As long as we don’t call it “Legalization,” Biden is in favor of it

The great thing about voting machines is that you can vote with one hand and hold your nose with the other one. Believe me, I have had a lot of practice with that, and I will do it again this year.

After Biden cinched the Democratic nomination, his campaign focused on getting the support for Bernie Sanders young supporters. Biden was greatly relieved that Sanders was willing to help, so they launched what they called a “Unity Task Force, and one of the major topics was Federal marijuana prohibition.

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CBD Mouthwash Study Has Implications Far Beyond “Word of Mouth” Especially For Seniors

For most young people, a mouthwash is just for freshening their breath, but for Seniors, gum (periodontal) disease is an increasing problem as we age.

Marijuanamoment.net reports, “In a recent study out of Belgium, researchers reported that cannabinoid-infused mouthwash was just as effective at killing certain plaque-related oral bacteria as chlorhexidine, an active ingredient in many prescription mouthwashes.”

The study actually involved two different cannabinoids, one with CBD and another with CBG (cannabigerol), but neither contained the psychoactive THC.

See more here: https://www.newsweek.com/amplify/cbd-mouthwash-study-has-implications-far-beyond-word-mouth-especially-seniors

CBD Safety Purchase Guide for Seniors

CBD is a common buzz-word in the health field these days for all wakes of life. Nearly one in five Americans over the age of 50 uses some kind of CBD product according to a Gallup poll from 2019. Although the FDA is slow to establish guidelines concerning CBD, it’s popularity continues to grow. But what factors should you consider as a senior citizen who is interested in trying out CBD?

See more here: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/cbd-safety-purchase-guide-for-seniors/Content?oid=24973709

Are Amsterdam Cannabis Coffee Shops Shutting Down?

Well, I have to go back and look at the archives and see how long I’ve been hearing that story. The coffee shop system, I guess first needs to be explained back in the mid 70s, there was a boom in marijuana use in the Netherlands or actually more precisely of hashish use, almost no marijuana and almost all Mongolian hashish from Morocco and Lebanon and Turkey, and in those days from Nepal and Afghanistan. All of these places supplied hashish in various forms to primarily to the European market. Eastern Canada was also a place where hashish was the more common form of cannabis. I believe in the French. In the Netherlands, they were, of course, started arresting young people for possession of marijuana. And the Netherlands was a small, very civilized country. It didn’t take them long to realize they didn’t like arresting their kids. Fortunately, that idea never got to the United States.

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Marijuana In The Movies: Judy Garland, Before the Wizard, Sang About a Famous “Cockroach”

Hollywood in the 1930s was a boomtown in the middle of the global Great Depression and dreams of fame drew talent from all over the world. The new media of the day, the radio and “the Talkies”, especially musicals, made unknown talent into world famous “stars.” One of them was Francis Gumm, who was the youngest of three sisters, whose singing talent got the attention of Louis B. Mayer, (MGM).

Read more here: https://www.globemagazine.com/content/marijuana-movies-judy-garland-wizard-sang-about-famous-%E2%80%9Ccockroach%E2%80%9D

Why Should I Start Taking CBD – Richard Cowan Shares His Story with CBD

I first started taking CBD a few years ago, when I really first found out about it. We got involved with a company selling CBD. I have a financial interest in the CBD industry, just to declare that, but I haven’t really had any serious medical problems, I’ve been very fortunate in that regard. There wasn’t any occasion for me to use it as a form of treatment for something or other in that regard. I have found it helpful in terms of sleeping though. I don’t have any aches or pains, so I can’t stress it in terms of pain relief.

The fact is that I have observed some benefit from it, but since I don’t have any serious medical problems, I can’t say that really made a big difference in my life in the longer term aspect of things as I get older. On the other hand, I’ve known people for whom this was a really significant addition to their health care and lifestyle.

Read more here: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2020/07/13/why-should-i-start-taking-cbd-richard-cowan-shares-his-story-with-cbd

RIP Lester Grinspoon: The Forbidden Cannabis Professor

My old friend, Lester Grinspoon, died on June 24, his 92nd birthday, but I have waited over a week to write about it, because I wanted to see if either the New York Times or the Washington Post would print his obituary.  

