Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Moves To END Federal Prohibition Of Marijuana!
According to a recent post here on THEI we reported that a General Social Survey found that almost 60% of Americans believe that Marijuana should be legalized. If you are one of those majority of our citizens I urge you to contact your Congressperson and demand that they support Congresswoman Gabbard and Congressman Garret on this important issue. Tell them you support HR1227.
It is the liquor and medical industry lobbyist who spend million of dollars to stop this movement that we are fighting. Even if you are against recreational marijuana you must see the ridiculousness of keeping it a Schedule 1 classification which still means they are saying that it “has no medical benefits” and makes it illegal to even study the plant to find further medical uses, which I an sure there are many.
We here at THEI support HR1227. We believe the followers of this site are smart enough to agree. . . . Your Editor Dennis Crenshaw
Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants to bring back the war on drugs, but on medical marijuana — which he says “has been hyped, maybe too much” — he may be too late.
Any minute now, medical marijuana will be legal in West Virginia. West Virginia! It’s a state that voted for Trump by nearly 42 points in November, and approved medical marijuana via its Republican legislature last week. Democratic Gov. Jim Justice (D) is open to signing it.
And West Virginia is on the tail end of the medical marijuana trend. Half the population of the country, spread out among some 28 states and the District of Columbia, can legally smoke some form marijuana for medical purposes. All but three states legalize some part of the drug found in the cannabis plant for medical cause (mostly the compound cannabidiol, which research suggests doesn’t get people high but can help with anxiety and pain). . . . Read Complete Report
The single largest contributor on either side of the fight over Amendment 2, which grants patients with “debilitating diseases” access to medical marijuana, is billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who, new campaign finance filings show, added $1 million to the $4 million he’s already spent in support of the campaign to defeat the measure.
My first thought was that it was a shame that a person with that much obviously going for him would be so uneducated on the subject of marijuana that he would spend so much money to deny treatment of so many people, especially children, of the only medicine that works. Marijuana. I just excused it with the thought, He is ignorant when it comes to the subject.
“Adelson who lost a son, Mitchell, to a drug overdose.[36] Mitchell was said to have used cocaine and heroin from an early age.[37] Adelson believes that cannabis is a gateway drug.[38]
He still believes the old unproven statement by the propagandist “Marijuana is a Gateway Drug.” I’m sorry about his son but to blame his death on marijuana is ludicrous. But I can see why, believing false information, he would naturally use some of his fortune to contribute in efforts to stop the move towards legalization across America.
But with that said, surprisingly, I also found out that, while he contributed 85% of the anti-medical marijuana (5 mil) money in Florida he did not spend one dime in the other states with had marijuana measures on the ballot, Including 3 states for complete legalization.
It seems to me that if the 10th richest man in the united States was donating money because he was a fanatic AGAINST pot laws he would have spent money in these States also. But no, he sunk millions into Florida and not a penny anywhere else in the country where pot legislation was on the ballot. You have to ask yourself, why??
I decided I needed to do a little research to understand why a gambler from Vegas would care so much about the pot laws of Florida yet care nothing about the prohibition laws being overthrown in other States. That seems to me to indicate that the millionaire casino owners main interest is not financing the protection of pot laws across the country. He must have another agenda.
After all 57% of the Florida Voters that voted were for this bill. It isn’t over. It just means we need to educate 3% more voters to the needs of these extremely sick people before the another election and it’s done. Or the next. It’s inevitable. Adelson must have realized that. He’s no dummy. People with his savvy don’t spend money without expecting something in return.
So. The question is, “Why did a Vegas casino owner spend 5 million dollars to influence Florida voters in regards to medical marijuana laws and ignore all of the other pot reform laws in the country?”
Maybe it is just his way of fighting the “Killer Weed” – and maybe it’s something else. . . THEI is going to find out and continue to pass the facts along to you in this THEI exclusive series.
“In 1991 . . . He razed the Sands and spent $1.5 billion to construct The Venetian, a Venice-themed resort hotel and casino.”
“In August 2007, Adelson opened the $2.4-billion Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on Cotai and announced that he planned to create a massive, concentrated resort area he called the Cotai Strip, after its Las Vegas counterpart.”
“In the late 2000s, Adelson and the company decided to build a casino resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is one of five stand-alone casinos that were awarded a slots license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2006.”
“Adelson spearheaded a major project to bring the Sands name to Macau, the Chinese gambling city . . . The one-million-square-foot Sands Macao became the People’s Republic of China‘s first Las Vegas-style casino when it opened in May 2004.”
“In May 2006, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands was awarded a hotly contested license to construct a casino resort in Singapore’sMarina Bay. . . .”
Featured Image: Uruguay in relation to where you are. ORIGINAL SOURCE: Uruguay orthographic projection.CREDIT:Connormah. THEI SOURCE: Wikipedia Commons (Public-Domain)
Uruguay faces UN backlash for legalizing pot
From RT.com Published time: December 12, 2013 13:52
Edited time: December 13, 2013 10:44
Uruguay is facing criticism, as the UN’s drug body, supporting the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), lashed out at the country for allegedly breaking international law, after it legalized the consumption and growing of the plant on Tuesday.
