Alabama Cops Pot Busts, Stealing Seized Assets

Like many local police agencies, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force (WANTF) receives federal grant money to make drug arrests. This year, WANTF has worked hard to combat the drug menace by conducting a record-setting raid of college kids who smoke pot. Then the commander of WANTF was found guilty of stealing $125,000 in seized drug funds for himself.

In February, WANTF completed a two-month investigation at the University of Alabama. One witness described teams of “officers wearing bulletproof vests with hand guns strapped to their thigh,” arresting 74 people, including 61 students, mostly for charges of sale and possession of small amounts of marijuana. The University newspaper, The Crimson White, reported the bust as a record number of arrests in one operation, according to Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson. Those students all face “sanctions up to and including expulsion,” explained UA President Dr. Judy Bonner in a statement on the arrests.

As we’ve explained numerous times, the arrest for marijuana is usually the least troublesome aspect of a bust -- it’s being “in the system” as a “drug criminal” that creates the most problems for cannabis consumers. About half the people netted in that record bust in February are still in limbo, yet to see their cases resolved. Almost all of those arrested had their names printed in the newspaper story of the record bust. We don’t know how many were expelled, suspended or lost a scholarship. All who are convicted will lose any federal student aid. Many of them will have to check the “convicted of a crime” box when they seek employment. Others will face discrimination when the Google search of their name brings up the article and their mug shot photo.

Those mug shots, by the way, tell us an important fact about these marijuana arrests in black and white -- literally. Our recent survey of simple marijuana possession arrests in 2013 on a popular mug shot website shows almost twice as many black faces as non-black faces arrested in Tuscaloosa County. However, there are more than twice as many white people as black people living in the county and both groups use marijuana at roughly the same rates.

The marijuana arrests feed the grant machine that keeps paramilitary groups like WANTF funded. In 2004, Tuscaloosa News reported that WANTF began in 1988 with a $100,000 grant, which had to be matched by $100,000 in taxpayer funds from the city council. Then-Police Chief Ken Swindle (yes, really) bragged “It hasn’t cost the city… a dime since,” as WANTF was receiving a $310,600 grant.

Swindle explained the 2004 grant required the city to pitch in one-fourth that amount in matching funds. That $78,000 came from the cash and assets seized from earlier marijuana arrests. In 2011, another $210,000 grant funded WANTF with another $70,000 in asset forfeitures to match. Simply put, these grant matching funds incentivize drug task forces to make arrests to seize money to make money, not necessarily stop drugs.  The more arrests they make, the more money they take, the bigger grants they get, and the more arrests they have to keep making for the money to keep flowing. In 2011, that was more than 1,500 people arrested by WANTF in just one Alabama county. In 2013, that meant sending armed teams of cops into college dorms to roust pot smokers.

When a one dollar seizure gets WANTF another four dollars in grants, eventually someone can’t resist the temptation of all that free money. The FBI began an investigation of WANTF’s books back in December 2012, coincidentally around the same time WANTF was sending in informants to snitch on college kids smoking pot at the University of Alabama. In May, the former commander of WANTF, Jeff Snyder, was found guilty of embezzling at least $125,000 of the funds WANTF seized between June 2010 and June 2012. According to a plea agreement that would get him just 18 months in prison, Snyder was simply “pocketing some or all of the funds seized during various arrests, and then failing to correctly account for those funds.”

The indictment doesn’t include the funds seized from those college kids in the record bust in February 2013, but even if Commander Hand-In-The-Cookie-Jar didn’t grab some for himself, who knows how many of the arresting cops did? According to court records, $9,498 was seized from 12 people, ten of them UA students who lost a total of $8,636. None of the rest of the 74 arrested seems to have a record of anything seized but pot and paraphernalia and the Tuscaloosa Police Department won’t comment.

The grant funding machine continues, with another report this week of “an overactive week for drug arrests” in Tuscaloosa. At least 20 people were jailed, with the most significant charges relating to marijuana trafficking by two of the men. The other 18 were charged with petty crimes like possession and drug paraphernalia. WANTF’s leadership refused to comment on the sudden surge in marijuana arrests.

This is a story of just one drug task force in one county in America. There are 258 more of them in this country just waiting to spend over $200 million to take down the cannabis consumer who boosts their arrest figures for the next grant application.

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Man 'picked up cannabis consignment to pay £700 drug debt

David McCaughan's lawyer said he had admitted his involvement

A man allegedly agreed to collect £400,000 worth of herbal cannabis smuggled into Northern Ireland to pay off a £700 drug debt, the High Court has been told.

