The Choice to Legalize
October 2012
Page 7
“
Adults should have the choice
to use marijuana, just as they have that choice with other substances such as alcohol and tobacco.
”
“Under the measure, individuals who are 21 years old or older (adults) may possess, use, display, purchase, and transport up to one ounce of marijuana”
“Like alcohol prohibition, marijuana prohibition has caused far more problems than it has solved. It’s time for a more sensible approach, and that’s what Amendment 64 proposes.”
Also in this issue: Ganja in America, Growers Tips, Bud-o-Scopes, That’s Wierd, Edible Review and Recipe
The Choice to Legalize By: Lacewing
As the coming election looms closer, sorting out the details of all of the current legislation and the changes that are going to be made is never more important. New presidents, healthcare issues, and controversies that have never been more hotly debated will all be decided on Nov 6.
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One of those controversies for Colorado is Amendment 64, which will be on the upcoming ballot. Amendment 64 would change the Colorado constitution to allow the use and regulation of marijuana for recreational purposes. Colorado has already legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, to mixed reviews across the state. Continued on Page 7
IN This Issue
Cooking With Cannabis Page 4 Sudoku Page 4 The Choice to Legalize Page 7 Edibles in Review Page 10 Bud-O-Scopes Page 11 WonderWord Page 11 Terror of the Grow Room Page 12 Foreign Correspondent Page 13 News of The Weird Page 14
The Ganja Gazette is a monthly publication. The first copy of each Ganja Gazette is free. Each additional copy is $4.20. For more information call 970-353-1170. Š2012 Natures Gazette, LLC
How to make:
Mango Salsa
Ingredients Needed:
Makes over 1 quart • ½ cups very ripe fresh local tomatoes, skinned (optional) and diced. If you have to use canned tomatoes, use the larger sized can of the “San Marzano” region, if you want the best • ½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped. Red onion is a good second choice 8-10 big healthy fresh sprigs cilantro, very finely chopped • 2 cloves fresh garlic,finely minced. If
infused with Cannabis
you can avoid it, don’t use pre-minced garlic from a jar • 1 cup sweet green, red and/or yellow peppers, finely diced. • 1 cup hot peppers, finely diced • 2 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp lime juice to taste • Salt and pepper to taste (optional) • Powdered Hashish or other preferred concentrate (amount depends on potency desired) to be mixed with olive oil • 2 medium or 1 very large ripe mango, diced Feel free to use slightly more or less of any particular ingredient you enjoy more or less! Directions: 1. Using a small food processor, process the garlic and cilantro together till fine, then add onion and pulse until desired texture in achieved. Remove and reserve. 2. Here’s the tricky part, Making 420 Nuclear Waste. First, pulverize a few hot peppers with half of the lime juice, then drizzle in the oil concentrate and whip up until somewhat creamy. Now your concentrate has nuclear power and do
treat it like radiation. Do not get any on your skin or eyes. It has a tendency to hurt you, especially if you leave the seeds in the peppers. Carefully remove from processor and reserve. Clean up anything that touches the radioactive 420 waste very well with warm soapy water. 3. In a large bowl, place diced sweet peppers, add the radioactive 420 waste, and mix very well without mashing the peppers. By mixing the peppers with the 420 nuclear paste first, distribution of the 420 heat is more intense, essentially making all the sweet peppers hot. Then add the onion mixture and stir again until mixed. Then add tomatoes, remaining lime, and salt/pepper to taste. Stir, then put in refrigerator covered for 3 hours or up to week. 4. Just before serving, dice your mangoes and carefully stir in 1 part mango to 2-3 parts 420 salsa. Add just enough to be eaten within 1 hour or so. If left too long, the mango begins to ferment and the fresh mango taste is lost. 5. Enjoy!
