Ever wondered if it’s possible to make a bonsai marijuana plant? Well, it’s not surprising that it’s possible but in this great video from Jason in BC we see his beautiful technique for making gorgeous small marijuana bonsai plants.

Dr Oz devoted an hour of his show to the medical marijuana debate. Surprisingly, the discussion wasn’t the typical bullshit we generally hear from the mainstream media. Montel Williams as well as other medical marijuana patients discuss their illnesses and how they find relief by using medical marijuana.

Canada’s $20 billion-dollar marijuana industry is now at a violent crossroads between crime and commerce. Impossible to police, yet steadily gaining public acceptance, the cannabis industry is now so vast and vital to Canada’s national economy that it can no longer be ignored.

CannaBiz unfolds in Grand Forks, BC, a small border town nestled in the Kootenay Mountains, where draft dodgers planted the first BC Bud in the 1960s. After the pine beetle chewed through what was left of the forest industry, marijuana became the backbone of the local economy.

In secret forest plots, basements, barns and high-tech underground bunkers, growers nurture some of the world’s most potent bud. Most of the marijuana here, and in the rest of Canada, is destined for the US market, where a pound of premium weed sells for a street price of $4,500.

Across the country, formerly laid-back marijuana growers now live in fear of armed thieves, and smugglers take huge risks to cross the beefed up American border. Conflicted police and RCMP officers like Harland Venema continue to fight a seemingly futile battle.

In Grand Forks, Brian Taylor, once nicknamed the marijuana mayor, is campaigning for medical marijuana as a prescription for economic prosperity. Ex con Sam Mellace dreams of supplying medical marijuana nationally through Shoppers Drug Mart outlets.

The United Nations recently celebrated the 100th birthday of the international war on drugs. As it did so Mexico moved even closer to becoming a failed state. Last year, over 6300 people died in the drug turf wars which are ravaging the country and spilling over the border into the United States. British MP Ann Widdecombe and Steve Rolles from the Transform Drug Policy Foundation joins Sir David to discuss whether it is time to reconsider the war on drugs.

As Prop 19 went down in flames it was a sobering moment for many of us in the legalization community. There seemed to be so much momentum and the polls were in our favor. But then when push came to shove it was the Democrats who failed to endorse Prop 19 which pushed largely moderate white suburban Democrats to vote against legalizing it. It wasn’t some disciples of Dick Cheney who swooped into California, the Head of the Anti-Legalization campaign was none other than Diane Feinstein. One of the most powerful Democrats in all of California. Despite being endorsed by the NAACP which stated that “legalizing marijuana is a civil rights issue”, and despite being endorsed by largest workers Unions in California. The democrats still couldn’t grow a backbone and just make some real change. Instead it was the leading democrats who stood up for conservative outdated values. It scared them; meanwhile the Republicans are stealing this issue away from what should be the Democrat base.

Ron Paul is one obvious threat. He supports the legalization of all drugs, but he is also pro-life, and votes against virtually any social program. Some of you might be saying “Great!”, but the thing is that he simply isn’t electable at a Presidential level. I’d love to see him get into the debates, but he’s too smart and too consistent in his Libertarian beliefs that there’s no chance of him becoming President. He doesn’t only support legalizing marijuana, he’s also for legalizing all drugs. An easy sell for most of you reading this blog, but not quite as popular on a national level. So who do the Republicans have the Democrats don’t?

Gary Johnson. Gary Johnson is the former Republican governor of New Mexico who is also known for being an atheist, against the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, and he admitted to using marijuana for medicinal purposes long before there was even any medical marijuana laws. In an interview with NORML, Johnson stated “I climbed Everest. I run triathlons. I fell fifty feet while paragliding and lived. Why would my pot use concern you?”. Now Gary Johnson is definitely planning a 2012 presidential run, and his presence will be interesting but he also doesn’t have the Cult of Personality as someone like Palin, or Huckabee. So Democrats you don’t have to be scared yet. But there’s a few factors which you are forgetting.

First off there’s the problem of a legitimate third party candidate in 2012. Someone like Gary Johnson could run as a Libertarian (he’s previously ran as a Libertarian in the past, and obviously the Libertarian party would love to have him). Still don’t think it’s a problem for Democrats since most of the people who vote for Libertarians are to the right? Think again. There’s a wild card in the mix. And that’s that Prop 19 is back in California. That’s right. Although Prop 19 failed the first time around this time it’s back, and now it’s an presidential election year. This ensures a higher turn out which is always good for those who support legalization. But now let’s get back to Gary Johnson (or our equivalent third party candidate) Do you really think that those who come out to vote for legalization are also going to be voting for the Democrats, or Obama? No chance.

