Natural Cures Not Medicine: legalization

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Washington DC next in line to decriminalize marijuana?

by Drake Dorm | Medical Jane

According to The Washington Post, 10 of 13 Washington D.C. council members signed a bill Thursday to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis within the city limits. The bill was proposed by council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) earlier this year and calls for fines no larger than $100. “Less than one ounce would not be a crime,” Wells explained. “That would no longer mean a drug-arrest record.”

“Less than one ounce would not be a crime… That would no longer mean a drug-arrest record.” – Tommy Wells

Furthermore, Wells and the office of the attorney general said they could be able to come to an agreement on fines as low as $25.

The move comes as the result of a two-part public hearing arranged by Wells and Marion Berry (D-Ward 8), at which council members heard testimony in regards to The Simple Possession of Small Quantities of Marijuana Decriminalization Act of 2013. NORML, among other organizations, spoke in favor other the bill, and Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said he supports it.

With that said, Mayor Gray stressed that it is decriminalization, not legalization, that he is in favor of. “I support decriminalization. Legalization is another issue. I’m not here on that issue, yet,” he explained.

A likely explanation for this is the results of two recent polls that placed D.C. among the worst for racial disparity in regards to marijuana arrests. One by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in particular found that 9 out of every 10 people arrested for simple drug possession in the District are black.

“Punishment for drug crimes disproportionately falls on the shoulders of blacks and Latinos,” Wells said. “We don’t want to accuse the police, we don’t want to accuse anybody… but it is a major societal justice problem, and we are going to fix it.”

Source: medicaljane.com

Seattle thrift store finds 2.5 pounds of marijuana in donation bin

Via komonews.com

"SEATTLE -- Despite the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington, Seattle police want to remind everyone that thrift stores can't resell donated bags of pot.

The department released a lighthearted press release on Friday to remind the public of the rules after employees at a thrift store in North Seattle found a large bag of marijuana in the donation bin.

In the release, police say "Donating to thrift shops is a terrific way to give a second life to your well-loved Velcro sneakers, keyboards or flannel zebra jammies," but they say tires, soiled mattresses, laptops and bags of weed are not welcome.

A thrift store employee called police Thursday afternoon to say he found a garbage bag containing 2.5 pounds of pot in the store's donation bin.

Police confiscated the marijuana and put it into evidence for destruction."

Image: http://www.komonews.com

This generous donation, likely worth around $10,000, was unfortunately taken by the police. Despite
Washington state's recent legalization of marijuana, there are obviously jurisdiction and enforcement issues which have lead to this waste of a large donation which could have provided for many jobs for months.

Source: komonews.com

Legalization may be just around the corner for Australia

New South Wales to consider allowing medical cannabis to suffering patients.

With so much data showing the medicinal benefits of cannabis, who can be against it?

Studies all around the world have shown and are showing that the propaganda that got cannabis banned worldwide is just that, propaganda. The basis for making cannabis illegal in the United States, where prohibition originated and then spread outward, is the scheduling. Cannabis is considered a schedule 1 narcotic in the U.S. which means that it is harmful and has absolutely no feasible medical value, which is now continuing to be proven false. Ironically, cocaine is listed as a schedule 2 drug, which technically means that the government considers it to be less harmful than cannabis. Seriously? Yes. So, with all the new data coming out, you would expect the old way of thinking to phase itself out, but there are still many people who consider this natural healing herb to be a harmful substance on par with drugs like heroin and methamphetamine.

A study out of Spain recently concluded that cannabis could be used and an effective natural treatment for cancer. Two scientists from the San Francisco bay area also confirmed that cannabis is a powerful anti cancer. Would you believe that there was even a U.S. government study on the effects and uses for canabinoids found in this plant that concluded its usefulness in fighting cancer? That is the same government that created and harshly enforces prohibition of this herb based on the assumption that it has zero medicinal benefits.

With the recent full scale legalization in Colorado and Washington states, the debate on how to approach cannabis policy has heated up, not just in the U.S., but now other countries are reconsidering their policies regarding cannabis. New South Wales, Australia is considering taking steps to make cannabis available to sufferers of serious diseases such as cancer, aids, and multiple sclerosis. A NSW parliamentary inquiry committee held open hearings in March and are expected to deliver their report on the feasibility of using cannabis medically and the legal implications of doing so on may 17th. Sally Crossing, deputy chair of the advocacy group Cancer Voices Australia, recommended to the inquiry committee that cannabis should be allowed to be used legally for medical purposes. She mentioned the usefulness of cannabis for pain and vomiting in cancer patients and the added benefit of it causing very few mild side effects. "There is enough evidnce, there's enough experience in other countries to say that if we do this in a sensible way, with appropriate safeguards, we can help a lot of people who are suffering, not only at the ends of their lives," said Crossing.

Some opposition is still entrenched, and the NSW police department has expressed their concerns that cannabis use will increase if this happens. If it is legalized for medical use, they would preffer it to be a refined extract form that can be taken as a spray or a pill rather than the original form. All forms of cannabis are currently listed as illegal substances in NSW law, but the tide seems to be turning with more and more data from seriously ill patients who benefit greatly from using it.

Source: www.news.com.au

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