Free Republic

Some good news this morning from the UK ... The ludicrous outright smoking ban and vaping restrictions (on flavors) will likely be defeated by Parliament.

WASHINGTON — President Biden acknowledged Monday at a Memorial Day event that his late son Beau died from brain cancer and not while at war — 11 days after he wrongly told US troops in Japan that his son died “in Iraq.” Biden told the grieving families of war dead at Arlington National Cemetery that his son didn’t die on the “battlefield” but that he believes his cancer may have been caused by exposure to toxic fumes from “burn pits” during a nearly yearlong deployment.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (CBS12) — A team of sheriff's deputies "conducting an operation regarding illegal street racing" had their work cut out for them when one of the cars almost hit one of them, rammed his SUV, and led authorities on a chase. It all went down last Saturday night, Nov. 19, in Palm Beach Gardens and at one point flew by at 76 mph above the speed limit. Authorities followed "a group of vehicles to numerous locations” and eventually to Alternate A1A near Lighthouse Drive. According to the arrest report, “In excess of 100 vehicles entered the parking...

They came. They smoked. They left more than seven tons of trash. After more than 8,000 people flocked Golden Gate Park on Wednesday, or 4/20, as the San Francisco’s marijuana-loving community call it, countless bottles of Shasta soda, beer cans, Fruit Loops boxes and butts were left scattered across the grassy, green lawn. "We think we will end up with over 15,000 pounds of trash," San Francisco Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said Thursday morning. "Yes, it's impactful to our park." Ginsburg noted the mess was an improvement from last year. That trashy haul tipped the scales at...

20-year study into the effects of long-term cannabis use has demolished the argument that the drug is safe. Cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs, the study found.

The grandmother of Ekaterina Ivanova, the girlfriend of Ronnie Wood, has told the Rolling Stones guitarist to leave her granddaughter alone. "That Ronnie - what a nightmare!," said Mrs Ivanova, who is closer in age to the Rolling Stone than her granddaughter. She threatened to "get even" with him if he hurt her granddaughter. "She is climbing her way to hell," she added.

A counter-culture arts festival which champions alternative living is being vetted by environmentalists for its contribution to global warming. Burning Man bans the sale of anything but ice and coffee and declares clothing optional. The festival, which is expected to draw nearly 40,000 people to the Nevada desert this week, is described as an "experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance". It has few rules, no structure and features performances, installation art and music, which culminate in the symbolic burning of a large wooden man. A group of San Francisco scientists, calling themselves Cooling Man, have...

America's war on drugs is actually a Raid on Taxpayers. The war costs an estimated $70 billion a year to prosecute, and the drugs keep pouring in. But while the War on Drugs may have failed its official mission, it is a great success as a job-creation program. Thousands of drug agents, police, detectives, prosecutors, judges, anti-drug activists, prison guards and their support staffs can thank the program for their daily bread and health benefits. The American people are clearly not ready to decriminalize cocaine, heroine or other hard drugs, but they're well on their way to easing up on...

Dutch Politicans Seek Marijuana Rules Amsterdam, Netherlands -- A broad coalition of political parties unveiled a pilot program Friday to regulate marijuana farming on the model of tobacco, which opponents say would be tantamount to legalizing growing the drug. Under the test program, to be conducted in the southern city of Maastricht, existing health and safety standards will apply to growers, but they would no longer be the target of police raids or prosecution. Coffee shops permitted to sell marijuana would be required to provide consumers with information about the health hazards of smoking - similar to tobacco companies -...

IN 2004, law enforcement officials arrested 771,605 people for marijuana violations, according to federal statistics. Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project was so alarmed he sent out a press release noting that there were more arrests for marijuana charges than all violent crimes combined. The number of arrests for possession alone was 684,319. Said Mirken of the 771,605 statistic: "This is, in fact, an all-time record. This number of arrests is the equivalent of arresting every man, woman and child in San Francisco." Some 40 percent of Americans say they have used marijuana or hashish in their lifetime, and...

BEHIND BARS A former police chief wants to end a losing war by legalizing pot, coke, meth and other drugs SOMETIMES PEOPLE in law enforcement will hear it whispered that I'm a former cop who favors decriminalization of marijuana laws, and they'll approach me the way they might a traitor or snitch. So let me set the record straight. Yes, I was a cop for 34 years, the last six of which I spent as chief of Seattle's police department. But no, I don't favor decriminalization. I favor legalization, and not just of pot but of all drugs, including heroin,...

