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Cauchon Says Pot Law Valid Despite Rulings in Three Provinces Against It Ottawa - Justice Minister Martin Cauchon says Canada's pot possession law is still valid, even though judges in three provinces have ruled to the contrary. In two separate rulings, provincial judges in Ontario and P.E.I. have tossed out simple possession charges, prompting Cauchon's department to stay all such charges in those provinces. Another ruling by a Nova Scotia judge Monday will likely lead to a similar stay while the decision is appealed. Still, Cauchon insisted: "The existing legislation is the law of the land and at Justice Canada...

An effort to essentially decriminalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes won preliminary approval yesterday in the Maryland House of Delegates as members rejected a string of amendments that proponents said would have effectively killed the bill. The legislation, which would significantly reduce the penalties for possessing or using marijuana, could come for a final vote as early as next week. A companion bill in the Senate concerning medical marijuana use is in committee. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) has signaled that he could support such a measure.

February 19] An LP member has created "A Drug War Carol" --an online graphic novel about the War on Drugs modeled on Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol." The 64-page story, which was funded through the DRCNet.org Foundation, was written by Libertarian Susan W. Wells, with artwork by Scott Bieser. It is designed to tell people the truth about the human suffering caused by the War on Drugs, said Wells. "If people were to learn the truth, I’m sure the drug war would be over in months," she said. "Can you imagine the impact this work could have if every drug...

<p>Since my last vanity announcement on keywords went so swimmingly (it ended up with something like 5000 keywords added to it) I thought a great idea would be to throw some propane on some other fires with a vanity.</p> <p>Breaking news is being abused again, big time. This goes in cycles, with sometimes people being responsible, but other times people not being very responsible.</p> <p>We are in one of the not-very time periods.</p>

WASHINGTON--A friend recently remarked to me, "Alcohol is the original date-rape drug." That's very sadly true. And it's why I found it hypocritical that the national drug czar's new ad equating marijuana use with teen pregnancy should debut during the Super Bowl, in which beer and sex were the dominant advertising themes. Teen drinking is the bigger problem, both in sheer numbers as well as health risks, yet the federal agency overseeing drug-control policy ignores it. An antiteen drinking commercial would have been a powerful counterpoint during that game; the antipot ad came off as a clumsy attempt to maintain...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A marijuana advocate and the jury that convicted him are making an unexpected show of solidarity: Jurors claim they were misled and the defendant says it isn't them he blames. Ed Rosenthal, the self-described "Guru of Ganja," was allowed Tuesday to remain free on $200,000 bail until his June 4 sentencing on federal drug violations.</p>

<p>A federal jury Friday found Ed Rosenthal, the author of how-to-grow books on marijuana and how to avoid the law, guilty of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges.</p> <p>Deliberating for a day, the 12-member jury concluded that Rosenthal, the self described "Guru of Ganja," was growing more than 1,000 plants, conspiring to cultivate marijuana and maintaining a warehouse for a growing operation. He faces a maximum life term when sentenced June 4.</p>

Pot Case Jurors Call For New Trial They say they were misled when medical marijuana evidence was barred. Seven jurors who convicted a prominent medical marijuana activist called for a new trial Tuesday, rebelling against what they said was a misleading case and intimidating atmosphere. At an unusual rally outside the federal courthouse here, several jurors, defiant and shaken, expressed solidarity with defendant Edward Rosenthal four days after convicting him of running a massive pot-growing operation in West Oakland. Rosenthal is the author of a dozen books about marijuana and a how-to column for pot magazines. He was a major...

The RAND Corporation's Drug Policy Research Center released a study Monday that casts grave doubt on the validity of the "gateway theory," the intuitive but unproven notion that the use of marijuana leads to the use of harder drugs. The "gateway theory" has guided US drug policy for a half-century and has been used by prohibitionists to justify imposing tough penalties for even the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In recent months, drug czar John Walters and others of his breed have seized on the "gateway theory" to campaign against relaxing marijuana laws in the states. While the RAND...

Our mayor, our premier, the opposition, restaurant and casino owners, the non-smokers and the smokers-rights types, they're all locked in a battle to the death over who gets to smoke -- cigarettes that is -- and who doesn't. Glen Murray to date won't let himself be pinned down on a citywide ban, ditto Doer on a provincewide ban. Restaurants that have bars attached continue to allow smoking while bar owners have nightmares at the thought that someday soon their establishments might have to go cold turkey. Meanwhile, booze is legal, cigarette smoking is legal and marijuana is not. There's something...