The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Marijuana policy reform is advancing on multiple fronts in Oregon, with both medicinal cannabis and general legalization measures gaining traction in an increasingly friendly Legislature.

"We are seeing the best legislative session for drug policy reform -- certainly since the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act passed in 1998, and perhaps ever -- this go-round," Paul Stanford, president of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) and the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH), which owns Hemp News.

In the last week, the Oregon Senate:

• Passed SB 281 on a 19-11 vote. This bill adds post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of debilitating medical conditions which qualify patients for the protections of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (OMMA).

• Passed SB 40, 24-6. This bill realigns the felony level designations of Manufacturing and Possession to be consistent with the rescheduling in Oregon of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II; and creates misdemeanor marijuana possession (more than one ounce, less than four ounces) and misdemeanor hashish possession (less than 1/4 ounce).

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The City of Riverside, California has for years attempted to close the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, a medical marijuana collective at the heart of a state Supreme Court case in San Francisco that could determine the future of medicinal cannabis in the state -- specifically if cities have the authority to ban dispensaries.

Riverside officials claim the city is trying to close the center because it prohibits such facilities in its zoning ordinance, reports Wes Woods at the Daily Bulletin.

Oral arguments in the state Supreme Court case were given on February 5; the court's decision -- due within 90 days of the hearing -- will have a big impact on similar cases in California.

After voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, patients were given the right to cultivate and possess marijuana for personal medicinal use. Prop 215 was the first medical marijuana law in the United States. But federal law bans marijuana for any purpose, classifying it as a Schedule I controlled substance with no accepted medical uses.

Riverside officials claim that Prop 215 doesn't prohibit them from banning dispensaries through zoning, but Lanny Swerdlow -- who founded the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center -- said that cities have no such right.

By Noelle Crombie, The Oregonian

Twice in the past two years, Gary Storck has boarded Amtrak's Empire Builder outside his hometown of Madison, Wis., and headed west to Oregon. The trip takes about 40 hours and costs more then $1,000 – all for something that makes the illegal legal.

He pays a visit to one of the state's 15 or so medical marijuana clinics, fills out an application and sees a doctor. Storck walks out an hour later, the proud holder of an Oregon-issued medical marijuana card. It's a process he'll have to go through each year to keep the card.

Storck, 56, is one of hundreds of out-of-staters who each year make an unusual pilgrimage to Oregon – the only state in the country to issue medical marijuana cards to non-residents.

"It's not a bad place to visit," said Storck, who has used marijuana for four decades to treat glaucoma and other chronic ailments. "It lifts my spirits to be in a place where medical cannabis is legal and life goes on."

Some users of medical marijuana go through the effort to acquire an Oregon card because it allows them to use the drug legally when they're in the state. Others hope it provides some legal protection if they're arrested in a state where medical marijuana is outlawed. Many out-of-staters see an Oregon card as important recognition that their use of the drug is legally recognized somewhere in the United States.

By Sharon Ko, KDRV

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Some of the patients who lost their medical marijuana to federal raids got free pot on Monday.

So-Norml, The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation and The Greenery joined forces and came up with an idea to help patients who lost their medical marijuana. They asked patients who had overages, meaning they had more than they could legally have, to donate instead.

Lori Duckworth, Executive Director of So-Norml, says many patients went back to pharmaceutical drugs after the pot raids, but still helped 300 patients before Monday's free giveaway.

So-Norml says they collected nearly 72 pounds of marijuana for the event, and for each patient that came in, organizers gave away an ounce.

The executive director says the entire cannabis group in Oregon is working to put several petitions up in the future, so voters can have the opportunity to vote. She adds the several groups want to get the word out to more community members hoping to educate them about the benefits of medical marijuana.


Source: http://kdrv.com/news/local/231272

7th Annual Portland Hempstalk - September 10-11, 2011 - Kelley Point Park, Portland, Oregon

A compelling mix of upbeat music, a cannabis law reform message and a focus on industrial hemp as the answer to many of our practical needs, the seventh annual Portland Hempstalk is set for 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. September 10th and 11th at Kelley Point Park, located at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.

