http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/bongbrigade/ en-us Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:02:30 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037825/posts More than a third of Danes have used cannabis at least once in their lives, making them the top users of the drug in Europe. The new statistics from the European Centre for Monitoring of Drugs and Drug Addiction show that Denmark comes out ahead of France and the UK for use of the illicit drug. Of Danish adults 36.5 percent have tried it at least once in their lives, compared to 30.6 percent in France and 29.8 percent in the United Kingdom. However, Denmark only lies in seventh place for the use of cannabis in the last year, which... The Copenhagen Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037825/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:02:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035745/posts Denver-based organization says pot is safer than alcoholOne pro-marijuana group is calling on the government to allow marijuana in smoking lounges at airports across the country. Cigarette smoking at Denver International Airport and other airports across the country is restricted to smoking lounges. Members of the Denver-based organization Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) will ask the government Tuesday to allow pot in airport smoking lounges. Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035745/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:58:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031850/posts Richard Williams smokes marijuana regularly. But he doesn’t consider himself a criminal, and doesn’t think he should be treated like one. The 46-year-old Richmondville resident has been HIV positive for two decades. Smoking marijuana, he said, relieves the pain in his joints and helps him cope with persistent bouts of nausea. He has hepatitis C and a damaged liver, so he doesn’t want to take pain medication, which is processed by the liver. Williams supports legalizing the use of medical marijuana in New York. He’s hoping the state Legislature will pass a law that does so before adjourning later this... Daily Gazette http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031850/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:24:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2027806/posts AMHERST, Massachusetts — With gas and oil prices at an all-time high, the alternative solution for residents throughout Amherst and the country for energy is hemp. Gas prices recently broke the $3-a-gallon mark for the first time in the region, which has drivers and residents who rely on gas for their cars as well as oil for heat struggling. The thought of hemp production as a cheap alternative to oil and gas is appealing because it can be converted to “biomass” that is in turn converted to energy. “Biomass can be converted to methane, methanol, or gasoline at a fraction... GLOBAL HEMP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2027806/posts#comment Sun, 8 Jun 2008 05:32:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022699/posts HAILEY, Idaho (AP) - Three pro-marijuana initiatives have again been approved by voters in the central Idaho town of Hailey. Voters yesterday approved initiatives to legalize medical use of marijuana, industrial use of hemp, and to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority in the city. Rejected was an initiative to require the city to regulate and tax distribution of the drug. Voters last November passed the same three initiatives, but city officials balked at recognizing them. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022699/posts#comment Wed, 28 May 2008 23:46:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019815/posts Forgive me if the headline above sounds slightly exploitive. My intention is not to piggyback on a personal tragedy, but I did want to get your attention. NORML BLOG http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2019815/posts#comment Thu, 22 May 2008 18:45:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990088/posts Rep. Barney Frank said he plans to file a bill to legalize "small amounts" of marijuana. Frank announced his plans late Friday on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher. "I’m going to file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all federal penalties for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana," Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Maher. Frank didn’t define "small amounts." Efforts to reach Frank on Saturday were not immediately successful. Frank said he’d filed a similar bill in the Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, but hasn’t tried since he was... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1990088/posts#comment Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:52:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895381/posts Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) recently said that, if elected president, he would end the federal raids on marijuana clinics in states that have legalized the drug for medical purposes. That makes the Democratic field unanimous now — all would end the raids and allow the states to craft their own medical marijuana policy, free from federal interference. By contrast, just two of the remaining GOP candidates — Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) and Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) — and none of the front-runners have promised to call off the raids. This is unfortunate for a party that once fancied itself the... The Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1895381/posts#comment Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:18:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883089/posts Libertarian suspected of felony menacing Paul Tiger accused of threatening road worker By Vanessa Miller Saturday, August 18, 2007 A Boulder County political activist and longtime Second Amendment advocate was in court Friday after being arrested on suspicion of threatening a road worker with a gun. Paul Tiger, 51, of Longmont, is accused of felony menacing with a deadly weapon. Police said he confronted a traffic-control flagger about 2:40 p.m. Aug. 11 near the intersection of South Sunset Street and Nelson