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The stigma around marijuana use, both medical and recreational, is slowly dwindling as states throughout the country work towards marijuana legalization. 33 states have officially declared medical marijuana use legal and 10 states have legalized recreational use of the drug. However, a question lingers nationwide regarding views of marijuana in the workplace. All companies hold the right to drug test their employees; however, some industries feel that it’s necessary to test for marijuana regularly while others don’t.

Currently, research shows that the older workforce has more of a negative outlook on marijuana use in the workplace. 46% of employees over 30 said they would lose confidence in coworkers who smoked marijuana, even in states where recreational use is legal. With a younger workforce taking over, attitudes towards marijuana use will surely change as time goes on.

However, it’s important to understand the current outlook on this topic when hunting for a job or trying to keep the one you currently have. We surveyed 1,000 Americans and found that 1 in 5 said they would decline a job offer if they knew the company drug tested. In fact, the younger generation of respondents aged 18-24 were more likely to pass on an offer.

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Becoming knowledgeable on how marijuana use can affect your job is essential to staying safe, responsible and employed for the long-term. It’s also important for employers to understand the best practices when it comes to drug testing and what employees of today and tomorrow expect.

History of Drug Testing in the Workplace

Drug testing in the workplace began in the mid-1980s when the Reagan Administration began the War on Drugs program. By 1988, there were Drug-Free Workplace regulations in place which required any federal company with a contract over $25,000 to be completely drug-free by testing employees. While this only applied to the public sector, private companies saw the value in the Drug-Free Workplace movement as well and put the program in effect. In present day, the majority of these programs have remained in effect with about 90% of Fortune 1000 companies and 62% of all employers in the United States having mandatory drug testing programs. Many states will reward companies for putting drug testing programs into place by giving discounts on workers’ compensation premiums.

• 1988 – Congress passes the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 which extends drug testing to federal contractors to reduce drug use in the workplace.


• 1991 – Congress passes the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991, which makes drug testing a requirement for all DOT truck drivers.


• Code Rule 60 and 59 – New York State code is initiated to reduce workers’ compensation premiums for private employers who have a drug-free workplace policy in place.

Industries that Do and Don’t Drug Test

There are many industries that are notorious for drug testing, including the transportation industry, the construction industry, the sports industry, the military and the medical industry. These industries all have very specific reasons for sticking to their drug testing policies, regardless of expansion in legalization and more liberal viewpoints on marijuana use nationwide. For the transportation and construction industries, marijuana use can be seen as a safety risk. These are both industries in which the utmost focus and care is needed to operate heavy machinery and equipment. Companies can’t risk having their employees under the influence of any drugs — legal or illegal.

In the military, safety is also a big concern because soldiers are operating heavy machinery and deadly weapons. If active duty members are not on the front lines, they may be working with computers and focusing on strategic operations. Regardless, members of the military are entrusted with our country’s well being, meaning strict drug testing policies will remain in place.

Athletes are drug tested because they are paid to perform based on their natural abilities. Marijuana and other drugs can affect an athlete’s ability to do their job both positively and negatively. Athletes sign contracts when joining a team agreeing not to do drugs, so if they are drug tested and fail, they can face dismissal, suspension or a heavy fine.

Depending on what job you apply for in the medical industry, you may or may not get drug tested for marijuana. However, most medical professions are strict with drug testing because these positions give access to prescription medications of all sorts. Hospitals and medical companies want to employ drug-free people to ensure they can trust their employees around these substances.

On the flip side, there is a large number of companies that don’t drug test as heavily — and that number is growing. With drug tests costing companies around $30 to $50 per employee, many see it as a wasted expense. Quest Diagnostics said that failed drug tests reached an all-time high in 2017 and this is likely to increase as legalization becomes more widespread. Drug testing restricts the job pool, meaning companies aren’t able to find the best candidates for open positions. We see more liberal companies such as Google, Twitter, Whole Foods, NPR and Red Bull already adopting a new mindset by eliminating employee drug tests.

How Does Marijuana Use Impact Job Safety?

Marijuana use can affect job safety depending on the job role, so for some industries, drug testing is essential. As mentioned above, the transportation and construction industry as well as the military, all have very viable reasons for drug testing employees and members. A study done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that employees who tested positive for marijuana had 55% more industrial accidents and 85% more injuries than employees who tested negative. Marijuana users in industrial fields also had decreased productivity, more workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation claims, and more lawsuits.

It’s clear that some industries are better off keeping their drug policies in place as a way to protect both a company and its employees. It simply depends on what type of work is being performed and whether employers feel marijuana will hinder an employee’s work performance.

Can I Be Fired for Smoking Marijuana Legally?

Medical and recreational marijuana legalization has prompted many employees to wonder if they can be fired for smoking marijuana off the job —this is a valid concern. In states where cannabis is legal, companies still have the right to fire employees for their marijuana use if employees agree to drug-free company policies when taking the job. Maine is the only state that currently protects recreational marijuana use outside of the workplace. When it comes to medical marijuana use outside of the workplace, states are divided and you’ll have to check your specific state’s laws to see if you’re protected or not. You can find a detailed guide on state laws for off-duty marijuana use here.

You should definitely be aware that all companies have the right to fire employees for being under the influence while at work, even if they possess a medical marijuana card. Many states do, however, protect medical marijuana cardholders from positive drug test results upon hiring. Some of these states include Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. A recent federal court case in Connecticut verified this guideline when the court ruled that under what is known as the Connecticut Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA), the company should not have refused to hire an employee because of their medical marijuana use.

Should You Be Open About Your Marijuana Usage?

While you may be confident that your company is a liberal environment where medical and/or recreational marijuana usage outside of the workplace is protected, you still may be wondering whether it’s okay to talk about smoking when in the office. Before divulging personal information about your drug use to coworkers or employers, you should ask yourself the following important questions.

How much do you want your peers to know about your personal life?

