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Just Say Now

In 1996, California became the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for medical use. Now, with a ballot initiative up for a vote in November, it could become the first to ratify an even more striking landmark: the legalization of pot for recreational use. Proposition 19 — the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 — treats pot much like alcohol after the repeal of Prohibition, allowing each city and county to decide whether it wants to approve and tax commercial sales of the drug.
Chronicle

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Hey, cops: Don't give crack to hookers' boyfriends, don't rip people off and traffic dope, don't seize dope without turning it in, and don't get wasted on meth you stole and crash your cruiser. If only this week's crew had followed those simple instructions.
Chronicle
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Scientists Suggest Fresh Look at Psychedelic Drugs

Swiss scientists suggest that mind-altering drugs like LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms can be combined with psychotherapy to treat people suffering from depression, compulsive disorders or chronic pain.
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Colombia Court Declares Military Base Deal With U.S. Unconstitutional

The U.S. was denied greater access to Colombian military bases when a joint base deal aimed at combating drug trafficking among other things was deemed unconstitutional by Colombia's Constitutional court. The deal was reached after Ecuador refused to renew the lease on the US military base of Manta almost three years ago. During his refusal, President Rafael Correa said, "If there's no problem having foreign soldiers on a country's soil, surely they'll let us have an Ecuadorian base in the United States."
In The Trenches

Marijuana Policy Project Insider Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 6

 

Newsletter V1_I6 Header

 

Obama upholds Leonhart nomination despite calls for withdrawal

alt="Newsletter V1_I4 Leonhart" border=0>The Obama administration has affirmed that it believes Michele Leonhart is the right person for the job as head of the DEA, despite a unified effort led by MPP to withdraw her nomination. Leonhart has shown that she is more interested in carrying out Bush-era raids on medical marijuana patients than she is in following a more reasonable policy of non-interference laid out by the DOJ last year.Read more...

Prohibition victim's family receives $4.9M in settlement

Newsletter V1_I6 JohnstonNearly four years after she was killed by police officers in an illegitimate raid on her home, the family of Kathryn Johnston is set to receive $4.9 million from the city of Atlanta. Though this is only a small consolation to the family who lost their grandmother in November of 2006, it may be a sign that major cities like Atlanta will need to rethink the human costs of carrying out these types of raids.Read more...

Update: Detroit's fight to make marijuana legal

Newslettter - DetroitIn an update to a story we brought to you in our very first issue of the Insider, activists in Detroit are now fighting to keep on the ballot a measure that would make marijuana legal for adults. Locals collected more than 6,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, but in a shocking development, the city's election commission voted 3-0 to remove the measure. Supporters are now appealing the decision in an attempt to get the measure reinstated so that voters in Detroit can have their say in November. Read more...

Mexican leaders call for drug reform

alt="Newsletter V1_I6 Calderon">The endless cartel violence in Mexico and on our southern border has convinced Mexican President Felipe Calderon to call for a debate on ending prohibition, while two of his predecessors say the time has already come, and U.S. officials sadly continue to deny reality. More than 28,000 Mexicans have died in prohibition-fueled violence since 2006, and the cartels now make more than 60 percent of their revenue from selling marijuana in the United States.Read more...

YouTube, MPP, and You!

alt="Newsletter V1_I4 YouTube">Did you know that MPP has a YouTube channel? We do! In fact, we put all of the latest MPP Insider videos, our television appearances, and lots of other great content up all the time. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to our channel to be the first to know when we've added new content!Read more...

 

The MPP Insider - Video Edition

Newsletter V1_I6 Insider

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Featured Person

alt="Newsletter V1_I5 Victim">Peter McWilliams, stricken with both cancer and AIDS, died because the federal government prevented him from using the one thing that controlled his nausea.
Hear his story...

Your help is key!

Raised in '10: $2,282,946
Goal in '10: $3,400,000

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2010 strategic plan if you help us meet this challenge.


To contact MPP, please click here. Our mailing address is Marijuana Policy Project, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20002. Any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office.


 
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Corrupt, Insecure Prisons Undermine Mexico Drug War

Experts say Mexico's President FelipeCalderon needs to get entrenched problems in the penal and judicial system under control if he is to have any chance of winning a war that has claimed more than 28,000 lives since late 2006 and sparked fears that drug trafficking organizations could turn Mexico into a lawless narco state.
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Kidnapped Mexican Mayor Found Dead

Yet another Mexican politican falls prey to drug prohibition violence. Security forces have found the handcuffed and blindfolded body of kidnapped mayor Edelmiro Cavazos of the northern Mexican city of Santiago. Cavazos was taken from his home by armed men on Sunday night.
In The Trenches

Obama: Fix U.S. Drug Policy! (Petition)

 

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About this Petition:

As he prepares his new administration, Obama has the opportunity to appoint a "Drug Czar" who will shift drug policy toward a public health model and away from a criminal model. Please sign this petition and let our new president know that a change in drug policy is needed!

The Desired Outcome of this Petition:

Obama appoints a "Drug Czar" who will treat drug abuse as a health issue rather than a criminal issue and will move away from a "War on Drugs" paradigm.

To sign, follow this link: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/show/15?m=85799a5f

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The Forgotten Ban: Obama Sticks with DEA Nominee Michele Leonhart Despite Criticism of Raids

Michele Leonhart, a DEA deputy administrator appointed by President George W. Bush and the acting administrator since the resignation of Karen P. Tandy in 2007, has consistently ignored a Justice Department directive not to “waste resources” by raiding medical marijuana dispensaries and growers operating legally in states that allow the sale of medical marijuana. Now, seemingly backtracking on his marijuana policy, President Obama is sticking with the Bush appointee and DEA-head nominee Leonhart despite massive criticism.
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Wait for Medical Marijuana in NJ Frustrates Terminally Ill Patients

Legislation approving at least six non-profit alternative treatment centers to dispense medical marijuana in New Jersey was approved in January. Politicians have delayed the implementation date until January 2011. Meanwhile, terminally ill patients are in pain and dying.
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Chronicle
Trevon Cole, killed in his bathroom by a police officer, had just 1.8 ounces of marijuana
Trevon Cole, killed in his bathroom by a police officer, had just 1.8 ounces of marijuana

Coroner Probing Marijuana Raid Killing of Unarmed Man [FEATURE]

Just over two months ago, a Las Vegas narc killed Trevon Cole in a drug raid in his own apartment. The official story grows smellier and smellier, and the cop has shot people controversially before. But observers are still predicting the police shooter will be cleared this week.
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Lawmakers in Mexico to Debate Drug Fight

President Felipe Calderón summoned legislators to participate later this week in his continuing discussions with all of Mexico’s political establishment about how to win the war against the drug trafficking organizations. Is legalization on the table?
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Drug Gang Hires 'pretty' Hitwomen

A suspected member of the vicious La Linea gang reports that his organization is hiring pretty young women to carry out killings in order to surprise its enemies. Around 30 women aged between 18 and 30 years have learned in recent months to carry out killings accompanied by hitmen, and most have already killed people.
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Chronicle
In The Trenches

Doctors, Police Will Support Medical Marijuana in Pittsburgh (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 17, 2010
Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana PA4MMJ
www.pa4mmj.org

CONTACT: Pittsburgh: Patrick Nightingale [email protected] 412-225-7959

Philadelphia: Derek Rosenzweig or Chris Goldstein [email protected] or 215-586-3483

Doctors, Police will support medical marijuana in Pittsburgh

Public hearings this week on Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana bill HB 1393 will feature powerful testimony in favor of legal access. The House Health and Human Services Committee will meet Thursday in Pittsburgh to address the topic. More info

The Committee will hear from medical doctors, retired police, a former Assistant District Attorney and medical professionals.

- Dr. Cyril Wecht, one of the nation’s most respected forensic pathologists, will testify at he hearing. Wecht said today, "I have personally performed approximately 17000 autopsies during my 50 year career as a forensic pathologist. I have reviewed, supervised or signed off on 36000 other autopsy reports, many of which have emanated from jurisdictions throughout the United States. I have never diagnosed as a cause of death ‘acute cannabinoid toxicity’, nor, in all the other cases that I have reviewed have I ever seen such a post-mortem diagnosis."

- Patrick Nightingale Esq. is a former Assistant DA in Pittsburgh. He is on the Board of directors at Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana PA4MMJ and co-founded PittsburghNORML. He commented today, “We are honored to add to the Legislative Record the testimony of such a renowned group of individuals.”

“We believe Dr. Wecht's testimony will provide compelling evidence that marijuana can and is used safely and does not pose the risks of overdose and death commonly associated with opiate based medications such as oxycontin, fentanyl, vicodin and percoset."

- Dr. Lester Grinspoon is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon has written extensively on medial marijuana including the book Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. Grinspoon will appear at the hearing to testify via internet video conferencing.

- Jack Cole spent 26 years with the New Jersey State police. He worked for 14 years in narcotics, much of it undercover. Cole went on to found the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition LEAP and will testify in favor of medical marijuana.

- Sgt. Matt Rite is a 22-year-old Iraq war veteran. Ready to re-deploy with his unit, he was given a general discharge after testing positive for THC. The federal Veterans Affairs Administration recently addressed medical marijuana use. If vets are registered in a state authorized medical marijuana program they will face no internal sanctions.

In addition to the live testimony dozens of Pittsburgh area residents will submit written testimony to the HHS Committee.

Representative Mark B. Cohen introduced HB1393 and the first public hearings took place in Harrisburg last December.

A Franklin&Marshall poll conducted this year showed that 80% of PA residents support the medical marijuana legislation.

Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) is a statewide non-profit advocacy group promoting passage of the bill.

PA4MMJ welcomes the opportunity to put legislators and the media into contact with local patients and cannabis experts.

www.pa4mmj.org

CONTACT: Pittsburgh: Patrick Nightingale [email protected] 412-225-7959

Philadelphia: Derek Rosenzweig or Chris Goldstein [email protected] or 215-586-3483

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