Oregon Cannabis Connection

Recipies Page 11

Or e g o n Transplants B e in g D e n ie d

Dispensar y Over view

S t ill F ig h t in g For Safe Access

A Tribute To Jack Herer

June 2010

M e d ic in e is a Food Crop

"Ask Ed" Rosenthal Ge t s h is M e d ic in e Back from Medford Police

Suppor t OCTA

Is Refer Madness Over?

Vol. 1 Issue 1

Pr e mie re I ssu e!

Connecting the Medical Cannabis Community Across Oregon

CANNABIS CONNECTION

F R EE

I n Th i s I s s u e Oregon News Cannabis Patients and Activists Still Fighting to Legalize Safe Access

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Dispensaries: A Brief Overview

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Support The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act

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Oregon Transplants Being Denied

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In Loving Memory of The Hemperor "Ask Ed" Rosenthal Gets His Medicine Back From Medford Police

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National News At The Crossroads: The Madness of Refer Madness

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Op-Ed: Drug Czar Struggles With Big Words, Again

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Obama Drug Plan 'Firmly Opposes' Legaliazation as California Vote Looms

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News Nugs - News From Around The Country

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Medical News OMMP Qualifying Conditions Latest Research On Pot and Schizophrenia Runs Contrary to Mainstream Media Hype

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Study Debunks MarijuanaSuicide Myth

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Many States Banning 'K2' Synthetic Marijuana

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R ec ip ies How To Make Pot Butter Hot Red Pepper and Ganja Linguini Honeyweed Brownies

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Cultivation Medicine Is A Food Crop

By Jennifer Valley of Stoney Girl Gardens

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Clinics & Information A Listing of Oregons Clinics, Organizations, and Businesses

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C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Cannabis Patients & Activists Still Fighting to Legalize Safe Access

By Anthony Johnson The Coalition for Patients’ Rights 2010 (CPR) has submitted over 100,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State for Initiative 28, the Regulated Medical Marijuana Supply System Initiative. Proponents of the initiative are waiting for verification on over 108,000 signatures accepted by the state while also continuing with the signature drive.

82,769 valid signatures are needed to qualify the initiative for the November ballot. The deadline for signatures is July 2nd.

Initiative 28 will allow for the establishment of nonprofit medical cannabis dispensaries and licensed producers to help ensure that Oregon’s medical cannabis patients have safe access to a medicine that they currently have to grow their own or have someone grow for them. Currently, thousands of patients are simply without an adequate supply of medicine.

The fees paid by nonprofit dispensaries and producers will fund an Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) program to assist low-income patients acquire medicine, allow to conduct

Oregon News medical cannabis research and help finance other DHS programs, such as the Oregon Health Plan. DHS has been entrusted with implementing the rules and regulations necessary to ensure that the supply system operates effectively.

past on initiatives that would repeal the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act and Sheriff Bergin is currently a chief petitioner of an effort to repeal the current medical law.

Polling numbers demonstrate that the initiative has a great chance of winning this November. Grove Insight conducted a poll that revealed that 59% of Oregon voters support the initiative.

Cont. on Page 8

Cannabis activists and organizations from across the state have joined forces to help Initiative 28 qualify for the ballot. Oregon Green Free, Voter Power, Southern Oregon NORML, Mercy Center and Willamette Valley NORML all support the initiative. Several medical marijuana clinics, including Ashland Alternative Health, Southern Oregon Alternative Medicine and the Herbal Resource Center also support the effort.

Jim Klahr, CEO of Oregon Green Free and Chair of the Oregon Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, has stated that Oregon Green Free supports the effort, “because it does fix most of the flaws that have plagued the system from the beginning.” Oregon Green Free is a federal nonprofit established to assist Oregon’s medical cannabis patients with an online forum with over 5,000 participants, making it the largest medical cannabis organization in the state. Mr. Klahr is also a Co-Chief Petitioner of Initiative 28.

The biggest flaw that has plagued the Oregon medical marijuana system is the lack of safe access for patients. Oregon Green Free’s online forum is a testament to that fact as patients everyday are requesting donations, something that every medical marijuana organization can attest to. This is a flaw too many patients suffer with everyday.

Lack of safe access is a flaw that once

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DISPENSARIES A BRIEF OVERVIEW

By Mel Barniskis, Southern Oregon NORML hindered the well-being of Alice Ivany, another Co-Chief Petitioner of the initiative. “We have to allow safe access.

There are thousands of patients suffering without medicine. State-regulated dispensaries can help end this suffering,” states Ms. Ivany, a 61 year-old patient residing in Lincoln County. She lost an arm in an industrial accident and a licensed physician recommended medical cannabis for her pain, but she didn’t have any way to acquire the medicine. In fact, she went a full year without any medical cannabis. Ms. Ivany hopes that other patients don’t have the same experience.

Opponents to Initiative 28 will be led, not surprisingly by law enforcement and antimedical cannabis zealots, such as Republican politician Kevin Mannix and Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin.

Mannix has been a chief petitioner in the

Dispensaries. The very name conjures up images of starched nurses scurrying about with trays of pills in tiny white paper cups. What is a dispensary, and how do Medical Marijuana patients benefit from having access to them?

To dispense means to give, at its most fundamental level. One can dispense advice, as well as justice. However, it can also mean to exempt from a rule or obligation as when one receives a dispensation from a church in forgiveness for past transgressions. Both meanings are apparent when discussing Medical Marijuana dispensaries.

Under a dispensary system, Medical Marijuana patients can receive medication steadily and safely. The drug dealer on the corner is replaced with a professional setting, qualified personnel who are there to Cont. on Page 5

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Support The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA)

by Jennifer Alexander, Oregon NORML The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) is our chance to stand up for the liberty of those prosecuted and discriminated against for their refusal to accept the federal government’s lies about marijuana. The OCTA ballot title reads: “Permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale.” The full text of OCTA, sponsored by Madeline Martinez, Executive Director of Oregon NORML, and Paul Stanford, founder of THCF clinics, can be read at www.cannabistaxact.org.

OCTA is “a scientific experiment by the people of the state of Oregon to lower the misuse of, illicit traffic in and harm associated with cannabis and will set up voluntary studies of cannabis users under ORS 474.045 (b) and other studies.” Some highlights of OCTA include: Recapturing the revenue currently lost to the “black market.”: Currently, the high price of marijuana creates a lucrative source of revenue for illicit, “black market” businesses. Under OCTA, sales of cannabis will be regulated through the Oregon Cannabis Control Commission (OCCC), which will be tasked with the sales and ensuring the quality of psychoactive cannabis products,

Oregon News minimizing out-of-state diversions and preventing sales of cannabis to minors.

OCTA distributes 90% of the profit from the sale of cannabis to the state General Fund, which primarily covers expenses for education, healthcare, and public safety.

Minimizing minor consumption: In an unregulated market, there are no controls to prevent minors from acquiring marijuana.

Under OCTA, cannabis will only be sold to adults 21 and over. Sale of cannabis to minors under OCTA will be a class B felony, and providing cannabis gratuitously to a minor is a class A misdemeanor. A drug education program will also be funded to discourage minors from consuming any intoxicants while they are minors, and to encourage responsible use if, as adults, they choose to use intoxicants, while “emphasiz[ing] a citizen’s rights and duties under our social contract.”

Promotion of industrial hemp: Industrial hemp has many uses, including fuel, fiber and food. In 1938, Popular Mechanics referred to hemp as “The New Billion-Dollar Crop.” However, hemp production in the United States has remained illegal since the 1937 passage of the Marihuana Tax Stamp Act, and later the Controlled Substances Act. The only exception was during World War II, when the Department of Agriculture encouraged hemp production to support the war effort when imports of hemp were interrupted.

Domestic production of hemp will minimize our dependence on foreign

economies and allow this domestic industry to flourish. OCTA legalizes hemp production in the State of Oregon, tasks the OCCC with defining psychoactive marijuana and defines all other cannabis as “hemp” and prohibits its regulation, and sets aside 2% of profits for promotion of the domestic hemp industry.