“Uruguay is breaking the international conventions on drug control with the cannabis legislation approved by its congress,”said the INCB, citing several reasons why it thinks Uruguay has made a mistake, among them the purported health risks associated with the plant’s use, the drug body said on its website. . . . Read Complete Report
2014 is just around the corner and that means selling recreational marijuana will become legal in Colorado. This change brings about several challenges . . . Read Complete Report
Image: A photograph of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.
A photograph of a cannabis plant. The photo at that site is marked as being copyright-free, and is credited to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
It was a Tuesday morning in San Diego, just over a month ago on November 7th, when SDPD received reports of broken glass at a local business, with a possible burglary having had occurred overnight. Police investigators arriving on the scene quickly determined that the business in question was a medical marijuana dispensary, and the focus of their investigation quickly shifted from aiding possible burglary victims, to persecuting law abiding citizens and shuttering a legitimate business. . . Read Complete Report
Has it really come to this? It seems that with marijuana legalization legislation popping up in states across the country, the coppers are feeling backed into a corner. In one of their most despicable ploys yet, a number of agencies in Southern California have been deploying undercover cops into high schools with the mission of befriending teens, gaining their trust, and entrapping them into selling small amounts of marijuana so that they can arrest them.
This time it occurred at Perris and Menifee high schools where on 12/12/13, undercover cops who had been embedded in the high schools since the beginning of the year arrested over two dozen students on charges surrounding marijuana, hashish, and various other drugs. The remaining student population was thrown into a frenzy of distrust for both their school and their classmates as each one wondered who the cops were. . . . Read Complete Report
Take it with a grain of sale (we do), but researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine funded by the National Institutes of Health, say that the offspring of rats exposed to cannabis were less motivated than offspring of non-THC dosed rats. Their proof? . . . Read Complete Report
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer wants to puff MMJ while in uniform
Image: Mountie in Banff, Alberta. CREDIT: HordeFTL at English Wikipedia SOURCE: Wikipedia Commons (Public Domain) FOR ILLUSTRATION ONLY – The Mountie in the photo is NOT the Mountie in the article below.
A medical marijuana using Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer has kicked off a media storm in Canada this week after publicly admitted his cannabis use while on the job, notably while in the iconic red uniforms Mounties are known for wearing.
Marijuana use for adults 21 and over is legal in Colorado and Washington, but any wannabe toking tourists headed here from other countries might want to keep quiet about it until they get here.
According to reports in the Canadian press, simply admitting to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent that you’ve smoked pot or that you plan to smoke pot apparently can get you turned away at the border — and perhaps permanently banned from the good ol’ U.S. of A because marijuana is still illegal under federal laws. . . Read Complete Report
In just six days on Dec. 5 the Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether or not a proposed medical marijuana initiative already in the signature-gathering process will be allowed to move forward. . . . Read Complete Report
Assistant House Minority Leader Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat, announced plans to introduce a marijuana-legalization bill during the upcoming legislative session.
Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, said he’s working on a bill “that would regulate and tax marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.” . . . Read Complete Report
Back in October, we shared with you the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s draft regulations for the growing of industrial hemp. Now, those regulations are official — with one change. Instead of facing a registration suspension or revocation if testing reveals that a grower’s plants exceed 0.3 percent THC, the final rules say that a grower will not be subject to any penalty as long as the “crop is destroyed or utilized in a manner approved of and verified by” the state agriculture commissioner.
While the feds aren’t sharing details of these actions, info has surfaced about a potential link to Juan Guardarrama, aka “Tony Montana, a Miami con who, until recently, held a Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division license. Nonetheless, Colorado NORML thinks the timing of the raids is suspect. Details below. . . . Read Complete Report
Featured Image: Youtube Screen Shot, 2012 07 01 SOURCE-Pottv.com
From NPR: The Two Way September 30, 201311:01 AM By Bill Chappell
Canada is ushering in what it projects to be a $1.3 billion medical marijuana free market this week, as it replaces small and homegrown pot production with quality-controlled marijuana produced by large farms. The market could eventually serve up to 450,000 Canadians, according to government estimates.
As Toronto’s Globe and Mail explains, a transition phase began Monday that will allow more price fluctuation and phase out home and small-scale production.
“In its place, large indoor marijuana farms certified by the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] and health inspectors will produce, package and distribute a range of standardized weed, all of it sold for whatever price the market will bear,” the newspaper reports. “The first sales are expected in the next few weeks, delivered directly by secure courier.” . . . Read Complete Report
“Allowing doctors to provide relief to patients through the use of appropriately regulated and dispensed medical marijuana is the compassionate and right policy for the state of New Hampshire, and this legislation ensures that we approach this policy in the right way with measures to prevent abuse,” New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) said in a statement. . . . Read Complete Report
Published on Jun 4, 201 In HIGH COUNTRY, Motherboard heads to Denver–ground zero for cannabis legalization, and home to a booming tech sector in what could be called the SIlicon Valley of weed–to inhale the newest high-tech highs. We visit the key players scaling up this new green tech, wrap our heads around all the money to be made, crack open the confusing science of America’s No. 1 cash crop, and smoke dabs.
from AJC.com Updated: 2:29 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, 2013 | Posted: 10:10 p.m. Monday, June 3, 2013 By Alexis Stevens The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo: Seal of the City of Atlanta Georgia USA. SOURCE:Wikipedia (Public Domain)
$2.4M in counterfeit items, 4 pounds of pot seized
If you pay $40 for a $250 pair of jeans, there’s a good chance you aren’t getting the real thing.
