The most significant differences between those who smoked marijuana and those who never or no longer did was that current smokers’ insulin levels were reduced by 16 percent and their insulin resistance (a condition in which the body has trouble absorbing glucose from the bloodstream) was reduced by 17 percent.The Atlantic’s Lindsay Abrams, reporting on the results of a recent study on the health effects of marijuana. In addition, regular pot smokers were skinnier than those who abstained, “even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, tobacco and alcohol use, and physical activity levels,” and had higher levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”). source
A Map That Shows the Dramatic Spread of Legal Weed in the U.S.
Very pertinent today, with a bill awaiting Maryland governor Martin O’Malley’s signature to legalize medical marijuana.
A new study from the Instituto Mexicano Para La Competitividad A.C. (Mexican Institute for Competitiveness) reveals potentially devastating consequences for a number of Mexican drug cartels should marijuana be legalized in a handful of the United States. The Mexican think thank believes the legalization measures on the ballot in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington could cut combined cartel profits by as much as 22 to 30 percent, and could severely cripple the infamous Sinaloa Cartel that operates in Western Mexico. source
House Resolution 6134, also known as theThe Truth in Trials Act, was introduced Tuesday by Representative Sam Farr on behalf of himself and 18 other congressmen. The bill aims to overturn existing federal regulations which prevent medical marijuana patients from discussing state law, and their compliance with it, during federal prosecution of marijuana-related offenses. It also aims to crack down on federal raids of dispensaries and caregivers by declaring that “No plant may be seized under any federal law otherwise permitting such seizure if the plant is being grown or stored pursuant to a recommendation by a physician or an order of a state or municipal agency in accordance with state law.” (Photo via Dank Depot) source
One extreme can be to put all users in prison. On the other extreme, legalization. In the middle there may be more practical policies, such as decriminalizing consumption but putting all the efforts into interdiction.President Obama • Speaking at the Summit Of The Americas in Colombia today. Obama sought, as he often does, to play the mindful pragmatist, seeking centrist ground. His former hypothetical is functionally impossible in a way the second one isn’t, really – there simply aren’t enough prisons to hold every person found to use drugs. However, the latter suggestion is opposed by a large chunk of the U.S. populace, and as such has scant support amongst the American political class, which Obama clearly understands: “…the time has come to simply analyze if what we are doing is the best we could be doing, or if we can find an alternative that would be more effective and less costly to society. This is a topic of extreme political sensitivity.” source (via • follow)
Authorities fear that notorious drug cartel Los Zetas and the infamous Mara Salvatrucha street-gang have joined forces to create a criminal empire that stretches from Mexico’s northern border to Guatemalan’s southern border. Mara Salvatrucha, most commonly known as MS-13 by U.S. citizens, members have reportedly been trained by the Zetas at camps throughout Mexico, and are also receiving weapons from the cartel. Authorities say they have recorded conversations among inmates that confirm the truce, and point to the Maras’ increased use of military-grade weapons, instead of handguns, in Guatemala as proof that the two groups are cooperating. Reports also suggest that the Zetas are considering recruiting 5,000 new members, all of whom would be trained, for Mara Salvatrucha. (photo by markarinafotos) source
» The GOP did maintain its hard-right stance on a number of other issues, with ninety-six percent of those in attendance voting to repeal “Obamacare”, and another eighty-nine percent supporting restrictive Voter ID laws. Eighty-three percent also voted in favor of making English the country’s official language.
» Who would have guessed that getting high reduces stress? While the study stopped short of conclusively saying that medical marijuana was the direct cause of the lower rates, the authors did note that, when used in moderation, cannabis acts as an anti-depressant. The authors also found that states with medical marijuana programs saw a reduction in alcohol consumption by young men, and note that alcohol is a known depressant. Read the full results of the study here.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
With this capture, what was left of the command structure of this criminal organization is destroyed.Mexican security affairs spokesperson Alejandro Poire • Discussing the arrest and capture of Jose de Jesus Mendez, also known as “El Chango.” Mendez is a reported leader of the La Familia drug-trafficking gang, and Mexican authorities accuse him of a number of crimes of many types — extortion, murder, kidnapping and so on. La Familia, a cult-like group, reportedly makes and ships lots of methamphetamine to the U.S. source (via • follow)
“You should be ashamed of yourself. The pages go on like this forever. You’ve given us black paper instead of white paper. How dare you make an opening statement of ‘cooperation.’”—
Representative Darryl Issa (R-CA) to Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich. Issa scolded Weich and the Justice Department for green-lighting a program that intentionally let guns cross over the border to Mexico. [more]
More to this, but definitely worth a read. Also, this was a stupid idea.
The Wire’s Snoop arrested in massive drug arrest: Remember Snoop (aka Felicia Pearson) from The Wire? She and 30 others got arrested in a massive Baltimore drug sting. She’s still totally one of the best parts of Season 4. (thanks Margaret Leist) source
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