A hemp fibre processing mill is being proposed for the Hunter Valley after a strong response from farmers interested in growing the product.

By ABC Newcastle

Queensland company Ecofibre undertook a series of crop trials across the Lower and Upper Hunter during last summer which achieved better than expected results.

The fibre would replace imported hemp used by an Australian company in the manufacture of flotation products.

Ecofibre managing director Phil Warner says interest in growing the crop this year would allow a local processing facility to be established.

"What we needed to achieve was in the initial stages with a sort of pilot commercial mill to have around 250 hectares of production and I think we've already well over achieved that in the sense of number of growers that have shown interest," he said.

"Once we have secured [the] amount of area that is going to be grown for next season then we can start planning on getting the mill into position."

http://www.ecofibre.com.au/


Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/19/2850337.htm?site=newcastle...

Marijuana is taken by ____ musicians. And I'm not speaking about good musicians, but the jazz type." Harry J. Anslinger, Commissioner of the US Bureau of Narcotics 1930-1962

By Resident of Kentucky

Activists decry restrictions

By Shaun Waterman, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Medical marijuana is coming to the District of Columbia - but still with too many restrictions for some pot advocates.

Now that Congress has lifted its decade-old hold on the measure, legislation to implement a 1998 voter-passed referendum is backed by 10 of the city's 13 D.C. Council members and seems sure to pass.

Council committees and city officials are wrestling with an armful of questions about how the law will work in practice - especially the question of where the licensed dispensaries that will sell the drug can be located, and who will be allowed to own and operate them. And opponents are calling for Congress to block the measure, as it can do under long-standing federal powers over D.C. affairs.

By Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE – They are on the front lines of the marijuana debate, the ones who decide who should be allowed to smoke, ingest or inhale what is still an illegal drug in Rhode Island without fear of arrest.

They include neurologists, oncologists, infectious disease specialists, more than one family clinic doctor, the medical director of a drug-abuse addiction center and a psychiatrist running for mayor of Providence who is a conservative on most other issues, but not the politics of marijuana for a patient prone to nausea, anxiety and panic attacks.

Altogether, 355 Rhode Island doctors have signed state forms asking the Department of Health to issue marijuana-use cards to at least one of their patients.
Extra

355 R.I. doctors have approved medical marijuana use

Special Report: For hundreds of Rhode Islanders, marijuana provides legal relief

But twenty-one of those doctors account for more than a third of the 1,347 medical marijuana cards issued so far, according to the Department of Health.

Dr. Vladislav Zayas, an East Providence neurologist, tops the list, having signed off on the legal use of marijuana by 100 of his patients. The next closest doctor signed 54; the third signed 36.

Dr. Zayas has declined comment. But nine doctors talked openly in recent interviews about why they opened the door to legal marijuana use by their patients.

By MSNBC Staff

In California, marijuana stores legally exist to sell different varieties of pot to customers that need the drug for medical purposes. One shop, for example, pays the state some $300,000 in taxes and the federal government $500,000 in taxes. One problem: DEA could shut them down and arrest the people working and selling in the store. State and Federal laws are contradictory.

By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town for Hemp News

Despite medical marijuana being legal in Michigan, WalMart has fired a cancer patient and former employee of the year who tested positive for the drug, which was recommended by his doctor.

"I was terminated because I failed a drug screening," ex-WalMart employee Joseph Casias told WZZM-13.

In 2008, Casias was Associate of the Year at the WalMart store in Battle Creek, Mich., despite suffering from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.

"Hemp will be the future of all mankind, or there won't be a future." Jack Herer

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff
Video By Reimond Kerezsi, LK & Oregon NORML

The featured video is an eclectic compilation of passionate speakers from the August 2009 Seattle Hempfest. It includes interesting perspectives from "The Emperor of Hemp" Jack Herer, Allen St. Pierre, Keith Stroup, Paul Stanford, George Rohrbacher, Anndrea Hermann and Seattle Hempfest's own Vivian McPeak. It is sure to give you inspiration.

"It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, we are going to legalize marijuana no matter what happens in ten years, because when 60% of the American public wants something, they're going to get it." Allen St. Pierre

"Contact your legislators tell them to end marijuana prohibition. It's time to tax and regulate it. The more letters they get like that, the sooner the day will arrive." Paul Stanford

FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all.

