Blog
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Bill to Legalize Marijuana Reintroduced in California
Posted on February 24th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Legalization. No Comments »
Last week, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), reintroduced legislation that would legalize weed in California for adults 21 and over. Back in January the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee approved Assembly Bill 390 to legalize and tax marijuana, marking the first time in US history that a state legislative body considered putting an end to marijuana prohibition! The bill didn’t get much further since time ran out on the legislative calendar.
Ammiano forges on, however, with the new bill– now called A.B. 2254–which would allow adults over 21 to possess, smoke, and grow weed, essentially treating marijuana the same way alcohol is currently treated under the law. The bill also calls for a $50 per ounce sold fee to be used for funding drug eradication and awareness programs. And, of course supporters of the bill are saying it could raise around $990 million and help pull the severely cash-strapped California out of its budget crisis. Read the rest of this entry »
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Want to buy some stamps?
Posted on February 23rd, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Information. 1 Comment »
Locked in a vault within the North Carolina Department of Revenue is a lickable bit of Kafka: a government-issued stamp that is expected to remain unpurchased, but which users of illegal goods must, by law, affix to substances they are not allowed to possess.
North Carolina is one of about 20 states that tax illegal drugs. The cost varies by state and weight, as does the stamps’ appearance (Nebraska’s, with a skull surmounting a syringe and joint, looks like Grateful Dead tribute art). Penalties for non-payment also vary, from being classed as a misdemeanour in Georgia to 200% of the tax plus $10,000 or five years in prison in Louisiana. Read the rest of this entry »
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The First City in America to Criminalize Marijuana Passes Resolution Criticizing Drug War
Posted on February 18th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Information. No Comments »
The El Paso city council has gone on record as condemning current US drug policies and demanding a shift to a smarter, more humane approach to drug sales and use.
A year ago, dismayed at the violence rocking its sister city of Ciudad Juárez just across the Rio Grande River, the city council in the remote Texas border city of El Paso unanimously passed a resolution calling for serious consideration of ending drug prohibition, only to see it vetoed by Mayor John Cook. Then, after heavy-handed warnings from US Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) and the city’s delegation in the state legislature that such a resolution could threaten the city’s funding, the city council backed down, failing to override Cook’s veto.
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New Zealand Herald Cartoon: More prevalent than the silver fern
Posted on February 9th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Misc. 2 Comments »
This cartoon of our PM with an activist was on nzherald.co.nz today, it’s great to see such a sight!
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Addressing the issue in Detroit
Posted on February 8th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Legalization, Medical. No Comments »
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Dakta Green arrested, is the system to blame?
Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, The Daktory. 5 Comments »
Dakta Green:
24 hours ago (Monday, 1st February) I was preparing for trial when 2 Police officers arrived at my home and arrested me. Charged me with failure to turn up in court. I thought I only had 2 matters to deal with on the 26th January, It appears I had 3. In two different courts. Court failed to inform me and I pay the price. Prohibition sux. “Legal this Year”
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FBI director gets schooled on marijuana legalization
Posted on February 2nd, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Legalization. 2 Comments »
Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen takes FBI Director Robert Mueller to task on marijuana legalization and the “gateway theory.”
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Medical marijuana doctors “need to come out of the closet and be part of the solution,” says CannaMed medical director
Posted on January 27th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Medical. No Comments »
WestWord.com: Attorney Rob Corry has significant issues with Senator Chris Romer’s legislation concerning the relationship between doctors and medical marijuana patients.
Less critical is Dr. Paul Bregman, the medical director of the CannaMed USA doctor referral service. Bregman actually believes the senator “is on the right track” even though the doc’s a comparatively high-volume prescriber of the sort who’s drawn criticism from both Romer and Ned Calonge, Colorado’s chief medical officer. Moreover, he encourages other doctors working in this specialty area to “come out of the closet and be part of the solution.”
Most medical marijuana physicians are laying low right now, but Bregman, a trained radiologist who’s been involved in the prescribing of medical marijuana for around three years, is open to speaking with the press — although he’s not always happy with the results. In today’s Denver Post article about Romer’s bill, he complains about being misquoted: “They used the word ‘ridiculous,’ and I didn’t say the word ‘ridiculous.’ I said ‘outside the law,’” he maintains.
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Beverly Hills NORML Director Cheryl Shuman testifies on the cruelty of banning medical marijuana patients from transplant lists
Posted on January 25th, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Medical. No Comments »
NORML.org: Recently the Los Angeles City Council held hearings on the thorny issue of medical marijuana dispensary regulation. For years city officials have abrogated their duty to create sensible regulations for the dispensaries that have proliferated across the Los Angeles basin. The number of dispensaries has ballooned to over 500 (not the 1,000+ often claimed) following an ineffective moratorium on the retail medical marijuana outlets.
As usual, the hearings were packed, with medical marijuana patients and activists flooding the chambers to add their testimony to the record. One citizen petitioning her government for a redress of grievances was the Executive Director of the new Beverly Hills NORML 90210 (http://www.norml90210.org/become-a-member.php), Cheryl Shuman. In sixty seconds of testimony, Cheryl recounts her own personal medical marijuana tragedy, one that has befallen many desperately ill patients who use cannabis — even legally — and require life-saving organ transplants… Read the rest of this entry »
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Virginia looking to Decriminalize Marijuana
Posted on January 23rd, 2010 by Dakta Bourbon | Filed under Blog, Legalization, Medical. 1 Comment »
ohhburn.com: Lawmakers in Virginia are looking to decriminalize marijuana! Republican Delegate Harvey B. Morgan, a pharmacist, has 31 years in the House and is the second-most senior delegate. He says he thinks criminalizing pot has done nothing to curb its use and is introducing House Bill 1134 that would change simple possession from possible jail time to a civil fine of $500. The bill also looks to increase the amount of weed needed to be considered for the charge of possession with the intent to distribute and remove the mandatory two and five-year sentences for distribution.