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Author Topic: De Ganja files  (Read 27491 times)

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truetrini

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #60 on: June 12, 2011, 06:45:23 PM »
I think I read about customs in some foreign used parking lot checking on Christmas gifts around April last year....I remember it becasue ah was thinking, dem real early with this Christmas thing boy.


Look ah find the article...not sure is de same but the timing right.


http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2010/12/04/customs-officers-inspect-pm-s-gifts-children

Offline Bakes

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #61 on: June 12, 2011, 10:18:56 PM »
T&T laws....

What are the laws?



...and point to ah link if yuh have it, if not I'll go try and find it.

EDIT:

It certainly NOT contained in the libel laws (see, Section 13, pg. 7)... which is where you'd expect to find it.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2011, 11:42:04 PM by Bakes »

truetrini

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #62 on: June 12, 2011, 11:52:27 PM »
Assisting in investigations is different from being charged..I think that is the reason why persons suspected are never named in T&T...only after officially charged.

Offline Bakes

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #63 on: June 13, 2011, 12:39:49 AM »
Assisting in investigations is different from being charged..I think that is the reason why persons suspected are never named in T&T...only after officially charged.

Makes no difference where the libel laws are concerned... assuming that is the governing law and not some other.

Offline g

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #64 on: June 13, 2011, 09:53:24 PM »
Clue: That chairman have plenty frequent flyer miles

Jack doh like him either
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Offline Bourbon

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #65 on: June 14, 2011, 01:19:31 AM »
Clue: That chairman have plenty frequent flyer miles

Jack doh like him either


Hope dem clues eh fly over people head.

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus ;with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Offline Dutty

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #66 on: June 15, 2011, 07:17:06 AM »
Ten posts and none allyuh eh gih mih ah name yet :-\
Little known fact: The online transportation medium called Uber was pioneered in Trinidad & Tobago in the 1960's. It was originally called pullin bull.

Offline mukumsplau

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #67 on: June 15, 2011, 07:50:01 AM »
he does be in town regular...he big and blue...so big he have lions guarding him..


(my court clothes is fuh church)

Offline Jah Gol

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #68 on: June 15, 2011, 07:58:34 AM »
Clue: That chairman have plenty frequent flyer miles

Jack doh like him either


Hope dem clues eh fly over people head.


St. Nick ?

truetrini

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #69 on: June 15, 2011, 08:26:55 AM »
so is Issa son?  allyuh sure ah dat?

Offline mukumsplau

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #70 on: June 15, 2011, 09:33:58 AM »
so is Issa son?  allyuh sure ah dat?


How to Dress for a Court Appearance
By an eHow Contributor
 

When you dress for a court appearance, dress as if you were going for an important job interview.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions


1
Understand that a courtroom is a formal, serious place and that judges are generally conservative.

2
Choose clothing that you are comfortable wearing. You will look nervous and shifty if you are adjusting your clothing and constantly rearranging yourself in court.

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Avoid sneakers, trendy clothing, lots of jewelry, loud colors (especially red), revealing outfits, outrageous hairdos, and stained or damaged clothes. Do not wear a lot of perfume, cologne or aftershave. Wearing leather is not advisable.

4
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Wear a suit, jacket and tie, or shirt and tie (only if you don't own a jacket) if you are a man. Never wear a hat.

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Remove your coat before entering the courtroom.

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Look as serious, reasonable, modest and ordinary as possible. You don't want to stand out or call attention to yourself.

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Leave pocketknives, guns and any other weapons at home. They are not permitted in the courthouse.



Read more: How to Dress for a Court Appearance | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8979_dress-court-appearance.html#ixzz1PMKhhOgD

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #71 on: June 15, 2011, 05:53:08 PM »
 :rotfl: :rotfl:

Good one mukumsplau....
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

Offline weary1969

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Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #72 on: September 15, 2011, 08:35:12 AM »
By Nikita Braxton-Benjamin nikita.braxton@trinidadexpress.com



A BOY who placed in the top 100 of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) examination two years ago, and passed for Naparima College, pleaded guilty in court yesterday to having marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

The teen said he was told the marijuana was a herbal medicine that could be boiled to make tea and would help with his studies.

