Cannabis Digest Summer 2014

Marc’s

FREE!(almost)

Post MMPRP. 3

Emery Returns!P.13

Trudeau DebateP. 9

Issue #41SUMMER 2014

FREE

Issue Number 41 www.CannabisDigest.ca

Cannabis Digest • Summer 2014

CREDITS

PublisherTed Smith <[email protected]>

Editor-in-ChiefJudith Stamps <[email protected]>

Graphics EditorOwen Smith <[email protected]>

Web EditorDieter MacPherson <[email protected]>

Distribution/Ads Jim Mooney <[email protected]>

ContributorsGayle QuinOwen SmithJudith StampsDr. David AllenRas KahlebDebbie Stultz-GiffinRussell BarthCam BirgeDieter MacphersonNichols FraleighTed SmithBlaker Hunter

Cover by Gary Wintle

For editorial questions, letters, or information on submitting:<[email protected]>

ISSUE # 41SUMMER 2014

The Cannabis Digest will not be held responsible for claims made within the pages of the newspaper, nor those made by advertisers. We do not suggest or condone illegal activities, and urge readers to research their country’s laws, and/or talk to their doctors, before engaging in any activities that could be deemed as illegal or dangerous to one’s health.

826 Johnson Street V8W 1N3Phone: 250-381-4220www.hempology.ca

CONTENTS

Post MMPR Scenario...............................P.03Andrew Brown says ‘Farewell’...............P.04Publishers Note/Editorial........................P.05Updates, Warnings, Suggestions..........P.06Plant the ‘Good Seed Hemp’...................P.07ProCon: The Great Trudeau Debate.......P.09Controlling the Brain...............................P.11Marc Emery Returns to Canada.......CENTERMexico’s Drug War Roots.......................P.15 Shifting views in Latin America.............P.17Rastafarians Rejoice...............................P.19Cannabis Interactions.............................P.20Kid Cannabis gets No Credit..................P.22Cannabis and Diabetes...........................P.23Wordsearch / Comics..............................P.25


By Debbie Stultz-Giffin

Health Canada’s Medical Marijuana Program Regulations

(MMPR) came into force on April 1, 2014. The impact of the MMPR is be-ing felt across the country by patients, doctors and compassion clubs. Mean-while, note worthy things are happen-ing on the Licensed Producer (LP) front.

During the hearing for the Injunction on behalf of Allard et al., the Crown stated something to the effect that, if the court were to grant an injunction, it would result in utter pandemonium. Truer words were never spoken! The MMPR was kick started with some-what of a fizzle as opposed to a bang, when Justice Manson levied an Injunc-tion against Health Canada stopping it from pulling some, but not all, personal and designated patient gardens. Cur-rently every new patient seeking legal protection to possess medical canna-bis must turn to an LP to obtain legal medication. The only patients still al-lowed to continue producing are those who hold a permit to produce canna-bis, valid as of September 30, 2013 and who also still have a valid possession license as of March 21, 2014, plus pa-tients who have designated grower per-mits, holding valid production licenses (as defined above).

Many patients have pink slips that expired after September 30, 2013. They still have their physician’s sup-port, but Health Canada would not ac-cept renewals after this date. To renew now means to purchase cannabis from Health Canada, as production licenses are no longer being issued to individu-als. Catch 22! Countless patients who, for reasons primarily based on afford-ability, quality and appropriate strain selection, opted to grow their own, or have a caregiver grow for them, are now being denied legal protection. These

patients were hoping that the Justice Manson’s Injunction would reach much further, to include them.

Hopefully John Conroy’s cross-ap-peal, slated for September 2014, will remedy that situation and others, in-cluding the issue of address changes and possession limits. Patients like Tamara Cartwright from Coronation, Alberta, whose valid permit dates allow her to continue to grow her ten gram a day requirement, are still left out in the cold due to an address change. This 43 year-old mother of four suffers from colitis, and cannot continue to grow her medication legally. Nor can she afford to purchase it. “I would have to send my valid pink slip to an LP but I can-not afford their prices. I cannot afford compassion club prices and I cannot afford street prices!” Her permissible storage limit is exhausted too. Yet her recent move has made it unfeasible for her to grow her own medicine. Should she continue, Cartwright could risk imprisonment and/or the loss of her four-year old son. These are but a few of the stark realities that critically and chronically ill patients are facing.

Many compassion clubs that previ-ously provided services to patients have changed their membership policies, go-ing as far as welcoming only patients who either hold a valid license under the Medical Marijuana Access Regula-tions, or currently have access to can-nabis via the MMPR. One previous club manager/owner, Philippe Lucas, has ventured into the fray to secure a permit to become a LP in Nanaimo, BC. The strains offered by his compa-ny, Tilray, are at least recognizable and familiar, with Catatonic and Pink Kush in the midst. Their buds are manicured by hand and are pesticide free.

Most of the other LP’s have strains that even a cannabis connoisseur would not recognize, with prices soaring up-ward of $15 a gram. MediJean, who has

yet to receive permission to produce for patients, boasts that a percentage of its proceeds would be donated to help fi-nance the prohibitionist D.A.R.E. Pro-gram. Tweed and Mettrium, two other LPs, made national news when, on the same day and in the same Kelowna air-port, their shipments of cannabis were seized. These had been transferred from individuals who had been des-ignated to grow for patients, or from patients themselves. Supposedly both companies had notified the RCMP of these transactions, but both shipments were confiscated. Further news of these incidents has since slipped under the radar.

Supply is an on-going issue with many of the LPs. There are only thir-teen officially approved corporate sup-pliers. Many companies are hitting snags with production issues. Some are offering products that most patients would consider second rate. At a quick peruse the buds are loose, scant and look insignificant.

In addition, Health Canada issued a recall of medical marijuana twice in a one month. On the second occasion, according to Health Canada, Peace Naturals conducted a voluntary recall due to “positive bacterial testing out-side of acceptable limits.” Neither the company, nor Health Canada, received reports of adverse health effects associ-ated with use of this product, but their fifty-five customers were advised to de-stroy, or return, the cannabis in ques-tion.

This brings us to the doctors. The Canadian Medical Association has been railing against this new program ever since the MMPR was a gleam in Health Canada’s eye. This is because the MMPR has made doctors the di-rect gatekeepers in the program. Phy-sicians still demand studies, and many seem to prefer to remain willfully blind on the topic of cannabis as medicine.

To add to this stress, Health Canada announced on June 13, 2014 that there would be a one-month period during which they would accept comments on their most recently proposed rule. They want LPs to report to various provin-cial regulatory agencies on the names of their clients, the names of the pre-scribing doctors, and the quantities that have been prescribed. Quebec patient advocate, Adam Greenblatt, summed it up best in an interview with QMI Agency. “It’s redundant,” he said, “because in Saskatchewan, Alberta, in Quebec there are already provisions at the provincial level that force the doc-tors to report that information.” Fur-ther, “the effect on the patient is not good because this scares more physi-cians out of wanting to prescribe.”

Greenblatt suggests in this same To-ronto Star article that privatized clin-ics specializing in medicinal cannabis will be the wave of the future. Hav-ing heard of such clinics popping up in Alberta and Ontario, and of similar clinics coming soon in Nova Scotia, and having considered the duress un-der which the current program places doctors, I am inclined to agree.

Health Canada has created the back-drop for this very sort of enterprise, which would allow leery physicians to wipe their hands of this whole fiasco. Patients will then be forced to pay often-inflated prices for an office call to provide them with a legal means to obtain their medicine. They will have to pay for expensive physicians and ex-pensive medication, forcing them yet again to choose between their liberty and their health. Hardly a constitu-tional program!

3

The Post MMPR ScenarioA patient’s perspective on the new regulations


Andrew Brown says “Farewell”a p a r t i n g n o t e f r o m o u r p a s t e d i t o r

By Andrew Brown

It has been a wild journey, and I have had the opportunity

to meet some amazing people, but alas, it is time for me to head on to the next phase in my life. This project has been a memorable growing experience for me, and I am confident that the newspaper has been left in good hands, and now can become even greater with more people involved.

When I first met Ted, I was in university running the student newspaper, and I interviewed him down at the club for an article I was writing. Three quarters of the way through the interview I noticed that my voice recorder had stopped at some point, and didn’t have a great deal of the content recorded. I remember staring blankly at the recorder trying to figure out what to do, but for some reason couldn’t come up with anything. I carried on taking notes manually with hopes that I could find some gems in what was recorded. Well, as I’m sure you can imagine, Ted is a very gracious host, but I should have “sat down for tea” after the

interview. There was so much rambling—from both of us—that swayed off and on topic, that I couldn’t use much. To be honest, I can’t remember what the article was about, but it did get published, and it couldn’t have been that bad, as Ted then asked me to work on the Digest. For a while I came in to Victoria to work on the paper, and was privileged to meet many fine members of the club, along with the great folks who worked there. A lot happened during that time—the raiding of the bakery and the subsequent trial, and one of the finest women I have ever met getting sick. Gayle, a gem in our rocky world, has taught me so much, and I consider myself so lucky to know her. I will never forget the time, after her medical procedure, when I headed over to their apartment only to walk in on Gayle, fully naked, walking through the hall. I turned several shades of red and quickly turned away, and she was laughing so hard with her joyous cackle. My experiences connecting with this group have impacted me for the rest of my life. I grew, matured, experienced, and got

one of the finest educations on life one could ever have. Thanks to everyone for the trip, but I have to get off at this stop.

*Addition: a Special thanks to our previous editor Andrew Brown from all the crew at the Cannabis Digest.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS1. Silence—You can refuse to talk to the police or answer their questions. You must give your name, birthdate, and address, or show them your ID. You DO NOT have to say anything else.2. You can say NO if police ask to search any of your things.3. You can leave unless you are being arrested or detained4. You have the right to know why you are being detained, and to speak privately to a lawyer—even if you can’t pay.5. You can only be strip-searched in private, and only by someone of the same sex.6. You have the right to know the officers’ badge numbers.7. You can report an officer who abuses me, swears at me, or violates your rights

Example of what to say if you are being detained:

“Officer, if I am under arrest or being detained, please tell me so...If I am free to go, please tell me so. If I am not free to go, please tell me why...I wish to exercise all my leagal rights, including my right to silence and my right to speak to a lawyer, before I say anything to you. I do not consent to be searched. I wish to be released without delay...Please do not ask me ques-tions, because I will not willingly talk to you until I speak to a lawyer...Thank you for respecting my rights.”

*Every situation is different. Use courtesy, and common sense.

Legal Aid BC: 1-866-577-2525Check out Pivot Legal Society for more info < www.pivotlegal.org>


PUBLISHERS NOTE: Daily blogs hit high note

Ted Smith

Life is about evolving, growing, adapting and advancing forward.

Since its birth, the Cannabis Digest has tried constantly to improve its ap-pearance, distribution, content, format and scope. With many hands to shape it, our publication has grown from a folded photocopy to the largest canna-bis newspaper in the country, and we are leaping into the next phase.

New daily blogs by members of the Cannabis Digest team started on June 1, launching a new direction for our growing media network. By providing daily articles by busy cannabis activists, we will give readers much more infor-mation about the history, activities and future of the cannabis industry. This blog complements our printed paper journal, building upon our reputation as a key source of relevant, accurate in-formation.

This paper serves a great purpose: it gets information to casual users who are somewhat interested in the subject, as each issue is a collection of perspec-tives, stories and facts that provide a clear picture of the cannabis scene. Readers do not have to filter through countless websites to get the informa-tion they need, as that information is provided as one complete package with each issue. Specialized print media plays an important role in providing businesses, event promoters and service providers an opportunity to inform their special clientele about what is available.

Most people are turning to the in-ternet for their daily news, With ev-erything you need to know a click of a button away, the internet has become a modern democratic super-library, where virtually everyone has a chance to create a web page or join other so-cial media to actually engage with the people behind the stories. Newspapers have very little interaction with the reader, although our front page colour-ing contest is definitely an attempt to bridge that gap.

- But still, a physically printed news-

paper has advantages, especially for those who are very passionate about the herb.

Our team of blog writers builds off the newspaper crew with some impor-tant additions. We have 6 weekly con-tributors ready to pump out volumes of material, and I am going to hustle up one more guest blogger every week to allow for input from other sources. With such a solid foundation built

around the newspaper, it will be easy to find activists willing to promote their work or express their opinion.

Our key blogger, in my opinion, is Dr. David Allen. His life has been se-riously harmed by the drug war, giving his passionate efforts to educate others about cannabis a sense of urgency that is rare. With a keen awareness of the complicated interactions between can-nabis and the human body, Dr Allen skillfully manages to explain difficult theories in language easy to under-stand.

The new kid on the block, never be-fore seen in print, is Dieter MacPher-son, who plays an extra role as the web site manager. However, he is far from new to this industry, and in his role of executive director and president of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, Dieter is in an excellent position to report upon current trends in dispen-saries, federal regulations and general market forces. He will be able to give valuable insights into the developing medical cannabis systems in Canada, contrasting the dispensaries against the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.

The new editor of the Cannabis Digest, Judith Stamps, will also be a weekly contributor. Though relatively fresh to this movement, she has been very interested in the role of govern-ment for a long time, having spent 10 years as a political science professor at the University of Victoria. Last fall Judith and her husband Bill worked relentlessly on the Sensible BC cam-paign, running the Victoria office al-

most every morning.

Owen Smith, a long-standing Can-nabis Digest contributor, is now also the person in charge of its layout in the newspaper, and a blogger. Since get-ting arrested for making cookies for the members of the VCBC, Owen has become a valuable asset in the struggle to inform the public about the benefits of eating and topically applying canna-bis. A lower court judge has since then struck down as unconstitutional, the federal regulations that did not allow patients to make derivatives of canna-bis. That decision has been appealed, and a final decision by the BC Court of Appeal is expected any day now.

Another long time contributor to the newspaper, Georgia Toons, is bring-ing her activism up a notch by in-cluding a weekly blog with a cartoon. Known around the world for her funny, thoughtful and creative cannabis car-toons, she adds a wonderful personal touch to everything she does. Despite her health struggles and many commit-ments, Georgia is determined to help keep the Cannabis Digest readers in-spired and informed.

Finally, I will get to blog away, shar-ing my unique history as an activist, and my thoughts on current affairs. Since I fancy myself a writer, these blogs will sustain my need for constant gratification. With no limits of space, I can rant endlessly about why canna-bis is the most important plant on this earth and, bring attention to this plant by telling countless stories of my vari-ous activist exploits.

EDITORS NOTE: Natterings From a New Editor

Judith Stamps

The other day at a birthday party, I found myself describing the

Cannabis Digest to friends who had never heard of it. There are a lot of those in my life, as I am a newcomer to the world of cannabis activism. I am not a complete newcomer, how-ever. I came of age in the 60s in the wilds of Canada’s West Coast, Kitsilano to be exact. I have long been a fan. So really, this is a world to which I have recently returned.

My first return stop was the Sensible BC campaign. As many readers will know, this campaign was Dana Larsen and Co.’s at-tempt to make use of British Co-lumbia’s Recall and Initiative Act to decriminalize marijuana in BC, and to work toward legalization. As it turned out, there could have been no better re-introduction. Over a mad ninety days, a group of us committed to memory the boundaries demarcating Vancouver Island’s electoral districts, met the media and got to chat with folks on the street. I encountered can-

nabis-related topics entirely new to me, and met an astonishing variety of supporters. I met an interest-ing range of opponents too, some charmingly perverse and others just snarly.

In the process, I met Ted Smith. At his request, I wrote an article for the Cannabis Digest on the Sen-sible BC campaign, and soon found myself in the CD’s Grand Circle. Ted, for those new to this jour-nal, is the walking galaxy of activ-ism that encompasses the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, Hempology 101’s many activities, and the Can-nabis Digest. If Sensible BC was a great place from which to set out, the Digest has turned out to be one of the better places to land. It is unique. It is Canadian. Its cover design gives readers something to colour, and the ads tell them where to get cool stuff. In between, it ad-dresses all things cannabis: history, recent events, legal issues, pot poli-tics, medicine, and industrial hemp, written by correspondents from the U.S., from across Canada, and from Jamaica. For me, it is an ongoing opportunity to meet the warriors in North America’s ninety-year war on drugs.

As new editor, I should begin with an attempt at enticing you, the reader. Allow me, thus, to list the virtues of a real paper journal. Whilst reading the CD, you will be free from scintillating ads, comput-er bleeps, and the dithering array of related websites, many of which are depressingly unreliable. You

will have silence, a rare element in contemporary living. Silence will provide you with a fine, cerebral space in which to think. In this space, you will never meet the wom-an who is a hundred years old, but looks twenty. You can abandon, for a time, the singles in your area that wish to meet you. When reading an historical piece on opium, you can escape the oriental singles that wish to meet you. You can focus instead on the issues. If inspired, you can write a letter either to the publisher (that would be Ted) or to me. You can also store past issues, and return to them when you want to look up details on a court case, even when you are not sure exactly what it is called. And then there’s the cross-

word and the colouring contest. This may be flattened pulp, but it works.

There can be no better time than the present to read up on the issues. We are in the midst of a cannabis revolution so profound that the map of the world, as regards pro-hibition, is changing at the pace of the weather reports. Join us in our quest, and pass the paper around. I look forward to meeting many of you in the future, and will enjoy helping to maintain the standard of work for which the Digest is already known.

[email protected]

5


Gayle Quin

What a beautiful spring we have had. Thanks, Mother Nature, for

making up for a horrible winter. My heart was full of empathy for all of you living in the East. I hope your summer shines bright on your gardens and on your lives.

I have greatly missed seeing all of the new friends Ted and I made on our East Coast tour two years ago. Many thanks to those who have stayed in touch. I appreciate all of your continued hard work.

It was great to see everyone at my birthday party at the club. Thanks very much for the wonderful evening. The food was fantastic and Jai’s Black Forest cannabis cake was absolutely unforget-table. A thing of veritable beauty, and medicinally mind melting. Yummm! While people were passing out and go-ing home, I was just getting ready to dance. Boy I can eat a lot of pot and still function.

April 20 seems to be gaining momen-tum around the globe. We had another great day here in Victoria, as did most cities across North America.

The Hempology 101 gang is forging ahead with REACH FOR THE POT, this year without Ted. They are plan-ning a tournament as usual. I hope everyone is having as much fun as Ted and I did. Shows are still being posted

online on a new Youtube page, created just for this game.

Ted has launched a daily blog to keep the Cannabis Digest more current. We have several regular scheduled bloggers with a surprise guest writer adding in an extra blog once a week. Things are happening too fast to keep up-to-date any other way.

Speaking of the Cannabis DIgest, did you noticed we increased in size again? I thank all the loyal supporters for read-ing, writing and advertising. It is cer-tainly grooving into something magical. From tiny seeds, tall trees grow.

Wishing everyone had a merry Can-nabis Day, too. Hopefully all went well hot-boxing at the Courthouse and playing REACH FOR THE POT in Victoria. Lets all be good Canadians next year and vote Harper out in the next election, eh?

The VCBC has been hosting a games night on the last Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm. It is definitely drop in, turn on and get ready to laugh a lot with good friends. There is a wide va-riety of games available, and more have been donated, so it is different every month.

Otherwise the summer is going to be fairly quiet, with all of our travel plans put on hold for now. I am finally feel-ing like I am winning with my health but time will tell. Thanks for all of the love, care and concern I receive every day.

September, though, September will be another story. Hempology 101 will be celebrating its 19th anniversary with its regular march from City Hall to the Legislature on Wednesday Sept 3, starting at 7 pm.

September also sees the beginning of school, and therefore the resuming of the 420s at the University of Victoria on Wednesdays, as posted on facebook at UBC. Ted will not be doing the lec-ture series this year, but he is making a series of videos about HEMPOLOGY 101:THE HISTORY AND USES OF

CANNABIS SATIVA. You can watch it online on the Hempology 101 You-tube channel.

On Tuesday October 7, the Inter-national Hempology 101 Society will be holding its Annual General Meet-ing at 826 Johnson St, starting at 7:30. If you are interested in helping us you can come to a monthly meeting of the board of directors, which is usually the first Tuesday night of each month. Minutes are posted in the Hempology 101 section of the Cannabis Digest on-line forums.

Do not forget, the VCBC`s AGM in November. Nominations will start

being accepted in August. The exact time and place of the AGM will be an-nounced later on the VCBC webpage and in the next issue of the paper.

I hope your gardens bloom bright and dank. Thank Mother Nature and the Universe for the wonders we behold every day, and know I love you.

Updates, Warnings, and Suggestions

“I am finally feeling like I am winning with my health but time will tell. Thanks for all of the love, care and concern I receive every day.”


By Blake hunter

The Good Seed Hemp Com-pany is based in Victoria BC,

with roots in Saskatchewan, and has been at the forefront of growing, sell-ing and educating people about hemp since 2006. The story of the Good Seed Hemp Company is a story of the Hunter Family, a Metis family from the countryside near Batoche, Saskatch-ewan. The 300-acre family farm was purchased in 1978 by Lyall and Bev Hunter, and was where they raised their three children, Alita, Blake and Shane. Over the years, the farm was host to an array of animals including cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, ducks and goats. Additionally, the farm produced grains and hay. In 2000, the family temporarily moved off the farm to be-gin a business in California called Ex-cel Solar Electric. The solar industry introduced the family to a number of successful business people in the world of organic wineries, farms and educa-tion centers. Through relations with these clients, the family soon began to see potential in the world of organic farming and direct marketing.

In 2005, hemp seed was introduced to the family, as it was becoming avail-able in cutting edge health food stores. Curiously enough, all the hemp seed products were grown in their home-land of Canada. Upon further inves-tigation, it was apparent that industrial hemp was indeed becoming a part of the agricultural landscape in places like Saskatchewan. It was at this time that Blake and Shane Hunter, aged 25 and 22 at the time, returned to the family

farm near Batoche, Saskatchewan to try their hand at growing industrial hemp.

The first step was to obtain govern-ment permits from Health Canada for a licence to cultivate, store and process industrial hemp seed. Although at first the idea of an official permit sounded daunting, it turned out that the paper-work was fairly straight forward, and the officials at the Industrial Hemp

Section of Health Canada were very helpful people. Permits are given for a 12 month period, and applicants are required to give GPS co-ordinates for their proposed fields, a description of what they intend to do with the seed in terms of storage and processing, and a promise to abide by a set of rules and regulations laid out by Health Canada. These are some of the main require-ments:

• Field size of no less than 10 acres

• Current Criminal Record Check

• No seed to be sold without first rendering it non-viable

• No saving seed for planting next year’s crop; strictly prohibited

• Purchasing seed from Approved Seed Companies/Organizations every year

• Allowing Canadian Food Inspec-tion Agents or third-party agents onto hemp fields to take samples for testing of THC content

• No harvesting of leaf, bud, bract; only harvesting of seed and stalk.

Once they received a permit, the young Hunter men purchased a strain of seed from TerraMax Seed Compa-ny called Finola. This variety is very short (4 – 5 feet tall), and among the top yielding varieties (1000 – 2000 lbs per acre), but with the smallest seed size. The 2006 crop was planted in late May, using a 1972 John Deere 4020 and a 1948 Versatile seed drill. Very used equipment, to say the least!

Within a week, the first hemp sprouts were up, but so was a blanket of volun-teer wheat and canola. Within a few more weeks it was obvious that the hemp was going to have to compete with these other plants, as weeding 10 acres by hand was out of the question. As the summer progressed, the hemp stayed a foot above the other crops, and all came to maturity by early Septem-ber.

With a super tight budget, the Hunt-er men had to figure out where to find a seed-harvesting machine, often referred to as a ‘combine’. Fortunately, their Grandparents, John and Lois Hunter, had two old combines, both John Deere 97s, a model of harvester from the early 70s that could be pulled by a tractor. With four weeks to go before harvest, Blake and Shane headed into the for-est where the John Deere 97s had been parked for two decades. One machine had a poplar tree the width of a fence-post growing through the middle of it, and neither machine was even close to field-ready. However, with daily work and lots of WD-40, the two machines

were combined to make one function-ing unit; it hit the field ready to go with a few days to spare. That year saw the largest yield per acre that the Good Seed farm has ever had, to this day! That first year also yielded some excel-lent discoveries in the world of modern hemp agriculture. The first lesson came in the form of the Bertha Army Worm, one of the only “pests” that have the potential to damage hemp. However, the moving army or green worms pre-fer to eat canola before they move on to hemp. As a result, the field’s volunteer canola crop was decimated, but by that time the hemp had matured past the stage where it was vulnerable. Another exciting lesson was learned in the hemp field that bordered the vegetable gar-den. Here, Blake decided to give a few of the plants “garden-treatment” rather than “field treatment.” These plants were spaced 2 feet apart, given water and weeded. Some were companion planted with beans. Through this ex-periment he discovered that, tended in this way, a single mature female plant had the potential to yield 1 – 2 pounds of raw hemp seed.

Over the years, The Good Seed farm has maintained small acreage produc-tion, all with out-dated equipment. As value-added products are an important foundation and a key to a farm’s suc-cess, it has also moved into the world of buying raw hemp seed from other farmers. Good Seed Hemp has also kept true to the idea of ethical trade and to bringing food directly from the farmer to the consumer. To achieve these goals, Good Seed purchases seed through two channels. The first is the Farmer Direct Co-op in Regina, SK. This farmer-owned Co-op is the first organization in North America to be certified Domestic Fair Trade, ensuring fair prices for small-scale farmers. The second channel is Good Seed’s direct relationship with an independent fam-ily farm called Marshall Farms from Holbein Saskatchewan. Good Seed pays Marshall Farms the exact prices set by Farmer Direct. Marshall Farms is one of the farms leading the way in large-scale regenerative farming tech-niques. It uses hemp as a foundational crop that returns large amounts of bio-mass to the topsoil each year, while also producing above average yields of protein-rich seeds. In sum, Good Seed has always stood for working with farmers to encourage hemp agriculture in North America, coupled with the vi-sion of hemp foods becoming a staple in every North American’s pantry.

