Tag Archives | Marijuana

CAMH Study Shows Mental Illness Associated With Heavy Cannabis Use

By on June 15, 2013 in News 0

via Science Codex reefermadness

People with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness, according to researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) who studied U.S. data.

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance globally, with an estimated 203 million people reporting use. Although research has found links between cannabis use and mental illness, exact numbers and prevalence of problem cannabis use had not been investigated.

“We know that people with mental illness consume more cannabis, perhaps partially as a way to self- medicate psychiatric symptoms, but this data showed us the degree of the correlation between cannabis use, misuse, and mental illness,” said Dr. Shaul Lev-ran, Adjunct Scientist at CAMH and Head of Addiction Medicine at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel.

“Based on the number individuals reporting weekly use, we see that people with mental illness use cannabis at high rates.

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DisinfoCast: 61: Jesse Ventura “DemoCRIPS and ReBLOODlicans”

By on June 13, 2013 in News, Podcasts 0

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Former Minnesota governor, one-time pro wrestler, Navy Special Operations veteran and actor Jesse Ventura joins the podcast to talk about his new book “DemoCRIPS and ReBLOODlicans: No More Gangs in Government”. The drug wars, Nazis, fluoride, 9/11, the possible one world government of the future and much more is discussed along the way.
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Colombia’s Controversial Cure for Coke Addicts: Give Them Marijuana

By on June 6, 2013 in News 0

via The Star tumblr_ly5xcsShwF1qap9uuo1_500

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA—Marijuana has long been accused of being a gateway to deadlier vices. But could cannabis be a swinging door that might also lead people away from hard drugs? That’s what this capital city is trying to find out.

In a controversial public health project, Bogota will supply marijuana to 300 addicts of bazuco, a cheap cocaine derivative that generates crack-like highs and is as addictive as heroin.

Bogota has 7,500 bazuco users among its 9,500 homeless population, said Ruben Dario Ramirez, director of the Center for the Study and Analysis of Coexistence and Security, which is spearheading the project.

Addicts are often driven to crime to support their habit, turning parts of this thriving city into bazuco wastelands where junkies huddle to smoke the drug. In the last three years, 277 homeless people have been murdered, he said.

For the most desperate users, the cannabis cure may be the only way out.

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Government Data Suggests That Blacks Are Singled Out For Marijuana Arrests

By on June 5, 2013 in News 0

marijuana possession arrests

What does one call laws that are selectively enforced on different segments of the population? The New York Times reports:

Black Americans were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though the two groups used the drug at similar rates, according to new federal data.

Though there has been a shift in state laws and in popular attitudes about the drug, black and white Americans have experienced the change very differently. Public attitudes toward marijuana softened and a number of states decriminalized its use. But about half of all drug arrests in 2011 were on marijuana-related charges, roughly the same portion as in 2010.

“We found that in virtually every county in the country, police have wasted taxpayer money enforcing marijuana laws in a racially biased manner,” said Ezekiel Edwards, the director of the A.C.L.U.’s Criminal Law Reform Project. In 2010, states spent an estimated $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws, a 30 percent increase from 10 years earlier.

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First National Marijuana Brand Coming to U.S. From Ex-Microsoft Executive

By on June 2, 2013 in News 0

Vitaterra VITACANNAB CULTIVO CANNABIS cultivationHow long before weed is corporatized and corrupted with chemical additives? From Reuters:

A former Microsoft executive plans to create the first U.S. national marijuana brand, with cannabis he hopes to eventually import legally from Mexico, and said he was kicking off his business by acquiring medical pot dispensaries in three U.S. states.

Jamen Shively, a former Microsoft corporate strategy manager, said he envisions his Seattle-based enterprise becoming the leader in both recreational and medical cannabis – much like Starbucks is the dominant name in coffee, he said.

Shively, 45, whose six years at Microsoft ended in 2009, said he was soliciting investors for $10 million in start-up money.

The use, sale and possession of marijuana remains illegal in the United States under federal law. Two U.S. states have, however, legalized recreational marijuana use and are among 18 states that allow it for medical use.

“It’s a giant market in search of a brand,” Shively said of the marijuana industry.

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Can Animals Get High On Marijuana?

