Reducing Gun Violence By Legalizing Drugs

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, there has, understandably, been a new wave of advocacy of policy proposals aimed at preventing future incidents of the same kind. However, gun violence in schools is already extremely rare, with the average child far more at risk of dying in a car accident or backyard pool accident than in school. And we are unlikely to reduce the already low incidence of mass shootings by gun control or other policy changes. Fortunately, as Yale law professor Dan Kahan explains at the Cultural Cognition Project blog, we can achieve a significant reduction in violence by legalizing drugs:

[W]hile the empirical evidence on the relationship between gun control and homicide is (at this time at least) utterly inconclusive, there certainly are policies out there that we have very solid evidence to believe would reduce gun-related homicides very substantially.
The one at the top of the list, in my view, is to legalize recreational drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.
The theory behind this policy prescription is that illegal markets breed competition-driven violence among suppliers by offering the prospect of monopoly profits and by denying them lawful means for enforcing commercial obligations.
The evidence is ample. In addition to empirical studies of drug-law enforcement and crime rates, it includes the marked increase in homicide rates that attended alcohol prohibition and the subsequent, dramatic deline of it after repeal of the 18th Amendment.

Kahan makes a number of other good points in his post, and cites lots of additional evidence. As they say, read the whole thing.
As an extra bonus, this approach to reducing gun violence doesn’t threaten anyone’s civil liberties or Second Amendment rights. It would actually increase protection for civil liberties by cutting back on the many abuses associated with the War on Drugs, such as bogus asset forfeitures and paramilitary paramilitary police raids that often kill or injure innocent people, and the erosion of the Fourth Amendment. And, unlike stepped-up gun control or “zero tolerance” policies of the sort we got after Columbine, it would actually save the government a great deal of money by reducing expenditures on enforcement efforts and prisons. Drug legalization would also help promote family values in poor communities, which is both good in itself and might help reduce violence still further.
As President Obama said in Newtown, “we can do better than this” when it comes to curbing gun violence. Cutting back on the War on Drugs is a great place to start. Polls show that marijuana legalization, at least, is rapidly gaining in popularity. That might give the president and other politicians the chance to effect change we can believe in in this field.

via volokh.com

Hillary Clinton Reminds a Hurting Latin America That She Is Opposed to Drug Legalization - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Mike Riggs|Nov. 29, 2012 7:43 pm

At a forum hosted by Foreign Policy magazine, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reminded the leaders of Latin America, whose countries have been savaged by drug-war violence, that the Obama administration, and Clinton in particular, are opposed to legalizing drugs as a means of making those countries less reminiscent of failed states:

"I respect those in the region who believe strongly that [U.S. legalization] would end the problem," Clinton said Thursday at a Washington D.C. forum hosted by Foreign Policy magazine. "I am not convinced of that, speaking personally."
Some Central American leaders have urged the United States to consider other approaches to domestic drug usage — citing ruthless drug cartels that murder thousands of their citizens. Several Central American countries are considering limited legalization of drugs within their borders.
"I think when you've got ruthless vicious people who have made money one way and it's somehow blocked, they'll figure out another way," she said. "They'll do kidnapping they'll do extortion."
Speaking about the two states that recently legalized marijuana, Clinton repeated the Obama administration position that they haven't formulated a response yet.
"This is an ongoing debate," she said. "We are formulating our own response to the votes of two of our states as you know — what that means for the federal system, the federal laws and law enforcement."
"I think you can, with a comprehensive strategy succeed in certainly pushing back the tide of violence and corruption that drug trafficking brings," she said.

Clinton's statement about ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington represents the largest number of words a named official of this administration has uttered regarding the single biggest change in drug policy this century. Good on Clinton for acknowleding that it happened.
It's also fascinating to me how Clinton has shifted on this topic. Here's what she said during a Mexico City trip in 2009:

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."

Here she is in February 2011:

Maerker: In Mexico, there are those who propose not keeping going with this battle and legalize drug trafficking and consumption. What is your opinion?
Clinton: I don't think that will work. I mean, I hear the same debate. I hear it in my country. It is not likely to work. There is just too much money in it, and I don't think that—you can legalize small amounts for possession, but those who are making so much money selling, they have to be stopped.

