MetaFilter posts tagged with Marijuana and warondrugs

The Spice Must Flow

furiousxgeorge — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:43:40 -0800

(Some links NSFW) Any down on their luck stoner is familiar with so called, "legal bud" Herbs of all kinds have been marketed online to the connectionless or legally restricted that offered a marijuana like high without the legal consequences. Everyone knows they are all scams. It might surprise you, that some were not. Commonly sold under the names Spice or Zohai, mixtures of herbs sprayed with synthetic cannabinoid substances such as HU-210 or JWH-018 have been available online for at least the past four years. This thriving grey market has recently come to a grinding halt. Spice was listed as containing a varying mix of herbal ingredients, some of which could plausibly offer a psychoactive experience. The government in Frankfurt was not convinced that the listed ingredients could account for the reported THC like effects. A study was commissioned that revealed the presence of an unlisted ingredient, a synthetic cannabinoid. Several nations were quick to enact bans. In the United States, a shipment of spice was intercepted by customs agents. Tests of the material confirmed the presence of HU-210, which is illegal under the Analog Act. Spice, and similar products, in a matter of weeks have been made near impossible to find. This is a rare, sweeping victory in the War on Drugs. Will these synthetic cannabinoids never be heard from again, despite potential promise in medical research? Will they be demonized out of our medical culture like their mother drug? Will other individuals find a way to stealthily market similar compounds to those just looking for fun? Time will tell.

Another week, another benefit

Mr_Zero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:55:03 -0800

We all know that marijuana has some medical uses. It has been discussed on Mefi many times before. Earlier this month a group of pharmacists and chemists published a study in which they found that cannabis is a source of antibacterial chemicals for multidrug resistant bacteria. If you are a pharmacists or chemist here is the actual study. A synopsis of the study for everyone else.

Ten Years in Jail for Selling Lightbulbs

lalochezia — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:41:19 -0800

Ten Years in Jail for Selling Lightbulbs

U.S. uploads anti-drug videos to YouTube

taosbat — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:51:04 -0800

Let The Fun Begin! U.S. uploads anti-drug videos to YouTube, hilarity sure to ensue. [look who they popped]

Goodbye Rosie, The Queen of Corona

fandango_matt — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 23:03:47 -0800

Overgrow.com --one of the largest and most comprehensive sites written by and for cannabis growers about cannabis cultivation, complete with user forums and immense photo galleries--along with Heaven's Stairway Seeds (hempqc.com), Cannabisworld.com, and Eurohemp.com have all been shut down, their owners arrested in Canada, and the servers seized. The story hasn't yet made the Canadian news, but it raises many questions about free speech online.

SMOKING MARIJUANA DOES NOT CAUSE LUNG CANCER

well_balanced — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 12:15:25 -0800

SMOKING MARIJUANA DOES NOT CAUSE LUNG CANCER "Even heavy longterm use"- does not cause cancer of the lung, upper airwaves, or esophagus, Donald Tashkin reported at this year's meeting of the International Cannabinoid Research Society. Over the years, Tashkin's lab at UCLA has produced irrefutable evidence of the damage that marijuana smoke wreaks on bronchial tissue. It is Tashkin's research that the Drug Czar's office cites in ads linking marijuana to lung cancer.

Costs of cannabis prohibition is lot more potent than in the 70s

daksya — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 23:22:01 -0800

The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition by Jeffrey Miron of Boston U.. So far, endorsed by 500+ economists, including Milton Friedman.

Key points:
*End prohibition and save $7.7 billion in govt. expenditure.
*Tax its sale, like alcohol, and generate $6.2 billion in revenue.

NORML Releases Most Comprehensive Analysis Of US Marijuana Arrest Data To Date

trharlan — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:37:01 -0800

NORML Releases "Most Comprehensive Analysis Of US Marijuana Arrest Data To Date"

Among the reports' findings: * The enforcement of state and local marijuana laws annually costs US taxpayers an estimated $7.6 billion, approximately $10,400 per arrest. * While adult African Americans account for only 8.8% of the US population and 11.9% of annual marijuana users, they comprise 23% of all marijuana possession arrests in the United States.

Dude you are soooo high

mathowie — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 14:46:54 -0800

Eat 'em if you got 'em: hemp-based foods were banned several years ago, thanks to the Drug Enforcement Agency's neverending "war on (some) drugs" but lawyers for hemp-based food companies successfully overturned the law, and the deadline ran out on the DEA to challenge it. Not that I would ever want to eat a hemp cheeseburger, but it's nice to know I can. Hopefully hemp rope will remain legal as well.

Prohibition, as we suspected, is a failure.

