Salem-News.com Medical Marijuana articles Page 60

Army Chicken Spit ~ Army Suicides: Who`s Running that Show?

The suicide statistics of the 101st at Fort Campbell are more disgusting than frightening, with 115 in 2007, 133 in 2008 and 64 at the time of this stand down. Ft Campbell has the highest suicide rate with the Army or Marines, why?

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I have written before about Army and Veteran suicides which is a national disgrace. When I heard about Fort Campbell, the home of the 101st Screaming Eagle Paratroopers, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

I decided I’d better push this up on my computer and there it was. BRIGADIER GENERAL STEPHEN TOWNSEND WAS BERATING HIS TROOPS WITH “ITS GOT TO STOP NOW” AND “SCREAMING EAGLES DON’T QUIT”, WHICH WAS THE MAIN PART OF HIS SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM.

Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum): America`s Official National Poison

One of the real social and medical mysteries in the U.S. is that many consider cannabis cigarettes as dangerous as tobacco cigarettes.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I wasn’t surprised that a high court in the U.S. finally found the Tobacco Companies guilty of fraudulently advertising a very lethal drug which kills about 400,000 people each year and that is just the U.S.

June Sixth 1944: Civilization`s D-Day
Is Memorial Day a Happenstance?

My last three months of the war gave me a real respect for the about 300,000 Combat Infantrymen who died and the near 1,000,000 wounded.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - As a grizzled World War II Combat Infantry Veteran, I reminisce about both June 6, 1944 and the meaning of Memorial Day. It seems providential that they are only days apart.

In 1940 etcetera, I didn’t have a thought in my mind about being shot at with artillery, mortars, air strafing or bombs. WW II was 6000 miles away but I did help build an Air Base in Alaska and the Swan Island Shipyard in Portland.

Marijuana and the Wall Street Journal

As more Americans discover the therapeutic and industrial value of the cannabis plant, some hold onto the old propaganda like it was the gospel.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Every once in awhile I pick up this esteemed newspaper and around May 5, 2009 I chanced upon Letters to the Editor: IS THE WAR ON DRUGS WORTH THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE.

Sgt. John Russel: A Reprise - Condemned to the Hell of PTSD

Sgt. Russel, who has seen too much war and strife and sought help for his night terrors which is THE hallmark of PTSD, was probably told by the medics to “suck it up” which is a disdainful way of saying “don’t be a wimp”.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Sgt. Russel has had a tough life. According to his father he was dyslexic which means when he read words the letters were scrambled like a puzzle. School is tough enough without having scrambled words.

He apparently did not have a decent steady job after school but like many in the same situation joined the National Guard for spending money.

California Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Medical Marijuana

The courtroom burst into gasps and sobs as Patel pronounced her sentence. Lepp's attorney, Michael Hinckley, called it incredible and the judge responded with, "Incredible is what the law requires."

(SAN FRANCISCO) - US District Judge Marilyn Patel sentenced Eddy Lepp to ten years mandatory minimum for having grown over 1,000 marijuana plants for a medical marijuana garden in Lake County.

U.S. Supreme Court Affirms California`s Medical Marijuana Law

High court refuses to hear state lawsuit brought by San Diego County.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Medical marijuana advocates celebrated today as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a landmark case brought by San Diego County.

Advocates assert that the High Court's decision removes one of the final obstacles to full implementation of California's medical marijuana laws. The lawsuit challenged the state-mandate to implement an ID card program for patients based on the argument that state law is preempted by federal law, but both courts rejected that argument.

Life Under Gil Kerlikowske

Our government has done the studies and virtually every government study done has called for decriminalization or legalization of cannabis and a shift away from criminalizing addiction of the "harder" drugs.

(EUGENE, Ore.) - Our nation's new chief of drug policy (I will not willfully use the term "Drug Czar," viewing it as I do a strange title for our country to be using), former Chief of the Seattle Police Department, Gil Kerlikowske appeared in print, speaking for the first time in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's Gary Fields.

While no John Walters (the Bush administration's head of the White House Office of No Drug Control Policy - who suffers from a severe case of Reefer Madness, the sure signs of which are rabid anti-cannabism and avoidance of public debate), Kerlikowske still wears the mantle of our nation's head Prohibitionist.

Canada: Feds to Pay for Military Veterans Medical Marijuana

The policy change was approved last October, but is only now being communicated to veterans who require the product for pain management and other severe medical conditions.

(OTTAWA Canadian Press) - The military may strictly forbid marijuana use by its soldiers, but the federal government has decided to pay for medical cannabis for some veterans.

Veterans Affairs has reversed a previous ban, now saying it "may provide payment in relation to the associated costs of medically required marijuana to clients who have qualified."

New Drug Czar Calls for End of `War on Drugs`

The drug czar doesn't have the power to enforce any of these changes himself, but Mr. Kerlikowske plans to work with Congress and other agencies to alter current policies.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The nation's new Drug Czar says he wants to end the "War on Drugs" and prefers the adoption of policies that favor treating drug users rather than incarcerating them.

The news was delivered during a Wall Street Journal interview where former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske spoke openly about the failure of a national approach to drug abuse. Currently, one out of 31 Americans are either incarcerated or part of the parole and probation system. Many if not most of those serving time were convicted of non-violent drug crimes.