The Decriminalization of Small Quantities of Ganja Is a Must By Robert Gordon (Ras Kahleb) All throughout Jamaica’s roughly 360-year history under the British Westminster constitutional system, the Cannabis culture has been suppressed, and those who have indulged in it badly oppressed. It is the view of a few that, on some slave plantations […]
World
Hemp Farming Back in the USA
Plant rooting itself in American industry one again By Diane Walsh Solid political support behind optimistic Congressional bills in the U.S. House and Senate and the “Farm Bill,” along the successful initiatives in two states (Washington and Colorado) legalizing marijuana, spells game change. California has taken the lead in looking to register industrial hemp farmers. […]
Ganja in Jamaica
Setting the present history of Cannabis Sativa in Jamaica aright: A Rastafari Perspective By Robert Gordon (Ras Kahleb) It is scholarly opinion that it was the indentured laborers from eastern Asia, the East Indians in particular, who arrived on the island of Jamaica with seeds of Cannabis Sativa, and who had introduced the Cannabis culture […]
Dilemmas of Mainstream Cannabis
Navigating Cannabis Science and Culture under Prohibition By Owen Smith Surfing The High Seas In the last article I encouraged the medical cannabis community to engage the internet to stay astride with the rapidly emerging innovations in cannabis science worldwide. I urged patients and interested parties to look at the many examples just south of […]
U.S. Closer to Federal Marijuana Policy
State initiatives forcing a change at the top By Ron Mullins Aug. 28, 2013: is it an historically triumphant day for marijuana activists in the U.S., or just more political smoke screen? That’s what many in the cannabis community are trying to figure out. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in the conference call with the […]
Jammin’ in Jamaica
Skunk Magazine Helps Bring Canadian Activists to Negril By Ted Smith Jamaica has a natural romanticism that is undeniable. Long before the songs of Bob Marley drifted through the countryside and around the world, the beauty of this paradise attracted others to its shores. Unfortunately, politics and greed have crippled what should be a vibrant […]
Updates From the States
By Phillip Smith Oregon Bills Easing Marijuana Penalties Become Law Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) Monday signed into law two measures that will reduce the punishments for certain marijuana-related offenses. The changes go into effect immediately. The first, Senate Bill 40, lowers the penalties for possession of more than an ounce of pot. Under […]
U.S. Investigators Listening in on Cell Calls
Feds’ New Cell Phone Spying Device Raising Privacy Concerns By Clarence Walker Blocked by a Supreme Court decision from using GPS tracking devices without a warrant, federal investigators and other law enforcement agencies are turning to a new, more powerful and more threatening technology in their bid to spy more freely on those they […]
No Hemp Yet?
DEA still fighting hemp production By Diane Walsh The US Drug Enforcement Agency’s ability to rely on the Controlled Substance Act, (defining marijuana as a Schedule 1 heroin-level category drug, and for which no clear distinction between hemp and marijuana exits) is what allows the DEA to obstruct the proliferation of hemp farming across the […]
Why Not Hemp Paper?
Barriers to hemp production crumpling Half of the world’s forests have been cut to make paper from wood. Sad, don’t you think? Here’s something you can do about deforestation. Seek out an alternative—fibre sources derived from hemp, that are fresh tree-free. Though not widely publicized, the hemp paper market does exist. It is small, […]