High everyone!We are in 2009 and I am aware of the dangers that come from smoking and drinking and should be my choice if I want to drink, smoke or eat Cannabis. There for I do not want to break the low but some uneducated people who think that Cannabis Sativa is more dangerous then alcohol.This is why I want to make a big deal out of this matter. The majority of my friends and probably more then 20% of London who consume cannabis for recreational or medical purposes risk prison. Me and many others think that this is insanity I think people are do not know about this plant that much and that is why a lot of them don’t offer support or acceptance. Statistically nobody died from consuming Cannabis but alcohol make victims every day.

Synthetic cannabis mimic found in herbal incense

A chemical substance first synthesized in 1995 in a university lab in the US for purely experimental purposes is now being used by young people around the world to legally achieve a marijuana-like high and is causing alarm among health officials in Europe.
The synthetic substance, JWH-018, a cannabinoid receptor agonist from the aminoalkylindole family, has been found in herbal mixtures sold legally under various 'spice' names, such as Spice Gold and Spice Yucatan Fire. The mixture is sold as incense, but is smoked to get high.

Germany's Drug Commissioner Sabine Bätzing has vowed to make the sale of Spice mixtures illegal in Germany by the end of January, by modifying the Controlled Substances Act. She says Spice can have negative side effects and be addictive. Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands have already banned Spice.

While a shepherd watched his flock by night...

Medicinal purposes are one thing, but marijuana received an unexpected recreational endorsement when Italy's highest court ruled that an Italian shepherd's smoking habit could be justified because he only had sheep for company.

The 45-year-old shepherd was caught with marijuana in his car as he was setting off for an extended period with his flock in the mountains of Alto Adige, in the far north of the country. Police found 38 grams (about 1.3 ounces) in the car, and the shepherd, identified only as Giorgio D., was convicted of possession. But upholding an appeal against the verdict, the Court of Cassation ruled that the shepherd was justified in possessing this small quantity of the drug on account of "the long and solitary period" he was about to spend "in the countryside and the mountains, due to the migration of his flock of sheep".
It is not the first time that Italy's most senior judges have chosen to smile indulgently at the smoking of marijuana in unusual contexts. Last July, the court overturned the conviction of a Rastafarian, Giuseppe G., as it concluded that the drug "was a possible conveyor to a psychophysical state connected to contemplative prayer ? in the belief that the sacred herb grew on the tomb of Solomon, acquiring its potency from that wise king".

A Look At Medicinal Cannabis & Sativex UK

Paris Hilton loves cannabis????

Sexy socialite Paris Hilton has been snapped with a bag of suspicious-looking leaves.
The heiress accidentally gave observers a glimpse of the clear plastic wallet, containing what might be mistaken for cannabis, at a Milan fashion show last week reports Daily Mail UK
Hilton's publicist Elliot Mintz insisted: "Things are not always as they appear. It would be unfair to draw any conclusions based solely on these photos."

The contents of Miss Hilton's handbag were exposed as she reached in to touch up her pink nail varnish while in the front row of a Dolce & Gabbana catwalk show.
The same month she was spotted with a roll-up at a party in Miami hosted by rap mogul P Diddy.

US Students learn to grow medical marijuana

Learning how to get started in the medical marijuana business costs a lot less than an Ivy League education and takes as little as one weekend. So far, 60 students have completed two-day weekend sessions in the art and science of the medicinal herb at Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California.The school prepares students for jobs in California’s medical marijuana industry, teaching them how to cultivate cannabis, cook with it, dispense it and “protect your rights in a police encounter,” among other things. The faculty also teach “which strains are best for various medical conditions.”“My basic idea is to try to professionalize the industry and have it taken seriously as a real industry, just like beer and distilling hard alcohol.”

Jesus 'healed using cannabis'

Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
The anointing oil used by Jesus and his disciples contained an ingredient called kaneh-bosem which has since been identified as cannabis extract, according to an article by Chris Bennett in the drugs magazine, High Times, entitled Was Jesus a Stoner? The incense used by Jesus in ceremonies also contained a cannabis extract, suggests Mr Bennett, who quotes scholars to back his claims.
"There can be little doubt about a role for cannabis in Judaic religion," Carl Ruck, professor of classical mythology at Boston University said.
Referring to the existence of cannabis in anointing oils used in ceremonies, he added: "Obviously the easy availability and long-established tradition of cannabis in early Judaism _ would inevitably have included it in the [Christian] mixtures."
Mr Bennett suggests those anointed with the oils used by Jesus were "literally drenched in this potent mixture _ Although most modern people choose to smoke or eat pot, when its active ingredients are transferred into an oil-based carrier, it can also be absorbed through the skin".
Quoting the New Testament, Mr Bennett argues that Jesus anointed his disciples with the oil and encouraged them to do the same with other followers. This could have been responsible for healing eye and skin diseases referred to in the Gospels.
"If cannabis was one of the main ingredients of the ancient anointing oil and receiving this oil is what made Jesus the Christ and his followers Christians, then persecuting those who use cannabis could be considered anti-Christ," Mr Bennett concludes.

Dutch cannabis cafes to become private members' clubs

ABOUT 30 cannabis-vending coffee shops in the south of the Netherlands are to become private members' clubs at the start of next year to keep out foreign drug tourists.
"We will transform the coffee shops from open establishments, accessible by all to closed establishments of which clients need to be members," Maastricht's Mayor Gerd Leers said.In the latest move away from the traditionally liberal Dutch approach to such issues as soft drugs and prostitution, coffee shops in the province of Limburg said they would start issuing membership cards. The application procedure would take several days, in effect preventing short-term tourists from buying marijuana. The move is backed by the Government and is seen as a pilot project for possible expansion to other areas. Some four million foreigners travel to Limburg every year to buy cannabis, according to a municipal official. The measure, to be applied uniformly by all coffee shops in the province which borders Belgium and Germany, would seek to "discourage the majority of drug tourists," said Mr Leers.

Dutch marijuana fields cannot hide from canna chopper

The Netherlands (and their capital city of Amsterdamn) have garnished a well known reputation for their loose laws on the cannabis plant and marijuana, but most people don’t realize that the drug is NOT completely legal in the nation. According to some reports, only as much as 10% of the Marijuana grown in the nation is sold and grown legally.
In an effort to crack down on illegal marijuana growing, Dutch authorities developed the “Canna Chopper.” The unmanned helicopter craft is equipped with odor sensors that can “smell marijuana” and also uses video detection technology. In it’s first trial run in the field, it was successfull in discovering a marijuana farm that lead to the arrest of seven individuals.
While technology like this is unfortunate for the outdoor Marijuana growers of the world, it is unlikely that it will affect all of the many indoor grow operations and legal coffee shop outlets that we have all grown to know and love.