When you purchase Good Seed Hemp products, you are supporting organic agriculture and ethical trade for Canadian family farmers, while getting the highest quality, great tast-ing nourishment for your body. With your support, Good Seed aims to ex-pand its farm operations to include a yearly Hemp Festival, with the goal of continuing to educate people about this wonderful crop.

For more information, check out www.goodseedhemp.com

G o o d s e e d h e m p c o m p a n y p r o m o t e s o r g a n i c s a n d f a i r t r a d e

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Issue Number 41 www.CannabisDigest.ca 9

Cam Birge

You can take it to the bank.

J ustin Trudeau and the federal Liberal Party can be trusted to

introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in Canada should they form a majority government follow-ing the federal election expected to be held in October of 2015.

History teaches us not to take a politician at his or her word. In 1972 the Le Dain Commission recommended ending cannabis prohibition in Canada, but Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau chose not to enact any of the recommended changes. In late 2002 Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien included plans to decriminalize marijuana as part of his legacy prior to retirement in 2004. Again, the government of the day ultimately chose not to push for change.

What is different this time?

The United States.

Marijuana was placed in Schedule 1c as a hallucinogenic substance in the Controlled Substances Act of the United States in October of 1970 by the U.S. Congress. Enforcement was assigned to the Drug Enforce-ment Agency (DEA). In July of 1971 U.S. President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” and signed it into law in January of 1972. As my late grandmother used to say, “You can’t fart against thunder”. Any

chance of the Le Dain Commission Report recommendations being ad-opted in Canada was dead on arrival despite being recognized as an excel-lent piece of work both in Canada and internationally.

In response to Chretien’s initiative in 2002, John Walters, the Bush administration’s drug czar at the time, publicly stated that Canada could face serious disruptions to cross-border trade if it decriminal-ized marijuana. Other US politicians warned of dire consequences to Can-ada and President Bush continued to push an aggressive zero tolerance drug policy, for both itself and its

neighbours. Chretien and his gov-ernment wisely decided to not intro-duce legislation in Parliament given the threats to the Canadian economy by the U.S.

However, in 2013 President Obama chose not to mount a Supreme Court challenge against the states of Colorado and Washington whose citizens had voted to legalize marijuana.

He stated that it was “important” for the controversial legalization of marijuana by two American states to proceed, as it would end the unfair penalization of a minority of smokers. Mr. Obama said that using the drug, which remains illegal un-der U.S. federal law, was safer than drinking “in terms of its impact on the individual consumer”.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder now says that the Obama adminis-tration is ready to work with Con-gress to remove marijuana from the schedule 1 list of the Controlled Substances Act. And just last week, Congress approved a bipartisan measure prohibiting the DEA from undermining state marijuana laws. This signaled the end of the war on drugs in the United States and gave a green light for Canada, and all oth-er countries around the world, to regulate cannabis as it sees fit.

In short, the United States is now light years ahead of Canada in regards to legalizing marijuana which opens the door for any Canadian political party which proposes to legalize marijuana as part of its party platform to safely bring in legislation once in power.

Justin Trudeau, after being elected leader of the Liberal Party in 2012, chose the issue of legalization of marijuana as his first public party platform announcement following his election as leader of the federal

Liberal Party. Trudeau stated that regulation (as with alcohol and to-bacco), not prohibition, will protect our kids from the negative effects of marijuana on the developing brain. Drug dealers don’t ask for ID when they sell to kids. He added that we are funneling millions upon millions of dollars each year into organized crime and criminal gangs under our current marijuana policy in Canada. He also admitted to smoking mari-juana after being elected as an MP. There have been evidence-based town hall meetings held by the Liberal Party around the country based on ending a Canadian marijuana prohi-bition policy that costs law enforce-ment $500 million a year and has left 475,000 people with criminal records since the Conservatives took office in 2006. He isn’t a moron.

The political consequences of refus-ing to introduce legislation after making these statements would be too dire. Both Harper of the Conser-vatives and Mulcair of the NDP have stated unequivocally that they do not support legalization of marijuana. It is a club Trudeau has no interest in joining.

T r u d e a u L i b e r a l s g e t t i n g p r e p a r e d t o l e g a l i z e M a r i j u a n a

The Great Trudeau Debate : For

Histor y teaches us not to take a politician at his or her word


Russel Barth

The media have been saying that the Justin Trudeau Liberals

will legalize marijuana if they get into power. Trudeau has been saying things along those lines, I will admit, but he has promised nothing, and it is not yet an official party policy. True, having a national party actu-ally talk about legalization is a step in the right direction, but it is one small step where ten large steps are needed.

As someone who relies heavily on cannabis to manage my symptoms,

and as a 24/7 caregiver to a sick wife who needs it even more, I want to be-lieve them. I really, really do. But I find myself unable to. Like Charlie Brown continually falling for Lucy’s football ruse, the media and much of the public seem to be falling for the Liberal ploy, but I’m not.

Why so incredulous, you ask? Well, maybe it is the fact that I am 45 years

old and have been hearing the Liber-als promise cannabis law reform ev-ery few years since the 1972 Le Dain Commission, only to watch them in-crease penalties when they are actual-ly in power. People are quick to forget that the contracts for all our new jails were tendered under the Paul Martin administration. The Liberals knew back in the 1990s that the flourishing American Inmate-Manufacturing Industry was looking to move north,

and they did what they could to help.

Or maybe it is the fact that they used our tax dollars, and every trick they could think of, to keep people from attaining the legal right to use medi-cal cannabis at the turn of this century. Court battles were hard enough, but hearing Liberals like Anne McLellan talk nonsense in the press week after week was excruciating.

Maybe it is the fact that, after losing this battle, the Liberals dragged their heels, balked at court rulings, ignored the Charter, and had Health Cana-da implement regulations that they knew beforehand were onerous and likely to be challenged (expensively) in court.

Perhaps it is the fact that some Lib-eral MPs now tout Health Canada’s medical marijuana program as some-thing “that was started under a Liber-al administration,” even though they were forced—kicking and scream-ing—by the courts to implement it. They worked so hard to keep medi-cine from people for as long as they could, but now try to take credit for the program’s existence.

Or it could be the fact that when they came up with the ironically named “decriminalization” legislation, Liberal Dan McTeague took the bill down to the U.S. to run it past the Bush Regime before it was even ta-

bled in the House of Commons. The bill itself, as you may recall, would have replaced a criminal record with fines. This kind of system is often called “net-widening,” as far more people get caught, but get softer pen-alties (something the CPC have said they are considering).

Or maybe I see the fact that a To-ry-stacked Senate will allow almost nothing that a Liberal government

proposes to get through. I doubt that a Liberal government is going to waste time, effort, and the pub-lic’s goodwill fighting the Senate on pot-law reform, when other far less contentious bills have a better chance of getting passed. Politically, I don’t think the Liberals are prepared even to fight for this hill, let alone die on it. A rational argument can be made that there are many agendas more pressing than legalizing cannabis, but the billions saved and generated an-nually simply by legalizing cannabis would do much to help finance those agendas.

Or it might be the fact that Justin and the party still consider cannabis a “drug,” the use of which - they feel - needs to be greatly reduced. They largely ignore the fact that countries like Israel and Spain are years ahead of us on cannabis-therapeutic sci-entific research, and they still main-tain a Reagan-era attitude that pot is bad and abstinence is best. Couple that with Justin Trudeau’s unscien-tific worries about cannabis’ mythical “links” to mental illness, and his use of anachronistic terms like “pusher” (as he did last year in a phone inter-view with the Cornwall Free News), and you see a Liberal Party that is still meandering behind the parade on a crucial issue. And, as usual, they call this ‘behind-the-pack’ position, “leadership.”

Some in the party are talking “tax and regulate,” but they fail to offer any really coherent platform for how that would work. Some are talking about “liquor store” models and arbi-trary limits on amounts that people can possess, but I think they are mak-ing empty promises. Once in power, the party will likely shelve this “legalization” talk on the first day. It’ll gladly pander to “youth” and sick people in order to get elected, but once in power, it is the lobbyists and the dastardly RCMP who will have the party’s ear.

So, what can we expect from the Liberals? I think we can expect more flowery promises (pun intend-ed) to legalize pot, right through to election night, followed by years of continued promises to “get around to it” as soon as other “more press-ing” issues are settled. The mandatory minimum sentences for growing and “trafficking” that were implemented in November of 2012 by the Harperi-stas will remain in place, of course. You can count on that.

In the meantime, they will wait for a court ruling to legalize pot for them (see abortion, same-sex-marriage, and medical cannabis for details), and then legislate after the fact. Then they will take credit for “legalizing” pot, and the media will let them do it.

If the Grits ever do table a bill to “legalize” pot, it will likely be Tobacco 2.0. There will be a legal commercial market competing with a flourishing underground market, limits on home growing, cops bug-ging everyone even more than they do now, and endless media balder-dash.

That is what I see coming.

Against : The Great Trudeau DebateT h e H o l l o w C h o c o l a t e E a s t e r B u n n y t h a t i s J u s t i n T r u d e a u

If the Grits ever do table a bill to “legalize” pot, it will likely be Tobacco 2.0.

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Amygdalar Control and the Art of Zen


C o n t r o l l i n g t h e r e p t i l i a n b r a i n

David B. Allen M.D.

You have three main portions of your brain. The Brainstem,

the Cerebrum and the Limbic System, which is the connection between first two. The brainstem is the primitive or reptilian portion and is responsible for keeping the species alive. It is responsible for autonomic function of heart rate and respiration. The Cerebrum is the grey matter of the mammali-an brain and is the cognitive part of the brain. The Limbic system, which includes several structures including the Amygdala, is a con-trol system that switches between these two crucial brain parts. The Brainstem response is automatic and very fast. The response of the cognitive Cerebrum always takes more time. In dangerous situa-tions, you may not have time to think about what is happening, but have to react immediately to save your life. Your brainstem has preprogrammed responses: fight, flight or fright. Your response to a situation may cause you to flee, stand and fight, or freeze in place.

These preprogrammed respons-es occur quickly, and without thought. When this happens you actually switch off your cognitive response to a stimulus because you have already made your evaluation and do not need additional infor-mation to make a decision. This is called the “Amygdala hijack.” The Amygdala is the portion of the brain that is the alerting mecha-nism of the brain. It puts the animal on high alert for possible danger and causes an anxiety re-action of super alertness, elevated heart rate and respiration. The Amygdala causes you to tense up

for a fight or flight or to freeze in place. When the Amygdala takes over control of you, it causes this automatic response and prevents any cognitive thought. Addi-tional information is considered an irritation and is not welcome because your response is prepro-grammed and you just don’t need to think about it anymore. When the amygdala perceives a threat, it can you to react irrationally and destructively.

The cortical brain controls empa-thy and is associated with positive thoughts. The Amygdala, however, is associated with negative or de-pressive thoughts. When people consider only how a particular sit-uation affects them, they use the hindbrain and cannot cognate or understand how the situation af-fects someone else. Accurate ap-praisal of reality depends on the pre-medial cortex, which invokes empathy and gives you a more ac-curate perception of the reality. If you can’t understand how it feels to be the other person, you are us-ing the hindbrain and are out of touch with reality.

There are certain trig-gers that may put a person into Amygdalar mode and hijack cog-nitive rational thought processes. The triggers initiate an immedi-ate preprogrammed response, re-lated to security issues. Threats to the security of life, family, home, food or income cause a knee-jerk response. No thought is needed because it just slows the process of responding to a threat.

Sometimes modern life is full of stimuli that may startle us but not be a real threat. In these situations it is best not to over-react. Situations that may

initially seem dangerous can turn out, after careful thought, to be non-threatening. You can control your reaction to a stimulus by re-peated exposure to it, and through the cognitive process of under-standing that there is no danger from that particular stimulus. This takes time and effort and a desire to avoid the panic caused by the Amygdala. But it can be done.Cannabis and the Endocannabi-noid system is a control system for the Amygdala, which suppresses the Amygdalar activity. The En-docannabinoid System or ECS causes inhibitory control of the Amygdala and inhibits the anxiety caused by the alerting Amygdala. The resulting inhibition allows you to be calm and focused, and allows you to use your cognitive response a higher percentage of the time. When you are in brain-stem mode from Amygdalar stim-ulation you can’t think; you just react. Amygdala hijack blocks out cognitive thought, and stimulates unconscious behavior.

People who function in Amygdalar mode have the fol lowing characteristics:

• They have fear and anxiety and startle easily; they are hyper alert.

• They hate change.

• They demand conformity to their way they life.

• They fear other races.

• They Horde food and weapons to keep themselves ‘safe.’

• They are delusional and seem to deny reality. They exhibit repetitive destructive behavior

despite the lack of positive results.

• They refuse additional in-formation contrary to their programmed beliefs, causing cognitive dissonance.

• They are more vulnerable to propaganda.

• They have a self-righteous demeanor, think they are bet-ter than others, and show ha-tred and cruelty to others.

• They have little empathy for others.

• They don’t like Marijuana and prefer alcohol and phar-maceuticals.

