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brought in just about 52,000 plants in one day. That put our total over the year over 383, 000, which is another record for Shasta." On Tuesday, Shasta County Sheriff's Deputies confiscated
<br />over $200-million worth of marijuana from three plantations near Oak Run and Shingletown. Wednesday the netted n another 30,000 plants. Foster says, "This year we're going to break over
<br />400,000 plants, that's good we're getting it out of these areas, but it's pretty poor that they're coming to our backyard to grow it in our parks." According to the Shasta County Sheriff's
<br />Office, these illegal gardens also spur a growth in potential violence. Several reports have come in from hikers and hunters who've had encounters with these drug trafficking organizations,
<br />but so far no one's been injured. "…… http://www.khsltv.com/content/topstories/story.aspx?content_id=319ACCF9-DB69-4F2A-99F6-C03CD2957360&gsa=true Seizures San Francisco: Wrong shipment-Wrong
<br />Place In May 2008, Napa Special Investigations Bureau assisted the Saint Helena Police Department with a marijuana investigation. The investigation started when a food service supplier
<br />inadvertently dropped a box off with his scheduled delivery. Inside the box were 532.5 grams of marijuana and $25,020.00 in cash. The investigation later led to the seizure of another
<br />2,703 grams of marijuana, $15,542.00 in cash, a handgun and five tables of MDMA and a vehicle. The suspect contended “that the marijuana was medicinal but declined to say where he got
<br />it or whom it was for. He also said the seized money represented medical marijuana monies.” The California Narcotic Officer Fall 08 Vol24, No3 Marijuana-filled trash bags discovered
<br />behind business By Amanda Baumfeld, Staff Writer /08/14/2008 BALDWIN PARK -A man found seven garbage bags filled with marijuana stems and roots in the trash bin outside of his termite
<br />business Thursday morning…..Police also found packaging, bases that held the plants and boxes from indoor lighting. "It appears to be from an indoor cultivator," said Lt. Kevin Gauthier.
<br />"It was all scraps; nothing of any
<br />40 real value." Gauthier was unsure how many roots where found but said it appeared to be a low-grade operation….. http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_10209008 During this period,
<br />four more medical studies were discussed which indicate the negative medical impacts of consuming marijuana. When you consider the concept of using marijuana as a medicine, should the
<br />side effects be worse than the condition you are seeking to cure? Pittsburgh researchers link schizophrenia to dysfunction activated by marijuana July 9, 2008 /Writer: Debra Smit The
<br />latest finding by University of Pittsburgh researchers shows that heavy marijuana use activates alterations in a molecular brain pathway that may contribute to the cognitive symptoms
<br />of schizophrenia…..The study, funded in part by the National Institute of Health, comes at a time when researchers are revisiting the controversial and damaging effects of marijuana
<br />on the brain due to the more potent pot circulating today. While medicinal uses of marijuana have been cited—for glaucoma or pain relief—the dangers of the drug on the brain outweigh
<br />the benefits, many researchers say….."Just because there are potential benefits for individuals with certain illnesses doesn't mean if you're an adolescent you can use it without potential
<br />adverse effects….. http://www.popcitymedia.com/timnews/marijuana0709.aspx Articles of Health: The Use of Marijuana Can Lead To Mental Illness By admin + August 2nd, 2008 Depression,
<br />teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday. A teen who has been
<br />depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed…..For example, using marijuana increases the
<br />risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal
<br />thoughts than nonusers, it said…...According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a research scientist at the pH Miracle Center, “marijuana and the major chemical contained in marijuana, THC, is
<br />highly acidic and may damage body cells including brain cells….. http://www.all-healthtalk.com/articles-of-health-the-use-of-marijuana-can-lead-tomental-illness-2.html Marijuana impairs
<br />thinking in MS patients August 3, 2008 Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke marijuana show impaired thinking compared with patients who do not smoke marijuana, according to findings
<br />in the journal
<br />41 Neurology. “The use of cannabis as a therapeutic agent in multiple sclerosis is controversial,” Drs. Omar Ghaffar and Anthony Feinstein, from the University of Toronto, write. Unequivocal
<br />evidence that the drug improves symptoms is lacking.….In addition, on a number of intellectual tests, cannabis users were slower than non-users. …..Disturbances in thinking or “cognition,”
<br />such as “slowness of thought and memory disturbance, affect about one half of multiple sclerosis patients as it is,” he explained. “Patients also have high rates of psychological difficulties
<br />such as major depression, which at the extreme end of the spectrum may lead to suicidality,” he added. “The finding that regular use of street cannabis by multiple sclerosis patients