FairVote is a catalyst for reforming our elections to respect every vote and every voice through bold approaches to increase voter turnout, meaningful ballot choices and fair representation. As the national organization most focused on fundamental structural reform of American elections, they act as a traditional think tank through careful research, innovative analysis, effective educational resources and timely conferences, but also creatively engage with leading reformers, thought leaders and the media to turn new ideas into widely accepted policy options.

They ground on reform advocacy in fundamental democratic principles and regularly consider new ideas and approaches to uphold those principles. At the same time, they focus their research, education and outreach on several bold yet achievable changes within three general categories:

By Liina Flynn, Echo

Every time you flush the toilet, do you think about what happens to your bodily waste once it leaves the bowl? Ecological engineer Dr Keith Bolton does. With his driving philosophy ‘there’s no such thing as waste’, he has devoted his career to developing natural ways of treating sewage and using effluent for the benefit of communities.

Rather than creating environmental problems by pumping effluent into rivers and oceans, Dr Bolton believes wastewater should be utilised as a resource. The projects he has been involved with have taken him from growing the first fields of industrial hemp on the North Coast through to creating sustainable solutions to sewage problems in remote Aboriginal communities.

Through his company Ecotechnology Australia, Dr Bolton and his Lismore-based Ecoteam have pioneered the design of constructed wetland ecosystems to treat sewage. If we think of wetlands as being the kidneys of the land, then the process of constructing a wetland is like performing a kidney transplant.

“In nature, wetlands are the mechanisms that purify the water as it travels from land into water courses,” Dr Bolton said. “They essentially serve the same function that our kidneys do in our bodies by purifying the water cycle.”

Hemp Technology, has announced the launch of Breathe™, an innovative new natural fibre insulation. The sustainably sourced product, which will play a key role in the nation's drive to zero carbon construction, was officially launched at Ecobuild, the world's largest sustainable construction event, at Earls Court, London on the the 2nd March 2010.

By David Ing, Construction News

Hemp Technology, has announced the launch of Breathe™, an innovative new natural fibre insulation. The sustainably sourced product, which will play a key role in the nation's drive to zero carbon construction, was officially launched at Ecobuild, the world's largest sustainable construction event, at Earls Court, London, on the 2nd March 2010.

Produced from UK grown hemp and flax, Breathe™ offers a renewable and low-carbon means of insulating lofts, walls and floors. An eco-friendly challenge to the dominance of mineral wools, it holds superb performance qualities.

With a thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/mK, Breathe™ performs better than many fibre products. This boosts thermal comfort by reducing overheating in summer and damping internal temperature fluctuations. A high resistance to settlement ensures its good qualities last as long as the building to which it is applied.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

State medical cannabis activists have established a daily presence at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to push for passage of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act as the 2009-2010 legislative session winds down. There is a real sense of urgency and interest in the bill that extends from rural townships and villages across the state to the largest cities to people watching from around the country. A vast coalition of people across the state are getting involved, enlisting others and doing whatever they can to get the JRMMA passed: "This Bill, This Time!"

"Operation Floodgates" is an organized campaign aimed to highlight the urgency of the issue, to make people aware a bill is being considered and to allow constituents to act now and help legislators find the compassion and logic to allow the use of medical marijuana.

The daily presence on Wisconsin's Capitol Hill will soon be enhanced with the planned opening of a Wisconsin NORML office close to the Capitol. This will also create a place for supporters to help out, pick up literature, learn strategies and skills, etc.

By Norma Love, Associated Press Writer

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire's House voted Wednesday to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, but the victory was followed immediately by the governor's pledge to veto the bill.

The House voted 214-137 to send a bill to the Senate to allow adults to possess one-quarter ounce or less of the substance. It also would decriminalize transporting less than one-quarter ounce of the drug.

Anyone under age 18 caught with one-quarter ounce or less would be subject to a $200 fine. The youth's parents would be notified and he or she would have to complete a drug awareness program and community service within one year of the violation. Failing to comply would result in a $1,000 fine.

Wednesday's vote comes seven months after Gov. John Lynch vetoed legalizing medical use of the drug. Lynch also opposes the new House bill, and immediately after the House vote said he would veto it.

"Marijuana is a controlled drug that remains illegal under federal law. I share the law enforcement community's concerns about proliferation of this drug," Lynch said. "In addition, New Hampshire parents are struggling to keep their kids away from marijuana and other drugs. We should not make the jobs of parents -- or law enforcement -- harder by sending a false message that some marijuana use is acceptable."

