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Controversy over medicinal marijuana has reached the eighth grade in Belmont, where a middle school principal has refused to let a student display her project on the possible medical benefits of pot. Ralston Intermediate School Principal Deborah Ferguson told 13-year-old Veronica Mouser last week she was barring her project -- called ``Mary Jane for Pain'' -- from the school science fair opening today. Projects are supposed to be hands-on, the school says, and marijuana is still considered an illegal drug by the federal government. Veronica burst into sobs and called her stepfather from the nearest phone. Now the emboldened teen, who loves debating and wants to be …

Rosenthal's Federal Drug Trial Turns Surreal By Ann Harrison, AlterNet January 27, 2003 They viewed the glossy color photographs of meticulously tended marijuana mother plants flourishing under timed lights inside an Oakland, Calif. warehouse. Then they watched a videotape showing DEA agents uprooting nearby marijuana cuttings to determine which had roots, and could thus be considered "plants" under the federal sentencing guidelines. It was all in a day's work for jurors in the ongoing, and often surreal, federal drug trial of former High Times advice columnist ''Ask Ed'' Rosenthal, who is facing 20 years in prison for cultivating medical cannabis. Federal prosecuto…

"I thought, you know, hallucinogens were fun things to do on a Friday night," says a young man, who does not want to be identified. The drug overdose that almost killed him came from an exotic combination of chemicals and plants that promised the high of his life. He says the recipe for how to mix what he took came from an Internet site called: http://www.erowid.org Erowid.org is just one of a growing group of Web sites devoted to recreational drugs. There are links to everything, from how to make GHB to how to test ecstasy for purity. But, as CBS News Correspondent Wyatt Andrews reports, Erowid's reports on side effects, on precise doses and its long list of recip…

VICTORIANS driving into New South Wales may have their cars randomly searched with sniffer dogs. NSW Police Minister Michael Costa will today announce a 12-month trial giving officers sweeping powers to pull over cars and conduct random drug searches on cross-border highways. Police have been concerned about the amount of South Australian cannabis being trafficked into Sydney along the Sturt and Barrier highways. Mr Costa said the trial would also help fight the trade in heroin between Sydney and Melbourne via the Hume. Police would be required to get Supreme Court approval to mount operations of up to 72 hours. The operations must be within 100km from the b…

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The U.S. government's attempt to silence marijuana-cultivation expert and author Ed Rosenthal, as well as his attorneys, was thwarted today in federal court, but those assembled to hear the outcome of the latest twist in what was already a Kafkaesque legal saga had to wait to the end of the day for the judge's decision. Fear of pervasive media reports on the trial "contaminating the jury" had yesterday prompted Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan, Jr. to ask the judge to put a stop to all press interviews until the conclusion of Mr. Rosenthal's federal trial. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer responded yesterday by asking Mr. Rosenthal to agree not to speak to the …

BY J.K. DINEEN Of The Examiner Staff To the federal government, Bob Martin is a key witness against medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal: on Thursday, he testified Rosenthal once carted two boxes of plants into a Sixth Street pot dispensary in the outer Tenderloin. But to hundreds of patients who regularly pick up their herbal medicine at his 10th Street Compassionate Care Center, Martin remains one of The City's most active distributors of medicinal pot. The apparent contrast between Martin the government witness and Martin the proud purveyor of medical marijuana was one of the most interesting things to emerge Thursday in the trial of Rosenthal, a h…

Global Drug Reformers Hold First Legalization Summit, February 12-15 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. An international drug legalization summit hosted by the Autonomous University of the Yucatan -- "Out from the Shadows: Ending Drug Prohibition in the 21st Century," will feature leaders from throughout Latin America and the world, beginning on February 12 in the Mexican city of Merida. Among the confirmed participants -- who will also be available for press interviews -- are former Prosecutor General Gustavo de Greiff (Colombia) and former Solicitor to the Supreme Court Jaime Malamud Goti (Argentina), Bolivian congressmen and coca growers' leaders Evo Morales and Felipe Q…

http://www.examiner.com/news/default.jsp?s...ory=n.pot.0123w Judge weighs pot-trial gag Warren Hinckle: A prejudicial judge? BY J.K. DINEEN Of The Examiner Staff The drug cultivation trial of medicinal marijuana guru Ed Rosenthal turned into a free speech battle Wednesday when the presiding judge said he was inclined to sign a media gag order and defense attorneys vowed to fight any such order. The rift emerged after Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan Jr. complained about news coverage of the trial, which began Tuesday in federal court. In particular, Bevan said he was upset about Wednesday's Examiner cover, which showed a photograph of Rosenthal smiling…

Federal Prosecutors are attempting to undermine California's medical marijuana laws by rejecting efforts by Oakland city officials to immunize medical cannabis grower Ed Rosenthal from federal prosecution. Rosenthal, who was deputized by Oakland officials to cultivate cannabis in accordance with California's Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215), is on trial this week in U.S. District Court on federal drug charges. A victory for prosecutors could signal the beginning of the end for the state's landmark medical marijuana statute. Across the state, 50 medical cannabis clubs distribute pot to patients who are permitted to cultivate, possess, and consume the drug with …

Lib push on drug-drivers January 23, 2003 A DEVICE that can test for illegal drug use could help police combat people driving while under the influence of drugs, the State Opposition said yesterday. Infrastructure spokesman Brett Whiteley said the device, which only needs a swab of saliva, could hold the key to testing drivers suspected of being under the influence of illegal drugs. "The Cozart RapiScan, or a similar device, may be applicable for testing drivers who police reasonably believe may be under the influence of drugs such as marijuana," Mr Whiteley said. "Clearly the technology is available, or at least is on the horizon, to enable police to accurately a…

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