Chuck Cirino gives us a short history lesson on how marijuana became illegal in the US. The November 2nd ballot in California includes Proposition 19, which if passed would legalize various marijuana related activities in California.

http://laughingsquid.com/how-marijuana-became-illegal/

Here’s a weed-related community that looks pretty cool – Spliffbook.

“Welcome to SpliffBook, the social extension of the Weed Nation. After fighting the evil forces of corporate greed and political corruption every stoner hero needs a place to unwind and spark a spliff among friends, and now we have one. This is the place we can all be ourselves, to say, think and smoke whatever you choose, I know other social sites don’t let you talk about weed, but I don’t care how high you get…long as I can hit it. So kick back, roll up a fat one and blaze one for the Nation.”

Check it out at http://spliffbook.net/

It’s something most seasoned pot smokers already know, but still it’s nice to get more scientific confirmation: Marijuana doesn’t make you wreck your car.

Subjects show almost identical driving skills just before and just after smoking marijuana, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.

Read more here

EVEN preschool teachers unwind with a round of drinks now and then. But in professional kitchens, where the hours are long, the pace intense and the goal is to deliver pleasure, the need to blow off steam has long involved substances that are mind-altering and, often enough, illegal.

“Everybody smokes dope after work,” said Anthony Bourdain, the author and chef who made his name chronicling drugs and debauchery in professional kitchens. “People you would never imagine.”

So while it should not come as a surprise that some chefs get high, it’s less often noted that drug use in the kitchen can change the experience in the dining room.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/dining/19pot.html?src=me&ref=homepage

It is the opinion of Health Canada that synthetic cannabinoids are in fact a Controlled Substance in Canada. This substance would fall under item 1 of schedule 2 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which reads as follows:

1. Cannabis, its preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations, including

(1) Cannabis resin

(2) Cannabis (marihuana)

(3) Cannabidiol (2-[3-methyl-6-(1-methylethenyl)-2-cyclohexen-1-yl]-5-pentyl-1,3-benzenediol)

(4) Cannabinol (3-n-amyl-6,6,9-trimethyl-6-dibenzopyran-1-ol)

(5) Nabilone ((±)-trans-3-(1,1-dimethylheptyl)-6,6a,7,8,10,10a-hexahydro-1-hydroxy-6,6-dimethyl-9H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-9-one)

(6) Pyrahexyl (3-n-hexyl-6,6,9-trimethyl-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-6-dibenzopyran-1-ol)

(7) Tetrahydrocannabinol (tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol)

(7.1) 3-(1,2-dimethylheptyl)-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol (DMHP)

but not including

(8) Non-viable Cannabis seed, with the exception of its derivatives

(9) Mature Cannabis stalks that do not include leaves, flowers, seeds or branches; and fiber derived from such stalks”

You will note that the Canadian cannabis wording covers “preparations, derivatives and similar synthetic preparations” relating to Cannabis. This is wider than the UK definition which does not refer to similar synthetic preparations.

This means that for safety we can no longer ship Dust or Magic Dragon to Canada… sorry guys!

Stoners around the world should roll one up in celebration today.

California state lawmakers have just passed the “first formal consideration of marijuana legalization in American history.” Assemblymember Tom Ammanio’s Assembly Bill 390 – the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act – was heard and voted on in the Committee for Public Safety. The bill passed 4-3, and will next be heard by the Committee for Public Health.

http://www.rantrave.com/Rave/Legalize-Marijuana-Bill-Moves-Forward.aspx

Cannabis clubs – where users flout the law by meeting to smoke and buy the Class C drug – may soon open nationwide.

Next month founding members of New Zealand’s first cannabis connoisseurs’ club, Auckland’s Daktory, plan to meet fellow users throughout the country to help set-up Daktories in other cities.

Read more at http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3218470/Pot-clubs-go-nationwide

Med Grow opened Sept. 14. Students pay $475 for a six-week night-school course that includes classes in marijuana history, marijuana law, the basics of business and, of course, several courses in how to grow and cook marijuana — one taught by an anonymous professor who goes by the name “Nature.” Two groups, each comprising 20 students, have graduated, and several other groups are on their way.

“The students are a mixed bag,” says attorney Paul Youngs, who teaches Med Grow’s law class. “We have patients who want to grow for themselves. We have people who want to be caregivers and who approach it as a business opportunity. We even had a priest who works with AIDS patients. It’s a mix of races and a mix of ages from the 20s to the 60s. And I believe some of the students are not even users.”

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/30/school-of-pot-cannabis-college-offers-higher-education-in-growing-medical-marijuana/

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

Read more at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-Newsbreak-New-medical-apf-4109207182.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=