by John Byrne and David Edwards
The Raw Story
Thursday February 26, 2009
In a little-noticed remark Wednesday, Obama Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Justice Department will no longer raid medical marijuana dispensaries established under state laws but technically prohibited by the federal government.
The decision marks a shift from the Bush Administration, which was more draconian in its approach to hunting those who sought to dispense marijuana for medical purposes.
Numerous states have decriminalized marijuana in recent years, and new fiscal pressures are turning more states toward being more lenient toward first-time drug offenders as the cost of keeping drug users in jail becomes untenable for state budgets.
[…]
via The Raw Story | Justice Department will stop medical marijuana raids, Attorney General says
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Massive drug sweep nets 750 arrests: US
Agence France-Presse
Wednesday February 25, 2009
WASHINGTON (AFP)
US and Mexican authorities have arrested 750 people over 21 months in an anti-drug sweep, including 52 members of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel detained Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder said.
The cartel members were arrested as part of an “international narcotics trafficking and money-laundering investigation called Operation Accelerator,” Holder told a press conference.
The operation — which investigated crimes in the United States, Mexico and Canada — netted some 59 million dollars in cash, 12,000 kilos (12 tonnes) of cocaine, 544 kilos (1,200 pounds) of methamphetamine and 1.3 million Ecstasy pills.
[…]
Dandelion Salad 
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Pot has its (comparatively minor) problems as a drug, Hemp is quite a bit different. If they legalize hemp, finally a great way to mask plots of the real cannabis!
I’m so over these absurd marijuana laws, what is up with these people? Under reagan, an innocent garden 25 years ago would have had my parent’s house seized.
Regardless of Obomba’s foreign policies, or bankisms, if he can finally grind to a pulp, stamp out and extinguish this horrific republican disease, that infected our culture for my whole adult life, I don’t care if we do go broke and bankrupt doing it– (I can’t believe NEWT is back! Will it never end??).
Repossess the rich who got mega-rich under reagan’s trickle-up 3-decade monstrosity of warmongering conservatism he besieged the world with. Just Say Know to every last little stupid thing this hideous miserable gipper-gopper ever did.
Grind up the super-rich and re-distribute their mass-theft to balance the bailout of the people!
I’m beginning to think Chavez isn’t half bad, if he’d take off the stupid uniform. It is time to take back the world from the wealthy, this whole trickle-up idea was a crime of unmatched proportions. Greed is no way to organize policy.
And legalize all plants. They didn’t do anything to anyone!
The following statement about smokin weed from natureboy personifies ignorance!!!
“Agreed that pot makes you stupid, reduces testosterone, and promotes creativity, but then alcohol, tobacco & firearms (and excess testosterone) kills.”
42 years old and do it every day. When I am not high I will and can and do read regularly, do my best to advance as a human and converse with anyone!!! I am more aware of the screwing we’re getting and have been getting scince the great idea of “nwo”. Which most would be surprised to learn that the plan is thousands of years old. Now when I’m high I have a sex drive like a porn star. and please, the only creating your doing high, is in the kitchen!!! Its the clarity afterwards thats enlightening!!! I do have one regret though and that is not waiting to smoke till I was older.
Over 18.
Takes a career pothead to know one…
What’s with the over 18 part?
There’s not much left to teach me about smoking pot, I was at it for far longer, from a much earlier age (probably before birth). Built all sorts of celebrated press-worthy industrious projects fully fumigated… I’m not complaining about pot, just pot laws. So definitely not ignorant.
Cannibidiols do for some reason promote the great fractal of the creative mind. For some.
It does apparently reduce testosterone in men, which is fine, makes for less violence. While I did get full scholarship to the most competitive college, I don’t recommend trying to take the SAT’s stoned, or smoking heavily through puberty…
Everyone reacts differently, it’s a pretty complex chemical, there is a reason we have cannabinoid receptors, it is a form of medication, not unlike SSRI’s in that regard, not to be taken too lightly. Some can’t manage it at all.
Certainly the ‘high’brids produced now are way more potent than the old-style home-grown, and it stays in your system for months. A drug is a drug, no plant is a panacea, it’s a foreign life-form which developed its chemistry for likely different reasons, and for far longer than humanity has been around.
Have respect for the profound complex chemistry of plants, not only some knee-jerk rasta rule about ganja. It is very powerful as a drug, beware. No drug, plant-based or otherwise is entirely benign.
Lo, you do not have to smoke it, to love it!
Just Hemp itself is a wonder plant. These insane laws against hemp are anti-life, anti-nature, and anti-people. The hemp oil from the hemp plant is the best oil for humans to consume. Hemp seeds are plentiful and are high in protein starving children all over the world could eat hemp cookies and thrive, very cheaply, and no they would not get high. Hemp clothes last way longer then cotton. There are many industrial products that can be produced from hemp and there lays/lies the problem. As U? as it totally right those corporations will not have it. It should be a matter of civic duty to grow hemp and re-invest in our country.
I know I’m preachin’ to the choir on this but just in case people do not know I’m puttin’ it out there.
Ironic thing is Michigan use to grow hemp. Made rope, and just all kinds of things during WWII and before. I have planted dozens of gardens all over Detroit and there is not one I can recall that didn’t have hemp growing in it? I have to pull it out all of the time. It just grows?
This life is just so freakin’ strange to me, it’s like we’ve been taking all the wrong directions for so long we now just follow corporations to our grave. Corporate personhood needs to end.
Hi dk, oh, I totally agree with you. The plant is incredible. I just feel that I need to clarify that I don’t want it legal to smoke it. There are so many reasons to get rid of prohibition. Emptying out our prisons is high on the list (no pun intended).
Why not legal to smoke it?
Agreed that pot makes you stupid, reduces testosterone, and promotes creativity, but then alcohol, tobacco & firearms (and excess testosterone) kills.
If people are gonna reach for a crutch to cope, why not this one? It’s also a pretty plant, many successful designs from its bracts, leaves and flowers…
You misunderstood me, of course, it should be legal to smoke, too for those wishing to indulge. Adults over 18 (not 21).
Legalize Hemp, put the weed to use for Food, Fuel Fodder, Ferterlizer, Pharm, and FARMER”S”, a cash crop. It should be our civic duty to grow this weed, and end the foriegn[who hate U/I ] fossil fuel strangle hold.
Well xxon, du-plicit, monsaneo, et. al won’t go for that.
Good points.
I feel so strongly on this issue, it must be legalized (and I don’t even smoke the stuff).