'Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults and do better than it would have them? Why does it always crucify Christ and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther and pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels?'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'To date, not a single state that has implemented legalization has
reversed course. That’s because these policies are working largely as
politicians and voters intended — and because they are preferable to
marijuana prohibition.
Ultimately, common sense regulation allowing for the legal, licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis best addresses adult consumers’ demand while keeping marijuana products largely out of the hands of young people.
By contrast, the continued criminalization of cannabis only compounds the public safety risks posed to young people and others by the unregulated marketplace.'
Ultimately, common sense regulation allowing for the legal, licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis best addresses adult consumers’ demand while keeping marijuana products largely out of the hands of young people.
By contrast, the continued criminalization of cannabis only compounds the public safety risks posed to young people and others by the unregulated marketplace.'
- NORML
'There are only two accursed beings on earth who are excluded from following this eternal call and from being, growing, living, and dying as an inborn and deeply ingrained self-will commands. Only man and the domesticated animals he has tamed are condemned to obey, not the law of life and growth, but other laws that are made by men and from time to time broken and changed by men. And the strangest part of it is that those few who have disregarded these arbitrary laws to follow their own natural law have come to be revered as heroes and liberators - though most of them were persecuted in their lifetime. The same mankind which praises obedience to its arbitrary laws as the supreme virtue of the living reserves its eternal pantheon for those who have defied those laws and preferred to die rather than betray their 'self-will'.
- Self-will, 1919, If The War Goes On, Herman Hesse
- Self-will, 1919, If The War Goes On, Herman Hesse
'There is something servile in the habit of seeking after a law which we may obey. We may study the laws of matter at and for our convenience, but a successful life knows no law. It is an unfortunate discovery certainly, that of a law which binds us where we did not know before that we were bound. Live free, child of the mist - and with respect to knowledge we are all children of the mist. The man who takes the liberty to live is superior to all the laws, by virtue of his relation to the lawmaker. "That is active duty," says the Vishnu Purana, "which is not for our bondage; that is knowledge which is for our liberation; all other duty is good only unto weariness; all other knowledge is only the cleverness of an artist."
- Walking, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'WHO recommendation to delete cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule
IV of the 1961 Convention: The Commission decided by 27 votes to 25 and
with one abstention to follow this recommendation. Cannabis and cannabis
resin will accordingly be deleted from Schedule IV of the 1961
Convention. They remain in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention and thus
remain subject to all levels of control of the 1961 Convention.'
- UNODC
If you think that you live in an age where human evolution has reached the zenith of social and cultural refinement, where things like witch hunts, inquisitions, slavery, etc., are things of the past, then you are likely to be in for a rude shock because all these things are very much alive today. They have only taken forms that are not immediately apparent to the casual eye. All one needs to do is to examine the cannabis laws of the world today, and one will come to the realization that the Dark Ages never really left us, we just got used to it and live in it, turning a blind eye to the brutal horrors that we inflict on our fellow humans and life on the planet everyday.
Cannabis laws are some of the strangest laws in the world today. Cannabis laws are not very old. In fact they are not more than 150 years old in most cases. Turkey,
the first country in the world to prohibit cannabis, did so in the 13th
century mainly under a repressive regime that viewed cannabis as against its religion. Egypt followed by prohibiting cannabis under orders from
Turkey, purportedly in order to reduce the smuggling of cannabis into
Turkey from Egypt. But Turkey was the exception. The British, essentially brought cannabis prohibition to the world. Britain introduced cannabis prohibition in Burma, or today's Myanmar and then extended it to India. Burma had essentially been an opium-consuming country, with hardly any cannabis culture. It also formed part of the opium trading route between China and Britain, and introducing prohibition in Burma was easy. With India, it was another matter altogether. India was the land of ganja. Ganja had been used for thousands of years across the length and breadth of the country. It was one of India's most important agricultural crops. It was one of India's foremost medicines. It was India's most popular intoxicant, used mainly by the poorest communities, the working and laboring classes, the indigenous communities. It was India's foremost entheogen, and India's vast numbers of religious mendicants, across all religions, used it as a key aid to their spirituality.
The British first introduced cannabis prohibition in India, in the 19th century, in the British province of Bengal. They started with regulations and measures such as: reducing the areas of cultivation; licenses for cultivation, retail and wholesale; government supervision of cultivation and harvesting; stamping out of home growing; imprisonment for smuggling; reducing the number of retail outlets; and, increasing the prices and taxes for ganja. This greatly reduced the consumption and cultivation in Bengal, despite bringing in nearly 1/5th of Bengal's revenues. The aim of the British government was to promote alcohol, tobacco and opium - products that brought far greater profit margins for the British. The regulation of ganja was extended to other British provinces, and eventually to the Native Indian states as well. The myth that ganja caused insanity was widely propagated, and then used to introduce prohibition in other British colonies and eventually in other countries around the world. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, created in 1894, to study the feasibility of ganja prohibition across India, reported that ganja was intrinsic to India's social, economic, medical and religious systems, and that it was inadvisable to prohibit ganja. The Commission also found that many of the myths that were created - such as that ganja caused insanity, ganja caused crime, ganja users were excessive users, ganja consumption had harmful physical effects, ganja users were the lowest classes and castes - were all false. But the damage was already done, as the ruling classes widely published these myths. Specifically the myth that ganja caused insanity had the most damaging effects. The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1894-95, states that - "Over and over again the statistics of Indian asylums have been
referred to in official documents or scientific treatises not only in
this country, but also in other countries where the use of these drugs
has demanded attention. Other alleged effects of the drugs have
attracted but little attention compared with their alleged connection
with insanity." This anti-ganja propaganda was used to introduce prohibition in the British colonies of Trinidad and Greece.
In the 1930s, the US introduced the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, and Canada prohibited cannabis. These prohibitive laws evolved into international laws over the next few decades, and are now universal global laws - the 1961 Single Convention Treaty on Narcotic Substances of the UN. The 1961 Single Convention Treaty forms the basis of nearly every country's drug laws. These laws state, essentially, that cannabis is a most dangerous substance, warranting the strictest regulation. Possession, consumption, growth and the sale of cannabis invites harsh prison sentences in most places, and even the death penalty in some countries. The UN considered cannabis a Schedule 4 substance till December 2020, to be tightly monitored and regulated, due to its supposedly extremely dangerous nature. The US considers cannabis as a similar highly dangerous substance, giving it the most severe Schedule 1 listing in its 1970 Controlled Substances Act, grouping cannabis with heroin. In India, the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropics Substances(NDPS) Act of 1985, based almost completely on the UN 1961 Single Convention Treaty, made cannabis officially completely illegal, even though it was already more or less prohibited by the end of the 19th century in most British ruled states.
The whole basis of these laws prohibiting cannabis was to promote other industries that stood to gain in the absence of cannabis. Just as alcohol, tobacco and opium stood to gain in 19th century India, alcohol, tobacco, western pharmaceuticals, the timber industry stood to gain from cannabis prohibition in the US and Canada. Besides the gains to these competing industries, there was the racial discrimination and suppression of ethnic communities which was a goal for these governments. The native communities of most places were reluctant to give up their traditional ways of life and embrace European and American habits, so the best way to force them to do so was to make cannabis illegal.
Associated Press reports that - 'Cannabis went from being called “reefer” to “marijuana,” as a way to
associate the plant with Mexican migrants arriving in the U.S. in the
1930s. By the time Nixon sought reelection amid the anti-Vietnam
War and Black power movements, criminalizing heroin was a way to target
activists and hippies. One of Nixon’s domestic policy aides, John
Ehrlichman, admitted as much about the war on drugs in a 22-year-old
interview published by Harper’s Magazine in 2016. Experts say
Nixon’s successors, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton,
leveraged drug war policies in the following decades to their own
political advantage, cementing the drug war’s legacy. The explosion of
the U.S. incarceration rate, the expansion of public and private prison
systems and the militarization of local police forces are all outgrowths
of the drug war.'
The whole basis of the global drug laws is the scheduling of various drugs by a team of so-called experts. Depending on the Schedule that a drug falls in, the level of monitoring and regulation is determined. In the UN Single Convention Treaty, Schedule 4 is the most restricted while Schedule 1 is the least. In the US scheduling system, it is the reverse, with Schedule 1 being the most restricted and Schedule 4 the least. The whole basis of Scheduling is itself vague, arbitrary and unscientific. To start with, there is no clear definition of what each of the four Schedules are, what the criteria is for classifying a certain substance in a particular Schedule and for verifying the validity of the Schedule allotted to a particular substance. The 1961 Single Convention Treaty, in its definitions of what constitutes a Schedule, states that “Schedule I”, “Schedule II”, “Schedule III” and “Schedule IV” mean the correspondingly numbered list of drugs or preparations annexed to this Convention, as amended from time to time in accordance with article 3. So essentially what this states is that a Schedule is defined by the items that it is made up of, not the measurable, verifiable, repeatable characteristics of the items that warrant Scheduling, but the items itself! That is like saying Humans are defined by the list of names of certain persons. If your name is on the list then you are human, if not, then you are not human. A set of people decide what goes into the list and what doesn't.
The result, of this absurd basis of considering what is a controlled drug and what is not, is a highly muddled up list of items which makes up the four Schedules. You will find drugs like heroin and fentanyl derivatives in Schedules 1 and 4. You find heroin, cocaine and fentanyl in Schedule 1. Till December 2020, cannabis and cannabis resin were on both Schedules 1 and 4. This has been ratified so that cannabis is now only in Schedule 1. That does not really help much because being in Schedule 1 still means that the plant is illegal. The plant sits in Schedule 1 with heroin, cocaine, morphine, fentanyl, etc, basically the same set of substances that it sat in Schedule 4 with, facing similar kinds of restrictions and controls as these substances. A natural plant like cannabis has no place in a list of synthetic man-made compounds. You might as well have tea and basil in the list.
If this is not strange enough, let us take a look at the definition of cannabis in the Single Convention Treaty. It states that “Cannabis” means the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted, by whatever name they may be designated. Have you seen anything stranger than this? The plant is legal but its flowering tops are illegal. With an absurd definition like this, is it any wonder that millions have been imprisoned, punished or face trial by law enforcement? Most people have faced legal action without the authorities even bothering to check if the plant has flowered. This bizarre law has opened the doors for so much widespread harassment of the public by legal authorities, that the cannabis plant is probably the foremost weapon used everywhere by authorities to repress, control and intimidate sections of the population that it views as a threat, primarily the minorities, indigenous communities, the poor and the ones that raise their voice against the authorities.
What is it about the flowering tops that warrant this kind of discrimination? Apparently, according to these experts, the flowering tops possess a dangerous compound, one that has been given the same kind of classification as heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. The compound is delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. And what is the sin that this compound - a natural one that the plant produces mind you, unlike the synthesized man-made compounds that it shares its Schedule 1 category with - has committed? It makes the user feel HIGH! What is this feeling? It is a sense of elation, euphoria, relaxation, calmness, loss of anxiety and stress.Yes, similar feelings to what one experiences with a cup of tea, or a glass of beer after a day's hard work, or with sex, or a walk in the park. No, the set of experts who have done this classification of cannabis and THC as a Scheduled drug are not members of the Taliban or the Inquisition, ladies and gentlemen, they are supposedly the leading medical experts of the world today.
The discrimination against THC has reached such absurd levels that it can best be described as Kafkaesque. Somebody has arbitrarily come up with the idea that 0.3% of THC in a plant is what determines whether the plant is a Schedule 1 drug that can land you in jail for many years or a legal plant (can you imagine a plant being called legal or illegal in the first place?) that you can grow, with the government's permission of course. Nobody has any clue as to what the significance of 0.3% THC is. Forget the significance of it, who do you think has the time and the means to measure the level of THC when a plant is found growing in someone's land? Most often the person growing the plant is poor and ignorant of such nuances. The authorities taking action are similarly ignorant, or cannot be bothered with such matters, or do not have the sophisticated wherewithal to determine the level of THC in the plant. It is off to court and jail for the poor blighter who has fallen under the authority's evil eye. Mind you, these drug laws mean that a person cannot even get bail once charged and arrested unless he or his lawyer have a better understanding of the facts. Even in that case, it is highly unlikely that the judge will be bothered by such trivialities, and with the prosecutor out for the poor victim's skin with the zeal of a member of the Ku Klux Klan, is it any wonder that hundreds of millions have lost years of their lives, if not their lives itself, in the face of these absurd, bizarre laws that have been conjured by persons with narrow selfish motives, with a complete lack of understanding of reality and who in all likelihood, can be termed as being insane.
It is now a well known universal fact, validated by scientific studies, and a long history of usage, that cannabis is a very safe drug used recreationally for thousands of years by millions of individuals worldwide. To call a natural plant a drug, in the same sense as a synthetic compound produced by man in a laboratory, is in itself the grossest error in the first place. The plant is said to have originated 28 million years ago, well before man evolved from the apes. The plant was used across global cultures, especially in Asiatic and African societies, by the poorest people, the working classes and the spiritually inclined as medicine, to relieve fatigue, to face the hardships of life, and to concentrate their minds on spirituality. THC is the compound that has the most medicinal properties in the cannabis plant. Yet the inclusion of cannabis in the above international drug laws, without proper review and validation, was one of the most unjust legal actions taken in human history, effectively labeling nature as a criminal and the creation of the cannabis plant as a crime. Many knowledgeable people spoke out against the steps that were being taken by governments to prohibit the plant and restrict its usage. The governments, however, pushed through the prohibition with the aims of promoting industries that stood to benefit from it (industries such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, timber based paper, alcohol and tobacco), as well as to increase taxation revenues. What has followed has been beyond the worst fears expressed at that time.
It set the stage for more than a century of unprecedented discrimination against the plant as well as harm and suffering to people around the world, especially minorities, the poor, indigenous people, religious mendicants, and youth through law enforcement action. It is the reason for unprecedented harm and suffering for the sick and the elderly since the laws took cannabis out of the hands of the ones who needed it the most for medical reasons. It is the reason for the growth of the black market that funds criminal activities worldwide. It is the reason for hundreds of billions of dollars being spent worldwide on law enforcement. It is the reason for many unknown, precious varieties of cannabis going extinct through deliberate destruction. It is the reason for many traditional farmers not growing cannabis as a valuable agricultural crop. It is one of the main reasons for the rise of petrochemical based industries, synthetic plastic instead of bio-degradable organic plastic, and fossil fuels instead of bio-fuels. It is the reason for vast stretches of trees, that are hundreds of years old, being cut down for paper instead of using the renewable cannabis crop for it. It is quite possibly one of the significant reasons for global warming and climate change. It is the reason for the rise of the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid crisis. It is the reason for the rise of heroin and other opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, synthetic cannabis, novel psychotropic substances, non-medical use of prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and the millions suffering because they are hooked to these drugs without access to a safe, harmless and healthy alternative like natural cannabis. It is the reason for the spread of diseases such as HIV associated with needle sharing by persons who inject drugs (PWID). It is possibly one of the root causes for the rise in cancer due to the environmental damage to the planet through the industries that have replaced it, especially petrochemicals and synthteic pharmaceuticals. Cannabis laws worldwide, especially the ones listed above, need to be changed immediately, if we are to stop the devastating harm being caused through their existence in their current forms.
It set the stage for more than a century of unprecedented discrimination against the plant as well as harm and suffering to people around the world, especially minorities, the poor, indigenous people, religious mendicants, and youth through law enforcement action. It is the reason for unprecedented harm and suffering for the sick and the elderly since the laws took cannabis out of the hands of the ones who needed it the most for medical reasons. It is the reason for the growth of the black market that funds criminal activities worldwide. It is the reason for hundreds of billions of dollars being spent worldwide on law enforcement. It is the reason for many unknown, precious varieties of cannabis going extinct through deliberate destruction. It is the reason for many traditional farmers not growing cannabis as a valuable agricultural crop. It is one of the main reasons for the rise of petrochemical based industries, synthetic plastic instead of bio-degradable organic plastic, and fossil fuels instead of bio-fuels. It is the reason for vast stretches of trees, that are hundreds of years old, being cut down for paper instead of using the renewable cannabis crop for it. It is quite possibly one of the significant reasons for global warming and climate change. It is the reason for the rise of the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid crisis. It is the reason for the rise of heroin and other opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, synthetic cannabis, novel psychotropic substances, non-medical use of prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and the millions suffering because they are hooked to these drugs without access to a safe, harmless and healthy alternative like natural cannabis. It is the reason for the spread of diseases such as HIV associated with needle sharing by persons who inject drugs (PWID). It is possibly one of the root causes for the rise in cancer due to the environmental damage to the planet through the industries that have replaced it, especially petrochemicals and synthteic pharmaceuticals. Cannabis laws worldwide, especially the ones listed above, need to be changed immediately, if we are to stop the devastating harm being caused through their existence in their current forms.
One of the main concerns raised by those against cannabis prohibition in 19th century India, people who were regarded highly in society for their wisdom and knowledge, was that cannabis prohibiton was impossible to achieve, even with a large preventive establishment in place. Today, those words ring as true as it did then. Officially, there are more than 250 million cannabis users world wide. Cannabis is the most popular illegal drug, with over 151 countries reporting its cultivation and use. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year in trying to curb the black market for cannabis, but this has only resulted in a massive failure.
In a few places around the world, cannabis laws are changing for the better. In some places growing cannabis at home for personal consumption is permitted. The number of plants permitted for home growing varies from place to place. In other places, retail outlets provide legal cannabis for adult users. In still other places medical patients and their caregivers can grow cannabis based on licenses issued by regulatory authorities. But these places are still a very few in number. Change needs to happen at the level of the UN for it to become more widespread and faster. If lawmakers worldwide need to focus on one thing, in terms of scale of impact, it is this. But the actions of governments to make the changes to cannabis laws have been as ineffective as their efforts to curb global climate change. Maybe there is a connection between the two which everybody is failing to see. All that may be required as a first step to battling the destruction of the planet may be to change the cannabis laws, to remove cannabis from all its curbs and restrictions, instead of haggling with one another as to who will take what kind of steps to control carbon emissions. How long will we continue to protect modern unsustainable industries that have grown to monstrous proportions at the expense of cannabis, wrecking havoc on the whole planet? How long will we continue to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of hundreds of millions of the people who need the plant the mostn and the ones who waste away their lives in prisons and law courts? How long will we let the rampant destruction of one of the most beneficial plants to man and animals that nature has created?
My expectations from governments and governmental bodies has reached an all-time low. I have started to firmly believe that the only way out of this conundrum is if as many individuals as possible understand the terrible harms of the cannabis laws, speak out against it, shedding light on the terrible harms caused by it, building up the momentum to increasing national and world wide consensus, forcing the changes to happen at a global level from a grassroots level bottom up approach. The perception of the people of the US has changed drastically over recent times, as more states legalize for adult or medical use. They understand the realities and the propaganda surrounding cannabis prohibition, as more scientific information reaches the public. According to a report by Marijuana Moment - 'A whopping 91 percent of Americans believe that marijuana prohibition should end and cannabis should be legal for either medical or recreational purposes, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released on Friday.' The US federal government however refuses to acknowledge the will of the people, continuing to protect the vested interests that destroy the country and planet. The US federal government has always been the biggest adversary to cannabis legalization anywhere in the world. It has doggedly suppressed any attempts within the country to progress cannabis legalization. The US magazine Leafly reports that - 'In 1965, Timothy Leary (who would go on to be an advocate for psychedelics) was arrested for possession of cannabis while crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. Leary argued that the Marihuana Tax Act required him to self-incriminate—registering for the act showed intent to possess marijuana, which would violate the fifth amendment. The US Supreme Court agreed with him in 1969 and struck down the Marihuana Tax Act. However, with the loss of the Tax Act, President Richard Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, setting up a framework for the federal regulation and criminalization of drugs. The Controlled Substances Act created five categories of drugs and classified cannabis under Schedule I—drugs considered dangerous with no medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as heroin and cocaine. Nixon appointed former Pennsylvania Republican governor Raymond Shafer as the head of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse—later called “The Shafer Commission”—to review all research and literature on cannabis to correctly classify it in the Controlled Substances Act. Shafer’s 1972 report debunked damaging myths about marijuana, found that the plant did not threaten society, and recommended decriminalizing the plant. Nixon ignored the report, and the plant stayed on Schedule I, where it remains today. '
Besides the US, all the other permanent members of the UN Security Council - the UK, France, Russia and China - are all key adversaries to cannabis legalization. All these countries owe their economic status to the petrochemical, fossil fuel, synthetic pharmaceutical and arms industries that thrive in the absence of cannabis. These countries sabotage any attempt by the UN to legalize cannabis.
It
must be noted that in most places where cannabis legalization has
happened, it took the efforts of the people who mobilized themselves
through grassroots level movements to bring about this change. Left to
lawmakers, legalization would have been impossible, as the main interests
of lawmakers concern the protection of the big industries opposed to
cannabis - such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, medical, alcohol and tobacco.
For something that truly benefits the people, the people themselves have
had to make the change. It must also be noted that no place that has repealed its cannabis prohibition has gone back and reimposed it. This includes Colorado, the first US state to legalize recreational use in 2012, in addition to the 22 other US states that have legalized since then. This also includes Uruguay and Canada, the first two countries to legalize recreational use. This is because cannabis legalization works. It provides vast benefits to the people and the economy, providing safe medicine and intoxicant, creating jobs, reducing the illicit black market, providing a potent means for sustainable development, and vital revenue for governments. During the 2020 Covid pandemic, cannabis was declared an essential service, along with food and medicine, in many US states that have legalized for recreational use. In fact, the voices asking for the lifting of cannabis prohibition are only growing louder across the world each day.
We have the technology, and the facts, to make this happen. But then, the most important thing is do we have the focus? Is anybody even awake and listening?
Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.
'Among WHO’s recommendations, it was suggested that cannabidiol (CBD)
with 2 percent or less Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the addictive
substance) should not be subject to international controls. Member
States rejected that recommendation for a variety of reasons, including
some Member States arguing that CBD is not currently under international
control and there was, thus, no need for action. CBD has taken on a
prominent role in wellness therapies in recent years, and sparked a
billion-dollar industry.' - UN
'Federal officials in 2022 charged fewer people with marijuana-related offenses than they had in previous years, according to data compiled by the US Sentencing Commission in its latest Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.
Just over 800 people were charged with violating federal marijuana laws in 2022. Ninety-nine percent of those charged were indicted for drug trafficking. Overall, those charged for marijuana-related violations comprised just four percent of all federal drug offenders.
Those totals represent a significant decrease from a decade ago, when federal officials charged nearly 7,000 people for violating federal marijuana laws. At that time, more people were federally indicted for marijuana offenses than for any other drug-related offense. However, since 2012, the number of people federally prosecuted for marijuana-related violations has fallen steadily.
In total, 32 percent of all people federally prosecuted in 2022 were charged with drug law violations.'
https://norml.org/news/2023/03/30/fewer-federal-offenders-charged-with-marijuana-related-offenses-in-2022/
Just over 800 people were charged with violating federal marijuana laws in 2022. Ninety-nine percent of those charged were indicted for drug trafficking. Overall, those charged for marijuana-related violations comprised just four percent of all federal drug offenders.
Those totals represent a significant decrease from a decade ago, when federal officials charged nearly 7,000 people for violating federal marijuana laws. At that time, more people were federally indicted for marijuana offenses than for any other drug-related offense. However, since 2012, the number of people federally prosecuted for marijuana-related violations has fallen steadily.
In total, 32 percent of all people federally prosecuted in 2022 were charged with drug law violations.'
https://norml.org/news/2023/03/30/fewer-federal-offenders-charged-with-marijuana-related-offenses-in-2022/
'To date, not a single state that has implemented legalization has reversed course. That’s because these policies are working largely as politicians and voters intended — and because they are preferable to marijuana prohibition.
Ultimately, common sense regulation allowing for the legal, licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis best addresses adult consumers’ demand while keeping marijuana products largely out of the hands of young people.
By contrast, the continued criminalization of cannabis only compounds the public safety risks posed to young people and others by the unregulated marketplace.'
https://norml.org/blog/2023/03/24/norml-op-ed-in-the-era-of-legal-marijuana-the-kids-are-alright/
'" I know," said Flug. "Next time you want to think about appealing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, just remember who'll be up there."
Ultimately, common sense regulation allowing for the legal, licensed commercial production and sale of cannabis best addresses adult consumers’ demand while keeping marijuana products largely out of the hands of young people.
By contrast, the continued criminalization of cannabis only compounds the public safety risks posed to young people and others by the unregulated marketplace.'
https://norml.org/blog/2023/03/24/norml-op-ed-in-the-era-of-legal-marijuana-the-kids-are-alright/
'" I know," said Flug. "Next time you want to think about appealing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, just remember who'll be up there."
"You mean down there." I said. "Along with all the rest of us." I laughed. "Well, there's always smack..."
Flug didn't laugh. He and a lot of others have worked too hard, for the past three years, to derail the kind of nightmare that the Nixon-Mitchell team is ready to ram down our throats. There is not much satisfaction in beating Haynsworth & Carswell, then having to swallow a third-rate yoyo like Powell and a vengeful geek like Rehnquist. What Nixon and Mitchell have done in three years - despite the best efforts of the sharpest and meanest young turks the Democratic opposition could call on - is reduce the U.S. Supreme Court to the level of a piss-poor bowling team in Memphis - and this disastrous, Nazi-bent shift of the federal government's Final Decision-making powers won't even begin to take effect until the spring of '72.
The effects of this takeover are potentially so disastrous - in terms of personal freedom and police power - that there is no point even speculating on the fate of some poor, misguided geek who might want to take his "Illegal Search and Seizure" case all the way up to the top. A helpful hint, however, might be found in the case of the Tallahassee newspaper reporter who went to Canada in 1967 to avoid the draft - and returned to find that he was no longer a citizen of the United States and he now had ninety days to leave the country. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court, but they refused to even hear it.
So now he has to go, but of course he has no passport - an international travel is not real easy without a passport. The federal immigration officials understand this, but - backed up by the Supreme Court - they have given him an ultimatum to vacate, anyway. They don't care where he goes, just get out - and meanwhile Chief Justice Burger has taken to answering his doorbell at night with a big six-shooter in his hand. You never know, he says, who might come crashing in.'
- The Campaign Trail: Is This Trip Necessary?, January 6, 1972, Fear and Loathing at the Rolling Stone, The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson
Flug didn't laugh. He and a lot of others have worked too hard, for the past three years, to derail the kind of nightmare that the Nixon-Mitchell team is ready to ram down our throats. There is not much satisfaction in beating Haynsworth & Carswell, then having to swallow a third-rate yoyo like Powell and a vengeful geek like Rehnquist. What Nixon and Mitchell have done in three years - despite the best efforts of the sharpest and meanest young turks the Democratic opposition could call on - is reduce the U.S. Supreme Court to the level of a piss-poor bowling team in Memphis - and this disastrous, Nazi-bent shift of the federal government's Final Decision-making powers won't even begin to take effect until the spring of '72.
The effects of this takeover are potentially so disastrous - in terms of personal freedom and police power - that there is no point even speculating on the fate of some poor, misguided geek who might want to take his "Illegal Search and Seizure" case all the way up to the top. A helpful hint, however, might be found in the case of the Tallahassee newspaper reporter who went to Canada in 1967 to avoid the draft - and returned to find that he was no longer a citizen of the United States and he now had ninety days to leave the country. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court, but they refused to even hear it.
So now he has to go, but of course he has no passport - an international travel is not real easy without a passport. The federal immigration officials understand this, but - backed up by the Supreme Court - they have given him an ultimatum to vacate, anyway. They don't care where he goes, just get out - and meanwhile Chief Justice Burger has taken to answering his doorbell at night with a big six-shooter in his hand. You never know, he says, who might come crashing in.'
- The Campaign Trail: Is This Trip Necessary?, January 6, 1972, Fear and Loathing at the Rolling Stone, The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson
And we believers in the future will never cease to concern ourselves with the old commandment: 'Thou shalt not kill.' Even if some day all the legal codes in the world forbid killing (inclusive of killing in war and killing by executioners), that imperative will never lose its cogency. It is the foundation of all progress, all human development. We kill so much! Not only in our stupid battles, the stupid street fighting of our revolution, our stupid executions - no, we kill at every step. We kill when circumstances force us to drive gifted young people into occupations for which they are not suited. We kill when we close our eyes to poverty, affliction, or infamy. We kill when, because it is easier, we countenance or even pretend to approve of atrophied social, political, educational, and religious institutions, instead of resolutely combating them. Just as a consistent socialist looks on property as theft, so those who hold consistently to our kind of faith regard all contempt of human life, all cruelty and indifference, as tantamount to killing. And not only things present can be killed, but the things of the future as well. A great deal of future in a young man can be killed by a mordant sceptism. Everywhere life is waiting, everywhere the future holds promise, and we see so little, we trample so much. We kill at every step.
In respect to mankind we all of us have but one task. To help mankind as a whole make some small advance, to better a particular institution, to do away with one particular mode of killing - all these are commendable, but they are not my task or yours. Our task as men is this: in our own unique personal lives, to take a short step on the road from animal to man.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill, 1919, If The War Goes On, Herman Hesse
In respect to mankind we all of us have but one task. To help mankind as a whole make some small advance, to better a particular institution, to do away with one particular mode of killing - all these are commendable, but they are not my task or yours. Our task as men is this: in our own unique personal lives, to take a short step on the road from animal to man.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill, 1919, If The War Goes On, Herman Hesse
A good way to get a country to legalize ganja would be for its immediate neighbour to legalize. There is usually such competition between neighbouring countries that the idea that one's immediate neighbour may stand to gain immensely from legalization could be a very good motivation for one's own country to legalize. Keeping up with the Joneses i mean the Mary Janes..Canada/USA, Australia/New Zealand, England/Germany, Israel/Iran, China/Japan, North Korea/South Korea...hey Pakistan, I think you guys should legalize because that would surely wake up India too...it's the perfect healthy competition and a win-win for all...gun competition is so uncool...not to mention fatal for the majority...
Updated Oct 30, 2022 2:32:29pm
Updated Oct 30, 2022 2:32:29pm
'While CRS found that the president cannot in fact deschedule cannabis unilaterally with an executive order, “he might order executive agencies to consider either altering the scheduling of marijuana or changing their enforcement approach.” That includes having federal officials start a process to completely remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) without requiring any additional action from Congress.
Further, the president could also use his pardon powers to either individually, or on a mass scale, grant clemency to people facing charges over federal marijuana offenses, CRS concluded. That blanket amnesty could apply even to people who have committed, but have not yet been charged with, a federal cannabis crime.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-administration-can-legalize-marijuana-without-waiting-for-lawmakers-congressional-researchers-say/
Further, the president could also use his pardon powers to either individually, or on a mass scale, grant clemency to people facing charges over federal marijuana offenses, CRS concluded. That blanket amnesty could apply even to people who have committed, but have not yet been charged with, a federal cannabis crime.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-administration-can-legalize-marijuana-without-waiting-for-lawmakers-congressional-researchers-say/
'In 1965, Timothy Leary (who would go on to be an advocate for psychedelics) was arrested for possession of cannabis while crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. Leary argued that the Marihuana Tax Act required him to self-incriminate—registering for the act showed intent to possess marijuana, which would violate the fifth amendment. The US Supreme Court agreed with him in 1969 and struck down the Marihuana Tax Act.
However, with the loss of the Tax Act, President Richard Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, setting up a framework for the federal regulation and criminalization of drugs. The Controlled Substances Act created five categories of drugs and classified cannabis under Schedule I—drugs considered dangerous with no medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as heroin and cocaine.
Nixon appointed former Pennsylvania Republican governor Raymond Shafer as the head of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse—later called “The Shafer Commission”—to review all research and literature on cannabis to correctly classify it in the Controlled Substances Act.
Shafer’s 1972 report debunked damaging myths about marijuana, found that the plant did not threaten society, and recommended decriminalizing the plant. Nixon ignored the report, and the plant stayed on Schedule I, where it remains today. '
https://www.leafly.com/learn/legalization/marijuana-illegal-history
However, with the loss of the Tax Act, President Richard Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, setting up a framework for the federal regulation and criminalization of drugs. The Controlled Substances Act created five categories of drugs and classified cannabis under Schedule I—drugs considered dangerous with no medical use and a high potential for abuse, such as heroin and cocaine.
Nixon appointed former Pennsylvania Republican governor Raymond Shafer as the head of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse—later called “The Shafer Commission”—to review all research and literature on cannabis to correctly classify it in the Controlled Substances Act.
Shafer’s 1972 report debunked damaging myths about marijuana, found that the plant did not threaten society, and recommended decriminalizing the plant. Nixon ignored the report, and the plant stayed on Schedule I, where it remains today. '
https://www.leafly.com/learn/legalization/marijuana-illegal-history
'Results
The most robust predictors of support for the CLCB were use of and policy support for medicinal cannabis use, voting for a left-wing political party, having a positive moral view of cannabis use, living in a small town and having read the CLCB. Predictors of opposing the CLCB were voting for right-wing parties, considering “frequent” cannabis use to be a high health risk, and lifetime use of other drugs. Age, ethnicity, education, employment status, religiosity and lifetime cannabis use were not significant predictors after controlling for other variables.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395921003479
The most robust predictors of support for the CLCB were use of and policy support for medicinal cannabis use, voting for a left-wing political party, having a positive moral view of cannabis use, living in a small town and having read the CLCB. Predictors of opposing the CLCB were voting for right-wing parties, considering “frequent” cannabis use to be a high health risk, and lifetime use of other drugs. Age, ethnicity, education, employment status, religiosity and lifetime cannabis use were not significant predictors after controlling for other variables.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395921003479
'Question Is the legalization of recreational cannabis in the US associated with changes in cannabis use outcomes and cannabis use disorder across racial and ethnic groups?
Findings In this cross-sectional study analyzing repeated yearly surveys of US adults conducted from 2008 to 2017, living in a state after enactment of recreational cannabis laws was associated with increases in the odds of cannabis use within the past year and past month among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White individuals (as well as individuals identifying as Native American, Pacific Islander, Asian, or more than 1 race) compared with the period before the passage of recreational use laws; there were no increases among non-Hispanic Black individuals.
Meaning Cannabis legalization is generally associated with increased use of cannabis and not associated with frequent use or use disorder among cannabis users, including among members of demographic subgroups most affected by criminalization.'
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784528
Findings In this cross-sectional study analyzing repeated yearly surveys of US adults conducted from 2008 to 2017, living in a state after enactment of recreational cannabis laws was associated with increases in the odds of cannabis use within the past year and past month among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White individuals (as well as individuals identifying as Native American, Pacific Islander, Asian, or more than 1 race) compared with the period before the passage of recreational use laws; there were no increases among non-Hispanic Black individuals.
Meaning Cannabis legalization is generally associated with increased use of cannabis and not associated with frequent use or use disorder among cannabis users, including among members of demographic subgroups most affected by criminalization.'
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784528
Along with the legalization of marijuana, its normalization also needs to happen in society. The plant has been suppressed for so long that its presence sometimes creates anxiety for the user who worries about social and legal discrimination. Its presence creates panic, fear, distrust and anger in the non-user due to the negativity that has been built around it. The consumption of the plant should become once again a natural part of social life. That would be normalization. With continuous exposure, increasing information and awareness normalization should happen eventually.
