cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 14, 2005 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- July 14, 2005 Posted by CN Staff on July 14, 2005 at 15:24:43 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Domestic Pot Production Up, Cannabis Not Linked To Violence, Federal Report SaysJuly 14, 2005 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Domestic cultivation of cannabis is rising and is responsible for the majority of marijuana available in the United States, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center's (NDIC) latest "National Drug Threat Assessment" report. The report states that domestic pot production levels are increasing and now range from 6,000 to 19,000 metric tons annually. Accordingly, the report notes that 98 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies describe the availability of marijuana in their area as "high or moderate."Overall, the report estimates that anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 metric tons of marijuana is available in the United States, up from previous estimates of 10,000 to 24,000 metric tons. Mexico remains the largest producer of cannabis imported into the US, followed by Canada, Colombia, and Jamaica, authors note.The NDIC report also finds that few state and local law enforcement agencies identify marijuana as a serious threat to public safety. Less than five percent of US law enforcement agencies surveyed identified marijuana as a significant contributor to violent crime in their area, and most ranked methamphetamine and/or cocaine as far greater threats to public health and safety."[D]espite the volume of marijuana trafficked and used in [the United States,] ... the threat associated with [it] ... lags behind that associated with methamphetamine and cocaine, including crack," the report concludes. Authors add that an estimated 94 million Americans aged 12 or older have reported using cannabis, and "many of these users likely suffered no severe ill effects."For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the NDIC report, "National Drug Threat Assessment 2005," is available online at: http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/12620/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6602Cannabis No Stronger, British Medical Journal SaysJuly 14, 2005 - Lisbon, PortugalLisbon, Portugal: The average strength of European cannabis has not increased dramatically despite recent legal changes in several European nations liberalizing its use, according to an editorial in the July issue of the journal Addiction."[T]he evidence available suggest[s] that the potencies of resin and herbal cannabis that have been imported into Europe have shown little or no change, at least over the past ten years," authors determined.The editorial further noted that cannabis potency was not linked to increased drug treatment demands, and questioned the claim that stronger cannabis necessarily poses a greater health risk to users.Overall, European cannabis potency averaged between 2 percent and 8 percent THC, authors wrote. By contrast, the average potency of cannabis available in the US is between 4 and 5 percent THC.Since 2000, several European nations - including Belgium, Great Britain, and Portugal - have downgraded penalties for the possession and use of cannabis.For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the editorial, "Cannabis potency in Europe," appears in the July issue of Addiction.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6603NORML Mourns Passing Of Steve McWilliamsJuly 14, 2005 - San Diego, CA, USASan Diego, CA: The NORML staff mourns the passing of longtime medical marijuana activist and patient Steve McWilliams, who took his own life earlier this week after suffering from years of ill health and federal persecution.Friends of McWilliams, who was co-director of San Diego's Shelter from the Storm cannabis dispensary and an original member of the city's Medicinal Cannabis Task Force, report that he had grown increasingly depressed in recent weeks.In 2003, McWilliams was sentenced to six months in federal prison for maintaining a modest 20-plant garden in his home in compliance with California law. McWilliams had been free on bond, pending appeal, but was forbidden by the terms of his probation from using medicinal cannabis, which he used under a doctor's supervision to treat chronic pain. Following last month's Supreme Court decision affirming the federal government's authority to prosecute state-authorized medical cannabis patients for violating the federal Controlled Substances Act, McWilliams had become increasingly worried that he would be ordered to serve out his federal prison sentence. He had been experiencing a great deal of pain and had expressed concern to friends that he would not be able to survive his sentence because of his deteriorating health.Responding to McWilliams' passing, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said: "While cannabis use can't cause death, cannabis prohibition can and does. The federal government's persecution of Steve McWilliams for using medicinal cannabis was needless, cruel, and clearly played a role in his untimely death. A government for and by the people should never force sick and dying patients like Steve into confronting such a disturbing Hobson's choice."Added California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer, "Steve was a courageous fighter for the cause and he will be sorely missed."Evening vigils are scheduled to be held nationwide in honor of Steve McWilliams on Tuesday, July 19, 2005. McWilliams is survived by his longtime partner Barbara MacKenzie.