Author: Administrator

Jamaica Decriminalizes Marijuana

On February 6^th, 2015 (What would have been Bob Marley’s 70th birthday), the Jamaican Senate passed a law to decriminalize possession of up to 2 ounces of marijuana for personal/recreational use.

Angela Brown Burke, the mayor of Kingston (the capital and largest city in Jamaica) was quoted as saying “The time has come to provide an opportunity for Jamaicans to benefit from the marijuana industry.” Considering Jamaica is almost a Mecca to Marijuana culture, the boost of legal “Ganja Tourism” could greatly benefit the country and people of Jamaica. making an economic boon for the island nation thanks to the decision Jamaica Decriminalizes Marijuana.

Although a large part of the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica, (which considers smoking marijuana a natural, positive part of life that helped one’s spiritual growth.) the use and possession of marijuana, or Ganja, was illegal in the country, and is still looked down upon by some members of Jamaican society. In regards to the decriminalization of marijuana, Justice Minister Mark Golding said in a statement, “I wish to stress that the proposed changes to the law are not intended to promote or give a stamp of approval to the use of ganja for recreational purposes.”

Although possession of marijuana is now legal, you can’t legally smoke on Jamaica’s public beaches or out in the open. However, you can still toke up, and then walk on over to the beach.

Jamaican Minister of Justice Mark Goldberg says “…changes represent an approach which will enure to the benefit of the persons concerned and the society as a whole, and reduce the burdens on the court system.”

We’ve all seen the ads on TV, both for and against Marijuana Legalization. Some of them push fear tactics, while others focus on single reasons like medical treatment or economic benefits. We at 420Resource.net decided to make our own list about the top 5 Reasons we think you should support marijuana legalization initiatives in your area.

In November 2014 Florida’s Medical Marijuana supporters suffered a setback in their states legalization battle. Prop 2 suffered defeat with 58% of the voters supporting it (just shy of the 60% needed to pass). In contrast, Florida re-elected Governor Rick Scott with 48% of the vote… 10% less then supported Medical Marijuana.

As the saying goes, Florida Medical Marijuana supporters may have lost the battle, but the war is far from over. Attorney John Morgan announced he plans to lead a new push to get Medical Marijuana back before the voters. Morgan’s group United for Care plans to begin seeking petitions to get the issue of medical marijuana back on the ballot. His new bill rewords some of the concerns of opponents of the previous measure to close the so called “loopholes” of the previous bill.

Recently, I was in Florida and found that it was easier to get Marijuana in that state then it is to get it in states that have a good medical marijuana program. (The waiter at the first restaurant I stopped at was able to get it for me before my dinner was over. No ID, no prescription necessary). Unfortunately, that means it is also easier for children to get a hold of. Any legal medical marijuana program Florida enacts would reduce the underage use of marijuana by making it as difficult for minors to get as alcohol currently is.

Long being one of the central hubs of the South Eastern United States Marijuana trade (as well as the birthplace of many incredible strains of Marijuana such as Bubba Kush), it is easy to see why criminals drug traffickers would want to keep the marijuana trade unregulated, and tax free. However, the state could really use the tax revenue and jobs that the legal marijuana trade would bring.

If you are interested in helping Florida get Medical Marijuana passed, please sign the petition at www.unitedforcare.org/petition

Photos courtesy of tropicwallpaers and potstockphotos

CannaCon, a four day Marijuana convention and trade show and business convention, started Thursday at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma Washington.

The trade show will feature around 200 booths and 60 seminars on topics ranging from growing techniques to marketing strategies.

The marijuana convention is a business to business trade show showcasing new technologies and products in the newly legalized marijuana industry.  As more states look to legalize recreational marijuana use, the growth potential for these businesses and industries is exponential.

There is no marijuana smoking at the trade show, but there will be a free shuttle taking people to Seattle’s  Hempfest on Friday and Saturday.  This is an exciting year for Hempfest marking the first time for the event that recreational marijuana will be sold on site by a legal, licensed retailer.

