Support for legalizing Marijuana hits all-time high

50 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, up from 46 percent last year, according to a new Gallup poll.

It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.

The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.

Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization of marijuana remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).

Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.

"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.

"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."

He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."

The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 2009 federal survey on drug use found that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.

Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.

A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.

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Fed's Say Medical Marijuana Patients Can't Own Guns!

According to a recent memo from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, it is illegal for any of Montana's 26,492 registered medical marijuana patients — to own or possess firearms or ammunition.

That information was included in a letter written last week by ATF Assistant Director for Enforcement Programs and Services Arthur Herbert to all federal firearms licensees, giving them guidance on what to do if a firearm customer reveals that he or she is a medical marijuana patient.

According to the letter, "any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition."

The letter goes on to state that federal firearms licensees may not transfer firearms or ammunition to such a customer.

Jon Svaren is a 15-year Navy veteran who was honorably discharged in 2009. Svaren also is a medical marijuana patient who said he still is recovering from surgery last November to repair a severe back injury. Svaren, who lives and works on a farm north of Hardin, also is a gun owner who hunts birds and uses firearms to control varmints on the farm.

Svaren said he was "blown away" but the language of the memo.

"To take away my Second Amendment rights is contrary to everything I've ever fought for, and contrary to every oath of enlistment I've taken," Svaren said.

Pro-gun rights and medical marijuana advocates also were outraged by the letter, which they say singles out a specific group of citizens and attempts to strip them of their Second Amendment rights.

"The cannabis issue has become representative of nation-wide concerns," said Kate Cholewa, a board member of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association. "Citizens are increasingly concerned that the government, rather than expressing the will of the citizens, now sees itself as separate from the citizens and is imposing their will upon the people."

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New Jersey O.K. -- N.Y. 50,000 + Aressted in 2010

In 2010, more than 50,000 people were arrested for possession of marijuana; a vast majority of them were racial minorities and male. Civil rights lawyers say that many of them were stopped as part of the Police Department’s broad stop-and-frisk practice and were arrested after officers told them to empty their pockets, which brought the drugs into open view.

Commissioner Kelly’s memo now makes clear that displaying the drug must be an “activity undertaken of the subject’s own volition” and that individuals may not be charged with violating the law if the marijuana “was disclosed to public view at an officer’s direction.”

While the memo, reported by WNYC last week, is an important step, it does not by itself end the problem. The United States Justice Department and New York lawmakers should investigate the legality of practices that led to the arrests of hundreds of thousands of people since the mid-1990s.

Under New York law, possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana is a violation subject to a $100 fine for the first offense. Possession of any amount that is in public view, however, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

This statute was supported by district attorneys in the 1970s because they believed it would free the police to fight serious crimes. That changed in the mid-1990s when the city began emphasizing street stops as an important part of its policing approach. Since 1996, the city has taken more than 536,000 people into custody for the lowest-level marijuana charge, according to Harry Levine, a sociologist at Queens College who has tracked the data closely. From 1981 through 1995, that number was 33,700.

Police have characterized marijuana arrests as important for keeping criminals off the street. But, in testimony submitted to the Legislature this summer, Professor Levine estimated that a significant majority of those arrested in 2010 had never been convicted of any crime, based on an analysis of data reported to the state.

Young African-Americans and Hispanics, who are disproportionately singled-out in street stops, make up a high percentage of people arrested for marijuana possession — despite federal data showing that whites are more likely to consume marijuana. This policing practice has damaged young lives and deserves deeper scrutiny by federal and state monitors.

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Congressman Pleads with Federal Government to Reschedule Marijuana

A member of Congress is urging the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to reschedule marijuana's status as a Controlled Substance Schedule I drug.

Congressman Steve Cohen from Tennessee states in his letter to Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske that, "There is no evidence that marijuana has the same addictive qualities or damaging consequences as these harder drugs and it should not be treated as such." He goes on to explain how drug convictions for non-violent possession "crimes" have high costs - almost $7.6 billion per year is estimated to be spent on marijuana arrests and prosecutions. He also states that the damage to ruining someone's life with an unnecessary conviction is an unreasonable cost to our society, dooming these people to "second-class citizenship". He mentions the "disastrous racial disparities" in the criminal justice system, reporting that African-Americans and Latinos are much more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.

Congressman Cohen also addresses states' rights to make their own medical marijuana laws, stating, "We should not deny the thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits that marijuana provides. I strongly recommend that this administration allow states that have chosen to legalize medical marijuana to enact strong regulations without fear of prosecution.

You can read the Congressman's letter here

Sacramento's Delta Allied Growers ... Is D.O.A.

Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully announced Thursday that she will not file charges in Isleton's aborted plans for a large medical marijuana farm, but she made it clear that she believes the whole matter was bungled from the start.

"Had the marijuana cultivation farm project become operational it would have been illegal under state and federal laws and not in compliance with attorney general guidelines," Scully's office wrote in a scathing 21-page report.

The report is the latest swipe at the Delta town's failed efforts to generate revenues by approving a 15,000-square-foot medical marijuana farm on the northern edge of town.

Michael Brubeck, the would-be medical cannabis impresario who offered the city up to $25,000 a month from medical marijuana revenues, will not face charges, Scully said, and neither will any city officials.

However, she left no doubt that she believes City Manager Bruce Pope and City Attorney Dave Larsen acted improperly as they pursued a way to get the project under way.

She singled out Larsen as having a conflict of interest, saying the matter would be sent to the California State Bar Association for review.