David McCaughan, of Ghent Place, Belfast, picked up the consignment from a lorry driver in Belfast after it was shipped from Scotland, a judge heard.

Mr McCaughan's lawyer said he had admitted his involvement.

But he added that he was only a "runner" for other more senior figures.

Mr McCaughan, 57, was one of three men arrested in a police operation in April.

He faces charges of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs and possessing herbal cannabis with intent to supply.

Five boxes of cannabis were seized after being moved from the lorry into a waiting Volkswagen Passat car at Boucher Retail Park.

According to the prosecution, the car belonged to Mr McCaughan.

Twenty kilos (44lb) of the drugs, with an estimated street value of £400,000, was recovered in total.

Arthritic condition

Telephone evidence allegedly links the three suspects to the case.

As Mr McCaughan applied for bail, defence counsel said his client had made full admissions and provided police with details.

"He suffers from an arthritic condition and started to smoke cannabis years ago and got into debt," the defence lawyer said.

"He owed £700 to one of the gentlemen involved in this enterprise and he was asked to go and do this message to pay for that debt. He did that."

The barrister added that it was accepted by Mr McCaughan that he was facing a jail sentence.

But he contended there was no risk of any reoffending.

"The police attitude is that in the hierarchy he is simply a runner, performing a message on the day," the defence lawyer said.

"There is no suggestion he himself is involved in the drugs trade."

However, Mr Justice Burgess adjourned the bail application for another judge to decide whether there had been enough of a change of circumstances.

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Two men released after Cork cannabis seizure

Gardai recovered 280 cannabis plants at various stages of maturity during a raid on two houses near Kanturk, Co Cork.

Two men have been released without charge after being questioned over the discovery of cannabis worth an estimated €250,000 at two houses in north Cork.

Members of the Kanturk District Drugs Squad found the drugs when they raided two houses in the Lismire area between Kanturk and Newmarket at about8.30am yesterday morning.

Officers recovered 280 cannabis plants at various stages of maturity and about 2kg of harvested cannabis at the operation, which was located in sheds near the two houses.

Gardai described the operation as highly sophisticated with specialist lighting, heating, extractor fans and hydroponic feeding systems installed to cultivate the cannabis.

Detectives arrested a man in his mid-50s and another man in his late 70s at the two houses and brought them to Kanturk Garda station for questioning.

The men were arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardai detain suspects for up to 24 hours but they were both released without charge late last night.

A Garda spokesman said samples from the plants and the harvested cannabis would be sent to the State Laboratory for analysis and a file on the matter would be prepared for the DPP.

As pot laws shift, Oaksterdam U continues to educate

As marijuana continues to be legalized in increasing capacities across America, Oaksterdam University in Oakland, Calif. has a question: Do you take us seriously yet?

Founded in 2007 by medical marijuana activist Richard Lee, Oaksterdam University is an unaccredited trade school that describes itself as America's "first and premier cannabis college."

Chancellor Dale Skye Jones says the school, where more than 15,000 have attended, aims to offer "quality training for regulating and protecting the cannabis industry" in order to make legal business transactions safer and more accessible to the public.

"Some people may disagree with cannabis, but the bottom line is that we're changing, and the American people are speaking," says Aseem Sappal, the college's director of operations, in regards to the growing number of states legalizing medical marijuana."If you're going to give them the keys to the car, you're going to have to give them driver's ed."

Sappal says people think the college is just stoners hanging out in a dark, smoky room, but it's the same as any other university — including course work, assignments and deadlines.

"I try really hard to make our university just like everyone else's ... Harvard, Cambridge," Sappal says. "People laugh when I say that, but we try to have the same professionalism as any school. All the professors have graduate degrees."

Offering semester-long programs as well as weekend seminars, Oaksterdam's curriculum includes a variety of traditional academic classes, such as horticulture, the science of marijuana, business legality and history of the "marijuana movement."

Students in a class at Oaksterdam University.(Photo: Nickolas Perry)

The student body is diverse, ranging in age from 18 to retirement. Many of the students are entrepreneurs, while others are battling chronic painful diseases such as Crohn's disease and seek information on how to obtain medical marijuana, Sappal says.

During the recession after the housing market's collapse, there was also a large influx of real-estate agents who decided to use their sales ability to enter a new market, Jones says.

Robert Grove, a 44-year-old graduate of the 13-week "classic semester" program, says the university is filled with "normal people."

