Tag: Marijuana

Jazz was the opposite of everything Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, believed in. It is improvised, and relaxed, and free-form. It follows its own rhythm. Anslinger looked out over a scene filled with men like Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Thelonious Monk, and he longed to see them all behind bars. In the end he scaled down his focus until it settled like a laser on a single target – Billie Holiday.

Dr. Aseem Sappal is the director of operations at Oaksterdam University, the Oakland university that teaches you all you need to know about the medicinal and outlawed plant cannabis, aka marijuana. In over a third of the states, cannabis ingestion has been legalized. What is the activism all about, and what lies in the near future for people who see this plant as medicine? We talk to Dr. Assem Sappal to find out ...

The racism of the American “war on drugs,” especially in the South, is notorious. So is the racism faced daily by Palestinians. In Atlanta, a university program allows these two manifestations of racism to feed off each other and community activists are organizing to shut the program down.

The uprising in Egypt has been widely attributed to the youth primarily because of their Jan. 25 Internet initiative to rally against police brutality using their "We are all Khaled Said" Facebook page that commemorates a young man beaten to death by police.

Sizzurp. Purple Sprite. Lean. These are just a few of the names used to describe the deadly mixture of Sprite and a cough suppressant called promethazine-codeine syrup. This syrup sippin’ epidemic has become popular amongst young people of color, but when mixed with other drugs such as ecstasy, alcohol and marijuana it can be fatal.

“This system treats us like throw-away people,” says Carolyn Brown, a Seattle volunteer with prison reform group Justice Works! An African American with a record, her effort to find a job is deeply frustrating due to systemic racism.

In 1920, nearly 15 percent of our nation’s farmers were Black. Today, fewer than 1 percent of our nation’s farmers are Black. An official USDA marijuana study shows possible yields of 400-500 pounds per acre of high yield production utilizing natural organic methods. Should Black farmers grow marijuana as a strategy to stabilize Black land loss in America?

As Oscar Grant triggerman Johannes Mehserle's trial approaches, issues that have been settled in court are still muddied in the media. Reports that Mehserle "allegedly shot" Grant abound, yet even Mehserle's lawyer admits his client did shoot Grant. And why are the media alluding to Grant's "criminal" past when the only evidence is a 2006 arrest for resisting arrest? Get ready to attend the trial at two forum-screenings of "Operation Small Axe" June 4 & 5 at the AFIBA Center in LA.

Cynthia McKinney sets the theme for Black Resistance to Police Terrorism Month, marked by five events in two weeks – four in Oakland, on Feb. 7, 17, 21 and 22, and one on Oscar Grant in Los Angeles, on Feb. 18, the eve of killer cop Mehserle's Feb. 19 hearing – featuring your favorite speakers coming to Cali from around the country. And pack the courtroom Feb. 22, 8:30 a.m., 1225 Fallon, Oakland, for Minister of Information JR's trial. Free JR!

I surveyed a bunch of high-school-aged teens between 15 and 17 to find out what are the new drugs they're using to get high. As a teen I struggled with some drug addiction, but many of the new drugs teens are getting high off of are crazy and can lead to brain damage and even death. I put together a list of the top five drugs that teens are doing in the year 2009. It's time to put a stop to this .

On Oct. 15, Daniel Landry, a long-time resident of the Fillmore’s Martin Luther King-Marcus Garvey Co-op, sent a letter to the co-op’s management agent, John Stewart Co., requesting information that, according to the co-op’s by-laws, all shareholders have a right to see. This information included minutes from board meetings and details of the contract that the King Garvey Co-op has with John Stewart Co. Little did he know the turmoil that would follow.