Just like any other personal life topic, talking about your marijuana use in the office is a private subject that should only be discussed with peers you’re comfortable around. Would you tell these same peers personal details about your social life, relationship or any other daily habits you partake in? This may be a good way to gauge whether or not it’s appropriate to discuss your marijuana use with them. Also flip the script and observe how much your peers are telling you about their personal lives — this will help you decide what’s suitable to reciprocate on your end.

What is your office environment like?

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Having a liberal office environment that protects your marijuana use outside of work doesn’t necessarily mean discussion of marijuana usage inside the office is welcome. Before being open about your usage, determine what your office environment is like and whether this is appropriate. Are you in a social atmosphere where you and your coworkers gossip frequently? Or is it more of a heads down and focused type of workplace? The environment will either open the door for a discussion on marijuana or it won’t.

Does your workplace have rules around drug testing?

Clearly, if your company has drug testing policies in place, this is not the type of workplace where you want to talk about your marijuana use. Even if you’re protected by state laws, it’s best not to mention it and keep your personal habits outside of work. It can come off as disrespectful if you know your company’s policies and choose to talk about things that go against them. When in the office, you should have no trouble remaining quiet about your cannabis usage.

What Employers Need to Know About Drug Testing

The universal practice for many companies nationwide in regards to drug testing is only to test an individual after a conditional offer of employment, under reasonable suspicion, due to a workplace injury or randomly. Employers typically have more leeway to test new applicants than they do to test current employees. In some states, employers are not allowed to conduct routine or random drug testing of employees who are already working for the company unless there is reasonable suspicion.

When trying to gauge reasonable suspicion, a supervisor should observe an employee’s physical appearance, speech and smell, which can be indicators of being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Actions of the employee and employer should be well-documented and the supervisor should speak with the employee about his or her behavior by mentioning their change in job performance. A drug or alcohol test can then be performed. For post-injury drug screenings, the drug or alcohol test should be administered within 24 hours of the injury occurrence.

Employers should always remain consistent in upholding drug and alcohol policies in the workplace, regardless of the specific employee and/or incident. If a test comes back positive for drugs or alcohol and the workplace has a zero-tolerance drug policy, the employee should be dismissed and given no special treatment. Alternatively, an employee cannot be dismissed on the grounds of being under the influence if a drug test comes back negative.

While it’s clear that some industries have drug policies in place for safety reasons, the majority of the workforce is moving toward a more accepting mindset in regards to marijuana. Companies still have the right to restrict marijuana use within the workplace, but if being drug-free is an important part of workplace policy, it should be made very clear from day one — especially to younger employees.

Revisiting drug policies and making policies clear can lead to an increase in company budget, a larger applicant pool and less employee turnover. As long as marijuana use, especially medically, doesn’t negatively affect the safety of employees or the clients they work with, removing this restriction can reduce the stress that employers feel throughout the hiring process and in the enforcement of the policy long-term. The younger workforce will be happy to know that as states begin accepting marijuana legally, the corporate world may be starting to follow suit. Whether you’re an employer or an employee learning more about medical marijuana will help you stay informed.

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By Janine Mendes-Franco

Nazma Muller, founder of the Caribbean Collective for Justice and a staunch advocate for the legalisation of marijuana in the region, has long maintained that it’s unconscionable that Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Health has never exercised clauses to amendments made to the Dangerous Drugs Act in 2000, which allows for licenses to grow, import, export, sell and distribute marijuana, and regulates “the use, purchase, sale or possession of any dangerous drugs for medicinal or scientific purposes.”

In 2016, Muller’s group started a petition asking for the government to legalise cannabis. They presented the petition — which has now garnered close to 12,000 signatures — to Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, in 2018. The government later announced that cannabis would be decriminalised as early as June 2019, but that has not yet come to pass.

Such delays prompted Muller to upload a YouTube video asking for citizens’ support at a protest outside the country’s parliament on July 31, 2019. “People who need cannabis,” she explained, “cannot have access to it”:

On the eve of Emancipation, the parliament is being recalled to discuss the Bail Amendment Bill to deal with the crime situation. We cannot deal with crime without dealing with ganja.

Trinidad and Tobago recently saw a spate of murders, one of which was the fatal shooting of an alleged drug dealer.

In her video, Muller called for the repeal of existing restrictions on cannabis which might ease some of the pressure on violent crime. She says “it is time for peace, love and healing to return to Trinidad and Tobago,” and wants to reframe the public debate around cannabis, referring to it as “medicine”.

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She said the government is “playing with lives” by dragging their feet on the issue of legalisation.

I went to parliament on July 31 to talk to Muller, where she and a modest crowd gathered behind barriers outside the International Waterfront Centre in Port of Spain, the capital. The small group of cannabis law repeal activists stood quietly — between other protest groups with different agendas — their only sound coming from an African drummer who beat out a steady rhythm of resistance on the eve of the Emancipation holiday.

Muller and the group of cannabis supporters held signs and stated their case: “Cannabis is a plant — if they could ban cannabis, they could ban garlic!”

Janine Mendes-Franco (JMF): Why is this important?

Nazma Muller (NM): This is important because there are a lot of people complaining that they have relatives with Stage 3, Stage 4 cancer and everybody has now realised that cannabis oil helps. So, while the government is saying wait until September [for them] to bring the legislation, that means a lot of people are going to die [in the interim] and suffer until this legislation is passed. And then, once it’s passed, to be enforced, to be enacted, to be ratified, takes some time.

So what we’re saying is, the legislation for medical marijuana already exists in Trinidad; we’re asking the MPs [Ministers of Parliament] to bring a motion to enact the legislation.

JMF: Why do you think ministers of health have failed to put it into action — to give people licenses for medical use?

NM: Mr. [Terrence] Deyalsingh and Mr. Fuad Khan […] are still in the parliament and have a right to answer that question, because we asked Mr. Khan to write the regulations when he was health minister and he pretended he didn’t know what we were talking about. We actually have correspondence from the legal adviser to the Ministry of Health that says yes, that is actually correct, that legislation does exist. You can see it; it’s online, so I don’t understand why Mr. Deyalsingh is not writing the regulations and giving people licenses to import oil and to produce oil and to grow ganja. This is a right that people have and […] at this point we are very sure about the science, so we’re saying, please stop delaying and give people a chance to heal.

