CC24

Amsterdam in Vancouver

karlis — Sat, 15 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

The last time I sat with the Sativa Sisters, Sita Windheim and Karen Watson, at their Amsterdam Caf? in Vancouver, Canada, there was a poignant sense of sadness in the air along with pot smoke.

Bill Small pleads guilty

karlis — Tue, 01 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

On January 12, Bill Small was in court in Sechelt, British Columbia, to plead guilty to charges of cultivation resulting from a raid in the nearby town of Roberts Creek. Small was growing marijuana to provide patients of Vancouver?s Compassion Club with medicine. Small?s lawyer, Peter Durovich, asked that sentencing be remanded to a Vancouver court, so that members of the Vancouver Compassion Club could testify as to Small?s motives, and how Small?s work has improved their lives.

Boje offers to turn herself in

karlis — Sat, 25 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Renee Boje, who was arrested in July 1997 during a bust at Todd McCormick's medical "marijuana mansion" in California, continues her fight to avoid extradition from Canada to the US, where she could face a lengthy prison term for charges of cultivation, conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and possession (see CC#23, Pot refugee's extradition hearing).

Brian Taylor's cannabis company

karlis — Sat, 11 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Brian Taylor, who pioneered the hemp and medical marijuana industries of Grand Forks, BC, during his 3 year-term as Mayor, lost his bid to be returned to the mayor's office in November 1999. During his term as Mayor, Taylor was banned from the US by authorities aware of his pro-cannabis profile. (see CC#18).
Taylor sees the loss as an opportunity to move forward with other projects.

California U med-pot study

karlis — Tue, 08 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

The California state government has put its funding and support behind a medicinal marijuana research study to be done at the University of California.
The 3 year research program aims to gather solid, irrefutable data to prove marijuana?s effectiveness.

The first hurdle is finding a legal source for their bud, as the Drug Enforcement Agency has very restrictive rules on obtaining marijuana for research.

Charles Scott still harassed

karlis — Thu, 23 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Charles Scott ? whose pregnant wife, Leanne, almost lost her unborn child after a police raid on October 2, 1999 ? has been forced to sell the farm near Fort Que'pelle, Saskatchewan, where he grew medical marijuana for his community and for his own knee pain (See CC#23, Church of the Universe challenge ). Scott's livestock was seized during the raid and sold by police at auction, making it impossible for Scott to earn a living.

Class action suit dismissed

karlis — Fri, 03 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

The class action suit to force the feds to re-open its compassionate use program for marijuana users has been dismissed.
The lawsuit was launched by Attorney Lawrence Hirsch (see CC#19), on behalf of over 180 patients from every state in the US, who demanded equal access to the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program, which provides medical pot to 8 US citizens.

The program was started by the feds in 1978, as a way of settling a lawsuit by glaucoma sufferer Robert Randall, who had sued for access to medicinal marijuana.

David Malmo Levine and Randy Caine in Supreme Court

karlis — Mon, 10 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

David Malmo-Levine has been fighting in court for Canadians' right to use marijuana recreationally since he opened the first of two cannabis buyers clubs in 1996 (see CC#16). Randy Caine has been fighting in court for the same thing since he was arrested for possessing a roach in Vancouver in 1993 (see CC#13).
On November 17 and 18, Malmo-Levine and Caine presented their arguments together before the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Both were represented by famous cannabis lawyer
John Conroy.

Ed Rosenthal?s Bud of the Month

karlis — Thu, 17 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Indoor Garden of the Month
These plants were grown under 600 watts of HPS light per meter. Each single bud plant was staked so it stayed in its allotted space in the 120 x 240cm garden. They're growing in rockwool cubes placed on slabs and irrigated with a drip emitter.

Swiss Miss,
Lugano, Switzerland

Feminized seeds

karlis — Thu, 17 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Henk is nearly half a century old, but the lanky, laconic businessman still has a Dutch passion for connoisseur cannabis seeds.

Genetically modified medpot?

karlis — Tue, 29 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

A source within the Ministry of Health, who wishes to remain anonymous, has provided documents and information to Cannabis Culture, describing how Canadian pot is to be grown for upcoming medical trials. The documents call for 185 kg (408 pounds) of pot to be grown in the first year, and double that amount for the second through fifth years.

Gil Puder: drug-peace cop

karlis — Fri, 31 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Outspoken Vancouver Police Officer Gil Puder died of cancer on November 12, 1999 at the age of 40. Puder, a decorated 18-year veteran of the force and an instructor at the BC Police Academy, gained prominent media attention in April 1998, when he spoke at a Fraser Institute conference in Vancouver. Despite threats and written orders from his Chief of Police, Constable Puder spoke eloquently and at length about the need for an immediate end to the drug war.

Government ganja guidelines

karlis — Sat, 08 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

The US federal Department of Health and Human Services has issued new guidelines for marijuana research.
The new rules requires separate approvals from the Food & Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Institute of Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

For all other untested research drugs only FDA approval is needed.

High Times and the Cannabis Cup

karlis — Wed, 15 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Origins of the CupThe Cannabis Cup is the highest honor awarded to members of the multi-billion dollar international marijuana industry. Given in November for the last 12 years, the Cup is more than a prized piece of sculpted silver. It is a pilgrimage, a tribal gathering, marijuana culture's most outrageous celebration, orchestrated entirely by High Times, the self-proclaimed "Most Notorious Magazine in the World."

Japanese cop cover-up

karlis — Thu, 06 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

In Japan, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department is facing allegations that they covered up a fellow officer's positive urine tests in 1996.
At the time, police were doing a major anti-stimulant drive in the schools, and apparently felt that arresting a fellow officer would be too embarrassing.