And November 2012: "I am not convinced of that, speaking personally."
Since when do personal convictions matter in deciding policies that directly affect billions of people?

via reason.com

back in the day it was the lady warriors who campaigned against the evils of alcohol. Today we have soccer Moms and pantsuit brigades who think of vice in the same manner.

Cigarette-smuggling: The urge to smurf | The Economist

THE busy interstate highway that zips through Richmond, Virginia, and up to the crowded cities of the north-east has long been a conduit for handguns bought wholesale in Virginia and sold to drug-dealers in New York. Now I-95 is siphoning northwards another form of contraband: black-market cigarettes.

Because Virginia’s tobacco tax is the second-lowest in America, gangsters buy cigarettes there in bulk and sell them at enormous profit in New York and other high-tax states. At a minimum, they pocket a big chunk of the difference between what Virginia adds in tax—30 cents a packet—and the higher rates imposed elsewhere. New York’s tax, at $4.35 a packet, is the highest in the country.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives estimates that sales of illegal cigarettes cost government—local, state and federal—nearly $10 billion a year. For the smugglers, profits are better than those from cocaine, heroin, marijuana and guns, according to a report in September by the Virginia State Crime Commission. Moreover, the penalty for doing it—a maximum of five years in jail, under federal law—is considerably lighter than for selling drugs. If the smugglers were trafficking in heroin, they would face life in prison.
The growth of the cigarette-resale racket, known to police as “smurfing”, appears tied to a growing government appetite for cash. Since 2007 at least 27 states have raised their cigarette taxes, often to erase deficits or to cover sharp increases in health-care costs. This spurs the smugglers on. In New Jersey, where a packet of cigarettes carries a tax of $2.70, about 40% of all cigarettes are smuggled in from other states, according to the New Jersey Treasury Department. Maryland, Virginia’s neighbour to the north, reported a fourfold increase in seizures of illegal cigarettes between 2010 and 2012, though one official described the haul as the tip of the iceberg.
Virginia, a big tobacco state since colonial times, has recently declared it illegal to buy and possess, with intent to sell elsewhere, more than 5,000 cigarettes. That may sound a lot, but they are easy to miss. Smugglers can niftily get 600 cartons (that is, ten packs of 20 cigarettes) into a car, and 12,000 into a large van. When gun-running was at its peak, I-95 was known as the “iron highway”. Now it is the new Tobacco Road.

via economist.com

Bloomberg likes weed, not Coca Cola // so then why not legalize both?

(Daily Caller) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (AP Photo/David Karp) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday he would support New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to decrease arrests for marijuana possession during routine police stops, reports The New York Times. The announcement comes days after Bloomberg’s announced proposal to limit the size of sodas in the city. Cuomo wants lawmakers to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view. Current state law results in the arrest of thousands of people for having small amounts of marijuana in public view because they had been ordered to empty their pockets during police stops. The governor’s proposal seeks to make possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana in public view a violation instead of a misdemeanor. The maximum fine would be $100 for first-time offenders, and there would be no possibility of jail time. New York City police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly issued a memorandum to officers last September ordering them not to arrest people who only have marijuana displayed in public as a result of being ordered by police officers to empty their pockets. The governor’s proposal is “consistent with the commissioner’s directive,” Bloomberg said.

However, there is evidence that Kelly’s memorandum had little effect on low-level marijuana arrests.

Really... take the plunge. Legalize Marijuana. This is silly

Penn Jillette Drug Rant Against Obama

(The Blaze)During a recent episode of “Penn’s Sunday School” (posted on YouTube on Saturday), the popular entertainer and Libertarian unloaded on the Obama administration over its drug policy.
“Now, he has not left this to states’ rights,” Jillette said. “As you know, medical marijuana you can get in California, and the feds are coming in to try to stop this. States‘ rights don’t mean jack s**t to the Obama administration on anything except gay marriage.”
He then posited that Obama’s recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon — where Obama addressed legalizing drugs — was an attempt to make himself look cool and appeal to college kids. He also noted that Obama would not be president if he had been caught and charged for his admitted drug use:

