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Mexican Drug Lords Importing Beauty Queens

Juliana Sossa, 25, was arrested alongside Jorge Balderas Garza (a.k.a. "El J.J.") after she posted the location of her Mexico City neighborhood on her Facebook page. In November, Mexican police arrested Colombian model Juliana Lopez Aguirre along with Harold Mauricio Poveda, who police say was a go-between for Colombian drug traffickers. Last May Argentine authorities arrested Colombian Angie Sanclemente (Coffee Queen 2000), who prosecutors say married the Mexican drug lord "El Monstruo" ("The Monster"), and then moved to Argentina to manage young women serving as drug mules. And in 2009, Mexican model Laura Elena Zuniga (Miss Hispanic America 2008) was released from jail after claiming she had been kidnapped by her boyfriend, Angel Orlando Garcia Urquiza, and that she did not know he was head of a Ciudad Juarez-based drug trafficking organization.
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Idaho Republican Lawmaker Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill

Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, sponsored the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to establish a system for patients to legally obtain and use medical marijuana. "This legislation provides another option for medically challenged citizens and provides protections for our citizens as a whole," Trail said. "It gets down to a states rights issue: Should the use of medical marijuana be determined by the doctor-patient relationship, or by Congress and law enforcement?" The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee.
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Clinton to Discuss Mexico's Drug Prohibition War on Monday

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will make a one-day visit to Mexico next week to discuss bilateral issues including organized crime. The visit comes as drug prohibition violence continues to plague Mexico, including a string of attacks in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco and the northern business hub of Monterrey since the start of the year. Drug prohibition violence left 15,273 dead in Mexico in 2010, according to official figures, making it the deadliest year yet since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown on drug trafficking organizations four years ago, with tens of thousands of troops.
In The Trenches

Montel Williams to Discuss His Support for Medical Marijuana in Maryland (Press Release)

 

Media Advisory

         Former Talk Show Host and Baltimore Native Montel Williams to Discuss His Support for Medical Marijuana in Maryland

      Williams Became Medical Marijuana Advocate After Finding It Provided Relief from Pain Associated with his Multiple Sclerosis

 

CONTACTS: Morgan Fox, MPP Communications Manager… 202-905-2031 or [email protected]

                       Dan Riffle, MPP Legislative Analyst…………. 202-905-2026 or [email protected]

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND – Multiple sclerosis patient and popular former talk show host Montel Williams will speak at a press conference Monday in Annapolis in support of legislation that would make Maryland the nation’s 16th state allowing physician-approved use of medical marijuana.

Williams grew up in Baltimore where his father was the city’s first African-American fire chief. Williams is a graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the U.S. Navy as a decorated naval intelligence officer after more than two decades of service before embarking on his second career as a national television talk show host. In 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and has sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Following his diagnosis, he created the Montel Williams MS Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease and providing inspiration to those who live with MS. Williams has served as an advocate for the compassionate use of medical marijuana in a variety of states that have approved new laws.

Montel will be joined at the Maryland press conference by the chief sponsors of the state’s medical marijuana legislation: physician and Delegate Dan Morhaim, and Senators Jamie Raskin and David Brinkley, both cancer survivors.

Who: Montel Williams, Del. Dan Morhaim, Sen. David Brinkley, Sen. Jamie Raskin, and medical marijuana patients and advocates.

What: Press conference to announce the introduction of medical marijuana legislation in the Maryland General Assembly.

Where: Room 302, House Office Bldg., 6 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401

When: Monday, January 24th, 4 p.m.

With more than 26,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit mpp.org.