When you first use cannabis the number of functioning Cannabi-noid receptors multiplies expo-nentially. In effect, you then have more inhibitory control of your neurons. This causes neural-plasticity, meaning more control of neural connections. This plas-ticity may allow you to think of new sorts of connections among various issues, so that new con-cepts occur. This process may be termed epiphany, or sudden real-ization of the truth of the matter. It is important to understand that your body also has its own natu-ral, endogenous functioning ECS. But some people can have defi-ciencies caused by enzyme defects in the production or degradation of their bodies’ own Endocan-nabinoids. Their ECS system can be augmented by exogenous use of phytocannabinoids, that is, by us-ing cannabis. People with defects in their ECS may have depression, anxiety, insomnia and anger, prob-lems that may be related to their inability to control their limbic system and Amygdala. Cannabis, thus, can help a great deal with behavioral control issues. This fact makes all cannabis use medi-cal, even if you don’t understand the science.

But there is more!

Scientist can determine the exact location, on a strand of DNA, of the DNA segment that codes for the CB1 Cannabinoid receptor. Scientist can knock out this seg-ment of DNA code and replace it with gibberish DNA. When mice are born with this gibberish DNA, they are scientifically proven to not have the CB1, Cannabinoid receptor. Scientists can then do experiments comparing normal


mice with CB1 receptors against the Knockout mice to determine what affect the receptor has.

Knockout mice are peculiar animals that get cancers at an alarming rate compared to mice with the CB1 receptor. Knock-out mice startle easily and seem to have a denial of reality and re-peat behavior that is destructive. They also exhibit a problem with extinguishing previously learned behavior. They deny new infor-mation in favor of old learned behavior.

Morris Water Maze (see right) Scientists have developed a meth-od of testing memory and memo-ry extinction by placing mice in a large flooded container called the Morris Water Maze. This circular container has a camera above it to record the swimming paths of the mice in the maze. The scien-tists place an invisible sub-surface stage in the flooded container. The mice swim around and eventually find the hidden stand. The mice can then keep their head above the water and save themselves. Both normal mice with CB1 receptors and Knockout mice without CB1 receptors are trained over sev-eral days to find the stand. Both groups of mice eventually swim

directly for the stand from visual clues in the Morris Water Maze. They learn to look for where the position of the stand is by repeti-

tion. After this training session is complete, scientists repeat the experiment with both groups of mice, but they move the invisible subsurface stage to a new loca-tion. The normal mice with CB1 receptors swim around until they find the new location of the stage. The knockout mice, however, con-tinuously swim to where the stage was, even to their death. Even if the knockout mice are picked up and placed on the stage in its new location, they will swim off and

attempt to find it in the previous location. They simply cannot see the new reality, and extinguish their old learned behavior.

The lack of CB1 receptors seems to allow less control of the Amyg-dala, and causes affected animals to live in a state of fear and anxi-ety. When this state of brainstem behavior occurs in people, it is nearly impossible to communicate with them because they have di-minished cognitive ability. If you try to give them new information, they will view it with contempt and disdain.

This information raises interesting questions. Do our politicians who don’t use cannabis have decreased number and function in their Cannabinoid receptors? Does this lack of Cannabinoid receptors cause them to engage in repetitive, destructive behaviors? Does a low number of of CB1 receptors cause them to avoid any information that could cause cognitive disso-nance? Do people in general, who have poor abilities to use cognition to solve a problem, and who show the signs of brainstem reaction to stimuli, have dysfunctional CB1 receptors? The inability to control the Amygdala results in less time spent thinking, and more time in automatic, brainstem response to any given stimulus. This cannot be good either for the species or for the society.

What would Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan have done in a Morris Water Maze?

Are the Drug War and the Arms race signs of failure in Amygdalar control?

David B. Allen M.D ([email protected])


EMERY COMING HOMENo event in cannabis activism around

the world has been as highly antici-pated as the release of Marc Emery. Af-ter spending over 4 years trapped in vari-ous US jails, the Prince of Pot is getting ready to return to his native homeland to begin the next chapter of his life. No one could be happier than his wife, Jodie.

His sacrifice has not been wasted. In fact, it is obvious today that his efforts helped to pave the way for the gradual legalization of cannabis across the USA. These four years have seen incredible changes in the cannabis industry.

For those unaware, Marc sold about $14 million worth of cannabis seeds, mostly to Americans, and then used the ap-proximately $4 million in profit to spon-sor ballot initiatives, political campaigns and other forms of activism. That was until the summer of 2005, when he was arrested in Halifax while his offices were being raided back in Vancouver. He pleaded guilty so that charges could be dropped against his two employees that were caught up in the raid.

As one would expect, life in US prisons has not been easy. For a spell he was stuck in a jail that housed mostly foreign-ers, so he learned Spanish and started to help other inmates out with their legal problems until they moved him to an-other jail. There has been time in soli-tary confinement. He has had privileges taken away for no reason and has missed visits with Jodie because the prisons can get put into lockdown quickly. A brief battle with an infection was perhaps the scariest time for his loved ones, who felt helpless as they watched him struggle from afar.

When I ask one of his top employees, Jer-emiah Vandermeer, how Marc seemed to be holding up, he said, “I’ve been fortu-nate enough to visit Marc at his prison in Mississippi twice, and both times I was impressed by his amazing positivity and optimism in a potentially soul-crushing situation. He has not lost his unrelenting dedication to his principles, even after paying such a high personal price.”

One of the most surprising things Marc has done in jail is to learn how to play

the bass guitar! He has been playing in a few bands in jail and is really looking forward to buying a bass when he gets home so he can play at the jam nights at the BCMP. It is a sign of how intelligent and determined the man can be. No wonder Jodie loves him so much.

In so many ways this has been very dif-ficult for her. As she says, “Being apart from each other and worrying about his health and safety has been very tough. I have been trying not to get tired or depressed, because I’m managing four businesses and 27 employees,and doing media appearances and public speaking at conferences and events. I have had to be a role model, and continue fighting as hard as possible to end prohibition so we can save other peaceful people from the harms of arrest and imprisonment. I didn’t want to let anyone down when Marc was taken away from us all.”

So while Marc has been getting more sun and rest than he has had his entire life, Jodie has been working tirelessly to fight to get him back and fight the drug war. According to Jodie, “Marc is still very much the same in his wonderfully brilliant, upbeat, inspiring way. But he was also forced to slow down and be patient in a terribly boring place - and he has used his time wisely, learning bass guitar and playing in a few dif-ferent prison bands. He’s spent much time reading hundreds of books on all sorts of subjects, plus newspapers and numerous magazines. That kind of thoughtful, uninterrupted absorption of information is almost impossible in the outside world, so he’s been able to contemplate a lot. He’s also seemingly gotten more youthful-looking somehow - probably because the many years of stress awaiting extradition and impris-onment is long gone!”

One reason Marc has not had to stress too much has been the intense dedica-tion of his wife, Jodie. Jeremiah speaks for many of us when he says, “Jodie is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. After being robbed of her beloved husband and hero, under brutal emotional conditions, she’s not only taken over managing Vancouver’s most popular headshop and vapor lounge and made it grow and blossom, but has become one of the leading marijua-na activists in the country. I think Jodie

finds strength in ceaselessly dedicating herself to the quest pioneered by her husband – she’s so busy and has so much on her shoulders. I don’t think she has much time to think about the pain she’s feeling.”

When I asked her how she has managed to get through these extraordinary times, she said, “The enormous and constant kindness of supporters; the positive at-titude Marc has maintained throughout a nightmarish daily existence that I can’t even imagine; and the knowledge that

By Ted Smith


our movement is making progress on a bigger scale despite the setbacks and hardships. Marc’s mission to “Plant the Seeds of Freedom to Overgrow the Gov-ernment” is being accomplished, even if there’s still a lot of work ahead.”

Her pain will be over soon. However, no one knows exactly when that will be. This was all she could tell me when I asked. “His sentence ends on July 9th but they release foreign prisoners on Thursdays; the 10th is Thursday, so he

only spends an extra night in there.

However, he will then be in custody of Immigrations & Customs Enforcement and they’ll take him to a private prison in Louisiana to await deportation. We don’t know how long that will take; we’ve heard of it taking between threeweeks and (the worst-case scenario) eight months for other Canadians to be de-ported after release from federal prison. But we hope that with campaigning from supporters and with pressure on the US and Canadian governments, they will process him quickly and he could be home later this summer. Once they are ready to deport him, he will be flown to Detroit - with little to no warning, so I’ll rush to the Vancouver airport to fly to Toronto - and be escorted to the border, where he will be able to walk onto Cana-dian soil in Windsor as a completely free man. I’ll hopefully be there in time to greet him, but I guarantee there will be a large contingent of fans and media to welcome him home.”

The outpouring of affection and admira-tion from fans will likely be like nothing this movement has ever seen. For many, Marc has become a hero, on par with some of the greatest civil rights advocates of our era. His relentless pursuit of legal-izing cannabis has resulted in millions of cannabis plants being grown, millions of votes being cast to reform the laws, millions of minds being opened to the possibilities this plant has to offer. There is no doubt he will be treated like royalty as he travels the country.

“I can’t wait until Marc is finally home so I can have my friend back,” said Jeremi-ah. “ Marc is not only a great boss who lovingly pushes his employees to achieve greatness, he’s also a caring friend full of personal insights and helpful advice. It will also be great to have him back on the front lines of our fight to end prohibition – where he belongs – especially since he’s going to be ready to kick some Conserva-tive ass in the next election.”

Which is likely what we can expect him to be doing with Jodie. “We’ll be spend-ing some quality time together,” she said, “but definitely continuing our activism; staying involved in politics; managing our businesses; traveling to meet our supporters and activists across BC, Cana-da, and worldwide; and campaigning for the Liberal Party of Canada in the next federal election because of the unprec-

edented legalization policy they’ve put forth. So we’ll be busier than ever! He’s outlined some of his ideas in his prison blogs, so I recommend people check those out at www.CannabisCulture.com if they’re interested in seeing what the Prince of Pot plans to do when he arrives home!”

As this is going to print, it seems like Jodie is even going to take a run at run-ning for the Liberals in East Vancouver in the next federal election! With some of the Liberals promising to legalize cannabis, they seem like the only hope against this repressive Conservative re-gime. So much is at stake with this next election, as the environment, health care, judicial system, scientific institutions and aboriginal affairs appear to mean little to Harper and his minions.

Regardless of what he does in the fu-ture, Marc Emery has already earned a place in the history books for his coura-geous efforts to free this plant from the shackles of prohibition. By sacrificing so much of his life to fight against the mighty forces of the US government, he has undermined the ability of the po-lice to enforce the law, as he has helped to convince the general public that the prohibition of cannabis is a waste of their precious tax dollars. His release from jail is almost perfectly timed with the sudden mass acceptance of cannabis, and we are all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what he does next. Whether he ends up touring in a band with Tommy Chong or setting for the high seas with Jodie, one thing is for sure: Marc Emery is coming back home!

EMERY COMING HOME


Mexicos Drug War RootsU p d a t i n g R e e f e r M a d n e s s : a n d n o w f o r s o m e t h i n g c o m p l e t e l y H i s t o r i c a l

Judith Stamps

Many readers will be familiar wi th the story of Ameri-

ca’s War on Drugs. As most of us know it, the story goes something like this. Following political upheavals in Mexico in 1910, large numbers of Mexicans im-migrated to the US, especially to the Southwest. For predictable reasons, the immigrants became objects of contempt. They spoke a foreign language; they were dark skinned; they took low paying jobs. Moreover, they brought with them the practice of smoking weed. No one wanted them around, so both they and their practice were condemned as alien and harm-

ful. The ‘alien’ notion was then boosted by the birth of Jazz in the 1920s, particularly by the emerg-ing news that Black musicians and their admirers were fans of reefer. Then in 1930, American prohibi-tionist Harry Anslinger was ap-pointed chief commissioner of the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). Within a couple of decades Anslinger and his crew had dreamed up Reefer Madness: the familiar stream of lurid tales that peppered the Hearst press throughout the 1940s and ear-ly 50s. As we currently under-stand them, these tales were invented by the FBN.

But it turns out that they were not invented by the FBN. They were not invented in America at all. The lurid tales were created in Mexico by Spanish-Mexican prohibi-tionists in the late 19th century, and only later copied by Ameri-can journalists. This new fact is the subject of Mexican scholar, Isaac Campos’ recent (2012) work, Home Grown: Marijuana and the Origins of Mexico’s War on Drugs. Based on analyses of Mexican newspapers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Campos’ study tracks the development of the original reefer madness in Mexico. Rooted in Mexico’s medical histo-ry, this reefer madness succeeded, by 1895, in convincing Mexicans

that marijuana was the province of the violent and the insane; and by 1920, in bringing about mari-juana prohibition in that country. In what follows, I offer a summary of Campos’ account.

One must begin, in Campos’ view, by discarding the idea that recre-ational marijuana is a casual, tradi-tional part of Mexican life, some-thing like coca leaf chewing in Peru or khat chewing in Djibouti. It has never been that. Recreation-al marijuana in Mexico has been traditional to two groups only: the inmates of Mexico’s prisons and the soldiers living in its barracks. Neither group was well thought of; both were known for senseless violence. There were, in addition,

native peoples that used marijua-na for medical and religious pur-poses. They were not violent, but the Spanish-speaking Catholics rejected their religious ideas, and the dominant Spanish medical practitioners rejected their healers. One way or another, ‘proper Mexi-cans’ did not embrace marijuana as something good for recreation. Rather, they associated it with bad living.

