Galbraith To Officially Announce Candidacy For Governor of Kentucky Wednesday


Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley will formally announce that they will be running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, on Wednesday, according to a press release Tuesday.
Galbraith and Riley say they will open their 2011 Campaign and Ballot Petition Drive with a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the release, the candidates will outline their issues and plans for restoring Kentucky to prosperity.
Galbraith, who has been an advocate for the legalization of marijuana for years, has run unsuccessfully for various offices in Kentucky, including commissioner of agriculture, governor (four times – as a Democrat in 1991 and 1995, 2007, and as a Reform Party candidate in 1999), U.S. representative (twice), and attorney general.
http://www.lex18.com/news/galbraith-to-officially-announce-candidacy-for-governor-wednesday

Asheville area leads nation in hempcrete construction


WNC leads nation in hempcrete construction
BY JOHN BOYLE • NOVEMBER 29, 2010
When it comes to hemp building, business is booming. 
 “Western North Carolina essentially is the capital of hempcrete building in the United States right now,” said Gregory Flavall, the co-founder of Hemp Technologies, the Asheville-based company that supplies the hemp-based building material to contractors.
Two hemp-based homes have been completed in Asheville, one in West Asheville and another off Town Mountain Road, and another is going up in Haywood County near Lake Junaluska. Flavall says his company has dozens of projects lined up, both in WNC and throughout the country, including in Texas, Colorado and Hawaii.
Hemp construction undoubtedly got a nice boost, Flavall says, from an article in USA TODAY and a segment on CNN. Over the past six to eight months, interest has picked up domestically, as well as from overseas, with inquiries coming in form the Netherlands and Romania. Hemp Technologies has 38 projects in development, and Flavall said he and his business partner likely will add up to eight employees in the coming year or two to handle demand.
Asheville led the country into modern hemp building, with the Nauhaus Group, a collaborative of local companies, building the West Asheville hemp home at 67 Talmadge St. The other hemp structure, a 3,100-square-foot house on Town Mountain, belongs to former Asheville Mayor Russ Martin and his wife, Karen Corp, and was designed by local company Push Interior/Architectural Design + Build.
Versatile, efficient – but illegal to grow
The case for hemp building is simple — it offers tremendous insulation, pest-resistance, strength and malleability.
But, it’s illegal to grow in the United States. Builders can import industrial hemp products like Tradical Hemcrete, which Flavall’s company sells, but they can’t buy hemp from local growers.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency still considers industrial hemp a “schedule I” illegal drug because it’s a variety of the cannabis sativa plant that marijuana is derived from, a position that dates to a 1937 change in the law. Before that, farmers throughout the U.S. grew hemp for hundreds of products ranging from clothing to rope.
The industrial hemp plant contains very little of the active ingredient that gets people high, and it’s completely impractical to smoke. Still, it’s banned, so that leaves it up to people like Flavall to import it from Europe or Canada for building projects.
Often generically referred to as “hempcrete,” the mixture that’s going into the Haywood County house starts with 55-pound bales of hemp shiv, or ground-up hemp plant stalks.
General contractor Vincent Cioffi and his crew mix it into a standard concrete mixer, four parts hemp, one part lime and one part water. The slurry mixture goes into small containers, and then they pack it between forms to make a wall.
In this house, the walls are 12-inches thick and will take about a day to dry and about two weeks before they’re ready for exterior coatings of lime stucco. Inside, workers are installing magnesium oxide sheathing for walls, a product that breathes and is nontoxic, instead of conventional wall board.
While the hemp material breathes, it doesn’t let water in. It’s also mildew-resistant, and it has a lifespan runs 600-700 years.
“Eventually, if you don’t want the house anymore, you can use the hemp as fertilizer,” Flavall said.
Worth the cost
Homeowner Roger Teuscher, a retired farmer and school superintendent from Florida, said the nonchemical nature of the material and its incredible insulation factor appeal to him. The 3,100-square-foot home has a traditional roof, but all the exterior walls are hemp construction.
“Cost-wise, it’s a little more than regular construction, but not that much,” Teuscher said. “I had been to the other ones under construction in Asheville, and it looked very solid and secure. This material was used in houses in the time of Shakespeare, and most of those houses are still standing. They might’ve been knocked down, but not because the hemp failed.”
Generally, the hempcrete costs 10-15 percent more than traditional construction, but homeowners get that money back in reduced heating and cooling costs, as well as a reduction in homeowners’ insurance because the hempcrete is not flammable.
Flavall and builders also note that the lime in the mixture is constantly taking in carbon, so the product is actually carbon-negative, not just carbon neutral.
A full-sized home requires about two acres worth of hemp.
Cioffi, whose Via Bella Development Inc. is building Teuscher’s home, said he likes working with the product.
“We did have four laborers on this, so it’s a little more labor-intensive compared to the conventional side,” Cioffi said, adding that the product is easier to handle, though.
On this house, Cioffi and his crew will use about 400 bales of hemp and 600 bags of the lime-based binding agent. He and Flavall estimate the cost of the hemp at $56,000.
“It’s been touted as the most green, sustainable and renewable product out there,” Flavall said.
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20101129/NEWS/311290026/1007/COLUMNISTS

