By Sam Levin

 
Missouri is one step closer to legalizing marijuana.
State Rep. Rory Ellinger, a Democrat from University City, plans to introduce legislation next session to legalize pot in the state, modeled after the successful reform effort in Colorado. It will definitely be a long shot here, but this will be the first time a lawmaker in Missouri has introduced a proposal of this nature.
“I expect there will be a lot of good people that feel marijuana is wrong, that it leads down a path of worse drugs and trouble and so on,” he tells Daily RFT. “I respect their opinion, but I think that it can all be disputed.”
He continues, “I don’t know anyone who has ever died of a marijuana overdose.”
 
Full Article:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2013/07/marijuana_legalization_missouri_rory_ellinger.php

by lasvegasnvblog
 

 
Full Article:
http://www.lasvegasnvblog.com/2013/07/medical-marijuana-experts-host-las-vegas-educational-event-with-senator-tick-segerblom/

By Sherry Martell

Dominic Watson Wall, project manager at Dorje Denma Ling in The Falls, holds hempcrete, the main building material being used to construct a staff residence at Dorje Denma ling, near Tatamagouche. 
 
A popular European construction technique is taking root here with the first hempcrete building currently underway in the Atlantic region.
Dorje Denma Ling, a Shambhala program and group retreat centre in The Falls, is spearheading the project with a long-term goal to work with local farmers to grow the hemp industry.
“We are very excited about it, so we can put that first dot on the land,” said Lennart Krogoll, centre executive director. “It’s something tangible that people can come and touch it and see it.”
Hemp-lime masonry, or hempcrete, is a cutting-edge natural building material. It is a mixture of chipped industrial hemp stalks, that look and feel like coarse wood sawdust, mixed with lime and water.
There are about 40 hemp-constructed buildings in Canada but it has been a widely used construction material in Europe for many years.
 
Full Article:
http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Local/2013-07-26/article-3329311/First-hemp-house-in-Atlantic-Canada-under-construction-in-The-Falls/1

By One Green Planet

 
Humans have been using hemp for thousands of years, and for good reason too–it’s extremely versatile. Used for clothes, beauty products, paper, food, milk, pet products and more, hemp lives up to the definition of a superseed.
Although hemp is breaking away from it’s negative reputation for being associated with the Cannabis plant, it’s important to know that it’s not relatively close to being like marijuana–it is bred with much lower levels of the psychedelic chemical THC than the drug is. Our favorite way to use hemp is, of course, in its edible form: as an oil, a fiber and a seed. Hemp seeds especially carry tons of nutritional benefits and can be used in numerous amounts of recipes.
 
Full Article:
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/hemp-seeds-why-eating-superfood-171600844.html

By Ben Cooper

photo by Meg Runion
 
Mary Lynn Mathre is a former nurse who wants patients to have access to a controversial medicine: pot.
From an early age, the Minnesota native was interested in practicing medicine. She enrolled in the Navy to finish her undergraduate degree in nursing and after being discharged, she pursued a graduate degree.
In the 1980s, as a medical experiment, the federal government began supplying a small number of people with medical cannabis for various problems, says Mathre. She witnessed the benefits to these patients  and has been outraged ever since by Uncle Sam’s refusal to acknowledge marijuana as a legitimate form of medicine.
 
Full Article:
http://www.readthehook.com/109812/medicinal-cannabis-aims-educate-healthcare-professionals

by Bruce Horovitz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7H8Cz9woC2A
 
Fans attending a major NASCAR race this weekend will see a most unlikely video posted on a giant video screen shortly before entering the track: a pro-marijuana legalization ad.
Outside the NASCAR Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis, the same track that hosts the famed Indianapolis 500, Marijuana Policy Project, the nation’s largest pro-marijuana legalization advocacy group, has purchased space to air – dozens of times over the weekend – a video that pushes the theme that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.
 
