the person wants to grow their own, they must complete another application for a licence to produce marijuana. If they want to buy seeds … another application. If they can’t grow their own, their “designated person” must apply for a licence. This representative must also pass a criminal records check.
And then there’s the issue of the supply. Fewer than 20 per cent of the nearly 3,000 people approved for medical marijuana get it from Prairie Plant Systems (PPS) — the only government-approved supplier.

Some users complain about the quality of the federal cannabis or say they need a different strain of pot than the single standardized one produced by PPS. As a result, many choose to grow their own or head to the black market.

Activists have long wanted Ottawa to loosen the rules that prevent providers (other than PPS) from supplying more than one patient. New rules were implemented in 2009 to allow designated producers to grow marijuana for one additional approved user — to a maximum of two. But that fell far short of what many in the community had wanted.

Eight years into the adoption of the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, many activists remain frustrated with the bureaucracy and the limitations. But Ottawa shows little enthusiasm for further loosening the legal restrictions on a drug that it says still deserves a tight leash.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/08/14/f-medical-marijuana.html

The projected annual bill for the province for housing these cultivators will be $114 million, and that’s not even counting the capital costs required for the construction of the additional prison cells that will be needed. I trust that Premier Gordon Campbell and the Liberals are, at least behind closed doors, lobbying against this rather significant drain on the provincial purse.

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives want to lock up everyone who grows a marijuana plant, why don’t they make the minimum penalty two years imprisonment in a federal prison? At least that would make the federal government financially accountable for its folly.

Let’s acknowledge that there are features of some large-scale marijuana grow operations that deserve a strong rebuke: The theft of electricity, the exposure of children to toxic moulds, and the presence of guns or other weapons at the site of a grow. Penalize these activities, not the growing of cannabis itself — this activity can be engaged in safely, without risk to children, or the surrounding community.

At the end of the day, however, using the criminal law against cannabis is wholly counter-productive. It’s criminalization that causes theft of electricity, violence in the cannabis trade, exposure to toxic moulds, and provides folks who are sometimes mindless thugs with millions of dollars in untaxed income.

There’s no evidence that cannabis use results in anything close to the death toll produced by alcohol and tobacco, even when current — and projected future — rates of use are taken into account. Marijuana use by consenting adults is a public health issue, not a moral problem.

In a more sane world, the financially reckless proposals of Harper and the Conservatives would be regarded as considerably more silly than the antics of Cheech and Chong.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/

The former “Dirty Dancing” heartthrob has been battling pancreatic cancer for over a year now amid almost constant reports that he is at death’s door. Now in his final days of chemotherapy, the 56-year-old star has turned to marijuana to help him cope with what traditional medicine cannot—the side effects of this treatment.

An unnamed source told The National Enquirer that Swayze is smoking marijuana to quell the insomnia, nausea, and anxiety caused by his chemotherapy treatments.

Such “medicinal” uses of marijuana are not new. Much research has been done on marijuana’s medicinal properties. According to the National Organization for the Return of Marijuana Laws, the majority of research suggests that smoking marijuana relives pain, nausea, and glaucoma. These studies prompted many states to try to legalize so-called “medical marijuana” with mixed success. To date, 13 states—including Swayze’s state of California—has legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes.

But the federal government has yet to recognize marijuana’s medicinal properties, leaving those that legally use it in their own states vulnerable to federal prosecutions.

But federal prosecution is the least of Swayze’s concerns. He is reportedly in the third and final stage of pancreatic cancer. Pictures that showed the star as painfully thin and gaunt caused concern, and rumors to swirl, of his impending death. Recent pictures, however, are showing a much healthier-looking Swayze. A source close to the star credits marijuana for bringing back some of the health that Swayze had before beginning chemotherapy. The source told The National Enquirer that marijuana enabled Swayze to gain weight because it has helped reduce his nausea, allowing him to “keep his food down.”

http://www.eontarionow.com/entertainment/2009/08/10/patrick-swayze-turns-to-marijuana-to-treat-cancer-update/

Confusion surrounding the rules regarding medical marijuana and conflicts with Ontario’s liquor laws have resulted in several complaints before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario from medical marijuana users who allege discrimination after they were forbidden from smoking pot along with cigarette smokers outside drinking establishments.

“I am writing to ask for your assistance in clarifying Health Canada’s policy on the possession and consumption of medical marijuana and the appropriate circumstances where the product can be used,” wrote Government Services Minister Ted McMeekin, in his March 10 letter to federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.

“It is essential that Health Canada act to formally clarify its intention and direction regarding the consumption of medical marijuana.”

