Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor
December 14th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
Drugs and crime chief says $352bn in criminal proceeds was effectively laundered by financial institutions
Drugs money worth billions of dollars kept the financial system afloat at the height of the global crisis, the United Nations’ drugs and crime tsar has told the Observer.
Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said he has seen evidence that the proceeds of organised crime were “the only liquid investment capital” available to some banks on the brink of collapse last year. He said that a majority of the $352bn (£216bn) of drugs profits was absorbed into the economic system as a result.
This will raise questions about crime’s influence on the economic system at times of crisis. It will also prompt further examination of the banking sector as world leaders, including Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, call for new International Monetary Fund regulations. Speaking from his office in Vienna, Costa said evidence that illegal money was being absorbed into the financial system was first drawn to his attention by intelligence agencies and prosecutors around 18 months ago. “In many instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system’s main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Marijuana Legalization Zeitgeist In America To Continue Into 2010: Federal Government Lags Behind The States
December 14th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
Already Four States Have Marijuana Legalization Bills In Play; Californians To Vote On Legalization in 2010
It can readily be said that 2009 was one of the busiest and most productive years in cannabis law reform since NORML’s founding in 1970. However, it appears as if 2010 is going to be an even busier year–notably marked by the increasing number of actual state legalization bills and a voter initiative in America’s most important state.
Currently, there is legalization legislation pending in California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and a legalization bill was just introduced this week in Washington. Frankly, most of these bills do not have a strong prospect in passing this time out, Read the rest of this entry »
According to new poll, majority of Americans support marijuana legalization
December 11th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Many adults in the United States are willing to legalize marijuana, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 53 per cent of respondents support this notion, while 43 per cent are opposed.
Less than 10 per cent of respondents support the legalization of other drugs, such as ecstasy, powder cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine or “crystal meth” and crack cocaine.
The use of marijuana is illegal in the U.S. except in some regulated cases of medical use. The amount allowed for such purposes varies depending on the state. Some states have passed laws to reduce law enforcement for possession of small amounts of the substance. Read the rest of this entry »
Stay of Proceedings Application
December 10th, 2009
Dakta Green
I filed this application a few hours ago in the Auckland District Court. We go to court on December 21st 2009 to argue the merits. (I expect to win)
APPLICATION TO STAY PROCEEDINGS
May it please the Court;
1. My name is Dakta Green.
2. I am not a lawyer, nor do I have any special legal training. That said, I have chosen to represent myself in these proceedings because I seek to focus on my fundamental rights as a citizen, as opposed to any complicated legal arguments that may otherwise be advanced.
3. My application for a stay of proceedings is founded upon the following general propositions:
· Because of my pro cannabis beliefs I have been, and continue to be, subjected to “cruel or disproportionately severe treatment or punishment” in breach of section 9 of the New Zealand Bill or Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA).
· By denying me the right to possess cannabis, the State is subjecting me to “medical or scientific experimentation” without my consent in breach of section 10 of the NZBORA.
· I have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention in breach of section 22 of the NZBORA.
· Because the courts in New Zealand have not to date accepted medical necessity as a defence to any cannabis charges, my right to a fair trial under section 25(a) NZBORA has been breached.
· I contend that the current law prohibiting the personal use of cannabis is hopelessly outdated and plain wrong. This law is widely ignored and/or breached by members of our society such that the law should no longer be enforced by the courts of the land. This law is an “ass” and for the general good of the community it should be recognised as such.
Congress allows DC to implement 1998 medical marijuana law
December 10th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
From the trusted fellows at NORML.org
House and Senate negotiations for the 2010 Appropriations bill have been completed. This is the huge federal budget bill and it just so happens that Washington DC is a federal district and its spending is controlled by Congress.
In 1998, DC passed a medical marijuana bill overwhelmingly, but Congressional drug warriors led by Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia prevented DC from spending any federal money to count the votes Read the rest of this entry »
The American Medical Association is backing medical marijuana
December 9th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
Dakta in the house
December 4th, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
He calls himself Dakta Green.
The 59-year-old has been jailed in California and New Zealand for cultivating cannabis but has no plans to change his ways.
Dakta is a strong activist for law reform surrounding the drug and has been pushing for its legalisation since 1999.
He’s even set up a cannabis club in a New Lynn warehouse known as the Daktory. Read the rest of this entry »
Alternet.org: The Feds Are Addicted to Pot — Even If You Aren’t
December 3rd, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
Though many people can be technically addicted to Marijuana, it is no different from being addicted to video games or McDonalds. You can become addicted to the feeling, which of course is a high amount of dopamine released while high, which happens whenever you do something you love.
From NORML.org, By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Check out this latest request for applications from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA):
“Cannabis-related disorders (CRDs), including cannabis abuse or dependence and cannabis induced disorders … Read the rest of this entry »
Film said to show Marilyn Monroe smoking pot
December 2nd, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A home movie showing a relaxed Marilyn Monroe apparently smoking marijuana has surfaced, retrieved from an attic some 50 years after it was filmed.
The reel-to-reel silent, color film taken at a private home in New Jersey was recently purchased by collector Keya Morgan for $275,000 from the person who took the film, who has asked to remain anonymous. Read the rest of this entry »
Hamas Approves Law To Execute Pot Dealers In Gaza
December 2nd, 2009
Dakta Bourbon
Selling pot can now officially get you killed in Gaza City — by the government, that is.
Despite the area’s proud tradition of fine hashish (Blond Lebanese, anyone?) the Hamas-run government of Gaza has approved a law that will allow for the execution of “convicted drug dealers,” its attorney general said today, according to the Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »