'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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U.S. Attorney not a fan of Tommy Chong's new DVD

Thu Aug 28, 2008

Source: Pittsburgh Live

Tommy Chong might have spent time behind bars at the behest of U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, but -- with an award-winning documentary about his ordeal being re-released today on DVD -- the long-time marijuana advocate regrets nothing.

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Video: Bong Hits in the Hood

Thu Aug 28, 2008

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Priest Claims Huge Cannabis Crop in the Back Yard is a Gift From God

Thu Aug 28, 2008

Source: ShortNews.com

Bulgaria: A priest who claims that his back yard full of cannabis plants is a gift from God has been placed under surveillance by police. Father Cyril Papudov says that the plants are naturally seeded and that he does not cultivate them.

Police have long been suspicious of this 'God's gift of nature' and have arrested Papudov on seven occasions. It is hoped that the round the clock surveillance will put an end to the speculation one way or the other.

"He is a [priest] so… people don't want to think badly of him but frankly if someone has a huge crop of cannabis in their back garden it's highly unlikely they are just sitting there admiring its horticultural properties," said a police source.

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Former Anti-Marijuana Lobbyist Switches Sides

Thu Aug 14, 2008

Source: TheHill.com

The last time the House debated medical marijuana, David Krahl trod the halls of Capitol Hill lobbying against the legislation as deputy director of the Drug Free America Foundation.

Now, he’s ready to lobby for allowing medicinal use of marijuana, and do anything he can to support it.

READ MORE

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Homegrown Marijuana Cases Surge in Japan

Thu Aug 7, 2008

Source: Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Police investigations of marijuana use have surged this year in Japan, the result in part of the easy availability of seeds on the Internet for home cultivation, authorities said Thursday, raising concerns in a country long considered immune from the drug abuse problems of Europe and the United States.

The number of marijuana cases handled by police in the first half of the year rose 12 percent from the same period last year to 1,202, the National Police Agency said in a report. At that rate, the number of cases will reach an all-time high this year, passing the 2,288 recorded in 2006.

While the number is still very low compared to many other countries, it rose more quickly than cases involving amphetamines and other synthetic stimulants, which have long been the most popular illegal …READ MORE

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Police Nab Two Cannabis Growers in Cemetery

Mon Aug 4, 2008

Source: Yahoo News

HANOI (Reuters) - Police have detained two custodians who were about to harvest their first crop of cannabis, a source of drugs like hashish and marijuana, from a cemetery in Vietnam's capital, a state-run newspaper reported on Monday.

Police took in Nguyen Manh Hung, 44, who heads the caretaker team at the cemetery in Hanoi's outer district of Hoang Mai, and Ho A Lau, 46, after the authorities found cannabis plants grown on a 25 square meter (82 square feet) patch, the READ MORE

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Cannabis-Linked Cell Receptor Might Help Prevent Colon Cancer

Mon Aug 4, 2008

Source: MSN Health

FRIDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A cannabinoid receptor lying on the surface of cells may help suppress colorectal cancer, say U.S. researchers. When the receptor is turned off, tumor growth is switched on.

Cannabinoids are compounds related to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in the cannabis plant.

It's already known that the receptor, CB1, plays a role in relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. This study suggests that CB1 may offer a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.

"We've found that CB1 expression is lost in most colorectal cancers, and when that happens, a cancer-promoting protein is free to inhibit cell death," senior author Dr. …READ MORE

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