Pregnant Pot Smokers Sound Off!

Last week, in a post called “Marijuana and Morning Sickness,” guest blogger Jessica Katz wrote about how sick she has been throughout her second pregnancy. “It’s not morning sickness, it’s 24-hours-a-day sickness,” she blogged. “Even though I am taking Zofran, I am deathly ill.” Jessica was floored when her doctor suggested that she treat her morning sickness with marijuana. “Don’t they take your kids away from you if you do drugs while you are pregnant?” she asked. She Googled it, though, and found that many moms had successfully used medical marijuana to treat severe morning sickness. Yet in the end, she decided against trying it herself.
 
marijuana
Getty Images
Imagine her — and our — surprise when dozens of momlogic moms wrote in saying that they themselves had toked during their pregnancies, and that they recommended it … er, highly.
Check it out:
“If I [hadn’t smoked] marijuana when I was pregnant with my second child, I would have never eaten,” wrote Anonymous. “The smell [and] taste of food made me so sick I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t do much — just a small hit, and then I was fine. If [your doctor] said it will help, believe him.”
“Ladies, I smoked weed nearly every single day throughout my entire pregnancy, and it sure got me through it!” wrote Girlie. “We have a bright, alert, strong and happy girl. Our doctor always [remarked], ‘Keep doing whatever you’re doing — she’s perfect.’ Great birth weight, too! Just a little research will show how much safer [marijuana] is than alcohol and most over-the-counter drugs during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Proud smoking mama here, just can’t wait ’til it’s legal.”
“I used [marijuana] during one of my pregnancies,” commented Mom of 2. “My kid is super smart, quick, funny, charming and healthier than the one I didn’t smoke with.”
“When I was pregnant a decade ago, I went through several weeks where I just kept getting sicker and sicker,” said Leese from Indiana. “My husband began to worry enough [that] he spoke to someone at work who ‘hooked him up’ with a joint. I took a hit that evening, and a couple more throughout the next few days. Worked like a charm. I could sleep … and the nausea disappeared. If you are afraid of smoking, a vaporizer is the best way to inhale, but eating is a mellow experience, if you can eat.” 
“I smoked when I was pregnant back in 1969, and my child weighed in at 8.5 pounds,” wrote Sungirl. “He was put into gifted classes in third grade and has never shown any adverse effects from my having smoked.”
“I have an 11-month-old son and went through the same issues,” said Amanda. “Zofran, peppermint tea, seabands, EVERYTHING. I actually lost 60 pounds in the first and second trimesters. Marijuana was the only thing that allowed me to move …. I do not live in a medical marijuana state so I took a HUGE risk, but I knew what I was doing was right for my baby and myself.”
“I smoked through both pregnancies,” wrote Mother of Two. “My kids are fine; they do great in school and are really good kids …. They also make a pill called Marinol that is THC-based [and] is supposed to decrease nausea and increase appetite, but smoking works better.”
“I was extremely sick with my first pregnancy, 24/7,” said Amie. “It was to the point where I had to go to the ER because I was dehydrated and couldn’t even keep ice cubes down. Marijuana helped a lot, and now I have a healthy son who is extremely smart — almost too smart, lol. It would be worse if you weren’t able to gain weight and get proper nutrition to your baby.”
“I used a hit of marijuana once a day for my nine-month-long ‘morning’ sickness,” commented Karmadillo. “I found it helped when nothing else did. This was in 1977. Just one case, but my daughter is fine. BTW, Zofran is a drug, is it not? What are the effects of that versus a small amount of an herb that is known to be very safe?”
“I am now 8.5 months pregnant with [baby] number six,” wrote JG. “I have been soooo sick throughout this entire pregnancy that I … lost 60 pounds in the first four months. My OB put me on Phenergan, which is AWFUL. Then my family doc gave me Zofran …. I gave up and started smoking a little in the early AM. Finally I was able to get out of bed — which I couldn’t even do before — [and] oh yeah: I could EAT again! While my weight loss had been severe, my unborn daughter is doing well; her heart rate is strong, her size is good … and now we are just waiting on her arrival. I still get sick, so I still toke a little here and there. It has worked so well that I wish I had started smoking a little earlier, when I couldn’t do anything but puke. I don’t live in a medical MJ state, but after having to have a tooth pulled at eight months [and being] put on narcotic pain pills — which the OB said were completely OK — I figured, ‘If hydrocodone is OK, why wouldn’t MJ be?'”
“I was fortunate enough to live in a place where medical marijuana is legal,” said Michelle. “I only smoked when I really needed to, and also vaporized and ate cannabis treats. My son was 11 lbs., 10 oz. at birth, is sharp as a tack, strong as a bull and seems to be developing more rapidly than the norm. Your doctor isn’t some silly pothead: Cannabis is a medicine. It has only been illegal in the U.S. since 1937, and it’s mostly for racial, political and economic reasons. Don’t let that reefer madness scare you into finding relief. Check out this study.”
“With my first pregnancy I smoked MJ … [and] my boy came out … healthy as a horse,” wrote Green Mom of 2. “One thing to ask [your doctor], though: Is he going to have the hospital drug-test you when the baby is born? Lots of hospitals do it now, and you need to be aware if they do, and the laws in [your] state.”
“I used during both of my pregnancies,” said Julie. “My doctor had offered me pharmaceutical drugs that would have affected my liver as well as the development of the babies’ livers. My 17-month-old is amazing, with no adverse effects whatsoever! She has an over 150-word vocabulary, sings, dances and is way ahead of other children her age. Her memory is unbelievable! It is great that your doctor recommended herb, because my midwives illegally drug-tested my urine and threatened to tell my pediatrician of the results because they were “concerned as to the home environment” my baby was going home to!”
Rachel commented, “Zofran — chemically manmade drug. Cannabis — made from the earth. Which is more natural, in your opinion?”
“During my first pregnancy, I was hospitalized repeatedly for dehydration due to severe hyperemesis,” wrote Holly. “Zofran didn’t work. I was so sick that I told my husband it was a good thing we didn’t own a gun — and at that point, I wasn’t kidding …. Did I eventually break down and try marijuana? You bet. Did it work? Yes. Do I feel guilty about it? Not a single bit. How are my kids? They have performed above-average on all academic measures thus far, and have no problems focusing. :)”
“I suffered through [morning sickness] with my first baby, but during my second pregnancy, I was working full-time,” wrote Theresa Knox. “[After] the third time I stopped on the way to work to vomit on the side of the road, I spoke to my OB/GYN. She said, ‘Obviously I can’t legally tell you it won’t hurt your baby to smoke pot. But it won’t hurt your baby to smoke pot, and it’s better to smoke the pot than be sick all the time.’ [Now] I have a healthy, normal, active, above-average intelligent 13-year-old girl.” Note: Knox suggested that readers visit MomsforMarijuana.com.
Ladies, your pro-pot arguments are VERY convincing! Moms, what say you? Is it better to uphold the law, or have a healthy baby?

Willie Nelson arrested for drug possession

 
Credit: Associated Press  
by WFAA 

Willie Nelson was detained and arrested for marijuana possession on Friday, on his way back to Austin, after spending Thanksgiving in California, officials said.

 
Nelson and his crew, who were aboard the country music star’s tour bus, were stopped Friday morning around 9 a.m., as they went through the border patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca.
Agents found 6 ounces of marijuana on the bus.
Nelson was taken to the Hudspeth County Jail where he was charged with marijuana possession.
He posted $2,500 bail and was on his way again.

http://www.kvue.com/news/entertainment/110881299.html

Conn. court rules drugs can be forced on defendant in pot case


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The state Supreme Court ruled on Friday that possession of more than 8 pounds of marijuana is a serious enough charge to warrant forcing medication on a defendant so he is competent to stand trial.
The high court’s 7-0 ruling came in the case of 30-year-old Christopher Seekins of Torrington, who authorities say has been ruled incompetent to stand trial because he refuses to take psychotropic medication for bipolar disorder. Justices upheld a lower court judge’s order to medicate Seekins against his will.
State law says a defendant can be involuntarily medicated if the crime is serious enough and there is an overriding law enforcement interest in determining whether the defendant is innocent or guilty. Seekins argued that possessing marijuana isn’t a serious crime.
Seekins’ lawyer, Richard Marquette, declined to comment on the ruling Friday through an employee at his Hamden law firm.
Seekins also made headlines in 2005 when he painted large pictures of marijuana leaves on his Winsted home with the word “hemp” beneath them after being charged with growing marijuana, saying it was in support of legalizing the drug. He later agreed in a plea bargain to remove or cover up the paintings, which caused a ruckus in town because they were visible from busy Main Street.
Justice Richard Palmer, a former prosecutor, wrote in the Supreme Court’s ruling that the basis for determining whether a crime is serious is the severity of the sentence it potentially carries. Palmer noted that Seekins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison if convicted of just three of the many charges he faces.
Palmer also wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that forcing medication on a defendant to make him competent to stand trial is constitutional in certain circumstances. Federal Circuit Courts have also looked at potential penalties when determining whether crimes are serious, he wrote.
“The defendant is not charged merely with possession of marijuana; he is charged with manufacturing the drug and possessing it with the intent to sell,” Palmer wrote. “In light of the quantity of marijuana involved … we cannot conclude, as a matter of law, that the charges against the defendant are not serious.”
Palmer also noted a U.S. Supreme Court decision saying society as a whole is a victim when illegal drugs are being distributed in its communities.
Seekins, who has been confined to a state psychiatric hospital in Middletown, had argued that the marijuana in the criminal case was for recreational purposes, not for sale or distribution.
In the 2005 marijuana case, Seekins pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years probation in 2006.
In September 2007, Seekins’ probation officer and Torrington police went to his home unannounced and said they found 8.4 pounds of pot, 50 marijuana plants, a digital scale and other pot paraphernalia.
He was later ruled incompetent to stand trial because of the effects of his bipolar disorder, but social workers testified that Seekins likely would be able to understand the charges against him and assist in his defense if he was treated with medication. Officials said Seekins refused to take medication.
It’s not clear when state officials plan to begin forcing medication on Seekins. His drug case is expected to go back before a Bantam Superior Court judge on Tuesday.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/11/26/news/doc4cf02e2f0bc35275831400.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Cheba Hut: Because Medical Marijuana Goes Down Better with a Toasted Sub


By Michele Laudig Thursday, Nov 25 2010

The dude at the Cheba Hut cash register doesn’t know me, but he grins and greets me like a friend who just showed up at his house party.

“What’s up, mama?”