What troubles me about this… I think it’s beyond hypocrisy. I think it’s something to do with class. A lot of people have accused Obama of class warfare, but in the wrong direction. I believe this is Obama chortling with Jimmy Fallon about lower class people. Do we believe, even for a second, that if Obama had been busted for marijuana — under the laws that he condones — would his life have been better? If Obama had been caught with the marijuana that he says he uses, and ‘maybe a little blow’… . This casual attitude towards drugs … that makes him really cool on Jimmy Fallon. Makes him the hip president. … And if he had been busted under his laws, he would have done hard f*cking time. And if he had done time in prison, time in federal prison, time for his ‘weed’ and ‘a little blow,’ he would not be president of the United States of America. And he would not have gone to his fancy-a** college; he would not have sold books that sold millions and millions of copies and made millions and millions of dollars; he would not have a beautiful, smart wife; he would not have a great job! He would have been in f*cking prison, and it’s not a god damn joke! People who smoke marijuana must be set free! It is insane to lock people up.

Jillette went on to say that he’s never done any drugs or even had any alcohol, but that doesn’t stop him from being an advocate for legalizing marijuana.
You can watch the epic, but profanity-laced, rant below (content warning):
(H/T: Fox Nation)

Censored on YouTube: 420 Boston Hempfest Knockout Punch

It's offensive to see what goes on in reality? by the way... this is why this needs to be legalized. Because perfectly good people have to get involved with people like this when they are down and out. The only reason this stuff is illegal now is because minority communities make so much money off miserable white folks who are just trying to forget their sorrows. don't ever expect Obama to legalize Marijuana.

At Americas summit, Obama says no to legalizing drugs

President Obama appears on a screen at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia.
"Legalization [of drugs] is not the answer," Obama said.
(Fernando Vergara, Associated Press / April 14, 2012 LA Times)

Obama told Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, host of the summit, that he is willing to discuss whether American drug laws are "doing more harm than good in certain places."

Santos wants the 33 countries participating in the summit to consider alternatives to what many leaders consider the failed war on drugs, possibly including regulating marijuana and even cocaine the way that alcohol and tobacco are.

N.Y. bans sale of Saliva Smoke; cites health.

Where is Cuomo? Probably celebrating all the people gov will have control over

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York state is banning the sale of "synthetic marijuana" that's sold in convenience stores, smoke shops, and tobacco stores under brand names including "Spice", "K2" and "Mr. Nice Guy.

...The order issued Thursday calls for sales and distribution to stop immediately. Local health officials are being ordered to check for compliance. Violators can face civil penalties.

it isn't synthetic. that is a myth. it is an Indian meditation herb and the only people who will profit off the ban will be drug dealers. There were NO WARNING LABELS on the product and they have now made a whole segment of law abiding citizens, criminals. If you are interested in fighting the ban please contact Noah at 646-504-6624. Figures it would be Cuomo and the Democrats that would do this to people. Prohibition doesn't work. We don't learn from history. Hey does Cuomo have mob connections or something? ...because they will be cashing in on this ban.

Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop Arrested

Court records show his previous name to be Jeffrey Drew Wilschke. He legally changed it to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop in October.” Zop... was charged with, among other things, “possession of drug paraphernalia [and] possession of marijuana. (Volokh: Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, 30, Arrested By Madison, Wisc. Police Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop, 30, Arrested By Madison, Wisc. Police)

Is It the New Legal Marijuana or just "Pot-pourri"?