WolfDaddy — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 10:02:33 -0800

More kids smoking marijuana than tobacco. A report by the CDC reports that more kids now report having smoked pot in the last thirty days than those that reported having smoked a cigarette, and in fact, tobacco usage is showing a steep decline while marijuana usage is showing a steady uptick. This item is just one of many interesting statistics contained within the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report, taken between February-December, 2003. The war on some drugs wages on... (via my friend C-Dawg)

Hemp for Victory!

digaman — Sun, 04 May 2003 09:16:18 -0800

"Hemp for Victory!" A USDA educational film from 1942 extolling the patriotic virtues of growing the crop that, a half-century later, over 600,000 people would be arrested for possessing. (Gotta love the official "Producer of Marihuana" license.) How times have changed.

Geopolitics and Illicit Drugs

titboy — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 15:45:19 -0800

Well known for speaking the truth about governments and getting pressured for it [7th paragraph from the top], Alain Labrousse recently published his Dictionnaire géopolitique des drogues [Geopolitical Dictionary of Drugs]. I don't think it's been translated in English yet, but all his previous works have, so I'm sure an English version is on the way. His latest book is being well received by everyone who's interested in "open source" information about drugs, particularly how the various national economies profit from them. A recent review [in French], cites one example of twisted international relations concerning drugs [my translation]: Europe speaks no evil about activities in Morocco, the most important source of cannabis in the world, or in Turkey, where scores of laboratories transform afghan opium into heroin, simply because these two countries provide a frontline of resistance to radical Islam. In North America, in Mexico, the United States tolerated for 70 years the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional - PRI), even though its leaders supported, and even chose mexican drug cartels. Geostrategic interests outweigh the most basic needs of the war against drugs.

Drug War Roundup V

raaka — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:19:00 -0800

Drug War Roundup V. "It's the most horrible mistake I've ever made," says a juror who helped convict Ed "Guru of Ganja" Rosenthal of marijuana production. The judge in Ed's case didn't consider him a flight risk, but may have after reading "The Drug War Refugees" (reg. req.), about Americans fleeing to Canada. The entire drug trade is approximately "the size of the Spanish economy and about 8 percent of world trade." And, of course, is responsible for hippo migration to Columbia.

superbowl marijuana

skallas — Wed, 29 Jan 2003 20:34:23 -0800

Amusing Op-Ed piece on this year's Anti-Drug Superbowl ad "But this has got to be good news for some. Infertility clinics are in for a big surprise with this one. Forget all those expensive, painful procedures. Simply grab some weed, and boom-boom!" [NORML article]

Degaz — Mon, 14 Oct 2002 19:27:15 -0800

Can the current prohibition really be blamed on one guy? First he tells Congress that "marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind" and then World War 2 comes and farmers are encouraged to grow it. After the War, he turns around and tells Congress that it could be used by the Russians to make our men lazy and pacifistic. If he had kept his original argument, our men would be insane killers against the Russian army. What would the country be like if there never was a HARRY J. ANSLINGER ?

FiveFrozenFish — Tue, 17 Sep 2002 06:23:14 -0800

City officials to give away weed. A Santa Cruz councilman wants to show solidarity with those arrested in a recent federal raid on a medicinal growing operation. Apparently "the whole community is up in arms about this." This, being the raid, not the medicinal use of marijuana. Is the general public's attitude finally starting to sway?

raaka — Sat, 07 Sep 2002 05:31:56 -0800

Drug War Roundup IV. An athlete who refused a drug test was stripped of her awards. She plays bridge. American Indians who honed their skills tracking drug smugglers recently trained Baltic border guards in the hopes of preventing nuclear weapon proliferation. Another chapter was written in the ongoing "is ecstasy all that dangerous?" debate. Salvatore Gravano is on his way back to prison for running an ecstasy ring. Nevada is edging closer to legalizing up to three ounces of marijuana, to the disdain of Bush's Drug Policy director and Nevada's biggest police group. A Canadian right wing party and cops came out against their government's recent pro-legalization report. I see a pattern, but maybe it's just the pudding.

drezdn — Sat, 17 Aug 2002 19:39:10 -0800

The war on drugs claims forest as casualty. A forest fire that burned out of control for almost two weeks and devastated over 50,000 acres near San Diego was caused by a helicopter looking for pot farms, a California Department of Forestry investigation has concluded. [link via disinfo]

magullo — Wed, 15 May 2002 08:17:35 -0800

Yale corrects the legislative mistakes of its presidential alumnus. If the joint that you got caught smoking in high school bars you from Federal aid, they'll match it dollar for dollar.

emptyage — Tue, 15 Jan 2002 12:25:10 -0800

Phew! It's okay to drive stoned in Idaho now. Assuming you can pass a field sobriety test, that is. To quote the attorney, "just having smoked marijuana doesn't give somebody cause to arrest you for that when driving." This seems to be a technicality, and you have to assume it's going to be overturned. If not, anyone up for a road trip to Boise?

snakey — Wed, 29 Nov 2000 09:32:16 -0800

Tale of the Coke Monkeys. GAH! Coke may lead to Cannabis! It's Salon, but it's hilarious.