Mexico did, however, have a medi-cal marijuana tradition, much like that in other countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. In 1842, marijuana was listed as a narcotic in the new Farma-copoeia Mexicana, where it was itemized both as Cannabis Sati-va: cañamo, and Cannabis Indica: mariguana. But its distribution was highly restricted. Medical practice in Mexico followed the traditions of Spain, and Spain had a long-standing love of strict regulation, rooted in its mediaeval past. In mediaeval times, Spain had served as the world’s harbor for Arabic scholars. From the fall of the Ro-man Empire to the expulsion of all non-Catholics from Spain in 1492, those scholars were the keepers of Western knowledge. They stud-ied the Greek and Roman medi-cal texts, and translated them. They shared their studies with the Christian and Jewish scholars that

lived among them. As a result, Me-diaeval Spain had a set of medical practices far in advance of anything available in the rest of Europe.

It also had a highly advanced system of regulation. By the early 1500s, for example, Spanish laws were in place to oversee and regulate all medicine and pharma-cology in that country. There were national inspectors who paid regu-lar visits to Spain’s physicians and apothecaries. There were laws for controlling access to medicines. In this world, physicians ruled. They wrote the prescriptions; Apoth-ecaries dispensed only what had been prescribed. After its indepen-dence in1810, it was this system, deeply rooted in Spanish-Arabic history that Mexico chose to adopt. The system provided Mexican pa-tients with medical marijuana, but only via prescription. It allowed prescriptions, but only from west-ern style physicians.

Mexico had not adopted these rules with recreational users in mind. The rules were there simply to protect the authority of west-ern medicine, and western medical men. But in practice, they served a dual purpose. Once in place, they allowed for easy prosecution of lo-cals who liked to smoke. So by the time of the widely attended Hague Opium Convention of 1912, which recommended regulation, Mexico,

with its Spanish background, was well ahead of the game.Regulating marijuana was spurred as well by Mexico’s adoption of The Social Hygiene Movement, a set of ideas popular among emerging nations. Social Hygiene was based on the view that ‘modern’ science should be used to cleanse and per-fect society; its methods should

be used to select the ‘better’ social classes and reject the ‘degenerates.’ Followers of the Movement be-lieved, in addition, that degenerate behavior in parents was physically passed on to their children. This notion stemmed from the work of Lamarck, a popular evolutionary theorist. According to Lamarck, actions in life alter genes. Mexi-can elites embraced this idea. They argued that pot smoking among Mexico’s prisoners and soldiers was making them worse. It was unrav-eling their genetic material, caus-ing them to father crazy kids. In this way, it would soon corrupt the country, leaving Mexico a nation of despicable wretches.

Similar ideas were repeated and popularized in Mexican newspa-pers of 19th, and early 20th cen-turies. They developed a special fondness for stories about violence among Mexico’s pot-smoking prisoners and soldiers. They fos-tered the belief that marijuana and bloody knife fights went hand in hand. They popularized dope fiend cartoon characters, drawn to look bug eyed and bizarre. My accom-panying cartoon, copied from an original featured in Campos’ book, shows the popular figure of Don Chepito Mariguana, a genetic mis-fit if ever there was one. Near the turn of the century, these messages went international. In 1895, The Mexican Herald began to publish

an English language newspaper. As the Herald also held the Associ-ated Press franchise for the Mexi-can capital, its stories were easily reprinted or reworked by Ameri-can journalists. A Story retold in a Salt Lake City newspaper in 1898, for example, described a marijuana crazed boy who ran amok, tearing off his clothes and attacking pass-

Cannabis Digest • Summer 2014ersby in the main street of his town. Other, similar stories made their way into American culture. In Campos’ words, “It was from this atmosphere that the US media began to pluck exotic, sensational stories of the new drug menace south of the border.”

To make matters worse, turn of the century America was much con-cerned with a problem plant called ‘locoweed.’ Locoweed is Jimson Weed, Datura Stramonium. When horses and cows graze on it, they go crazy. Press stories of the day confused marijuana intoxication with the effects of locoweed. Some readers thought that locoweed was marijuana. The term locoweed con-tains the Mexican word for ‘crazy.’ One can well imagine the effects caused by this kind of confusion. It is no wonder that Mexican im-migrants were unwelcome in the US post 1910. Nor it is surprising that, from 1915 onward, individual states began to pass anti-marijuana laws. With the locoweed notion flying around, and all the preced-ing, neither the immigrants nor the plant would have stood a chance.Put these elements together—re-strictive medical practices, the use of marijuana by ‘social misfits,’ So-cial Hygiene ideas, locoweed, and the press—and you have Mexico’s original Reefer Madness. It was from these elements, and from

Mexican sources, in Campos’ words, “that the US government and the press first heard that mari-juana turned ordinary people into ferocious maniacs.” With these facts in mind, we fans of Canna-bis must now review and reject the standard, well-boiled Reefer Madness stories on which we have been fed. Whether we are Canna-bis historians, prohibition history freaks, or simply people who like to remember the old Reefer Mad-ness story, we might also like to ask this question: where does all this leave old Harry Anslinger? Read-ers will choose their own answers; I say it leaves him every bit as mean, and a lot less inventive. It turns out that he didn’t need imagination; he just had to read the old papers. As to the immigrants, some of them obviously did use pot. And after American prohibition in 1937, their home country did become a key source of the plant. Regardless, it is now our turn. Those of us with a passion for understanding the past must work to make the necessary mental adjustments.


By Owen Smith

In previous articles, I have covered the constitutional challenge that I

brought to the federal government re-garding the proper use of medical canna-bis in Canada. It has been over 6 months since I appeared in the BC Court of Ap-peal, and we still await a decision from the three judges. In the meantime I have begun to explore what another country, Costa Rica, is doing to legalize medical cannabis.

Cannabis prohibition in Costa Rica

Earlier this year I visited beautiful, tropical Costa Rica with my partner. The most bio-diverse country in the world, Costa Rica’s sunny verdant slopes would be a sublime place to grow medicinal cannabis alongside some of the world’s finest coffee. However, as it is on most of the planet, cannabis remains illegal there, and the attitude toward it is mired in de-cades of drug war propaganda.

I was fortunate to speak with a former cannabis grower who told me of the se-vere anxiety he had experienced while growing in isolation. The threat of law enforcement was always looming. He described the 3 grades of cannabis that I would come across in Costa Rica: Co-lumbian Brick, Jamaican Shwag and a hydroponically grown variety that was commonly called “The Creepy.” He ex-plained that they were limited to a few strains only; most of these were Sativa strains. I wondered if some the Sativa strains had gained their reputation for being highly stimulating from the para-noia that ordinary cannabis users experi-enced due to Costa Rica’s draconian laws.

In contrast, a young Tico man offered me a joint while walking into a super-market singing “I love marijuana” at the top of his lungs. In some small Costa Rican towns the open use of cannabis is normal; one is described by Lonely planet as having “neo-Rastas hawking uplifting herbs.” However, as in most places, while use might be tolerated, it also might not, and police are happy to parade any suf-ficient confiscation before the media.

Costa Rica has one major newspaper in English, the Tico Times. The Times reported that in response to the legaliza-tion of Cannabis in Uruguay, the former President, Laura Chinchilla, would not consider legalizing for general use but may consider medical marijuana. In

North America, medical cannabis legis-lation has preceded the passing of laws in states permitting its general use. It seems that once it is well known to help even the most ill in society, it becomes easier to accept its safety in general, especially when compared to other legal substances.

There are no medical cannabis dispen-saries in Costa Rica although 53 percent support using Cannabis for medical pur-poses. I often met people who were suf-fering from conditions that cannabis is known to help, who had no idea of its medicinal properties. People recited the same difficulties associated with high THC sativa strains as patients I have spoken with in Canada. A common ex-ample is ‘I tried cannabis for my back pain but I don’t like to smoke or feel high when caring for my family’.

Among the achievements of the me-dicinal cannabis industry is that it pro-vides alternatives to smoking, and offers products with more or less THC and CBD to suit individual needs. The re-cently elected president Luis Guillermo Solis voiced his support for medicinal marijuana during the candidate race.

In order to find out more I sought out medical cannabis organizations in Costa Rica. I contacted Gerald Murray, the spokesman for the Costa Rica Medici-nal Marijuana Movement, and invited him to be interviewed on my bi-weekly

radio show on www.Time4Hemp.com. It turns out that Gerald was preparing to launch a referendum to legalize medi-cal cannabis on May 5th, the same day as our interview.

With SensibleBC having recently fallen short of its signature gathering campaign to decriminalize cannabis in BC, and the MMPR (Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) under heavy criticism in Canada, I was inter-ested to discover how likely it was that they would succeed in their campaign, and what model they had designed for their country.

Will they succeed?

My interview with Gerald Murray of the Costa Rica Medicinal Cannabis Movement suffered from some technical difficulties, but I was still able to ask him a few key questions. Gerald Murray and the Medicinal Marihuana Costa Rica Movement have begun collecting sig-natures for a referendum vote to legalize medical cannabis in Costa Rica. Given the successful ballot initiatives in Wash-ington and Colorado and the unsuccess-ful one in British Columbia last year, I wonder how likely they are to succeed in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rica medicinal cannabis movement began in 2009 and has grown

steadily from its grassroots. Gerald Murray was working with Presidential candidate Gary Johnson in 2010 when he witnessed the prosperous U.S. medical cannabis industry. He was inspired him to bring the positive ideas back to his country. Since then he has been chang-ing people’s minds by presenting patient testimony and studies from doctors both to politicians and youth activists.

Gerald helps run the campaign through two Facebook pages, which are followed by 12,000 users. To reach the number requested by the Supreme Elec-toral Tribunal (TSE) he is using a team of 750 volunteers and aims to collect 100,000 signatures by the end of July. Based in the Capital City of San Jose, they started collecting signatures on May 5th at some of the country’s universities. They have surpassed their own expecta-tions, collecting 12,000 signatures in the first day, 18,000 in the first week, 53,000 in the first of two months. If successful, the collection of signatures will result in a vote in October to have legal medici-nal cannabis in Costa Rica by January of 2015.

Here In BC, the efforts of SensibleBC to gather around 300,000 signatures to trigger a vote to decriminalize fell short of its goal. However the referendum sys-tem existing in BC is the most difficult in the world next to Germany. Washington State needed only 250,000 signatures to force its referendum to legalize mari-juana. There were no distribution re-quirements, they had 6 months to collect (we three months) and could use paid canvassers (we were allowed volunteers only). Colorado’s rules are similar to those of Washington State, but they only needed 150,000 signatures statewide.

Costa Rica is a small country (20 times smaller than BC) with a population around 4 million (about the same as BC). The close proximity of its citizens gives these activists a good chance at success. If they gather all of the signatures they require, the Costa Rica Medicinal Can-nabis Movement will present its proposal for the new law in July. Once the Su-preme Electoral Tribune has validated all of the signatures, the vote would be set to occur in October and the new law would take effect in January of 2015.

What will the new law look like?

During my interview with Gerald Murray I was able to ask a few key ques-

17

Shi ft ing Views in Lat in Amer icaR e f e r e n d u m t o l e g a l i z e m e d i c a l c a n n a b i s u n d e r w a y i n C o s t a R i c a

Cannabis Digest • Summer 201418tions about what the new

law would look like. Gerald also provided me with an unfin-

ished draft copy of the proposal to regulate medicinal cannabis.

The proposed regulation has two as-pects: public and private. In 1948 when Costa Rica abolished its military, it also made it a constitutional law that the gov-ernment must provide good health ser-vices to all its citizens. With universal health care, medicinal cannabis would be provided for free to patients in public hospitals, and grown cheaply outdoors by members of the agricultural sector. There would also be private sales through dis-pensaries that would be subject to an ini-tial tax of 20%. The tax revenue would be divided among Costa Rican Social Se-curity (35%), Road Infrastructure (15%), Education (10%), Culture and Youth Programs (5%) and more.

The estimated 100 million dollars in annual tax revenue would also help create the Costa Rican institute of cannabis re-search, which would investigate, validate, monitor, and regulate the use of medical cannabis to treat, cure, reduce and pre-vent diseases. Specialized software and tools would be utilized to accumulate and monitor clinical data. A limited number of licenses would be distributed for use by dispensaries, social clubs, agricultural production and medical tourism.

Patients would be permitted to grow up to 4 cannabis plants. They would also be allowed to produce all kinds of canna-bis products for all methods of ingestion. A doctor would have to prescribe canna-bis, as with the MMPR in Canada, but the Costa Rican proposition has received support from retired public health direc-tors. A dozen doctors will be touring universities to support medical cannabis in July. As in North America, there will be an age limit of 18 for use except when monitored by doctors, who are likely to allow its use for children with epilepsy.

I don’t speak Spanish well, so most of what I’ve read I have understood thanks to online translator tools. Fortunately, both gentlemen I spoke with in San Jose spoke excellent English. On September 21st of this year, Ernesto Cortes and the drug policy group ACEID are helping to host the 5th Latin America Drug Policy Conference, the 1st in Central America. ACEID organized their second Interna-tional Marijuana March in Costa Rica on May 3rd.