from page 2
The Choice to Legalize By: Lacewing The goal of Amendment 64 is ultimately regulation of a drug that is already widely used. The amendment stipulates several ways to regulate the drug, specifically comparing it to alcohol. According to the 2012 State Ballot Information Booklet, “Under the measure, individuals who are 21 years old or older (adults) may possess, use, display, purchase, and transport up to one ounce of marijuana. Adults may share up to one ounce of marijuana with other individuals who are at least 21 years old, but are not allowed to sell marijuana.” Public use, like with alcohol, would be prohibited, which includes driving under the influence of marijuana. Underage access to the drug would also be strictly prohibited. This is different from the current medical marijuana laws in a couple ways. The only restriction from using the drug would be age, instead of needing to have a red card. Also, recreational users would only be allowed one ounce, where medical marijuana patients are allowed up to two ounces. In both cases, parties are allowed up to six plants for growing their own. Amend-
ment 64 does not mean to change or affect the current medical marijuana laws. Marijuana has had such stigma for so many decades that even just proposing this amendment and getting it on the Colorado ballot is a triumph for advocates. Having been lumped with such drugs as meth and cocaine, marijuana users have worked to change the social opinion and biased sciences that have held it back for so long. There are, of course, still major concerns. In the effort to compare marijuana to alcohol, the amendment has been opened up to the same problems that arise from alcohol use. Safety for anyone underage is a priority. The measure seeks to ensure only people 21 and older are allowed access, but it is never so easy. “Allowing state-regulated stores to sell marijuana will make it more accessible, which is likely to increase use and may give the impression that there are no health risks or negative consequences to marijuana use,” argues the “against” section of Amendment 64 in the Information Booklet. “Despite the claims of proponents of legalization, restricting pos-
session of marijuana to people over 21 simply would not keep it out of our kids’ hands. The attitudes and behaviors of adults have a profound influence on children. When adults set the example that it’s OK to use addictive substances, children are more likely to use them,” writes Ken Buck for The Denver Post. But all of that sounds more like an argument against all potentially addictive substances, alcohol included. And we all saw how prohibition turned out. The fact is that marijuana is already widely used, despite current laws, and a lack of regulation poses more potential danger than having reasonable laws that will help maintain safety standards. Other reasons for concern pertain to the current federal laws, in which marijuana use is still considered illegal, and that there are still many specifics that are not clearly addressed in the proposed Amendment. The pros for legalizing marijuana use revolve around money and sending a message to America. Right now, millions of dollars are made by selling marijuana—but all of that goes to drug dealers. “Like alcohol prohibition, marijuana prohi-
bition has caused far more problems than it has solved. It’s time for a more sensible approach, and that’s what Amendment 64 proposes. It would end the needless arrest and prosecution of about 10,000 Coloradans per year for marijuana-related offenses; replace the uncontrolled and potentially dangerous underground marijuana market with safe and legitimate businesses; generate tens of millions of dollars in new revenues and savings; and redirect our limited law enforcement resources toward addressing violent and otherwise harmful crimes,” claims Mason Tvert, a designated representative for the amendment. But what the amendment seems to want more than anything is to dispel the myths surrounding marijuana use. “It all started with Richard Nixon… The president handpicked a national commission in 1971, and tasked it with taking a hard look at the substance. They approached the subject objectively and produced a comprehensive report. Their conclusion? The harms of marijuana are quite limited, and the use of marijuana by adults should not be consid-
ered a criminal offense. Nixon promptly ignored their findings and moved forward with his plan to make marijuana Public Enemy No. 1,” explains Betty Aldworth for The Denver Post. Tvert looks back on history, too, but for hope. “Passage of Amendment 64 will be truly historic. Colorado took the initiative to repeal alcohol prohibition prior to other states and the federal government. It has the opportunity to do the same thing with marijuana.” The Info Booklet explains that “the adoption of Amendment 64 will send a message to the federal government and other states that marijuana should be legal and regulated… Adults should have the choice to use marijuana, just as they have that choice with other substances such as alcohol and tobacco.” Go to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website or RegulateMarijuana. org to get information on Amendment 64 and voter registration. The decision goes to the people.
Edibles in Review:
BIG
Things Come In Small Packages
effects (THC) to avoid being over-medicated. Cheeba Chew and their mad scientists came up with “CBD Chews” for those patients. These things look like a small tootsie roll, but each one has 50mg of THC and 20mg of CBDs. I, like many of you, suffer from chronic pain. I product from Cheeba suffer from lower back, Chew. I really like a lot of knee, and shoulder pain. their edibles, but this one My back pain is the big was very different. Many problem for me, and that’s patients around Colorado the main reason why I have asked for a high pain have my card. I was very relief (CBD) but with low excited to try this, and I
for giving me a chance to do exactly that. So, thank you very much! And now, Hello my dear friends, it’s back to the reviews. me again with another I recently got to try a new great review on an edible I recently tried. Fu-Qua Johnson Ganja Gazette
Before we get to those, I would like to thank some people that have made these reviews possible. I first would like to thank John and the staff at Nature’s Herb and Wellness Center located in Garden City and Denver for their suggestion that I write, and Ganja Gazette
hoped it would give me that usually come with relief from my back pain. edibles. I took this little piece of heaven during the day and it really delivered on its promise of pain relief without the psycho activity. I felt really good all day and only slightly felt the effects from the THC. I still functioned at a normal level but was pain free. I think Cheeba Chew got this right, because many patients want a safe outlet for them to medicate without the severe psychoactivity
I highly suggest this product for anyone suffering from chronic pain and see if the chews can leave you pain free. Remember readers; this product is for pain relief from anti-inflammatory, pain, anxiety and/or spasm effects without fatigue. Always medicate with care. Goodbye for now, but see you next month.
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Natures Herbs and Wellness Center 522 27th St., Garden City, CO 80631
970.353.1170
Bud-o-Scopes Horoscopes at a higher level Aries
Mar. 21 - Apr. 19
Although Pluto is no longer considered a planet by the scientific community, expect it to affect your month in a positive way, pushing you to do something you’ve never before dared to do!
Taurus
Apr. 20-May 20
If you plan appropriately, you might be able to afford that Aston Martin you’ve been eying! James Bond, eat your heart out.
Gemini
May 21- June 20
Don’t let the explosion of Mars stand in your way. Defy the planetary calling and do what you desire this month, be it taking your dog for a walk or finally giving those DVDs back to your ex. It’s a month of unpredictability.
Cancer
June 21-July 22
Take this opportunity to seize the month and accomplish everything you have been putting off. You may have thought becoming a kickboxing pro was out of reach, but that was because you never tried. Unless you did try, in which case, try something else.
Leo
Virgo
Aug. 23 - Sep. 22
Venus is calling to you loud and clear. It is a month of obsession for you. Don’t give in, no matter how often the world tells you to buy the new Justin Bieber CD.
Libra
Sep. 23 - Oct. 22
Take a moment to stand still, smell a couple of roses, listen to some soothing music. Preparation is key for some potentially troubling months. Holidays don’t come cheap, you know?
Scorpio
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
You follow the rules, do what you’re told, and come away with exactly what you would expect. Jump out of your comfort zone into something new, like flying hot air balloons.
Sagittarius Nov.22 -Dec.21
Neptune is commanding you to take the path less traveled. Feel free to do whatever you want, less traveled or not.
Capricorn Dec. 22 -Jan. 19
Your family is pressuring you to make a decision. Go get some ice cream instead, while the weather is still good.
Aquarius
20 - Feb. 18 July 23 - Aug. 22 Jan. The stars are sug-
It is important that you reach out to people you haven’t spoken with in a while. Your mom has been waiting to hear from you.
gesting you dress up as a melted marshmallow for Halloween. Easy as that might be, you might consider choosing something a little more daring.
Pisces
Feb.19 - Mar. 20
Defy expectations! Who are the planets and the stars to tell you who you are and what you should do. Be bold and make as many stupid decisions as you want.
