cannabisnews.com: Redone Pot Initiative Headed To Court





Redone Pot Initiative Headed To Court
Posted by CN Staff on July 17, 2008 at 15:19:48 PT
By Glenda Anderson, Staff Writer
Source: Press Democrat
California -- A ballot proposal aimed at reinstating Mendocino County's liberal pot-growing guidelines, repealed by voters last month, is headed to court. County officials have asked the Superior Court to uphold their refusal to process the petitions, an action that has blocked signature-gathering efforts.County Counsel Jeanine Nadel has declined to write the necessary ballot title and summary for the measure, asserting that the proposal would be unconstitutional.
"If I were to do the ballot title and summary, I feel it would be misleading the voters," Nadel said. "I feel it's best to take this action now rather than later," Nadel said.A judge this week granted the county a temporary reprieve from writing a title and summary for the proposed initiative pending the outcome of a July 25 hearing on the issues of the case.The delay could keep the proposed initiative off the November ballot no matter how the judge rules, said Katrina Bartolomie, Mendocino County assistant registrar of voters.If a judge were to rule in favor of initiative proponents at the hearing, they would have just two weeks to collect 3,083 signatures from registered voters and get those signatures verified by the elections office. The deadline is Aug. 8."I think they would have been extremely lucky to make the ballot even without the court delay," Bartolomie said.Proponents of the proposed ballot measure blasted the legal challenge."I believe this is part of what is a well-funded federal war against medical marijuana in California using Mendocino County as a flashpoint," said J. David Nick, who represents the initiative's backers.The proposal is a replica of Measure G, which voters repealed in June by approving Measure B.Like Measure G, the new version demands that county supervisors use their budgetary authority to stop law enforcement officers from enforcing marijuana laws."The Board of Supervisors can't dictate what the sheriff and district attorney do," said Nadel, who was not the county counsel when Measure G was placed on the ballot.She declined to discuss her predecessor's decision not to challenge Measure G.The proposal also would direct authorities to ignore gardens in which 25 or fewer pot plants were being grown.Because it does not specify that the pot be grown for medicinal use, the proposed measure also is in conflict with state laws, Nadel said.Measure B requires the county to adhere to state guidelines -- six plants per person for medicinal purposes only.The proposed measure's backers admit the Measure G clone has problems and that it may be unconstitutional. But they say people should still be allowed to vote on it.Many voters may not have understood Measure B when they cast their ballots, said E.D. Lerman, a Mendocino attorney and proponent of the measure."I want to make sure voters of this county have the opportunity to decide whether they want Measure B to be the law," she said.If the proposed initiative is banned from the ballot, its backers may simply rewrite it without language deemed unconstitutional and submit it for a later election, Lerman said.If that happens, Measure B proponent Ross Liberty said he's prepared to renew his battle against what many believe was pot growing run amok.Its passage by nearly 60 percent of the vote was fueled by a backlash against for-profit marijuana production in the county, which law enforcement say increased following Measure G's passage.It's been blamed for a spike in violent crime, such as a string of pot-related home invasion robberies reported on the coast last week."It had the effect of lawlessness," Liberty said.Note: Mendocino County counsel says it's unconstitutional; delay may keep it off ballot.Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)Author: Glenda Anderson, Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, July 17, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Press DemocratContact: letters pressdemo.comWebsite: http://www.pressdemo.com/Related Articles: Mendocino County Won't Enforce Pot Measurehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24056.shtmlVoters Roll Back Liberal Pot Ruleshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24028.shtml Final Pot Vote Count Under Wayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24022.shtml
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Comment #15 posted by ekim on July 20, 2008 at 17:07:52 PT
thank you Dankhank
some info on a ethanol maker we will see more i hope.http://www.efuel100.com/
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Comment #14 posted by Dankhank on July 19, 2008 at 18:11:36 PT
Ekim
I really appreciate the info that you and others bring to us ...but it's really hard to read and understand ...I took a few minutes to clean it up, actually ten or fifteen ...and got this ...Dupont joins Danish CO[produce cellulose ethanol
Genencor Meets First Technical Milestone in Biomass to Ethanol Project http://www.ethanol-gec.org/fall2001/fall15.html 
