In November 2007, Eureka Springs voters passed an ordinance directing police and prosecutors to make possession of less than an ounce of marijuana a low law-enforcement priority. Under Arkansas law, such possession is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
At that time this ordinance made the news everywhere, even though it had no effect in actual law or practice and was basically a symbolic gesture by the people of the city toward law enforcement — a way of saying, “Enforcement of this law is not as important to us as many other things you might be spending your law-enforcement monies on. Please do those things instead.”
In the ensuing years, both city and county law enforcement have gone on about their work against the evils of pot, on foot and by helicopter, busting those involved in the distribution and use of a plant that grows out of the ground like tomatoes or summer squash. Last weekend’s sting operation that landed a number of our residents in jail is the most recent case.
There are those situations in life where one’s vices are not worth the price they cost: Smoke cigarettes and you end up dying from cancer or emphysema, all in exchange for the pleasure of a smoke. Drink too much too often and your health is ruined, not to mention the rest of your life. Gamble, fornicate, cheat, lie — it all catches up with you.
The medical statistics on marijuana use are readily available and will not be repeated here yet again. To be blunt, marijuana use is not in the same category as anything else mentioned in this editorial — which is to say, it won’t destroy your health. Only your finances and police record, if they catch you and put you into the System. It’s a money-maker and not just for the people selling it.
The fact medical marijuana is on the November ballot is a good thing, a step in the right direction on the continuum of “weed as devil” to “weed as harmless recreation.” But the November ballot won’t help those who genuinely feel that use of this plant — far less harmful than any of the other vices listed above (if at all) — ought to be as accessible as anything else we buy every day at the corner store.
 
Complete article:
http://www.lovelycitizen.com/story/1896137.html

Dr. John Schwarz – Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology
 
Being a physicist, not a physician, I don’t usually comment on issues in medical science. But I can no longer remain silent while people in my family and profession run the risk of federal arrest so that they can follow the recommendations of their doctors. Medical marijuana offers relief to people I care about, yet it remains illegal in the view of the United States government.
Aside from my personal stake in this issue, my professional experience has led me to ask the most obvious question a scientist could ask: Why hasn’t the long-running controversy over medical marijuana been resolved using science?
 
Complete article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-schwarz/medical-marijuana_b_2050358.html

 
What is Lady Gaga‘s Halloween costume this year??? Well it appears she’s dressing up as some sort of Marijuana Queen. Check out her gold crown, complete with pot leaves and everything.
Lady Gaga openly expresses her love for Marijuana. Just last month Gaga smoked a joint on stage in front of thousands at her concert in Amsterdam.
 
Complete article:
http://www.starzuncut.com/2012/10/31/lady-gagas-halloween-costume-the-marijuana-queen/

 
WHAT? Rihanna dresses up in a (creative?) marijuana costume for this years Halloween, I guess people are trying to push as hard as they can to legalize weed.
 
Complete article:
http://trillerthanmost.com/rihanna-dresses-as-a-marijuana-plant-for-halloween/

‘cultivating a house’ by cibicworkshop
hemp and iron frame houses
Presented at MADE expo 2012, the full-scale installation by milano-based cibicworkshop consists of two houses built with innovative solutions: the technology of hemp and the dry construction system supported by metal frames.
With the reflection on construction materials with a low carbon footprint being the main aspect of the company’s experimental research, the first home made from hemp represents the exploration of contemporary architectural construction with the use of natural materials. Originally a key element in Italian agricultural history, the plant provided new economies within the region with the latest environmental and energy-performing requirements.
 
Complete article:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/30/view/24622/cibicworkshop-cultivating-a-house.html?utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_source=subscribers

By: KNWA, Fayetteville, AR

 
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Members of the medical community joined cancer survivors on the Fayetteville square Tuesday to voice support for medical marijuana.
The group Arkansans for Compassionate Care wants the natural state to be the first in the south to legalize medicinal marijuana.
Campaign director Ryan Denham says the personal stories of people who benefited from using the drug provide a strong argument in favor of Issue 5.
“Go out and talk to a real patient, and hear their story and understand how medical marijuana has helped them and in some cases even saved lives,” Denham says.
Kathy Reynolds says she couldn’t eat for months after going through a bone marrow transplant for breast cancer.
“I’m here to tell you today about how sick I was with my cancer,” Reynolds told the crowd. “(My doctor) had prescribed, I can’t tell you how many numerous different medications. None were effective.”
A friend suggested medical marijuana, but her doctor couldn’t prescribe it, so the friend bought it illegally.
“It was as if a miracle had happened for me,” Reynolds says. “I was able to eat and keep food down.”
 
Complete article:
http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=722182

By Steve Elliott

Christian Marijuana Organization
 
Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the committee behind Issue 5, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act, on Tuesday announced a dozen clergy leaders from across the state and from a broad range of denominations have endorsed the measure. The religious coalition was announced at a press conference in Fayetteville, featuring medical professionals and Emily Williams, who used medical marijuana to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy.

Sometimes it is hard to be a weed activist. Who knew that trying to get people to understand that weed is safe, enjoyable, and helpful, and that we should not take hundreds of thousands of people to jail for it, would be such an exhausting job.
But between fighting with law enforcement, reasoning with Joe Public, and trying to navigate the chaos that is cannabis reform these days, a person can become downright burnt out and fed up. Sometimes it can seem like the walls are closing in and nothing makes any sense at all. Any reasonable person would conclude that taking people to jail is stupid when presented with the facts; but we live in a world of lies and deception. That, in itself, is enough to drive anyone mad. Add to that that our movement lacks identity and inspiration on a lot of levels, and you can see how it is easy for a person to not be feeling it after a while.
So what do we do? How do we get up day-after-day knowing the deck is likely stacked against us, and continue to battle ignorance and hatred for our right to smoke weed?
Easy. Forget all the dumb stuff and focus on the fact that if we do not finish this thing, nobody will. We will continue to see our friends, neighbors, and families get locked up, lose their standing in the community, and have their rights constantly violated if we do not get off our butts and DO THE WORK.
Easier said than done right? I feel you.
 
Complete article:
http://weedactivist.com/2012/10/28/burnt-out-fed-up-exhausted-not-feeling-it/

By Alice Walton

The regulation of medical marijuana is back — again — as a local union collects signatures to get an ordinance on the city of Los Angeles’ May 2013 ballot.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 submitted an ordinance to the City Clerk’s Office that would allow small groups of no more than five patients and caregivers to grow medicinal cannabis together. About 100 clinics that opened and registered with the city prior to Sept. 14, 2007 would be exempted from regulation. Clinics would have to pass annual LAPD background checks and maintain their distance from schools and parks.
The UFCW will have to collect 41,138 valid signatures by Dec. 7 to get the ordinance on the city’s May 2013 ballot.
 
Complete article:
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/10/29/10766/union-gathers-signatures-new-medical-marijuana-ord/

By Dennis Romero

Dank Depot / Flickr
 
Seeking to underscore their argument that the War on Drugs is often just a war on marijuana, pro-decriminalization forces today highlighted new FBI statistics showing nearly half (49.5 percent) of the nation’s drug arrests are cannabis-related.
 
More than 8 out of 10 arrests were for “possession only,” notes Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
That’s a lot of manpower and cash going toward policing pot. Says LEAP:

… Police in the U.S. arrest someone for marijuana every 42 seconds and that 87% of those arrests are for possession alone.

Complete article:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/10/marijuana_arrests_fbi_possession_stats.php