By Jeff Humphrey, KXLY4 Reporter

SPOKANE -- Organizers for Initiative 1068 are working to get their proposal to have Washington voters decide whether or not the use and possession of marijuana should be legalized on the ballot, and they’re gaining some unusual allies in their fight.

According to Sensible Washington some deputy prosecutors and a judge have signed their petition as apparently at least some people who enforce our drug laws think it may be time to change them.

Right now if you were caught selling or just possessing this much marijuana here in Spokane you could be charged with a felony, but supporters of I-1068 think voters should have a chance to change all that.

States' moves reflect 'new era' of acceptance

By William M. Welch and Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES — James Gray once saw himself as a drug warrior, a former federal prosecutor and county judge who sent people to prison for dealing pot and other drug offenses. Gradually, though, he became convinced that the ban on marijuana was making it more accessible to young people, not less.

"I ask kids all the time, and they'll tell you it is easier to get marijuana than a six-pack of beer because that is controlled by the government," he said, noting that drug dealers don't ask for IDs or honor minimum age requirements.

So Gray — who spent two decades as a superior court judge in Orange County, Calif., and once ran for Congress as a Republican — switched sides in the war on drugs, becoming an advocate for legalizing marijuana.

"Let's face reality," he says. "Taxing and regulating marijuana will make it less available to children than it is today."

By Steve Elliott, NEWS JUNKIE POST

It happens with an all-too-familiar regularity: Another “scientific” study that attempts to draw some connection, however tenuous, between smoking pot and schizophrenia.

Just this week, the findings of a study allegedly indicating that smoking marijuana can “double the risk” of psychosis received heavy publicity. Of course there were the inevitable “sky is falling” reactions on the part of faux-horrified commentators who already decided, years ago, that they were against pot and are all too happy to trumpet what looks like confirmation of their prejudice.

Problem is, those findings are in conflict with previous reviews and ought to be interpreted with caution – but you won’t be reading that in mainstream news outlets.

Here’s something else you won’t see in the mainstream media. There is absolutely no empirical evidence – none – indicating that rising rates of cannabis use have resulted in parallel increases in rates of mental illness.

It would stand to reason, wouldn’t it? Considering modern rates of usage, if marijuana really produced psychosis, the streets would be choked with non-functional, burned out potheads. It doesn’t. They aren’t.

“I’ve said it for years now,” film director John Holowach, responsible for the documentary High: The True Tale of American Marijuana, told me. “If pot and mental illness were linked, the two should rise and fall with one another, but they don’t.”

Hempstalk 2007: Herbivores - Live Musical Diversity with special guests The State of Jefferson.

http://myspace.com/theherbivores

Support Hempstalk: http://www.hempstalk.org

Footage: September, 2007 - Sellwood Park, Portland, Oregon

Courtesy of G.K. Productions


Source: http://www.youtube.com/portlandhempstalk#p/u/13/lDzG6E6K4kM

By Gil Halsted, Wisconsin Public Radio

MADISON (WPR) It could soon be legal to grow hemp for industrial purposes in Wisconsin, depending on what comes of two hemp bills pending in the state legislature.

One bill would allocate money for a study on what the marketing future of hemp might be if farmers were allowed to grow it. The other would set up a licensing procedure for farmers who want to grow the plant and sell it for its seed oil or as a fiber for making paper and other products.

Because hemp contains a small amount of THC -- the active intoxicating ingredient in marijuana -- the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has refused to allow it to be grown as a commercial crop.

Hemp bill sponsor Rep. Louis Molepske of Stevens Point says if his bill passes, farmers would be ready to start sowing hemp seeds when and if the federal government lifts the ban. He says nine states have already passed similar bills. Molepske says hemp is not marijuana, and Wisconsin could return to being a leading producer of hemp, as it was through the 1960’s.

State law enforcement officials have cautioned against legalizing hemp. At a hearing last week, an analyst from the state crime lab testified against the bill, saying it would create a problem for him in his work because he would likely be called upon to test hemp plants to make sure they fall below the legal limit for percentage THC.

--

At a time when Wisconsin farm families are constantly looking for new sources of revenue, hemp would be a good one.