Genencor Labs, Palo Alto, California Genencor International, Inc. announced that it has achieved its first technical milestone in its three-year contract with the U.S. Department of Energy Biofuels Program. Genencor developed and validated processes for improved cellulase enzymes that meet the intended objective at one-half the cost of currently available technologies."Advances in molecular biology and functional genomics enable us to push the frontiers of commercial development and we're pleased to be making progress toward developing new enzyme systems to accomplish the goal of this project," said Michael Arbige, Ph.D, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. The goal of the program is to develop new enzyme systems for the economic conversion of plant matter into ethanol and other valuable materials. DOE has determined that the cost of converting biomass into useable form is a critical stumbling block to producing biofuels and chemicals from renewable raw materials. Specifically, Genencor and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are working to deliver enzyme systems enabling a 10-fold improvement in the economics of breaking down cellulosic material (plant matter) and other complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. "The United States is the world's leader in agriculture and biotechnology and the Department's biomass research and development efforts take advantage of that position," said David Garman, the U.S. Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "The President's Energy Policy promotes the development of renewable energy sources and we look to biomass for significant contributions to reducing America's dependence on foreign oil."Howard, this page no longer works. Biomass and Solar Technologies Lauded. http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2004/3404_technologies_lauded.html Monday, July 12, 2004 Golden, Colo. Two technologies developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are among this year's most significant innovations, as judged by Research & Development (R&D) Magazine. The Laboratory's two R&D 100 Awards for 2004 are for an innovative, lower-cost method for transforming plant material into the sugars that can be used to make fuels and chemicals, and a thin-film solar cell that produces electricity directly from sunlight, which has greater efficiency, and is lighter weight and more flexible than previous devices. 
This year's announcement brings to 37 the number of R&D 100 Awards garnered by NREL. "Once again, the technologies developed by our Laboratory's researchers are being acknowledged for their importance to the nation," said Stan Bull, NREL associate director for science and technology. "It's particularly gratifying that the R&D 100 Awards this year include two NREL technologies that can enhance our nation's energy security and reduce our reliance on foreign sources of oil."The Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Biomass Cellulose to Sugars technology is expected to allow a wide range of biomass resources to be used to produce energy and chemicals. It is an important step toward realizing the potential of bio-refineries-in which plant and waste materials are used to produce an array of fuels and chemicals, analogous to an oil refinery today. Through this technology, the cost of converting cellulosic biomass into usable sugars can be reduced by more than 20 times per gallon of ethanol produced. The award is shared by NREL, Genencor International and Novozymes Biotech, Inc. NREL researchers who worked on this project included Michael Himmel, Jim McMillan, Dan Schell, Jody Farmer, Nancy Dowe and Rafael Nieves. Also recognized for 2004 are light and flexible thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic modules, which can be manufactured in various sizes and have a compact, foldable design that allows for easy deployment, transport and storage. As a result, the modules have twice the power-to-weight ratio, and three times the power-to-size ratio as competing products. Because of this, they are especially suited for military applications, portable power for consumer and public use, boating and other marine applications and building-related uses, such as for bus shelters and in PV-integrated roofing. The award is shared by NREL, Global Solar Energy and ITN Energy Systems. 
NREL researchers who worked on this project included, Harin Ullal, Ken Zweibel and Bolko von Roedern. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's premier laboratory for renewable energy research and development and a leading laboratory for energy efficiency R&D. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle. For further information contact NREL Public Affairs at (303) 275-4090. NR-3404Peace to all who inform. 
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Comment #13 posted by ekim on July 19, 2008 at 16:33:37 PT
need lawmakers to have hearings on this tech
Dupont joins Danish CO[produce cellulose ethanol 
> > > > > Genencor Meets First Technical Milestone in Biomass to Ethanol Project > http://www.ethanol-gec.org/fall2001/fall15.html > Genencor Labs, Palo Alto, California > Genencor International, Inc. announced that it has achieved its first > technical milestone in its three-year contract with the U.S. Department of > Energy Biofuels Program. Genencor developed and validated processes for > improved cellulase enzymes that meet the intended objective at one-half the > cost of currently available technologies. > > "Advances in molecular biology and functional genomics enable us to push the > frontiers of commercial development and we're pleased to be making progress > toward developing new enzyme systems to accomplish the goal of this > project," said Michael Arbige, Ph.D, Senior Vice President and Chief > Technology Officer. > The goal of the program is to develop new enzyme systems for the economic > conversion of plant matter into ethanol and other valuable materials. DOE > has determined that the cost of converting biomass into useable form is a > critical stumbling block to producing biofuels and chemicals from renewable > raw materials. > > Specifically, Genencor and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are > working to deliver enzyme systems enabling a 10-fold improvement in the > economics of breaking down cellulosic material (plant matter) and other > complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. "The United States is the > world's leader in agriculture and biotechnology and the Department's biomass > research and development efforts take advantage of that position," said > David Garman, the U.S. Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Energy > Efficiency and Renewable Energy. "The President's Energy Policy promotes > the development of renewable energy sources and we look to biomass for > significant contributions to reducing America's dependence on foreign oil." > > Howard this www. page no longer works. > Biomass and Solar Technologies Lauded > http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2004/3404_technologies_lauded.html > Monday, July 12, 2004 > > Golden, Colo. - Two technologies developed by the U.S. Department of > Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are among this year's most > significant innovations, as judged by Research & Development (R&D) Magazine. > > The Laboratory's two R&D 100 Awards for 2004 are for an innovative, > lower-cost method for transforming plant material into the sugars that can > be used to make fuels and chemicals, and a thin-film solar cell that > produces electricity directly from sunlight, which has greater efficiency, > and is lighter weight and more flexible than previous devices. > > This year's announcement brings to 37 the number of R&D 100 Awards garnered > by NREL. > > "Once again, the technologies developed by our Laboratory's researchers are > being acknowledged for their importance to the nation," said Stan Bull, NREL > associate director for science and technology. "It's particularly gratifying > that the R&D 100 Awards this year include two NREL technologies that can > enhance our nation's energy security and reduce our reliance on foreign > sources of oil." > > The Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Biomass Cellulose to Sugars technology is > expected to allow a wide range of biomass resources to be used to produce > energy and chemicals. It is an important step toward realizing the potential > of bio-refineries-in which plant and waste materials are used to produce an > array of fuels and chemicals, analogous to an oil refinery today. > > Through this technology, the cost of converting cellulosic biomass into > usable sugars can be reduced by more than 20 times per gallon of ethanol > produced. > > The award is shared by NREL, Genencor International and Novozymes Biotech, > Inc. NREL researchers who worked on this project included Michael Himmel, > Jim McMillan, Dan Schell, Jody Farmer, Nancy Dowe and Rafael Nieves. > > Also recognized for 2004 are light and flexible thin-film copper indium > gallium diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic modules, which can be manufactured in > various sizes and have a compact, foldable design that allows for easy > deployment, transport and storage. > > As a result, the modules have twice the power-to-weight ratio, and three > times the power-to-size ratio as competing products. Because of this, they > are especially suited for military applications, portable power for consumer > and public use, boating and other marine applications and building-related > uses, such as for bus shelters and in PV-integrated roofing. > > The award is shared by NREL, Global Solar Energy and ITN Energy Systems. > NREL researchers who worked on this project included Harin Ullal, Ken > Zweibel and Bolko von Roedern. > > NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's premier laboratory for renewable > energy research and development and a leading laboratory for energy > efficiency R&D. NREL is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and > Battelle. > For further information contact NREL Public Affairs at (303) 275-4090. > > NR-3404 > 
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Comment #12 posted by Dankhank on July 19, 2008 at 15:32:35 PT
pickens plan ...
T. Bone is coming to the party kinda late, but I suspect his support is a good thing.finding the flattest, shortest route from SW OK to Denver, we drive through a large wind farm in Colorado.It's been there for a few years and must be a good example for surrounding communities as the (wind) wave of the future.doesn't look like any expansion is taking place. 
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on July 19, 2008 at 13:11:43 PT
ekim
I've noticed the commericals on tv about his plan. It sounds really interesting. I hope in a few years when heating our house with wood will start becoming a chore that alternative sources of fuel for our homes will be more available and affordable. I'm looking forward to the future.
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on July 19, 2008 at 12:21:40 PT
cant drill our way out
http://www.pickensplan.com/
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Comment #9 posted by OverwhelmSam on July 19, 2008 at 09:49:45 PT
I.O.U.S.A.
In Case You Missed It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBo2xQIWHiM
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Comment #8 posted by OverwhelmSam on July 19, 2008 at 09:20:33 PT
GM Lays off 20%, May File Bankruptcy
Instant Karma, Who Killed The Electric Car?In Case You Missed It:http://bestdocumentaries.blogspot.com/2008/07/who-killed-electric-car.htmlWhen consumers start buying electric cars, oil companies will be gone. Good riddance.
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Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on July 18, 2008 at 16:01:17 PT
'G' whiz
There is lawlessness because cannabis is illegal.Legalize cannabis and this stuff all disappears.I want to thank the DEA for enforcing cannabis prohibition for the last 35 years since its inception.They must be given the credit by proxy for marijuana growing to go indoors and the increased quality of cannabis.Without their efforts, cannabis would be still grown outside. Now, high tech cannabis growing is the norm, all because the DEA insists on enforcing cannabis laws. They're the useful idiots that made it all happen.Heckuva job
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 18, 2008 at 13:55:03 PT
dongenero 
I really hope inflation doesn't change my states $100 fine for under 100 grams. It has been liberal since the 70s. Many people would be shocked.
