Cannazine - Daily zine for the global cannabis scene. http://cannazine.co.uk Mon, 12 May 2008 00:38:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/global-cannabis/marijuana-directory-launched.html A cannabis news website based in the UK has launched what its calling the first global Cannabis Directory in the world.Its hoped it will bring together cannabis movements from around the globe into a single, searchable index. A spokesman for the website said The Canna Zine cannabis directory is a free service which forms part of the overall Canna Zine community experience. Its hoped that by bringing the worlds cannabis groups onto a single website, it will make it easier for those people who need to make contact with such organisations. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Sun, 11 May 2008 14:11:05 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/talking-about-cannabis-and-government-messages.html Gordon Brown, jacqui Smith and Vernon Coaker have made their feelings well known on the cannabis issue. Cannabis they say, is unacceptable. So the message is clear right? Yet this week we heard of a new health risk doing the rounds. One which isn't going to help the government and its cause one little bit.While the Labour party continue with their irrational stance on cannabis, according to www.dentistry.co.uk (http://pr.cannazine.co.uk/www.dentistry.co.uk), website for the professional British Dentist and Orthodontist, its alcohol we really ought be talking about and not cannabis. The Mouth Cancer Foundation is calling for a reduction in the current daily alcohol intake safety guidelines. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Sat, 10 May 2008 17:11:38 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/female-pupil-15-suspected-of-selling-ecstasy-outside-school.html Premier Gordon Brown wanted to send a message on drugs to our kids. Personally I don't think they got it, as this story proves.Children selling drugs is a by-product of the prohibition created and enforced by governments. As drug dealers look to new marketing methods in a bid to increase sales, taking advantage of society's most vulnerable people by employing them in a drug-distributor's pyramid down-line plays a big part in spreading class A drugs far wide, using methods & process's never seen before.Instead of passing the buck and leaving it for the police to sort out isn't it about time the government took some responsibility?Legalise, tax and then regulate the supply and while you're at it, do away with the unworkable A,B C drug scheduling system.Or we can stay just as we are, and spend the next ten years under tory rule, watching as more and more of our children get tangled up in drugs only to end up in prison instead of university. SOUTH Wales Police have arrested a 15-year-old girl on suspicion of selling Ecstasy tablets outside a Swansea school. Four pupils at Gowerton Comprehensive School, aged between 13 and 14, were subsequently taken to hospital for tests to determine if they had taken the drug and were later discharged .School headmaster Peter Harrison said yesterday the school had a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and the police were called in following information it received. Detective Inspector Simon Davies, of Swansea North CID, said the police and the school were working together on the problem. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Sat, 10 May 2008 16:26:38 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-states/-law-suit-dismissed.html Doctor to appeal, says agencies targeted him because of pot stance A federal judge has dismissed a Redding doctor's First Amendment lawsuit in which he accused law enforcement officials of targeting him because he was an outspoken cannabis advocate who recommended marijuana to patients. Dr. Philip Denney says he plans to appeal the decision handed down recently by Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton of the U.S. Eastern District Court in Sacramento. We feel this is definitely not over, Denney said. We feel that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is going to be very interested in reading the matter. Denney claims that federal law enforcement officials teamed with Redding police, the Shasta County District Attorney's Office and others to target him during their investigation of Dixon Herbs, a marijuana dispensary that agents busted and shut down in December 2005. In a suit filed in November 2006, Denney alleged an informant and an ATF agent visited his office on separate occasions, gave false identification, reported chronic pain and received written recommendations for marijuana. Cannabis News - United States Sat, 10 May 2008 14:07:01 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/government-cannabis-cop-out.html With the recent news announcement which told of the Labour governments intentions to reclassify cannabis, comes the question of on whose say-so this law change is taking place?According to Gordon Brown he wants to 'send a message' to the British youth and I think the Prime Minister, aided loyally by his Home Secretary and his Drugs Minister Vernon Coaker, (Both of whome admit to experimenting with cannabis), have succeeded in sending a message which the nation has received loud clear.But the message GB PLC received, wasn't necessarily a good one. When the PM came to office in summer 07, he made some bold announcements to illustrate his intentions on becoming a good, tough Prime Minister and one who was prepared to tackle pressing social issues.For instance he announced that the 24 hour alcohol licensing laws were at the top of his agenda. A fact which soon got lost in the melee which