"It's not some mystical, medieval lair," he says. "Everyone's interested, intent, quiet, studious and mindful of the education that they're receiving. They're dedicated to what they're doing."

Originally from Oklahoma, Grove though Oaksterdam was a "novelty thing" until 2009 when he moved out to the Bay area.

Grappling with post-traumatic stress disorder after working as a paramedic for 10 years, Grove was unsure of his next step in life. But when he realized the medical marijuana industry was beginning to "emerge," he says he saw an opportunity.

“The world is not the 80s anymore; you're not sitting on a dumpster smoking a joint”

— Robert Grove

"Here I am, 44 years old, too late to start a whole new life. There's no going back and redoing undergrad or grad school … I have to live," Grove says. "We've seen hybrid cars, electric cars and now the face of cannabis is changing, too."

Grove's completed the college's 13-week program (currently priced at $1,195), and now aspires to be a grower or perhaps even work on legislation.

His dreams hinge on marijuana's legality and acceptability.

"The world is not the 80s anymore; you're not sitting on a dumpster smoking a joint," he says. "There is now a strong need for regulation, for quality assurance and the quality of strains. We need to be able to do that without impunity."

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Grow Cannabis Indoors

Medical Cannabis Provides Dramatic Relief for Sufferers of Chronic Ailments, Israeli Study Finds

Though controversial, medical cannabis has been gaining ground as a valid therapy, offering relief to suffers of diseases such as cancer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ALS and more. The substance is known to soothe severe pain, increase the appetite, and ease insomnia where other common medications fail.

In 2009, Zach Klein, a graduate of Tel Aviv University's Department of Film and Television Studies, directed the documentary Prescribed Grass. Through the process, he developed an interest in the scientific research behind medical marijuana, and now, as a specialist in policy-making surrounding medical cannabis and an MA student at TAU's Porter School of Environmental Studies, he is conducting his own research into the benefits of medical cannabis.

Using marijuana from a farm called Tikkun Olam -- a reference to the Jewish concept of healing the world -- Klein and his fellow researchers tested the impact of the treatment on 19 residents of the Hadarim nursing home in Israel. The results, Klein says, have been outstanding. Not only did participants experience dramatic physical results, including healthy weight gain and the reduction of pain and tremors, but Hadarim staff saw an immediate improvement in the participants' moods and communication skills. The use of chronic medications was also significantly reduced, he reports.

Klein's research team includes Dr. Dror Avisar of TAU's Hydrochemistry Laboratory at the Department of Geography and Human Environment; Prof. Naama Friedmann and Rakefet Keider of TAU's Jaime and Joan Constantiner School of Education; Dr. Yehuda Baruch of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and director of the Abarbanel Mental Health Center; and Dr. Moshe Geitzen and Inbal Sikorin of Hadarim.

Cutting down on chronic medications

Israel is a world leader in medical cannabis research, Klein says. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, was first discovered there by Profs. Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni. Prof. Mechoulam is also credited for having defined the endocannabinoid system, which mimics the effects of cannabis and plays a role in appetite, pain sensation, mood and memory.

In the Hadarim nursing home, 19 patients between the ages of 69 and 101 were treated with medical cannabis in the form of powder, oil, vapor, or smoke three times daily over the course of a year for conditions such as pain, lack of appetite, and muscle spasms and tremors. Researchers and nursing home staff monitored participants for signs of improvement, as well as improvement in overall life quality, such as mood and ease in completing daily living activities.

During the study, 17 patients achieved a healthy weight, gaining or losing pounds as needed. Muscle spasms, stiffness, tremors and pain reduced significantly. Almost all patients reported an increase in sleeping hours and a decrease in nightmares and PTSD-related flashbacks.

There was a notable decline in the amount of prescribed medications taken by patients, such as antipsychotics, Parkinson's treatment, mood stabilizers, and pain relievers, Klein found, noting that these drugs have severe side effects. By the end of the study, 72 percent of participants were able to reduce their drug intake by an average of 1.7 medications a day.

Connecting cannabis and swallowing

This year, Klein is beginning a new study at Israel's Reuth Medical Center with Drs. Jean-Jacques Vatine and Aviah Gvion, in which he hopes to establish a connection between medical cannabis and improved swallowing. One of the biggest concerns with chronically ill patients is food intake, says Klein. Dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, can lead to a decline in nutrition and even death. He believes that cannabis, which has been found to stimulate regions of the brain associated with swallowing reflexes, will have a positive impact.

