November 28, 2012
The recent passage of I-502 in Washington is not sitting well with some dispensary owners who fear it will bring more competition to what they say is already a flooded market.
According to marijuana “activist” Steve Sarich, most dispensary owners are just getting by, and the new competition is going to make things worse.
To be fair, I’ve personally had my run-ins with Steve Sarich over my support of I-502, and he is right when he points out that the measure is flawed. The DUI provision in particular is irksome to medical marijuana advocates, and it remains to be seen just how many medical cannabis patients will be snared in the DUI net. It’s also true that, until state-regulated businesses are selling marijuana, the main competition for medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington is going to be drug dealers. It is still illegal to buy marijuana from the black market, but the marijuana you buy from the black market will be legal to possess in The Evergreen State, up to an ounce. Not the most ideal of circumstances, but overall I-502 is a step in the right direction.
But other advocates of marijuana law reform aren’t buying the “poor dispensary owner” line. ”Clearly these are just folks who are trying to keep the status quo in place because it’s working for them right now,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “Charging $150 to $400 for an ounce of marijuana is only possible under prohibition. You just can’t get that much money for dried vegetable matter if the product is actually legal.
“They’re moonshiners,” St. Pierre said of the dispensaries opposing the measure. “It’s a tiny group of people who don’t comport.”
It does seem like those who opposed I-502 in Washington and a similar measure in Colorado are on the wrong side of history. They may think they are standing up for medical marijuana patients, but in reality they are the dead weight that slows the cannabis law reform movement down.
No bill or law is perfect, but if we don’t start moving forward now we run the risk of forever being stuck in the past when it comes to marijuana prohibition.
The truth is that in a few decades “medical marijuana” as we know it will cease to exist as “legalization” takes hold in state after state. You won’t have to have a “reason” to purchase dried plant matter, as it should be. Those who profit from medical marijuana know this and they aren’t ready to give up the fight just yet.
- Joe Klare
Amendment 64’s legalization of marijuana drew the nation’s eyes to Colorado on Election Day. In the ensuing media frenzy, another portion of the ballot measure got lost — Colorado will likely legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp.
Tons of industrial hemp is imported into Colorado and other states annually from Canada, China and other countries, and hemp products are manufactured and sold throughout the country. But it remains illegal to grow hemp in the United States under federal law.
Hemp proponents say cultivating the plant would create an industry and could be a boon to the economies of Colorado and the nation.
Hemp has long been a stigmatized plant since it’s linked to marijuana because of its ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, aka THC, the psychoactive substance in pot.
Industrial hemp contains three-tenths of 1 percent of THC, while marijuana typically contains 10 percent or higher.
Amendment 64 will separate hemp from the definition of “marijuana” in the Colorado state Constitution, and it will require the Legislature to set up regulations for hemp farmers and sellers by July 1, 2014.
The amendment also makes it legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to six marijuana plants, and allows for marijuana stores to begin setting up shop in January 2014.
“We’re looking at a huge market that our farmers could really capture,” said Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, which headed the Amendment 64 campaign.
Hemp is used for clothing, paper, fuel, car parts, makeup, cooking oil, meat substitutes, and even ice cream. Diaper Change, a Colorado Springs business, sells hemp diaper inserts, which are said to be more absorbent and durable than cloth diapers. And hemp hot dogs are on the way, said Colorado School of Mines student Erik Hunter, who testified at the Legislature this year on behalf of a hemp-growing pilot program.
“It’s almost like taco meat,” said Hunter of hemp meat substitutes.
Amendment 64 didn’t specify that industrial hemp will be legal to grow, but Vicente said that is expected to happen once marijuana is legalized in January 2013 and retail stores licensed in January 2014.
According to the national advocacy group Vote Hemp, Amendment 64’s industrial hemp clause mirrors measures that have passed in 17 other states with pro-hemp legislation. Nine states aside from Colorado have also removed legal obstacles to growing and researching hemp.
Colorado’s multiyear hemp pilot program, established by HB12-1099, will test the plant’s supposed power to detoxify soil and water.
In 2010, the Legislature unanimously passed a resolution urging the federal government to relax laws against industrial hemp. The resolution, sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, said the plant “should not be confused” with marijuana, and listed more than a dozen reasons to support industrial hemp.
The resolution called industrial hemp a “high-value, low-input crop” that can grow without irrigation. The resolution echoed Vicente’s argument that industrial hemp could energize Colorado’s economy and create jobs, and said that at least 24 small businesses in Colorado deal in industrial hemp products.
At least two pieces of bipartisan federal legislation have been introduced in recent years to remove hemp from the definition of marijuana.
The first was by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and the second by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. Paul’s measure had 35 co-sponsors, including Colorado’s Democratic Rep. Jared Polis. Wyden’s measure was co-sponsored by Paul’s son, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky.
Medical marijuana is now legal in 18 states, but it's clear we've discovered a fraction of its potential for health.
November 23, 2012 |
Photo Credit: ShutterStock.com
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There are now legal medical cannabis programs in 18 states plus Washington, DC, with pot fully legal for adults in two other states. Ironically, however, the actual healing power of the plant has barely been tapped. Smoking marijuana with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), or better, vaporizing it (using a device to bake the plant material and inhale the active ingredients), has an indisputably palliative effect and can be medically useful for pain relief, calming and appetite stimulation. It already has confirmed benefits against glaucoma, epilepsy and other specific diseases and disorders. It also gets people high. THC triggers cannabinoid receptors in the brain and this produces the sensation of being stoned. These receptors are found in the parts of the brain linked to pleasure, memory, concentration, and time perception.
But, based mostly on research overseas there is an increasing consensus that the medicinal benefits of psychoactive THC pale in comparison to the non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) from the leaves of the same plant--raw and unheated. Depending on the strain, some plants are high in CBD but also contain a lesser amount of THC which is said to enhance the healing potentiality. CBD does not make people feel “stoned” and actually counters some of the effects of THC (for example, suppressing the appetite vs. stimulating it). CBD is beginning to be recognized by researchers at mainstream medical institutions around the world as a potentially very powerful weapon against cancer.
