Month: June 2012

Lawsuit Accuses Police of Ignoring Directive on Marijuana Arrests

Jeannie Herer

 

By WENDY RUDERMAN and JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

 

Nine months ago, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly issued a memorandum directing police officers not to make misdemeanor arrests for possession of small quantities of marijuana discovered when suspects are ordered to empty their pockets in stop, question and frisk encounters.
But police officers have continued to charge New Yorkers with misdemeanor crimes — rather than issuing them tickets for violations — for possession of small amounts of marijuana despite Mr. Kelly’s directive, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday by the Legal Aid Society.
“It’s certainly a sad commentary that the commissioner can issue a directive that reads well on paper but on the street corners of the city doesn’t exist,” said Legal Aid’s chief lawyer, Steven Banks.
The 28-page lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan against the city and the Police Department, seeks a court order declaring the practice illegal under state law and prohibiting officers from making such arrests.
 
Read complete article here:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/in-lawsuit-police-officers-are-accused-of-ignoring-directive-on-marijuana-arrests/

Political Activist Randy Credico Smokes Pot in Capitol to Protest Biased Arrests for Pot

Jeannie Herer

Manager, Media Relations, Drug Policy Alliance
Earlier this week, political activist and comedian Randy Credico engaged in a novel protest and civil disobedience inside of the New York State Capitol building: he smoked a joint. Credico’s protest was aimed directly at the Senate Republicans, who killed a smart proposal to expand the state’s current marijuana decriminalization law. The sensible proposal to reduce the ghastly number of costly, biased and unlawful arrests for marijuana possession was introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo and enjoyed the overwhelming support of both drug policy advocates and law enforcement officials from across the state. After learning of the Senate Republicans’ plan to kill the bill, Credico took action: he went to the Capitol, lit up and smoked a joint in the door way of the Albany Times Union, located in the press area.
I talked to Credico, who said, “I did this to protest the inhumane action of the NYS Senate who refused to pass legislation which the Governor and Assembly proposed.” Credico, who is mulling a run for mayor of New York City, is vehemently opposed to current stop and frisk policies conducted in New York City, which resulted in the arrest of over 50,000 individuals last year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-papa/political-activist-randy-_b_1616230.html
 
 
 

A green, growing industry

Jeannie Herer

Liina Flynn
NEXT spring, rather than planting the usual crops, why not plant industrial hemp?
GROWING INDUSTRY: A harvest of hemp crops at Ashfield.       
Inset: Klara Marosszeky.
 
NEXT spring, rather than planting the usual crops, why not plant industrial hemp? According to Northern Rivers Hemp, there’s a massive demand nationally and internationally for industrial hemp and a shortage of supply.
Klara Marosszeky from The Australian Hemp Masonry Company said local farmers thinking about a change can get much bigger returns from growing industrial hemp than they can from other crops.
“Farmers can get $500 per tonne for fibre and you can get at least 10 tonnes from one hectare,” Klara said. “In this region, we have trialled 18 industrial hemp cultivar varieties over the last eight years on every soil type – it will grow nearly anywhere except in water-logged places. It’s a very versatile and hardy plant and will grow with half the water needed to grow lucerne.”
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.echonews.com.au/story/2012/06/21/a-green-growing-industry/

Step aside Amsterdam – Uruguay set to legalise cannabis

Jeannie Herer

By Jahn Vannisselroy
weed.jpg
 
“We believe that the prohibition of certain drugs is creating more problems for society than the drugs themselves… with disastrous consequences,” Defence Minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro said.
“Homicides related to settling scores have increased, and that’s a clear sign that certain phenomena are appearing in Uruguay that didn’t exist before,” he said.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.tntmagazine.com/travel/news/step-aside-amsterdam—uruguay-set-to-legalise-cannabis

Large union endorses Oregon Cannabis Tax Act

Jeannie Herer

By Portland Business Journal
Large union endorses Oregon Cannabis Tax Act
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union has voted to endorse the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. (Photo courtesy Portland Business Journal)
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 555, has voted to endorse Initiative 9, known as the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, thePortland Business Journal reported.
The measure would tax and regulate cannabis for adults over the age of 21.
The union believes that regulating the growth and sale of cannabis would help kick start an agricultural hemp industry in Oregon.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.katu.com/news/business/Large-union-endorses-Oregon-Cannabis-Tax-Act-UFCW-159618765.html
 
 

Baby Soap Triggers False-Positive Test Results For Marijuana

Jeannie Herer


Image Credit: Photos.com

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com
 
Marijuana screening tests performed on newborns can be contaminated by use of common baby soaps and shampoos that give false-positive results, a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has found.
According to the researchers, just a minute amount — 0.1 milliliters or less — of the products found in a urine sample was enough to give the positive result. The results could prove frightening for parents, who, in some states, may have their children taken away because of a false-positive screening.

Read complete article here:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112642452/baby-soap-triggers-false-positive-test-results-for-marijuana/
 

First Hempcrete Building Course Taught In The USA

Jeannie Herer

hempcrete
 
Hempcrete is breathable, has thermal inertia and latent heat characteristics, and produces an ‘echoing’ effect of self cooling or heating. Hempcrete buildings keep a even temperature year round and create a healthy living environment and air quality. On top of all that, hempcrete has been calculated to be overall a carbon negative product. It is pretty amazing to shutter a wall, pour in the hempcrete, give it a light tamping, remove the shutter, and before you know it you have a living breathing wall!
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.theweedblog.com/first-hempcrete-building-course-taught-in-the-usa/

WA: Here’s A Way to Collect Legalization Signatures & Get Paid

Jeannie Herer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~
signature-gathering.png
The Weed Blog
 
Wanna get paid $3 per signature while gathering for Washington state’s Cannabis Child Protection Act, I-514?

Seriously? Yes, but the details will surprise you.
It’s a bit of a twist not seen in volunteer-supported campaigns, but Toke of the Town is about to pass along to Washington State cannabis reform activists something they’ve been lacking the past few years: the opportunity to collect signatures to legalize (remove penalties for adults, felonies for minors, allow home growing) for cannabis AND adjust I-502’s bad effects (if it passes) by requiring video evidence of impairment before anyone’s blood can be used in a DUI case, all while making cash money.
Read complete article here:

Hemp Homes Grow a Movement

Jeannie Herer

Push Design made news with a beautiful Hemp House  in Asheville, North Carolina.  It received significant media attention — notwithstanding a multitude of jokes conflating industrial hemp and marijuana.  Now, hemp is being used for more projects, as shown in the above video from CBS Minnesota.  Due to strict regulations, hemp is imported and mixed with water and lime to create a light, insulating, concrete-like mass for walls.
Proponents of hemp as a building material say it’s non-toxic, mold-resistant, mildew-resistant, non-flammable, formaldehyde-free, and perfect for people with chemical sensitivities.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.jetsongreen.com/2012/06/industrial-hemp-home-building-movement.html