Overall, Klein believes that the healing powers of cannabis are close to miraculous, and has long supported an overhaul in governmental policy surrounding the drug. Since his film was released in 2009, the number of permits for medical cannabis in Israel has increased from 400 to 11,000. His research is about improving the quality of life, he concludes, especially for those who have no other hope.

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Grow Cannabis Indoors

Hemp in the Time of New Federal Marijuana Policy

It's not just medical and legal marijuana states that watched the Justice Department's announcement of its response to marijuana law reforms in the states with interest. Nine states have laws regulating the production of industrial hemp, and ten more have asked Congress to remove barriers to industrial hemp production.

Rep. Massie, Comm. Comer & Rep. Polis (Vote Hemp via youtube)

Hemp is also moving in the Congress. An amendment to the Farm Bill cosponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Jared Polis (D-CO) passed the House on a vote of 225-200 in July and will now go to a joint House-Senate conference committee. And the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (House Resolution 525 and Senate Bill 359) is pending in both chambers.

At a Tuesday Capitol Hill briefing organized by the industry groupVote Hemp (video embedded below), state and federal elected officials said they thought the Justice Department's policy directive on marijuana opened the door not just to regulated medical and legal marijuana, but also to industrial hemp production. Some states intend to move forward, they said.

"That Department of Justice ruling pertained to cannabis," said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner John Comer, "and hemp has always been banned because it's in the cannabis family. The Department of Justice ruling pertained to states with a regulatory framework for cannabis, and we feel that includes hemp as well. Our legislation set up a regulatory framework."

The legislation Comer is referring to is Kentucky Senate Bill 50, the Bluegrass State's industrial hemp bill, which passed the legislature with bipartisan support, gained endorsements by both of the state's Republican US senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and became law without the governor's signature in April. It establishes an Industrial Hemp Commission and sets up procedures for licensing farming and processing.

"We have a hemp commission meeting Thursday, and we are going to request that Rand Paul send a letter to the DEA telling them we intend to get going next year unless the Department of Justice tells us otherwise," Comer said. "We are taking a very proactive stance in Kentucky. We've been trying to replace tobacco, and hemp is an option not only for our farmers, but it could also create manufacturing jobs in our rural communities."

The commission did meet Thursday, and it voted unanimously to move forward with industrial hemp production, aiming at producing hemp next year.

"That's our first goal, to get the crop established. Then, once companies and industries see that we have a crop here established and growing, we believe industries will start coming here looking for it instead of importing it from other countries," said Brian Furnish, chairman of the Industrial Hemp Commission, after the Thursday vote.

According to Vote Hemp, Kentucky isn't the only state planning on moving forward with hemp next year. Vermont just released its Hemp Registration Form that allows farmers to apply for hemp permits and the Colorado Department of Agriculture is developing regulations to license hemp farmers in 2014. North Dakota has issued permits for several years now.

Imported hemp is now a $500 million a year industry, Vote Hemp's Eric Steenstra said.

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), who also played an important role in passing the Kentucky bill and who is a cosponsor of the House hemp bill, said he was encouraged by the Justice Department policy directive, but that it was not enough.

"We need more than a Justice Department ruling," he told the press conference. "As a farmer and entrepreneur, I want some certainty. I want a legislative remedy for this, and that's why I continue to push hard for our bill, which would exclude hemp from definition as a controlled substance."

Vote Hemp's Eric Steenstra

But while the House hemp bill now has 47 cosponsors, it still has a long row to hoe. The hemp amendment to the Farm Bill, which would allow hemp production for university research purposes, has already passed the House and awaits action in conference committee.

"If you can attach an amendment to a spending bill, then you can get action," said Massie. "I have to give credit to Rep. Polis for doing this. This is a farm issue, not a drug issue. And while there was debate over whether it was wise to even have a vote, it passed. People decided spontaneously to vote for it as an amendment."

While the Senate has not passed a similar provision, Massie said he was hopeful that it would make it through conference committee.

"There is no equivalent in the Senate, there is no companion amendment, but we do have [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, who is all for it," he said. "I'm hopeful it will survive, and we'll continue to work on the standalone hemp bill."

"It was important to get the House language in the Farm Bill," said Polis. "Not only does it allow universities to do research that is needed, but it also symbolically moves forward with embracing the potential for industrial hemp production."

Polis said he was cheered by the Justice Department's policy directive when it came to hemp.

"They listed eight enforcement priorities, and industrial hemp isn't even on the enforcement radar," the Boulder congressman said. "We see no federal interest in going after states or hemp producers. The risk is minimal. But minimal isn't good enough for some folks, and that's why we want to continue to gather support for the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. You don't want to have to depend on a federal prosecutor or the attorney general not getting up on the wrong side of the bed in the morning."

Industrial hemp may be an afterthought for Justice Department policy setters, but the recent guidance has emboldened hemp advocates to push forward faster than ever. Getting hemp research approved in the Farm Bill would be a good first step; passing the Industrial Hemp Act would be even better. But it doesn't look like some states are going to wait for Congress to act.

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Grow Cannabis Indoors

Court Decision Okays Production of Marijuana Edibles and Extracts

A BC Supreme Court Justice on Friday followed his decision in the Owen Smith trial, handed down April 13, by denying an application by the crown to maintain the status quo and thereby allowing designated medical marijuana growers in BC to produce and sell cannabis extracts to their patients.

Last year, Justice Johnson ruled that the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations were unconstitutional because they did not allow patients to make derivatives of the product without breaking the law. However, he gave the government one year to create regulations to control the sale of these products by licenced suppliers. With that year over, Justice Johnson determined the government was not stalling to adjust the regulations to accommodate his decision but only wanted to delay until the appeal, and so he finally allowed DGs to make derivatives for their patients.

The case will be heard before the BC Court of Appeal on Oct 17. Lawyer Kirk Tousaw is keen to see the case go all of the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, partly so the decision is fully binding across the country. In the trial, expert witness Dr. David Pate did an excellent job explaining to the judge how the worst possible side effect from a cannabis overdose is sleep.

Owen was arrested in a downtown Victoria apartment making food and skin products for members of the Cannabis Buyers Clubs of Canada. He was charged with possession for the purposes of trafficking THC, the most active chemical in the cannabis plant. That charge was dropped in January when the crown determined that a jury trial was not likely to convict him.

The MMAR, and the proposed Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, only authorizes patients to use dried marijuana. Before the decision last year, patients and their caregivers that made butter, hash, tincture, tea, honey oil or any other product that extracted the cannabinoids from the plant material, could be charged with a criminal offense, even if they bought the herb from the government.

Synthetic THC is available on the market, sold in Canada at approximately $8 per pill. In its written submission, the crown claimed another reason for Justice Johnson to maintain the status quo was to protect the financial investments made by companies that have put cannabinoid drugs on the market. Many patients claim using whole-plant cannabis products helps more than the synthetic derivatives. The monopoly on cannabis-based medicines has been broken.

After the court decision last year, police informed the Canada Revenue Agency that CBC of C founder, Ted Smith, no relation to Owen, was not collecting HST or employee deductions. The CRA eventually handed him a bill for about ¼ million dollars, forcing him to declare bankruptcy and sell the operation to a newly formed non-profit society, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club. Ted is now solely employed by the International Hempology 101 Society and is the author ofHEMPOLOGY 101: The History and Uses of Cannabis Sativa.

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Cop David Bratzer pushes for marijuana leniency

While off duty, constable collects signatures for Dana Larsen’s marijuana initiative.

David Bratzer believes that prohibition of drugs is wrong.

DAVID BRATZER  is unlike other canvassers in the ongoing initiative campaign to decriminalize marijuana in B.C.

Depending on the time and day, he could be asking someone on the street to support the petition or possibly slapping the cuffs on another for pot possession.

Bratzer is a Vancouver Island Capital Regional District police officer who believes that drug prohibition is wrong.

“When I’m on duty, I’ve always been clear that I will enforce the law as it stands,” Bratzer told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “I’ve sworn an oath to uphold the law.”

But after the uniform comes off, the constable aims to sign up about 1,000 people during the 90-day signature drive that started Monday (September 9).

Because of his job, there may be occasions when the 36-year-old cop has to arrest people for drug offences. “But when I’m off duty, I advocate to change these failed policies around cannabis prohibition,” said Bratzer, who is also the president of the Canadian chapter of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

LEAP is an international organization of active and retired professionals in the criminal-justice system that calls for an end to the so-called war on drugs. It supports the initiative spearheaded by pot activist and Sen­sible B.C. spokesperson Dana Larsen.

As far as Bratzer knows, he’s the only cop who is a registered canvasser in the campaign to amend provincial law so people will no longer be busted for simple marijuana possession. It’s a role that he said he’s “comfortable” in because even the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is now seeking changes in the enforcement of cannabis laws.

At its annual meeting last August, the association, led by president and Vancouver Police Department chief Jim Chu, proposed ticketing and fining people with small amounts of marijuana as an alternative to either looking the other way or laying criminal charges that will only burden the courts.

It’s an idea that former police officer Kash Heed brought up in November 2001. When he appeared then before a Senate committee on illegal drugs as an inspector with the Vancouver police service’s vice and drugs section he talked about “limited prohibition with civil penalties”.

In an interview on September 9, Heed expressed some irritation that it has taken police chiefs such a long time to catch up. “This is going back 12 years ago,” Heed told the Straight by phone. He recalled that the failure of prohibition was recognized decades earlier, in the 1970s, by a federal commission of inquiry into drugs that was chaired by law dean Gerald Le Dain.

“What irks me a little bit is you have these chiefs coming out and saying they’ve got this innovative way to deal with the marijuana situation,” Heed said. “Well, come on. All they had to do was go back…and look up what Le Dain said. Le Dain came out and said our policies are failing.”

Following a long career in policing, Heed entered politics in 2009 and served as a controversial one-term Vancouver MLA.

Heed, as someone who preceded Bratzer in his cause, knows the kind of pressure brought to bear on a police officer who speaks on marijuana policy. “You’ve got to have a thick skin because you’re actually going against the culture,” Heed, a sessional SFU criminology instructor, said. “You’re going against, most likely, the chief of the department. You’re going against many people within the department. The people that do support you are silent on the matter because they fear that their careers will be limited.”

Bratzer, a family man with a young child, is in his eighth year wearing a badge. His two brothers are also police officers.

“Being a police officer who advocates for legalizing and regulating drugs, it can bring some challenges at times with my career, and so it’s a balancing act,” he said.

Bratzer works four shifts and gets three days off a week. He figures that if he can gather an average of more than 10 signatures a day, his goal of signing up 1,000 people by December 5 is doable.

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Alaska: Marijuana Legalization Initiative Halfway There With Signatures

For more than 30 years, Alaska was the only state in the U.S. in which it was legal -- under some circumstances -- to smoke marijuana for the fun of it.

Then Colorado and Washington voters last November passed initiatives legalizing cannabis for adults and setting up systems of production, sales and taxation.

Now backers of a legalization initiative in Alaska say they are moving toward making the same change there, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The group is about halfway to reaching their goal of 45,000 signatures by December 1, about 15,000 more than the number required to get the measure on next year's primary election ballot, according to main sponsor Timothy Hinterberger.

"In a free society, prohibition of popular substances is just bad public policy," Hinterberger said.

The initiative would add a seven-page statute to the books in Alaska, legalizing marijuana for adults and setting up a state regulatory body to oversee cannabis farms, dealers and advertising.

The initiative would impose a hefty $50 per ounce excise tax that would be collected between the greenhouse and the store or factory.

Employers would still be allowed to prohibit their workers from smoking or possession at work, and prevent employees from being high while on duty. Driving under the influence of cannabis would still be illegal, and local governments could outlaw growing and sales -- but not possession.

Police would have to stop their current practice of seizing small amounts of pot when they find it. The measure would authorize retail pot shops, but not parlors or bars; that is to say, on-site consumption would be prohibited at the shops.

The legalization measure has been gaining support since Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell on June 14 ruled that the initiative could proceed to the signature-gathering phase. The August 29 Justice Department announcement that it wouldn't sue to stop legalization laws in states which legalize cannabis added momentum to the cause.

"I've had a lot of people talk to me about that since then," Hinterberger said. "I think that shows that we are on the right track in thinking that things are really changing, both in federal policy as well as in public sentiment. It eliminates one of the arguments you sometimes hear against an initiative like ours -- it doesn't matter what we do locally as a state because the feds will step in."

The advisory, while noting that marijuana is still a "serious crime," directs federal law enforcement authorities on the local level to focus on larger priorities, not simple possession or legalized marijuana grow and sale operations. In the case of states which have legalized pot, the Justice Department expects them to prevent interstate sales.

After Alaska voters in 1972 passed one of the most important amendments to the state constitution -- a right to privacy -- Homer resident Irwin Ravin arranged for police to arrest him with two joints in his pocket.

The Alaska Supreme Court dismissed Ravin's case in 1975, making Alaska the only state with legalized marijuana. The court ruled 5-0 that the state law banning cannabis possession violated the newly approved right of privacy, at least for small amounts inside a person's home.

The state could still ban the use of pot in public or by minors, the court said, and could restrict the sales and quantity, but not private possession. In 1982, the Legislature set the legalized "small amount" at four ounces or four plants; anything more than that was a misdemeanor.

But with the War On Drugs coming to Alaska during the Reagan years, the state Senate, then dominated by the GOP, wanted to recriminalize. Legalization opponents sponsored a ballot measure in the 1990 general election which restored criminal penalties for possession of any amount of pot. It won with 54 percent of the vote.

In 2003, the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled that law was unconstitutional. The Alaska Supreme Court refused to hear it, letting the Court of Appeals decision stand.

Gov. Frank Murkowski, in office from 2002 to 2006, vowed to recriminalize pot AGAIN, and directed the Legislature to pass a new law criminalizing all pot possession. The law passed in 2006 and was quickly struck down by a Juneau Superior Court judge.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the judge had acted prematurely, since nobody had been arrested yet. But apparently nobody has since, and that's where the law stands now: a ban on possession of small quantities is still the law, but the law is clearly unconstitutional, according to Joshua Decker, acting executive director of the ACLU of Alaska.

If officers encounter a small quantity of marijuana, according to Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew, they will seize it as contraband and eventually destroy it, but the Ravin decision effectively blocks the state from prosecuting possession cases involving less than four ounces.

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DEA’s Pot Seizures Down More Than 60 Percent Since 2010

Do shrinking state and federal budgets spell an end to the DEA’s longstanding crop eradication efforts? Newly released data from the agency indicates that the answer may be yes.

While the DEA has been making headlines in recent years by raiding medical cannabis dispensaries in California, as well as to a lesser extent in Montana, Oregon and Washington, the federal anti-drug agency has largely turned its back on targeting outdoor and indoor pot grow sites.

According to the DEA’s recently released 2012 Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Statistical Report, the total number of cannabis plants eradicated nationwide have fallen a whopping 62 percent in recent years.  In 2010, the DEA reported eliminating some 10.3 million cultivated pot plants (this figure excludes the inclusion of feral hemp plants, tens of millions of which are also typically seized and destroyed by DEA agents annually). By 2011, this total had dipped to 6.7 million. In 2012, the most recent year for which DEA data is available, the total fell to 3.9 million -- the lowest annual tally in nearly a decade.

Chiefly responsible for this sudden and significant decline is a de-emphasis on California, despite its well deserved status as the largest domestic pot producer in the United States. In 2010, the DEA seized a near-record 7.4 million cultivated pot plants in the Golden State alone. By 2011, this total had fallen to four million. Last year, the DEA seized fewer than two million plants in California. By comparison, DEA eradication totals in several other leading grow states, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia, have remained relatively stable during this same period (notably, despite Colorado’s rising reputation as a primary pot producer, the DEA reported seizing only 23,000 plants in 2012 -- almost all of which came from the raids of three separate outdoor grows -- a total that was virtually unchanged from 2008’s figures).

So what’s the story behind the sudden decline in DEA pot seizures? It’s not likely the result of any change in attitude from the Obama administration, as DEA seizures initially surged to record levels during the years immediately after Obama took office. A more plausible explanation is that the DEA’s about face is a consequence of fiscal belt-tightening, particularly in California, which has faced numerous budget crises in recent years. Notably, Governor Jerry Brown downsized and thenultimately disbanded the state’s nearly 30-year-old Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) program, which notoriously utilized helicopter flyovers to identify marijuana grows in the forests on northern California.

Equally notable, the DEA’s budget also experienced cutbacks during this time, suffering a nearly $4 million reduction from 2011 to 2012. In CAMP’s place is a new program that allows local agencies to seek DEA reimbursement for expenditures related to cannabis eradication efforts. But as is abundantly clear from the 2011 and 2012 stats, the present effort is a mere shell of the now-defunct DEA/CAMP campaign. And while the Fed’s top anti-pot agency is, predictably, remaining mum about its decreased enforcement capabilities -- the DEA’s website refers to its ongoing eradication program as a “success” despite its rapidly declining numbers -- many elected officials are now calling for regulations to bring the cannabis cultivation market out of the shadows once and for all.

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and he is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?

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Obama administration will not block state marijuana laws, if distribution is regulated

The Obama administration said Thursday that it would not challenge laws legalizing marijuana in Colorado and Washington state as long as those states maintain strict rules involving the sale and distribution of the drug.

In a memo to U.S. attorneys in all 50 states, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said the Justice Department is “committed to using its limited investigative and prosecutorial resources to address the most significant threats in the most effective, consistent and rational way.” He stressed that marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

The memo, which was welcomed by proponents of marijuana legalization, directs federal prosecutors to focus on eight areas of enforcement rather than spending time targeting individual users. Those aims include preventing distribution of marijuana to minors, stopping the growing of marijuana on public land, keeping pot from falling into the hands of cartels and gangs, and preventing the diversion of marijuana to states where it remains illegal.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. called the governors of Colorado and Washington about noon Thursday to inform them of the decision. A Justice official said Holder told them that federal prosecutors would be watching closely as the two states finalize a regulatory framework for marijuana and that prosecutors would be taking a “trust but verify” approach.

Last fall, Washington and Colorado approved initiatives to legalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, becoming the first states to approve the drug for recreational use. Twenty states and the District have passed laws legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Until Thursday, the administration had remained silent about the initiatives in Colorado and Washington, despite requests for guidance from state officials.

“We recognize how difficult this issue has been for the Department of Justice and we appreciate the thoughtful approach it has taken,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), who opposed efforts to legalize marijuana last year, said in a statement. “Amendment 64 put Colorado in conflict with federal law. Today’s announcement shows the federal government is respecting the will of Colorado voters.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), in a statement with state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, said the guidance “reflects a balanced approach by the federal government that respects the states’ interests in implementing these laws and recognizes the federal government’s role in fighting illegal drugs and criminal activity.”

Proponents of marijuana legalization welcomed the new administration guidance.

“This is a very significant step forward,” said Christian Sederberg, a Denver lawyer who helped draft Amendment 64. “The simple truth is that a tightly regulated marijuana market is superior to the criminal market. ­State-regulated business will now be able to continue creating good jobs and generating tax revenue. This is what progress looks like.”

Sederberg said state lawmakers and a government-backed task force in Colorado have tried to deal with the concerns of federal officials — such as keeping pot out of the hands of minors — while setting up the regulatory framework for a marijuana market.

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Marijuana and Schizophrenia: New Study Explains How It Could Help

Researchers believe a lack of marijuana-like chemicals may be responsible for some of the core symptoms of schizophrenia.

The traditional belief that marijuana is bad for schizophrenia has been challenged time and time again by studies which suggest an opposite effect. Now a team of researchers at the University of Texas have found evidence that seems to explain why it helps.

Published in the August issue of Neuropsychopharmacology, their findings demonstrate a link between symptoms of schizophrenia and a lack of cannabinoid activity. Cannabinoids are a group of chemicals found in marijuana as well as the human brain, where they help to regulate normal function.

According to Alexandre Seillier, Ph.D, who co-authored the study, chemicals like THC may actually work to counter the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Those who warn patients to avoid THC may be oversimplifying its role in the disorder, he explained to us.

“When people say THC is bad, it’s not always the case.”

Dr. Seillier believes the results offer a “possible explanation for why people use THC to medicate some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.” Likewise, research from other groups exists showing schizophrenics who use cannabis experience less negative symptoms than non-users.

In the new study, researchers used a drug called URB597 to increase levels of a natural cannabinoid (called anandamide) in rat models of schizophrenia. This caused a reversal in social withdrawal – one of the core symptoms of schizophrenia – leading the researchers to believe that a lack of cannabinoids may underlie the disease, or at least certain symptoms of it.

“The idea is maybe they have less to start with and when we increase the (endo)cannabinoids we restore normal physiological level.”

The study also identified an interesting difference between activity of the brain’s cannabinoids (called endocannabinoids) and cannabinoids found outside the body. While an increase in endocannabinoids reduced social withdrawal in schizophrenic rats, it had the opposite effect in normal rats. However, using chemicals that stimulate cannabinoid receptors directly seemed to avoid that problem.

“We tried one CB1 receptor agonist and indeed it was different. It produced the same beneficial effects in the schizophrenia-like rats but did not produce deleterious effects in the normal rats.”

Whether this is the case for THC has yet to be determined, but Dr. Seillier hopes to have the answer soon. His next study will look at the effects of THC in schizophrenia in order to further clarify the role of marijuana in treating the disorder.

The study was funded by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Source

http://www.truthonpot.com/2013/07/31/marijuana-and-schizophrenia-new-study-explains-how-it-could-help/