McMeekin suggested the federal government formally clarify medical marijuana rules in its recently introduced bill to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which aims to toughen punishment for drug crimes.

“Is the federal government prepared to clarify its intent related to the above issue in the form of a legislative or regulatory change?” wrote McMeekin.

The Ontario minister also asked for information from Health Canada on the affects of second-hand marijuana smoke.

A spokesperson for Aglukkaq said the federal government was “considering next steps” on regulating medical marijuana without providing any details. Josee Bellemare, however, admitted the existing rules do not specify where medical marijuana users can light up.

“The authorized person is advised in an information package not to consume controlled substances in a public place and not to expose others to any effects related to the inhalation of secondary smoke,” said Bellemare.

Ted Kindos, the owner of Ted’s Tap and Grill in Burlington, Ont., is facing a human rights complaint for asking a medical marijuana smoker not to light up outside his business. Kindos is frustrated by the tension between liquor laws and rights given medical marijuana users. He has turned to the Federal Court to require Health Canada to expressly condition any medical marijuana permits upon compliance with provincial liquor licensing laws.

“I don’t have any qualms with them smoking it as long as there is no affect on a small business to jeopardize a license that has been put in place,” he said.

Amateur Ottawa comedian Russell Barth, who has filed a human rights complaint against a separate establishment, said he was pleased with the province’s move, but doubted the federal government would act to clarify the rules.

“There is no reason I should not be allowed to alleviate my symptoms in the same place people are using tobacco for habit, addiction and pleasure,” said Barth.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/wants+federal+clarity+medical/1382076/story.html

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Wednesday in the House of Commons that the government is concerned about the issue of smoking medical marijuana in public.

“That’s why I have instructed my officials to examine this issue and develop options,” said the health minister.

The federal government has been under pressure to clarify the rules around medical marijuana use in public. One recent request for clarification came from a bar owner in Burlington, Ont., who faced allegations of discrimination when he asked a medical marijuana user not to smoke outside his business.

The existing Marijuana Medical Access Regulations, which came into force in 2001, do not stipulate where patients can use their marijuana. While users must abide by any federal or provincial legislation and local bylaws that restrict smoking cigarettes in public places, there are no other specific prohibitions on medical pot use in public.

The government says the issue has been on its radar for some time and that it is responding to public concern in developing the new rules. It has not set a deadline for the new regulations to be in place but the department doesn’t anticipate the process being too lengthy.

Health Canada officials will develop proposed regulations and present them to the health minister, who will make the final decision on the regulations.

A member of the British Columbia Compassion Club Society, a health centre that provides access to medicinal cannabis, says the organization understands the need for clear rules but hopes they are no more strict than the ones imposed on cigarette smokers.

Jayce Sale said however, that they are concerned about the impact of heavier regulations.

“It gets into a slippery slope because medical marijuana users have that right to use it and so by creating more barriers around where they can do it is a concern because it’s limiting options for them,” she said.

Steve Kubby, now a California resident who was a licensed medical marijuana user when he lived in Sechelt, B.C., said he is also concerned about the Canadian government’s decision to take a tougher stand on medical marijuana use.

“We don’t have those kinds of requirements for other people when they use their medicines,” said the 62-year-old who uses cannabis daily to ease the effects of his rare form of cancer.

“It is just so difficult to understand how someone that is struggling with cancer as I am . . . my society would want to send police with guns to terrorize me and my family, tell me where I can and cannot smoke, to arrest me if I happen to be using cannabis in the wrong place or at the wrong time.”

In 2004, Kubby was hiking in a park and confronted by an off-duty RCMP officer who took his joint, threw it on the ground, and told him he had no right to smoke it there even when Kubby explained he was a registered patient under the government’s medical marijuana program.

He sought clarification from Health Canada who told Kubby in a letter soon after the incident that, “While Health Canada advises authorized persons not to consume marijuana in public, there are no legislated restrictions on such action.” The RCMP later apologized to him.

He said people that are using marijuana for medical reasons already have enough to worry about without having to abide by rules about where to use it.

“Patients have such a struggle just to get through each day that all these layers of regulations and laws hurt people, they don’t protect people, they hurt people,” he said.

About 2,800 people are authorized to possess marijuana under the federal government program.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Rules+tightened+smoking+medical+marijuana/1431045/story.html

Production at the mine — deep under the tundra at Flin Flon, Manitoba — had to be moved because the facility was not big enough and a deal to expand it had not been worked out, operator Prairie Plant Systems said on Wednesday.

The mine had been producing legal marijuana for nearly a decade since Canada began allowing patients legal access to marijuana for medical reasons such as controlling pain.