occured when 9 cabinet ministers admitted experimenting with cannabis and its fair to say with the benefit of hindsight, the writing was on the wall regarding cannabis law, from that point forth. But did Gordon Brown change these laws himself, or was it in fact David Davies, the Conservative shadow Home Secretary, himself with one or two points to prove with a general election looming and the Conservative party so far ahead in the polls? Cannabis News - United Kingdom Sat, 10 May 2008 13:27:01 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/-cannabis-councillor-says-he-s-grown-out-of-it.html A Tory who called himself the cannabis councillor and claimed hemp could save the planet says he's turned his back on weed. Tory councillor Chris Jackman says he has given up his interest in cannabis, which is soon to be reclassified as a class B drug. Mr Jackman, 34, once campaigned for the legalisation of cannabis and championed the benefits of hemp, the plant from which the drug is extracted.Explaining why he had ditched dope, he said: I've moved on from that now. I'm a bit more mature and have a long-term girlfriend to keep me occupied. (a NEW hobby? - Canna Zine) Mr Jackman, who represents Wickford Park ward, sold hemp oil on the internet before he joined the council. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Sat, 10 May 2008 11:43:52 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/europe/irish-republic-cannabis-campaigners-march-to-demand-cannabis-legalisation.html Organisers have promised a peaceful, colourful, carnival atmosphere for the demonstration that sets off from the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin today at 2:30pm. http://pr.cannazine.co.uk (http://pr.cannazine.co.uk) : Legalise Cannabis Ireland are calling for an end to the criminalisation of people who smoke cannabis for personal lifestyle and health choices .It will be the second march of its kind organised by Legalise Cannabis Ireland (LCI) through the capital city.According to the organisations Bebo social-networking website, Last Years March on May 6th was considered a big success by all involved. Weather wasn't great, but still the turn-out was! About 1000 people took part. Which was good for the first year, but we are expecting much bigger turn-out this year. There was a great buzz at it, really energetic, colorful and no trouble at all. Cannabis News - Europe Sat, 10 May 2008 11:01:15 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/asia/80-s-japanese-rocker-yoshitaka-matsuura-nabbed-for-cannabis-possession-in-osaka.html Looking for cannabis information with a distinctly oriental flavour? Check out the Cannabis Studyhouse , (http://www.cannabis-studyhouse.com (http://www.cannabis-studyhouse.com) ), one of the Canna Zine's longest standing referring websites as well as one of the longest standing Japanese language cannabis information sources. Yoshitaka Matsuura, singer from 80s band Dare ga Kaba yanen Rokkunroru Sho (Who's The Hippopotamus Rock 'N' Roll Show), has been arrested and sent to public prosecutors for possessing cannabis, police said. I've been smoking it since I was about 25. When I smoke it, my musical sense gets better, police quoted the 55-year-old as saying.Police accuse Matsuura of possessing cannabis in a parking lot in Osaka's Kita-ku in the early hours of April 12, (http://www.cannabis-studyhouse.com/) http://www.cannabis-studyhouse.com/ (http://www.cannabis-studyhouse.com/) together with 34-year-old Ryosuke Sone, a musician from Osaka's Sumiyoshi-ku. Sone has already been charged with possessing cannabis. Cannabis News - Asia Sat, 10 May 2008 10:29:52 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/cannabis-who-cares-if-it-s-b-or-c.html When Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, admitted that she had smoked cannabis at university, surprised Oxford contemporaries said they remembered her as “dull and boring”. But there is no contradiction. Dope-smoking makes you dull.If Ms Smith wants to reclassify cannabis in an attempt to put youngsters off, maybe it should be as B for Boring - especially for those who passively inhale the weed-smoking dweeb's nonsense. Perhaps, as reported by the satirical website The Daily Mash, we need a health warning on big cigarette papers: “Cannabis smoking will lead to a slow and painful conversation.”Like Ms Smith and other ministers, I too can confess to “experimenting” briefly at university, although luckily I quit before exhibiting the symptoms of a narrow mind. Dull boring according to university peers, but were not sure if they mean cannabis or Jacqui SmithDope-smoking was just so ear-bleedingly dreary - the palaver of rolling a joint, the unpleasant taste and above all the feelings of self-obsessed paranoia and unhappy hippydom. The worrying side-effect was not the distant risk of schizophrenia but the immediate prospect of intellectual sedation. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Fri, 09 May 2008 12:53:18 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/cannabis-crackdown-makes-little-difference.html RESTORING cannabis to its former class B status will make very little difference to levels of consumption, one of Scotland's leading drug experts has warned.Tom Wood, the chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Teams, said the move, announced yesterday by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, would fail to have much impact on consumption among young people. The decision to upgrade the drug to class B was largely a result of growing evidence about the damage it can cause to mental health.Mr Wood, head of Action on Alcohol and Drugs in Edinburgh, said: It's time we had a long and hard look at what we're doing. The issue of cannabis misuse should be addressed from a health perspective, not a justice perspective. I can see it (reclassification] will make very little difference either to the use or patterns of consumption. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Fri, 09 May 2008 12:41:01 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/scotland-s-alcohol-shame-hungover-middle-class-parents-who-leave-children-to-fend-for-themselves.html PARENTS are damaging their children through their alcohol use without realising they are doing it, experts believe.In many well-off families, hungover parents are leaving their children to fend for themselves as they sleep off the effects of their drinking the night before. There are also fears that parental drinking at home is encouraging children to see excessive alcohol use as normal and follow in their footsteps.The Scottish Government now wants to highlight the unintentional damage that parents could be doing to their children through their drinking behaviour.They believe the effects go much further than the parents with the most severe alcohol problems. US Presidential candidate Mike Gravel told High School seniors its safer to trip out on marijuana than it is on alcohol . Meanwhile the UK government tell us cannabis is lethal ? I know who I believe!It is hoped that an advertising campaign, featuring a lone child staring through closed curtains as his mother and father sleep off their hangovers, will drive home the message to parents. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Fri, 09 May 2008 12:33:20 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-kingdom/impact-of-teenage-drinking-revealed.html WORRYING evidence about the extent of children's drinking has emerged in recent years.A survey of 15-year-olds in Scotland found that 41 per cent had vomited because of alcohol, while 23 per cent had got in trouble with the police and 19 per cent had been in a fight. More worryingly, 16 per cent had tried drugs while under the influence of alcohol and 14 per cent had had unprotected sex.Last week, a study found that more than 100 children a week were ending up in hospital due to the consequences of drinking too much alcohol. The proportion of teenagers starting drinking has also increased in the past 20 years. Cannabis News - United Kingdom Fri, 09 May 2008 12:20:46 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-states/psst...government-supplied-marijuana-program-turns-30.html While the UK government does its damndest to ignore all of the experts and scientists, in the United States its a different story.Director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org) and good friend of the Canna Zine Bruce Mirkin, picks the story up. That's right, our government has been supplying medical marijuana to some patients for three full decades. Each month Irvin Rosenfeld goes to his pharmacy and picks up a special prescription, supplied to him by the U.S. government: a canister containing roughly 10 ounces of marijuana in pre-rolled cigarettes.Rosenfeld, a Boca Raton, Florida stockbroker, suffers from a rare illness called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, a painful genetic disease that causes tumors to grow at the ends of his long bones, causing unbelievable pain. CLICK to visit the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org) He is also one of four surviving patients receiving government-supplied medical marijuana, in a program that was closed to new applicants by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Cannabis News - United States Thu, 08 May 2008 19:53:40 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/class-a-substances/cocaine/winehouse-bailed-over-drugs-video.html Amy Winehouse has been released on bail after being questioned about drugs offences, police have said.The Back To Black star, who won five Grammys at this year’s ceremony, left Limehouse police station in east London at 10.30pm last night after arriving by appointment at 1pm. Scotland Yard said the award-winning singer was arrested in connection with a video of the star passed to them in January.She was driven away in a silver Mercedes people carrier, having been bailed to return on a date in May. On January 22, a newspaper published pictures apparently showing the Rehab singer smoking crack cocaine. Class A Substances - Cocaine Thu, 08 May 2008 10:55:19 +0100 http://cannazine.co.uk/cannabis-news/united-states/change-in-type-of-hallucinogenic-drugs-reflects-societal-shift.html Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who invented LSD, died last week at the age of 102. Although psychedelic drug enthusiasts are busy writing online tributes to Hofmann (who died of a heart attack, not of an attempt to chew off his elbow in an acid-induced freak-out), there's also a sense that few people under the age of 30 have heard much about LSD, let alone the man who discovered it while working for Sandoz Laboratories in 1943.And why should the MySpace crowd have heard of Hofmann? LSD, technically known as lysergic acid diethylamide, seems to be nearly as obsolete as the LP record. At once antiquated and frighteningly hard-core, it's the weird, scary uncle of today's wildly popular and comparatively nonthreatening psychoactive stimulant, Ecstasy. According to a long-term drug survey conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, A wholesale batch of ecstasy which was seized in a raid in Canada, in a ready state for onward distributionin 2006 just 3.5 percent of college students reported having tried LSD. Nearly twice as many — 6.9 percent — had tried Ecstasy. Cannabis News - United States Thu, 08 May 2008 10:45:25 +0100