The Terror of the Grow Room GROW TIPS By: Tucker Eldridge
Spider Mites are tiny arachnids of the Acari order. They are very small, roughly half the size of a period and nearly invisible to the naked eye. Spider Mites have three distinct life cycles after hatching from the egg; two juvenile stages and one adult stage. Females lay eggs in a ratio of about three females to one male and can lie between 50 and 200 eggs at a time, depending on the species and environmental conditions. In the right environmental conditions, this full cycle can occur every seven to ten days. It is this hugely prolific rate of reproduction that allows spider mites to be such a devastating grow room pest. Spider mites feed on plants by hiding along the veins of the leaves and puncturing the leaves to drain out the fluid. They are sap suckers. This feeding method also makes spider mites a vector for disease as they move from plant to plant, bruising cells and opening up wounds that
are susceptible to fungus and disease. Damage from these wounds first appears as bunches of small yellow or white dots on the top sides of the leaves. Then, as more and more fluid is drained from the leaf, it will appear to begin to wilt, and then it will die and fall off. If a mite infestation occurs, and you are beginning to see spots on the topsides of your leaves, then the infestation is already relatively severe.
There are a number of products out there that are effective in treating spider mites, but the most important part of combating an infestation is not necessarily the product used for control, but the procedure used for spraying said product. If you are not actively searching for mites, and your first indicators of an infestation are webs or clustered spots, then this severe infestation requires immediate action. At this point, you are mere days from stunting the final potential of your plant and only by act-
ing quickly can a full blown infestation be prevented.
The short cycle in which spider mites reproduce means that multiple applications are necessary in treatment. A grower should be more inclined towards spraying with substances that are more mild. This allows for a number of things, including applications
penhaping every two to three days as opposed to every seven or the. These closer applications catch mites as they hatch, as well as allowing the grower to spray for eggs the female mites may have laid as a survival response to the initial spraying (some species do this). Another technique that increases success rates in removal
of mites is alternating sprays. This prevents the fast breeding mites from developing a resistance to a specific product. Always spray in the evening, as this is when spider mites are most active. Remember that the finer the spray, the more even the coverage and the more affective it is. This makes a fogger the most efficient option, if available. The products I have found to be most effective in treating mites are soaps, oils, neem derivatives, pyrethrum derivatives, and beneficial insects. Soaps can range from lemon joy, which simply acts to smother mites, to Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap, which contains peppermint oil, a substance known to disrupt the mite life cycle. Oils can range from horticultural specific oils, used specifically to smother mites, to products such as almond oil or sesame oil, which actually disrupts the mite’s ability to digest whatever it consumes. Neem oil is extracted from the neem
tree and has been used for spider mite prevention and infestations for decades, although neem tends to be more effective as a preventive spray as opposed to a control. Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide derived from the extract of the chrysanthemum flower. A number of products out there contain pyrethrum, including fog bombs and neem/pyrethrum combinations. I advise against using pyrethrum unless all other measures fail, because although it is natural, it is the most harmful substance on this list and should never be used during flowering. All spraying should cease no later than week two of flowering. The best beneficial insect to introduce to any garden, and the only one worth investing in, is the lacewing larvae. These little beasties eat mites at a much higher rate than predatory mites, they can fly, and unlike lady bugs, they produce offspring that is sexually viable and can also reproduce. Keep an eye on your plants, and we’ll be back next month with more advice!