JMF: You made the link between the Bail Bill — which they’re going to be debating in parliament — and crime, saying the marijuana legislation is an integral part of that.

NM: Yes, because so many institutions are being affected by these laws. The Ministry of National Security, the judiciary, the prison service, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service … everyone’s resources are being misused to enforce a law [for a practice] that hurts no one, including the person who’s using it, because we’re seeing that it has medical benefits.

JMF: And why the delay?

NM: I think time was spent trying to find a way to lock down the cultivation so that when licenses are given out, they will be given out to people who they can tax. I think the lockdown will continue. I think the police are going to be used in the future to enforce this new legislation that’s coming to ensure that nobody else but the person who gets the license produces cannabis. I think all this time is being spent to close all the loopholes that would allow traditional farmers, the Rastafari [from producing cannabis]. I was told that’s what the draft legislation contains.

JMF: But you haven’t seen it yet?

NM: No, which is an issue in itself, because we took so long, with so many consultations, trying to find out what it is the people want…you’d think you would show them the draft legislation so that any concerns will be dealt with, and when it comes to parliament it will pass sooner.

JMF: I’d like to compare the situation in Jamaica, where you currently reside, with ours. Jamaica has decriminalised — but not legalised — cannabis, and I know a lot of the smaller farmers are trying to get a seat at the table. Is the process working in the Jamaican context, or is it still exclusionary?

NM: The Jamaican government has said they’re bringing something called the Alternative Development Programme for traditional and Rastafarian farmers, but that, to me, is not working either, because you’re still trying to control what is produced and they’re putting regulations in place that are prohibitive. It’s too expensive: They want walls, fences, barbed wire, security cameras — and this is also what Trinidad and Tobago is famous for — finding ways to make things exclusive. We call it “all-inclusive”, but it’s actually exclusive — to keep certain people out and keep the profits within a certain sector. It has not worked for Jamaica, in the sense that certain people are making a lot of money, they have the licenses [but] I’m not seeing a lot of jobs being created. I’m still seeing the small man hustling to sell a 50-bag, a 100-bag in Jamaica — and still at risk of being prosecuted for selling.

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In Trinidad, we have to take into consideration what is happening all over the world and apply it to our situation: We are on the shoulder of South America; we are a trans-shipment point, so we need to deal with the fact that it’s so easy to get Venezuelan and Colombian kush into Trinidad. And what it is doing is draining our foreign exchange [so] what we’re concerned about is the cultivation, that it remains local, [that we] create employment, and that local people benefit.

JMF: So what’s the next step?

NM: I have a meeting with [Attorney General] Faris Al-Rawi on Friday [August 2]. He had called me and asked me to come to have a meeting with him so he could show me what the problem is and why this is taking so long, but I would like to speak to him about licenses for people. A lot of people have contacted me about the oil, so that is my next step. That’s our focus: to keep the pressure on to save lives, whatever it takes.

In a Trinidad and Tobago Newsday report on August 2, the attorney general said that the draft legislation will go to the legislative review committee today, with the hope that Cabinet will consider it next week. He said they must carefully work out details related to expunging convictions of those jailed for marijuana use. Saying that Muller had a right to advocate under Trinidad and Tobago’s Constitution, Al-Rawi added that “this was not simply a case of demanding a law be passed and it is passed”.

Legalisation may be one thing, but the law relating specifically to the medical use of cannabis has already been passed. Muller is asking that they use it.

Read more: Trinidad & Tobago set to decriminalise marijuana

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Janine Mendes-Franco — I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.

Top image: Activist Nazma Muller, second from left, and other supporters of cannabis legalisation, outside Trinidad and Tobago parliament in Port of Spain, July 31, 2019. Photo by Janine Mendes-Franco, used with permission.

This article was sourced from GlobalVoices.org

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By Michael Maharrey

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed two bills into law that expand the state’s medical-marijuana program despite federal prohibition.

A coalition of six Democrats sponsored Senate Bill 455 (SB455). The legislation amends a 2018 law known as “Ashley’s Law” authorizing schools to allow guardians or other caregivers to administer cannabis-infused products students authorized to use medical marijuana. SB455 expands the law by requiring schools to allow school nurses or administrators to administer medical marijuana. Students will also be able to self-administer cannabis under the supervision of a school nurse. Additionally, the new law expands student access to medical marijuana to include before and after-school activities.

The new law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Senate Bill 2023 (SB2023) was originally a marijuana banking bill that would have prohibited state banks from denying certain services to marijuana businesses. During the legislative process, that language was scrapped and the bill was amended to expand and make permanent the state’s medical-marijuana pilot program. The program was slated to sunset next year.

SB2023 adds 11 new conditions eligible for treatment with medicinal cannabis. The new law also allows qualifying veterans to access medical marijuana as part of an Opioid Alternative Pilot Program. Under the new law, advance practice registered nurses and physician assistants will now be able to recommend medical marijuana. Under the pilot program, only physicians could certify patients.

The legislation overwhelmingly passed both houses of the Illinois assembly and went into immediate effect with Gov. Pritzker’s signature on Aug. 9.

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Earlier this year, Pritzker signed a bill into law legalizing marijuana for adult personal use as well. The legalization of marijuana in Illinois and the expansion of the state’s medical-marijuana program have moved forward despite federal marijuana prohibition.

EFFECT ON FEDERAL PROHIBITION

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) passed in 1970, the federal government maintains complete prohibition of marijuana. Of course, the federal government lacks any constitutional authority to ban or regulate cannabis within the borders of a state, despite the opinion of the politically connected lawyers on the Supreme Court. If you doubt this, ask yourself why it took a constitutional amendment to institute federal alcohol prohibition.

The expansion of Illinois’ medical cannabis program and the legalization of marijuana for recreational use remove a significant layer of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana in the state, but federal prohibition remains in effect. This is significant because FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. When states stop enforcing marijuana laws, they sweep away most of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests.

