Marijuana Blog

 Jupiter OG (Indica)

Jupiter OG Kush is an indica strain that will make you feel it in your eyes. It features dark green buds and dark orange hairs, and provides a good body buzz. Great for pain relief.

Governor Susana Martinez signed HB 560 into law, ending the practice of civil asset forfeiture in New Mexico. Civil asset forfeiture, also known as “policing for profit,” allows law enforcement officers to seize personal property without ever charging—much less convicting—a person with a crime. Property seized through this process often finds its way into the department’s own coffers. HB 560, introduced by NM Rep. Zachary Cook and passed unanimously in the legislature, replaces civil asset forfeiture with criminal forfeiture, which requires a conviction of a person as a prerequisite to losing property tied to a crime. The new law means that New Mexico now has the strongest protections against wrongful asset seizures in the country.

“This is a good day for the Bill of Rights,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson. “For years police could seize people’s cash, cars, and houses without even accusing anyone of a crime. Today, we have ended this unfair practice in New Mexico and replaced it with a model that is just and constitutional.”

“With this law, New Mexico leads the nation in protecting the property rights of innocent Americans,” said Paul Gessing, President of the Rio Grande Foundation. “Convicted criminals will still see the fruits of their crime confiscated by the state, but innocent New Mexicans can now rest easy knowing that their property will never be seized by police without proper due process.”

“New Mexico has succeeded today in reigning in one of the worst excesses of the drug war,” said Emily Kaltenbach, State Director for Drug Policy Alliance’s New Mexico office “Like other drug war programs, civil asset forfeiture is disproportionately used against poor people of color who cannot afford to hire lawyers to get their property back. This law is an important step towards repairing some of the damage the drug war has inflicted upon our society and system of justice.”

“New Mexico has shown that ending policing for profit is a true bipartisan issue with broad public support,” said Lee McGrath, Legislative Counsel for the Institute of Justice. “America is ready to end civil asset forfeiture, a practice which is not in line with our values or constitution. This law shows that we can be tough on crime without stripping property away from innocent Americans.”

Bipartisan legislation has already been introduced in both houses of Congress that would dramatically reform federal civil asset forfeiture laws. The Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). In the House, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) introduced an identical version of the FAIR Act.

Source:http://www.theweedblog.com/new-mexico-governor-signs-historic-property-rights-protections-into-law/

 Lemon OG (Indica)

An OG variant with not too dense but not fluffy buds, Lemon OG will never disappoint you when you%u2019re reaching for a smoke in the afternoon. It%u2019s not powerful enough an OG to couch lock you indefinitely, but it%u2019s definitely a quick slip-to-sleep strain that allows your muscles to relax without an overwhelming sense of being stoned.

In a recent clinical study doctors have found that patients of theirs co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV) were less likely to develop diabetes and insulin resistance if they smoked pot. 

You can get certain forms of hepatitis in the same way as HIV, and about 80% of intravenous drug users with HIV also have HCV. Both diseases put the person at risk for further complications in the liver, as well as diabetes.

In this large-scale study done by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 200 collaborators looked at 703 patients, collecting data over 60 months for each patient. Doctors assessed their level of insulin resistance and took behavioral data, including cannabis use.

Adjusting for all the variables they could, they found that cannabis users with HIV-HCV were around 2.77 times less likely to develop insulin resistance. While the study focused on people co-infected with those two illnesses, the study concluded saying “benefits of cannabis-based pharmacotherapies for patients concerned with increased risk of IR and diabetes need to be evaluated.”

A future for medical marijuana as a preventative medicine lies ahead to help those at risk ofdeveloping diabetes and insulin resistance. 

Source:http://www.hightimes.com/read/cannabis-future-preventing-insulin-resistance

A Colorado proposal to allow people on probation or parole to use medical marijuana won unanimous approval Thursday in its first test in the state legislature.

The state has allowed medical marijuana use for 15 years — but not for people on probation or parole.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-0 to change that policy by saying that pot use doesn’t amount to a probation violation for people with medical clearance to use the drug.

“If it’s in the constitution, you should have the right to use it on probation,” said Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton and sponsor of the bill.

The change wouldn’t apply to probationers whose crime was related to marijuana.

Colorado’s hearing comes two days after Arizona’s highest court ruled that marijuana patients in that state should be allowed to use the drug while on probation or parole.

Rhode Island and the U.S. Virgin Islands also allow probationers to use medical marijuana, according to the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. California law specifies that anyone on parole can ask the courts to be allowed to smoke medical marijuana after being released from jail or prison.

Other states have seen a mish-mash of responses in the courts on whether people can smoke pot while on probation and parole.

Colorado’s Court of Appeals ruled in 2012 that people on probation should not be allowed to use medical marijuana. State analysts who reviewed the bill weren’t sure how many people currently wind up back in jail because they fail a marijuana-related drug test while serving probation or parole.

Lawmakers worked late into the night Thursday hearing from marijuana patients who support the bill. They included Christyne Smiley of Boulder, who is on probation and not allowed to use marijuana to treat an eye condition called a “macular pucker.” Instead she has to use prescription drugs she considers less effective.

“Honestly, marijuana works better,” said Smiley, who said the bill would allow people on probation “to get the relief to which they have a right.”

Source:http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/04/09/colorado-bill-medical-marijuana-use-probation-parole/32825/