Researchers Sean D. McAllister and Pierre Desprez, who conducted studies of CBD's effect on cancer cells for California Pacific Medical Center, suggest that these non-psychoactive compounds from the cannabis plant might, in short order, render chemotherapy and radiation distant second and third options for cancer patients. Based on a more recent study, McAllister and Desprez feel that CBD's "could stop breast cancer from spreading."
Dr. Donald Abrams, a cancer specialist and professor of integrative medicine at UCSF, conducted early trials involving THC medical cannabis, and now he is excited about the powerful impacts of CBD on cancer cells. The National Cancer Institute was busy researching this in the 1970s, Abrams explains, but restrictions on the use of cannabis for research in the United States resulted in most of the research on this subject disappearing in the U.S., and being picked up in other countries, such as Israel, Spain and Italy. He says existing studies point to a remarkable ability of CBD to arrest cancer cell division, cell migration, metastasis, and invasiveness.
Other studies point to CBD as having great promise as a defense against Alzheimer’s disease. In a 2006 study published in Molecular Pharmaceutics , a team of University of Connecticut researchers reported that cannabis “could be considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease than any currently approved prescription.” The research team predicted that cannabinoid-based medications "will be the new breakout medicine treatments of the near future.”
Medical cannabis has a long history of use, starting in India, and then in China and the Middle East some 6,000 years ago. It came to the West in the 1800s, where it was listed in the U.S. Pharmacopeia until the 1930s. Used for over 100 ailments, cannabis was a favorite of our grandparents for cough remedies, analgesics, and tonics and was available over the counter at every local drugstore as well as companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. Banned in 1937 via the Marijuana Tax Act as part of a politically and racially driven prohibition craze, it was gradually removed from the pharmacopeia and research was discouraged and later prohibited via drug scheduling. The FBI linked the herb with insanity and claimed a direct correlation between cannabis and violence, and even death, especially when used by people of color
by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy DirectorNovember 19, 2012
Prosecutors throughout Colorado and Washington state continue to dismiss hundreds of pending misdemeanor marijuana possession cases.
On Thursday, Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and City Attorney Doug Friednash announced that they would stop pressing charges and would review pending criminal cases involving minor cannabis possession offenses. Their announcement came one day after Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett announced he would dismiss pending cases that involved less than an ounce of marijuana.
Fifty-five percent of Colorado voters on Election Day approved Amendment 64, which allows for the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and/or the cultivation of up to six cannabis plants in private by those persons age 21 and over. The law will take effect the first week of January, 2013.
Prosecutors throughout Washington are also dismissing criminal charges against minor marijuana offenders. Most recently, prosecutors in Thurston County and Olympia announced that they would be dismissing all pending criminal cases involving the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. Thurston County officials announced their decision shortly after receiving a request from the Thurston County chapter of NORML.
Thurston and Olympia County prosecutors join officials in several other Washington counties — including two of the state’s largest counties: King County and Pierce County — as well as Clark County and Spokane, all of which are have dismissed or are preparing to dismiss pending cannabis cases from the docket.
Washington state prosecutors’ actions follow voters’ passage of Initiative 502, which removes criminal penalties specific to the adult possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for personal use (as well as the possession of up to 16 ounces of marijuana-infused product in solid form, and 72 ounces of marijuana-infused product in liquid form.) The law is set to take effect on December 6, 2012.
Explaining his decision to drop hundreds of pending cannabis cases ahead of the enactment of the new law, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg toldThe Seattle Times: “Although the effective date of I-502 is not until December 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month. I think when the people voted to change the policy, they weren’t focused on when the effective date of the new policy would be. They spoke loudly and clearly that we should not treat small amounts of marijuana as an offense.”
As federal officials mull how to react to the passage of marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado, the head of a United Nations drug agency is urging the federal government to do whatever necessary to ensure the United States’ continued compliance with international drug treaties.
International Narcotics Control Board President Raymond Yans said laws authorizing the non-medical use of cannabis violate international drug control treaties and send ‘‘a wrong message to the rest of the nation and … a wrong message abroad.’’ Under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, marijuana is listed as a “Schedule I” drug, meaning states are tasked with implementing a system for limiting usage of the drug to medical and scientific purposes.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the treaty, and some have questioned whether the treaty’s goal of protecting the “health of welfare of mankind” has been undermined by drug criminalization. As the Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform explains:
The 1961 Convention was drafted and negotiated in a very different political and social environment than today. Notably, drug use was significantly less widespread and illegal drug markets were more confined geographically and less diverse. International organised crime, which profits greatly from drug trafficking, was yet to become the global phenomenon that we have seen since. HIV and its transmission through the use of syringes in drug use, as well as the prevalent use of cocaine, synthetic drugs and other stimulants were not significant concerns in 1961. Indeed, it was only after the 1961 Convention’s legislation was fully implemented, did large-scale illegal production of controlled substances begin. [...] Although the objectives of the 1961 Convention made it clear that its aims were the improvement of the health and welfare of mankind, the measures of success which have been used in the ‘war on drugs’ approach have been the number of arrests, size of the seizures or severity of prison sentences. … “these indicators may tell us how tough we are being, but they don’t tell us how successful we are in improving the health and welfare of mankind.”
Like many international treaties, the Single Convention does not have any strong mechanism for enforcement, and other signatory countries have endured similar warnings without consequence. Canada, for example, was warned by the INCB in 2008 after it launched its “safe injection sites,” but it has since continued operating the sites and even looked to expand the program.
Jake Dimmock tends plants at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)
A few days before last Tuesday's election, New Approach Washington, the group pushing a ballot issue to legalize marijuana in the state, posted its final ad of the campaign. The spot featured a "Washington mom" -- a woman in her mid-40s, sitting on her porch, flanked by pumpkins -- who took the viewer through the assorted restrictions and benefits both minors and businesses would see once the measure, Initiative 502, was implemented: ID checks.Fewer profits for the cartels. Increased funds for schools. More time for police to "focus on violent crime instead." In short, all of the top concerns that an average mom in the Evergreen State would seem to have about making pot legal.
