Neill Franklin, LEAP: "...We can't let them get away with claiming that they've ended the 'War On Drugs' while we continue to arrest 800,000 people a year on marijuana charges alone"

The Obama Administration released its National Drug Control Strategy on Tuesday, claiming it represents a “balanced new approach” to drug policy that focuses on treatment over enforcement.

Chong did nine months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in 2003 to charges sought by Mary Beth Buchanan, who resigned as U.S. attorney last year. She’s running in the Republican primary in hopes of opposing U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., in November.

During an appearance at a union hall Wednesday night, Chong said he wanted to thank Buchanan “for jump-starting my career again” before also calling her “a liar and a thief.

“Buchanan’s campaign manager Mike Walsh said it’s fine with her if “drug users and convicted felons line up behind Jason Altmire.”

ATTENTION MRS BUCHANAN and MR WALSH: Mr Chong’s supporters arent just “drug users and convicted felons”. They are real people, with a real purpose. People who vote with their minds and their own common sense. Not just a sheep that puts their trust in others to carry out the law and the wishes of the American voter.

Or maybe you just believe our country’s backwards marijuana laws need a major overhaul.

Whatever your plans on 4/20, let’s use the day to join together and declare our support for ending marijuana prohibition.  Click here to show your support for legalizing marijuana and help us reach 10,000 signatures by midnight, 4/20.

Maybe you smoke marijuana and are tired of being considered a criminal. Maybe you’re a teacher or public health advocate tired of politicians cutting money for education and health to pay for new jails and prisons.  Maybe you’re a civil rights activist appalled by racial disparities in marijuana law enforcement. Or maybe you just don’t want your tax dollars wasted on ineffective policies.

Now is the time to make your voice heard.  Sign our pledge and make a commitment to help legalize marijuana. After you sign, tell 10 friends to add their voice.

Our movement includes people who love marijuana, people who hate marijuana, and people who don’t care one way or the other.  But we all agree on one thing – marijuana prohibition is doing more harm than good.

The tide is quickly turning against the war on marijuana.  Lawmakers across the country are introducing legislation to regulate marijuana like alcohol.  Newspapers are calling for major reform.  Sting and other prominent people are speaking out.  In November California voters will have the historic opportunity to vote on ending marijuana prohibition.

More Americans support legalizing marijuana than ever before, and it’s time for us to speak out. Help us reach 10,000 signatures by midnight, 4/20 by signing our pledge to legalize marijuana.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network

It’s not a frivolous concern. While accurate market-size numbers are, understandably, hard to come by, legalization advocacy group California NORML in 2006 estimated sales of medical marijuana at between $870 million and $2 billion annually in California alone. And that’s just revenue from legal pot.

Is Pot Recession Proof?

There’s some evidence that the overall U.S. business has also remained, well, high during the recession. A dispensary in Denver, for example, is selling so-called cannabis caviar for a breathtaking $1,400 per ounce, according to alternative weekly Denver Westword. That might indicate that prices for the most potent pot, at least, haven’t hit a low. In 2007, a government report noted that some hydroponically grown pot was selling for as much as $1,200 per ounce in New York.

Jeffrey Miron, an economics professor at Harvard University and author of the paper “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition”, confirms that those prices aren’t outrageous. “[Fourteen-hundred dollars] doesn’t seem so crazy compared to prices I recently saw on a tour of a Los Angeles pharmacy where some of the list prices were $800 or $900 per ounce,” he says. “This is probably the equivalent of a single malt scotch.”

Of course, prices for high-end pot aren’t necessarily reflective of the broader cannabis business. Unlike sales of luxury cars, mega-mansions and yachts, there isn’t much data on marijuana sales or pricing, nor is there likely a similar sales volume considering that medical marijuana is still only legally purchasable in 14 states. But pot prices have historically remained relatively stable at anywhere from $200 to $800 an ounce, meaning that growers and distributors could count on a fairly regular income.

The Business Benefits of Illegality

Oddly enough, the measure to legalize pot could undermine that stability. Illegality, the argument goes, plays a big role in keeping competition low and prices high. The high cost and risk of growing, distributing and selling the drug amount to barriers of entry that keep many potential competitors out of the business. So if these activities become legal, prices could plummet as aspiring marijuana moguls flood the market.

The prospect of legalization has some Humboldt County growers so worried that an estimated 100 industry insiders met with community leaders last week to discuss the possibility of a “post-pot” economy. “The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating event in the work force on the North Coast,” organizer Anna Hamilton reportedly said at the meeting. She estimates that the price of outdoor marijuana could drop to as little as $500 a pound and result in the loss of 15,000 to 30,000 jobs.

But if prices really do plunge, that could also, in turn, help grow a broader customer base. A paper that the Bureau of Economic Research published back in 2000 found that prices played a significant role in preventing youth marijuana use. It’s not a stretch to assume other would-be customers are likely also being dissuaded by the expense, as well as the illegality, of pot.

That means the overall market size could grow, even as profit margins shrink, and many companies might get smoked out if they can’t remain price-competitive — or differentiate themselves with a premium product. Still, many of the potential impacts remain hidden because of the pot business’ current semi-illegality. If marijuana becomes legal and the now-hazy business becomes more visible, it’s clear that the shakeout will likely have myriad as-yet-unexpected impacts on the broader economy.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/9cziXl

Investigators from Leiden University in the Netherlands and the nova-Institut in Germany conducted a systematic review of recent clinical trial data pertaining to the medical use of whole smoked marijuana and cannabinoids.

Authors identified 37 controlled studies since 1995 evaluating the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. The trials involved a total of 2,563 subjects.

Of the 37 clinical trials that have been recently conducted, eleven assessed the drug’s impact on chronic neuropathic pain – a difficult to treat type of pain resulting from nerve damage. Other studies assessed the efficacy of cannabinoids to treat multiple sclerosis-associated spasticity (nine separate studies); HIV/AIDS (four); experimental pain (four); intestinal dysfunction (two); nausea/vomiting/appetite (two); schizophrenia (two); glaucoma (one); and ‘other indications (two).

SOURCE: NORML