Furthermore, figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly-budget just to investigate and raid all of the dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. That doesn’t include the cost of prosecution. The lesson? The feds lack the resources to enforce marijuana prohibition without state assistance.

A GROWING MOVEMENT

Enactment of SB455 and SB2023 further ignore federal prohibition and continue the process of nullifying it in practice in Illinois.

Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and Alaska were the first states to legalize recreational cannabis, and California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts joined them after ballot initiatives in favor of legalization passed in November 2016. Michigan followed suit when voters legalized cannabis for general use in 2018. Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana through a legislative act in 2018.

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With 33 states including Delaware allowing cannabis for medical use, the feds find themselves in a position where they simply can’t enforce prohibition anymore.

“The lesson here is pretty straightforward. When enough people say, ‘No!’ to the federal government, and enough states pass laws backing those people up, there’s not much the feds can do to shove their so-called laws, regulations or mandates down our throats,” Tenth Amendment Center founder and executive director Michael Boldin said.

Passage of these two bills demonstrates another important strategic reality. Once a legalizes marijuana – even if only in a very limited way – it tends to eventually expand. As the state tears down some barriers, markets develop and demand expands. That creates pressure to further relax state law. These new laws represent a further erosion of unconstitutional federal marijuana prohibition.

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Michael Maharrey [send him email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center, where this article first appeared. He proudly resides in the original home of the Principles of ’98 – Kentucky.See his blog archive here and his article archive here.He is the author of the book, Our Last Hope: Rediscovering the Lost Path to Liberty. You can visit his personal website at MichaelMaharrey.com and like him on Facebook HERE

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By Josie Wales

Disruptive technology may sound a bit scary to those unfamiliar with the term, but in reality, it has made our lives much easier in myriad ways. Simply put, digital disruption is innovation that displaces or replaces existing technologies — Netflix being one of the most notable. Email, cloud computing, cell phones, and even the first personal computer are all examples of disruptive technologies.

Making daily life more convenient and enjoyable is certainly a positive thing, but a new company called Leaf has taken it a step further by launching a product that has the potential to make lives not only easier — but safer.

One of the greatest threats to the safety and freedom of American and international citizens is the global War on Drugs. Experts all over the globe have condemned the crusade as “discriminatory against racial and ethnic minorities and women, and [have] undermined human rights,” according to a report on global drug policy commissioned by Johns Hopkins Ivy League and the Lancet, a British medical journal.

Americans are also coming to question the war on drugs, most especially marijuana.

According to TechCrunch:

While public opinion on the matter may be shifting toward being more open to legalization — a YouGov poll released earlier this month showed that 55 percent of those surveyed supported legalizing marijuana, with more Republicans supporting legalization than not — only 25 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized medical or recreational marijuana use.

One of the best ways to combat this war is to provide a safe way for individuals to privately and securely grown their own cannabis, and that is exactly what Leaf aims to accomplish.

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The startup announced the details of the Leaf Grow System just last week:

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[It is] an automated device that helps consumers of all skill levels grow their own medical marijuana from the comfort of their home. Leaf is the size of a miniature refrigerator, at 24 inches deep, 24 inches wide and 60 inches tall, and features precise temperature and humidity control, automatic nutrient dosing and a drying mode that helps get your plant consumption-ready — and it’s all controlled through a smartphone app with easy step by step video instructions to help even the most novice of growers. In addition, Leaf features a smell-preventing carbon filter to minimize or even eliminate odors, an advanced BIOS LED light system and an optional water hookup for automatic water changes.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdPbgNkAs5k]

Boasting $2 million in funds raised, the company has not announced a final price for the home-growing system but confirmed it will be ready to order this fall. Considering the DEA decided this week to keep cannabis scheduled as one of the “most dangerous” drugs, the timeliness and potential of Leaf is difficult to understate.
This article (This Disruptive Technology Will Help You Win the Drug War) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Josie Wales and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.

By Steven Maxwell

Now that cannabis appears poised to be legalized in Canada, Mexico, and many more US states, you probably don’t want to be completely clueless when walking into a pot shop for the first time. It is important to do a little research on different strands of the substance before engaging in recreational marijuana usage.

Sativa and Indica are the two major strands of marijuana in circulation today, and can be used separately or combined to produce a series of hybrid strains. Sativa and Indica have different effects on the human body, which is something important to consider when visiting your local, newly-opened marijuana shop in town.

When stereotyped, marijuana is thought of as a “downer” drug that leaves its user couch-ridden, but in reality, they are only referring to the Indica strain, which leaves the body in a relaxed state. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is the Sativa strand which leaves its user feeling active and more energetic. Both can be used medicinally and provide healing attributes to their users such as an ease in anxiety and stress, as well as increased energy and productivity.

Sativa and Indica strains are also able to be mixed safely in different amounts to produce a desired effect on their user. These mixtures are referred to as “hybrids” and vary in amounts of Sativa and Indica depending on the user’s desired effect.

While perusing through your local marijuana shop, be aware of what kind of effect you are looking for with your purchase. As stated before, if you are having issues with anxiety, stress, or even head and body aches, purchasing Indica, or a blend with mostly Indica, will give you such effects. With all of these relaxing and relieving effects, it is suggested that Indica usage be done more so at night than the day to ensure that it does inhibit productivity.

If you are looking more for something to use during the day in order to upkeep productivity, Sativa is what you should be asking your marijuana retailer about. By giving positive effects such as energy stimulation, increased focus, and lessened depression, Sativa would be a strand that users would suggest to use to keep you motivated throughout the day. If your daily routine is something that you must keep consistent in order to maintain a productive lifestyle, consider these facts about Sativa and Indica when deciding what to purchase and use.

The way that you ingest marijuana is also something to consider if you’re new to recreational cannabis. There are many different options when it comes to preparing marijuana. The most commonly used methods are blunts/joints which are rolled from paper, or the use of a pipe or bong, which are blown glass pieces. Upon research, professionals are regarding the “vaping” method as the least damaging to ones health.