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6604Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: July 14, 2005Copyright: 2005 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #35 posted by jose melendez on July 17, 2005 at 02:12:55 PT alternate power I saw this in a magazine:http://wired-vig.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/solar.html?pg=5 I know it works because I use my car as a modified version of this (really): http://solarcooking.org/news.htm - - -Poor Energy, Rich Policy Makers:http://www.freedomdomain.com/Templemount/link1f.htmlhttp://www.detnews.com/2002/politics/0204/01/a08-450178.htmhttp://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/575.html http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/17/politics/main549838.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by FoM on July 16, 2005 at 21:38:39 PT ekim Farn-Aid was on the Internet last year. I got it. It wasn't very stable but we could view it for a time if you contributed I think it was $25 to Farm-Aid to help with the cost of making it available. I was impressed with the Amazon.com webcast they had. I saw and heard Bob Dylan play 6 songs and then I had a short satellite outage so I didn't go back to see how many more songs Dylan performed but it was very stable compared to Live 8 with AOL. [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by ekim on July 16, 2005 at 21:19:41 PT i wish that Farm Aid could be sent over the Net hope everything is wheelchair ackssable or leave plumbing hooks up just in case may need a lower bedroom. did you see that Arnold in CA has passed a million photo cell project. He wants 1 million homes to have the systems installed. A thin skin photo cell company was just started in Detroit. Just think what can be acomplished if we put our heads together. To be forced to seek alternatives for energy at the same time releasing a presious plant that has been held captive for over 60 years is excitement at the finest. http://www.compassionatemi.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by FoM on July 16, 2005 at 16:19:31 PT ekim Yes we are making memories. It is very hard to do things like build on but our house is getting older and it's time to pay attention to what it needs while we still have the energy to tackle it. When we bought our land we then had a couple semis full of lumber dropped here and we had to build it. That was me and my husband and now and then friends and a little help from contractors but not much. I couldn't walk on floor joists or balance second story walls anymore so we have a construction crew that will be doing most of the room addition. Building is fun and I got darn good swinging a hammer and pounded plenty of nails in floors etc. It costs so much money but we can't take it with us so why not enjoy our place now while we can is my belief. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by ekim on July 16, 2005 at 15:44:05 PT sounds like you guys are maken mem-or-rees hempline.comFoM i do hope that the farmers will be growen Cannabis soon. Remember that story of the Canada Hemp Company that was trying to build a fiber board plant for the locals but was slashed and burned in Nicaragua. A hurricane blew thru and one of the only things left standing was the fields of the proud gentle giant. But the DEA was to have none of that----not the fact that the board would be strong and withstand racing winds, driving rains, and leave the fragile forests for selected uses, while the Cannabis plant can be grown in a few months. ITs like we have been brainwashed, like these and hundreds of others have not really happened. Please Willie and all the others make this Farm Aid a tribute to the gentle giant. Enough talk of how the planet is warming lets do something about it.Posted by FoM on January 10, 1999 at 07:09:26 PT MANAGUA Paul Wylie says he's an expert Hemp grower with a BA in horticultural genetics from the University of Guelph. His business partners and financiers claim he has a PhD! Claims government is covering up having given permission to grow illegal crop! His sister-in-law doesn't believe he attended a post-secondary school. And the University of Guelph has no record of the mysterious Canadian. These may seem like peripheral details. But they're tremendously significant to the 45-year-old's immediate - and perhaps extremely long-term - future. Wylie is being held at the La Modelo prison here, awaiting trial on charges of growing marijuana - 57 hectares of pot plants. If convicted, he could face the maximum 30-year jail sentence for what has been called the biggest drug bust in Nicaraguan history. But Wylie insists the authorities have got it