Finally, on July 2nd, the Times finally did it

The Post still had not followed suit, but it did print an obituary for a famous pastry chef, who popularized creme brûlée, and that did make it easier to get blow torches for dabbing.

I first met Lester at the first NORML conference in 1973, two years after the publication of his book Marihuana Reconsidered

He had decided that he would not smoke marijuana until after the smoke had cleared — to use an appropriate pun. And at that conference, the smoke definitely had not cleared. 

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The Prohibitionist Deep State: Trump’s New Chief of Staff Even Opposed CBD for Desperately Sick Children And Medical Marijuana for Disabled Vets

When a politician or bureaucrat opposes something supported by over 90% of the American people, we are entitled to ask whom they really represent. The case in point is medical marijuana and the therapeutic use of other cannabinoids, specifically CBD.

Polls consistently show that almost all Americans favor legalizing medical marijuana and almost no one opposes allowing the use of CBD, which is not psychoactive. However, Mark Meadows, who represented North Carolina’s 11th District until he resigned on March 30, to become President Trump’s fourth Chief of Staff has consistently opposed any easing of Federal marijuana laws.

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Pre-Rolled CBD Joints and the History of “No Medicine is Smoked”

The history “No medicine is smoked” in the 1990s. The U.S. drug czar, General Barry McCaffrey, became the drug czar… People really talk about from medical marijuana. Which was becoming a real problem for the establishment. The drug czar, his office has a big budget. I think around a million bucks, which they put into an authorized study on medical marijuana. To make a very long story short year or so later, they came out with a report, you know, basically the drugs czar’s report on medical marijuana. Yeah, when you’re Barry McCaffrey the drug czar.

It was the attempt by honest scientists to work for profoundly dishonest propaganda or for the drug czar. But they came out and basically said that cannabis is no more dangerous than the other drug in regards of the risk of cannabis, because I mean, virtually every aspirin cause stomach bleeding, etc.. So you have got all kinds of things. It’s accepted. They understand that drugs have risks.

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Mixing Alcohol & Cannabis (CBD/THC)

I have been asked to talk about mixing alcohol and cannabis, specifically CBD and on the advice of counsel. You know, I started really didn’t drink until I was 18 and then I started smoking weed when I was 27. So there was this horrible interval in my life, but I survived. And then I may get to 70 something and then find out I’m missing out on a major cannabinoid. As with everything else, I try to make up for lost time. Obviously, one drinks alcohol for the wonderful taste of the wine and minor side effects for the most part.

I really do appreciate the difference in the taste of cannabis in the sense that different tastes, or flavors. In Britain there’s the notorious skunk strain, which smells like a skunk. And having grown up in Texas, I’ll always settle for the real thing. You know, there’s weed that really smells sweet. And then, of course, if you’re particularly when you’re vaping, it’s a more subtle thing. So you really can get a more of a sense of taste. Of course, there is nothing more subjective than that, because some people like red wine, some people like white wine. I just like wine. Over the years, my taste in wine or in alcohol and cannabis have evolved, and I’ve evolved. First off, one of the things I discovered a very long time ago was that you have a really terrible hangover from having stayed up until really very late and having most of my favorite recreational drug (wine) know when you wake up the next morning and you’re thinking suicide is okay.

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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador Announced Focus on Allowing Only Medical Cannabis

The other day, there was a little bit of a rumble in the media about some of the Democratic candidates who were asked if they knew the name of the president of Mexico. A couple did. A couple didn’t. 

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was elected president, and had previously been very far to the left. He came in pledging to fight corruption and the dismissed are now weakened in every way. 

All of the ways that the instruments by which the federal government might fight corruption are greatly weakened. Law enforcement in Mexico, which is already weak enough, and now the Mexican Supreme Court has basically ruled that marijuana prohibition in Mexico is unconstitutional. So it really seemed obvious the Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador might then necessarily move to legalize marijuana. But he has now announced that all he is wants to do is medical and that the emphasis now has to be on fighting drugs and corruption. In other words, he’s going to keep the principal sources of income for the organized crime. Organizations that are now so powerful that, by the way when you have guacamole, you are actually depending on where you are, subsidizing organized crime in Mexico. 