(kosmo) Gold Spice

Salvia divinorum

marijuana

A new marijuana-like substance has hit the market, creating a sensation among those adventurous enough to try it. The stuff is called K2, spice or “scary spice,” as some people have labeled it. K2 resembles herbs or potpourri and can be smoked just like marijuana. Apparently it gets some people high and doesn’t show up on drug tests.
Other users have tried mixtures with an impressive array of catchy names: Love Potion, Venom, Cloud 9, Magic XXX, Klimax and Xotic.
Unfortunately, these herbal mixtures have also given some users what could be called bad trips. Users have reported side effects such as fearsome hallucinations, nausea, vomiting or headaches. Moreover, in an article on the Web site, www.choosehelp.com, Dr. Ulrich S. Zimmermann, claims that a brand of herbal smoke named Spice Gold is addictive. Ulrich also says that many ingredients, including a synthetic cannabinoid, are not listed on the product’s package. (Cannabinoids are structurally similar to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana.)
The advertising on some Web sites state that all herbal mixtures sold contain only legal ingredients (no marijuana) and are nicotine and tobacco free; in fact, some of the benefits of smoking such may include helping people quit smoking tobacco. However, judging from some of the product names – Wild Lettuce Opium Extract, Black Russian Herbal Hash, Panama Red Ball, Hard Core and Blueberry Haze – one might wonder what’s really in these products!
Some of these herbal concoctions may contain Salvia divinorum or diviner’s sage, a hallucinogen sometimes compared to LSD. Mazatec shamans in Mexico use it to facilitate a visionary state of consciousness. Not everybody has a good trip with this stuff, so beware. The substance is legal in most countries and states of the U.S.
Of course people should realize that just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s wise for people to consume it. After all, alcohol and tobacco, legal in most parts of the world, have caused countless billions of dollars of damage to social structures for hundreds of years. For good reason, the United States tried to ban the use of alcohol back in 1920.
Anyway, the use of K2, developed in Europe, is completely unregulated and its effects mostly undocumented. People, in search of a cheap and legal buzz, might as well go into the nearby field and harvest whatever is out there. Try some Jimson weed, if you will. It’s got white flowers. White flowers couldn’t hurt you, right? Jimson weed, a.k.a. locoweed, will send you to a really freaky place and perhaps drive you into a psychotic state as well. But, hey, it’s legal. In fact, Jimson weed has so many bad side effects the authorities haven’t bothered to make it illegal!
Prefer to consume a spice of some kind? Ingesting common nutmeg can get one stoned - and it can be smoked. Taken in large amounts, nutmeg has a similar chemical composition to MDMA (ecstasy). But if taken in excess, nutmeg can produce numerous unpleasant side effects, including a sense of impending death!
Naturally, marijuana, at times considered the most popular drug in the world, is still available. It’s illegal is most of the United States, yet 16 states (counting D.C.) have legalized its use for medicinal purposes. For example, California, often considered the bellwether state, decriminalized the use of a small amount of marijuana (less than an ounce) in 1976. And in 1996 California became the second state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana (Virginia was the first in 1979).
Since marijuana, by some stretch of the imagination, can be considered “medicine,” if people must smoke to get high, the use of marijuana may be preferable to substances such as K2. At least the effects of marijuana have been studied for years and it is not considered addictive, though there’s great disagreement on this subject. Only the individual should decide for certain if it's okay to smoke it. Nevertheless, if you live in states such as Oklahoma or Texas, where possession of small amounts of marijuana can be a felony, either move to another state or avoid smoking it entirely.
So, if you try smoking any of this herbal stuff, be very careful. Just smoke a little at first and see what happens. Then proceed with caution. Or perhaps you should try medicinal marijuana instead. But only if you must.
After all, nobody needs to smoke anything, do they?

Israeli Government Officially Recognizes The Therapeutic Value Of Cannabis — Pot Production And Distribution To Begin January 2012

NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform:

The Israeli government this week formally acknowledged the therapeutic utility of cannabis and announced newly amended guidelines governing the state-sponsored production and distribution of medical cannabis to Israeli patients. A prepared statement posted Monday on the website of office of the Israeli Prime Minister states: “The Cabinet today approved arrangements and supervision regarding the supply of cannabis for medical and research uses. This is in recognition that the medical use of cannabis is necessary in certain cases. The Health Ministry will – in coordination with the Israel Police and the Israel Anti-Drug Authority – oversee the foregoing and will also be responsible for supplies from imports and local cultivation.” According to Israeli news reports, approximately 6,000 Israeli patients are supplied with locally grown cannabis as part of a limited government program. This week’s announcement indicates that government officials intend to expand the program to more patients and centralize the drug’s cultivation. “[T]here are predictions that doctor and patient satisfaction is so high that the number could reach 40,000 in 2016,” The Jerusalem Post reported. The Israeli Ministry of Health is expected to oversee the production of marijuana in January 2012. Similar government-sponsored medical marijuana programs are also active in Canada and the Netherlands. By contrast, in July the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) formally denied a nine-year-old petition calling on the agency to initiate hearings to reassess the present classification of marijuana as a schedule I controlled substance, stating in the July 8, 2011 edition of the Federal Register that cannabis has “a high potential for abuse; … no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States; … [and] lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision. NORML.ORG

