Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?

[Buzz Mills]

5 tons of marijuana seized over weekend

Tucson, AZ - Border Patrol agents near Tucson seized nearly five tons of marijuana this weekend in three different incidents. Last Sunday evening, a helicopter observed two trucks traveling north from the Border Fence. Agents on the ground intercepted those two vehicles, as well as located another. Between the three vehicles agents seized 6,792 lbs of marijuana, which they estimate is worth $5.4 million.

Bord patrol agents believe that the smugglers used ramp vehicles to get the trucks over the border fence. Smugglers have begun outfiting vehicles with ramps on their roofs. A ramp truck will drive up to the fence on the Mexican side, and another truck will meet it on the United States side, allowing a vehicle to drive up one ramp, over the fence, and down the other side.

Later Sunday evening agents near Casa Grande discovered tire tracks in the desert. Upon following the tracks they discovered an abandoned pick-up which was loaded with 1,757 lbs of marijuana. Chief Gilbert said, "These seizures demonstrate the effectiveness of multi-layered enforcement efforts from line watch activities, roving patrols and the assistance of Air and Marine Assets within the Tucson Sector." In the first five months of Fiscal Year 2009 the Tucson Sector has seized over a half a million pounds of marijuana.

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=10097373&nav=HMO6HMaY

 

[MissieMt]

My husband is obsessed with this topic now. He's been doing tons of research. He mentioned something the other day about hemp oil being used as bio-diesel fuel or something like that. He seems to think that is one of the primary reasons it is not being legalized-because big oil says no. I will try to find some data on it-or at least get him to send me some links to what he has found.

ETA: Well if you google "hemp oil biodiesel fuel" you will come up with a wealth of info.

 

[Buzz Mills]

California At The Forefront

http://www.safe420delivery.org/

http://ocmedicalmarijuana.com/

http://www.chron2thedo.com/

http://www.spcdelivery.com/

 

[Buzz Mills]

My husband is obsessed with this topic now. He's been doing tons of research. He mentioned something the other day about hemp oil being used as bio-diesel fuel or something like that. He seems to think that is one of the primary reasons it is not being legalized-because big oil says no. I will try to find some data on it-or at least get him to send me some links to what he has found.

ETA: Well if you google "hemp oil biodiesel fuel" you will come up with a wealth of info.

MissieMt, I googled hemp oil biodiesel fuel and here is the result:

http://www.google.com/search?source...mp+oil+biodiesel+fuel&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f

Yes, hemp is a very valuable crop.

Americans have been sold a bill of goods on ethanol produced from corn. It requires more energy to produce that ethanol, than results from the use of it.

Not only that, but it has driven the price of corn up. Thus the enormous increase in prices for food products that use corn, and corn for animal feed.

It is said that ethanol produced from sugar cane produces far more energy (I heard 7 times as much)

 

[Buzz Mills]

Drug Czar Nominee: Renewed Focus on Prevention
Nominee Says Will Take a Balanced Approach to Drugs, Focus on Prevention, Treatment

The Obama administration's nominee for director of National Drug Control Policy said he will take a balanced approach to drug policy with a renewed focus on the prevention and treatment of addiction, if he is confirmed as the nation's new drug czar. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said he would focus on reducing violence along the Mexican border and on stemming the supply of illegal drugs, but said "the greatest contribution we can make toward [international] stability would be to reduce our demand for illicit drugs."

The nomination of Kerlikowske, the police chief of a relatively liberal city that has been at the forefront of developing alternative approaches to combating illegal drugs, has been widely seen as part of a broader shift away from long prison sentences for drug offenders and toward an emphasis on prevention and treatment. "There will be a renewed focus on evidence-based approaches to reduce demand for drugs, through prevention as well as treatment," Kerlikowske said, according to his prepared statement. Several states and the federal government have recently signaled their willingness to consider alternatives to the tough-on-crime approach that has often dominated drug policy.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said that the Justice Department will not prosecute local medical marijuana dispensaries so long as they comply with state medical marijuana laws. Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have sponsored legislation to create a commission to review the nation's criminal justice system, with Webb saying last year, "our approach to curbing illegal drug use is broken."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7233062&page=1

 

[kageykaren]

I was very involved spinalcord injured vets and I can tell you are goverment does give authorization for medical marijuana to these vets. It is used for some before they must start on opiate therapy and helps so much with violent muscles spasms that can wrench a patient backwards right out of their wheelchairs. The sale of marijuana would help with states revenues and make some peoples lives more tollerable.

