Exclusively for OS by Chris Goldstein

While in New York City on 4/9/2010 I met up with my friends Steve Bloom from Celebstoner.com along with Danny Danko and Rick Cusick from High Times Magazine. Danny and Rick are also very active NORML Chapter leaders at Empire State… Read full post »

 

 4-18-2010: Chris Goldstein

 

 

Different marijuana topics have been generating local and national media attention recently.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, FOX 29, WHYY, CBS News and outlets across the country, your fel… Read full post »

Seeking to ease the burden on courts and save money throughout the public safety budget Philadelphia will essentially decriminalize minor marijuana possession. The announcement from District Attorney R. Seth Williams came in a front-page piece today by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The c

… Read full post »

April 1, 2010 - Almost a dozen fully budding marijuana plants were discovered growing at the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  A small closet had been modified with the latest in ‘grow’ lights and a hydroponics system connected to a nearby water cooler that exclusively stoc…

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 I follow President Obama on Facebook and have been impressed with the White House's savvy with the social networking website.  Before today I had never posted a comment there...but a video they distributed this morning got me typing, mainly becuase of the title"The Cost of Inaction"...Here… Read full post »

 Supporters of marijuana legalization got an extra green St. Patrick’s Day for 2010. National NORML’s ad on a CBS-owned animated billboard started running this week in New York City’s legendary Times Square.

Initially, an advertising company had approached NORML t… Read full post »

Los Alamos, NM - When engineers arrived at the FM radio transmitter site to restore a beloved local radio station's signal they were in for a surprise: A big tin surprise.

Volunteers for the local effort opposing free wi-fi access in Santa Fe have constructed the largest 'tin hat' in… Read full post »

 New Jersey’s new Attorney General Paula Dow held a press conference yesterday lauding the largest marijuana bust of living cannabis plants in the state’s history. But authorities involved are well aware that the amount seized is just a small drop in a very large bucket.

Several peopl… Read full post »

 A progressive lineup of speakers will present discussions with new ideas for drug policy at Drexel University on March 6, 2010. The Drexel Law chapters of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and The National Lawyers Guild… Read full post »

This is the long version of this piece (1490 words)...posted exclusively here on Open Salon.

Photo by Chris Freitag 2009 - NJ medical marijuana activist Jim Miller remebers his wife Cheryl.

Pot option left out of the Health Summit

Commentary by Chris Goldstein

A community based health soluti… Read full post »

Spice and K2 are new street drugs. Until this week I had not heard of this new trend but apparently folks have been smoking synthetic cannabinoids for some time. These chemicals are usually used in lab research but they can be put onto any old plant material and smoked.  A… Read full post »

In Philadelphia and other urban environments white women are the group least arrested for marijuana. Mainstream media has given significant attention recently to American women’s appreciation for cannabis. From Ty… Read full post »

OK, here's a real post to make up for my messed up, shortened posts that came through via the 'feeds' function.

About 300 marijuana law reform supporters gathered at The Rotunda in West Philly on 1/29 to raise money for marijuana legalization.

PhillyNORML hosted a concert with guest speakers for… Read full post »

Philadelphia - Arlen Specter has always been known as a political maverick, never one to tow the party line; whichever party. One issue that he has consistently supported, medical marijuana, has become a very prescient topic. In 2008 Specter told the Philadelphia Daily News "If it were legali… Read full post »

Trenton -  The final votes have been officially scheduled for The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act S119/A804 on January 11, 2010. The Legislative Calendar can be found here.

The NJ Assembly Health Committee passed the bill in June 2009 with new restrictions compared to the vers… Read full post »

Philadelphia- A majority of Pennsylvanians favor medical marijuana in the Commonwealth according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday. Specifically asked about the current legislation, this is the strongest indicator yet of the tremendous popular support for safe, therapeutic cannab… Read full post »

MS patient: Not guilty on most serious marijuana charge

Somerville- The jury returned a not guilty verdict to John Wilson on the first-degree felony charges against him. But the MS patient could still face time in prison after being found guilty of second-degree charges of ‘Manufacturing&rsquo… Read full post »

 Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana ( PA4MMJ )  logoPhiladelphia- A majority of Pennsylvanians favor medical marijuana according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday. Specifically asked about the current legislation, thi...

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Somerville, NJ – Family and supporters of John Wilson demonstrated today in front of the Somerset County Courthouse as jury selection began in his trial.

About 50 volunteers held signs for over 5 hours and passing cars honked their support. The rally was organized by the Coalition for… Read full post »

 It's the red robes that really get me...like they are a Gospel Choir

For some strange reason the existence of this video was something that I was blissfully unaware of my entire life...until this morning. It might be heralded as the worst filmed moments for the creative mind of… Read full post »

12-3-09 Chris Goldstein

Yesterday a diverse group of advocates and medical professionals testified before a legislative committee in favor of medical marijuana. 

These were public hearings before the House Health and Human Services Committee on HB 1393, a bill to legalize the medical use of c… Read full post »

By Chris Goldstein

In 1937 the first federal marijuana prohibition was debated in Congress. The infamous prohibitionist Harry Anslinger was pushing though the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act.

Anslinger's racist and fantastical demonization of marijuana, encompassed in the propaganda film Reefer Madness, unfo… Read full post »

AMA Agrees: Marijuana is Medicine

WHO The American Medical Association (AMA)
WHAT: Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research
WHEN: November 10th, 2009
WHERE: Houston, Texas during AMA’s annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates
WHY: Marijuana has both already-demonstra… Read full post »