Why the cops are going soft on pot but politicians are not

Chris Fowlie is the head of the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and he really doesn’t like the way the police enforce the Misuse of Drugs Act. In a recent post on The Daily Blog, he argued that the authorities maliciously target harmless dope smokers, causing them far more harm than a joint ever could.

In downtown Washington, D.C., the Department of Justice asserts that marijuana enterprises are free to exist, while immediately across 10th Street, the IRS tells those businesses they are illegal drug-trafficking operations ineligible for the benefits other corporate entities enjoy.

Which is it? Right now, it is both. This dual status presents commercial challenges for marijuana businesses, carrying serious consequences for individuals, patients, investors, law enforcement, courts, accountants and others.

EUGENE, Ore. – Many people from Eugene’s homeless community went to work as volunteers over the weekend at the 11th annual Emerald Valley Hemp Fest.

The volunteers helped run the festival and were given meals for their help.

Local activist groups put on the event to feature dozens of vendors from all over the West Coast.

Organizers said the goal was to educate people on the different uses of the product.

Since recreational pot was legal this year, they said they were worried about people smoking it at the festival. Smoking in public places is illegal.

Cannabis Social Clubs have appeared in European countries to offer cannabis consumers and medical cannabis patients a safer alternative and a solution to the problems that prohibition causes in society. 

Part of the reason the UK Cannabis Social Clubs exists is to inform existing consumers of the CSC model and it’s benefits over the current “free-for-all” market that has flourished under prohibition. The results of this are drastically inflated prices, unacceptable quality such as contamination, mould, under weight deals, early harvested product and no protection for those that are vulnerable such as the young. Dealers don’t ask for ID but most (not all) will happily take a teenagers money.

Users expecting synthetic marijuana to give them a mellow buzz similar to the real thing can get a nasty surprise, as the two are very different. Chemicals added to synthetic drugs can make them dangerous and sometimes deadly, more similar to PCP.

Sources: Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; To the Maximus Foundation, D.C. Police,D.C. Fire and EMS Department, Office of National Drug Control Policy | Bonnie Berkowitz, Richard Johnson and Denise Lu/The Washington Post July 18 at 8:28 PM

As attitudes toward marijuana become more lenient and states authorize its use for medicinal — or even recreational — purposes, a long-simmering debate over the efficacy of workplace drug testing has found a new flash point.

Marijuana accounts for more failed workplace drug tests than any other substance, and the new laws have the potential of decreasing or eliminating employer testing for it.

Defenders of drug testing maintain that employees who use drugs, including marijuana, have been found to miss more work, cause more accidents, change jobs more frequently, and ultimately cost employers more money.

Will the USA legalize cannabis!?

According to a Harris Poll taken in 2015, 81% of adults are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, and half of Americans support legalizing cannabis for recreational use.

Marijuana is also commonly seen as safer than alcohol.

San Juan, July 18: Julian Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley, has released a new song celebrating the decriminalisation of marijuana in Jamaica as a liberating experience. The song “Lemme go” focuses on how the amendment to the 1948 Dangerous Drugs Act benefits Rastafarians, who consider smoking marijuana a sacrament.

Julian uses the song to praise marijuana as a “stress reliever, natural healer”. ”Lemme go” was produced by another Marley offspring, Damian, and is expected to be on Julian’s next album to be released in 2016.

The State Fair is a great American pastime, and what's more American than bragging about how dank your weed is?

The Washington D.C. State Fair, which describes itself as a "culinary, artistic and agricultural showcase of the District," will be holding a Best Bud competition this year, a grueling trial that will recognize the most impressive marijuana flower grown in D.C.

Something doesn’t look right about these flowerbeds.

It’s probably the fact that someone has planted cannabis plants in them – and they’re standing out like a sore thumb.

The plants were spotted in the sleepy Hertfordshire town of Welwyn Garden City, and were put there by a secretive group called the Welwyn Garden City Cannabis Club.

Speaking to the Welwyn Hatfield Times, one of the group explained that the stunt aimed to highlight the benefits that cannabis plants can offer.