The Third Form pupil, a scholarship winner, was represented by attorney Ramesh Deena, when he appeared before San Fernando Magistrate Alicia Chankar.

The magistrate asked the boy to explain how he ended up with the drugs last Thursday.

The teen said he was waiting on transportation at a maxi-taxi stand when he was approached by a man who spoke to him about weight-lifting.

The boy said weight-lifting was also one of his hobbies and the man explained that he used the herb for this. The man also told him that the "herbal extracts can be used for studying".

The boy, who said his parents would usually buy him over-the-counter supplements, purchased the drugs at $25 per pack.

The boy took the drugs to school to show his friend.

It was around 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday when the dean of discipline at the college went to the boy's classroom and asked if he had anything illegal in his possession, police prosecutor Russell Ramoutar said.

"The defendant took out two transparent packets containing marijuana and placed them on the table," Ramoutar said.

At the San Fernando Police Station, Constable Desiree Luke charged him with having the four grammes of marijuana. Since it was found on the school's compound, the pupil was charged with trafficking the illegal substance.

The boy, whose parents stood at his side, has a nine-year-old sister and attends a Presbyterian church with his family, his lawyer said.

His father, a teacher, admitted that since placing in the top 100 in the SEA exam, with 97 per cent, the boy's grades had dropped.

"I made it my business and said this term I will work with my son," he told the magistrate.

The child, who aspires to become either a doctor or a lawyer, admitted that his school work had become "challenging".

Chankar told him he brought shame on himself, his parents and the community.

"Sometimes we have brains but lack common sense... There's a saying, 'From the sublime to the ridiculous.' You're a walking example of it. You have to be sure of yourself, of your values, ethics and morals," Chankar said.

The boy said he was guilty and frightened over the experience.

Chankar encouraged the parents to communicate with their child.

"To err is human. You need to find out why and how to fix it," the magistrate said.

She reminded them that not one person was to blame in this situation. "Sometimes our expectations cloud behaviour and we end up with this."

Attorney Deena said he believed the boy had learnt his lesson.

Chankar ordered that a probation officer's report be conducted before sentencing is passed.

The boy, who is on $25,000 bail, will return to court on October 14.

Ramoutar said the Criminal Investigative Department will be investigating this matter further, as it was given information that could assist in finding the person who sold the boy the drugs.

Another 14-year-old from Naparima College also faced the court, charged with having two grammes of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Represented by attorney Saira Lakhan, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered to return to court on December 19.

Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline warmonga

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Re: Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #73 on: September 15, 2011, 11:26:08 AM »
set di yute free..  He made a mistake this yute look like he positive.. gave him a bligh.. go look for di big fish....

war
Black Lives Matter..

Offline mukumsplau

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Re: Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #74 on: September 15, 2011, 12:28:51 PM »
made mistake my ass...i went a prestige school trust me they does very well know what they doin...weed and alco was d order from form 2 go up...fellas be knowin what they do is wrong..jus that it never really had snitches..

sad thing is d same ppl who talkin bout crime outta control yadda yadda is some ah d same ones who provide d market for weed, coke etc...i know dozens of doctors, lawyers, engineers etc etc who does mek sure tuh get dey 'supply' but when d lights on they does b d most vocal about crime etc

Offline capodetutticapi

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Re: Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #75 on: September 15, 2011, 03:05:32 PM »
buy wuh kinda parent go buy weed fuh they child
soon ah go b ah lean mean bulling machine.

