Is the Sky Falling: Chemtrails and Global Warming

By Ben Horner

Chemtrails vs. Contrails

Reefer Madness was a propaganda film from the 1930’s that completely changed societies perspective of marijuana.  Many films, news articles and other forms of propaganda have been used to create the war on marijuana, hemp and all forms of cannabis. This war has been waged on the users and suppliers of cannabis at great public cost and massive incarceration rates for minorities and other poor people.  During this same time, commercial tobacco and alcohol companies heavily advertised and generated wide spread belief that their products were socially acceptable and healthy for consumption.

Today, perception of marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, and prescription medication is changing, as we better understand their effects and side effects. This synthesis of social perception is what defines modern societies in this ever-changing world; i.e. zeitgeist of a society. Corporate and governmental bodies often cling to the propaganda of the pasts that supports their interests, as we have seen in the movement across the country to reform marijuana laws. Is this also the case with climate change and climate engineering programs like Solar Radiation Management?

FREE THE WEED 33 A Column by John Sinclair

Highest greetings from London, my posting for the next month except for a brief two-day excursion to Amsterdam for the beginning of the annual Cannabis Cup festivities and my performance at our annual Viper Madness party with an all-star band of Vipers.

I’ve been attending the Amsterdam event for the past 15 years—since my initial appearance as the High Priest of the Cannabis Cup in 1998—and for the past 10 years I’ve been traveling back and forth from Detroit to Amsterdam with side trips all over the western world, then back to New Orleans and many other spots in the United States where my work as a poet, performer, journalist and internet broadcaster may take me.

DEA Demise: Raids on Dispensaries Spark Confusion Across the State

Multiple Search and Seizures from DEA on Dispensaries and Private Homes in Colorado Leaves Unanswered Questions of the Viability of DOJ’s stance on State’s rights on Medical Marijuana 

By: Chelsea Shaker 

Colorado is at a crossroads with economic growth and prosperity in the marijuana industry. With the Department of Justice laying the groundwork for individual states to manage their marijuana enforcements as of August 2013 and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency’s interfering with local marijuana cultivation and dispensary models, no one is sure where to turn for clarity. The month of November was filled with multiple search and seizures on businesses, warehouses for marijuana cultivation, and private homes based on multiple reports of illegal drug cartel ties, possible IRS fraud, and non-compliance with state marijuana laws. Officials would not release information regarding specific reasons for the raids except for “concerns with trafficking outside state lines and money laundering.” Clearly another tactic used by the DEA as a last-ditch effort to maintain their police-state stance in the matter of marijuana.

THREE 2013 MICHIGAN VICTORIES! ON TO 2014!

By: Chuck Ream

On Nov. 5, 2013 Michigan activists gave voters the chance to drive three big nails into the closing coffin of cannabis prohibition. In Lansing, our state capitol, nearly 63% of voters support the legalization of an ounce of marijuana on private property. That is a clear mandate for the State legislature in Lansing to pass HB 4623 (Decriminalization) and HB 4721, (the “Provisioning  Center” bill).

Jackson, Michigan is a “conservative” town, but they voted for legal marijuana with 61% in favor. Ferndale Michigan is a “liberal” town where nearly 70 % of voters said yes to our proposal.

For a couple of weeks in November our Michigan victories were the biggest thing in the national marijuana movement.

Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), saw the Michigan victories and said that we are moving on “greased tracks” toward legalization. “I absolutely pinch myself every single day, affirming that these changes are happening and they appear long-lasting,” he said.

The municipal votes may seem like small potatoes, but St. Pierre said that 2013 isn’t just an off-year for elections; it’s an “off-off-year.” In Michigan we kept our momentum rolling like a freight train!

FREE THE WEED 32

A column by John Sinclair

I’d like to begin by thanking everyone who made my birthday so much fun this year despite the numbers that have piled up since I was born in Flint in 1941. Friends in Lansing at the warehouse and compassion center at 1200 Marquette and at Matt Abel’s Cannabis Counsel building at 2930 E. Jefferson threw me a pair of parties for which I’ll be eternally grateful, and several special characters gave me the gift of weed which is always more than welcome.

The Cheryl Shuman Experience

by: Jenna Poag


Despite all the sporting rivalry between Michigan and Ohio, during the month of October, we got on the same team to raise Medical Marijuana awareness and welcome a pioneer in the industry back to her birthplace of Ohio and to our great state of Michigan; Cheryl Shuman. Dubbed the “Cheryl Shuman Tour 2013”, Cheryl’s adventures took her all over her home state of Ohio, as well as throughout southern Michigan, fighting on behalf of medical legalization with the Ohio Rights Group.
If you are unfamiliar with Cheryl Shuman, feel rest assured that it won’t last long as she crisscrosses the nation, fighting for Medical Marijuana rights and bringing information to the forefront so that the public can better understand cannabis as a medicine and make educated choices on not only how to vote during election time when these things come up on the ballot, but also allow them to research alternative ways to treat their debilitating diseases and illnesses that would otherwise be treated with harmful and even dangerous pharmaceuticals.

VGIP- Election Time

Ben Horner

This November voters in Ferndale, Jackson and Lansing will have a chance to vote on changes to their local marijuana laws. The Vote Green Initiative Project (VGIP) has played a big part in helping these local campaigns, including last years decriminalization of Flint, Detroit, Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Under the tutelage of political masterminds Chuck Ream and Tim Beck, we seek to undo these draconian marijuana laws in Michigan.