Archive for the ‘America’ Category
Victories in Court
October 4th, 2012
The Daktory
Some good news from the legal sysem this week. Doug McLeod had a charge withdrawn – the charge of permitting premises to be used for consumption of cannabis. He was charged with this “crime” because he was staying at the Daktory one of the times when it was raided.
Eight people turned up at Waitakere Ditrict Court this wet and chilly morning to support Doug. We got plenty of toots and waves from passing traffic as hundreds of people saw our signs.
They told Doug to be at the court at 9 am, but it was early 10 am before the judge turned up. Why are judges alwys late? In most oher jobs you would get sacked if you were late all the time.
Fortunately, Doug’s case was the first one to be called. The police sought leave to withdraw the charge, and it was all over. A few people clapped, but not loud enough to upset the judge.
Doug stood in the dock, proudly wearing his Freedom is NORML T shirt, and asked for an apology from the prosecutor. The judge told him to take it up with his lawyer, and he was free to go.
We gathered outside the court for another show of signs and more photos – you’ll find some of them on Facebook. Doug called out “Cannabis for sale!” when a cop walked by.
Doug’s next appearance at Waitakere court will be on yet amother bullshit charge. He was arrested or sparking up a solar cone at a previous protest. This is a classic example of how the police try to bully the law reform movement into submission.
Dakta Gizi is back at the Daktory, now that her bail conditions have been changed, and she no longer has a curfew. So no more 5 am curfew checks by the filth – a favorite trick of theirs.
At Monday’s bail hearing, police opposed the changes. They even tried to get Dakta Green’s bail conditions altered, in spite of the fact that it was not his bail hearing. They claimed that “law breaking” is still going on at the Daktory. No comment.
Thanks to the people who replied with information about other court appearances. We don’t know about them unless somebody tells us, and we want to spread the word about any of our people being vicrtimized by the legal system – so keep the info coming.
Huge Crowds At Open Day
Just kidding, folks. It was a very quiet Sunday afternoon at the Daktory, but a few friends dropped by – and nothing bad happened. So we did it again Wednesday evening. Six people turned up this time – all wanting to buy weed. We hd to disappoint them – we can no longer offer that service, and we ask people not to smoke on the premises.
Everything else is still here at the Daktory – the pool table, table tennis, table soccer, darts, chess, snacks and drinks, and hard core Daktivists.
We’re having another open day this Sunday, noon to 6 pm. Come and talk to us about what you would like to see and do at the club. We are open to suggestions.
Become a member and help the Daktory survive. Membership is just $20 a month. If enough people join, we can afford to keep the club running – and get the Cannabus back on the road.
For anyone who would like to donate through automatic payment or online banking, the account number is:
38-9009-0070049-00
Last But Not Least
A big “Thank You” to everyone who has made a donation to the Daktory. Your support will help to make it possible to reopen and to continue the fight for our rights.
Give It Away
February 5th, 2011
Dakta Zippy
Vinny Eastwood talks to Rick Simpson, the man who open-sourced high THC hemp oil and gave it away. Nothing upsets the US establishment more than deviation from the norm. Have a listen to Simpson’s tale of persecution and prosecution at the hands of the hydra-headed bald eagles.
4:20 News
January 21st, 2011
Dakta Zippy
# Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish points to another victim of the war on drugs. Be warned, graphic violence:
Scott Morgan captions this disturbing video:
The victim in this case, Todd Blair, brandished a golf club in terror as armed men stormed his home in the night. We’ll never know for sure if he realized they were police. But we do know that only a small amount of drugs were found in the raid that took his life.
# Closer to home, Kiwi-born banker turned drug double agent turned writer Keith Bulfin talks to Close Up about the horrors of the black market in the Mexican Drug Wars.
# Jacob Sullum at Reason.com reviews The Fall and Rise of Prohibition; When Booze Was Banned But Pot Was Not.
# And finally, some Bob Marley, in his own words:
More here.
Why is Hemp unemployed?
January 10th, 2011
Dakta Zippy
Hemp gets a bad rap:
Opposition To DEA Pot Raids Spreads Across Political Spectrum
August 3rd, 2010
Bourbon
by By Steve Elliott on tokeofthetown.com
Two ideologically diverse advocates on Wednesday echoed an earlier call by a coalition of drug-policy reform groups by condemning a series of recent raids by the Drug Enforcement Administration on medical marijuana collectives operating legally under state law.
The Tenth Amendment Center, a group that advocates for states’ rights, and Jane Hamsher, the publisher of Firedoglake.com, called on the DEA to respect duly adopted state medical marijuana laws and immediately end those raids.
