New Hampshire moves toward medical marijuana

Posted on June 29th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

Last week, both houses of the New Hampshire legislature voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill permitting doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to many patients with chronic or terminal illnesses. Gov. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) said she would sign the bill. The New Hampshire bill is somewhat less permissive than medical marijuana laws in many other states, with compromise language that denies patients the right to grow cannabis at home, or to use it for post-traumatic stress disorder. The bill also includes restrictions aimed at ensuring that patients do not engage in "doctor shopping" in order to obtain a cannabis prescription. Doctors may only prescribe to those who have been their patients for at least 90 days, and who have already tried other treatments. (Think Progress, June 28)

Legal battles over Dutch coffee house crackdown

Posted on June 22nd, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

EuropeDutch prosecutors are seeking up to one-month suspended prison terms for owners and staff of cannabis cafes in Maastricht for selling pot to foreigners in defiance of the new law. But meanwhile the Netherlands government was ordered to pay damages to owners of cannabis cafes after a court in The Hague said new measures turning the coffee-houses into members-only clubs were too harsh. The amount the state must pay is still to be determined. (The Age, June 13; BBC News, June 5)

Anti-cocaine vaccine approaches human trials

Posted on June 21st, 2013 by Bill Weinberg and tagged , .

cocaineRaw Story reported May 12 that researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have successfully used a vaccine to produce a long-lasting anti-cocaine immunity in non-human primates. "The vaccine eats up the cocaine in the blood like a little Pac-man before it can reach the brain," the study’s lead investigator, Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, said in a press release. "We believe this strategy is a win-win for those individuals, among the estimated 1.4 million cocaine users in the United States, who are committed to breaking their addiction to the drug. Even if a person who receives the anti-cocaine vaccine falls off the wagon, cocaine will have no effect." Human clinical trials for the vaccine are expected soon.

Colorado 'pot porn' reg goes down to defeat

Posted on June 15th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , .

ColoradoUS District Judge Richard Matsch in Denver on June 11 struck down a Colorado law that would have required businesses to place cannabis-related magazines behind counters. Matsch ordered a permanent injunction against Amendment 64 which would have treated cannabis-related magazines as pornographic material. The ruling comes a week after publishers and bookstores filed a lawsuit against the state.

'Drug war' dissent at OAS summit

Posted on June 8th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , , .

Central AmericaMore than 160 civil society organizations representing hundreds of thousands of citizens in Mexico, Central America and the United States, sent an open letter to the OAS General Assembly meeting in the Guatemalan city of Antigua this week,  calling for alternatives to the "war on drugs" that guarantee respect for human rights. "Our organizations have documented an alarming increase in violence and human rights violations. While we recognize that transnational crime and drug-trafficking play a role in this violence, we call on our governments to acknowledge that failed security policies that have militarized citizen security have only exacerbated the problem, and are directly contributing to increased human suffering in the region," the letter states.

Vermont decriminalizes cannabis

Posted on June 6th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

Vermont's Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) on June 6 signed into law a bill passed by the state legislature that decriminalizes the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis or five grams of hashish.  Shumlin's signature make Vermont the 17th state to remove criminal penalties for possessing small quantities of cannabis—including all of its neighboring New England states except New Hampshire. "This change just makes common sense," Shumlin said as he signed the bill. "Our limited resources should be focused on reducing abuse and addiction of opiates like heroin and meth rather than cracking down on people for having very small amounts of marijuana." (Drug War Chronicle, June 6)

ACLU report finds racial disparities in cannabis arrests

Posted on June 6th, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , , .

leafA report released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) June 4 finds a racial bias in cannabis arrest rates, with Blacks 3.7 times more likely to be arrested than whites. The report, "The War on Marijuana in Black and White," is the first of its kind, concluding that the "war" on cannabis is a failure, with billions of dollars wasted on racially biased arrests. The ACLU found that both marijuana arrestsand racial disparities in these arrests increased between 2001 and 2010—despite the fact that Black and white folk use cannabis at a similar rate. In some states, including Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, Blacks were up to eight times as likely to be arrested. The report offers suggestions on policy and policing:

Mormon mom back home after Mexican marijuana misadventure

Posted on June 3rd, 2013 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , .

MexicoYanira Maldonado's Mexican nightmare began May 22 when she was arrested for possession of 12.5 pounds of cannabis, and ended nine days later when the mother of seven was released from a Nogales jail. Returning to Arizona from Mexico with her husband Gary after attending a family funeral, the Turfesa bus they were on was stopped at a military checkpoint in Sonora. Federales supposedly spotted packages of marijuana under their seats. First Gary was arrested, then the troops changed their minds and booked Yanira instead. The Maldonados, who are Mormons from the Phoenix area, maintained their innocence throughout. A Facebook page created to support them won more than 12,500 members. (CelebStoner, CNN, May 31; CNN, May 28)

Who's new

  • Baba Israel
  • Karr Young
  • John Veit
  • YosephLeib
  • Peter Gorman