Use of marijuana for medical purposes would be legalized if approved by voters under a proposed constitutional amendment filed by a Democratic lawmaker on Thursday.

“There is no good reason for us to allow people to use synthetic drugs like oxycontin, methodone, percocet, and Prozac, but ban them from using a natural, safer drug,” said Rep. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, the author of the bill.
The proposal would, if passed by the Legislature, go to the 2012 ballot for voter approval. The amendment would let patients use cannabis only if prescribed by a doctor and wouldn’t be able to smoke it in public places. The measure would also make clear that insurance companies wouldn’t have to cover it, and employers wouldn’t be required to let workers smoke pot on the job. The measure hasn’t been referred to any committees, and so far doesn’t have a Senate companion.
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=47444

Paul: Gage Skimore/Flickr; Hemp plants: WikiMedia Commons
“It would be a good crop. If we really needed ethanol, maybe ethanol from hemp might be beneficial. But no, we subsidize one thing and make the other stuff that might be useful illegal. So I hope someday that the people wake up, because the Congress is asleep. They assume that that the average person supports the idea that hemp should be illegal. But quite frankly, I think the average person doesn’t know. If they knew more about it, they would support my position of legalizing it.”
Read complete article here:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/ron-paul-hemp-legalization?page=1

The ACLU has released a brief calling on the DEA to grant research permits for the production of medical cannabis.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) does not commonly take an active role in matters pertaining to the drug war, but in the case of Dr. Lyle E. Craker, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, outspoken is certainly one way to describe their position.
Craker’s name might sound familiar to keen observers of the drug war. After a decade of waging a hard-fought battle with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), which repeatedly denied his application for the production of medical marijuana, he recently said he would call it quits, resigning his fight in bitter defeat.
The last DEA ruling against him came in January 2009, and contradicted the recommendation of DEA Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner. His appeal of that decision languished for so long that last week, he and attorneys with the ACLU decided to drop the case.
“I’m disappointed in our system,” the 70-year-old professor told the Associated Press last week. “But I’m not disappointed at what we did. I think our efforts have brought the problem to the public eye more. … This is just the first battle in a war.”
On Monday evening, the ACLU released its final brief on Craker’s case, which calls on the DEA to grant research permits for the production of medical cannabis. They also flatly state that cannabis medicines have not yet cleared the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is because of the DEA’s pernicious politics and tight monopoly on the granting of production licenses.
“The federal government’s official policy is that marijuana has no medical benefit,” they noted. “But the government is unwilling to put its policy to the test of science: instead, the government exercises monopoly control over the nation’s supply of marijuana that may be used for scientific purposes, by allowing an agency whose mission is to explore the consequences of the abuse of marijuana—the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)—to determine what research may go forward regarding marijuana’s beneficial medical uses. The result is that […] marijuana alone out of all potential medicines is subject to a special and obstructive process that places politics over science.”
Read complete article here:
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/150176/aclu_calls_on_dea_to_allow_sale_of_medical_marijuana

The I.H.B.A. is proud to announce the 2nd International Hemp Building Symposium this year 2011. Come to Granada for two days of communication between international hemp building experts, academics, architects, policy-makers and stakeholders to discuss the present and future trends of this growing sector. The event will include presentations, and also a fascinating tour of CANNABRIC’s hemp brick factory in Guadix with demonstrations.
The Symposium language is English.

• Presentations.
• Talks.
• Bus tour to Cannabric Factory & Demonstrations.
• Q & A Sessions.
• Networking & Education.

This venue has been chosen as it has a very different climatic region to the first venue in Ireland, it is also near to the Cannabric factory which provides an opportunity to get a close look at the materials and projects of architect Monika Brümmer, who has been working with hemp building materials for 15 years.
After the success of last years event we have a high level to aim at for the 2nd Symposium, the hemp building system has gained wider acceptance throughout the international world of green building and so we expect an even larger attendance for this event.
Location
The symposium will be held at the ABADES NEVADA PALACE HOTEL located 20 minutes from city center of GRANADA, Spain, which is home to The Alhambra, the famous moorish citadel and palace and at the foot of Spain’s highest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada.

Booking

The cost of the event is € 250 per person.
(Cost for IHBA members only € 187.50 (25% discount).
This includes 2 days of speakers in hotel conference room, break refreshments, 2 lunches, 1 gala dinner and the bus tour to Cannabric factory for the demonstrations.

Hotel

Please reserve and pay your hotel room at the ABADES NEVADA PALACE HOTEL by contacting them directly.
Double Single Use Room Breakfast Included per day…….€ 70.00
Double Room Breakfast Included per day……………€ 80.00
ABADES NEVADA PALACE HOTEL, C/ de la Sultana S/N 18008 Granada, Spain. Tel: +34 902222570 Fax: +34 902222590
Email: RESERVAS NEVADA PALACE

Travel

Getting to GRANADA, by air, the nearest airport is Granada Airport (GRX) 16 km or Malaga Airport (AGP) 2.20 hr by bus.