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What is Hot Hemp?

One of the legacies of the drug war is the major problem caused for the CBD industry and for the patients who want to get CBD. During the height of the drug war, there was pressure to allow the cultivation of hemp as a product and amazingly, we can’t allow the cultivation of hemp because American law enforcement can’t tell the difference between a stalk and a bush

In very prohibitionist France, hemp was cultivated. In communist China, hemp was cultivated. But we can’t allow this in America, because we couldn’t even talk about hemp cultivation at Monticello – Thomas Jefferson’s estate where he wrote about it, he grew hemp. But we can’t talk about it because that would send the wrong message to children…How do we deal with this? How do we keep marijuana suppressed while allowing the cultivation of an agricultural staple that was grown all over the world for thousands of years? 

Las Vegas and Recreational Marijuana

I heard that Las Vegas is going to be changing their longtime slogan: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” And that’s good, because that was never true.

I’m sure that there a lot of clinics that could switch to that. Also a lot of bankruptcy lawyers. With the idea of Vegas becoming a center for recreational cannabis, things come into mind. Number one is my wonderful city of Amsterdam, which I love. I live there. I view the coffee shops, everything there, as a wonderful experience. Nobody needs to go to Amsterdam anymore though.

The fact is that what happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas because they missed it, by being as aggressive as they were with legalization and much more. Of course, being Vegas in everybody’s face, some Miami people were going to Colorado to get cannabis because it was the first place where they could go. But now it’s Vegas. And because it’s Vegas, they’ve got whatever else you like there. Incredible restaurants, great shows, really cheap little hotels by comparison. If you don’t gamble, it’s still a really great thing. And now, some of the dispensaries there are absolutely amazing.

It’s Time for Silicon Valley To Finish Its Job of Disrupting the Racist Drug War

Mark Zuckerberg, the Icarus of the Internet, is debating his own employees about whether Facebook should be responsible for correcting the lies of certain high ranking politicians. The answer seems obvious, but are they really prepared to choose which lies require their personal attention?

Icarus was undone by trying to fly too high and to be above it all, but there is another Greek myth that is more ¨down to Earth¨ literally.

As I watch the seemingly inexhaustible torrent of prohibitionist propaganda, I am reminded of the Greek myth about Hercules and the stables of King Augeas.

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Why Is Marijuana Legalization Not Covered in Mainstream Media?

One of the things I have said so often in speeches and written about is that the best two word explanation for marijuana prohibition is bad journalism. You’ll hear that again, and again.

There are so many examples of that. Don’t get me started.

I remember, for example, when I was at NORML, there was a really terrible article in The Washington Times which tends to specialize in articles about marijuana in particular. So I called up the reporter and said, “Could I send you some material that contradicts the party line?” She said, “Oh, I’d love to see it, but that, you know, there’s really no point in it. I was just given this assignment. I probably will be writing about it again.” But what I had to do was to call the drug czars office and get them to say something. And that was journalism dealing with marijuana, as you just call it, drugs out of the office and get him to say something. You know, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. And this went on for decades.

Read full article here:

https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/why-is-marijuana-legalization-not-covered-in-mainstream-media/

Does the FDA Regulate CBD? Could they be doing a better job? (Hint: F&*# Yes)

The FDA is now late on making some sort of statement about CBD. In their normal procedures, if anyone or anything makes a claim about a particular product, a medical claim about a particular product has to have some justification for it in the opinion of the FDA, the FDA is a really interesting example of what libertarian economists call regulatory capture. The reason that the FDA was created was that pharmaceutical companies (drug companies) were in fact selling products that had either no medical value, or were actually poisonous, literally poisonous. There needed to be some sort of regulation.