But New Approach's ad was about more than just capturing the votes of a major demographic -- the same one that helped reelect President Obama and the one that kept GOP Senate hopefuls Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin at bay. Legalization advocates have found that female support tends to be a leading indicator for marijuana measures. In the case of both California's 2010 and Colorado's 2006 votes, sagging support among women preceded a collapse in men's support too. In California, for instance, support from women saw a 14-point swing against legalization over the final six weeks, dragging support from men under 50 percent.
"Historically, as soon as women really start to create a [gender] gap, a marijuana measure gets killed," says Allen St. Pierre, executive director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "If women get weak-kneed, the men will start to drop."
Armed with that knowledge about why previous attempts had failed, campaigns in both Washington and Colorado set out to court women. Their efforts appear to have paid off. Both states approved measures legalizing marijuana with the backing of some 55 percent of the electorate. That was stronger than even proponents expected -- they had been cautiously optimistic about the Washington vote, but the Colorado measure appeared to be fading down the stretch. (Advocates in Oregon, where a marijuana-legalization measure failed on Tuesday, faced larger problems than merely enlisting females -- too little time to canvass, too few funds to spend.)
"We definitely wanted to reach women. We were very much focused on not being a pro-pot campaign but a pro-policy campaign."
Convincing women -- mothers, especially -- that legalization wasn't simply about stoners and libertarians was essential to ending blanket prohibition. They needed to be assured this was sound policy and that their children would not be affected.
"We definitely wanted to reach [women]," says Tonia Winchester, the outreach director behind the Yes on I-502 camp. "We were very much focused on not being a pro-pot campaign but a pro-policy campaign, showing that we could shift resources from incarcerating and focus on programs we knew would work."
With the female demographic in mind, both states went about crafting campaigns tailored to assuaging concerns like family safety and preventing access to drugs for children. In addition to emphasizing the basic premise of a tax-and-regulate system -- that is, that all marijuana would only be available through licensed dealers -- Washington ensured that a tight per se DUID policy dictating that a driver may carry no more than five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, would be included as part of I-502 (per se DUID laws make it illegal to drive with a certain amount of a controlled substance in the blood, regardless of whether impairment is apparent). By delineating a maximum threshold for drug level in the blood system, female support in Washington, according to St. Pierre and Winchester, remained strong.
While a similar per se DUID bill died in the Colorado Legislature earlier this year -- it is already illegal within Colorado to drive while intoxicated, but there is no specific threshold for drug levels in blood -- Mason Tvert, director of the state's pro-legalization campaign, made sure his campaign emphasized how Amendment 64's passage would benefit both public health and public coffers.
"We ran a very smart campaign: highlighting the benefits of keeping marijuana out of hands of young people, really generating tax revenue to benefit state and public schools, allowing law enforcement officials to focus on more serious crimes," Tvert says. "I think women, just like most men, agreed these were compelling reasons."
The numbers back up Tvert's claim. While the majority of women ended up opposing Colorado's unsuccessful 2006 legalization attempt, bringing men with them and eliminating any chance of victory, pre-election polling during this election cycle showed support from women not simply remaining steady, but growing. Exit polls confirmed what pre-election surveys suggested: Support from women remained above water, with 53 percent backing Amendment 64's passage. And Washington, with its tighter restrictions, saw the same percentage of female support -- 53 percent of women backed I-502, with only 47 percent opposing. "You look at the numbers, and you can see that women remained constant," St. Pierre notes. "Both campaigns looked at the data and strategy from what turned out to be an expensive failed experiment in California in 2010, so both camps took certain aspects of that -- the needs to address home cultivation and DUIDs, especially -- and applied them, tested them in their own focus and polling groups, and found them sufficient."
However, women aren't the sole demographic pro-legalization camps eyed. After all, much as Obama's reelection showed that the Anglo-Christian-male bloc has become insufficient for victory -- if, as David Simon wrote, "there is no normal" -- marijuana backers understood they'd need to cultivate their own coalition of communities.
Perhaps predictably, a strong majority of the under-65 crowd showed support for measures in both states, leaving seniors as the sole age-based demographic demurring. The big surprise came in the ethnic breakdown. While there isn't sufficient polling on non-whites in Washington to draw conclusions, Colorado -- where the white population split on the measure -- saw Latinos support legalization at a 70 percent rate, double the national rate among the group.
Indeed, the state's Latinos, who made up 14 percent of the electorate, were polling negatively up through the beginning of October. A strong tradition of social conservatism, in addition to misplaced concerns about an increased market for cartels, kept Latinos reticent to pass any outright legalization, but a concerted effort from Tvert's team -- as well as an endorsement from the Colorado Latino Forum, the most influential Hispanic organization in the state -- convinced the swelling populace to support the measure's passage. "Marijuana prohibition really has a tradition of discrimination against the Latino community," Tvert says. "They're still arrested at a disproportionate rate in Colorado, so they recognize this, for their community, this is probably a civil rights issue."
Winchester says her organization also focused efforts on campaigning in Washington's Latino community, meaning that women, youth, and minorities -- the triumvirate that sealed Obama's second term -- played a similarly pivotal role in ending marijuana prohibition in both states.
But that wasn't all: Washington, which also legalized gay marriage on Tuesday, presented a prime example for studying the demographic overlap and distance between marijuana and marriage equality efforts. Both causes carry strong progressive parallels, and the demographic breakdown -- by age, especially -- was similar. There is, however, one stark difference: While 85 percent of registered Republicans opposed gay marriage, only 67 percent decided against marijuana. Democrats saw similar shifts, with 82 percent for gay marriage but only 70 percent supporting marijuana.
"There are plenty of Republicans who look like they support [marijuana legalization]," St. Pierre says. "We have to keep learning who these groups are, and making sure we're able to get them to come to our side."
