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fr.canoe.ca (US) Coca-Cola itudie la possibiliti de boissons infusies au cannabidiol... (Tue Sep 18 02:05:53 2018 PDT)

fr.canoe.ca (US) Coca-Cola itudie la possibiliti de boissons infusies au cannabidiol... (Tue Sep 18 02:05:53 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(75%), $propaganda_theme1(75%), $propaganda_theme2(60%), $propaganda_theme3(50%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $plants(100%), $intoxicant(100%), $cannabis(100%)]

www2.philly.com Inc.'s shares spiked more than 16 percent Tuesday morning on the news that it will provide a cannabinoids for a study on The clinical trial. (Tue Sep 18 14:04:46 2018 PDT)

PHILIPPINES: Nappy change: Dutch to turn diapers into furniture - Inquirer Technology Plastic from the nappies extracted by the facility in the central Dutch town of Weurt near Nijmegen will have a second life as household items like garden furniture or flower pots. (Tue Sep 18 08:02:36 2018 PDT)

PHILIPPINES: US gov't approve importation of pot drug for tremor study - Inquirer News US gov't approve importation of pot drug for tremor study ! Inquirer News US gov't approve importation of pot drug for tremor study SAN DIEGO b In a rare move, the US government has approved the importation of marijuana extracts from Canada for a clinical trial, high... (Tue Sep 18 08:02:36 2018 PDT)

PHILIPPINES: South Africa's top court legalizes personal, private cannabis use - Inquirer News S top court is ruling over a law banning cannabis use. Personal cannabis use was legal in a landmark case that had pitted law enforcement agencies against marijuana advocates and the judiciary. (Tue Sep 18 08:02:36 2018 PDT)

North Dakota's GOP-led Health Department comes up with a wildly dishonest cost estimate, and its GOP legislators approve it.

As North Dakotans prepare to head to the polls in November to vote on the Proposition 3 marijuana legalization initiative, they rely on their state government to come up with an estimate of what it will cost taxpayers. It's not just this initiative—state law mandates that voters be informed of the potential budgetary impacts of any measure on the ballot.

But for voters to accurately assess the cost of a measure, the cost estimates must reflect reality. That's not the case with the cost report issued last week by the state's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and approved in a party-line vote over the objections of Democratic lawmakers.

The OMB report put the cost of implementing the marijuana measure at $6.7 million, but two-thirds of that figure is to pay for a program not mandated in the initiative. OMB said it would take $2.2 million in clerical costs to expunge some 18,000 marijuana arrest records, as the initiative requires, but that it would also cost $4.4 million for a youth education campaign that the state Health Department argued would be necessary and the salaries of two full-time employees to run it for the next four years.

The Health Department may think such a campaign is necessary, but the initiative itself does not require—or even mention—any such campaign, and to include the Health Department's wish list in the measure's fiscal impact statement is just plain dishonest. That didn't stop Republican lawmakers from voting to approve it.

Democrats tried to stop them. House Minority Leader Corey Mock (D-Grand Forks) offered an amendment to approve the fiscal impact statement but omit the Health Department’s figures, with other costs to be determined.

"This does not lead to a $6.7 million fiscal impact. It’s a $2.2 million fiscal impact, with more that’s likely to happen but it cannot be determined," Mock said. "It will cost more than $2.2 million. We just don’t know how much."

The amendment failed on a 10-5 party line vote. The Legislative Management Committee then approved by the same margin a motion by House Majority Leader Al Carlson (R-Fargo) to accept the fiscal impact statement with the Health Department's cost estimate included.

Sen. Erin Oban (D-Bismarck) told the Bismarck Tribune after the vote that the fiscal impact statement as passed amounted to a lie.

"There seems to be a disagreement among this committee about what we want versus what the language in the measure actually says," Oban said. "I think there was universal agreement, probably around this table, about wanting, if Measure 3 passed, an education campaign from the health department about the impacts of marijuana, especially on youth, for prevention purposes. But the measure does not require that. To me, it is lying to claim that Measure 3 required that because it didn’t."

One Republican lawmaker, Sen. Jerry Klein (R-Fessenden), defended including the Health Department costs on rather dubious grounds.

"Until the measures are passed, and the Legislature and all the agencies can dig in and put an actual cost on it, I think our job has been simply to approve something that somebody said might cost this," Klein told the Tribune.

The Health Department argued that because it has a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of North Dakotans, the educational campaign would be warranted, but again, it is not mandated in the initiative itself, and the Health Department doesn't exactly have a great record when it comes to marijuana measures.

As North Dakota columnist and political blogger Rob Port pointed out in a column laying into the shady cost estimates, the Health Department was way, way off in its estimate of the costs of the successful 2016 medical marijuana initiative there.

"What people should keep in mind is that two years ago when the health department presented their information on what they estimated to be the cost of medical marijuana if it passed they said $8.7 million," he quoted one lawmaker as telling him after the vote. "For fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, their actual cost was $363,000."

