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Over 20,000 Canadians march for legalizing marijuana
Some 20,000 marijuana advocates marched on the streets of Canada's largest city Toronto on Saturday, calling for legalizing the drug.
The demonstrators, taking part in the ninth annual Global Marijuana March being held in 232 cities, blew smoke on the lawn of Queen's Park in Toronto and puffed away as they marched the streets, reports reaching here said.
"It's incredible that 20,000 people are meeting only 100 yards from the legislature to demand that marijuana be legalized, to celebrate our culture and to defy the law with almost open sanction of the entire City of Toronto," said activist Marc Emery from British Columbia nicknamed Canada's "Prince of Pot."
Last year, about 12,000 residents took to the streets of Toronto. "This is obviously its largest," said organizer Neev Tapiro.
Organizers said the annual event in Canada continued to grow because the majority of Canadians believed related laws should be relaxed.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin tried in 2004 to decriminalize the possession of marijuana but failed. Under a bill introduced in 2004, possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana would be made a ticketable offense without a criminal record. The bill did not pass in parliament.
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Another interesting item:
Vaporized marijuana may be easier on the lungs
Fri May 4, 2007 12:54PM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Users of marijuana (also called cannabis) who vaporize the drug have fewer lung symptoms than those who smoke it, researchers report.
Based on his research, Dr. Mitch Earleywine said: "The argument that the medical use of cannabis is inappropriate because of its potential to create (lung) problems is now clearly invalid. Regular users of joints, blunts, pipes, and water pipes might decrease respiratory symptoms by switching to a vaporizer."
Earleywine, of the State University of New York, Albany and colleagues note that marijuana smoking can lead to respiratory trouble. However, vaporizers heat cannabis to release the psychoactive ingredients, but remain cool enough to avoid the smoke and toxins associated with combustion.
To investigate what impact this might have, the researchers examined Internet survey responses from people who had used marijuana in the previous month.
Respondents who had cystic fibrosis or asthma or reported oral ingestion as their primary means of cannabis use were excluded, as were those who had inhaled other drugs.
Of the 6,882 marijuana users included in the study, only 152 (2.2 percent) reported vaporizing as their primary method of cannabis use.
However, 100 of these users -- nearly 66 percent -- reported no respiratory problems compared to 56 percent of those who did not use vaporizers.
"These data, in conjunction with previous work," Earleywine said, "reveal that people can use cannabis without fear of respiratory problems."
SOURCE: Harm Reduction Journal, April 16, 2007.
And lastly, there was a bust about 45 miles NE of Gnashville in December 2005 where a pot farm in a natural cave was raided.
We discussed it here, but here is a page with a bunch of photos of the place. Absolutely amazing:
Some 20,000 marijuana advocates marched on the streets of Canada's largest city Toronto on Saturday, calling for legalizing the drug.
The demonstrators, taking part in the ninth annual Global Marijuana March being held in 232 cities, blew smoke on the lawn of Queen's Park in Toronto and puffed away as they marched the streets, reports reaching here said.
"It's incredible that 20,000 people are meeting only 100 yards from the legislature to demand that marijuana be legalized, to celebrate our culture and to defy the law with almost open sanction of the entire City of Toronto," said activist Marc Emery from British Columbia nicknamed Canada's "Prince of Pot."
Last year, about 12,000 residents took to the streets of Toronto. "This is obviously its largest," said organizer Neev Tapiro.
Organizers said the annual event in Canada continued to grow because the majority of Canadians believed related laws should be relaxed.
Former Prime Minister Paul Martin tried in 2004 to decriminalize the possession of marijuana but failed. Under a bill introduced in 2004, possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana would be made a ticketable offense without a criminal record. The bill did not pass in parliament.
LINKY
Another interesting item:
Vaporized marijuana may be easier on the lungs
Fri May 4, 2007 12:54PM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Users of marijuana (also called cannabis) who vaporize the drug have fewer lung symptoms than those who smoke it, researchers report.
Based on his research, Dr. Mitch Earleywine said: "The argument that the medical use of cannabis is inappropriate because of its potential to create (lung) problems is now clearly invalid. Regular users of joints, blunts, pipes, and water pipes might decrease respiratory symptoms by switching to a vaporizer."
Earleywine, of the State University of New York, Albany and colleagues note that marijuana smoking can lead to respiratory trouble. However, vaporizers heat cannabis to release the psychoactive ingredients, but remain cool enough to avoid the smoke and toxins associated with combustion.
To investigate what impact this might have, the researchers examined Internet survey responses from people who had used marijuana in the previous month.
Respondents who had cystic fibrosis or asthma or reported oral ingestion as their primary means of cannabis use were excluded, as were those who had inhaled other drugs.
Of the 6,882 marijuana users included in the study, only 152 (2.2 percent) reported vaporizing as their primary method of cannabis use.
However, 100 of these users -- nearly 66 percent -- reported no respiratory problems compared to 56 percent of those who did not use vaporizers.
"These data, in conjunction with previous work," Earleywine said, "reveal that people can use cannabis without fear of respiratory problems."
SOURCE: Harm Reduction Journal, April 16, 2007.
And lastly, there was a bust about 45 miles NE of Gnashville in December 2005 where a pot farm in a natural cave was raided.
We discussed it here, but here is a page with a bunch of photos of the place. Absolutely amazing:
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