OCTA specifically states, “No federal license shall be required to cultivate hemp in Oregon.”

Allows adult cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal, noncommercial use: Cannabis is used by many adults in social settings, much like alcohol or coffee.

OCTA will allow adults to grow and/or consume personal, noncommercial marijuana without risk of civil or criminal penalties. While some may be concerned about the social costs of legalizing marijuana for adult use for “recreation,” marijuana has not been shown to be the primary cause of a single death in the recorded history of its use – and legalization under OCTA will simply regulate cannabis and protect those that are ALREADY using marijuana.

Page 4 control of its crime-rates, its economy, its healthcare and the liberty of all Oregon citizens. It is vital that our state, as well as others, stand up and proclaim to the federal government that we will no longer accept the irrational abuse of its citizens.

The federal government may challenge OCTA; however, under OCTA, it will not be the private citizens (who have often lost assets to civil forfeiture) defending themselves against the federal government; instead, it will be the federal government challenging the state of Oregon. This is the conversation on cannabis that is long overdue.

How You Can Voice Your Support for OCTA: You can download and print the singlesignature petition from www.cannabistaxact.org sign it and mail it back to the OCTA office. You can volunteer to gather signatures to ensure that OCTA makes it on the ballot. We need about 125,000 signatures by July 2, 2010 to be certain that there are enough valid signatures to make it to the November 2010 ballot.

Donate to the cause. For more information about the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, please visit www.cannabistaxact.org.

(Jennifer Alexander is on the Board of Directors

OCTA is needed for Oregon to recapture

for Oregon NORML.)

Oregon Transplants Being Denied By “Radical” Russ Belville, NORML The Portland Tribune reports: “Jim Klahr needs a new liver. And he wants to take medical marijuana to help with the nausea he fights every morning as he battles hepatitis and cirrhosis. He says his body can’t tolerate most drugs that physicians have prescribed for his symptoms, but pot does the trick.”

Klahr has a medical marijuana card, but he hasn’t smoked since 2004, because Oregon Health & Science University liver transplant center won’t provide organs for people with cannabis metabolites in their blood, even if the patients are medical marijuana cardholders. Klahr is on the OHSU transplant waiting list.

Cont. on Page 9

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

Oregon News

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE HEMPEROR June 18, 1939 – April 15, 2010 Jack Herer will be remembered for many things. He authored “The Emperor Wears no Clothes” which became the bible of the hemp movement. (If you haven’t read it, buy it and read it!) His message was clear, “Hemp can save the planet”. It seems obvious now to almost everyone that hemp, a useful plant for fiber and oil, is also marijuana.

When Jack began writing his book in the mid eighties the government had Photo courtesy of Jeannie Herer almost buried this simple truth. Jack believed that if people understood the big picture of how useful cannabis was to humanity that its prohibition would melt away.

Jack spent years researching the hidden history of cannabis and compiled his findings into the Emperor. But more than that he spoke out at a time when almost everyone else was silent. He didn’t just write the book, he took it to the streets and spent day after day, week after week and year after year speaking truth to power. His love for cannabis and his love for truth could not be stopped, not by the police who occasionally tried to arrest him but found that he would start teaching the inmates and jailers about cannabis, not by lack of convenience or comfort because few realize how much Jack sacrificed to take his message on the road, again and again.

Few of his many followers could keep up or sustain his lifestyle of constant activism. But that was another of his messages, that cannabis prohibition was so wrong that all have a moral obligation to fight to end it.

Early in the 80s I visited Jack in LA. He introduced me to his friend “Captain Ed” Adair. We talked about their pact to work to end cannabis prohibition every day until they died (or reached age 86). I proudly joined a small(but always growing) group of activists who pledged to continue this fight until cannabis and all its products and benefits were available to mankind. Over the next 25 years, almost every time I saw Jack, we would remind ourselves of our pledge.

Jack came to Oregon in 1984 because there was a small group of us doing a marijuana legalization initiative. Jack showed up at my door one day with his crew which included a sign painter, some petitioners and his kids. Jack taught us how to petition – ask everyone, speak your truth clearly and never give up. He wrote his book in Portland and we experimented with giving early versions away door to door and at some conservative high schools. Jack went on to take his book and message on tour in America. Never give up. Never stop. I suspect Jack introduced his book to more people in person and signed a copy for them than any other author in history. Jack didn’t just have a truth – he lived it every day. The Hemperor was born.

Jack Herer, at the Portland Hempstalk in September 2009. Within moments of

Jack was a visionary. He was an activist. finishing his speech, he suffered a heart attack, and was ailing since. Jack will always be rememvered for his unwaivering stance that "Hemp can save the He was never a politician. His heart was planet". always true to his belief that cannabis was the most important plant on earth an industry. But he always spoke truth to and that any restrictions on its use was a Jack began the work of helping patients crime against humanity. He wrestled, like power. He questioned absurd limits on qualify which has grown and evolved into acceptable THC levels in hemp. And he many of us must, with the emerging the vitally important marijuana clinic resisted efforts to dissect cannabis and reality that cannabis prohibition was industry. separate hemp from marijuana.

He going to be lifted not with one understood that the same plant that gives revolutionary breakthrough but instead A few years later Jack came back to us fiber for fabric and seed for oil gives us was going to be a steady march of small Oregon. The Oregon Legislature had just cannabinoids to improve our health and to passed a bill recriminalizing marijuana. incremental changes. This was incredibly expand our frustrating for Jack again brought petitioners, raised consciousness.

Jack and was a money and helped us create Voter Power, frightening which succeeded in qualifying and When the medical realization for passing a referendum that stopped marijuana any activist that Oregon from recriminalizing marijuana. movement began to We all hated having to fight just to thought ending emerge in the 90s, cannabis maintain the same level of prohibition but Jack again resisted Jack was a great leader and knew what prohibition was dividing cannabis going to be easy had to be done. And as always he didn’t into its parts and just because it leave the fight to others. He was always moving forward on was so absurd. in front, with a petition! some fronts while While many conceding on activists reacted Jack’s travels took him all the way to others. I remember to this by Alaska where variations of a marijuana one year staying at burning out and legalization initiative he wrote qualified Steve DeAngelo’s moving on to less twice for the ballot. Never compromising, house in DC while frustrating he even included language granting attending the pursuits, Jack reparations to those abused by cannabis annual NORML was a great prohibition. Some of us thought that conference. Jack leader and went too far but that initiative still and Steve (another recommitted to received a higher percentage of yes votes Jack's most recent edition of The Emperor tireless activist and the fight and than any legalization vote in history!

Wears No Clothes. The book is available now head of vowed to fight free online at www.jackherer.com Harborside) and harder.

Jack continued fighting cannabis Dennis Peron prohibition. On September 12 he and I (father of the medical marijuana Jack was the father of the hemp were both speaking at Hempstalk in movement) and I had some intense debate movement. His tireless work inspired Portland. I spoke briefly with him about how the movement should proceed. many who now, years later, have created backstage before I spoke. He asked what I Dennis was already working on what was doing and I told him I was petitioning would become Prop 215, which legalized for I 28, our new dispensary initiative for medical marijuana. Jack was working on Oregon. a comprehensive legalization initiative that included hemp and medical “Never stop!” Jack told me. This turned marijuana and recreational use together. I out to be his last words to me on earth. urged Jack to drop his initiative and unite In loving memory of my friend the with Dennis. Jack found it difficult to Hemperor, I never will. only speak part of the truth, even if that would inch us toward our goal. Jack had a John Sajo pure heart but he was no fool and when Director, Voter Power Prop 215 qualified for the ballot, he worked for it to pass. And when it passed,

Grow Better With Our Cultivation Tips!