That inflated figure didn't stop voters from approving medical marijuana in 2016. Perhaps the inflated figure this year won't stop voters from approving marijuana legalization in 2018, but it would be better if North Dakota Republicans could just be honest about the costs.

This article was produced by Drug Reporter, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

 

 

ijpr.org (US) Was formulated without THC. As more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use b 30 states plus the District of Columbia to date b the cannabis industry is booming. (Mon Sep 17 21:53:51 2018 PDT)

wjhg.com (US) Three people facing drug charges Three people are facing charges after the Washington County Drug Task Force conducted a search warrant. (Mon Sep 17 19:53:43 2018 PDT)

wjhg.com (US) Goodin is facing several charges, including trafficking of methamphetamine greater than 28 grams, felon in possession of a firearm, resisting an officer with violence, possession of marijuana, and poss... (Mon Sep 17 19:53:43 2018 PDT)

ijpr.org (US) Was formulated without THC. As more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use b 30 states plus the District of Columbia to date b the cannabis industry is booming. (Mon Sep 17 21:53:51 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(100%), $propaganda_theme1(100%), $addiction(60%), $propaganda_theme2(100%), $propaganda_theme3(75%), $use_is_abuse(100%), $propaganda_theme4(100%), $propaganda_theme5(60%), $propaganda_theme7(100%), $dissent_attacked(75%), $propaganda_theme8(75%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $drugs(95%), $compassion_club(100%), $prohibition_agency(100%), $legalization(100%), $plants(100%), $pharms(100%), $building_muscle_mass(100%), $intoxicant(100%), $opioid(100%), $medical_cannabis(100%), $narcotic(100%), $cannabis(100%), $cannabis_industry(85%), $steroids(100%), $various_drugs(95%), $various_illegal_drugs(70%), $youth(60%), $school(100%), $legalism(65%)]

kldr.com (US) Ownby is wanted on two warrants for Possession of Methamphetamine. (Mon Sep 17 21:48:41 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(75%), $propaganda_theme2(50%), $propaganda_theme3(75%), $propaganda_theme6(75%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $chemicals(100%), $euphoric_depressant(100%), $euphoric_stimulant(100%), $analgesic(100%), $stimulant(100%), $methamphetamine(100%), $narcotic(100%), $opiate(100%), $amphetamines(100%), $heroin(100%)]

kldr.com (US) Northway is a deportation officer with ICE who is assigned to the Medford office. (Mon Sep 17 21:48:41 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(50%), $propaganda_theme2(50%), $prohibition_agency(100%), $incarceration(100%), $aggrandizement(100%)]

kezi.com (US) Feds: 'Vast' Oregon pot trafficking schemes net six arrests Williams has been cracking down on interstate pot sales, which are illegal under both state and federal law. (AP... (Mon Sep 17 21:43:35 2018 PDT)

kezi.com (US) Legal pot business owner sentenced for federal tax crimes ... (Mon Sep 17 21:43:35 2018 PDT)

kezi.com (US) Feds: 'Vast' Oregon pot trafficking schemes net six arrests Williams has been cracking down on interstate pot sales, which are illegal under both state and federal law. (AP... (Mon Sep 17 21:43:35 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(75%), $propaganda_theme2(50%), $use_is_abuse(60%), $propaganda_theme4(60%), $propaganda_theme6(75%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $drugs(90%), $govt_prohib_other(66%), $plants(100%), $intoxicant(100%), $cannabis(100%), $cannabis_industry(85%), $various_drugs(90%), $legalism(65%), $msm(100%), $mockingbird(100%), $assoc_press(100%)]

kezi.com (US) Legal pot business owner sentenced for federal tax crimes ... (Mon Sep 17 21:43:35 2018 PDT) [$drug_related(100%), $drugwar_propaganda(75%), $propaganda_theme2(50%), $propaganda_theme6(75%), $illegal_drugs(100%), $compassion_club(100%), $chemicals(75%), $plants(100%), $intoxicant(100%), $depressant_intoxicant(75%), $medical_cannabis(100%), $alcohol(75%), $cannabis(100%), $cannabis_industry(85%), $incarceration(100%), $legalism(50%), $msm(100%), $mockingbird(100%), $assoc_press(100%)]

wflx.com (US) Coca-Cola is signaling interest in sale of cannabis-infused drin - Fox29 WFLX TV. (Mon Sep 17 19:42:14 2018 PDT)

kdrv.com (US) The Klamath County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is making clear their zero tolerance policy: "The position of the Sheriff on the issue of illegal production of marijuana is pretty clear. (Mon Sep 17 21:41:42 2018 PDT)

kdrv.com (US) The Coca-Cola Company said Monday it is 'closely watching' the expanding use of a cannabis element in drinks. Another sign cannabis and cannabis-infused products are getting more acceptance in mainstream culture. (Mon Sep 17 21:41:42 2018 PDT)