With the potency that can come with marijuana (depending on your purchase) it is hard sometimes to determine when enough is enough. By vaping, the user is able to smoke more slowly and let the effects sink in, which gives them more control over the level of high that they’re looking for and would like to stay at. More than anything, it is important to only smoke what you need and to not overdo it. While there are no recorded deaths from “marijuana overdose”, it is important to ease into the substance, especially if you are a person who is newer to the world of marijuana.

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In all, the safety precautions behind purchasing Sativa and Indica marijuana are low. When proper research is done and the customer knows what kind of effects they are looking for, then the process is made much easier on both sides. Know your body, know what it needs, and buy the strain that benefits you the most.

Update: In a major drug policy shift, it appears Congress ended the federal ban on medical marijuana this week.

By Claire Bernish

Let’s face it: 2015 has been a bumpy ride across the board — government intruded into our private lives by clandestinely passing CISA and laughed in our face by passing the ironically-monikered USA Freedom Act; the Police State kicked into high gear, with cops having killed at least one person in all 50 states by the time Christmas rolled around; and the attack in San Bernardino codified the presidential candidates’ push for war, while threatening to further erode any number of liberties for all of us. And that’s just a taste of what happened in the United States.

In order to narrow focus sufficiently for the confines of a single article, the struggle for cannabis rights earned more victories for the people than ever before, though the State still managed to ruin lives in several stunningly unjustifiable examples.

Following are a mere five stories of the countless wins — and sadly numerous losses — concerning cannabis, that took place in 2015.

1. Three-year-old Spencer Koptis lost his life because the State insists on waging war against a plant.

Spencer’s family received devastating news in his diagnosis of pilocytic, Pilomyxoid astrocytoma — inoperable brain cancer — when he was just 15 months old. After traditional chemotherapy did nothing to reduce the size of an insidious tumor, his mother, Suzetta Vonzell, sought alternative treatment — and eventually found hope in cannabis, which was generously donated by medical marijuana grower, James Benno.

Spencer’s large brain tumor, and several others along his spine, miraculously shrank. He began to move his hands and speak as he once had.

But all hope came crashing down, thanks to the unconscionable fist of the State and its absurd War on so-called Drugs: Benno’s cannabis growing facility was raided, and he and his two sons were arrested — and every miracle-giving plant, confiscated. Unable to locate another supplier for Spencer’s life-saving cannabis, Vonzell desperately turned back to pharmaceuticals. Unsurprisingly, the child’s health, and all progress, rapidly deteriorated. Mere days after celebrating Easter, Spencer passed away. Inexplicably immoral laws — and those who refuse to stand against, but instead enforce them, stole the life of a three-year-old child.

2. Kyler Carriker managed to thwart a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years, in an all-too-rare case where common sense prevailed.

Thinking he was doing a favor for an old classmate he hadn’t seen in many years, Carriker arranged for a cannabis transaction by calling a dealer he knew. Completely unaware the former school friend, Kyle Belts, had since joined a gang, Carriker set up a meeting at the home of Ronald Betts — a marijuana dealer whose brother, Donald, had once served as a Kansas state senator.

Belts’ nefarious plot to rob the two at gunpoint began almost as soon as he arrived, shooting both Carriker and Betts when he walked in the door. Betts later died from his injuries, but Carriker wound up with the murder charges — because, as the State saw it, he’d acted as middleman in the marijuana sale.

The state of Kansas retroactively applied a law enacted three months after the armed robbery, deeming marijuana offenses inherently dangerous felonies. Despite the obvious targeting of Carriker by authorities, rational heads prevailed in a jury’s decision he could not possibly be guilty of Betts’ murder. After several twists and attempts to railroad Carriker — likely to use him as an example — the father of two is back at home where he belongs.

3. For the crime of initiating a lucrative medical cannabis business and offering much-needed gainful employment to a number of people who needed it, the Pinoleville Pomo Nation was raided by the State — and lost everything.

On its sovereign land situated in California, the Pinoleville Pomo Nation began growing medical marijuana for sale to those in need of the vital medicine. Business was thriving, when, without warning, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office invaded their land and lay waste to everything the tribe had worked hard to create. Deputies decimated the cannabis crop in various locations around the property, including 400 plants, 100 pounds of trimmed and drying marijuana, and the tribe’s honey-oil manufacturing equipment.

“I think what they’re doing is not right,” said Nori Baldridge, director of economic development for the tribe. “This is sovereign land, and this is a sovereign nation.”

While this was quite a setback, the Pinoleville Pomo Nation is justifiably fighting the raid and the destruction of their property and livelihood — and considering the Sheriff and his minions have no legal authority over the tribe’s land, they are optimistic.

4. Cannabis continues to amaze as anecdotal as well as scientific evidence of its medical and medicinal value piles up — and several studies this year hinted at the miracle plant’s versatility.

In a groundbreaking survey of 446 patients who suffered traumatic brain injury, researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) found promising correlation between cannabis use and the ability to survive trauma. “This study was one of the first in a clinical setting to specifically associate THC use as an independent predictor of survival after traumatic brain injury,” explained Dr. David Plurad, lead author of the study.

In a similar study, Israeli researchers discovered PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) may be abated by timely application of cannabinoids, or synthetic cannabis. In fact, that study critically found cannabinoids more effective in treating PTSD than commonly-prescribed SSRI antidepressants, whose adverse side effects often mimic or amplify the very condition they claim to treat — such as violent tendencies and suicidal ideation.

A further study suggests the non-psychoactive components in cannabis aid in healing bone fractures. Meanwhile, another study found the active component in marijuana — THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol — can delay rejection of incompatible organs after transplant.

With benefits constantly multiplying, the possible discoveries in the coming year are exciting — and anyone’s guess.

5. In yet another stunningly unnecessary display of State violence, unarmed Derek Cruice was robbed of life — without being given so much as the option for an appearance before a judge.

In March, a heavily militarized police unit originally intended to quash violent riots, SWAT, knocked and almost simultaneously used a battering ram to burst into Cruice’s home — despite prior knowledge he’d never before been convicted of a crime. Arrogantly acting as if on the field of battle in a warzone, multiple heavily-armed cops poured in and, according to witnesses inside, immediately began shooting.

Cruice, whom they suspected of dealing plant — and who could not have been mistaken for an armed and dangerous suspect, considering his only attire was basketball shorts — was shot in the face. He died at the scene because thugs in uniform, waving badges, wanted to play real-life cops and robbers — but there were no robbers — and the resulting loss of life in this case rests purely on arrogant, reactionary stupidity.

For Cruice’s family and friends, the officer who killed Derek escaped accountability for his heinous act when a grand jury somehow bought his valiant-warrior-against-drugs, bullshit excuse — and failed to indict him for murder.

6. Nothing exposes the State’s vile nature in its war on a plant quite like the murder of Zachary Hammond.

On July 26, Zach Hammond was on his first date with a new girlfriend. The two were stopping for ice cream when they were suddenly surrounded by cops.

Seneca Police Lt. Mark Tiller ran towards the 19-year-old’s car with his gun drawn because Hammond’s date, Tori Morton, allegedly sold a few grams of marijuana to an undercover cop. Tiller claimed that he was in danger and was forced to shoot Hammond to save his own life. However, dashcam video proved that to be false.

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In October, the much-awaited dashcam footage was finally released and it shows that the officer was indeed not in danger as he murdered Hammond.

As Tiller exited his vehicle, he ran to the side of Hammond’s car. Hammond was only attempting to leave the scene when Tiller acted as if his life was in danger and began firing as he screamed, “I’m gonna shoot your f*cking ass!”

Immediately after falsely claiming that his life was in danger, Tiller screams, “He tried to hit me.” This statement, according to the video evidence, is a blatant lie.

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Unfortunately, as is becoming absurdly commonplace, peaceful members of the community without any ill intent toward their fellow humans, fall victim to unjustifiable State violence — because of a remarkably beneficial plant.

Orwell’s dystopia couldn’t have been more prophetic — those once tasked with protecting the people, instead perpetrate the violence. Where law was intended to function as an extension of the people’s will, now generates State profit while eradicating rights — and often, lives.

It couldn’t be clearer this War on So-Called Drugs has no purpose but societal control, and a lack of conscience to match. Let’s all work to end this insanity in 2016.

Force is as pitiless to the man who possesses it, or thinks he does, as it is to its victims; the second it crushes, the first, it intoxicates. – Simone Weil

Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com

By John Vibes

Sister Kate and Sister Darcey of the “Sisters of the Valley” medical marijuana organization are fighting against the government in California to keep their medical marijuana business alive. These nuns are unlikely entrepreneurs in the marijuana industry, and they create cannabis-based salves and tonics in their garage. The products that they create actually don’t contain THC and do not create a high, but their local city council is attempting to put them out of business anyway.

“We spend no time on bended knee, but when we make our medicine it’s a prayerful environment it’s a prayerful time,” Sister Kate told ABC 30.

“It’s more for me about the sisterhood and the feminist movement… to live and work with other women and to do a positive thing for the community — and obviously for the world since we ship it everywhere,” Sister Darcey added.

They sell their products on websites like Etsy for a variety of different medical conditions.

“We make CBD oil which takes away seizures, and a million other things and we make a salve, that’s a multi-purpose salve… and we found out that it cures migraines, hangovers, earaches, diaper rash, toothaches,” Sister Kate said.

However, if the Merced City Council moves to ban on all marijuana cultivation in the area, they will be forced out of business.

“Yes, it’s frustrating to me because there are all of these people with negative attitudes about something that is truly God’s gift,” Sister Darcey said.

As marijuana becomes legal in some places in the country, people are taking chances and opening up businesses everywhere, even in places where the plant has not yet been legalized. As we reported last month, a marijuana delivery service named Kush Gods was recently shut down in DC, despite the fact that it has been decriminalized in the city.

Below is one of the many popular videos put out by the Sisters of the Valley, depicting their CBD oil production process.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKH1TM6oQ-c]

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John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can purchase his books, or get your own book published at his website www.JohnVibes.com.

By William N. Grigg

Disabled Navy veteran Raymond Schwab moved to Colorado last year to free himself from addictions that grew out of the pharmaceuticals prescribed by the VA to treat his service-related physical and psychological injuries.

As Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access points out, medical cannabis is an effective treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where other drugs fail. Veterans are successfully treating themselves despite the federal government’s prohibition.

Because Schwab is legally using medicinal cannabis in Colorado, officials in prohibitionist Kansas have abducted five of his children, ranging from 5 to 16 years of age.

The ransom demanded by the Kansas “child protection” bureaucracy is a promise that Schwab will refrain from using cannabis, and four months of “clean” urinalysis test results.

“They’re basically using my kids as a pawn to take away freedoms I fought for,” Schwab explained to the Denver Post. “It’s a horrible position to put me in.”

The family’s trauma originated in what could be called a “Pavlik Morozov-in-reverse” scenario. Morozov, a school-age youth living in Ukraine during the 1930s, was a member of the Soviet Young Pioneers who informed on his father to the secret police. Morozov’ father was arrested and murdered by the NKVD, and the youngster was honored by the Soviet regime as a “patriotic” exemplar whose loyalty to the state transcended filial piety. DARE programs notoriously promote a similar mentality within American schoolchildren, encouraging them to snoop through medicine cabinets in search of forbidden substances and call the police in the event any are found.

In the case of the Schwab family, the generational relationship was inverted. The Post relates that during a visit to Kansas the children’s material grandmother “took the kids to a police station in another county and reported them abandoned,” something she reportedly has come to regret.

Last April, a child abuse investigation cleared Schwab of harming his children in any way. Yet a judge has ruled that the children will remain in state control until Schwab and his wife foreswear any further legal use of cannabis.