 

[Buzz Mills]

I was very involved spinalcord injured vets and I can tell you are goverment does give authorization for medical marijuana to these vets. It is used for some before they must start on opiate therapy and helps so much with violent muscles spasms that can wrench a patient backwards right out of their wheelchairs. The sale of marijuana would help with states revenues and make some peoples lives more tollerable.

kk, I know more about muscle spasms/cramps than I really would have cared to. In the very near future I plan on obtaining my Medical Marijuana permit. I no longer have the violent muscle spasms, but there is still a lot of underlying pain that I deal with. MJ takes the edge off the permanent pain and permits me to have a greater amount of comfort, and a better everyday experience.

 

[Buzz Mills]

State by State Marijuana Laws

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516

Fourteen?? states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- have passed laws exempting patients who use cannabis under a physician's supervision from state criminal penalties.

 

[Buzz Mills]

You heard it here first. If things go according to plan, within a few weeks, I'll be licensed and beginning to grow a limited number of marijuana plants outside in my garden area. With a CA medical marijuana license I think I am allowed to have six marijuana plants.

http://www.safeaccessnow.net/countyguidelines.htm

SB 420 Statewide Default Patient Guidelines: To be as safe as possible from arrest and prosecution, patients and caregivers should stay below the medical marijuana immunity law passed by the California legislature, HS 11362.77, which sets a minimum statewide guideline of 6 mature plants OR 12 immature plants AND up to 8 ounces of processed cannabis flowers. Physician's note exempts larger amounts. Cities and counties empowered to set guidelines that are greater than those amounts, but not less. This is explained in an open letter from the authors of the bill. Also see the Supreme Court's Wright decision at chrisconrad.com/expert.witness/wright.html.

 

[L L & S]

Good luck with that Buzz. Research your regulations religiously! You should do great.


ETA: Review the Attorney Generals guidelines for MM. That will give your plant counts for the state, where you can smoke, who/what a caregiver is, pretty much everything. Don't forget to post the proper paper work somewhere safe near your garden.

 

[MissieMt]

My Mother smoked MJ for as long as I can remember. It always disgusted me back then, but towards the end of her life I understood her need for it. Her doctor even told her "I'm not worried about your MJ use-it's the alcohol that I want to stop"

 

[Buzz Mills]

Pot Advocates Wrong to Push Medical Marijuana Strategy

I have had the opportunity over the past few years to speak with the leaders in drug policy reform. They are a very smart and dedicated group of individuals. And it seems there is consensus that drug prohibition is the most destabilizing domestic policy in America today, and must be repealed. What is puzzling is that these leaders have chosen the incremental approach to reform, exemplified by medical marijuana.

Do not misunderstand me. I am a firm believer in the efficacy of marijuana as a medicine, and find it heartless our federal government continues denying patients this proven relief. But as a strategy to move the drug policy debate forward, it’s a loser. Yes, there are 13 states that allow the medicinal use of marijuana. California was first, passing Proposition 215 in 1996. Yet licensed marijuana growers, dispensers and even patients are still being harassed and arrested for acting in concert with California state law - despite Mr. Obama ordering the DEA to end such raids there and in other states with medical marijuana laws on their books. If this is considered progress, consider me unimpressed.

But let’s look down the road. Say medical marijuana does become the law of the land. No one doubts the journey will be difficult. Prohibitionists will refuse to go gently into the good night, erecting roadblocks every step of the way. And when they finally fail, it is naïve to believe prohibitionists will calmly accept defeat. (Abortion debate, anyone?) Aside from wondering why so many millions of otherwise healthy adults suddenly take ill, the real question, one that medical marijuana advocates seem unable to answer, is this: What drug will you champion next? LSD? Cocaine? MDMA? The question seems fair: if repealing drug prohibition is the end game, you’ll need a new drug. And therein lies the rub.

http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-pot-advocates-wrong-to-push-medical-marijuana-strategy

 

[ScubaTwinn]

It should be done federally, not state by state. The money generated in taxes could save us all. MOO.
My mother-in-law had ALS that affected her throat and swallowing and was prescribed marinol. It just didn't work like a doobie did to give her the munchies to get her to eat.

