Afghanistan: Taliban Windfall As Opium Crop Is Set for Another Bumper Year

Afghanistan, the world's biggest opium producer, is set for another bumper crop this year, providing a windfall for the Taliban who tax farmers to finance their fight against government and foreign forces.

More than six years after US-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban, the failure to bring opium production under control means Afghanistan is now locked in a vicious circle. Drug money fuels the Taliban insurgency and corruption, weakening government control over large parts of the country, which in turn allows more opium to be produced.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC ) predicted the 2008 opium crop would be similar to, or slightly lower than, last year's record harvest. In 2007, Afghanistan had more land growing drugs than Colombia, Bolivia and Peru combined.

"While it is encouraging that the dramatic increases of the past few years seem to be levelling off, the total amount of opium being harvested remains shockingly high," said UNODC chief Antonio Maria Costa.

Opium is processed into heroin and smuggled mainly to Europe, where users often turn to crime to pay for the drug. "Europe and other major heroin markets should brace themselves for the health and security consequences," he said.

Opium poppy cultivation is concentrated in the south where the Taliban are strongest, and where British troops are based. Opium production is growing "at an alarming rate" in the south and west, the UN said.

All poppy farmers surveyed in southern Afghanistan said they paid 10% of their opium income to the Taliban or corrupt government officials.

"This is a windfall for anti-government forces," Costa said. "Further evidence of the dangerous link between opium and insurgency."

The report comes as Afghan ministers and international donors meet in Japan to discuss developments in Afghanistan. Britain is pushing for long-term investment in infrastructure and assistance for Afghan farmers.

Afghanistan is calling for more aid to stamp out opium production, but diplomats and analysts say President Hamid Karzai has failed to deal with corruption among government officials.

"We can only fight drugs in Afghanistan by the support of the international community," said General Khodaidad, acting Minister of Counter Narcotics, who uses one name.

Japan, host of the two-day meeting, responded by announcing new assistance of UKP55m, including UKP5m for police reform and UKP4.5m for border management.

However, Afghanistan's plea for more assistance comes as the United States and its allies struggle to co-ordinate policy in the face of rising Taliban attacks. Canada has threatened to pull out unless other Nato countries contribute more.

Violence in Afghanistan worsened last year and at least 10,000 people, including about 300 foreign troops, have been killed in Afghanistan in the past two years, aid groups say.

Meanwhile, the number of Afghan civilians killed by accident by US or Nato forces in air strikes and ground battles doubled between 2006 and 2007, the aid agencies claimed.

Human Rights Watch and the Project for Defence Alternatives ( PDA ) said that 272 men, women and children died in bombing raids, 62 were killed by ground fire and 16 were lost to a combination of the two last year.

This contrasted with 116 known deaths from coalition bombs and 114 from small arms and artillery fire in 2006. The coalition's increasing reliance on air power to compensate for the lack of troop numbers on the ground was the major cause of the increase in "collateral damage", said a PDA spokesman.








pass drug test
if you like this blog, check out pass drug test

Self Improvement Trumps Jail Time For Drug Trafficker

The Crown Has Lost An Appeal Of An 18-Month Conditional Sentence Given To A Cocaine Dealer.

The appeal was launched on the grounds that the sentencing judge placed "undue weight" on the man's aboriginal background.

Martin Patrick Charlie, of Cloverdale, had pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking after an RCMP officer caught him with 30 packages of cocaine and 16 packages of heroin worth about $1,200.

On the day he was arrested, Charlie was already serving nine-months' house arrest in respect to three drug charges arising out of another dial-a-dope operation he was involved in.

The Crown had argued for an actual prison term of 18 months to two years less a day, given this was his second dial-a-dope operation. The fact that his latest crime occurred while serving a sentence should have been seen as an aggravating factor, the Crown maintained.

But the sentencing judge, Peder Gulbransen, saw promise in Charlie's rehabilitation and decided to give him a break.

"Judges sometimes have to take chances," he said.

Justice David Frankel noted, in his reasons for decision, that more than two years have passed since Charlie was involved in the drug trade. "Why this case has taken this long to reach this point is not entirely clear," Frankel noted.

"However, it is a fact that during this period Mr. Charlie has been subject to stringent conditions, and is a much different person today than he was in October, 2005."

"It would be unjust," Frankel added, "and counterproductive not only to Mr. Charlie's interests, but those of society at large, to interfere with his successful efforts at rehabilitation by sentencing him to a period of incarceration at this time."




ezdetox
if you like this blog, check out how to pass a drug test

US TX: Drug Use By Teens Drops

DRUG USE BY TEENS DROPS Study finds overall decline, but painkillers' popularity is constant WASHINGTON ( AP ) - Illicit drug use by teens continued to gradually decline overall this year, but the use of prescription painkillers remains popular among young people, according to a federally financed study released Tuesday at the White House. The survey, by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, looked at the behavior of 8th, 10th and 12th graders nationwide. The study, in its 33rd year, found that overall drug use is falling, thanks to a drop in the popularity of marijuana and methamphetamines. The drugs most responsible for this year's decline in illicit drug use are marijuana and various stimulants, including amphetamines, methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine. At least one in every 20 high school seniors has at least tried OxyContin, a powerful narcotic drug, in the past year, the study said. The popularity of the painkiller Vicodin also remained constant. The percentage of students using Vicodin was 2.7 percent, 7.2 percent and 9.6 percent in 8th, 10th and 12th grades, respectively. Marijuana still remains the most widely used of all the illicit drugs. Cocaine was the one stimulant that did not show a decline this year. The study tracked a fairly sharp increase in the use of anabolic steroids by male teens in the late 1990s, 2000, 2001 and 2002. Since those peak years, the annual prevalence rate has dropped by more than half among the 8th and 10th grade males - to 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively - and by 40 percent among 12th-grade males to 2.3 percent this year. "The cumulative declines since recent peak levels of drug involvement in the mid-1990s are quite substantial especially among the youngest students," said Lloyd Johnston, the principal investigator for the study, which was financed by the National Institute on Drug Use. It surveyed 50,000 teens. "The most encouraging statistic relates to the use of methamphetamine, which has plummeted by an impressive 64 percent since 2001," President Bush said. The study also reported an increase in the use of ecstasy. Ecstasy use among teens dropped dramatically in the early 2000s, as concern about the consequences of use grew. However, the proportion of students seeing great risk in using this drug has been in decline for the past two or three years at all three grade levels, and use has begun to increase, at least in the upper grades.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in how to pass a drug test