Offline Bakes

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Re: Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #76 on: September 15, 2011, 03:11:28 PM »
Dai'z de best lie they coulda come up with? lol

Offline FF

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Re: Top SEA pupil on ganja charge
« Reply #77 on: September 15, 2011, 03:21:05 PM »
buy wuh kinda parent go buy weed fuh they child

i don't think that is the case... poorly written sentence
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

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Marijuana smoking does not harm lungs
« Reply #78 on: January 20, 2012, 12:55:59 PM »
Marijuana smoking does not harm lungs
New York Times

 
A large new government study has found that smoking marijuana on a regular basis, even over many years, does not impair lung function. Marijuana, the most widely used illicit drug in the US, has become increasingly popular and less stigmatised in recent years, particularly among young adults. One government report released in December found that one out of 15 high school students now smokes marijuana nearly every day, a growth fueled in part by the spread of medicinal marijuana, which is legal in 16 states. With its use rising, questions about the drug’s long-term medical consequences have garnered more attention.
 
The new research is one of the most extensive looks to date at whether long-term marijuana use causes pulmonary damage, and specifically whether its impact on the lungs is as harmful as smoking cigarettes. The researchers followed more than 5,000 people over two decades and found that regularly smoking marijuana, the equivalent of up to a joint a day over seven years, did not impair performance on a lung function test. The test, a measure of pulmonary obstruction that looks at the amount of air a person can force out in one second after taking a deep breath, is typically worsened by smoking tobacco. In something of a twist, the researchers found that compared to nonsmokers, marijuana users performed slightly better on the lung function test, though the improvement was minuscule.
 
“Even with this tiny increase in airflow, I have to admit that I really doubt that there’s any real increase in lung health,” said Dr Stefan Kertesz, an associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham school of medicine and an author of the study. The finding may merely reflect marijuana smokers’ years of “training” in taking deep inhalations and holding the smoke, the researchers said. In the near term, smoking marijuana irritates the airways and can cause coughing, and public health advocates stress that it causes impairment that reduces attention, lowers motivation and heightens the risk of accidents. Over days or weeks, chronic use can lead to problems with learning and memory. But whether smoking marijuana sets off the type of pulmonary changes that lead to lasting damage like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a leading cause of death among Americans, was not entirely clear.
 
Earlier research suggested that the impact of marijuana smoke, which contains some of the same noxious chemicals as tobacco, was not as harmful to lung function as cigarette smoke. But many of the studies were carried out over relatively short periods and contained hundreds, not thousands, of subjects. In the new study, which was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and financed by the National Institutes of Health, roughly 5,100 men and women in four cities, Oakland, California; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Birmingham, were interviewed and given lung function tests repeatedly over 20 years. They were on average about age 25 at the start, and more than half smoked marijuana, cigarettes or both.
 
The researchers found that for marijuana smokers, an exposure of up to seven “joint years”, with one joint-year equivalent to smoking 365 joints or filled pipes, or an average of one joint a day for seven years, did not worsen pulmonary function. Dr Kertesz noted that with heavier marijuana use, described as ten joint-years of exposure or more, lung function did begin to decline. And for a person who smokes both marijuana and cigarettes, “the net effect is going to be continued loss of lung function.”
 
Dr Donald Tashkin, a pulmonologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied marijuana for over 30 years and was not involved in the study, said it confirmed findings from several other studies showing “that essentially there is no significant relationship between marijuana exposure and impairment in lung function.” He said one reason marijuana smoke may not be as harmful as tobacco smoke, despite containing similar noxious ingredients, may be the fact that its active ingredient, THC, has anti-inflammatory effects. “We don’t know for sure,” he said, “but a very reasonable possibility is that THC may actually interfere with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”
 
Dr Tashkin said he and his colleagues had found in their own research, unexpectedly, that even smoking up to three joints a day did not appear to cause a decrease in lung function. “I think that the bottom line is that there does not appear to be any negative impact on lung function of marijuana smoking,” he said, “and that therefore marijuana is not a risk factor for the development of COPD. Tobacco smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD.”
« Last Edit: January 20, 2012, 01:28:12 PM by Tallman »
.
good things happening to good people: a good thing
good things happening to bad people: a bad thing
bad things happening to good people: a bad thing
bad things happening to bad people: a good thing

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: De Ganja files
« Reply #79 on: January 23, 2012, 03:03:08 PM »
Yuh cyah have ganja files without a ganja farmer.