A chemical found in cannabis can act like an antidepressant, researchers have found. A team from Canada's University of Sasketchewan suggest the compound causes nerve cells to regenerate. The Journal of Clinical Investigation study showed rats given a cannabinoid were less anxious and less depressed. But UK experts warned other conflicting research had linked cannabis, and other cannabinoids, to an increased risk of depression and anxiety. They suggested this could be because different cannabinoids acting at different levels have contradictory effects. Cannabinoids have been shown to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and pain relief in humans. They are naturally...

Marijuana Compound Spurs Brain Cell Growth In rat study, synthetic cannabinoid also boosted rodents' mood THURSDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to the controversy surrounding medical marijuana, an international team of researchers is busy stirring the pot by releasing findings that suggest the drug helps promote brain cell growth while treating mood disorders. According to the study in rats, a super-potent synthetic version of the cannabinoid compound found in marijuana can reduce depression and anxiety when taken over an extended period of time. This mood boost seems to be the result of the drug's ability to promote...

Every day 4,700 kids try marijuana for the first time. In fact, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among America's youth. Unfortunately, a lot of American teens, and their parents, continue to see marijuana as harmless. QUESTION 1: Ecstasy is more popular than marijuana among kids today. True or False? False. Far more youth use marijuana than any other drug. Among kids who use drugs, approximately 60 percent use marijuana only. QUESTION 2: Marijuana is not addictive. True or False? False. Research shows that marijuana is addictive. In fact, more teens enter treatment with a primary diagnosis of...

SACRAMENTO, Calif.— Agents have seized more than $2.6 billion worth of marijuana plants this year, already surpassing last year's season total by 20 percent, authorities said. The state Department of Justice's annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP, is still a month away from wrapping up operations after the season peak at the end of September. The raids, many in remote, forested terrain, pit agents against often heavily armed guards protecting their marijuana plots. About three weeks ago, a grower was shot dead and a state Fish and Game warden was wounded during a raid on a 22,000-plant pot farm...

Unlike their mellow brethren in San Francisco, the half-dozen or so medical marijuana clubs that have sprouted up in the urban no-man's-land between San Leandro and Hayward have turned into something out of the Wild West. There's been a rash of armed robberies, a shootout that left one robber dead, and the possible attempted hit of a worker for cooperating with police. "I don't think this is what the voters had in mind when they passed the medical pot law, but that's what we're dealing with," said Alameda County Sheriff's Lt. Dale Amaral, whose Eden Township beat includes the 2...

The California Highway Patrol has ordered its officers to stop confiscating medical marijuana during routine traffic stops, a victory for patients hoping to win broader acceptance of the controversial medicine from balky police departments around the state. Highway Patrol officials sent out a bulletin last week to field commanders spelling out the policy shift, which would allow patients to travel on California's highways with up to 8 ounces of marijuana as long as they have a certified user identification card or documented physician's approval. For the last fiscal year, ending in July, Americans for Safe Access collected reports from 457...

Patients arrive broke, busted or abandoned at our methadone clinic in a raw section of Northeast Washington. They are opiate addicts, primarily dependent on heroin, though some take vast doses of street-bought painkillers like OxyContin. Drinking the pink methadone solution every day prevents withdrawal sickness. About half of our patients have also spent years on crack or alcohol. Not all have stopped, but at least they have cut back. We see almost no methamphetamine users, but that is a simple accident of geography - the corrosive drug hasn't yet reached epidemic proportions in this part of the country. The personal...

The Rolling Stones' upcoming album contains a song seemingly critical of President Bush, but Mick Jagger denies it's directed at him, according to the syndicated TV show "Extra." "It is not really aimed at anyone," Jagger said on the entertainment-news show's Wednesday edition. "It's not aimed, personally aimed, at President Bush. It wouldn't be called 'Sweet Neo Con' if it was." The song is from the new album, "A Bigger Bang," set for release Sept. 6. There is no mention of Bush or Iraq. But it does refer to military contractor Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Cheney...