US OR: King Bong

KING BONG Paul Stanford Is Oregon's "Drug Czar." Now He's Under Attack. Paul Stanford should be at the top of his game. After more than two decades growing, toking and agitating to legalize cannabis, the 47-year-old Portlander is now running the largest chain of medical-marijuana clinics in the nation. Stanford spends half his time jetting between home and Honolulu, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle, visiting his clinics that have helped thousands gain medical-marijuana permits. His nonprofit, The Hemp & Cannabis ( ahem, THC ) Foundation, is on track to rake in $2 million this year. His headquarters in Southeast Portland is the center of Stanford's dank ganja empire. On a recent Monday morning, the folding chairs and overstuffed couches in the waiting room were filled with about 30 people--many looking as if they'd just rolled out of bed--who were busily scratching out applications for permits to toke. If there is a kingpin of pot in Portland, it's Stanford--a man who can be credited with helping more people smoke legally here than anyone else. Of the 14,831 patients currently registered in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, Stanford estimates more than half, 8,000, gained their license to burn with the help of his clinic. "The goal of my life has been to end the adult prohibition from marijuana," Stanford says. Oregon's medical-marijuana initiative, which Stanford helped pass in 1998, brought him one step closer and landed Stanford's clinics on the national map. "He's certainly well known," says Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C. Stanford is also winning accolades--on Dec. 15, he's set to receive the Freedom Fighter of the Year award from Oregon NORML. But all is not well in Stanford's green-tinted world. Even his own daily dose of the herb can't dispel the fact that his five-state operation--and his own reputation--is under simultaneous attack from three quarters, each one a potent buzz-kill in its own right. Taken together, they're like dirty bong water spilled on a clean set of sheets. First, there's former Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix, who's pushing a 2008 initiative that would eliminate most of Stanford's client base by killing Oregon's Medical Marijuana Program. "It's gone overboard, and yes, he's been a part of taking it overboard," Mannix says. And then there's the Internal Revenue Service, which WW has learned is investigating Stanford for allegedly running his nonprofit as a personal slush fund. "This is a million-dollar organization that's being run like a lemonade stand," says Victoria Cox, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice. Finally, there are those within the movement itself who claim that Stanford and others like him are driving Oregon's medical-marijuana program in the wrong direction by running it as a thinly veiled commercial enterprise. "All they're doing is endangering this program for the very sick and disabled people who count on this medicine," says Jerry Wade, spokesman for the Stormy Ray Cardholders' Foundation, a Salem nonprofit promoting patient rights. It's a treacherous time for Stanford, who nevertheless manages to shrug off his critics like an after-school DARE ad. A look at his past reveals that he's had his share of downers--a stint in the Oregon prison system, multiple allegations of fraud, even a bizarre plot by conspirators to take over his clinics. Sitting recently at a Starbucks, sipping a seasonal drug of choice, an eggnog latte, Stanford was downright mellow about the world crashing down around him. "I'll keep carrying on," he says, "because I believe in what I'm doing." Stanford is a chubby guy with a warm handshake and no small amount of charm--tools he employs to take a stranger or a roomful of people quickly into his confidence. He's a familiar face to many Portlanders from his weekly local-access cable TV show, Cannabis Common Sense . In 25 years fighting to liberalize Oregon's drug laws, he's smoked with just about everyone who matters in the ganja counterculture, including Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Chong. It becomes clear soon after meeting Stanford that he gives the lie to most stereotypes of a stoner. His memory is impeccable--he effortlessly rattles off dates ( his first marijuana rally: July 4, 1978 ), statistics ( 40 percent of his clients are low-income ) and details, down to the lyrics of the song that was playing the first time the police kicked down his door in 1986 ( "the future's uncertain and the end is always near," from the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" ). Despite his multimillion-dollar cannabis empire, Stanford doesn't go in for bling. His ride is a powder-blue 2007 Chrysler Town&Country minivan cluttered with stray Bob Dylan CDs, and he lives with his wife and three kids in a small rented house on a dead-end street in Laurelhurst. His weekends aren't exactly the stuff of a Biggie Smalls biopic either. Friday nights see him shuttling his kids to school events, then rushing to tape his cable show--where he reads the latest cannabis news, invites potheads to play guitar, interviews guests and gives advice on growing. It's the last bit that draws the most urgent calls from viewers--after three decades cultivating world-class cannabis, Stanford is an acknowledged expert who can rattle off the optimal amount of light to give a plant during vegetation ( 18 hours ) or, more obscurely, the perfect angle at which to keep plants tilted during bloom ( 50 degrees ). True, being a drug czar sometimes interferes with family life. His wife--who, like Stanford, holds a medical-marijuana card and partakes almost daily--doesn't let him come to her office Christmas parties. She lives in fear someone will recognize him from TV and she'll be drug-tested at work. The kids, who attend Mount Tabor Middle School and Franklin High School, know perfectly well what Mom and Dad are up to when they hide themselves away. But Stanford says they show no interest in experimenting with their parents' stash. "They're like all kids," he says. "They don't want to do what their parents do." Stanford's 25 years in Portland have seen a string of hard luck and false starts. The Texas transplant attended Portland State University but never graduated, started a failed hemp-importing business, ran a string of unsuccessful campaigns to legalize pot, and supported himself by selling dope from illegal grows--getting busted twice and spending five months in prison. But when the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act passed in 1998, Stanford saw opportunity and seized it. His window: Many doctors were wary of cannabis as medicine, and patients were afraid to ask their regular physician to sign for a medical-marijuana card. Stanford's plan was to hook up patients with sympathetic doctors. After meeting each patient and consulting their medical records, Stanford's physicians provide their signatures and Stanford charges a $160 fee--less for low-income patients. With offices in five states, Stanford has more locations than any other medical-marijuana clinic in the country, opening in 2000. He's helped 24,000 people get permits, 18,000 of them in Oregon. In Portland, he was first on the scene. "I am always going to have a special allegiance to Paul, because when the chips were down, he was the only clinic there," says Dr. Richard Bayer, one of the original chief petitioners for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Stanford's headquarters is a 5,000-square-foot building on Southeast Ankeny Street. It's clearly not a typical medical clinic. Psychedelic posters advertise Hempstalk, the annual outdoor dope fest Stanford puts on in Portland. His patients are a disheveled-looking crowd, mostly middle-aged. The spicy scent of unburnt bud wafts off the patients and Stanford's 12-member office staff--most of whom hold medical-marijuana cards themselves. One of those patients is Jerry, a general contractor from Southeast Portland who did not give his last name. Gulping a Full Throttle energy drink in Stanford's clinic, where he comes to renew his permit once a year, Jerry said he started smoking as a teenager, went "from recreational to habitual," then got a medical marijuana card two years ago for chronic pain and hepatitis. Now he grows at home and smokes every couple of hours. "I don't believe in pills and I don't believe in drugs," he says. "Marijuana is not a drug." Stanford's success depends on the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. And that's exactly what Kevin Mannix wants to do away with. Mannix, a wonkish former Democrat reborn as a tough-on-crime Republican, is a point person for Initiative 131. If it makes it to the ballot and passes, the measure would do three things: increase penalties for repeat sex offenses, increase penalties for repeat DUIIs, and nix medical marijuana. Instead, it would allow prescription THC pills, which patients say are too expensive and not as effective. Pending a court challenge, the campaign has not yet begun gathering signatures. For most voters, the idea of locking up serial drunk drivers and sex offenders is a slam dunk. The question is whether support for medical marijuana 10 years after the law was passed is strong enough to justify a "no" vote on the measure. And that's an open debate, because there's no small number of people--from police to neighbors living next to large pot grows--who view the act as merely a legal front for stoners to get high. "It's been hijacked by those who are legalization proponents to use the drug--not for medicinal purposes but for recreational," says Pat Donaldson, a founder of the Citizens' Crime Commission in Portland. And he sees Stanford as part of the problem. "I'm questioning his motives," Donaldson says. "What he is doing is legal. But he is ultimately enabling people who may not be in need of this." Mannix's call to eighty-six medical marijuana echoes long-held concerns that the program is a safe haven for illegal growers. Oregon law allows medical pot permit holders to designate so-called "caregivers" who can grow up to six plants for each of their patients, but they are not allowed to sell. Yet police across the state have reported trouble with caregivers cultivating massive commercial grows. Stanford himself is a caregiver for 20 patients, and he has indoor and outdoor grows in Southeast Portland. Among the strains he grows are White Widow, Crippled Rhino, Medicine Woman, Green Goddess and Strawberry Cough. And not surprisingly, he's already taking an active role in opposing Initiative 131, blasting the measure on his cable show and preparing to pile money into a counter-campaign. Even if Mannix's measure fails to shut down medical marijuana, an ongoing IRS investigation could hit Stanford with the ultimate come-down--revocation of his foundation's status as a nonprofit. Based on a tip by a former employee, the state Department of Justice's Charitable Activities Section began looking into the foundation's finances in 2005. After interviewing Stanford in May of last year, the state turned the case over to the IRS--a spokesman there declined to say when the probe will be completed. In an interoffice memo obtained by WW , DOJ investigative auditor Douglas Pearson noted the following concerns about Stanford's foundation: * The THCF board consists only of Stanford, his mother, and Tim Herman, Stanford's friend and handyman. They meet once a year. * The nonprofit has no internal financial controls, with Stanford overseeing all income and disbursements. * In 2006, Stanford received $100,000 to cover "personal expenses." ( Stanford told WW he pays himself only $30,000 a year ). * Stanford pays no federal income tax for his employees and appears to have "serious and repeated violations of IRS regulations." Stanford is convinced the government is cracking down on him in part because he opposes the war on drugs. Cox, the DOJ spokeswoman, says that's absurd. "An organization of this size needs professional