Just when I stopped smoking a few months. DAMN! Well at least future generations of Jews won't have to go through what I did.

NAACP Calls for an End to the War on Drugs

The NAACP recently adopted a resolution calling for the abolition of the War on Drugs, emphasizing the harm that it inflicts on minority communities. This is a sea change for the nation’s most prominent black civil rights organization.
The NAACP resolution is far from the first indication that the War on Drugs inflicts great harm on poor minorities. Scholars and commentators of widely divergent ideologies have long recognized this point. More information about it here and here. The NAACP resolution is a milestone because of the organization’s prestige. The NAACP now joins a growing list of prominent groups that have called for an end to the War on Drugs in recent months, including the Global Commission on Drug Policy and a high-profile British government commission.
Complete abolition of the War on Drugs is not yet politically feasible. But the increasing recognition that the war causes more harm than good does create some political space to move towards that goal in an incremental way. Sadly, the Obama Administration refuses to take even the most modest and politically popular steps towards legalization. In fairness, most Republicans have been as bad or worse on the issue. Change we can believe in may well be coming in this field. But it may take a few more years of generational replacement for it to happen. via volokh.com

Many black leaders are quite Conservative in their values. This is not a "LEFT" wing organization. This is actually a watershed moment for the movement.

Reggae star Ziggy Marley rejects calls to boycott Israel

“Rastafarianism has a lot to do with the Old Testament and Solomon and David and Moses, so we have a strong connection from many years back,” the singer says.
Online pressure to boycott Israel didn’t dissuade reggae star Ziggy Marley from performing in Tel Aviv Tuesday night or on Thursday at the Return to Zion festival at Sacher Park in Jerusalem.
“People say, don’t disgrace your father’s name by going to Israel and all these type of things,” the eldest son of the late musical icon Bob Marley said at a press conference Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv, referring to the negative responses he saw on Facebook and other sites upon publication of his Israel tour dates.
“What I tell them is that, listen, I follow nature, I follow the universe, I follow God. I’m not a part of the segregation that people put on each other … I’m a part of nature and God, and God made the sun shine for everybody.”
This isn’t Marley’s first visit to Israel, both as a performer and visitor. His wife is Israeli and he said his young children speak Hebrew. And there are other ties to the land for Marley, who said his culture of Rastafarianism is rooted in concepts developed in “this region of the world.”
“Rastafarianism has a lot to do with the Old Testament and Solomon and David and Moses, so we have a strong connection from many years back,” he said.
Marley, who recently released his latest album, Wild and Free, said the message he is trying to convey is one of love and spirituality.
But at the press conference he didn’t shy away from questions of a political nature. Marley weighed in on the Knesset’s recent passing of the antiboycott law, which allows civilians to file lawsuits against organizations or people who impose boycotts on Israeli economic, academic or commercial institutions.
“I think the people should have a right to boycott whoever they want to boycott without the government making them into criminals, and try to protect corporations from people,” he said. “They should protect people from corporations.”
A strong advocate of the widespread use of marijuana, Marley also chastized corporations and politicians for criminalizing and demonizing the plant. He said hemp seeds have nutritional and environmental benefits, and can be used in a wide variety of sustainable practices.
But the tour this time around is mostly about music, and Marley said he is still happy to be known as the son of Bob Marley.
“People love me everywhere I go,” Marley said to laughter.
Becoming serious, he said his father is one of his favorite musicians.
“He was just a great artist and that is one of my biggest inspirations.” But he said he doesn’t expect his children to follow in his or his father’s footsteps, adding that he hopes his children do whatever they feel “inside of them.”
Asked whether he or his family practices Judaism at home, Marley replied: “I practice love.”
Source: Jpost.comVia sizedoesntmatter.com

I'm smoking something right now... just for you Ziggy. I love you!
...but honestly... I don't think he understands the Anti-Boycott law at all.  It only says these entities won't get government money.  Obviously he spent too much time listening to the people who said he was disgracing his father.  I'm sure the Israelis will eventually explain that bit to him.

Ziggy Marley feels very close to Israel.

He's_married_to_Orly, an Israeli woman, and they have three children: A girl named Judah Victoria, a boy called Gideon, and a baby - Abraham Selassie. "The history of our connection to the roots of Israel, to David, Solomon, goes way before I met my wife," Marley says. "My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young boy and read the Bible, the Old Testament. "The Rastafari culture has a very strong connection to Haile Selassie, a descendant of King Solomon. So it is in our soul, this connection, and we have had it for a very long time." Several months ago, Marley entered the world of comics with a comic book called "Marijuanaman", a superhero who gets his powers from the green leaves. "The idea is to counterattack the negativity that society puts on the plant. The plant is very valuable to the world for medicine use, recreational use, industrial use, biofuel, fabric, making products from the plant that will help to stop deforestation. This plant is very important to the planet, very important, but we have neglected to use it."  more via shalomlife.com

Oregon Medical Marijuana Users Are Entitled to Oregon Licenses to Carry Concealed Guns (Notwithstanding Federal Ban on Gun Possession by Illegal Drug Users)

So holds today’s Oregon Supreme Court decision in Willis v. Winters.
Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), unlawful users of marijuana are generally barred from possessing guns, and this includes medical users (since federal law has no medical marijuana exemption). Does this preempt a state concealed carry licensing law that has no exception for medical marijuana users? No, said the Oregon Supreme Court: The licensing law doesn’t create an affirmative obstacle to the federal marijuana ban, but simply means that Oregon isn’t going to help enforce that ban. Oregon set up the general ban on concealed carry; it is now free to relax that ban by allowing licensing, and it doesn’t matter that some of the licenseholders are barred by federal law from possessing guns — let the federal government enforce its own gun ban if it wishes, but Oregon has no obligation to assist with that. via volokh.com and image via Medical marijuana and Guns @ cannabissativa.com

Bang Bang Bang... Puff Puff Puff... the FEDS can't stop Oregon. AND THEY SHOULDN'T!

Government-Supplied Marijuana Cigarettes from Miami Are Lost in the Mail

Elvy Mussika is a former South Florida resident who uses medical marijuana -- grown and supplied directly by the federal government. As detailed in our October "Legalize It" issue, the government started a program in 1982 that supplied pre-rolled joints to patients with chronic conditions. George H.W. Bush cut all new prescriptions when he was in office, but a few legal tokers remain. We profiled Irvin Rosenfeld, a Fort Lauderdale stock trader who tokes up legally, in the open, every day.

Now Mussika -- "one of the four remaining United States citizens who still receives medical marijuana from the United States government" -- has lost her pot.

JAABlog has the scoop on this one: In a letter to the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the postmaster general, Mussika's lawyer, Norm Kent of Fort Lauderdale, explains the mix-up.

Mussika recently moved to Eugene, Oregon (a logical development, all things considered), and was unable to pick up her six tins of 300 marijuana cigarettes before flying out West. So she appointed Kent to make the pickup himself, and mail the 1,800-joint, six-month supply to her new home.

But apparently, Kent wrote the ZIP code wrong. Instead of "97405," he wrote "90405," which may have landed the packages in Santa Monica, California. Hence his letter to the DEA and the postmaster:

I am going public with this in the hope that the DEA recognizes it is not in the public interest to have marijuana missing in the US mails, and because we will be needing to make a record of this loss in order to procure a new prescription. This marijuana is grown by the federal government for its patients under the protocol at the University of Mississippi. This is my formal notice of its disappearance.