Big stinkin helicopter flow through di air
what dem call it dem call it weedeater
dem never did there when me was totin water
or when me did applying fertilizer
yet outta di sky dem spittin fire
and im a little youth man with a hot temper
me dig up me stinkin rocket launcher
and in a di air dispense the helicopter
me a chaaaant!!!


...

Tru Jah Jah bless I with nuff a good vibes man
and true mi a di artist with di ganja inna di land
make doctors get nuff medication
and so dem coulda give it to dem sick patients
make get chemists get nuff medication
and so dem coulda brew new medication
make singers get some inspiration
and so dem coulda spread Jah message pon di land ... Me a chaaaant!!!




truetrini

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #80 on: February 25, 2012, 04:59:49 PM »
What ever happen to this?

Online lefty

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #81 on: February 25, 2012, 05:32:53 PM »
What ever happen to this?
as if yuh had to ask.......come on now...........
I pity the fool....

Offline Jah Gol

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Re: Handpicked state chairman assists cops in $2M marijuana probe
« Reply #82 on: February 27, 2012, 05:58:41 AM »
Remember the 'Central Businessman' and UNC financier Goolcharran Sirju  was also assisting police after more than $30 M of compressed marijuana was found in a container during the State of Emergency.

Remember the statement Patrick Manning was suspended from Parliament for.

Offline davyjenny1

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2 states legalize pot,marijuana,joint,weed,tampi,kaya,splif,reffa
« Reply #83 on: November 07, 2012, 01:11:58 PM »

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/07/politics/marijuana-legalization/index.html?hpt=hp_c2_7


Los Angeles (CNN) -- Pro-pot groups cheered passage of referendums legalizing recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington state as the "light at the end of the tunnel" in their 50-year campaign to make the drug legal nationwide.

"Yesterday's elections have forever changed the playing field regarding cannabis prohibition laws in America (and probably in large parts of the world too)," Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML -- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws -- wrote in a celebratory blog Wednesday.

But Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper warned it's too soon to "break out the Cheetos" since his state must still navigate federal laws before citizens can legally buy and sell cannabis.

The Drug Enforcement Administration quickly tried to spoil their Rocky Mountain high, issuing a statement Wednesday morning saying the DEA's "enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged."

"In enacting the Controlled Substances Act, Congress determined that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance," the DEA statement said. "The Department of Justice is reviewing the ballot initiatives, and we have no additional comment at this time."

Voters in Massachusetts -- and possibly Montana, pending final vote counts -- also approved medical marijuana referendums, allowing doctors to prescribe the drug to patients suffering serious medical problems, which were carefully spelled out.

Colorado, Washington pass marijuana legalization; Oregon says no

In Massachusetts, a doctor who has a "bona fide" relationship with a patient would have to certify the patient suffered "a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV-positive status or AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, ALS, or multiple sclerosis."

Medical marijuana is already legal in 17 states, including California, where it was estimated two years ago that Los Angeles County had more medical marijuana shops than liquor stores.

Salesmen invited tourists walking along the Venice Beach boardwalk into a store, next to the T-shirt and sunglasses stall, to see a doctor who would give them a marijuana license and prescription.

The smell of burning cannabis wafted through the air along Hollywood streets and neon green crosses marked where citizens could get their pot supplies.

In the past two years, however, local city councils have enacted restrictions on where the shops can locate, forcing many to close down.

"Some medical marijuana clinics have been taken over by illegal for-profit businesses that sell recreational marijuana to healthy young adults and attract crime," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said in September.

Federal prosecutors have aggressively worked to rein in the proliferation of pot distribution locations, contending the operations draw criminals because of the large amounts of cash involved.

Three forfeiture lawsuits were filed and warnings letters were sent to 71 "illegal marijuana stores" in Los Angeles and Huntington Park, California, in September by federal authorities.


