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Source: National Post After a decade of U.S. government scare propaganda that convinced Americans that crazed Mexicans, blacks and fans of jazz clubs were pushing marijuana "reefers" on school children and honest youths, turning them into raving murderers, politicians decided to act. The U.S. Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. Growing and selling marijuana were still legal, but only if you bought a $1 government stamp. And that stamp was not for sale. On the day the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted -- Oct. 2, 1937 -- the FBI and Denver, Colo., police raided the Lexington Hotel and arrested Samuel R. Caldwell, 58, an unemployed labourer and Moses Baca…

After appearing hesitant before Christmas, Jean Chrétien is now ready to move quickly to decriminalize possession of marijuana. "The PM is strong on this," said a spokesman from the Prime Minister's Office. "The government is determined to address this issue." The spokesman, who did not want to be named, denied that Mr. Chrétien has changed his mind since he said in an interview with Global TV last month that there would have to be a full debate on the issue and that the government would make a decision "one day." "I don't think he has ever had a change of heart," said the spokesman. "I just think that he really wanted to make sure that before legislation is introduc…

Jury selection for the federal drug trial of pro-marijuana author and activist Ed Rosenthal of Oakland has been moved up due to a judge's concern about public opinion making it hard to find unbiased jurors. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco said Thursday jury selection will start Tuesday rather than next Thursday, leaving two extra days to pick a panel before Rosenthal's trial starts Jan. 21. "He is clearly concerned about the amount of time it's going to take to get a fair and impartial jury," said Bill Simpich, one of Rosenthal's attorneys. Breyer also Thursday denied the last of the pre-trial motions made by Rosenthal's lawyers, which had claim…

Think of them as McDoobies or Bong King — franchise outlets across the province where you can buy marijuana. That’s what medical-marijuana advocates are calling for as they seek improved access to pain-relieving pot. Debbie Stultz-Giffin smokes four grams of pot a day to alleviate pain and symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis. Her husband was convicted four years ago of growing marijuana, even though it was for his wife, who is legally allowed to use it. “Health Canada has put us in the situation where many exemption holders are driven to the black market to purchase their marijuana at inflated prices,” she said. It also puts patients at risk because they can’t be…

Source: Winnipeg Sun Flin Flon's highly touted pot mine has harvested its first batch of research-grade marijuana, the Winnipeg Sun has learned. About 200 kilograms of marijuana that meets "good manufacturing practices" was harvested in late December at the government-sanctioned grow operation -- the only one of its kind in Canada, Health Canada spokeswoman Jirina Vlk said yesterday. "This is the first batch that is GMP compliant," Vlk told The Sun. "The stuff that isn't GMP compliant can be used for other purposes, like for tests on (second-hand) smoke, for example." The pot is grown under high security in a hydroponic lab deep within an old copper mine in Fli…

Source: Edmonton Sun Toronto -- A second Ontario judge has "pounded another stake in the heart" of Canada's pot law, finding there is nothing on the books forbidding the possession of small amounts of dope. Ontario Court of Justice Judge John Moore yesterday threw out a simple possession charge against a 40-year-old man with no criminal record who was alleged to have had the equivalent of a joint in his pocket. Moore agreed with his Windsor colleague Justice Douglas Phillips who on Jan. 2 found there are no laws in Canada prohibiting the possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana. Moore found that the law as it currently stands in Ontario "no longer exists." Th…

This article got my attention and what it says makes sense to me somehow:

Source: Toronto Sun The status of a government-approved marijuana crop in Flin Flon, Man., is a closely guarded secret, says the city's mayor. Mayor Dennis Ballard said yesterday that Health Canada is reluctant to share any information on the underground pot mine, which is approved by the government for medicinal use. "I don't know much of anything about the mine other than what I've read in the paper," he said yesterday. Health Canada awarded a five-year, $5.7-million contract to Prairie Plant Systems in 2000 to grow 400 kilos of marijuana annually in an underground mine in Flin Flon. In November, a Health Canada official said a second crop was being tested wi…

