(Joh 19:10) So Pilate said to Him, "You're not talking to me? Don't You know that I have the authority to release You and the authority to crucify You?"

(Joh 19:11) "You would have no authority over Me at all," Jesus answered him, "if it hadn't been given you from above.

Joh 19:28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, "I'm thirsty!"

Joh 19:29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and held it up to His mouth.

Joh 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!"

Has the scent of a plan to end High Times.

Desperate for drug war news, I used to subscribe to it. The last few months...the discreet brown envellpe was very tampered with. Opened and taped back once or twice. I didn't renew. They had some good articles about what was going on in seriously under reported news. Their news was good and usually way ahead of the mainstream media on a lot of important matters.

And the sign says "Long-haired freaky people need not apply" So I put my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why

He said you look like a fine outstanding young man, I think you'll do

So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that, huh, me working for you"

[Chorus:]

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs Fuckin' up the scenery, breakin' my mind Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

And the sign says "Anybody caught trespassing will be shot on sight"

So I jumped the fence and I yelled at the house Hey! What gives you the right!

To put up a fence and keep me out, or to keep Mother Nature in

If God was here, he'd tell it to your face, man, you're some kind of sinner

[Chorus]

Oh, say now mister, can't you read

You got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat

You can't watch, no you can't eat, you ain't supposed to be here

And the sign says "You got to have a membership card to get inside" - uh!

[Solo]

And the sign says "Everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray"

But then they passed around a plate at the end of it all And I didn't have a penny to pay

So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own fuckin' sign

***

November 16, 2005

The Dutch government has said that it would not defer to the wish of a parliamentary majority that the production of cannabis be legalized in the country, Dutch newspaper "De Volkskrant" reported on Tuesday.

Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner told the parliament on Monday that the government has major practical and legal objections and will not tolerate any exceptions.

He said municipalities that experiment with "legal weed" will be prosecuted.

According to the newspaper reports, the MPs supporting the legalization hold the view that the current Dutch soft drugs policy is halfhearted: the sale of cannabis in coffee shops has been tolerated for years but the cultivation of cannabis and its supply to coffee shops is illegal.

The parliament hopes that legalization can put cultivation on the right track and end the criminal side-effects that illegal cultivation brings with it.

At the moment, cultivation is largely controlled by organized crime. Illegal home cultivation of cannabis is on the rise and this too leads to a deterioration in neighborhoods, the parliament feels.

It would be better if the police officers that are now busy trying to tackle illegal cannabis cultivation could focus on other forms of crime, said the MPs.

Donner in fact supports an even stricter approach to coffee shops than the current regime and he does not plan to change his position.

"It is putting the cart before the horse," the minister was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Copyright by People's Daily Online

********************************************************

I can imagine sinking deep into the morass, waking up a decade later, red-eyed and bleary, after using my résumé to roll an Olympic-caliber joint. But while this is somebody's dream job, it's not mine—and it may be the pot talking, but I expect a certain magazine may soon be hiring.

********************************************************

What was his last job?

Abnd who did he blame for losing that one?

Part 1

***

Compromises allow neighbors' input, limits on sales

Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer

November 16, 2005

San Francisco's first-ever medical marijuana regulations, approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, will allow most of the city's 33 dispensaries to stay open while limiting the amount of pot a patient can buy and giving residents a say in where the clubs can operate.

The new rules, pushed through by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, appeared stalled at City Hall just a few weeks ago. An earlier version of Mirkarimi's legislation would have forced the closure of many clubs. He faced criticism from pot club advocates and fellow Supervisor Chris Daly that the ordinances would have limited access for about 8,000 medical marijuana patients registered in San Francisco. At the same time, Mayor Gavin Newsom and his political allies expressed serious reservations about clubs' selling marijuana near schools.

But after a flurry of amendments, Mirkarimi's critics changed their tune, and Tuesday supervisors voted unanimously to approve his legislation on a first reading of the ordinances. Medical marijuana advocates hailed the vote.

"I think this is historic," said patient Michael Aldrich after the vote. "San Francisco is the place where the medical marijuana movement started. It's a landmark piece of legislation. I am very proud."