« Last Edit: November 07, 2012, 04:42:16 PM by davyjenny1 »
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Offline Dutty

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Re: 2 states legalize pot,marijuana,joint,weed,tampi,kaya,reffa
« Reply #84 on: November 07, 2012, 02:51:49 PM »
.... sticky, bhudda,MJ, Haze, Red Ants, sensi, cheeba..............
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Re: 2 states legalize pot,marijuana,joint,weed,tampi,kaya,reffa
« Reply #85 on: November 07, 2012, 03:44:08 PM »
Best news I heard for the day.

Offline Deeks

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Re: 2 states legalize pot,marijuana,joint,weed,tampi,kaya,reffa
« Reply #86 on: November 07, 2012, 04:17:21 PM »
You mean War and Just Cool could share a splif in Wash. and Colorado? Life is someting else, oui!!!

Offline Tallman

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The end of the war on marijuana
« Reply #87 on: November 09, 2012, 06:45:35 AM »
The end of the war on marijuana
By Roger A. Roffman (CNN)


The historic measure to regulate and tax marijuana in Washington State deserves to be looked at closely as a model of how legalization ought to be designed and implemented elsewhere in America.

We've turned a significant corner with the approval of Initiative 502, which purposefully offers a true public health alternative to the criminal prohibition of pot.

For the first time in a very long time, the well-intended but failed criminal penalties to protect public health and safety will be set aside. Adults who choose to use marijuana and obtain it through legal outlets will no longer be faced with the threat of criminal sanctions. People of color will no longer face the egregious inequities in how marijuana criminal penalties are imposed. Parents, as they help prepare their children for the choices they face concerning marijuana, will no longer be hobbled by misinformation about the drug and the absence of effective supports to encourage abstinence.

"The great experiment" of alcohol prohibition became the national law in 1920. Its intentions were good, but it failed in a number of vitally important ways. In 1923, the state of New York repealed its alcohol prohibition law. Ten other states soon followed, and in 1933 national Prohibition ended.

I believe Washington state has just played that pivotal role with regard to marijuana. Moreover, by borrowing from public health model principles known to be effective, the state has offered the most compelling replacement to prohibition considered to date.

What is a public health model? In brief, it's an approach that acknowledges use of marijuana can present harms to the user and to public safety, and includes provisions to prevent or ameliorate those harms.

A public health model includes six key elements. Washington state's new law incorporates each of them.

The first is accountable oversight by an agency of government. The Washington state legalization model assigns responsibility to a state agency for writing regulations concerning how the growing, producing and selling of marijuana will occur. Among those regulations are tight limitations on advertising and the prevention of access to marijuana by minors. Then, that agency will have the authority to issue licenses to growers, producers and sellers and to enforce adherence to the rules.

The second element is a well-funded multifaceted marijuana education program that is based on science rather than ideology. Far too few Americans are sufficiently informed about marijuana's effects on health and behavior, both the positive and the negative. A key to good decision-making is possessing accurate information.

The third element is well-funded prevention programs widely available to all the state's geographical and demographic communities. We've learned a great deal about what knowledge, skills and community supports actually work in helping young people navigate a world in which drugs such as marijuana are readily available. Sadly, far too little funding has been devoted to putting such programs to work in our communities.

A fourth element is making treatment of marijuana dependence readily available. The new law dedicates funding to establish a statewide Marijuana Help Line. It also earmarks funding to state, county and local governments for the provision of services for those in need of help.

Evaluation of the new law's impact is the fifth element. An independent state agency will receive funding to conduct periodic assessments of how the new system affects behaviors, attitudes and knowledge. Using the findings of these evaluative studies, the state agency overseeing the pricing and taxing of marijuana can adjust those costs to maximize undercutting of the black market and deterrence of youth access to marijuana.

The sixth element is research. The new law earmarks funding to the state's two major research universities for the purpose of conducting marijuana-focused studies. As we gradually learn how to live more healthfully and safely with marijuana, the knowledge derived from those studies will inform education, prevention, treatment and refinements in the law.

