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Hemp News
Washington: Seattle Hempfest Sues City of Seattle for 2011 Permit
Seattle Hempfest Core Staff
Seattle Hempfest has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court against the City of Seattle, as well as its mayor, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, director of Seattle Center, and chairperson of the Seattle Special Events Committee. The suit seeks relief under the U.S. Constitution and the Washington Constitution, and was filed in an effort to obtain a 2011 permit to produce the annual free speech rally to reform America’s laws prohibiting cannabis.
The suit asks the city to issue an appropriate permit for Seattle Hempfest in August 2011 and, if necessary, to enjoin Seattle from implementing the "West Thomas Overpass project" in such fashion as to interfere with the use of Myrtle Edwards Park in August 2011. Planned summer construction of the sky-bridge in Myrtle Edwards Park, the location of Hempfest since 1995, has displaced the mammoth event which routinely draws more than 100,000 attendees annually.
Well aware of the slow-moving nature of the Seattle Special Events permit process, Hempfest submitted its special event application earlier than ever, in early November 2010, hoping for a decision within the 60-day period set forth by law. However, after months of negotiations Hempfest organizers find themselves with neither a date or a venue for the annual summer "protestival," which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Oregon: Marijuana Initiative for 2012 Ballot
By Susan Gager, KEZI
EUGENE, Ore. -- Just months ago, a marijuana dispensary measure failed on the ballot in Oregon. Now the push is on to legalize the drug across the board.
The creator of the new initiative wants marijuana to be taxed just like cigarettes and liquor. He and its supporters say it would generate millions for the state. But does it have any chance of passing? That depends on who you ask.
"I think that it's time for the nation to take the demonization out of marijuana," said Phillip Allen, family nurse practitioner.
That's what the director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation intends to do with a new initiative to get marijuana legalized in the state.
"It really does relieve a lot of pain and it can really help a lot of people," said Eliza Williams, student.
The executive director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation says if it were taxed like cigarettes and liquor, it could generate millions of dollars in revenue for the state's general fund.
"Alcohol revenue brings in about $75 million. It will create lots of new jobs, and create all these new industries. We think it'll create billions and billions of dollars in the long run," said Paul Stanford, Hemp & Cannabis Foundation Executive Director.
Cannabis Common Sense: Friday's, 8-9PM Pacific Time (Live Stream)
Presented by The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) and our affiliated political committee the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH).
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Oregon: Stanford Pushes To Legalize Cannabis
By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town/Special to Hemp News
If Paul Stanford has his way, cannabis will become legal in Oregon next year. The executive director of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) is working to get a measure on the ballot in 2012 to legalize marijuana in the Beaver State.
Pot should be taxed like cigarettes and alcohol to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state, according to Stanford, who said cannabis would be regulated and sold to people over the age of 21, reports Joe Raineri at KATU.
"We want to regulate it so that businesses like bars and taverns that bar the admission of minors can offer that as a business," Stanford said.
According to Stanford, legal marijuana would bring a steady flow of cash for Oregon.
"Alcohol revenues bring in about $75 million," he said. "It will create lots of new jobs. It will create all these new industries. We think it will be billions and billions of dollars in the long run."
About 90 percent of the revenue brought in by legal marijuana would go to the state's general fund.
In order to get the measure on the ballot, Stanford needs to get nearly 90,000 signatures.
Washington: Bill Proposes to Sell Pot Through State Liquor Stores
By Joanna Nolasco, Seattle Times
State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, is again proposing that the state legalize marijuana and regulate it much like alcohol.
House Bill 1550, filed Tuesday, proposes that pot be sold through state liquor stores to adults aged 21 and over, and that the state Liquor Control Board issue licenses to commercial growers.
Dickerson sponsored similar legislation in the previous legislative session, but the bill was voted down in the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
"We listened to the concerns of law enforcement, medical marijuana patients and others and made several important improvements" to the bill, Dickerson said in a statement. "Our new bill includes provisions for industrial hemp and allows the cultivation of cannabis for personal use, similar to home brewing and wine making."