Oregon News

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

“Ask Ed” Rosenthal Gets His Medicine Back From Medford Police

By Keith Mansur On April 28th, Ed Rosenthal was in Medford to retrieve his Medical Marijuana that was confiscated in November 2008 by the Medford Police Department. Ed was travelling from Medford, Oregon after a seminar at Southern Oregon NORML when the TSA at the Medford/Rogue Valley International Airport found him in possession of about ¾ of an ounce of his medical marijuana.

the agreement they had made. He recalled the city attorney having said “a deal’s a deal”, so they came to Medford on the appointed day.

have moratoriums and 9 counties have bans (more info at http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?i d=3165).

After the police returned their medicine, Ed, Leland and David went to Southern Oregon NORML for an informal event to help support both of the current initiatives trying to make the ballot here in Oregon. I was pleased to attend with about 20 others and hear all of them speak about the cases, and a lot more. Ed reiterated a point Lee had made earlier that day after Ed had obtained his medicine, since the Court of Appeals decision was made, “You better not take it on the plane”.

Many localities which permit dispensaries limit the number of permitted dispensaries, provide specific regulations regarding where those dispensaries can be placed (not within 1000 feet of a school, for example), specify security and access requirements (locked doors at all times, a "buzz-in" system for entry, a separate lobby, security personnel, etc.) and state that dispensaries cannot make a profit or state that excessive profits are prohibited.

So, Ed donated it to the cause!

Dispensaries

Ed, Leland, and David at the Medford Police Dept. just after getting the medicine back

According to Ed, the TSA official asked him where he got it, and he replied “that’s none of your business, it’s my medicine.

I’m a California patient.” When the TSA official replied “that doesn’t matter here”, Ed immediately exclaimed “oh good, let’s make a precedent”.

Although the TSA found the medicine, Ed was cited for a Medford municipal code violation for possession of under an ounce of marijuana, and his medicine was confiscated as well. He contacted renowned Oregon attorney, Leland Berger, to represent him in the case.

Medford Assistant City Attorney, Kevin McConnell, was burdened with prosecuting the case. According to Leland, City Attorney McConnell seemed less than enthusiastic to prosecute due to Ed’s notoriety. In Leland‘s words, “He wasn’t excited about ‘The Ed Show’, and half a day of municipal court time”. City Attorney McConnell decided to drop the case and return his medicine.

Leland also had another client, David Kasakove, Director of High Sierra NORML. The Medford PD had cited David and confiscated his medicine as well. He arranged to have both his clients pick up their medicine on the same day.

Just 1 week before their scheduled day, the Oregon court of Appeals decided another case against Joel Berringer (Leland happened to be Mr. Berringer’s attorney as well). Their ruling prevents a medical marijuana patient from another state to travel with their medicine in Oregon.

Since this ruling was conflicting with the decision of City Attorney McConnell to return Ed and David’s medicine, Leland immediately called him to inquire about

In short, dispensaries in California are dynamic at this time, with local and county laws being created, challenged and overturned on an almost daily basis.

This is due to a number of factors, the lack of a state oversight program being one of the most prominent.

(Cont. from page 3)

Colorado:

provide real service, and choices of medication. Patients no longer need to fear for their safety by arranging meetings in parking lots, behind abandoned buildings, etc. They can walk into a clean, respectable location, discuss their particular needs with knowledgeable staff, choose from a wide variety of delivery methods, and leave with their medical needs addressed competently.

In 2000, Colorado voters approved "Amendment 20" - an amendment to the state constitution that permits the use of Medical Marijuana. Lawmakers are currently studying proposed legislation that would allow for the legal existence of dispensaries based upon the provisions of Amendment 20. HB 10-1284 sets forth a number of regulations regarding dispensary operations, including ownership, location, security measures, etc. The city of Denver has already passed such a bill. As of May 7, 2010, HB 10-1284 passed the Colorado Senate, and was sent back to the House to consider Senate amendments. The bill allows for three different types of licenses to be associated with dispensary operations - a license to operate the dispensary, a grower or producer's license, and a license to produce "marijuana infused" products (medibles, tinctures, etc.)

At this time, there are 14 states which allow for the use of Medical Marijuana. 6 of those states currently allow patients to utilize dispensaries. Patients in California, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Rhode Island can receive medication from either private or state run dispensaries. But, as with so much else regarding Medical Marijuana, the rules and regulation vary widely from state to state. And since any use of Medical Marijuana remains totally illegal under Federal Law, state Medicine at a California Dispensary laws do indeed provide a "dispensation" for the 'transgression' of using Medical Marijuana - a dispensation which is tested in the courts on a regular basis.

California: Dispensaries can be operated by a "primary caregiver" (Defined in the California Health and Safety Code 11362.7(d) as: the individual, designated by a qualified patient or by a person with an identification card, who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that patient or person...(more info at http://law.onecle.com/california/health/113 62.7.html). In some California localities, this term also includes "patient collectives, cooperatives, association or affiliation".

The presence of a dispensary can be permitted or refused by municipal or county legislation (This is being challenged currently, with no definitive ruling yet.) Americans for Safe Access lists 35 cities with dispensary ordinances, 96 cities with dispensary moratoriums and 129 cities with dispensary bans. 9 counties have ordinances, 13 counties

Again, the dispensary situation in Colorado is dynamic, although the efforts to create a statewide regulatory system will eventually mean that dispensaries throughout the state will operate under one set of guidelines, if current legislation passes.

Maine: On November 3, 2009, voters in Maine approved of "An act to establish the Maine Medical Marijuana Act LD 975, IB 2).

This act provides for not-for-profit dispensaries to be licensed and regulated by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Emergency rules and procedures were presented to the governor and adopted on May 5, 2010. Only eight dispensaries will be approved for the first year. The Department of Health and Human Services is currently accepting applications to operate those 8 dispensaries.

Two interesting facets of the Maine law: It allows for visitors to use Maine dispensaries for 30 days before needing to see a Maine doctor for a recommendation, provided that visitor is a licensed cardholder in their home state.

It protects patients and caregivers from discrimination at school, at work, or from a landlord based on their status as cardholders. It also protects cardholders from being denied parental rights simply for having a Medical Marijuana card.

Page 6 New Jersey: New Jersey recently passed a Medical Marijuana bill which is not yet in effect.

It requires that patients receive their Medical Marijuana from an "alternative treatment center." New Jersey prohibits individual or collective growing. There are provisions for 6 Alternative Treatment Centers at first, 2 in the north, 2 centrally located and 2 in the south.

These initial 6 must be non-profit. The bill does allow for additional centers at a later date, which can be either for profit, or non-profit. The centers will be responsible for all cultivation and production of Medical Marijuana in the state.

New Mexico: New Mexico law requires that anyone wanting to produce Medical Marijuana apply to the state, undergo background checks, a site visit and meet other requirements before being approved as a "state licensed producer." Patients may grow for themselves if they make application to the state, are approved, and will then receive plants from the state licensed producers (which are non-profit).

Patients not growing for themselves will receive contact information from the state for state licensed producers. As of Dec. 15, 2009, there were 5 licensed providers (one of which was actually producing medication) and 23 applications in process. 243 patients have received approval to produce their own medical cannabis. See more information at http://www.health.state.nm.us/IDB/medica lcannabis/MCP%20annual%20producer%2 0report%2012-15-09.pdf.

Rhode Island: Legislators are currently considering amended Rules and Regulations Related to the Medical Marijuana Program [R2128.6-MMP], which will allow for the establishment of three "compassion centers" in the state. Currently, patients can grow for themselves, with the assistance of their caregivers. The compassion centers would be registered not-for-profit entities. Patients can compensate for the costs of production only. Under the law, compensation is not considered "sales". Rhode Island also includes provisions against discrimination in schools, employment or housing based only on one's status as a cardholder.

The summaries above only briefly present the laws, or proposed laws in dispensary states. Even with only 6 states involved, the variations in regulation are apparent.

Until such time as the spectre of Federal prosecution for Marijuana is abolished, this patchwork approach is the best that patients can hope for.