management, and they have their corporate records in shopping bags--literally," she says. Stanford denies any financial wrongdoing and remains convinced he'll retain his nonprofit status. "I haven't really worried or stressed on it because I haven't done anything wrong," he says. The feds are predictable enemies of a man like Stanford. More surprising, and far more personal, are attacks he endures from within the pro-marijuana movement itself. The most vicious come from Jerry Wade, spokesman for the Stormy Ray Cardholders' Foundation. ( Stormy Ray suffers from multiple sclerosis and was one of the original petitioners for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. ) Wade accuses Stanford of using his position as a ganja giant to push for legalization at the expense of patients. "It completely discredits medical marijuana and gives ammunition to everyone who's against us," Wade says. "If you want to change the law, change it, but don't do it on the backs of sick and disabled people." As a negative example of the way things might go in Oregon if people like Stanford have their way, Wade points to California, where commercial dispensaries have become clubs and boutique shops catering to wealthy college students--and too expensive for many sick people to afford. Stanford doesn't hide his goal of legalizing weed. He's pushing an initiative for the 2010 state ballot that would tax and regulate the sale of cannabis to adults 21 and over, while providing medicinal dope at a nominal price in pharmacies. But he disputes Wade's criticism. "I'm absolutely against anything that would raise prices for patients," he says. There are two other nonprofit clinics in Portland that specialize in hooking up patients with medical-marijuana permits--Voter Power, and Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse. Both are located in Southeast Portland and are headed by longtime associates of Stanford's. Their client lists don't approach Stanford's in size, and in the incestuous world of Portland pot politics, neither clinic's owner is a particularly big fan of Stanford. John Sajo, head of Voter Power, professes respect for Stanford's business savvy--though their 25-year, on-again-off-again partnership campaigning for legalization and growing bud has at times been strained. Sandee Burbank, head of MAMA, says she's known Stanford "for too many years"--that is, since the 1980s. "He's misrepresented to me, lied to me and stole," she says. "I don't want to go into it." The success of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act in 1998 prompted Microsoft millionaire Bruce McKinney to try to legalize dope in Washington state. In 1999, he gave Stanford $100,000 to start a campaign--but in a federal lawsuit filed in Portland the following year, he claimed $63,000 disappeared while in Stanford's hands. A judge found McKinney's claim was mostly right, and in 2003 he ordered Stanford to pay back $39,000, including $4,200 Stanford had allegedly spent on a Ford Thunderbird. Stanford says he never paid. McKinney--now a real-estate developer in Silver City, N.M.--blasted Stanford in an email to WW . "Basically, Paul Stanford is a thief," McKinney wrote. "He makes a living taking advantage of drug reformers and stealing their money. There is some debate about whether Stanford is consciously a crook...or if he is a sincere reformer who just can't separate his own personal interest from the interests of the organizations he works for. Either way, he has a long history of deceit and betrayal." Stanford takes issue with McKinney's lawsuit, but he acknowledges that it occurred during what Stanford recalls as his darkest period. On top of the court battle, Stanford filed for bankruptcy multiple times in 1999 and 2000, his house was foreclosed on in 2001, and his wife temporarily left him that same year. Then, in 2005--in an event that ranks as bizarre even in the Stanford chronicles--the normally tranquil atmosphere at his clinic was interrupted when Rochelle Leveque, a former receptionist at the clinic who had been fired three weeks prior, arrived with her attorney, Frederick Smith, in tow. Stanford says the two tried to take over the clinic and change the locks, then left after police arrived. Leveque was working with a man named Daniel Keys, who was down in Salem at the Secretary of State's office that same day registering the name The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation--Stanford had failed to reapply with the state to keep the name. He lost a lawsuit against Keys to get the name back and has since changed the foundation's official name to THCF. Leveque, who died in September of a heart attack, was the daughter of Dr. Phillip Leveque, the clinic's first doctor until he lost his medical license in 2004 for qualifying patients for the medical-marijuana program without seeing them in person. Dr. Leveque confirms his daughter planned to turn the clinic over to him after ousting Stanford. "I knew more about the damn thing than he did," Leveque says. Don DuPay, a marijuana advocate who worked at Stanford's clinic for a year starting in 2006, says chaos prevailed. "He's always one step away from disaster," says DuPay, who lost a run for Multnomah County sheriff in 2006. "Bouncing payroll checks is one of the things that pissed me off. He's too unstable for me to be around." Whatever his detractors say, it's clear Stanford is determined to maintain his empire. He's considering buying property for his patients' marijuana grows in east Multnomah County, and next year he plans to open a new clinic in Nevada. "I'm going to keep helping as many patients as I can," Stanford says. "We keep growing." [sidebar] TIMELINE 1980: Stanford enrolls at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., where he gets involved with the pro-marijuana movement and joins Abbie Hoffman's Yippie party. 1982: On summer break in L.A., Stanford crashes in the blacklight room of a headshop owned by "Captain" Ed Adair, a famous marijuana crusader. There Stanford learned about Oregon's voter initiative to legalize marijuana, which did not make the ballot. 1984: Stanford moves to Portland, where cannabis icon Jack Herer writes portions of his seminal pro-ganja book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes , in Stanford's house on Southeast 34th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard. 1986: Stanford leads a petition drive to put legalization on the state ballot. Vice President George Bush and first lady Nancy Reagan tour the state in opposition, and it loses with 26 percent of the vote. Stanford says proceeds from sensimilla he grew were the major source of funds for the initiative campaign. Cops raid his four grow houses and bust down the door at Stanford's girlfriend's place to find him smoking a joint. Stanford is sentenced to five years of probation and a $7,500 fine. 1991: Stanford does five months in prison on a probation violation for visiting China ( a violation of his sentence ) and getting busted for possession at the U.S. Capitol, where guards searched his camera bag and found three-quarters of an ounce. When he showed his fellow inmates a picture of himself in the marijuana magazine High Times , Stanford says he was treated "like a guest of honor" in prison. 1992: Stanford starts Ropewalk Paper&Fiber with seed money loaned from Steve Orgel, owner of the House of Hemp in downtown Portland. The company, which imported legal hemp products from China, goes belly up, and Orgel sues Stanford. A judge rules in 1996 that Stanford owed Orgel $24,000, with interest--a sum Stanford admits he never paid back. [sidebar] THE BLUNT TRUTH When famous Oregonians first--and last--Smoked pot. Darcelle XV, Portland's most famous transvestite "It was at one party in 1971. I went to sleep and missed the party. And that was it. Didn't want to miss any more parties." Kevin Mannix, backer of an intiative to kill the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act "I follow the U.S. Navy's policy of nuclear weapons on its vessels: I do not confirm or deny. I don't engage in discussion in these kinds of questions...whether Bill Clinton wears boxers or briefs." Lee Montgomery, editor of Tin House Books and 2007 Oregon Book Award winner for The Things Between Us "That's just so irrelevant. The last time was probably 1975. The first time was probably 1969." John Callahan, syndicated cartoonist "The first time was when I was 14. I didn't think I was stoned the first time, but we were sitting watching some cows in a field. It came to a culmination when we were driving and I leaned my head out the window and made the sound of a sheep as we were passing a herd of cows. I had gotten the salutation wrong, and everyone laughed at me. I couldn't quite figure out why. And then I had a bad LSD trip when I was 18. It scared me so badly that I think that's the last time I smoked pot." Bill Sizemore, political activist "I never smoked pot. But let me tell you this story: I was a park-ranger aide during a rock festival in 1970, I believe it was. I had to go around and make all the people outside the fence pay to stay in the state park. Every tent I went to I got a very strong whiff of marijuana smoke every time I pulled back the tent flaps. I never got a buzz. I didn't see how they could breathe it. I grew up around the drug culture, and I was curious about it but never drawn to it." Mary Starrett, former AM Northwest host, Constitution Party candidate for governor in 2006 "First time I was a senior in college in Boston. The year was 1975. The next time I smoked pot was in 1983. Both times were horrible experiences. Someone told me there must have been something in what I smoked. It was just very oppressive, very disturbing. It was almost terrorizing. I must be THC-sensitive. So I never tried it after that because it wasn't something I enjoyed." Storm Large, actress and singer "First time was in seventh grade....last time was about a week ago...and the next time will be when I go to Zoolights." Patty Wentz, acting spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Kulongoski "The governor is very busy dealing with the disaster response. We can get back to you with an answer to this question after all the people in Vernonia, and Tillamook, Lincoln and Clatsop counties are taken care of. Until then, we're heads down." John Doussard, communications director for Mayor Tom Potter "My guess is that Tom isn't going to see much utility in participating in this." We also left messages with U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer ( D-Ore. ); Democratic U.S. Senate contenders Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick; state Sen. Kate Brown; city Commissioners Sam Adams, Randy Leonard, Erik Sten and Dan Saltzman; ex-Mayor Bud Clark; Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale; Brian McMenamin, Portland LumberJax owner Angela Batinovich, and Beavers owner Merritt Paulson. They did not return our calls by the time WW went to press. [sidebar] Stanford's pain from an Army knee injury qualifies him for a medical-marijuana card, which he uses to inhale high-grade skunk from a vaporizer most nights before bed. A vaporizer heats buds to convert the active ingredient, THC, into a mist. The user then inhales the pure drug without the harsh smoke. This year, an assistant U.S. attorney in Yakima, Wash., tried to subpoena records for 17 of Stanford's patients--an attempt Stanford defeated in court with the help of the ACLU. Stanford's local-access cable TV show airs Fridays at 8 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 11. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates there are 300,000 regular marijuana users in Oregon, which has a population of 3.7 million. To qualify for the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, patients must have been diagnosed with one of the following: Alzheimer's, cancer, hepatitis, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS or another condition that causes nausea, severe pain, seizures, muscle spasms or cachexia ( loss of appetite ).