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https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/does-the-fda-regulate-cbd-could-they-be-doing-a-better-job/

We Must End Marijuana Prohibition For Economic Recovery in a Post Pandemic World

Los Angeles Can Be A Model For What Needs to Be Done

In the midst of the pandemic, there is much uncertainty about almost everything, but one thing does seem certain. America is going to be much poorer. Or, to put in a global perspective, America and a few other countries will be much less rich and the rest of the world will be much, much poorer, and no wall or welfare program will protect us.

In Los Angeles, the global center of the entertainment industry, the unemployment rate is already around 50%, and many jobs and businesses are gone forever. The sheer scale of the problems will almost certainly lead to social unrest which will be visible to the world. But so will the solutions, because the world really does look to “Hollywood” for imagination.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/we-must-end-marijuana-prohibition-for-economic-recovery-in-a-post-pandemic-world/

On 420 California Must Demand That the Federal Government Respect the State’s Laws and the Rights of its People and End Marijuana Prohibition NOW

The Coronavirus crisis has accelerated the conflict between Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic Governor and President Trump. Newsom has referred to California as a “nation state” and Trump has asserted that he has complete authority over the states. While Newsom was speaking figuratively, Trump was not.

Of course, Newsom knows that California is only a state, but he also knows, as Trump apparently does not, that the Tenth Amendment says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” In short, the President doesn’t have the Constitutional authority to open or close a state, but the conflict goes much deeper.

In fairness to Trump, the Tenth Amendment does not come up a lot in Washington, because it is truly “more honored in the breach” — to misinterpret Shakespeare, but it is inherent in our system.

Read full article below:

https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/on-420-california-must-demand-that-the-federal-government-respect-the-states-laws-and-the-rights-of-its-people-and-end-marijuana-prohibition-now/

Marijuana Prohibition Racism and Real “Social Justice” From Los Angeles to New York

The racist origins of marijuana prohibition were never hidden, and the racial disparity in the enforcement of the laws was generally seen as a ¨feature, not a bug¨, because law enforcement generally was, and too often still is, racist in its operation.

It is also important to note that this is not just a relic of the past in the ¨Old South¨. The fact that cannabis-hemp is known by the Mexican slang term “marijuana” is further evidence of the racist origins.

And then Nixon blamed ¨Jewish Psychiatrists¨ for wanting to legalize marijuana.

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https://www.sfexaminer.com/marketplace/marijuana-prohibition-racism-and-real-social-justice-from-los-angeles-to-new-york/

Don’t Mention the Drug War! America’s Elite Would Rather Follow Mobs Than Lead the People

Ah, here we go again. America is being rocked—sometimes literally—by riots, looting, as well as peaceful demonstrations, protesting yet another unarmed African American being killed by the police for Breathing while Black. Given all of the stress on African American communities, hard hit by both the Pandemic and its economic consequences, no one should be surprised.

Wall Street may think that America isn’t broke, but “the street” knows that America is badly broken. Unfortunately, the African American leadership has its own problem. They only have one thing—race—in common with “the street”, but otherwise they are part of America’s entirely dysfunctional political system.

They remind me of the story about a left-wing leader, Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin, during the failed French Revolution of 1848, who saw a mob rush by and said, “There go my people. I must find out where they are going so I can lead them.”

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https://www.newsweek.com/amplify/dont-mention-drug-war-americas-elite-would-rather-follow-mobs-lead-people

Abolish the Police? No, We Need for the “Drug Warriors” to Go Back to Being “Peace Officers”

When I read that the Mayor of Minneapolis was booed off the stage at a rally when he said he opposed abolishing the city’s police force, I was reminded of the 19th Century British Historian, Thomas Carlyle’s description of Classical Liberalism (American Libertarianism) as “Anarchy plus a Constable.”

Frankly, I think that talking about “abolishing” or “defunding” the police simply delays making the difficult decisions that have to be made about the Drug War, and especially marijuana prohibition, and the other ways that the police have simply had all of society’s problems dumped on them.

Read full article here:

https://www.newsweek.com/amplify/abolish-police-no-we-need-drug-warriors-go-back-being-peace-officers

Why Is No One Talking About The Drug War (Marijuana) In The 2020 Presidential Election?