Voters in Oregon currently have the opportunity to bring dispensaries to the table, if Ballot Initiative I-28 collects enough signatures for placement on the November, 2010 ballot. The Oregon proposal includes requirements that dispensaries be non-profit, allocate funds for the scientific study of the efficacy of Medical Marijuana and the testing of medicinal cannabis, provisions for indigent patients, and more. The full text of the Oregon Initiative can be found at www.sos.state.or.us/elections/irr/2010/028text.pdf

Mel Barniskis is the Information of Southern Oregon NORML. www.so-norml.org for more information

National News

I’ve read with horror recent news reports: Fire bombings at Montana dispensaries, a SWAT teams’ use of deadly force in Missouri, and here in Oregon our own law enforcement officials are denouncing the evils of people who use cannabis. In their testimony to the Oregon Board of Pharmacy six public officials from law enforcement pronounced: “Marijuana use is directly linked to a high percentage of crimes including: neglect of children, sexual abuse, child abuse, teen usage is higher than any other category, and the number one illegal drug for DUII’s is marijuana, violence is escalating, growers are attacking each other, etc.”

The Spring 2010 edition of Oregon Sheriff, put out by the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association hosts a full page ad on the back page: REWARD: REPORT MARIJUANA GROWERS – PROTECT OUR YOUTH! Last November, the Medford Chief of Police wrote in our local Neighborhood Watch Newsletter that “Growing and distributing marijuana is destroying the safety, the fabric, and livability of our neighborhoods.”

THE MYTH OF REEFER MADNESS: In 1930 Harry J Anslinger , the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, successfully built a myth

ASSET FORFEITURE: According to a 1998 article published in the University of Chicago Law Review “law enforcement targets assets rather than crime.” In 2008 the US Department of Justice reported total assets from the Asset Forfeiture Fund (AFF) and Seized Asset Deposit Fund (SADF) equaled more than $3 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2007. State and local law enforcement use forfeiture extensively to fill their coffers, yet prior to the year 2000 only 20% of the people who had their property seized were ever charged or convicted of a crime. Where assets are involved, law enforcement has a vested interest in labeling and stigmatizing people, promoting fear among the masses, and perpetuating harmful lies about cannabis.

The Oregon Sherriff's Association recent newsletter cover. Has the madness really stopped?

surrounding ‘Killer Weed’ with statements like: If the hideous monster Frankenstein came face to face with the monster marijuana, he would drop dead of fright.” The press jumped on board with stories like this one from Universal News Service in 1936: Murders Due to ‘Killer Drug’ Marijuana Sweeping United States.

Shocking crimes of violence are increasing. Murders, slaughtering, cruel mutilations, maimings, done in cold blood, as if some hideous monster was amok in the land…those addicted…lose all restraints, all inhibitions. They become bestial demoniacs, filled with a mad lust to kill…”

TRUE MADNESS: Why does this dehumanizing stereotype persist? What does law enforcement have to gain by criminalizing citizens who use cannabis?

THEN & NOW: Although it’s been more than seven decades since the myth of Reefer Madness began, people who know that cannabis is useful medicine must continue to fight against the terrible stigma being perpetrated by the very people we trust to protect us. If you would like to learn more about how to stop law enforcement from committing criminal acts against legal cardholders call 541-210-8790 for more information about free workshops on: PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS or see www.ProtectYourRights420.org.

Christine McGarvin, MSSW is an author and researcher whose work focuses on the effects of mental health, addictions, and drug policy on our culture. She currently serves as the ViceChair of the ACMM – a group of citizens appointed by the Director of DHS to provide input and advice to the OMMP, is President for the Oregon Green Free South chapter, and has co-founded Institute for Cannabis Therapeutics: a non-profit research company in Eugene dedicated to expanding reliable knowledge about cannabis. Her new book Cannabis at the Crossroads is scheduled for publication this October.

SE E O U R R E C IP IE S O N P A GE 1 1

Op-Ed: Drug Czar Struggles With Big Words. Again.

by Mike Meno, Marijuana Policy Project Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske has stated on many occasions that his vocabulary does not include the word “legalization.” Now we learn that our nation’s top drug warrior doesn’t know the meaning of the word “prohibition” either.

Sadly, I’m not making this up.

In an online video interview with the Washington Post in May, Kerlikowske says the Obama administration is “very

Gil Kerlikowske, with Vice President Biden, speaking after being announced as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy on March 11th of 2009.

much opposed” to taxing and regulating marijuana because—get this—he says the taxes paid on alcohol do not make up for the “criminal justice, health care, [and] social costs” of alcohol consumption. Oh, and he just assumes taxes on marijuana wouldn’t either, though he doesn’t bother to mention the billions of dollars we could save on law enforcement, prison, judicial and environmental costs by calling for an end to the futile and un-winnable war the government wages against our country’s largest cash crop and the millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans who use it.

This bizarre answer prompts Post editor Cont. on Page 8

Oregon Cannabis Connection is a bi-monthly resource for the medical cannabis community in Oregon. We strive to educate the public on the medicinal value of marijuana, as well as other uses of cannabis in industry, nutrition, and manufacturing.

All information in our publication is intended for legal use by adults. We are advertisere supported so our paper will always be free. Advertise in Oregon Cannabis Connection and reach thousands on like minded individuals and help build our local cannabis community.

To place an ad, call Keith at 541-621-1723 Subscriptions also available.

Deadline for August Issue: July 20th

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

National News

Obama Drug Plan ‘Firmly Opposes’ Legalization as California Vote Looms Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML The Obama administration said that it “firmly opposes” the legalization of any illicit drugs as California voters head to the polls to consider legalizing marijuana this fall. The president and his drug czar re-emphasized their opposition to legalizing drugs in the first release of its National Drug Control Strategy on May 11th.

“Keeping drugs illegal reduces their availability and lessens willingness to use them,” the document, prepared by Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, says. “That is why this Administration firmly opposes the legalization of marijuana or any other illicit drug.”

Is anyone surprised? You shouldn’t be.

After all, this is the same Gil Kerlikowske that has said repeatedly that legalization is not in his vocabulary, and publicly stated, “Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit.” And this is the same administration that recently nominated Michele Leonhart to head the DEA — the same Michele Leonhart who overruled the DEA’s own administrative law judge in order to continue to block medical marijuana research, and publicly claimed that the rising death toll civilians attributable to the U.S./Mexican drug war “a signpost of the success” of U.S. prohibitionist policies.

Yet, given that national polls now indicate that an estimated one out of two Americans nationwide support legalization, and that a solid majority of west coast voters and Californians back regulating the retail production and distribution of pot like alcohol, it seems politically counterproductive for the administration to maintain such a ‘flat Earth’ policy. So what could possibly be their reasoning?

It’s actually spelled out here, in the White House’s 2010 Drug Control Strategy: We have many proven methods for reducing the demand for drugs. Keeping drugs illegal reduces their availability and lessens willingness to use them. That is why this Administration firmly opposes the legalization of marijuana or any other illicit drug. Legalizing drugs would increase accessibility and encourage promotion and acceptance of use.

Diagnostic, laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological studies clearly indicate that marijuana use is associated with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects, and legalization would

only exacerbate these problems.

There it is in black and white — in less than 100 words: The federal government’s entire justification for marijuana prohibition; their entire justification for a policy that has led to the arrest of over 20 million Americans since 1965, that is

more teens say that they can get their hands on pot than booze, and onequarter say that they can buy marijuana within the hour responsible for allowing cops to terrorize families and kill their pets, that has stripped hundreds of thousands of young people of their ability to pursue higher education, and that is directly responsible for the deaths of over 20,000 civilians on the U.S./Mexico border. And that’s just for starters.