Schwab’s case is somewhat similar to that of medical liberty activist Shona Banda, a resident of Garden City, Kansas whose 11-year-old son was also abducted by government officials after the youngster spoke out in school about the benefits his mother had experienced using cannabis oil to treat her otherwise intractable Crohn’s disease. The well-informed young man, displaying greater passion than discretion, shared his mother’s experience during a DARE presentation intended to indoctrinate him and his classmates to be informants in the service of drug war dead-enders.

Unfortunately, his mother hadn’t inoculated her son against trusting government officials who can exploit nearly any disclosure as a pretext for ruining the lives of people who have done no harm to others.

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Displaying the punitive efficiency for which police states are notorious, “School officials contacted police, who searched [Banda’s] house and found marijuana and cannabis oil,” recounts the Kansas City Star. For using a beneficial substance that relieves the symptoms of her painful, inflammatory auto-immune disease, Banda has been charged with three felonies and two misdemeanors that could be used to steal up to thirty years of her life.

One alarming aspect of Schwab’s case that differs from Banda’s predicament is the fact that his marijuana use is entirely legal within the state in which he resides – yet officials in Kansas are using that benign conduct to justify seizing and detaining his children as hostages to use against him. Inventive cruelty of this kind can be expected from the kind of people who would cage others for making medicinal use of a plant.

William N. Grigg writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com

By Justin Gardner

“Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” – Henry David Thoreau

Witnessing the slavery and imperialism being carried out by government during the mid-nineteenth century, Henry David Thoreau was compelled to apply his transcendental philosophy to challenge the fallacies of the state. Civil Disobedience is one of the greatest American texts, and was a prime influence for Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

Civil disobedience is a familiar concept to those who realize that government does not possess a greater wisdom and justice than the individual simply because it is government. As Thoreau wrote, we have a duty to resist when the state is recognized as an agent of injustice.

This is sometimes even embraced by those working within the system. Rep. Allen Peake, a Georgia lawmaker, admitted that he defies unjust cannabis prohibition by bringing medical cannabis into Georgia from states where it is legal, such as Colorado. He recently delivered medical cannabis to a mother whose son suffers from seizures.

“I got a text this morning from the mother of a young child who I delivered product to,” said Peake. “And the heartfelt thanks from this mother, the difference in this child – the increase in cognitive ability, the reduction in seizures, has been worth every bit of risk that I’ve taken.”

Georgia residents have just begun their struggle to gain the freedom to treat their medical conditions with a plant that is proven to be effective for many ailments. The ability of medical cannabis to reduce or eliminate epileptic seizures—without harmful side effects—is astounding and is recognized by medical professionals. The biggest news at the last American Epilepsy Society conference was a landmark study showing that a cannabis extract vastly reduces seizures in children.

Yet this miracle treatment is denied to people in more than half of U.S. states and is still completely banned by the federal government as a Schedule 1 drug with “no currently accepted medical use.”

In the face of such injustice, some are moving to states with legal medical cannabis, some continue suffering or rely on prescription pills, and some engage in civil disobedience. Allen Peake is a model of virtue among a cesspool of state corruption.

He routinely visits former Georgians who now live in Colorado so they can treat their conditions without the fear of being locked in a cage.

“Listen, I made a commitment to these families when I got involved, that I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure they had access to a product from a reputable manufacturer. I’ve made good on that promise. If it involved civil disobedience, it’s been absolutely worth it,” said Peake.

Rep. Peake has also introduced a bill in the Georgia House of Representatives that would expand the number of diseases and conditions for which cannabis oil can be prescribed, and also calls for “a minimum of two and a maximum of six in-state manufacturers for the production of all medical cannabis within the state by Dec. 1, 2016.” More than 100 House members have signed the bill.

The proposed bill follows up on Georgia’s first step taken last year to decriminalize medical cannabis, called the Haleigh’s Hope Act. It gave limited protections to those who use or administer cannabis oil, such as desperate parents who witness their child having endless seizures.

An Atlanta mom is having to resort to the black market to get the only thing that works to stop her daughter’s violent autistic episodes—medical cannabis. She showed a heartbreaking video to the local Channel 2 station of the father trying to restrain his 5-year-old daughter so she doesn’t severely bite herself. After trying 30 different supplements and medicines unsuccessfully, cannabis is the only thing that prevents the violent episodes and allows here daughter to engage in normal tasks. She buys cannabis on the black market and makes the oil extract at home.

Mike Buffington is editor of the Jackson County Herald, a self-professed conservative, and father to a 21-year-old son who has suffered seizures for 15 years. He wrote a column last month called “I’m Growing Marijuana.”

“My pot plant is really something of a civic protest against absurd state policies that prevent children who suffer from seizure disorders from getting help,” said Buffington.

He found a variety of cannabis that is low in psychoactive properties and high in seizure-fighting substances. He is going to plant the seed and use an indoor grow kit, hoping to gain a green thumb through his act of defiance. Buffington will post pictures of the progress.

“I’m making a political statement, but I’m trying to show that it’s just a plant. If it has the potential to help people, why not open the door and see what we can do with it?” said Buffington. “Obviously, if you’re going to do civil disobedience, you know what the penalties potentially are, and you’ve got to be willing to take those penalties.”

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In his case, possessing one plant would be a misdemeanor. No cops have come knocking on his door yet. Law enforcement must be in a quandary here, as charging Buffington would showcase the absurdity of “just doing their job.”

These acts of civil disobedience are enraging state prosecutors, who are undoubtedly working to derail Rep. Peake’s proposed House bill to expand medical cannabis access. The governor has already made his opposition clear, and there will be resistance in the Senate. Cannabis prohibition is too profitable for law enforcement and prison industries to give up easily.

The tide against these agents of injustice may already be too great for them to resist. Civil disobedience is among us and growing. Thoreau would be proud.

Justin Gardner writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com

By Matt Agorist

Last year, Meagan and Brandon Holt’s daughter Maddie, who suffers from a rare and debilitating disease called Zellweger Syndrome, was given only a short time to live, and her family was forced to do what no family can ever imagine – put a 2-year-old in hospice care.

