Obama’s Chief of Staff is a Crazy Drug Warrior

Sat Nov 15, 2008

Source: Stop The Drug War

President-elect Obama’s selection of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff is hardly a good sign for reformers. As Jacob Sullum points out, he’s a complete nightmare when it comes to drug policy:

Of course, that was more than 10 years ago, when even Bob Barr was still in full-blown drug war demagogue mode. Has Emanuel improved? Unfortunately not, and if anything he’s gotten …READ MORE

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High Times Interview: Antibalas

Mon Nov 10, 2008

After ten years of performing their incredible afrobeat rhythms for dancing crowds large and small, the members of the musical collective known as Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra still feel invigorated - In this climate of wars, famines and ecological disasters, their potent musical message has never been more relevant.
Interview by Danny Danko
Photograph by Jason Gardner

 

Antibalas, from the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York City takes their name from the Spanish word for “bulletproof” and their music certainly demands instant respect. Known for their amazing live shows - sometimes with members of the hugely influential late Fela Kuti’s legendary band sitting in - Antibalas quickly make their mark on anyone who hears them. Their unique combination of funk, soul, jazz, latin and dub with plenty of drums and …READ MORE

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Authorities find alligator guarding stash in Cleveland pot bust

Fri Oct 24, 2008

Source: WKYC

CLEVELAND -- Cuyahoga and federal authorities raided the largest indoor pot growing operation in county history.

In addition to massive amounts of marijuana, investigators confiscated thousands of dollars in pricey cars and motorcycles.

This bust though had real bite.

When police penetrated a Grand Avenue warehouse, they found marijuana in plants, bag boxes and drying under lights.

"The harvest that we seized is in various stages of growth, that way every couple of months they had a harvest ready to process and go out on the street," Sheriff's Investigator Captain Mike Jackson said.

Captain Jackson says the two suspects allegedly growing the pot had no drug criminal history and no jobs.

Still, they drove a …READ MORE

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Argument over hogging of cannabis cigarette led man to break leg

Thu Oct 23, 2008

Source: Northamprton Chronicle

Christopher Lawson, 19, had been drinking with a group of people in the Elizabethan pub in Welford, on Friday, April 25, when they decided to go to the reservoir to smoke cannabis.

Rebecca Wade, prosecuting at Northampton Crown Court said the party of four included James Niven, who asked Lawson to pass over the cannabis spliff but Lawson refused.

They got into an argument, during which Lawson punched Mr Niven in the face and, as he fell to the ground, he stamped on his leg "once or twice", causing it to break, Miss Wade added.

Mr Niven had to be …READ MORE

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Detectives making progress in pot and bootleg porn investigation

Thu Oct 23, 2008

Source: KXLY.com

SPOKANE -- Detectives are making progress in their investigation into a pot grower who was bootlegging pornography and peddling in identity theft.

Last Thursday police raided a Five Mile Prairie home and seized more than a hundred pot plants, found a bootleg porn operation, and also uncovered credit card information stolen from a Pizza Pipeline store.

Since that time detectives have learned that the half dozen credit card numbers they found were expired and there's no reason to believe that any Pizza Pipeline customers are at risk for credit theft.

As for the porn bootlegging operation, it was not related to the Pizza Pipeline operation. Detectives say Pizza Pipeline was a victim in this case and the company is cooperating with investigators, who are still trying to track down the person who …READ MORE

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Couple Wants $200,000 For Ruined Pot Plants

Mon Oct 20, 2008

Source: NPR

When Jim Masters and his wife Lisa were arrested in 2006 for marijuana cultivation, the police confiscated 39 marijuana plants and put their daughter in protective custody. They got their daughter back in two months, but it took a year to get the charges dropped and their plants returned — and by then, all of their plants had died.

In most states, the story would end there. But the Colorado …READ MORE

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Anti-pot District Attorneys have puffed themselves

Mon Oct 20, 2008

Source: UPI

Decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana is a dangerous idea, say Massachusetts prosecutors who admit to trying pot themselves.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who are leading the charge against a state ballot initiative to keep small pot possession charges off criminal records, all say they smoked marijuana when younger, The Boston Globe reported Monday.

But that hasn't stopped them from saying Question 2 on the Nov. 4 ballot, which would make possession of less than an ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine without placement on permanent criminal records, is …READ MORE

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'Whizzinator' makers to plead guilty

Wed Oct 15, 2008

Source: Post Gazette

The owners of the company that makes the Whizzinator, a prosthetic penis used to mask illegal drug use, were charged yesterday in federal court with conspiracy to defraud the government and are expected to plead guilty.

Gerald Wills, the president of Puck Technology, based in Signal Hill, Calif., and Robert D. Catalano, the vice president, are charged in a 19-page criminal information of conspiracy for selling two different products that mask illegal substances in a user's urine.

The products, the Whizzinator and Number 1, are sold through the company's Web sites.

As part of the case, the government is moving for forfeiture of all of the company's assets, as well as its Internet domain names.