Updated Oct 11, 2022 1:10:08pm
Updated Oct 11, 2022 1:10:08pm
'The United States is committed to working together with the countries of the Western Hemisphere as neighbors and partners to meet our shared challenges of drug trafficking and use. My Administration will seek to expand cooperation with key partners, such as Mexico and Colombia, to shape a collective and comprehensive response and expand efforts to address the production and trafficking of dangerous synthetic drugs that are responsible for many of our overdose deaths, particularly fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and methamphetamine. In Mexico, we must continue to work together to intensify efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and their networks, increase prosecutions of criminal leaders and facilitators, and strengthen efforts to seize illicit assets. In Bolivia, I encourage the government to take additional steps to safeguard the country’s licit coca markets from criminal exploitation and reduce illicit coca cultivation that continues to exceed legal limits under Bolivia’s domestic laws for medicinal and traditional use. In addition, the United States will look to expand cooperation with China, India, and other chemical source countries in order to disrupt the global flow of synthetic drugs and their precursor chemicals. '
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/15/a-memorandum-for-the-secretary-of-state-on-presidential-determination-on-major-drug-transit-or-major-illicit-drug-producing-countries-for-fiscal-year-2022/
'Worldwide, an estimated 268 million people consumed cannabis at least once during 2020. The estimated number of cannabis consumers per region is heavily dependent on the population size, demographic age ranges, and average rates of past-year cannabis use in the individual countries that compose each region. While Asia – the world’s most populous region – by default has the highest count of cannabis consumers (with an estimated 93.8 million), the continent nevertheless has comparatively lower cannabis usage rates than any other region, giving it both the largest number but lowest density of cannabis consumers globally.
Across the planet’s adult populations (i.e.,ages 15+), North America (with an estimated 49.6 million cannabis consumers) is home to the highest rates of cannabis use, with those in Canada and the United States (accommodated by liberal social policies) both supporting the advancement of legalization and establishment of robust regulated markets. The legalization of cannabis leads to higher reported rates of use, and acts as the single-most important factor in the growth of a national cannabis consumer base. Mexico recently became the latest country to fully legalize possession and use for adults, and others are likely to follow as more countries realize how reform legislation could help spur economic growth in their post-pandemic economies.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/grass-grows-greener-globally-as-total-cannabis-consumers-increase-worldwide/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/09/15/a-memorandum-for-the-secretary-of-state-on-presidential-determination-on-major-drug-transit-or-major-illicit-drug-producing-countries-for-fiscal-year-2022/
'Worldwide, an estimated 268 million people consumed cannabis at least once during 2020. The estimated number of cannabis consumers per region is heavily dependent on the population size, demographic age ranges, and average rates of past-year cannabis use in the individual countries that compose each region. While Asia – the world’s most populous region – by default has the highest count of cannabis consumers (with an estimated 93.8 million), the continent nevertheless has comparatively lower cannabis usage rates than any other region, giving it both the largest number but lowest density of cannabis consumers globally.
Across the planet’s adult populations (i.e.,ages 15+), North America (with an estimated 49.6 million cannabis consumers) is home to the highest rates of cannabis use, with those in Canada and the United States (accommodated by liberal social policies) both supporting the advancement of legalization and establishment of robust regulated markets. The legalization of cannabis leads to higher reported rates of use, and acts as the single-most important factor in the growth of a national cannabis consumer base. Mexico recently became the latest country to fully legalize possession and use for adults, and others are likely to follow as more countries realize how reform legislation could help spur economic growth in their post-pandemic economies.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/grass-grows-greener-globally-as-total-cannabis-consumers-increase-worldwide/
'“The existing FDA approval system is designed for the assessment of privately produced compounds that go through conventional P1, P2, and P3 trials – so the Pfizer vaccine comports with the existing regulatory model. Cannabis does not. It is an illicit botanic product,” Armentano said.
Armentano went on to explain the FDA approval process is not designed to evaluate such products.
“In fact, under the existing regulatory and legal environment, there is no process for which the FDA could review or approve herbal cannabis – as acknowledged by the DEA and others who are familiar with the process,” Armentano said. “The DEA acknowledged this publicly in 2016 and has done so repeatedly since.”'
https://www.laweekly.com/the-difference-between-the-fda-approving-vaccines-and-weed/
Armentano went on to explain the FDA approval process is not designed to evaluate such products.
“In fact, under the existing regulatory and legal environment, there is no process for which the FDA could review or approve herbal cannabis – as acknowledged by the DEA and others who are familiar with the process,” Armentano said. “The DEA acknowledged this publicly in 2016 and has done so repeatedly since.”'
https://www.laweekly.com/the-difference-between-the-fda-approving-vaccines-and-weed/
Even if all the nations of the world legalized cannabis for all purposes - medicinal, intoxicant, food and industrial purposes - TODAY, a feat not impossible as all it takes is for the UN to change global drug laws and every nation to follow suit by changing their individual national drug laws with the same alacrity that all showed in embracing the fake pandemic Covid, it would still take at least a decade for cannabis to become truly pervasive significantly reducing the footprint of the following industries: the synthetic pharmaceutical drug industry for medicine; the global synthetic recreational drug industry, alcohol and tobacco for intoxicant; unsustainable rice, wheat and cotton as agricultural crops on current scales; the chemical fertilizer industry through organic farming of climate resistant cannabis; the petrochemical based non-biodegradable plastics and synthetics industries as industrial sources of raw materials. Even then much of the damage may be irrepairable, such as the omnipresent microplastics, and the contamination of land, water and air by synthetic pharmaceuticals, chemical fertilizers, fossil fuels and petrochemicals. But there is a chance that we could at least slow this down or even stall it. However, these industries - petrochemicals, synthetic pharmaceuticals, chemical fertilizers, alcohol and tobacco are the biggest industries in the world today. The world's rich to whom these industries belong, and the governments that they own and fund, will do all they can to prevent this, including the use of the arms industry who fear a peaceful world of cannabis as a threat to their existence as much as the rich and the governments. This means that what could take a decade if all are fully committed will most likely take much more time. The two years lost to the fake pandemic Covid were accelerated steps in the opposite direction to that which we should have been taking. Do we have that much time to change course? Will nature and human insanity give us the time? Today, all global leaders are floundering helplessly and aimlessly, with what is being proposed as solutions to the catastrophic problem being nothing more than cosmetic makeovers, while they work to consolidate their own positions and the rich strive to get richer. At a time when all possible options must be considered, no, pursued with great urgency, even then it may not be enough, we find humanity moving with determination like zombies towards the sixth extinction...What is overwhelmingly evident is the human delusion that man is the master of nature and an insane stubbornness to pursue natural ways...
Oct 08, 2022 12:07:53pm
Oct 08, 2022 12:07:53pm
'Justice Department lawyer Daniel Aguilar, who represented the federal government at the oral argument in June, insisted that the court should dismiss the case and allow the group to file their own DEA rescheduling petition.
Judges Paul Watford concurred with the latest ruling, but he did notably say in a concurring opinion that, “in an appropriate case, the Drug Enforcement Administration may well be obliged to initiate a reclassification proceeding for marijuana, given the strength of petitioners’ arguments that the agency has misinterpreted the controlling statute by concluding that marijuana ‘has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.'”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/court-dismisses-dea-marijuana-rescheduling-case-but-judge-says-cannabis-reclassification-may-be-coming-anyway/
Judges Paul Watford concurred with the latest ruling, but he did notably say in a concurring opinion that, “in an appropriate case, the Drug Enforcement Administration may well be obliged to initiate a reclassification proceeding for marijuana, given the strength of petitioners’ arguments that the agency has misinterpreted the controlling statute by concluding that marijuana ‘has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.'”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/court-dismisses-dea-marijuana-rescheduling-case-but-judge-says-cannabis-reclassification-may-be-coming-anyway/
'They conclude: “In the lead up to legalization, professional associations … suggested that legalization posed a threat to public health, advocated for the legal age for cannabis use to be set at a minimum age of 21 or 25, or that Canada should not legalize at all because it would place youth at greater risk of harm. With such categorical fears now shown to be largely unfounded, this should provide the basis to move forward on more nuanced grounds. … [O]n the balance, cannabis legalization – especially when considering the severe adverse social impacts of criminalization, and especially for youth – continues to offer the potential to better protect and achieve consequential net benefits to public health and welfare of cannabis users and society at large.”'
https://norml.org/blog/2021/08/17/analysis-marijuana-legalization-opponents-fears-have-not-come-to-fruition-in-canada/
https://norml.org/blog/2021/08/17/analysis-marijuana-legalization-opponents-fears-have-not-come-to-fruition-in-canada/
'It is time to deschedule marijuana. And while there are many paths to cannabis reform, the wisest course is to free states from obsolescent federal laws, not further burden them with new federal taxes and regulations.'
https://www.dailynews.com/2021/07/24/fixing-california-and-federal-marijuana-laws/
https://www.dailynews.com/2021/07/24/fixing-california-and-federal-marijuana-laws/
The rulers of this world desire that the people of the world toil to make them richer rather than become poets, artists, dreamers and philosophers whiling away their time on things like spirituality, existence and the protection of nature...The removal of natural intoxicants like cannabis, peyote and psilocybin and the introduction in their place of addictive alcohol, opium and synthetic pharmaceutical drugs are one of the means to enslave the masses of humans to the money-churning machines of the rich...To break these chains that bind the global masses needs more awareness and moral fortitude from more people and the increased demand to abolish the enslaving laws that prohibit the wonderful natural intoxicants...
Feb 05, 2022 2:34:54pm
Feb 05, 2022 2:34:54pm
'To reschedule marijuana through the executive branch, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or an outside party would have to file a petition, which would then be reviewed by the attorney general, who has usually delegated that responsibility to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The attorney general can also initiate the process on their own, requesting a scientific review directly to HHS. Under HHS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would then assess the scientific, medical and public health implications before submitting that review to the Justice Department, which would then effectuate the appropriate reclassification under federal law.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/bernie-sanders-talks-marijuana-differences-with-biden-who-he-says-could-enact-reforms-but-chooses-not-to/
The attorney general can also initiate the process on their own, requesting a scientific review directly to HHS. Under HHS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would then assess the scientific, medical and public health implications before submitting that review to the Justice Department, which would then effectuate the appropriate reclassification under federal law.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/bernie-sanders-talks-marijuana-differences-with-biden-who-he-says-could-enact-reforms-but-chooses-not-to/
'With hemp already federally legal, a primary policy issue is how marijuana and hemp—two varieties of the cannabis plant—would be distinguished under a federal regulatory regime. In this article, we lay out the CAOA’s key provisions governing hemp, related cannabis product regulation, and areas where legislators specifically seek industry feedback to inform the best policy approach.'
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/cannabis-administration-and-opportunity-4867282/
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/cannabis-administration-and-opportunity-4867282/
'Although Nixon declared the war on drugs on June 17, 1971, the U.S. already had lots of practice imposing drug prohibitions that had racially skewed impacts. The arrival of Chinese migrants in the 1800s saw the rise of criminalizing opium that migrants brought with them. Cannabis went from being called “reefer” to “marijuana,” as a way to associate the plant with Mexican migrants arriving in the U.S. in the 1930s.
By the time Nixon sought reelection amid the anti-Vietnam War and Black power movements, criminalizing heroin was a way to target activists and hippies. One of Nixon’s domestic policy aides, John Ehrlichman, admitted as much about the war on drugs in a 22-year-old interview published by Harper’s Magazine in 2016.
Experts say Nixon’s successors, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, leveraged drug war policies in the following decades to their own political advantage, cementing the drug war’s legacy. The explosion of the U.S. incarceration rate, the expansion of public and private prison systems and the militarization of local police forces are all outgrowths of the drug war.'
https://apnews.com/article/war-on-drugs-75e61c224de3a394235df80de7d70b70
By the time Nixon sought reelection amid the anti-Vietnam War and Black power movements, criminalizing heroin was a way to target activists and hippies. One of Nixon’s domestic policy aides, John Ehrlichman, admitted as much about the war on drugs in a 22-year-old interview published by Harper’s Magazine in 2016.
Experts say Nixon’s successors, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, leveraged drug war policies in the following decades to their own political advantage, cementing the drug war’s legacy. The explosion of the U.S. incarceration rate, the expansion of public and private prison systems and the militarization of local police forces are all outgrowths of the drug war.'
https://apnews.com/article/war-on-drugs-75e61c224de3a394235df80de7d70b70
Gandhi brought into focus the untouchability that existed in society with regard to humans, calling the social outcasts Harijan or people of god...150 years ago society did the unthinkable and made a plant an untouchable...it was cast out of society and still remains so...the plant is called Shivapatre, Shivji ka buti and Siddi among other names...When will society remove this discrimination against the plant, a creation of nature that came into existence 28 million years ago when man was a primate living in the trees?
Oct 02, 2021 8:51:46pm
Oct 02, 2021 8:51:46pm
'Richard Pound, who served as the first president of WADA, spoke to Marijuana Moment about the origins of the cannabis ban and said that the U.S. was “really quite adamant that [cannabis] was on the list” of prohibited substances.
“The U.S. was a leader in saying—and this was the ONDCP saying this—’in our view, marijuana is the entry-level drug. If you can keep people from using marijuana, they don’t graduate to cocaine and heroin and some of the other the other chemical variations of these things.'”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/how-u-s-bullying-in-the-1990s-led-to-the-olympics-marijuana-ban-behind-richardsons-suspension/
'I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil - to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.'
“The U.S. was a leader in saying—and this was the ONDCP saying this—’in our view, marijuana is the entry-level drug. If you can keep people from using marijuana, they don’t graduate to cocaine and heroin and some of the other the other chemical variations of these things.'”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/how-u-s-bullying-in-the-1990s-led-to-the-olympics-marijuana-ban-behind-richardsons-suspension/
'I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil - to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.'
- Walking, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty, Henry D Thoreau.
'The UN body cites a global survey conducted last year that found cannabis consumption was perceived to have increased in approximately 32 countries.
“In the absence of information on global production of cannabis, this can be read as an indication that supply may have expanded to meet the increase in consumption,” according to the report, which deals mostly with unregulated cannabis markets.
“Some cannabis markets have grown strongly during the pandemic – and likely because of it – as a result of stay-at-home orders and social distancing restrictions,” it said.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/un-report-cannabis-markets-likely-grew-because-of-pandemic/
“In the absence of information on global production of cannabis, this can be read as an indication that supply may have expanded to meet the increase in consumption,” according to the report, which deals mostly with unregulated cannabis markets.
“Some cannabis markets have grown strongly during the pandemic – and likely because of it – as a result of stay-at-home orders and social distancing restrictions,” it said.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/un-report-cannabis-markets-likely-grew-because-of-pandemic/
The UN Single Convention Treaty of 1961, based on which all nations have gone ahead and banned the entire plant, says that all parts of the cannabis plant are legal, whereas the flowering tops and resin are illegal...now have you heard of anything stranger than this? What did the flowering tops do to deserve this kind of discrimination? The absurdness of this definition, which is the entire foundation of worldwide cannabis prohibition, essentially means that the plant becomes illegal once it becomes mature, like as if nature, by running its course, turns something legal into illegal just by letting it go through its life cycle...it is the equivalent of saying that a human is legal as a child, but becomes illegal once pubic hair sprouts, after which it must be terminated...what insane laws...
Sep 02, 2021 5:36:17pm
Sep 02, 2021 5:36:17pm
'Federal marijuana trafficking cases continued to decline in 2020 as more states have moved to legalize, a new analysis from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) shows.
In an updated fact sheet, USSC—which is an independent agency in the judicial branch of the federal government—analyzed the number of drug trafficking convictions and found that there were 1,118 cannabis cases in fiscal year 2020. That’s down 67 percent since 2016—shortly after the first recreational marijuana markets started to mature.
Advocates argue that the year-over-year decline corresponds with the growing number of states that have implemented legalization, and it also reflects a federal deprioritization of pursuing cannabis cases despite ongoing prohibition as the war on marijuana continues to lose voter support.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-trafficking-cases-drop-again-in-2020-as-more-states-legalize/
In an updated fact sheet, USSC—which is an independent agency in the judicial branch of the federal government—analyzed the number of drug trafficking convictions and found that there were 1,118 cannabis cases in fiscal year 2020. That’s down 67 percent since 2016—shortly after the first recreational marijuana markets started to mature.
Advocates argue that the year-over-year decline corresponds with the growing number of states that have implemented legalization, and it also reflects a federal deprioritization of pursuing cannabis cases despite ongoing prohibition as the war on marijuana continues to lose voter support.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-trafficking-cases-drop-again-in-2020-as-more-states-legalize/
'As for adopting the ways, which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and a man's life will be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not everything to do, but something; and because he cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong. It is not my business to be petitioning the Governor or the Legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me; and if they should not hear my petition, what should I do then? But in this case the State has provided no way; its very Constitution is the evil. This may seem to be harsh and stubborn and unconciliatory, but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and consideration the only spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. So is all change for the better, like birth and death, which convulse the body.'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'The international policy process does not fare any better, with existing conventions built on a view of illegal drugs that is “increasingly at odds with current knowledge” (p. 218), and to a large extent reflecting a US desire to globalise their own policies. The international war on drugs has “often served as a flexible instrument for forwarding general American policy interests” (p.214); cannabis was included in the 1961 convention under “heavy international pressure” so as to “globalize the [American] Marijuana Tax Act” (p.205); the 1971 convention was established “as a reaction to the rise of youth counterculture of the late 1960s” (p.214); and poor nations are regularly threatened with “serious fiscal and reputational consequences” (p.215) if they fail to comply with US policy requests.'
'The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) is not fit for purpose. For 50 years, it has failed to reduce drug consumption. Instead it has increased harm, damaged public health and exacerbated social inequalities.
Change cannot be delayed any longer. We need reform and new legislation to ensure that future drug policy protects human rights, promotes public health and ensures social justice.'
https://transformdrugs.org/mda-at-50/parliamentary-support
Change cannot be delayed any longer. We need reform and new legislation to ensure that future drug policy protects human rights, promotes public health and ensures social justice.'
https://transformdrugs.org/mda-at-50/parliamentary-support
'The director said researchers have “had all kinds of limitations” and there’s “limited opportunity for access.” He noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has recently moved to expand the number of marijuana manufacturers, but he said what the government “really needs” to do is “moderate the Schedule I limitation.”
He said he’s spoken with NIDA Director Nora Volkow about the issue and feels there should be a modified Schedule I category called Schedule I-R, “which would be basically a different pathway if you’re going to use this material for research.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-federal-health-official-touts-psychedelics-therapeutic-benefits-and-slams-marijuana-scheduling/
He said he’s spoken with NIDA Director Nora Volkow about the issue and feels there should be a modified Schedule I category called Schedule I-R, “which would be basically a different pathway if you’re going to use this material for research.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-federal-health-official-touts-psychedelics-therapeutic-benefits-and-slams-marijuana-scheduling/
'I noticed a few other things. In addition to my perma-grin, the pain in my hips from the previous day’s workout was gone. The tension in my neck and shoulders from sitting at a computer for most of the day was nowhere to be found. While 10 mg might have just taken the edge off, 100 had me feeling as light as a feather.
When the time to sleep finally came, I clocked 10 hours of shuteye, something I haven’t done in years. No cold sweats, no meltdowns, no emergency room visits—just relaxation, a quiet mind, and a seriously deep rest.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/health/i-ate-10-times-more-thc-than-i-planned-heres-what-happened
When the time to sleep finally came, I clocked 10 hours of shuteye, something I haven’t done in years. No cold sweats, no meltdowns, no emergency room visits—just relaxation, a quiet mind, and a seriously deep rest.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/health/i-ate-10-times-more-thc-than-i-planned-heres-what-happened
'The 0.3% THC limit is based on a 1970s research paper, Bolt said, but it's largely been used out of context and was never meant to guide regulation. Recent research has shown psychoactive effects of THC tend to kick in around 1%, but most recreational cannabis contains closer to 30%.'
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/environment/2021/05/17/indiana-hemp-regularly-destroyed-because-has-too-much-thc/4990932001/
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/environment/2021/05/17/indiana-hemp-regularly-destroyed-because-has-too-much-thc/4990932001/
'Because delta-8 THC is manufactured from hemp-derived CBD, not extracted directly from the hemp plant, it is a controlled substance under law, according to the DEA.
“From a chemist’s perspective, it is clear that the isomerization of CBD to delta-8 THC with a catalyst is a chemical process,” said Erik Paulson, lab manager at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, a cannabis testing laboratory with locations in California and Michigan. “Any product of a chemical reaction like this one is, by definition, a synthetic chemical.”'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/more-states-banning-delta-8-thc-as-regulators-clarify-its-legality-under-federal-law/
“From a chemist’s perspective, it is clear that the isomerization of CBD to delta-8 THC with a catalyst is a chemical process,” said Erik Paulson, lab manager at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, a cannabis testing laboratory with locations in California and Michigan. “Any product of a chemical reaction like this one is, by definition, a synthetic chemical.”'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/more-states-banning-delta-8-thc-as-regulators-clarify-its-legality-under-federal-law/
One of the root causes underlying the vast number of human made problems we see around us today, is the fact that the human mind has, in most people, completely lost its connection with nature. It has become unhinged, over smart, over confident, incapable of reasoning, inattentive, preferring deception over truth and material wealth above all else. Even rural areas, where one once found a large number of people with simple and wise ways, have increasingly become afflicted, mainly through the seeking of short cuts to the imaginary better life built on money. Maybe the isolated indigenous tribes in a few places retain their sanity, anchored in the only thing that can save it, nature. For the rest of us, no amount of vaccines or synthetic drugs will heal our mental illnesses. The medicine of the mind, nature's cannabis, offers one way to re-establish the connection between our minds and nature. For some, the dosage required may be very, very large and even that may not work...
May 10, 2021 5:36:51pm
May 10, 2021 5:36:51pm
'In any other industry, the harm of a product like this would be limited to an offense against good taste. But cannabis isn’t any other industry. The harm here goes far deeper. Tens of millions of Americans have had their freedom revoked and their lives ruined by nonsense criminalization and the War on Drugs. Those harms are reinforced by the stigma surrounding cannabis, and the stereotypes that still cling to healthy, happy, everyday consumers.
Canna Bumps isn’t just a marketing pitch gone awry. It’s actively facilitating the risk and harm that millions of Americans face every day.
So way to go, THC Living. Neat idea. Clever. Very not fucking funny.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/neat-idea-canna-bumps-thanks-for-keeping-marijuana-illegal
Canna Bumps isn’t just a marketing pitch gone awry. It’s actively facilitating the risk and harm that millions of Americans face every day.
So way to go, THC Living. Neat idea. Clever. Very not fucking funny.'
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/neat-idea-canna-bumps-thanks-for-keeping-marijuana-illegal
'The laws of New York and New Mexico also contain two specific aspects. The first is to provide for the establishment of specific consumption areas, such as cafes; these areas allow consumption by people who are not permitted to consume in their rented accommodation (tenancy agreements usually prohibit drug use) and who cannot find space to legally consume in public. The second is to allow for delivery to consumers, perhaps reflecting the post-COVID retail world. New York State has also introduced taxation that is dependent on THC content and product type, permitting the state to regulate different types of product according to their effects on health.'
https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2021/legalisation-cannabis-3-us-states-new-york-virginia-new-mexico_en
https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2021/legalisation-cannabis-3-us-states-new-york-virginia-new-mexico_en
'Steves said his devotion to the legalization cause was largely inspired by his travels abroad, and by witnessing the safe and compassionate approach that many European nations have taken to marijuana.
“In Europe, they’re not into legislating morality and incarceration, they’re into something called pragmatic harm reduction,” he said. “And in this country right now, it’s [confronting] a law based on lies, started by President Nixon in 1971 when he was mad at the hippies.” '
https://www.wgbh.org/news/national-news/2021/04/20/step-aside-bellingham-hippies-rick-steves-has-a-marijuana-message-for-the-squares
“In Europe, they’re not into legislating morality and incarceration, they’re into something called pragmatic harm reduction,” he said. “And in this country right now, it’s [confronting] a law based on lies, started by President Nixon in 1971 when he was mad at the hippies.” '
https://www.wgbh.org/news/national-news/2021/04/20/step-aside-bellingham-hippies-rick-steves-has-a-marijuana-message-for-the-squares
'In 2020, nearly 70 percent of cannabis consumers who participated in the study reported obtaining cannabis from a legal source, up from 47 percent in 2019. (Because the survey included respondents ages 15 and older, some subjects would be unable to obtain cannabis from any legal sources – which require users to be at least 18 years of age.)
“One of the goals of legalization was the elimination (or substantial reduction) of the cannabis black (illegal) market and consequently keeping profits from criminals and organized crime,” the author wrote. “According to this study, there is some evidence that this may be working.”'
https://norml.org/news/2021/04/29/canada-far-fewer-consumers-accessing-illegally-sourced-cannabis-following-enactment-of-adult-use-legalization
“One of the goals of legalization was the elimination (or substantial reduction) of the cannabis black (illegal) market and consequently keeping profits from criminals and organized crime,” the author wrote. “According to this study, there is some evidence that this may be working.”'
https://norml.org/news/2021/04/29/canada-far-fewer-consumers-accessing-illegally-sourced-cannabis-following-enactment-of-adult-use-legalization
'If states generally do not see the need to cap the potency of distilled spirits, it is hard to figure why cannabis, a far less hazardous product, requires such a safeguard. But the legal treatment of marijuana has long been anomalous, and evidently some of that irrationality lingers in the minds of politicians even when they are happy to legalize the industry and reap the resulting tax revenue.'
https://reason.com/2021/04/20/arbitrary-thc-limits-could-wipe-out-much-of-the-cannabis-industry/
https://reason.com/2021/04/20/arbitrary-thc-limits-could-wipe-out-much-of-the-cannabis-industry/
'“It’s outrageous that Peter was held in Dubai for almost two months on charges pertaining to cannabis he had smoked legally in Las Vegas before traveling to Dubai,” Stirling said. “Peter was a responsible traveler. He made sure he left any pharmaceuticals at home, including aspirin, just to be sure he didn’t have any delays or issues at customs. Never did he imagine he could be arrested for cannabis smoked outside of the UAE.”'
https://www.8newsnow.com/i-team/i-team-las-vegas-man-detained-overseas-for-consuming-marijuana-before-trip-headed-back-to-us/
https://www.8newsnow.com/i-team/i-team-las-vegas-man-detained-overseas-for-consuming-marijuana-before-trip-headed-back-to-us/
'The reporter pushed back, noting that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act, as Biden is proposing, wouldn’t facilitate mass clemency given that being convicted for crimes related to drugs in that slightly lower category—which currently includes cocaine—also carries significant penalties.
“It addresses things moving forward, though, which is important and important to many advocates,” Psaki argued.
But advocates don’t really see it that way. For one, they support descheduling marijuana entirely. But when it comes to the relationship between scheduling and sentencing, moving cannabis to Schedule II would in no way fulfill Biden’s 2019 campaign pledge, when he said, “I think everyone—anyone who has a record—should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out” for marijuana convictions.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-press-secretary-misstates-marijuana-reschedulings-impact-for-federal-prisoners-who-want-clemency/
“It addresses things moving forward, though, which is important and important to many advocates,” Psaki argued.
But advocates don’t really see it that way. For one, they support descheduling marijuana entirely. But when it comes to the relationship between scheduling and sentencing, moving cannabis to Schedule II would in no way fulfill Biden’s 2019 campaign pledge, when he said, “I think everyone—anyone who has a record—should be let out of jail, their records expunged, be completely zeroed out” for marijuana convictions.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/biden-press-secretary-misstates-marijuana-reschedulings-impact-for-federal-prisoners-who-want-clemency/
'A whopping 91 percent of Americans believe that marijuana prohibition should end and cannabis should be legal for either medical or recreational purposes, according to a new Pew Research Center poll released on Friday.
The survey comes shortly after three additional states—New York, Virginia and New Mexico—enacted adult-use legalization. It asked adults to pick between three options: marijuana should be legal for medical use only, it should be legal both recreationally and medically or it should continue to be illegal.
Sixty percent of respondents said that cannabis should be legal for both medical and adult use. Thirty-one percent said it should be legalized for therapeutic purposes only. And just eight percent of Americans said it should continue to be criminalized across the board.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nine-in-ten-americans-support-legalizing-marijuana-for-recreational-or-medical-use-new-pew-poll-finds/
The survey comes shortly after three additional states—New York, Virginia and New Mexico—enacted adult-use legalization. It asked adults to pick between three options: marijuana should be legal for medical use only, it should be legal both recreationally and medically or it should continue to be illegal.
Sixty percent of respondents said that cannabis should be legal for both medical and adult use. Thirty-one percent said it should be legalized for therapeutic purposes only. And just eight percent of Americans said it should continue to be criminalized across the board.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nine-in-ten-americans-support-legalizing-marijuana-for-recreational-or-medical-use-new-pew-poll-finds/
'This year is poised to prove itself an epochal year for cannabis in the United States. From last November’s elections to this month, no fewer than eight states — representing more than 40 million people — changed their cannabis laws to legalize it, either or both for medical or adult use. On the East Coast, the dominoes have fallen quickly, with New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, respectively, all passing adult-use measures within weeks of one another; in the West, meanwhile, both Arizona and New Mexico joined the ranks of fully legal markets.
The tide of legalization has been driven by dramatic shifts in popular attitudes about cannabis, waning public support for its prohibition, and accelerated marketing, normalization, and social acceptance of the plant and various products featuring it. Over the decade since 2010, the percentage of adults supporting legalization rose from 41% to 67%, making cannabis approval one of today’s fastest-changing public policy issues in America.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/at-4-20-for-21-new-consumer-archetypes-reveal-who-influences-the-market-and-how/
The tide of legalization has been driven by dramatic shifts in popular attitudes about cannabis, waning public support for its prohibition, and accelerated marketing, normalization, and social acceptance of the plant and various products featuring it. Over the decade since 2010, the percentage of adults supporting legalization rose from 41% to 67%, making cannabis approval one of today’s fastest-changing public policy issues in America.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/at-4-20-for-21-new-consumer-archetypes-reveal-who-influences-the-market-and-how/
The permanent members of the UNSC, US, UK, Russia, China and France are the world's biggest arms traders. India, the eternal aspirant to the elite warmongers council in an organization meant to promote global equity, liberty, peace and harmony, along with Israel and Saudi Arabia are the world's leading arms purchasers. Now, that is not all. Recognize the names and their links to global wars and instability. They are the world's leading legal synthetic drug (known by the much revered name pharma drugs) traders. They are the leading traders of petrochemicals and fossil fuel based energy. They are the world's leading emitters of carbon dioxide and other global warming gases. They are the world's leading traders of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All of them are ruled by authoritarian governments. They are the countries staging the Covid drama, originating the story, linking their pharma deaths to Covid and then claiming to produce vaccines that will stop the virus. They lead on all Covid statistics. They are the countries instrumental in bringing about the global prohibition of cannabis. They continue to be the leading opposition to global cannabis legalization. They are the leading violators of human rights and liberties through their use of law, incarceration and execution of cannabis users and traders. They are the leading destroyers of cannabis plants and varieties beyond number....
Apr 23, 2021 9:54:01am
Apr 23, 2021 9:54:01am
'Marijuana use has been proposed to serve as a “gateway” that increases the likelihood that users will engage in subsequent use of harder and more harmful substances, known as the marijuana gateway hypothesis (MGH). The current study refines and extends the literature on the MGH by testing the hypothesis using rigorous quasi-experimental, propensity score-matching methodology in a nationally representative sample. Using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994–2002), eighteen propensity score-matching tests of the marijuana gateway hypothesis were conducted. Six of the eighteen tests were statistically significant; however, only three were substantively meaningful. These three tests found weak effects of frequent marijuana use on illicit drug use but they were also sensitive to hidden bias. Results from this study indicate that marijuana use is not a reliable gateway cause of illicit drug use. As such, prohibition policies are unlikely to reduce illicit drug use.'
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-021-09464-z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-021-09464-z
'Consuming too much THC at one time can be temporarily unpleasant. But studies have as of yet failed to identify any independent relationship between cannabis use and mental, physical, or psychiatric illnesses.
Furthermore, THC — regardless of potency or quantity — cannot cause death by lethal overdose. Alcohol, by contrast, is routinely sold in lethal dose quantities. Drinking a handle of vodka could easily kill a person, yet vodka is available in liquor stores throughout the country.
Just as alcohol is available in a variety of potencies, from light beer to hard liquor, so is cannabis. So most users regulate their intake accordingly.'
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/12/is-pot-really-more-potent-these-days-does-it-matter/
Furthermore, THC — regardless of potency or quantity — cannot cause death by lethal overdose. Alcohol, by contrast, is routinely sold in lethal dose quantities. Drinking a handle of vodka could easily kill a person, yet vodka is available in liquor stores throughout the country.
Just as alcohol is available in a variety of potencies, from light beer to hard liquor, so is cannabis. So most users regulate their intake accordingly.'
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/12/is-pot-really-more-potent-these-days-does-it-matter/
'The war on drugs provides justification for tearing children from their parents, separating families through deportation, evicting people from their homes, terrorizing children by placing armed officers — but not social workers — in their schools, preventing people from obtaining employment and barring access to public benefits meant to keep food on the table and the lights on.'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/16/nixon-war-on-drugs-public-safety/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/16/nixon-war-on-drugs-public-safety/
No human, I repeat, NO HUMAN, has the authority to ban the cannabis plant created by the supreme power of the universe.. Happy 4/20 to the lovers, friends and enemies of the divine herb...
This doesn't change, ever....
Updated Apr 21, 2021 12:03:59pm
This doesn't change, ever....
Updated Apr 21, 2021 12:03:59pm
'Challenges and risks remain, but the future is still bright for hemp and the industry is well-positioned for continued growth. As legal and regulatory foundations continue to settle and develop, it is imperative that hemp participants of all kinds – cannabinoid, industrial, or other focused uses – stay abreast of these changes and developments. It is also important for hemp businesses to better utilize and adopt commonplace business and legal best practices when entering into agribusiness, transactional, and corporate deals and agreements within the industry. Keep in mind the message of unity and collaboration, and let's celebrate and support one another's successes as we work together to advance the industry for the benefit of all.'
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/common-ground-hemp-uncertain-world
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/common-ground-hemp-uncertain-world
'Delta-8 (D8) THC is an intoxicating cannabinoid which can be rather easily derived from its nonintoxicating counterpart, CBD. It is often confused with the better-known Delta-9 THC, the main intoxicating component of marijuana. Though both Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC can get users high, the latter is federally prohibited, while due to a legal loophole the former can be legally obtained in all 50 states.
Delta-8’s legal status is ambivalent at best: The nature of the loophole which allows for its production and sale rests on the definition of what “synthetic” means. The 2018 Farm Bill states that all cannabinoids derived from hemp with a Delta-9 THC concentration of less than 0.3% are lawful, but adds that synthetically derived THC remains illegal. Delta-8 THC is present organically in some hemp cultivars, but can also be readily derived from CBD molecules collected from hemp, and the delineation for Delta-8 is becoming blurrier by the moment.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/what-is-the-deal-about-delta-8-a-cannabinoids-legal-loophole-and-disruptive-outlook/
Delta-8’s legal status is ambivalent at best: The nature of the loophole which allows for its production and sale rests on the definition of what “synthetic” means. The 2018 Farm Bill states that all cannabinoids derived from hemp with a Delta-9 THC concentration of less than 0.3% are lawful, but adds that synthetically derived THC remains illegal. Delta-8 THC is present organically in some hemp cultivars, but can also be readily derived from CBD molecules collected from hemp, and the delineation for Delta-8 is becoming blurrier by the moment.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/what-is-the-deal-about-delta-8-a-cannabinoids-legal-loophole-and-disruptive-outlook/
'While the expanding cannabis legalization movement shows that most of the world believes cannabis to be a relatively safe substance, the stigma around cannabis use, particularly the intoxicating high caused by THC, persists. But Ben Pollara, among others, argues that THC is one of the most beneficial aspects of the plant.
“THC is one of many chemicals in marijuana but is by far and away the most active one,” Pollara writes. “It is also the one which produces the most and strongest medicinal effects for patients.”'
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/prohibitionists-want-thc-limit-laws-heres-why-patients-and-consumers-are-fighting-back
“THC is one of many chemicals in marijuana but is by far and away the most active one,” Pollara writes. “It is also the one which produces the most and strongest medicinal effects for patients.”'