Maddie is deaf and blind, and entirely dependent upon round-the-clock medical care. Prior to being placed in hospice care, Maddie developed life-threatening horrific seizures which sent her health into a downward spiral.

For months, the family administered several prescriptions that were intended to help Maddie. However, none of them seemed to work and, in fact, had a negative impact on her health.

After months of watching Maddie’s health deteriorate, doctors had no more options, and her parents were preparing to say goodbye. Maddie was going to spend her last days alive on life support in a hospital bed.

But then something amazing happened. Meagan began researching the effects of cannabis on intractable, or untreatable epilepsy.

She found one last hope: cannabis.

Being in Washington state, where medical and recreational marijuana is legal, Meagan got authorization, and then a beautiful group of people began donating whole plant cannabis extract to their family.

From the first dose, Meagan says, they immediately noticed a positive shift in her health. Maddie’s health improved exponentially, and within days “she was off hospice, on palliative care, and working towards recovering from a rough year.”

“Without cannabis, she would be a vegetable, or worse, dead,” explained Meagan Tuesday, to the House Commerce and Gaming Committee.

But all this hope would quickly be brought to an end thanks to a law that makes it illegal for growers to share cannabis with families like Meagan and Maddie who need this powerful medicine.

But, Meagan, Brandon, and Maddie are fighters and Meagan has been pushing for legislative action, HB 2629, to reverse this ridiculous law.

During the Committee hearing on Tuesday, Meagan took to the podium to deliver a moving speech.

This Bill is needed, so families like ours, who are in a situation no one should be in, can legally accept donations of a very expensive medication.

I want to read a quote that left me with a very heavy heart. ‘This is the last harvest of cannatonic for the children. This grow is no longer legal, so I can no longer donate healing medicine, at no charge, to the parents of children, whom doctors have told to go to Hospice and die. I have never had a harvest for the children that made me sad beyond measure. It will be processed into oil in under five weeks and distributed in two. What will the medically abandoned children and their parents do then?’

If it weren’t for the generosity of the members of the cannabis community, we would not have been able to treat her. This Bill would allow me to be legally given life-sustaining medicine for my child. It would allow home growing of cannabis, which, in turn, could be processed and given to the patients that need it the most.

I do not see anything wrong with sharing quality medicine. Being able to grow and share a plant seems reasonable. Please approve House Bill 2629, so me and my child are no longer criminals.

Michael Scott is a close friend of the family, activist, and person responsible for putting together the moving video below. When speaking with the Free Thought Project, Scott said “It’s so very sad that these kind, loving folks are having to fight for the right to help their daughter and heal her. We’ve watched as Maddie has begun to heal. The damages Maddie suffers from now are from the medications the doctors gave her! Maddie is going through withdraws… it’s not right, not right at all.”

When the Free Thought Project reached out to Meagan for a statement, she replied with the following powerful words,

The most important thing out of all of this that I want the legislators and really the government as whole, to realize is that this is more than just being allowed to share and grow cannabis. This is about the right to treat my daughter with a natural medicine.

How can it be ok to want to over medicate our children? Why should a child who is on hospice suffering from a terminal disease, not be allowed to chose to use a healing plant that allows them to enjoy their final days?

Cannabis allows my child to be herself. It allows her to enjoy the world while she is here. I can’t say for certain that cannabis will treat her Zellweger Syndrome. I still wake up to the reality that my child has already exceeded her life expectancy and every day could be our last. But what I do know is that with whole plant extract oil she is comfortable, coherent, and able to enjoy the little things, like a walk outside or play time with her sister.

The federal government needs to stop criminalizing innocent people for a plant. I am doing what any good parent would do and doing what is best for my child’s quality of life.

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On Tuesday, the House Committee hosted an open forum and are deciding whether or not this Bill will move forward.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSXb_Rwu9tI]

The family is asking that everyone contact the committee members and voice your support of this Bill.

The e-mail addresses for all the representatives in the Commerce & Gaming Committee are below:

• Christopher.Hurst@leg.wa.gov


• Sharon.Wylie@leg.wa.gov


• Cary.Condotta@leg.wa.gov


• Jeff.Holy@leg.wa.gov


• Brian.Blake@leg.wa.gov


• Steve.Kirby@leg.wa.gov


• Elizabeth.Scott@leg.wa.gov


• Kevin.VanDeWege@leg.wa.gov


• Brandon.Vick@leg.wa.gov

The time for action is now.

The annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society took place in early December, where the largest study presented there confirmed the astounding benefits of medical cannabis to treat seizures.

Epilepsy affects one in 26 Americans during their lifetime, “with one-third having a form of the condition that resists treatment or effective management,” such as Maddie’s.

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The findings of this study add to the growing body of evidence that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive extract of cannabis, can provide the best option for intractable epilepsy.

Of 261 patients given CBD treatment, 45% experienced a significant reduction in seizure frequency, and 9% were seizure-free at 3 months. Some children continued to experience benefits after the trial ended, even one year after.

“In the subsequent periods, which are very encouraging, 9 percent of all patients and 13 percent of those with Dravet Syndrome epilepsy were seizure-free. Many have never been seizure-free before,” said lead author Dr. Orrin Devinsky.

The Free Thought Project has covered many stories of CBD providing miraculous benefits to children suffering from treatment-resistant epileptic seizures. With scientific evidence piling up, it is no longer deniable that cannabis provides a host of medical treatments.

Even in spite of cannabis prohibition, politicians are starting to break the law to provide people with cannabis. Rep. Allen Peake, a Georgia lawmaker, admitted that he defies unjust cannabis prohibition by bringing medical cannabis into Georgia from states where it is legal, such as Colorado. He recently delivered medical cannabis to a mother whose son suffers from seizures.

The times are changing, and those who continue to throw people in cages or kill them for possessing a plant are being exposed for the vile tyrants they are.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world.

Follow @MattAgorist