Vivian McPeak

 
We can blame Jack Herer for legal marijuana.
Back in 1990, one year before the first Seattle Hempfest, my colleagues and I obtained a copy of Jack Herer’s book,The Emperor Wears No Clothes. The title is in reference to The Emperor’s New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen. Herer uses Andersen’s story as an allegory for the current prohibition of cannabis. Herer’s assemblage of factoids, news clippings, graphs and pie charts detailed a rich history of propaganda, collusion, and conspiracy on the part of the U.S. government and certain monopolistic industrial interests.
The goal of those conspiratorial efforts was to thwart the Indian Hemp plant from domestic production in order to replace hemp as a raw material in the manufacture and production of thousands of household items. After these power players successfully prohibited the domestic cultivation of all forms of cannabis (including industrial hemp), synthetic petro-chemical based materials as well as wood fiber products went on to completely replace hemp in the U.S. marketplace — a staple of human existence since the beginning of modern civilization (roughly 5,000+ years). Cannabis was considered a primary tool of medicine, and deemed highly valuable because, if administered, no amount of it could kill a patient. That was all to change as petro-chemicals became a primary source of American medicine. That was the plan of the industrialists all along.
Herer’s book is universally hailed as the catalyst that initiated the modern cannabis reform movement. Herer did not stop with industrial hemp; he boldly and unashamedly championed the triad of the modern reform movement: industrial hemp, medical marijuana, and personal use of cannabis.
 
Full Article:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/vivianmcpeak/2013/05/01/blame-jack-herer-for-legal-marijuana/

 by IAN STEADMAN

An example of a mouse macrophage reaching out to absorb to particles (possibly pathogens)magnaram/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
 
The chemical compound in cannabis, THC, appears to be able to damage and weaken the most common strain of the HIV virus.
Before you light up a spliff, though, this is only a preliminary result reached under laboratory conditions, and further research will be needed.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis — it’s the chemical that gets the user stoned. Synthetic versions of it have been developed for research purposes, and it’s this that was used to attack the HIV-1 virus, which represents the vast majority (more than 90 percent) of all HIV types.
The way it works is by interaction with the cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptor in white blood cells, specifically the macrophages. Macrophages are one of many types of white blood cell in humans. While the main cells, the lymphocytes, do the bulk of the work in fighting infection by tracking down and destroying germs with antibodies, macrophages form a kind of backup part of the immune system — attracted to damaged cells, they surround and engulf them while also alerting lymphocytes of new dangers.
 
Full Article:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-05/1/cannabis-hiv-drug

By Thomas H. Clarke

 
ALBANY, NY —  A bill that would allow New York residents to use marijuana for medical purposes has cleared another committee, passing the New York State Assembly Codes Committee by a vote of 16 to 6 Tuesday.
The Compassionate Care Act, which has previously been approved by the Assembly Health Committee, will now be considered by the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. If the Ways and Means Committee approves the bill, it will be considered for debate and a vote by the full Assembly.
The Compassionate Care Act, Assembly Bill 6357, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, has substantial support in the Assembly, with over 60 co-sponsors. An  identical companion bill, Senate Bill 4406, is pending in the Senate, with over a dozen co-sponsors.
The bills, both introduced by lawmakers representing voters in New York City, would create one of the nation’s most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs, and has the support of hundreds of patients and providers and dozens of organizations across the state.
“As a stage 4 metastatic cancer patient I can’t be cured, but medical marijuana improves the quality of my life and allows me to be me, rather than at the mercy of my disease. Why can’t we have the best possible lives in the time we have left?” asked Beverly McClain, New York City resident and member of Compassionate Care New York, a group of patients, healthcare providers and organizations who support the Compassionate Care Act.
The bill also enjoys wide support from healthcare providers and organizations, such as the New York State Nurses Association, the Collaborative for Palliative Care, GMHC, New York State Pharmacists Society, and the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York.
“The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) supports this legislation because we believe that it creates a carefully controlled system allowing seriously ill New Yorkers to take advantage of the therapeutic and palliative benefits of medical marijuana under the supervision of their healthcare provider,” said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, First Vice President, NYSNA Board of Directors.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/17537/new-york-medical-marijuana-bill-passed-by-committee/