By Capital Times Editorial

The states of North Dakota, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia, Vermont and Oregon already have legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp, recognizing that these crops can be used to produce fibers that are useful in the making of rope and other products.

At a time when Wisconsin farm families are constantly looking for new sources of revenue, this is a good one. And it has a history in the state; until 1957, notes Bill Tracy, who chairs the Agronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin, industrial hemp was a significant crop for Wisconsin farmers.

With that combination of current need and relatively recent history in mind, legislators should not hesitate to back a bill, introduced by state Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, which would address the state prohibition on the production of hemp.

The controversy regarding this bill, to the extent that there is any, will have to do with the fact that hemp is cultivated from the same plant that is used to grow marijuana.

By Cara Spoto, Central Wisconsin

A bill introduced by a Stevens Point lawmaker would allow Wisconsin farmers to grow industrial hemp with a state license.

Currently, farmers in the state are prohibited under state and federal law from producing hemp, which is cultivated from Cannabis sativa, the same plant used to grow marijuana.

The strains of the plant used in hemp production differ from those grown for marijuana because they contain less than .03 percent THC, which produces mind-altering effects. Marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 percent to 7 percent THC.

Industrial hemp is produced from the stalk of the plant, and is used to produce a variety of fibers, including rope.

Introduced by State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., a Democrat, the measure would require the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to permit farmers to grow and process Cannabis sativa, as long as it contains no more than .03 percent THC. Farmers would be required to provide a legal description of the land where the hemp would be grown or processed and to report all sales. Any person convicted of violating controlled substance laws would not be eligible.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is receiving about 500 new requests everyday for medical marijuana cards and the applications have completely back-logged the system.

By McKenzie Martin, kktv.com

There is concern about the number of people getting these cards from both the opposition and proponents of Amendment 20. The health department says they estimate that they have received about 60,000 applications as of the end of February. Some lawmakers say the law is being abused and are trying to pass restrictions. Those potential restrictions are causing concern for many patients who say they need the drug.

Every day, Pauline Archuleta's health seems to improve. "I have been getting better,” Pauline said.

She's been slowly recovering since a brain aneurysm put her in a coma back in 2007. "I couldn't even walk hardly ‘cause I was paralyzed on [one] side," Pauline said.

And while she was in the hospital doctors discovered she had six more un-ruptured aneurysms. "I was always sick and in pain, my head was always hurting," Pauline said.

By Marika Lorraine, KFOR

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There's a move underway to legalize the use of medical marijuana in our state. Fourteen states have already done it. One Oklahoma woman tells us, when she tried to talk about the issue with her state senator, she ended up face-to-face with a number of law enforcement officers.

Denise Stahl lives taking 12 to 14 pills a day.

"I've been diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Arthritis, and Asthma."

Denise recently made a trip to the state capitol to discuss legalizing medical marijuana with her state senator.

By Te-Ping Chen

Was it Margaret Mead who said, "Never underestimate the power of 8,809 readers who care about criminal justice?" Okay, maybe not quite that. But I'm excited to announce that one story we've closely tracked here at Change.org -- CBS's refusal to accept a pro-marijuana legalization ad -- resulted in a victory this afternoon.

Last month, NORML reported that CBS had denied the group's request to place an ad in Times Square that touted the potential billions in taxes that would result from legalizing marijuana. Remember, this is a network that boasts marijuana-infused advertisements for their Showtime Network show, Weeds. It's also the network that was perfectly willing to air a controversial anti-abortion ad aimed at peak viewership during the Super Bowl. But still, somehow CBS decided that NORML's message (“Legalize Marijuana – Billions in Taxes”) would ruffle the network's too-delicate sensibilities.

In a Feb. 3 rejection email, NORML was told, "If CBS changes their morals we will let you know."

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

Raphael Mechoulam is an Israeli professor for Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. While working on research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Michoulam succeeded in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active principle of cannabis. He and his research group have also succeeded in the total synthesis of the major plant cannabinoids delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol and multiple others. Another research project initiated by him led to the isolation of the first described endocannabinoid anandamide which was isolated and characterized by two of his postdoctoral researchers, Lumír Hanuš and William Devane.

Over the past few years, Professor Mechoulam, has become a great inspiration to activists, doctors, scientists and citizens worldwide for his dedication and continual striving to find cures to devastating human ailments, such as PTSD and chronic pain.