Dickerson estimates that the measure could raise about $400 million each biennium through sales and licensing fees. The bill proposes to allocate 77 percent of revenue raised to health care and 20 percent to substance abuse and treatment.
Co-sponsors of the bill are: Reps. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland; Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines; Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle; Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo; Mary Helen Roberts, D-Lynnwood; Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle; Luis Moscoso, D-Mountlake Terrace; Deb Eddy, D-Kirkland; Tami Green, D-Lakewood; Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, and Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien.
Delaware: Effort to Legalize Medical Marijuana Renewed
By Newark Post staff
Supporters of legislation legalizing marijuana for medical use are hoping that changes to their measure and a jolt of star power will propel their bill to Gov. Jack Markell's desk.
Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington East, announced the introduction of her proposed Senate Bill 17, decriminalizing patient use of medical marijuana, during a Tuesday press conference at Legislative Hall. Joining Henry at the event were patient advocates including actor and TV talk show host Montel Williams.
Williams, who uses medical marijuana to help him deal with the debilitating effects of Multiple Sclerosis, has been a national leader in efforts to legalize the substance for medicinal use. Henry said she welcomes his support and believes he will add to the compelling message from Delaware patients.
"Montel Williams is an effective, passionate and articulate spokesman for legalizing medical marijuana," Henry said. "I hope that Montel’s experience and powerful personal testimony will help convince my colleagues that we have developed well-balanced legislation and that we should no longer deny patients a helpful form of treatment."
In his case, Williams says medical marijuana has been more effective than traditional painkillers, including Vicodin and Percocet, at helping him cope with the effects of MS. Depending on his pain level, Williams says he sometimes smokes marijuana or will eat it to help ease his pain.
Washington: Hemp and Cannabis Initiative Filed
Voters in Washington State Hope to End Hemp and Cannabis Prohibition in 2011
By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent
Members of the organization Sensible Washington have filed their highly-anticipated hemp and cannabis initiative.
The initiative, which would remove all state criminal and civil penalties for the possession, use and sale of hemp and cannabis, was filed in the Secretary of State's office in Olympia, Washington on January 26th. The group has changed last year's initiative to reflect concerns about civil regulations of marijuana and their new initiative has language that clearly directs the State Legislature to regulate the responsible adult use of marijuana. They feel the best way to end prohibition is to simply repeal prohibition language.
Proponents argue that cannabis is safer than alcohol, and its prohibition has failed.
Polling this year affirms that they can win in Washington as soon as legalization is put to the popular vote. Washington is one of the better polling states in the country on the topic of legalizing cannabis, with 52% of the public favoring legal marijuana and only 35% opposed statewide, according to the Sensible Washington website.
Canada: Manitoba Fund to Back Plant-Based Bioproducts
By Country Guide staff
Manitoba's provincial government has pledged $20 million over the next 10 years to support development and manufacturing of ag- and forestry-based bioproducts.
The new Manitoba Bio-products Strategy was announced Thursday at Riverton in the province's Interlake region, where a local firm, Erosion Control Blankets, makes erosion-suppression products from wheat straw.
The province's farms and forests yield a "valuable supply" of biomass every year, Premier Greg Selinger said in a release, noting the biomass' use in biofuels, chemical processing and other materials.
"Research and development in Manitoba is already turning hemp, flax and wheat byproducts into paper, insulation, roofing tiles, biodegradable food packaging and ultra-lightweight components for aerospace and transportation sectors," the government said.
Out of the $20 million pledged, the province for 2011 has budgeted "more than $4 million in project funding available to research institutions and entrepreneurs working on developing innovative bio-products," Selinger said.
Illinois: Hemp: Good Stuff, Bad Rap
More people are choosing this balanced food source despite legal potshots
By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribune
Hemp, its advocates say, is nature's perfect food source.
It has omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, contains 33 percent protein, is a good source of vitamin E and is low in saturated fat. It's an environmentally friendly crop that grows fast and requires few pesticides.