The Drug Policy conference draws government officials and policy groups from all over Latin America includ-ing representatives from Uruguay and Colorado to speak on panels about drug use of all kinds. There will be a special side-event dedicated to the discussion of cannabis that will include the Costa Rica Medicinal Cannabis Movement. While developing a better understanding of the issues, drug policy reformers are crafting guidelines that integrate medicinal can-nabis into modern health care systems. Given the ability of cannabis to replace more expensive prescription drugs, this system is likely to lead to a healthier, wealthier society.

The Latin America Drug Policy Con-ference

As the signature gathering campaign comes to a close and the proposed reg-ulations are finalized for presentation to the Costa Rican public for a vote, a likeminded policy group is preparing to welcome delegates from surround-ing countries for the 5th annual Latin America Drug Policy Conference. There

is a side event dedicated to the discussion of medical cannabis that the Costa Rica Medicinal Cannabis Movement will at-tend.

This is the first year that the conference is happening in Costa Rica. Among the attendees are the reform groups Con-fredrogas, Intercause, T.N.I., and Synco-tropicas. They also expect representatives from the states of Colorado and Uruguay, where cannabis is now legal. These drug policy reformers are putting pressure on their governments to examine their of-ficial position on drug policy and adapt

to the lessons being learned around the world. The previous president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, expressed a will-ingness to discuss medical cannabis, but was recently voted out of power.

The representatives are invited to par-ticipate in discussion panels on a variety of drug policy issues. Some countries have shied away from the spotlight, as there is still much perceived political risk involved with engaging this controversial debate. It has only been over the past decade that public opinion has moved in North America toward open debates and regulatory experiments. In Central and South America the movement is younger still, however there is a tradition of pro-gressive reform in Costa Rica that makes it an ideal candidate to join the pioneers of modern drug policy.

I spoke with Ernesto Cortes from the registered drug policy reform group ACEID that is organizing the event, about what challenges Costa Rica faces with other local governments. Ernesto notes that there has been no public dis-cussion between governments about the possibilities of drug reform in the region, and Costa Rica has seen no support for legal regulation of cannabis for general use.

There is a split of opinion amongst gov-ernments in Central and South America. Mexico, which has suffered the most ci-vilian casualties in the War on Drugs, is known to be part of a block of countries open to the debate. The block includes Columbia, Uruguay and Guatemala. The Guatemalan president has come out in support of legalizing all drugs and the government will issue a report in Octo-ber that outlines its plans for legalizing cannabis and opium crops in the future. Honduras has been an outspoken oppo-nent of drug policy reform.

There is some concern that the coun-tries on their borders (Nicaragua and Panama) would be recipients of illicit substances that are diverted to the black market. The U.S. Department of Justice has recently chosen to deal with this kind of issue by focusing on those who attempt to cross the borders or break the State’s laws.

Costa Rica is subject to heavy cocaine traffic. It is used as a port between Co-lumbia, Jamaica and the lucrative North American market. With no national military, an increased police presence on roads and a special task force is employed to fight back. While I was travelling through the country I passed through numerous checkpoints, some of which

were operated by officers with assault rifles. Because Cannabis has been placed into the same legal category as Cocaine, the two have become associated in the perception of the public.

As has been noted in debates in North America, multiple drug use (see the Gateway theory) is a function of prohi-bition, not of the substances themselves. Drug dealers who sell both Cannabis and Cocaine are likely to offer the for-mer to lure individuals into using the lat-ter. This is especially troubling because medical patients may be more vulnerable

to manipulation by these unregulated entrepreneurs. It is a too common tale that people who are suffering withdrawal from prescription medications will sub-stitute with illicit versions from the black market. In my experience at the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, medical cannabis can act more like an exit drug for those seeking to withdraw from drug depen-dence.

The future of medical cannabis in Costa Rica

As we move into July, the Costa Rica Medicinal Cannabis Movement’s sig-nature gathering campaign has sur-passed 100K, and is now seeking more to compensate for invalid or duplicate signatures. Costa Rica has only had one successful referendum in the past. The citizens decided by vote that they wanted a Free Trade agreement with the United States. The only successful referendum in British Columbia, revoking the HST, was similarly economic. A medical can-nabis law doesn’t immediately affect all Costa Ricans, so will they see the need to vote for it?

Costa Rica is a very religious coun-try. There are two features consistently found in every town, a soccer field and a church. Pictures of the Pope are about as common as pictures of Queen Eliza-beth in Canada. Many of the taxi driv-ers I rode with in the country kept small crosses of the crucifixion hanging from their rear view mirror for good luck. The Pope recently decried marijuana legaliza-tion, saying that “with evil, there can be no yielding or compromise.” It is unclear if Pope Francis is aware of the medicinal benefits of cannabis.

Ernesto from the drug policy group ACEID admits that there is a lot of ed-ucation that still needs to occur. There is need for the conversation to mature beyond the simple statements for or against, to include dialogue about how to treat drug use as a health care issue with respect to the different possible kinds of regulation. Jails are overcrowded with people who would be better placed under the supervision of health care profession-als.

Ernesto believes that the stigma as-sociated with drugs prevents officials from seeing through the smoky haze of the recreational culture to the medical benefits. He feels that it is essential to distinguish medical from nonmedical use. The proposed law will allow grow-ing a limited number of plants at home.

Currently the cultivation of 2 plants can result in a jail sentence. Ernesto told me of an elderly woman who had been ar-rested for growing 2 plants that she used to treat the symptoms of her cancer. She died in jail.

Patients are the best representatives for the cause, as they tell the true stories of unnecessary suffering caused by the cur-rent laws. It is important for Costa Ri-cans to witness the impact on families in their communities to make an informed decision. I believe that as people learn about the safety and effective use of this medicine, they will see the need for com-passionate action.

Doctors are also critically important representatives as they hold the trust of many people and can help articulate answers to the many questions that will be asked. Public debate needs to occur at Universities so that many of the gen-eral misconceptions can be cleared up for the coming generation of professionals. Doctors are planning to visit some of Costa Rica’s Universities in July.

These youthful, ambitious drug policy groups are part of a worldwide move-ment to end prohibition. ACEID is currently running a Support not Punish campaign to “raise awareness about the harms being caused by the criminalisa-tion of people who use drugs.” A Day of Action will take place on the 26th of June, with cultural activities, and the dis-tributing of educational documents on drug policy and health care.

As in North America, new drugs in Costa Rica are required to pass FDA standards. The internationally recog-nized General Health Law, that has been establish in Costa Rica for over 30 years, demands that doctors, hospitals and pharmacists be the only professionals permitted to distribute medical prepara-tions. In Canada, legal challenges to the constitutionality of the law have made cannabis an exception to the rule. The United States federal government con-tinues to keep cannabis in a class of drugs too dangerous to be administered even in the presence of a doctor.

The United States has invested heav-ily in Costa Rica. U.S. cannabis reform opponents like S.A.M. have raised the question of whether a referendum is the best process to authorize the use of a substance. It is only after insufficient effort from normal regulatory mecha-nisms (like the FDA) that a referendum is called upon to exercise the democratic right of citizens to progress with a popu-lar idea. It would be hypocritical for the United States to find fault in Costa Rica practicing its democratic right to a referendum, since more than 20 U.S. states already have, two making cannabis completely legal. Still, the International narcotics control board, which has come out in opposition to U.S. and Uruguayan reform, would likely oppose the move.

The proposed Costa Rican model in-cludes participation from public hospi-tals, private sales through dispensaries, social clubs (vapour lounges) and an al-lowance for visitors with medical canna-bis licenses to medicate while on vaca-tion.

It has been my pleasure to report on this beautiful country that I visited this year. I truly believe that medical canna-bis would be a complement to the Pura Vida (pure life) attitude of Costa Ricans.

Stay tuned to the Cannabis Digest Blogs for updates.


Rastafarians Rejo ice !

Ras Kahleb

“The reform measures approved by Cabi-net have been primarily driven by the human rights and constitutional consid-erations prevailing in the Jamaican envi-ronment.”

Mark Golding

These were the words of Jamaica’s Minister of Justice, Mark Gold-

ing, during his address to the Jamaican people in regards to ganja legislative reform in Jamaica, proposed for later this year. According to Golding, who seems always to have been optimistic pertaining to amendments made to the country’s constitution in relation to ganja, “The Dangerous Drugs Act is to be amended to make possession of small quantities of ganja for personal use a tick-etable infraction.” (Mark Golding 2014)

Furthermore, the possession of ganja for spiritual, therapeutic and research purposes is to be decriminalized, and ‘special’ provisions are to be made for ganja use by the Rastafari community in their places of worship. One con-cern that the Rastafari community has concerning the decriminalization of ganja in Jamaica is prosecution. Will Rastas face prosecution or harassment for the cultivation of ganja for sacred purposes? The Rastafari Youth Ini-tiative Council holds the view that the Rastafari community should have le-gal rights to grow its Ital or Organic strains of ganja as required for healing and spiritual uses and purposes (RYIC 2014). On this same issue Maxine Stowe, a director of the Rastafari Mil-lennium Council has stated: “We have grown in our appreciation of the ‘strain’ issue and are in full accord that our Sacramental Right should be with the organic and indigenous seed associated with our culture.” (Maxine Stowe 2014). In her own analysis of Cannabis reform in countries around the world Maxine Stowe fervently stated that “Jamaica will be the only country in the world to approach the decriminalization, legal-ization and medicinal industry devel-opment, while containing a distinctive cultural input related to Sacramen-tal Rights.” Although Jamaicans on a whole are looking forward to amend-ments made to the country’s drug laws with good hope, there are some who are very concerned about constitutional violations the State is committing right now against citizens producing, trading and using ganja. In a comment made to The Gleaner, published on the 24th of June 2014, Lord Anthony Gifford

QC mentioned his concerns relating to such constitutional violations by the State toward Jamaicans when he stated that “Our human rights are defined in the Charter of Rights, which is part of the Constitution of Jamaica. In my opinion, the present ganja laws violate many of those rights…How can it be justifiable to allow a person to carry a bottle of rum or a pack of cigarettes but not a bag of ganja” (The Gleaner 2014). Critical to note, the constitutional rights that Lord Gifford has high-lighted as being infringed upon by the State are: freedom of religion; respect for, and protection of, private and fam-ily life, and privacy of the home; and

protection from search of person and property (The Gleaner 2014).

Importantly, Gifford’s statement also reflects the hypocritical nature of inter-national governments including Cana-da and the US who have criminalized Cannabis use even though there is little to zero statistics that associate its use with hospitalization. To note, Ja-maica has one of the highest rates per square mile of automobile accidents in the world, and the Jamaican po-lice have reported that there has been an increase in car accidents caused by drunken drivers. Also, recent inter-national statistics have shown that al-cohol and cigarette consumption has increased in most countries around the world despite their hospitalizing ef-fects. Inevitably, there is an increase in various cancers among world citizens due to these totally legal and death threatening commercial products, al-cohol (al’s cold heart) and cigarette (ciga death). In a poor country like Jamaica where one-third of the popu-lation is impoverished, why isn’t ganja

totally legal for all kinds of uses and purposes, especially since its consump-tion does not come with any additional health bills or hazards? Isn’t Cannabis research-based cooperation in Jamaica the way forward? Let us then com-mend the University of the West Indies (UWI) and Medicinal Task Force for sponsoring the first Jamaica Cannabis Conference held this May. Let’s also congratulate both Strains of Hope and the UWI, which have recently signed off on a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) that pertains to Cannabis re-search-based cooperation between the two entities. Furthermore, let’s use this opportunity to thank other organizers

and sponsors of the Jamaica Cannabis Conference such as Timeless Herbal Care ( Jamaica and Canada) and The University of Tel Aviv. It seems that Jamaica’s first Cannabis Conference convened by the UWI may hold the key that will unlock the sacred and once hidden mysteries of Cannabis in Jamaica through scientific research. It is now time for Jamaica to play ‘catch up,’ as medical Cannabis companies in Canada and elsewhere are also looking on. But as it further pertains to Ja-maica amending its ‘Dangerous’ Drug Act, Minister Mark Golding has as-certained the development of formal-ized and tax-paying medical ganja and industrial hemp industries, from which Jamaica stands to derive significant economic benefits (The Gleaner 2014). In regards to the significant economic benefits to be gained from a regulated Cannabis industry in Jamaica, Blaine Dowdle who is the chief executive officer at MedCannAccess, told The Gleaner earlier this year that “Canada is willing to purchase marijuana from Jamaica, a lucrative deal that could po-tentially earn billions of dollars for the country on an annual basis.” What this means is that the market price for qual-ity grown organic Cannabis produced in Jamaica will be highly competitive, and this product is what Canada and other countries need.