Yet the entire premise for maintaining the government’s policy — that keeping marijuana criminally prohibited “reduces [its] availability and lessens willingness to use [it]” — is demonstrably false. Under present prohibition, more than 1/3 of 8th graders, more than 2/3rds of 10th graders, and some 85 percent of 12th graders say that marijuana is “easy to get.” Even according to the stridently prohibitionist group CASA (National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University), more teens say that they can get their hands on pot than booze, and one-quarter say that they can buy marijuana within the hour. That means, President Obama and Gil Kerlikowske, that 25 percent of teens can obtain marijuana as easily — and as quickly — as a Domino’s pizza!

Page 8

This is your “proven” method for “reducing availability?”

Don’t make us laugh.

By contrast, dozens of studies from around the globe have established, consistently, that marijuana liberalization will result in lower overall drug use. For example, no less than the World Health Organization concluded: “Globally, drug use is not distributed evenly, and is Richard Lee, author of California's legalization simply not related to drug initiative and founder of Oaksterdam University, at the policy. … The U.S. … stands recent Hemp and Cannabis Expo in San Francisco. out with higher levels of use who have led — and will continue to lead of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, despite — on this issue, and it is the politicians punitive illegal drug policies. … The who will follow. Could we expect it to be Netherlands, with a less criminally any other way? punitive approach to cannabis use than the U.S., has experienced lower levels of After all it was the federal government use, particularly among younger adults. that followed the states lead in 1937 — Clearly, by itself, a punitive policy federally criminalizing pot, but only doing towards possession and use accounts for so after virtually every state in the nation limited variation in national rates of had already done so. California, for illegal drug use.” instance, outlawed marijuana use in 1913 In fact, NORML has an entire white paper — nearly a quarter of a century before the devoted to addressing this issue which can Feds acted similarly. be read at www.norml.org Of course, the best option to truly reduce youth availability to cannabis is legalization and regulation. This strategy — the same one that we employ for the use of virtually every other product except cannabis — would impose common sense controls regarding who can legally produce marijuana, who can legally distribute marijuana, who can legally consume marijuana, and where adults can legally use marijuana and under what circumstances is such use legally permitted.

But we already know that this option isn’t in the administration’s vocabulary, now don’t we?

I’ve written time and time again that this administration ought to view marijuana legalization as a political opportunity, not a political liability. They obviously aren’t listening. Nevertheless, it is the voters

Likewise, it is going to be the states — and California in particular — that are going to usher in the era of relegalization. And it will be the Feds who eventually will have no other choice but to fall in line.

Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director of NORML and the NORML Foundation.

Drug Czar (cont. from page 7)

Fred Hiatt, the interviewer, to ask an obvious question: “So … are you looking at the prohibition of alcohol?”

The drug czar chuckles. “No,” he says, “we’re not exploring prohibition.”

Actually, Mr. Kerlikowske, you’re

Activists still fighting

propaganda. Hopefully, the polling is

(Cont. from page 3)

correct and voters have realized that Oregon’s children and communities are

Proponents of the dispensary system will

hindered by prohibition and that allowing

argue that voters should show compassion

regulated cannabis commerce among

for patients and allow safe access at

adults is a common-sense solution.

nonprofits, just as other patients are allowed safe access at pharmacies. Not to

Anthony Johnson is a Board Member of Oregon

mention the fact that the state could

Green Free, Treasurer for the Coalition for

utilize additional resources and the jobs

Patients’ Rights 2010 as well as Co-Chief

dispensaries will create. Opponents will

Petitioner and co-author of Initiative 28.

fall back upon old Reefer Madness arguments that allowing patients safe

www.coalitionforpatientsrights2010.com

access will hurt Oregon’s children. If the

www.oregongreenfree.net

enforcing prohibition (defined as a “law, order or decree that forbids something”).

It’s the same prohibition—on marijuana—that the federal government has kept intact for more than 70 years, despite its undeniable failure to meet any of its stated goals, and of which you are now the chief overseer.

Your prohibition, Mr. Kerlikowske, leads to the arrest of more than 750,000 Americans every year, all for mere possession of a substance that is demonstrably safer than alcohol, the very notion of (again) prohibiting you yourself find laughable. Marijuana prohibition,

polling numbers are correct, then it

meanwhile, has deprived countless sick

appears that Oregon voters are too

people of potentially live-saving medicine,

educated to fall for decades-old

endangered peaceful families in

Reach thousands of medical marijuana patients, caregivers, and growers!

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terrorizing and unnecessary SWAT raids that murder their pets, and killed more than 22,000 people in Mexico in less than four years of prohibition-fueled violence.

There’s nothing funny about prohibition, Mr. Kerlikowske. You might want to stop laughing, pick up a dictionary, and think long and hard about what it means.

Mike Meno is Director of Communications at Marijuana Policy Project.

National News

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

News 'Nugs Medical Marijuana Workers Unionize Around 100 employees of medical marijuana-related businesses in Oakland have joined unionized workers on Friday. They had earlier voted to join the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 5. Supporters of cannabis are calling this a significant event in their movement to legitimize the drug.

The move was widely praised by union officials and they praise these new members and termed them as great workers.

Ron Lind, the President of Local 5 was also very happy with this news. The union has 26,000 members and most of these mainly work in groceries and the meat industry.

It was also welcomed by Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University. This medical marijuana trade school employs 60 of the newly unionized members in its dispensary, gift shop and nursery. Lee stressed that the employees are already offered health benefits and paid vacation. He felt that this would help bring marijuana into the mainstream.

A proposed ballot in November could legalize, regulate and tax the drug in California. The drug is now legal for medical use in the state of California and more than a dozen states across the US. But it is still prohibited by federal law.

People were also very happy with this news in Oakland, which has an unemployment rate of more than 17%.

The VA Prohibiting Doctors from Recommending MMJ The U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) recently adopted a policy prohibiting VA physicians from recommending medical marijuana to their patients,

even if marijuana is the safest and most effective medicine to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other service-related conditions.

Many former veterns are speaking out against the crackdown, including former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerry, himself an Vietnam Veteran, and Montel Williams, who was a U.S. Marine and suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.

Kerry said, "The ban means that—despite their service to our country—veterans who reside in the 14 states that have legalized medical marijuana are denied the same rights as every other resident of these states."

Williams was quoted as saying "I find it egregiously offensive that we can send our children off to die for our freedom, and then so callously turn our backs on their freedom when they return home. Research has proven the efficacy of medicinal marijuana in the treatment of PTSD. How dare we turn our backs on those who did not hesitate to put themselves in harms way to support and defend our Constitution?".

Arizona Gets MMJ Measure on Ballot A measure that would ask Arizona voters to legalize medical use of marijuana this week become the first initiative to qualify for the November 2010 ballot, the Arizona Republic reported June 2.

The Arizona Secretary of State's office validated the question submitted by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project, which submitted 252,000 petition signatures in support of the measure (145,698 were needed).

The project, funded by a parent organization in Washington, D.C., spent about a half-million dollars on the petition drive; officials said they now plan to switch to educating voters about the measure.

The group proposes to allow patients with serious medical conditions like cancer, HIV, or multiple sclerosis to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks; patients would need a recommendation from a doctor to use the drug

Where Will You Find: • Local Oregon News • National News

medically.

Medical-marijuana would be grown legally by nonprofit dispensaries under the plan. An opposition group called Stop the Pot is hoping to derail the campaign.

N.J. Governor Delays MMJ Law’s Implementation Gov. Chris Christie believes New Jersey’s medical marijuana law "is very good as written,’’ but he wants to delay implementation "so we can do it the right way,’’ his spokesman said recently.

Former Governor Corzine signed the bill immediately before leaving office on January 18th of this year, and Governor Christie had indicated during the campaign that he supported allowing seriously ill people to use marijuana to ease their suffering but feared the pending bill was too lax.

Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee Chairwoman Loretta Weinberg (DBergen), stated “I understand this Governor has some questions but I would like to point out to everybody, including the governor, this is the law.”

Pennsylvania Legislature May Act Soon Pennsylvania is showing signs that they are ready to join the growing number of states legalizing medical marijuana.

In Philadelphia, the city’s new D.A. has instituted a new policy where People possessing 30 grams or less of the drug will be arrested, arraigned and told they can opt to plead guilty, pay a fine of $200 and attend a class on the dangers of marijuana, with no risk of a criminal record. Fines will go up with each offense.

The Pennsylvania legislature is also considering two different medical marijuana bills recently introduced.

State Senator Daylin Leach (D-Delaware County) introduced a bill which closely mirrors the bill introduced by State Representative Mark Cohen last year.

using liver transplant patients over an salmonella and e coli.

eight-year span and concluded “patients

Later in the Tribune piece, John Niemitz,

similar survival rates.”

M a i l su b sc r i p t i o n s a v a i l a b l e

who did and did not use marijuana had

manager of transplant services for Legacy Health System, Oregon’s other transplant consciousness,” which might interfere with a patient’s ability to follow a rigorous post-transplant regimen of medications and appointments.

The fear that a medical marijuana patient remember to take his medications and show up for the appointments is absurd.

The blood pressure medications and painkillers prescribed post-transplant will sap energy and fog the mind far more

The Aerial Tram at OHSU. OHSU and Legacy are denying transplants to medical marijuana patients.

than cannabis will.

The only possible reason Legacy and

The Tribune reports that Niemitz also

medical marijuana patients is simply

says as far as he knows, every cardholder

w w w . o r e g o n c a n n a b i sc o n n e c t i o n . c o m

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State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, and House Deputy Majority Leader said that it appeared the Illinois bill was a few votes short of the 60 required for passage in the House. He said he won’t call it for a vote unless he knows ahead of time that the measure will pass.

He indicated that the chances would likely be better if the vote takes place after the November elections, but before the newly elected legislators take office in January. “What I have to overcome is the basic political calculation that many of my colleagues take,” he said. “Ultimately, this is a health-care bill. It’s not a bill about drugs. I’m here for people’s health care and pain. We should do this controlled piece of legislation … to help people.”

With the Illinois State Police voicing opposition to the bill, and some medical professionals indicating that medical marijuana studies are “pretty limited, and they don’t have adequate follow-up. Most of the science is pretty primitive.”, the fight may be an uphill one for Rep. Lang.

(Cont from page 4)

post-transplant is going to be too stoned to

You'll Find us at Most every MMJ Clinic in Oregon, Most Smoke and Pipe Shops and Many other locations across Oregon!

Illinois May Vote on Legalization After November Election

transplant candidates” looked at almost

• Medical Information • Recipies

CANNABIS CONNECTION

If successful, the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would place Pennsylvania with a growing numbers of other states that currently have medical marijuana laws on the books. Currently, 14 states plus the District of Columbia have laws allowing the use of medical marijuana. Governor Ed Rendell has stated previously that he would sign a well-crafted medical marijuana bill.

Transplants Denied

center, adds that “there is a risk of altered

Businesses

Page 9

Legacy has dealt with has been willing to give up their medical marijuana as the price of getting a transplanted organ.

“People have found that pretty

OHSU have to deny transplants to institutional bias. Every day Jim Klahr has to do without medical marijuana is a day he’s been blackmailed to not use “the safest therapeutically active substance known to man”, which Oregon law says is

reasonable,” Niemitz says.

to be “treated like other medicines”.

Like when you hold a gun to someone’s

“Radical” Russ Belville is the NORML

head they suddenly find your request for

Outreach Coordinator. He hosts “NORML’s

their wallet pretty reasonable.

Daily Audio Stash” and “The NORML Stash

What is the science on medical marijuana

Blog” at http://stash.norml.org. email him at

and organ transplants? In 2009, a study

stash@norml.org. Visit www.norml.org. for

in the American Journal of Transplant

more information.

entitled “Marijuana use in potential liver

Medical News at tobacco smoke shops such as Pipe Dreams.

memory” compared to abstainers. Marijuana

follow-up. Let’s not let that happen. It’s just too

use was also associated with better overall GAF

depressing.

In summary, medical marijuana is an effective

(Global Assessment of Functioning) scores

treatment for chronic pain, nausea, symptoms

compared to those of non-users.

related to cancer, AIDS/ HIV and other

By Dr. Gregory Gomez M.D. The use of medical marijuana has experienced an increase in both the evaluation as a legitimate treatment for pain management and is becoming a valid issue on the national scene.

In Oregon, we have the voter empowered Oregon Medical Marijuana Program(OMMP).

Oregon is one of many states in the Union that has a functional and legal program in place to help patients suffering from chronic pain.

In order for a patient to legally obtain medical marijuana in Oregon a particular set of conditions must be met. The following are qualifying diagnoses: -Cancer -Glaucoma -Agitation due to Alzheimers Disease -Aids or HIV -Seizure Disorder(s) -Severe Chronic Pain

Authors concluded: “The results of the present

University of New York. He is the author of

Marijuana is a psychoactive substance and can

analysis suggest that (cannabis use) in patients

more than 100 publications on drug use and

have ill effects on the body and mind if not

with SZ (schizophrenia) is associated with

abuse, including “Understanding Marijuana”

properly managed by both the evaluating

better performance on measures of processing

and “The Parents’ Guide to Marijuana.

physician and/or patient. See your healthcare

speed and verbal skills. These data are

provider for chronic pain management and seek

consistent with prior reports indicating that SZ

medical marijuana as an adjunct to your pain

patients with a history of CUD (cannabis use

management regimen.

disorders) have less severe cognitive deficits than SZ patients without comorbid CUD. …

My name is Dr. Gregory Gomez. I received my

The present findings also suggest that CUD in

bachelor of science in Zoology and Chemistry

patients with SZ may not differentially affect

from Northern Arizona University. I attended

the severity of illness as measured by clinical

medical school at both the Universidad

symptomatology.”

Autonoma de Guadalajara and New York Medical College Fifth Pathway Program. I did

Both study’s findings are in line with previous

my residency in Family Medicine at Harbor

(though virtually unreported) research

UCLA/ Los Angeles County Medical Center.

indicating that marijuana is unlikely to

Currently, I practice in primary care and

instigate incidences of schizophrenia in the

medical marijuana at Southern Oregon

general population, that cannabis use among

Alternative Medicine(SOAM). I am also

patients with the disease is associated with

business partner and Chief Medical Officer for

higher cognitive function, and that at least

the Male Performance Enhancement Center,

some schizophrenics find subjective relief from

MPEC. I am fluent in Spanish.

symptoms of the illness by using pot.

Nonetheless, odds are the nobody from the mainstream media will be champing at the bit

-Severe Chronic Nausea

to report on them.

-Severe Chronic Muscle Spasms

at the doctors discretion. A qualifying cancer diagnosis is usually one of an organic nature, where the patient has suffered through chemoradiation and/or has long lasting effects of such treatment. In my opinion skin cancers usually don't qualify a patient.

Severe chronic pain is very complex and can

Psychology at the University at Albany, State

conditions as specified by the OMMP.

-Cachexia

All of the above conditions can qualify a person

Bottom line: marijuana’s complex relationship

Latest Research On Pot and Schizophrenia Runs Contrary to Mainstream Media Hype

with schizophrenia is far from understood, and likely won’t be for some time. But that doesn’t

pain I see is back pain.

By Paul Armentano,

Severe chronic muscle spasms are exactly that.

NORML Deputy Director

last night helping your friend move out will not qualify you. However, chronic muscle spasms due to a neurological issue such as multiple sclerosis, is permissible.

Another important factor in your evaluation for eligibility into the OMMP is having regular primary care provider(PCP) visits for your qualifying condition. A visit to your PCP per year is necessary to the evaluating OMMP physician to elucidate chronicity of the qualifying medical condition.

