OCNORML, the Orange County chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, is celebrating its eighth year anniversary tonight at Giovanni’s Pizza in Fullerton. The event, which starts at 7 pm, is open to members and non-members alike who can afford the $10 donation at the door. The event will take over the entire restaurant and will include raffle prizes, free giveaways from sponsors, free food, games and “surprises.”
Read complete article here:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/08/pot_party_ocnorml_celebrates_e.php
Month: August 2011
Peter Tosh’s Music Used for Human-Rights, Pot-Legalization Charity Campaigns (Video Contest)
by Theo Spielberg
GAB Archive, Redferns Peter Tosh, an original member of the Wailers and gifted solo artist, left behind a legacy of political consciousness after his 1987 murder. The estate of the groundbreaking reggae artist announced on Tuesday, Aug. 9, that it will be launching a series of partnerships with Amnesty International and Greenpeace.
A campaign is already underway with Amnesty International, which will give away his solo version ‘Get Up Stand Up’ (which he co-wrote with Bob Marley) in order to drum up support for Mexican human-rights defender Lydia Cacho. The Cancun-based journalist has received numerous death threats after she exposed a government-backed child-pornography ring, and anyone who signs up to “stand up for Lydia” will receive the free MP3.
In the coming weeks, Tosh’s music will also be used in campaigns by Greenpeace International, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy and the Marijuana Policy Project, and will highlight music from his solo albums ‘Legalize It’ (1976) and ‘Equal Rights’ (1977). The SSDP is hosting a video contest in which people can submit a PSA on the them of “What ‘Legalize It’ Means to Me,” in support of the first-ever marijuana legalization bill in Congress. The winner will have their video featured in the effort and receive a “Legacy Edition” of ‘Legalize It.’
Read complete article here:
http://www.spinner.com/2011/08/09/peter-tosh-greenpeace-amnesty-international/
Hemp helps create greener homes
By Sun Joo Kim
Hemp plants are making their way into homes in a healthy way. The fibers of the hemp plant are used in the form of panels and are a version of paper-crete, a mixture of Portland cement, lime (the substance that makes concrete workable) and recycled fibers. Because of the high density of air pockets created in the manufacturing process, the fiber-crete becomes a light-weight, insulating material. This makes it suitable for all but the most severe climates.
The new use of hemp and other fibers reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes healthier as well as energy efficient. According to proponents of the new building product, hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant. The plant material also absorbs carbon dioxide, acting as a built in air filter.
Read complete article here:
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/design-architecture/hemp-helps-create-greener-homes/320
One toke over the line
Tenaya Hurst starts off as the Auntie Mame of marijuana before her life hits some rough patches in Toke, Deedee Kirkwood’s comedy at Ashby Stage.
As noted a few columns back, summer often brings unexpected and often eccentric stage offerings that slide into theaters that are on summer break. A perfect example is Toke, a labor-of-love play that Deedee Kirkwood has been cultivating for years. Self-produced in 2003 in Hollywood under the title Peace for Pot, Kirkwood’s comedy takes over the Ashby Stage in Berkeley on Aug. 18 while Shotgun Players presents Road to Hades in John Hinkel Park.
Toke centers on Weedee, whose role as the Auntie Mame of marijuana during the breezy 60s hits some rocky territory as the story continues to the present day, though the play is billed as “a madcap comedy.” There is the guilt over abandoning her first love after he returns from Vietnam a broken man, before confronting such issues as abortion, politics, sexual exploration, and domestic abuse. Weedee ends up in a German commune, an Afghan campground, and a dispirited marriage before finding peace and a strengthened commitment to cannabis.
Tenaya Hurst heads the four-member cast under Patricia Miller’s direction. Kirkwood also includes the late marijuana advocate Jack Herer in the credits, describing him as her inspiration and muse. Toke will run through Sept. 11. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com.
http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=theatre&article=769
Majority of Americans Ready to Legalize Marijuana
As was the case last year, most respondents believe the “War on Drugs” has been a failure.
Many Americans continue to believe that marijuana should be legalized, but are not supportive of making other drugs readily available, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,003 American adults, 55 per cent of respondents support the legalization of marijuana, while 40 per cent oppose it.
Read complete article here:
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/43975/majority-of-americans-ready-to-legalize-marijuana/
Cannabis for the cure?
Cannabinoid scientists say marijuana actually fights cancer—but the feds continue to stymie research efforts
By David Downs
Public-health researchers say the federal government is slowing the search for cures to breast, colon, prostate and brain cancers, as well as Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and HIV, because the research involves cannabis.
That’s the takeaway from the 21st annual symposium of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, which was held earlier this month in Illinois. Researchers stacked the program with talks not only about cannabis’s palliative properties but also its curative efficacy. The event, sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, was held the same week the Drug Enforcement Administration reiterated its stance that marijuana has no accepted medical use.
“It was really interesting,” said Amanda Reiman, who holds a doctorate from the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare and presented at the symposium. “At the same time [that] the DEA was publicly declaring that cannabis has no medical value, I was surrounded by the most brilliant minds in the world talking about nothing but the medical value of cannabinoids.”
She said the frustration “was something you could feel in the air.”