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Comment #5 posted by dongenero on July 18, 2008 at 13:30:57 PT
Nebraska price increase- comment #4
This policy change mirrors the price increase of donuts.This economy is affecting all of us, prohibitionists included.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 18, 2008 at 11:46:43 PT
New Nebraska Laws To Go Into Effect Today
July 18, 2008Excerpt: A first offense for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana will cost $300 instead of $100. The fine for a second offense will also spike to $400 from $200.And the penalty for possessing more than an ounce but less than a pound will increase to a maxim of three months in jail from a maximum of seven days, under the new law (LB844).http://www.columbustelegram.com/articles/2008/07/18/news/local/doc4880c2adbc849762114429.txt
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Comment #3 posted by paul armentano on July 18, 2008 at 10:10:15 PT
My latest Huff Post essay
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/when-it-comes-to-medical_b_113176.html?rtaWhen It Comes To Medical Pot, Rats Are Smarter Than Our Politiciansby Paul Armentanostumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust
Posted July 17, 2008 | 06:53 PM (EST)**Note: Please show your support for this post by 'digging' it here:
http://digg.com/political_opinion/When_It_Comes_To_Pot_Rats_Are_Smarter_Than_Our_PoliticiansYou can learn a lot from a rat -- especially if the subject is medical cannabis.According to a just-published study from the University of Milan -- you didn't actually think medicinal marijuana research took place in this country, did you? -- the administration of whole-plant cannabis extracts provides superior pain relief compared to the administration of the plant's isolated components (such as THC) in an animal model of neuropathic pain."[T]he use of a standardized extract of Cannabis sativa ... evoked a total relief of thermal hyperalgesia, in an experimental model of neuropathic pain, ... ameliorating the effect of single cannabinoids," investigators reported. "Collectively, these findings strongly support the idea that the combination of cannabinoid and non-cannabinoid compounds, as present in [plant-derived] extracts, provide significant [therapeutic] advantages ... compared with pure cannabinoids alone."Ironically, US lawmakers and bureaucrats have long argued just the opposite -- maintaining that the therapeutic use of the plant should remain illegal, but that its "active ingredients ... could be isolated and developed into a variety of pharmaceuticals, such as Marinol."So if rats can deduce that whole cannabis works better as a medicine than a single synthesized molecule, what's stopping our politicians from reaching this same conclusion?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/
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Comment #2 posted by paul armentano on July 18, 2008 at 10:06:26 PT
My latest blog post -- please check it out
So What If Pot Can Cure Cancer; That’s No Reason For You To Use Ithttp://blog.norml.org/2008/07/17/so-what-if-pot-can-cure-cancer-thats-no-reason-for-you-to-use-it/[excerpt]Having recently lost friends and family members to cancer, including one to leukemia, I can inform Dr. Liu that such a diagnosis — even when treated with standard radiation and chemotherapy — is a death sentence. For Dr. Liu to advise, with a straight face no less, that these patients would do “more harm than good” by smoking cannabis is a disgrace. Not only can cannabis alleviate cancer patients’ nausea and pain, elevate their mood, and increase their appetite, but also — as Dr. Liu’s own data demonstrates — it may help to alleviate the very disease that’s ravaging their bodies. Nevertheless, I suppose that Dr. Liu would rather have these patients shut up and die than expose the political hypocrisy surrounding criminalizing a plant.Finally, as for Dr. Liu’s idyllic estimate that his pharmaceutically-approved pot-based anti-cancer drugs will be available in “two to three years,” don’t hold your breath (or, if you already have cancer, try not to die in the interim). I’m sure that these investigators made similar proclamations when they documented pot’s anti-cancer properties — in 1975!Yet here we are 38 years later and the only ‘progress’ we’ve made on this issue is in the wrong direction — having moved from investigating the plant’s anti-cancer potential in animals to cells in vitro in a petri dish! Thank you Dr. Liu; now kindly get out of my sight.
http://www.norml.org
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on July 17, 2008 at 17:52:22 PT
general election, you lose
in case anyone can't read between the lines - the only way Measure B passed is because it was on a special election, in the general presidential election it would lose and measure G would win again easily, that's why they're trying to stop it illegaly.
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