2010

Now's the Time....Whether you support the Teapot Party, Tea Party or any other party, this candidate appeals to a wide variety of voters and is sure to stir up some governmental changes in Kentucky and across the United States.

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent

Gatewood Galbraith is currently campaigning for Kentucky's 2011 gubernatorial race as an Independent, free from any party affiliations, and describes himself as free from hidden agenda. Galbraith is focusing his campaign on young voters by proposing a freeze on college tuition expenditures, a $5,000 educational voucher to high school graduates for college or technical school, and legalization of cannabis for medicinal purposes, which he estimates could save the state $500 million to $1 billion in medical costs each year. His pledge is to end the “synthetic subversion” in his state.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the responsible use of marijuana by adults and it should be of no interest or concern to the government. They have no business knowing whether we smoke or why we smoke." Keith Stroup, NORMLCON 2010

Compiled by Hemp News

1. Global: U.S.-Mexico Drug Summit Fails to Acknowledge Obvious Solution to Violent Drug Cartels

Ending Marijuana Prohibition Would Deal Crucial Blow to Mexican Drug Cartels, Drastically Reduce Border Violence.

Salem-News.com

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Today, high-ranking officials from the United States and Mexico concluded a three-day conference meant to outline ways the two nations could reduce the illicit drug trade-associated violence that continues to plague the U.S.-Mexican border.

Talk of renewed unity within the cannabis legalization movement ignites a sense of family within the community

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML Member

The 9th Annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards, sponsored by Oregon NORML, included a public Holiday Bazaar featuring unique items from a dozen vendors and held educational programs at the World Famous Cannabis Café located 322 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97216. The Cannabis Cafe is a private club that serves Oregon Medical Marijuana Program registrants, and is not usually open to the public.

The Pharmaceuticalization of Cannabis: Rescheduling proponents suggest cannabis doesn't meet the Controlled Substances Act's extensive criteria for placement in Schedule I. The U.S. Government clings to the stance that cannabis merit’s Schedule I status.

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent

Sunil Aggarwal, PhD, represents a new generation of scientific-minded doctors, leaving cannabis’ negative propaganda behind and fighting for it as a valuable, medicinal plant. His credentials include the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Health Professionals for Responsible Drug Scheduling, service on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine and he is a Seattle Hempfest Core Staff Member.

“A society has to make a choice: tolerate alternative lifestyles or build more prisons.” Rick Steves

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent

In August, travel writer and activist extraordinaire, Rick Steves, spoke to the Seattle Hempfest Hemposium about the futile attempt to enforce a failed prohibition, Europe's successful and pragmatic harm reduction approach to marijuana and the basic non-apologetic stance of cannabis use as a civil liberty. “I believe, very strongly, that it is the responsible, adult, recreational, no apologies necessary, ‘it just makes my music more fun,’ recreational use of marijuana is a civil liberty," Steves explained.

By Anna Diaz, Hemp News Correspondent

Portland, OR - Unique holiday shopping is just one reason to attend the ninth annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards (OMCA). The day event is free and open to the public from 10:00am to 5:00pm and features a unique green shopping bazaar and educational programs to be held at the World Famous Cannabis Cafe, 322 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97216.

The Cannabis Cafe is a private club that serves Oregon Medical Marijuana Program registrants, and is not usually open to the public. The OMCA provides a special opportunity for the curious to get a peek inside as well as the chance to shop for a wide variety of hemp and cannabis friendly products in one place. From hemp based soaps and clothing to handmade jewelry and mosaic art, the Holiday Bazaar at the OMCA is one of Portland's best kept secrets.

By Christina Williams, Sustainable Business Oregon

Naturally Advanced Inc. announced Wednesday that Hanesbrands Inc. will buy as much as $375,000 worth of the natural-fiber company's new Crailar Flax material for testing in its products.

Both companies recently finished trials of Naturally Advanced's new Crailar Flax product, which is being developed by the company to follow its Crailar Hemp offering, which was purchased by Hanes earlier this year.

Naturally Advanced is led by Portland-based CEO Ken Barker, a former Adidas executive. Barker said in a press release, "We believe this next step is a significant validation of our technology and we look forward to bringing Crailar Flax fiber to consumers in 2011."

Naturally Advanced had been focusing its business on a hemp-based fiber, with operations based in Vancouver, Canada, where laws don't restrict the use of hemp. In the last year, the company has focused on proving its technology with flax fiber, which is more readily available in the U.S., said Naturally Advanced spokeswoman Erin Brunner.

The company also has a processing facility in South Carolina.

Brunner said that flax is a winter crop in South Carolina that rotates well with cotton, soybeans and tobacco, allowing farmers there to double-crop their land and increase their income.

Naturally Advanced, which is traded over the counter under the symbol NADVF, raised $1.4 million in a private placement in May.

By LEX18 News

Gatewood Galbraith and Dea Riley will formally announce that they will be running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, respectively, on Wednesday, according to a press release Tuesday.

Galbraith and Riley say they will open their 2011 Campaign and Ballot Petition Drive with a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

According to the release, the candidates will outline their issues and plans for restoring Kentucky to prosperity.

Galbraith, who has been an advocate for the legalization of marijuana for years, has run unsuccessfully for various offices in Kentucky, including commissioner of agriculture, governor (four times - as a Democrat in 1991 and 1995, 2007, and as a Reform Party candidate in 1999), U.S. representative (twice), and attorney general.