Contact Organiser

I.H.B.A. Rusheens, Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
Email Steve: news@internationalhempbuilding.org
http://www.internationalhempbuilding.org/event.html

House Judiciary Committee Hearing on HB 1261
DATE: Thurs., March 10, 2011
LOCATION: Hearing Room 0107, basement, state Capitol Building, 200 E.
Colfax, Denver, CO (Note, this room only seats about 40 people so arrive
early. There are 3 other bills on the agenda before the DUI bill.)
TIME: 1:30pm
Capitol Bill Room (for last minute changes): (303) 866-3055
Attire: Dress to Impress
Provisions: Bring food and water, as the hearing may last a while.
Sign up on CTI’s email list for updates:
http://www.CannabisTherapyInstitute.com
LISTEN LIVE ONLINE
You listen online to the House Judiciary ommittee hearing:

Home

BACKGROUND
HB1261 would declare that anyone found driving with 5 nanogram/milliliters
or more of THC in their bloodstream would be guilty of “DUI per se” and
subject to a misdemeanor offense and the possible revocation of their
driver’s license. Click here for more info:
http://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/bills/dui/
FROM ATTORNEY LAUREN DAVIS:
On Thursday, March 10, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a Hearing on
HB 11-1261, the DUI/THC bill. Rep. Claire Levy has sponsored a bill that
will set a per se 5 ng/mL limit on THC in the bloodstream. This means that
if you get pulled over and are suspected of driving under the influence, if
blood or urine tests show your THC levels are above 5 ng, you essentially
will have NO defense to the charge of driving while impaired. The DA will
not have to show your driving was poor or impaired to “even he slightest
degree.” The law will put the burden on you to overcome that presumption –
a battle you will lose.
This bill is EXTREMELY problematic for many practical reasons. There is NO
research showing that 5 ng/ML of THC corresponds to any impairment in
drivers (unlike with alcohol BAC, where numerous studies have shown that
drivers demonstrate impairment at .05.) In fact, most studies have not
been able to show any correlation between THC and driving impairment, even
at significantly higher levels of THC ingestion.
Moreover, some jurisdictions contract with private labs to test your THC
levels, and these labs consistently over-report and incorrectly report THC
levels. The criminal defense bar has tried to remedy this with no avail.
Under this bill, these labs will be inundated with testing and will likely
provide even less accurate results. I have a client who spent tens of
thousands of dollars to defend himself against an erroneous DUID charge –
the labs results were GROSSLY in error. After spending thousands of dollars
paying a private lab to re-test the THC levels, we proved he had no THC in
his blood. Can you afford to do spend that?
Please show up to speak against this bill. Being convicted of a DUID
(driving under the influence of drugs) will have HORRIBLE life-long and
life-altering consequences for you. Not only will you automatically lose
your driver’s license for up to a year, you will be subject to higher
insurance premiums for life; you also could lose your health insurance,
your professional license, your job, not be able to travel to many foreign
countries (including Canada) and much more.
And, most importantly, in many jurisdictions in CO, you will no longer be
able to use your physician recommended medical marijuana once you are
convicted. No matter what your medical need, a Judge will have the
authority to tell you you cannot medicate with THC. And despite multiple
attorneys’ attempts to appeal this issue to a higher court, the Court of
Appeals refuses to review this probation requirement.
It is essential that we get the legislature to VOTE NO on this bill.
Please pull out all stops to make your voice heard.
Lauren C. Davis
Attorney At Law
600 17th St., Suite 2800
Denver, CO 80202
303-634-2268
———————————————–
CALL AND EMAIL HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Sample letter to House Judiciary Committee
Please vote no on HB1261 and do more research on the bill to set a nanogram
limit on cannabis. There is no evidence showing a link between THC blood
concentration and impairment. Other drugs that impair people, like
oxycontin, do not have nanogram limits. This bill is unfair to medical
marijuana patients and will force patients back on prescription medications
that do not have nanogram levels and are not routinely tested for by the
police. Please at least include an exemption for medical marijuana
patients.
COPY AND PASTE EMAILS:
bob.gardner.house@state.co.us, mark.barker.house@state.co.us,
brian@briandelgrosso.com,
crisanta.duran.house@state.co.us,repkagan@gmail.com,
pete.lee.house@state.co.us, claire.levy.house@state.co.us,
rep.nikkel@gmail.com, su.ryden.house@state.co.us,
jerry.sonnenberg.house@state.co.us, mark.waller.house@state.co.us,
info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com
Please send CTI copies of any letters you send:
info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com
House Judiciary Committee Members Phone and Email
BOB GARDNER, Chair
Colorado State Representative, District 21
Capitol Phone: (303)866-2191
E-Mail: bob.gardner.house@state.co.us
MARK BARKER, Vice Chair
Colorado State Representative, District 17
Capitol Phone: 303-866-3069
E-Mail: mark.barker.house@state.co.us
BRIAN DELGROSSO
Colorado State Representative, District 51
Capitol Phone: (303)866-2947
E-Mail: brian@briandelgrosso.com
CRISANTA DURAN
Colorado State Representative, District 5
Capitol Phone: 303-866-2925
E-Mail: crisanta.duran.house@state.co.us
DANIEL KAGAN
Colorado State Representative, District 3
Capitol Phone: (303)866-2921
E-Mail: repkagan@gmail.com
PETE LEE
Colorado State Representative, District 18
Capitol Phone: 303-866-2932
E-Mail: pete.lee.house@state.co.us
CLAIRE LEVY – SPONSOR
Minority Whip
Colorado State Representative, District 13
Capitol Phone: (303)866-2578
E-Mail: claire.levy.house@state.co.us
B.J. NIKKEL
Majority Whip
Colorado State Representative, District 49
Phone: 303-866-2907
E-mail: rep.nikkel@gmail.com
SU RYDEN
Asssistant Minority Caucus Chair
Colorado State Representative, District 36
Capitol Phone: 303-866-2942
E-mail: su.ryden.house@state.co.us
JERRY SONNENBERG
Colorado State Representative, District 65
Capitol Phone: 303-866-3706
Email: jerry.sonnenberg.house@state.co.us
MARK WALLER – SPONSOR
Assistant Majority Leader
Colorado State Representative, District 15
Capitol Phone: (303)866-5525
E-Mail: mark.waller.house@state.co.us
Contact your local Reps too:
http://www.leg.state.co.us/
————–
Please copy and repost this announcement.
—
Provided as a Public Service by the:
Cannabis Therapy Institute
P.O. Box 19084, Boulder, CO 80308
Phone: 877-420-4205
Web: www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com
Email: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com