all wrong: that he's just an innocent scientist and entrepreneur from Ontario whose gotten himself entangled in a cocked-up scenario of Hitchcockian proportions; a poor stooge who's being framed by embarrassed government officials. ``There's somebody behind all this,'' Wylie said during a jail-house interview. ``I don't know if it's the American influence or what. But somebody is pulling the string.'' Paranoid or desperate? Honest or cunning? Wylie was arrested Dec. 23 after a raid at the Canadian-operated Hemp-Agro International plantation, about 25 kilometres east of Managua. Six other Canadians and one Nicaraguan national have also been charged, in absentia. They were all out of the country when the gunpoint raid was staged, and have not ventured back to help out their colleague. Nicaragua, like the United States, makes no distinction in law between industrial-grade hemp (used in the manufacture of cosmetics, and cultivated legally in Europe) and the hallucinogenic version of the plant, marijuana. Both have the same horticultural genus, but the industrial hemp plant has an extremely low level of the hallucinogenic chemical THC. Canada legalized the production of hemp last March, rescinding a 60-year ban on the plant. Wylie insists he and his partners imported 15 tonnes of industrial hemp seed from China to Nicaragua last July, with the full knowledge and approval of the Nicaraguan government. Wylie suspects the raid was launched at the urging of U.S. drug officials in Nicaragua. A week before his arrest, sanitation officials descended on the plantation and took away plant samples. Wylie was then interrogated by Drug Enforcement Agency officials, including the second-in-command of Nicaragua's narcotics unit. At that meeting, American DEA agents were also present. ``It was obvious to me that the Nicaraguans were being told what to do by the Americans,'' says Wylie. ``They kept looking at them and asking what questions should be put to me.'' The U.S. embassy in Managua has confirmed their DEA agents had inspected the plantation and were providing technical support to the Nicaraguans, who do not have their own testing facilities. Grant Sanders, president of Vancouver-based Hemp-Agro (and Wylie's nephew), has already accused the DEA of applying pressure on the Nicaraguans to ``declare something illegal that is in fact legal in Canada.'' But apparently not legal in Nicaragua, despite what the ministry of agriculture may have said about the Canadian project. Wylie is adamant that Hemp-Agro was not raising a marijuana crop. This might be difficult to prove now, though, because the entire hemp field has been burned and destroyed. At the preliminary hearing, Nicaraguan authorities said that the plant they had tested had 1.6 per cent THC - above the level that would be legal in Canada, but still, according to Wirtshafter, well below a level that could be sold as a drug. John Adams, the Canadian consul in Managua, has been to see Wylie three times since his arrest. He stresses that, under Nicaraguan law, an individual is considered guilty until proven innocent. ``Perhaps the ministry of agriculture got hoodwinked and they were made to look foolish by smooth-talking foreigners who happen to be from Canada,'' says Adams. This case has received intense media coverage over the last three weeks. On Friday, local newspapers here carried stories alleging that Wylie had once been arrested for break-and-enter in the United States. Wylie denies this, but does admit he has one conviction for possession of a ``small'' quantity of pot, ``a long time ago.'' He also claims not to have smoked marijuana in ages. Wylie is evasive about his whereabouts and activities over the past 20 years. He says he was employed as a hemp specialist in Europe and in the Ukraine, but provides no dates nor names of the companies for which he worked. He won't even say where he lived for most of that period. ``I just went back and forth a lot.'' The Star was welcomed with great civility by the warden at La Modelo prison Friday. But yesterday, jail officials refused to allow a second interview with Wylie, nor would they permit him to take a telephone call or accept a written note. Overnight, all jail guard friendliness had disappeared and the prison had returned to what it always was - an ancient, squalid facility with terribly overcrowded conditions, where 2,575 inmates are held. Forty of them are foreigners. Only one is Canadian. FoM maybe you guys might like to ck out this site as you are building and might get some ideas. The President of Hempline Inc., Geofrey Kime, P.Eng. will be speaking at the upcoming conference on Wood-Plastic and Natural Fiber Composites 2005, scheduled for October 24-26, 2005 in Baltimore. Mr. Kime will be presenting his views on the new opportunities for hemp fiber and other natural fibers in the composites industry. For more information contact http://www.principiaconferences.com/ http://www. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by FoM on July 16, 2005 at 14:26:14 PT ekim I hope you get some good rain too. It has been trying very hard to rain but it just stays really overcast and we hear thunder but no measurable rain. Everything is so dry. This is the dryest it has been where we live since I think around 88. This is the slowest month for news but for me it is good it is a little slow because we are trying to get a major house expansion built on and windows and siding and who knows what else. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by ekim on July 16, 2005 at 14:19:01 PT good going FoM its starting to storm we need the rain best to everyone enjoy the day. http://www.compassionatemi.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by FoM on July 16, 2005 at 12:33:25 PT ekim I put Willie's icon on the farm-aid page. I just got Countryman from Amazon today. I'm having a good time listening to it. Go Willie! [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 21:03:22 PT dangers of mycoherbicides like fusarium ----Are what iam hearen. am i in delearyiam.mycoherbicides like fusarium are a threat to every living thing on this planet, so you better jam it damm it before some feelings get hurt. ----Realy a song needs to be sung against this, and Farm Aid is the place it needs to be sung.Thanks JoseComment #5 posted by jose melendez on July 15, 2005 at 15:05:47 PT BURTON AND SOUDER WOULD DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT Sound ridiculous? Read on, and DO SOMETHING TO STOP THESE STUPID FREAKS: http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/395/madscience.shtml http://www.leap.cc/events [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 20:32:18 PT its show time Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 09, 2005 at 16:55:09 PT Willie Nelson's Art Work for His New Album! Go Willie!!! http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0009ML1Q6.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 20:30:24 PT ekim That's a good idea. Maybe I could put a smaller size pic on the page of Willie's new album cover. I'll try to figure it out. We are hearing thunder and a possible storm is on the way so I probably won't be able to get to it tonight but I'll see what I can do tomorrow. I should keep a Farm-Aid related pic or banner at the top since it is about Farm-Aid but adding it as a smaller click on to something would work. Thanks for the idea. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 20:21:06 PT FoM how about the cover of Willies new CD You are right FoM last years banner is ata site.I like the reds and green on his new cover the leaf should be on the 2005 banner for sure. 20 years it time. http://www.compassionatemi.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 19:38:36 PT Just a Note Jose and ekim I went and found a picture of Willie and replaced the banner with it. I think the pic looks better. Go Willie! [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 16:52:00 PT Thanks Jose I went ahead and put the current one on the page. It's not as nice as last years so I was hoping that someone who makes the banners for Farm-Aid would make one more like last years. If one pops up I can change it but til then this one will do. Thanks again.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/farmaid.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by jose melendez on July 15, 2005 at 14:25:16 PT banner? FoM,How about this Farm Aid 2005 banner?http://www.farmaid.org/images/content/pagebuilder/19237.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 12:22:42 PT Gov't study on Hemp--we should be able to sue Posted by FoM on January 24, 2000 at 15:27:38 PT By The Associated Press Source: Las Vegas SUN http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4459.shtmlThe President of Hempline Inc., Geofrey Kime, P.Eng. will be speaking at the upcoming conference on Wood-Plastic and Natural Fiber Composites 2005, scheduled for October 24-26, 2005 in Baltimore. Mr. Kime will be presenting his views on the new opportunities for hemp fiber and other natural fibers in the composites industry. For more information contact http://www.principiaconferences.com/ http://www.hempline.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 11:36:34 PT ekim Very good points. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 11:28:17 PT How Many Farms were lost because of VETO Hemp Bill saga in Illinois. Food and Farming in IllinoisNearly 80% land in Illinois is farmland: 76,000 farms on over 28 million acres. (i) There are 138 farmers markets, 152 certified organic farms and 21 Community Supported Agriculture programs in the state. (ii) The Chicago metropolitan area has one of the largest concentrations of food-related businesses in the world. (iii) Food processing is Illinois largest manufacturing activity with over 950 food manufacturing companies. (iv) Illinois is a leading producer of soybeans, corn and hogs. (v) Specialty crops include buckwheat, horseradish, ostriches, fish and Christmas trees. (vi)Illinois House Votes to Study Hemp! Posted by FoM on May 20, 1999 at 06:33:50 PT http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread1399.shtml Illinois Lawmakers Would Legalize Hemp Posted by FoM on February 02, 2000 at 14:41:41 PT By Lisa Snedeker, Post-Dispatch Springfield Bureau Source: Post-Dispatch