By BARBARA VENEZIA

 
In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, Diane Goldstein ofNorth Tustinwas busy all week with media interviews to support the Moms United to End the War on Drugs movement.
Goldstein, a retiredRedondo Beachpolice lieutenant with almost 22 years of service, has also been a member of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition , or LEAP, since 2010. She lectures across the country and throughoutOrangeCountyon behalf of the group, advocating for legislative change in drug laws and the legalization of cannabis.
LEAP was just one of several organizations to support the Moms United movement as it kicked off a press conference rally Wednesday on the steps of the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse.
Moms United  members hoped the press conference would create a Mother’s Day media blitz centered on their message about ending drug prohibition.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/moms-353805-goldstein-marijuana.html

By RYAN SABEY

SIR Richard Branson has claimedSpaincould help solve its economic woes — by legalising cannabis.

The Virgin boss, 61, said tax from sales of the drug would resolve some of the country’s problems and “help lift its head.”
Billionaire Branson also praised a Spanish town’s “great idea” to allow cannabis to be cultivated for cash to pay off debts.
The people of Rasquera agreed in a referendum to rent municipal land to a cannabis smokers’ association.
Branson was speaking inBarcelonaat the launch of the world’s largest cannabis museum. It opens today with 6,000 exhibits chronicling the drug’s history and uses.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4309868/BRANSONS-DRUGS-PLEA.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGaak18sQQA&feature=player_embedded

by Phillip Smith

 
Four US representatives introduced an amendment  to the Justice Department appropriations bill, House Resolution 5326 , which would bar the agency from spending funds to attack medical marijuana operations in states where it is legal. The bill was being considered Wednesday, before failing on a voice vote Wednesday evening.

By Sam Costanza

 
When you think about medical marijuana, or pot in any way, you typically picture Cheech and Chong, not an elderly Yiddish speaking grandfather. However, according to the Jerusalem Post , Rafael Mechoulam, a geriatric research scientist from theHebrewUniversity inJerusalem, known as the “Marijauna Maven,” is the go to guy when it comes to issues of medical pot.
As a research scientist in the 1960s, Mechoulam was tasked with cracking pot, determining its active chemical ingredients by the American National Institute of Health (NIH), after the agency received a mandate to look into the drug.
He had initially been told that theUnited Stateswas not interesting in his research into pot. However, he soon received a call back from the Feds, telling him they wanted to sponsor his research.
“I asked them what had happened,” Mechoulam told the Jerusalem Post, “and it turned out that the son of somebody who was important, a senator or somebody else [like that], had called NIH and asked, what do you know about cannabis? His son had been caught smoking pot and he wanted to know whether his brain was being damaged. They didn’t know anything about it because nobody was doing any research on cannabis in theUS.”
After discovering and synthesizing THC, the active ingredient responsible for your high when you toke up, Mechoulam continued his research, eventually becoming known as the world’s foremost expert on pot.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.inquisitr.com/233065/meet-the-worlds-biggest-marijuana-expert-an-elderly-jewish-grandfather-video/#Dv3jsFzc0DSL2oqy.99