Now that his organization has arrived at the hemp-lined embankments on the far side of the Rubicon, St. Pierre noted the momentum and demographics were firmly on legalizers' sides. With the victories -- and with the new numbers from a Washington Post national survey showing that 48 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, the highest number in the history of the poll -- St. Pierre laid out a handful of states that he thinks may be the next to pass outright marijuana legalization, including Vermont and Maine, as well as second attempts in California and Oregon.
He also noted that the pro-pot camp has discovered a relatively limited method of legalization in Washington, with its per se policy and continued ban on home cultivation, and a relatively open method in Colorado. "I'll be meeting with Mason and Alison [Holcomb, head of Yes on I-502] ... to try to figure out exactly how to take what they did and replicate it in the next state," he says. "We found both a liberal approach, in Colorado, and a conservative approach, in Washington. We found two paths that work."
When asked how the victories made him feel, St. Pierre was blunt, laughing, "I wish I could say I was high. Our proponents had an 80-year start, and each state will require something different. Now that we know what works, and just have to figure out how this all is going to be applied."
Paul Stanford, 52, is the author and prime mover behind Oregon’s marijuana legalization initiative, Measure 80, which had gotten 46.5 percent of the vote as of Sunday morning when I called to offer condolences.
“We came close,” he said. “We won Portland by over 60 percent and they’ve still got about 100,000 Portland votes to count. I think it’ll go above 47 percent when all those votes are counted.” Stanford did not sound downhearted. “Here’s an amazing thing,” he went on. “The day after the election the Oregonian, which had opposed us and called us all kinds of names, ran an editorial arguing that the legislature should now legalize and regulate marijuana!”
The billionaires Back East who put about $5 million into successful initiatives in Colorado and Washington state did not contribute to the Oregon legalization effort. Stanford had implored them for help, to no avail. “If we’d had a half million dollars of outside support for advertising, we’d have won,” he says matter-of-factly.
He wound up providing almost all the money himself—about $400,000 for the signature drive that put Measure B on the ballot and $300,000 for a skeleton campaign staff, literature and ads. Stanford runs a chain of clinics, the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF), at which doctors confirm that patients qualify to use cannabis as medicine under state law. The patients are pre-screened by staff and must have documentation of their qualifying diagnoses. THCF operates in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Montana, and Michigan. Stanford spends a lot of time in the friendly skies. His detractors imply that he has made much more money than he spent on Measure 80. I suspect they’re wrong but I hope they’re right.
Stanford’s friends and staff are working class, his wife works, their three kids go to public school, they rent a modest house in a not-very-classy section of Portland. His business would have suffered in Oregon had Measure 80 passed —people would no longer have needed a doctor’s authorization and a license from the state to obtain marijuana— but Stanford undoubtedly would have adapted with a new business model. Legalization has been his political goal for more than 30 years. He said the wording of Measure 80 was “draft number 90-something” of the magnum-opus leaflet he has been fine-tuning for years. (He has a role model when it comes to rewriting. The late Jack Herer was staying at Stanford’s Portland apartment in the mid-1980s when he produced the first draft of The Emperor Wears No Clothes.)
“I applaud the success of Colorado’s and Washington’s legalization initiatives,” Stanford said. He thinks the new law in Washington might inspire the Oregon legislature to act. The Nov. 7 Oregonian editorial acknowledged that there would soon be “a dependable supply of legally obtainable pot available within a short drive of downtown Portland,” adding, “We’re going to need a new bridge, pronto.” (Knowing that marijuana is not a dangerous drug and eager to signal their own hipness, journalists frequently make light of the subject.)
The Oregonian went on: “Assuming everything goes as planned, Washington’s liquor control board will adopt rules by the end of 2013 for the licensing of marijuana producers, processors and retailers. Marijuana stores will proliferate and people 21 and older will be able to buy up to an ounce at a time. Because Oregonians will be free to buy Washington pot, many will, and they’ll drive it right back into Oregon… Our neighbor to the north will collect millions of dollars in new ‘sin’ taxes, with much of the money coming from Oregonians who’d be happy to keep their business and taxes in state if given the opportunity.”
The editorialists anticipate another ballot initiative from Paul Stanford and suggest that the legislature beat him to the punch. “Lawmakers could refer a better proposal to the ballot, then wash their hands of it. [sic.] This would allow elected officials to draw up something that safeguards the state and the public to the greatest extent possible and establishes favorable tax rates for marijuana.”
One aspect of Washington’s new law that Stanford does not want to see imported into Oregon is the “per se” definition of impaired driving —a blood level exceeding 5 nanograms per milliliter THC. Starting December 6, 2012, drivers suspected of impairment by a police officer in the state of Washington will be forced to submit to a blood test or else give up their licenses for a year. Driving with a blood level of more than five nanograms THC per milliliter of blood will constitute a DUI drugs offense. Those under 21 will be guilty if found to have any THC in their blood while driving.
The science linking 5 nanograms THC per /milliliter of blood to impaired driving ability is dubious, and the punishment seems very severe. It will create blatant inequality under the law because the amount of time THC remains in the body depends on body fat, which varies from person to person. (Women typically have about 30% more than men.) Defense lawyers will challenge the per se definition of impairment on various grounds, but if the courts uphold it, countless lives will be badly disrupted in the name of “legalization.” Stanford says, “I don’t know why they put the DUI limit it in there. I don’t think they needed it. Look at how close we came without it.”
I-502 had been drafted by professional campaign consultants hired by Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance and Graham Boyd of the American Civil Liberties Union, who are funded by George Soros and Peter Lewis, “progressive billionaires” based Back East. The leader of the campaign in Seattle was ACLU attorney Allison Holcomb. A prominent supporter was Rick Steves, the well liked travel advocate. Steves made a $50,000 contribution to the I-502 campaign, which helped shield Team Soros from any carpetbagger charge. (George Zimmer of the Fremont-based Men’s Warehouse had made a similar contribution in 1996 when Soros backed Prop 215 in California. I guarantee it.)
A group called Sensible Washington had drafted a more liberal legalization measure, but without money for a signature drive, failed to make the ballot. Many Sensible Washington backers, including Seattle Hempfest organizer Vivian Mc Peak, lawyers Jeffrey Steinborn and Doug Hiatt, and journalist Steve Elliott, called for a “no” vote on I-502. They saw the inclusion of a “per se” DUI based on a blood test as an affront and a threat —especially the zero tolerance for drivers under 21.
The day after the election Sensible Washington’s Anthony Martinelli sent out a warning:
We urge individuals to take extra precaution, because this limit has nothing to do with impairment. Probable cause is at the discretion of the officer, and there’s only so much you can do to avoid getting a DUID under this provision. Consider taking these extra steps before driving:
▪ Never drive with a cannabis-friendly bumper sticker
▪ Do a quick inspection of your vehicle, making sure there are no obvious problems, like broken taillights.
▪ Make sure that you do not smell like cannabis when you leave the home –use deodorant, perfume, etc., even if you haven’t smoked in hours. The slightest scent could give the officer reason to test your blood, and to assume you’ll be above the five —or, if you’re under 21, zero— ng/ml limits.
▪ Be cautious when driving with any amount of cannabis on your person, even if it’s under an ounce. Possessing even a gram is enough probable cause for an officer to search you, and test your blood.
▪ Understand that even if you consumed cannabis days ago, you may not be safe, and should take these precautions. Active THC lingers in the body for days, and we have no home test for individuals to determine if they’re below 5ng/ml before they drive.
Sensible Washington will work vigorously on making a change to this policy. The Legislature can’t alter it with a majority vote for two years (though they can with a two-thirds majority vote), but we will lobby our state’s house and senate to try and build support for a repeal of this mandate.
The Washington state legislature has more than a year to work out the mechanics of production and distribution through a network of state-run stores. The right to possess an ounce or less of marijuana takes effect December 6 of this year, as does per se DUI. Prosecutors in several counties dropped misdemeanor possession the day after the election. Alison Holcomb told the media she was “incredibly moved” by the gesture and that it took “incredible courage.” Lawrence O’Donnell quoted her approvingly on MSNBC on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
The next night MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow displayed and read aloud tidbits from a webpage the Seattle Police Department had created to answer questions concerning I-502. The subtext of all this love from MSNBC is that the system works after all, democracy abides. Rachel made no reference to the role that money played in getting a law passed in Washington and a law tripped up in Oregon. Fred Gardner is managing editor of O’Shaughnessy’s, the journal of cannabis in clinical practice. He can be reached at editor@beyondthc.com
The push for hemp in Kentucky is getting a bump from other states' efforts to legalize the plant's unsavory cousin, a Kentucky official said.
Kentucky Agriculture Secretary James Comer said recent measures in Washington and Colorado to legalize marijuana use will only strengthen efforts to allow industrial hemp in the commonwealth.
Marijuana and hemp are considered cousins. Hemp is grown for its fiber and oil and it can’t be used as a drug like marijuana can.
But law enforcement officials have opposed legalizing hemp, arguing that it would allow farmers to hide marijuana in their fields.
Comer, who was elected in 2011, is the chairman of the state’s hemp commission, which held its first meeting last week after a decade dormant. Comer said the law enforcement issues are not a real concern -- if the two crops cross-pollinated, the marijuana would be ruined.
He also noted that voters in two states recently supported the legalization of marijuana shows law enforcement is far behind public opinion.
“Well I think it hurts the cause of any law enforcement agency to be against it for that reason,” Comer said.
Comer recently told lawmakers that supporters of hemp aren’t looking for any government handouts for their cause.
“We’re not asking for any tax dollars, we’re not asking for any tax incentives, we’re not going to ask for any tobacco settlement money. We just want to be able to have the freedom to grow a crop that we know will grow well in Kentucky," he said.
Comer says a new bill to legalize hemp will be presented to state lawmakers in 2013
You can never associate the words 'good', 'biodegradable' and 'eco-friendly' with plastic. Or can you? It's time to do a rethink on that as we say hello to hemp plastic. Know more about this environmentally-friendly plastic right here.
The mention of hemp brings with it a lot of history. Denim king Levi Strauss was known to use hemp fabric in the early products and the legendary plastic car made by Henry Ford was believed to be made up of hemp as well. Hemp can be used to make paper, the seeds of this plant can be used as bird feed, it is also a clean source of fuel; to be frank, the utility list extends to infinity. So what is hemp, and can it fulfill its promise to end our environmental woes?
'Hemp' comes from the plant Cannabis sativa, and this is where the controversy begins. Yes, hemp is indeed related to marijuana; however, it is the industrial hemp that we're considering here. Industrial hemp has very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the rogue ingredient. It is the amount of THC present in the plant that determines its use in the industrial sense or as a medicinal or recreational drug. Simply put, hemp is the strain of the Cannabis sativa, that has low levels of THC, and is therefore, absolutely safe. Countries that allow the production of industrial hemp issue licenses to strictly prevent any kind of misuse.
Hemp Plastic Facts You Should Know
Traditionally, plastics have been derived from petrochemicals, which are mainly toxic. Plants, on the other hand, are also a source of cellulose, that can be used to make biodegradable and organic plastic. As hemp happens to be one of the richest sources of cellulose, it is only natural that purists will advocate its use, considering its ecological benefits.
The Features Hemp plastic is biodegradable and recyclable. If you thought being eco-friendly undermined its sturdiness, you couldn't be more wrong. The stiffness level of hemp plastic can match up to regular plastic. Hemp plastic offers good thermal, UV and dimensional stability. It is resistant to heat; however, the most outstanding feature of a few varieties of hemp plastic is that they are flame resistant too. Finally, if Henry Ford could imagine creating a car with this material, we can perhaps believe that it indeed is "ten times stronger than steel".
The Utility It is a pity that with so many useful qualities, we don't see hemp plastic being used in our everyday life, the way it ought to be. Hemp plastic can easily substitute the existing plastic in products like cell phone chargers, blenders, sockets, laptop covers, etc. Currently, hemp plastic is being used to manufacture audio, video, toys, automobile parts and packaging materials.
The Specialty Hemp fiber is one of the strongest natural fibers known to us. As scientists keep looking for ways to address the ecological damage that conventional plastics have caused, here is a material that can be manufactured to be 100% biodegradable. Hemp plastic is known to be several times durable as compared to polypropylene plastic, and it comes without all the health and safety threats.
The Irony What we have here is a product that is natural, does not pose a threat to the environment, does not require the use of petrochemicals or glass fibers and is derived from a plant that requires less maintenance. Are we trying to shut our eyes to the obvious solution for the mayhem caused by conventional plastics? Unfortunately, in the case of hemp plastic, it is the tree's proximity to marijuana that caused its undoing. Recent times have thankfully started to witness a change in the outlook towards hemp, but we still have a long way to go.
Plastics keep reminding us of the damage that we have done to our planet, all under the guise of convenience. As hemp products have started making a comeback of sorts into our daily life, you will be surprised to know the extent of hemp uses. Take a green initiative now and do your bit to conserve the environment.
The mention of hemp brings with it a lot of history. Denim king Levi Strauss was known to use hemp fabric in the early products and the legendary plastic car made by Henry Ford was believed to be made up of hemp as well. Hemp can be used to make paper, the seeds of this plant can be used as bird feed, it is also a clean source of fuel; to be frank, the utility list extends to infinity. So what is hemp, and can it fulfill its promise to end our environmental woes?
'Hemp' comes from the plant Cannabis sativa, and this is where the controversy begins. Yes, hemp is indeed related to marijuana; however, it is the industrial hemp that we're considering here. Industrial hemp has very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the rogue ingredient. It is the amount of THC present in the plant that determines its use in the industrial sense or as a medicinal or recreational drug. Simply put, hemp is the strain of the Cannabis sativa, that has low levels of THC, and is therefore, absolutely safe. Countries that allow the production of industrial hemp issue licenses to strictly prevent any kind of misuse.
Hemp Plastic Facts You Should Know
Traditionally, plastics have been derived from petrochemicals, which are mainly toxic. Plants, on the other hand, are also a source of cellulose, that can be used to make biodegradable and organic plastic. As hemp happens to be one of the richest sources of cellulose, it is only natural that purists will advocate its use, considering its ecological benefits.
The Features Hemp plastic is biodegradable and recyclable. If you thought being eco-friendly undermined its sturdiness, you couldn't be more wrong. The stiffness level of hemp plastic can match up to regular plastic. Hemp plastic offers good thermal, UV and dimensional stability. It is resistant to heat; however, the most outstanding feature of a few varieties of hemp plastic is that they are flame resistant too. Finally, if Henry Ford could imagine creating a car with this material, we can perhaps believe that it indeed is "ten times stronger than steel".
The Utility It is a pity that with so many useful qualities, we don't see hemp plastic being used in our everyday life, the way it ought to be. Hemp plastic can easily substitute the existing plastic in products like cell phone chargers, blenders, sockets, laptop covers, etc. Currently, hemp plastic is being used to manufacture audio, video, toys, automobile parts and packaging materials.
The Specialty Hemp fiber is one of the strongest natural fibers known to us. As scientists keep looking for ways to address the ecological damage that conventional plastics have caused, here is a material that can be manufactured to be 100% biodegradable. Hemp plastic is known to be several times durable as compared to polypropylene plastic, and it comes without all the health and safety threats.
The Irony What we have here is a product that is natural, does not pose a threat to the environment, does not require the use of petrochemicals or glass fibers and is derived from a plant that requires less maintenance. Are we trying to shut our eyes to the obvious solution for the mayhem caused by conventional plastics? Unfortunately, in the case of hemp plastic, it is the tree's proximity to marijuana that caused its undoing. Recent times have thankfully started to witness a change in the outlook towards hemp, but we still have a long way to go.
Plastics keep reminding us of the damage that we have done to our planet, all under the guise of convenience. As hemp products have started making a comeback of sorts into our daily life, you will be surprised to know the extent of hemp uses. Take a green initiative now and do your bit to conserve the environment.
by Russ Belville • November 13, 2012 • Russ Belville
One week ago, voters in Washington State and Colorado voted by large margins to end the criminality of adults who use and possess a personal amount of marijuana. These historic votes have reverberated throughout the world and have changed the terms of the debate in the War on Drugs. Pot-smoking opponents of Washington’s I-502 and Colorado’s Amendment 64 could not see the far-reaching implications of marijuana legalization.
At the city level, the Seattle Police Department issued a post affirming that the mere smell of marijuana alone, detected by a K-9 officer or a human officer, is no longer “probable cause” to instigate a search. That is a direct affect on every cannabis consumer in Washington who now can’t be coerced into a search by the threat of the drug dog. (They also seem to affirm that possession of an ounce of marijuana or a pound of hash or 2¼ quarts of hash oil* is perfectly legal, even in the absence of any legal store from which to purchase it.)
At the county level, prosecutors in three Washington counties have dropped the marijuana possession charges against about 250 people. Marijuana is not legal in Washington until December 6th, but the prosecutors note that it would go against the will of the people and make it difficult to seat a jury that would convict someone for pot possession. That’s 250 people immediately affected by marijuana legalization, people who will no longer face being a convicted drug criminal on every job application, security clearance, background check, and rental application they fill out in the future.
At the state level, Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington and Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado are scrambling to get guidance from the US Department of Justice on how the federal government will enforce the Controlled Substances Act in the face of open state defiance of federal law. That’s two states the feds have to deal with, both with large legalization mandates. Had only one state passed legalization, it could be treated as a fluke and marginalized, especially in the wake of two other states losing legalization bids.
At the national level, the Democratic representatives from the state of Colorado, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, and Jared Polis, are working on bills in the House of Representatives to amend the Controlled Substances Act to allow states to set their own policies on marijuana. Again, with two states in play, the need for such legislation is twice as obvious and will have two states’ delegations fighting for it. This is the beginning of the unraveling of Richard Nixon’s 1970 Controlled Substances Act that ludicrously schedules marijuana alongside heroin, LSD, and PCP.
At the international level, the presidents of Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica called for the Organization of American States and the United Nations to review global drug prohibition. The Latin American leaders question how they can continue to see their countries torn apart prohibiting the cultivation and trafficking of something that becomes legal once it reaches two American states. This is the beginning of the unraveling of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs Treaty that binds the US and the world to Harry J. Anslinger’s vision of global drug prohibition.
At no level did any of these government officials temper their actions because this wasn’t “true legalization”. I have long advocated that statewide marijuana legalization at any level, even if it was only a gram at home with possession of a license, changes the entire debate and sets into motion a toppling of dominoes that ends marijuana prohibition faster than anyone thought possible. For now it is LEGAL and the people affected by the issue are not CRIMINALS. * In my neck of the woods, hash oil sells for $20 per gram. There are 2,041 grams in 72 ounces.
I am the host and producer of The Russ Belville Show - The Independent Voice of the Marijuana Nation at http://radicalruss.com - live from Portland, Oregon. I am married and the proud caretaker of a Jack Russell Terrorist named Roscoe. I was the winner of The Search for the Next Great Progressive Talk Radio Star and a former host on XM Satellite Radio and Portland's AM 620 KPOJ. I was the Outreach Coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws from 2008-2012, which included lecturing all across America on marijuana legalization, writing political analysis for HIGH TIMES Magazine, and producing over 1,000 hours of video content for The NORML Network. http://radicalruss.com
Receives $100,000 from Sen. Paul PAC, soapmaker who uses hemp oil in products
Receives $100,000 from Sen. Paul PAC, soapmaker who uses hemp oil in products
Staff report
Industrial hemp
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 14, 2012) — The Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission conducted its first meeting in more than 10 years today and received new funding to help push for the legalization of industrial hemp. Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, who was elected chair of the commission today, plans to lobby the General Assembly to allow Kentucky farmers to grow hemp again when the federal government allows it.
If federal hemp legislation is passed, Comer said, “I believe there will be a mad dash from the states to be the first to get on board. Hopefully, Kentucky can be first because I believe we’ll have the infrastructure in place.”
Kentucky has the perfect climate and soil to produce industrial hemp and “the hard-working farmers ready to grow it,” Comer said. “We just have to get the government out of the way.”
The Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission plans to meet before the 2013 legislative session to finalize legislation it hopes will be filed in the General Assembly during the session.
Hemp fibers have been used to manufacture hundreds of products that include twine, paper, construction materials, carpeting, and clothing. Seeds have been used in making industrial oils, cosmetics, medicines, and food.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is working to pass federal legislation to legalize hemp. In August, he joined Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., to introduce a bill that would remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp in the U.S. The legislation is a companion to a House bill sponsored by Sen. Paul’s father, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
Today, Paul’s political action committee donated $50,0000 to the Kentucky hemp commission to finance the effort.
“Kentucky needs jobs. Everybody says they are for job creation, but supporting industrial hemp is their chance to prove it,” Paul said. “Industrial hemp could create thousands of production and manufacturing jobs, and Kentucky has the opportunity to be first in line for them. I strongly urge all Kentuckians to call their legislators and other elected officials and ask them to support the industrial hemp initiative.”
Another $50,000 was donated by Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a $50 million company that produces the nation’s top-selling natural soap. Company president David Bronner said he is frustrated that he has to spend more than $100,000 annually to import hemp for its products. The company imports most of its hemp from Canada.
“Hemp seed is a well-balanced source of protein with all amino acids as well as an oil extremely high in the omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids that make our soaps’ lather smoother and less drying,” said David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, whose annual sales total over $50 million. “We want to be the first U.S. brand to start using hemp from American rather than Canadian farmers, once they can grow hemp again in Kentucky. We are planning a new line of food products made with American farmed hemp seed and oil, to capitalize on the booming U.S. market for nutritious foods made with hemp seeds.”
The Hemp Industries Association estimates that U.S. retail sales of hemp products exceeded $452 million in 2011, though all hemp raw materials used to make those products were imported. U.S. companies that manufacture or sell products made with hemp include best-selling hemp food manufacturers, such as French Meadow Bakery, Living Harvest Foods, Manitoba Harvest, Nature’s Path, Navitas Naturals, Nutiva and Vega who make their products from hemp grown in Canada. Sustainable hemp seed, fiber and oil are also used by major companies such as Ford Motors, Patagonia and The Body Shop.
A Congressional Research Service study says hemp is contained in as many as 25,000 products in the global market, including textiles, automotive applications, furniture, food products, paper, construction materials and personal care products.
Under existing federal law, hemp production in the United States is allowed for research purposes only and is strictly controlled by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
So far, 17 states have passed pro-hemp legislation, and six states (Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia) already have authorized the licensing of farmers to grow the crop. However, despite state authorization to grow hemp, farmers in these states risk raids by federal agents, prison time and land forfeiture if they plant the crop, because of the failure of federal policy to distinguish oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis (i.e., industrial hemp) from psychoactive varieties, Vote Hemp said.
What is hemp?
Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) is a fiber and oil seed crop with a wide variety of uses. Hemp fibers have been used to manufacture hundreds of products that include twine, paper, construction materials, carpeting, and clothing. Seeds have been used in making industrial oils, cosmetics, medicines, and food. This fiber crop also has potential as a cellulosic ethanol biofuel. Currently, all hemp products sold in the U.S. are imported or manufactured from imported hemp, according to the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.
Rhode Island Rep. Edith Ajello and Maine Rep. Diane Russell will hold a conference call tomorrow with the Marijuana Policy Project to announce the legislation.