<br />is associated with yet further cognitive and psychiatric problems is therefore of particular concern.” http://healthyfuturelife.wordpress.com/2008/08/03/marijuana-impairs-thinking-in-mspatients/Paren
<br />ts and pot 08-04-2008 | DailyHerald.Com | Sarah Baldauf The recent flurry of findings on marijuana's health risks may have baby boomers wondering, "How can that be?" Chances of getting
<br />into legal trouble aside, is it possible their kids might be in danger of heart or mental health issues when they themselves turned out just fine? Researchers have learned plenty about
<br />pot in recent years, though there's much that is still not known and plenty that's hotly debated. Parents may just want to listen up: The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and
<br />Health found that among marijuana users over age 12, almost 35 percent used marijuana 20 or more days in the past month…..So, says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on
<br />Drug Abuse, still-developing brains, which are "more plastic, more sensitive to being modified," are exposed to higher doses of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Teens' tendency
<br />toward experimentation is in part because of the fact that the frontal cortex, which helps drive judgment, isn't fully developed until the early 20s. And peer pressure pressure to smoke
<br />doesn't help. The greater a person's exposure to THC, the greater the hit to brain metabolism, a reflection of brain function. Volkow used brain imaging to detect marijuana-related changes
<br />in activity in adults. She saw declines more severe in daily users than in people who smoked marijuana once or twice a month and more pronounced in occasional users than in nonusers…..A
<br />big unknown, but an exciting new area of research, says Volkow, is how the interplay between genes and a person's environment -like doing drugs during childhood -affects a person's risk
<br />of abusing drugs or developing a psychiatric disorder. A small, preliminary study that she finds "really fascinating" found that people with a certain gene variant who did marijuana
<br />as adolescents were several times more likely to develop schizophrenia…..Still, some research suggests that regular use is associated with chronic cough, bronchitis, and emphysema, and
<br />a greater risk of cancer of the head and neck. Heart risks may increase with with pot, too. A recent study showed higher levels of a protein that raises triglyceride levels, which are
<br />linked to cardiovascular disease, in the blood of chronic smokers. Pot also increases blood pressure and heart rate and causes a reduction in the blood's ability to carry oxygen. One
<br />study found that risk of heart attack increased fourfold in the hour after toking up. And that seemingly benign plant of yesteryear can, in fact, be addictive: Fifteen percent of people
<br />
<br />42 entering a drug-abuse program reported marijuana as their primary drug of abuse in a 2002 survey….. http://www.marijuana.com/drug-war-headline-news/104576-usa-parents-pot.html Outside
<br />of California, we see many of the same issues that have caused us concern with the advocacy of the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Other states and Canada have seen many of the
<br />same collateral issues arise. Marijuana bust sets record Valley plantation proves extent of problem in Ontario, Canada: police Graham Hughes, The Ottawa Citizen /September 23, 2008 Ontario
<br />Provincial Police say they shut down the largest marijuana grow operation in Canadian history with the discovery last week of plants worth as much as $40 million at a farm near Pembroke…..This
<br />is the largest marijuana grow operation seen by the OPP since the former Barrie brewery plant operation in 2003," said Supt. Frank Elbers, director of the force's drug enforcement section…..In
<br />the past four years, they have uncovered 2,486 marijuana grow-ops, indoor and outdoor, and have destroyed 997,622 plants. According to police, the vast majority of marijuana produced
<br />in Ontario is destined for the U.S. in exchange for cocaine and cash. This has resulted in an increase in cocaine use, especially crack cocaine, and led to seizures in excess of 355
<br />kilograms in the past four years…..Yesterday, the OPP urged people who come across any kind of marijuana grow operation to be cautious. Sgt. Rae said the best course of action is to
<br />stay away from the plants and call police. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html? id=ab7edb53-389d-4baf-82dd-5a8503a3e44d Pot Crop Infiltrates Vineyards By BOBBY WHITE
<br />/September 15, 2008; Page A4 Antidrug officials in the Northwest have discovered that marijuana growers are cultivating and concealing illegal crops on a large scale among grapevines
<br />in Washington state. Since July 8, law-enforcement agencies in Washington's Yakima Valley have seized from the region's vineyards more than 200,000 marijuana plants, with an estimated
<br />street value of more than $165 million…..This year, law-enforcement agencies have raided 13 vineyard operations and arrested 33 suspects……Vineyards are the latest battlefield in a long-running
<br />war between law enforcement and drug-trafficking organizations in the Pacific Northwest…..Authorities have found a few such stashes in other Western states. The DEA and local police
<br />seized about 10,000 marijuana plants from a Selma, Calif., vineyard in June, for example……About 300,000 marijuana plants were seized in Washington in 2007, according to a DEA spokeswoman.