Burning the Bush for Sickle Cell by Peter Gorman For nearly 20 years, South Central L.A.’s Sister Somayah Kambui, a former member of both the US Air Force and the Black Panther Party, has been trying to educate the public about sickle-cell anemia. Not just the disease, but how smoking pot can alleviate the pain it causes and how eating hempseed oil can help alleviate its symptoms. Sickle-cell anemia, an inherited red-blood-cell disorder, affects at least 75,000 Americans, and an estimated 2 million more carry the gene for it. However, it rarely affects anyone without African ancestry, and has remained largely unknown to most of the US public. The disease causes n…

MIAMI BEACH, Florida — At the 5th Annual “America’s Food & Beverage Show”, which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Centre on December 4th & 5th, Hemp Oil Canada was awarded the “Best Snack in the Western Hemisphere” for their Hemp Nuggets™ brand of hulled hemp seed. The Hemp Nuggets™ brand of hulled hemp seed was chosen by a distinguished panel of judges including both food and restaurant critics from the state of Florida based on it’s packaging, taste, versatility and uniqueness. Shaun Crew, President & Founder of Hemp Oil Canada commented,"We are extremely pleased to accept this award and recognition from the World Trade Center Miami and the Ameri…

Source: Toronto Sun Marijuana could be legal for everyone in Canada within six months unless Ottawa fixes its medicinal marijuana regulations or provides a legal source and supply to sick people, said one of the lawyers involved in the landmark Superior Court decision yesterday. Justice Sydney Lederman declared the current Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations (MMAR) unconstitutional, but gave the government an ultimatum: Fix the regulations or supply the pot itself by July 9. "The government must be granted time to fix the MMAR or otherwise provide for a legal source and supply of the drug the MMAR authorize seriously ill individuals to possess and produce, con…

N O R T H A M P T O N, Mass. — Why do criminals launder their money? So it doesn't smell like marijuana, apparently. When Nikita Santor was arrested on drug charges, her parents were good enough to try to bail her out. The only problem, police said, was that they brought the $50,000 in rolled up wads of $20 bills that smelled strongly of drugs. Police confiscated the money and Santor remains in jail. Santor was first arrested on Dec. 18, when she and a companion, Michael Lenahan, were pulled over in their 1997 purple Dodge Intrepid for following another vehicle too closely, police said. State Trooper Michael McCammon "detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the…

Source: Canadian Press Toronto - A group of seriously ill people has won the first battle in an ongoing war with Ottawa over a scheme to permit the use of medical marijuana the patients say violates their constitutional rights. An Ontario judge agreed Thursday that the federal government's Medical Marijuana Access Regulations are unconstitutional because they prevent more deserving people from exemption than they permit. The ruling from Ontario's Superior Court is binding on lower courts, subject to an appeal, and will likely wreak further havoc on the laws in Canada that make possession of marijuana illegal, said lawyer Alan Young. "We sued the government, say…

There's been a lot of talk lately about Proposition S, the ballot initiative sponsored by Assemblyman Mark Leno and recently approved by San Francisco voters. It will allow the city to grow and distribute medical marijuana, a process currently undertaken by private farms and cannabis clubs. Most of the talk focuses on how this is going to help patients suffering from debilitating conditions like glaucoma and how likely it is that Johnny Ashcroft will roll into town and break up the party. Important issues, sure, but aren't we forgetting something? Shouldn't we be asking if the stuff the city grows is going to be any better? When it comes to selection, quality, and pr…

Source: Oakland Tribune It looks like pro-marijuana author and activist Ed Rosenthal of Oakland is headed for trial on federal drug charges. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer today will hear testimony from Oakland Chief Assistant City Attorney Barbara Parker on whether Rosenthal might have honestly believed the city's policies on medical marijuana use protected him from federal prosecution. But Breyer on Wednesday didn't seem to think what he hears today will lead to him granting Rosenthal's lawyers' motions to set aside part or all of the case. Instead, he ordered that the parties plan to be in court next Thursday to start picking a jury so Rosenthal's trial ca…