Obama said that he “wouldn’t use the Justice Department” to raid marijuana clinics in states which had legalized marijuana. The raids still continue.

Obama said that he favored the Decriminalization of marijuana. Then he did just the opposite.

The top submitted question to Obama’s own Change.Org website is consistently dominated by questions regarding marijuana legalization. But when asked about these questions Obama quickly dismissed them. Even poking fun at the fact that the question most people wanted answered on his own website involved legalization.

Forget the fact that Obama previously stated that he himself was a marijuana user and the he “inhaled frequently, that was the point”. A remark which was intended to poke fun at Bill Clinton’s famous “I smoked but never inhaled”.

And concerning Medical Marijuana Obama was also in favor of it, saying that doctors should be allowed to prescribe proper medicine for their patients. But this was as short lived as his promise not to use the Justice Department to raid medical dispensaries. By using his power to raid medical dispensaries you can bet he’s getting in the way of his previous promise to allow doctors to provide marijuana as a medicine.

But all of these campaign “promises” turned out to be false. Now there are certainly more pressing problems facing the nation besides marijuana law reform. But on these points Obama is already losing a lot of ground with the liberal base. Guantanamo Bay remains open, Obama pushed for an increase of both funding and troop levels in Afghanistan, The US troops are leaving Iraq while over 100,000 private mercernaries move in (imagine if Haliburton basically took over Iraq under Bush what the response would’ve been). Obama extended warrantless wiretaps, is pushing for an Internet Kill Switch, and hasn’t supported the people protesting all throughout the Midwest. It is clear that Obama has abandoned his base, but, I believe the tipping point won’t come with not getting Health Care reform, or Guantanamo; The tipping point is going to be marijuana legalization. As millions of young people vote in California (a state Obama will definitely need in 2012) they will not only be voting on legalization, but also for president. Will Obama, and Diane Feinstein continue to advocate on behalf of prohibition? I’m guessing yes, for whatever reason Democrats have failed to capitalize on the large surge in the Legalization movement. And believe me, someone is going to capitalize on that demographic, and it’s going to be a Republican. If a third party candidate comes in, someone like a Ron Paul, or a Gary Johnson you are going to see a lot of young people who would otherwise vote for democrats switch to the Libertarian candidate. This may only be ten percent, but if you can swing the vote away from Obama, in California, which holds a lot of electoral influence, then marijuana very likely could be the factor which causes Obama to fail throughout the country. And once again, it will all because the Democrats were too spineless to stand up for what they believed in.
Sadly the best we ever hear from the current Democrat leadership is when they misspeak.

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents with the help of the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department raided the Zen Healing Collective and Alternative Herbal Health Services medical marijuana dispensaries in Hollywood, California on March 15, 2011.

The warrants served were federal and law enforcement took one individual into custody, which may result in arrest.

Agents did not want to speak on camera but spokesperson for the DEA Sarah Pullen gave this statement to Reason.tv:

“The DEA, with the assistance of the LAPD and the LASD served federal search warrants at approx. 210 pm this afternoon, March 15, 2011, as part of an on-going investigation. The warrants are federal and under seal by order of the court. Locations were 7800 and 8400 blocks of Santa Monica blvd, West Hollywood. We have one individual in custody right now, which may result in an arrest. Since the warrants are under seal I am unable to discuss any details regarding the warrants or investigation at this time.”

When asked about raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California in February 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder indicated raids would end on state approved dispensaries.

“What the president said during the campaign … will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement … What (President Obama) said during the campaign … is now American policy,” said Holder.

Obama told the Medford Mail Tribune in Oregon during the 2008 campaign “I’m not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue.”

“I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that’s entirely appropriate.”

On March 10, Los Angeles voters passed Measure M, or the “pot tax,” which will tax dispensaries by collecting $50 out of every thousand dollars made.

A swat team storms a drug dealers home. In full paramilitary regalia the anti-drug unit busted in through the front door with guns drawn. Luckily the home owner wasn’t home, but it was what the swat team did next which stunned the home owner. You see he had set up a video surveillance system of his entire home. As the other cops began rummaging through his belongings, a few others decided to turn on the flat screen, fire up the wii, and start bowling! The crazy thing is that this wasn’t just a few moments that these cops stuck around (imagine how they left the fridge and the chips supply!) They stayed there for 9 long hours! A wii bowling tournament developed and the soon 13 officers and 3 sargeants could all be seeen playing the game throughout the duration of the “raid”. In all seriousness, this is somewhat funny to see that cops are goofballs, but on the other hand. This raid alone most likely cost tens of thousands of dollars. Not to mention all the logistical support that led up to this moment. We must remember that these individuals are also being paid by the tax payer, and they are receiving billions of dollars a year fighting a “war” that the American people don’t support, and believe is unwinnable.