 

[Buzz Mills]

It should be done federally, not state by state. The money generated in taxes could save us all. MOO.
My mother-in-law had ALS that affected her throat and swallowing and was prescribed marinol. It just didn't work like a doobie did to give her the munchies to get her to eat.

The Feds are very afraid to do something that would step on a lot of toes, because they all worry about their re-elections. They are afraid of upsetting the apple cart, lest they end up on the unpopular side of the decision..

When, and if, a major state, liberalizes marijuana and gains tax revenue, it will happen, with acceleration, but not until then, Medical marijuana is a necessary, but small step in the right direction. Now, we stand a good chance of taking a larger step; and to think that it will only require a perceived depression, to be able to take that step.

 

[Buzz Mills]

In Calif., Medical Marijuana Laws Are Moving Pot Into Mainstream

LOS ANGELES -- With little notice and even less controversy, marijuana is now available as a medical treatment in California to almost anyone who tells a willing physician he would feel better if he smoked. Pot is now retailed over the counter in hundreds of storefronts across Los Angeles and is credited with reviving a section of downtown Oakland, where an entrepreneur sells out classes offering "quality training for the cannabis industry." The tabloid LA Journal of Education for Medical Marijuana is fat with ads for Magic Purple, Strawberry Cough and other offerings in more than 400 "dispensaries" operating in the city.

Los Angeles officials say applications for retail outlets surged after Feb. 26, when U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration will no longer raid such stores. Those pressing for change in drug laws regard the announcement as a watershed in a 40-year battle against marijuana's official listing as a dangerous drug -- a legal fight that, in California, is being waged on ground that has shifted dramatically toward acceptance. All told, 13 states have legalized medical marijuana, a trend advocates credit in part to growing openness to alternative healing. As a "Schedule 1" drug under the 1970 federal narcotics act, marijuana officially has "no currently accepted medical use." But doctors have found it effective in reducing nausea, easing glaucoma and improving appetite and sleep in AIDS patients.

Marijuana use is widespread -- government surveys show that 100 million Americans have smoked pot or its resin, hashish, in their lifetimes, and 25 million have done so in the past year. Yet polls show that the public is still wary of legalization. As President Obama recently chuckled when asked about legalizing marijuana, "I don't think that's a good strategy to grow our economy." But in California, pot is such a booming growth industry that lawmakers are being asked to consider its potential as a salve to the state's financial woes. Betty Yee, chair of the California State Board of Equalization, endorsed a bill in February to regulate the estimated $14 billion marijuana market, citing the state's budget problems. California currently collects $18 million in sales taxes from marijuana dispensaries, and Yee said a regulated pot trade would bring in $1.3 billion. "I think the tide is starting to turn in terms of marijuana being part of the mainstream," she said. "The pieces seem to be falling into place."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/11/AR2009041100767.html?hpid=topnews

 

[Buzz Mills]

Medical Value Of Pot Debated In SF Federal Court

A federal appeals court in California is weighing arguments from medical marijuana advocates who want to force the government to retract its claim that pot has no medicinal value.

Lawyers from Americans for Safe Access told a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday that the assessment by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration was based on conservative values, not science. The group is appealing a lower court judge's 2007 decision to dismiss its lawsuit, which cited a federal law that allows citizens to seek correction of false information put out by the government.

A Justice Department lawyer said that law does not authorize courts to compel federal agencies to defend their published statements.

http://cbs5.com/local/medical.marijuana.court.2.985949.html

 

[Buzz Mills]

Will Medical Marijuana Laws Affect Marijuana Use by Young People?

Marijuana has always been consumed for many different reasons, but now the drug – especially in its medicinal form – has officially gone mainstream. Thirteen states have legalized medical marijuana and some dispensaries have reported a 300 percent sales increase since Barack Obama was elected president. Yet as more marijuana clubs dot the landscape and pot transforms from taboo to acceptable, how will that affect young people? Will parents struggle to explain why pot is permissible in certain instances but not in others? Will kids do more drugs?

http://www.opposingviews.com/questi...ana-laws-affect-marijuana-use-by-young-people

 

[Buzz Mills]

Therapeutic Hemp Oil by Andrew Weil, M.D.

