Why do I feel like I just keep writing the same stories of law enforcement venality over and over again? More crooked jail guards, more sticky-fingered cops, more cops on the take, and another pervert power-tripper cop. Let’s get to it:
too much cash can corrupt cops
In Graceville, Florida, a prison guard was arrested last Friday for trying to smuggle pot into the prison. Graceville Correctional Facility guard Brandon Sikora, 21, is charged with attempting to introduce contraband into a secure facility and possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute. He went down in a sting after agreeing to meet a police informant, who gave him half a pound of marijuana to carry into the prison and $2,000 for his efforts. He’s now suspended from his job, too.
In Riviera Beach, Florida, a Riviera Beach police officer was fired August 26 over allegations he had a relationship with violent drug dealers. Officer Nathan Gordon had been on administrative leave since July while the department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates. He is now accused of providing the home addresses of fellow officers to drug gang enforcers. No word yet on any possible criminal charges.
In San Antonio, Texas, a San Antonio police officer was arrested August 31 for allegedly sexually abusing a young woman he pulled over and found had a small amount of marijuana and a pipe. Officer James McClure is charged with official oppression and is out on a $3,500 bond. McLure allegedly made the victim follow him to business center, where he strip searched her, groped her, and gave her pot back. The victim also claims McClure asked her for her phone number and called her for a date after a previous stop. He is on indefinite suspension.
In Milwaukee, a former Milwaukee police officer and state drug agent was sentenced September 2 to six months of house arrest after being caught stealing money in an FBI sting. Johnny Santiago was arrested in March after being filmed pocketing $1,100 of $17,000 found by him and other police officers during a drug investigation. He was working as a drug agent for the state Department of Justice at the time.
In Atlanta, a former Atlanta police officer pleaded guilty September 2 to federal charges after getting caught in a sting where the drug dealers he thought he was protecting were actually undercover FBI agents. Lucius Solomon III, 31, was charged in March with attempting to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and possessing a firearm while participating in multiple cocaine sales. In the plea bargain, the gun charge was dropped. The nine-year veteran is now out on bail awaiting sentencing.

A recent teleconference officially announced an industrial hemp partnership between the District of 100 Mile House and The Alternate Village at the University of Manitoba (U of M).
The announcement follows an earlier meeting held in Winnipeg where district and The Alternate Village representatives explored potential opportunities for working together to develop and demonstrate hemp-based products for green-building applications.
At the 100 Mile meeting, district attendees included administrator Roy Scott, planner Joanne Doddridge and Coun. Mel Torgerson. 100 Mile House Industrial Hemp Pilot Project student co-ordinator Robin Diether and steering committee members Garry Babcock, Jim Dunsmuir and Ken Meville joined them.
Said Douglas Buchanan, acting dean of engineering: “On behalf of the university and the faculty of engineering, we are very pleased and are fully supportive of these types of ventures between business, public funding and R&D [research and development].”
100 Mile House has been looking toward much-needed economic diversification for some time now, explained Torgerson, and the hemp project will allow two avenues of opportunity, namely the green-building industry and industrial-hemp processing.
“With the partnering of the university, we’ll be much further ahead and, hopefully, we can advance this project. I think we are [currently] in the seventh year and now would be the prime time to move forward.”
Attending the meeting remotely were Industrial Hemp Pilot Project manager Erik Eising, industrial hemp producer group chair David Zirnhelt as well as university representatives, Buchanan and Kris Dick, associate professor of biosystems engineering and director of The Alternate Village.
The two groups will share research information and demonstration methods regarding sustainable building technology, Dick says, which will include results from a test building that will be constructed at The Alternate Village.
They also discussed how the non-structural walls of the test building would be constructed of hempcrete, a product made by combining the hemp hurd – the part of the plant left once the fibre is removed – with a binder.
Eising explained that after its extensive efforts to research a variety of related information, and with no hemp-fibre processors located in the United States and only a few minor operations in Canada, the District of 100 Mile House has now branded itself as the Canadian knowledge centre for industrial hemp fibre processing.
“With all the activities that we have undertaken, we have an extensive network, not only in B.C. and [elsewhere] in Western Canada but also including Eastern Canada and stretching out into Asia and Europe,” said Eising.
The green building opportunities of industrial hemp have already been put into practical use in several houses in Canada, including one on Saltspring Island, Eising said, adding there is a huge market in the U.S. to tap into.
The 100 Mile House Industrial Hemp Pilot Project has a Green Building symposium slated for this fall, during which various practical and sustainable aspects and potential uses will be explored and demonstrated.

With much of the nation in the throes of a bloody drug war against violent cartels, more than 200 people gathered Sunday in a Mexico City park to smoke marijuana and demand its legalization.