In more than 40 years of research -- primarily marijuana dependence counseling interventions for adults and adolescents -- it has seemed to me that prohibition has hindered more than it has helped good decision-making. Far too many teens think smoking pot is "no big deal," greatly underestimating the risk of being derailed from social, psychological and educational attainment. Far too many adults don't take seriously enough the risk of marijuana dependence that accompanies very frequent use.

We can do better. By regulating and taxing marijuana based on a set of strong public health principles, I believe our cultural norms concerning marijuana will shift and the harms we've witnessed will greatly reduce.
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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: De Ganja files
« Reply #88 on: March 28, 2013, 10:56:40 AM »
This story in yesterday's El Tiempo caught my attention.

Quote
Señala que cada 10 días llegan a Bogotá entre 4 y 5 toneladas de marihuana para el narcomenudeo. Esa misma cantidad llega en promedio a Medellín, otro de los centros donde más se distribuye esta hierba.
 
En el caso de Bogotá, el general Luis Eduardo Martínez ha dicho que la marihuana que las mafias del Bronx, como las de 'Gancho Homero' y 'Gancho Mosco', a través de intermediarios compran en el Cauca la hierba.
 
Inteligencia de la Policía Antinarcóticos señala que en Colombia los cultivos de marihuana están en el Cauca, Meta y Magdalena, en la Sierra Nevada, pero el 70 por ciento del estupefaciente que se incauta proviene de Cauca.
 
Allí, de acuerdo con la Policía, los dueños de esos cultivos son el frente sexto y la columna Daniel Aldana de las Farc, que a su vez se encargan de vender a redes la marihuana que generalmente sale hacia Bogotá, Medellín y Venezuela, camuflada entre frutas, viseras, vegetales o cualquier producto.
 
Una vez llega a Venezuela, una parte de queda para la distribución en ese país y otra va a parar a países del caribe y de Centroamérica.

Four to 5 tons of weed enter every 10 days ... 4 to 5 tons in each city! (Bogota and Medellin) ... and this weed reaches Trinidad & Tobago ...
« Last Edit: March 28, 2013, 11:21:17 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline Tallman

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Seattle's budding economy: Pot tourism
« Reply #89 on: April 06, 2013, 08:40:38 AM »
Seattle's budding economy: Pot tourism
By Bryn Nelson (CNN)


If you think 2013 will be a half-baked year for tourism in Seattle, you haven't been paying attention to the curiously pungent smoke signals emanating from this city.

On a recent chilly evening, an unmistakable smell has drifted across the street from an industrial space in the SODO neighborhood. Inside, a DJ spins an eclectic mix of rock while a man in a tie-dyed hoodie distributes cannabis-infused buttered rum and root beer-flavored hard candy to a diverse crowd of revelers. Another volunteer passes around a 12-foot-long "vape bag" filled with marijuana vapor -- one way to get around the city's indoor smoking ban.

Four glassblowers demonstrate the art of making bongs while attendees sip beer, munch on Greek meatballs, and dip an assortment of fruit, marshmallows and gummy worms in chocolate fountains.

If only the party wasn't running low on grilled cheese sandwiches.

This "Member's Frolic," hosted by the organizers of a huge "protestival" called Hempfest, is but a fraction of the size of the annual pro-pot rally that drew an estimated 250,000 people to the Seattle waterfront last August.

But with last year's legalization of recreational marijuana use for adults in both Colorado and Washington State, the gathering offers a telling preview of how a creative counterculture may be poised to go mainstream and reap the rewards of a new "green economy" based on pot tourism.

Just imagine how much the food truck vendors are salivating.

Despite a host of unanswered questions -- not the least of which is whether federal authorities may harsh the mellow by filing a lawsuit that voids all recreational use -- many so-called "ganjapreneurs" are treating the potential for marijuana tourism as a serious business. Recent calculations by a state-hired consultant projected that Washington State might earn up to $180 million in yearly tax revenue from marijuana sales (yes, retail pot shops), not to mention the revenue from a quickly growing list of related cottage industries.