The CannaCon trade show will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday for anyone curious about the new industry. Booths will be selling everything from grow lights to grinders, Web Design to Chocolate. Along with products, the service sector is present at the show selling cash and credit card processing, insurance, consulting and brand development for marijuana businesses.

Organizers are excited about the turnout and are already eyeing future marijuana conventions and trade shows in Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Denver.

Amendment 2 is on the November Ballot in Florida. If passed, it will legalize medical marijuana in the state. Close to 90% of Floridians support medical marijuana. Of that small minority that are opposed to medical marijuana, and even smaller minority has thought it appropriate to Lie and use scare tactics in an attempt to sway enough of the normal people to vote against Amendment 2.

Although most of us are smart enough to see the BS for what it is, there are some truly offensive remarks made in the No on 2 campaign that I feel I must address.

One of the ads for No on 2 says ‘Will the new face of “date Rape” look like a cookie?’. This statement is ridiculous and offensive. Typically, alcohol and Rohypnol are used for “date rape”.  According to Wikipedia, a date rape drug is any drug intentionally used as incapacitating agent to assist in the execution of drug facilitated sexual assault. As someone who has eaten many marijuana edibles, and even eaten “too much”, I can tell you one thing. Marijuana edibles are not an “incapacitating agent”.  Too much marijuana reduces the euphoric high associated with marijuana (we used to call it smoking yourself straight). It also brings on an overwhelming sense of paranoia, and causes you to be a bit agitated. These are horrible quality’s to have in a “date rape” drug.

Another claim by the No on 2 folks is that Marijuana cookies will be everywhere and your kids will eat them up on accident. The campaign asks “How is anyone supposed to know the difference?” Well, let me give you a few ways:

1. Marijuana edibles cost a lot more then non marijuana infused food (typically $10.00 a cookie)
2. Marijuana adds a distinct, bitter flavor to all marijuana edibles that make it instantly recognizable from the first bite.
3. Marijuana edibles being sold in legal dispensaries will have clear labels, warnings, and dosage information. (illegal edibles that are available throughout the state now, do not)

There is one ad in particular that really offends me. It shows people standing in line for a medical marijuana card. One line, labeled cancer, terminal illnesses, has one person in it. The other line, labeled sore throat, eating problems, can’t sleep, has a long line. I believe this ad is trying to imply that most “medical marijuana patients” don’t really need medical marijuana. I was first prescribed marijuana to treat residual effects from nerve damage I received in my leg due to a workplace injury. The nerve damage left me with parts of my leg that are sometimes numb, and sometimes throbbing in discomfort. The later would keep me from sleeping. I tried other prescription sleep aids that either didn’t work, or worked to well (often causing me to oversleep, and still feel groggy for the first half of the day).  Marijuana reduced the throbbing in my leg so I could sleep, and left no residual effects in the morning.. To marginalize that, or worse yet, to claim that people like me are just looking for an excuse to get high is offensive, heartless and cruel.

The last ad that I will talk about from the No on 2 campaign (although most of them are scare tactics and lies) is the continued claim that Amendment 2 will allow teens to get marijuana without parental consent. The law requires minors to get parental consent, but 18 and 19 year olds are not minors. They are adults who can fight and die for our country, who can get any number of prescription medicines (including amphetamines, opiates, and cocaine) from a Doctor without parental consent. Of course the ads want you to believe that your 13 year old will be able to walk into 7-11 and buy pot cookies and get date raped. This is just ridicules and untrue.

I also would like to address the one complaint from the No on 2 folks that some people are actually buying into.  They claim that the amendment does not have enough clear definitions (of what ailments pot may be prescribed for, of zoning for dispensaries etc) Yet the group (that claims to be conservative even though they are pushing for bigger government), doesn’t seem to acknowledge that the Amendment was written to allow for local governments to fill in the regulations that make the most sense for their particular communities. Instead, this group wants a large, overreaching, government mandate against a plant. In the early part of the 20^th century, several anti marijuana bills were shot down for the simple fact that Americans believed they had a constitutionally protect right to the pursuit of happiness, and it was not the governments place to regulate a plant. These days, we have groups like No on 2 that promote big government interference in your life through scare tactics and lies. These folks should be ashamed of themse