Source: http://www.lex18.com/news/galbraith-to-officially-announce-candidacy-for...

By USAgNet

Researchers at Universtiy of Connecticut have found that the fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel - sustainable diesel fuel made from renewable plant sources.

The plant's ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food, says Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering who led the study.

"For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel," says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. "It's equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won't need the high-quality land."

Industrial hemp is grown across the world, in many parts of Europe and Asia. Fiber from the plant's stalk is strong, and until the development of synthetic fibers in the 1950s, it was a premier product used worldwide in making rope and clothing.

Of all the various uses for Cannabis plants, add another, “green” one to the mix.

By Christine Buckley, UCONN

Researchers at UConn have found that the fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel – sustainable diesel fuel made from renewable plant sources.

The plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food, says Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering who led the study.

“For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel,” says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. “It’s equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won’t need the high-quality land.”

Industrial hemp is grown across the world, in many parts of Europe and Asia. Fiber from the plant’s stalk is strong, and until the development of synthetic fibers in the 1950s, it was a premier product used worldwide in making rope and clothing.

By Cassandra Upton, NBC

It won't get you high, but researchers at UConn say they've found another use for Cannabis plants.

The fiber crop Cannabis sativa, known as industrial hemp, has properties that make it attractive as a raw material for producing biodiesel fuel, UConn Today reports.

Richard Parnas, a professor of chemicals, materials and biomolecular engineering, led a UConn study on the subject.

Several things make the hemp an appealing option for producing the sustainable diesel fuel that's made from renewable plant sources, he said.

Like the plant's ability to grow in infertile soils, reducing the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food.

“For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel,” says Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives and peanuts. “It’s equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won’t need the high-quality land.”

Industrial hemp is grown across the world, mainly in Europe and Asia and fiber from the stalk was used worldwide to make rope and clothing until the development of synthetic fibers in the 1950s. Parnas says that because a hemp industry already exists, a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment.

By USA Today Staff

Hemp is turning a new leaf. The plant fiber, used to make the sails that took Christopher Columbus' ships to the New World, is now a building material.

In Asheville, N.C., a home built with thick hemp walls was completed this summer and two more are in the works.

Dozens of hemp homes have been built in Europe in the past two decades, but they're new to the United States, says David Madera, co-founder of Hemp Technologies, a company that supplied the mixture of ground-up hemp stalks, lime and water.

The industrial hemp is imported because it cannot be grown legally in this country — it comes from the same plant as marijuana.

Its new use reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes not only energy-efficient but also healthier. Madera and other proponents say hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant.

"There is a growing interest in less toxic building materials, says Peter Ashley, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.

"The potential health benefits are significant," he says, citing a recent study of a Seattle public housing complex that saw residents' health improve after their homes got a green makeover.

By Ray Long and Monique Garcia, Chicago Tribune

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois House today defeated a measure that would have allowed people to use marijuana for relief of chronic pain.

The medical marijuana bill got 53 votes, but needed 60 to pass. Another 59 lawmakers voted against it, and one voted present.

Sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, argued the measure was aimed at giving people in pain a better quality of life, particularly after doctors have tried multiple medications that have not helped a person suffering from a debilitating illnesses.

“There are people who need our help,” Lang said, pointing to the House gallery, where people with chronic illnesses watched in hopes of passage.

Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Troy, a pharmacist, argued the legislation does not provide enough regulation.

“This should be called the marijuana possession law,” Stephens said. “It doesn’t restrict the use in any one way.”

By Cindy Hadish, KCRG Reporter

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has taken its final step regarding medical marijuana.

Board members on Wednesday, Nov. 24, drew up a bill for the Iowa Legislature to consider in January that would reclassify marijuana as a schedule II drug.

Marijuana is currently considered a schedule I drug in Iowa. Changing the classification would open its use for medicinal purposes like other prescription drugs, but not without further action, said Executive Director Lloyd Jessen.

First, the board’s action is only a recommendation to the Legislature, he said.

“They can react to it or ignore it,” Jessen said. “It doesn’t make it available for use at all, but it (would) change the classification.”

Legislators would also need to set up a “compassionate use” program, as 16 other states have done, to allow its use for medicinal purposes, he said.

Federal law prohibits its use, but the current administration is not enforcing that law in states that have medical marijuana programs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration could also make changes that would allow the use of medical marijuana, Jessen said.

Members of Iowans for Medical Marijuana attended the board’s meeting in Des Moines.

Jessen said legislators could still ask the board to administer a medical marijuana program.

By Larry Derfner, Jewish Journal

In nearly 50 years of researching the legendary powers of cannabis, Raphael Mechoulam, an 80-year-old chemistry professor at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, says he’s only sampled the stuff himself once. That was in 1964 at his home in Tel Aviv.

"My wife baked a cake and my research partner and I spread THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the oily, active ingredient in cannabis) on the top. We used 10 mg of THC on each slice – too much, I think – and we and a group of friends and colleagues started eating," says Mechoulam in his office in HU’s pharmacology labs.

"I felt a little high, but nothing more. My wife said she didn’t feel anything at all. One man said he didn’t feel anything, but started having laughing fits for the next hour. One woman had a bad trip – she was a very reserved person and suddenly she felt exposed in front of everyone. One man said he didn’t feel anything, but then didn’t stop talking for three hours, which I suppose was to be expected since he was a member of Knesset."