The advantage of the Volcano [...]]]> What is the difference between the Volcano Classic and the Volcano Digit?

The most important aspect is, whichever Volcano you decide on, there is no difference in the overall effect. The precision and quality with which you are familiar from our Volcano Classic is stepped up a notch in the Volcano Digit.

The advantage of the Volcano Digit lies in its large LED displays, which immediately and precisely informs the user of the operating status. The Volcano Digit communicates better with the user and its electronic control system works even more precisely than the bi-metal regulator on the Volcano Classic.

Volcano Digit

• Vaporization temperature can be set
  between 40° and 230°C (104° and 446°F)
• Temperature accuracy ± 1,5°C (± 2,7°F)
• Two year warranty
• Precise electronic control
• Extra large, digital LED display with
  set and actual temperature
• Display changeover between
  °Celsius and °Fahrenheit
• Automatic switch off

Volcano Classic

The advantage of the Volcano Digit lies in its large LED display,

which immediately and precisely informs the user of the operating status.

The Volcano Digit communicates better with the user and its electronic

control system works even more precisely than the bi-metal regulator

on the Volcano Classic

A ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in California has received enough signatures to place it before voters next year, organizers said.

The “Tax, Regulate and Control Cannabis Act of 2010” has garnered 680,000 signatures, more than the 433,971 required to be placed on the state’s ballot, said Salwa [...]]]> From Bloomberg News:

A ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in California has received enough signatures to place it before voters next year, organizers said.

The “Tax, Regulate and Control Cannabis Act of 2010” has garnered 680,000 signatures, more than the 433,971 required to be placed on the state’s ballot, said Salwa Ibrahim, a spokeswoman for the measure’s sponsor, Oaksterdam University in Oakland, which bills itself as “America’s first cannabis college.”

“We’re going to keep collecting signatures until we have to turn it in,” before the February deadline, Ibrahim said in an interview today. “They’re from all over the state of California.”

The measure, which must be certified by the secretary of state before it can officially be placed on the ballot, would allow adults 21 and older to possess an ounce of marijuana and cultivate 25 square feet (2.3 square meters) for personal consumption, Ibrahim said. Cities and counties can decide how and if to tax commercial sales and cultivation.

“So for instance, in a Danville or Alamo, if they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we do not want dispensaries or any of that in our communities,’ that’s fine, they don’t have to have it,” she said. “But a place like Oakland, where we desperately need the revenue, it would be a perfect fit.”

A Field Poll conducted in April showed that 56 percent of registered voters in California supported legalizing and taxing marijuana.

Retired Orange County Judge Jim Gray, a Libertarian, is saying yes to pot.

How about you?

I checked in with Gray to get his thoughts on the initiative that appears to have enough votes to make the November ballot. Gray is not a smoker, but he has [...]]]> From the LA TIMES “Talk Back to Steve Lopez” column:

Retired Orange County Judge Jim Gray, a Libertarian, is saying yes to pot.

How about you?

I checked in with Gray to get his thoughts on the initiative that appears to have enough votes to make the November ballot. Gray is not a smoker, but he has long preached that it’s time to stop wasting so many resources on investigation, prosecution and incarceration.

“The only thing I have a quarrel with,” Gray said of the initiative, is calling it “legalization” of pot. “It’s really regulated control, like alcohol.”

Cities and counties could allow the cultivation and sale of marijuana and tax it under the initiative, which would also make it legal for anyone 21 and up to possess an ounce and grow pot for personal use. Backers claim about $1.3 billion in tax revenue could be raised each year.

It’s practically legal already, judging by how easy it was for me to get a marijuana “recommendation” from a doctor.

Gray said he has been asked to be a spokesman for the initiative, and he’ll be debating L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on various marijuana issues Jan. 19 at the California Club.

A poll taken early this year found that 56% of Californians favor legalization, and Gray said he thinks it will pass, but that’s no certainty because “law enforcement and others are going to take their hatchets out.”

Let’s put it to a vote right now. Leave yours in the comments below.

Charles C. Lynch is the former owner and managing Caregiver for Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay.