By on May 26, 2013 in News 0

ram-RACannabis can have tremendous benefits for sick creatures, but veterinarian Dr. Andrew Springer Browne, who has treated numerous pets that got a hold of their owners’ pot brownies, warns that animals should never ingest THC. Via the The New Inquiry:

Yes, an animal can get high on marijuana, but I would call it a very bad trip rather than being stoned or high.

The main clinical signs in dogs are low body temperature, dilated pupils, increased sensitivity to noise and movement, being unsteady on their feet. The animals are usually distressed and whimpering or howling. With really high doses they are collapsed, with a slow heart rate, barely responsive. This can last 24 to 48 hours. Usually they survive.

I would say though that any amount of marijuana is too much for an animal. Also, marijuana can have a variable amount of THC in it and also may contain contaminants like fungal spores, pesticides, or fertilizer.

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Undercover Cops at High School Bust Special Needs Teenager for Pot

By on May 23, 2013 in News 0

21-jump-st-logoI feel safer already. Jackasses.

Via AlterNet:

Californians Doug and Catherine Snodgrass are suing their son’s high school for allowing undercover police officers to set up the 17-year-old special-needs student for a drug arrest.

In a video segment on ABC News, they say they were “thrilled” when their son — who has Asperger’s and other disabilities and struggled to make friends — appeared to have instantly made a friend named Daniel.

“He suddenly had this friend who was texting him around the clock,” Doug Snodgrass told ABC News. His son had just recently enrolled at Chaparral High School.

“Daniel,” however, was an undercover cop with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department who “hounded” the teenager to sell him his prescription medication. When he refused, the undercover cop gave him $20 to buy him weed, and he complied — not realizing the guy he wanted to befriend wanted him behind bars.

Hide your stash and keep reading.… Read the rest

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The IRS War On Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By on May 20, 2013 in News 0

IRS War On Medical MarijuanaCongressional Republicans (with the Obama administration’s bipartisan support) are all for using the IRS to target and decimate one sector of the U.S. economy — medical marijuana providers. Alternet reports:

The IRS employs Section 280E, a 1982 tax code addition that was a response to a drug dealer’s successful effort to claim his yacht, weapons, and even bribes as business expenses. Under 280E, individuals involved in the illicit sale of controlled substances — including marijuana, even medical marijuana in states where it is legal — cannot claim standard business expenses on their taxes.

“The Obama administration is using Section 280E to push these local and state licensed medical marijuana dispensaries out of business,” said Kris Hermes, spokesman for the medical marijuana defense group Americans for Safe Access.

Most small businesses pay an effective tax rate of between 13% and 27% on net income, according to the Small Business Administration. With the unintended application of 280E, state-legal marijuana providers pay an average effective tax rate of 65-80%.

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Don’t Fool Yourself: The Legalization of Marijuana Will Absolutely Lead to More People Smoking Pot

By on May 9, 2013 in News 0

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One of the strangest things about being an enthusiastic pot smoker is that you constantly meet people who aren’t high all the time, which often leaves you wondering “What the fuck is wrong with these people?” I have no idea, but what I do know is that pot’s illegality absolutely influences this decision for most of them, often subconsciously. Don’t believe me? The second legalization passed in Washington, members on every side of my wife and my family were all of a sudden looking for a hook up. Christmas shopping was super easy. I got weed for nearly everyone, because that’s what they fucking asked for. I’m not joking. Some of these people haven’t smoked in years.

Because of the drug war, pretty much everything said about recreational drugs publicly is essentially insane. About the biggest argument conservative types can come up with against loosening weed laws has always been, but, if we legalize marijuana, more people will smoke it.… Read the rest

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Obama Says That Legalizing Marijuana Is Not A Possibility

By on May 9, 2013 in News 0

legalizing marijuana

If only he would accept a phone call and advice from his old buddies in the Choom Gang. Talk Radio News Service reports:

In a speech in Mexico City on Friday, President Obama shut the door on any possibility that he’ll support efforts in his second term to legalize marijuana. “I honestly do not believe that legalizing drugs is the answer,” the president told a large gathering of young Mexicans at the city’s Anthropology Museum.

Polls show that more and more Americans favor ending the federal ban on pot. A handful of states have lifted restrictions on the drug in recent years.

The president likely felt it necessary to touch on drugs in his speech since marijuana is a chief import from Mexico to the United States. It is also largely to blame for the rising swell of cartel violence in Mexico over the years. Obama said that his administration must figure out a way to reduce demand for drugs.

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