Either some drug-sniffing dogs are to blame, or the Santa Monica post office is suddenly full of non-disgruntled workers. No word on whether Kent inspected the packages before writing the address label.

via blogs.browardpalmbeach.com

The report, released Wednesday, predicts the medical marijuana industry will hit $1.7 billion in revenues in 2011, rivaling sales of Viagra.

I got on a conference call with the report's creators to ask the most important question: "Got any data on people who use marijuana and Viagra at the same time?"

"No," answered Ted Rose, editor of the report, as speechless as a guy who just took too big a hit off a bong.

Rose works for See Change Strategy LLC, an independent financial analysis firm based in Washington D.C. You can get his report here. But it costs $1,150. And do you know how much weed and Viagra you can buy for $1,150?

Hey, no worries if you are in the biz, man. See Change expects the market to double in the next five years.

Forget what you've heard about an industry that Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and the District of Columbia have legalized.

Most of the information is anecdotal, politically charged, or poorly researched, Rose said. Until now.

See Change sent out more than 1,500 surveys--and about 300 dope peddlers actually answered them.

"Whatever one's opinion about medical marijuana, everyone benefits by understanding how big this market is, who is making money, and how," Rose said.

I am OK with legalized reefer madness, as long as my kid doesn't catch it. I've met people in real pain who benefit from it, including some who are just suffering from the economy. But let's be honest: Medical marijuana is a shameless front for complete legalization.

The proof is that California and Colorado make up 90% of the market, according to See Change. And these are the two states where you can still spot the most Grateful Dead bumper stickers.

In Colorado, where I live, it's as easy to find a dispensary as a Walgreens. A TV reporter friend told me that whenever he walks into a dispensary unannounced to do yet another medical marijuana story, it's difficult to find cancer patients or geriatrics. Mostly, it's kids.

"The 20-somethings would tell me they have back pain while sitting in a chair," he said, "and then I'd watch them walk out of the dispensary just fine, joking with their friends."

That, of course, is anecdotal. The data suggest this highly fragmented industry could evolve from stoner boutiques toward money-grubbing corporations, even though it is currently illegal under federal law.

President Barack Obama has promised to turn a blind eye in states that have legalized medical marijuana--which has ignited the industry's growth, Rose said.

So, for now, medical marijuana entrepreneurs are making astonishing bets that the next president won't be some moralizing yahoo who shuts the whole business down and throws everyone in federal prison.

It's just like banking: Who needs risk management? Be an optimist.

Serial entrepreneur Tripp Keber took me on a tour of his beverage plant on Tuesday. It's called "Dixie Elixirs & Edibles," even though a more obvious name would be "Soda Pot."

Keber, who also develops luxury RV parks, says business at Dixie Elixirs is just bubbling over.

Why smoke when you can sip something that tastes like a popular fruit-flavored soda? The company also sells medicated biscuits, bars, chews, truffles, cakes, lozenges, topicals and tinctures.

The plant is secure, has no signage, and seems to run as smoothly inside as Pepsi Bottling. Keber pays a PhD to maintain product quality. And he talks like any CEO looking for deals.

"I truly believe that there will be an opportunity for a company in the medical marijuana space to go public in the next three to five years," he said. "But within 24 to 30 months .. somebody is going to knock on our door. "It would be a rounding error for a Philip Morris or a U.S. Tobacco," Keber said. "And if you don't think that they are eying this market, you would be foolish."