My clinics personal evaluation consists of filling out all the necessary paperwork that is required by the state. The patient is then seen by me where an interview/consultation and physical exam will take place. Part of the interview includes, but is not limited to, a psychiatric history including but not limited to drug abuse history, suicidal/homicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety and/or other history of psychosis. This is important to discuss in any patient as marijuana is a psychoactive substance.

Upon discharge, I will direct the patient to online links after a brief discussion of the risks, benefits, and side effects associated with the use of marijuana. In addition, we will discuss the safest and possible best way to consume or apply the medication. For example, if a patient has chronic joint pain, I will discuss how the patient can make a topical application using medical marijuana.

The most common way of using medical marijuana is by smoking. As a physician, it is my duty to help the patient understand how they can use their medicine in the safest possible way. If a patient has a history of lung disease, I will deter them from smoking marijuana. However, it would be safe to use a vaporizer. Vaporizers can be expensive but are probably worth it. Vaporizers can be purchased

The mainstream media loves to spill ink hyping the allegation that marijuana causes mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. In fact, it was in March when international media outlets

side of the story.

by Mitch Earleywine, SUNY Albany

declared that cannabis use ‘doubled’ one’s risk of developing the disease. Yet when research

Yet another myth about marijuana takes a

appears in scientific journals rebuking just this

beating thanks to some splendid research out of

sort of ‘reefer madness,’ it generally goes

Scandinavia. Although it’s no surprise to

unreported.

Marijuana Policy Project Fans, Marijuana use has no link to suicide. A thorough study of

Such is the case with a pair of just-published

Swedish military men confirms that those who

studies slated to appear in the journal

use marijuana are no more likely to take their

Schizophrenia Research. The first study,

own lives than those who don’t. Prohibitionists

conducted by a team of researchers at various

often grab results like these and squeal “the

New York state hospitals, the Yale University

sample is too small to mean much,” but this

School of Medicine, and the National Institutes

research focused on more than 50,000 people. If

of Mental Health assessed whether there exists

you can’t get marijuana to link to suicide in

a causal association between cannabis use and

50,000 people, you can’t get marijuana to link

the age of onset of psychosis in patients

to suicide.

hospitalized for the first time for an episode of schizophrenia.

Prohibitionists also often shout “Well, you

Despite previous media claims to the contrary,

didn’t follow them up long enough. They would

researchers concluded:

have killed themselves eventually.” This study followed the participants for 33 years. If you

“Although the onset of cannabis use disorder

can’t link marijuana to suicide after 33 years,

preceded the onset of illness in most patients,

you can’t link marijuana to suicide. If there’s

our findings suggest that age at onset of

no smoke, there’s no fire. This study also

psychosis was not associated with cannabis use

showed markedly smaller links between

disorders. Previous studies implicating

marijuana and depression than folks thought.

cannabis use disorders in schizophrenia may need to more comprehensively assess the

Clearly, the biggest bummer about marijuana

relationship between cannabis use disorders

doesn’t stem from its use; it’s from arrests. At

and schizophrenia, and take into account the

800,000 per year, our current rate, we’d have

additional variables that we found associated

26,400,000 more arrests for the next 33-year

with cannabis use disorders.”

A separate study slated for publication in the same journal assessed the cognitive skills of schizophrenic patients with a history of cannabis use compared to non-users. Authors reported that patients with a history of marijuana use “demonstrated significantly better performance on measures of processing speed, verbal fluency, and verbal learning and

Many States Banning 'K2' Synthetic Marijuana AP States and cities nationwide are cracking down on a substance that mimics marijuana's effects on the brain - a legal dope that has stymied law enforcement authorities.

According to USA Today, 11 states are banning or weighing bans on "K2" - a packet of chemicals that are sprayed or sprinkled as powder on herbs to turn them into synthetic marijuana. Advocates of the ban are worried that the use of K2 can cause health problems and is rampant among young people, the newspaper reports.

give the MSM a free pass to only promote one

have multiple causes. The most common type of

Muscle spasms from an injury that occurred

Dr. Mitch Earleywine is Professor of Clinical

Clemson University chemist John Huffman, a research professor whose graduate students synthesized the substance in his lab 15 years ago, says the chemical may be harmful. "It shouldn't be out there," he says.

K2 - also called "Spice," Genie" and "Zohai" is commonly sold in head shops as incense.

Produced in China and Korea, the mixture of herbs and spices is sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Users roll it up in joints or inhale it from pipes, just like the real thing.

Though banned in most of Europe, K2's key ingredients have not been regulated in the United States - a gap that has prompted lawmakers to take action.

Poison Centers nationwide have reported 352 cases of people sickened by the substance in 35 states, according to USA Today.

Toxicologists at three universities and two governmental agencies have launched a study into the effects of K2.

A law banning the drug in Kansas took effect in March. Kentucky followed suit in April. Bans in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee are pending and, USA Today reports that Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey and New York are also considering bills to outlaw the drug

V ISIT U S O N L IN E O R E G O N C A N N A B ISC O N N E C T IO N . C O M

R ec ip ies

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

How to Make Pot Butter The making of pot butter includes the involvement of Marijuana. Rather than smoking marijuana, one can get the benefits of THC by learning how to prepare pot butter. Pot butter is extremely diversified in nature and can be used to replace normal butter almost naturally. It can be used in making cakes, cookies and brownies with absolutely no compromise in taste. Pot butter is apt in providing the medicinal properties of marijuana without having to blow a smoke!

• Grind the marijuana finely in the grinder • Take water in the larger pot of the double boiler and allow it to boil • Now put the prescribed amount of butter in the small pot of the double boiler • Leave it to melt • Add pot and let it simmer for 30-60 minutes • Remember to let it simmer longer incase you need a high potent pot butter • Now pour it through the strainer into a bowl (cheesecloth works too) • Squeeze out the liquid • Allow it to cool in the fridge The exact amount of pot butter which a person can consume for getting the best possible results still remains uncalculated. It actually depends upon the person’s tolerance level. However, it is advised to start with a tablespoon/spread over a toast or a cracker. Gradually with time, a person can gauge the exact amount of pot butter he/she requires for perfect results.

Let’s take a quick look at the equipments and ingredients required for preparing potent pot butter: • A bowl/dish • A strainer which needs to be fine in nature • A double boiler • A small grinder • 1cup butter • ¼ ounce of Marijuana

Having known the right dosage of pot butter that can be consumed by your body, you can start experimenting it with lots of other recipes. Pot butter can be used in preparations of brownies, Rice crispy treats, and chocolate chip cookies etc. Pot butter also tastes its best when used as a substitute for regular butter like macaroni, cheese, gravy etc.

Now you are ready to cook!

After having assimilated all the required ingredients/equipments, we need to understand the method of cooking pot butter. Let’s have a look at the steps involved in preparing pot butter:

Page 11

Hot Red Pepper and Ganja Linguini

Honeyweed Brownies Now that you have some Pot Butter, you can easily make these delectible brownies.

Ingredients: • 6 ounces of

This is a fast and easy recipe you can prepare in 20 minutes, if you have the butter ready to go. If you dont, we have a quick version of pot butter that works well.

Ingredients: • 1 lb. hot red pepper linguine (regular linguine and red pepper flakes work in a pinch) • 1 1/2 lb. white mushrooms • 2 green peppers, cut up • 1 lb pot butter (see below) • 1/2 pint of half-and-half cream • 4 cloves chopped garlic • 1 cup chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp. dry basil) If you do not have pot butter, you can quickly make some by taking 1oz of pot and heat it in butter over moderate flame. Cook the butter in a double boiler pot, making sure you heat it for at least 20 minutes, making sure not to burn the butter. Strain out the leaf and set the butter aside. Cook your linguine, but not too long.

Put your butter into another pan and add pepper, garlic and mushrooms, and sauté them a couple of minutes. Then drain the linguine and add to the sauté mixture. Pour in the cream and let it slowly reduce. The cream slowly thickens over a low flame. Once reduced, pour the cooked pasta in the pan and toss.

Serve with Garlic Bread, Salad, and a nice Oregon Pinot Noir!. (Serves 4)

unsweetened chololate • 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of Marijuana butter • 4 eggs • 1 tablespoonful of vanilla • 1/2 teaspoon of salt • 2 1/2 cups of honey • 4 cups of flour • 3 tablespoons of Jack Daniels (optional) Grease a 9x12 baking dish or pan Melt chocolate in a double-boiler saucepan, add the weed butter and honey, mix well, add eggs and mix again, add salt and vanilla, mix again, add flour, mix again. Pour into pan. Bake 35 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven.

Allow 1 hour to cool and set before cutting. Cut into 2 inch squares and place in gallon sized ziploc bag for storage or freezing.

For the perfect finish to a special dinner or a special evening try these gourmet honeyweed brownies with a rich, complex flavour and velvety texture guaranteed to please the most discerning.

For variety with the weed brownies try adding 3 tablespoons of Jack Daniels, wild turkey, crown royal, or cognac to enrich the flavour; or 1 1/2 cups of cherry halves and 2 tablespoons of brandy; or drops of mint extract in batter to taste; or 2 tablespoons of instant coffee crystals dissolved in 1 tablespoonful of hot water.

Serve with rich coffee, espresso, port or cabernet.

Cultivation medicine. This is why we teach strict

system that promotes and enhances

product in lieu of quality and health. We

Organic methods.

biodiversity, biological cycles and soil

believe that our medicine is a food crop

biological activity. It is based on minimal

and should be treated as such. Since we

It is possible to become more sensitive to

use of off-farm inputs and on management

smoke or eat the product it is even more

street weed after going organic for a

practices that restore, maintain and

important to consider what is burning

period of time. You begin to taste and

enhance ecological harmony".

into our lungs. Like Mom used to say,

more difficult issue is the headaches that

This is a simple concept to understand.

"You are what you eat".

you can get from these fertilizers. All in

You are not only in line with mother

all you become very dependent on organic

earth, you are enhancing her, and your

Jennifer Valley is a 2 time Oregon Cannabis

meds.

medicine in a natural way.

Cup winner and is the owner of Stoney Girl

"You Are What You Eat". Now consider

Like organic fruit and veggies, organic

Stoney Girl Gardens is an organic

at www.gro4me.com. Stoney Girl’s Strains we’re

the way we consume our medicine. It is

medicine will not be the biggest, the most

resource. Like the organic section of the

recently featured in Ed Rosenthal’s “Big Book of

often SMOKED or vaporized. This means

eye appealing and most perfect looking

supermarket, we are willing to have less

Buds 4”

it is entering your system through your

bud. But it will be the most flavorful,

than the largest, most eye-pleasing

lungs instead of through your digestive

most potent and healthy bud that you

system. This makes it even more

have ever done.

important to know what is in your

Remember, you are what you eat, or

Medicine is a Food Crop

recognize the different fertilizers. The

Gardens, an organic resource, visit them online

Remember what Grandma used to say

smoke in this case.

What is Organic?

•

There are many differing versions of

the definition for the term "Organic".

•

In some circles anything that is

found natural on earth is organic.

•

This then would include Uranium

and Anthrax. No one in their right mind would consider these items organic.

•

However some manufacturers use

this same methodology to put an organic label on their product.

The National Organics Standards Board defines organics as: "an ecological production management

C a n n a bi s C o n n e c t i o n

CLINICS & INFORMATION

MEDICAL CLININCS AND RESOURCES

Eugene Office: 687 River Ave Eugene, OR (503)-224-3051

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE OUTREACH PROGRAM 455 W. Corey Ct., Roseburg, Oregon 97470 (541)-440-1934 Fax (541)-440-1943 www.amop.org

Medford Office: 1708 W Main St Medford, Or (541)-245-6634

ASHLAND ALTERNATIVE HEALTH 180 Clear Creek Dr #103 Ashland, OR 97520 (541) 488-2202 www.ashlandalthealth.com

NORML AND THE NORML FOUNDATION 1600 K Street, NW Suite 501 Washington, DC 20006-2832 888-67-NORML (888-676-6765) (202) 483-5500 www.norml.org

COMPASSION CENTER 2055 West 12th Avenue Eugene, OR 97402-3522 (541) 484-6558 MAMA MOTHERS AGAINST MISUSE AND ABUSE Portland Office: 5217 SE 28th Ave. (Steele & 28th) Portland, Oregon 97202 (503) 233-4202 Fax (503) 233-8266 The Dalles Office: 502 Washington Street, Suite 203 The Dalles, OR 97058 (541) 298-4202 Fax (541) 296-2983 www.mamas.org MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD SERVICES CLINIC 4911 N.E. Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR 97213 (503)-384-WEED (9333) www.mmcsclinic.com OREGON MEDICAL CANNABIS UNIVERSITY Cornelius Pass Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97123 (503) 984-8210 Fax (503) 649-2014 http://www.oregonmedicalcannabisunivers ity.com OREGON GREEN FREE OMMP Resource Center 2375 Se 174th Ave, Portland, Or. 97233 (503)-760-2671 fax: (503)-345-1157 OGF South Chapter (541)-210-8790 www.oregongreenfree.net OREGON NORML PO Box 16057, Portland, OR 97292-0057 (541) 239-6110 www.ornorml.org PORTLANDSTERDAM UNIVERSITY Locations in Portland, Eugene, and Medford (503)-288-2349 www.portlandsterdam university.com SOUTHERN OREGON ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 836 E. Main St. #6, Medford, OR 97504 (541) 779-5235 Fax (541) 779-0479 www.southernoregon alternativemedicine.com

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS 1322 Webster Street, Suite 402 Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 251-1856 www.americansforsafeaccess.org MEDIA AWARENESS PROJECT www.mapinc.com Contact at Drug Sense 14252 Culver Drive #328 Irvine, CA, 92604-0326 (800) 266-5759 MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT P.O. Box 77492 Capitol Hill, Washington, DC 20013 (202) 462-5747 www.mpp.org INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CANNABINOID MEDICINES (IACM) Am Mildenweg 6 59602 Ruethen Germany +49-2952-9708571 www.acmed.org

HEMP ORGANIZATIONS HEMP INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 575 Summerland, CA 93067 (707)-874-3648 www.thehia.org NAIHC NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL HEMP COUNCIL, INC P.O. Box 259329 Madison, WI 53725-9329 www.naihc.org VOTE HEMP, INC. P.O. Box 1571 Brattleboro, VT 05302 (202)-318-8999 THE INDUSTRIAL HEMP NETWORK P.O. Box 1716 Sebastopol, CA 95473 (707)-823-2800 www.hemptech.com JACK HERER.com www.jackherer.com

EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES

SOUTHERN OREGON NORML 630 W. 6th St. Medford OR 97501 (541) 111-2222 www.so-norml.org

DRAGON'S LAIR 210 Northwest 6th Street Grants Pass, OR 97526 (541) 479-5617 www.dragonslairglass.com

THCF THE HEMP AND CANNABIS FOUNDATION Portland Office: 105 SE 18th Ave. Portland, Oregon 97214 (503)281-5100 (800) 723-0188

OPERATION PIPE DREAMS 2021 W. Main St. Medford, OR 97501 (541)-773-3165 www.myspace.com/ operationpipedreams

Eugene Office: 1111 Main St. #102, Eugene, OR 97299 ( 541) 111-2222 Grants Pass Office: 22222 East 6th St. Grants Pass, OR 97557 (541) 266-2222 VOTER POWER Portland Office: 6701 SE Foster Portland, OR. 97206 (503)-224-3051

PUFFS 1908 Ashland St. Ashland, OR 97520 (541)-482-9253 www.puffsashland.com STONEY GIRL GARDENS Seed Company U.S.A. www.gro4me.com SUNNY GIRL GARDENS Premium Organic Soil www.sunnygirlgardens.com 503-788-2349

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