The switch to another location prompted media reports that the operation had gone up in smoke, but Prairie Plant’s Chief Executive Brent Zettl said that was premature.

Zettl still hopes to strike a deal with mine owner HudBay Minerals Inc (HBM.TO) to expand marijuana operations within the mine, and said a final decision will not be made until the end of the month.

“It may be or it may not be (closed forever),” Zettl said.

The company, which raises plants for pharmaceutical uses, has other operations in the Trout Lake mine. Its contract to supply pot to Health Canada for sale to authorized medical users runs for another 2-1/2 years.

Some marijuana activists have panned the quality of pot from the Flin Flon facility, saying many medical users simply grow their own or buy from sources other than the government.

Authorized medical marijuana users are allowed to legally grow their own pot.

While medical marijuana’s use is controversial, some research has show has shown the drug to be effective in alleviating symptoms of debilitating diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssMiningMetalsSpecialty/idUSN2752558620090727

Thirty-eight-year-old Michelle Rainey and 54-year-old Gregory Williams pled guilty to charges stemming from a 2005 grand jury indictment.

According to the facts in her plea agreement, Rainey worked for Emery from 1998 to 2005 and helped him send marijuana seeds and growing instructions to mail order customers – mostly in the U.S.

Williams’plea agreement says he handled the phone orders and wire transfer information used for payment and also sold cannabis seeds at Emery’s store, numerous times to an undercover agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Williams also says in his plea agreement that Emery made more than $3 million a year selling marijuana seeds.

The so-called Prince of Pot has been on a cross-Canada farewell tour as he prepares for a minimum five-year sentence in the U.S.

http://www.am1150.ca/news/14/962058

“I want to give out everybody’s marching orders so that more are active and my time in jail is not so bad,” said Emery. "One of the things I used to remember from being in Saskatoon Correctional — three months for passing one joint — was that you get a lot of ‘Oh man, it must suck to be in prison.’ You never need to write someone in prison and say that. So one of the things I like is when all the activists write me while I’m in prison and tell me ‘I was doing this to make pot legal.’

“[The tour is] mostly to give them instructions and effective ways to make me happy while I’m gone,” Emery continued, semi-jokingly.

As the publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, B.C. Marijuana Party leader and the namesake of the Marc Emery Seed Company, few people have had as much interaction with the Canadian cannabis subculture as the 51-year-old.

Emery’s Calgary speech detailed the potential impact of new legislation such as the recently-passed Bill C-15, which adds mandatory minimums for drug offenders, while discussing some of the insights and memories gained during two decades defending the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis. Emery also addressed topics ranging from LSD use in Major League Baseball to the importance of fatherhood in preventing drug abuse.

Emery is in the process of being extradited to the U.S. on drug-related charges, something he has fought vociferously against. Along with medicinal cannabis activists Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, he is accused of selling marijuana seeds to Americans and initially faced an enormous sentence in U.S. jails on charges similar to that of a drug kingpin.

Emery believes he is being politically persecuted for his actions, citing a Vancouver event in December 2002 where he and others heckled then-U.S. Drug czar John Walters, and further argues he operated Emery Seeds in compliance with Canadian law — even going so far as to explicitly declare income from marijuana seeds on his taxes.

At one point, Emery alleged Health Canada even referred patients looking for high-quality cannabis genetics to Emery’s organization. After the No Extradition publicity campaign failed to generate any sympathy from the Conservative Government, Emery entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which would have seen him spend a mixed term in American and Canadian jails. This was rejected by the Canadian government, forcing Emery back to the bargaining table and causing him to believe the Canadian Department of Justice wishes to use him as an example.

Despite the gloom surrounding his trials Emery was upbeat and optimistic, rallying supporters and encouraging them to oppose the recently-passed Bill C-15 at the senatorial level. Emery finds the bill troublesome as it adds mandatory minimums for first-time offenders and says it will accomplish little but fill Canadian prisons with young people, as he believes mandatory minimums have done in the U.S.

“A mid-level or high-level dealer is going to get one to three years anyway, so the only people [Bill C-15 is] really going to effect are young people who sell to their friends,” said Emery. “That’s how we all become dealers, right? Four of us want to buy some weed, three of us have money, one person has a connection . . . He begins to pay for his own stash through dealing. Those are the people — because it’s a conspiracy of three or more people — who are going to go to jail for six months, one year, two years. If you’re near a school it’s double, if it’s your second or third offence, it’s double.”

http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/13660

Marc and Jodie will be embarking on a tour of Canada beginning July 5 in Calgary, and will cover all major cities in Canada by mid August. If you want Marc and Jodie to visit your hometown to speak, he requires $500 for airfare and a hotel room. Once that is done, we will indicate that city and venue are confirmed.