The charges were brought, at least in part, after undercover law enforcement officers …READ MORE

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Bogus police rip off California pot growers

Tue Oct 14, 2008

Source: Mercury News

OREGON HOUSE, Calif.—Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor says two robbers impersonating police took marijuana valued at $30,000 from residents who were growing it legally.

The robbers dressed in police uniforms and carried rifles when they raided the home Sunday night in Oregon House, 60 miles north of Sacramento.

They identified themselves as police, then bound the homeowner and four roommates. A resident who tried to resist had minor scalp injuries but declined medical attention.

The thieves stole four pounds of marijuana and 15 mature plants from an outdoor garden.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Melanie Oakes isn't saying which police agency the robbers claimed to represent. She says that could bring the wrong response from skittish growers when …READ MORE

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Religiosity Curbs Teen Marijuana Use By Half, National Study Finds [Drug Warrior Propaganda Alert]

Sat Oct 11, 2008

Source: Science Daily

While many congregations of different faiths preach against drug abuse, it has been unclear whether a youth’s religious involvement has any effect on his risk of drug abuse.

Now a new national study by two Brigham Young University sociologists finds that religious involvement makes teens half as likely to use marijuana.

The study – which will be published October 13 in the Journal of Drug Issues – settles a question scholars have disagreed on in the past.

"Some may think this is an obvious finding, but research and expert opinion on this issue have not been consistent," said BYU sociology professor Stephen Bahr and an author on the study. "After we accounted for family and peer characteristics, and regardless of denomination, there was an independent effect that …READ MORE

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Pot thefts increase with harvest season

Thu Oct 9, 2008

Source: Tahoe Daily Tribune

GRASS VALLEY — Three recent marijuana thefts continue to point toward greater crime with the harvesting season underway.
 

"We are seeing (pot thefts) all over the county," Sgt. Bill Smethers with the Nevada County Narcotics Task Force said. "But no one has been arrested (so far)."
 

Three callers to the Sheriff's department have recently reported the theft of marijuana.
 

People often hesitate to contact law enforcement officers when a theft occurs because "they could have illegal activities that they don't want law enforcement to know of," Smethers said. "Or, perhaps they fear retaliation from those who've stolen from them. ...
 

"Someone got …READ MORE

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Massive compost delivery clue led to gang's cannabis farm

Thu Oct 9, 2008

Source: Daily Record

POLICE caught a gang of illegal immigrants who were running a massive cannabis farm - thanks to 360 bags of compost.

Eyebrows were raised in the Highland village of Dufftown when the huge consignment arrived.

Police were tipped off and raided the property - to find cannabis plants with a street value of nearly £250,000.

Chaun Yap and Fang Zheng had paid more than £2000 cash at a local garden centre for the compost, which was delivered on six pallets.

At the High Court in Perth yesterday, Lord Brailsford remarked: "Someone had 360 bags of compost delivered to a residential property in Keith? Bit of a giveaway, isn't it?"

Zheng, 43, from China, and Yap, 26, from …READ MORE

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Raw Foodists Arrested When Their Chocolate is Mistaken for Hashish

Thu Sep 25, 2008

Source: NaturalNews.com

When Ron and Nadine from the Living Libations beauty care and chocolate company (www.LivingLibations.com) attempted to fly to the United States in August of this year, they ran into something completely unexpected: Drug-sniffing dogs at the Toronto airport. When their dogs took a special interest in their raw, unrefined chocolate with hemp seeds and superfood extracts, they were arrested, handcuffed and put through hours of tortuous interrogation. Such begins the journey of Ron and Nadine, the chocolate freedom fighters from Canada.
 

Accused of trafficking two and a half pounds of hashish (which was really just raw, homemade chocolate), Ron and Nadine were arrested, physically separated into interrogation rooms and handcuffed to chairs. Their six-month old baby was forcibly taken from them, and they were …READ MORE

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420 Comic Rob Cantrell Headlines Lakeshore Theater In Chicago This Weekend 9/19-20

Thu Sep 18, 2008

Rob Cantrell headlining debut in Chicago. Rob has appeared on several major networks, including CBS, VH1 and Comedy Central. His cannabis cult-like following has lead him to headline the 2006 High Times Comedy Festival in both SF and NYC, and tour with 'The Marijuana-logues' in 2007, a live comedy show on pot culture. He is huge NORML supporter and has hosted events for them in the past. His 2005 documentary/performance "Metaphysical Graffiti -A Road Movie" was screened at the Cannes Film Festival along side punk rock documentaries. When not on the road, Rob can be found in New York City performing at the top clubs and improve theaters.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

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Some US Congressmen Tired of Pointless Marijuana Arrests

Thu Aug 28, 2008

Source: Macedonia Online

Members of Congress called on lawmakers to enact legislation that would limit the government's authority to arrest and prosecute adults who possess marijuana for their own personal use.
 

The federal government should “not lock people up or use scarce federal resources to arrest people for using or possessing … marijuana,” Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) announced at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday.  “The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government's business.  I don't think it is the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”
 

Rep. Frank, along with Reps. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), called on lawmakers to support legislation, HR 5843, which would eliminate federal penalties for the possession and non-profit transfer of …READ MORE

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