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A few days ago, a comrade (I’ll call him “Delgado”) decided to leave his legal marijuana operation here in Michigan and visit Bolivia (medical marijuana is lawful in Michigan).
Given his years of journalism throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, I expect to soon see his news and analyses appearing again in TheRagBlog.com, an international newsmagazine (and radio show) rooted in the 1960s. more…
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With over 2.5 million souls incarcerated in the American gulag, 1-in-8 prisoners are locked up for a marijuana-related offense. Some 52% all toll are imprisoned for drug convictions.
Los Angeles Medicine...
The overwhelming majority of prisoners in America are not doing time for predatory criminal actions, but for “crimes” that are created by religious and conservative sensibilities—hypocrisies, truth be told.
The citizens of America are treated as children to control their consensual habits and desires. more…
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OK, here’s a piece of news that just came to my attention. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) signed into law a Marijuana Decriminalization Bill (SB-1449) last Thursday, September 30th. Well, sort of…
Possession heretofore of up to an ounce of reefer in California was a $100 fine, plus an arrest record, court appearance, etc. As of January 1st, it’ll still be a $100 fine, but like a traffic offense, no arrest record.
Interestingly, in a few weeks—November 2nd—California has another pot bill coming up, Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act. If passed by a simple majority, it becomes effective the day after the election. The latest polls show it passing (48% in favor, 11% undecided).
In terms of the American Tribune prison experience connection, more than 500,000 people in California have been criminalized for reefer over the past 10 years. Last year alone witnessed over 60,000 busted in the land of sun & fun. more…
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Some 55% of all federal inmates are incarcerated for drugs. About 13% of the 2.5 million prisoners across the US—including all of the states—are convicted of marijuana “crimes” alone. 
Having served 20+ years in the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), I thought I pretty much knew most of what there was to know about reefer and reefer cases. I was wrong.
Jack Herer published the book shown here back in 1985. Since then, it has gone into 11 editions and is easily considered the bible of the marijuana industry. (Herer died last April 2010.)
Herer documents the usual information on marijuana, its history and benign if temporal criminal cultivation and use, but so much more… more…
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The New York Times reports that the US Veterans Administration (VA) has now been instructed to “ease the rules for users of medical marijuana.” The VA has basically been told to ignore the use by military veterans of prescribed marijuana in those states where it has been declared legal. (Vets who are found using illicit drugs often lose their VA medical benefits.)
This is the first time that the gov’t has given an inch since its participation in the creation of the drug laws.
While it’s only a small step, it will be interesting to witness how it plays out with the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). more…
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