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/prohibitionists-want-thc-limit-laws-heres-why-patients-and-consumers-are-fighting-back
The problem is not with the natural opium plant or natural coca plant, plants used in traditional cultures for thousands of years, opium in Asia for recreation and as an analgesic, and coca in South America for recreation and as a stimulant. The problem is that governments have taken control of these natural plants away from traditional communities, and regulated their cultivation for supply to pharma manufacturers, legal and illegal. Pharma manufacturers have synthesized key compounds, concentrated them, vastly increased their potency, thus making them lethal, expensive and inaccessible, so as to reap vast profits. It is cocaine from the coca plant, and morphine, codeine, thebaine, oxycodone, heroin, fentanyl, etc from the opium plant. This weaponizing of a natural plant to get rich has wrecked havoc with global human health. Cannabis must be legalized, first and foremost. It is the most widely consumed, medicinal and safest of all natural recreational plants. The natural opium and coca plant must also be legalized. So too with the rare psilocybin and peyotl, found in very few places on earth. Natural palm toddy and natural tobacco are controlled by governments to benefit themselves, and the alcohol industry and tobacco industry. All viable natural recreational and medicinal options, currently illegal, must be made legal, to reach the most people, especially the poorest traditional communities world wide, to truly address human health...
Apr 14, 2021 12:32:47pm
Apr 14, 2021 12:32:47pm
Article 28 CONTROL OF CANNABIS
2. This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes.
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf
2. This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes.
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf
'The vote by the Commission for Narcotic Drugs, which is based in Vienna and includes 53 member states, considered a series of recommendations from the World Health Organization on reclassifying cannabis and its derivatives. But attention centered on a key recommendation to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside dangerous and highly addictive opioids like heroin.
Experts say that the vote will have no immediate impact on loosening international controls because governments will still have jurisdiction over how to classify cannabis. But many countries look to global conventions for guidance, and United Nations recognition is a symbolic win for advocates of drug policy change who say that international law is out of date.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/cannabis-united-nations-drug-policy.html
Experts say that the vote will have no immediate impact on loosening international controls because governments will still have jurisdiction over how to classify cannabis. But many countries look to global conventions for guidance, and United Nations recognition is a symbolic win for advocates of drug policy change who say that international law is out of date.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/world/europe/cannabis-united-nations-drug-policy.html
'WHO recommendation to delete cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention: The Commission decided by 27 votes to 25 and with one abstention to follow this recommendation. Cannabis and cannabis resin will accordingly be deleted from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention. They remain in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention and thus remain subject to all levels of control of the 1961 Convention.'
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/Mandate_Functions/current-scheduling-recommendations.html
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/Mandate_Functions/current-scheduling-recommendations.html
Implementation of the 1961 Single Convention Treaty must focus on one entity - the synthetic pharmaceutical drug industry, legal and illegal, including small, medium and large players...All natural plants and their products in natural form must essentially be taken out of the scope of the 1961 Single Convention. This naturally means that drug laws of all nations must be modified accordingly as well...
Mar 08, 2021 4:20:44pm
Mar 08, 2021 4:20:44pm
'Among WHO’s recommendations, it was suggested that cannabidiol (CBD) with 2 percent or less Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the addictive substance) should not be subject to international controls. Member States rejected that recommendation for a variety of reasons, including some Member States arguing that CBD is not currently under international control and there was, thus, no need for action. CBD has taken on a prominent role in wellness therapies in recent years, and sparked a billion-dollar industry.'
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1079132
'Doctor-prescribed cannabis is becoming increasingly common, and at the same time, the line between medical marijuana and CBD is becoming increasingly blurred. Consumers interested in the medical benefits of cannabis without its psychoactive effects have long embraced CBD, but with increased social acceptance of cannabis, consumers are straying ever more into the high-THC realm. Among current cannabis consumers, 25% prefer products with some measure (between 2:1 and 5:1 ratios) more CBD than THC, and a small minority of them (6%) prefer much more (between 10:1 and 40:1 ratios) of CBD than THC.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/the-link-between-cbd-and-medical-cannabis/
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1079132
'Doctor-prescribed cannabis is becoming increasingly common, and at the same time, the line between medical marijuana and CBD is becoming increasingly blurred. Consumers interested in the medical benefits of cannabis without its psychoactive effects have long embraced CBD, but with increased social acceptance of cannabis, consumers are straying ever more into the high-THC realm. Among current cannabis consumers, 25% prefer products with some measure (between 2:1 and 5:1 ratios) more CBD than THC, and a small minority of them (6%) prefer much more (between 10:1 and 40:1 ratios) of CBD than THC.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/the-link-between-cbd-and-medical-cannabis/
'EU regulators have updated their position on cannabinoids in cosmetics to allow for the use of plant-derived CBD in certain products. While national regulations can still cause complications for CBD companies, the decision comes on the heels of the European Commission’s landmark decision not to treat CBD as a narcotic, and is being interpreted as part of a broader loosening of anti-cannabis regulations within the continent.
Loosened regulations will allow for cosmetics companies interested in CBD to invest in product development, clearing the way for a new wave of hemp products. Nine of the 10 countries with the highest per-capita spending for cosmetics are found in Europe, and increased consumer acceptance of CBD is setting the substance up for long-term growth as a functional, commonplace ingredient.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/eu-cosmetics-rules-set-up-cbd-for-long-term-growth/
Loosened regulations will allow for cosmetics companies interested in CBD to invest in product development, clearing the way for a new wave of hemp products. Nine of the 10 countries with the highest per-capita spending for cosmetics are found in Europe, and increased consumer acceptance of CBD is setting the substance up for long-term growth as a functional, commonplace ingredient.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/eu-cosmetics-rules-set-up-cbd-for-long-term-growth/
'The change comes after the European Industrial Hemp Association pointed out that the European Court of Justice recently ruled that CBD should not be classified as a drug and can be freely traded.
The classification change was made by the EU’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Previously, only synthetic CBD was listed in the agency’s database.
Regulators list plant-derived CBD as a skin protectant and conditioner and note its function as an anti-oxidant.
“These are the types of news that make my day,” EIHA’s managing director, Lorenza Romanese, said in a statement.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/eu-market-regulator-updates-cosmetics-guidelines-to-add-cbd-as-legal-ingredient/
The classification change was made by the EU’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Previously, only synthetic CBD was listed in the agency’s database.
Regulators list plant-derived CBD as a skin protectant and conditioner and note its function as an anti-oxidant.
“These are the types of news that make my day,” EIHA’s managing director, Lorenza Romanese, said in a statement.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/eu-market-regulator-updates-cosmetics-guidelines-to-add-cbd-as-legal-ingredient/
As I have stated repeatedly, all the national drug laws, and the Single Convention Treaty 1961 on which they are based, say that cannabis cannot be cultivated except for medical and scientific purposes. This means that every single human can grow cannabis at home for their personal use without any restrictions on the number of plants because growing cannabis without commercial or trade related activities in mind is growing cannabis for scientific and medical purposes. Watching the plant grow, and different varieties of it, is a part of horticultural scientific activity, increasing its diversity is scientific activity. Using the plant for one's personal needs is using cannabis for medical purposes. No drug law can punish a person for home growing as many cannabis plants as she likes as long as one does not enter into activities of a commercial nature with it. All the persons who have been arrested, imprisoned, punished and had legal action taken against them for this are victims of gross miscarriage of justice everywhere in the world. Article 28 CONTROL OF CANNABIS of the Single Convention Treaty 1961 specifically states that - "2. This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes."
Mar 08, 2021 11:18:09am
Mar 08, 2021 11:18:09am
'Ann Fordham, executive director of the International Drug Policy Consortium, welcomed the “long overdue recognition that cannabis is a medicine” from the international body.
“However, this reform alone is far from adequate given that cannabis remains incorrectly scheduled at the international level,” she said. “The original decision to prohibit cannabis lacked scientific basis and was rooted in colonial prejudice and racism. It disregarded the rights and traditions of communities that have been growing and using cannabis for medicinal, therapeutic, religious and cultural purposes for centuries and has led to millions being criminalized and incarcerated across the globe. The review process has been a missed opportunity to correct that historical error.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/united-nations-removes-marijuana-from-most-strict-global-drug-category-with-u-s-support/
'The Commission cited last month’s Court of Justice ruling, which said CBD derived from the entire hemp plant is not a narcotic under an international drug treaty and is therefore subject to EU law on the free movement of goods among member states.
The Commission’s full statement to Novel Food authorization applicants reads as follows:
“In light of the comments received from applicants and of the recent Court’s judgment in case C-663/184, the Commission has reviewed its preliminary assessment and concludes that cannabidiol should not be considered as drug within the meaning of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 in so far as it does not have psychotropic effect. As a consequence, cannabidiol can be qualified as food, provided that also the other conditions of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No178/2002 are met.”'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/breaking-european-commission-reverses-course-says-cbd-should-not-be-regulated-as-a-narcotic/
“However, this reform alone is far from adequate given that cannabis remains incorrectly scheduled at the international level,” she said. “The original decision to prohibit cannabis lacked scientific basis and was rooted in colonial prejudice and racism. It disregarded the rights and traditions of communities that have been growing and using cannabis for medicinal, therapeutic, religious and cultural purposes for centuries and has led to millions being criminalized and incarcerated across the globe. The review process has been a missed opportunity to correct that historical error.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/united-nations-removes-marijuana-from-most-strict-global-drug-category-with-u-s-support/
'The Commission cited last month’s Court of Justice ruling, which said CBD derived from the entire hemp plant is not a narcotic under an international drug treaty and is therefore subject to EU law on the free movement of goods among member states.
The Commission’s full statement to Novel Food authorization applicants reads as follows:
“In light of the comments received from applicants and of the recent Court’s judgment in case C-663/184, the Commission has reviewed its preliminary assessment and concludes that cannabidiol should not be considered as drug within the meaning of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 in so far as it does not have psychotropic effect. As a consequence, cannabidiol can be qualified as food, provided that also the other conditions of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No178/2002 are met.”'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/breaking-european-commission-reverses-course-says-cbd-should-not-be-regulated-as-a-narcotic/
'Congress, presidents, and governmental agencies have had more than enough excuses over the years for not wanting to legalize marijuana in the United States. One of the most prominent being that the United Nations drug treaties strictly prohibits it, and going against the grain of worldly laws would be a serious no-no. However, now that the U.N. has backed off its staunch opposition to the cannabis plant, one has to wonder how lawmakers will justify maintaining pot prohibition in the future.
Marijuana is in this bizarre purgatorial state right now that rests on either time (a lot more) or the outcome of the upcoming special election. Democrats could gain control of the Senate (if they win the two seats in Georgia), giving the party the power to further marijuana reform over the next few years.'
https://www.laweekly.com/now-that-un-accepts-marijuana-what-excuse-does-congress-have-to-uphold-prohibition/
Marijuana is in this bizarre purgatorial state right now that rests on either time (a lot more) or the outcome of the upcoming special election. Democrats could gain control of the Senate (if they win the two seats in Georgia), giving the party the power to further marijuana reform over the next few years.'
https://www.laweekly.com/now-that-un-accepts-marijuana-what-excuse-does-congress-have-to-uphold-prohibition/
The definition of cannabis in the Single Convention Treaty 1961 reads as "b) 'Cannabis' means the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops) from which the resin has not been extracted, by whatever name they may be designated."
This means that till the plant flowers, the plant is legit, after that the flowers become illegal. How about that for discrimination against the flowers of a plant? How many people have been arrested, imprisoned and punished for growing the non-flowering part of the plant? Who thinks of and comes up with these stupid laws?
Mar 08, 2021 11:15:00am
This means that till the plant flowers, the plant is legit, after that the flowers become illegal. How about that for discrimination against the flowers of a plant? How many people have been arrested, imprisoned and punished for growing the non-flowering part of the plant? Who thinks of and comes up with these stupid laws?
Mar 08, 2021 11:15:00am
'The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) on Wednesday accepted a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
The historic vote in Vienna could have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry, ranging from regulatory oversight to scientific research into the plant and its use as a medicine.
The eagerly awaited approval of Recommendation 5.1 had a slim majority in favor with 27 votes for, one abstention and 25 votes against.
The CND – the main drug policymaking body within the United Nations – turned down all five remaining recommendations.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/united-nations-approves-who-recommendation-to-reschedule-cannabis-in-historic-vote/
'The European Union’s top court ruled that CBD derived from the entire industrial hemp plant is not a narcotic, paving the way for new business opportunities for low-THC marijuana producers to sell outside the highly regulated pharmaceutical channels in Europe.
The ruling, handed down Thursday by five judges at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, included a landmark interpretation of the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs that cited “the purpose and general spirit” of the treaty in excluding CBD from its jurisdiction.
The milestone ruling, which focuses on cannabidiol extracted from the entire plant, comes as the EU cannabis industry awaits the European Commission’s final decision on whether flower-derived CBD should be regulated as a narcotic.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cbd-not-a-narcotic-eu-court-says/
The historic vote in Vienna could have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry, ranging from regulatory oversight to scientific research into the plant and its use as a medicine.
The eagerly awaited approval of Recommendation 5.1 had a slim majority in favor with 27 votes for, one abstention and 25 votes against.
The CND – the main drug policymaking body within the United Nations – turned down all five remaining recommendations.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/united-nations-approves-who-recommendation-to-reschedule-cannabis-in-historic-vote/
'The European Union’s top court ruled that CBD derived from the entire industrial hemp plant is not a narcotic, paving the way for new business opportunities for low-THC marijuana producers to sell outside the highly regulated pharmaceutical channels in Europe.
The ruling, handed down Thursday by five judges at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, included a landmark interpretation of the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs that cited “the purpose and general spirit” of the treaty in excluding CBD from its jurisdiction.
The milestone ruling, which focuses on cannabidiol extracted from the entire plant, comes as the EU cannabis industry awaits the European Commission’s final decision on whether flower-derived CBD should be regulated as a narcotic.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/cbd-not-a-narcotic-eu-court-says/
'A team of researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School assessed the toxicological screens of 14 subjects who consumed hemp-derived CBD products daily over a four-week period. The CBD products were lab-tested and contained THC levels below federal standards (no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis.)
At the end of the trial period, 50 percent of the subjects tested positive for the presence of the carboxy-THC metabolite on a urinary drug screen.
Authors concluded: “[T]hese findings have important public health implications. It is often assumed individuals using hemp-derived products will test negative for THC. Current results indicate this may not be true, especially if assays are more sensitive than advertised, underscoring the potential for adverse consequences, including loss of employment and legal or treatment ramifications, despite the legality of hemp-derived products.”'
https://norml.org/news/2020/11/12/clinical-trial-hemp-derived-products-containing-thc-levels-below-federal-standards-trigger-positive-drug-test-results
At the end of the trial period, 50 percent of the subjects tested positive for the presence of the carboxy-THC metabolite on a urinary drug screen.
Authors concluded: “[T]hese findings have important public health implications. It is often assumed individuals using hemp-derived products will test negative for THC. Current results indicate this may not be true, especially if assays are more sensitive than advertised, underscoring the potential for adverse consequences, including loss of employment and legal or treatment ramifications, despite the legality of hemp-derived products.”'
https://norml.org/news/2020/11/12/clinical-trial-hemp-derived-products-containing-thc-levels-below-federal-standards-trigger-positive-drug-test-results
The UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 is the biggest farce when it comes to cannabis. Having said that cannabis is re-scheduled from Schedule IV which contains dangerous drugs like heroin, but still retained in Schedule I, supposedly the least restricted schedule, makes it appear that the parties have recognized the mistakes made regarding cannabis. However if you examine the list of drugs in Schedule I, what do you have - heroin, morphine, cocaine, fentanyl...ha ha ha...
And what defines the Schedules? Article 1 Definitions u) says - “Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III and Schedule IV mean the correspondingly numbered list of drugs or preparations annexed to this Convention, as amended from time to time in accordance with article 3." No definition for what a particular Schedule is and what criteria constitutes the Schedule other than an arbitrary list of items. Basically, a circular reference stating that the definition of something is arrived at by being in a list of things that the definition is supposed to define. The Convention is a smoke and mirrors game around pharmaceutical synthetic drugs with the natural cannabis, opium and coca plant thrown in by some highly muddled or selfish interests who do not recognize the difference between a natural plant that only nature can control and a synthetic man-made drug that needs to be controlled by man...
Mar 08, 2021 11:12:39am
And what defines the Schedules? Article 1 Definitions u) says - “Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III and Schedule IV mean the correspondingly numbered list of drugs or preparations annexed to this Convention, as amended from time to time in accordance with article 3." No definition for what a particular Schedule is and what criteria constitutes the Schedule other than an arbitrary list of items. Basically, a circular reference stating that the definition of something is arrived at by being in a list of things that the definition is supposed to define. The Convention is a smoke and mirrors game around pharmaceutical synthetic drugs with the natural cannabis, opium and coca plant thrown in by some highly muddled or selfish interests who do not recognize the difference between a natural plant that only nature can control and a synthetic man-made drug that needs to be controlled by man...
Mar 08, 2021 11:12:39am
'The crackdowns follow on the heels of the European Commission (EC)’s July preliminary decision to classify CBD as a narcotic. Doing so means that CBD will be treated more as a pharmaceutical compound than as a supplement. For companies such as GW Pharmaceuticals, that is welcome news: The company’s patented drug Epidiolex is the first CBD-based drug cleared to treat patients suffering from Dravet syndrome or Lennox-Gestaut syndrome, two debilitating forms of childhood epilepsy. At the cost of $32,500 USD annually, the EU represents more than $400 million USD in potential revenue to the company.
Whether the legal crackdowns on CBD products will continue and spread will be greatly influenced by an upcoming United Nations vote about cannabis scheduling recommendations. Included in said vote are two CBD-specific recommendations which would respectively remove extracts and tinctures from being classified as Schedule I drugs under the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotics, and free medical CBD containing less than 0.2% THC from international control. The U.S. has opposed the measures — despite the latter’s support by the World Health Organization (WHO) — by citing “legal ambiguities and contradictions that would undermine effective drug control.” While the EU has been silent on the issue, the EC’s preliminary decision is an ominous sign for industry operators. A positive ruling could lead to a more welcoming regulatory environment for CBD, but a negative ruling could signal further and even more restrictive regulatory measures worldwide, slowing demand for CBD products in emerging markets like Latin America.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/storm-clouds-on-the-horizon-for-european-cbd-market/
'The European Parliament doesn’t have final say on the farm policy overhaul, but hemp activists in Europe applauded the overwhelming votes to bring Europe’s hemp THC limits in line with those used in the Americas.
“The increase of THC level would allow new varieties to enter the market and to be bred, resulting in a better adaptation of the crops to the climatic conditions of the different EU territories,” the European Industrial Hemp Association said in a statement on Monday.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/european-parliament-votes-to-add-0-3-thc-limit-for-hemp-to-eu-farm-policy-overhaul/
Whether the legal crackdowns on CBD products will continue and spread will be greatly influenced by an upcoming United Nations vote about cannabis scheduling recommendations. Included in said vote are two CBD-specific recommendations which would respectively remove extracts and tinctures from being classified as Schedule I drugs under the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotics, and free medical CBD containing less than 0.2% THC from international control. The U.S. has opposed the measures — despite the latter’s support by the World Health Organization (WHO) — by citing “legal ambiguities and contradictions that would undermine effective drug control.” While the EU has been silent on the issue, the EC’s preliminary decision is an ominous sign for industry operators. A positive ruling could lead to a more welcoming regulatory environment for CBD, but a negative ruling could signal further and even more restrictive regulatory measures worldwide, slowing demand for CBD products in emerging markets like Latin America.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/storm-clouds-on-the-horizon-for-european-cbd-market/
'The European Parliament doesn’t have final say on the farm policy overhaul, but hemp activists in Europe applauded the overwhelming votes to bring Europe’s hemp THC limits in line with those used in the Americas.
“The increase of THC level would allow new varieties to enter the market and to be bred, resulting in a better adaptation of the crops to the climatic conditions of the different EU territories,” the European Industrial Hemp Association said in a statement on Monday.'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/european-parliament-votes-to-add-0-3-thc-limit-for-hemp-to-eu-farm-policy-overhaul/
'“If the Democrats do a clean sweep, then descheduling with interstate trade is definitely within the realm of possibility,” said Randal Meyer, the executive director of the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC).
Descheduling is akin to the cannabis holy grail.
It would simultaneously:
- Legalize marijuana federally.
- End the 280E tax restrictions.
- Open banking access.
- Allow for interstate and international cannabis trade.
“Descheduling unlocks everything else, including banking, relief on 280E, everything,” said Steven Hawkins, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “It’s a rock that kills three birds.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-advocates-eye-federal-legalization-after-2020-election/
Descheduling is akin to the cannabis holy grail.
It would simultaneously:
- Legalize marijuana federally.
- End the 280E tax restrictions.
- Open banking access.
- Allow for interstate and international cannabis trade.
“Descheduling unlocks everything else, including banking, relief on 280E, everything,” said Steven Hawkins, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “It’s a rock that kills three birds.”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-advocates-eye-federal-legalization-after-2020-election/
Just as the presence of a tiger is an indicator of a healthy, vibrant forest, the presence of legal recreational ganja is an indicator of a healthy, vibrant society.
Legalize it...
Updated Mar 07, 2021 3:10:53pm
Legalize it...
Updated Mar 07, 2021 3:10:53pm
'The World Health Organization’s cannabis scheduling recommendations appeared to have limited support at a United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) “intersessional” meeting on Thursday in Vienna.
That means the proposals still face an uphill battle ahead of December’s expected vote.
As a result, cannabis businesses counting on the adoption of all the WHO recommendations shouldn’t get their hopes up.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/who-cannabis-recommendations-still-face-uphill-battle-for-adoption/
That means the proposals still face an uphill battle ahead of December’s expected vote.
As a result, cannabis businesses counting on the adoption of all the WHO recommendations shouldn’t get their hopes up.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/who-cannabis-recommendations-still-face-uphill-battle-for-adoption/
10 actually...
1. Because cannabis is a medicine
2. We should stop wasting scarce resources
3. We should preserve freedom and increase justice
4. Prohibition has become a pretext for arresting decent, law-abiding people
5. Legalization creates jobs and raises tax revenue
6. Legalization increases product safety
7. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol
8. Legalization has not led to increased road deaths
9. The gateway theory has been debunked. So has ‘amotivational syndrome’
10. Legalization has not increased teen use
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/9-marijuana-legalization-arguments
1. Because cannabis is a medicine
2. We should stop wasting scarce resources
3. We should preserve freedom and increase justice
4. Prohibition has become a pretext for arresting decent, law-abiding people
5. Legalization creates jobs and raises tax revenue
6. Legalization increases product safety
7. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol
8. Legalization has not led to increased road deaths
9. The gateway theory has been debunked. So has ‘amotivational syndrome’
10. Legalization has not increased teen use
https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/9-marijuana-legalization-arguments
'Public opinion aside, there is also much to be said for standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before you.
In the late ’90s, when opinion was still strongly against legalization, western states paved the path for medical marijuana – and, more recently, recreational sales – but it was a slog in states such as California.
Previously, vague language in ballot initiatives and laws led to lengthy court battles. That, in turn, helped shape policy for more recent attempts.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/new-recreational-marijuana-markets-experiencing-quicker-starts-to-sales/
In the late ’90s, when opinion was still strongly against legalization, western states paved the path for medical marijuana – and, more recently, recreational sales – but it was a slog in states such as California.
Previously, vague language in ballot initiatives and laws led to lengthy court battles. That, in turn, helped shape policy for more recent attempts.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/new-recreational-marijuana-markets-experiencing-quicker-starts-to-sales/
The rescheduling of cannabis by the UN last week from the most restrictive category to the least restrictive one requires an urgent rewrite of India's NDPS Act. The NDPS Act is based on the UN conventions and related international treaties. It must therefore reflect the same removal of cannabis from the most restrictive category to the least restrictive one. All offences, punishments and legal procedures related to cannabis must be redrawn accordingly. As a matter of fact, since cannabis is in the UN's least restricted category, it makes no sense to include it in the NDPS Act which should focus on the more restrictive ones for efficiency. This also presents an opportunity to redraw the NDPS and correct the deep rooted flaws in its structure. For one, actually mentioning the names of substances that are part of controlled substances lists in national drug laws is what one would call 'hard coding', a bad programming practice in software parlance. The NDPS must essentially list what the offences, legal procedures and punishments are for different categories of substances and not list the actual substances which are constantly moving in and out of UN controlled substances lists based on new findings. The NDPS must also ensure that its categorization is in line with the UN's of schedule IV being the most restrictive and schedule I being the least unlike the US's which is the reverse leading to confusion. Absurd laws such as death sentences for possession of THC or charas must immediately be corrected. Law and drug enforcement agencies as well as all sections of the judiciary must be immediately informed of these changes lest harms continue to be perpetrated against the innocent plant and its users.
Dec 08, 2020 9:19:18pm
Dec 08, 2020 9:19:18pm
'Results We screened 4860 titles and 221 full-texts and included 114 articles. Most (n=104, 91.2%) were from the USA, evaluated cannabis reform (n=109, 95.6%) and focussed on legal regulation (n=96, 84.2%). 224 study outcome measures were categorised into 32 metrics, most commonly prevalence (39.5% of studies), frequency (14.0%) or perceived harmfulness (10.5%) of use of the decriminalised or regulated drug; or use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugs (12.3%). Across all substance use metrics, legal reform was most often not associated with changes in use.
Conclusions Studies evaluating drug decriminalisation and legal regulation are concentrated in the USA and on cannabis legalisation. Despite the range of outcomes potentially impacted by drug law reform, extant research is narrowly focussed, with a particular emphasis on the prevalence of use. Metrics in drug law reform evaluations require improved alignment with relevant health and social outcomes.'
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035148
'The history of how 0.3% became the THC limit for hemp goes back to Canada and various countries across Europe, who first adopted that standard for hemp farmers in the 1990s. When farmers in the US began to lobby for the right to farm hemp, they followed suit.
“We thought ‘well, we’ve got to go with what the standard is in Canada and Europe because it was going to be harder to make an argument that you needed a different standard,’” said Eric Steenstra, President and Co-Founder of US hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp. “It just sort of became a de facto standard, even though it wasn’t really based on any kind of science.” '
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/hemp-testing-hot-must-be-destroyed
Conclusions Studies evaluating drug decriminalisation and legal regulation are concentrated in the USA and on cannabis legalisation. Despite the range of outcomes potentially impacted by drug law reform, extant research is narrowly focussed, with a particular emphasis on the prevalence of use. Metrics in drug law reform evaluations require improved alignment with relevant health and social outcomes.'
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035148
'The history of how 0.3% became the THC limit for hemp goes back to Canada and various countries across Europe, who first adopted that standard for hemp farmers in the 1990s. When farmers in the US began to lobby for the right to farm hemp, they followed suit.
“We thought ‘well, we’ve got to go with what the standard is in Canada and Europe because it was going to be harder to make an argument that you needed a different standard,’” said Eric Steenstra, President and Co-Founder of US hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp. “It just sort of became a de facto standard, even though it wasn’t really based on any kind of science.” '
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/hemp-testing-hot-must-be-destroyed
The rescheduling of cannabis by the UN last week from the most restrictive category to the least restrictive one requires an urgent major shift in the national drug laws of every single nation that cites the international drug laws and treaties as the basis for its cannabis laws and policies. All persons convicted of possession of small quantities of cannabis, its consumption and cultivation, must be immediately freed. Those under trial for these offences must be acquitted. The law and drug enforcement agencies of all these nations must cease to enforce legal action against the persons who are involved in these activities and wasting precious planetary resources on it. The judiciary must stop entertaining cases related to these activities. Past criminal records of all persons convicted for the above offences must be expunged. Equally importantly, national drug laws of every single nation that uses the UN conventions as the framework for defining its drug laws must rewrite the same so that cannabis is not treated as a drug in the most restrictive category that it currently is in at the national level. Not a moment is to be wasted, for the longer the delay in doing this, the more the costs are going to pile up in terms of future corrective actions required, and the more the continuing harms to the plant and its users.
Dec 08, 2020 9:13:01pm
Dec 08, 2020 9:13:01pm
'The Commission then issued a preliminary ruling in July that CBD was not a food ingredient after all but rather a narcotic when extracted from the “flowering or fruiting tops” of hemp plants.
Brussels is expected to make a final decision in the fall.
The top of the plant is where the most CBD-rich parts are found. If Brussels moves to officially restrict the use of the top part, that would deal a blow to hemp farmers’ “whole plant” business model.'
https://www.politico.eu/article/hemp-farmers-brace-for-eu-decision-that-could-send-sector-up-in-smoke/
Brussels is expected to make a final decision in the fall.
The top of the plant is where the most CBD-rich parts are found. If Brussels moves to officially restrict the use of the top part, that would deal a blow to hemp farmers’ “whole plant” business model.'
https://www.politico.eu/article/hemp-farmers-brace-for-eu-decision-that-could-send-sector-up-in-smoke/
'The funny thing about this case is that it might not matter at all. If WHO’s recommendations are voted down, the case of France vs the EU is null and void as CBD would undergo blanket illegalization worldwide. It is only if the recommendations are taken that this case has any value. So, it’s not just one story to follow for the outcome of this case, but two. How will WHO recommendations be voted on, and how will the CJEU rule the case of France vs the EU. We’ll find it all out at the end of this year.'
https://420intel.com/articles/2020/09/09/forced-legalizations-eu-france-battle-it-out-over-cbd-laws
https://420intel.com/articles/2020/09/09/forced-legalizations-eu-france-battle-it-out-over-cbd-laws
'Large hauls of cannabis seized post-lockdown is proof that bans and over legislation don’t work, especially when there is public demand. In 2018, a whopping four lakh kgs of ganja was seized. Such massive production is surely not a sign of deterrence. Besides, over 60% narcotics cases involve personal use rather than trafficking or production. Instead of choking overburdened police and courts with thousands of cannabis cases, there is a strong case for cash strapped governments regulating cannabis production, sale and use. In two years after legalisation in January 2018, California has netted $1 billion in revenue receipts from marijuana. With a nationalist government mindful of traditional cultures and strongly betting on ease of doing business, it is time to let go of overzealous, impractical, ineffective policies.'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/legalise-cannabis-government-wrongly-banned-an-age-old-indian-habit-now-it-must-correct-that-mistake/
'Our societies cannot afford a straitjacket criminal justice system where repression is the prime way to enforce laws, including those which are unfair, unjust,and disproportionate. We need societies which are flexible, adaptable and humane, and in which people are not intimidated and tortured. Reforming drug policies,opening debates on drug control and on empowering citizens for informed decisions,and considering how to end these degrading and cruel punishments is more timely now than ever. '
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/media-release-GCDP-corporal-punishment_En.pdf
' - Despite a dramatic nationwide increase in the use and acceptance of cannabis, both federal and state policies have been slow to address long-standing inequities in cannabis regulation.
- Despite 26 million regular cannabis consumers in the U.S. (and 70% of adults reporting cannabis use as morally acceptable), prohibition enforcement continues apace, with over 600,000 annual arrests for cannabis-related offenses.
- Nationally, Blacks are nearly 4x more likely to be arrested as suspects than are Whites.
- Even as total arrests fall drastically in states legalizing adult use (e.g., more than 90% in Colorado) disparities in cannabis-related arrests persist.
- Post-legalization, challenges remain in ensuring equitable participation in the industry.
- Critical lack of access to bank loans means that Black households (which average a net worth 10x lower than that of respective White households) are far less likely to fund business opportunities in the industry.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/weeding-out-injustice/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/legalise-cannabis-government-wrongly-banned-an-age-old-indian-habit-now-it-must-correct-that-mistake/
'Our societies cannot afford a straitjacket criminal justice system where repression is the prime way to enforce laws, including those which are unfair, unjust,and disproportionate. We need societies which are flexible, adaptable and humane, and in which people are not intimidated and tortured. Reforming drug policies,opening debates on drug control and on empowering citizens for informed decisions,and considering how to end these degrading and cruel punishments is more timely now than ever. '
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/media-release-GCDP-corporal-punishment_En.pdf
' - Despite a dramatic nationwide increase in the use and acceptance of cannabis, both federal and state policies have been slow to address long-standing inequities in cannabis regulation.
- Despite 26 million regular cannabis consumers in the U.S. (and 70% of adults reporting cannabis use as morally acceptable), prohibition enforcement continues apace, with over 600,000 annual arrests for cannabis-related offenses.
- Nationally, Blacks are nearly 4x more likely to be arrested as suspects than are Whites.
- Even as total arrests fall drastically in states legalizing adult use (e.g., more than 90% in Colorado) disparities in cannabis-related arrests persist.
- Post-legalization, challenges remain in ensuring equitable participation in the industry.
- Critical lack of access to bank loans means that Black households (which average a net worth 10x lower than that of respective White households) are far less likely to fund business opportunities in the industry.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/weeding-out-injustice/
Last week was extraordinary even in the stimulating world of cannabis. Three historic things happened, which few would have expected at the beginning of 2020, while the world lived out its pandemic fantasy.
- The UN removed cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule IV with no recognized medical value. It however still remains in its least restrictive Schedule I which means it is still controlled but it can be more easily researched and used as medicine.
- The US House of Representatives voted through the MORE act to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances clearing the way for federal legalization. This however needs to pass the Senate and the President. The MORE act essentially means that the US federal government recognizes a state's cannabis legalization laws and will not interfere with it. All cannabis related past records will be expunged and prisoners released. If passed, the US can no longer put international pressure on the UN to keep cannabis scheduled when it recognizes legalization within its own states
- The EU Commission ruled that cannabidiol (CBD) is not narcotic within the meaning of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 in so far as it does not have psychotropic effect.
The world is taking important steps to release the plant and its users from unjust laws. More however needs to be done urgently to fully legalize it world wide and stop the terrible harms of cannabis prohibition.
- The UN removed cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule IV with no recognized medical value. It however still remains in its least restrictive Schedule I which means it is still controlled but it can be more easily researched and used as medicine.
- The US House of Representatives voted through the MORE act to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances clearing the way for federal legalization. This however needs to pass the Senate and the President. The MORE act essentially means that the US federal government recognizes a state's cannabis legalization laws and will not interfere with it. All cannabis related past records will be expunged and prisoners released. If passed, the US can no longer put international pressure on the UN to keep cannabis scheduled when it recognizes legalization within its own states
- The EU Commission ruled that cannabidiol (CBD) is not narcotic within the meaning of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 in so far as it does not have psychotropic effect.
The world is taking important steps to release the plant and its users from unjust laws. More however needs to be done urgently to fully legalize it world wide and stop the terrible harms of cannabis prohibition.
Dec 08, 2020 9:08:34pm
'The EC’s intentions were unclear. Given the relatively few applicants for the Novel Food Catalogue, the EC may be hoping that producers will recognize that compliance with the novel food regulations is preferable to complete prohibition. Alternately, the EC may be responding to pressure from pharmaceutical companies who see plant-derived CBD as a threat to their markets for medications and nutraceuticals. Whatever the motivations, however, the development underscores the significant influence which the U.N.’s Single Convention continues to have regarding cannabis policy, despite surging consumer demand and growing legal commercialization globally.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cbd-marketing-preferences/
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cbd-marketing-preferences/
'Results
Bisexual men had higher medical (6.4% versus 4.1%; aROR=1.93[1.29–2.88]) and non-medical stimulant use 6.6% versus 2.4%; aROR=2.23[1.44–3.44]) than heterosexual men. Bisexual women had higher non-medical stimulant use (6.8% versus 1.6%; aROR=1.54[1.23–2.93] than heterosexual women. Female (aROR=0.70[0.62–0.78]) and male (aROR=0.74[0.66–0.82]) heterosexuals in MML states had lower odds of medical stimulant use than in non-MML states. Bisexual men in MML states had lower odds of medical (aROR=0.36[0.21–0.61]) and non-medical stimulant use (aROR=0.48[0.29–0.81]) than bisexual men in non-MML states. Similar patterns emerged for bisexual women's non-medical use (aROR=0.57[0.40–0.81]).