According to recent statistics from Canada’s medical marijuana program, there has been a 100 percent yearly increase in the number of patients. Blaine Dowdle told The Gleaner that “We are expecting it to continue along that trend. That means within the next

four to five years, we should be able to supply between 400,000 to 500,000 patients…I’m here from Canada repre-senting $50,000 sick patients right now who don’t have access to safe, reliable, inexpensive medicine. Lots of the peo-ple using medical marijuana in Canada are disabled, they are literally sick and don’t have a lot of money, and they do need lower-cost cannabis in Canada” (The Gleaner 2014). “Wake up Jamaica you are losing opportunities” (Theme for Jamaica Cannabis Conference 2014 by Medicinal Task Force Jamaica).

Though the government is seemingly making strategic steps towards the le-galization of ganja, especially since Jamaica does not want to be left too far behind in what has already been deemed a lucrative ganja industry, there are still major concerns. While being mocked by Cannabis reform groups lo-cally and internationally for allowing Uruguay get ahead of Jamaica in this legalization-of-Cannabis race, the US, despite Cannabis legalization in Colo-rado and Washington states, is remind-ing the country that it is a signatory to several international conventions on illicit drugs including the Single Con-vention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and amended in 1972, the Convention on Psychiatropic Substances of 1971 and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988 {see. Cannabis Digest 38th Edition entitled Jamaican Culture vs. Legisla-tion: The Decriminalization of Small Quantities of Ganja Is A Must}.

The contemplative question some Ja-maicans are now asking is “which shall it be,” a multi-billion dollar Ganja in-dustry or the IMF who has been a part of the strategy to keep the people “in de pen” and not independent! With in-creasing pressure coming from human rights groups and the Rastafari com-munity for Jamaica’s legacy of abuse of power, the Jamaican government will soon need to consider how it is going to make Reparations. It is quite clear that the legalization of ganja is inevitably a way forward for both the Jamaican government and people. With 1.1 mil-lion Jamaicans living near or under the poverty line, a lucrative ganja industry is surely bound to solve the problem of poverty as it did in the 1940s and 50s at Pinnacle, St. Catherine, and again in the 1960s and 70s at Coptic, St. Thomas. With ganja as their main cash crop, the communities at Pinnacle and Coptic became independent of Jamai-can colonial and neo-colonial society. Thus, ganja production, consumption and marketing all became very normal and valuable among adherents of Ras-tafari. The Pinnacle and Coptic com-munes practiced the self-empowering Black social and economic principles of the Honorable Marcus Garvey, who is Jamaica’s first National Hero and whose organization, the UNIA, we will commemorate this year for its 100 years of persistence in the West. Such examples o f ‘economic l i v i t y ’ a t Pinnacle and Coptic can be used as perfect case s tud i e s f o r re s ea rch and community reform in Jamaica.

J a m a i c a A m e n d s i t s ’ “ D a n g e r o u s ” D r u g s A c t


Cannabis Interactions P a t i e n t i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t C a n n a b i s a n d P r e s c r i p t i o n m e d i c a t i o n s

Nicholas Fraleigh

Excerpt from the V-CBC guide

Cannabis produces a fantastically wide array of different compounds,

containing at least 489 distinct types. Over 70 of these are produced exclu-sively within the cannabis plant . Each specific species has different propor-tions of these compounds, which are also effected by environmental factors during production and processing. There is currently little available data on most of these compounds. We do know that many of them have some sort of physiological effect on humans when introduced to the blood stream. When such a complex spectrum of bioactive agents is used in conjunction with other medications the possibil-ity of a negative drug interaction is a legitimate concern.

A drug interaction is a situation in which the activity of a drug is affected by another substance (usually another drug) when both are administered together. Due to its broad range of effects, Cannabis can cause a variety of interaction effects with many over-the-counter and prescription medications, as well as most recreational drugs. This article contains a series of generalized guidelines intended to inform about possible side effects than can occur with the various major classes of drugs, followed by a non-exhaustive list of common prescription pharmaceuticals sold in Canada.

*Under no circumstances should any person augment or substitute any prescribed medication with another registered drug or other (alternative, complementary or herbal) treatment without first consulting with a doctor. This article is intended solely as an introduction to the most common drug interactions and is by no means an exhaustive exploration of the possible dangers inherent in modifying an ongoing pharmaceutical regimen.

Depressants

Central nervous system (CNS) depres-sants, sometimes referred to as seda-tives and tranquilizers, are substances that slow both physiological processes and brain activity. This property makes their use common in the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders. Most prescription pain medications have depressant effects in addition to their analgesic qualities. Alcohol and illegal recreational drugs such as ketamine and heroin (sometimes known as “down-ers”) also act as CNS depressants.

Cannabis can increase the effects of these substances in a synergistic (more than additive) manner. This can be both highly desirable and highly dangerous. Lower doses of medications such as morphine can be used in association with cannabis to achieve a compa-rable amount of pain relief due to the magnification of both their effects. This same increase in effect is seen to some extent in all depressants. This can lead

to clumsiness, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, emesis (vomiting) and loss of consciousness. Therefore, great care should be taken with dosage when combining cannabis with any sort of depressant.

Antiepileptic drugs

Antiepileptic drugs (also known as antispasmodics or anticonvulsants) are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. They are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Antiepileptic medications share memory loss related side effects with cannabis. Both in conjunction may increase the severity of these effects, increasing the likelihood of forgetting a timed dose of medication and therefore leading to the possibility of an in-creased number of seizures occurring.

Unfortunately, little is known about the interactions between many of these medications and cannabis. If the choice is made to introduce cannabis into a pre-existing regimen of antiepileptic drugs (especially combinations of such), great care should be taken to ensure a safe environment in the case of a seizure and to make careful note of any changes in the frequency or severity of any seizures experienced.

Stimulants

CNS stimulants are substances that can increase physical activity, mental alert-ness and attention span. They are used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, and the most commonly used recreational drug in the world (caffeine) is a stimu-lant. Excessive stimulant use can lead to tachycardia (abnormally fast heart rate) thus putting strain on the heart which can be dangerous for individuals with heart conditions. Cannabis can increase these effects when co-administered which is a potential danger for those with a history of heart disease.

Both stimulants and cannabis can sometimes exacerbate the symptoms of individuals with anxiety disorders. Thus, great care should be taken by sensitive individuals if they should choose to co-administer cannabis with any form of stimulant.

Antipsychotics

Antipsychotics are a diverse class of psychiatric medications primarily used to manage psychosis, particularly in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and are increasingly being used in the man-agement of non-psychotic disorders.

Relevant data in regards to interac-tions between these medications and cannabis is lacking. Recent evidence suggests that antipsychotic treatment may have effects within the endocan-

nabinoid system (the same system which cannabis exerts an effect). However, the clinical relevance of this is unclear.

While studies show that many individuals who suffer from schizo-phrenia self-medicate with cannabis, the majority of current clinical data indicates an increase in the positive symptoms associated with schizophre-nia (including delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thoughts) in association with cannabis use. For patients with established schizophrenia, cannabis use is clinically associated increased risk of relapse, and poorer adherence with antipsychotic treatment. For these reasons, cannabis use is gener-ally contraindicated for individuals with schizophrenia. If the decision is made by an individual with any form of schizophrenia to begin administering cannabis, they should first consult with their mental health care professional and keep careful watch for the any negative effects.

Antidepressants

Antidepressants are drugs used for the treatment of major depressive disor-der and other conditions, including dysthymia, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, chronic pain, neuropathic pain and, in some cases, dysmenorrhoea, snoring, migraines, attention-deficit hyperactiv-ity disorder (ADHD), substance abuse and sleep disorders.

The majority of antidepressants fall within the bounds of four categories: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and mono-amine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).

TCAs are of the most concern as they have been reported to cause tachycardia (abnormally fast heart rate) in a small but significant number of individuals.

There are also rare reports of tachy-cardia in association with SNRIs, but clinical data is currently lacking.

MAOIs are generally well tolerated in association with cannabis but have been anecdotally reported to mildly increase the cannabis’ psychotropic effects.

SSRIs generally do not interact with cannabis in any significant way.

Special note about psychiatric medica-tions

Psychiatric medications interact with the most sensitive and complex organ in the body: the brain. This means that it should come as no surprise that un-foreseen interactions can occur between cannabis and these drugs (especially when one has been prescribed a variety of different medications). Whenever adding ANYTHING psychoactive to an ongoing therapeutic regimen, the individual should first consult their healthcare provider.

At the V-CBC we are well aware that your mental healthcare professional may be unwilling or unable to provide you with the information needed to make an educated choice about intro-ducing cannabis into your medication regimen. We recommend against mak-ing such a move without professional advice. If you should choose to proceed regardless, during the first few weeks of cannabis use in conjunction with either an ongoing or newly initiated regi-men of psychiatric medications, a close watch should be kept over yourself for any irrational thoughts, inappropriate emotional states, issues with sleeping, and any other unusual or undesirable side effects.

During this time it can be useful (both for yourself and your healthcare provider) to maintain a daily journal recording the timing of both when you administer your medications and the timing and duration of any possible side effects. Should any significant ef-fects occur, immediately cease medi-cating with cannabis and consult your mental healthcare provider.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, cannabis science is still in its infancy and there is a dearth of clinical evidence directly relating to possible interactions with specific pharmaceutical medications. Many participants in studies worldwide that have been designed to test aspects of the efficacy of cannabis for a variety of ailments were also using regimens of prescription pharmaceuticals and recreational drugs. The low numbers of serious adverse effects reported in these studies goes some way towards indicating the general lack of signifi-cant interactions between cannabis and a large variety of medications. Much of the rest of the information contained in this article is based off of anecdotal reports of the members of Canadian dispensaries, as well as those found online. These are imperfect sources of information but they are the best we have to work with right now. Hopefully the coming years will see the initiation of large scale clinical trials that increase our knowledge of possible drug inter-actions with cannabis, thus increasing both the safety and efficacy of this novel plant.

NOTE : Anyone who has information (clinical or anecdotal) that could be used to improve or add to this article should contact the V-CBC. We would love to add your expertise or experience to our growing body of knowledge.


H o l l y w o o d f a l l s o n Te d S m i t h


by Ted Smith

Rarely does an opportunity to act in a feature film fall into your

lap. It is almost impossible then to be asked to virtually play yourself in the movie, even getting to introduce your-self, using your real name in your own place of business. An illegal business, to boot. This incredible scenario actu-ally happened to me, but I am getting no credit for it!

When one of the producers first con-tacted me, it was not to ask me to play the part of the guy in the pot store. He said the director thought it would be ironic to get a local activist to play the role of the sketchy guy that rips off the main characters! Apparently they went around Victoria looking for someone to play the weirdo and several people suggested they come see me.

As director, John Stockwell, first entered the store he immediately realized it was perfect for the scene. We seemed to hit it off. He claimed that they wanted someone from the real cannabis industry in the movie because it would help to promote their work. In order to make sure the script was true to life, he sent me a copy to read and even improve upon if I saw fit. Everything appeared so good that I agreed to let them shoot the film in the club for free, and did not ask for money myself. It seemed like I was going to get a huge chance to forward my career.

After doing an audition for the sketch case, I was told that John wanted to change my role to the guy behind the counter, expanding on the original script so I could talk about selling can-nabis more. That suited me just fine, especially when it was clear the direc-tor was encouraging me to get into the role. It felt almost like introducing a new member to the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, the medical dispensary I had founded, except that there was no discussion of symptoms and pain management. My role was the dealer in the Holy Smoke in Nelson BC, a store that for a few years was able to sell cannabis over the counter to anyone who walked in the door that looked old enough. It was eventually shut down after gaining too much exposure in the media. The role was a natural for me.

Doing the scene in the club seemed a perfect fit, too. With few corporate logos anywhere and lots of original art, the crew that looked after designing the sets was actually disappointed they did not get a chance to decorate more. Apparently when they had first seen the script it had appeared to them that the scene in the pot store would be a lot of fun. The only thing they had to work around was the fact we refused to interfere with the flow of the medi-cine, and made the crew show up at 8 am to start filming so the club could open at 10 am.

There were large trucks all down the

block with cables running out of them into the club. A catering tent was set

up in front of a nearby seniors’ home. My partner, Gayle Quin, was filmed on the front desk saying “hello” when the main characters first walked in, but that was not included in the movie. You can see one of the staff, Min-neh Kamua Bushby, as she walks past the main actors while they approach me, but everyone else in the film is an extra. The smoke viewers can see comes from a smoke machine, except

for what is coming from the back room, where a few of us puffed down between shooting takes.

Though the director was doing his best to try to stop anyone from smok-ing real pot during the filming, the extras were keen to smoke some good stuff while they stood around the box waiting for things to roll along. Between the smoke machine and the fact the store always smells like can-

nabis, he never seemed to catch on to how much puffing was actually going on. One of the film crew even kept coming to the back to sneak in tokes from us, as we thought it was our duty to smoke pretty much the whole time they were there.Filming the scene was amazing. Since there was no script for my part of the scene, the director was happy to allow me to make up my lines on the spot. He even encouraged me to talk about my book, holding it in front of the camera while I talked about some of the history of cannabis.

In an attempt to capture the expres-sions on the faces of the two young main characters the first time they walked into a pot store, the director had the actors wait outside until the scene was ready to shoot. We filmed the whole scene the first time with

very few breaks. In the movie you can see the looks of surprise and wonder when I suddenly pull out a half pound of pot and shove it under their noses so they can smell it. These high-flying actors from the states had likely

never seen near that much cannabis in someone’s hands before, and the movie captures their shock and joy at seeing such a big bag of beautiful buds.