The same goes for many of the knock-off sneakers, purses and clothes being sold at Metro Mart USA in southwest Atlanta, according to police. And there was more than high-priced sneakers, purses and clothes being sold in the market.
Vendors were also allegedly selling marijuana — some of it in plain view on the counter, Lt. Scott Kreher with Atlanta police said Tuesday. . . . Read Complete Report
Black Americans were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though the two groups used the drug at similar rates, according to new federal data.
This disparity had grown steadily from a decade before, and in some states, including Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, blacks were around eight times as likely to be arrested. During the same period, public attitudes toward marijuana softened and a number of states decriminalized its use. But about half of all drug arrests in 2011 were on marijuana-related charges, roughly the same portion as in 2010. . . . Read Complete Report
New York General Assembly approves medical marijuana bill
The New York General Assembly yesterday approved a bill allowing medical marijuana use in the Empire State.
Assembly Bill 6357 was voted in with a 95-38 vote. The discussion now moves over to the state Senate in the next few weeks, which takes up the nearly identical Senate Bill 4406. If approved, the bill would allow for qualifying patients to receive a doctor’s recommendation to use cannabis. Patients would be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces purchased at one of several state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries.Overwhelmingly, New Yorkers favor medical marijuana legislation. A recent Sienna Research Institute Poll showed that 82 percent of voters agree that physicians should be able to recommend cannabis. . . . Read Complete Report
But it could be a tight squeeze to get the bill through. The Louisiana Senate adjourns next week, leaving little time to have the bill heard, debated and voted on before the politicians leave Baton Rouge for the year House Bill 103, which we’ve written about in the past, originally would have capped felony marijuana conviction sentences at five years. That version failed to clear the House floor last week, so authors amended it to make the penalties a little more harsh. . . . Read Complete Report
Florida medical marijuana advocates claim impending victory
Supporters of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes in Florida are sure 2014 will be the year their wish becomes reality.
“Florida is ready to explode,” said Jodi James, executive director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network. “We firmly believe that Florida patients will have legal access to cannabis by November 2014.” . . . Read Complete Report
Marijuana Law Enforcement Cost States An Estimated $3.6 Billion In 2010: ACLU
States together spent somewhere around $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws in 2010, according to a new study by the American Civil Liberties Union, entitled “The War On Marijuana In Black and White.” That’s the authors’ “best estimate,” though approximations using different methodologies put the cost as high as $6 billion and as low as $1.2 billion.
The paper grabbed headlines Tuesday with its finding that blacks are nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested for possessing marijuana, despite both races using the drug at about the same rate.
Here are some most startling numbers from the ACLU’s report with regards to the cost of enforcing marijuana laws: . . . Read Complete Report
POT TV – Watch Cannabis Culture News LIVE every Friday at 4PM PT on http://Pot.TV for the latest news and views on pot politics and the marijuana community. In this episode: Glass is blowing up! We talk to Marco Renda of the Treating Yourself Expo about his new glass gallery and glass artist Redbeard about the great Canadian Glass Gathering.
Featured Image: Marijuana Joint. SOURCE middletownct.patch.com (Public-Domain).
I think I’ll weigh in on that. Why would someone with so much money and power be willing to go out on a limb and tell the world that he plans on putting up millions with aims of building a worldwide outlet for a substance that can not be sold over most of the world legally. Is he crazy? Is he having ‘high’ pipe dreams? Does he know something we don’t?
I believe the answer is none of the above. I just thank he has done his home work. After all, the major argument for the rationalization for making the possession etc. of the hemp plant a felony with long prison sentences is the claim that “There is no medical benefit for the drug.”
With 19 states, and more talking about making medical marijuana legal that no longer holds true. And when you throw in the fact that the Federal Government has been supplying patients with medical marijuana since the 1970’s, a good lawyer can tear the government’s argument out by the roots!
And without that argument the whole conspiracy against hemp will fall like a row of dominoes. . . . EDITOR
Last May, a Tacoma, Wash. cop pulled over Joseph Robertson for speeding. The cop said he smelled marijuana in the car, and after a search police ticketed Robertson for marijuana possession and took his stash in addition to a driving without a valid license charge. Since then Robertson, who is a medical marijuana patient, had the pot charge dropped says he should get his bag of meds back – and the municipal court has agreed. Twice.”Appeal or comply,” Municipal Court Judge Jack Emery ordered police and the Tacoma City Attorney last Thursday. Emery isn’t joking around either, adding “Or next week, show up, and I would advise you to bring counsel.” . . . Read Complete Report