The dispensary opened on April 1 2006 with the blessing of the city [...]]]> Court Support Needed for

Federal Sentencing of Charles C. Lynch

March 23, 2009 at 10:30am

312 Spring Street, Los Angeles CA

From the Friends of Charles C. Lynch website:

Charles C. Lynch is the former owner and managing Caregiver for Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay.

The dispensary opened on April 1 2006 with the blessing of the city and even joined the Chamber of Commerce.  In July 2006 the dispensary was granted a Conditional Use Permit from the City of Morro Bay to include a Medical Cannabis Nursery at the dispensary.

The Dispensary operated for almost one year without any major problems or complaints to the owner. On March 29, 2007 the Local Sheriff and DEA agents raided the Dispensary and Home of Charles Lynch. Lynch was not arrested at the time and reopened the dispensary on April 7 2007 with the blessing of the City of Morro Bay. A week after reopening the dispensary the DEA called the Landlord and threatened him with Forfeiture of his property unless he evicted the Dispensary from the building.  On May 16, 2007 the Dispensary closed permanently.

On July 17, 2007 Lynch was arrested at his home and charged with Federal Marijuana Distribution. Lynch pleaded not guilty and went on trial July 22, 2008 in Los Angeles. Lynch was not allowed to discuss state law or mention ‘medical marijuana’ during the trial. Also large amounts of evidence including Lynch’s compliance with State and Local laws could not be considered as factual by the jury. Before opening the dispensary Lynch called the DEA and asked about thier policy regarding medical marijuana dispensaries. The DEA told Lynch it was up to the Cities and Counties to decide how to handle the matter. This was Lynch’s only defense in Federal Court and is called entrapment by estopell when a government agent says something is ok when in fact it might not be. Click here for more information.

On August 5, 2008 Lynch was convicted in Federal Court for operating the Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers. On January 6, 2009 Lynch appeared before Judge Wu to request a new trial on the grounds that he was not allowed to get his defense before the jury and other new evidence. The request was denied. Charles has been out on a $400,000 bail posted by his loving and trusting family and was under house arrest for over nine months.

During March 2009 United States Policy regarding Medical Marijuana changed in favor of states as long as the dispensary complied with state law. Lynch’s dispensary complied with all state and local laws during the time it was open. Click here to read the San Francisco Chronicles report of the new policy. On Friday March 13, 2009 John Stossel and ABC News 2020 aired he story of Lynch on National Television. On Sunday March 15 Al Roker did a documentary entitled Marijuana Inc. Al Roker reporting and focused in on the case of Charles C. Lynch.

Despite the recent policy changes Charles C. Lynch will be sentenced on March 23, 2009 at the Federal Court House in Los Angeles.

The air inside the Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers Group was pungent with the aroma of premium hydroponic marijuana, but the proprietor, Don Duncan, said on Thursday that he was breathing a bit easier.

A day before, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had said that the [...]]]> From the March 19 edition of the New York Times:

The air inside the Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers Group was pungent with the aroma of premium hydroponic marijuana, but the proprietor, Don Duncan, said on Thursday that he was breathing a bit easier.

A day before, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. had said that the federal authorities would no longer take action against medical marijuana dispensaries if they were in compliance with state and local laws.

While 13 states, including California, have laws allowing medical use of marijuana, they had not been recognized by the federal government. One of Mr. Duncan’s two marijuana dispensaries was a target, in 2007, of one of the scores of raids involving medical marijuana that the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted in Los Angeles during the Bush administration.

Mr. Duncan, a founder of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group, said he was meeting with officials at City Hall at the time of the raid, trying to work out a local ordinance under Proposition 215, which allows the medical use of marijuana.

“I got a call and found out they smashed through our window and pried open the back door,” Mr. Duncan said. Since then, he has operated only one dispensary, fearing he could again be a target of the federal authorities.

Mr. Holder’s statement that he would not authorize raids on medical marijuana dispensaries appeared to shift Justice Department policy, at least rhetorically, away from the Bush administration’s stated policy of zero tolerance for marijuana, regardless of state laws. Advocates of medical marijuana welcomed the change.

But conversations with government officials on Thursday revealed disagreement within the administration about how great a shift Mr. Holder’s statements represent.