Conclusion
Prescription stimulant use was higher in non-MML states for most LGB subgroups. MMLs may differentially impact stimulant use, primarily for bisexual men and women. States enacting MMLs should consider potential impacts on drugs other than marijuana, especially among LGB populations.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395920302012?dgcid=author
Bisexual men had higher medical (6.4% versus 4.1%; aROR=1.93[1.29–2.88]) and non-medical stimulant use 6.6% versus 2.4%; aROR=2.23[1.44–3.44]) than heterosexual men. Bisexual women had higher non-medical stimulant use (6.8% versus 1.6%; aROR=1.54[1.23–2.93] than heterosexual women. Female (aROR=0.70[0.62–0.78]) and male (aROR=0.74[0.66–0.82]) heterosexuals in MML states had lower odds of medical stimulant use than in non-MML states. Bisexual men in MML states had lower odds of medical (aROR=0.36[0.21–0.61]) and non-medical stimulant use (aROR=0.48[0.29–0.81]) than bisexual men in non-MML states. Similar patterns emerged for bisexual women's non-medical use (aROR=0.57[0.40–0.81]).
Conclusion
Prescription stimulant use was higher in non-MML states for most LGB subgroups. MMLs may differentially impact stimulant use, primarily for bisexual men and women. States enacting MMLs should consider potential impacts on drugs other than marijuana, especially among LGB populations.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395920302012?dgcid=author
'A bizarre happening in the United States during the prohibition era around 1930 was an omen of things to come. It was caused not by an insecticide but by a substance belonging chemically to the same group as the organic phosphate insecticides. During the period some medicinal substances were being pressed into service as substitutes for liquor, being exempted from the prohibition law. One of these was Jamaica ginger. But the United States Pharmacopeia product was expensive, and bootleggers conceived the idea of making a substitute Jamaica ginger. They succeeded so well that their spurious product responded to the appropriate chemical tests and decieved the government chemists. To give their false ginger the necessary tang they had introduced a chemical known as triorthocresyl phosphate. This chemical, like parathion and its relatives, destroys the protective enzyme cholinesterase. As a consequence of drinking the bootleggers' product some 15,000 people developed a permanently crippling type of paralysis of the leg muscles, a condition called 'ginger paralysis'. The paralysis was accompanied by destruction of the nerve sheaths and by degeneration of the cells of the anterior horns of the spinal cord.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'The question, of course, could be asked: Why did you ever try narcotics? Why did you continue using it long enough to become an addict? You become a narcotics addict because you do not have strong motivations in any other direction. Junk wins by default. I tried it as a matter of curiosity. I drifted along taking shots when I could score. I ended up hooked. Most addicts I have talked to report a similar experience. They did not start using drugs for any reason they can remember. They just drifted along until they got hooked. If you have never been addicted, you can have no clear idea what it means to need junk with the addict's special need. You don't decide to be an addict. One morning you wake up sick and you're an addict.' - Prologue, Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
So governments, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical industry cut off the supply of natural intoxicants like cannabis, opium, coca and palm toddy. They create refined and much more potent extracts from these natural materials. They control the supply and stock of these chemical drugs. They use the doctor-pharmacist route to administer these drugs to the public legally and the peddler-narcotics agent-rehabilitation center route to administer these drugs illegally. The individual is not allowed to grow or procure these intoxicants from nature. He must rely on the system to get his intoxicant and pay the maximum price for it. To realize more and more profits the system creates more and more potent chemical intoxicants moving further and further away from natural territory into synthetic chemically constructed territory. As the toxicity and addictive power of these drugs increase, the public gets addicted to an even greater extent and pays even more for any available intoxicant. Profits rise and fuel the growth of the system tremendously. The individual pays for the system, pays for the synthetic drug, pays for the treatment which is further synthetic drugs and eventually pays with his life for the synthetic intoxicant. Legalize all natural drugs - opium, coca, cannabis and toddy to name a few. Most importantly, legalize cannabis, the universal drug of the world...
'But yet in these apparently unimportant actions - in our indicating to the extent of our powers the unreasonableness of what we clearly see to be irrational and refraining from taking part in it - lies our great and irresistible power: the power which constitutes that unconquerable force which makes up real genuine public opinion - that opinion which with its own advance moves all humanity. Governments know this. They tremble before that force and strive in every possible way to counteract and overcome it.
They know that strength lies not in force but in the action of the mind and in the clear expression. And they fear that expression of independent thought more than an army. So they establish censorship, bribe newspapers, and seize control of the Churches and schools. But the spiritual force which moves the world eludes them. It is not in a book or a newspaper: it cannot be trapped but is always free, for it lies in the depth's of man's consciousness. This most powerful, elusive, and free force shows itself in a man's soul when he is alone and reflects on the phenomena of the world and then involuntarily expresses his thoughts to his wife, his brother, his friend, and to all whom he accounts it a sin to conceal what he considers to be the truth. No milliards of rubles, or millions of troops, or any institutions, or wars, or revolutions, can or will produce what a free man can produce by the simple expression of what he considers right, independently of what exists and what is impressed upon him.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Abusive governments seem to display behavioral traits similar to abusive individuals, possibly because the head(s) or leader(s) of such governments are such individuals. We observe a pattern of alternating abuse and the application of what seems like a balm to soothe the pain. This balm is often an eyewash (handwash?) and to a certain extent also serves to hypnotize the victim into thinking that the abuser means well. Mostly applied in alternating fashion, the balm is also sometimes applied as a distraction to one part of the victim while the abuse happens on another part. The mind of the victim, increasingly confused and submissive, focuses on the region where the balm is applied and shuts out the region where the abuse is taking place as a defense mechanism. With abuse and balm, applied over long periods of time in increasing fashion and in alternating turns, where the abuse is always much, much greater than the balm applied, the body and the mind of the victim, whether it be an individual or a nation, gradually weakens, becoming increasingly submissive and obedient to the will of the abuser till a point is reached where the abuser has complete control and the victim will do anything thinking that it is what is good...
Apr 6, 2020, 5:16 PM
'The Bay Mills Indian Community in the Upper Peninsula is the first tribal community in Michigan to legalize marijuana for adult use.
“Our tribal government does not necessarily promote the use of marijuana, but we believe that criminalizing it is bad policy,” said Tribal Chairman Bryan Newland in a statement. “Our new tribal law ensures that people on our lands are no longer at risk of prosecution for actions that are lawful everywhere else in Michigan.”
There are 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan. As sovereign governments, Native American tribes have the right to set their own laws on marijuana, according to the National Congress of American Indians.'
https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/04/first-native-american-community-in-michigan-legalizes-marijuana.html
'The data tracks arrests, not individuals, so there’s no mechanism for winnowing out repeat offenders. Nor does it include arrests for the sale or production of marijuana. But the numbers still illustrate how marijuana enforcement continues to make up a big part of many police agencies’ caseloads.
The findings reflect, in part, a few simple realities: The federal government incentivizes aggressive drug enforcement via funding for drug task forces and generous forfeiture rules that allow agencies to keep cash and other valuables they find in the course of a drug bust. And because marijuana is bulky and pungent relative to other drugs, it’s often easy for police to root out.'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/04/15/where-war-weed-still-rages/
Happy Ganja Day to the lovers, friends and supporters of the divine herb. As we celebrate this day, let us not forget the millions who are imprisoned or face criminal action because of their association with the herb and its current worldwide illegal status. Let us not forget the millions who continue to suffer from physical and mental conditions and their lack of access to the medicinal properties of the plant. Let us not forget the millions who are addicted to heroin, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco, novel psychoactive substances, synthetic cannabinoids and other dangerous substances without access to the natural, recreational herb. Let us hope that the opponents of the herb find reason and understanding in the coming days. Let us also look forward to the fast approaching inevitable day when the herb is finally free once again and available to every living being worldwide as it was always meant to be.
'I have never regretted my experience with drugs. I think I am at better health now as a result of using junk at intervals than I would be if I had never been an addict. When you stop growing you start dying. An addict never stops growing. Most users periodically kick the habit, which involves shrinking of the organism and replacement of the junk-dependent cells. A user is in continual state of shrinking and growing in his daily cycle of shot-need for shot completed.' - Prologue, Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The question, of course, could be asked: Why did you ever try narcotics? Why did you continue using it long enough to become an addict? You become a narcotics addict because you do not have strong motivations in any other direction. Junk wins by default. I tried it as a matter of curiosity. I drifted along taking shots when I could score. I ended up hooked. Most addicts I have talked to report a similar experience. They did not start using drugs for any reason they can remember. They just drifted along until they got hooked. If you have never been addicted, you can have no clear idea what it means to need junk with the addict's special need. You don't decide to be an addict. One morning you wake up sick and you're an addict.' - Prologue, Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
So governments, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical industry cut off the supply of natural intoxicants like cannabis, opium, coca and palm toddy. They create refined and much more potent extracts from these natural materials. They control the supply and stock of these chemical drugs. They use the doctor-pharmacist route to administer these drugs to the public legally and the peddler-narcotics agent-rehabilitation center route to administer these drugs illegally. The individual is not allowed to grow or procure these intoxicants from nature. He must rely on the system to get his intoxicant and pay the maximum price for it. To realize more and more profits the system creates more and more potent chemical intoxicants moving further and further away from natural territory into synthetic chemically constructed territory. As the toxicity and addictive power of these drugs increase, the public gets addicted to an even greater extent and pays even more for any available intoxicant. Profits rise and fuel the growth of the system tremendously. The individual pays for the system, pays for the synthetic drug, pays for the treatment which is further synthetic drugs and eventually pays with his life for the synthetic intoxicant. Legalize all natural drugs - opium, coca, cannabis and toddy to name a few. Most importantly, legalize cannabis, the universal drug of the world...
'But yet in these apparently unimportant actions - in our indicating to the extent of our powers the unreasonableness of what we clearly see to be irrational and refraining from taking part in it - lies our great and irresistible power: the power which constitutes that unconquerable force which makes up real genuine public opinion - that opinion which with its own advance moves all humanity. Governments know this. They tremble before that force and strive in every possible way to counteract and overcome it.
They know that strength lies not in force but in the action of the mind and in the clear expression. And they fear that expression of independent thought more than an army. So they establish censorship, bribe newspapers, and seize control of the Churches and schools. But the spiritual force which moves the world eludes them. It is not in a book or a newspaper: it cannot be trapped but is always free, for it lies in the depth's of man's consciousness. This most powerful, elusive, and free force shows itself in a man's soul when he is alone and reflects on the phenomena of the world and then involuntarily expresses his thoughts to his wife, his brother, his friend, and to all whom he accounts it a sin to conceal what he considers to be the truth. No milliards of rubles, or millions of troops, or any institutions, or wars, or revolutions, can or will produce what a free man can produce by the simple expression of what he considers right, independently of what exists and what is impressed upon him.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Abusive governments seem to display behavioral traits similar to abusive individuals, possibly because the head(s) or leader(s) of such governments are such individuals. We observe a pattern of alternating abuse and the application of what seems like a balm to soothe the pain. This balm is often an eyewash (handwash?) and to a certain extent also serves to hypnotize the victim into thinking that the abuser means well. Mostly applied in alternating fashion, the balm is also sometimes applied as a distraction to one part of the victim while the abuse happens on another part. The mind of the victim, increasingly confused and submissive, focuses on the region where the balm is applied and shuts out the region where the abuse is taking place as a defense mechanism. With abuse and balm, applied over long periods of time in increasing fashion and in alternating turns, where the abuse is always much, much greater than the balm applied, the body and the mind of the victim, whether it be an individual or a nation, gradually weakens, becoming increasingly submissive and obedient to the will of the abuser till a point is reached where the abuser has complete control and the victim will do anything thinking that it is what is good...
Apr 6, 2020, 5:16 PM
'The Bay Mills Indian Community in the Upper Peninsula is the first tribal community in Michigan to legalize marijuana for adult use.
“Our tribal government does not necessarily promote the use of marijuana, but we believe that criminalizing it is bad policy,” said Tribal Chairman Bryan Newland in a statement. “Our new tribal law ensures that people on our lands are no longer at risk of prosecution for actions that are lawful everywhere else in Michigan.”
There are 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan. As sovereign governments, Native American tribes have the right to set their own laws on marijuana, according to the National Congress of American Indians.'
https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/04/first-native-american-community-in-michigan-legalizes-marijuana.html
'The data tracks arrests, not individuals, so there’s no mechanism for winnowing out repeat offenders. Nor does it include arrests for the sale or production of marijuana. But the numbers still illustrate how marijuana enforcement continues to make up a big part of many police agencies’ caseloads.
The findings reflect, in part, a few simple realities: The federal government incentivizes aggressive drug enforcement via funding for drug task forces and generous forfeiture rules that allow agencies to keep cash and other valuables they find in the course of a drug bust. And because marijuana is bulky and pungent relative to other drugs, it’s often easy for police to root out.'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/04/15/where-war-weed-still-rages/
Happy Ganja Day to the lovers, friends and supporters of the divine herb. As we celebrate this day, let us not forget the millions who are imprisoned or face criminal action because of their association with the herb and its current worldwide illegal status. Let us not forget the millions who continue to suffer from physical and mental conditions and their lack of access to the medicinal properties of the plant. Let us not forget the millions who are addicted to heroin, methamphetamine, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco, novel psychoactive substances, synthetic cannabinoids and other dangerous substances without access to the natural, recreational herb. Let us hope that the opponents of the herb find reason and understanding in the coming days. Let us also look forward to the fast approaching inevitable day when the herb is finally free once again and available to every living being worldwide as it was always meant to be.
'I have never regretted my experience with drugs. I think I am at better health now as a result of using junk at intervals than I would be if I had never been an addict. When you stop growing you start dying. An addict never stops growing. Most users periodically kick the habit, which involves shrinking of the organism and replacement of the junk-dependent cells. A user is in continual state of shrinking and growing in his daily cycle of shot-need for shot completed.' - Prologue, Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'According to the survey, 81 percent of respondents believe that tobacco cigarettes are "very harmful." Fifty-one percent of respondents similarly view alcohol as "very harmful." By contrast, only 26 percent of those surveyed ranked marijuana as "very harmful." '
https://norml.org/news/2019/08/29/poll-americans-view-cigarettes-and-alcohol-as-more-harmful-than-cannabis
'According to the agency's filing in the Federal Register, it "intends to promulgate regulations" to evaluate several dozen applications before it from private entities that wish to cultivate cannabis for FDA-approved research. However, this is not the first time the agency has made such a promise. In 2016, the DEA similarly announced the adoption of new rules to expand to supply of research-grade cannabis, but failed to take any further action.'
https://norml.org/news/2019/08/29/dea-promises-progress-on-federal-cultivation-applications-but-provides-no-timetable-for-action
https://norml.org/news/2019/08/29/poll-americans-view-cigarettes-and-alcohol-as-more-harmful-than-cannabis
'According to the agency's filing in the Federal Register, it "intends to promulgate regulations" to evaluate several dozen applications before it from private entities that wish to cultivate cannabis for FDA-approved research. However, this is not the first time the agency has made such a promise. In 2016, the DEA similarly announced the adoption of new rules to expand to supply of research-grade cannabis, but failed to take any further action.'
https://norml.org/news/2019/08/29/dea-promises-progress-on-federal-cultivation-applications-but-provides-no-timetable-for-action
'A judge, a policeman, a governor, or an officer, can keep his position
just the same under Boulanger, Pugachev, Catherine, or a republic. But
should the existing order which secures him his advantageous position
collapse, he would certainly lose that position. And so these people are
none of them alarmed as to who will be at the head of the organization
of violence - they can adapt themselves to anyone. They only fear the
abolition of the organization itself, and that is the reason - though
sometimes an unconscious one - why they maintain it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'The new law also amends the classification of offenses involving the use or possession of marijuana in public from a criminal misdemeanor, formerly punishable by up to 90 days in jail, to a fine-only offense. In New York City, police have made over 700,000 arrests for 'public view' violations. Eighty-six percent of those arrested were either Black or Latino.'
https://norml.org/news/2019/08/29/new-york-law-reducing-marijuana-possession-penalties-takes-effect
- 'Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill sparked both sharp nationwide increases in licensing and explosive sales growth for 2019.
- The issuance of U.S. hemp-cultivation licenses saw a year-over-year, nationwide increase of 364% (from 3,546 in 2018 to 16,462 in 2019).
- Small family farms’ entry to the space drove licensing booms in some states, while other states saw the arrival of Big Agriculture interests in their markets.
- In 2019, Tennessee led the trend with 3,200 new licenses, marking more than a 13x increase over its 226 in 2018. Conversely, Montana’s comparatively low 277 licenses in 2019 represent nearly 40,000 acres, averaging a Big Ag-style footprint of more than 144 acres apiece.
- Traditional hemp states Colorado, Kentucky, and Oregon continue to lead in cultivation as the nation overall shows a projected 225,000 acres harvested in 2019, more than a 180% increase beyond 78,176 in 2018.'
'As such, hemp and hemp-derived CBD preparations that have 0.3% THC or less are not controlled substances, the DEA confirmed. “DEA registration is not required to grow or research” them.
The confirmation will be good news to the CBD industry, which has exploded recently. But any manufacturers making health claims about the CBD-containing products will still receive scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, individual state laws and restrictions may apply.'
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/08/dea-may-finally-let-others-grow-cannabis-for-research/
'A Christian is independent of human authority because he only acknowledges the authority of God, whose law revealed by Christ he recognizes in himself and voluntarily obeys.
And this liberation is gained not by means of struggle, not by the destruction of existing forms, but only by a change in the understanding of life. A Christian recognizes the law of love revealed to him by his teacher, as perfectly sufficient for all human relations, and therefore regards all use of violence as unnecessary and wrong. He also, with his different conception of life, regards those deprivations, sufferings, or threats of deprivation and suffering, by which a man with the social conception of life is reduced to the necessity of obedience, merely as inevitable conditions of existence (like sickness, hunger, and all sorts of calamities), which he patiently endures without forcible resistance, but not as anything that can serve as a guide to his actions. The only guide for a Christian's actions is to be found in the divine principle that dwells within him, which cannot be checked or governed by anything else.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'Overall, this study finds that the adoption and diffusion of [Medical Marijuana Laws]MMLs is mainly determined by the opinions of citizens rather than the political ideology of elected officials or the government’s fiscal health conditions.'
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01442872.2019.1656805
'“If its less than .3 percent, it’s considered hemp and the byproducts of that hemp are legal nationally,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter. '
https://www.ketv.com/article/exclusive-omaha-division-of-the-drug-enforcement-administration-says-it-is-not-prosecuting-cbd-hemp-sellers-or-dealers/28875681
'Paley, a common authority with many on moral questions, in his chapter on the "Duty of Submission to Civil Government" resolves all civil obligations into expediency; and he proceeds to say "that so long as the interest of the whole society requires it, that is, so long as the established government cannot be resisted or changed without public inconvenience, it is the will of God that the established government be obeyed, and no longer... This principle being admitted, the justice of every particular case of resistance is reduced to a computation of the quantity of the danger and grievance on the one side and of the probability and expense of redressing it on the other." Of this, he says, every man shall judge of himself. But Paley appears never to have contemplated those cases to which the rule of expediency does not apply, in which a people as well as an individual, must do justice, cost what it may. If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself. This, according to Paley, would be inconvenient. But he that would save his life, in such a case, shall lose it. This people must cease to hold slaves and make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people.
In their practice, nations agree with Paley; but does anyone think that Massachusetts does exactly what is right at the present crisis?
A drab of state, a cloth-o'-silver slut,
To have her train borne up, and her soul trail in the dirt'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'According to MLive.com, 308 of the 792 cities and townships that passed Proposal 1 in November have prohibited recreational marijuana businesses.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/local-recreational-marijuana-bans-in-michigan-could-hurt-legal-sales/
'A few things that do not work well should be phased out, including the excessively detailed labelling of cannabis products, a cap on the THC percentage that is permitted in such products and overzealous drug-awareness campaigns and messaging. These measures have had the opposite of their intended effects. The priority should be to facilitate research, which will help to inform education and policy agendas as the cannabis industry takes root.
Incremental progress is being made in pursuing policies that support crucial medical research that might unearth discoveries that could benefit millions of people and protect public health, in both the United States and abroad. Here’s to a dab of optimism about what the future could hold.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02531-6
In their practice, nations agree with Paley; but does anyone think that Massachusetts does exactly what is right at the present crisis?
A drab of state, a cloth-o'-silver slut,
To have her train borne up, and her soul trail in the dirt'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'According to MLive.com, 308 of the 792 cities and townships that passed Proposal 1 in November have prohibited recreational marijuana businesses.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/local-recreational-marijuana-bans-in-michigan-could-hurt-legal-sales/
'A few things that do not work well should be phased out, including the excessively detailed labelling of cannabis products, a cap on the THC percentage that is permitted in such products and overzealous drug-awareness campaigns and messaging. These measures have had the opposite of their intended effects. The priority should be to facilitate research, which will help to inform education and policy agendas as the cannabis industry takes root.
Incremental progress is being made in pursuing policies that support crucial medical research that might unearth discoveries that could benefit millions of people and protect public health, in both the United States and abroad. Here’s to a dab of optimism about what the future could hold.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02531-6
'Junk is a cellular equation that teaches the user facts of general validity. I have learned a great deal from using junk: I have seen life measured out in eyedroppers of morphine solution. I experienced the agonizing deprivation of junk sickness, and the pleasure of relief when junk-thirsty cells drank from the needle. Perhaps all pleasure is relief. I have learned the cellular stoicism that junk teaches the user. I have seen a cell full of sick junkies silent and immobile in separate misery. They knew the pointlessness of complaining or moving. They knew that basically no one can help anyone else. There is no key, no secret someone else has that he can give you.' - Prologue, Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'And no matter the outcome, the study will do little to curb people selling CBD products. If the pudding does do something, CBD oil brands will have a paper to add to their marketing arsenal. If the special puddling doesn’t do anything for people with chronic pain, it will be easy to ignore; manufacturers can easily word claims about products’ benefits vaguely enough to avoid out-and-out false advertising. But more importantly, once something is in the public imagination as being useful, it’s hard to oust it. CBD has benefited from early studies that suggest legitimate uses from pain management to anxiety to insomnia. It doesn’t matter much that these are typically small, and often in rodents. There’s also the simple fact that it comes from marijuana; that it would do something positive seems logical, in the same way that buying face creams boasting antioxidants seems logical, even though they may only wind up being present in trace amounts. One only really has to note that a product has CBD in order to sell it. '
https://slate.com/technology/2019/09/unfortunately-the-cbd-horse-is-pretty-definitively-out-of-the-barn-so-to-speak.html
'Republics abound in young citizens who believe that the laws make the
city, that grave modification of the policy and modes of living and
employments of the population, that commerce, education and religion may
be voted in or out; and that any measure, though it were absurd, may be
imposed on a people if only you can get sufficient voices to make it a
law. But the wise know that foolish legislation is a rope of sand which
perishes in the twisting; that the State must follow and not lead the
character and progress of the citizen; the strongest usurper is quickly
got rid of; and they only who build on Ideas, build for eternity; and
that the form of government which prevails is the expression of what
cultivation exists in the population which permits it.' - Politics,
Emerson The Basic Writings of America's Sage
'After discussing the data limitations of the study, the authors concluded that “it indeed seems to be the case that legalizing the recreational use of marijuana results in fewer marijuana related arrests and court cases” and that while law enforcement sources voiced various concerns, several “indicated that methamphetamine and heroin were much larger problems for their agencies than was marijuana.”
The team “saw no evidence that marijuana legalization had an impact on indicators in border states,” adding that they “found no indications of increases in arrests related to transportation/trafficking offenses.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/study-funded-by-feds-debunks-myths-about-marijuana-legalizations-alleged-harms/
'Hong Kong police, it's said, fear local youth might discover the
pleasures of grass, and what is currently a minor problem might
mushroom. They quickly grabbed the "killer drug" image of cannabis and
tied it to Lee as an anti-drug message. Lee's image, of course, suffered
for it.' - The Legend of Bruce Lee by Alex Ben Block, 1974
'The study, published in the journal Justice Quarterly and funded by the federal National Institute of Justice, found that violent and property crimes rates were not affected in a statistically significant way in the years after Colorado and Washington State became the first in the nation to legalize marijuana for adult use.
“Our results suggest that marijuana legalization and sales have had minimal to no effect on major crimes in Colorado or Washington,” the paper concluded. “We observed no statistically significant long-term effects of recreational cannabis laws or the initiation of retail sales on violent or property crime rates in these states.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-legalization-doesnt-cause-increased-crime-federally-funded-study-finds/
'“I believe that it is important for me to be clear from the outset that the UK government has no plans to change the law to allow the establishment of such facilities in the UK,” he said in a letter to the Holyrood public health minister, Joe FitzPatrick, according to the Scotsman. “There are, however, many areas where we can work productively together.”'
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/07/britains-minister-responsible-for-drug-policy-replaced-victoria-atkins
'A searing, on-the-ground look at President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly campaign against suspected drug dealers and users in the Philippines, “On the President’s Orders” is told with unprecedented access to the police themselves. It offers a gripping, visually stunning window into the war on drugs — those carrying it out, and those most impacted by it.'
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/on-the-presidents-orders/
'To date, 34 states and the District of Columbia have adopted medical cannabis laws, or MCLs, which legalize either home cultivation or dispensary-based sales of cannabis for qualifying medical conditions.
The researchers want to determine if MCLs alter the health behaviors of people living with chronic pain and whether they substitute or reduce traditional pain treatments while using medical cannabis.
The research project is funded by a $3.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a branch of the National Institutes of Health.'
https://news.uga.edu/researchers-to-study-medical-cannabis-and-chronic-pain/
'It will afford
no security from the new ideas, that the old nations, the laws of
centuries, the property and institutions of a hundred cities, are built
on other foundations. The demon of reform has a secret door into the
heart of every lawmaker, of every inhabitant of every city. The fact
that a new thought and hope have dawned in your breast, should apprize
you that in the same hour a new light broke in upon a thousand private
hearts. That secret which you should fain keep - as soon as you go
abroad, lo! there is one standing on the doorstep to tell you the same.'
- Man the Reformer, Emerson, The Basic Writings of America's Sage
'That means a gram of cannabis purchased in the illicit market was 45% cheaper on average than marijuana bought in the regulated market.
It shows Canada’s illicit market is staying competitive with the regulated market on price.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/price-gap-grows-in-canada-between-legal-illicit-cannabis/
'It has also been submitted that while enacting the NDPS Act, the government failed to consider the medicinal benefits of the drug, including its effect as an analgesic, its role in fighting cancer, reducing nausea, and increasing appetite in HIV patients.'
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/delhi-high-court-seeks-centres-take-on-use-of-cannabis-after-a-petition-challenges-ndps-act
'That means a gram of cannabis purchased in the illicit market was 45% cheaper on average than marijuana bought in the regulated market.
It shows Canada’s illicit market is staying competitive with the regulated market on price.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/price-gap-grows-in-canada-between-legal-illicit-cannabis/
'It has also been submitted that while enacting the NDPS Act, the government failed to consider the medicinal benefits of the drug, including its effect as an analgesic, its role in fighting cancer, reducing nausea, and increasing appetite in HIV patients.'
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/delhi-high-court-seeks-centres-take-on-use-of-cannabis-after-a-petition-challenges-ndps-act
'In practice, pushing weed is a headache. To begin with, weed is bulky. You need a full suitcase to realize any money. If the cops start kicking your door in, then you are like with a bale of alfalfa.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Federal agriculture officials will delay the requirement that all THC testing on hemp crops must be performed at laboratories registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
And food and drug regulators say it’s a “fool’s errand” to get people to stop taking over-the-counter CBD'
https://hempindustrydaily.com/usda-drops-dea-testing-requirement-while-fda-acknowledges-demand-for-cbd/
- 'Since 2011, interceptions of cannabis along U.S. borders have fallen 89%, reflecting the convergence of changing social, economic, and legal developments.
- The southern border continues to account for almost all the interceptions (99%), though it has also seen the steepest decline (90%) of them since 2011.
- The decrease in southern interceptions is likely attributable to a range of factors: falling demand for illicit cannabis in states with legal medical and adult use programs, less appeal for traditionally lower-quality cannabis from Mexico or other southern countries than for domestically cultivated products, and increased border enforcement efforts raising the risk of interdiction.
- Conversely, interceptions at the norther border increased 113% between 2018 and 2019, reflecting Canada’s nationwide adult-use legalization in 2018 and the appeal of its reputed high-quality cannabis.
- The data suggest that legalization is having a major disruptive effect on international cannabis smuggling operations aimed at the U.S., and underscores American consumer preference for regulated cannabis products where available and competitively priced'
'During a presentation Thursday for the International Narcotics Control Board’s (INCB) 2019 annual report, President Cornelis P. de Joncheere discussed the developments taking place with regard to cannabis and synthetic drugs.
“We have some fundamental issues around the conventions that state parties will need to start looking at,” he said, adding, “We have to recognize that the conventions were drawn up 50 and 60 years ago.”
Joncheere said 2021 is “an appropriate time to look at whether those are still fit for purpose, or whether we need new alternative instruments and approaches to deal with these problems.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/in-major-shift-un-drug-chief-questions-whether-control-treaties-involving-cannabis-are-out-of-date/
'And therefore the transformation of human life (through which those in
power will renounce power and there will be none anxious to seize it)
will not come about solely by all men consciously and separately
assimilating a Christian conception of life, but will come when a
Christian public opinion so definite and comprehensive as to reach
everybody has arisen and subdued the whole inert mass which is not able
to attain the truth by its own intuition and is therefore always swayed
by public opinion.
Such public opinion does not need hundreds and thousands of years for its formation and growth, for it possesses an infectious quality of acting on people and attracting collective masses with great rapidity.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Such public opinion does not need hundreds and thousands of years for its formation and growth, for it possesses an infectious quality of acting on people and attracting collective masses with great rapidity.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'A majority of Americans say that adult-use marijuana legalization has been a success in those states that have implemented it, according to nationwide polling compiled by YouGov.com.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said that statewide laws allowing recreational marijuana use have been either fully or mostly successful. Nineteen percent of respondents said that the laws have been largely unsuccessful. Twenty-six percent voiced no opinion. '
https://norml.org/news/2020/04/23/poll-majority-of-americans-say-adult-use-legalization-policies-have-been-a-success
Hey junkie, this dope is not against you. Of course he believes that his dope is a much better intoxicant, more versatile medicine and more useful to the planet than your junk but that doesn't mean he intends to ban your junk in retribution for you helping to get his dope banned. What he does want, however, is that you start growing your own plant at home like him. In this way, you source your junk directly from the plant instead of putting money in the pockets of chemists who increasingly make more and more toxic stuff that destroy you, me and the planet. Your money is making the chemist pay the government to arm itself and protect him while pushing you and me closer to death. Growing your own plant will give you organic healthy junk in the best possible way, directly from the plant, like how it used to be for thousands of years, making you sustainable and the planet sustainable..yes, you can go green too..don't remain snowblind..we need your eyes too, to steer the planet away from man-made chemical disaster...
'In 2013, the Government of Uruguay approved legislation (Law No. 19.172) regulating the cultivation, production, dispensing and use of cannabis for different purposes, including non-medical use. In accordance with the legislation, Uruguayan citizens or foreigners with permanent residence aged 18 and older can obtain cannabis for non-medical purposes by registering with the national Institute for the Regulation and Control of Cannabis and by choosing one of three options: (a) purchase in authorized pharmacies; (b) membership of a club; or (c) domestic cultivation. The quantity of cannabis permitted per person, obtained through any of the three mechanisms, cannot exceed 480 g per year. Initially, the Government of Uruguay set THC content at 2 per cent and CBD content at 6–7 per cent. In 2017, the Government introduced two new varieties, with a maximum THC content of 9 per cent and CBD content of no less than 3 per cent.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'In 1937, weed was placed under the Harrison Narcotics Act. Narcotics authorities claim it is a habit-forming drug, that its use is injurious to mind and body, and that it causes the people who use it to commit crimes. Here are the facts: Weed is positively not habit forming. You can smoke weed for years and you will experience no discomfort if your supply is cut off. I have seen tea heads in jail and none of them showed withdrawal symptoms. I have smoked weed myself off and on for fifteen years, and never missed it when I ran out. There is less habit to weed than there is to tobacco. Weed does not harm the general health. In fact. most users claim it gives you an appetite and acts as a tonic to the system. I do not know of any other agent that gives as definite a boot to the appetite. I can smoke a stick of tea and enjoy a glass of California sherry and a hash house meal.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The socialists, communists, and anarchists, with their bombs, riots,
and revolutions, are not nearly so much dreaded by governments as the
scattered individuals in various countries all justifying their refusals
on the ground of one and the same familiar doctrine. Every government
knows how and with what to defend itself against revolutionaries, and
has the means of doing so, and therefore does not dread these external
foes. But what are governments to do against these people who show the
uselessness, superfluity, and harmfulness of all governments, and
instead of contending with them merely show that they do not need them,
that they can get along without them and are therefore unwilling to take
part in them?'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'A study on the impact of cannabis legalization on alcohol sales in Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the three states with the longest history of legal nonmedical use of cannabis, showed that there was no evidence that legalization had had any impact on the sale of spirits or on total alcohol sales, which are generally considered a good proxy for alcohol consumption in the United States. The study showed that the per capita sale of spirits had increased by 3.6 per cent in Oregon, 5.4 per cent in Washington and 7.6 per cent in Colorado in 2018, after the measures allowing the non-medical use of cannabis were implemented in those states. Consistent with national trends, per capita sales of beer had declined by 3.6 per cent in Colorado, 2.3 per cent in Washington and 3.6 per cent in Oregon. The sale of wine increased by 0.7 per cent in Oregon, declined by 3.1 per cent in Washington and increased by 3.2 per cent in Colorado. Overall, per capita sales of alcoholic beverages were fairly stable, as they increased by 1.7 per cent in Colorado, declined by 0.2 per cent in Washington and declined by 0.5 per cent in Oregon' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'More than half of the studies, however, have shown that cannabis and alcohol are substitutes, meaning that the increased use of one substance reduces the use of the other. Other researchers have also suggested that cannabis, especially cannabis for medical use, may serve as a substitute for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, including prescription drugs.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority [governments] are permitted, and for a long period continue, is not because they are most likely to be in the right nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience? - in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable? Must a citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A common and natural result of an undue respect for the law is that you may see a file of soldiers: colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their will, aye, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart. They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are concerned; they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they? Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty.
'A contentious issue between people who are for and against the legalization of cannabis remains whether it has had an impact on driving under the influence of cannabis and caused fatal car crashes. The evidence remains inconclusive, as within the United States there have been no differences in cannabis- or alcohol-related traffic fatalities between states that have and have not legalized the non-medical use of cannabis. As different research contributions have also shown, it is difficult to quantify the effects of cannabis on road accidents, as cannabis is often used in combination with alcohol, which increases the challenge of determining the influence of cannabis itself on road traffic accidents. Moreover, studies on THC levels and degrees of impairment have found that the level of THC in the blood and the degree of impairment do not appear to be closely related; peak impairment does not occur when THC concentration in the blood is at or near peak levels.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Thus, through the circumstances of their lives, and the nature of our own wants, all these have been our allies in keeping the balance of nature tilted in our favor. Yet we have turned our artillery against our friends. The terrible danger is that we have grossly underestimated their value in keeping at bay a dark tide of enemies that, without their help, can overrun us.
