Medical Marijuana Blog

Poll: 74 Percent of Americans, Including 67 Percent of Republicans, Want Obama to End Medical Marijuana Crackdown

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:51:00 +0000

What the people want Obama!

A poll conducted earlier this month by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research on behalf of the Marijuana Policy Project finds that 76 percent of Americans want President Barack Obama to end his crackdown on medical marijuana in states where medicinal use of the plant is legal.

According to MPP's release, "Support for keeping the federal government out of state medical marijuana issues was universal across all demographics. With respect to political affiliation, 75% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans, and, notably 79% of Independents said that President Obama should respect state medical marijuana laws. Even among the least supportive group (those identified as over 65 years of age), 64% were in favor of respecting state law."

You can read the full breakdown of the poll here. Below is a shot of the breakdown by political affiliation, age, and ethnicity:

Another poll out today, this one from Public Policy Polling, finds that 65 percent of New Hampshire residents support legalizing medical marijuana.

In October 2011, the polling firm Gallup reported that for the first time 50 percent of Americans thought marijuana should be legal, while 46 percent felt that it should remain illegal.

Source: Poll: 74 Percent of Americans, Including 67 Percent of Republicans, Want Obama to End Medical Marijuana Crackdown

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Congress either violated the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 or they just legalized Medical Cannabis across the U.S.

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:41:00 +0000

California overwhelmingly supports Medical Cannabis, so because a FEW want it removed from certain areas, our rights as CA voters have been violated, because DC was allowed to have MMJ and that took an act of Congress. So either Congress violated the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 or they just legalized Medical Cannabis across the U.S. http://othersidefarms.com/blog/feds-continue-to-raid-after-congress-passed-medical-marijuana-laws-in-dc

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

How the Drug War Creates Collateral Damage

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:57:00 +0000

88-year-old Bob Wallace, and his 85-year-old girlfriend, Marjorie Ottenberg fell in love 35 years ago backpacking to the tops of the highest peaks in the world.

Wallace is a Stanford educated engineer and Ottenberg is a former chemist and decades ago they came up with a water purification product for backpackers like themselves called Polar Pure out of their garage in Saratoga, Calif.

“For an old guy with nothing else to do, this is something that keeps us occupied,” says Wallace.

Today, Wallace and Ottenberg are fighting the Drug Enforcement Administration and state officials to continue to operate their business. Why? The DEA says that drug dealers are using their product to make methamphetamine.

The DEA says meth heads are interested in Polar Pure’s key ingredient, iodine crystals.

In 2007 the DEA reclassified iodine as a controlled substance and named Polar Pure in particular as a product that was of concern to the DEA. The DEA told Wallace and Ottenberg, they could continue to operate their business but they would have to pay a $1,200 regulatory fee, register with the state and feds, report any suspicious activity and keep track of each and ever person who bought a bottle of their product.

Bob says that the overhead alone would be too much to pass onto customers.

“So that’s why I didn’t bother with their rules, because I would be out of business if I followed their regulations,” says Wallace.

The same went for camping stores and online outlets that stocked Polar Pure. Instead of dealing with the new regulations they just dropped the product, effectively killing Wallace and Ottenberg's business.

“Any time you deal with a government it’s a hassle,” says Ottenberg.

A spokeswoman for the DEA told the San Jose Mercury News that Wallace was “collateral damage.”

“They are being put out of business, they are totally being put out of business,” says Stephen Downing, a former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Downing says that that the DEA is the most out of control arm of the federal government today because they are given so much authority with very little oversight.

“Within the controlled substances act, the DEA is given authority chemicals as they come up,” says Downing. “To make it easy for federal enforcement people to so called, do their job and make their quotas and have their show-and-tells, they pass these regulations that impact innocent people.”

Downing also says that the metrics for stopping use and production of methamphetamine don’t make sense.

The Justice Department’s own National Drug Threat Assessment for 2011 said that the availability of methamphetamine was increasing in every region of the country and the rates of abuse were increasing as well.

About 6:47 minutes.

Written and produced by Paul Detrick. Field produced by Zach Weismuller and Sharif Matar.

Source: The Real Breaking Bad: How the Drug War Creates Collateral Damage

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

OtherSide Farms on Hemp Radio - The SoCal Miracle via Cannabee & a Voice From The "Otherside"

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Another great show with Hemp Radio. Hear the OtherSide of the OtherSide Farms story and a great discussion on the controversy on the current federal marijuana raids in California.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

US President and Genius Quotes on Hemp

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:50:00 +0000

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica."
"Prohibition. . . goes beyond the bound of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded"
- Abraham Lincoln

"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana."
- Jimmy Carter, U.S. President quote on Marijuana

"We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption."
- John Adams, U.S. President quote on Hemp

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country."
"An acre of the best ground for hemp, is to be selected and sewn in hemp and be kept for a permanent hemp patch."
- Thomas Jefferson's Garden book 1849

"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"
-George Washington, The Writings of George Washington Volume 33, page 270 (Library of Congress), 1794

"When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
"The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation's marijuana laws." -Barack Obama, January 2004
- Barack Obama, U.S. President quote on Marijuana

Other notable quotes:

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this."
- Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

"It really puzzles me to see marijuana connected with narcotics . . . dope and all that crap. It's a thousand times better than whiskey - it's an assistant - a friend."
- Louis Armstrong quote on Marijuana

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"
- Henry Ford, whose first Model-T was constructed from hemp fibers and built to run on hemp gasoline

"The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world."
- Carl Sagan, renown scientist, astronomer, astrochemist, author and TV host

"That is not a drug. It’s a leaf,"
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. President Wannabe quote on Marijuana

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Fun Facts about Hemp that you probably didn't know

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:46:00 +0000

The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp.

80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.

It was legal to pay taxes with Hemp in America from 1631 until the early 1800s.

Refusing to grow Hemp in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries was against the law. You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769.

Rembrants, Gainsboroughs, Van Goghs as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.

In 1916, the U.S. Government Dept. of Agriculture predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down.

For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for cannabis.

Hemp fuel is non-toxic, biodegradable and does not contribute to sulfur dioxide air poisoning.

In Feb. 1938, Popular Mechanics called Hemp a 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

The Case for Growing Your Own Medical Marijuana

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 03:38:00 +0000

Now that the eventual legalization of medical marijuana appears to be almost certain in the United States, everyone from the casual grower to big corporations are making plans to cash in. Although this might actually be what it takes to push this legislation through on the federal level, it could also mean that the patients who need this all-natural medicine the most will be the ones who can least afford it. After all, the US government never seems to have a problem taking a great idea and bastardizing it until it bears little resemblance to the original concept.

If you think that could never happen to medical marijuana, here are some statistics compiled by Change Strategy LLC that the big drug companies are watching closely:

The current US MMJ Industry is a $1.7 billion market.
This only covers the seven states that have legal markets.
Only 730,000 people are authorized MMJ patients as of 2011.
24.8 million people in the US have a condition that would qualify them to become MMJ patients.
The US MMJ market is expected to double within 5 years.

When you consider that the majority of MMJ patients suffer from chronic pain (88% in Colorado) and that narcotic pain medications are dirt cheap when purchased through legitimate channels, it doesn’t take a high IQ to figure out that the pharmaceutical companies would love to corner this market.

Know What You Put in Your Body
The one saving grace of most state MMJ laws is that they allow MMJ patients and/or their caregivers to grow a reasonable amount of cannabis for their own use. Not only does this sensible plan allow patients to keep their expenses low compared to purchasing from dispensaries, it also gives them control over what they’re putting into their bodies right down to what kind of fertilizer is used.

Choosing the Right Cannabis Seed
Believe it or not, all marijuana is not considered medicinal. In the past, breeders have focused on the recreational user and only sprinkled in a few random choices for the medicinal marijuana patient. Now that this market is expanding, so are your choices.

Here are a few top picks for the MMJ patient:

White Rhino (Seed) – Winner of the 1996 High Times Cannabis Cup for the best BIO strain, this is the quintessential cannabis seed grown for medicinal use, especially for pain and insomnia. White Rhino is easy to grow with intense physical effects, high yields and a sweet, fruity flavor.
Amnesia Haze (Seed) – This medicinal strain is usually recommended to relieve depression and loss of appetite. Amnesia Haze is one of the highest producing medicinal strains with yields that can reach up to two pounds per plant when grown outside. The flavor is typical of Sativa strains with hints of spice and nuts.
CBD Crew (Breeder) – This new breeder concentrates exclusively on high-CBD strains for medicinal use. When CBD is high in proportion to THC, it tempers the psychoactive properties, the high, and enhances the physical effects for more effective treatment options. CBD Crew’s most popular option right now is their Outdoor Mix package, a selection of five feminized outdoor medicinal seeds with even CBD to THC ratios.
Finest Medical Seeds (Breeder) – As an established MMJ breeder, Finest Medical offers classics like White Widow and Skunk along with newer blends like G13 and Peace Maker. Every cannabis seed in this lineup has been tested and refined to maximize the medicinal properties.

Obtain Your Seeds from a Trustworthy Source
Rhino Seeds has been a top supplier of high-quality cannabis seeds in the UK for more than 10 years, and they’ve just opened their shipping to the United States. Their seed bank includes thousands of products from more than 50 breeders including medicinal seeds, feminized seeds, high-THC seeds, classic strains, new releases and the upcoming Rhino Collection of Cannabis Seeds, their own signature line. Rhino Seeds takes pride in offering the best customer service in the industry in addition to an unbeatable guarantee, the lowest prices and the fastest shipping.

If it’s legal to do so in your area, the smartest choice is to grow your own medical marijuana from high-quality cannabis seeds. Always choose a strain that treats your specific symptoms and buy from a trusted source! Contact Rhino Seeds for more information. They’re happy to help.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Obama and Holder could end the wasteful war on marijuana by simply rescheduling

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Kimmel to Obama: What's With the Marijuana Crackdown?

While delivering his remarks at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner, comedian Jimmy Kimmel addressed the issue of marijuana legalization.

"What is with the marijuana crackdown? Seriously, what is the concern? We will deplete the nation's Funyun supply?" Kimmel said. "Pot smokers vote too. Sometimes a week after the election, but they vote."

Kimmel then posed a challenge to the crowd, which was made up of celebrities like Kim Kardashian and George Clooney.

"I would like everyone in this room to raise your hand if you've never smoked pot," Kimmel said.

Few hands went up.

Noting the crowd's reaction, Kimmel addressed President Barack Obama directly.

"Marijuana is something that real people care about," Kimmel said.

Obama, who recently said he doesn't "mind a debate" about drug legalization, has increased the crackdown on medical marijuana producers across the nation, including a recent high-profile raid on a California training school. He addressed the crackdown and attempted to clarify his 2008 comments that he was "not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws [on medical marijuana]" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone:

Speaking with Rolling Stone, the president tried to explain his original comments, claiming that the recent pressure on dispensaries and providers was in line with his intent.
"What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana," Obama said. "I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana -- and the reason is, because it's against federal law."

The president continued: "I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books.' What I can say is, 'Use your prosecutorial discretion and properly prioritize your resources to go after things that are really doing folks damage.' As a consequence, there haven't been prosecutions of users of marijuana for medical purposes."

Attorney General Eric Holder was a guest of The Huffington Post at the correspondents' dinner. Before it began, a HuffPost reporter noted to Holder that Obama's reference to "congressional law" was misleading because the executive branch could simply remove marijuana from its "schedule one" designation, thereby recognizing its medical use.

"That's right," Holder said.

After Kimmel's speech, a Holder deputy told HuffPost that there was no coordinated war on medical marijuana, but that some individual clinics were breaking both state and federal laws.

Title 21 United States Code (USC) Controlled Substances Act

Section 811. Authority and Criteria for Classification of Substances

(a) Rules and regulations of Attorney General; hearing

The Attorney General shall apply the provisions of this subchapter to the controlled substances listed in the schedules established by section 812 of this title and to any other drug or other substance added to such schedules under this subchapter. Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the Attorney General may by rule–

(1) add to such a schedule or transfer between such schedules any drug or other substance if he–

(A) finds that such drug or other substance has a potential for abuse, and

(B) makes with respect to such drug or other substance the findings prescribed by

[[Page 381]]

subsection (b) of section 812 of this title for the schedule in which such drug is to be placed; or

(2) remove any drug or other substance from the schedules if he finds that the drug or other substance does not meet the requirements for inclusion in any schedule.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Feds continue to Raid after Federal Congress passed Medical Marijuana Laws in Washington DC. Why?

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:17:00 +0000

Congress allows DC to implement 1998 medical marijuana law

If our Federal Congress allowed DC to implement the 1998 medical marijuana law, why do they continue using Federal resources to go after states who have voted on medical marijuana? What happened to the rights of voters?

House and Senate negotiations for the 2010 Appropriations bill have been completed. This is the huge federal budget bill and it just so happens that Washington DC is a federal district and its spending is controlled by Congress.

In 1998, DC passed a medical marijuana bill overwhelmingly, but Congressional drug warriors led by Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia prevented DC from spending any federal money to count the votes (that’s right, in our democracy’s capital, our leaders conspired to prevent citizens from counting votes in a legal election). When that was deemed unconstitutional, they spent the money to count the votes, showing that 69% of DC supported medical marijuana. So Rep. Barr created the “Barr Amendment” that prevented DC from spending any money to implement the medical marijuana program they had voted in.

Well, today’s 2010 Appropriations bill changes all that. In addition to removing bans on abortion, domestic partnerships, and needle exchange, Congress has given the go-ahead to begin implementing DC medical marijuana!

(US Senate) Removing Special Restrictions on the District of Columbia: Eliminates a prohibition on the use of local tax funds for abortion, thereby putting the District in the same position as the 50 states. Also allows the District to implement a referendum on use of marijuana for medical purposes as has been done in other states, allows use of Federal funds for needle exchange programs except in locations considered inappropriate by District authorities, and discontinues a ban on the use of funds in the bill for domestic partnership registration and benefits.

DC’s medical marijuana bill was written with the same sort of open language as was passed in California… will we be seeing marijuana dispensaries on K Street anytime soon?

Source: Congress allows DC to implement 1998 medical marijuana law

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

18 States with Pending Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:41:00 +0000

18 States with Pending Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana in 2012
(as of Mar. 8, 2012)

1. Alabama
2. Connecticut
3. Idaho
4. Illinois
5. Indiana
6. Iowa
7. Kansas
8. Maryland
9. Massachusetts
10. Mississippi
11. Missouri
12. New Hampshire
13. New York
14. Ohio
15. Oklahoma
16. Pennsylvania
17. West Virginia
18. Wisconsin

See States with Active Medical Marijuana Programs and see how Otherside Farms can help you in your state!

2010 States with Legislation or Ballot Measures to Legalize Medical Marijuana

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Delaware
4. District of Columbia
5. Illinois
6. Iowa
7. Kansas
8. Maryland
9. Massachusetts
10. Mississippi
11. Missouri
12. New Jersey
13. New York
14. North Carolina
15. Ohio
16. Pennsylvania
17. South Dakota
18. Tennessee
19. Wisconsin
20. Virginia

19 states and DC considered legislation or ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana in 2010. Two states (Arizona and New Jersey) and DC legalized medical marijuana, while 17 states did not.

See States with Active Medical Marijuana Programs and see how Otherside Farms can help you in your state!

2011 States with Legislation or Ballot Measures to Legalize Medical Marijuana

1. Alabama
2. Connecticut
3. Delaware
4. Florida
5. Idaho
6. Illinois
7. Iowa
8. Kansas
9. Massachusetts
10. Mississippi
11. New Hampshire
12. New York
13. North Carolina
14. Ohio
15. Oklahoma
16. Pennsylvania
17. Texas
18. West Virginia

18 states considered 28 pieces of legislation or ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana in 2011. One state (Delaware) legalized medical marijuana. 10 states carried over legislation into 2012. 7 states failed to pass pro-medical marijuana measures. Maryland passed a bill that was favorable to medical marijuana but did not legalize its use.

See States with Active Medical Marijuana Programs and see how Otherside Farms can help you in your state!

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Founding Fathers vs Ronald Regan on Cannabis

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:52:00 +0000

THE LIAR!

President Ronald Reagan on weed:

“I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast.”

OUR FOUNDING FATHERS!!!!

President Thomas Jefferson urged about hemp:

“Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country.”

President John Adams suggested on hemp:

“We shall, by and by, want a world of hemp more for our own consumption.”

President George Washington advised on hemp:

“Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.”

President Abraham Lincoln wrote about hemp:

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

THE HEROES!

Industrialist Henry Ford on hemp:

“Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields”

President Jimmy Carter on marihuana:

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marihuana.”

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

The War on Drugs by Ronald Regan

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Regarding Ronald Reagan....

“I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Island during an H-bomb blast.” - Ronald Regan

The war on drugs, launched by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, began as an assault on marijuana. Its effects are now felt throughout America's criminal-justice system. In 1980 there were almost twice as many violent offenders in federal prison as drug offenders. Today there are far more people in federal prison for marijuana crimes than for violent crimes. More people are now incarcerated in the nation's prisons for marijuana than for manslaughter or rape.

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97apr/reef.htm

Original post blogged on b2evolution.