By Eric W. Dolan

 
CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon, apologized on Wednesday for publicly opposing marijuana legalization, saying science was clearly on the side of the drug.
“I think we have been terribly and systematically misled in this country for some time, and I did part of that misleading,” he told CNN host Piers Morgan.
 
Full Article:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/07/cnns-sanjay-gupta-americans-terribly-and-systematically-misled-about-marijuana/

By Saundra Young

Charlotte Figi had her first seizure when she was 3 months old. Over the next few months, the girl, affectionately called Charlie, had frequent seizures lasting two to four hours, and she was hospitalized repeatedly.
 
Is marijuana bad, or could it be good for some? CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta spent a year traveling around the world to shed light on the debate. Catch his groundbreaking documentary “WEED” at 8 p.m. ET August 11 on CNN.
 
Full Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-child-medical-marijuana/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Vanessa Waltz

PHOTO: Meghan Wilson and her daughter, Vivian, who suffers from Dravet Syndrome.
 
“A little less panicky, but more tired than ever before.  So violent with biting, hitting and scratching, ripping the leads off, and just wanting to crawl out of his skin with not being able to sit still…. No sleep for either Jaxs or I. Every time he fell asleep, then 20 minutes later a seizure. So, he fought sleep and had that panicked ‘I am dying’ fear in his eyes that expressed so much confusion and loss at what was happening. Most helpless I have felt so far in 14 years.”
-From the journal of Jennie Stormes
The words are chilling, heartbreaking, every parent’s worst nightmare. Jaxs has Dravet Syndrome, a rare, incurable form of severe childhood epilepsy.
But the symptoms Jennie describes are not from Dravet Syndrome itself – they are symptoms of withdrawals from one of the dozens of drugs her son Jaxs has been prescribed over the past 14 years to treat Dravet.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/08/07/cannabis-the-first-line-medication-for-treating-childhood-epilepsy/
 

By Ray Stern

 
Dozens of medical-pot dispensaries dot the state from nearly every corner since the first one, Arizona Organix of Glendale, opened in November.
A recent newsletter to patients released by the state Department of Health and obtained byNew Times shows the addresses of 48 of these pioneering businesses, which teeter on the edge of a popular state law and a whimsically applied federal prohibition against cannabis.
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2013/08/arizona_medical_marijuana_list.php

by TheJointBlog

 
Cannabis is on the verge of being legalized in Uruguay, with the nation’s House of Representatives recently passing a president-backed legalization measure which has enough support in the Senate to be approved. Once the law takes effect, cannabis possession and private home cultivation will be legalized for adults 18 and older, as will government-authorized sales through cannabis clubs and designated pharmacies.
Under the proposed regulation system, cannabis will be sold at only $2.5 per gram,according to Univision.
 
Full Article:
http://thejointblog.com/legal-cannabis-in-uruguay-to-be-2-5-per-gram/

Reuters
 
By John Shiffman and Kristina Cooke
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.
Although these cases rarely involve national security issues, documents reviewed by Reuters show that law enforcement agents have been directed to conceal how such investigations truly begin – not only from defense lawyers but also sometimes from prosecutors and judges.
The undated documents show that federal agents are trained to “recreate” the investigative trail to effectively cover up where the information originated, a practice that some experts say violates a defendant’s Constitutional right to a fair trial. If defendants don’t know how an investigation began, they cannot know to ask to review potential sources of exculpatory evidence – information that could reveal entrapment, mistakes or biased witnesses.
 
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/dea-surveillance-cover-up_n_3706207.html?ir=Politics&utm_campaign=080513&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-politics&utm_content=Title

 
Once considered a more underground activity, marijuana has become increasingly popular over the years, resulting in legalization to grow, sell and smoke it in states like Colorado and Washington.  Cannabis has become one of the most controversial topics in America, but just decades ago it was a legitimate medication on U.S. formulary.  No matter the circumstance, the debate over marijuana still exists and one question remains the same.  Is marijuana bad for you or, could it actually be good for you?
In “Weed” – a one hour documentary premiering on Sunday, August 11^th at 8 pm ET – CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta spends nearly a year traveling the globe to shed light on the debate.
 
Full Article:
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/05/weed-drsanjaygupta-reports-premieres-on-cnn-sunday-august-11-at-8-pm-et/

 
By Rhiannon Mills, Sky Correspondent
Officials in Newport are on the look-out for a mystery gardener after cannabis plants were apparently spotted in council pots.
Around 30 of the illegal plants were photographed in the flower displays close to the city’s castle and high street.
However, by the time council gardeners were told about the distinctive plants they had disappeared.
Steve Reynolds, who owns a shop in the indoor market, said he smelt the plants before he saw them.
“It was about a week ago we spotted them,” he said.
“Walking into work I would see the council there with their vans watering the plants every morning, so the person who planted them also had the advantage of the council tending them.”
 
Full Article:
http://news.sky.com/story/1124919/cannabis-found-in-newport-flower-displays

The BMW i3, a new all-electric car which debuted on Monday, weights just 2,700 pounds, 800 pounds less than the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt. BMW achieved this by using a variety of low-weight materials –including plenty of hemp in the interior — to maximize fuel efficiency and driving range.
 
Full Article:
http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=30943

Angela Bacca

 
Savannah Lackey’s thin fingers rifle through stacks of neat, hand-written notes. She is vigilant, stunned and weary. She has been combing the notes over and over looking for the loophole that will reverse the nightmare she is living in. It has been 67 days since she has had her two young children, Fate Nature, 3, and Seed Sky, 11 months, forcibly removed from her custody at gunpoint.
“I have kind of rolled over, I do whatever they tell me to do. I mean, these are my children. I will do whatever they want me to do to get my children back,” she says. “I have heard that going public with my story could hurt my case. I have also been told it could help.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/08/05/savannah-lackeys-story-how-northern-california-law-enforcement-and-child-protective-services-profit-off-child-removal-2/