The prospect of a general and permanent lowering of environmental resistance becomes grimly and increasingly real with each passing year as the number, variety, and destructiveness of insecticides grows. With the passing of time we may expect progressively more serious outbreaks of insects, both disease-carrying and crop-destroying species, in excess of anything we have ever known.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'While the daily or near-daily use of cannabis among high-school students in Colorado has declined, the prevalence of occasional users, that is, those who report having used cannabis one or two times in the past month, has increased since legalization. Nevertheless, 4.7 per cent of high-school students reported using cannabis daily or nearly daily (20 or more times in the past 30 days) in 2017. Moreover, although the share of high-school students smoking cannabis declined from 92 per cent in 2015 to 84 per cent in 2017, there was an increase in the share of those who reported using edibles with high THC content (from 28 per cent in 2015 to 36 per cent in 2017) or “dabbing” cannabis extracts and concentrates (from 28 per cent in 2015 to 34 per cent in 2017) in the past month.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'One concern about legalizing the non-medical use of cannabis for adults (21 years and older) is that its use could also increase access to cannabis and its use among adolescents. Based on national data, cannabis use among high-school students remained stable overall, whereas the risk perception of the occasional use of cannabis declined in the United States over the period 2012–2018. In Colorado, although there has been a decline in daily or near-daily use of cannabis among high-school students, they are now consuming and exposed to cannabis products with far higher THC content than was available or used earlier. In 2017, about 20 per cent of high-school students in Colorado reported non-medical use of cannabis in the past month; that rate is comparable to the national average among high-school students.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Colorado and Washington were the first two states in the United States to legalize the production of cannabis for non-medical use, in 2012. However, prior to legalization, those states and others, such as California, had various regimes in place that permitted or tolerated the production and sale of cannabis for medical use, which allowed people with a range of conditions that were not well-defined to gain access to cannabis. The states of Colorado and Washington, for which more long-term trend data are available, are interesting case studies for examining the public health and public safety outcomes that have emerged in the years since the production of cannabis for non-medical use was legalized.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The
idea after which each community is aiming to make and mend its law, is
the will of the wise man. The wise man it cannot find in nature, and it
makes awkward but earnest efforts to secure his government by
contrivance; as by causing the entire people to give their voices on
every measure; or by a double choice to get the representation of the
whole; or by a selection of the best citizens; or to secure the
advantages of efficiency and internal peace by confiding the government
to one, who may himself elect his agents. All forms of government
symbolize an immortal government, common to all dynasties and
independent of numbers, perfect where two men exist, perfect where there
is only one man.' - Politics, Emerson The Basic Writings of America's
Sage
'In addition to Vermont, Illinois is another state in which measures allowing the non-medical use of cannabis were passed through the state legislature rather than through voters’ initiatives, as was the case in the other states that have legalized the nonmedical use of cannabis. In May 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which was signed by the state Governor in June. The sale of cannabis for non-medical use began on 1 January 2020. Under the law, adults aged 21 and older are allowed to purchase and possess up to 30 g of cannabis flower, edibles with a maximum of 500 mg of THC, or 5 g of cannabis concentrates. Non-residents of Illinois will be allowed to purchase half of those amounts. As in some other states, individual cities, villages and municipalities have the option to decide whether to allow the non-medical use of cannabis in their jurisdictions by passing ordinances. Nonetheless, local governments may neither prohibit home cultivation of cannabis nor “unreasonably prohibit” its non-medical use.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'In the United States, a total of 33 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, had approved or had in place a comprehensive programme for medical cannabis by the end of 2019. As at December 2019, 11 state-level jurisdictions in the United States, plus the District of Columbia, allowed the nonmedical use of cannabis, and most also allowed commercial production by for-profit industry. It is worth noting that all the states that have legalized the non-medical use of cannabis previously had measures in place permitting the medical use of cannabis.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Weed does not inspire anyone to
commit crimes. I have never seen anyone get nasty under the influence
of weed. Tea heads are a sociable lot. Too sociable for my liking. I
cannot understand why the people who claim weed causes crime do not
follow through and demand the outlawing of alcohol. Every day, crimes
are committed by drunks who would not have committed the crime sober.' -
Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The sale of non-medical cannabis through legal sources represents only a portion of the cannabis market, as it appears that a substantial proportion of users still rely on illegal sources to obtain cannabis (42 per cent in 2019). Moreover, cannabis prices on the illegal market have remained considerably lower (and have been declining) compared with the prices on the legal market. In the second quarter of 2019, based on 236 submissions, the average price per gram of cannabis on the legal market was Can$10.65, compared with Can$5.93 per gram on the illegal market.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'In most provinces, the retail licensing regime is similar to that regulating the sale of liquor, and cannabis is sold through licensed retailers (private sector), provincial retail stores (public sector) and online. Many provinces have adopted a hybrid model that allows either public or private physical retail outlets together with online retail controlled by regulatory authorities, or a combination of all three. With the exception of the Nunavut territory, all the provinces and territories allow retail sales of cannabis products online. British Columbia and Yukon are the only province and territory that allow all three modes, while Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan have allowed private bricks-and-mortar retail stores.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'According to the new cannabis regulations, the federal Government of Canada is responsible for setting the requirements for those who grow and produce cannabis, including the types of cannabis products available for sale. For example, the regulations were amended in October 2019 to allow the production and sale of edible cannabis, cannabis extracts and topicals, and the sale of those products began gradually from December 2019. The provincial and territorial governments, for their part, are Responsible for developing, implementing, maintaining and enforcing systems to oversee the distribution and sale of cannabis.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Why does the spider mite appear to thrive on insecticides? Besides the obvious fact that it is relatively insensitive to them, there seems to be two other reasons. In nature it is kept in check by various predators such as ladybugs, a gall midge, predaceous mites and several pirate bugs, all of them extremely senstitive to insecticides. The third reason has to do with population pressure within the spider mite colonies. An undisturbed colony of mites is a densely settled community, huddled under a protective webbing for concealment from its enemies. When sprayed, the colonies disperse as the mites, irritated though not killed by the chemicals, scatter out in search of places where they will not be disturbed. In so doing they find a far greater abundance of space and food than was available in the former colonies. Their enemies are now dead so there is no need for the mites to spend their energy in secreting protective webbing. Instead, they pour all their energies into producing more mites. It is not uncommon for their egg production to be increased threefold - all through the beneficient effect of insecticides.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'In 2019, young people aged 15–24 were more likely than those in older age groups to obtain cannabis from illegal sources, whereas a larger share of older cannabis users relied solely on legal sources; 41 per cent of cannabis users aged 65 or older reported using only legal sources to obtain cannabis, compared with roughly one quarter of the other age groups.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The transition from the illegal market to legal sources of cannabis has been a gradual one. The proportion of cannabis users sourcing their products from the legal market increased from around 25 per cent in the second and third quarters of 2018 to about 50 per cent one year later, and in 2019 nearly 30 per cent relied solely on the legal market for their cannabis (compared with 10 per cent in 2018). Many users relied on multiple sources to obtain their cannabis, with about 40 per cent of cannabis users still getting their product from illegal sources.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Quite independently of any man's opinion as to whether chicks are
mature enough for him to drive the mother-hen away from the nest and let
them come out of their shells, the question will be indisputably
settled by the birds themselves when, unable any longer to find room
enough in the shells, they begin to peck with their beaks and come out
of their own accord.
It is the same in regard to whether the time has or has not come to do away with governmental authority and substitute a new type of society. If, through the growth of a higher consciousness, men no longer comply with the demands of the State, if they no longer find sufficient room in it and at the same time no longer need its protection, then the question whether they have matured sufficiently to discard the State form of life is decided from quite a different side - just as in the case of chicks that break out of their shells into which no power on earth can make them return - by the men themselves who have outgrown the State and whom no power on earth can replace in it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
It is the same in regard to whether the time has or has not come to do away with governmental authority and substitute a new type of society. If, through the growth of a higher consciousness, men no longer comply with the demands of the State, if they no longer find sufficient room in it and at the same time no longer need its protection, then the question whether they have matured sufficiently to discard the State form of life is decided from quite a different side - just as in the case of chicks that break out of their shells into which no power on earth can make them return - by the men themselves who have outgrown the State and whom no power on earth can replace in it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'The objectives of the current cannabis legislation in Canada are to keep cannabis away from young people (under 18 years of age), to prevent criminals from profiting from the distribution and sale of cannabis and to safeguard public health and safety by allowing adults (aged 18 and older) legal access to cannabis. Under the constitutional division of powers in Canada, the federal Government and provincial governments have different responsibilities. As the provinces historically developed their own systems to regulate the sale of alcohol, a similar approach has been applied to regulate the non-medical use of cannabis products.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'When you're sick, music is a great help. Once, in Texas, I kicked a habit on weed, a pint of paregoric and a few Louis Armstrong records.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953 - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'In general, the drugs are delivered by public or private postal services, presumably without their knowledge, although the drugs may also be hidden in locations that are secretly communicated to the buyer. Parcels are often sent to anonymous post office boxes, including automated lockers for self-service collection. In jurisdictions with strong secrecy-of-correspondence laws, which typically apply to letters, drugs are often dispatched in letters. In some countries, drugs purchased on the darknet are thus preferably posted in letters to destinations within the poster’s own country. This has also prompted some darknet vendors to transport letters containing drugs across the border into neighbouring countries in order to post them within the client’s destination country and avoid detection.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The main characteristic and comparative advantage of darknet markets is their perceived anonymity, in particular the physical anonymity of those who do business on such markets. Purchasing drugs on those markets does not necessarily require physical contact, which reduces the inhibitions of some customers who might otherwise be reticent to interact personally with drug dealers. In addition, the customer does not have to go to dangerous places to buy drugs. Darknet trafficking also overcomes the challenge of sellers and buyers having to be in the same location; thus, organizations that traffic drugs over the darknet do not need to have the critical mass of customers necessary to sustain a local market.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
Fundamental to programming is the avoidance of hard coding values that are likely to change, that need translation and that need to be used in different functions based on varying conditions. This is to avoid duplication, ambiguity and re-programming. These values are kept in configuration files that are accessed and amended as needed. This is even more true for medicines that need to be controlled based on nature of harm and use. The idea of globally agreed lists of medicines with harmful substances requiring tight control is good provided laws regarding these are universal, fair and consistent at regional, country or state levels. A key operational issue is that even these global lists are not updated fast enough considering the latest scientific knowledge and that new harmful synthetic substances are rapidly churned out of pharmacy labs. Worse, natural cannabis, peyote, psilcybin, etc. proven over thousands of years to be much more safer in their natural form than the recently created synthetic drugs, continue to remain in these global lists, significantly hampering their objective and efficiency, diverting precious resources and greatly damaging global public health. The Indian NDPS Act is like one of the worst examples of programming with a list of substances hard coded into it and a bunch of rules copy pasted around it, existing over and above the IPC. 20kgs of hashish or 500g of THC will get you the death sentence. Fentanyls, the leading cause of global drug overdose deaths, synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones, etc. are not even on the list...
Jul 21, 2020, 4:09 PM
'Rather than calling for cannabis to be rescheduled and decriminalized, the Biden campaign should pledge to de-schedule and legalize the plant. Only by removing marijuana from the CSA [Controlled Substances Act] in a manner similar to alcohol (which is unscheduled under federal law) can the government amend federal marijuana policy in a manner that comports with state laws, public opinion, scientific consensus, and the plant’s rapidly evolving cultural status. And only via legalization can state and local regulators impose necessary controls, oversight, and best practices to the marijuana market.
This why candidate Biden should join with many of his Democratic colleagues – such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) — in support of HR 3884/S 2227: The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act. The Act, which passed the House Judiciary Committee late last fall, removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act so that states, not the federal government, possess the flexibility and authority to regulate cannabis within their borders as best they see fit — without the threat of undue federal interference.'
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/506721-bidens-marijuana-plan-is-out-of-step-with-public-opinion
'The process is part of an experiment in the Netherlands to legalize for the first time – though it’s limited in scope and time – the production of marijuana destined to be sold in coffee shops.
Only applicants that demonstrate the capability to cultivate at a large scale – a minimum of 6,500 kilograms (14,330 pounds) per year – will be considered.
But the government’s newly released FAQ specifies that the winners won’t necessarily have to grow that amount.
Up to 10 growers will be selected to supply roughly 80 coffee shops in 10 municipalities during a period of at least four years.
The government estimates a minimum production of 65,000 kilograms per year will be needed, considering that each of the 80 coffee shops has an average turnover of about 1 kilogram per day – 20% of which is hashish.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/netherlands-clarifies-process-for-applications-to-grow-legal-adult-use-cannabis/
'But not only do all men involved in the State organization throw the
responsibility for their acts on one another - the soldier on the
nobleman or merchant who is his officer, and the officer on the nobleman
who occupies the post of Governor, and the Governor on the gentleman or
son of an official who holds the post of minister, and the minister on
the member of the royal family who occupies the position of the Tsar,
and the Tsar again on all those officials, nobles, merchants, and
peasants - not only do people free themselves in this way from the sense
of responsibility for their actions, but they also lose their moral
consciousness of responsibility because, being involved in a State
organization, they so unceasingly, strenuously, and persistently assure
themselves and one another that they are not all equal, but different
among themselves "as one star differeth from another", that they begin
to really believe this. Thus some are persuaded that they are not simple
people like other folk but are special beings who ought to be specially
honoured. And it is instilled into others by all possible means that
they are inferior creatures, and should therefore uncomplainingly submit
to what those above them dictate.
This inequality, this exaltation of some and degradation of others, is the chief cause of men's capacity to ignore the irrationality and cruelty and wickedness of the existing order, as well as the deception practised by some and suffered by others.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
This inequality, this exaltation of some and degradation of others, is the chief cause of men's capacity to ignore the irrationality and cruelty and wickedness of the existing order, as well as the deception practised by some and suffered by others.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'“The evidence described in the present systematic review indicates that CBD is a promising adjunct therapy for the treatment of cocaine dependence due to its effect on cocaine consumption, brain reward, anxiety, related contextual memories, neuroadaptations and hepatic protection as well as its anticonvulsant effect and safety,” the study authors concluded.
“The clinical administration of CBD leads to a reduction in the self-administration of cocaine and, consequently, the amount of the drug consumed. Moreover, the reward induced by cocaine is blunted by CBD treatment.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/cbd-is-a-promising-therapy-in-treating-cocaine-misuse-meta-study-finds/
'But to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step towards obtaining it.'
- Civil Disobedience, Henry D Thoreau, Selected Writings on Nature and Liberty
'With revenue of $10.6 billion-$13 billion in 2019, sales of legal adult-use and medical marijuana in the United States topped spending on sleep aids, hard seltzer and toothpaste combined.
Total marijuana sales now exceed the National Basketball Association’s annual U.S. revenue and, by 2024, could surpass Americans’ annual spending on craft beer.
The data – published in the 2020 edition of the Marijuana Business Factbook – underscores the fact that the U.S. cannabis industry is already a major economic force, even though it has yet to reach its full potential.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-retail-cannabis-sales-surpass-nba-revenue-approach-prescription-pain-meds/
'With revenue of $10.6 billion-$13 billion in 2019, sales of legal adult-use and medical marijuana in the United States topped spending on sleep aids, hard seltzer and toothpaste combined.
Total marijuana sales now exceed the National Basketball Association’s annual U.S. revenue and, by 2024, could surpass Americans’ annual spending on craft beer.
The data – published in the 2020 edition of the Marijuana Business Factbook – underscores the fact that the U.S. cannabis industry is already a major economic force, even though it has yet to reach its full potential.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-retail-cannabis-sales-surpass-nba-revenue-approach-prescription-pain-meds/
'Narcotics agents operate largely with the aid of informers. The usual routine is to grab someone with junk on him, and let him stew in jail until he is good and sick. Then comes the spiel:
"We can get you five years for possession. On the other hand, you can walk out of here right now. The decision is up to you. If you work with us, we can give you a good deal. For one thing, plenty of junk and pocket money. That is, if you deliver. Take a few minutes to think it over." - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'“It’s a lot safer than alcohol. It’s safer than narcotics. It ought to be used more widely and we can’t even study it that easily because of the way it’s regulated,” he said. “You know what, I called the DEA—they said, ‘we don’t want this to be illegal. Your government ought to change that. But we got to enforce the law.’ I call the FDA that regulates the drugs, they say, ‘we think it ought to be used, but until the DEA says it’s allowed, we can’t let people prescribe it everywhere.”
While Oz didn’t disclose specifics about his conversations, such as who he spoke to or when the phone calls happened, it is the case that federal marijuana reform outside of Congress falls largely within the jurisdictions of both agencies. And DEA has denied multiple rescheduling requests, justifying the inaction by stating that FDA has determined that cannabis doesn’t have proven medical value and carries a risk of abuse.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dr-oz-claims-dea-and-fda-blame-each-other-for-keeping-marijuana-illegal/
- 'Racial disparities in legal prosecutions and through inequity in wealth serve as barriers to many Black and Brown entrepreneurs.
- Between 2010-2018, despite comparable usage rates Black people were 3.64 times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana possession. (ACLU)
- In 2015, more than 643,000 people were arrested for cannabis violations; 89% were charged only with possession (Cage-Free Cannabis).
- Over the past decade, 15.7 million people have been arrested for marijuana offenses.
- In some states, cannabis arrests preclude participation in the legal industry.
- In 2016, the average wealth of White families was more than $700,000 higher than that of Black or Hispanic families. (Urban Institute).
- In 2017, 81% of business owners/founders in the cannabis industry were White; approximately 4% were Black, and fewer than 6% were Hispanic/Latino. (MJBiz Daily)'
'Fifty years ago, these men who are now feared in Kathmandu’s restaurants would be welcomed at Freak Street in shops called ‘Your Old & Favorite Hashish Centre.’ In the 1960s and early 70s, cheap and potent marijuana drew thousands of hippies to Kathmandu where they could readily buy one-kilogram boxes of the downer at a pittance.
In 1976, mostly under pressure from the American government which was worried about its young citizens becoming dope addicts, Nepal banned the use and sale of marijuana. The decision had far-reaching implications: the hippies left, tourism was hit, the government lost tax revenue, farmers lost a lucrative cash crop, and the trade in hash went underground, criminalising a legitimate livelihood.
In fact it is said that one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the Maoist revolution in 1996 was that the government’s ban on the production of cannabis was so stringent that it angered the Kham Magars who cultivated it as a major cash crop.'
http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/marijuana-high-time-to-lift-ban,2548
'When whole nations have sometimes submitted to a new religious creed,
and become Christians or Mohammedans, these conversions have been
accomplished not because men wielding power rendered them compulsory by
violence (on the contrary, violence has more often acted in the contrary
direction) but because public opinion made such a change inevitable.
Nations forced by violence to accept the faith of their conquerors have
always remained antagonistic to it.
And it is the same with savage elements existing in our society. Neither the increase or decrease of the severity of the punishments, nor modifications of the prison system, nor increase of the police, either diminish or increase the quantity of crime. Changes occur only in consequence of changes in the moral standard of society. No severities have eradicated duelling and blood-fueds in certain countries. No matter how many Circassians were executed for robbery, they continued to rob out of bravado because no maiden would marry a young man who had not shown his daring by stealing a horse or at least a sheep. If men cease to fight duels and the Circassians cease to rob, it is not from fear of punishment (indeed that makes the bravado more attractive), but through a change in public opinion. And it is the same with all other crimes. Violence can never destroy what is sanctioned by public opinion. On the contrary, public opinion need only be directly opposed to violence to neutralize its whole effect, as has been shown by all martyrdoms both past and present.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
And it is the same with savage elements existing in our society. Neither the increase or decrease of the severity of the punishments, nor modifications of the prison system, nor increase of the police, either diminish or increase the quantity of crime. Changes occur only in consequence of changes in the moral standard of society. No severities have eradicated duelling and blood-fueds in certain countries. No matter how many Circassians were executed for robbery, they continued to rob out of bravado because no maiden would marry a young man who had not shown his daring by stealing a horse or at least a sheep. If men cease to fight duels and the Circassians cease to rob, it is not from fear of punishment (indeed that makes the bravado more attractive), but through a change in public opinion. And it is the same with all other crimes. Violence can never destroy what is sanctioned by public opinion. On the contrary, public opinion need only be directly opposed to violence to neutralize its whole effect, as has been shown by all martyrdoms both past and present.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'“Marijuana is less habit forming than opiates and carries virtually no risk of fatal overdose, thus it has been wrongly classified,” says Rajiv Kafle, a prominent legalisation activist. “Moreover, when the drug was banned it was done without proper scientific research. Studies have shown that the chemical cannabidiol found in marijuana has beneficial medical properties.”
Activists also say that marijuana can help control crime and wean the dependency on other hard drugs. The most vivid proof of that is KC, who did heroin for 22 years. He says marijuana coul be added to harm reduction in drug rehab in Nepal if it was available legally.
“Take it from me, marijuana was my saviour. It made my pain bearable and took away my addiction to heroin. Believe me, many heroin addicts like me would give up heroin,” says KC. Activists say that legalising marijuana will help patients to get high quality cannabis for their conditions, and by regulating the drug, the government can keep a tab on the criminality associated with it.'
https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/undo-hash-ban,3657
'Kathmandu had become a haven for anti-war ‘peaceniks’, draft dodgers, and Vietnam veterans. White House recordings from the early 1970s reveal Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warning Nixon: “They come from Nepal to demonstrate against you because up there they can get free pot … or at least it is legal.”
Banning cannabis drove the cultivation and use of this important cash crop underground and into the hands of organised criminals with police and political protection. Nepal’s subsistence farmers were pushed deeper into poverty, and may even have sparked the Maoist revolution in later years.
Campaigners in Kathmandu now see no reason why Nepal should keep the ban when the Americans who forced it on Nepal have legalised it in 25 states for medical and commercial purposes.'
https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-grass-is-greener-in-nepal/
'The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) said that its recommendation is motivated by an interest in reducing overdose deaths and promoting treatment. This announcement comes two years after the organization created a commission tasked with studying decriminalization, the results of which were released in a new report.
“Canada continues to grapple with the fentanyl crisis and a poisoned drug supply that has devastated our communities and taken thousands of lives,” CACP President Adam Palmer said in a press release. “We recommend that enforcement for possession give way to an integrated health-focussed approach that requires partnerships between police, healthcare and all levels of government.“'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-canadian-police-association-says-its-time-to-decriminalize-all-drugs/
'An analysis of NPS reported to UNODC suggests increasing diversification in the NPS market until 2015, followed by a trend towards stabilization in the number of new substances arriving on the market in individual countries, at an overall rate of more than 500 NPS per year, with 528 synthetic NPS and 13 plant-based NPS reported in 2018. While there was a decrease in the number of new synthetic cannabinoids arriving on markets worldwide over the 2014–2018 period, the number of NPS with stimulant effects increased, and the number of newly emerging NPS with opioid effects rose sharply, from 7 substances in 2014 to 48 in 2018. That increase represents a rise from 2 per cent of all NPS in 2014 to 9 per cent in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The current vogue for poisons has failed utterly to take into account these most fundamental considerations. As crude a weapon as the cave man's club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life - a fabric on the one hand delicate and destructible, on the other miraculously tough and resilient, and capable of striking back in unexpected ways. These extraordinary capacities have been ignored by the practitioners of chemical control who have brought to their task no 'high-minded orientation', no humility before the vast forces with which they tamper.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'According to the Blue Grass Law of Kentucky, any "known user of narcotic drugs can be sentenced to the county jail for one year, with the alternative of taking the cure in Lexington."' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'In March 2019, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs decided to schedule four substances (all fentanyl analogues) under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol and a further five substances under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, thus raising the total number of psychoactive substances under international control to 282 as at the end of 2019. By comparison, the number of NPS identified by authorities worldwide and reported to UNODC is already more than three times that figure, having reached a total of 950 in December 2019, up from 892 in December 2018 and 166 in 2009.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Where data are available, they show a steady decline in the use of NPS in Europe, but such substances have established themselves in some marginalized groups in society, such as the homeless or people in prison, among whom the smoking of synthetic cannabinoids has been identified as a problem. In Europe, the use of NPS in prisons was reported by 22 countries, with synthetic cannabinoids identified as posing the main challenge and health risks (16 countries), whereas the use of synthetic cathinones in prisons was reported by 10 countries, NPS with opioid effects by six, and new benzodiazepines by four countries. In Latvia, the use of synthetic opioids in prisons has also been linked to an increase in overdose cases and in injecting drugs and sharing needles among prisoners who use drugs.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Data on the United States also indicate a marked decline in the use of NPS. In particular, the prevalence of synthetic cannabinoid use among twelfth-grade students fell from 11.4 per cent in 2011 to 3.3 per cent in 2019. Similarly, the use of ketamine fell from 1.7 to 0.7 per cent over the same period, and the use of “bath salts” (synthetic cathinones) dropped from 1.3 per cent in 2012 to 0.6 per cent in 2018, the most recent year for which data are available. This happened in the context of a deterioration in the reputation of many of those substances among young people, in parallel to several waves of controls of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones at the national level during the 2010–2012 period and later at the global level, as well as the control of ketamine at the national level in 1999. Over the 2000–2019 period, the annual prevalence of ketamine non-medical use among twelfth-grade high-school students fell drastically, from 2.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'After marked increases over the 2009-2012 period, the overall quantities of synthetic NPS seized have shown a downward trend since 2012, most notably when they fell from 44 tons in 2017 to 10 tons in 2018. This may partly reflect the fact that some of the most widely used and most harmful NPS have been put under national and international control in recent years and therefore, according to the current definition, no longer belong to the NPS category. Moreover, a number of countries in North America, Europe and Oceania, where major markets for NPS are located, have introduced various controls on NPS trade in recent years. In parallel, China, which is frequently mentioned as the main country of origin or departure for various synthetic NPS (with 27 per cent of all such mentions over the 2014–2018 period, ahead of India with 10 per cent), has introduced controls in various waves on the manufacture of and trade in such substances. This and other developments appear to have had an impact on the proliferation of NPS at the global level, reducing the quantities of those substances on key markets.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'About this time an anti-narcotics drive hit the town. The chief of police said, "This drive is going to continue as long as there is a single violator left in the city." The State legislators drew up a law making it a crime to be a drug addict. They did not specify where or when or what they meant by drug addict.
The cops began stopping addicts on the street and examining arms for needle marks. If they found marks, they pressured the addict to sign a statement admitting his condition so he could be charged under the "drug addicts law." The addicts were promised a suspended sentence if they would plead guilty and get the new law started. Addicts ransacked their persons looking for places to shoot in outside the arm area. If the law could find no marks on a man they usually let him go. If they found marks they would hold him for seventy-two hours and try to make him sign a statement.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'For the third year in a row, the largest quantities of plant-based NPS [new psychoactive substances] seized in 2018 were of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a substance that has both opioid-like and stimulant-like effects. This was followed by khat, a stimulant, as well as smaller quantities of ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic drink made from the stem and bark of the tropical liana Banisteriopsis caapi and other botanical ingredients, and Salvia divinorum, another hallucinogen, the leaves of which are consumed by chewing or smoking or in the form of a tea. In previous years, the plant-based NPS seized also frequently included kava, which is used to produce a drink with sedative, anaesthetic and euphoriant properties, and Datura stramonium, a hallucinogen. None of those plants are under international control; they are regulated in some jurisdictions only. Kratom, for example, is available online in a number of countries.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The current crisis of fentanyls appears to be more supply-driven than earlier waves of increases in the use of pharmaceutical opioids or heroin. Fentanyls are being used as an adulterant of heroin, are used to make falsified pharmaceutical opioids, such as falsified oxycodone and hydrocodone – and even falsified benzodiazepines – which are sold to a large and unsuspecting population of users of opioids and other drugs; users are not seeking fentanyl as such.
It seems that some local distributors are not able to distinguish between heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl laced heroin, nor between diverted pharmaceutical opioids and falsified opioids containing fentanyl. A general problem with fentanyls is dosing by nonprofessional “pharmacists”, where small mistakes can lead to lethal results. Furthermore, as the overdose death data suggest, even people using cocaine and psychostimulants, such as methamphetamine, are also exposed – probably unintentionally – to fentanyls or other potent synthetic opioids mixed with those substances' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The 'control of nature' is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man. The concepts and practices of applied entomology for the most part date from that Stone Age of science. It is our alarming misfortune that so primitive a science has armed itself with the most modern and terrible weapons, and that in turning them against the insects it has also turned them against the earth.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'All factors driving fentanyl use converged from 2013 onwards in the United States and Canada, which may explain the unprecedented spread of the fentanyls in those markets: factors such as the diffusion of simpler, more effective methods of manufacture of synthetic opioids and their analogues (primarily fentanyls), assisted by the availability on the Internet of instructions for their manufacture; a shift from preparation by a limited number of skilled chemists to preparation by basic “cooks” who could simply follow the posted instructions; the discovery of ever more fentanyl analogues; a lack of effective control of precursors and oversight of the industry; expanding distribution networks that reduced the risk of detection through the use of postal services and the Internet; and increased licit trade including e-commerce.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Unlike other plant-based drugs, for which cultivation and production is concentrated in only a limited number of countries, cannabis is produced in almost all countries worldwide. The cultivation of cannabis plants was reported by 151 countries in the period 2010–2018 – countries home to 96 per cent of the global population – and was reported through either direct indicators (such as the cultivation or eradication of cannabis plants and the eradication of cannabis-producing sites) or indirect indicators (such as seizures of cannabis plants and the origin of cannabis seizures reported by other Member States).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'Most countries do not have a comprehensive system in place for monitoring areas under illicit cannabis cultivation. At present, the information available is insufficient to produce scientifically accurate global estimates of the area under illicit cannabis cultivation. In addition, most of the estimates of the areas under illicit cannabis cultivation reported to UNODC do not generally meet scientific standards.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'Globally, outdoor cannabis cultivation continues to be more widespread geographically than is indoor cannabis cultivation. Overall, 88 countries reported outdoor cannabis cultivation, law enforcement activities linked to outdoor cannabis cultivation (eradication, seizures of cannabis plants, seizures of cannabis-producing sites) or trends related to outdoor cannabis cultivation over the period 2012–2018, while only 64 countries reported data for those activities as linked to indoor cultivation. Some countries reported both indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'The largest quantities of cannabis herb seized in 2018 were those reported in the Americas (61 per cent of the total), with South America alone accounting for 43 per cent of the global total. Of note is the marked decline in the share of seizures made in North America, which had long been the subregion reporting the largest cannabis herb seizures: on average, 50 per cent of the global total over the period 2008–2018, falling to 17 per cent of the global total in 2018, that is, to less than the total for Africa that year (19 per cent). The next largest regional reported seizure totals in 2018 were those for Asia and Europe.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'The quantity of cannabis herb seized in 2018 declined by 16 per cent compared with a year earlier, falling to 4,303 tons, the lowest level since 1999. As compared with 2010, the quantity seized fell by 34 per cent at the global level, largely due to decreases reported in North America (-84 per cent), with marked declines being reported by Mexico, the United States and Canada. Discussions and policies aimed at liberalizing the cannabis markets, including changes in the drug’s legislation in Canada and some jurisdictions of the United States, legalizing the production, distribution and the recreational use of cannabis, seem to have played a key role in this respect. By contrast, the quantities of cannabis herb seized almost doubled in the rest of the world over the period 2010–2018 (South America: +194 per cent; Oceania: +94 per cent; Europe: +73 per cent; Asia: +71 per cent; Africa: +53 per cent). The global cannabis herb trafficking index, based on qualitative information reported by Member States on trends in cannabis herb trafficking, also increased over the same period, although the trend appeared to be stabilizing in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'Cole did not have a habit at this time and he wanted to connect for some weed. He was a real tea head. He told me he could not enjoy himself without weed. I have seen people like that. For them, tea occupies the place usually filled by liquor. They don't have to have it in any physical sense, but they cannot have a really good time without it.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'Trafficking in cannabis resin continues to be far more geographically concentrated than is trafficking in cannabis herb. More than half of all cannabis resin was seized in Western and Central Europe (51 per cent) in 2018, followed by the Near and Middle East/South-West Asia (36 per cent) and North Africa (8 per cent). These three subregions accounted for 95 per cent of all cannabis resin seized worldwide in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
Afghanistan and Mexico source the heroin and morphine. Mexico, Thailand, Myanmar and China source the methamphetamine. The Middle East and Eastern Europe sources the amphetamine. The US consumes heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Europe consumes heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. Asia consumes heroin, morphine and methamphetamine. Australia consumes methamphetamine. The Middle East consumes heroin and amphetamine. West Asia consumes heroin and methamphetamine. All countries grow and consume cannabis. Opioids, methamphetamine and amphetamines kill the most in terms of drug deaths, cannabis kills none. Who are the leading opponents to cannabis legalization and leading enforcers of global anti-cannabis policy? The countries involved the most in heroin, morphine, amphetamines and methamphetamines. They put on a mask of concern about harms from drugs, produce, sell and consume the most dangerous synthetic drugs and vehemently oppose cannabis legalization worldwide while clandestinely feeding their habits and protecting their sources. They use arms and armies to protect and promote their synthetic drug habits, and drug money to fund and wage a war on cannabis everywhere, pushing man and planet ever closer to death on massive scales and away from the safe, healing cannabis herb...
Jul 10, 2020, 1:14 PM
'Although the recent push for racial and social justice has created some tension in the cannabis reform advocacy movement, it is not a sign of trouble or weakness. Instead, this change or enhancement to the types of issues that are center stage in the conversation shows a public policy that is maturing and transforming to reflect the diverse interests involved in legislative coalition building. This competition of ideas can be a fierce one, but it must also be one that allows space for better ideas to rise to the top and for popular ideas to be amended to overcome their own weaknesses. The broader cannabis advocacy movement was able to build coalitions effectively to pass dozens of legislative proposals. Now, it is incumbent on legislatures to do the same to define and refine the details of what future cannabis reform looks like'
https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/bigideas/it-is-time-for-a-cannabis-opportunity-agenda/
'The international policy process does not fare any better, with existing conventions built on a view of illegal drugs that is “increasingly at odds with current knowledge” (p. 218), and to a large extent reflecting a US desire to globalise their own policies. The international war on drugs has “often served as a flexible instrument for forwarding general American policy interests” (p.214); cannabis was included in the 1961 convention under “heavy international pressure” so as to “globalize the [American] Marijuana Tax Act” (p.205); the 1971 convention was established “as a reaction to the rise of youth counterculture of the late 1960s” (p.214); and poor nations are regularly threatened with “serious fiscal and reputational consequences” (p.215) if they fail to comply with US policy requests.'
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1515/nsad-2015-0034
'"The problem we see with cannabis is that we have a special situation where not just the plant itself is scheduled but each and every chemical component of the plant that goes under the cannabinoid rubric. You know, in the 1970s, when the Controlled Substance Act was enacted, it could have made sense because at that time we did not know about the existence of cannabinoid receptors, and we did not know that these receptors are responsible for the totality of the effects of THC. But we know that now. Some of the educational efforts that we scientists should put toward to the public and toward lawmakers are to explain that if there is one substance in cannabis that needs to be perused and needs to be considered carefully, that is THC, because that is the one that intoxicates people. And that particular substance (at least in its synthetic form) is in Schedule III. So anything else that does not intoxicate should not be scheduled at all." - Dr Daniele Piomelli (University of California, Irvine), Workshop on Cannabis and the opioid crisis: a multidisciplinary view'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931647/
'It is time to stop treating marijuana like a deadly drug, when science and public opinion agree that it is relatively safe for adult recreational use. The last thing we need is another expensive and ineffective war on a substance like cannabis—especially when there are far more serious drug problems to tackle.'
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/end-the-war-on-weed/
'For truly equitable reform, the ACLU recommends that any legalization efforts center racial justice and include the following components:
- Legalization
- Fair fines and fees
- Resentencing, expungement, and clemency
- Elimination of collateral consequences
- Inclusive legal markets
- Exclusion of arrests in performance measures
- Police reform'
https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/our-vision-for-equitable-marijuana-reform/
'In this first report of this decade, the Global Commission on Drug Policy outlines how the current international drug control regime works for the benefit of transnational organized crime. It highlights how years of repressive policies targeted at nonviolent drug offenders have resulted in mass incarceration and produced countless adverse impacts on public health, the rule of law, and social cohesion, whilst at the same time reinforcing criminal elites.