Uh, isn’t it obvious, buddy? I have the munchies, big-time.
I’m staring at the menu, dazed and confused (low blood sugar, I swear!), trying to decide whether I want a nug or a pinner. I know my limits — most of the time — and a blunt’s just too much for me. Should I check out the Pakalolo or sample the Chronic? A Majic Mushroom sounds good, too.
I settle on the Kind, pay up, and remind myself that in spite of the flying pigs hanging above the counter, the mellow beach mural, the countless stickers and skateboards and banners emblazoned with pot leaves and “420,” and the big poster of Jerry Garcia beaming upon us like some kind of jolly deity, I’m at a sub shop in Tempe, not an Amsterdam hash cafe.
A couple minutes later, my open-face sandwich — smothered in bubbly melted cheese — slowly coasts out of the oven on a conveyor belt, into the hands of a bearded, knit-cap-wearing guy who’s dancing around and singing along to Curtis Mayfield on the thumping stereo system.
The song? “Pusher Man.” I’m not making this up. Two more employees — one wearing a doo-rag, and another sporting an Afro and a tie-dyed Bob Marley T — silently groove along with him, half-smiling. It feels like I’m an unwitting extra in a Cheech and Chong movie.
“That sure looks good,” says the singing guy, who’s hungrily eyeing my lunch.
“Don’t they feed you around here?” I ask.
“Well, I can never make it in early enough to eat before work,” he replies, “because I’m too busy doing other activities to get through my day.”
Did he just wink at me? I’m not sure. All these guys are flirts today, it seems, but I’m not fooled. Clearly, they’re madly in love with Mary Jane.
Which is exactly why I’d buy stock in Cheba Hut right now if it were publicly traded. What better place for Arizonans to celebrate the passing of the Medical Marijuana Initiative — a.k.a. Prop 203 — than at a cannabis-themed restaurant?
Besides Tempe, there are locations in Mesa, Glendale, Flagstaff, and Tucson, plus franchises in five other states. Yeah, I could see Cheba Hut taking off nationally, but right now the restaurant is poised for high times in Arizona. Who knows? If these folks are smart, they’ll start opening new shops near the dispensaries, so people can kick it over a sandwich after smoking up.
I’ve always been a fan of the food here. Since I was practically weaned on hoagies in Pennsylvania, I was happy to stumble upon Cheba Hut’s “toasted” subs as soon as I moved to Tempe. Back East, we called these babies “cosmos” or “grinders.” Give me one heaped with lettuce, tomato, diced red onion, pepperoncinis, olive oil, vinegar, Parmesan, and a sliver of pickle, and I’ll snarf that thing whether I’m stoned or not.
The Kind is a sandwich I’ve ordered many times, heaped with thinly sliced turkey breast, strips of bacon, mushrooms, and melted Swiss. When it comes time to choose the extra toppings, I go for the lip-smacking honey mustard for a little kick. It smells as good as it looks, so it’s no wonder the dude behind the counter was envious — especially if he really did have the munchies.
When I’m in a nostalgic mood, I’ll go for La Canna, an old-school Italian sub that’s quite a sight for bloodshot eyes. It’s layered with prosciutto, smoked ham, Genoa salami, provolone, and black olives, and is one of the closest approximations of the hoagies of my childhood that I’ve found out West. Just the soft, simple white roll, warm and lightly crispy, is what does it for me.
Another favorite is the Endo, basically a pastrami Reuben sub oozing sauerkraut, Swiss, Thousand Island dressing, and mustard. It’s one of the messiest things on the menu, and I’m hooked on it.
I suppose there’s no way to satisfy the munchies in a healthful way — c’mon, isn’t that why junk food was invented? — but I can feel slightly more justified with one of the vegetarian options here, like the Humboldt (packed with sprouts, gobs of guac, cheese, and a pile of vegetables) or a more interesting variation called the Griefo, which also contains pepper jack and mildly herbaceous hemp cream cheese (sorry, it won’t give you a buzz).
Most of the time, however, I’m ready to really get my grub on, calories be damned. The Bomb is all about moist, beefy meatballs smothered in not-too-sweet “homegrown” marinara, mushrooms, green peppers, and provolone. It’s a good thing that customizing the sandwiches is welcome — “feel free to cross breed,” reads the punny menu — so I can get mine without the peppers and with extra cheese instead.
Meanwhile, the Jamaican Red is addictingly spicy on its own, thanks to mounds of moist shredded chicken doused in sauce that reminds me of Buffalo wings. For added zing, I like it with a squirt of spicy ranch dressing. A single bite of this is enough to make my tongue and lips tingly, but of course I can’t stop until my little plastic basket is completely empty, save a few crumbs.
Since Cheba Hut aims to satisfy one’s herbally enhanced cravings, there are plenty of sweets here, too. Nothing fancy, mind you, just a big basket of goodies you’d probably make for yourself at home if you could only put down the bong and get off the couch: dense, chocolaty hemp brownies, fat blocks of Rice Krispie treats, and chocolate chip cookies that they’ll toast for you.
You heard it here first: When Prop 203 kicks in, expect Cheba Hut to really catch some buzz.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2010-11-25/restaurants/cheeba-hut-because-medical-marijuana-goes-down-better-with-a-toasted-sub/

Frank James and the Civil War Battle of the Hemp Bales

by Sean McLachlan

Frank James, Jesse James, Civil War
Jesse James must have been jealous of his older brother Frank. Jesse was only 13 when the Civil War started. Frank was 18, the perfect age to go off to war. Coming from a slave-owning farm family Frank naturally joined the Confederate army.
Many Missourians, especially city dwellers and the large German immigrant community, remained loyal to the North, while the majority of rural farmers supported the South. Most people actually wanted peace, but attitudes hardened as events spiraled out of control in the spring and summer of 1861. When Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to quell the rebellion, Missouri’s governor defiantly refused. Then the Unionist General Nathaniel Lyon captured a group of state guardsmen camped near St. Louis, fearing they planned to capture the city’s federal arsenal. The capture went off without a hitch (except for Lyon being kicked in the stomach by his own horse) but when Lyon’s troops marched their prisoners back into town they got attacked by a secessionist mob. A soldier and about twenty civilians died in the ensuing riot.
The secessionist government fled, soon replaced by a loyal state government, and the Missouri State Guard under General Sterling Price declared their loyalty for the South. Lyon led his Union forces from St. Louis west along the Missouri River valley, took the state capital of Jefferson City, and defeated a small State Guard force at the Battle of Boonville, one of the first battles of the Civil War. Price retreated with the State Guard to the southwestern part of the state to organize and train his green troops.
One of his new recruits was Frank James. He arrived with a group of Clay County boys, some armed with shotguns and squirrel rifles, others with nothing. They all itched for a chance to fight the Yankees. They didn’t have to wait long. On August 10, 1861, Lyons’ Union forces attacked Price’s Confederate camp at Wilson’s Creek. The Union soldiers came in from two sides, and as cannonballs flew through the State Guard tents, Frank James and his companions marched off to face the enemy.
He and his unit charged up a hill overlooking their camp on which Lyon had placed the bulk of his force. Almost immediately the position earned the name “Bloody Hill”. Missourians fought each other through thick underbrush, attacking and counterattacking for hours. Meanwhile the second pincer of the Union attack was being wiped out to the south of camp. The battle tipped in the rebels’ favor, Lyon fell dead from a bullet, and the Union army retreated.
The fight left more than 1,200 casualties on each side, but the rebels exulted in their victory and marched into the center of the state towards the Missouri River port of Lexington. If they could take it, they’d control the river and the most populous pro-secession region in Missouri.
Col. James Mulligan, a tough Irish-American, had 3,500 Union soldiers at Lexington. While Price’s Confederates numbered more than 12,000, Mulligan decided to fight anyway. He dug trenches and earthworks atop a hill with a commanding view of the town. A stone building that served as a Masonic College added extra protection. The rebels arrived on September 13 and immediately surrounded the position. For a week they sniped at the Union troops on the hill. Volunteers swarmed in from the countryside to join Price. An account tells of how one local, an old man, arrived every morning with an antiquated flintlock rifle and a packed lunch, spent the day blasting away at the Yankees, and went home every evening.
Inside the fort Mulligan and his men grimly held on. No help came, and after a few days the rebels cut off their water supply. They threw back several determined attacks, and when the rebels heated up their cannonballs in an attempt to set the Masonic College on fire, Mulligan sent a boy with a shovel running around inside the college building, picking up the red-hot iron balls and chucking them out the window.
Frank James must have been getting nervous by this point. It had been a week and the fort still hadn’t fallen. Sooner or later a Union relief force would show up and there’d be real trouble. Then someone hit upon a clever idea. Missouri was one of the nation’s largest hemp regions. The cannabis plant was used for rope, paper, cloth, and many other purposes besides the recreational smoking that eventually got it banned. The harvest had just been brought in and the river port was filled with heavy bales of hemp. The rebels made a wall of these bales, soaked them with water so they wouldn’t be set on fire by hot lead, and started moving this wall up the hill.
Mulligan’s Union soldiers soon discovered these bales were bulletproof. Even cannonballs only rocked them. From behind the wall of hemp Frank James and his friends were able to get better shots at the defenders and the Union casualties began to mount. The noose tightened. Cut off, low on water, and with no help in sight, the defenders finally surrendered. Marijuana had won a victory for the Confederacy.
It wouldn’t last long. General Price realized his position was too exposed and headed back south. Frank fell sick with measles, a potentially fatal illness in those day, and got left behind. He was captured, gave an oath of loyalty to the Union, and returned home. Soon he was back in the saddle, however, joining William Quantrill’s guerrillas. Later he followed one of Quantrill’s lieutenants, Bloody Bill Anderson, and his younger brother Jesse joined him.
Frank and Jesse James’ war years were the beginning of their training as America’s most famous outlaws. They learned to ride, shoot, and hide out in the woods. Fellow members of Bloody Bill’s group formed the core of their bandit gang. With these experienced warriors they’d blaze across half a dozen states and into American folklore.
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield has a museum and tours. The Battle of Lexington State Historic Site also has a museum (with a hemp bale they had to get special permission to import) and is in the center of a fine old town with lots of historic buildings. Check them out for more information about two Civil War battles that aren’t very well known outside of Missouri.