“The federal government is only authorized to exercise those powers that ‘We The People’ delegated to it in the Constitution,” said Michael Boldin, founder of the Tenth Amendment Center. “It is especially egregious when these laws are used to justify raids in states where the use and distribution of cannabis is expressly allowed by law.”
“How many hundreds of thousands of people are going to be arrested before We The People say ‘enough is enough’?” Boldin asked. “The time to end this unconstitutional, immoral, and costly federal war on people is now.”
Under the “leadership” of acting administrator Michele Leonhart, the DEA has staged medical marijuana raids in apparent disregard of Attorney General Eric Holder’s directive to respect state medical marijuana laws. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes on Prop 19 Winning 52%-36%; Majority Supports Legalizing Marijuana
July 27th, 2010
Bourbon
Proposition 19, which would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults over 21 years old, is currently winning by a wide margin among California voters according to a new PPP poll. The measure is supported by 52% of voters while opposed by only 36%.
- Prop 19 PPP
- Support 52%
- Oppose 36%
This is the largest margin of support we have seen from recent polling on Prop 19. Interestingly, the poll found support among African Americans to be extremely high. From PPP blog:
Democrats are more likely to throw their support behind the prop than Republicans. 62% of Democrats, 37% of Republicans and 55% of Independents support Prop 19.
African-Americans are the strongest supporters of Prop 19; 68:32, followed by Whites who support it 53:37.
Those are surprisingly high numbers among African Americans. A SurveyUSA poll from earlier this month had African Americans on average about as likely to support Prop 19 as whites. Significantly, a small percentage of African Americans said they were certain to oppose it.
New Poll: Majority of American Adults Support Legalizing Marijuana, Oppose Drug War
July 23rd, 2010
Bourbon
By: Jon Walker Wednesday July 21, 2010 10:01 pm
According to a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll (PDF), American adults overwhelmingly believe the “War on Drugs” has been a failure: 65 percent of adults describe it that way, while only eight percent call it a success and 27 percent are not sure. After several decades, billions of dollars spent and hundreds of thousands of arrests as part of the War on Drugs, illegal drugs remain easily available throughout the nation. It’s no surprise Americans say the policy has failed.
With so many Americans viewing the War on Drugs as a policy failure, they’re now open to legalizing the most common and safest of illegal substances, marijuana. Read the rest of this entry »
Medical Marijuana Saves Child’s Life
July 20th, 2010
Bourbon
Knocking on deaths door, 10 year old Joey Perez was slowly dying. The potpourri of prescription medications he’d consumed since the age of 5 were damaging his body beyond repair. The side effects were literally killing him. Doctors had no answers, or any safe alternatives. Their only suggestion was the combination of a few more meds, and to experiment with what happened next. Mieko, Joeys mother, knew his body was weak and shutting down. She knew his fragile body could not handle the addition of any more toxic medicines. Luckily for Joey, her experience as a legal researcher gave her the tools she needed to start her and Joey on this journey. A healing journey with an effective treatment – Medical Marijuana.
Read the rest of this article at compassionassociates.org
California Dems Endorse Pot Legalization, Proposition 19
July 14th, 2010
Bourbon
Democratic lawmakers from California are hoping that a proposition to legalize marijuana on the November ballot will help drive progressive voter turnout, but most are so far unwilling to state publicly how they’ll vote when the curtain closes. Three House Democrats, however, tell HuffPost that they’ll be supporting the measure, which would authorize cities and counties to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over.
Three may not seem like a high number, but it represents the most public support that legalization has garnered from a single state’s delegation — and it signals the effect that ballot initiatives can have on advancing the public debate over marijuana policy. Many of the rest of the Democrats in the delegation said they were open to supporting it. The state’s chapter of the NAACP has also come out in favor of it. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes on Prop 19: Marijuana Legalization Gets its Number in California
June 30th, 2010
Bourbon
by: Michael Whitney, Monday June 28 (elections.firedoglake.com)
Yes on 19 Marijuana Legalization Campaign Poster from 1972. (Bolerium Books/LA Weekly)
While California confirmed its state’s marijuana legalization initiative would be on the November ballot months ago, today the state assigned proposition numbers to this year’s slate of initiatives. Get used to hearing about Proposition 19, which is where you’ll get to vote to legalize marijuana in California.
The state restarts the counter for proposition numbers every ten years, last doing so in 2008 (hence why gay marriage was Prop 8 in 2009). While it’s inevitable proposition numbers will be reused, the LA Weekly notes a strange coincidence in the legalization initiative’s number. When pot legalization was on the ballot in 1972, it was also Proposition 19. Read the rest of this entry »