The report argues that the top layers of criminal organizations must be disempowered, through policy responses and political will. It provides implementable recommendations for the replacement of the current policy of targeting non-violent drug offenders and resorting to mass incarceration. Law enforcement must focus on the most dangerous and protected actors and primary drivers of the corruption, violence, and chaos around illegal drug markets'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports/enforcement-of-drug-laws
'The siloed and uncoordinated responses currently provided only add to the existing challenges. There is no justification in addressing drugs at the CND from a pre-dominant perspective of crime. Only a comprehensive approach to drugs such as that recommended by the “UN System common position on drug-related matters” can address organized crime without further increasing harms. UN member states must consider merging the 1961 and 1971 Conventions complemented by precursor control, and terminating the 1988 “UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”. This would broaden the mandate of the CCPCJ as the functional commission on crime and provide coherence to the fight against organized crime'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
'In
Hong Kong however, where there is almost no marijuana use, the drug
conjures up images of harder drugs, much as "grass" used to be
considered the "devil weed" in the United States before its usage spread
in the late 1960s. Police in Hong Kong, even now, tend to pay more
attention to hash or grass, it seems, than heroin or opium, simply
because the substances are less familiar and have come to be associated
with the dreaded "hippie tourist Europeans" (anyone in Hong Kong who is
not Chinese, and who has white skin, is called a European, just as all
Japanese and Chinese are lumped together in America with Vietnamese and
others as Orientals).' - The Legend of Bruce Lee by Alex Ben Block, 1974
'The burden of drug policing is overwhelmingly borne by poor communities, young people, and often disadvantaged social and ethnic groups, whereas drug consumption by wealthier communities may evade police attention. Criminal records for low-level, non-violent offenders – often already stigmatized – further exclude them from society and the legitimate economy, and makes it more difficult to access health services. Burdening criminal justice systems with minor crimes such as possession for personal use, especially of cannabis, drains resources from more complex investigations into serious crime.'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
'In each of these situations one turns away to ponder the question: Who has made the decision that sets in motion these chains of poisonings, this ever-widening wave of death that spreads out, like ripples when a pebble is dropped into a still pond? Who has placed in one pan of the scales the leaves that might have been eaten by the beetles and in the other the pitiful heaps of many-hued feathers, the lifeless remains of the birds that fell before the unselective bludgeon of insecticidal poisons? Who has decided - who has the right to decide - for the countless legions of people who were not consulted that the supreme value is a world without insects, even though it be also a sterile world ungraced by the curving wing of a bird in flight? The decision is that of the authoritarian temporarily entrusted with power; he has made it during a period of inattention by millions to whom beauty and the ordered world of nature still have a meaning that is deep and imperative.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'In just the same way the judges who wrongfully awarded the wood to the
landowner, did so only because they considered themselves to be not
ordinary men like everybody else and therefore bound to be guided in
everything by truth alone, but, under the intoxication of power,
imagined themselves to be guardians of official justice and incapable of
error. And while under the intoxicating influence of servility they
imagined themselves to be men bound to execute certain rules written
down in a certain book, called laws. And all the participants in the
affair - from the highest representative of authority who signed the
report, the marshal of nobility who presided at the recruiting sessions,
and the priest who deluded the conscripts, to the lowest soldier now
preparing to shoot his fellow-men - under the influence of power or
servility considered themselves to be, and represented themselves to
others as being, not what they really are but something quite different.
They all did what they did, and prepare to do what they still have to
do, only because they seem to themselves and to others to be not what
they are in reality - men faced with the question whether they ought or
ought not to take part in wicked actions which their conscience condemns
- but different, conventional characters: one an anointed Tsar, a
special being destined to watch over the welfare of a hundred million
people; another the representative of the nobility; another a priest who
has received special grace by his ordination; another a soldier bound
by his oath unreflectingly to do all that he is commanded to do. All
these people could only, and can only, act as they do under the
influence of intoxication by power or servility, resulting from their
imagined positions.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'Prison systems in Latin America and the Caribbean have been described as “near-perfect recruiting centers and incubators for crime,” as organized crime groups have come to control drugs economies within prisons and use the facilities as bases by which to control trafficking operations outside. In São Paulo, the prison system gave rise to Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), the largest and best-organized criminal group in Brazil. Similarly, prison overcrowding in Indonesia linked to the country’s hardline drugs policy has led to inhumane conditions, a breakdown in prison governance, and the rise of prison-based drug trafficking organizations.'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
'In South Africa, where personal use and possession of cannabis was legalized by a Constitutional Court ruling in 2018, drug-related arrests decreased by 28.1 percent in the year April 2018-March 2019, reducing police and therefore judicial expenditure on these offenses. However, possession and consumption outside of private homes, as well as dealing cannabis, remains a chargeable offense. Reports of police disproportionately targeting people who use drugs (including cannabis) continue to emerge, connected to issues of police corruption and extortion of those using drugs. Observers have argued that government-mandated arrest target statistics are actually incentivizing police to disproportionately target areas with known drug use. Therefore, despite legalisation, some of the oppressive characteristics of the “war on drugs” remain unchanged.'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
'There was a raw ache in my lungs. People vary in the way junk sickness affects them. Some suffer mostly from vomitting and diarrhea. The asthmatic type, with narrow and deep chest, is liable to violent fits of sneezing, watering at eyes and nose, in some cases spasms of the bronchial tubes that shut off the breathing. In my case, the worst thing is lowering of blood pressure with consequent loss of body fluid, and extreme weakness, as in shock. It is a feeling as if the life energy has been shut off so that all the cells in the body are suffocating. As I lay there on the bench, I felt like as if I was subsiding into a pile of bones.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The Vienna-based member states’ bodies, the CND, and the convention-mandated International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) have been central in promoting the global narrative of “drugs as threat” which has underpinned “war on drugs” policies around the world. The influence of these multilateral bodies is substantial. The CND is the central drug policy-making body within the UN; UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) is the operational agency implementing the mandated role of the UN Secretary-General; and the INCB the semi-judicial body ensuring countries’ compliance with the conventions. However, UN mandates and responses to organized crime cut across the system, with seventy percent or more of UN departments having some mandate or initiative related to organized crime (see figure 4). Despite this, there is no strategic framework or inter-departmental coordination body on organized crime within the UN system as there is, for example, on terrorism.'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
'The siloed and uncoordinated responses currently provided only add to the existing challenges. There is no justification in addressing drugs at the CND from a pre-dominant perspective of crime. Only a comprehensive approach to drugs such as that recommended by the “UN System common position on drug-related matters” can address organized crime without further increasing harms. UN member states must consider merging the 1961 and 1971 Conventions complemented by precursor control, and terminating the 1988 “UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances”. This would broaden the mandate of the CCPCJ as the functional commission on crime and provide coherence to the fight against organized crime.'
https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/FINAL-EN_2020report_web.pdf
We talk about ratifying the 1961 and 1970 conventions and the NDPS Act to legalize the cannabis plant. A most simple approach would be if each of us took care to collect the precious seeds of the plant when we have access to it instead of throwing it away. If even 2 per cent of the world's population decided to grow the cannabis plant at home, no force in this world could prevent it from happening...
May 15, 2020, 12:42 PM
So governments, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical industry cut off the supply of natural intoxicants like cannabis, opium, coca and palm toddy. They create man-made and much more potent compounds from these natural materials. They control the supply and stock of these chemical drugs. They use the doctor-pharmacist route and the peddler-narcotics agent-rehabilitation center route to administer these drugs legally and illegally to the public. The individual is not allowed to grow or procure these intoxicants from nature. He must rely on the system to get his intoxicant and pay the maximum price for it. To realize more profits the system creates more potent chemical intoxicants moving further away from natural territory into synthetic chemically constructed territory outside biological experience. As the toxicity and addictive power of these drugs increase, the public gets addicted to an even greater extent and pays even more for any available intoxicant. Profits rise and fuel the growth of the system tremendously. The individual pays for the system, pays for the synthetic drug, pays for the treatment in the form of further synthetic drugs and eventually pays with his life. Legalize all natural drugs - opium, coca, cannabis and palm toddy to name a few. Most importantly, legalize cannabis, the universal drug of the world...
May 23, 2020, 11:41 AM
Three of the top issues in the world today are runaway climate change, a failed global healthcare system and the increasing threat of global nuclear warfare. The underlying causes respectively are the overdependence on synthetic non-biodegradable petrochemical products; synthetic, costly and harmful pharmaceutical products; and, the conflict arising from protection provided for these industries through arms arsenals and forces. A solution to all three issues is legalization of cannabis. It is a simple, elegant, viable and sustainable solution involving minimal inventions. Biodegradable, natural products to replace petrochemical based non-biodegradable synthetic products will address the petrochemical climate change issue. Homegrowing of cannabis will ensure global, affordable and safe healthcare and address the pharmaceutical issue. The shrinking of the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries will reduce the conflict and tensions that arise from sustaining these industries and the need to amass weapons of mass destruction for the same. The solution is simple but it needs an acknowledgement of this truth by all the people of the world and a will to make it happen. The rewards of the solution are a more sustainable, healthy and peaceful planet, not just for us, but for future generations and life on earth...
May 23, 2020, 11:47 AM
I started off seeking to legalize recreational use of cannabis but now I seem to be increasingly thinking as well about the legalization of opium, coca, palm toddy, peyote, psilocybin and all the other natural intoxicants that have been curbed. The principle is the same in all these cases. A natural intoxicant that took care of the majority of the world in a safer way being replaced by man-made intoxicants that are harmful but yielding more revenue for its manufacturers and supporters. Natural intoxicants have stood the test of time and social usage for thousands of years which is why they are so widespread and popular. Any harmful natural intoxicant is sidelined by the evolutionary processes of society seeking to identify and sustain what is safe and beneficial. Plants like dhatura are an example of harmful intoxicants that society has shunned even though it is freely available. The moves in the last 200 years by certain sections of society to curb these time tested natural intoxicants and replace them with the synthetic intoxicants is a false step in the evolutionary path that will not stand the test of time. The sooner we correct this mistake the better it is. Forcing people to intake man made poisons in place of what nature created and balanced out for human and animal consumption will surely result in a heavy price paid for profits made...
May 23, 2020, 11:53 AM
'"This polling data reaffirms that most voters do not experience 'buyer's remorse' following marijuana legalization," NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "In the minds of most Americans, adult-use marijuana regulations are operating as voters intended and in a way that is consistent with their expectations.'
https://norml.org/news/2020/05/21/poll-respondents-in-adult-use-marijuana-states-say-legalization-has-been-successful
Scrap the 1961 Single Convention focusing on natural plant medicine, legalize the natural plants and focus on the more harmful synthetic substances. Promoting harmful synthetic medicines causing wide spread abuse and poisoning and keeping universal plant medicine illegal is the biggest joke on world health. The nations who have been dictating what should be legal and illegal medicine and laughing all the way to the bank so far, are reaching only the graveyard on the way back home..unfortunately the world's majority are the unwilling passengers...
'International scheduling of existing medicines puts in conflict two important public health objectives: protecting people from the health harms certain substances may pose and ensuring the adequate availability, accessibility and affordability of medicines that contain those substances. It also engages potentially competing drug control and human rights obligations, at a time when human rights are becoming more and more mainstreamed in international drug policy discussions, and system-wide coherence within the SDG framework is a central concern. The current process for international scheduling of medicines has an important normative deficit in the absence of shared principles of decision making to weigh these interests. It has a related democratic deficit given such decisions can be made by a minority of States creating legal obligations for all States parties. A human rights-based legality, effectiveness and proportionality test can help address these deficits and bring the decision-making process more into line with good governance standards.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7171726/
'The doctor asked a few questions and looked at my arms. Another doctor with a long nose and hairy arms walked up to put in his two cents.
"After all, doctor," he said to his colleague, "there is the moral question. This man should have thought of all this before he started using narcotics."
"Yes, there is the moral question, but there is also a physical question. This man is sick." He turned to a nurse and ordered half a grain of morphine.
As the wagon jolted along on the way back to the precinct, I felt the morphine spread through all my cells. My stomach moved and rumbled. A shot when you are very sick always starts the stomach moving. Normal strength came back to all my muscles. I was hungry and sleepy.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The Court of Appeal today said there was no evidence from the authorities to prove that marijuana has medicinal properties to treat patients with cancer.
In the written judgement against a “medical marijuana distributor”, Muhammad Lukman bin Mohamad, who was sentenced to death, the court said manufacturing marijuana and its related substances are subject to the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA).
"There is no supportive evidence from any medical bodies or the health ministry to confirm his contention that the drug possesses medicinal properties and is, therefore, beneficial to the public,” said Court of Appeal judge Zabariah Mohd Yusof'
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/05/22/no-evidence-marijuana-can-help-cancer-patients-says-appeals-court/
'By using the mass media as his forum (receiving much support from publisher William Randolph Hearst), Anslinger was the main person behind the creating of an anti-marijuana sentiment during those years. The anti-marijuana propaganda film Reefer Madness from 1936 is a good example of his work.
There were two component in his strategy. First, the message that weed is evil. Second, racism, according to him only latinos and black people were smoking 'marihuana' and made them 'forget their place in society'.
Here below you can read 15 of his most ridiculous quotes about cannabis. You have been warned...'
https://www.cannaconnection.com/blog/7217-harry-j-anslinger-15-ridiculous-quotes-about-marihuana
'This system, however - deliberately poisoning our food, then policing the result - is too reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's White Knight who thought of 'a plan to dye one's whiskers green, and always use so large a fan that they could not be seen.' The ultimate answer is to use less toxic chemicals so that the public hazard from their misuse is greatly reduced.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, police made 663,367 arrests for marijuana-related violations in 2018. That is more than 21 percent higher than the total number of persons arrested for the commission of violent crimes (521,103). Of those arrested for cannabis-related activities, some 90 percent (608,776) were arrested for marijuana possession offenses only.
"Police across America make a marijuana-related arrest every 48 seconds," NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said. "At a time when the overwhelming majority of Americans want cannabis to be legal and regulated, it is an outrage that many police departments across the country continue to waste tax dollars and limited law enforcement resources on arresting otherwise law-abiding citizens for simple marijuana possession."'
https://norml.org/news/2019/10/03/fbi-marijuana-arrests-rise-for-third-year-in-a-row-outpace-arrests-for-all-violent-crimes
'This is what ought to happen wherever violence is used. The officer
feels dull. He has nothing to do. He has been put, poor fellow, in a
position in which he has to give orders. He is shut off from all
rational human existence. He can only look on and give orders, give
orders and look on, though nobody needs either his orders or his
attention. All our unfortunate rulers, ministers, members of parliament,
governors, generals, officers, archbishops, bishops, priests, and even
rich men, already find themselves partly, and soon will find themselves
completely, in that position. They can do nothing but give orders, and
so they make a fuss and send their subordinates about, as that officer
sent the gendarme, to interfere with people. And as the people they
interfere with ask them not to interfere, they imagine themselves to be
quite indispensable men.
But a time is approaching and draws near when it will become perfectly evident to everyone that these people are of no use at all but are merely a hindrance, and those whom they interfere with will say amiably and quietly, like the man in the peasant's coat: "Don't interfere with us, please!" And then all these emissaries, and those who send them, will have to follow the good advice, that is, cease to ride about with an arm akimbo hindering people, and get off their horses, doff their uniforms, listen to what is being said, and join with others in real human work.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
But a time is approaching and draws near when it will become perfectly evident to everyone that these people are of no use at all but are merely a hindrance, and those whom they interfere with will say amiably and quietly, like the man in the peasant's coat: "Don't interfere with us, please!" And then all these emissaries, and those who send them, will have to follow the good advice, that is, cease to ride about with an arm akimbo hindering people, and get off their horses, doff their uniforms, listen to what is being said, and join with others in real human work.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
The story is the same globally..minorities, indigenous people, tribals and the poor are the primary targets of marijuana policing...
'Authors wrote, "In every single state, Black people were more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, and in some states, Black people were up to six, eight, or almost ten times more likely to be arrested. In 31 states, racial disparities were actually larger in 2018 than they were in 2010."
In two states, Montana and Kentucky, African Americans were arrested for marijuana possession violations at more than nine times the rate of Caucasians – the highest disparity in the country. Colorado and Alaska, which legalized adult-use marijuana sales in 2012 and 2014 respectively, possessed the lowest disparity in marijuana possession arrest rates'
https://norml.org/news/2020/04/23/aclu-report-racial-disparities-persist-in-marijuana-possession-arrests
'According to a recap of the case’s closing arguments in the Pioneer Press, “Had it not been for Castile’s decision to ‘get stoned’ on marijuana before operating a vehicle while armed with a gun, and further his decision to ‘ignore’ Yanez’s commands not to reach for his firearm, ‘none of this would have happened, [defense attorney Earl] Gray told jurors.”
Yanez was ultimately acquitted.'
https://www.twincities.com/2017/06/21/philando-castile-yanez-smell-of-marijuana-made-him-fear-for-his-life-jeronimo/
'I was too weak to get out of bed. I could not lie still. In junk sickness, any conceivable line of action or inaction seems intolerable. A man might simply die because he could not stand to stay in his body.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
The American strategy of the 60s is now global strategy to suppress dissent. Today, include Covid (pharma drug abuse wearing a virus mask) as a new strategy to disrupt opposition......was it Trump's advisers who came up with the new idea or Xi's or Modi's or Putin's? Heroin can no longer be associated with blacks because everyone now knows how much the whites like the white powder...Marijuana can still be associated with whichever group you are opposed to - blacks, hippies, anti-war activists, minorities, students...hence another reason to keep it illegal. Covid can also be associated with anybody anywhere globally...what a beauty...the public scream "more testing, more testing"...
'"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt these communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news."
"Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did," he concluded, according to Baum.'
https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/top-nixon-adviser-reveals-the-racist-reason-he-started-the-war-on-drugs-decades-ago/articleshow/70473035.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/hyderabad/200-kg-cannabis-seized-in-aps-krishna-district-2-arrested/videoshow/71562085.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/directorate-of-revenue-intelligence-nabs-seven-with-ganja-worth-of-rs-1-26-crore-in-madhya-pradesh/articleshow/71476255.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/hyderabad/visakhapatnam-40-kg-cannabis-seized-by-police-4-arrested/videoshow/71603314.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/himachal-pradesh-cops-trek-six-hours-to-raid-charas-makers-31-held/articleshow/71887429.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/ganja-worth-rs-1-crore-seized-from-kamrej/articleshow/71962005.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/cops-arrested-5-persons-a-week-for-drugs-this-yr/articleshow/71999120.cms
'The condition of Christian humanity, with its fortresses, cannon,
dynamite, rifles, torpedoes, prisons, gallows, churches, factories,
custom-house and palaces, is really terrible. But neither the fortresses
nor the cannon nor the rifles will attack anyone of themselves, the
prisons will not of themselves lock anyone up, the gallows will not of
themselves hang anyone, nor will the churches delude anyone or the
custom-houses hold anyone back, and the palaces and factories do not
build themselves or maintain themselves. All this is done by people. And
if they once understand that there is no necessity for all these
things, these things will disappear.
And men already begin to understand. If they do not all understand, the leaders among them do - those whom the rest will follow. And what the leaders have once understood they cannot possibly cease to understand. And what the leaders have understood the rest of mankind not only can, but inevitably must, understand too.
So that the prediction that a time will come when men will be taught of God, will cease to learn war any more, and will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks (which translated into our own tongue means that all the prisons, fortresses, barracks, palaces, and churches, will remain empty, and that all the gallows, guns and cannon will remain unused), is no longer a dream but a definite new form of life, to which humanity is approaching with ever-increasing rapidity.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
And men already begin to understand. If they do not all understand, the leaders among them do - those whom the rest will follow. And what the leaders have once understood they cannot possibly cease to understand. And what the leaders have understood the rest of mankind not only can, but inevitably must, understand too.
So that the prediction that a time will come when men will be taught of God, will cease to learn war any more, and will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks (which translated into our own tongue means that all the prisons, fortresses, barracks, palaces, and churches, will remain empty, and that all the gallows, guns and cannon will remain unused), is no longer a dream but a definite new form of life, to which humanity is approaching with ever-increasing rapidity.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/up-man-nigerian-held-for-possessing-drugs-worth-rs-3l/articleshow/72030061.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/drugs-worth-rs-1081-crore-seized-in-the-last-19-months-rti/articleshow/72075414.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/peddlers-mostly-target-tourists-sp/articleshow/72079064.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/ganja-worth-rs-89l-seized-4-held/articleshow/72090316.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/mp-govt-plans-to-promote-hemp-cultivation-bjp-opposes-move/articleshow/72182339.cms
'Both those in authority and their subordinates, though they explain the
motives of their conduct differently, agree that they act as they do
because the existing order is just the order that must and should exist
at the present time, and that to support it is therefore each man's
sacred duty.
On this acceptance of the necessity and therefore the immutability of the existing order rests also the argument by which those who take part in governmental violence always justify themselves. They say that as the existing order is immutable, the refusal of some one individual to fulfill the duties laid upon him has no real influence on things, but only means that his place will be taken by someone else who may do worse than he; that is, exercise more cruelty and do more harm to the victims.
It is this conviction that the existing order is a necessary and therefore immutable order, to support which is the sacred duty of every man, that makes it possible for good men, of high principles in private life, to take part with more or less untroubled conscience in affairs such as that committed in Orel, and that which the men in the Tula train were going to perpetrate.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
On this acceptance of the necessity and therefore the immutability of the existing order rests also the argument by which those who take part in governmental violence always justify themselves. They say that as the existing order is immutable, the refusal of some one individual to fulfill the duties laid upon him has no real influence on things, but only means that his place will be taken by someone else who may do worse than he; that is, exercise more cruelty and do more harm to the victims.
It is this conviction that the existing order is a necessary and therefore immutable order, to support which is the sacred duty of every man, that makes it possible for good men, of high principles in private life, to take part with more or less untroubled conscience in affairs such as that committed in Orel, and that which the men in the Tula train were going to perpetrate.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/56-youngsters-detained-in-dcb-raids-on-drug-pockets/articleshow/72191619.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/88-packets-of-cannabis-worth-over-rs-70-lakh-seized-in-tripura-1-held/videoshow/72223469.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/700kg-ganja-seized-near-muzaffarpur/articleshow/72265292.cms
Please note the picture of pharmaceutical synthetic drugs while what is being destroyed is a natural medicinal plant...
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/three-men-caught-with-7kg-drugs-in-anti-drug-drive-that-began-on-nov-1/articleshow/72266374.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/news/police-seize-10kg-cannabis-in-chhattisgarhs-kondagaon/videoshow/72367737.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolhapur/break-the-ganja-nexus-sp-instructs-officials/articleshow/72374351.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/2-nepalese-women-held-with-4-kg-cannabis/articleshow/74124471.cms
'He asked the question they all ask. "Why do you feel that you need narcotics, Mr Lee?"
When you hear this question you can be sure that the man who asks it knows nothing about junk.
"I need it to get out of bed in the morning, to shave and eat breakfast."
"I mean physically."
I shrugged. Might as well give him his diagnosis so he will go. "It's a good kick."
Junk is not a "good kick." The point of junk to a user is that it forms a habit. No one knows what junk is until he is junk sick.
The doctor nodded. Psychopathic personality.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/agra-woman-in-rajdhani-held-for-smuggling-20-kg-of-cannabis/articleshow/74328809.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/bhopal-minor-made-drug-addict-and-raped/articleshow/73075813.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/enforcement-wing-keen-on-rooting-out-cannabis-trade-engg-students-addicted/articleshow/74601270.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/cannabis-cultivation-busted-in-botad-farm-owner-arrested/articleshow/72986675.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/indian-super-league/top-stories/chennaiyin-fc-official-held-for-carrying-cannabis-at-isl-match/articleshow/74654700.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/mandrax-cannabis-cocktail-worries-cops/articleshow/71768388.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhi-crime-branch-arrests-notorious-drug-dealer-karan-khanna/articleshow/70244892.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hc-junks-plea-to-legalise-cannabis/articleshow/70402875.cms
'When a junkie off junk gets drunk to a certain point, his thoughts turn to junk.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/nihangs-cut-off-hand-of-policeman-after-scuffle-in-vegetable-market/articleshow/75104243.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/five-held-with-narcotics-in-separate-raids/articleshow/74165677.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/man-in-possession-of-cannabis-worth-8l-held/articleshow/73815916.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/mp-dri-seizes-cannabis-worth-rs-3-1-cr-in-chhattisgarh/articleshow/74212523.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/report-flags-pot-cultivation-its-impact-on-kids/articleshow/74358523.cms
'All the injustice and cruelties customary in present-day life have
become habitual only because there are men always ready to carry out
these injustices and cruelties. If it were not for them there would not
only be no one to wreak violence on those immense masses of oppressed
people, but those who issued the orders would never venture to do so,
and would not even dare to dream of the sentences they now confidently
pass.
Were it not for these men ready to torture or kill anyone they are commanded to, no one would dare to claim what is confidently claimed by all the non-working landowners, namely that land surrounded by men who are suffering for lack of land, is the property of a man who does not work on it, or that stores of grain collected by trickery ought to be preserved untouched in the midst of a population dying of hunger, because the merchant wants to make a profit. But for the existence of these people, ready at the will of the authorities to torture and kill anyone they are told to, it could never enter the head of a landowner to deprive the peasants of a wood they had grown, or of the officials to consider it proper to receive salaries taken from the famishing people for oppressing them, not to mention executing, imprisoning, or evicting people for exposing falsehood and preaching the truth. In fact all this is demanded and done only because the authorities are all fully convinced that they have always at hand servile people ready to carry out all their demands by means of tortures and killings.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Were it not for these men ready to torture or kill anyone they are commanded to, no one would dare to claim what is confidently claimed by all the non-working landowners, namely that land surrounded by men who are suffering for lack of land, is the property of a man who does not work on it, or that stores of grain collected by trickery ought to be preserved untouched in the midst of a population dying of hunger, because the merchant wants to make a profit. But for the existence of these people, ready at the will of the authorities to torture and kill anyone they are told to, it could never enter the head of a landowner to deprive the peasants of a wood they had grown, or of the officials to consider it proper to receive salaries taken from the famishing people for oppressing them, not to mention executing, imprisoning, or evicting people for exposing falsehood and preaching the truth. In fact all this is demanded and done only because the authorities are all fully convinced that they have always at hand servile people ready to carry out all their demands by means of tortures and killings.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/ncb-arrests-six-with-over-380kg-ganja-in-delhi/articleshow/74426471.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/in-a-1st-government-oks-cannabis-research-in-up-uttarakhand/articleshow/71040612.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/delhi-mumbai-among-worlds-biggest-consumers-of-weed-study/photostory/71148455.cms
Please note the picture of a pharmaceutical synthetic drug while what is being destroyed is a natural medicinal plant...
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/1-held-with-cannabis-worth-rs6-10-lakh/articleshow/74583687.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/cannabis-crop-destroyed-on-6175-bighas-in-kullu/articleshow/71250688.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysuru/farmer-growing-cannabis-in-krs-backwaters-held/articleshow/74601643.cms
'An addict may be ten years off the junk, but he can get a new habit in less than a week; whereas someone who has never been addicted would have to take two shots per day for two months to get any habit at all. I took a shot daily for four months before I could notice withdrawal symptoms. You can list the symptoms of junk sickness, but the feel of it is like no other feeling and you can not put it into words. I did not experience this junk sick feeling until my second habit.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/studies-on-cannabis-being-healthy-may-be-more-of-social-media-propaganda/photostory/72936156.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/hc-relief-to-law-student-in-cannabis-on-campus-case/articleshow/75071763.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/chennai-customs-officials-seize-1-7kg-of-cannabis-sent-from-us/articleshow/75377661.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/chennai/cannabis-worth-rs-9-lakh-seized-from-sleeping-bags-in-chennai/videoshow/75382831.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/woman-arrested-for-possession-of-arrack-cannabis-gets-bail/articleshow/75334994.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/21kg-of-cannabis-rs-20-lakh-in-cash-seized-from-vaniyambadi-house/articleshow/75832354.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/up-3-held-in-noida-with-105-kg-cannabis-sourced-from-odisha/articleshow/73089542.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/man-held-at-new-delhi-railway-station-with-over-90-kg-cannabis/articleshow/73215604.cms
This article says that according to the NDPS Act, the leaves and seeds of the cannabis plant are legal, the flowers and nectar/resin is illegal. How absurd is that? One analogy that comes to mind is that a woman as a child is legal, but she becomes illegal once she reaches puberty. Her eggs which she produces once she reaches puberty however are legal while she is not legal anymore...??
'It’s only on January 31 that India’s first medical cannabis clinic opened in Bengaluru. Launched by a Bhubaneswar-based startup, Hempcann Solutions, the clinic has the license to prescribe CBD and THC medication by an ayurvedic doctor. “Patients can then order these medicines online from our website. We are not stocking them in the clinic as of now,” a spokesperson of the company said.'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/why-this-patient-has-pot-in-his-pav-bhaji/articleshow/74240739.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/two-held-for-growing-cannabis/articleshow/72961201.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/russian-held-for-growing-cannabis-in-goa/articleshow/74427647.cms
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/drug-ring-busted-in-faizabad-cantonment-soldiers-buying-cannabis-under-lens/articleshow/73003241.cms
'Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a press conference that he’s “very proud of this state” for going beyond issues such as implicit bias in policing and the “deadly use of force.” California’s leadership helped advance “a conversation about broader criminal justice reform to address the issues of the war on drugs” and “race-based sentencing,” he said.
“That’s why the state was one of the early adopters of a new approach as it relates to cannabis reform. Legalization around adult-use of marijuana,” he said. “It was a civil rights call from our perspective.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/california-governor-says-marijuana-legalization-is-a-civil-rights-matter-amid-mass-protests-over-racial-injustice/
'Ike took a very severe view of my drinking. "You're drinking, Bill. You're drinking and getting crazy. You look terrible. You look terrible in your face. Better you should go back to stuff than drink like this." - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Judge Thomas Anderle ruled on May 15 that the sheriff’s office had to return the seized property because “the record here shows that a California licensed cannabis operator committed no crime, much less intentionally committed a crime.”
After Santa Barbara sheriff’s deputies raided Arroyo Verde Farms in January and seized the oil and cash, the sheriff’s office tried to persuade Judge Anderle that the assets should be forfeited to them because they were connected to an ongoing criminal investigation into the farm.
Anderle disagreed and ordered the oil released to its owners.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/judge-orders-santa-barbara-county-sheriff-to-return-seized-marijuana-oil-cash/
'Still the numbers are undeniable when it comes to the racially disproportionate arrests.Of those approximate 11,700 arrested for a cannabis charge of some kind, around 10,500 were black. Of those 11,700 arrestees, 709 were white. Of those arrests, 5,987 were for cannabis possession or public consumption arrests were black while 451 were white.
The release of this data is useful for partially understanding where the district falls when it comes to cannabis arrests nationwide. On April 20 of this year, The American Civil Liberties Union released a massive report on racial disparities when it comes to who is arrested for cannabis possession. The report, “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform,” looked at all 50 states’ cannabis possession arrests between 2010-2018 and revealed a national average in which a black person was 3.6 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than a white person.'
https://www.outlawreport.com/blog/washington-dc-cannabis-arrests-race
'But this bill fails to fully address issues like police militarization and the use of quick-knock warrants, policing practices that are disproportionately used against people of color in drug investigations. While the bill places restrictions on programs that facilitate the transfer of military equipment to local police departments, it does not outright put an end to such programs. And while this bill prohibits no-knock warrants for drug cases, it does not outlaw quick-knock warrants which can be just as deadly. Moreover, the bill continues to fund police departments and the war on drugs, rather than shift resources to education, housing, harm reduction services, and other infrastructure that strengthens communities and increases public safety. '
https://www.drugpolicy.org/press-release/2020/06/dpa-urges-congress-strengthen-police-reform-bill
'There is no doubt that our national discussion over matters of race and policing will continue long after these public protests have ceased. NORML believes that calls for cannabis legalization need to be an important part of this emerging discussion — but only a part. Black and brown lives matter and we owe it to our country and to ourselves to take tangible steps toward dismantling many of the power structures that perpetuate injustice. Marijuana prohibition is simply one of them.
We are at a crossroads in this country and it is time for all of us to march as allies in the fight for racial justice and equality. It is important during this process for those of us not from these marginalized communities to truly listen to those who are facing this oppression and support them in this struggle. Let us take this moment in time to pledge to put in the work necessary in order to make America the better and more just nation that we know it can be'
https://www.aspentimes.com/news/high-country-marijuana-legalization-and-the-fight-for-racial-justice/
'The cops who fatally shot Breonna Taylor, the black EMT who was killed in a no-knock raid in her home in Louisville, Ky., were looking for drugs. The NYPD accused Eric Garner, a black man strangled to death by a policeman in 2014, of having marijuana to justify the extrajudicial killing. After the killing of Sylville Smith by the Milwaukee Police Department, which sparked the 2016 Sherman Park riots, the Department of Justice made a point of mentioning that drugs, including “suspected marijuana,” were found in his car.'
https://shepherdexpress.com/hemp/cannabis/the-war-on-drugs-is-a-war-on-black-americans/
'The ruling classes, having no longer any reasonable justification for
the advantageous position they hold, are obliged, in order to keep these
positions, to repress their higher rational capacities and their love
for their fellow-men, and to hypnotize themselves into the belief that
their exceptional positions are necessary. And the lower classes,
crushed by toil and intentionally stupefied, live in a continual
condition of hypnotization, deliberately and incessantly induced by
people of the upper classes.
Only in this way can one explain the amazing contradiction that fills our life, and of which a striking example was presented by those kindly and mild acquaintances whom I met on the 9th of September, who with quiet minds were going to commit the most cruel, senseless, and vile crimes. Had conscience not been stifled in some way in those men, not one of them could have done a one-hundredth part of what they were preparing to do, and very likely will do.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Only in this way can one explain the amazing contradiction that fills our life, and of which a striking example was presented by those kindly and mild acquaintances whom I met on the 9th of September, who with quiet minds were going to commit the most cruel, senseless, and vile crimes. Had conscience not been stifled in some way in those men, not one of them could have done a one-hundredth part of what they were preparing to do, and very likely will do.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'“People in the high concentration group were much less compromised than we thought they were going to be,” said co-author Kent Hutchison, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at CU Boulder who also studies alcohol addiction. “If we gave people that high a concentration of alcohol it would have been a different story.”
One reason that higher THC blood levels didn’t translate to higher highs could be that the body’s finite number of cannabinoid receptors, which THC molecules bind to, become saturated regardless of whether higher- or lower-THC products are used. Any excess THC in consumers’ blood plasma, in that case, would be metabolized and not contribute to further impairment'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/do-highly-potent-marijuana-concentrates-get-users-more-high-not-exactly-study-finds/
'Data collected by Kraska shows that municipal police and sheriffs’ departments used no-knock or quick-knock warrants about 1,500 times in the early 1980s, but that number rose to about 40,000 times per year by 2000, he said. In 2010, Kraska estimated 60,000-70,000 no-knock or quick-knock raids were conducted by local police annually. The majority of those raids were looking for marijuana, he added.
Currently, Florida and Oregon ban no-knock warrants. Thirteen states have laws explicitly permitting no-knock warrants, and the remaining states issue them based on a judge’s discretion. '
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-war-on-drugs-gave-rise-to-no-knock-warrants-breonna-taylors-death-could-end-them
'When I jumped bail and left the States, the heat on junk already looked like something new and special. Initial symptoms of nationwide hysteria were clear. Louisiana passed a law making it a crime to be a drug addict. Since no place or time is specified and the term "addict" is not clearly defined, no proof is necessary or even relevant under a law so formulated. No proof, and consequently, no trial. This is police-state legislation penalizing a state of being. Other states were emulating Louisiana. I saw my chance of escaping conviction dwindle daily as the anti-junk feeling mounted to a paranoid obsession, like anti-Semitism under the Nazis. So I decided to jump bail and live permanently outside the United States.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Coerced treatment mechanisms inevitably result in forcing people who do not have substance use disorders or who would naturally recover into services. The population of people who use drugs and need substance use disorder treatment is small, while the vast majority of people who use drugs do not develop a substance use disorder. Of those that do, most people will recover without participating in any formalized treatment or recovery services. Mandatory treatment can have a net-widening effect, continuing to trap people under an alternative form of state surveillance.