###

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N.J. Senate Moves Towards Dissolving Gov. Christie's Medical Marijuana Proposal As Patients Plead for Action

As the Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration continued to clash over how New Jersey’s medical marijuana program should operate, David Barnes from Califon came to Trenton and pleaded for a truce. Testifying at the public hearing Democrats held in Trenton to make the case that Christie’s ideas about legalizing medical marijuana for severely ill patients are too restrictive and ought to be repealed, Barnes, 50, said he was arrested for possessing a half-gram of marijuana last year. He told the local prosecutor and judge the drug helps tame the violent nausea brought on by a seizure disorder, and as soon as the medical marijuana program gets underway, he’ll become a card-carrying member.
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Sen. Kohl-Welles' New Bill Firms Up Medical Marijuana Regs in Washington

Joining with Rep. Jim Moeller, Sen. Kohl-Welles' introduced new legislation that tries to make crystal clear Washington’s existing medical marijuana laws. "Senate Bill 5073 and House Bill 1100 would establish a regulatory system for the sale and purchase of medical marijuana for qualifying patients," says Kohl. It contains a sales tax exemption for patients, but dispensaries would have to pay a B&O tax. "Other provisions include protecting parental rights of medical marijuana patients and protections against the workplace discrimination of patients," adds Kohl-Welles. "The current legal limits of up to 15 plants and up to 24 ounces of useable marijuana per patient and one patient per provider remain intact."
Event

Cannabinoid Conference 2011

The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines and the European Workshop on Cannabinoids are sponsoring the Cannabinoid Conference 2011. This will be a very worthwhile conference for scientists, physicians, interested patients and caregivers in a very pleasant city with excellent public transportation. Many scenic areas, such as the Rhine Valley, are close by the conference site.

For complete information, including registration, see http://www.bonn2011.org/home?lng=en

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Michigan's Top Court to Settle Dispute Over Marijuana Bust

The Michigan Supreme Court is considering whether marijuana found by a firefighter during an emergency call can be used to prosecute a man in the state's Oakland County. A judge and the state appeals court so far have thrown out evidence against Mark Slaughter.

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Afghan Opium Crop May Rise After "Cash Bonanza"

Opium prices in Afghanistan more than doubled last year after disease cut production in half, the United Nations said, creating a "cash bonanza" for many farmers that could drive up cultivation of the drug in 2011.
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N.J. Advocates for Medical Marijuana to Return to Trenton Today

Medical marijuana advocates are heading back to Trenton today to make their case against the state's plans for regulating the drug. Patients say the rules proposed by Governor Chris Christie's administration are too restrictive. Both houses of the Legislature have voted that Christie is not following the intent of the medical marijuana law adopted last year.
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Bolivia Presents Coca Leaf Soda. The U.S. Objects

The United States is urging all countries to file formal objections to Bolivia’s announcement that it had developed a coca leaf soft drink. Bolivia, like neighboring Peru, permits limited cultivation of coca for legal use in cooking, folk medicine and Andean religious rites. Unadulterated coca is a mild stimulant that counteracts the effects of altitude sickness and suppresses hunger pangs.

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Impaired Driving Bill Draws Opposition From Medical Marijuana Users

Montana's House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Representative Ken Peterson’s bill which aims to make it illegal to drive while on any dangerous drugs "per se." House Bill 33 also includes metabolite, or any molecule left in the body, yet excludes prescription medication if taken under doctors orders. "This bill makes sure you can’t drive while impaired under the influence of drugs and I don’t think this bill requires any showing of impairment, it deems somebody to be on the wrong side of the law merely for having a few molecules of certain substances in their blood," said medical marijuana patient Barbara Trego.
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Mexico's Ex-President Vicente Fox: Legalize Drugs

As Mexico drowns in drug prohibition related bloodshed — suffering almost 12,000 murders in 2010 — it is perhaps unsurprising that government critics turn up their screaming that the war on drugs isn't working. But it was a bit of a bombshell when former president Vicente Fox added his voice to the chorus. The cowboy-boot wearing leader, who ruled Mexico from 2000 to 2006, had once declared the "mother of all battles" against crime and rounded up drug kingpins.
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Choice Medical Marijuana Strains: Matching Up Strains with Symptoms

The general rule of thumb is that there are two types of marijuana, sativas and indicas, though most plants are a combination of the two with one type dominant. Sativas tend to be more cerebral—that is, better for mood conditions and daytime use. Indicas tend to have more of an impact on the body and are better for treating pain and sedation.