We can't farm it
Hemp is also a controversial food source because of its relationship with its naughty cousin, marijuana. Hemp seeds can contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.
While it is legal to import, sell, purchase and consume industrial hemp in the U.S., it is illegal to grow it without a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and it is virtually impossible to get such a permit. The policy stems from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, when all varieties of cannabis were put into the category of schedule 1 drugs, alongside the likes of heroin.
The DEA tried to ban hemp food consumption in 2001, citing THC concerns. The ban was struck down in court.
But we can use it
Oregon: Living Harvest Sees Growth on Horizon
By Christina Williams, Sustainable Business Oregon
With more traditional grocers starting to open up to the idea of food made from hemp, Living Harvest Foods Inc. is looking ahead to a year of growth, poised to launch a new ice cream product and start selling products in Safeway aisles this spring.
The 10-employee Portland company, which sells milk, ice cream and nutritional products made from hemp seeds, raised $800,000 from existing investors last year and plans to use it to support its growth to reach profitability.
Hans Fastre, Living Harvest CEO, said that sales in 2010 were essentially flat at about $6 million after several years of strong growth.
"It was okay," Fastre said. "We see it starting to rebound across the whole industry. Whole Foods is reporting better numbers and we usually follow them pretty closely."
Fastre said Living Harvest is starting to get more interest from mainstream supermarkets. He expects Living Harvest products to debut in Safeway in March.
Source: http://sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2011/01/living-harvest-see...
Global: Restaurants Serving Agricultural Hemp Foods Improve Quality of Life
The oldest known food catering establishments dated as far back as the Song Dynasty (960-1279) whose paper money economy and healthy middle class allowed them to cater to the residents who lived there as well as travelers. All other examples of eating establishments came in the form of Inns and catered to the weary traveler. Though located in busy areas, the local residents were not patrons of these establishments.
By Stephanie Bishop, Hemp News Correspondent
The word Restaurant comes from the French Word Restaurur meaning "a food which restores". The first restaurants emerging in Europe, specifically France, Spain and England in the 16th and 17th centuries served food family style or as buffets bringing people together to share a common meal. Waiters did not begin carrying around platters of food as a part of service until the beginning of the 18th century around the same time patrons began choosing items from a menu.
New Jersey: Senate moves towards dissolving Christie's medical marijuana proposal as patients plead for action
By Susan K. Livio, Statehouse Bureau
Video by John Munson, The Star-Ledger
Oregon: Local NORML Chapter Takes On Adopt-a Highway With Pride
"In Oregon it's NORML to care about your community."
By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent/Oregon NORML Adopt-a-Highway Coordinator
This past weekend, members of Oregon NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and CRRH (Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp) worked together to contribute to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Adopt-a-Highway community outreach program.
The group has been tackling the 2.5 mile stretch of Oregon Highway 26 in Gresham, from the intersection at Burnside and Powell to Stone Road, for almost three years. In this time, the group of dedicated volunteers has picked up approximately one hundred bags of litter and removed it for proper disposal.
Arizona: : Thousands Comment on State Marijuana Law
By Dave Biscobing, ABC 15
PHOENIX - One month has passed since officials began seeking public comment and opinion for Arizona's new medical marijuana law and the state has received thousands of responses.
Oregon: Marijuana Activists Make OCTA 2012 Official
By Bonnie King Salem-News.com/Special to Hemp News
(SALEM, Ore.) - Paul Stanford, Executive Director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation walked 2200 signatures in to the Oregon Secretary of State's office on January 4th, 2011, officially sponsoring OCTA 2012- the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act. It could prove to be a historic turning point for a state well known for its grass roots movements.
Next, the signatures will be verified, and as long as 1000 are from registered Oregon voters, the Office of the Secretary of State will certify a ballot title with the Attorney General, proposing a statutory initiative for the 2012 General Election.
"If all goes as expected, activists will hit the streets in March," said Stanford. "We need to turn in about 140,000 more signatures, or 90,000 registered Oregon voters' signatures, by July 2012 to qualify for the ballot in November 2012."
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