Cannabis Hemp News

Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record Kitchener -- Sean Doiron tried smoking marijuana as a teenager but it made him paranoid and sick. When he was high, he thought people were talking about him so he secluded himself. He threw up and sometimes passed out. Because of these bad experiences, Doiron, who manages a Kitchener hemp shop, no longer uses marijuana. Yet he thinks the drug should be decriminalized. The manager of Shakedown Street on King Street West in downtown Kitchener doesn't see any difference between smoking marijuana and drinking. Just as the prohibition against alcohol was lifted, the ban on marijuana should be too, he believes. "It's been proven many…

Canadian Pot Law Change To Bring Increased Border Security, U.S. Says December 19, 2002 - Washington, DC, USA Washington, DC: U.S. officials will consider tightening security along the U.S./Canadian border if Parliament moves forward with plans to decriminalize the possession and cultivation of up to 30 grams of marijuana, according to statements made recently by Drug Czar John Walters. "It's not my job to judge Canadian policy," Walters said. "But it is my job to protect America from dangerous threats, [and] ... we have to make security at the border tougher because [marijuana] is a dangerous threat to our young people and [decriminalization] makes the problem of…

Because of a California Supreme Court decision this summer, Myron Carl Mower's criminal record is clean again. Convicted in Tuolumne County Superior Court in 1998 of growing marijuana at his Twain Harte home, Mower, a 40-year-old legally blind, frail and ill diabetic spent four years and four months on probation for raising the plants that help him stave off starvation, dehydration and constant pain. Then, in a far-reaching decision welcomed by medicinal marijuana users nationwide, the state's high court justices ruled in July that Mower should have been allowed to use his medical condition as a defense. Within days of the decision, the Tuolumne County district att…

Source: Cannabis Health Medicine is an ever-changing science. While suggestions for therapeutic use of cannabis or other drugs may be made herein, this forum is designed solely for educational purposes, and neither the author, publisher, nor other parties, will assume any liability whatever for application or misapplication of any information imparted. We cannot claim scientific proof or accuracy of the material discussed, and no warranty, expressed or implied is advanced with regard to the information. Cannabis is illegal in most jurisdictions, and the reader must apply awareness of this fact when considering its usage. Medical use of cannabis may or may not be a …

Drug dealers across Canada are cheering quietly and preparing to expand their operations. Incredibly, a parliamentary committee in Ottawa, chaired by Burlington MP Paddy Torsney, has recommended that possession of 30-50 joints of marijuana become a ticketing offence, like speeding. Paddy, who admits she has smoked marijuana in the past, joked with the media saying it depends how thick you roll the joints. This foolish idea would undoubtedly widely expand use of this narcotic, putting more drugs into the hands of children and teens. Having represented a considerable part of Burlington and Oakville for four years at Queen's Park, I can say I never once heard anyone sug…

Hemp farmers hope for new markets swissinfo June 23, 2002 10:31 AM Hemp thrives in Switzerland (Keystone Archive) The proposed change in Switzerland’s law on narcotics could be a business opportunity for Swiss hemp farmers. RELATED ITEMS Imogen Foulkes reports on a proposed new law on decriminalising cannabis consumption The future for cannabis growers in Switzerland (Broadband version) Cannabis grower unveils his methods (Broadband version) The future for cannabis growers in Switzerland (56k modem version) Cannabis grower unveils his methods (56k modem version) In September, parliament will consider a draft law to de…

Source: Paintsville Herald At the urging of the White House and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), prosecutors from across the United States are beginning to focus on the dangers of marijuana, making prosecution of marijuana-related drug cases a priority. The NDAA cite the recent movement to legalize or decriminalize controlled substances, particularly marijuana, as the reasoning behind the new focus. Scott Burns, Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) issued a letter to all prosecutors throughout the United States, outlining the dangers of marijuana and labeling the drug as p…

France is planning to tighten restrictions on the smoking of cannabis in an attempt to curb its steadily rising popularity. Campaigners claim that millions of people are regularly defying existing laws as more plantations of cannabis are discovered, particularly in the south of the country. At normal levels of consumption, up to three million French people will have smoked the drug on Christmas day. France's hardline interior minister, Nicholas Sarkozy, has been consulting cabinet members and government officials on raising the maximum penalties for cannabis use, from the present level of a year in prison or a £5,000 fine. This month the government made it an offen…

Source: New York Times Some tentative, very preliminary steps are being taken to address one of the great miscarriages of justice in the country — the roundup and prosecution of dozens of black men and women on specious drug trafficking charges in the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia. There is no reason to believe that any of the people arrested in the humiliating roundup on July 23, 1999, were guilty of trafficking. No drugs, money or weapons were found. Several defendants have already been proved innocent. All were arrested solely on the word of a clownish undercover cop named Tom Coleman who had a penchant for making up charges, throwing his "evidence" into the ga…

Source: Associated Press Lansing, Mich. -- Karen Shook was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison in 1993 for arranging a drug deal for a man she didn't know was an undercover police officer. But the 49-year-old former bank teller could be paroled 10 years early under legislation expected to be signed by the governor within the next week to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Michigan is one of several states revising its mandatory minimum sentences. Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina and New Jersey also are considering eliminating such rules, said Laura Sager, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-bas…

The Yukon government will wait until Ottawa makes an official decision before it gets off the pot on the issue of decriminalizing marijuana. Recently, a committee of federal MPs released a report recommending that anybody caught with up to 30 grams of marijuana receive a fine instead of being charged and left with a criminal record. According to the report, fines would be paid without a court appearance and people would not receive a criminal conviction, much like a speeding ticket. However, the selling of marijuana would remain a crime. Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon has said the government could introduce a bill in the House of Commons to decriminalize…

Source: Edmonton Sun The decriminalization of simple possession of small amounts of marijuana - as proposed by federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon - has a certain amount of appeal. And taken in isolation of other Ottawa Liberal initiatives, it appears to be at least worth looking at. Sure we can understand Alberta Justice Minister Dave Hancock's concerns - echoed by many Canadian police officials - that pot smoking is a stepping stone to harder, far more addictive drugs which require large amounts of money to purchase and generally lead to criminal activity. But with the political acceptance of marijuana as a valid treatment for some forms of chronic pain - th…

The American pilots who mistakenly killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan were drugged- up "guinea pigs" at the time of the bombing, one of their defence lawyers said yesterday. "This was an Air Force science project using AF pilots as guinea pigs," Charles Gittins, lawyer for Major Harry Schmidt, said in an e-mail interview with The Globe and Mail yesterday. This fall, a U.S. military investigation criticized the force's use of amphetamines, but found that the drugs used by Major Schmidt and Major Bill Umbach were simply "not a factor" in the pilots' fateful decision to drop a 225- kilogram, laser-guided bomb on Canadian infantry soldiers. Eight were wounded a…

Source: Hamilton Spectator Any move to relax Canada's marijuana laws inevitably runs into a whirlwind of controversy. For all of the problems created by the criminal conviction of people with small amounts of marijuana, there is still widespread reluctance to do anything that runs the risk of encouraging more consumption of the drug. If a parliamentary committee chaired by Burlington Liberal MP Paddy Torsney carries the day, Canada will break new ground by decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. Possession of up to 30 grams would be subject to a ticket and fine, rather than a criminal record. In the committee's view, it's more sensible to redirect police reso…