Reuters
http://www.msnbc.msn.com

The city of Oakland, California on Tuesday legalized large-scale marijuana cultivation for medical use and will issue up to four permits for “industrial” cultivation starting next year.

The move by the San Francisco Bay Area city aims to bring medical marijuana cultivation into the open and allow the city to profit by taxing those who grow it.

The resolution passed the city council easily after a nearly four-hour debate that pitted small-scale “garden” growers against advocates of a bigger, industrial system that would become a “Silicon Valley” of pot.

“This is going to grow as an industry. And someone is going to have a high-tech producer,” Council Member Jean Quan said during the debate. (more…)

side note: I do think that California will pass this come November. In case anyone is not aware, the state will be voting to basically treat Marijuana like tobacco or alcohol. tax it and regulate it. if this happens, not only will be see other states follow, but something that never gets discussed, is all of the other ways we can use Hemp. whether it’s for making paper, clothing, fuel, or food (just to name a few, there are literally thousands of uses), this will provide jobs and opportunities for so many others, including people who choose not to smoke. it’s all good, all the way around

By , California Watch
http://www.alternet.org

A flourishing and unregulated industry of pot delivery services is circumventing bans on storefront dispensaries and bringing medical marijuana directly to people’s homes, offices and more unconventional locations across the state, records and interviews show.

The unfettered delivery of marijuana through hundreds of these services highlights how quickly California’s fabled pot industry is moving from the shadows and into uncharted legal territory. These new couriers include enterprising farmers, business entrepreneurs and even a former Los Angeles pot dealer methodically switching her former clients to legal patients.

In newspapers and on the Internet, hundreds of “mobile dispensaries” advertise a wide range of strains and other products, such as brownies and cookies laced with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. One service delivers organic vegetables along with medical marijuana, as part of a “farm-direct” service.

Some operate in multiple counties, including jurisdictions where storefront dispensaries are banned, or make local deliveries to drop-off points, such as Starbucks parking lots and gas stations. At least three ship to clients around the state using private prescription-drug couriers.

Although delivery of medical marijuana is not a new phenomenon, advocates say the growth of these services could be a game-changer in the state’s pot war, which pits law enforcement, elected officials and community groups in some localities against dispensary owners and patients.

And these businesses could increase in popularity if voters approve an initiative on the November ballot that would legalize pot possession.

“They’re delivering the product better, cheaper, more discretely and probably at a higher profit rate than dispensaries,” said Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which advocates legalization. “These delivery services are starting to grab more and more market share.” (more…)

http://www.mpp.org/

The Illinois House of Representatives adjourned on May 7 without voting on the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. But we still have an opportunity to pass a compassionate medical cannabis law in 2010, and we need your help now more than ever. The House will return sometime this month because the state’s budget still needs to be approved, and SB 1381 could be called for a vote if we get the 60 confirmed “yes” votes that are needed. We are just a few votes shy and we need your help to send this bill to Gov. Pat Quinn.

Please write your representative today, and ask him or her to vote “yes” on SB 1381. In addition to e-mailing your representative, we encourage you to call your representative to tell him or her that you support SB 1381, and to ask for his or her “yes” vote on this compassionate bill. Please be sure to let me know of any response you get. Then, be sure to ask all of your friends and family in Illinois to reach out to their representatives.

Please let me know if you would like to volunteer or if you have a personal connection to the issue, including if you have a serious illness or are a medical professional or member of the clergy. Be sure to include your address or nine-digit ZIP code so I can determine who your representative is.

Please don’t forget to follow up on your letter by calling your representative, and by sharing this alert with friends, family, and neighbors who also support compassionate, doctor-recommended medical marijuana access in Illinois. You may also like to tune in to Chicago’s Fox 32 on Wednesday between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. EST, when Rep. Lang will be appearing to discuss SB 1381 and medical cannabis in Illinois. Julie Falco, medical cannabis patient and multiple sclerosis sufferer, will also be featured on the program.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all that you have done to help advance this legislation. With your help, patients like these may no longer have to live in fear of arrest for using the medicine that works for them.

By Stephen Webster, Raw Story
via alternet.org

Far from being a war between hippies and police, the fight to legalize marijuana in California centers on whether decriminalizing and taxing cannabis can help fill the state’s fiscal hole.

Using the drug for medical purposes has been legal for 14 years in the western state. But a new initiative that will appear on the ballot in November elections is seeking to legalize recreational marijuana use.

The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 would let cities and counties adopt ordinances authorizing the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana, and tax its sale just like it taxes alcohol and cigarettes. (more…)

By Paul Armentano, AlterNet

Once again members of the mainstream media are running wild with the notion that marijuana use causes schizophrenia and psychosis.

To add insult to injury, this latest dose of reefer rhetoric comes only days after investigators in the United Kingdom reported in the prestigious scientific journal Addiction that the available evidence in support of this theory is “neither very new, nor by normal criteria, particularly compelling.” (Predictably, the conclusions of that study went all together unnoticed by the mainstream press.)