Photo: NDTV

As the issue of cannabis legalization heats up so too does the discussion of women and cannabis use. At this week’s national NORML conference in Portland (Oregon) there is a panel ‘Women, Cannabis and Respect’ hosted by the NORML Women’s Alliance.
Via Jerri Merritt’s very popular TalkLeft: A leading Canadian magazine for marijuana reform, Skunk, has devoted its current issue to “lady legalizers.” Among the features: “The Top 100 Women of Weed.”
Thanks to Skunk for including me in the list. The list is pretty impressive with some names that surprised me: Arianna Huffington, Barbra Streisand, actress Kate Hudson and clothing designer Stella McCartney.
The list is heavier on activists, actresses and singers than attorneys, which makes me even more appreciative to be included. Examples: [See More Below….]
Mary Louise Parker, Alanis Morrisette, Bette Midler, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Melissa Etheridge, and Francis McDormand.
Also making the cut: My good pals Anita Thompson (Owl Farm, where I am headed for Labor Day Weekend, rock star editor Shelby Sadler and conservative activist and Denver attorney, Jessica Correy, who is on the same floor as me and the TL kid in our new office digs.
For women who want to get more involved in legalization efforts, I recommend the NORML Women’s Alliance.
The NORML Women’s Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of prominent, educated, successful, geographical diverse and high-profile professional women who believe that marijuana prohibition is a self-destructive and hypocritical policy that undermines the American family, sends a mixed and false message to our young people, and destroys the cherished principles of personal liberty and local self-government.
Marijuana prohibition makes the difficult job of parenting even more difficult by the state and federal governments not actually controlling marijuana use, cultivation or distribution–notably by American youth.
These diverse women will bring a contemporary approach to the public policy debate, and will proudly represent the interests of modern, mainstream women who believe that the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition far outweigh any repercussions from marijuana consumption itself.
The NORML Women present a core group of national spokeswomen ready to interact with the public and the media on the important issue of marijuana legalization.
Allen St.Pierre, NORML’s outstanding Executive Director, has this to say about the Women’s Alliance:
“The prominent role of women in the effort to end marijuana prohibition is pivotal, necessary, and long overdue. According to recent national opinion polls by Gallup and others, the dramatic rise in the public’s support of marijuana law reform is being driven primarily by an increase in support among America’s women. The NORML Women’s Alliance will bring a contemporary approach to the public policy debate, and will proudly represent the interests of modern, mainstream women who believe that the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition far outweigh any repercussions from marijuana consumption itself.”
NORML’s Women’s Alliance was founded in January, 2010. I am one of its charter members. It’s goals:
— The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that the fiscal priorities of marijuana prohibition are wasting billions of dollars on a failed policy.
— The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that marijuana prohibition violates states’ rights, and improperly expands the reach of government into the families and personal lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens.
— The NORML Women’s Alliance advocates for an open, honest conversation about marijuana with America’s youth that is void of all propaganda and misleading information.
— The NORML Women’s Alliance endorses the science-based evidence regarding the therapeutic applications of medical marijuana as well as the continuation of research into the subject.
— The NORML Women’s Alliance strongly opposes the sexual exploitation and objectification of women in pot-culture and business marketing.
You can get additional information about the Women’s Alliance here. If this is your issue, come and join us as we contribute our time and ideals to making a long-held dream for many, particularly those suffering from chronic pain, come true.
As Grace Slick would say, “It’s a new dawn.
From Celebstoner’s write up of the 100 Women of Weed:

by Phillip Smith,

In a Seattle Times op-ed Saturday, former US Attorney for the Western District of Washington John McKay defected to the other side. As the federal prosecutor in Seattle, McKay oversaw the indictment and prosecution of Canadian marijuana seed seller and pot advocate Marc Emery, who now sits in an American federal detention facility awaiting the formal handing down of a five-year prison sentence later this month.

better late than never: John McKay

But while he thinks Emery and most pot-smokers are “idiots,” McKay has come to see the futility of continuing to enforce marijuana prohibition. “As Emery’s prosecutor and a former federal law-enforcement official, however, I’m not afraid to say out loud what most of my former colleagues know is true: Our marijuana policy is dangerous and wrong and should be changed through the legislative process to better protect the public safety,” he wrote.
Marijuana prohibition “has utterly failed,” McKay concluded. “The demand for marijuana in this country has for decades outpaced the ability of law enforcement to eliminate it,” he declared, ready to throw in the towel.
“Brave agents and cops continue to risk their lives in a futile attempt to enforce misguided laws that do not match the realities of our society,” he wrote. “These same agents and cops, along with prosecutors, judges and jailers, know we can’t win by arresting all those involved in the massive importation, growth or distribution of marijuana, nor by locking up all the pot smokers.”
Pot prohibition fills the pockets of “Mexican and other international drug cartels and gangs,” even though marijuana is nowhere nearly as harmful to users as other illegal drugs, McKay wrote.
“So the policy is wrong, the law has failed, the public is endangered, no one in law enforcement is talking about it and precious few policymakers will honestly face the soft-on-crime sound bite in their next elections. What should be done?” McKay asks.