We are, of course, right now in the middle of a presidential campaign that is raging right now. There is one topic that really doesn’t usually make the agenda in the presidential campaign, and that is the drug war and medical marijuana as well. A number of the democratic candidates, most of them now have just under political pressure, have come out in favor of some form of marijuana legalization. In the meantime, the Trump administration seems to have backpedaled. Donald Trump was always a social libertarian before he really got involved in politics. He was very critical of drug war. Now, after he became president, for whatever reason, the Trump Administration seems to be pulling back not only on recreational marijuana, but on medical marijuana.

This, of course, is always a secondary issue even for the Democrats, we want Medicaid for all, we want lower drug prices. Everybody wants something. Have a little freedom. Fact of the matter is, whatever the government decides to do is going to be extremely difficult terms of reforming really insanely expensive American medical system. Americans pay more (twice as much) per capita or health care as the second place in the world. Our end outcomes are nowhere near the other countries. We’re paying a whole lot of money and we’re not getting our money’s worth. And hence we have all these debates about.

Trump’s Surgeon General Takes Reefer Quackery to a New Low – Protecting New Mothers from Their Protectors

President Trump has been widely criticized for not listening to the “medical experts,” but that may not always be a bad thing.

Last year, Dr. Jerome Adams, Trump’s Surgeon General, said that pregnant women and teenagers “may be unaware that modern crops [of marijuana] pose greater health risks because of their potency.”

“This ain’t your mother’s marijuana,” said Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

Well, that ain’t nothin’ new. In fact, the potency (THC percentage by weight) has been a part of prohibitionist propaganda for decades, including the cliché about it not being your father’s Oldsmobile, or whatever. Of course, any kind of data on contraband is inherently problematic, but in states with legal marijuana, it is labeled so you can at least know what your mother is using.

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Grey Area Coffeeshop, Amsterdam – An Internationally Famous Cannabis Coffee Shop

The Grey Area Coffeeshop in Amsterdam is one of my favorite places. I think it may be the only American-owned coffee shop still there. A dear friend of mine, John Foster, owns it, who is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. –

For years, John was there every day, standing on his feet, supplying particularly to a lot of American tourists.

Going there is still both wonderful and funny to me. When they first opened, and you see the line around the corner, it was quite funny. But I understand the draw and why there is a line.

The Sad Case For Biden Over Trump For Medical Marijuana Users

The prospect that the next president of the United States will be either Donald Trump or Joe Biden is why the government should provide us all with medical marijuana.

That is sort of a joke, but considering what the candidates are saying and/or doing, it’s no joke.

On a recent radio interview with an African American host, Biden drew a lot of flak for saying, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.¨

It was a dumb thing to say, but some of other dumb things that he said should have drawn more critical attention.

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What Does The Future of CBD and Cannabis Look Like for Texas

I don’t think we’re really going to have a problem with CBD. That particular genie is out of the bottle.

But I think that Texas is going to be a major battleground over medical marijuana more generally, and ultimately about recreational use. The state is very split demographically. There are four or five major metropolitan areas that tend to, not surprisingly, be more socially liberal. Also, in particular, the sheriffs in Texas mostly have disproportionate political power. The state Legislature is distorted somewhat in that the rural areas are disproportionately represented. This creates a real problem in terms of passing laws that are really the greatest impact in the cities. But the cities do not have direct control over this.

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Don’t Mention The Drug War. We Must Decriminalize Being Black. Black Freedom Matters.

“Chaos Theory” is the idea that very small events can have major consequences. It is often illustrated by what is called the “Butterfly Effect,” where the fluttering of tiny wings could set off a series of events leading to a major storm halfway around the world. Of course, even though there are millions of butterflies, they don’t have cameras, so there is no way to monitor these events, but there are plenty of real world examples.

For instance, try to imagine that the cruel and incredibly stupid action of a policeman in a very liberal city would kill a suspect by keeping his knee on the suspect’s throat until well after he was dead. And all of it was caught on a camera and immediately broadcast around the world. What could possibly go right?

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Will New York Legalize Marijuana?

I think you are very likely to see marijuana legalization this year in New York. Governor Cuomo, who is certainly a smart politician, knows how to read his Legislature, and has obviously learned from their failed attempt previously to do this.

I think that New York, more than most places, has all of the complexities and the rules of great cities. You also have a state that is otherwise pretty much like the rest of the country. This case, really big city and the rest of the country. But well represented in the sense that there is a wide variety of things there.

What happened last time was a really good example of the saying, “If your enemies don’t get you, your own folks may.” People who said they were in favor of the legalization of marijuana then only wanted to do it their way.

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Why Are Police Still Pushing Marijuana Prohibition

I’ve argued that even fascists should support the legalization of marijuana. In fact, marijuana prohibition is a perfect example in some ways of fascism, or of communism, or of any authoritarian system that you would think of. However, just from the civil point of view of economics and basic politics, you have really finite resources to bring to bear in a society in terms of criminal justice activity. At some point or other, the most brutal totalitarian societies will find that prisons are simply too full. Also, by the way, the United States has more prisoners per capita than any other country in the world. We have 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Thank god for the leaders of the free world … I think we feel like otherwise.

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The Marijuana Meme: You Can’t Be Serious – Airbrushing An Agricultural Staple Out of the History Books

Marijuana/Hemp/Cannabis is a fascinating subject. As marijuana (meaning a “recreational drug”) it has been “controversial” for almost 100 years. Before that, as hemp, it was mostly just an agricultural staple for thousands of years. It was used as fiber for rope and canvas sails, etc. It was also cheap cloth (“Hempen homespuns” –  Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Act III Scene I).

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COVID-19, AIDS and the Suppression of Medical Cannabis

Researchers Have Focused on Strains High in the Anti-inflammatory Cannabidiol (CBD).

First, let me make clear that my focus is on politics, not directly on medicine. As the president says, “I’m not a doctor.” However, as we have seen, medicine does become political, and this is nothing new for those of us who can remember the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic.

Early in the epidemic, people with AIDS in San Francisco and New York, where marijuana was easily available, discovered that it helped with some of the more debilitating symptoms, notably loss of appetite. The “munchies” had long been a joke in the weed world, but it was no joke to patients who were either too nauseous to want to eat, or who simply had no appetite, resulting in a “wasting syndrome” that increased their suffering and hastened their deaths.

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Older Adult Senior Community Cannabis Usage Is Increasing Exponentially

There have been questions about whether my generation is using more cannabis, and it’s almost certainly true. My generation is the one that’s been lied to literally from the very beginning of the Reefer Madness 1930s. I think that one of the things that my generation did learn about marijuana prohibition is that you had to lie about it. It reminds me of one of the great lines from The Simpsons where Bart Simpson said “I didn’t do it.”

The thing that my generation never heard of: Where can I get some? But at the same time, as medical information gets out, in spite of the government, not because of it, people see their friends doing the thing that my generation is terribly aware of: A lot of the things that are supposed to help us, in fact, hurt us. Also, a lot of things that may be useful in the short-run for acute situations are actually harmful in the long-run – particularly if something is addictive like benzodiazepines or opiates and so on.

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Quebec Enlarges Marijuana Black Market During Pandemic

Quebec, Canada’s beautiful French speaking province, finds itself with the worst COVID-19 situation in Canada.

The Canadian political website iPolitics.ca reports:

“Quebec, with less than one-quarter of Canada’s population, is the country’s worst hit province. It accounts for a staggering 59 percent of all COVID-19 deaths and 54 percent of cases in Canada. … Quebec is responsible for over 60 percent of new Canadian deaths and cases over the last week, meaning its share of Canada’s COVID-19 problem is still increasing.”

In the midst of this tragedy, the provincial government decided to go ahead and raise the legal age to consume and purchase recreational marijuana from 18 to 21. (The legal age for alcohol remains 18 in Quebec and 19 in the rest of Canada.)

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Richard’s Tips to Latin American Countries on the Cusp of Legalization of Cannabis and Medical Marijuana

I think the advice that I would give to the Latin American countries generally, and to every other country in the world in terms of how to proceed with legalization, begins by saying, Americans, generally speaking, are not welcome in terms of giving advice. But my advice in that regard is don’t repeat our mistakes. A few years ago, I had the honor of being invited to speak to the committee of the Mexican Congress.

This was particularly an honor and a thrill at this time because no one in Mexico was thinking about legalizing marijuana. And fortunately, that has changed very quickly. But my advice, describe the mistakes that have been made. Ironically, it is correcting the lies that the Dutch justice minister had told them about the Dutch system. Welcome to Provisionals World. People lie about their own countries.

Mexico May Move to Complete Legalization of Marijuana and Hemp Without THC Limits By the End of the Year

I really love Mexico, and having grown up in Texas, I have visited there many times, starting in 1947, when I was seven years old and my parents drove to Mexico City on the then new PanAmerican Highway with me standing up in the backseat. (There were no seatbelts in those days.)

It was much safer then than now, because it was long before the Drug War. In the meantime, 20 years later in 1967, I discovered a certain Mexican agricultural product that could have gotten me life in prison in Texas.

My most recent visit to what is now a metropolitan area with over 20 million people, was in April of 2009, when I…

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Is GW Epidiolex Better Than The CBD Products That I Can Buy Online?

First thing to remember about GW’s product, which is called Epidiolex, is that it has been approved by the FDA. Some may be saying: “Well, maybe CBD is just a fad. It is a placebo effect. Whatever.” The fact is, GW spent a huge amount of money getting it approved by regulatory agencies in the United States and other countries to prove that it is not a placebo.

A placebo is a really interesting phenomenon, which is a much longer topic than we can get into right now. But basically, if you give a group of people sugar pills and tell them that it will alleviate their “whatever,” 15-20 percent – sometimes even more – will get relief from their “whatever.” This really complicates testing new drugs. Is this new drug really effective or is it the placebo effect? So that is a big part of the FDA procedure.

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Feds Try To Undermine California’s Legal Marijuana Industry Vía Selective Prosecution of Advertising Companies

Although California’s Proposition 64, the “Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act” which legalized the sale of recreational marijuana, won by an overwhelming victory four years ago (Yes 7,979,041 = 57.13% vs No 5,987,020 = 42.87%) it was — and still is — opposed by law enforcement in rural areas, some urban localities, and — of course — by the Feds.

Also, there has been great confusion and controversy over how to implement it by licensing retail sales. As is almost always the case, the drafting of the lengthy text involved many compromises with the state’s numerous “stakeholders” — AKA “special interests.”

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We Must End Marijuana Prohibition For Economic Recovery in a Post Pandemic World

In the midst of the pandemic, there is much uncertainty about almost everything, but one thing does seem certain. America is going to be much poorer. Or, to put in a global perspective, America and a few other countries will be much less rich and the rest of the world will be much, much poorer, and no wall or welfare program will protect us.

In Los Angeles, the global center of the entertainment industry, the unemployment rate is already around 50 percent, and many jobs and businesses are gone forever. The sheer scale of the problems will almost certainly lead to social unrest which will be visible to the world. But so will the solutions, because the world really does look to “Hollywood” for imagination.

So use your imagination. Imagine what Los Angeles and America and the world would look like without marijuana prohibition.

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Tobacco Companies and Cannabis – Should They Be Allowed In?

I should begin by explaining that I have rather strong libertarian, capitalistic tendencies. But when I’m asked about the tobacco industry – yet again to the cannabis industry – I confess to having very mixed feelings. Remember that I was born in 1940. I grew up in the good old days of not a cough and a carload, 9/10 doctors who smoke, recommend… and so on. Back in those days, on the evening news with John Cameron Swayze, he would be smoking while he gave the news. You’d see a little cigarette over there with the smoke rising up, and so on. On the topic of cigarette advertising, when I wrote the article for National Review on why conservatives should support the legalization of marijuana which was in December of 1972, seemed like only yesterday.

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Seniors Have Even More Reason to Demand End to Cannabis Prohibition

Those of us who are fortunate enough to live a long life (I’ll be 80 this year) probably fear Alzheimer’s Disease more than almost anything else, and the last 10 years of Ronald Reagan’s life demonstrate why.

He was 94 when he finally died in 2004, of Alzheimer’s, 10 years after he was diagnosed. His long life meant that he suffered longer from the worst of Alzheimer’s than most people. His family also had to endure seeing his decline over a period of years. The Reagans could afford to hire nurses and others to spare the family the onerous burden that exhausts most families – physically, emotionally and financially – but that did not lessen their heartbreak.

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How Marijuana Prohibition May Cost Trump A Second Term – Will Biden’s Prohibitionist Past Catch Up With Him?

Every day there are news stories about marijuana legalization, the marijuana business and financial analysis, medical marijuana/CBD studies, etc. However, there is almost no discussion of marijuana prohibition, which remains the policy of the U.S. government and the Trump administration.

As CannaLawBlog.com reported, “During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump asserted that, as president, he would allow states to choose whether to legalize marijuana without interference from the federal government.

“After his election, however, Trump’s position completely reversed. In 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, an Obama-era policy of not interfering with states who have legalized marijuana. Trump’s press secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, then implied that there would be a crackdown on legalization states. Sessions, however, did not specifically order law enforcement to direct more resources toward enforcing marijuana laws.”

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Let’s Declare April “Marijuana Legalization Month”

The pandemic is not only a public health threat. It is a threat to our freedom.

Streaming Freedom on A Virtual 420

End Marijuana Prohibition NOW!

April 20th (420, 4/20 and 4:20) became the international symbol of the celebration of marijuana use as an act of public defiance against marijuana prohibition. It was furtive at first, but with increasingly public defiance.

Over the almost four decades since it began, “420” has become vastly bigger and more open, but it remains essentially a one day celebration. Now the time has come for us to move beyond having just a one day party and make it a month of defiance, planning and mobilization for however long it takes to take back our freedom.

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Why Is Marijuana Legalization Not Covered in Mainstream Media?

One of the things I have said often in speeches and written about is that the best two-word explanation for marijuana prohibition is bad journalism. You’ll hear that again, and again.

There are so many examples of that. Don’t get me started.

I remember, for example, when I was at NORML, there was a really terrible article in The Washington Times which tends to specialize in articles about marijuana in particular. So I called up the reporter and said, “Could I send you some material that contradicts the party line?” She said, “Oh, I’d love to see it, but that, you know, there’s really no point in it. I was just given this assignment. I probably will be writing about it again.” But what I had to do was to call the drug czars office and get them to say something. And that was journalism dealing with marijuana. You know, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. And this went on for decades.

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Marijuana Prohibition Is Mass Murder. End Marijuana Prohibition NOW!

Oh, surely now, isn’t that an overstatement? Mass murder? After all, it’s a complicated subject, and we need to be careful about it.

I would double down, and say NO, in fact, it is actually a huge understatement and it would be obvious if so many of our institutions weren’t morally, intellectually, scientifically, medically, journalistically, politically, ethically and spiritually bankrupt. (Did I miss anyone?)

Right now we are living (and/or dying) through a pandemic that is the result of the failure of virtually all of our institutions, and if we cannot now see how this is happening, then it’s only a matter of time before we will all lose our freedom, if not our lives. And we cannot blame a virus.

Now let’s quantify the problems.

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How Should You talk To your Grandchildren About CBD and Medical Marijuana?

The whole context of family communication around the topic of cannabis is one that is fraught with tension, one might say. I could help if everybody got stoned first, but that’s the whole topic, isn’t it? How do you talk to your children, or grandchildren? Not being the marrying kind, I don’t have any grandchildren. But, one of the great things about having been involved with the marijuana reform movements over the decades is that I actually occasionally get to meet these “young people” they’re called. Yes, that’s it.

Going to college campuses and debating narcs was one of the more enjoyable aspects of being involved with the issue.

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