via foxbusiness.com

image  via hometestingblog.testcountry.com and via blogs.browardpalmbeach.com

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

Feds say medical marijuana is as illegal as ever

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag

Today, a news release from the Cannabis Therapy Institute brought to light a February memo from the U.S. Department of Justice. It clarifies that regardless of state law, "the prosecution of individuals and organizations involved in the trade of any illegal drugs and the disruption of drug trafficking organizations is a core priority of the Department."
"As the Department has stated on many occasions, Congress has determined that marijuana is a controlled substance," wrote Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, on Feb. 1 in response to a clarification request from the Oakland city attorney. "Congress placed marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and, as such, growing, distributing, and possessing marijuana in any capacity, other than as part of a federally authorized research program, is a violation of federal law regardless of state laws permitting such activities."
CTC says it thinks the memo could explain the recent increase in federal raids at dispensaries in California and Montana, where dozens were arrested, and the assets and bank accounts of the owners seized.
"Maybe this will wake people up who think that it can't happen here," says Kathleen Chippi of the Colorado-based Patient and Caregiver Rights Litigation Project. (See more on her efforts here and here.)
The memo came in response to a query from Oakland city attorney John A. Russo regarding a local company's plan to build an industrial-scale medical marijuana warehouse, an operation Haag said the DOJ is "concerned" about.
"Accordingly, the Department is carefully considering civil and criminal legal remedies regarding those who seek to set up industrial marijuana growing warehouses in Oakland pursuant to licenses issued by the city of Oakland, individuals who elect to operate 'industrial cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facilities' will be doing so in violation of federal law," Haag wrote, continuing with strong words for those who assist dispensary owners. "Others who knowingly facilitate the actions of the licensees, including property owners, landlords, and financiers should also know that their conduct violates federal law.
"Potential actions the Department is considering include injunctive actions to prevent cultivation and distribution of marijuana and other associated violations of the CSA; civil fines; criminal prosecution; and the forfeiture of any property used to facilitate a violation of the CSA. As the Attorney General has repeatedly stated, the Department of Justice remains fully committed to enforcing the CSA in all states."
See the entire memo here; see the original Holder memo here.

via csindy.com

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

meanwhile....

New Jersey announced its six picks on Monday for treatment centers that can grow and sell medical marijuana.

The state Department of Health and Senior Services announced that the North Jersey locations are Montclair and Secaucus. In Central Jersey, the winners will locate in Manalapan and New Brunswick.

In South Jersey, Bellmawr has been chosen and another will be determined, either in Camden County or Burlington.

The Greenleaf Compassion Center will operate the Montclair location.

"We have developed a plan whose success would be measured by our ability to provide patients with products that will improve their quality of life," the applicant said, according to the state.

The announcement comes as legislators and advocates challenge the rules the state devised to run the medical marijuana program.

They include a limit of 10 percent on the THC content of the marijuana, as well as restrictions on doctors who sign up to participate.

One senator who was a co-sponsor of the law that passed in January 2010, Sen. Nicholas Scutari, is trying to use a little known section of the state constitution to overturn the Christie Administration rules.

via nbcnewyork.com

Obama's Media Friends Attempt to Demonize Marijuana

More high school seniors report using marijuana than smoking cigarettes in the last 30 days, a government survey finds. The U.S. drug czar blames Prop. 19 and similar measures.

Obama administration drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said young people had taken the "wrong message" from such state measures as Prop. 19. (Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times / December 15, 2010)

via latimes.com

the problem here is the Democrats are demonizing one vice. Kids abuse vices. We know this. No one says that everyone should be on pain killers either. The problem is that our government is concentrating on abstinence which is harmful, when in fact they should concentrate on moderation and responsible behavior.

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

NannyState says Cannabis Makes You Crazy

The article by researchers at the Youthdale Child and Adolescent Sleep Centre and University of Toronto psychiatry department reviewed studies on the possible link between cannabis and the onset of psychosis.

Psychosis is the loss of contact with reality,
with symptoms like hallucinations and delusions,
often caused by schizophrenia.

hallucinations?so WHAT!? 
Do you think we smoke the Poobah to put us to sleep? 
WTF?????? ...they would never say people who drink alcohol will beat their wives

via news.nationalpost.com

h/t @Kittyburgers

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

The evidence suggests that cannabis use is a significant risk factor for psychosis, concludes the paper in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, noting that the cognitive effects of marijuana are more pronounced in adolescents because their brains are still developing.

The Goldman Sachs Chronic Business Plan

Dimebag – $10 worth of weed

drug dealer starts lending drug addicts $5 when the minimum bag is $10. the dealer knows his cost for the bag for him to sell is $5 and the addict has to hustle for the additional $5 to buy the dime bag.

sounds like a good business plan:

chances are the addict will eventually pay over $5 therefor a guaranteed profit