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6/27/2011 – The first public hearing this legislative session on a bill to legalize medical cannabis in Massachusetts will take place tomorrow, June 28th. The Joint Committee on Public Health will begin testimony at 10AM on H.625. The measure would allow doctors to recommend cannabis and regulate up to nineteen “Medical Treatment Centers” for marijuana across the state.

Representative Frank Smizick (D-Brookline) is sponsoring the bill and issued this statement: “ I’ve met patients with ALS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, cancer, and other serious diseases who cannot tolerate the side effects of available medications or find them ineffective.  Some of these patients have been able to reduce their intake of toxic or addictive medications and others have been able to stay on life-prolonging treatments like chemotherapy by using medical marijuana. As long as use is approved by a doctor, medical marijuana should be an available treatment option for these individuals, just as it is in Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont,” said Smizik.

Matthew Allen at the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance said that residents want to see the law passed. “There is huge public support right now for this reform,” said Allen, “Polling shows 81 percent of residents want us to be the next medical marijuana state. Patients, public health professionals and other groups will be there tomorrow to testify.”

There is also stronger support this session among legislators. “We did triple our co-sponsors between last session and this one,” Allen noted. “That is really is due to the hard work of the patients working with us actually going up to the State House and asking for support.”

Allen is hopeful that more elected officials can be swayed during the public hearings. “When legislators really see the patients with HIV, cancer, ALS – how much they are suffering – and we can explain the multiple levels of regulation in the bill that we find this can be … hopefully the committee will understand that this is a compassionate reform that needs to happen not just for these patients but for the greater cause of public health.”

The bill has earned some important endorsements icnlouding: The Massachusetts Nurses Association,  the Massachusetts Public Health Association, the MA Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the MA Breast Cancer Coalition, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union, the AIDS Action Committee, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, Cambridge Cares about AIDS, the Teen AIDS Peer Corps, and the Massachusetts Hepatitis Patient Empowerment Project.

“The dozens of patients who will come forward tomorrow are just a small portion of those suffering across the state,” said Allen.

Maine legalized medical marijuana in 1999, Vermont passed in 2004 and Rhode Island in 2006. All three states are now moving towards regulated dispensaries but Maine is the only state on the east coast with facilities open for patients.

Massachusetts decriminalized adult possession of cannabis (for all uses) by a ballot measure in 2008. But doctors are still not allowed to address the issue with seriously ill residents in a fully legal manner.

“Patients are being left behind,” said Allen, “Right now a Massachusetts doctor can write a recommendation for a patient in Rhode Island but not for someone with the same conditions living 2 miles over the border.”

Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Coalition

MASSCANN/NORML

MA Joint Committee on Public Health

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

9/27/2012 – A crowd of over 30,000 made a big donation to family farmers and got a wonderful event in return last Saturday. The 27th Farm Aid concert took place at Hershey Park Stadium with the feel of a county fair/protest rally.

Small business agriculture is under tremendous pressure from new threats like shale fracking for natural gas. Farm Aid, founded by superfriends Willie Nelson, Neil Young  and John Mellencamp, remains a vital support net for American farmers. On stage there was incredible music but also moments to highlight important issues.

Neil Young played a memorable, light drenched set with Crazy Horse. Young paused between songs to speak about the roots of their mission:

“Why we’re still here: When you go to your market, try to buy something that came from really nearby. Its great to buy from the USA, but its even better to buy something from your neighborhood or your county or your state. Our farmers are competing with an agri- business that is… huge. And they’ve got lobbyists in Washington buying this and buying that so that [family farmers] can’t get what they need. [Family farmers] can’t stay in business; they get choked out of business because of big corporations.”

Young gave the crowd this take-away:

” What we want is for you to buy food that matters!”

Willie Nelson brought activist John Trudell to the stage just before his signature closing set.

Trudell, a Native American, brought his appeal for hemp farming in the USA:

“As a person of the land and as a human being I relate to farmers as being people of the land. With all of the problems that we are confronted with and are faced with…I would like you all to consider learning the realities of industrial hemp.”

The crowd cheered and Trudell added:

“The economic and environmental realities of industrial hemp; teach it to the young. Have your organizations and the people who represent you; and take it upon yourself, to learn the realities of industrial hemp  It will save the family farm. [Hemp] will give the young farmer a future. It’s a part of American history. It’s always been here… And in the next election 2016… Vote Hemp!”

The work of Farm Aid continues year-round: Consider a donation at farmaid.org

To find out more about industrial hemp check out votehemp.com and the National Hemp Industries Association.

 

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

4/8/2011 – What do a funeral director an Army tank crewman and a sitting New Jersey legislator have in common? Cannabis.

Assemblyman Thomas Giblin, a Democrat from Clifton and the current Deputy Majority Leader, sits on the Medical Advisory Board of Greenleaf Compassion Center.

Newly released documents are showing some further political connections for the blooming New Jersey medical marijuana industry.

Half of the new Alternative Treatment Centers were tied to Republican politicos, but it seems that the Dems won’t be kept out of the garden…or in this case the carefully run indoor hydroponic operation.

Greenleaf Compassion Center hopes to open in Montclair, a community that would serve as a likely location for success. Mayor Jerry Fried, a well-known Democrat in the region, even supplied a letter of support included in the application. It stated, “ I believe GCC has a strong business plan. I am impressed with the relationship they have established with Montclair State University and our local Assemblyman Thomas Giblin.”

Mayor Fried (pronounced frEEd by the way) closed with “I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship between the Township of Montclair and GCC.”

Joe Stevens is the Chairman at Greenleaf and the former funeral director. According to his short biography Stevens decided to move into medical care instead, now he is specializing in medical marijuana. Robert Gurino is a Greenleaf Board principal and the Army vetran who served overseas in recent conflicts. Along with some physicians, a business specialist, two horticultural experts and the powerfully positioned Giblin they own one of the first regulated medical marijuana facilities on the East Coast.

Arguably, all of the new NJ ATCs face a tough battle to open their doors and are burdened with the greatest risk for federal interference. New Jersey’s Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) went forward with the ATC application process without final regulations in place; those will be finalized in May.

Nonetheless, twenty-one groups turned in proposals with a $20, 000 fee. All of the potential medical cannabis providers in New Jersey had to demonstrate that are very well capitalized as not-for-profit businesses. Instead of utilizing traditional loans there is a big block of raw cash capital. Recent DEA raids in Montana and California have shown the federal tactic of targeting cash and assets.

The centralized system in the Garden State with just six medical marijuana facilities for almost 10 million people (all of them with bank accounts bulging with millions of dollars) are bound to be a attractive targets for the Feds.

That makes Assemblyman Giblin’s decision to sign on Greenleaf Compassion Center’s medical board all the more interesting. He is the first elected official in any state to serve such a prominent role in a regulated medical marijuana business.

We are continuing to review the 1500 pages of documents released yesterday from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). These are the six successful applications for the NJ Alternative Treatment Centers that have been redacted by DHSS.

Stay tuned for detailed reviews of each application.

CBD, One Step Closer to the Clinic

by – Jahan Marcu, Science EditorLast month, Dr. Sean McAllister traveled from California to talk in Philadelphia on a potential new breast cancer treatment. Dr. McAllister has been studying the anti-cancer effects of cannabinoids for years and he has discovered that the cannabinoid, CBD (Cannabidiol) is a very potent inhibitor of breast cancer. Usually, his research draws a lot of media interest and then some. His research sparks an interest in the general public, as CBD is also the second most abundant compound on the Cannabis plant.Dr.McAllister shared his results of his recently published study on CBD and breast cancer. This is not the first paper on the anti-cancer activity of CBD, the McAllister lab also published other articles on cannabinoids and cancer: CBD and Breast Cancer and THC&CBD kill brain cancer cells. The current study is an in depth look at how CBD kills breast cancer cells in an animal model. Specifically, CBD affects a protein called ID-1. ID-1 appears to be a major conductor of cancer cells and thus is an excellent target for a cancer treatment.Find out how CBD’s anti-cancer properties in the full article at cannabination.com

Find out how CBD’s anti-cancer properties in the full article at cannabination.com

I’ve been a long-time fan and Internet friend of Mr. Dan Carlin, a Libertarian-leaning journalist, commentator and historian who painstakingly crafts some of the best podcasts in podcast history. Hardcore History is a captivating look at historical events and should be a must-listen for any college student who is tired of history being flat and boring. (I’ve learned more from this program than all of my college years combined.)