It was over in a flash. A few members had to wait while the club got set up after the movie crew left, as taking down all of the cameras and getting everything out took longer than we expected. But soon all signs of the filmmakers was gone and it all seemed like a dream.

And dream I did. Thinking that I was

getting a chance to promote my book like that in a feature film made my head swell. All of those years of hard work seemed about to get rewarded with this one quick bolt of lightening, propelling me into fame and glory. Since the director was insisting that I talk about my book in the scene, and talked repeatedly about how impor-tant that kind of information was to the movie, it looked like a sure thing.

Waiting for the movie to come out was easy because my life is so very busy. At the same time, though, it was driving me crazy that the biggest

break in my career was so close to hit-ting the big screen.

When the movie was finally released in April this spring, it was one of the most bittersweet events of my life. Instead of being released at theatres across the country, the film was only shown in Montreal and Toronto, plus

select places across the USA. Though I wanted nothing more than to watch the film for the first time in a big theatre with a bunch of my friends, we were forced to resort to watching it on-line at home.

Watching Nate and Toffer, the main characters played by Jonathan Daniel Brown and Kenny Wormald, walk-ing into the club in a movie is surreal. When they come inside and walk up to the counter they look like kids in a candy store. While the whole scene is just over 2 minutes, the film gives a really good impression of what a local pot store would be like, except for the sketchy guy they leave with.

Unfortunately the part of the scene where I promoted my book was not kept in the final cut. There is a brief close-up of the front cover.

It gets worse. Even though I intro-duce myself as Ted in the scene, I am not included in the list of actors and characters. They give credit to a num-ber of other actors who played more minor roles, including a stripper, but no mention of me or the club appears in the credits. Even after letting them use the space for free, the VCBC gets ignored in news stories about the film which cite all of the other well-known locations in Victoria that appear in the movie.

This film focuses on a kid who got busted after a year of smuggling millions of dollars of pot across the Canada/USA border. The real irony for me is that, in the meantime, one of the actors in the film has successfully sold almost as much pot illegally in one of the actual sets featured in the film, but gets absolutely no mention at all. None.

As far as the film itself goes, Kid Cannabis is an entertaining story that accurately represents the industry and highlights the fact the USA punishes pot smugglers more than it does kill-ers. Anyone watching the film with an open mind would see the futility in the war on cannabis. With lots of pretty girls, beautiful scenery and constant action, Kid Cannabis will be sure to entertain audiences for years to come. Read:http://www.timescolonist.com/van-couver-island-grown-film-kid-canna-bis-fuelled-by-irony-1.975546

Local ‘Kid Cannabis’ Gets No Credit

“My role was the dealer in the Holy Smoke in Nelson, BC”

H o l l y w o o d f a l l s o n Te d S m i t h


David B. Allen M.D.

In a study involving nearly 11,000 patients, The Third National

Health and Nutrition Examination survey (NHANES III), reported in 2011, that Marijuana users had a 66% reduction in the incidence of Diabetes after adjustment for numerous potential confound-ing factors. This is just one of many new studies and patents that show a decreased incidence of diabetes in association with cannabis.

Many more studies need to be done before we know the true magnitude of this protection. There are virtually no controlled double blinded (phase 3) medical trials, conducted in the United States, for cannabis or other schedule one substances. Cannabis or its components, seems to have a significant effect on decreasing the incidence and severity of diabetes, a disease that involves the pancreas and its Beta cells. The Beta cells of the pancreas are responsible for producing insulin which maintains glucose regulation. These Beta cells can be damaged by both oxidative stress and attack by your own

immune system. Protecting the Beta cells from damage would seem a better medical strategy, than treat-ing the patient for diabetes once the Beta cells are dead.

Not all varieties of Cannabis con-tain the Cannabinoid called CBD or Cannabidiol. CBD has been proven, in experimental animal models,to protect the Beta cells of the pancreas from oxidative and immunologic damage. This protection allows the Beta cells to continue their job of secreting insulin and lessens the chance of developing diabetes. Apparently, this effect is more pronounced when

cannabis is used early in life to pro-tect the pancreas. As scientist, we should know the full extent of the medical effects of cannabis, but we don’t because of the lack of govern-ment approval for research. There is a reason for this. If you don’t know why read on.

In 1970, the Controlled Substance Act or CSA, made scientific research illegal for any drug listed in schedule one. Technically you could apply for permission from the government to study cannabis, but in reality, it was rarely given. This control over scientific study would limit any potential medical benefit from reaching the light of day. The National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) was responsible for making determinations on which studies would be approved. Since their focus was Drug Abuse they funded Drug Abuse science and not medical research. The approvals and funding went to Drug Abuse stud-ies and other studies were rejected. Millions if not Billions of dollars were spent on funding research into the harm caused by cannabis. After all that money was spent, there was little or no proof of any substan-tial harm associated with cannabis use. The government deliberately confused the issue by publicizing poorly conducted studies that were reported to prove harm.

‘I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana ciga-rette is equal in brain damage to be-ing on Bikini Island during an H-Bomb blast.’ – Ronald Reagan 1974 In 1974 a Heath/Tulane study, promoted by Ronald Reagan, at-tempted to prove brain damage from cannabis. The 1974 study was used by the government in a propaganda campaign to demon-ize marijuana. Ronald Reagan was quoted after the study ‘I now have absolute proof that smoking even one marijuana cigarette is equal in brain damage to being on Bikini Is-land during an H-Bomb blast.’ Late

night television ran ads showing an egg cooking in a frying pan; The announcer proclaimed “This is your brain on Dope. Any Questions?”

After 6 years of refusal to provide details of the study, it was found that the study consisted of force feeding the monkeys, smoke equivalent to 63 joints in a 5 minute period. This had the effect of depriving the poor government tortured animals of oxygen. This lack of oxygen, not the marijuana, caused the brain damage.If the (NHANES III) study on 11,000 patients is correct, that indeed, the use of cannabis reduc-es diabetes by 66%, then why are we not currently using cannabis for Diabetic management? If this finding is even close to being true, then cannabis is a miracle drug. No man made pharmaceutical reduces diabetes by even 1% so there are no pharmaceutical equivalents. The current medical system is geared for treatment and not prevention of disease. We make feign attempts at prevention of disease and profit from treating the disease once the diagnosis is made. What would happen if we reduced all complica-tions from diabetes by 66%? Think of the financial impact of reduc-ing renal dialysis or leg amputa-tions caused by diabetes by 66%? If you owned a dialysis company you might be worried.

The government likes and de-mands the status quo. They want the money spent of medical care to continue to go to the people who now collect it. Cannabis is a game changer because the common man can produce it. Diabetes is just one of the many diseases cannabis helps with. The common man can maintain his health with a plant he can grow in the back yard, without the government profiting from his disease. The patent office will not accept any patent with false information on it. The issu-ance of a patent number, is proof the government considers what is in the submitted patent, the truth as we currently know it.

Cannabis and DiabetesR e s e a r c h s h o w s C a n n a b i s p r o t e c t i v e a g a i n s t D i a b e t e s


R e s e a r c h s h o w s C a n n a b i s p r o t e c t i v e a g a i n s t D i a b e t e s


HEMPOLOGY 101 CROSSWORDBy Dieter MacPherson

Check out Georgia’s website to see some of

her other comics, read her blog, and help her spread the good word by picking up a copy of her book of

the Happy Hippie comics.

C r o s s w o r d A n s w e r s

F R I ENDLY CANNAB I S BUS INESSES

15) SensibleBC, 11) NORML, 12) MAPS, 4) SkunkMagazine, 17) LeafScience, 20) CannabisDigest, 10) HuffingtonPost, 9)TreatingYourself, 22) Arizer, 6) Pax, 3) CannabisCulture, 19) HighTimes, 14) GWPharma, 16) MagicFlight, 2) PrariePlantSystems, 1) DutchPassion, 18) Tweed, 8) MedCanAccess, 6) PotTV, 7) VancouverSeedBank, 4) SensiSeeds, 5) CropKing, 13) HBI, 21) LiftMJ


British Columbia

VICTORIA CANNABIS BUYERS’ CLUB (VCBC) 826 Johnson St., Victoria Tel: 250-381-4220

Email: [email protected] www.cbc-canada.ca

NORTH ISLAND COMPASSION CLUB Tel:250-871-5207

OCEAN GROWN MEDICINAL SOCIETY1725 Cook St Unit 1, Victoria

Tel: 778-265-1009

VANCOUVER ISLAND COMPASSION SOCIETY853 Cormorant St., Victoria

Tel:250-381-8427 Fax: 250-381-8423

BC COMPASSION CLUB SOCIETY2995 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Tel:604-875-0448 Fax: 604-875-6083Email: [email protected]

website: www.thecompassionclub.org

GREEN CROSS SOCIETY OF B.C. 2127 Kingsway, Vancouver

Tel: 778-785-0370 Fax:778-785-0477 www.greencrossofbc.org

VANCOUVER MEDICINAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY880 East Hastings St.

Tel: 604-255-1844 Fax: 604-255-1845West End location: 1182 Thurlow St.

Email: [email protected]

YALETOWN MEDICAL DISPENSARY1281 Howe St., Vancouver

TEL: (604) 566-9051 FAX: (604) 558-2879www.yaletownmedicaldispensary.com

VAN CITY MEDICINAL SOCIETY 1594 Kingsway, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 875-0002 Email: [email protected]

MED POT NOW SOCIETY4170 Fraser St. , Vancouver

Tel: (604) 569-2119 www.medpotnow.com

THE HEALING TREE 529 East Hastings St., Vancouver

Tel: 604-569-1091http://delta9medical.ca/

RedMed231 Abbott St., Vancouver

Tel: 604-559-9444

Canna Clinic758 East Broadway, Vancouver

Tel: 604-558-2454

Pacific CannaMed Society1259 Kingsway, Vancouver

Tel: 604-558-3225

Pacafic CannaMed Society (2nd location)8546 Granville St., Vancouver, BC

Tel: 604-563-3250

T.A.G.G.S11696 - 224th St., Maple Ridge, BC

Tel: 604-477-0557 Fax: 604-477-0575 Email: [email protected]

NELSON COMPASSION CLUB#203-602 Josephine St. Nelsom, BC

Tel: 250-354-4206Email: [email protected]

BE KIND OKANAGAN GROWERS AND COMPASSION CLUB.

288 Hwy. #33 West Rutland, BC (Kelowna)Tel: 778-753-5959 Fax: 778-753-5755

Vernon Location: Email: [email protected]

www.okanagancompassionclub.com

WESTCOAST MEDICANN2931 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC.

Tel: 604-558-2266www.westcoastmedicann.com

PAIN MANAGEMNT SOCIETY2137 Commercial Drive. Vancouver

Tel: 604-215-4551 Fax: 1-888-684-6906www.painmanagementsociety.org

EDEN MEDICINAL SOCIETY 161 E. PENDER, Vancouver

Tel: 604-568-9337 637 E. HASTINGS, Vancouver

Tel: 604-568-9337www.myeden.ca

Alberta

M.A.C.R.O.S.4121-118 Avenue NW, Edmonton, Alberta

Tel: 780-457-6824Website: www.macros.ca

Ontario

C.A.L.M.Toronto, Ontario

Tel: 416-367-3459 Fax: 416-367-4679 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.cannabisclub.ca

TORONTO COMPASSION CENTRETel: 416-668-6337 Fax: 416-461-7116

Email: postmaster@torontocompassioncentre.orgwww.torontocompassioncentre.org

MEDCANNACCESSTel: 416-253-1021 Fax: 416-253-1428

Email: [email protected]

RAINBOW MEDICAL CANNABIS CANADAToronto, Ontario

Tel: 416-927-8639www.rainbowmedicinalcannabis.ca

MEDICAL COMPASSION CLINIC66 Wellesley St E 2nd Fl, Toronto Ontario

Tel: 647-291-0420www.medicalcompassionclinic.com

Maritimes

THCC—FARM ASSISTSTel: (902) 495-0420

http://thccsociety.wix.com/home

**To add your club to this list, please contact: <[email protected]>

CANNABIS CLUBS ACROSS CANADA AND THE U.S.ACannabis dispensaries in Canada, due to a lack of regulation, all operate under unique and individual mandates. As such, the membership requirements of each dispensary differ. We recom-

mend travelling with a copy of your original proof of condition (doctor’s note) which the VCBC staff will be happy to provide. It is also recommended to research the dispensaries in the region you will be visiting and try to establish contact, if possible, before yourvisit. Please be discreet and polite when contacting another dispensary—you are representing the VCBC too!

Keep in mind: Some dispensaries have problems with supply and accessibility. The VCBC cannot guarantee that another dispensary will have supply or accept your card as proof of condition. Please help grow this network and support your local clubs by encouraging quality gardeners to direct their product to local dispensaries, or by growing yourself.


WARNING

E BRITANNIQUE - CANADA DUTY PAI

50 V I C T O R I A C R E S C E N T

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Cannabis Digest Summer 2014