Read complete article here:
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/cannabis-for-the-cure/content?oid=3096915
Roseanne Barr Says She is Running for President
(NewsCore) – Comedienne Roseanne Barr told Jay Leno she hopes to run for president under a newly created political party that eliminates money and permits marijuana.
“I am running for President of the United States … I’m not for either party because they both suck and they’re both a bunch of criminals, so I made up my own party — it’s America’s Green Tea Party,” she said late Thursday on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
“I’m totally serious, ’cause I want to be part of the debates, because I want to represent the taxpayer,” she continued, adding she will be “choosing the taxpayers as my vice president.”
Her platform includes eliminating taxes, legalizing marijuana and eradicating the use of money as payment for goods and services.
“Everything will be based on barter and growing and eating vegetables,” she said.
Read complete article here:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpps/entertainment/roseanne-barr-says-she-is-running-for-president-dpgonc-20110805-fc_14450648
WA Man Refuses Marijuana Fines, Chooses Jail
by Phillip Smith
Enough already! That was the message Olympia, Washington, resident Dana Walker sent to the Thurston County Superior Court last Friday when, in an act of civil disobedience, he refused to pay fines for past marijuana offenses and demanded to be sent to jail instead. He got his wish and is currently behind bars awaiting sentencing, but the local criminal justice system is going to be out several thousand dollars, and Walker is going to be able to look himself in the eye and know he didn’t back down before the pot prohibition laws.
Could this man be the Rosa Parks of the marijuana legalization movement?
(Image: Dana Walker)
Walker has been arrested on marijuana charges on numerous occasions and has served time in the federal prison system for pot. After finally being freed from the feds’ leash, he told supporters on a Dana Goes to Jail! Facebook page he set up for the event that he had had enough.
“Have you ever wanted to go into a courtroom and honestly tell the judge and prosecutor what you think of their marijuana laws?” Walker wrote. “I have a golden opportunity to do just that and I plan to take full advantage. Those of you who personally know me know I am fully capable of turning righteous indignation into an entertaining show, and I plan to pull out all stops on this one,” he explained.
“I owe Thurston County over $3,000 for a marijuana charge from back in 1997,” he said. “I am currently unemployed, I am not a fan of hot weather, and I wouldn’t mind at all spending a few weeks in jail just for the opportunity to tell a court where they can stick their laws.”
Walker said that if enough other people followed his example, they could clog the gears of the drug war punishment apparatus.
Read complete article here:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2011/aug/04/wa_man_refuses_marijuana_fines_c
Why pot should be legalized in America
Abigail Prendergas
Marijuana has often been the subject of controversy. What usually stirs people’s emotions in regards to this substance is based on ignorance, propaganda and bias.
Marijuana has gone by many names and has been seen in several lights ranging from being looked at as a creative god-send to being perceived as the root of all evil. Usually those who find cannabis to fall into the latter category are subscribed to the false aesthetic that the substance will have adverse effects on those who use it. The fact of the matter is that marijuana, weed, pot or whatever you call it, is one of the least harmful substances known to man.
Scientifically proven to be less toxic than tobacco cigarettes and alcohol, cannabis merely lulls your brain into a relaxed, less inhibited state. Of course, like with any other substance how much goes into your system dictates how much you will be affected. For example, a couple hits from a pot pipe won’t keep you confined to a couch laughing like an idiot like smoking four whole blunts would.
One of the most misleading statistics used by the prohibitionists is that more chemicals means a substance is more dangerous. This notion is flawed as there is no direct association between the amount of chemicals something has and its level of toxicity. Even with the 420 chemical elements within it, marijuana pales in comparison to your morning cup of coffee in that respect. The cup of joe you guzzle down before you go to work contains 1,500 chemicals, which is over 1,000 more than pot.
Cigarettes are also used as a futile way to ward off stress and one will be smoked after another unlike with cannabis, which is – unless you’re a complete stoner – essentially a way to relax at the end of a long day in a similar way others use a glass of wine for a cathartic effect.
Another cause for debate is that people think if someone had too much pot in their system they would get into the car and run into a telephone pole. That notion makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine as people who drink alcohol and have common sense will not drive or designate a driver to take them home. Why can’t the same be said for someone who wants to get high on marijuana?
The fact of the matter is that cannabis was outlawed due to the fact that hemp was a threat to the paper mill industry. Back in the early 1930s before the Marijuana Tax Act – which was essentially a cover up for making pot illegal – was put into place, a device known as the decorticator was invented. This mechanism was created to turn hemp into paper more efficiently and at less cost than wood. Since many of the big name business men and politicians at the time had much stock invested in paper mills, they felt obligated to launch a smear campaign against marijuana.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/309058#ixzz1UVjyap8B
Lib Dems move to decriminalise ALL personal drug use and to allow controlled use of cannabis
By Tim Shipman
Liberal Democrats will vote to legalise cannabis and decriminalise all other personal drug use under plans put forward for approval at their party conference.
Nick Clegg’s party bosses have given the green light for a debate on the controversial proposal which would mean a ‘regulated market’ in marijuana overseen by the Government.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s aides expect party members to adopt the plan, making it official Lib Dem policy and creating tensions with Mr Clegg’s Tory partners in the Coalition.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022613/Lib-Dems-decriminalise-ALL-personal-drug-use-allow-controlled-use-cannabis.html#ixzz1UVisFbJD