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With the courts striking down the federal government's monopoly on supplying medical marijuana, private growers are bullish on pot's commercial potential

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Eric Nash can barely contain his excitement waiting to hear from Health Canada whether he can start growing marijuana for 250 patients now that the Federal Court of Appeal has struck down the government's monopoly on supplying medical marijuana.

That would be just the start. He says there are tens of thousands more who are ailing across the country, clamouring for his organic B.C. bud.

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Canada has ‘unique opportunity to make a difference,’ pro-marijuana activist says.

An estimated 10 million Canadians say they have used marijuana at least once in their lives. (Tyler Ball)

“Anyone who’s going to read your article has either used marijuana or knows someone who has, and they know that person is not a criminal.”

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Tim DeGaio of Clifton has had five brain surgeries in the last 10 years and has taken more than a dozen drugs in attempt to stop his epileptic seizures.

Nothing worked and the seizures worsened, the 20-year-old DeGaio said Monday from Fort Collins, Colo., where he attends Colorado State University.

During the last seizure four months ago, DeGaio said he collapsed and for nearly four minutes continually banged his face against a gravel walkway. He was left with dozen of abrasions on his face from the episode.

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 go to www.youtube.com and search: Canadian cities. Police with dogs. In our cities. In Canada. We did not make this up.The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) says the BC transit authority, Translink, plans to introduce drug sniffing police dogs to sniff random transit users.  The civil liberties group is calling the move an unjustified violation of basic rights.

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Rosie DiManno

I cannot stand the odour of cannabis. That's probably a good thing, for an addictive personality, having a built-in aversion to certain drugs.

Also, dope makes me staggeringly stupid.

A few years ago I was sent to Amsterdam, the assignment an analysis of Holland's liberal drug laws, at a time when Canada was again looking at loosening our own "soft drugs" legislation. Strictly for the purpose of research, I wandered from one drug café to another, sampling the menu: hash oil, slimly rolled joints, laced brownies.

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By Bruce Mirken Special to Salem-News.com

Pressure from the Bush Administration to keep marijuana illegal in other nations is fading.

Photo courtesy: Bruce Mirken/MPP

(SAN FRANCISCO) - Germany is about to become the fifth country to allow at least some patients to use natural marijuana as medicine. According to a report from the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine, the German government recently notified four patients that they would be allowed to receive medical marijuana produced under the Dutch government’s medical marijuana program. The German program remains limited to special cases.

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McKINLEYVILLE – A county permit application for a medical marijuana collective in McKinleyville has generated immediate opposition and the most influential opponent is the owner of the property for which the growing facility is slated.

Stephen Gasparas has submitted a permit application to the county for The Rose Center, a proposed medical marijuana collective at 1551 Nursery Way in McKinleyville. Allowed under Proposition 215, the state’s medical marijuana law, a collective is a members-only group cultivation site for people with cannabis  prescriptions. Gasparas’ application states that his collective would not be open to the public and would not dispense marijuana.

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Gold Coast, Australia December 18, 2007 New information published in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research explores University students motivations for using or not using cannabis and found various factors that might encourage use.

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Posted Mon Dec 1, 2008 12:27am AEDT

Swiss voters head to the polls on Sunday (local time) for a series of referenda including a controversial proposal to decriminalise cannabis, local media reports.

The proposal has raised eyebrows both at home and abroad, especially in neighbouring Germany, but looks set to be rejected, the NZZ am Sonntag said.

Swiss youth groups called for a free vote on the matter, adding that there should be a revision of the law whatever the outcome of the referendum.

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