At issue was the fact that Larsen, who is paid $150 an hour by the city for his services, also was being paid $250 an hour by the developer of the medical marijuana farm to help draft documents for the project, Scully's office said.

That issue was previously raised by a critical grand jury report, and Larsen on Thursday once again defended his conduct and said everything had been done properly and in the open.

He added that Isleton officials knew dealing with marijuana was "tricky business" but that they were rebuffed in their efforts to get advice from Scully's office on how best to proceed.

"We never got to first base," Larsen said. "There was just no willingness to talk to us in any fashion along those lines."

Scully's report said the city was uncooperative, delayed providing documents and provided misleading information as she investigated what was going on in the community of 840 residents.

"Rather than choose to cooperate, the city manager and the city attorney chose to fight the investigation by withholding some public records, disclosing some uncompleted and unsigned documents, and keeping the city council in the dark about letters from the DA and the United States attorney," her report concluded.

The medical marijuana farm idea never got far. After initial construction of frames for some grow houses, Brubeck and his Delta Allied Growers operation pulled out of the plan when threatened with prosecution by U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner.

A grand jury report issued in June indicated that 1,000 marijuana plants that had been brought onto the site were buried using a bulldozer and the plan was abandoned.

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San Jose Council Votes to Limit Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to 10

San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to approve rules allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, San Jose Mercury News reports.

The council voted 8-3 to allow only 10 clubs out of the nearly 12 dozen pot dispensaries that spread across the city over the last two years to survive.

Pot club activists, however, were not happy about the decision and called the new regulations unworkable and threatened to fight them in court or at the voting booth. "If we don't get our due process, we'll find somewhere else to get it, whether it's the court or the ballot box," Lauren Vasquez, an attorney and medical marijuana patient, told Mercury News.In April, the council moved toward limiting the number of dispensaries to 10, but marijuana activists lobbied against the decision, arguing that the cap would result in Costco-sized marijuana superstores that would invite federal drug raids.

The clubs, which city officials say have all been operating illegally, will also be restricted to certain commercial and industrial areas and required to grow all their medical marijuana on site. "We'll have something in place that will make it impossible for us to operate," Dave Hodges, founder of the All American Cannabis Club, one of the first marijuana dispensaries in the city, told Mercury News.

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This One May Be Hard To Defend! 58 Pounds and a suspended license!

Another case of ... Dude what were you thinking? An L.A. based man was arrested early this morning after Tehama County sheriff’s deputies pulled over his car for not having a front license plate, as if the cops could actually see the license plate, and found 58 bags each containing approximately one pound of cannabis.

Mr Dixon, 23, stated to the sheriff’s deputies that the marijuana was for his "personal use".

Dixon was arrested on suspicion of possession and transportation of marijuana for sale and driving on a suspended license. He was booked into Tehama County jail in lieu of $101,140 bail.

Stay safe, legal, and free by getting your medical marijuana recommendation today

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Kern County "High" On Hope!

Professional signature collectors are on their way to Kern County to drum up more than 17,000 names needed before the ordinance to ban medical marijuana collectives goes into effect September 9th.!

Why? ... Well On Tuesday, the Kern County Board of Clowns... I mean Supervisors had its say, passing an ordinance that bans medical marijuana cooperatives in Kern County. It was a controversial vote that created quite a buzz about town, now advocates of medical marijuana are launching a referendum to stop the ordinance.

"We want to see an ordinance that works for everybody," Craig Beresh, Pres. California Cannabis Coalition, said. "That regulates it, gets taxed and is beneficial for Kern County as well as the collectives."

Don't miss the opportunity to have your voice heard. All registered voters in the county are eligible to sign the referendum.


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Stay Safe and Legal Get your Medical Marijuana Recommendation, follow state laws, live without fear of consuming God's medicine!

Therapeutic Action of Cannabinoids on Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive neuro-degenerative disease where the brain and spinal cord are damaged by the gradual destruction of myelin, which is the tissue that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord. Patients who have MS suffer with painful muscle spasms, numbness, impaired vision, loss of balance and coordination, tremors, and weakness. There is currently no known cure for MS.

That being said... DELTA..sup.9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (.DELTA..sup.9-THC), the major psychoactive constituent of marijuana, exerts a broad range of therapeutic effects through its interactions with two cannabinoid (CB) receptor subtypes, CB.sub.1 and CB.sub.2. CB.sub.1 receptors are highly expressed in the central nervous system and to a lesser degree in the periphery in a variety of tissues of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. By contrast, CB.sub.2 receptors are most abundantly expressed in multiple lymphoid organs and cells of the immune system, including spleen, thymus, tonsils, bone marrow, pancreas and mast cells. (See Link for source)

Many MS patients are using medical marijuana as they have found that it relieves the spasticity, calms tremors, and helps with the depression and anxiety of being ill. There are a number of scientific studies that show that marijuana helps to reduce MS symptoms. One study looked at 167 patients who reported less pain, less muscle spasms, and less bladder incontinence with use of cannabis. These patients reported that they were able to control symptoms with the same dose of cannabis for a mean duration of 434 days without having to increase their dose. (Wade, Multiple Sclerosis 10:425-33, 2004) Researchers suggest that this study demonstrates that marijuana does not lead to increased tolerance requiring increased doses of medication, unlike the conventional medications used to treat MS

Managing the spectrum of pain etiologies remains a major public health problem and both patients and clinicians are seeking improved strategies to effectively manage pain. No currently available therapies or drugs effectively treat all types of nociceptive and neuropathic pain states. The compounds of the present invention are novel CB.sub.2 receptor modulators that have utility in treating pain, including nociceptive and neuropathic pain.