‘cultivating a house’ by cibicworkshop
hemp and iron frame houses
Presented at MADE expo 2012, the full-scale installation by milano-based cibicworkshop consists of two houses built with innovative solutions: the technology of hemp and the dry construction system supported by metal frames.
With the reflection on construction materials with a low carbon footprint being the main aspect of the company’s experimental research, the first home made from hemp represents the exploration of contemporary architectural construction with the use of natural materials. Originally a key element in Italian agricultural history, the plant provided new economies within the region with the latest environmental and energy-performing requirements.
 
Complete article:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/30/view/24622/cibicworkshop-cultivating-a-house.html?utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_source=subscribers

By: KNWA, Fayetteville, AR

 
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Members of the medical community joined cancer survivors on the Fayetteville square Tuesday to voice support for medical marijuana.
The group Arkansans for Compassionate Care wants the natural state to be the first in the south to legalize medicinal marijuana.
Campaign director Ryan Denham says the personal stories of people who benefited from using the drug provide a strong argument in favor of Issue 5.
“Go out and talk to a real patient, and hear their story and understand how medical marijuana has helped them and in some cases even saved lives,” Denham says.
Kathy Reynolds says she couldn’t eat for months after going through a bone marrow transplant for breast cancer.
“I’m here to tell you today about how sick I was with my cancer,” Reynolds told the crowd. “(My doctor) had prescribed, I can’t tell you how many numerous different medications. None were effective.”
A friend suggested medical marijuana, but her doctor couldn’t prescribe it, so the friend bought it illegally.
“It was as if a miracle had happened for me,” Reynolds says. “I was able to eat and keep food down.”
 
Complete article:
http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=722182

By Steve Elliott

Christian Marijuana Organization
 
Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the committee behind Issue 5, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act, on Tuesday announced a dozen clergy leaders from across the state and from a broad range of denominations have endorsed the measure. The religious coalition was announced at a press conference in Fayetteville, featuring medical professionals and Emily Williams, who used medical marijuana to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy.

Sometimes it is hard to be a weed activist. Who knew that trying to get people to understand that weed is safe, enjoyable, and helpful, and that we should not take hundreds of thousands of people to jail for it, would be such an exhausting job.
But between fighting with law enforcement, reasoning with Joe Public, and trying to navigate the chaos that is cannabis reform these days, a person can become downright burnt out and fed up. Sometimes it can seem like the walls are closing in and nothing makes any sense at all. Any reasonable person would conclude that taking people to jail is stupid when presented with the facts; but we live in a world of lies and deception. That, in itself, is enough to drive anyone mad. Add to that that our movement lacks identity and inspiration on a lot of levels, and you can see how it is easy for a person to not be feeling it after a while.
So what do we do? How do we get up day-after-day knowing the deck is likely stacked against us, and continue to battle ignorance and hatred for our right to smoke weed?
Easy. Forget all the dumb stuff and focus on the fact that if we do not finish this thing, nobody will. We will continue to see our friends, neighbors, and families get locked up, lose their standing in the community, and have their rights constantly violated if we do not get off our butts and DO THE WORK.
Easier said than done right? I feel you.
 
Complete article:
http://weedactivist.com/2012/10/28/burnt-out-fed-up-exhausted-not-feeling-it/

By Alice Walton

The regulation of medical marijuana is back — again — as a local union collects signatures to get an ordinance on the city of Los Angeles’ May 2013 ballot.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 submitted an ordinance to the City Clerk’s Office that would allow small groups of no more than five patients and caregivers to grow medicinal cannabis together. About 100 clinics that opened and registered with the city prior to Sept. 14, 2007 would be exempted from regulation. Clinics would have to pass annual LAPD background checks and maintain their distance from schools and parks.
The UFCW will have to collect 41,138 valid signatures by Dec. 7 to get the ordinance on the city’s May 2013 ballot.
 
Complete article:
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/news/2012/10/29/10766/union-gathers-signatures-new-medical-marijuana-ord/

By Dennis Romero

Dank Depot / Flickr
 
Seeking to underscore their argument that the War on Drugs is often just a war on marijuana, pro-decriminalization forces today highlighted new FBI statistics showing nearly half (49.5 percent) of the nation’s drug arrests are cannabis-related.
 
More than 8 out of 10 arrests were for “possession only,” notes Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
That’s a lot of manpower and cash going toward policing pot. Says LEAP:

… Police in the U.S. arrest someone for marijuana every 42 seconds and that 87% of those arrests are for possession alone.

Complete article:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/10/marijuana_arrests_fbi_possession_stats.php

By Maia Szalavitz

CAVAN IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES
 
Stoners aren’t known for their memory prowess but a new review suggests that drugs similar to marijuana’s active ingredients may hold promise for preventing— or even reversing— brain aging and possibly Alzheimer‘s and other degenerative brain diseases.
Since the mid 2000′s researchers have been building an appreciation for the power of marijuana-like substances that make up the brain’s cannabinoid systems. In animal experiments, for example, synthetic compounds similar to THC—marijuana’s main psychoactive component—have shown promise in preserving brain functions. A 2008 study even demonstrated that a THC-like substance reduced brain inflammation and improved memory in older rats.
The latest review, published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, suggests that activating the brain’s cannabinoid system may trigger a sort of anti-oxidant cleanse, removing damaged cells and improving the efficiency of the mitochrondria, the energy source that powers cells, ultimately leading to a more robustly functioning brain.
Complete article:
http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/29/how-cannabinoids-may-slow-brain-aging/

 
Toni Braxton has confessed her 1996 Grammy Award-winning tune You’re Making Me High is all about the joys of marijuana use.
Fans and the singer’s family have always thought the song is a sexy and sensual ode to new love, but the singer herself admits it’s all about getting high.
 
Complete article:
http://www.contactmusic.com/news/toni-braxton-grammy-award-winning-song-was-all-about-marijuana_3345758

by: Jonathan Benson

 
Woven into the fabric of the human body is an intricate system of proteins known as cannabinoid receptors that are specifically designed to process cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the primary active components of marijuana. And it turns out, based on the findings of several major scientific studies, that human breast milk naturally contains many of the same cannabinoids found in marijuana, which are actually extremely vital for proper human development.
Complete article:
http://www.naturalnews.com/036526_cannabinoids_breast_milk_THC.html

By TONY EVANS

Builder Blake Eagle, left, and his father, Leonard Eagle, work on a house in Northridge in Hailey that will incorporate hemp in the walls.
 
Local builder Blake Eagle and his wife, Angie, began researching healthy and sustainable building materials about four years ago for use in a house they planned to build in the Northridge subdivision of Hailey. They settled on a material with high thermal mass that does not require the usual amount of chemicals and vapor barriers used in conventional construction.
“It just makes sense to build our living environment using natural, breathable materials in a healthy, sustainable manner as our budget allows,” Blake Eagle said.
 
Complete article:
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005144533#.UJcy92_A_xV