A spokesman for the drug enforcement agency, Garrison Courtney, pointed out that the attorney general’s statement indicated that the federal authorities would continue to go after marijuana dispensaries that broke state and federal laws by selling to minors, selling excessive amounts or selling marijuana from unsanctioned growers.

Mr. Courtney said that the agency had raided only a fraction of the thousands of marijuana dispensaries now operating and that agents had used discretion to go after only the worst offenders.

#1 Landslide At The Ballot Box: Election Day Voters Reject Bush War Doctrine

Millions of Americans nationwide voted on Election Day for marijuana law reform, approving nine out of ten ballot measures to liberalize penalties on cannabis use and possession. In Massachusetts, [...]]]> NORML’s Top Ten Events That Shaped Marijuana Policy in 2008

#1 Landslide At The Ballot Box: Election Day Voters Reject Bush War Doctrine

Millions of Americans nationwide voted on Election Day for marijuana law reform, approving nine out of ten ballot measures to liberalize penalties on cannabis use and possession. In Massachusetts, where 65 percent of voters decided to reduce marijuana possession penalties to a $100 fine, and Michigan, where 63 percent of voters approved legalizing the medical use of cannabis, supporters for pot law reform outnumbered supporters for President-Elect Barack Obama.

#2 Members Of Congress Demand An End To Federal Pot Possession Arrests

Members of Congress convened a Capitol Hill press conference in July to demand lawmakers enact legislation to eliminate the government’s authority to arrest and prosecute adults who possess marijuana. Lawmakers called on colleagues to endorse HR 5843, which sought to remove federal penalties for the possession and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults. 

#3 California Courts Rule: Medical Pot Statutes Don’t Conflict With Federal Anti-Drug Laws

State provisions allowing for the possession and use of medical marijuana do not conflict with federal anti-drug laws, according to a series of California court rulings. In two separate cases, the California Supreme Court refused to hear challenges to the state’s 12-year-old marijuana law finding that counties are obligated to issue identification cards to qualified patients and that police cannot seize marijuana from state-sanctioned medical pot users. Read the full story at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7678 .

#4: Marijuana “Exceptional” At Reducing MRSA

The administration of natural plant cannabinoids significantly reduces the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (aka MRSA), according to a study published this fall in the Journal of Natural Products. MRSA is responsible for over 18,000 hospital-stay deaths each year.

#5 Marijuana Arrests For 2007 Reach All-Time High

Police arrested a record 872,721 Americans for marijuana violations in 2007, the highest annual total ever reported by the FBI. Since 1965, over 20 million Americans have been arrested for violating state or federal marijuana laws.

#6 Cannabis Determined To Be Less Harmful Than Alcohol

The potential health risks associated with cannabis are less than those associated with alcohol and do not justify the continued criminalization of the plant or its users, according to a report published in October by The Beckley Foundation an independent British think-tank that analyzes drug use and drug policy.

#7 Teen Pot Use Declines In States With Medical Cannabis Laws

States that have enacted legislation authorizing the use of medical cannabis by qualified patients have not experienced an increase in the drug’s use by the general population, according to a comprehensive report issued in June by the Marijuana Policy Project.

#8 Medical Marijuana Use Not Associated With Adverse Side Effects

The medical use of cannabis is not associated with serious negative side effects, according to a meta-analysis published this summer in the journal of the Canadian Medical Association (CMAJ).

#9 California Attorney General Issues Guidelines Recognizing Patients’ Medical Cannabis Use

State and local law enforcement should not arrest state qualified patients who possess, cultivate, or travel with medical marijuana, according to guidelines issued in August by the California Attorney General’s office. The guidelines also permit for the distribution and non-profit sales of medical cannabis is permitted by qualified “collectives and cooperatives.”

#10 NORML Daily Audio Stash Gains record Listenership

The popularity of NORML’s podcast grew significantly in 2008, topping more than 110,000 downloads in the month of October alone. Said host Russ Belville, “When it comes to the subject of marijuana, more and more people are turning away from the federal government and away from the mainstream media; instead, they are turning to groups like NORML and the NORML Daily Audio Stash as their most trusted source of information for all things cannabis.”

NORML and the NORML Foundation: 1600 K Street NW, Suite 501, Washington DC, 20006-2832
Tel: (202) 483-5500 Fax: (202) 483-0057 E