Once confirmed, the host would need to find a venue to speak at. Marc would prefer to speak outdoors in a park or pavilion during the day, or in a library or hall in the evenings (no pubs or bars), and with a microphone for more than 50 people. His speech is typically 2 to 3 hours plus questions.

The proposed itinerary for Marc Emery’s Farewell Tour
Confirmed/sponsored marked with **

**Calgary, Alberta – July 5 (Facebook page)
Where: Scarboro Community Centre, 1727 14th ave SW
When: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Sponsor: “Next Level”, “Calgary 420”

**Banff, Alberta – July 6 (Facebook page)
Where: Central Park
When: 4:30pm
Sponsor: “Hempire”

**Lethbridge, Alberta – July 7 (Facebook page)
Where: University of Lethbridge Ballroom B, University Drive
When: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Sponsor: “Southern Alberta Cannabis Club”, “B.O.B. Headquarters”

**Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – July 8 (Facebook page)
Where: River Landing Amphitheater
When: 4:00pm BBQ, 6:00pm speech
Sponsor: “Jupiter”

**Edmonton, Alberta – July 9 (Facebook page)
Where: Beaver Hill House Park at 104 st and Jasper Ave.
When: 3:30pm – 6:30pm, private BBQ after
Sponsor: “Edmonton420.ca” and Wild Underground

**Winnipeg, Manitoba – July 10
Where: Winnipeg Folk Festival
When: 4:00pm – 10:00pm
Sponsor: Two fans from Winnipeg

**Thunder Bay, Ontario – July 12 (Facebook page)
Where: Kakabeka Legion, 4556 Highway 11-17
When: 3:00pm start, 6:00pm speech ($5 Advanced Tickets Only)
Sponsor: Listed on Facebook page

**Sudbury, Ontario – July 13 (Facebook page)
Where: Northern Hempisphere store, 899 Kingsway
When: 4:30 – 6:30
Sponsor: “Mr. Cookie Baked Goods”, “Northern Hempisphere”

**Hamilton, Ontario – July 14 (Facebook page)
Where: Various locations, see Facebook page
When: 2:00pm – 9:00pm
Sponsor: “Crazy Bills”, “Melanheads”, “C.I.R.C.L.E.”

**London, Ontario – July 15 (Facebook page)
Where: The Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas Street
When: 6:30pm, Get tickets from City Lights Bookshop
Sponsor: “City Lights Bookshop” (356 Richmond Street)

**Toronto, Ontario – July 16 (Event information, Facebook page)
Where: Vapor Central, 667 Yonge Street, 2nd Floor
When: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Sponsor: Matthew, hosted by “Vapour Central”

**Barrie, Ontario – July 17 (Facebook page)
Where: “Liquid Chrome” store, 11 Dunlop Street East
When: 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Sponsor: “Liquid Chrome” store

**Orangeville, Ontario – July 18 (Facebook page)
Where: Town Hall
When: 2:00pm – 8:00pm
Sponsor: Kyle Bailey, numerous stores

**Ottawa, Ontario (Protest on Parliament Hill) – July 19

**Orono, Ontario (Liberty Summer Seminar) – July 24, 25 (Event webpage)
Where: Hillside Estates, 7570 Best Road
When: All-day event, must be registered
Sponsor: N/A

**Halifax, Nova Scotia – July 27

St. John’s, Newfoundland – July 29
I’ll be speaking at Bannerman Park from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm

**Montreal, Quebec – July 31

Kamloops, BC – August 3

Grande Prairie, Alberta – August 4

Dawson Creek, BC – August 5

Kelowna, BC – August 6

Salmo/Nelson, BC (Shambhala Festival) – August 7-9

Nelson, BC – August 10

Victoria, BC – August 14

Vancouver, BC – August 17/18

Tofino, BC – August 20

Whitehorse, Yukon – August 23

Prince Albert, SK – August 24

**Swift Current, Saskatchewan – August 25

**Regina, Saskatchewan – August 26

Sault Ste Marie (Planetary Pride Hempfest) – August 27-28

Iqaluit, Nunavut – August 30

All dates and locations are tentative until money is received to cover travel expenses. Marc will consider any community he can get to where there is a host/sponsor willing to put up the $500.

If your hometown is not on the list and you want to organize an event, contact Marc:

marc@cannabisculture.com

Office: (604) 689-0590
Home: (604) 685-8260
Jodie’s cell: (604) 818-4201

http://cannabisculture.com/v2/content/marc-emerys-farewell-canada-tour