Road because of road closures and detours near his business. He left the scene and returned with a handgun,... The Daily Camera http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883089/posts#comment Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:37:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882356/posts The Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org) reports that 55% of polled enrolled members of New York State's Conservative Party support medical marijuana with 35% oppose. See New York Conservatives Favor Medical Marijuana Bill, Poll Shows ... However, the leadership of the Conservative Party is adamantly opposed to medical marijuana. It is not really suprising to those who actually know many New York Conservatives that they support medical marijuana. It is a little reported fact that the Christian Coalition has endorsed medical marijuana. There is both a philosophical and self-interest component to these unexpected positions.... Just as many black Americans diverge from... Ground Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882356/posts#comment Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:41:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879035/posts Congressman Ron Paul Against UIGEA Congressman Ron PaulBy Arthur Crowsonhttp://www.pokerlistings.com/congressman-ron-paul-against-uigea-16785There is one more opponent of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). According to www.house.gov, Presidential hopeful Ron Paul will be offering his support to Congressman Barney Frank's revised gambling bill, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act or IGREA. The act would create an exemption to the ban on online gambling for licensed operators, allowing Americans to lawfully bet online.Paul called UIGEA an, "Outrageous affront" to individual freedom. He went on to state the importance of respecting the American people's right to decide for themselves whether or not they... Poker Listings/Seattle Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1879035/posts#comment Fri, 10 Aug 2007 01:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1855914/posts Ken Starr Oral Argument Bong Hits 4 Jesus "Illegal drugs and the glorification of the drug culture are profoundly serious problems for our nation." http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/06-278.pdf The Supreme Court http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1855914/posts#comment Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1844660/posts At a recent backyard barbecue in Miami's Upper Eastside, a group of middle-age, middle-class folks tamely sipped berry cocktails and beers. Among them: a couple of lawyers, a couple of city administrators and an arts administrator. Somewhere between the skirt steak and the apple pie, somebody lit a joint and passed it around. Nobody blinked. Even in mainstream, white-collar settings, smoking marijuana can be commonplace and unremarkable, like having a little wine with dinner. Once a stamp of the arty, the marginal and the counterculture, today marijuana's popularity cuts across social boundaries. Yet several high-profile marijuana arrests have recently made... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1844660/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jun 2007 18:35:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1820586/posts Jeffery A. Miron finds that by decriminalizing cannabis, the federal government would generate $2.4 billion in federal tax revenue annually, and that an additional $7.7 billion would be saved as the cost of incarceration, policing, and processing offenders. Now, that's too much money to for the human brain to fully conceptualize, given the air quality around April 20th, so your friends at the Prometheus Institute have provided this handy quantitive index in order show exactly how much the U.S. can earn each year from cannabis decriminalization. The math: $2.4 billion per year + $7.7 billion per year = $10.1 billion... The Prometheus Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1820586/posts#comment Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:56:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1818019/posts They can't send 'guru of ganja' to jail, but feds will retry case Federal prosecutors brushed off a judge's suggestion that they not retry a prominent marijuana advocate on cultivation charges and said Friday they would press ahead, even though he cannot be sent to prison if he is convicted. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan made the announcement at a hearing in San Francisco before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who presided over the first trial of 62-year-old Ed Rosenthal of Oakland. When Bevan said last month that the government intended to retry the self-described "guru of ganja," Breyer urged... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1818019/posts#comment Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:31:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799230/posts Medical marijuana: Governor's wrangling revives measure New Mexico -- The state Senate on Saturday resurrected the medical marijuana issue, passing a new bill allowing people suffering certain serious medical conditions to smoke cannabis to treat their symptoms. The action came two days after the House voted 37-32 to defeat the original bill (Senate Bill 238). But on Saturday, the Senate voted 32-3 to pass Senate Bill 523, which now goes to the House. Gov. Bill Richardson told The Associated Press on Friday that he had talked to several Democrats who had voted against that bill in an effort to get... Free New Mexican http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1799230/posts#comment Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:25:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1782328/posts He looks like a good cop. He's got the 'stache, the short-cropped hair, the pushed-out chest and the shiny badge. He sounds like a good cop too; drawled and official. He's got a TV reporter's microphone in his face and a brick of marijuana in his hand, and he's answering questions—not in the "I just accidentally Tasered an old lady" kind of way, but with a grin of accomplishment. The total bust was in the neighborhood of 275 pounds. This is the old Barry Cooper. Top cop. Total prick. He claims more than 300 felony drug arrests during his eight... The Dallas Observer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1782328/posts#comment Sat, 10 Feb 2007 01:47:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751569/posts Libertarian Party candidates may have cost Senators Jim Talent (R.