Foreign Correspondent
Alvin Dy
Elsewhere on Marijuana Court Backs Up MMJ in Arkansas
If you think that those states in the South are all uptight about marijuana, think again. The Arkansas Supreme Court has thrown out a petition from conservative groups that sought to remove the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act from the ballots in November. A coalition of conservative groups in the state said that the Act had a misleading title and that the proposal itself was difficult to understand. In a unanimous ruling, Supreme Court Associate Justice Karen Baker wrote that this was pure nonsense and that the title was acceptable because it was not too long, complex or misleading. Led by Jerry Cox, the Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Value lodged the lawsuit in September 2012. The suit was filed even when more than 120,000 residents have signed a medical marijuana petition, reported the Arkansans for Compassionate Care on its blog. The State needs only around half of that to put the measure on
the ballot. Cox and others in the coalition complained that the measure was 8,000 words long. The ACC also said in its blog that the lawsuit was pegged on “technicalities and loopholes” and that the SC “saw right through it.” The ACC further wrote that they are happy to get the lawsuit behind them and that it is time to educate the people on marijuana’s medical properties and how sick people could benefit from it. This is important in light of the recent findings from TV program “Talk Business” and Hendrix College that showed that only 47% of Arkansans supported medical marijuana, while 46% were against it. The remaining 7% were undecided. If successful, Arkansas could be the first Southern state to make it legal for those with qualifying conditions to buy medical marijuana. At the moment, there are only 17 states, plus Washington DC, that allow the sale of medical marijuana. And if the ballot is success-
ful in November, Arkansas will become the 18th state that will be able to provide humane treatment for patients suffering from many painful diseases and conditions. States voting to legalize medical marijuana this year are Arkansas and Massachusetts. Washington, Colorado, and Oregon are voting to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
Huh, that’s weird...
Government in Action! The late Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha was a Capitol Hill powerhouse, and among his legacies is the federally funded airport in his district that largely served him and the local companies heading to Washington, D.C., to lobby for government contracts. (By contrast, the Pittsburgh airport is nearly 60 miles
away.) Murtha died in 2010, but the airport (which cost $150 million in earmarked funds to build, upgrade and maintain) still, according to an April Yahoo News dispatch, handles only three flights a day, all from Washington, D.C., and about $100 of every passenger’s ticket is subsidized by the federal government.
Great Architecture! There are big plans in the city of Chiang Rai, Thailand, for a massive Buddhist temple that priests aim to make one of the most beautiful structures in the world, and have entrusted artist Chalermchai Kositpipat to design it in all-white with glittering glass and arrangements of “rich symbolism derived
from Buddhist and Hindu traditions.” If Kositpipat has his way, according to an April Huffington Post dispatch, the temple will also have images of Superman, Batman and (from the movie “The Matrix”) Neo -- all of which, Kositpipat said, further Lord Buddha’s “message.”
Suspicions Confirmed
In March, WTNH-TV in New Haven, Conn., obtained an “internal” police memorandum referencing a challenge from state troopers in one barracks to “outperform” colleagues in another barracks -- in writing traffic tickets. The memo, from Lt. Anthony Schirillo, refers to the need “to issue at least 60 infractions/ misdemeanors each shift.” “One day Troop F issued 301 tickets. Troop G responded by issuing 345 ... We can do better.” “I am asking that everyone, myself included, contribute to this effort.” “Note: If we happen to issue 350 tickets in one day that would be stellar.” (The station spoke to Lt. Paul Vance of the Connecticut state police, who denied that quotas are given.)
Chuck Shepard’s
News of Weird
Creme de la Weird
as Parkin testified that recent “communications” between him and his mother were “mostly one-sided.” In May, Thomas Parkin inherited Parkin was convicted on 11 real estate from his elderly counts, and at press time, he mother before she died, but was awaiting sentencing. quickly lost it in a risky business venture. To get the deed Recurring Themes back, according to New York In April, a woman in SwitCity prosecutors, he con- zerland identified as “Anna cocted a scheme to pretend Gut,” in her early 50s, starved that Mom was still alive (it to death after trying to prove would actually be Thomas that she could survive by in a dress) and still owned “consuming” only sunlight, the land (and thus that the just as had happened to severcurrent deedholder was a al others before her. An earlifraud). Lawyers arranged er practitioner, Australian Ela meeting with “Mother” len Greve, died in 1999 at age (conducted in a darkened 54 following a short career room because of Mom’s “re- promoting “breatharianism,” cent cataract surgery”), at subtitled in her books and which she mostly remained public lectures, “Liberation silent. Parkin improbably from the drudgery of food stayed in character, accord- and drink.” None of the ones ing to a trial dispatch on the who have made similar claims Daily Beast, and jurors ap- and survived have submitted parently kept straight faces to 24/7 monitoring.
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Natures Herbs and Wellness Center 522 27th St. Garden City, CO 80631
970.353.1170
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