Swazi dagga used to build houses?


MBABANE – Swazi dagga is now being used to make construction material in Europe and South Africa.
The high quality cannabis is being compressed into bricks and used for construction. 
It has been established that there is a world scramble for Swazi dagga as countries like England, Spain, France, Turkey, Australia, California and South Africa value the Swazi weed as a strong material for construction. 
They access the hemp through the black market of South Africa. South Africa is the largest importer of the high quality Swazi hemp. 
In some instances, the dagga, which is sometimes called cannabis, was being added to clay to strengthen bricks for building. 
More recently, it is said the hemp (cannabis) had received fresh impetus as it was, itself, being compressed into bricks. 
The United Nations (UN)’s media, IRIN, reported that marijuana grown in Swaziland housed South Africa’s homeless people. 
IRIN reported that Swaziland has the highest cultivation of cannabis per capita in Southern Africa. 
The IRIN quoted Andre du Plessis, an official from Intern Africa, an organisation working with residents in informal settlements, saying Swaziland authorities should be enlightened about the importance of dagga as it could prove key to their efforts to develop the economy. 
“With five years experience in dealing with government and housing, and the bureaucracy in between, I can say I am expertly aware of the controversial nature of this project. However, there are homes built from this technology in England, Spain, France, Turkey, Australia, California and South Africa,” Andre du Plessis told the UN media ‘IRIN. 
It has been reported that the authorities’ efforts to destroy marijuana crops had failed to discourage Swazi peasant farmers from growing the plant and South African drug traffickers pay handsomely for Swaziland’s marijuana, which is prized for its potency in the Netherlands and other European destinations. 
As a result, Intern Africa cited as motivation a report by the International Narcotics Control Board proposing alternative uses for marijuana to legitimise illegal crops. 
“The controversy regarding cannabis is easily resolved when used industrially – the plant is harvested at the onset of autumn (March 1) before flowering and the creation of the drug content. Naturally, once the crop has been used industrially and is combined with lime, it cannot be smoked or used as a drug,” du Plessis explained. 
He said if Swazi authorities could be convinced that the local cannabis crop could become a legitimate source of building material, hundreds of cannabis growers could earn a modest living. He said he would engage the Swazi government in talks over the growing of this crop. 
By MFANUKHONA NKAMBULE 
http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=23174

