By John Ingold
The Denver Post

 
Supporters of looser marijuana laws in Colorado have filed two more proposed initiatives aiming for the November ballot.
The two new initiatives — one that would legalize marijuana possession for any purpose and one that would expand the types of conditions for which a person can receive medical marijuana — add to a list of three initiatives already filed. One of those previously filed initiatives would legalize limited marijuana possession and has already qualified for the ballot. The other two are still seeking the needed language-approvals or signatures.
Ofthe newly filed initiatives , one — now known asProposed Initiative No. 70 — would make it a constitutional right to possess up to four ounces of marijuana for people 21 and older. The initiative would also allow for marijuana to be sold in stores that are regulated like tobacco businesses.
The other new initiative,Proposed Initiative No. 65 , would give doctors discretion to recommend marijuana for any medical condition. Currently, a doctor must diagnose a patient with one of eight medical conditions in order for the patient to qualify for medical marijuana. A valid doctor’s recommendation is all that is needed under state law to be able to use medical marijuana legally.
Those new initiatives join an already crowded field of marijuana measures vying for attention.
Read complete article here:
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20165213/two-more-marijuana-initiatives-filed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozJ-ccVrPkI&feature=share

POMPANO, FL — On Tuesday at 3pm Medical Marijuana literally hits the road in South Florida. Two 48 foot billboards urging passage of medical marijuana for Floridians will be unveiled. Strategically placed on Pompano’s busiest thoroughfare Sample Rd between Powerline Rd and Military Trail, just across from Costco, these signs carry a potent message.
 

 
The giant billboards are sponsored by The Silver Tour, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating senior voters about medical marijuana. The Silver Tour’s founder, and Director of NORML of Florida, Robert Platshorn is the man who convinced Lake Worth Representative Jeff Clemens to file Florida’s first bill for medical marijuana in Tallahassee. The billboards are part of a three prong plan to push for the passage of medical marijuana in Florida.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/drug-law/silver-tour-promotes-medical-marijuana-florida-billboards

by Scott Morgan
Christian Science Monitor has a bit of a reputation for launching rabid attacks  against the marijuana legalization movement, so you can imagine my surprise to find them advertising the high-end Volcano Vaporization System™ right next to an anti-legalization editorial.
 

 
What fun. Thanks to the targeted marketing geniuses at Google, Christian Science Monitor can collect revenue by promoting sleek vaporizers to the marijuana enthusiasts who stop by to laugh at the pathetic anti-pot propaganda they’re constantly publishing.
Now to be fair, it’s very possible that they never even had a clue this was happening. If you let them, Google will sell stuff in your sidebar that relates to the subject of the article on the page, and your site gets a cut according to the number of clicks. We do the same thing here at StoptheDrugWar.org, and we’ve occasionally noticed some really sleazy anti-drug propaganda and other questionable crap popping up in our ad space from time to time. We can reject specific ads, but it’s not an easy thing to monitor 24/7, and frankly I think it’s hilarious when I write an editorial trashing the idiotic drug policy ideas of some prohibitionist politician, only to have an ad for his presidential campaign pop up on the side of the page. It’s like these people are paying me to make fun of them.
 
Read complete article here:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2012/mar/12/irony_alert_antimarijuana_newspa

Lilian Kim

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fsan_francisco&id=8578658

Marcia Ishii-Eiteman
 

 
A raging public controversy over genetically engineered (GE) rice in China captured media attention in recent months, and has culminated in a surprising win. A few weeks ago, the country’s State Council released a new Draft Food Law¹ that, if passed, would protect the genetic resources of China’s food crops and restrict the application of GE technology in its main food crops.
This is significant progress in the effort by farmers and campaigners in China and indeed across Asia to protect the genetic integrity, diversity and heritage of their rice.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.panna.org/blog/china-puts-brakes-ge-rice

BY ANNE OUTWATER
 
A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal.
Pesticides are poisons designed to kill a variety of plants and animals such as insects (insecticides), weeds (herbicides), and mold or fungus (fungicides). Last week we talked about herbicides and genetically modified organisms; this week we will consider insecticides.
Herbicide tolerant crops comprise about 80% of all GM plants. The other 20% are corn and cotton varieties that produce insecticide in every cell. This is accomplished due to a gene from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, which produces a natural insect-killing poison called Bt toxin.
For years, even organic farmers and others have sprayed crops with solutions containing natural Bt bacteria as a method of insect control. In Tanzania it has been used by DSM city council as a mosquito larvicide. The toxin creates holes in the stomachs of the victims and kills them. Genetic engineers take the gene that produces the toxin in bacteria and insert it into the DNA of crops so that the plant does the work, not the farmer.
Crops such as Bt cotton produce pesticides inside the plant. This kills or deters insects – but it does so by being embedded into every cell of GMO plants. Corn and cotton: Food and clothing. The Bt-toxin produced in GM crops is “vastly different from the bacterial [Bt-toxins] used in organic and traditional farming and forestry.”7 The plant produced version is designed to be more toxic than natural varieties, and is about 3,000-5,000 times more concentrated than the spray form.
The plants themselves are toxic, and not just to insects. There are many problems associated with the whole environment (including the soil, other animals, food and clothing) being impregnated with toxins in the DNA of every cell. Each cell is being impregnated with poison, and these poisons are being let out as food and clothing.
 
Read complete article here:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201203121299.html

By Charmie Gholson
This story is the first in a series exploring the curative powers of marijuana, told from the perspective of the people who say they have used it to heal themselves.
These claims are not a part of a formal study and have not been evaluated by a scientific panel. They are documented observations of the patient and his treating physician. The American Cultivator believes in relaying these stories, with the hope that more research will be forced to fruition and assist in the reduction of patient suffering from chronic illness.
Mike McShane has endured five bouts of Squamous cell carcinoma cancer. He’s spent a million dollars and has been treated with radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery by this team of doctors at the Detroit Medical Center. Today, he believes the invasive treatments were unnecessary. He says he’s cured his latest bout with the disease using a highly concentrated form of marijuana oil called Simpson Oil.
 
Read complete article here:
http://themidwestcultivator.com/marijuana-news-features/02-2012/healed-how-i-cured-my-cancer-with-cannabis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScyxtU4iASM

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-by Vania Andre, Staff Writer; Image: LSD Stamps (Image Source: Nature.com)
 
 
There’s a case for legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, but what about LSD? A new report released Friday suggests LSD can be used to treat alcoholism.
LSD can prevent patients from relapsing during alcohol abuse treatment, researchers from Norwegian University of Science and Technology found.
“A single dose of LSD has a significant beneficial effect on alcohol misuse,” the researchers wrote.
The study was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
“LSD worked in an entirely different way than any current psychiatric drugs,” Teri Krebs, researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “Many patients said they had gained a new appreciation for their alcohol problem and new motivation to address it.”
The study involved 536 alcoholics. Two-thirds of the participants were given LSD. 59 percent of those given LSD did not relapse, compared to the 38 percent of those who were not given the drug.
“Given the evidence for a beneficial effect of LSD on alcoholism, it is puzzling why this treatment approach has been largely overlooked,” the researchers wrote in the study.
 
Read complete article here:
http://allmediany.com/details_news_article.php?news_artid=3533