Adequate access to substance use disorder treatment and other support services that are attractive and affordable will increase voluntary treatment initiation and render mandated treatment unnecessary. Biden’s proposal would simply squander resources that could be used for people who actually want and could benefit from treatment'
http://drugpolicyaction.org/press-releases/statement-biden-law-enforcement-funding-mandatory-rehabilitation.html
'There’s a national component to marijuana reform too — something that Joe Biden needs to embrace. Currently, the Drug Enforcement Administration still lists marijuana as it has for 50 years: as a Schedule 1 drug, deemed as dangerous as heroin and technically more dangerous than opioids. It should not remain there.
Thankfully, Biden’s been evolving over the last year. Alas, while supporting decriminalization, he still opposes legalization.
Marijuana needs to be legalized intelligently, guarding against kids getting hooked and stoned drivers taking to the roads. But any way you cut it, the public health harm of pot is minuscule compared to that of alcohol. Legalize it.'
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-marijuana-reform-20200615-dcl7riz2gnbpfikeizdrcpplwq-story.html
- 'In 2018, more than 660,000 U.S. arrests were made for cannabis-related charges, averaging once per 48 seconds.
- Since California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis in 1996, nearly 17,000,000 people have been arrested on cannabis charges.
- According to the ACLU, blacks in America are nearly 4x likelier than whites to be arrested for cannabis offenses, despite similar rates of use.
- Among states reflecting the most racial disparities (e.g., Kentucky and Montana), blacks were nearly 10x times likelier to be arrested.
- While legalization has fundamentally reduced overall U.S. drug arrests, it has not mitigated racial disparities in policing, as minorities continue to bear the brunt of cannabis-related policing'
'No feats of heroism are needed to bring about the greatest and most
important changes in the life of humanity; neither the arming of
millions of men, nor the construction of new railways and machines, nor
the organization of exhibitions or trade unions, nor revolutions, nor
barricades, nor dynamite outrages, nor the perfection of aerial
navigation, and so forth. All that is necessary is a change of public
opinion.
And for that change no effort of thought is demanded, no refutation of any existing thing, and no planning of anything new and extraordinary. All that is necessary is to cease acquiescing in the public opinion of the past, now false and already defunct and only artificially induced by governments. It is only necessary for each individual to say what he really thinks and feels or at least refrain from saying what he does not think.
If only men - even a few - would do that, the out-worn public opinion would at once and of itself fall away and a new, real, and vital opinion would manifest itself. And with this change of public opinion all that inner fabric of men's lives which oppresses and torments them would change of its own accord. One is ashamed to say how little is needed to deliver all men from the calamities which now oppress them. It is only necessary to give up lying! Only let men reject the lie which is imposed upon them; only let them stop saying what they neither think nor feel, and at once such a change of the whole structure of our life will be accomplished as the revolutionaries would not achieve in centuries even if all the power were in their hands.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'In 2018, more than 26 million Americans reported their regular consumption of cannabis, marking a 74% increase among the population since 2009. The trend has been fueled by convergence in recognition of the therapeutic value for medical cannabis, greater understanding of cannabis’ comparative health effects relative to alcohol and other drugs, and erosion of the stigma associated with cannabis as more jurisdictions have decriminalized and legalized its use.
Despite the surging usage rates, prohibition enforcement continues apace. In 2018, someone in the U.S. was arrested on average every 48 seconds for a cannabis offense or more than 660,000 times that single year. While arrests rates have fallen from a peak of more than 870,000 in 2007, marijuana continues to make up the largest category of U.S. drug arrests, accounting for upwards of half (45%) of all drug-related charges. Meanwhile, since 1996, nearly 17 million people have been arrested on marijuana offences, a number equivalent to 5% of the overall U.S. population'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/racial-disparities-and-cannabis-legalization-in-american-policing/
And for that change no effort of thought is demanded, no refutation of any existing thing, and no planning of anything new and extraordinary. All that is necessary is to cease acquiescing in the public opinion of the past, now false and already defunct and only artificially induced by governments. It is only necessary for each individual to say what he really thinks and feels or at least refrain from saying what he does not think.
If only men - even a few - would do that, the out-worn public opinion would at once and of itself fall away and a new, real, and vital opinion would manifest itself. And with this change of public opinion all that inner fabric of men's lives which oppresses and torments them would change of its own accord. One is ashamed to say how little is needed to deliver all men from the calamities which now oppress them. It is only necessary to give up lying! Only let men reject the lie which is imposed upon them; only let them stop saying what they neither think nor feel, and at once such a change of the whole structure of our life will be accomplished as the revolutionaries would not achieve in centuries even if all the power were in their hands.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'In 2018, more than 26 million Americans reported their regular consumption of cannabis, marking a 74% increase among the population since 2009. The trend has been fueled by convergence in recognition of the therapeutic value for medical cannabis, greater understanding of cannabis’ comparative health effects relative to alcohol and other drugs, and erosion of the stigma associated with cannabis as more jurisdictions have decriminalized and legalized its use.
Despite the surging usage rates, prohibition enforcement continues apace. In 2018, someone in the U.S. was arrested on average every 48 seconds for a cannabis offense or more than 660,000 times that single year. While arrests rates have fallen from a peak of more than 870,000 in 2007, marijuana continues to make up the largest category of U.S. drug arrests, accounting for upwards of half (45%) of all drug-related charges. Meanwhile, since 1996, nearly 17 million people have been arrested on marijuana offences, a number equivalent to 5% of the overall U.S. population'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/racial-disparities-and-cannabis-legalization-in-american-policing/
'Safe in Mexico, I watched the anti-junk campaign. I read about child addicts and Senators demanding the death penalty for dope peddlers. It didn't sound right to me. Who wants kids fr customers? They never have enough money and they always spill under questioning. Parents find out the kid is on junk and go to the law. I figured that either Stateside peddlers have gone simple-minded or the whole child-addict set-up is a propaganda routine to stir up anti-junk sentiment and pass some new laws.
Refugee hipsters trickled into Mexico. "Six months for needle marks under the vag-addict law in California." "Eight years for a dropper in Washington." "Two to ten for selling in New York."' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The Washington Post feature, entitled, “Marijuana really can be deadly, but not in the way you probably expect,” highlights numerous other incidences where suspected marijuana use was the key factor in police engagements that resulted in civilian murders.
Since Congress classified the cannabis plant as an illicit Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, well over 20 million Americans have been subject to arrest for violating marijuana laws, and untold millions more who have been harassed under the pretense that they may have been in violation of the law. Entire communities have lost generations of citizens to cyclical poverty and incarceration due to the collateral consequences of having a cannabis-related conviction on their record.
These consequences include the loss of access to higher education, the inability to qualify for government-subsidized housing, employment discrimination, the loss of child custody, homelessness, and more. In large part due to the modern War on Drugs, the United States’ prison population has skyrocketed by over 500 percent over the last 40 years, with nearly 2.3 million people incarcerated in the United States at the beginning of 2019.'
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/502489-criminalization-that-never-should-have-been-cannabis
'Schwartz and Jahn’s study is the latest of a raft of studies showing that black people in the US are killed by police more often than white people. Young black men are at highest risk. A 2019 study found that black men aged 25-29 were being killed at rates between 2.8 and 4.1 in 100,000.
Neighbourhoods are also a factor. Death rates are highest in poor neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods with high non-white populations, but black people are at higher risk of being killed in white neighbourhoods.
There is evidence that the killings have wide-ranging effects beyond those killed and bereaved. A 2018 study found that the killings had a harmful impact on the mental health of the wider black population.'
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246987-us-police-kill-up-to-6-times-more-black-people-than-white-people/
'It is estimated that the U.S. federal government spends roughly $33 billion annually prosecuting the war on drugs; state and local governments spend nearly $30 billion to the same end. The expenditures are often described as a “cost to taxpayers”; however, they could just as easily be understood as allocations to federal, state, and local law enforcement budgets. In a competitive budgetary environment, law enforcement demonstrates its efficacy through arrests, seizures of cash and assets, and drug interdictions – all of which both justify and perpetuate the continuing war on drugs. Such actions also serve as the foundation for sustaining or increasing budgets.
The U.S.’s continued prosecution of the drug war also brings the revenue streams of law enforcement full circle. Some portion of the $63 billion allocated to law enforcement across the U.S. comes from the tax revenue generated by regulated cannabis businesses; a further portion comes from the additional taxes generated by §280E. Some law enforcement budget is supplemented by funds generated from civil asset forfeiture locally, as well as monies from participating in the federal Equitable Sharing Program. Whatever the totality of their operating budgets, law enforcement agencies have positioned themselves to profit from every aspect of the cannabis industry, from legal businesses to unregulated operators.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/catching-cannabis-coming-and-going-how-law-enforcement-profits-from-illicit-and-legalized-marijuana-businesses-alike/
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2246987-us-police-kill-up-to-6-times-more-black-people-than-white-people/
- 'U.S. Code §280E can result in up to a 70% effective tax rate for cannabis businesses, or 2x what other legal businesses pay. (Source: New Frontier Data)
- Between 2000-2013, state and local law enforcement received $4.7 billion from the Department of Justice via its Equitable Sharing Program. (Source: IJ).
- The federal government annually spends $33 billion to prosecute the war on drugs, with state governments spending another $30 billion. (Source: Human Rights Foundation)
- Lack of reliable banking access increases cash-intensive cannabis businesses’ risk for theft: In 2019, approximately 180 credit unions (3.3% among 5,442 in the U.S.) and 559 banks (10.8% among 5,177 nationwide) served the legal cannabis industry. (Source: New Frontier Data, Statista.com, FDIC)'
'It is estimated that the U.S. federal government spends roughly $33 billion annually prosecuting the war on drugs; state and local governments spend nearly $30 billion to the same end. The expenditures are often described as a “cost to taxpayers”; however, they could just as easily be understood as allocations to federal, state, and local law enforcement budgets. In a competitive budgetary environment, law enforcement demonstrates its efficacy through arrests, seizures of cash and assets, and drug interdictions – all of which both justify and perpetuate the continuing war on drugs. Such actions also serve as the foundation for sustaining or increasing budgets.
The U.S.’s continued prosecution of the drug war also brings the revenue streams of law enforcement full circle. Some portion of the $63 billion allocated to law enforcement across the U.S. comes from the tax revenue generated by regulated cannabis businesses; a further portion comes from the additional taxes generated by §280E. Some law enforcement budget is supplemented by funds generated from civil asset forfeiture locally, as well as monies from participating in the federal Equitable Sharing Program. Whatever the totality of their operating budgets, law enforcement agencies have positioned themselves to profit from every aspect of the cannabis industry, from legal businesses to unregulated operators.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/catching-cannabis-coming-and-going-how-law-enforcement-profits-from-illicit-and-legalized-marijuana-businesses-alike/
'A single execution carried out dispassionately by prosperous and
educated men with the approval and participation of Christian minister
and presented as something necessary and even just, perverts and
brutalizes men more than thousands of murders committed by uneducated
working people under the influence of passion. An execution such as
Zukhovsky proposed to arrange, which was to arouse in men a sentiment of
religious emotion, would have the most depraving influence imaginable.
Every war, even the briefest, with the expenditure usual to war, the destruction of crops, the plundering, the licensed debauchery and murders, the sophisticated excuses as to its necessity and justice, the exaltation and glorification of military exploits, patriotism and devotion to the flag, the feigned solicitude for the wounded, and so on, does more to deprave people in a single year than millions of robberies, arsons, and murders committed in hundreds of years by individual men under the influence of passion.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Every war, even the briefest, with the expenditure usual to war, the destruction of crops, the plundering, the licensed debauchery and murders, the sophisticated excuses as to its necessity and justice, the exaltation and glorification of military exploits, patriotism and devotion to the flag, the feigned solicitude for the wounded, and so on, does more to deprave people in a single year than millions of robberies, arsons, and murders committed in hundreds of years by individual men under the influence of passion.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'The THC fallacy persists despite everyone’s best efforts. Both Instagram influencers as well as cannabis entrepreneurs and advocates have tried to explain that the THC number is, at best, a rough estimate (and a number that, depending on the lab that came up with it, might be inflated or suspect).
With this much momentum, it’s unlikely science will change anything. It will take a long time for buyers to adjust their habits and realize THC content isn’t like alcohol by volume on a beer label after all. Until they do, connoisseurs can take advantage of the market inefficiency, and take home superior pot with lower THC levels at a reduced price. It will just require a little more work on the consumer’s end. '
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisroberts/2020/06/16/science-reveals-the-cannabis-industrys-greatest-lie-youre-buying-weed-wrong-and-so-is-everyone-else/
'Global seizures of cannabis herb fell to their lowest level in two decades in 2018 – a slump driven by declines in North America, where seizures have fallen by 84 per cent in the last 10 years. By contrast, seizures almost doubled in the rest of the world over the same period. The pattern of seizures suggests policies aimed at liberalizing cannabis markets have played a key role in the decline.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
'Now that the Narcotics Bureau had taken it upon itself to incarcerate every addict in the U.S., they needed more agents to do the work. Not only more agents, but a different type agent. Like during prohibition, when bums and hoodlums flooded the Internal Revenue Department, now addict-agents join the department for free junk and immunity. It is difficult to fake addiction. An addict knows an addict. The addict-agents manage to conceal their addiction, or perhaps, they are tolerated because they get results. An agent who has to connect or go sick will bring a special zeal to his work.' - Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Ease of manufacturing and low production costs helped to seed both crises, as did the context of an absence of international regulations on tramadol and many fentanyl analogues or their precursors. Both crises were inflamed by the availability of the substances on pharmaceutical and illicit markets – making it more difficult to detect and prevent their misuse.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
'Cannabis is the drug that most brings people into contact with the criminal justice system, accounting for more than half of all drug law offences cases, based on reports from a total of 69 countries over 2014–2018 The predominance of cannabis-related cases in the statistics reflects the drug's large global market. ATS were the next biggest drug category (responsible for 19 per cent of cases), followed by cocaine (11 per cent) and opioids (7 per cent). Almost 90 per cent of suspects were men.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
'2. Scale up scientific evidence-based interventions for the treatment of drug use disorders that take a multifactorial approach, are integrated within the overall health-care delivery system of each country, are affordable, attractive, available and accessible in both urban and rural settings, are an alternative to punishment and/or prison, are available to people in need, are based on principles of human rights and ethics, and address the varied needs of people with drug use disorders. Treatment services for those in rural settings and remote areas could be offered through mobile services as well as through the use of web-based and telecommunication facilities (telemedicine).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
Going through the executive summary of the 2020 World Drug Report, I find that there is no change in tune from the world drug control agencies. The report says that abuse of all forms of synthetic drugs are rapidly growing including opioids, amphetamines and benzodiazepines. It also says that Covid 19 is likely to exacerbate drug usage and that novel psychotropic substances synthesized in labs are growing rapidly. It says that national budgets for drug control have been slashed significantly over the last few years. Along with all this it also continues to say that cannabis was the most consumed and largest seized drug in the world. It also shows that the majority of persons in jail are for cannabis. It also seems more focused on curbing cannabis cultivation by poor farmers than focusing on synthetic drugs that kill. It talks about how 80% of the world suffers without access to pain medication and then goes on to say that cannabis needs to be closely monitored and claims of its use are only personal testimonials without clinical trial backing. It also does not miss the opportunity to say that THC is not as benign as CBD even though no statistic of cannabis related deaths exist. It says that adolescent use in places where cannabis has been legalized have not increased, states that alcohol is much more responsible for violence than drugs, but expresses concern about big tobacco and alcohol companies looking to enter cannabis businesses...how typical...
Jul 3, 2020, 4:18 PM
'Owing to the criminalization of drug use, punitive laws, stigma and discrimination against people who use or inject drugs in many parts of the world, conventional survey methods have been found to underestimate the actual population size because of the hidden nature of PWID [persons who inject drugs]; therefore, only indirect methods have been shown to reflect the situation of PWID with greater accuracy. Overall, new or updated estimates of PWID were available for 40 countries in 2018.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_2.pdf
'What about Roy?" I asked.
"Didn't you hear about him? He went wrong and hanged himself in the Tombs." It seemed the law had Roy on three counts, two larceny, one narcotics. They promised to drop all charges if Roy would set up Eddie Crump, an old-time pusher. Eddie only served people he knew well, and he knew Roy. The law double-crossed Roy after they got Eddie. They dropped the narcotics charge, but not the two larceny charges. So Roy was slated to follow Eddie up to Riker's Island, where Eddie was doing pen indefinite, which is maximum in City Prison. Three years, five months, and six days. Roy hanged himself in the Tombs, where he was awaiting transfer to Riker's.
Roy had always taken an intolerant and puritanical view of pigeons. "I don't see how a pigeon can live with himself," he said to me once.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Parents sought medical cannabis as a treatment because of a perceived unmet need stemming from the failure of antiepileptic drugs to control their children's seizures. Medical cannabis was viewed as an acceptable treatment, especially compared with adding additional antiepileptic drugs. After learning about medical cannabis from the media, friends and family, or other parents, participants sought authorization for medical use. However, most encountered resistance from their child's neurologist to discuss and/or authorize medical cannabis, and many parents experienced difficulty in obtaining authorization from a member of the child's existing care team, leading them to seek authorization from a cannabis clinic. Participants described spending up to $2000 per month on medical cannabis, and most were frustrated that it was not eligible for reimbursement through public or private insurance programs.'
https://www.epilepsybehavior.com/article/S1525-5050(20)30299-7/pdf
- 'Civil forfeiture laws allow local law enforcement to retain possession of seized assets, creating inherent conflicts of interest.
- Federal prohibition of cannabis makes people prone to forfeiture laws even in states where it is legally permitted.
- Among states which have restrictions on civil forfeiture, those can be bypassed via the federal equitable sharing program.
- Using available FY 2019 data, New Frontier Data estimates that $661 million in federally deposited seized funds were linked to cannabis.
- Among all drug-related instances, cannabis-related seizures represented the lowest percentage of those for which charges were ultimately filed.
- In one locale, though marijuana was the singular trade for which the largest amount of cash was seized, just 29% was tied to actual charges.'
'The
power of the governments rests on public opinion and possessing power
they can always support the sort of public opinion they require by their
whole organization, officials, law courts, schools, the Church, and
even the Press. Public opinion produces power , power produces public
opinion; and it seems as if there were no escape from this position.
And that would really be the case if public opinion were something fixed and unchanging and if governments could always produce the public opinion they desired.
But fortunately that is not so. In the first place, public opinion is not something constant, unchanging and stagnant, but on the contrary is something continually changing and moving with the movement of mankind. And secondly, public opinion not only cannot be produced at will by governments, but is what produces governments and gives or deprives them of power.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
And that would really be the case if public opinion were something fixed and unchanging and if governments could always produce the public opinion they desired.
But fortunately that is not so. In the first place, public opinion is not something constant, unchanging and stagnant, but on the contrary is something continually changing and moving with the movement of mankind. And secondly, public opinion not only cannot be produced at will by governments, but is what produces governments and gives or deprives them of power.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'Given the significant number of people whose property is being seized under civil asset forfeiture programs but who are never charged — and particularly since cannabis has been a major driver for the forfeitures at a time when public support for legalization is at an all-time high — reforming civil asset forfeiture laws and ensuring that those whose property has been seized have proper recourse to recover their assets should be key components. Further, having police department budgets funded by property seized from the public creates perverse incentives for law enforcement agencies in budget-constrained communities to be more aggressive in the practice in order to offset budget cuts. At a minimum, having any seized assets allocated toward community programs (or other general fund allocations outside of law enforcement) can eliminate the expectation that police pay hinges on how many assets that officers seize. Additionally, the federal Equitable Sharing Program should be reformed to eliminate the bypassing of such state level restrictions on spending. Barring such changes, the civil asset forfeiture will continue to present significant opportunities for abuses of police power.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/law-enforcements-ill-gotten-gain-civil-asset-forfeiture-laws-v-cannabis/
'Results: On average, 95.8% of users experienced symptom relief following consumption with an average symptom intensity reduction of –3.76 points on a 0-10 visual analogue scale (SD = 2.64, d = 1.71, p <.001). Symptom relief did not differ by labeled plant phenotypes (“C. indica,” “C. sativa,” or “hybrid”) or combustion method. Across cannabinoid levels, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels were the strongest independent predictors of symptom relief, while cannabidiol (CBD) levels, instead, were generally unrelated to real-time changes in symptom intensity levels. Cannabis use was associated with some negative side effects that correspond to increased depression (e.g. feeling unmotivated) in up to 20% of users, as well as positive side effects that correspond to decreased depression (e.g. feeling happy, optimistic, peaceful, or relaxed) in up to 64% of users. '
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7309674/
'As cross-border methamphetamine trafficking in North America consists mainly of trafficking from Mexico to the United States, the south-western border thus remains the main entry point for illegal imports of methamphetamine into the United States: in 2018, 95 per cent of the methamphetamine seizures made by United States customs authorities were effected at or near the country’s south-western border. Quantities of methamphetamine seized in the United States as a whole almost tripled between 2013 and 2018, whereas those intercepted along the south-western border quadrupled during the same period. Trafficking modi operandi include concealment by human couriers on commercial flights, the use of parcel delivery services, and the use of pick-up trucks and commercial buses, as well as unusual goods deliveries such as concealment in metal collars, cargo stabilizers, electric transformers and industrial drill bits, reflecting the increasing sophistication of methamphetamine smuggling activities. Another emerging trend over the past few years has been the use of drones, which easily fly over physical barriers on the border while the operators remain at a safe distance from where the drugs are dropped, thereby reducing the risk of arrest.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'When you give up junk, you give up a way of life. I have seen junies kick and hit the lush and wind up dead in a few years. Suicide is frequent among ex-junkies. Why does a junkie quit junk of his own will? You never know the answer to that question. No conscious tabulation of the disadvantages and horrors of junk gives you the emotional drive to kick. The decision to quit junk is a cellular decision, and once you have decided to quit you cannot go back to junk permanently any more than you could stay away from it before. Like a man who has been away a long time, you see things different when you return from junk.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The average purity of crystalline methamphetamine in East and South-East Asia continues to remain very high, again suggesting an abundant supply of the drug. The average purity of samples analysed in China reached 95 per cent in 2018 and other countries in the subregion (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam) reported purity levels of between 70 and 90 per cent. While purity has remained high, retail prices of crystalline methamphetamine have decreased in several countries in the subregion in recent years, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia and Myanmar, pointing to an increase in the availability of crystalline methamphetamine in the subregion. In Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam, retail prices of crystalline methamphetamine have actually more than halved over the past decade. At the same time, the average purity of crystalline methamphetamine rose in Thailand from 90 per cent in 2011 to around 95 per cent in 2019, with almost all (99 per cent) of the crystalline methamphetamine samples analysed in 2019 showing purity levels of over 90 per cent.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'NORML urges candidate Biden to join with many of his Democratic colleagues and to throw his support behind The MORE Act, HR 3884 — which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and once and for all allow individual states the flexibility and authority to regulate cannabis how best they see fit.
The MORE Act would also make several other important changes. For example, it permits physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to make medical marijuana recommendations to qualifying veterans who reside in legal states and it incentivizes states to move ahead with expungement policies that will end the stigma and lost opportunities suffered by those with past, low-level cannabis convictions. If approved, the MORE Act also allows the Small Business Administration to support entrepreneurs and businesses as they seek to gain a foothold in this emerging industry.
The MORE Act became the first bill in US history to end federal marijuana prohibition to be approved in the House Judiciary Committee on November, 20th, 2019 with a bipartisan vote of 24-10.'
https://norml.org/blog/2020/07/09/bidens-marijuana-plan-is-out-of-step-with-public-opinion-would-do-little-to-mitigate-the-failed-policy-of-federal-prohibition/
'For a very long time past the power of the governments over the peoples has not rested on force, as it did in the days when one people conquered another and held it in subjection by force of arms, or when the rulers had legions of janissaries, oprichniki, and armed guards amid an unarmed people. For a long time past the power of the government rested on what is called public opinion.
There is a public opinion that patriotism is a great moral sentiment, and that people should consider their own nation and State as the best in the world; and this results in a public opinion that it is right and proper to acknowledge the authority of the government and to submit to it, that it is right and proper to serve in the army and submit to its discipline, that it is right and proper to give one's earnings to the government in the form of taxes, that it is right and proper to accept the decisions of the courts, and that it is right and proper to accept as divine truth whatever the emissaries of the government deliver to us.
And once such a public opinion exists, a mighty power is established, controlling in our days milliards of money, an organized mechanism of administration, the postal service, telegraphy, telephones, disciplined armies, the law courts, the police, a submissive clergy, schools, and even newspapers; and this power maintains among the people the public opinion needed for its own maintenance.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'In a statement issued last week by District Attorney Glenn Funk, he said that activities involving the possession of up to one-half ounce of cannabis will no longer be prosecuted by county officials. “Marijuana charges do little to promote public health, and even less to promote public safety,” he said.'
https://norml.org/news/2020/07/09/tennessee-davidson-county-district-attorney-ceasing-low-level-marijuana-prosecutions
'"Where does the change begin, what does the change look like?” asked DuBois.
“Well, the change has to be the voters start asking for the right things. They start demanding from their district attorneys and their state’s attorneys and their mayors and their county executives the arrest rates for real crime,” said Simon.'
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/07/08/maurice-dubois-david-simon/
'Cannabis has been prohibited in all sports during competition since the World Anti-Doping Agency first assumed the responsibility of establishing and maintaining the list of prohibited substances in sport 15 years ago. In 2018, however, CBD was removed from the Prohibited List, presumably on the basis of mounting scientific evidence that the cannabinoid is safe and well-tolerated in humans, even at very high doses (e.g. 1500 mg·day-1 or as an acute dose of 6000 mg). While several recent reviews have described the impact of cannabis on athlete health and performance, the influence of CBD alone has yet to be addressed.
The aim of this narrative review was to explore evidence on the physiological, biochemical, and psychological effects of CBD that may be relevant to sport and/or exercise performance and to identify relevant areas for future research. Given the absence of studies directly investigating CBD and sports performance, this review draws primarily on preclinical studies involving laboratory animals and a limited number of clinical trials involving non-athlete populations.'
https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-020-00251-0
'The major features of cellular organization, including, for instance, mitosis, must be much older than 500 million years old - more nearly 1000 million,' wrote Geroge Gaylord Simpson and his colleagues Pittendrigh and Tiffany in their broadly encompassing book entitled Life. 'In this sense the world of life, which is surely fragile and complex, is incredibly durable through time - more durable than mountains. This durability is wholly dependent on the almost incredible accuracy with which the inherited information is copied from generation to generation.'
But in all the thousand million years envisioned by these authors no threat has struck so directly and so forcefully at that 'incredible accuracy' as the mid-20th century threat of man-made radiation and man-made and man-disseminated chemicals. Sir Macfarlane Burnet, a distinguished Australian physician and a Nobel Prize winner, considers it 'one of the most significant medical features' of our time that, 'as a by-product of more and more powerful therapeutic procedures and the production of chemical substances outside of biological experiences, the normal protective barriers that kept mutagenic agents from the internal organs have been more and more frequently penetrated.' - Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
'It would seem that junk is the only habit-forming drug. Cats cannot be addicted to morphine, as they react to an injection of morphine with acute delirium. Cats have a relatively small quantity of histamine in the blood stream. It would seem that histamine is the defense against morphine, and that cats, lacking this defense, cannot tolerate morphine. Perhaps the mechanism of withdrawal is this: Histamine is produced by the body as a defense against morphine during the period of addiction. When the drug is withdrawn, the body continues to produce histamine.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Currently, Iowa is among 12 U.S. states banning the sale of smokable hemp flower, though no other state levels criminal penalties for simple possession (in Louisiana, selling prohibited hemp can net a $300 fine for a first offense, though neither retailers nor consumers are subject to jail time).
A common reason for banning smokable hemp is the plant’s close resemblance to cannabis. Lacking a test from a certified lab, it is practically impossible for law enforcement to distinguish between hemp and cannabis flower, leading to confusion, added complexity, and time spent if seized in transport.
Thus — though the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a system for hemp operators to confirm their legitimacy — most states have opted instead for an outright ban of hemp flower.'
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/smokable-hemp-leaves-lack-of-clarity-in-the-hawkeye-state/
'Harm Reduction International monitored prison decongestion measures adopted around the world between March and June 2020 in response to COVID-19, and found evidence of such schemes in 109 countries. We tracked criteria for eligibility and implementation of the measures. Noting that UN experts recommended countries release "those charged for minor and non-violent drug and other offences" in the context of COVID-19, we further focused on how these measures impact on people in prison for drug offences.
Despite a scarcity of official information, we found that around a fourth of countries implementing decongestion schemes explicitly excluded people incarcerated for drug offences; effectively prioritising punitive approaches to drug control over the health of the prison population and the individual'
https://www.hri.global/covid-19-prison-diversion-measures
'The advocates of peace by means of arbitration reason thus: two animals cannot divide their prey except by fighting: children act thus also, and so do barbarians and the barbarous nations, but rational men settle their disagreements by discussion, persuasion, and by referring the decision of the question to disinterested and reasonable people, and the nations of our day ought to act so. These arguments seem quite correct. The peoples of our time have reached a period of enlightenment and have no enmity towards one another and would settle their differences in a peaceful manner. But the argument is correct only in so far as it applies to the people alone, and only if the people are not under the sway of their governments. People in subjection to government is already an indication of the utmost irrationality. '
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'“In the six states surrounding Colorado—Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming—following Colorado’s legalization, the border counties experienced, on average, a decrease of 393.1 cases of property crime and 277.3 cases of larceny per 100,000 population relative to the nonborder counties.”
“Specifically, we observed that the property crime rate and larceny rate experienced substantial decreases in the border counties in neighboring states relative to nonborder counties following the legalization in Colorado,” the study says. “This is also true for the rate of simple assault…if Utah is not considered (only considering Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming as neighboring states of Colorado).”
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/colorados-marijuana-legalization-law-decreases-crime-in-neighboring-states-study-finds/
'Opium is formed in the unripe seed pods of the poppy plant. Its function is to protect the seeds from drying out until the plant is ready to die and the seeds are mature. Junk continues to function in the human organism as it did in the seed pod of the poppy. It protects and cushions the body like a warm blanket while death grows to maturity inside. When a junkie is really loaded with junk he looks dead. Junk turns the user into a plant. Plants do not feel pain since pain has no function in a stationary organism. Junk is a pain killer. A plant has no libido in the human or animal sense. Junk replaces the sex drive. Seeding is the sex of the plant and the function of opium is to delay seeding.
Perhaps the intense discomfort of withdrawal is the transition from plant back to animal, from a painless, sexless, timeless state back to sex and pain and time, from death back to life.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'We also summarise the evidence relating to our current cannabis laws, to show what the impacts of maintaining the status quo might be. For example, the life-long collateral consequences of a drug conviction have detrimental social outcomes on individuals, whanau, and communities. Maori are disproportionately impacted by cannabis-related arrests and convictions and – despite recent changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 that affirm police discretion to take a health-oriented approach – this is unlikely to change while cannabis remains illegal.
The impacts of legalising cannabis are wide-ranging, including changes to social outcomes, public ealth outcomes and criminal justice. There may be some outcomes people haven’t yet considered, and we hope that having accessible information from trusted sources helps New Zealanders in their decision-making process.'
https://twitter.com/ChiefSciAdvisor/status/1280276739839496192
'However, the conversation on police reform cannot simply start and end with these measures, and it must include a reexamination of our entire criminal justice system. We should be repealing mandatory sentencing and reducing over-policing (which includes finally legalizing adult-use marijuana)'
https://www.poconorecord.com/opinion/20200707/lt-gov-john-fetterman-discretion-and-de-escalation-are-police-officerrsquos-strongest-tools
'The probes froze billion-dollar deals in place for months. And while companies waited, the fast-moving industry shifted to the point where deals had to be renegotiated or abandoned, even after they received approval. At least three large acquisitions failed after receiving DOJ requests for vast amounts of extra information that required months to prepare and deliver.
“It was a pain in the ass,” one industry insider at a company that went through the review and asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told VICE News'
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akzk9b/trumps-war-on-legal-weed
- 'Social Equity Programs (SEPs) are focused initiatives designed to address inequality in the national cannabis market.
- A reported 70% of Americans believe smoking cannabis to be “morally acceptable.”
- In 2018, 663,367 people were arrested for marijuana violations — about one per every 48 seconds.
- Black people are 3.6x more likely than are whites to be arrested for marijuana possession'
Officially
sponsored myth 1 -'"All drugs are more or less similar and all are
habit forming." This myth lumps cocaine, marijuana and junk together.
Marijuana is not at all habit forming and its action is almost the
direct opposite from junk action. There is no habit to cocaine. You can
develop a tremendous craving for cocaine, but you won't be sick if you
can't get it. When you have a junk habit, on the other hand, you live in
a state of chronic poisoning for which junk itself is the specific
antidote. If you don't get the antidote at eight-hour intervals, and
enough of it, you develop symptoms of allergic poisoning: yawning,
sneezing, watering of the eyes and nose, cramps, vomiting and diarrhea,
hot and cold flushes, loss of appetite, insomnia, restlessness and
weakness, in some cases circulatory collapse and death from alergic
shock....When I say "habit-forming drug" I mean a drug that alters the
endocrinal balance of the body in such a way that the body requires that
drug in order to function. So far as I know, junk is the only habit
forming drug according to this definition.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The lack of disaggregated data makes it impossible to obtain a global overview of drug use as distributed between urban and rural areas and to analyse interacting global trends in urbanization and drug markets. From the information available, it seems that drug use is more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas, in both developed and developing countries, with the exception of some major rural drug-producing areas. Urbanization has also been found to be a general risk factor for drug use; for example, data from school surveys in Colombia and Mexico show the prevalence of use of some drugs being up to 60 per cent higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Data on drug law offences including possession and trafficking of drugs in Germany and Austria confirm the same patterns with main cities showing higher per capita offences than the national average (typically around 50 per cent higher in 2018)'- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'A study conducted in India in the Chandigarh area, that city being the capital of the two neighbouring States of Punjab and Haryana, also suggested there are higher levels of drug use in urban slum areas than in rural areas. If this information were to be validated across all countries, the rapid urbanization of the past decade could be an element that explains, at least partially, the growth in the global drug market. In this context, urbanization becomes a crucial element when considering future dynamics in drug markets, in particular in developing countries, where growth in urbanization is more pronounced than in other countries.'- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Over the past two decades, drug markets have become increasingly complex in terms of variety and combinations of substances used and trafficked, manufacturing processes and the organizational structure of drug trafficking organizations. There has been a rapid emergence of new substances, as well as new mixes of controlled and non-controlled substances, with an increasing misuse of pharmaceuticals, which poses new challenges for both drug demand and supply control efforts at the national, regional and global levels.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'In the late 1990s, some 230 psychoactive substances were under international control, of which a handful dominated the global drug markets, most notably cannabis, cocaine, opium, heroin, amphetamines and “ecstasy”. Two decades later, the situation has changed, as there are now far more substances on the market. A number of synthetic NPS (i.e. psychoactive substances that mimic the properties of substances already under international control) emerged on the drug markets in the past decade, including synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, phenethylamines, piperazines and various fentanyl analogues, resulting in a new wave of scheduling of such substances at the international level, with the total number of substances under international control rising from 234 in 2014 to 282 in 2018. At the same time, the number of NPS rose from 166 substances over the period 2005–2009 to 950 substances by the end of 2019. Worldwide, in recent years authorities have identified more than three times as many NPS as there are psychoactive substances under international control' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Beyond internationally controlled substances, the legal status of many substances in the market differ from country to country, and sometimes within countries. This creates quite complex production and trafficking patterns in which some substances are under national control in some countries but not in others, leaving ample opportunities for producers and traffickers of the substances to select countries depending on the legal status of those substances in the respective jurisdictions, while also quickly adjusting to new controls wherever and whenever they may occur. The multiplicity of substances currently in the market challenges the effectiveness of national and international interventions because the elimination of one substance from the market easily leads to replacement by another.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
Officially sponsored myth 7 - '"There is a clear line between addict and peddler. The authorities pity the addict and are out only to get the peddler."