Judge Judy says "let 'em die"

karlis — Mon, 13 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Judge Judy, the acerbic daytime TV personality who holds court on the show bearing her name, has come under fire for her callous attitude towards injection drug users.
Judy Sheindlin, whose show is the highest rated program in daytime syndication, was in Australia on November 16 to promote her new book. She told a Brisbane audience that the debate about needle exchange was led by "liberal morons," and that the solution is to "Give 'em dirty needles and let 'em die."

Kenex customs confusion

karlis — Sat, 18 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Canadian hemp giant Kenex and its allies in the Canadian government rejoiced in December when the US government appeared to have backed off its hard-line policy on seizing Canadian hemp exports into the United States.
In August 1999, nearly 40,000 pounds of Kenex's sterilized hemp seed were seized by US Customs at the Detroit border crossing (see CC#23). Customs officials later claimed they were acting under new DEA guidelines which banned any hemp product that contained "too much" THC.

LAPD corruption scandal

karlis — Tue, 22 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) corruption scandal widens as over 3000 cases are now being reviewed. Former LAPD Officer Rafael Perez has revealed to investigators a string of thefts, drug deals, murders, perjury and frame-ups committed by himself and other members of the LAPD's Rampart Division. By December, nine people had been released from prison due to Perez's confession that he had framed them.

Le club compassion de Montreal

karlis — Sun, 20 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

The October 1 opening of Quebec's first medical marijuana club in Montreal has everyone pleased.
Community and government alike have been supportive, and there have been no problems with the city or the provincial authorities. Federal Bloc Quebecois minister Bernard Bigras was on hand for the opening. Even the Montreal police have only "kept an eye" on the location.

Legal hemp in Hawaii

karlis — Sun, 06 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Hemp attorney Don Wirtshafter said he was angered and saddened by the reinstituted zero tolerance hemp products seizure policy, but found something to rejoice about: he was in Hawaii on December 14, watching the planting of America's first officially sanctioned hemp crop since World War II.

Legalize ballots in Alaska and Michigan

karlis — Fri, 04 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

This November, Alaskan voters will be voting on whether they want to legalize marijuana, regulating it like alcohol. The proposal would also allow doctors to prescribe medical pot, and give amnesty to those convicted of past pot crimes.
In January, initiative sponsors handed in over 40,000 signatures, far more than the 22,000 needed to get the initiative on the ballot.

Mike Spindloe gets court date

karlis — Sat, 15 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

Mike Spindloe, owner of Vinyl Exchange, a pipe, bong and record store in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, will be in court again on April 3, 2000 (see CC#20).
Even though he was initially found guilty of selling paraphernalia under 462.2 of the criminal code, he is facing an appeal by the prosecutor.

Millennium Marijuana March

karlis — Sat, 12 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

With over 30 cities around the globe already planning events for the May 6 Millennium Marijuana March, it looks like this year's international rally for pot-freedom will surpass 1999's spectacular results.
On May 1, 1999, there were over 40 separate protests worldwide, including 25,000 people gathering in New York, and tens of thousands more in London, Montreal and San Francisco.

Nicaraguan nightmare

karlis — Thu, 13 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0700

After spending nearly a year in a fetid, decaying, violent, corrupt Nicaraguan prison, Dr Paul Wylie, the Canadian botanist illegally jailed in Nicaragua since December, 1998 (see CC#17, #20), was finally released and allowed to return home to Ontario.
Wylie had been acting as an agricultural advisor to Canadian company Hemp-Agro, which was growing 1400 acres of newly-developed tropical hemp near Managua. In December 1998, their field was burned by black-hooded government agents, and Dr Wylie was waylaid and imprisoned for a year without trial.

Offbeat Marijuana/Highlights

karlis — Sun, 02 Apr 2000 00:00:00 -0800

These two books are very similar. Both provide a reader-friendly overview of cannabis and cannabis culture, and both carry a $19.95 cover price. Each relies heavily on art, illustrations and photos to tell their story, and while both touch on the plant's ancient origins, they focus mostly on the intertwined history of cannabis and the USA.

Pot politics in New Zealand

karlis — Thu, 17 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Michael Appleby taking a breathelizer: targeted during ALCP paradeAn easy assignment

Pot Puzzler

karlis — Thu, 17 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Here we are again in the land of the cannabis crossword. You know the drill. Get out your pen, get real stoned, giggle at the clues and try to solve the damn thing.

Pought Thots

karlis — Thu, 17 Feb 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Cannabis commandments
Since the Unites States of America's first amendment guarantees freedom of religion, and since Congress has passed legislation requiring all schools to post the ten commandments of the Christian-Judaic-Moslem traditions, I am sure that Congress will not mind when schools also post Mahadevi's three commandments.

Rob Brown gets legal cannabis

karlis — Tue, 07 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Jim Wakeford, the first Canadian to receive permission to use medical marijuana from the Minister of Health, had to demonstrate that he was near death before the courts ordered the ministry to consider his application. The most recent recipient of an exemption, Rob Brown, spent two days camped on the steps of Parliament before his application was finally processed.

Sativa for pain

karlis — Tue, 21 Mar 2000 00:00:00 -0800

Scientists at GW Pharmaceuticals, Britain's legal med-pot research facility, have announced that Sativa strains are more effective at treating pain than Indica strains.
The company has a 20,000 plant garden hidden somewhere in England, and intends to introduce cannabis-based prescription drugs by 2004.