http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4563.shtml S. Ill. U. Hemp Bill Makes it through Ill. Senate Posted by FoM on February 25, 2000 at 20:56:12 PT By Jayette Bolinski, Daily Egyptian Source: U-WIRE http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4865.shtmlBowles Defends Stance on Hemp Study Posted by FoM on November 28, 2000 at 15:33:06 PT By Jayne Matthews Source: Belleville News-Democrat Anti-drug forces in Illinois say they'll continue their fight against a proposed $1 million study of hemp -- a cousin of marijuana -- with a new president who state Sen. Evelyn Bowles can't call one of the ``ladies from Naperville.'' ``My back is up a little bit when I'm treated like a little lady in the kitchen who should go home,'' said Priss Parmenter of Mt. Carmel, the new president of Illinois Drug Education Alliance who lives on a large livestock farm and also works as director of an eight-county regional drug counseling program in southeastern Illinois. The two presidents before Parmenter live in Naperville, an affluent Chicago suburb. Parmenter was elected Nov. 20, a week after Bowles' public ``ladies from Naperville'' remark. But Bowles said Monday the name-calling started with IDEA.``They have made, I think, some very scurrilous accusations against the supporters (of state-funded hemp research). In essence, they're calling the supporters a bunch of druggies who support the growing of marijuana,'' said Bowles, an Edwardsville Democrat. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread7804.shtmlLawmakers Vote To Study Hemp's Uses Posted by FoM on January 10, 2001 at 06:22:46 PT By Christopher Wills, Associated Press Source: Chicago Tribune Setting aside warnings that they might encourage drug use, state lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve a study of industrial hemp and its potential as a crop for Illinois farmers. The legislation calls on the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University to study how well hemp — a close cousin of marijuana — grows in Illinois and whether it could become a profitable crop. The Illinois House approved the study 67-47. It had already passed the Senate, so it now goes to Gov. George Ryan.Supporters hope hemp, which can be used to make fabric, flour and oil, could someday be an alternative for farmers hit by declining prices for their crops.Rep. Charles Hartke, D-Teutopolis, compared hemp to the once-exotic soybean, now a mainstay on Illinois farms."It has potential. To get to that potential, we have to do a lot of research and study," Hartke said.But others -- including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- worry that any move in the direction of legalizing hemp production will lead to increased marijuana use.The Illinois State Police oppose the study because it's a step toward legalizing hemp, which would send young people the wrong message about marijuana and make life more difficult for police, said Capt. Dave Sanders, a spokesman for the agency.If hemp production were legalized, police would have trouble identifying illegal marijuana fields, Sanders said. And people arrested for possession could claim they simply had hemp, overloading police labs."The only way you're going to discern that is through the lab test," he said. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread8260.shtmlRyan Rejects Hemp Study Posted by FoM on February 24, 2001 at 07:48:37 PT By James Fuller, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Source: Chicago Sun-Times Worries about drug use beat out farming issues Friday as Gov. Ryan vetoed legislation requiring a study of industrial hemp as a potential alternative crop in Illinois. Ryan said he was concerned the study would not require researchers to develop a plant free of THC, the chemical responsible for the high from marijuana, a genetic cousin to hemp. Nor would the study look into the impact of a hemp crop on law enforcement practices, Ryan said. "I will not ignore the unified concern of drug treatment and prevention groups that the ultimate commercial cultivation and availability of a product that contains a mind-altering substance would leave open the prospect of substance abuse," the governor said.The bill would have enabled two state universities to study potential agricultural uses of hemp. But critics, including former federal drug policy chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said the initiative might encourage drug use. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread8789.shtml Gov. Ryan Blocks Hemp Study Again Posted by FoM on August 04, 2001 at 07:52:40 PT By The Associated Press Source: Pantagraph Gov. George Ryan has once again blocked a study of industrial hemp's potential as a crop for Illinois farmers, arguing Friday that other studies have settled the issue already. Ryan also signed legislation to help graduates of a Governors State University social work program that failed to get national accreditation. The hemp bill would have allowed the University of Illinois to grow the plant -- a cousin to the drug marijuana -- and study whether it could be raised profitably in Illinois. Meanwhile, Western Illinois University would have studied law enforcement issues raised by growing hemp.Ryan said he vetoed the bill because other studies have already convinced him that hemp would not be a successful crop. The move to grow hemp also "plays into the national strategy of groups seeking to remove existing criminal penalties for cannabis/marijuana," he added.The Republican governor vetoed a similar bill earlier this year. The second version tried to address his concerns by studying law enforcement concerns and looking for ways to grow hemp with none of the mind-altering chemical found in marijuana. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread10526.shtml Supporters of Industrial Hemp Continue Quest Posted by FoM on December 21, 2001 at 08:13:37 PT By Jim Getz of The Post-Dispatch Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch When a bill to study industrial hemp was rejected recently in the Illinois Legislature, its supporters were left with a conundrum: How do you study a potential crop if you can't legally grow it? A meeting of the minds has brought out some possibilities, said state Rep. Patrick Lawfer, R-Freeport, the sponsor of the bill. He had watched legislators who originally supported the idea melt under the heat of Gov. George Ryan's veto. Snipped http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread11616.shtml http://www.principiaconferences.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 10:55:45 PT Jose Thanks but not those. If you check out this banner you will see it is promoting when and where it will be held. I don't think this 2004 banner popped up for a week or so after Farm-Aid was announced last year.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/farmaid2004.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by jose melendez on July 15, 2005 at 10:46:21 PT two part banner FoM, are these what you are looking for?http://www.farmaid.org/images/banner1.gifhttp://www.farmaid.org/images/banner2.jpg [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 08:45:38 PT ekim Thank you. I have been checking for a new banner and really want to update the page to 2005 because people are accessing it my stats say and I really want it current but until I find the new banner I'm just leaving it as is. I don't even remember where I found the pretty 2004 banner anymore. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 08:41:45 PT FoM i have farmaid.org but no banner http://www.farmaid.org/site/PageServer?pagename=concert_home [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on July 15, 2005 at 08:21:23 PT ekim If you see a 2005 banner for Farm-Aid would you let me know so I can change it on my page? I'd really appreciate it. Also there will be a Bob Dylan concert on the 16th on Amazon.com for those who might be interested.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/farmaid.htmhttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/104-3269884-7393500 [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by ekim on July 15, 2005 at 07:01:25 PT i hope willie will talk about the 800 billion CHICAGO (AP) - Twenty years after Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young organized a daylong music festival in central Illinois to benefit cash-strapped farmers, Farm Aid is coming back to the state where it started to celebrate its anniversary. The three icons will take the stage Sept. 18 at the Tweeter Center in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, The Dave Matthews Band will join the three co-founders at the show and other acts will be announced at a later date, organizers said. http://www.leap.cc/events [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by jose melendez on July 15, 2005 at 06:04:19 PT hypocrisy is no virtue Channeling Projection:http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1114/a02.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by OverwhelmSam on July 15, 2005 at 03:17:02 PT Domestic Violence is Primarily Caused by Alcohol Simply put: Alcohol INDUCES violence, Cannabis REDUCES violence. Which would you prefer to be legal? [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by b4daylight on July 14, 2005 at 22:54:35 PT oo123 That was an interesting report to read. I am glad they declassified that one. saved that thing. So this is why cannabis is illegal?I really read the whole thing and this is the only thing I could see... I think it might be wised to ask why we destory 800,000 peoples live ever year and two spend 6. billion enforcing that, when we could make 800.000.000.00 billion off just Cannabis not even talking Hemp in the price?End the pro-inhibition if this all your report can come up with, I say regulate and take it from kids. ************might be properganda*********Such views aside, in reality marijuana is not harmless. Marijuana's effects can include those problems attendant to cigarette smoking as well as problems with distorted perception and loss of coordination, which can contribute to household, occupational, or vehicular accidents. For example, in 2001 an estimated 38,000 U.S. high school seniors reported that they had crashed a vehicle while driving under the influence of marijuana. Other effects