Dan Carlin’s other podcast is Common Sense. This is where Dan gets down and dirty with current political events and their bigger implications on our individual freedom.

What does this have to do with medical marijuana?

His latest podcast called “Fearsome Safety” is an in-depth look at the local and federal incentives behind drug busts as well as the increasing militarization in our police forces.

To have a greater understanding of what’s going on behind-the-scenes in California as the federal authorities there continue to close established, law-abiding medical marijuana dispensaries by the dozens, listen to this first.

I’ll give you a little hint:

In short: the Feds reward police forces with money and equipment for drug raids – and have for a long  time. Due to forfeiture laws, police keep money and property seized as “suspected” drug proceeds. No conviction is required. Drugs destroyed, money kept.

In the US Attorney’s current “witch hunt” in California, the financial and political gains are multiplied exponentially. Millions of dollars are being seized and dispersed, with little to no accountability. Legal profiteering, plain and simple.

And even more insidious are the ultimate Big Brother goals, which are to rid the U.S. of these “mom and pop” dispensaries and replace them with Big Pharma companies hand-chosen by greedy politicians such as Haag.

And to put a cherry on top of this pile of…corruption is the oh-so-noble reason Haag gives for these relentless and needless crackdowns:

Come on, let’s say it together. You know the words: THE CHILDREN.

“The main theme that I was hearing from members of this community, members of our community in the northern district of California was a concern about children.” – Melinda Haag

So touching, her concern. I wonder if she can babysit for me tonight.

Listen to Dan’s Podcast Now!

Dan Carlin’s Facebook Page

Dan Carlin on Twitter

Dan Carlin on iTunes

Americans for Forfeiture Reform

Book suggestions by Dan Carlin on this topic:

(Click on books for purchase information – Amazon free!)

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

In this candid essay, one mother discusses her use of marijuana as a coping tool for stress.

As a new mother, I have learned quite a few lessons over the past nine months. I went from being an outspoken, lively young newlywed taking on the world to a frazzled, controlling and overwhelmed mother, almost overnight. I read the “What to Expect” books. I talked with friends and family. But nothing can truly prepare you for parenthood.

As a new parent, your only barometer of right and wrong is a screaming infant. How do I know if I am doing the right thing? How do I know if I’m hurting her, if she is hungry, tired, dirty? My role as “mom” continuously evolves, and with each passing day I grow more confident and more in love with my baby.

Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned is to let go. The stress of parenting can be all-consuming. Trying to seek out patterns, trying to establish routines, to answer the never-ending list of questions, desperate to eke out order — these things are futile. My goal every day is to enjoy each moment and to appreciate every hour with my child. But how?

Over the years, marijuana has proven a useful tool for me. In the past, weed has served to calm me down — to unwind me so that I am able to enjoy my life. I have always been attracted to high-stress jobs and have performed very well in that capacity; little did I know that parenting would be the highest-stress, most-demanding job yet. In the moments when I am ready to lose my mind — when the baby has been crying nonstop, for example — I take a little puff and my patience and calm is restored. My new state of mind enables me to not only tap into my unfound stores of patience but also lets me to relate to my baby as a baby and not a screaming, pooping monster.

Read more at Metro.

12/20/2012 – Over one hundred and fifty supporters gathered in Philadelphia on Saturday December 15th to call for the federal legalization of cannabis. “Smoke Down Prohibition” was organized by a local comedy activism crew The Panic Hour and supported by PhillyNORML. The event took place in front of Independence Mall and the Liberty Bell.

Speakers included: N.A. Poe and Steve Miller-Miller from The Panic Hour; Adam Kokesh from AdamvsTheMan; Ken Wolski from The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ);  Vanessa Waltz medical marijuana patient; and yours truly from Freedomisgreen.com and PhillyNORML.

At 4:20PM most of the crowd participated in civil disobedience by smoking cannabis until 4:30PM.

Although there was presence of Philadelphia Police and National Park Police, there was no interference of the protest: No arrests or citations took place at the event.

A 48foot by 14foot banner asking to “Legalize Medical Marijuana”  from Robert Platshorn at The Silver Tour was rolled out with passing cars and even SEPTA buses honking their support.

Many of the participants called specifically on President Obama to end federal marijuana prohibition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freedomisgreen.com will be helping with a letter writing campaign for women currently serving time on marijuana-related charges. Guidelines here.

Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s ill-fated “War on Drugs” campaign. Millions of dollars have been spent and countless lives have been wasted or irrevocably altered. As an ongoing series, we will spotlight various women behind bars due to egregious marijuana-related sentencing and how you can help.

This is your chance to move beyond outrage and reach out to women who need your support more than ever. Prison is a profoundly alienating and traumatizing experience. A letter to inmate is a very powerful tool. You can send words of support and inspiration or simply treat them like a pen pal. Remember, these women undoubtedly need some normalcy in their lives. A “day in your life” letter may seem dull to you, but very rewarding to them. Reach out! Show your support, share your story. Studies show that contact from the outside world bolsters self-esteem and helps alleviate depression and anxiety disorders caused by prison life.

Simply put your letter in the body of an email and send to [email protected]. Keep it under 1000 words. No attachments please. In the subject heading, put Patricia Spottedcrow’s name.

Guidelines here.

Here’s some additional tips on writing to a prisoner.

This month, send a letter to: Patricia Spottedcrow

Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow, 25, currently resides in Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Oklahoma where she’ll be spending the next nine years. For the sale of $31 of marijuana, she will live without her four young children and husband and no longer work in nursing homes. She had no prior convictions. Spottedcrow began her sentence on Dec. 29, 2010.

Letter Gidelines here.

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished actor and director with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can often be seen surfing or singing karaoke at the local dive bar. Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

I feel so much safer now…

(Aileen Lam, 72 and Virginia Pon, 65 charged with growing hundreds of marijuana plants in San Bruno home.)

It all began when neighbors heard loud banging coming from the women’s home on Valleywood Drive, nestled in between Skyline Boulevard and Interstate 280.

Then they saw two men, later identified as Kitae Chae, 38, and Kenny Kong, 34, breaking down the front door and lingering inside for a few minutes before driving off in a BMW, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The neighbors called police, and officers who stopped the BMW in South San Francisco found the men with $12,000 in cash, marijuana packaging material and seven ecstasy pills, Wagstaffe said.

When they arrived at the Valleywood Drive home, investigators found a substantial pot-growing operation: more than 800 marijuana plants, $3,000 in cash and a bypass through which electricity was being stolen from Pacific Gas and Electric Co., police said.

In short order, officers arrested the occupants — 72-year-old Aleen Lam and Virginia Chan Pon, 65. It’s not Pon’s first run-in with the law: She is already facing charges in Yolo County for allegedly passing more than $40,000 in bad checks over a three-day period at Cache Creek Casino.

“I have never seen or heard of women in their 60s and 70s running a grow house,” Wagstaffe said. “I certainly hope it is aberrational rather than a trend. I suppose profiteering in illegal enterprises crosses all the generations.”

The two women face a variety of drug charges, and Chae and Kong are accused of drug and burglary counts. Lam has not yet entered a plea, while the others have pleaded not guilty. All four are being held at San Mateo County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail each.

Prosecutors have filed a motion requiring that the two women show a legitimate source for any bail they post.

He was about 50, heavyset, with cropped grey hair. He wore a button-down short-sleeved shirt, cheap jeans and white New Balance sneakers. His eyes were completely hidden by a pair of knockoff reflective shades – the ‘alien eye’ variety. He had an earpiece with a cable that led to his cell phone. And he was walking along in the NYC Cannabis Peace March, with hundreds of loud pot protestors.

There was one big difference between this man and the rest of the crowd: he was an undercover cop. What happened when I confronted him cuts to the core of why cannabis prohibition must end.

The 2011 New York marijuana march was blessed with inviting sun and 72 degrees of warmth – the first thaw for city dwellers after a long winter. The yearly protest started at Washington Square Park, where about 30 uniformed New York City police officers greeted the gathering marchers.

Participants were told to stand in a box created by sections of metal parade fencing. Although penned and surrounded by police, the marchers were nonchalant, keeping up lively conversation, handing out signs and snapping photos. The uniformed cops were passive, but there was certainly a tense bite to the air.

My job was to help with the organization of the parade. I took a moment to speak with Jim, the Police Civil Affairs Unit contact. He wore a sweatshirt with an embroidered badge instead of a uniform and a gun, but he was clearly a cop.