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug testing

CN AB: Grow Op Storage Costing Thousands

GROW OP STORAGE COSTING THOUSANDS Police Plan To Destroy Equipment Calgary police are taking steps to get rid of eight years' worth of seized marijuana grow operation equipment they have been paying to store in an Edmonton warehouse -- a move that could have a ripple effect for police services across the country. "There's no reason to keep it," Sgt. Ron Ternes said of the hundreds of crates of equipment. "Why are we holding all this stuff?" The Edmonton warehouse is being used to store at least 630 crates -- each about three metres by two metres. Police say they will dispose of unclaimed goods and move toward a system where the equipment is destroyed at the scene. This is expected to save tens of thousands -- if not hundreds of thousands -- of dollars. Ternes began looking into the storage issue about four years ago as he started refining the process for storing and dealing with drug growing equipment seized under warrants. But the problem still remained that there was a massive volume of seized grow op equipment that had been shipped to Edmonton, where it was stored in a warehouse by an arm of the federal government. The goods were held in the provincial capital because the special projects management directorate doesn't have storage in Calgary, Ternes said. About 18 months ago, a deputy chief analyzing figures related to proceeds of crime reimbursements from the federal government realized the number was smaller than it should be. The officer discovered the service was being charged to have the equipment stored in Edmonton. "It was almost like a hidden cost," Ternes said. Ternes questioned why taxpayers were shelling out to store equipment for trials that had come and gone. "If we hadn't taken this action, they would have just kept storing it and storing it and leasing more warehouses," he said. "That comes out of our budget, which comes out of the taxpayers' pockets. "The monies we save can be put toward policing in Calgary," Ternes said. The chairman of the Calgary police commission praised the service for taking action, but said he wasn't surprised to hear of the problem. "Wherever you get a big operation and you're working in an integrated fashion with other services, these things happen," Denis Painchaud said. "What's important is people are paying attention and are doing something about it." He said that policing is the largest budgetary item taxpayers are funding in the city. Police departments from B.C. to Ontario are facing similar situations and are keeping a close eye on Calgary's progress, with the hope of following suit. "It's become an issue right across the country," Ternes said. "We're the farthest ahead in the process. We're getting a lot of inquiries from departments across the country about the process." In working through the process to get rid of the stored items, Ternes has had to get a series of forfeiture orders signed by a provincial court judge. The judge also said, to cover all bases, the service would have to notify the owners of the equipment that Calgary police are moving toward having it destroyed. In a massive classified advertisement listing hundreds of case file numbers, police are giving notice they will destroy the marijuana grow operation equipment seized by officers between January 1999 and March 2007. The ad says anyone who owned the equipment and wants to make a claim to have it returned can contact Ternes. But he doesn't expect people will step forward because once they admit ownership of property related to a criminal offence, they will be subject to further investigation. "It's a technicality," he said of the ad. Ternes expects the service will get the authorization in the first week of January to go ahead with destroying the stored goods. The majority of the items are metal and will be recycled.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug testing

US MN: Marijuana Growers Tend Potent Kind Of Pot

MARIJUANA GROWERS TEND POTENT KIND OF POT Hennepin County narcotics officers are busting more home-grown marijuana operations -- sometimes in upscale suburbs. One reason for increased home production is the decreased flow of high-grade pot from Canada since border controls tightened up after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Sheriff Rich Stanek. Another factor is more indoor cultivation of higher-grade marijuana that's is up to six times more potent than that sold years ago, he said. Higher potency raises dealer profits and also may increase addictiveness, a drug expert said. Hennepin County's biggest bust, which reached into Anoka County, occurred at Bloomington and Blaine homes owned by brothers Derek and Jon Stoa. Police seized 1,250 marijuana plants with a $4.8 million street value in raids at the properties, county records show. More plants were found in a room hidden behind a bookcase in a barn near Barnum, Minn., that the brothers owned. If convicted on federal drug charges, the Stoas could forfeit $1 million in real estate. This fall, narcotics agents confiscated another 1,100 marijuana plants worth more than $4.4 million from an upscale home in a west-metro suburb. The suspects had stolen electricity for growing lights by chopping through the basement wall and digging underground to tap a utility power line, Stanek said. In dozens of busts since January 2006, Hennepin deputies and the West Metro and Southwest Hennepin Drug Task Forces have seized: Sixty guns. About 6,900 marijuana plants and 330 pounds of processed pot with a street value of about $29 million. Real estate valued in excess of $1.37 million. $801,000 in cash and bank accounts. Lights and growing equipment worth $370,000. Vehicles worth $220,000. High Potency, Higher Price Stanek said well-armed SWAT teams are used to bust indoor pot operations because "these high-grade marijuana growers are protecting these crops at any cost." Indoor pot can be grown faster and has a higher content of the illicit drug's main active chemical, THC. That can increase one plant's value to as much as $5,000, compared to $300 for an outdoor plant, said sheriff's spokeswoman Kathryn Janicek. In the past decade, marijuana has sent more people into Twin Cities addiction treatment programs than any other illicit drug, said Carol Falkowski, author of semiannual reports tracking hospital drug and alcohol admissions. The more potent pot, like other stronger drugs, "can hasten the progression from occasional use to regular use to addiction," she said. In 2006, marijuana was the principal drug problem for 18.3 percent of area hospitals' drug admissions, followed by cocaine at 14 percent, she said. ( Alcohol accounted for 48 percent of admissions, she said. ) Hennepin County efforts mirror crackdowns across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, federal agents have confiscated more than 400,000 marijuana plants with a potential value of $6.4 billion so far in 2007. That compares with 270,000 plants seized in 2006. It took 20 minutes to break through the barricaded basement door at one of the Stoa brothers' Bloomington homes, Janicek said. The Stoas had no legal income that would support lifestyles that included several lake homes near Barnum, which prosecutors are seeking to have forfeited because they allegedly were bought with drug money, she said.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help to pass a drug test

US CA: Edu: Column: New Pot Raids Call For New National

NEW POT RAIDS CALL FOR NEW NATIONAL LEADERSHIP For all you stoners out there, we all took a hit a couple of weeks ago ( and I'm not talking about the kind that makes you all happy and giddy ). The hit I'm talking about is when the feds raided a Long Beach medical marijuana dispensary. Long Beach Compassionate Caregivers ( as the joint was officially called ), located on 342 E. Fourth St., has now been "closed indefinitely" after the feds served a search warrant "on the basis of probable cause." "We believe they are in violation of federal law," said a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. There are currently 12 states that acknowledge the medicinal value of marijuana by allowing shops like Compassionate Caregivers to operate. However, federal law still refuses to recognize it because of this so-called "War on Drugs" that's been going on for virtually forever now. It's all politics. They disregard and overlook the health-related benefits for the seriously ill and dying. Medical cannabis patients cannot be prosecuted in the state of California, but they can be prosecuted under federal law because federal laws supersede state laws. Recently, in Garden Grove, the court ordered police to return medically prescribed pot confiscated during a traffic stop, after police refused to do so because of federal law. The judge ruled that it's not the responsibility of local police to enforce federal drug laws. You would think that the state laws would be made in accordance with federal law. Even so, it's sad that we, the people who voted for the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, can't even get the backing of the men in black, who claim they are working for us and not against us. If you ask me, the federal government is exercising discrimination against the 12 states that recognize medical marijuana in their laws. That was all the "probable cause" they needed. The feds have nothing better to do, so to cause a little raucous, they attack California, a state about as liberal as they come. How fitting for this to have occurred. It might be a political message to presidential candidate Barack Obama who admitted to inhaling when he was a kid. "I inhaled frequently. That was the point," said Obama during a televised interview. That is the most candid thing I've ever heard out of a politician's mouth, especially one running for president. Remember when Bill Clinton said, "I did not inhale?" Who was he kidding? We saw right through you, Bill. So you smoked a little ganja back in the day, big deal. Speaking of Bill, Hillary Clinton better watch out because Obama might be winning over the votes of stoner America with the issue of legalizing medical marijuana. The War on Drugs would be another twist to the election besides this whole "War against Terrorism." As a woman, I was all for Clinton becoming the first woman president. But, in light of the fact that Obama may possibly be a supporter of medical marijuana, I am given hope that, one day, marijuana will become a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco. "I would not have the Justice Department prosecute anybody with medical marijuana. It's not a good use of our resources," said Obama just a few months ago. He seriously said that. Look it up on YouTube. It'll make any pothead start chanting his name in song. It's no wonder he seems to appeal to the younger voters. With Obama in the White House, maybe there is a chance at legalizing marijuana. He's been there, done that. He knows how it goes. People are going to smoke pot regardless of what laws are in place, the same way minors are still consuming alcohol despite the age limit set forth by our laws. The government should just stop fighting it and capitalize on the black market sales of marijuana by legalizing and regulating it. They can tax the hell out of it and pump that money back into our economy. Plus, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on federal raids like the one in Long Beach, they would be saving themselves a lot of money. Like Obama said, it's just not a good use of our resources. Up with hope! Legalize dope!