-Mo.) and Conrad Burns (R.-Mont.) their seats, tipping the Senate to Democratic control. In Montana, the Libertarian candidate got more than 10,000 votes, or 3%, while Democrat Jon Tester edged Burns by fewer than 3,000 votes. In Missouri, Claire McCaskill defeated Talent by 41,000 votes, a bit less than the 47,000 Libertarian votes. This isn’t the first time Republicans have had to worry about losing votes to Libertarian Party candidates. Senators Harry Reid (Nev.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), and Tim Johnson (S.D.) all won races in which Libertarian candidates got more votes... HUMAN EVENTS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751569/posts#comment Mon, 11 Dec 2006 06:04:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1741173/posts Tentative ruling nixes challenge to medical marijuana A judge in San Diego indicated Thursday that he would reject three counties' challenge to California's medical marijuana law, saying the state could enforce a law allowing people to use the drug even if the federal government bans it. Federal officers are free to enforce the U.S. law prohibiting possession and cultivation of marijuana, but that doesn't prohibit California from allowing medical use of the drug under its own law, Superior Court Judge William Nevitt said. The voters did just that when they approved Proposition 215 in 1996. The two laws would be... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1741173/posts#comment Sun, 19 Nov 2006 16:36:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1724611/posts Nevada is known for gambling, 24-hour liquor sales and legal prostitution. Yet the main group opposing Question 7, an initiative on the state's ballot next month that would allow the sale and possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 or older, is called the Committee to Keep Nevada Respectable. In Colorado, opponents of Amendment 44, which would eliminate penalties for adults possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, are equally certain of their own rectitude. "Those who want to legalize drugs weaken our collective struggle against this scourge," declares the Colorado Drug Investigators Association. "Like a... Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1724611/posts#comment Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:03:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716554/posts The skies were clear but a haze hung over hundreds of marijuana activists as they paraded up State Street to the Capitol for the 36th Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival. Some who marched advocated marijuana for medicinal purposes, while others championed hemp as an answer to the state's agricultural woes. And more than a few undoubtedly toked up for the sheer pleasure of smoking a doobie on a sunny afternoon on State Street. "The sky didn't fall, nothing happened, nobody got hurt, and we went all the way down the road in full public view and nothing went wrong,"... Capital Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1716554/posts#comment Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:52:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714248/posts A Downers Grove woman admitted in court Wednesday that she persuaded her teenage son to plant drugs in a Westmont High School classmate's backpack in a scheme to embarrass the boy's mother. chicago tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1714248/posts#comment Thu, 5 Oct 2006 15:40:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707067/posts Leon Nunn stepped out his front door one recent afternoon only to be waved back by a squadron of drug agents using a battering ram on a neighbor's home. The half-million dollar home in the quiet subdivision was stuffed with high-grade marijuana, plants covering nearly every square foot. The bust is one example of a phenomenon that has come to light recently in subdivisions around the state's capital. Marijuana growers with suspected ties to Asian organized crime have been buying suburban homes — many in newer developments — because of the anonymity the drug dealers believe the neighborhoods afford. They... SF Gate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1707067/posts#comment Sat, 23 Sep 2006 20:23:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704265/posts WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is distributing government-produced, anti-drug videos on YouTube, the trendy Internet service that already features clips of wacky, drug-induced behavior and step-by-step instructions for growing marijuana plants. The decision to distribute public service announcements and other videos over YouTube represents the first concerted effort by the U.S. government to influence customers of the popular service, which shows more than 100 million videos per day. The administration was expected to announce its decision later Tuesday. It said it was not paying any money to load its previously produced videos onto YouTube's service, so the program is... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704265/posts#comment Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:34:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1700139/posts GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A woman admitted to smoking marijuana daily with her 13-year-old son to reward him for completing his homework. Amanda Lynn Livelsberger, 30, pleaded guilty to several charges Monday and will be sentenced Nov. 27. Livelsberger, of Conewago Township, admitted in Adams County court that she had been smoking marijuana with her son since he was 11, and that she often gave it to him as a reward. The boy told police that he was required to do his homework as soon as he got home from school, and then was allowed to smoke marijuana with his mother,... http://www.comcast.net/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1700139/posts#comment Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:14:43 GMT