<br />Lt. Wiley and Sgt. Beghtol say they expect the number to swell to nearly 500,000 this year, with nearly half that coming from vineyards…… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122145024251835201.html?mod=g
<br />ooglenews_wsj
<br />43 Pot smoking linked to crash Prosecutors say Highway Patrol sergeant drove after smoking marijuana By ANTONIO PLANAS /REVIEW-JOURNAL …..Prosecutors accuse Lattin of smoking marijuana
<br />hours before a three-vehicle crash that killed a woman. An off-duty Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant who caused a threecar crash with one fatality smoked marijuana a maximum of four hours
<br />before the accident, prosecutors said Thursday…...Prosecutors said the 20-year Highway Patrol veteran, who supervised a unit that investigated fatal car wrecks, had enough marijuana
<br />in his system to be impaired during the accident…..Watkins also defended Jessica Williams, who in a March 2000 crash struck and killed six teenagers collecting trash in the median of
<br />Interstate 15. Watkins said both Lattin and Williams had similar amounts of marijuana in their systems during their accidents. A jury determined that Williams was not impaired at the
<br />time of her crash, but convicted her of driving with prohibited substances in her blood. She is serving serving a prison sentence of 18 to 48 years. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld her
<br />conviction.…..Tests showed Lattin had 5.6 nanograms per milliliter of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in his system before it was metabolized, and 26 nanograms per milliliter of THC in
<br />his blood after it was metabolized.….. http://www.lvrj.com/news/25610594.html Canada's spreading cannabis crop Tuesday, 22 July 2008 As we walk into John's basement, the smell is so
<br />overwhelming it almost knocks me off my feet. In front of me stand 120 marijuana plants whose thick bushy leaves cover the strong stems…..very two to three months, John harvests some
<br />8lbs (3.6kg) of his crop, worth about $20,000. So even if he didn't work at other jobs, that nets him a tidy salary (untaxed of course) of about $80,000 a year. 'BC Bud': Inspector Brian
<br />Cantera of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Vancouver believes that John's small grow-op is one of 20,000 to be found in residential houses around the province…..Inspector
<br />Cantera walked me around a cavernous warehouse somewhere east of Vancouver where the RCMP lock up goods confiscated from people involved in the drugs trade. The most spectacular items
<br />are the cars, speedboats and even helicopters which the traffickers use to send the marijuana down to its biggest market across the 49th parallel in the US. These busts net goods worth
<br />millions of dollars but it still isn't enough to dent the extraordinary profits of the drug runners…..Many Canadians believe that the widespread use of marijuana is having a devastating
<br />impact on young people in particular….. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7519178.stm Ont. restaurateur may take medical marijuana feud to court Jordana Huber , Canwest News Service
<br />/July 28, 2008 TORONTO -A Burlington Ont. restaurant owner facing a human rights complaint for refusing to allow a patron with a medical marijuana license to smoke outside his
<br />44 establishment said he plans to take the dispute to court. Ted Kindos, owner of Gator Ted's Tap and Grill, said he will seek a declaration from the Ontario Superior Court that the
<br />provincial laws -prohibiting marijuana possession or consumption in licensed establishments -trump former patron Steve Gibson's right to light up…..The federal government's Marijuana
<br />Medical Access Regulations do not specify where marijuana can be consumed for medical purposes. But anyone who has an exemption is advised in an information package not to consume controlled
<br />substances in a public place and not to expose others to any effects related to the inhalation of secondary smoke, a spokesman for Health Canada said. Two other Ontario men federally
<br />licensed to use marijuana for medical purposes have also filed human rights complaints claiming that Liquor License Act provisions prohibiting controlled substances where alcohol is
<br />served are discriminatory and should be amended. Young said the issue of "where" has been divisive in in the medical marijuana community. "There are lots of patients that want to assert