On his blog, travel guru Arthur Frommer wrote that observers should expect a "torrent of new tourism to Seattle and Denver" due to marijuana legalization, and added both cities to his shortlist of hot destinations for 2013. Officials in New Zealand, British Columbia, and multiple U.S. states have openly wondered whether pot tourism might help fill their own coffers.

Sorting out new laws

In Washington State, residents over the age of 21 can now possess up to an ounce of cannabis, one pound of "a solid marijuana-infused product" like peanut butter fudge brownies, or 72 ounces of an infused liquid like a green tea smoothie. But as the Seattle Police Department helpfully notes in "Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle," public puffing is still illegal, just as the state's open container law prohibits public consumption of alcohol.

Buying or selling marijuana won't be legal until December, after Washington's Liquor Control Board has ironed out all the necessary licensing and enforcement regulations. Police will be able to arrest drivers above the legal limit of 5 nanograms of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot, per milliliter of blood (officers already use roadside sobriety tests to issue DUI tickets, but the new law establishes a defined impairment level). And the police department dutifully notes that because it's still illegal to grow, sell or possess any amount of marijuana under federal law, "you probably shouldn't bring pot with you to the federal courthouse (or any other federal property)."

Naysayers have warned that an open embrace of pot tourism and ads that position Seattle or Denver as the Amsterdam of America could tarnish the cities' reputations and invite illegal activity. Then again, both destinations already allow medical marijuana and have had a long history of tolerating the occasional toke.

In Seattle, Hempfest is a major tourist draw as one of the largest annual events in the Pacific Northwest, and minor pot possession has been the lowest enforcement priority of the police department for nearly a decade. Hempfest executive director Vivian McPeak has held brainstorming sessions on marijuana tourism with some city boosters -- he calls it "vision-questing." Publicly, however, government and tourism officials have taken a conspicuously low profile -- a defensive posture that advocates say is likely due to fear of federal intervention.

Optimists assert that the Obama administration is unlikely to take a hard line against the end of pot prohibition here, and have been buoyed by a new Pew Research Center poll that is the first to show majority support among Americans for legalizing the drug. Pessimists, however, point out that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has regularly exercised its authority to shut down medical marijuana growers and dispensaries around the country. The clear contradiction between state and federal laws has left nearly everyone guessing whether parts or all of the new pro-dope reality may be, well, nipped in the bud.

Entrepreneurs making business plans

Even so, the opportunities are proving hard to resist. Hilary Bricken, lead attorney for the Canna Law Group, a practice area of Seattle-based law firm Harris & Moure, has fielded dozens of pitches from enthusiastic entrepreneurs seeking help in developing business models and navigating the legal issues. One company in the adult entertainment industry even sought her advice on branching out into hemp-based adult products.

"I've heard everything pitched to me from gaming lounges, where there would be a series of recliners and you can get stoned and play Xbox all day, to cannabis cafes where there's a full menu that really adheres to the cannabinoids (the chemicals in cannabis) and how they affect your taste buds and your interaction with food," Bricken says. Some entrepreneurs have talked up the idea of "evaluation bars," where people could bring their own marijuana and experts would educate them on each strain's composition and its potential effects, and Bricken says the sophistication level could eventually rival that of high-end wine purveyors.

Washington's wine industry, in fact, is often cited among cannabis enthusiasts who envision similar tours through bucolic, organic pot farms. Bricken says she has already spoken with winemakers and commercial farmers in eastern Washington who are considering whether a certain new crop might help them tap into a big curiosity factor and generate new revenue. Cannabis farmers markets -- currently limited to medical marijuana patients -- also are popping up around the region and poised to expand their customer base.

Following the lead of several establishments in Colorado, at least two bars in the Seattle region have opened BYOP (bring your own pot) private clubs, while party promoters are gearing up for this month's big "Studio 4/20" bash, complete with acrobats, food trucks, a beer garden and a latex fashion show. Toking while drinking at local watering holes may be a fleeting attraction, however: the Washington State Liquor Control Board has begun a rulemaking process aimed specifically at banning marijuana consumption in bars that serve alcohol.

