The new 2017-2018 Minnesota State FFA officer team. Top row (L-R) Maddie Weninger-State Sentinel, Eleora DeMuth-State Reporter, Kylee Kohls-State Secretary. Front row (L-R) Katie Benson-State President, Emily Pliscott-State Vice President, Spencer Flood-State Treasurer.
The 2017 State FFA convention came to a close on Tuesday April 26, following the fourth general session. For many FFA members, the convention is always a memorable high school event.
“I would have to say that this convention was probably one of the most successful as a FFA member. The sessions were so well planned out and that is in huge part due to the state officers from this past year as well as Mr. Joel Larsen, Ms. Rada and Ms. Tolosky,” said FFA member Maddie Weninger during a recent phone interview.
Full Article:
http://www.minnesotafarmguide.com/news/another-successful-year-for-minnesota-ffa/article_9f8d7db2-31c4-11e7-b98b-0b5b49676cc2.html
Author: Jeannie Herer
The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think
By Johann Hari
It is now one hundred years since drugs were first banned — and all through this long century of waging war on drugs, we have been told a story about addiction by our teachers and by our governments. This story is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we take it for granted. It seems obvious. It seems manifestly true. Until I set off three and a half years ago on a 30,000-mile journey for my new book, Chasing The Scream: The First And Last Days of the War on Drugs, to figure out what is really driving the drug war, I believed it too. But what I learned on the road is that almost everything we have been told about addiction is wrong — and there is a very different story waiting for us, if only we are ready to hear it.
Full Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-real-cause-of-addicti_b_6506936.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063
U.S. Congresswoman Tells Nevada To “Puff, Puff, Pass That Bill”
By Keith Mansur
A United States Congresswoman from Nevada told the Nevada Assembly that they need to advance the marijuana legislation they are considering, telling them to, “Puff, puff, pass that bill.”
In comments on Tuesday, April 18th, Rep. Dina Titus told the Nevada state legislators the Trump administrations immigration enforcement were “xenophobic policies” that had negatively impacted tourism in the state. She commended the legislators for the economic outlook for the state, and she encouraged them to pass their current marijuana legislation that will start the roll-out of the adult-use cannabis in the Silver State.
Full Article:
http://www.occnewspaper.com/u-s-congresswoman-tells-nevada-to-puff-puff-pass-that-bill/
These candies represent each pill this veteran takes each year. He’d prefer cannabis.
Joshua Lee, a disabled Missouri veteran, found viral fame last week when he posted a photo of 9,828 Smarties representing the pills he takes every year for his medical problems. Courtesy Joshua Lee
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article144193514.html#storylink=cpy
You don’t have to guess how many Smarties candies Joshua Lee stuffed into the plastic bag he holds in a photo that has gone viral.
He’ll tell you the number: 9,828.
They weigh just shy of 10 pounds. On most days it hurts for him to lift that much weight.
The disabled Missouri National Guard veteran went to two bulk candy stores in Jefferson City and Columbia to round up all those sugary pellets. When the stores didn’t have enough in bulk he bought wrapped ones.
He and his wife, Julia, unwrapped piles of the tiny rolls.
Lee, who is 33, posted his photo online last week, where it was met with shock and awe: Those candies represent the number of medications he takes on an annual basis.
“My medication schedule is a handful in the morning, six or eight at noon and another handful in the evening,” said Lee, who lives with his wife and two sons in Holts Summit.
The photo is the first salvo in Lee’s new mission: He’s become a foot soldier in the grassroots crusade to get medical marijuana legalized in Missouri.
Full Article:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article144193514.html
The BOSSest of them all: Jack Herer
Christopher Gallagher
Now, there are CannaBosses and there are CannaBOSSes. When you are the guy who writes the definitive book exposing the true causes behind Prohibition; when you have one of the all-time great cannabis strains named in your honor; when PBS does a documentary about your work in support of cannabis; when you spend your life traveling hundreds of thousands of miles advocating for the plant we love until you have had a stroke after one speech and a heart attack that claims your life after another. When this is your resume, the, you can join Jack Herer in that latter category as a stone cold CannaBOSS.
Full Article:
http://www.dgomag.com/articles/1717-the-bossest-of-them-all-jack-herer
Hempcrete subdivision
HANNAH BARTLETT
MARION VAN DIJK/FAIRFAX NZ A section at 42 St Lawrence St has been given council sign-off as a special housing area.
A steep block of land in Nelson’s Victory Square suburb could soon be home to a new subdivision constructed using hempcrete.
The Nelson City Council has approved four new special housing areas (SHAs) as part of the Housing Accord, which is an agreement between councils and central government intended to boost housing supply.
A 15-lot block of land at 42 St Lawrence St is included in the suite of new SHAs.
The Nelson City Council has approved four new special housing areas (SHAs) as part of the Housing Accord, which is an agreement between councils and central government intended to boost housing supply.
A 15-lot block of land at 42 St Lawrence St is included in the suite of new SHAs.
Full Article:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/91083770/steep-block-of-land-earmarked-as-nelson-special-housing-area
Let Timmy Smoke: It’s Time to Open Baseball’s Hidden Cannabis Culture
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Reportedly Wants NFL To Stop Banning Cannabis
Bruce Y. Lee
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recent reported position on marijuana may make him more
As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, I by definition cannot agree with anything that the Dallas Cowboys do, unless they choose to send all of their top players to the Eagles. However, at the recent National Football League (NFL) owners-only meeting in Arizona, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may have offered an interesting suggestion: stop banning marijuana use among NFL players. Of course, I wasn’t part of this meeting, since owning an Eagles game ticket stub does not constitute owning the team. Therefore, this information is based on reports from Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk. Before jumping to agree or disagree with Jones’ suggestion, let’s take a look at the situation.
Full Article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2017/04/02/cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-reportedly-wants-nfl-to-stop-banning-marijuana/#7ea9d2fd5c87
South Africa High Court Just Legalized Private Cannabis Use
CHUCK LUDLEY
In a landmark ruling this morning, the Western Cape High Court in South Africa ruled that keeping weed illegal is unconstitutional. The decision marks a significant change in South Africa’s cannabis laws, effectively legalizing private cannabis use.
Full Article:
https://www.greenrushdaily.com/2017/03/31/south-africa-legalized-cannabis/
Therapeutic Ratio
A common medical way to determine drug safety is called the therapeutic ratio. This ratio defines the difference between a therapeutically effective dose and a dose which is capable of inducing adverse effects.
A commonly used over-the-counter product like aspirin has a therapeutic ratio of around 1:20. Two aspirins are the recommended dose for adult patients. Twenty times this dose, forty aspirins, may cause a lethal reaction in some patients, and will almost certainly cause gross injury to the digestive system, including extensive internal bleeding.
The therapeutic ratio for prescribed drugs is commonly around 1:10 or lower. Valium, a commonly used prescriptive drug, may cause very serious biological damage if patients use ten times the recommended (therapeutic) dose.
There are, of course, prescriptive drugs which have much lower therapeutic ratios. Many of the drugs used to treat patients with cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis are highly toxic. The therapeutic ratio of some of the drugs used in antineoplastic therapies, for example, are regarded as extremely toxic poisons with therapeutic ratios that may fall below 1:1.5. These drugs also have very low LD-50 ratios and can result in toxic, even lethal reactions, while being properly employed.
By contrast, marijuana’s therapeutic ratio, like its LD-50, is impossible to quantify because it is so high.
In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.
Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.
– FRANCIS L. YOUNG, DEA Administrative Law Judge
There are, of course, prescriptive drugs which have much lower therapeutic ratios. Many of the drugs used to treat patients with cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis are highly toxic. The therapeutic ratio of some of the drugs used in antineoplastic therapies, for example, are regarded as extremely toxic poisons with therapeutic ratios that may fall below 1:1.5. These drugs also have very low LD-50 ratios and can result in toxic, even lethal reactions, while being properly employed.
By contrast, marijuana’s therapeutic ratio, like its LD-50, is impossible to quantify because it is so high.
In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.
Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.
– FRANCIS L. YOUNG, DEA Administrative Law Judge