by Alan Henry
 
Hemp Seeds. Ah, hemp. It’s good for tons of things, but on your food they add a serious nutritional punch to your salads, stews, cereals, granolas, oatmeal, and just about anything else you can add it to. For all of its nutty flavour, Andy reminds us that you also get 6.5g of protein (as much as one egg) per two-tablespoon serving, along with 2g of fibre and a good bit of your recommended daily allowance of zinc, iron, magnesium, manganese, and yes, omega 3 fatty acids.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/02/easy-ways-to-give-any-meal-a-powerful-nutritional-boost/
 

Using state-level data for the period 1990 through 2007, we estimate the effect of legalizing
medical marijuana on suicide rates. Our results suggest that the passage of a medical
marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11
percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent
reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males. Estimates of the relationship
between legalization and female suicides are less precise and are sensitive to functional
form.
 
Here is the link:
http://ftp.iza.org/dp6280.pdf
 
 

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‘I know every one of the city council members sitting to my left and right believe as I do: it’s time for this state to legalize marijuana,’ Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said in his State of the City address.

City of Seattle

In his “State of the City” address, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn made an impassioned plea today for the legalization of marijuana saying in the illegal trade in drugs was fueling crime in the city.

“It is time we were honest about the problems we face with the drug trade. Drugs are a source of criminal profit, and that has led to shootings and even murders. Just like we learned in the 1920s with the prohibition of alcohol, prohibition of marijuana is fueling violent activity,” the mayor said in the written version of his speech.

He added that the war on drugs “fuels a biased incarceration policy. The drug war’s victims are predominantly young men of color.”
 
Read complete article here:
http://kplu.org/post/seattle-mayor-legalize-marijuana-so-we-can-stop-crime
 

 
Question: How many interagency narcotics enforcement team members does it take to screw Oregon’s taxpayers?
Answer: All of them.
This week, personnel from five agencies; the Oregon State Police, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, both the Eugene and Springfield police departments, and the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, wrapped up a “months-long” investigation that netted one small time marijuana grow. Seized were at total of 106 plants, and three pounds of marijuana, from two houses. There was also one count of child neglect. There was one arrest
This would have been a good day’s work for a cop and a social worker.
So we ask you: How much, in tax dollars, does a five-agency, months-long marijuana investigation cost? Tens of thousands? More??
Because we just spent that.
Which would be funny, since they probably could have just bought the pot for way less. Only it’s not really funny.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.theweedblog.com/how-many-interagency-narcotics-enforcement-teams-does-it-take-to-screw-oregons-taxpayers/
 

By Noelle Crombie, The Oregonian The Oregonian
 

Joe KoshollekGary Storck of Madison, Wis., has twice come to Oregon to obtain a medical marijuana card. He’s one of about 600 people who live in other states who have Oregon cards for various reasons.
 
Twice in the past two years, Gary Storck has boarded Amtrak’s Empire Builder outside his hometown of Madison, Wis., and headed west to Oregon. The trip takes about 40 hours and costs more then $1,000 – all for something that makes the illegal legal.
He pays a visit to one of the state’s 15 or so medical marijuana clinics, fills out an application and sees a doctor. Storck walks out an hour later, the proud holder of an Oregon-issued medical marijuana card. It’s a process he’ll have to go through each year to keep the card.
Storck, 56, is one of hundreds of out-of-staters who each year make an unusual pilgrimage to Oregon – the only state in the country to issue medical marijuana cards to non-residents.
“It’s not a bad place to visit,” said Storck, who has used marijuana for four decades to treat glaucoma and other chronic ailments. “It lifts my spirits to be in a place where medical cannabis is legal and life goes on.”
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/02/hundreds_of_out-of-staters_fin.html
 

Janusz Palikot, head of the left-wing party Palikot’s Movement, took a few puffs from a joint under falling snow in Warsaw. (AP Photo)
 

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1627609/Polish-MP-smokes-pot-in-campaign
 

Willie Nelson’s call to “occupy the food system” echoes the calls in a lawsuit of over 300,000 plaintiffs challenging big ag giant Monsanto’s control over seed.
Willie Nelson wrote:
(photo: Dave Hensley)

Our banks were deemed too big to fail, yet our food system’s corporations are even bigger. Their power puts our entire food system at stake. […]
Nothing is more important than the food we eat and the family farmers who grow it. Corporate control of our food system has led to the loss of millions of family farmers, destruction of our soil, pollution of our water and health epidemics of obesity and diabetes.
We simply can’t afford it. Our food system belongs in the hands of many family farmers, not under the control of a handful of corporations.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/17-5

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the still-unsolved murder of Ken Gorman, a man many consider the forefather of Colorado cannabis activism.
Gorman, a Denver native, became active in the marijuana community in the early 1990s and quickly became known for his open advertising for marijuana on Westword‘s back page and political events at the State Capitol. To this day, cannabis activists rally at the Capitol on the last Saturday of every month in his honor.
 
Read complete article here:
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/02/marijuana_activist_ken_gorman_fifth_anniversary_murder.php
 

 

Read complete article here:
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/local/fox-10-talks-to-medical-marijuana-patients-02182012
 

GARRY RAYNO
State House Bureau
 
CONCORD – The House Wednesday voted 260-41 to urge the federal government to allow cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes.
After years of trying to legalize the growing of hemp in New Hampshire, supporters did win a small victory Wednesday with House Resolution 20, although it does not have the rule of law, but is an expression of the House’s wishes.
 
Read complete article here:
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120215/NEWS06/120219963