Hemp Biofuels Could Smoke The Competition


Credit: xJasonRogersx/Flickr
by Beth Buczynski 
The debate over whether to legalize marijuana for either medicinal or recreational use is far from over, but new research has shown that cultivating the Cannabis plant for more practical purposes might solve the “food or fuel” conundrum once and for all. 
Hemp, a THC-free cousin of the marijuana plant, has been used as a raw material to make fabric, rope, paper, and even sports cars. Now, researchers at University of Connecticut have found that industrial hemp has properties that make it viable and even attractive for producing biodiesel as well. 
In laboratory tests, hemp biodiesel has shown a high efficiency of conversion (97 percent) and has properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market (Gizmag). At cold temperatures, molecules of some biofuels can aggregate and form crystals, plugging up vehicle fuel filters and limiting their commercial use. 
According to Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering at UConn, one of the most exciting things about hemp is that it grows “like a weed”, even in infertile soils. This would allow industrial hemp to be grown for biofuel production without taking up primary crop lands. 
“If someone is already growing hemp they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce. The fact that a hemp industry already exists means that a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment,” Parnas told Gizmag. 
The problem? Currently, growing hemp (even though it contains less than 1 percent of the psychoactive elements that would make it desirable as a drug) is illegal in the United States. 
Hopefully, this research will encourage the U.S. Government to reconsider its stance. In the meantime, Parnas hopes that the discovery will help to spur hemp biodiesel production in other parts of the world.
http://news.yourolivebranch.org/2010/11/23/hemp-biofuels-could-smoke-the-competition/

Finland – Smoke-in demo on Parliament steps for cannabis legalisation

Several hundred protest pot prohibition as 100 police look on 

“I am a criminal, but who is the victim?” The question was asked by Tarik Purho in front of the Finnish Parliament, along with three other demonstrators on Saturday afternoon.
      He also wondered where the other supporters of hemp legalisation were.
      Twenty minutes later, as if out of nowhere, more than 300 cannabis legalisation advocates appeared, in addition to 100 police officers, a number of police cars, mounted police, and dozens of photographers.
     
Purho was apparently fairly typical among the group. He grows cannabis at home in Mäntsälä for his personal use. Like many others, he compared marijuana with alcohol.
      “How often have you read in the papers about a guy who smokes a couple of joints and then throws his wife, kids, and dog off a balcony?” Purho asks in a deliberate thrust at Finland’s problems with alcohol abuse and violence.
      He feels that the most humiliating of all is that police are entitled to conduct house searches for cannabis.
     
Demonstrators came by bus from different parts of Finland. One of them was Jaakko Mäki from Tampere.
      He said that police had searched the bus already on the way to Helsinki. A moment later he was taken into a police car.
      For some reason the demonstrators had decided to fire up their joints at exactly 4:20 PM.
      This was the only aspect of precision in the event, unless one counts the police formation on the steps of Parliament.
     
In the cold and dark afternoon the line of a few dozen police officers was a strangely intimidating spectacle.
      “They’re looking for themselves”, was the paternal assessment of one of the police, commenting on the crowd that they were keeping in check.
      Another officer told a demonstrator that he was not giving any statements during working hours.
      He had been asked if alcohol was more dangerous than hemp.
      It remains a mystery what he might have answered while off duty.
     
Below the rows of police was a heterogenous group of people ranging in age from 15 to 50. Many were recreational users, but for some, the substance was medicinal.
      And of course there were plenty of speeches.
      None of the speakers saw anything dangerous about using cannabis, although one did say that it is not suitable for schizophrenics.
     
Some of the speakers were analytical and sensible, while others went on stoned rants.
      There were also parallel demonstrations. One young man declared that God hates gays, but he was shouted down by people calling him to stick to the subject at hand.
     
Some of the speeches were poignant. A medical user in a wheelchair that he gets comfort from cannabis, which, he said, keeps him from contemplating suicide all the time.
      Some of the speeches were actually very practical in nature. One speaker suggested that the police on the steps of Parliament be given snow shovels so that they might have something useful to do while they were there.
     
From time to time the police would come down from the steps to sniff whether or not it was a cigarette or a joint that someone was smoking.
      Eventually they noticed that people were lighting up all over the place.
      “Justice, justice, justice” was perhaps the most frequent slogan that was chanted.
      All in all three people were taken to the side by police.
      After being issued a small fine, they were allowed to rejoin the others.