MPP says that "similar proposals will be submitted in at least two other states — Vermont and Massachusetts." A ballot iniative legalizing medical marijuana passed in Massachusetts last week with more than 60 percent of the vote. Maine voters approved medical marijuana in 2009. The Rhode Island legislature passed medical marijuana legislation earlier this year
Cannabinoids are a group of 21-carbon–containing terpenophenolic compounds produced uniquely by Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica species.[1,2] These plant-derived compounds may be referred to as phytocannabinoids. Although delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive ingredient, other known compounds with biologic activity are cannabinol, cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene, cannabigerol, tetrahydrocannabivarin, and delta-8-THC. CBD, in particular, is thought to have significantanalgesic and anti-inflammatory activity without the psychoactive effect (high) of delta-9-THC.
Antitumor Effects
One study in mice and rats suggested that cannabinoids may have a protective effect against the development of certain types of tumors.[3] During this 2-year study, groups of mice and rats were given various doses of THC by gavage. A dose-related decrease in the incidence of hepaticadenoma tumors and hepatocellular carcinoma was observed in the mice. Decreased incidences of benign tumors (polyps and adenomas) in other organs(mammary gland, uterus, pituitary, testis, and pancreas) were also noted in the rats. In another study, delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC, and cannabinol were found to inhibit the growth of Lewis lungadenocarcinomacellsin vitro and in vivo .[4] In addition, other tumors have been shown to be sensitive to cannabinoid-induced growth inhibition.[5-8]
Cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumorangiogenesis invasion and metastasis.[9-12] One review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of action of cannabinoids as antitumor agents.[13] Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death. These compounds have been shown to induce apoptosis in glioma cells in culture and induce regression of glioma tumors in mice and rats. Cannabinoids protect normal glial cells of astroglial and oligodendroglial lineages from apoptosis mediated by the CB1 receptor.[14]
The effects of delta-9-THC and a synthetic agonist of the CB2 receptor were investigated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).[15] Both agents reduced the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and demonstrated antitumor effects in hepatocellular carcinoma subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. The investigations documented that the anti-HCC effects are mediated by way of the CB2 receptor. Similar to findings in glioma cells, the cannabinoids were shown to trigger cell death through stimulation of an endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway that activates autophagy and promotes apoptosis. Other investigations have confirmed that CB1 and CB2 receptors may be potential targets in non-small cell lungcarcinoma [16] and breast cancer.[17]
An in vitro study of the effect of CBD on programmed cell death in breast cancer cell lines found that CBD induced programmed cell death, independent of the CB1, CB2, or vanilloid receptors. CBD inhibited the survival of both estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negativebreast cancercell lines, inducing apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner while having little effect on nontumorigenic, mammary cells.[18]
CBD has also been demonstrated to exert a chemopreventive effect in a mouse model of colon cancer.[19] In the experimental system, azoxymethane increased premalignant and malignant lesions in the mouse colon. Animals treated with azoxymethane and CBD concurrently were protected from developing premalignant and malignant lesions. In in vitro experiments involving colorectal cancer cell lines, the investigators found that CBD protected DNA from oxidative damage, increased endocannabinoid levels, and reduced cell proliferation.
Another investigation into the antitumor effects of CBD examined the role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1).[12] ICAM-1 expression has been reported to be negatively correlated with cancer metastasis. In lung cancer cell lines, CBD upregulated ICAM-1, leading to decreased cancer cell invasiveness.
In an in vivo model using severe combined immunodeficient mice, subcutaneous tumors were generated by inoculating the animals with cells from human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines.[20] Tumor growth was inhibited by 60% in THC-treated mice compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Tumor specimens revealed that THC had antiangiogenic and antiproliferative effects. However, research with immunocompetent murine tumor models has demonstrated immunosuppression and enhanced tumor growth in mice treated with THC.[21,22]
In addition, both plant-derived and endogenous cannabinoids have been studied for anti-inflammatory effects. A mouse study demonstrated that endogenous cannabinoid system signaling is likely to provide intrinsic protection against colonic inflammation.[23] As a result, a hypothesis that phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids may be useful in the risk reduction and treatment of colorectal cancer has been developed.[24-27]
Appetite Stimulation
Many animal studies have previously demonstrated that delta-9-THC and other cannabinoids have a stimulatory effect on appetite and increase food intake. It is believed that the endogenous cannabinoid system may serve as a regulator of feeding behavior. The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide potently enhances appetite in mice.[28] Moreover, CB1 receptors in the hypothalamus may be involved in the motivational or reward aspects of eating.[29]
Analgesia
Understanding the mechanism of cannabinoid-induced analgesia has been increased through the study of cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoids, and synthetic agonists and antagonists. The CB1 receptor is found in both the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral nerve terminals. Similar to opioid receptors, increased levels of the CB1 receptor are found in regions of the brain that regulate nociceptive processing.[30] CB2 receptors, located predominantly in peripheral tissue, exist at very low levels in the CNS. With the development of receptor-specific antagonists, additional information about the roles of the receptors and endogenous cannabinoids in the modulation of pain has been obtained.[31,32]
Cannabinoids may also contribute to pain modulation through an anti-inflammatory mechanism; a CB2 effect with cannabinoids acting on mast cell receptors to attenuate the release of inflammatory agents, such as histamine and serotonin, and on keratinocytes to enhance the release of analgesic opioids has been described.[33-35] One study reported that the efficacy of synthetic CB1- and CB2-receptor agonists were comparable with the efficacy of morphine in a murine model of tumor pain.[36]
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It’s also true that, until state-regulated businesses are selling marijuana, the main competition for medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington is going to be drug dealers. It is still illegal to buy marijuana from the black market, but the marijuana you buy from the black market will be legal to possess in The Evergreen State, up to an ounce. Not the most ideal of circumstances, but overall I-502 is a step in the right direction.
Prosecutors throughout Colorado and Washington state 