The nutritional composition of oil from the marijuana plant could be beneficial to your health. To most people, Cannabis sativa is synonymous with marijuana, but the plant's Latin name means the "useful hemp." Species designated sativa (useful) are usually among the most important of all crops. In fact, the utility of hemp is manifold: the plant has provided human beings with fiber, edible seeds, an edible oil, and medicine, not just a notorious mind-altering drug. In our part of the world, these other uses of hemp are no longer familiar. We rarely use hemp fiber and know little about hemp medicine. (Some cancer patients have found it to be a superior remedy for the nausea caused by chemotherapy, and some people with multiple sclerosis are grateful for its relaxant effects on spastic muscles.) Hemp seed is sometimes an ingredient in bird food; otherwise, edible products from Cannabis sativa are virtually unknown.

This may all change. In many parts of the country, promoters of hemp cultivation are working to educate people about the immense potential of this plant and to reintroduce it into commerce. They champion hemp as a renewable source of pulp for the manufacture of paper, as a superior fiber for making cloth, and as a new food that can be processed into everything from a milk substitute to a kind of tofu. Hemp seeds contain 25% high quality protein and 40% fat in the form of an excellent quality oil. Hemp oil is just now coming on the market. Produced by the Ohio Hempery in Athens, Ohio, it will be sold through natural food stores in small, opaque bottles to be kept under refrigeration. It has a remarkable fatty acid profile, being high in the desirable omega-3s and also delivering some GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) that is absent from the fats we normally eat. Nutritionally oriented doctors believe all of these compounds to be beneficial to health.

Hemp oil contains 57% linoleic (LA) and 19% linolenic (LNA) acids, in the three-to-one ratio that matches our nutritional needs. These are the essential fatty acids (EFAs)-so called because the body cannot make them and must get them from external sources. The best sources are oils from freshly ground grains and whole seeds, but EFAs are fragile and quickly lost in processing. EFAs are the building blocks of longer chain fats, such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that occur naturally in the fat of cold-water fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon, bluefish, herring, and, to a lesser extent, tuna. Adding these foods to the diet seems to lower risks of heart attacks because omega-3 fatty acids reduce the clotting tendency of the blood and improve cholesterol profiles. They also have a natural anti-inflammatory effect that makes them useful for people with arthritis and autoimmune disorders.

http://www.ratical.org/renewables/TherapHoil.html

 

[ziggy]

I was driving home from school the other night in Santa Rosa on 101 South and saw a billboard advertising Free Medical Marijuana Evaluation. Of course at 65 mph who has time to write down the number huh?

Never one to like it much myself, I did think of a friend who has tried so many anti-depressants and everytime she has to change she goes through withdrawal and then adjustment to the new drug. It's awful. They just don't work for her and she has severe anxiety too and is on the Xanax & Valium etc. It did make me stop and wonder hmmm...... might that work for someone who can't take those pharmas?

They have shops here where you can buy cookies and banana bread and other delictable morsels that will make you high. SWWEEEET! for sure.

Someone also told me of a study that marijuana smoke was not harmful like cig. smoke and that people who smoked cigs and also mj, had less damage from the smoking than those who smoked cigs only - as if the pot helped prevent that damage. CANNOT confirm, mind you and have not seen said study.

I admit, I've tried a cookie. I will also admit I don't seek it out because I'm not thrilled with the feeling. It makes me way too physically sensitive, like I can feel the waistband and bra straps no matter how loose they are and it's uncomfortable. I can feel the smallest lump on a couch cushion. It's not really fun. I'd prefer to drink some martinis and dance around with a lampshade on my head.

I have absolutely no idea where I stand on this issue. I'm stumped. On one hand I believe so strongly in homeopathic medicine and this is, after all, a plant. I also think it's abused and can lead to extremem apathy. I err on the side of freedom so I'll be a radical conservative and say it should be legalized.

 

[Danaya]

I don't know but the people I know of who smoke it are sort of raunches...