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in how to pass a drug test

CN AB: Grow Op Storage Costing Thousands

GROW OP STORAGE COSTING THOUSANDS Police Plan To Destroy Equipment Calgary police are taking steps to get rid of eight years' worth of seized marijuana grow operation equipment they have been paying to store in an Edmonton warehouse -- a move that could have a ripple effect for police services across the country. "There's no reason to keep it," Sgt. Ron Ternes said of the hundreds of crates of equipment. "Why are we holding all this stuff?" The Edmonton warehouse is being used to store at least 630 crates -- each about three metres by two metres. Police say they will dispose of unclaimed goods and move toward a system where the equipment is destroyed at the scene. This is expected to save tens of thousands -- if not hundreds of thousands -- of dollars. Ternes began looking into the storage issue about four years ago as he started refining the process for storing and dealing with drug growing equipment seized under warrants. But the problem still remained that there was a massive volume of seized grow op equipment that had been shipped to Edmonton, where it was stored in a warehouse by an arm of the federal government. The goods were held in the provincial capital because the special projects management directorate doesn't have storage in Calgary, Ternes said. About 18 months ago, a deputy chief analyzing figures related to proceeds of crime reimbursements from the federal government realized the number was smaller than it should be. The officer discovered the service was being charged to have the equipment stored in Edmonton. "It was almost like a hidden cost," Ternes said. Ternes questioned why taxpayers were shelling out to store equipment for trials that had come and gone. "If we hadn't taken this action, they would have just kept storing it and storing it and leasing more warehouses," he said. "That comes out of our budget, which comes out of the taxpayers' pockets. "The monies we save can be put toward policing in Calgary," Ternes said. The chairman of the Calgary police commission praised the service for taking action, but said he wasn't surprised to hear of the problem. "Wherever you get a big operation and you're working in an integrated fashion with other services, these things happen," Denis Painchaud said. "What's important is people are paying attention and are doing something about it." He said that policing is the largest budgetary item taxpayers are funding in the city. Police departments from B.C. to Ontario are facing similar situations and are keeping a close eye on Calgary's progress, with the hope of following suit. "It's become an issue right across the country," Ternes said. "We're the farthest ahead in the process. We're getting a lot of inquiries from departments across the country about the process." In working through the process to get rid of the stored items, Ternes has had to get a series of forfeiture orders signed by a provincial court judge. The judge also said, to cover all bases, the service would have to notify the owners of the equipment that Calgary police are moving toward having it destroyed. In a massive classified advertisement listing hundreds of case file numbers, police are giving notice they will destroy the marijuana grow operation equipment seized by officers between January 1999 and March 2007. The ad says anyone who owned the equipment and wants to make a claim to have it returned can contact Ternes. But he doesn't expect people will step forward because once they admit ownership of property related to a criminal offence, they will be subject to further investigation. "It's a technicality," he said of the ad. Ternes expects the service will get the authorization in the first week of January to go ahead with destroying the stored goods. The majority of the items are metal and will be recycled.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug test

US MN: Marijuana Growers Tend Potent Kind Of Pot

MARIJUANA GROWERS TEND POTENT KIND OF POT Hennepin County narcotics officers are busting more home-grown marijuana operations -- sometimes in upscale suburbs. One reason for increased home production is the decreased flow of high-grade pot from Canada since border controls tightened up after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Sheriff Rich Stanek. Another factor is more indoor cultivation of higher-grade marijuana that's is up to six times more potent than that sold years ago, he said. Higher potency raises dealer profits and also may increase addictiveness, a drug expert said. Hennepin County's biggest bust, which reached into Anoka County, occurred at Bloomington and Blaine homes owned by brothers Derek and Jon Stoa. Police seized 1,250 marijuana plants with a $4.8 million street value in raids at the properties, county records show. More plants were found in a room hidden behind a bookcase in a barn near Barnum, Minn., that the brothers owned. If convicted on federal drug charges, the Stoas could forfeit $1 million in real estate. This fall, narcotics agents confiscated another 1,100 marijuana plants worth more than $4.4 million from an upscale home in a west-metro suburb. The suspects had stolen electricity for growing lights by chopping through the basement wall and digging underground to tap a utility power line, Stanek said. In dozens of busts since January 2006, Hennepin deputies and the West Metro and Southwest Hennepin Drug Task Forces have seized: Sixty guns. About 6,900 marijuana plants and 330 pounds of processed pot with a street value of about $29 million. Real estate valued in excess of $1.37 million. $801,000 in cash and bank accounts. Lights and growing equipment worth $370,000. Vehicles worth $220,000. High Potency, Higher Price Stanek said well-armed SWAT teams are used to bust indoor pot operations because "these high-grade marijuana growers are protecting these crops at any cost." Indoor pot can be grown faster and has a higher content of the illicit drug's main active chemical, THC. That can increase one plant's value to as much as $5,000, compared to $300 for an outdoor plant, said sheriff's spokeswoman Kathryn Janicek. In the past decade, marijuana has sent more people into Twin Cities addiction treatment programs than any other illicit drug, said Carol Falkowski, author of semiannual reports tracking hospital drug and alcohol admissions. The more potent pot, like other stronger drugs, "can hasten the progression from occasional use to regular use to addiction," she said. In 2006, marijuana was the principal drug problem for 18.3 percent of area hospitals' drug admissions, followed by cocaine at 14 percent, she said. ( Alcohol accounted for 48 percent of admissions, she said. ) Hennepin County efforts mirror crackdowns across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, federal agents have confiscated more than 400,000 marijuana plants with a potential value of $6.4 billion so far in 2007. That compares with 270,000 plants seized in 2006. It took 20 minutes to break through the barricaded basement door at one of the Stoa brothers' Bloomington homes, Janicek said. The Stoas had no legal income that would support lifestyles that included several lake homes near Barnum, which prosecutors are seeking to have forfeited because they allegedly were bought with drug money, she said.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in how to pass a drug test

US CA: Edu: Column: New Pot Raids Call For New National

NEW POT RAIDS CALL FOR NEW NATIONAL LEADERSHIP For all you stoners out there, we all took a hit a couple of weeks ago ( and I'm not talking about the kind that makes you all happy and giddy ). The hit I'm talking about is when the feds raided a Long Beach medical marijuana dispensary. Long Beach Compassionate Caregivers ( as the joint was officially called ), located on 342 E. Fourth St., has now been "closed indefinitely" after the feds served a search warrant "on the basis of probable cause." "We believe they are in violation of federal law," said a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. There are currently 12 states that acknowledge the medicinal value of marijuana by allowing shops like Compassionate Caregivers to operate. However, federal law still refuses to recognize it because of this so-called "War on Drugs" that's been going on for virtually forever now. It's all politics. They disregard and overlook the health-related benefits for the seriously ill and dying. Medical cannabis patients cannot be prosecuted in the state of California, but they can be prosecuted under federal law because federal laws supersede state laws. Recently, in Garden Grove, the court ordered police to return medically prescribed pot confiscated during a traffic stop, after police refused to do so because of federal law. The judge ruled that it's not the responsibility of local police to enforce federal drug laws. You would think that the state laws would be made in accordance with federal law. Even so, it's sad that we, the people who voted for the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, can't even get the backing of the men in black, who claim they are working for us and not against us. If you ask me, the federal government is exercising discrimination against the 12 states that recognize medical marijuana in their laws. That was all the "probable cause" they needed. The feds have nothing better to do, so to cause a little raucous, they attack California, a state about as liberal as they come. How fitting for this to have occurred. It might be a political message to presidential candidate Barack Obama who admitted to inhaling when he was a kid. "I inhaled frequently. That was the point," said Obama during a televised interview. That is the most candid thing I've ever heard out of a politician's mouth, especially one running for president. Remember when Bill Clinton said, "I did not inhale?" Who was he kidding? We saw right through you, Bill. So you smoked a little ganja back in the day, big deal. Speaking of Bill, Hillary Clinton better watch out because Obama might be winning over the votes of stoner America with the issue of legalizing medical marijuana. The War on Drugs would be another twist to the election besides this whole "War against Terrorism." As a woman, I was all for Clinton becoming the first woman president. But, in light of the fact that Obama may possibly be a supporter of medical marijuana, I am given hope that, one day, marijuana will become a controlled substance just like alcohol and tobacco. "I would not have the Justice Department prosecute anybody with medical marijuana. It's not a good use of our resources," said Obama just a few months ago. He seriously said that. Look it up on YouTube. It'll make any pothead start chanting his name in song. It's no wonder he seems to appeal to the younger voters. With Obama in the White House, maybe there is a chance at legalizing marijuana. He's been there, done that. He knows how it goes. People are going to smoke pot regardless of what laws are in place, the same way minors are still consuming alcohol despite the age limit set forth by our laws. The government should just stop fighting it and capitalize on the black market sales of marijuana by legalizing and regulating it. They can tax the hell out of it and pump that money back into our economy. Plus, instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on federal raids like the one in Long Beach, they would be saving themselves a lot of money. Like Obama said, it's just not a good use of our resources. Up with hope! Legalize dope!