<br />their right to smoke in public places and others think it is actually undercutting respectability of this growing movement because it looks like medical marijuana users are trying to
<br />acquire greater rights than ordinary citizens," Young said. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=b5372636-5ffb-48f2-b6d3-e240bdc758ac OREGON’S HIGH INTENSITY DRUG
<br />TRAFFICKING AREA (HIDTA) PROGRAM RELEASES ANNUAL DRUG THREAT ASSESSMENT AND COUNTER-DRUG STRATEGY Marijuana abuse, production and trafficking are also widespread and increasing in scale
<br />in Oregon, today’s report noted. Large indoor and outdoor marijuana growing operations have been discovered on both public and private forest lands and Bureau of Land Management areas.
<br />The discovered plants often number in the tens of thousands and the harvested product is distributed both locally and nationally…..A growing threat, previously found in California and
<br />spreading into Oregon, concerns sophisticated indoor marijuana grows located in upscale suburban neighborhoods and operated by Asian organized crime. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Law,
<br />which allows for small quantities of marijuana to be grown for use by physician-approved patients for pain suppression, has been consistently violated and has become a major barrier
<br />to effective marijuana cultivation enforcement and prosecution efforts. http://www.co.washington.or.us/cgi/sheriff/docs/or_hidta2.pdf Soros behind effort in Mass. to decriminalize marijuana
<br />Associated Press /September 7, 2008 BOSTON -A measure that would decriminalize minor marijuana-possession cases is on the ballot in Massachusetts largely because of one man: billionaire
<br />financier and liberal activist George Soros. Of the $429,000 collected last year by the group advancing the measure, $400,000 came from Soros, who has championed similar efforts in several
<br />states and spent $24 million to fight President Bush's 2004 re-election bid. The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy needed about $315,000 of that just to collect the more than 100,000
<br />signatures that secured a spot on the ballot, according to campaign finance reports reviewed by the Associated Press. "All of us owe George Soros a great
<br />45 deal of gratitude," said Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. If the measure is approved in November, Massachusetts would become
<br />the 13th state to lift or ease criminal penalties on marijuana possession. The proposal would make having an ounce or less of the drug a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine……Critics
<br />say marijuana decriminalization sends the wrong message to young people -that using drugs carries few consequences. Not only are there health risks associated with marijuana, they say,
<br />but users often end up moving on to more dangerous illegal drugs. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said the marijuana being sold on the street these days is more potent than
<br />that sold three decades ago. "Decriminalizing marijuana is a slippery slope and sends the wrong message," he said. "Compounding this is the fact that users of marijuana are 10 times
<br />more likely to be injured, or injure others, in automobile crashes." Leone said marijuana possession possession is already treated less stringently in the courts than other drugs. The
<br />question has been criticized by others in law enforcement and drug education groups like DAREMassachusetts -but according to the secretary of state's office, opponents haven't created
<br />a group to raise money to fight the question. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.pot07sep07,0,2851367.story Officer shot on site of alleged grow op The Canadian Press /September
<br />22, 2008 Montreal --More than 450 marijuana plants were found on the property where a Quebec provincial police officer was shot during a drug raid Saturday. Police said the plants were
<br />found with drug production material in a building annexed to the property in the town of St-Lin-Laurentides. Police had a search warrant for a house that was the site of an alleged pot-growing
<br />operation. A shot was fired when they entered the home and one officer was hit in the abdomen. He was taken to hospital and was expected to survive. A 30-year-old suspect from Repentigny
<br />faces possible attempted-murder and drug-related charges. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080922.NATS22-4/TPStory/National
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