Advocate Wayne Justmann, who had criticized earlier versions of Mirkarimi's bill, said, "Nothing is perfect, but I tell you, it's going to work for San Francisco. I think this is a giant step for San Francisco."

Supervisors had debated for months a series of proposals to regulate pot clubs, including at one point a suggestion to cap the number of dispensaries at eight. City officials were concerned by the increased proliferation of clubs, with some operating just a few blocks of each other.

The amendments to the legislation will give the city's Planning Department the right to hold public hearings on the location of all clubs, with residents encouraged to voice their opinions. Patients will be allowed to buy one ounce of marijuana per visit to a club, instead of a pound as previously proposed.

Clubs will be required to include in any advertising a notice that patients need an identification card to purchase marijuana. And the number of marijuana plants that clubs, patients or their caregivers could grow will be restricted to 24, down from 99.

Any new club will be prohibited from opening within 1,000 feet of a school, youth center or similar facility. Clubs in business before April 1 could stay within that boundary provided that marijuana is not smoked on the premises.

Snipped:

(BCN) In a surprising change of heart, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday evening amended and unanimously passed San Francisco's first set of medical marijuana regulations, allowing nearly all of the city's 30-plus clubs to remain open instead of closing or relocating more than a dozen, as initially considered.

"We should all be very proud of what we were able to achieve today," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, eliciting cheers from a large crowd of people who had come to witness the historic vote.

A vote on the legislation was delayed last month after Bill Barnes, a former aide to Supervisor Chris Daly, filed an appeal, arguing the ordinance would pose a serious problem to marijuana patients, who would be forced to travel significant distances when clubs in their neighborhood closed or moved across town.

Daly had shown support for removing the Planning Department's role in the legislation altogether, arguing that it unfairly pushed most of the clubs into his and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell's districts.

While new clubs and old clubs wanting to relocate will be subject to stricter rules, Daly got part of his wish tonight when supervisors voted to "grandfather" in all clubs in operation prior to April 1. Barnes agreed not to fight the appeal after he heard about the board's decision.

Existing clubs, currently estimated at about 35, would be exempt from all of the city's zoning requirements, but would still have to abide by the legislation's health provisions and state law, which prohibits pot clubs that allow smoking on their premises, from operating within 1,000 feet of schools.

City planner Dan Sider said he could think of two clubs that were in residential areas that would have to close or relocate, and Mirkarimi said there could be an additional two or so clubs that would also have to shut down or move.

Mirkarimi acknowledged that although the legislation would allow most clubs to remain open, it would make it harder for new clubs to come to the city and for existing clubs to relocate. For instance, all new and relocating clubs would have to be at least 1,000 feet away from a school whether there is smoking on the premises or not. Previously, the legislation allowed clubs with no smoking on club grounds, to operate with only a 500-foot buffer from schools.

In addition, the legislation, as amended today, contains stricter provisions for patients, including a maximum cannabis purchase of one ounce, as opposed to the eight ounces previously proposed, although patients could still possess up to eight ounces at a time. Patients would also be allowed to grow only 24 cannabis plants, down from 99 as originally proposed.

All clubs would still have to go through a permit process, first at the Department of Public Health and then at the Planning Commission, where officials could limit hours or create other restrictions based on city recommendations or input from residents.

San Francisco resident Suzi Chang, a medical marijuana patient and activist, said she was thrilled with the legislation's passage and relieved that a very small number of clubs would be forced to close or move.

"I'm very concerned with patient rights," said Chang. "I don't see myself as a criminal. The only thing I do is medicate myself. We are San Francisco, California, are we not? Why are we even fighting about this stuff?"

After the legislation receives secondary approval from the board next week, it will be sent to Mayor Gavin Newsom for his signature.

The mayor's spokesman Peter Ragone said Tuesday that the mayor was pleased with the legislation.

"We feel quite confident that this legislation will become law," he said.

Pot clubs began to bud in San Francisco after California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing patients with permission from a doctor to purchase medical marijuana.

As the number of clubs continued to grow, at one point reaching more than 40, San Francisco enacted a temporary moratorium in March to allow city officials time to draft and adopt regulations.

Bay City News

Copyright: MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc.