CC20

A working lunch

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

When walking along the newly opened Trans Canada Hiking Trail, be sure to stop for some good eats at the ew Hemp Cafe in Belleville Ontario. The trail passes right behind the restaurant, a converted 19th century fire station overlooking the peaceful Moirira River.

Amsterdam raided

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Vancouver hemp store and seed emporium, the Amsterdam, was raided for the third time on July 20 at 8 pm. The Amsterdam's owners, Karen Watson and Sita Windheim, are both facing charges of trafficking in marijuana seeds. One of their employees was also charged and spent the night in jail.

Border cameras

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

The US Border Patrol is spending over $4.5 million US on 30 motion sensitive cameras. The fibre optic and microwave system is being installed along a 40 kilometer stretch between Blaine and the Cascade Mountains. There are many unpatrolled trails in the region which are used to smuggle BC pot into the US.

British MPs for medical pot

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

On May 20, a record 89 MPs in Britain's parliament openly backed a private bill to legalize the medical use of marijuana. Labour MP Paul Flynn, who introduced the bill, has been a longstanding supporter of a more rational drug policy, and called on government to "allow sick people to benefit from the 3000 year old medicine."

Can use, but cannot possess

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

David Malmo-Levine, who was charged with marijuana offences in connection with running two marijuana-buyers' clubs in Vancouver (see CC#8, Homegrown revolution), has had his conditions of bail changed.

Canadian med-pot reaches new highs

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Jim Wakeford celebrating his first legal jointMedical pot seems unstoppable in Canada. Public support is at an all-time high, the Minister of Health has given two Canadians the right to legally cultivate and use, and the Canadian marijuana industry is gearing up to produce a supply for government testing.

Canadian Senator wants to legalize

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

In June, Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolan announced his intention to form a Senate Committee to determine which drugs should be legalized. "I would like to legalize the drugs that aren't harmful," said Nolan.
The Senate won't vote on Nolan's proposed committee until the fall, giving Senators time to study the issue. If the Committee is formed, it will be Canada's first major drug policy review since the Le Dain Commission of 1970.

Cannabis calculations

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

As Canadian medical cannabis is becoming a real possibility, it's worth noting that all the pot thousands of patients would require could be grown by a handful of farmer-ceutical workers on a few hectares of land.
The following rough calculations suggest that the entire legal medical marijuana farming proposal will not be a big deal, certainly much smaller in scale than many med-pot watchers may imagine.

CC journalist beats all charges

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Cannabis Culture journalist Pete Brady, arrested in January because he visited Kubby's home doing research for a cover article (see CC#18, Candidate Kubby), has beaten all state and federal charges against him.

Chinese executions

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

China celebrated the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse on June 25 by executing at least 71 people for drug trafficking. Another 27 were sentenced to death, some of the sentences announced at public rallies attended by thousands of people.

Columbian property seizures

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

In mid-june Colombian anti-drug agents raided 176 properties belonging to imprisoned bosses of the Cali cartel. Agents seized homes, ranches, apartments and offices in 11 cities, allegedly belonging to imprisoned traffickers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez, but registered as belonging to third parties.

Comic History of Cannabis in Canada

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Confusion in California

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.Proposition 215, California's medical pot law passed in 1996, seems to irrefutably legalize the cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

DEA reschedules marinol

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

In early June the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reclassified synthetic THC from a Schedule II drug to the less restrictive Schedule III. This change makes it easier for doctors to prescribe the drug, easing paperwork and allowing telephone orders and automatic refills.

DEA vs hemp

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

The DEA is coming under pressure from state governments to allow hemp cultivation. In Kentucky, the Hemp Growers Cooperative is currently suing the DEA to allow farmers to grow hemp instead of tobacco. In Minnesota, Governor Jesse Ventura passed a bill mandating the state to seek federal approval of hemp cultivation. In Hawaii, Governor Benjamin Cayetano signed a bill authorizing a quarter-acre hemp test plot at the University of Hawaii, subject to approval by the DEA.

Downriver from Babylon

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Which Caribbean nation has the fewest natural resources, the sparsest infrastructure, the poorest population, the highest national debt, the worst financial future and the best ganja? That's right folks, home of Bob Marley and bauxite. Their Justice Minister formally announced in June that growing government approved industrial hemp and medical marijuana would be good for the country.