Bipartisan bill aims to aid economy with hemp production 
Budget-neutral measure backed by 30 legislators
By Andy Birkey
A bipartisan slate of 30 legislators — from liberal Minneapolis Rep. Phyllis Kahn to conservative Rep. Mark Buesgens of Jordan — are proposing legislation to allow Minnesota farmers to grow industrial hemp. The Industrial Hemp Development Act would legalize hemp plants while maintaining strong restrictions on marijuana possession. The bill even includes the collection of fees from farmers as revenue to run the program; during time of budget deficits, it won’t cost the state anything. 
“The legislature finds that the development and use of industrial hemp can improve the state’s economy and agricultural vitality and the production of industrial hemp can be regulated so as not to interfere with the strict regulation of controlled substances in this state,” the bill states. 
Currently, the United States imports the bulk of its hemp from China and Canada, and it’s used in the production of paper, rope, food, oils, biodegradable plastic and low-carbon concrete. According to Ray Hansen of the Iowa State University’s Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, the retail value of hemp products imported to the United States in 2007 was $350 million. 
Eight states have approved hemp farming: North Dakota, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia and Vermont. However, the Drug Enforcement Agency has so far refused to weigh in on whether hemp farmers would be prosecuted for growing the plant, which is the same species as marijuana but lacks the chemical composition to intoxicate users.
Read complete article here:
http://minnesotaindependent.com/78396/bipartisan-bill-aims-to-aid-economy-with-hemp-production

Carol Daniel

 
Read complete article here:
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/03/02/ill-farmers-may-be-allowed-to-grow-hemp/

By Chris Roberts

Steve Kubby has earned his stripes: Before he was a Libertarian Party candidate for governor of California and President of the United States (and South Lake Tahoe City Council), Kubby was a model activist and poster child for the medical cannabis movement. The latter because he has lived with a rare form of adrenal cancer for over 40 years, thanks to medial marijuana, and the former for co-authoring Proposition 215.
Now, Kubby, 64, is circulating a proposed ballot initiative for 2012 that, he told SF Weekly on Monday, can not only succeed where Proposition 19 failed last November, but could lead toward a changed federal policy on marijuana.
Read complete article here: 

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/02/steve_kubby_prop_215_decriminalize_marijuana.php

The active ingredient in cannabis can improve the appetites and sense of taste in cancer patients, according to a new study published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology.
Loss of appetite is common among cancer patients, either because the cancer itself or its treatment affects the sense of taste and smell, leading to decreased enjoyment of food. This, in turn, can lead to weight loss, anorexia, a worse quality of life and decreased survival; therefore, finding effective ways of helping patients to maintain a good diet and consume enough calories is an important aspect of their treatment
Read complete article here:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20110228/5602/active-ingredient-in-cannabis-can-improve-the-appetites-and-sense-of-taste-in-cancer-patients.htm

By Matt Phillips

Here at MarketBeat, we keep our eyes on some pretty obscure indexes. But we have to admit, the The High Times indices of cannibis prices is one data set that does not regularly flicker on our screens. Smart Money’s Jack Hough offers us this update on pot prices, which interestingly have been lagging the overall boom in crop prices.

What’s clear from the numbers is that prices are looking lazy. The High Times index for “kind” (superior) cannabis fell 4% in the year through January, while the “mids” index fell 6%. January marked the first month that no reader submitted a price for “schwag,” or inferior, cannabis. The broad U.S. Price Index increased nearly 3% over the past year, presumably because respondents have traded up to better weed.
 
Read complete article here:
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/02/28/weed-getting-cheaper-postcard-from-the-pot-market/