Police Chief Pitches Plan for More Pot

By Victoria Nguyen
 
A new proposal from Healdsburg’s police chief could allow medical marijuana users there to double the size of their medicinal gardens from what is allowed by state law.
Under the new regulations, patients would be able to cultivate up to 12 mature plants and 24 immature ones.
Put forward by Police Chief Kevin Burke, the plan includes several caveats. The first: All plants must be grown indoors.
Full Article:
http://sfbay.ca/2013/05/27/police-chief-pitches-plan-for-more-pot/

Medical marijuana helps senior sleep, contend with other problems of aging

BY THANDI FLETCHER, THE PROVINCE

Medical marijuana helps senior sleep, contend with other problems of aging

Cherie Scott, 86, was introduced to medical marijuana by her son when she was having difficulty sleeping. THANDI FLETCHER/PNG

 
Before Cherie Scott goes to sleep every night, the 86-year-old has a sweet bedtime snack: a marijuana cookie.
With her chic bob hairstyle and tweed blazer, Scott — who prefers to be addressed as “Mrs. Scott” — doesn’t exactly fit the stoner stereotype. Admittedly, before she tried it, she was totally against the drug.
“I thought the whole system, it was evil and addictive and you were a little cuckoo with it,” the Burnaby senior told The Province.
But when she found herself in a dire situation, unable to sleep after her husband died of lung cancer in 1980, Scott said she was desperate for relief. Fearing she would become addicted to sleeping pills, Scott’s son suggested she try marijuana.
Mitch D’Kugener, who has a doctor’s prescription, smoked pot to alleviate symptoms of his attention deficit disorder and arthritis pain, and he thought it might also help his mom.
“Now she’s having the best sleep that she’s had in the last 30 years,” he said. “Her quality of life has improved.”
Full Article:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Medical+marijuana+helps+senior+sleep+contend+with+other+problems+aging/8437483/story.html

California Industrial Hemp Farming Act Approved by Senate Committee

By Thomas H. Clarke
hemp field
 
SACRAMENTO, CA — A bill that would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp received a favorable report from a Senate committee on Thursday, who recommended the bill’s passage by a vote of 7-0.
The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, Senate Bill 566, was given the green light by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and has previously been approved by the Committee on Public Safety by a 5-0 vote.  The bill will now be scheduled for a third reading by the full California Senate.
If passed, the bill sponsored by state Senator Mark Leno and Assemblyman Allan R. Mansoor  would revise the state definition of “marijuana” to exclude industrial hemp, and would establish a licensing procedure for farmers wishing to cultivate industrial hemp.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/18212/california-industrial-hemp-farming-act-avances/

Oregon Medical Marijuana Raids: A Higher Police Priority than Stopping Rapes?

By Anthony Johnson, National Cannabis Coalition
More than 70 law enforcement officers participated in raids against Lori Duckworth and other medical marijuana providers, but no officer could assist a woman who called 911 begging for help.
More than 70 law enforcement officers participated in raids against Lori Duckworth and other medical marijuana providers, but no officer could assist a woman who called 911 begging for help.
 
While many of us are gearing up for our Memorial Holiday weekend filled with fun, friends and family, I can’t help but think about my friend Lori Duckworth and an Oregon woman whose cries for help on a 911 call might as well have fallen on deaf ears.
More than 70 law enforcement officers participated in raids against Lori Duckworth and other medical marijuana providers, but no officer could assist a woman who called 911 begging for help.Lori won’t be enjoying her holiday weekend as she sits in a jail cell because she has provided medicine to Oregon medical marijuana patients that can legally possess up to 24 ounces of medical cannabis.  I only hope that the woman that suffered a horrible attack because no law enforcement officer could come to her aid is doing well and has recuperated as much as possible from such a harrowing ordeal.
While these two matters may seem unrelated, I think that they are completely intertwined and they help demonstrate the society we currently live in and provide us with a picture of where we are headed if we don’t better prioritize our resources.
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/18190/oregon-medical-marijuana-raids-a-higher-police-priority-than-stopping-rapes/

New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan: Help patients who can’t wait two or more years for medical marijuana

 
 
Because my weight is down to 63 pounds, and there are many other patients like me who can’t afford to wait.
As a 28-year-old battling muscular dystrophy, I’ve been fighting for my life since I lost my ability to walk at age 13.
I know from personal experience that medical marijuana works for me, having spent a summer in California several years ago. In the months that I was able to use it legally, I gained more than 10 pounds and was able to stop taking prescription pain medicines altogether. There is no cure for my condition, but medical marijuana relieves my pain and stimulates my appetite, dramatically improving my quality of life when I’m able to use it.
I have been asking New Hampshire legislators to allow patients like me to use medical marijuana for nearly a decade, and it finally appears that a medical marijuana bill is going to pass this year. Unfortunately, it appears this law may not be of any benefit to patients like me who are fighting for our lives.
 
Full Article:
http://www.change.org/petitions/new-hampshire-governor-maggie-hassan-help-patients-who-can-t-wait-two-or-more-years-for-medical-marijuana-2

From Michigan to the White House: Marijuana Activist Plans to Roll Wheelchair 520 Miles for Legalization

by TheJointBlog
curtis
Curtis G. Kile, Michigan resident and marijuana activist
 
Throughout cannabis prohibition, people have been fighting to end the devastating policy. Now Curtis Kile, Michigan resident and cannabis activist, is gearing up for a demonstration to declare legalization as the only rational option.
Curtis is preparing for the first ever “Cannabis Roll” – he is going to roll his wheelchair from his front door in Taylor, Michigan, to the White House in Washington, D.C..
The 520 mile journey in support of legalization is scheduled to begin June 14th, and end July 4th, Independence Day, at the front door of the White House, where Kile hopes to have the opportunity to speak to President Obama about the necessity of cannabis legalization, as stated in this letter sent to the President:

February 1,2013
 
Dear President Obama,
My name is Curtis G. Kile and I am writing you as a concerned American, but most of all a concerned parent in regards to the current state of our country. I am a 52 year old single parent that had to over come many challenges in my life due to being born with Cerebral Palsy which has confined me to living my life in the sitting position since I am confined to a wheel chair. I was really excited when you ran for the office of the president of the united states because I also believed it was time for a change in American politics and our country as a whole.
I am compelled to carry out the mission that my late father Charles Curtis Kile Jr. started over 3 decades ago with an organization that he founded called United Marijuana Smokers Of Michigan. My father was an auto worker who became addicted to alcohol like many other Americans it did nothing but practically destroyed his life. It wasn’t until my father stopped drinking and started using cannabis did he realize that using his words (this plant is truly a gift from God). He would do research and find out that cannabis was also good for many other things including that of medicine for the sick and could even help repair major damage done to our planet by the human race just to name a few. He was dedicated to legalization of cannabis and vowed to tell the truth about this plant and see that it was legalized.
In my opinion, your first term as president was a rough one and I applaud your efforts in trying to revive our American economy. I like the fact that you have an open door policy when it comes to inviting citizens to the white house that have innovative ideas that can help get the United States on the right track again. We need a country where it is a safe place for our children and many generations to come to that have a chance to achieve the American dream. I am not rich, I am just a regular American and I have many common sense ideas that can save the planet as a whole after all we are all human beings.
I live in Taylor Michigan, on June 14, 2013 I am going to roll my wheel chair from my home to the front door of your house the white house and I plan to arrive there on the 4th of July to discuss the legalization of Cannabis and many other issues to stimulate and repair not only our economy but the planet as a whole. If you truly have an open door policy I invite you to meet me at the white house and allow me to show you my plan to bring peace, prosperity and end poverty in our country and save the planet.
I truly hope that you will take a few moments to meet with me, God bless you and your family.
 
Sincerely,
Curtis G. Kile
 
Full Article:
http://thejointblog.com/from-michigan-to-the-white-house-marijuana-activist-plans-to-roll-wheelchair-520-miles-for-legalization/

Ohio Cannabis Rights amendment clears hurdle. If approved, ballot issue would legalize marijuana in Ohio.

MCT REGIONAL NEWS

 
The Ohio Ballot Board, chaired by Secretary of State Jon Husted, on Thursday determined that a proposed constitutional amendment regarding cannabis consists of one issue.
Petitioners will now need to collect 385,253 signatures, which is equal to 10 percent of the total vote cast for governor in 2010, to place the measure on the ballot. As part of the total number of signatures needed, petitioners must also collect signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and within each of those counties, collect enough signatures equal to five percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, 2010.
 
Full Article:
http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/2656476

Industrial Hemp Facts – Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture

Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa and is of the same plant species as marijuana. However, hemp is genetically different and distinguished by its use and chemical makeup. Industrial hemp refers to cannabis varieties that are primarily grown as an agricultural crop. Hemp plants are low in THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana’s primary psychoactive chemical). THC levels for hemp generally are less than 1 percent. Federal legislation that would exclude hemp from the legal definition of marijuana would set a ceiling of 0.3 percent THC for a cannabis variety to be identified as hemp. Marijuana refers to the flowering tops and leaves of psychoactive cannabis varieties, which are grown for their high content of THC. THC levels for marijuana average about 10 percent but can go much higher.

Industrial hemp products, production, and markets

Hemp products
      Some estimate that the global market for hemp consists of more than

25,000 products

    , including:

 

  • fabrics and textiles
  • yarns and raw or processed spun fibers
  • paper
  • carpeting
  • home furnishings
  • construction and insulation materials
  • auto parts
  • composites
  • animal bedding
  • foods and beverages
  • body care products
  • nutritional supplements
  • industrial oils
  • cosmetics
  • personal care
  • pharmaceuticals

 
An estimated 55,700 metric tons of industrial hemp are produced around the world each year. China, Russia, and South Korea are the leading hemp-producing nations. They account for 70 percent of the world’s industrial hemp supply.
Canada had 38,828 licensed acres of industrial hemp in 2011. Canadian exports of hemp seed and hemp products were estimated at more than $10 million, with most going to the U.S.
 
See it all here:
http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/industrial-hemp.html

Exclusive: A close look at the Qwic Tulp Hempscooter

By David Graus
Exclusive: A close look at the Qwic Tulp Hempscooter
 
Let it be no secret that we in Amsterdam like our greens. And so do the people at QWIC! Their Tulp electric scooter is green in every way imaginable: made out of hemp-composite, this electric scooter is totally bio-degradable, silent, clean and durable!

The Tulp

Vaniek Colenbrander shows the Tulp

A week ago, on a very rainy day, me and Augustus visited QWIC’s headquarters, to take a closer look at their Tulp-scooter (Augustuswrote about earlier). Sadly it was too rainy outside to take the Tulp out for a spin. Vaniek Colenbrander welcomed us: the right guy to talk to as he basically designed the Tulp during an internship at QWIC, in 2008 when he was studying Industrial Design at Delft University. During this period he worked on the design and concept of the sustainable hemp-scooter. Later that year he pulled in a nice subsidy which kick started the actual development of the Tulp. The money was most welcome as the total costs of the prototype are at an estimate of €100.000. Approximately half of that is for lab tests, and the other half for actually producing the thing. Incredibly, the costs of the hemp-composite outer-shell is a mere €20!
 
Full Article:
http://www.techthefuture.com/energy/a-close-look-at-the-qwic-tulp-hempscooter/