include problems with memory and learning, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and increased heart rate. According to one study, fewer heavy users of marijuana completed college and more had household incomes of less than $30,000 as compared with a control group, despite similar educational and economic backgrounds. (In this study, heavy users smoked marijuana a mean of 18,000 times and no less than 5,000 times, while control group subjects smoked at least once but no more than 50 times in their life). NIDA reports that another study has indicated that a user's heart attack risk quadruples in the first hour after smoking marijuana.The production of marijuana also can harm the environment. The by-products of outdoor grows can potentially contaminate waterways or destroy vegetation and wildlife habitat through the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides or from the trash and human waste left behind at large cultivation site encampments such as those on public lands. Outdoor cultivators also are known to start fires to clear timber or ground cover to prepare large sites. Indoor cultivation, too, can result in potentially harmful situations in areas surrounding the cultivation site, such as an increased risk of fire or electrocution posed by rewiring or jury-rigged electrical bypasses in grow houses and potential exposure to toxic molds that result from the high levels of relative humidity found in grow houses. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by b4daylight on July 14, 2005 at 22:16:40 PT umm why is the federal gov. not using tons?Imagine the tax on that?25,000 metric tonnes 100 dollars an ounce tax multiply 100 x 882,400,000 Ounces 882,400,000,000.00 800 billion dollars? Wow that is alot of cash! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on July 14, 2005 at 21:28:22 PT do the math 25,000 metric tonnes. A metric tonne is 1000 Kg. 454 grams equals one pound. 454 x 2206 pounds = ~1000 Kg.2206 pounds per metric tonne.2206 x 25,000 = 55,150,000 pounds of cannabis available to the consumer of cannabis.That's a lot of weed.55,150,000 x 16 = 882,400,000 ounces882,400,000/30,000,000 users (that's ten percent of the US population) = 29.413333333333333 ounces for each user per year.That's over two ounces per month per user. I think the number of people using cannabis is higher. I can't possibly smoke that much cannabis each month. Maybe some cannabis users can, but I just can't do it.I would make a guess of some 100 million plus users of cannabis sativa in the US of A. About 9 to 10 ounces per year would be an average. 20 percent of the economy is underground. It makes sense.The US government has lost control of the economy. It no longer has any idea of what is really going on. The US gov doesn't know if it is afoot or horseback.It hasn't got a clue.Cannabis has prevailed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by mayan on July 14, 2005 at 18:23:22 PT Another Lie Debunked From the second article on the bulletin..."[T]he evidence available suggest[s] that the potencies of resin and herbal cannabis that have been imported into Europe have shown little or no change, at least over the past ten years," authors determined.If the cannabis across the pond has not increased in potentcy then perhaps the American prohibitionists have been lying about that just like their European counterparts.Another day, another prohibitionist lie debunked. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by jose melendez on July 14, 2005 at 18:17:21 PT demand the plant Well the officers are trying to keep me downTrying to drive me undergroundAnd they think that they have got the battle wonI say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've donehttp://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/hardertheycome/thehardertheycome.htm High Country [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by runruff on July 14, 2005 at 17:37:31 PT: cannabis, a presciption herb. While reading through some very old medical journals I found that at the turn of the last centry Doctors prescribed cannabis to husbands who were prone to drinking to much hooch an beating on their wives. We here know this would work just as well today as it did back then. Today however we live under a corrupt system of government and preverse laws. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by cloud7 on July 14, 2005 at 16:23:00 PT Cannabis linked to nonviolence No surprise to any regulars here. They must have forgot to run this report by the ONDCP department of propaganda first. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by runderwo on July 14, 2005 at 15:51:01 PT argh " Less than five percent of US law enforcement agencies surveyed identified marijuana as a significant contributor to violent crime in their area, and most ranked methamphetamine and/or cocaine as far greater threats to public health and safety."WHAT ABOUT ALCOHOL?! Oh man, would that ever have looked sweet in that sentence, marijuana being ranked as less of a threat than alcohol by police departments. That'd really put some perspective on things. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment