By William Breathes

 
Dear Stoner: I found a few seeds in a bag last winter and planted them in my back yard earlier this spring. I know enough to know I lucked out in getting a female plant, but when exactly do I harvest this thing? I can’t find any definitive answers.
 
Full Article:
http://www.westword.com/2013-09-12/news/harvesting-pot-plants/

by Ali Bay

 
Legislation that allows California farmers to be prepared to grow industrial hemp upon federal approval has cleared the Assembly. SB 566, authored by Senator Mark Leno, would permit growers in the Golden State to cultivate industrial hemp for the sale of seed, oil and fiber to manufacturers and businesses that currently rely on international imports for raw hemp products. The bill, which is co-authored by Assemblymember Allan Monsoor, R-Costa Mesa, and has received strong bipartisan support in both houses, would go into effect once the federal government lifts its ban on hemp cultivation.
 
Full Article:
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Industrial_Hemp_Bill_Passes_California_Assembly_11826.html

by GAIL JOHNSON

By ASU News
 
Industrial hemp, healthy houses and a greener future for America are the topics of filmmaker Linda Booker’s latest documentary “Bringing it Home.” Booker will screen her film at Appalachian State University at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in room 114 in Belk Library and Information Commons.

The event is free and open to the public. See clips from the movie and learn more athttp://www.bringingithomemovie.com. For more information, contact Tom Hansell at University Documentary Film Services at 828-262-7730 orhansellts@appstate.edu.
“Bringing it Home” tells the story of a father’s search to find the healthiest building materials to protect his family from illness. His search leads to the construction of the nation’s first hemp house. Hemp is a non-toxic, energy-efficient, mildew, fire and pest resistant building material. The drawback: industrial hemp is currently illegal to farm in the United States.
 
Full Article:
http://www.news.appstate.edu/2013/09/10/bringing-it-home/

ERIC LEVENSON

 
Colorado legalized marijuana for those over 21 in a ballot initiative last year, but exactly how the state would regulate the sale, advertising, and use of marijuana was unclear until Tuesday. The Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado’s Department of Revenue released a 136-page document [PDF] laying out how it will deal with weed. Marijuana sellers will be able to advertise on Coloradans’ TVs, newspapers, and radio stations. But state and local ballot initiatives in Denver specifically could create significant taxes on marijuana sales.
 
Full Article:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/09/what-colorados-weed-regime-will-look-denver-pot-marijuana-joint-protest/69259/

Posted by Johnny Green

 
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a first-ever Senate hearing on the issue of marijuana legalization and the tension between state and federal marijuana laws. Last November, Colorado and Washington became the first political jurisdictions in the world to approve the legal regulation of marijuana. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have also approved the medical use of marijuana. On August 29, the Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors instructing them not to interfere with state marijuana laws – as long as a number of stipulations are adhered to, such as preventing distribution to minors.
“On the one hand, it’s hard to fathom why the Senate had to wait until twenty states had legalized marijuana for medical purposes, and two more had legalized it more broadly, before taking up this issue for the first time,’ said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.  “But, that said, Senator Leahy’s leadership on this issue is highly welcome, and suggests that the Senate at last is acknowledging the remarkable shift in public opinion and state laws involving marijuana.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.theweedblog.com/tomorrow-historic-u-s-senate-hearing-on-marijuana-legalization/

By Margaret Speirs – Terrace Standard

By PhillyNORML

 

PHILADELPHIA, PA — After years of close study, the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) has released a new position on medical cannabis.

“It is the position of PSNA that medical marijuana is worthy of further rigorous clinical testing. In order to weigh the true risks and benefits of medical marijuana, there must be a discussion and openness at the federal level regarding the conversion of marijuana from a Schedule I to Schedule II drug classification. Schedule II classification would allow testing of consistent grade medical marijuana in a randomized controlled fashion in order to ascertain the drug’s risk/benefit profile for a multitude of illnesses and symptoms. In addition, PSNA supports protection from prosecution for patients who currently use medicinal marijuana or for providers suggesting medicinal marijuana for relief of intractable conditions or symptoms. Lastly, PSNA shares concerns about the delivery system of smoking medication and, if this drug is approved, encourages the development of a more efficient drug delivery system.” Source – www.psna.org
 
Full Article:
http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/25540/pennsylvania-state-nurses-association-releases-new-cannabis-position/

Posted By: SAM TRETHEWEY

 
TO the untrained eye industrial hemp looks and smells identical to the infamous illicit ‘pot’ plant. The problem is there’s little to suggest our short-sighted government can’t tell the difference either, despite efforts from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
 
I’ve only ever smoked three things in my life.
 
The first was a puff of a “barky” (rolled up bark off a gumtree) behind the wood shed when I was 13. Its flavour, in a word: bushfire. Symptoms: watery eyes, coughing, sore throat, sick tummy and consequent concern about my own levels of stupidity.
 
The second was a decade later in Amsterdam. Given marijuana’s legality there, I tried to be ultra cool as I choofed on a doobie. Flavour: Musky and herbaceous. Symptoms: bloodshot eyes, coughing, dizziness, extreme hunger and then immediate tiredness. Actually, it was much like Kevin Rudd’s Saturday night following the election: confused, disappointed and in bed by 10pm.
 
The third was in Queensland. At a party on a farm, a neighbour who was a commercial hemp grower brought around a mature plant for show-and-tell. Hours later during a game of truth and dare the inevitable happened and it was chopped, rolled and smoked. Flavour: see marijuana description. Symptoms: see “barky” – nothing.
 
Full Article:
http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/blogs/think-clearly-get-muddy/high-time-for-hemp/2670800.aspx?storypage=0

By Associated Press

 
TRENTON, N.J.—The Assembly has approved a major change to New Jersey’s fledgling medical marijuana program.
Monday’s vote will allow dispensaries to grow and sell more than three varieties of pot to patients and provide the drug in an edible form to children.
 
Full Article:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/282155-nj-passes-modified-bill-on-medical-pot-for-children/