I have never seen an addict who did not sell, or a street peddler who did not use. There is no line at all. The authorities make no distinction, and the penalty for selling and possession are about the same.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The situation is particularly complex for the opioids group, as both legally and illegally produced substances satisfy the non-medical demand for opioids. While illegally produced opiates, such as heroin, used to dominate the non-medical demand for opioids, the illicit opioid markets in many countries have become far more diversified over the past two decades, with a number of pharmaceutical opioids that have started to cover a substantial part of the market for opioids for non-medical purposes.
This is creating an additional challenge for drug use prevention because, unlike the traditional hard drugs such as heroin, pharmaceuticals are often not perceived as harmful. In terms of drug control, this requires a careful equilibrium between maximizing accessibility for medical use while minimizing availability for non-medical use. It should be noted that the use of pharmaceuticals for non-medical purposes is not limited to opioids. There is also a substantial market for stimulant pharmaceuticals for non-medical use, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The sight of these two men, so different from one another - the well-fed elegant Frenchman, in a top-hat and a long overcoat that was then very fashionable, radiant with freshness and self-confidence, with his white hand, unused to work, energetically showing how the Germans must be squeezed; and the shaggy figure of Prokofy, shriveled up by constant labour, always tired but always at work despite his enormous rupture, with fingers swollen by toil, with wisps of hay in his hair, with slack home-made breeches and down-trodden bark shoes, striding along with an enormous fork of hay on his shoulder, with that step, not lazy but economical in movement, with which a working man always moves - the strong contrast presented by those two men made much clear to me then, and now, after the Toulon-Paris festivities, vividly occurs. One of them personified all those who, fed by the people's toil, afterwards use those same people for cannon-fodder, while the other personified that very cannon-fodder which feeds and protects the others who afterwards so dispose of it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'The growing complexity of drug markets can be also observed in the organizational structure of the actors involved. There has been a general trend over the past two decades towards an increasing fragmentation of the serious and organized crime landscape and the emergence of more groups and looser networks. Organizations based on loose cooperation across criminal networks have proved more resilient to law enforcement interventions than other types, as a network that gets dismantled can, in general, be easily replaced by another. The landscape of the global illicit drug trade has thus become more complex, is rapidly evolving and is facilitated by new technology such as encrypted communications software and the darknet.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The shift away from purely hierarchically organized crime groups, characterized by an extensive division of labour within such organizations, also entails the emergence of new groups engaged in specific activities, covering only limited aspects of drug manufacture and logistics or specific areas such as money-laundering and the investment of drug proceeds. Moreover, a number of new groups have emerged in recent years, bypassing many of the traditional actors, purchasing and selling drugs online through the darknet to end users. They make use of private or public postal services to transport drugs to anonymous post office boxes from which they are collected by the end users. The payment is made in parallel by means of cryptocurrency transactions on the darknet' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Let all the external improvements that religious and scientific people
dream of be accomplished; let all men accept Christianity and all the
improvements the Bellamys and Richets desire be accomplished with all
possible additions and corrections, but if at the same time the
hypocrisy remains that now exists, if people do not profess the truth
they know but continue to feign belief in what they do not themselves
believe and veneration for what they do not respect, the condition of
people will not only merely remain what it is but will become worse and
worse. The better men are materially provided for, the more telegraphs,
telephones, books, papers and periodicals they have the more means there
will be of spreading contradictory lies and hypocrisies, and the more
disunited and consequently unhappy will men become, as indeed occurs
now.
Let all those external alterations be realized and the position of humanity will not be bettered. But let each man according to the strength that is in him profess the truth he knows and practises in his own life - or at least cease to excuse the falsehood he supports by representing it as truth - and at once, in this very year 1893, such changes would be accomplished towards man's liberation and the establishment of truth on earth, as we dare not hope for in hundreds of years.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
Let all those external alterations be realized and the position of humanity will not be bettered. But let each man according to the strength that is in him profess the truth he knows and practises in his own life - or at least cease to excuse the falsehood he supports by representing it as truth - and at once, in this very year 1893, such changes would be accomplished towards man's liberation and the establishment of truth on earth, as we dare not hope for in hundreds of years.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'The way drug trafficking organizations operate has been influenced by the growth of licit international trade and by the emergence of new ways of transporting goods. Notably, the use of containers has increased, and GPS devices have helped to retrieve the drug cargo within the multitude of containers. In a few cases, organized crime groups have even succeeded in hacking the computers of shipping companies to have containers redirected to locations where the drugs could be more easily removed from the container. In parallel, technological innovation has also enabled drug trafficking groups to acquire semi-submersibles to transport drugs, such as cocaine, from South America to Central and North America and, more recently, even to Europe, without being easily detectable. Moreover, drones are being used by drug trafficking groups to assist them in the shipment of drugs across borders. Another technological advance that has facilitated the connection of criminal groups is the emergence of encrypted messaging applications for mobile telephones, which have helped drug dealers to stay connected while maintaining a high degree of anonymity' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'Polydrug use is not a recent trend. It remains a public health concern because the use of multiple drugs potentially increases risks and exacerbates dependence. The management of polydrug use remains a complex and challenging task because treatment is often less successful for individuals who use multiple substances. Moreover, it is difficult to find evidence to address the question about whether the complexity of the drug markets has increased over the past two decades in terms of the number of substances and combinations involved in polydrug use.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
Officially sponsored myth 8 - '"Peddlers try to get high school children on junk, or marijuana. A recent magazine article depicts peddlers slipping laudanum into the Coca-Cola of teenagers."
This is utterly ridiculous. No peddler wants kids for customers. They never have enough money, they talk too much and they cannot stand up under police questioning. The best customers are the old-timers. They know all the angles and generally have some source of revenue.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'However, polydrug trafficking is not limited to Europe and can also be found in other regions and subregions, including North America, South America, Asia, Oceania and Africa. For a number of years, for example, polydrug trafficking organizations have been dismantled in the United States. A recent example was the dismantlement in July 2019 of an organization involving more than 50 people selling counterfeit oxycodone pills (containing fentanyl), methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and benzodiazepine pills, as well as various types of weapons.' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf
'The 63rd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna this week laid bare deep divisions in the international community over the World Health Organization (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations.
Rather than voting on recommendations that would have far-reaching implications for the global cannabis industry, the CND postponed the vote to December.
The delay underscores the difficulty in reaching agreements on cannabis policy on a level that transcends national borders.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/postponed-vote-on-who-cannabis-recommendations-reveals-international-disagreements-uphill-battle-ahead/
'The international policy process does not fare any better, with existing conventions built on a view of illegal drugs that is “increasingly at odds with current knowledge” (p. 218), and to a large extent reflecting a US desire to globalise their own policies. The international war on drugs has “often served as a flexible instrument for forwarding general American policy interests” (p.214); cannabis was included in the 1961 convention under “heavy international pressure” so as to “globalize the [American] Marijuana Tax Act” (p.205); the 1971 convention was established “as a reaction to the rise of youth counterculture of the late 1960s” (p.214); and poor nations are regularly threatened with “serious fiscal and reputational consequences” (p.215) if they fail to comply with US policy requests.'
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1515/nsad-2015-0034
Setting the record straight in Canada. If we look at every other country across the world as well we will find similar results where the justification for inclusion of marijuana in the banned list of drugs has no satisfactory explanation but was just a dangerous and ill thought out afterthought
'Why was Marijuana Originally Criminalized in Canada?
In 1923, Parliament decided to add marijuana to the schedule of the Opium and Narcotic Control Act, which also included opium, morphine, cocaine and eucaine at the time. Historians have been unable to find a record of any kind of parliamentary debate on the issue, and it seems no explanation was given as for why it was being criminalized.'
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2018/11/falqs-the-legalization-of-cannabis-in-canada/
'A naturally occurring plant whose benefits have made a mark in history, now being anecdotally observed and slowly being scientifically backed, is still banned and classified as a narcotic. Where in the course of time did we go wrong?
Ganja was perfectly legal to cultivate and consume until 1985 when the NDPS Act was passed, classifying the plant as a prohibited narcotic psychoactive drug. The major driver behind the NDPS Act seems to have been American pressure on India to ban marijuana. Recent revelations show that marijuana was then used in the U.S. as a political tool to advance certain pernicious agendas. But now, the U.S. has changed its outlook on legalisation.
What puts you at unease is that ganja is still in the same pool that includes harmful drugs such as heroin and cocaine, when in truth it has various medicinal benefits. By missing out on a favourable alternative, we must not be the victims here of erroneously enacted laws. It is time we took a hard look at outdated laws and made sure that millions do not miss out on a plant that could greatly ease their day-to-day lives. It should be a fundamental right to consume a relatively harmless substance.'
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/the-ganja-debate/article25412747.ece
Officially sponsored myth 10 - '"There is a connection between addiction and crime. Marijuana, especially, is supposed to cause people to commit crimes."
There is no direct connection between crime and drug intoxication that I have ever seen or heard of. The people who talk about drugs causing crime never seem to follow through and take into account the vast number of crimes committed by drunks. Alcohol is a crime-producing drug that outclasses all others. Of course, a lot of junkies steal to keep up their habit. It isn't easy to get up $10-15 per day, which is what the addict has to pay out for a day's supply of junk in the US.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for whole-plant marijuana, as well as cannabis resin, to be removed from Schedule IV—the most restrictive category of a 1961 drug convention signed by countries from around the world.
The body also wants delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its isomers to be completely removed from a separate 1971 drug treaty and instead added to Schedule I of the 1961 convention, according to a WHO document that has not yet been formally released but was circulated by cannabis reform advocates.
Marijuana and cannabis resin would also remain in Schedule I of the 1961 treaty—they are currently dual-designated in Schedules I and IV, with IV being reserved for those substances that are seen as particularly harmful with limited medical benefits. (That's different from the U.S. federal system, under which Schedule I is where the supposedly most dangerous and restricted drugs—like marijuana, heroin and LSD—are classified.)'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2019/02/01/world-health-organization-recommends-rescheduling-marijuana-under-international-treaties/#236433ca6bcc
'The UN Drug Conventions were negotiated in the 1940s and 1950s, in a very different atmosphere. The WHO Expert Committee never reviewed cannabis as a substance, which they normally do before substances are classified under the Conventions. There is growing concern about the position of cannabis in the Single Convention as conflicts are increasing between national legislations, the UN Drug Conventions and UN Human Rights Conventions.'
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1515/nsad-2016-0016
'“In these matters, the First Chamber held that the fundamental right to the free development of the personality allows the persons of legal age to decide – without any interference – what kind of recreational activities they wish to carry out and protect all the actions necessary to materialize that choice,” the court said in a press release, as translated by Google. “Now, it was also clarified that this right is not absolute and that the consumption of certain substances could be regulated, but the effects caused by marijuana do not justify an absolute prohibition on its consumption.”'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/mexican-supreme-court-strikes-down-marijuana-prohibition/
'Any anti-narcotic legislation is considered a good thing by the public. For this reason the field of narcotic legislation has become a testing ground for a type of law new to this country but familiar in police states. In the states of Louisiana and Kentucky it is a crime punishable by imprisonment (La., two to five years; Ky., one year) to be an addict. This is police-state legislation penalizing a condition or state of being. In the Louisiana law, no time or place is specified, nor is the term "addict" defined.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'In future, Uruguayan citizens over 18 and resident in the country will be able to register with the government and then grow up to six plants at home or buy up to 40 grams of the drug per month from licensed pharmacies. Resale, and the so-called dope tourism, are banned; sale in cafés will be illegal. Production, distribution, and sale will stay in private hands, but the government will control and regulate the whole process. Advertising will be banned, and so will imports or exports. The psychoactive element in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), will be at a low concentration of 5-12 per cent, and regulation will improve purity; '
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/wrongfooting-the-drug-cartels/article5501450.ece
'"The problem we see with cannabis is that we have a special situation where not just the plant itself is scheduled but each and every chemical component of the plant that goes under the cannabinoid rubric. You know, in the 1970s, when the Controlled Substance Act was enacted, it could have made sense because at that time we did not know about the existence of cannabinoid receptors, and we did not know that these receptors are responsible for the totality of the effects of THC. But we know that now. Some of the educational efforts that we scientists should put toward to the public and toward lawmakers are to explain that if there is one substance in cannabis that needs to be perused and needs to be considered carefully, that is THC, because that is the one that intoxicates people. And that particular substance (at least in its synthetic form) is in Schedule III. So anything else that does not intoxicate should not be scheduled at all." - Dr Daniele Piomelli (University of California, Irvine), Workshop on Cannabis and the opioid crisis: a multidisciplinary view'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931647/
Take cannabis out of the banned and controlled substances list in the international drug control conventions i.e. the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (as amended); the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances; and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, to solve a significant amount of human rights and drug policy issues worldwide. Most countries with repressive drug laws cite these UN conventions as their justification for cracking down on cannabis, by far the illicit drug consumed by the most number of people globally. Inclusion of the medicinal herb in the UN banned substances list has resulted in worldwide health and human rights issues on an unprecedented scale. If we also count the cost in terms of deaths due to alcohol, tobacco, non-medical prescription drug usage, opiates, opioids, meth-amphetamines, novel psychoactive drugs, synthetic cannabis, etc which could have at least been reduced with the legal availability of recreational cannabis, it is obvious that de-classifying cannabis should be the top priority and number one action required in drug policy and human rights worldwide. Compared to this, everything else is empty talk.
https://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/HIV-AIDS/HRDP%20Guidelines%202019_FINAL.PDF
'Federal and state narcotic authorities put every obstacle in the way of addicts who want a cure. No reduction cures are given in city or state institutions. Two hundred dollars is minimum for a ten-day cure in a private sanatorium. Hospitals are forbidden by law to give addicts any junk. I knew an addict who needed an operation for stomach cancer. The hospital could not give him any junk. Sudden withdrawal of junk plus the operation would likely have killed him so he decided to skip the operation.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
'Several countries have already gone ahead with major overhauls of legislation, including Jamaica, Belize and Antigua, where each home is allowed to cultivate no more than four plans for personal use. Authorities there are also moving to wipe away convictions for persons whose lives had been turned upside down after serving time for possession of small amounts of marijuana'
http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2018/sep/13/more-caricom-countries-easing-marijuana-laws-penal/
'Parents of a 4-year old Brazilian who suffers from cerebral palsy and West syndrome obtained permission from a judge in the region of Minas Gerais to grow enough marijuana to produce medicine from the plant.
Judge Antonio Jose Pecego, a criminal court jurist in Uberlandia, the second largest municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, justified the decision by characterizing it as a protection of the rights to life, dignity and health, Brazilian media Extra reported.'
https://www.upi.com/Brazilian-parents-get-judges-OK-to-grow-marijuana-for-sick-son/5341541532878/
'Colorado licenses sellers and producers but allows any adult to buy up to 28 grams at a time and then go down the street and buy 28 grams more. In Uruguay, consumers must be licensed as well, and each purchase will be tracked to ensure they buy no more than 10 grams a week, he said.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/uruguays-rules-for-marijuana-market/article5973564.ece
'The victim is always and ever the deceived, foolish, working folk - those who with blistered hands have built all those ships, fortresses, arsenals, barracks, cannon, harbours, steamers, and moles, and all these palaces, halls, platforms, and triumphal arches; who have set up and printed all these newspapers and pamphlets, and have procured and brought all these pheasants and ortolans, oysters, and wines that are consumed by the men who are fed, brought up, and kept by them, and who are deceiving them and preparing the most fearful calamities for them. It is always the same kindly, foolish folk, who stand open-mouthed like children, showing their healthy white teeth, naively delighted by dressed-up admirals and presidents with flags waving above them, and by fireworks and bands of music; and for whom, before they have time to look around, there will be neither admirals nor presidents nor flags nor bands, but only a desolate battlefield, cold, hunger, and anguish - before them murderous enemies and behind them relentless officers preventing their escape - blood, wounds, suffering, putrefying corpses, and a senseless unnecessary death.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'At present, Section 9 of Thailand's patent law prohibits the issuance of a patent for a natural extract taken from a plant or animal. A patent can only be granted if the extract is mixed with other substances...
"In that case," he said, "anyone including Thai researchers who comes up with an innovation could apply for a patent."
The foreign firm, which was not named, filed a petition containing its request in 2010 to ask the Commerce Ministry to grant a patent for cannabis extracts. The details of the application were announced on the department's website in 2016, Mr Thossapone said.'
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1574710/marijuana-patent-bid-shot-down
Choose the gunja, not the gun...
'The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives stands firm behind a bulletin sent out to gun shops that allows for no exceptions. A dealer who even suspects a customer may be using cannabis is obliged to cancel a sale.'
http://www2.philly.com/philly/business/medical-marijuana-gun-nra-doctor-20181116.html
'Lexington
and Forth Worth are the only two public institutions in the U.S. that
give reduction cures. Both are usually full. According to bureaucratic
regulations, anyone seeking admission to either hospital must send an
application (in triplicate, of course) to Washington and wait several
months to be admitted. Then he must stay at least six months. In
Louisiana a man could be arrested as a drug addict if he applied for the
cure.'
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
- Junky, William S Burroughs, 1977, originally published in 1953
Since this ruling in 2015, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in favour of marijuana in at least four other instances paving the way for legalization.
'Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that growing, possessing and smoking marijuana for recreation is legal under the right to freedom.
The measure was approved in 4—1 vote on the five—justice panel, backing the argument that smoking marijuana is covered under the right of “free development of personality.”
At this point, the ruling covers only the plaintiffs in a single case, a group of four people wanting to form a pot club.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/mexico-supreme-court-takes-step-toward-recreational-pot-use/article7845179.ece
'The U.S. Tax Court ruled on a 2½-year-old case in which California-based Harborside had hoped to end 280E’s hold over the marijuana industry’s profit margins.
But the Oakland company’s hopes were dashed Friday when the court upheld the tax code.“280E continues to negatively impact the growth of the legal cannabis industry, the jobs that it has created and state/local tax revenue that have come as a result,” the company said in a statement.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/280e-tax-still-applies-marijuana-companies/
Legalize ganja...
'The Excise Department fears that many will turn to blackmarketeers to escape the wearisome queues. Smuggling of branded liquor and spirit will increase. Illicit drinking clubs will proliferate. Hotels will unlawfully permit customers corkage to survive the downturn and retain employees. Concealed drinking in vehicles and pubic places will rise.
So will the abuse of marijuana and narcotic drugs. The government is also bracing for an estimated revenue loss of more than Rs7,000 crore in taxes. It has decided to refund the money collected as licence fee from permit holders for the next fiscal. Their stock will be seized after due compensation.'
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/uncertainty-grips-state-as-liquor-dries-up/article17759601.ece
'While the move has been widely characterized as outright legalization, it’s important to note that strict regulations still apply. Although hemp will no longer be in the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, prospective growers will have to submit cultivation plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), either through the state government or the USDA itself.
Cannabis plants must contain less than 0.3 percent THC in order to be classified as hemp.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/hemp-is-officially-legalized-with-president-trumps-signature-on-the-farm-bill/
'Trump’s signature on the 2018 Farm Bill takes hemp, defined as cannabis below 0.3% THC, out of the Controlled Substances Act.
The change also applies to extracts from hemp, including CBD.
The law takes effect immediately, meaning federal drug authorities must treat hemp like any other agricultural commodity, such as wheat or potatoes.
Hemp farmers will face none of the business and regulatory obstacles that apply to higher-THC varieties, which are still defined as marijuana and remain a Schedule 1 drug.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/trump-hemp-legalization-marijuana-industry-impact/
'South Africa has a good growing climate for cannabis, also known locally as “dagga,” and low labor and production costs compared to consumer nations in the West. Rob Davies, the country’s trade and industry minister, said the government is assessing South Africa’s potential to become “an active player” in the market for cannabis-related products, according to local media.
The Constitutional Court judgment allowing private use of cannabis “will force a rethinking of all legislation and may see government allowing mass production of marijuana for medical purpose,” the South African Federation of Trade Unions said last month. It said it might recruit and organize so that “workers in the new industry are protected.”'
https://apnews.com/50ba55423ae14122b256b774bc3a7ad3
'2018 has seen support for cannabis reform surge around the world, but many countries - including Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Brazil - have been intensifying their prohibitionist drug policies, or seem intent to do so. Take a look at the map to see some of the developments that have taken place over the past year. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.'
https://www.talkingdrugs.org/interactive-map-global-drug-policy-developments-of-2018
'The law that legalized recreational marijuana, which voters approved with nearly 56 percent support in November, says a person is within the confines of the law “who…delivers without receiving any remuneration to a person who is at least 21 years of age not more than” 2½ ounces of cannabis, roughly equivalent to 140 half-gram joints.'
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2019/01/03/gifting-marijuana-businesses-michigan/2382096002/
'CBD is now de-scheduled, and as long as you have a product produced using legal hemp, and that product is not marketed in a way that is making improper health claims, then yes, you can bring it with you on an airplane. '
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3bbvv/congress-just-legalized-hemp-but-what-does-that-mean-for-cbd
'“We have an untenable situation in the District that I believe makes us unsafe,” Bowser said at an earlier appearance in November. “As long as we have the ability to possess marijuana, which is our law, we also need the ability to procure marijuana legally, which we don’t have now.”
Grosso echoed that sentiment on Tuesday, saying the “status quo has led to a confusing and problematic state of affairs with residents and businesses unclear on what is legal, what is not, and wondering how it can be that it is legal to possess marijuana but not to buy or sell it.”
“We need to fix this,” he said.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/d-c-lawmaker-files-bill-to-legalize-marijuana-sales-despite-federal-concerns/
'First off, lawmakers will have to set the broad parameters of the law. All legalization proposals so far would eliminate legal penalties for the adult use of marijuana in a private home. Almost all would permit retail shops where people could buy the product.'
https://www.apnews.com/cfc9f93159754212b416ea8126d868c9
The day when we all freely share our varieties of ganja internationally is not here yet...
'Since Oct. 17, adults in Canada have been allowed to possess and share up to 30 grams of cannabis, but bringing the drug into the country continues to be illegal, carrying a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
If you are carrying cannabis upon entering Canada, it must be declared to the border agency. Otherwise, you may face arrest and prosecution, the Canada Border Services Agency says.'
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/cannabis-carrying-border-crossers-could-be-hit-with-fines-under-coming-system-1.4264330
'A legal loophole in Michigan that allows for individuals to give away marijuana free of charge has led to a new business model by some companies under which they sell products such as non-infused candy or art and add a free bit of cannabis as a “gift.”
According to Michigan Daily, some entrepreneurs got the idea from Washington DC, where recreational cannabis is legal but sales are still prohibited and where gifting has arisen as a way to sidestep the sales ban.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/michigan-medical-marijuana-companies-try-gifting-practice/
US federal laws blocking interstate synergy on a plant that should be treated as a commodity in its raw form...
'Despite Smith’s efforts, legal experts doubt his export plan – which would cover products ranging from marijuana plants to edibles – has a chance of succeeding anytime soon.
They note it is probably impossible to change Oregon law without an overhaul of federal marijuana laws and policy. The federal Controlled Substances Act, for starters, bars interstate shipments of marijuana.
Moreover, the amount of coordination that would be needed between agencies in Oregon and other states to enforce the export plan would likely prove to be a massive, and perhaps impossible, task.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/legal-hurdles-interstate-cannabis-exports-oregon/
'While the Justice Department has regularly cited United Nations (UN) treaties as the reason it can’t approve additional marijuana cultivators, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement said in 2016 that is not actually the case.
“Nothing in the text of the Single Convention, nor in the Commentary, suggests that there is a limitation on the number of licenses that can be issued,” the department wrote in response to an inquiry from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
The UN’s World Health Organization recently released its recommendation that marijuana should be removed from the strictest schedule under an international treaty. But while the political implications of rescheduling would be significant, it would have no bearing on the ability of the DEA to expand domestic cannabis research facilities.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/attorney-general-blames-marijuana-research-expansion-delay-on-international-treaty/
'Home growing—seen by many as a commonsense policy that ensures access to cannabis for individuals who can’t afford retail prices, live too far from a dispensary or just want to flex their green thumbs—has been a feature of almost all legal adult-use marijuana systems operating in the U.S., with the exception of Washington State’s. So what’s behind the New York governor’s opposition to letting adults cultivate their own crops?'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-companies-urged-governor-to-ban-cannabis-home-cultivation-document-shows/
'Since Portugal enacted drug decriminalization in 2001, the number of people voluntarily entering treatment has increased significantly, overdose deaths and HIV infections among people who use drugs have plummeted, incarceration for drug-related offenses has decreased, and rates of problematic and adolescent drug use has fallen.'
http://www.drugpolicy.org/press-release/2019/02/dpa-releases-new-briefing-paper-video-drug-decriminalization-portugal
'If people tell you that all this is necessary for the maintenance of the existing order of life and that this social order, with its destitution, hunger, prisons, executions, armies and wars, is necessary for society, that still more miseries will ensue were that organization infringed; all that is said only by those who profit by such an organization. Those who suffer from it - and they are ten times as numerous - all think and say the contrary. And in the depth of your soul you yourself know it is untrue, you know that the existing organization of life has outlived its time and must inevitably be reconstructed on new principles, and that therefore there is no need to sacrifice all human feeling to maintain it.'
- Leo Tolstoy - The Kingdom of God and Peace Essays
'A Washington state law firm is suing the U.S. government in an attempt to gain “immediate” access to records it hopes will shed light on why some foreign nationals – particularly Canadians – have been denied entry to the United States because of their involvement in the legal cannabis industry.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/seattle-law-firm-sues-us-government-over-marijuana-industry-border-bans-canada/
'Repeatedly defraud financial institutions and the government? Get 47 months in prison.
Illegally possess marijuana in a prohibition state? That’s a 12-year sentence, pal.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/senators-are-angry-that-marijuana-sentences-are-longer-than-paul-manaforts/
If you ask Indians whether ganja is legal in India, they will tell you that personal consumption is. It's only the growing and sale of ganja which is prohibited. They will make it sound like as if Indians have got the best possible ganja laws in the world. But if you cannot grow it and if you cannot buy it, how then are you supposed to get access to it? This is not an issue for the majority because they are the least bit interested in the plant or its consumers and their difficulties. After all, for the majority there are better things to do, like watching the next IPL game, figuring out how to make tons of money at any cost or seeing what their favorite politicians are wearing and eating.
The Mexican Supreme Court ruled by 4 to 1 that banning the consumption and cultivation of cannabis for personal use violates the human right to free development of one’s personality. The ruling only applies to the four individuals who brought the case to court, but widespread legalisation may follow.
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c34bdb9b-9e4d-4d57-83b8-3bf32435b3b0
'“The Attorney General’s Office is committed to ensuring that the marijuana legalization law is implemented as quickly and safely as possible,” said Margaret Quackenbush, a spokeswoman for Healey. “After further review, we have determined that under the statute, towns are not permitted to enact bans on medical marijuana establishments.”'
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/marijuana/ag-towns-cant-ban-medical-pot/
'The move came after state administrative law Judge Charles Marson ruled Brooke, who suffers frequent seizures because of a rare form of epilepsy, may continue to attend Village Elementary School in Santa Rosa with her emergency medicine. Marson’s decision overruled the Rincon Valley Union School District’s stance that allowing her on campus and the school bus violated state and federal laws barring medical marijuana on school grounds.'
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8765336-181/judge-rules-santa-rosa-girl?artslide=0
'The case of Mr. Mohamad, the cannabis oil seller, helped focus attention on the unfairness of imposing a mandatory death sentence in drug trafficking cases even when they involved the sale of relatively small amounts, said Mr. Ramkarpal, who has long opposed the death penalty.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/world/asia/malaysia-death-penalty-repeal.html
'In a harshly worded order scolding state officials for treating the Constitution “like a recommendation,” a Tallahassee judge Friday gave the Department of Health two weeks to begin registering new medical-marijuana operators or risk being found in contempt.'
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/276754-judge-chastises-state-over-marijuana-licenses
'In 2014, the same year Philadelphia took its big step toward relaxing pot enforcement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that gave police much greater freedom to search when they smelled pot. The ruling abolished the need for police to obtain court approval for searches.
Philadelphia lawyer Alan Tauber, who lost the case before the high court, said the opinion has emboldened police in Pennsylvania.'
http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/weed-marijuana-legalization-arrests-pennsylvania-new-jersey-african-american-20181004.html
'While federal law prohibits the possession of marijuana (inclusive of federal airspace,) California’s passage of proposition 64, effective January 1, 2018, allows for individuals 21 years of age or older to possess up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana for personal consumption. In accordance with Proposition 64, the Los Angeles Airport Police Department will allow passengers to travel through LAX with up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana. However, passengers should be aware that marijuana laws vary state by state and they are encouraged to check the laws of the states in which they plan to travel. '
https://www.flylax.com/en/lax-marijuana-policy
'Lukman, a 29-year-old father of one, provided cannabis oil to patients who were suffering from ailments that were difficult to treat with legal medicines. Lukman did not profit from this, and would provide cannabis oil for free to patients who could not afford it. Despite the lack of financial gain from his endeavour, his offences fall under section 39B of Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. This stipulates that “Any person who [traffics an illegal drug] shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be punished on conviction with death”.'
https://www.talkingdrugs.org/death-sentence-for-malaysia-man-who-gave-patients-free-cannabis-oil
'Because of the disconnect between federal and state marijuana laws, trying to board a plane in the United States while carrying medical marijuana puts you in a legal gray zone.'
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/traveling-with-medical-marijuana-tsa
The move is the latest in a series of steps Seattle has taken to reduce or eliminate penalties for pot possession. In 2003, city voters mandated that marijuana possession be made the lowest law-enforcement priority possible, and in 2010, City Attorney Pete Holmes announced he would stop prosecuting simple possession cases, no matter how many tickets the police department wrote.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/27/seattle-seeks-abolish-hundreds-pot-convictions-light-legal-marijuana/559577002/
https://norml.org/marijuana/fact-sheets/item/core-attributes-of-adult-access-regulations
Related articles
Cannabis and Equity
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-equity.html
Women and Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/women-in-cannabis-industry.html
The Medical Cannabis Industry
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-medical-cannabis-industry.html
Regulation and Compliance
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/regulation-and-compliance-in-cannabis.html
Cannabis and the Media
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-media.html
Cannabis and the UN
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-un.html
Cannabis and the FDA
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-fda.html
Cannabis Opposition
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-opposition.html
Cannabis and Crime
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-crime.html
Cannabis Advocacy
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-advocacy.html
Cannabis convictions and imprisonment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-convictions-and-imprisonment.html
Cannabis and the DEA
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-dea.html
Cannabis and the Black Market
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-black-market.html
Cannabis and Law Enforcement
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-law-enforcement.html
Cannabis and Pharma Companies
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-pharma-companies.html
Cannabis and Youth
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/03/cannabis-and-youth.html
Cannabis and the Environment
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-environment.html
Cannabis as an Agricultural Crop
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-agricultural-crop.html
Cannabis as Medicine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-as-medicine.html
Cannabis for Recreational Purposes
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-for-recreational-purposes.html
Cannabis and Research
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/cannabis-and-research.html
The Business of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-business-of-cannabis.html
The Economics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-economics-of-cannabis.html
The Legality of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-legality-of-cannabis.html
The Politics of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-politics-of-cannabis.html
The Social Usage of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-social-usage-of-cannabis.html
Cannabis Patients
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-patients.html
Cannabis and the Elderly
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-elderly.html
Cannabis and the Armed Forces
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-armed-forces.html
Cannabis and Methamphetamine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-methamphetamine.html
Cannabis and Opioids
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-opioids.html
Cannabis and Harm Reduction
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-harm-reduction.html
Cannabis and Synthetic Cannabinoids
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/cannabis-and-synthetic-cannabinoids.html
The Recreational Cannabis Consumer
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-recreational-cannabis-consumer.html
The History of Cannabis
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-history-of-cannabis.html
Cannabis and the US Federal Government
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2019/05/cannabis-and-us-federal-government.html
Cannabis and the Medical Industry
With no scientific basis global drug laws are invalid
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/with-no-scientific-basis-global-drug.html
A Look At The NDPS Act 1985 From A Cannabis Perspective
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-look-at-ndps-act-1985-from-cannabis.html
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/with-no-scientific-basis-global-drug.html
A Look At The NDPS Act 1985 From A Cannabis Perspective
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-look-at-ndps-act-1985-from-cannabis.html
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/03/cannabis-usage-in-19th-century.html
19th Century usage of cannabis as medicine by Indian physicians
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/03/19th-century-usage-of-cannabis-as.html
Cannabis and Sickle Cell Disease
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-sickle-cell-disease.html
Cannabis and Nausea
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-nausea.html
Cannabis and Insanity
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-insanity.html
References to medicinal cannabis in ancient texts
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/03/references-to-medicinal-cannabis-in.html
Cannabis and the Digestive System
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/03/cannabis-and-digestive-system.html
Cannabis and Cocaine
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-cocaine.html
Cannabis and Benzodiazepines
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/11/cannabis-and-benzodiazepines.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Tonk State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-tonk-state.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Sind 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-sind-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Shahpura State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-shahpura.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the Punjab 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-punjab-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Hyderabad State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-hyderabad.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Gwalior State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-gwalior.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-north.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Nepal 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-nepal-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Mysore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-mysore.html
Memorandum of Hemp Drugs in Madras Presidency 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-of-hemp-drugs-in-madras.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kotah State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kotah-state.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kishengarh State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kishengarh.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kashmir State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kashmir.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Karauli State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-karauli.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bangalore 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bangalore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jodhpur State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jodhpur.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jhallawar State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jhallawar.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jeypore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jeypore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jaisalmere State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jaisalmere.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Indore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-indore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Dholpur State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-dholpur.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Coorg 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-coorg-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the Central Provinces 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-central_3.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Central India 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-central.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bundi State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bundi-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bombay 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bombay-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Berar 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-berar-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bengal 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bengal-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Baroda State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-baroda.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Baluchistan (Quetta-Pishin) 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-baluchistan.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Assam 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-assam-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Alwar State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-alwar-state.html
Memorandum on hemp drugs in Ajmere-Merwara 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-ajmere.html
Government Resolution appointing the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1893
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/government-resolution-appointing-indian.html
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-tonk-state.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Sind 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-sind-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Shahpura State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-shahpura.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the Punjab 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-punjab-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Hyderabad State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-hyderabad.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Gwalior State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-gwalior.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-north.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Nepal 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-nepal-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Mysore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-mysore.html
Memorandum of Hemp Drugs in Madras Presidency 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-of-hemp-drugs-in-madras.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kotah State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kotah-state.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kishengarh State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kishengarh.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Kashmir State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-kashmir.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Karauli State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-karauli.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bangalore 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bangalore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jodhpur State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jodhpur.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jhallawar State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jhallawar.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jeypore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jeypore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Jaisalmere State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-jaisalmere.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Indore State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-indore.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Dholpur State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-dholpur.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Coorg 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-coorg-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in the Central Provinces 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-central_3.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Central India 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-central.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bundi State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bundi-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bombay 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bombay-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Berar 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-berar-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Bengal 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-bengal-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Baroda State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-baroda.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Baluchistan (Quetta-Pishin) 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-baluchistan.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Assam 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-assam-1894.html
Memorandum on Hemp Drugs in Alwar State 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-alwar-state.html
Memorandum on hemp drugs in Ajmere-Merwara 1894
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/memorandum-on-hemp-drugs-in-ajmere.html
Government Resolution appointing the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission 1893
https://ravingkoshy.blogspot.com/2020/06/government-resolution-appointing-indian.html