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The Science of Medical Marijuana Prohibition USA -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently opined that smoked marijuana has no scientifically accepted medical uses. The FDA received much criticism for this decision because in 1999 the Federal Government’s own scientists concluded that even in smoked form marijuana has medical uses. At the heart of the debate about medical marijuana is the question of science. But what, exactly, is science? Since modern civilization bases itself on a belief in the ability of science to solve any and all problems (human or otherwise), prudent people are obligated to at least try...

Large quantities of drugs were found inside merchandise from at least two Home Depot stores in Massachusetts, and authorities are investigating, police said Wednesday. A contractor late last week discovered two 50-pound "bricks" of marijuana wrapped in plastic bags inside a bathroom vanity he had purchased at a Home Depot store in Tewksbury, said Chief of Detectives Lt. Dennis Peterson. The estimated street value of the marijuana is around $145,000, Peterson said. Similar incidents have occurred in other parts of the state.

A Stockbridge couple whose home was mistakenly raided by Henry County Police last year as they sought a drug suspect is seeking $8 million in damages from the incident. In a lawsuit filed last month in Superior Court against county officials and police, Roy and Belinda Baker say they were roused out of bed by police who used a battering ram to knock down their door and threw concussive grenades into their home around 1 a.m. Sept. 30. “The Law Enforcement Defendants accosted the Bakers in the hallway to their bedroom, where they had been sleeping, and yelled at the...

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...

Hydro, more potent and more expensive than regular grass, is sold mostly to the affluent, but police fear rise in violence, crime if youth start using Israel Police have waged a war on the distribution of Hydro, a more potent and more expensive type of marijuana that is sweeping the local drug market. Dubbed by police as “death grass,” Hydro goes for about NIS 500 (USD 110) per 10 grams (0.35 ounces), compared with regular marijuana which is sold for NIS 600 (USD 133) per kilo. The high price of Hydro is mainly due to the high cost of growing...

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCERhttp:// seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/151741_canada10.html Marijuana possession charges dropped for 4,000 CanadiansWednesday, December 10, 2003</fo nt>By KIM LUNMANTHE (TORONTO) G LOBE AND MAILOTTAWA -- The Canadian government is making it a green Christmas for 4,000 pe ople -- it plans to stay thousands of charges of pot possession as a result of l egal battles over medicinal marijuana.The decision will apply to every pe rson in Canada charged with possession of marijuana between July 31, 2001, and O ct. 7, 2003, Justice Department spokeswoman Pascale Boulay said.The Justi ce Department intends to cease prosecutions on the cases because of a court ruli...

Havre, Mont. – The "Ghost of Sin Ojos" is an illusive figure known all too well to the Border Patrol agents who prowl the rolling plains here under the big Montana sky, a shadowy visitor dressed in black with no eyes who moves unseen over a strip of land along the Canadian border known as the "Hi-Line." "I've never personally seen the ghost," said Border Patrol Senior Agent Larry D. Shields as he guided his four-wheel-drive vehicle along a dirt path near a barbed-wire fence that separates the United States and Canada. "But there's no doubt he's out here." There's...

LONDON (Reuters) - Smoking cannabis is not the harmless recreational activity it may seem because it can cause lung damage, researchers said Friday. Regularly smoking three or four joints a week, even for less than six years, can impair lung function and rob the body of antioxidants that protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer. "Smoking cannabis on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances...and this may have chronic long-term implications for young individuals," said Dr Sarah Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central England. In a small study involving...

<p>WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- An Oklahoma congressman is so upset over a subway ad for legalized marijuana he wants to cut the federal government's annual payment to the Metro system.</p> <p>Change the Climate Inc. has been using public service advertising space on the Metro since 2001, the Washington Post reported Wednesday, but it was the latest round of advertising, this fall that drew the ire of Rep. Ernest J. Istook Jr., R-Okla.</p>