Duped Canadian on Vietnam death row

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Toronto woman Nguyen Hiep, 42, has been kept in shackles for three years after being sentenced to death in Hanoi, after she and her mother were found guilty of smuggling heroin in 1996. Her mother, 72, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Hiep was duped by a stranger into carrying art panels from Vietnam to Toronto, and unbeknownst to her they contained 5 kilos of heroin. Canadian officials are attempting to have Hiep's death sentence commuted.

Ed Rosenthal's Bud of the Month

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

send your best bud shots to:Ed Rosenthal
c/o Cannabis Culture

Winners will recieve a copy of Ed's new book, Closet Cultivator. Photos may also be featured online at cannabisculture.com. Submissions will not be returned.

Ed's Swiss trip

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

I've visited Switzerland many times over the past 2 years, and although I am inspired with the tolerance of Swiss law and astounded at the size of their fields, sadly I have usually not been impressed with the quality of their buds. Yet their skills and genetics are rapidly improving, due both to their increasing experience, and an influx of professional growers from other nations who want to take advantage of the opportunities Switzerland offers.

Exposing CIA corruption

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

In August 1996, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist named Gary Webb risked his life by publishing a series of articles in the San Jose, California Mercury-News newspaper. They showed that the US government's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) might be better described as the "Cocaine Importing Agency."

Fighting extradition to USA

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Renee Boje, arrested by the DEA in connection with a raid on Todd McCormick's famous "medicinal-marijuana mansion" (see CC#19), continues to fight for refugee status in Vancouver, BC. If her attempts to resist extradition fail, she faces a minimum of 10 years in US prisons. To fund her campaign she has created "Cannabis Certificates" that can be acquired for a $25 donation to her legal defence fund.

French freedom fighter

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

JP Galland: Rolling joints for freedom.French freedom-fighter Jean Pierre Galland has been pushing the baggie in Paris for many years. During the 1980's he wrote a pro-pot book called Fum?e Clandestines (Clandestine Smoke), and in 1990 he formed the Collectif d'Information et de Recherche Cannabique (CIRC - Collective for Information and Research into Cannabis).

Germany develops cannabis extracts

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

The German Health Ministry has asked the German Federation of Druggists to work with the Association for Cannabis as Medicine (ACM) to develop standardized formulations of cannabis extracts. The Federation of Druggists produces standardized formulas for other herbal drugs and tinctures.

Hemp BC shuts down

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

City council and the courts have finished what mutliple police raids began: Hemp BC and the Cannabis Cafe are out of business. Owner Sister Icee was refused a business license after farcical city council hearings during February and March, where city lawyers blamed Icee for things that had occured while founder Marc Emery owned the businesses (see CC#18, Hemp BC's show-cause showdown).

Hempa-riled up!

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

The sweet smell of Canadian grown dehulled hemp seed wafting through the US hemp market has begun to stink as far as Richard Rose is concerned.

High-tech hash in a vapourizer

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Britain's GW Pharmaceuticals has begun clinical trials for their new medical cannabis inhaler. The device will be tested for three years by 900 patients with ailments such as glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and neuralagia. The cannabis is in the form of a brown, viscuous liquid which is heated in a laboratory oven then placed into the inhaler, where the vapours can be sucked up through a tube by the patient.

Kids and pot: the parent's dilemma

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

Kids and pot; a controversial topic if there ever was one, with many pot advocates buying into the prohibitionists' idea that it's always bad for children to use marijuana.

Know your own stone

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

An educated palate
The breeding and production of fine quality cannabis is more an art than a science. A creative mind and sense of imagination is necessary to achieve success in this field. The other requirement is a very discerning palate, including the ability to discern and appreciate subtle variations in taste, smell and mental experience.

Kubby's trial continues

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

California libertarian politician and medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby continues to fight for his family's freedom. Kubby and his wife Michele are being prosecuted on marijuana charges in Placer County (see CC#18, Candidate Kubby), which has recently stepped up its harassment and persecution of medical marijuana patients.

Lambsbreath closed

karlis — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0700

The Lamb's Breath, a medical marijuana outlet across the street from Vancouver's Hemp BC (see CC#19, Hemp BC's judicial review ), has also been closed. Ernest Standing, the store's owner, was unavailable for comment.