Full Article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/25/nascar-brickyard-400-pro-marijuana-legalization-ad–marijuana-policy-project/2587511/

By DJ Pangburn

Image: Van.Eko

 
The Be.e is the first electric scooter to be made out of hemp. It also happens to boast a hip, sleek industrial design, features a battery with an 8-year life and 2000 cycles, as well as a 4kW motor, LED lighting, USB charging (yeah!), a smartphone holder, GPS tracking, and various other accoutrements. It almost seems too strange to be true.
Full Article:
http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/how-to-build-an-electric-luxury-scooter-out-of-hemp

Angela Bacca

 
Editor’s Note: I met Eddy Lepp for the first time while writing about him forSKUNK Magazine in 2010.  I visited Eddy in Federal prison in my hometown of Lompoc, CA. When I showed up at the prison I was directed to the Medium Security Facility and the Federal Prison Camp. I signed both log books before being directed to where Eddy actually was, the Low Security facilities. After writing about Eddy my name dropped off the log books and it was as if I had never visited. I was denied access to visit again at FCI Lompoc. He now resides at FCI La Tuna in Anthony, TX. I visited him in late 2012 again for SKUNK Magazine. 
Eddy is currently serving a 10-year mandatory minimum for growing marijuana for legally registered patients. He is a Rastafarian minister who gave away marijuana to anyone in need. He wrote this 4/20 message from Federal Prison. 
-Angela Bacca
 
When I was asked to write this I really had to stop and think. I was reminded of the Jack Nickelson movie A Few Good Men: You can’t handle the truth! Sadly, I believe the truth is, so much of this is a fantasy land, it’s a Mad Hatter ride.
When I first came to prison, about four and a half years ago, I was like a child. All I could do is look around shocked, my eyes full of wonder. I learned one of my first lessons right away. Oftentimes, you should be more afraid of the prison guards than the inmates.
 
Full Article:
http://www.ladybud.com/2013/04/19/eddy-lepp-420-message/

ubmitted by Mike Ruggles. Reach him at mikedruggles@gmail.com

Roger Christie
 

HILO–A member of the The Hawaii Cannabis (THC) Ministry in Hilo has filed a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of his pastor, Rev. Roger Christie, who has been held by the federal government as a pre-trial detainee for over 3 years.

Mike Ruggles, 56, a resident of Mountain View on the Big Island, filed the petition with the United States District Court in Honolulu on July 23, 2013.

Rev. Christie was arrested by federal authorities on July 8, 2010, charged with distributing marijuana to members of his congregation.He has been held without bail at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center for over 36 months.

“Roger was a pillar of the community and he is sorely missed at this time,” said Ruggles. “Since Roger has been gone, meth use and violent crime has gotten worse, not better. Roger’s influence on the community was more effective than 50 cops on the street.”

Full Article:

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/church-member-files-writ-of-habeas-corpus-for-jailed-cannabis-minister/123

Megan Ortiz

 This May 14, 2013 file photo shows medical marijuana vials displayed at the Venice Beach Care Center medical marijuana dispensary in Venice, Calif. Medical marijuana dispensaries could provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs as well as patients in Nevada. / AP file photo

Medical marijuana dispensaries could provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs as well as patients in Nevada, according to the CEO of a business training center who recently held a seminar in Reno.
“Who would have thought you could have a retirement plan or future or pay for your kids’ college with marijuana?” asked Robert Calkin, president and CEO of Cannajobs and a professor at Oaksterdam University in Oakland. “Now, you can.”
Calkin began the Cannabis Career Institute when he learned that many of his students at Oaksterdam weren’t going to class to become activists or learn more about marijuana — but rather to get into the business of the drug.
According to Calkin, people were leaving classes still disappointed because, while they were learning how to grow and work with plants, they weren’t learning the business aspect.
The Cannabis Career Institute has given Calkin the opportunity to create a support group and give detailed instructions on how to operate in the business — legally.
 
Full Article:
http://www.rgj.com/article/20130724/NEWS/307240015/Medical-marijuana-dispensaries-might-offer-Nevada-job-opportunities?nclick_check=1