Jim cordially explained the route and told us to give them a five-minute heads-up before the start. More marchers arrived along with even more uniformed police. Other activists such as Empire State NORML, NYC NORML and Cures Not Wars brought hundreds of rally signs. In a short time, almost every single marcher had one in their hands.

We gathered the marijuana supporters, started them chanting, “DEA GO AWAY” and began to move onto Broadway.

The route would take us about one mile down to Foley Square and we had to stay on the sidewalk. The marching group was happy, loud and plowing through the crowds of weekend tourists and shoppers. Hundreds of gawkers snapped photos, waved and shouted their support for legalization.

We were only about a block down Broadway, but already there was a single file line of almost 30 uniformed police officers walking in the street parallel to the cannabis march.

Helping to keep up the chants had me constantly running to the front, back, and middle of the parade, occasionally having to weave between the fence posts of black uniforms.

Then someone lit a joint. I didn’t see it; I could smell it. Suddenly the sweet odor was gone. A photographer ran up to me saying “They just got some guy.” I looked back but saw nothing. That was the first time I noticed Mr. Undercover, walking in the cop line.

Things were moving along quickly. In fact, we were walking a bit too fast. It began to feel like the Cannabis Peace Jog. As we tried to slow down the pace, a video documentarian grabbed my arm and said, “They’re arresting another one!”

I turned and saw fleeting images of a scuffle through the crowd. Mr. Undercover and two uniformed cops seemed to be handling a 20-something man. Yelling out another chant, I continued with the march.

The next time I looked back, Mr. Undercover was right in the crowd. This time, he was holding one of our marijuana rally signs too. This flipped a little switch in me and my decision was to address the situation.

I sidled up to him as the peaceful protest continued down Broadway. We were under some scaffolding and in the shade. Catching his attention I said, “Hey man, it sure is great to see you guys marching with us.”

Mr. Undercover cut me off with a thick Gotham accent and a deadly serious tone: “You are not going to bring any at attention to me. Do we understand each other?”

“I’m just here marching,” I said.

“And I’m marching too,” said Mr. Undercover. “But if you bring any more attention to me, this march will be over for you. Do we understand each other?”

“Look, I…”

“Walk away from me. You will not bring any more attention to me today. Do we understand each other??”

“I’ll just keep doing what I do then.”

Taking a few steps away, I turned around to face the marchers and shouted, “WHO WANTS TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN NEW YORK?”

Noisy cheers.

“WHO WANTS THE POLICE TO STOP ARRESTING POT SMOKERS?”

Louder cheers.

Mr. Undercover glared at me. I had the uneasy sense that he was taking that very moment to decide whether to shoot, taze or arrest me. But instead he moved out of the crowd and marched off to the side.

We were about halfway to our destination. After our little chat, Mr. Undercover spent the rest of the march intermittently holding his sign up at chest level and then down at his side. He kept a smartphone in his hand or at his ear from that point on.

I imagined him calling up the special police unit that stood ready to handle smartass marijuana activists. But after a few minutes, I recognized that we had an uncomfortable détente.

Mr. Undercover was afraid that I would call “NARC” and point to him – certainly a possibility that crossed my mind. Still, this guy was already sticking out like a sore thumb. Clearly he wasn’t a professional undercover officer but a regular cop in plain clothes. This made me feel sorry for him as a human being, but it also intensified my anger at the tactic.

Using police to poorly infiltrate the political efforts to change marijuana laws goes against everything that the United States stands for. Americans should be free to gather, speak out, and confront the government. Surrounding such activities with armed, uniformed police and sending undercover police agents into a non-violent crowd is what we expect out of China, Libya, Syria, Bahrain or Russia.

But it looks like we must expect that treatment in New York City as well. This heavy-handed approach to legitimate political change should disgust all Americans.

As a Quaker, I believe in and practice non-violence. In order to meet that challenge in real-life confrontation, it takes one thing: empathy.

Law enforcement officers in New York and around the country are enslaved by our senseless prohibition laws. They risk their lives, often losing them, fighting a futile war against their own neighbors. Ending marijuana prohibition is imperative to the freedom of all Americans. But it will also free our law enforcement officers from the bonds of this tragically failed policy.

Commentary from Editor Chris Goldstein

Questions?  [email protected]

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. He volunteers with local groups to change prohibition laws including PhillyNORML and The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey.