While sharing a name, is synthetic marijuana really a lab-created chemical with a molecule, or chemical structure, identical to grown marijuana? ..

Leonard Frieling had an op-ed piece publish on CNN.com. An excerpt is below: ..

Is marijuana harmless? A recent Times article was titled "Six Ways Science Says Marijuana May Hurt Your Health" and as the title suggest is marijuana harmful or is it relatively harmless? What is the reality? Below we share the article by Times along with commentary below each section. As you will see the Times article is misleading and doesn't cover the facts accurately. ..

Very interesting IMO.   Feds tax pot 10% in a clever sick way.  Federal employee withholding tax quarterlies must be paid by bank wire transfer.  IF they are paid in cash, say for an industry that cannot get bank accounts,  they can be paid at ONE location in the State of Colorado (a somewhat large state), by appointment only.  Bad enough.  THEN, because the payment is cash and not by bank transfer, there is a 10% IRS penalty.  I believe this is the Fed's way of keeping pot illegal while imposing a 10% tax on the business. ..

Is a civil lawsuit or federal civil rights lawsuit under 18 USC 1983 for injunctive relief and money damages currently a workable strategy to address the actions of LEOs like the Kansas State Police?  We are confident that they are profiling people to stop, and then using any excuse they can find, including as little as three mph over the highway speed limit.  That was one of SIX times that the particular young driver, with two young friends in the car, were stopped during ONE trip on I-70 into and out of Kansas from Colorado.  All were over 21, and there were NO drugs in the car.  Remember that less than an ounce, legal for a Colorado Tourist in Colorado, if over 21, carries a likely 4-5 years in prison in Kansas.  The Kansas cutoff is i believe 25 grams, well under the 28 grams which was legal in Colorado before crossing the boarder in Kansas. ..

On the related issue of our vanishing reasonable expectation of privacy, remember your notebook's built in lens. I don't know if this is true, or a myth this week. I suspect if it is not true today, it will be tomorrow. There is a belief by some that your computer's video system can be manipulated to have the camera "on" when you don't know it. So, theoretically, someone can watch you through your computer without you realizing that the camera is "on." ..

A new Colorado Hemp law means progress.   The new law was signed May 31, 2014.  Colorado is continuing to progress in this VERY important part of the cannabis legalization effort.  The importance of industrial hemp should not be forgotten in the world of medical and recreational.  A good general (and I believe accurate) source of information on industrial hemp is at Colorado NORML on hemp ..

On excellent authority, a young man (over 21) with two friends were delivering a sold car to a Kansas buyer. All legit, no drugs or cash. ..

What is most fun about the recent spate of news articles on marijuana as an impairing substance for driving is this. The impairing impact is so subtle, if it exists, that it is quite difficult to measure and assess, scientifically. The impact is so subtle that just finding it is a challenge. That is of course never in line one of the story, and never in the first paragraph of the underlying "research."  ..

A device which purports to provide police with a roadside device similar to a PBT (portable breath tester for alcohol) is closer to reality. ..