Marc Emery

It is a rhetorical question, of course, and McKay has answers: Recognize that the real public safety danger to Americans is not from marijuana but from prohibition, build policy on “sound science, not myth,” and… drum roll please… “We should give serious consideration to heavy regulation and taxation of the marijuana industry (an industry that is very real and dangerously underground). We should limit pot’s content of the active ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), regulate its sale to adults who are dumb enough to want it and maintain criminal penalties for sales, possession or use by minors, drivers and boaters.”
Not to worry, though, McKay assures his erstwhile partners in the prohibition racket. There will be years to come of extirpating criminality from the former black market, and that means job security: “DEA and its law-enforcement partners must therefore remain well equipped and staffed to accomplish this task: to protect our families from truly dangerous drugs and to drive drug cartels, gangs and dope dealers from our society.”
Still, a remarkably candid confession from a man who made a living prosecuting marijuana offenders. Too bad he didn’t find himself on the road to Damascus when he still had the prosecutors’ powers.

(NaturalNews) Experts from different persuasions often argue about the alleged benefits of using marijuana for pain relief, but a new study out of McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University (MU) has conclusively found that cannabis, the genus name for marijuana, is better than pharmaceutical drugs at relieving chronic neurological pain, and without all the harmful side effects.
Appearing in the latest issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study reveals that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana that gives it psychoactive and analgesic properties, is linked to relieving chronic pain, improving mood and inducing better sleep in those with severe neurological pain.
Patients who took a single inhalation of marijuana smoke three times a day experienced moderate pain reduction within just a few days. The effects were more pronounced with marijuana containing ten percent THC versus varieties with less than ten percent.
“This is the first trial to be conducted where patients have been allowed to smoke cannabis at home and to monitor their responses, daily,” explained Dr. Mark Ware, lead author of the study, Director of Clinical Research at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit at MUHC, assistant professor of anesthesia in McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and neuroscience researcher at the Research Institute of the MUHC.
“The patients we followed suffered from pain caused by injuries to the nervous system…and which was not controlled using standard therapies,” he went on further to say. “This kind of pain occurs more frequently than many people recognize, and there are few effective treatments available. For these patients, medical cannabis is sometimes seen as their last hope.”
For legitimate chronic pain caused by post-traumatic and post-surgical injuries, marijuana can be a safer alternative than prescription medications. As always, though, it is important not to abuse marijuana for non-therapeutic purposes.

Chief justice nominee blocks school drug tests

In a ruling by California’s chief justice nominee, a state appeals court has barred a school district from drug testing all students in extracurricular activities such as choir, the school band and Future Farmers of America. […]
the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento said Thursday that the California Constitution’s guarantee of privacy is more protective of individual rights than the U.S. Constitution and may prohibit the drug screening. […]
“The district has not shown a specialized need to target students participating in (the activities) for drug and alcohol testing,” Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said in the 3-0 ruling.
She said there was no evidence of a drug problem among students in programs like choir and Future Farmers of America, and little or no evidence that testing them would serve any useful purpose.

Nice to see a little sanity out there.

rom Bloomberg (NY)
Phil Moffett said Friday he’s willing to “go to the carpet” to legalize the production of industrial hemp in Kentucky. The Louisville businessman voiced support for industrial hemp in a question and answer session with libertarian voters in Lexington on Thursday and again Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. (Link to Story)

by Phillip Smith,
* Ballot Measures
* Medical Marijuana
* News Brief
Voters in Dane County, Wisconsin, the home of Madison, the state’s capital and second largest city, will be asked if they support passage of a state medical marijuana law, and they might not be alone. A city councilman in River Falls last week filed petitions seeking to put the same question on the local ballot in that town of nearly 15,000 in west-central Wisconsin, near the Twin Cities.
In the November 2 election, Dane County, voters will be asked: “Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?”
The move comes after medical marijuana activists such as Is My Medicine Legal Yet (IMMLY) have spent years trying to get the state legislature to pass a bill, to no avail. It is designed to show legislators they have nothing to fear politically by approving medical marijuana, and to suggest that the opposite could be the case.
The Madison resolution was approved by the Dane County Board in a unanimous voice vote on July 15. The charge was led by east side supervisors John Hendrick and Barbara Vedder, according to a report from IMMLY’s Gary Storck.
“I would just invite all of you to join Representative Vedder to represent our constituents and to represent the opportunity for all of your constituents to vote on this in November and to advise the legislature that they have nothing to fear from the people of Wisconsin if they decide to pass a bill to legalize medical marijuana,” Hendrick told his colleagues before the vote.
And they took him up on it. Now, the city council in River Falls will have the same opportunity, after City Council Member Bob Hughes filed more than 800 signatures last week with the city clerk’s office seeking to put a referendum question with identical language there.
Now, the city attorney will review the referendum question and then submit it to the city council. The council will then vote on whether to add the question to the ballot.
“Some community members contacted me about it and asked if I was willing to help,” Hughes said. It is another step in the process of bringing medical marijuana to Wisconsin, he said.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have already approved medical marijuana, although programs are not yet in effect in New Jersey or the District. Arizona will vote on it in November.
Madison, WI
United States