Christopher Russek, who runs a cannabis bakery called Zzyzyx out of his home in suburban Issaquah, is betting on marijuana edibles instead. Russek, who has a medical marijuana license due to a heart condition, provides fully-loaded confections like Chocolate Raspberry Hazelnut Brownies and Tie Dyed Rasta Cookies to other patients. He has fielded multiple inquiries from people who have come to Seattle on business or vacation, however, and views Washington's new law as an "incredible" opportunity to add tourists to his business model. Does he see a baked goods storefront in his future if the law remains intact? "You can bet on it," he says.

Seattle's takes on pot tourism

Most tourists will need a guidebook, of course, and Brendan Kennedy, CEO of Seattle-based startup Leafly, is positioning his company to become the Fodor's, ZAGAT and Yelp of cannabis. The company's Leafly iPhone and Android apps, among the most popular of a burgeoning class of electronic ganja guides, help medical marijuana users chose among more than 500 strains (with names like Wonka's Bubbilicious and Blue Dream), find nearby dispensaries, and then post their reviews.

Kennedy says the app already has the necessary code to add on retail locations in Colorado and Washington once they come online. In the meantime, he and two partners are using their Privateer Holdings equity firm and its $5 million-plus in capital from private investors to scout out other promising cannabis startups. In essence, Privateer is helping to fill the void left by skittish banks that have all but refused to grant loans to pot-friendly businesses until they discern which way the legal winds are blowing.

Despite the uncertainty, Bricken says companies are still rushing to join what she calls the "secondary risk market," the modern-day equivalent of Seattle's early entrepreneurs selling pickaxes, supplies, and services to prospectors seeking their fortune during the Yukon Gold Rush of the 1890s. Instead of directly providing marijuana -- a model that may prove too risky for many -- businesses are positioning themselves as experts in enhancing the experience.

"They're coming up with things like 'Cannabis Crawls,' going from dispensary to dispensary and showing you how to get there and providing you with food and transportation along the way," Bricken says. Others are creating art and merchandise ranging from coffee mugs to hand towels that depict some of the most popular marijuana strains.

Whatever tourism model emerges here, many observers say it's likely to be uniquely Seattle. With the region's long tradition of art glass, glassblowers are already setting their sights on the high-end cannabis crowd. One recent ad touting a $175 "Create Your Own Bong" class fizzled when only one person inquired. But other glass studios in the area say it's no longer taboo for people inquiring about one or two-hour lessons to specifically ask whether they can make a bong or pipe instead of a "modified vase."

At the recent Hempfest party, one of the four artisan glassblowers holds his partially molten creation aloft at the end of a blowpipe and parades it through the crowd as the bidding begins. It's a detailed, richly colored and surprisingly large bong in the shape of a monkey wearing a yellow top hat and suit coat, and it fetches a winning bid of $350.

Behind a nearby table laden with smaller, handmade pipes fashioned from art glass and recycled guitar wood, a volunteer points out the grand prize for a raffle at Hempfest's own upcoming "420 Fest": a colorful hand-stitched quilt with a stylized marijuana leaf in its center panel. On the reverse side, a dark green camouflage motif features a grinning Scooby Doo in various poses.

Aspiring comic book artist Joshua Boulet has set up shop at a smaller table, with a duffel bag full of several issues of his tongue-in-cheek comic, "The Green Reefer," which follows the antics of a pot-smoking anti-hero and his beer-drinking sidekick, Six-Pack. In many ways, Boulet is the embodiment of Seattle's new entrepreneurial optimism. After attending Hempfest as a tourist last August, he fell in love with the city and moved from Dallas two months later. Boulet says he is now hoping to sell his comic books in Seattle's thriving head shops -- for $4.20, of course.
The Conquering Lion of Judah shall break every chain.

 

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