Yet today’s latest alarmist report, like those studies touting similar claims before it, fails to account for the following: If, as the authors of this latest study suggest, cannabis use is a cause of mental illness (and schizophrenia in particular), then why have diagnosed incidences of schizophrenia not paralleled rising trends in cannabis use over time?

In fact, it was only in September when investigators at the Keele University Medical School in Britain smashed the pot = schizophrenia theory to smithereens. Writing in the journal Schizophrenia Research, the team compared trends in marijuana use and incidences of schizophrenia in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2005. Researchers reported that the “incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining” during this period, even the use of cannabis among the general population was rising. (more…)

side note: An informative video about what’s going on in California….and battle keep access to medical marijuana available for sick Americans.

Via Huffingtonpost

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The first U.S. clinical trials in more than two decades on the medical benefits of marijuana confirm pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Igor Grant, a psychiatrist who directs the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego, said five studies funded by the state involved volunteers who were randomly given real marijuana or placebos to determine if the herb provided relief not seen from traditional medicines.

“There is good evidence now that cannabinoids may be either an adjunct or a first-line treatment,” Grant said at a news conference where he presented the findings. (more…)

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
http://www.sfgate.com

In a victory for medical marijuana users, the state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a state law that protects them from arrest if they show police official identification cards. The court also overturned a law that limits how much pot patients can carry and how many plants they can grow.

The court unanimously ruled that the limits – 8 ounces of dried marijuana, six mature plants or 12 immature plants – conflicted with Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative that made California the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use. (more…)

Marijuana Policy Project
www.mpp.org

Last night, Gov. Jon Corzine (D) signed New Jersey’s medical marijuana legislation into law. As a result, New Jersey is now the 14th state to protect seriously ill patients from arrest and jail for using medical marijuana with their doctors’ approval.

The bill had been passed by the New Jersey Legislature on January 11, passing by 48-14 in the Assembly and 25-13 in the Senate.

The new law will not only protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail but also allows for the regulated dispensing of medical marijuana. When the law is implemented, it’s likely that there will be at least six dispensaries for patients to obtain their medicine, two in each part of the state. Doctors will be able to recommend up to two ounces of marijuana to patients within a 30-day period.

The Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey and the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey led the lobbying efforts to pass this important legislation, which will go into effect this summer.

We’re hoping that the decisive victory in New Jersey will convince neighboring state New York to do the right thing and protect patients who continue to live in fear. MPP has been pushing a medical marijuana bill forward there for seven years, and this year looks like the year that it may finally become law.

With the help of MPP’s 29,000 dues-paying members, we’ll continue to roll back the government’s war on the sick and dying. We’re working hard in Arizona, New York, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts to make these states the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th to pass medical marijuana legislation. Would you please consider making a donation today to support our efforts?

via sloshspot.com

Love it or hate it, people smoke marijuana – lots of it. In some states marijuana consumption and posession have been decriminalized, and even legalized for medicinal purposes. But, have you ever wondered how large the economics of Marijuana were? Us too. As a result ,have decided to put together this graphic, which illustrates the popularity of marijuana consumption, the federal tax dollars spent to keep marijuana illegal, and the possible tax revenues that could be generated if marijuana production were legalized and taxed like any other agricultural product. It is especially interesting, with regards to the Great Recession:

original article

side note: Another win for our cause! Not only is it important for the sick to have access to marijuana, but it could also become a major player in helping to revive our economy. Marijuana is the #1 cash crop in America…yes, it crushes corn, wheat….etc!

by Ryan Grim
Huffington Post

Maine voters became the first to license nonprofit organizations to sell medical marijuana on Tuesday, with the state’s Question 5 cruising to a landslide victory. With roughly half of the precincts reporting, six in ten Maine voters had tallied in favor of allowing state-licensed nonprofits to distribute pot to approved patients.

Two other states — Rhode Island and New Mexico — have approved such nonprofits, but Maine is the first to do so through the ballot box. In California and Colorado, the dispensaries are not specifically regulated as pot shops, but rather as businesses in compliance with state laws.

Rhode Island, New Mexico and Maine, by more tightly regulating distribution, present a model counter to California’s. As more states approve licensed dispensaries, the debate will shift from whether medical marijuana should be legal to how it should be produced and distributed – a resounding victory for advocates and patients.

Thirteen states permit the medical use of marijuana.

Maine’s election result can be partially credited to President Obama’s announcement that he would not raid or prosecute patients or dispensaries in compliance with state laws. The decision was first announced in February and codified in a memo on October 19. (more…)

By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet.
Obama’s drug czar has said “legalization” isn’t in his vocabulary. Here’s why it should be.

More members of Congress have publicly questioned whether President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii than have endorsed legalizing marijuana.

This comes despite the birth announcements printed in the Honolulu Advertiser in August 1961 and marijuana’s deep inroads into the cultural mainstream.

Almost every voter under 65 in this country has either smoked cannabis or grew up with people who did. Among its erstwhile users are the last three presidents, one Supreme Court justice and the mayor of the nation’s largest city. The pot leaf’s image pervades popular culture, from Bob Marley T-shirts to billboards for Showtime’s Weeds.

So why is actually legalizing it still considered a fringe issue? Why haven’t more politicians — especially the ones who inhaled — come out and said, “Prohibition is absurd and criminal. Let’s treat cannabis like alcohol”? (more…)

side note: You can also write a letter, but whatever you decide to do, do it and tell your friends and family.

We need 60 votes for medical marijuana in the Illinois House of Representatives. Illinois’ seriously ill patients need your help to make sure your representative is one of them.

In May, the Senate passed the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. The legislature recessed four days later and the House has not yet voted on the bill.

On October 14, the Illinois House met for a veto session, giving MPP’s local lobbyists a chance to talk to representatives about protecting patients. It’s vital that constituents let their representatives know that passing a medical marijuana bill in Illinois is the right thing to do.

Please send your representative an e-mail urging him or her to protect patients by voting “yes” on SB 1381 when the time comes. The measure could be brought to the House floor for a vote sometime after the legislature reconvenes for the second half of the 2009-2010 session in January.

Though polls show that 68% of Illinois citizens support medical marijuana, many representatives still believe it is controversial. It is up to us to show them otherwise.

After you’ve written your representative, please follow up with a call.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies. Please subscribe to our free legislative alert service to help make this the last year Illinois threatens the sick and dying with arrest.

side note: With this horrible economic downturn the world is experiencing….why not legalize marijuana and tax the shit out of it? It makes no sense to have all the money made the most profitable cash crop in the United States to end up in the hands of drug dealers and other criminal types. When I was in high school….it was easier to get a bag of weed then it was to get alcohol. Why? Because alcohol is regulated….you need an ID, purchasing is done in the open…..

by Christina Davidson
The Atlantic

A friend in San Francisco had advised I would see real live hippies hitchhiking north on US-101 through redwood country this time of year–migrant agricultural workers of a peculiar variety. Of all those drawn to northern California’s “Emerald Triangle” for the fall harvest of marijuana, the aged man I met in Eureka likely traveled the farthest, having just arrived on a Greyhound from South Carolina, fleeing depressed economic and mental states in pursuit of new opportunities in the cannabis trade.

When I first see “Pie-Dog,” as he later asks to be identified (”long story”), he appears to be struggling with an excess of baggage. I make a couple of U-turns to observe his slow progress as he trudges a short distance dragging a small bag stacked on a large suitcase with wheels, then backtracks to grab an oversized backpack and bed roll. His clothes look clean and new, as does the big suitcase, but he’s standing on the side of the road in Eureka with his destination scrawled on a tattered piece of cardboard. I sense a story.

Pie-Dog tells me he’s headed into “the heart of the hippie triangle.” It’s a small community in the tri-county area of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity, though I agree to not reveal precisely where. He has invested time and effort to get himself “on the inside” and does not want anything to disturb the fragile web of trust he has established.

Though California permits medicinal marijuana, producers exist in a legally gray area. The biggest headlines come when joint raids by local police and DEA net mass producers, whose crops far exceed even the most dillusionally generous interpretation of the law. But little guys get hit often enough to instill a self-protective atmosphere of suspicion against any outsiders, infiltrators, or spies. The paranoia induced by THC intake probably doesn’t help. (more…)

side note: this information regarding cancer has been widely discussed, but this is the first time (i believe) where the researchers are focusing in on a specific type of cancer. Previous articles coming from the medical community touch upon the fact that Marijuana kills weak cells that can potentially turn into cancer cells. There was actually 2 new studies done. In the first study, researchers from McGill University in Montreal found that moderate alcohol consumption — defined as six drinks or fewer per week — by adults is positively associated with an elevated risk of various cancers, including stomach cancer, rectal cancer, and bladder cancer.

The second study, written in the August issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, investigators from Rhode Island’s Brown University, along with researchers at Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Minnesota reported that lifetime marijuana use is associated with a “significantly reduced risk” of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Paul Armentano
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Two just-published studies assessing adults’ risk of cancer have reported wildly divergent, and fairly extraordinary, outcomes. One study you may have read about. The other has been ignored entirely by the mainstream media. But no doubt the results of both will surprise you.

First, the study you may have heard of. Writing August 3 in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, investigators at McGill University in Montreal reported that moderate alcohol consumption — defined as six drinks or fewer per week — by adults is positively associated with an elevated risk of various cancers, including stomach cancer, rectal cancer, and bladder cancer.

And now for the study you haven’t heard of. Writing in the August issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research, investigators from Rhode Island’s Brown University, along with researchers at Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Minnesota reported that lifetime marijuana use is associated with a “significantly reduced risk” of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Authors reported, “after adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNDCC).” (more…)