BY Missouri Statesman
 
The Missouri Hemp Network is proud to announce “Rehempification of America”.  It is a call to action for American citizens to voice their opinion about farm sovereignty and Hemp farming in America.
Last year, sales revenue for Hemp final products surpassed 500 million.  Those sales could’ve gone to American farmers and American manufacturing.  Unfortunately, the market for organic, non-gmo, and natural living grows bigger every year.  The customer base for diabetics, lactose intolerant, allergic centric households requires access to these great products.
This is the reason for the call to action.  From now until Hemp History week
( June 3 to June 9) the Missouri Hemp Network would like every citizen to voice their opinion in three different ways.
This includes:
1.  Letters to the Editor
2.  Call pyramids to state and federal politicians
3.  Hemp Purchase Pledge
Full Article:
http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/local-news/PR043013023512773

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

LESLIE BARBARO/NEWSDAY WESTCHESTER

New York Assemblyman Steve Katz was busted for marijuana possession last month.

Full Article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/high-crimes-misdemeanors-article-1.1330613

Drug War Chronicle / By Phillip Smith

BY JULIET M. GETTY, PH.D.
 
A relatively new food to western cultures, hemp seeds have exceptional protein quality. Their two main proteins are albumin and edestin, both of which have significant amounts of all EAAs. The protein in hemp seeds is comparable to that in soybeans and, in many cases, exceeds the EAA content of the animal protein, whey (found in milk), as shown in Table 1.

Hemp Seeds Rival Soybeans As An Ideal Protein

What’s even more impressive, however, is the ratio of each EAA to the lysine level – a true measure of protein quality. With horses, quality is determined by comparing each EAA to lysine as it would exist in muscle. Lysine is assigned a value of 100. The ideal values are shown in Table 2, which reveals how every EAA found in hemp seeds surpasses the ideal ratio beyond soybean’s ability.
Hemp seeds are easy to find in stores that sell whole foods. Horses enjoy their palatable, nutty flavor. Adding ½ cup (providing 25 grams of protein) to your horse’s daily ration will boost the overall protein quality of his diet.
 
Full Article:
http://www.farmersadvance.com/article/20130429/NEWS03/130424004

By HARRIET ARKELL and SOPHIE EVANS

Susan Lunn, 43, from Wallasey, was handed a six-month conditional discharge for possessing cannabis, which she uses to help with her MS
A former police PCSO suffering from multiple sclerosis has vowed to continue smoking cannabis even if it means going to jail.
Susan Lunn, 43, was been handed a six-month conditional discharge for possessing the illegal drug.
She said she uses cannabis every day as medical relief from her condition, which sees her battle muscle spasms, headaches, bladder problems and tremors on a daily basis.
Now Ms Lunn has been told she will face a ‘much worse punishment’ if she is caught possessing the Class B drug in the next six months.
But the former Humberside Police special constable has said she will carry on smoking cannabis regardless of the law.
The mother-of-one, who was diagnosed with MS 17 years ago, said: ‘I’m not going to stop doing it.
‘If I gave up cannabis, the results would be absolutely devastating. I smoke it every day and it has helped me to live a relatively normal life.
‘It calms me down, relaxes my muscles, stops my shakes and helps keep my mild epilepsy under control.’
Full Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2316618/Im-prosecuted-ill-Ex-PCSO-says-prepared-to-jail-smoking-cannabis-helps-MS.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

by TheJointBlog

One of many boxes of marijuana and marijuana-infused products that police were forced to return to two California dispensaries.
 
Police in Vallejo, California have returned over $200,000 worth of marijuana, including 60 pounds of dried bud, and boxes full of marijuana-infused food products, to two dispensaries in the city after a judge ruled that they were illegally raided. The police also returned hundreds of now-dead plants: Scott Candrell, an attorney for one of the dispensaries, stated that they would seek damages in court for anything that was lost or destroyed in the raid.
 
Full Article:
http://thejointblog.com/police-forced-to-return-over-60-pounds-of-marijuana-to-california-dispensaries/