Co-sponsored by The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF), Green Leaf Lab and John Lucy, Attorney at law, the event is free to attendees of all ages. With more than 40,000 people expected to attend, it will wrap up the summer festival season with a bang.

This year's Hempstalk will also feature over one hundred vendor booths offering delicious food and irresistible merchandise, and a Hemposium, which will feature informational panels on a variety of cannabis and hemp-related topics. Speakers include THCF director Paul Stanford, NORML outreach coordinator and radio host Russ Belville and many others. Headlining musical acts include Hempstalk 2011 Talent Search Winner, The Sindicate, iconic Las
Vegas rappers Los Marijuanos, and a plethora of bands committed to end the war on cannabis.

Very few doctors are willing to allow opioids and marijuana together

By David Rosenfeld, The Lund Report

June 17, 2011 – Christine Mullins was diagnosed two years ago with fibromyalgia, a condition causing complete body-wide pain. The only way she’s found relief has been a regular dose of Oxycontin, an opioid prescribed by her doctor.

The medication, however, causes nausea and Mullins, 38, is allergic to every anti-nausea medication on the market. So for the past year, she’s been using medical marijuana with a prescription from another doctor to relieve the nausea and regain her appetite.

But recently her pain management doctor has said she can’t continue using marijuana if she wants to keep her opioid prescription.

"He told me they don’t recognize it because they get federal funding and that I needed to choose one or the other," Mullins said. "He said he didn't care what I used it for. It was an illicit drug and if I continued using it he would no longer fill my pain medication."

The doctor who prescribed the marijuana, meanwhile, won’t prescribe opioids. Mullins said she’s contacted 150 doctors in the Portland-area and none of them are willing to prescribe both opioids and allow her to use marijuana.

And Mullins isn't alone.

Paul Stanford, president of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation headquartered in Oregon with clinics in 11 states, said he's received thousands of similar complaints from chronic pain patients in Oregon.

March for your Rights: May 7th, 2011 Download & Print GCMXII Poster - PDF

By Anna Diaz, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML
Photo by LK, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML

Portland, Oregon – Over two hundred cities world wide join Portland in the twelfth annual Global Cannabis March on Saturday, May 7, 2011. Participants will gather in Pioneer Courthouse Square to march at high noon through downtown Portland, accompanied by a police escort. The World Famous Cannabis Cafe, THCF Medical Clinics, UrbAge Designs and Cures-Not-Wars join Oregon NORML as sponsors of this event.

"More and more Americans agree that it is time to end cannabis prohibition. We need your support; come and be a part of the Global Cannabis March," is the call to action from Madeline Martinez, Executive Director of Oregon NORML.

Sanchez' Blues Review has just joined the roster for the rally, which runs from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Wy'East Drummers promise to inspire as they provide the send off for the march. the march. Speakers for the rally include Paul Stanford from THCF Medical Clinics and Chief Petitioner for the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, Madeline Martinez, Executive Director of Oregon NORML and more. Watch for a special appearance from J.Mack and Big Dub during the rally.

By Anna Diaz, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML
Photo by LK, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML

Saturday, May 7, 2011 marks the twelfth annual Global Cannabis March in Portland, Oregon. This year's March and rally runs from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Participants will gather in Pioneer Courthouse Square to march at high noon through downtown Portland, accompanied by a police escort. Cures-Not-Wars join the Oregon affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Oregon NORML) and the World Famous Cannabis Cafe as sponsors of this event.

Madeline Martinez, Executive Director for Oregon NORML reports, "We hope to increase the size of the march to over 3000 in light of the many challenges currently faced by cannabis consumers."

Wy'East Drummers promise to inspire as they provide the send off for the march. Speakers for the rally include Anthony Johnson, Oregon Green Free Clinical Services Director.

"I am honored to be asked to participate," stated Anthony, who, along with the Coalition for Patients' Rights is a recipient of the 2010 Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards Freedom Fighter of the Year Award.

By Susan Gager, KEZI

EUGENE, Ore. -- Just months ago, a marijuana dispensary measure failed on the ballot in Oregon. Now the push is on to legalize the drug across the board.

The creator of the new initiative wants marijuana to be taxed just like cigarettes and liquor. He and its supporters say it would generate millions for the state. But does it have any chance of passing? That depends on who you ask.

"I think that it's time for the nation to take the demonization out of marijuana," said Phillip Allen, family nurse practitioner.

That's what the director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation intends to do with a new initiative to get marijuana legalized in the state.

"It really does relieve a lot of pain and it can really help a lot of people," said Eliza Williams, student.

The executive director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation says if it were taxed like cigarettes and liquor, it could generate millions of dollars in revenue for the state's general fund.

"Alcohol revenue brings in about $75 million. It will create lots of new jobs, and create all these new industries. We think it'll create billions and billions of dollars in the long run," said Paul Stanford, Hemp & Cannabis Foundation Executive Director.

By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town/Special to Hemp News

If Paul Stanford has his way, cannabis will become legal in Oregon next year. The executive director of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) is working to get a measure on the ballot in 2012 to legalize marijuana in the Beaver State.

Pot should be taxed like cigarettes and alcohol to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state, according to Stanford, who said cannabis would be regulated and sold to people over the age of 21, reports Joe Raineri at KATU.

"We want to regulate it so that businesses like bars and taverns that bar the admission of minors can offer that as a business," Stanford said.

According to Stanford, legal marijuana would bring a steady flow of cash for Oregon.

"Alcohol revenues bring in about $75 million," he said. "It will create lots of new jobs. It will create all these new industries. We think it will be billions and billions of dollars in the long run."

About 90 percent of the revenue brought in by legal marijuana would go to the state's general fund.

In order to get the measure on the ballot, Stanford needs to get nearly 90,000 signatures.

By Bonnie King Salem-News.com/Special to Hemp News

(SALEM, Ore.) - Paul Stanford, Executive Director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation walked 2200 signatures in to the Oregon Secretary of State's office on January 4th, 2011, officially sponsoring OCTA 2012- the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. It could prove to be a historic turning point for a state well known for its grass roots movements.

Next, the signatures will be verified, and as long as 1000 are from registered Oregon voters, the Office of the Secretary of State will certify a ballot title with the Attorney General, proposing a statutory initiative for the 2012 General Election.

"If all goes as expected, activists will hit the streets in March," said Stanford. "We need to turn in about 140,000 more signatures, or 90,000 registered Oregon voters' signatures, by July 2012 to qualify for the ballot in November 2012."

"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.

Stop the Drug War, Before They Kick In Your Door

By Paul Stanford, Executive Director of THCF for Hemp News

My speech at the 2010 Seattle Hempfest is my effort to highlight the historical, scientific and philosophical importance of hemp and cannabis. I honor cannabis reform activists that have passed on, such as Jack Herer and Dr. Tod Mikuriya; those arrested for cannabis, such as cannabis minister Roger Christie of Hawaii, Marc Emery of Canada, and Eddy Lepp of California; and those sentenced to death for cannabis in Malaysia.

By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town/Special to Hemp News

If you've never been to Seattle Hempfest, the world's largest "protestival" based around marijuana, you really owe it to yourself. While it's hard to describe the vibe of being in a crowd of a couple hundred thousand like-minded people, those who have been there keep coming back again and again.

Hempfest, going strong since 1991, is one of the best and almost certainly the biggest marijuana rally in the world. This year's edition hits Seattle on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22, and is dedicated to the memory of legendary hemp activist Jack Herer, whom the movement lost this year.

Free admission, good music, friendly people, and a beautiful setting have always been among the reasons to attend -- and Myrtle Edwards Park on the lovely Seattle waterfront is guaranteed to be smelling really good once the party kicks in.

"The Seattle Hempfest is incredibly inspirational," said Paul Stanford of this year's primary sponsors The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF).