Fear of "the other" is at the core of marijuana prohibition. At least that is the conclusion that may be drawn from a review of its history, as outlined in a 70 page article in the 2009 Volume of the Utah Law Review. The article, entitled Medical Marijuana: The Conflict Between… Read full post »

In 1974, University of Virginia researchers discovered something very unlikely. Cannabis, banned in the United States in 1937, and further demonized by the Nixon administration in 1968, had an unexpected property: it inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells. But, even more surprising was the respons… Read full post »

Children are not stupid. Indeed, they tend to be more aware than most adults, who, by the age of 30 have generally devolved into repetitive patterns of mind and behavior. We either engage in futile endeavors to preserve the status quo, or launch doomed attempts at improvement by… Read full post »

Pomona, CA

On May 6, 2009, Candace Walsh, a 23 year old honor student from the University of California at Long Beach got a nasty civics lesson she won't soon forget. She was arrested, roughed-up, cuffed, stripped-searched, and thrown into jail, on what the police told her was a million dollar… Read full post »

and my house, whichever dies first.

or

The Magnificent Obsession of Small Birds 

I don't know what either of them did to incite such rage. My car is a sedate, though somewhat crumpled, 1994 Mercury Sable that has seen better days.… Read full post »

                                                     ^{images courtesy cannabisbook.com}

There was a time when cannabis was used happily and without nega/… Read full post »

Yesterday, I blogged about President Obama's dismissive and laughing response to the most highly rated question posted to the Online Town Hall meeting, and how he suggested that it said "something about the online community".

What was the question which drew such an embarrassed rejoinder from the Pre… Read full post »

The public did it again. They voted drug policy issues to the top of the agenda on Obama's latest experiment in civic give-and-take.

In preparation for the first online Town Hall meeting offered by the Obama Administration, the public was invited Wednesday to submit questions which would be addresse… Read full post »

That's right, you are hearing this from a Yellow Dog Democrat. I've started out my civic career with vote for Hubert Humphrey right after 18 year olds were given the right to cast a ballot, and never looked back.

And you know what? I've had it. It happened this morning. I got… Read full post »

Presently, the United States Federal Government sweepingly includes marijuana (or cannabis) in its ongoing War on Drugs. This classification is arguably a relic of the politically-based vilification of cannabis that began in 1937, and seems to have little to do with actual dangers inherent in the sub… Read full post »

Read full post »

Medical cannabis patients and providers breathed a sigh of relief, on Wednesday, when US Attorney General Eric Holder promised an end to DEA raids on Medical Cannabis Dispensaries.

About 25 minutes into a press conference to announce the results of Operation Xcellerator, a crackdown on the the Mexican… Read full post »

Researches uncovered some surprising results in a cross-over study of accident victims in a Swiss hospital ER: Cannabis use is inversely proportional to injury risk. In other words, the more cannabis used, the less chance of accidental injury.

This same study showed a dose-dependent increase in inj… Read full post »

It may have taken a front page story on the Washington Times, but the White House has finally responded to protests over recent DEA raids on medical cannabis providers in states where cannabis is a legal medicine.

President Obama had stated repeatedly on the campaign trail, that he felt raids on legit… Read full post »

Los Angeles, February 4, 2008

 The DEA smashed surveillance cameras and computers and threw cannabis medicine in large trash bags at the Venice Alternative Healing Clinic at 421 Rose Avenue. This was followed by a raid at the Marina Caregivers at 730 W. Washington Blvd. Marina Del Ray, and anot… Read full post »

It was all over the news: on January 22, the DEA raided a California Medical Cannabis Clinic in Lake Tahoe, and two medical cannabis grow houses in Colorado. This was two days after Barack Obama's inauguration, and several months after the President vowed on the campaign trail, to stop Federal raids… Read full post »

How?

We can do it through the use of some innovative social technology: Mandate a compulsory substitution of cannabis for tobacco in all manufactured tobacco products.

OK, I know you are already snickering, but give me a moment, and I believe I can bring you all on… Read full post »

They call it a thankless task, but I don't buy that.

When Senator Jim Webb declared he was taking on prison reform, he wasn't doing it for money or glory (the usual shallow currency by which compensation is measured). He did it for principal, and that is why he will succeed. As… Read full post »

President Elect Obama is known for reaching out beyond the beltway to take the pulse of the nation. His website, Change.gov offers all of us the chance to communicate our hopes, dreams, fears and needs. This is governance from the ground up, the way it was meant… Read full post »

In 1987 Bill Moyers produced a chilling documentary about America's involvement in covert activities, assassinations, sale of arms to terrorists, and the overthrow of legitimate governments, tracing these activities back to the National Security Act of 1947, and the wide use of Nazis to create and st… Read full post »