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug test

US MI: OPED: Serving Our Veterans, Ditching the Ideology

SERVING OUR VETERANS, DITCHING THE IDEOLOGY Everyone knows war results in the death and destruction of human life. Any veteran can tell you it's not like in the movies. And for those injured vets who live to tell about it, any and all effective, appropriate means for medical care are welcome. The only problem is, certain proven procedures have been "off the table" for non-medical reasons. One of America's leading organizations promoting innovative approaches to such care is Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access. Incorporated in 2007, VMMA can claim sole ownership to the title of being this country's only advocate for veterans' rights to access medical marijuana for therapeutic purposes. Thus far, VMMA has been busy in a number of areas. As Executive Director Martin Chilcutt points out, "The VMMA is serious about minimizing whatever potential harm comes from using marijuana. I've talked to a good number of vets from around the country at conventions, on the phone and at veterans hospitals, and they tell me there's a real concern about conviction and going to jail. That's why we take this issue so seriously." Because of this concern, VMMA works with all legislative bodies, both locally and nationally, to endorse the responsible, therapeutic use of medical marijuana. Implied in this effort is the legislative push to end all prohibitions associated with the use of medical marijuana. Chilcutt, who is a veteran and has a service-connected disability, adds that another primary focus of the organization is helping to preserve the long-established, doctor-patient relationship. "Privacy rights are a big issue when it comes to medical marijuana," says Chilcutt, a licensed psychotherapist. "Vets need to know it's safe to openly discuss this topic within the Veterans Administration health-care system." A related concern for VMMA, according to Chilcutt, is a present-day political reality about making medical marijuana available to veterans. He notes, "The current administration in Washington is blocking medical research on medical marijuana. There are many research centers that want to do it, but the Drug Enforcement Administration will not let them. It's political garbage, because a lot of research has been done in other countries showing how much it helps various conditions." Showing his passion for the cause, Chilcutt lambasts what he sees as political cowardice on the part of government leaders. And all at the expense of those injured men and woman who have been willing to pay the ultimate price for their country. "The Bush/Cheney administration is betraying us," he concludes. "The veterans they say they support, many of them need and use medical marijuana. The lack of action from the top speaks louder than their words of support for the troops." For more information on VMMA, go to www.veteransformedicalmarijuana.org

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug test

US ND: Judge Plans to Rule on Industrial Hemp Motion by End of

JUDGE PLANS TO RULE ON INDUSTRIAL HEMP MOTION BY END OF MONTH BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota producers who are thinking of seeding industrial hemp next spring like their Canadian neighbors could be one step closer by the end of November. After hearing arguments on the industrial hemp lawsuit Nov. 14 in Bismarck, N.D., U.S. District Judge Dan Hovland said he will issue a ruling on the case by the end of the month. That won't be the final answer however. Tim Purdon, one of the attorneys for the two farmers who filed the lawsuit - North Dakota State Rep. David Monson of Osnabrock, and Wayne Hauge of Ray - said if the judge rules in their favor, there will other motions that "will be put into play." The current case the judge will rule on is the DEA's motion to dismiss the producers' lawsuit. Adam Eidinger, communication director for VoteHemp ( a single-issue group that wants U.S. farmers to be able to grow industrial hemp ), said the court "asked all the right questions" for a ruling that could go in favor of the two producers. "I felt good about how it went," Eidinger said. "We were thankful the court gave us as much time as he did. That wouldn't happen in Washington, D.C." During arguments, Hovland said he doubted the two North Dakota farmers would ever receive a license from the DEA to grow hemp, citing the status of an application to the DEA by North Dakota State University to cultivate hemp seeds to find varieties that suit the Northern Plains as required by the ND State Legislature. NDSU has been waiting eight years for the DEA license but has never gotten one. DEA attorney Wendy Ertmer countered that there had been two cases of the DEA granting university licenses for marijuana research - one to Hawaii and one to Mississippi. She didn't, however, know the specifics of either case. Ertmer added that there "could be any number of reasons" why the application was taking so long. However, she was not able to state those reasons, saying the only time frame requirement for the DEA to respond to any application is the initial 60 days. Hovland said, "Why doesn't the DEA deny the application so we can move on from here? In my view, I don't see any realistic prospect that the DEA will issue ( a license to the farmers )." Attorney Joe Sandler, who argued the case in court for the two North Dakota producers, said what makes this case different than any other case where farmers wanted to grow hemp was the state license. "North Dakota is the first and only state with a regulatory system in place for cultivating industrial hemp," Sandler said. The state has not only issued the producers a license to grow it, but has passed laws ordering the state ag department and the attorney general to regulate it, he said. The only part of the hemp plant that would leave the farmer's field would be the seed, stalk, or oil - parts which are used to make consumer products. Eidinger later said that there are no flowers on the industrial hemp plant, anyway, as there are with a marijuana plant because it is pollinated. The growing season is different so the hemp will produce seeds, not flowers. Industrial hemp in North Dakota would have to have less than .3 of 1 percent THC ( rendering it non-psychoactive ). "That's the lowest amount of any country growing industrial hemp in the world today," Sandler told the court. The judge asked if there would be "enforcement nightmares" from regulating industrial hemp. Sandler said it was unclear why the DEA was concerned about industrial hemp growing in North Dakota since none of the parts containing THC would ever leave the farmer's field. The judge asked Ertmer if she knew about a House bill introduced in Congress that would redefine marijuana to exclude industrial hemp. That bill would essentially remove hemp from the controlled substances regulation. Ertmer said she had no idea of the status of the bill, stating that since hemp contains a small amount of THC, it is a controlled substance. Sandler told the court there had been no hearings on the House bill, and added changing a law of this kind in Congress would likely take a long time. Eidinger later said the reason the bill is languishing in the House is because Congress is waiting to see what happens to the case in North Dakota. Ertmer told the court during arguments that the two producers shouldn't be able to move forward on a lawsuit until after they had grown hemp and were criminally prosecuted by the DEA. "They have to open themselves to a crime to challenge the DEA?" the judge countered. At a later interview, producers Monson and Hauge talked about the many commercial endeavors possible for industrial hemp. Monson said his neighbors to the north in Canada who grow hemp are still reaping a $200 to $300 profit per acre over traditional crops. Two years ago, Monson spoke at a winter conference in Winnepeg, where he found out that Canada was willing to sell U.S. farmers its hemp seed. They don't see the U.S. as competition because of the amount of possibilities for hemp - such as rope and clothing. Currently, the U.S. can import hemp products, but can't grow it. "If we could grow it, right now there's a number of businesses that could use it. We could supply a niche market," Monson said. Monson added he had some good crops on his farm this year, but knows hemp would produce better because it grows tall and crowds out weeds. Diseases are not really a problem with hemp, either. Monson said he suffers almost every year from scab in wheat. "Wheat that should have had yields of 60 to 80 bushels this year were down to 40 to 45 bushels," he said. "We had some very good crops but we're not getting the yields because we're too wet." Fortunately this year, the scab was early enough that it didn't affect the sampling, Monson said. He said he didn't get a discount for his wheat at the elevator, mainly because wheat is in short supply throughout the world. Monson said industrial hemp would also be good as a biomass crop for ethanol plants. "We need more biofuel with the price of fuel," he added. With hemp not an option right now, Monson said he introduced a bill this year in the state House that would "advance switchgrass as a biofuel." Other states are using corn stover, but North Dakota would be an ideal state to grow switchgrass in, he added.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug test

UK: Drug Barons Target Norfolk, Say Police

DRUG BARONS TARGET NORFOLK, SAY POLICE Quiet Norfolk suburbs are being targeted by crime barons looking to turn rental properties into lucrative drugs factories, it emerged last night. The alert came after one couple let their Wymondham home to a person they thought was a respectable Malaysian businessman - then discovered the semi-detached property had been used in a sophisticated cannabis growing operation. Each factory is capable of producing tens of thousands of pounds in profit. After the latest discovery police have reissued advice on how to stop criminals operating under our noses. It is not the first time homeowners and agents have been exploited - in the past year similar discoveries have been made in Norwich, Yarmouth and King's Lynn - and dozens more may be unwittingly letting properties to gangs. Police spokesman Kristina Fox said the force had led a number of successful prosecutions in recent months and other cases were still waiting to come to court. Many of these involved gangs leasing properties in residential streets. She added: "We have undoubtedly made a big dent in local cannabis supply. We would appeal to members of the public to report anything suspicious to us so we can repeat this success. "If you have a property near to you where no one seems to be living but there are suspicious comings and goings report it to us. "Cannabis production is a serious offence and our work to combat this issue will remain on-going. "We urge the public to remain vigilant in respect of cannabis cultivation in their community. Should a member of the public grow suspicious of a property, they shouldn't approach the occupiers, but call the police." David Hastings let his three-bedroom property in a leafy street four months ago. He now faces a repair bill of up to UKP20,000 after he uncovered the crime. He said: "There were a large number of empty boxes in the house and garage which had contained power packs, switchboards, lamps and reflectors and there is evidence that the electricity meter has been tampered with. "There were ventilation holes in the ceilings and floorboards had been hacked up. We now have a big clean-up on our hands and it seems like there is little the police can do." Drugs farmers often use hydroponic systems to accelerate plant growth. This means they can reap up to three harvests a year. "Gardeners" are employed to tend the crops with the income being passed up the chain. It seems likely that at least one yield was produced at the Hastings' property, meaning that a profit worth tens of thousands of pounds would have been made. The tenants had made excuses to cover up their activities. The man who signed the contract said his wife was "shy" and asked that Mr Hastings did not approach the property without permission. This also explained why windows were covered up. Mr Hastings noticed that the property was kept unusually warm but put this down to cultural differences. He only became suspicious when he asked to inspect the house and the tenants were evasive. By then it was too late as they quickly vacated the property. "They had carried out some remedial work which included painting the ceilings with white gloss paint and some holes in the ceiling had been poorly repaired and covered with Artex ceiling roses," he said. "It was obvious they had been growing cannabis in there, it even had a funny smell. But they had the nerve to ask for their deposit back." Landlords and letting agents should be aware of tenants offering to pay months of rent in advance or going above the average rate. They should never accept cash and always ask for bank details. They should be particularly suspicious if a tenant denies them access to the property or refuses entry to certain rooms.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug testing

US WI: PUB LTE: 2008 Forum to Offer Latest on Medical Cannabis

2008 FORUM TO OFFER LATEST ON MEDICAL CANNABIS Sir, Thanks for the series on medical cannabis ( October issue ). May I point out that the complete report on the use of therapeutic cannabis you wrote about is properly titled, "Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis." ( Russo, Mathre, Byrne et al 2002 ) The complete study may be found at www.medicalcannabis.com. Patients Out of Time ( Mr. ( Gary ) Storck is on our Board of Advisers ) is a 501c3 educational charity. We educate medical doctors and registered nurses about the therapeutic applications of cannabis. Our next forum is "The Fifth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics" to be held April 4&5, 2008, near Monterey, CA. The elected politicians who speak derisively of medical cannabis need to understand that this accredited conference is co-sponsored by the Medical School of the University of California-San Francisco and the California Nurses Association. This accreditation process is approved by the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association. Past conferences have been similarly supported. These are hardly institutions that are being duped by that ever-present lurking band of marijuana legalizers. Please also note that "The Petition to Reschedule Cannabis" sits in the Office of the Surgeon General of the U.S. awaiting signature. To see the over fifty thousand pages of worldwide research on the subject, information that does not seem to impress some of your less than enlightened politically adept lawyers you folks call Representatives, see www.drugscience.org which will provide you with over 15 pages of references. For those that want to watch and not read, at the video section of www.google.com search "Patients Out of Time" and dozens of lectures taken from this conference series are available to all. Cannabis and pregnancy, cannabis and Neuroprotection, cannabis and nutrition, cannabis and AIDS, and dozens more subjects are provided for your state's education. The efficacy of medical cannabis is not a myth. The myth is that folks like Ms. L. Vukmir, RN, speak with authority. Do some reading, watch a video, attend an accredited conference of experts and watch the faulty, ignorant, opinions of Vukmir and others disappear in volumes of peer-reviewed science. Al Byrne, co-founder Patients Out of Time 1472 Fish Pond Rd. Howardsville, VA 24562

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug testing

Afghanistan: Drug Dogs Unleashed in Kandahar Searches

DRUG DOGS UNLEASHED IN KANDAHAR SEARCHES OTTAWA - Canadian military police have started using drug dogs to search troops' bags at Kandahar Air Field after being tipped about soldiers suspected of using heroin, hash and pot, say newly released documents. Although there were no drug seizures reported, a briefing note says illegal drugs are readily available in Afghanistan and present a "temptation for Canadian troops in the form of personal use and in the form of importation for the purpose of trafficking." The documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, indicate there were at least five targeted and random searches of soldiers' belongings in June and July at Kandahar Air Field. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, an independent military police unit, used dogs trained to sniff out drugs to search about 90 soldiers and more than 100 barrack boxes. Military police took the names of soldiers in a convoy that was searched following a tip in July. The briefing note says that search didn't produce enough evidence to justify charges, but military police were to check their records "for any other indication of illicit drug use/trafficking" among those in the convoy. It's unclear why military police did the background checks because an e-mail outlining the incident was partly censored. Defence Department spokeswoman Capt. Julie Roberge said she wouldn't comment on specific searches. She said the military uses the dogs if it has a "reasonable doubt" there may be drugs at Kandahar Air Field or at one of the forward operating bases. "As soon as there's a doubt . . . of course there's going to be a followup," Roberge said. She said the dogs are a "NATO asset" shared among coalition forces. The Canadian military is field-testing its own drug-sniffing dogs in Canada with the intent of eventually using them in Afghanistan, she added. Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre, who travelled to Afghanistan last month on an unofficial fact-finding trip, said he saw no evidence of drugs nor did he witness any dog searches. The briefing note raised questions about whether the searches violated soldiers' Charter rights, particularly their expectation of privacy and the right to be secure against unreasonable searches. But it concludes that targeted and random searches of convoys are an "effective and efficient method" of deterring troops from using or trafficking drugs without negatively affecting operations. Word of the Kandahar searches follows charges laid this week against an Ottawa-based soldier for allegedly trafficking pot and hashish after an 11-month undercover sting operation by the military police unit. Master Cpl. Steven Pearson was charged with five counts related to the alleged trafficking and possession of marijuana and hashish dating back to January 2006. There have been other high-profile incidents in recent years of alleged drug trafficking within the military. Four crew members of HMCS Saskatoon were charged this year after a military police unit launched an undercover sting operation targeting the small coastal patrol ship in early 2006. A court martial for one officer charged with trafficking cocaine and disgraceful behaviour under the National Defence Act has been adjourned until next year. Two other crew members pleaded guilty and were given suspended sentences and fines, while the third was cleared of one charge and had a second one stayed.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in how to pass a drug test

UK: Editorial: Drugs Are, and Should Be Treated As, a Menace

DRUGS ARE, AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS, A MENACE For the past three decades or so, drug use and the criminality it spawns have posed the greatest threat to our social fabric. Any contribution to the debate on how to combat this menace is welcome. A specialist committee set up by the Royal Society of Arts has spent two years examining the problem and its report, Drugs - Facing Facts, is nothing if not thorough. It explores ways of reducing the supply of drugs, discouraging demand and treating addicts, while formulating new mechanisms for the delivery of drug policy. Along the way, it has useful things to say about education, treatment and rehabilitation. Yet the overall tone of the report is naive, and dangerously so. While the committee is under no illusion that drugs are bad, it strikes a note of fashionable tolerance that suggests it does not want to combat this scourge, but accommodate it. "The use of illegal drugs is by no means always harmful any more than alcohol use is always harmful," it asserts, as if an ecstasy tablet or cannabis joint are as benign as a glass or two of Chilean red. In fact, there is a profound difference. The use of soft drugs all too often leads to the use of harder drugs and addiction. Even more sanguine is its contention that "a majority of people who use drugs are able to use them without harming themselves or others". Really? What a complacent, middle-class take on recreational drug use is encapsulated in that sentence. In the real world, the victims of drugs are predominantly poor people on sink estates preyed on by ruthless drug dealers. Their need to fuel their drug-taking habit accounts for about 70 per cent of criminal activity in this country. "Without harming themselves or others"? We don't think so. As part of its light touch approach, the committee wants drugs to be classified alongside alcohol and tobacco, rather than in a category of their own. Such a move would simply blur the boundary between illegal drugs and the two legal drugs; it would only be a matter of time before the boundary vanished altogether. The report also bemoans the fact that drug policy is seen primarily as a criminal justice issue, rather than one of health. It wants to redress the balance by giving the Department of Local Government and Communities the lead role, rather than the Home Office. That is simply throwing in the towel. The report's most galling assertion is that current drugs policy is driven by "moral panic". Not so. It is driven by the desperation of people whose streets are not safe from the depredations of thugs hooked on illegal drugs looking for money for their next fix. That demands not greater tolerance, but the vigorous policing of unambiguous anti-drug laws.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug testing

UK: Cannabis Smokers 'Are Taking Huge Risk of Psychotic

CANNABIS SMOKERS 'ARE TAKING HUGE RISK OF PSYCHOTIC ILLNESS' Cannabis users are 40 per cent more likely to develop a psychotic illness than non-users, a study has found. Heavy users are more than twice as likely to suffer mental illness, according to a group of British academics, who calculate that about one in seven cases of conditions such as schizophrenia is caused by cannabis. The warnings come as the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary signalled that the "softly softly" era for cannabis may be coming to an end. Gordon Brown said last week that the Home Office would be consulting on whether it had been right to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug in 2004. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is to ask the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review the evidence. The paper, published in The Lancet, is written by a group of seven psychiatrists and psychologists from Bristol, Cardiff, London and Cambridge. They have pooled the findings from 35 studies in a number of countries, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Britain, and concluded that there is "a consistent association between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms, including disabling psychotic disorders". They admit that they cannot be certain that the association means that there is a simple cause and effect, but say that policymakers "need to provide the public with advice about this widely used drug". They go on: "We believe there is now enough evidence to inform people that using cannabis could increase their risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life." As well as looking at psychotic illness, they looked for evidence that cannabis could cause affective disorders such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Almost all the studies point towards an increased incidence of such disorders. The evidence is less strong, the writers say, but is still of concern. The study was welcomed by many experts, but others counselled caution. Leslie Iverson, of the University of Oxford, a member of the advisory council, said: "Despite a thorough review the authors admit that there is no conclusive evidence that cannabis use causes psychotic illness. Their prediction that 14 per cent of psychotic outcomes in young adults in the UK may be due to cannabis use is not supported by the fact that the incidence of schizophrenia has not shown any significant change in the past 30 years." But Robin Murray, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, called it "a very competent and conservative assessment of what research studies tell us about the relationship between cannabis and psychiatric disorders". He said that the risk could be even higher then the authors had estimated, because the cannabis available today was stronger than in the past. "This report cannot tell us whether the risk is higher with the use of the skunk-like preparations which are now widely available, and which contain a higher percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol," he said. "My own experience suggests to me that the risk with skunk is higher. Therefore, their estimate that 14 per cent of cases of schizophrenia in the UK are due to cannabis is now probably an understatement." Martin Barnes, chief executive of Drugscope and also a member of the council, said: "Cannabis is not harmless, and although it has been known for some time that the drug can worsen existing mental health problems, it may also trigger the onset of problems in some people." "The challenge is to ensure that information on cannabis use and the associated risks is understood by teachers and health professionals working with young people and conveyed in ways that young people will listen to. Since reclassification, cannabis use has continued to fall. We need to make sure this trend continues." Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, said: "The Lancet report justifies SANE's campaign that downgrading a substance with such known dangers masked the mounting evidence of direct links between the use of cannabis and later psychotic illness. The debate about classification should not founder on statistics but take into account the potential damage to hundreds of people who without cannabis would not develop mental illness. "While the majority can take the drug with no mind-altering effects, it is estimated that 10 per cent are at risk. You only need to see one person whose mind has been altered and life irreparably damaged, or talk to their family, to realise that the headlines are not scaremongering but reflect a daily, and preventable, tragedy." Martin Blakeborough, director of the Kaleidescope Project and a member of the council, said that it would be a waste of public money for the same panel, with the same evidence, to review the issue again. "There is significant danger in reviewing cannabis again, as it takes experts' minds off more important issues. Classification itself, although important, is not as urgent as the increasing epidemic of hepatitis B and C among drug users and the wider community, or the increase of stimulant drugs in our community."

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in how to pass a drug test

US: Web: New Studies Destroy the Last Objection to Medical Marijuana

NEW STUDIES DESTROY THE LAST OBJECTION TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA Anyone who advocates for medical marijuana sooner or later runs into arguments about smoking: "No real medicine is smoked." "Smoking is bad for the lungs; why would any doctor recommend something so harmful?" It's a line of reasoning that medical marijuana opponents have used to great effect in Congress, state legislatures, and elsewhere. Indeed, the FDA's controversial 2006 statement opposing medical marijuana was couched in repeated references to "smoked marijuana." But new research demonstrates that all those fears of "smoked marijuana" as medicine are 100 percent obsolete. The smoking argument was the closest thing to a scientifically meaningful objection to medical marijuana. While marijuana smoke, unlike tobacco, has never been shown to cause lung cancer, heavy marijuana smoking has been associated with assorted respiratory symptoms and a potentially increased risk of bronchitis. That's because burning any plant material produces a whole lot of substances such as tars, and carbon monoxide that are not good for the lungs. Nevertheless, inhalation is clearly the best method for administering marijuana's active components, called cannabinoids. Cannabinoids such as THC are fat-soluble molecules that are absorbed slowly and unevenly when taken orally, as in the prescription THC pill Marinol. This means that Marinol typically takes an hour to two hours to work, and dose adjustment is nearly impossible. Patients often report that when it finally kicks in, it hits like a ton of bricks, leaving them too stoned to function. For that reason, The Lancet Neurology noted a few years ago, "Smoking has been the route of choice for many cannabis users because it delivers a more rapid 'hit' and allows more accurate dose titration." Because the effect is nearly instantaneous, patients can simply take as many puffs as they need, stopping when they've achieved the needed effect without excessive intoxication. So far, no pharmaceutical product -- not even Sativex, the much-touted marijuana spray now marketed in Canada -- achieves this combination of rapid action and simple, accurate dose adjustment. Back in 1999, the Institute of Medicine's White House-commissioned report on medical marijuana conceded marijuana's medical benefits, saying that what is needed is "a nonsmoked rapid-onset cannabinoid drug delivery system." The new studies -- one from the University of California, San Francisco, and the other from the University at Albany, State University of New York -- confirm that such a system is here. It's called vaporization, and has been familiar to medical marijuana patients for many years, but few outside the medical marijuana community know it exists. Unlike smoking, a vaporizer does not burn the plant material, but heats it just to the point at which the THC and the other cannabinoids vaporize. In the Volcano vaporizer tested at UCSF, the vapors are collected in a detachable plastic bag with a mouthpiece for inhalation. The UCSF study, conducted by Dr. Donald Abrams and colleagues and just published online by the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics ( to appear in the journal's print edition on May ) compared a commercially available vaporizer called the Volcano to smoking in 18 volunteers. The subjects inhaled three different strengths of marijuana either as smoked cigarettes or vaporized using the Volcano. The researchers then measured the volunteers' plasma THC levels and the amount of expired carbon monoxide, which is considered a reliable marker for the unwanted combustion products contained in smoke. The two methods produced similar THC levels, with vaporization producing somewhat higher levels, and were judged equally efficient for administration of cannabinoids. The big difference was in expired carbon monoxide. As expected, there was a sharp increase in carbon monoxide levels after smoking, while "little if any" increase was detected after vaporization. "This indicates little or no exposure to gaseous combustion toxins," the researchers wrote. "Vaporization of marijuana does not result in exposure to combustion gases, and therefore is expected to be much safer than smoking marijuana cigarettes." A second study, by Dr. Mitch Earleywine at the University at Albany, State University of New York, involved an Internet survey of nearly 7,000 marijuana users. Participants were asked to identify their primary method of using marijuana ( joints, pipe, vaporizer, edibles, etc. ) and were asked six questions about respiratory symptoms. After adjusting for variables such as age and cigarette use, vaporizer users were 60 percent less likely than smokers to report respiratory symptoms such as cough, chest tightness or phlegm. The effect of vaporizer use was more pronounced the larger the amount of marijuana used. "Our study clearly suggests that the respiratory effects of marijuana use can be decreased by use of a vaporizer," Earleywine commented. "In fact, because we only asked participants about their primary means of using marijuana, it's likely that people who exclusively use vaporizers will get even more benefit than our results indicate, because no doubt some in our study used vaporizers most of the time but not all of the time." In a rational world, the government officials objecting to medical marijuana based on the health risks of smoking would greet this research with open arms. They would join with groups like the Marijuana Policy Project in spreading the word about this important, health-enhancing technology. Don't hold your breath.

brought to you by... http://www.ezdetox.com/ where you can find help in pass a drug test

CN MB: Edu: 420 Reasons To Celebrate

420 REASONS TO CELEBRATE What's the deal with the stoner magic number? Four-twenty. Though pot-smokers' relationship with the first 419 integers in the numerical system is decidedly indifferent, the number 420 elicits salivation, giddiness, and a rustling of Zig-Zags upon it