Tag: Rick Simpson

Posted on

Cops Jail Men for 8 Days over Legal Hemp Despite Documents Proving Legality

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona arrested the two men on drug trafficking charges for the legal hemp.

Christopher Tinsley, left, and Gordon Peppers spent eight days in jail despite showing deputies the documents confirming the hemp was legal.

By the time they got to Arizona, Christopher Tinsley and Gordon Peppers had been on the road for a day, transporting a load of legal CBD-rich hemp from Oregon to Texas, planning on reaching their destination by nightfall before heading back home to Oregon the following morning.

The entire trip was supposed to take three days with the two longtime friends taking turns driving.

But they had the misfortune of driving through Yavapai County just north of Phoenix where the county attorney is still living in Nancy Reagan’s “just say no” America, a prohibitionist of a prosecutor who has a reputation of sending licensed medical marijuana patients to prison.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk also has enforcers on the payroll, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, which has seized millions of dollars in civil asset forfeitures over the years with the money going straight into a fund she manages. Polk once penned an editorial claiming “marijuana use was associated with the tragic and needless deaths of 62 children in Arizona.”

But Tinsley and Peppers knew none of this when they drove into Arizona on March 25 after spending the night in Nevada.

The fact they had all the paperwork proving the load was legal was beside the point, according to Yavapai County sheriff’s deputy Trevor Hearl, who claimed in his report that his “training and experience” left no doubt in his mind that they had been transporting “high-grade marijuana” instead of CBD-rich hemp.

As a result, the two men spent eight days in jail at a time when the coronavirus was ​running rampant in jails and prisons across the country. They were charged with several drug trafficking felonies which were all dismissed after an independent lab test confirmed the shipment was, indeed, legal hemp. Now the two friends are preparing to file a lawsuit.

“All they had to do was call the Oregon Department of Agriculture with the (certificate of analysis) and give them the badge number from each container and the department of agriculture would have told them where it was grown, when it was harvested, when it was sold and all of that stuff,” Tinsley said in a telephone interview with Photography is Not a Crime.

Instead, the deputies claimed the documents were fake without making any effort to prove it.

One supervisor even lied to them by claiming he had called the Oregon company they were working for and was informed the company only sold marijuana, not hemp.

“I said that’s kind of funny because it was 8 a.m. and I happen to know the company does not open until 9:30 or 10 so unless you had a nice conversation with the automated system, I highly doubt you spoke to them,” Tinsley said.

The men were also informed they fit the profile of drug traffickers because they were driving a car with out-of-state plates on a known drug corridor.

“I kept waiting for him to say it was because we were black,” Tinsley said.

Even before pulling him over, Hearl claimed in his report he was able to determine that Tinsley “appeared to be extremely nervous” as he was driving because “he was pushed back in his seat, with both hands on the steering wheel and both arms locked out.”

Tinsley said the bulk of the arrest report is nothing but lies and exaggerations. This is how Hearl justified the traffic stop.

While driving east on I-40 east bount near mm 140, I observed a Nissan work style van traveling in the right (slow) lane. As I got closer to the vehicle, I noticed the vehicle drift from centered in its lane toward the shoulder, hugging the fog line. In my experience, this shift in lane position is a subconscious behavior associated with creating distance from a threat. In this scenario, my approaching patrol vehicle is a threat to people involved in criminal activity.

As I got closer, I noticed the vehicle did not have a permanent license plate displayed in the license plate bracket. I then saw the shape of the temporary license plate tag in the rear window, but could not make out the numbers because the rear window tint was too dark. Due to the slow speed the vehicle was traveling and other traffic moving at the posted speed limit, I passed the vehicle in order to prevent the disturbance of the normal flow of traffic. As I passed the vehicle, I noticed the driver appeared to be extremely nervous. He was pushed back in his seat, with both hands on the steering wheel and both arms locked out. This type of driving position appeared to be uncomfortable and is not typical behavior displayed by the innocent motoring public while traveling long distances on the high way.

I noticed the vehicle drift from centered in its lane toward the shoulder, hugging the fog line. In my experience, this shift in lane position is a subconscious behavior associated with creating distance from a threat. In this scenario, my approaching patrol vehicle is a threat to people involved in criminal activity.

The deputies were so convinced they had make a huge drug bust that they separated the two men, trying to get them to rat each out for crimes they did not commit. The two men ended up spending six hours in handcuffs in the back of separate patrol cars as the deputies searched their van before they were driven to jail.

The deputies weighed the hemp twice; once while it was inside the totes it was being transported in, then again without the totes; the true weight; a difference of 131 pounds.

“Instead of us having 286 pounds of hemp, they were saying we now had 417 pounds with the hemp inside the totes themselves,” Tinsley said.

The deputies then informed the owner of the hemp company who had been trying to secure their release that they had been caught with 417 pounds of marijuana, making the owner believe they had picked up an additional 131 pounds of actual marijuana to transport with the hemp. That made him hesitant to hire an attorney for the men. It was not until he read the police report that included both weights that he realized what they had done.

During the entire traffic stop as well as in his report, Hearl kept referring to his “training and experience” as to how he knew the men were lying which he admitted did not go beyond a simple smell test.

“He kept say, ‘well, it smells like marijuana,'” Tinsey said.

But had he received proper training, he would have known that hemp and marijuana are identical because they are both cannabis plants so yes, they both smell alike. The only difference is that hemp contains less than .3 percent of THC which is the cannabinoid that gets people high.

In other words, no matter how much training and experience a cop may have, the only way to determine whether a plant is hemp or marijuana is through an independent lab test which had already been done and was included in the certificate of analysis accompanying the load.

Nevertheless, cops across the country keep making these arrests with very little repercussions as we’ve reported in the past.

It’s been almost two years since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized hemp at the federal level but local and states cops have evidently not made any effort to train their cops on the issue.

According to the Miami New Times, the following arrests took place in 2019:

  • The New York City Police Department seized 106 pounds of legal hemp in November after a FedEx driver chose to deliver the shipment to an NYPD precinct instead of its destination, a CBD business. The NYPD congratulated itself on Twitter about how it intercepted “marijuana that was destined for our city streets” — only to have to return it several weeks later when it was proven to be legal hemp. The FedEx driver had picked up the hemp from a farm in Vermont and took it to a police station in that state, which determined it to be legal hemp. The driver then took it to the NYPD for a second opinion. The NYPD invited the owner to pick up his legal product and then arrested the owner’s brother when he attempted to retrieve it. The owner and his brother are preparing to sue.
  • The Pawhuska Police Department in Oklahoma that January seized 18,000 pounds of legal hemp that was being transported from Kansas to Colorado, where CBD would be extracted from it. Four men were arrested for marijuana trafficking before all charges were dismissed in July.
  • Idaho State Police seized 6,700 pounds of legal hemp that January and are refusing to return it to its owner despite lab reports having long proven the hemp to be legal. A truck driver arrested on felony trafficking charges ended up sentenced to 180 days in jail after accepting a plea deal for failing to provide proper trucking documentation. Shortly after the seizure, state police issued a media release saying “the trooper’s training and experience made him suspicious that the cargo was, in fact, marijuana, not industrial hemp.”
  • The South Dakota Highway Patrol seized 292 pounds of legal hemp in July and arrested a man who was driving the hemp from Colorado to Minnesota, where CBD would be extracted from it for use in the commercial market. The hemp has been tested and shows only traces of THC, but prosecutors are proceeding with the case against the man because South Dakota is one of three states that have not legalized hemp. The seized hemp was valued at $36,000, but the CBD extracted from it would have been valued at $100,000. The driver’s next hearing is set for February. He remains out on bond.
  • The Colorado State Patrol seized 162 pounds of legal hemp in May and arrested the woman who had been hired to drive it to Las Vegas. They slapped her with trafficking charges punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The charges were dismissed, and the hemp was returned in August after it was tested in a laboratory and proven to be legal.​

In all these cases, the arrests are made after the cops refuse to do their due diligence.

“All they had to do was take five to ten minutes to call the Department of Agriculture in Oregon and they could have verified every one of those papers we had,” said Gordon Peppers. “But they told us the entire time we were lying.”

​Read the Yavapai County sheriff’s arrest report here.

Originally pubblished by: Carlos Miller on May 28, 2020 at https://newsmaven.io/pinacnews/cops-gone-rogue/cops-jail-men-for-8-days-over-legal-hemp-despite-documents-proving-legality-GvgkYDv3S0yae9M92-O9LA?fbclid=IwAR1UOTrSw_xZW8VV4lhsyo_mVtlf0SEU3OaAZUhUFs3LdypgtAGLHJDVYJo

Posted on

Build a $300 Underground Greenhouse for Year-round Fresh Food

Gardening and people who love to put their hands into soil and tend to growing plants know no boundaries — certainly there’s no less of them in the cold climates — but you can’t just go outside and garden all year round once you get away from the hot equator.

One thing some people do, though, is extend their growing seasons with greenhouses, indoor and outdoor. And another way to do it is to build an underground pit greenhouse, which is better in the way that it costs less to heat than a standing greenhouse. These originated in South America about 20 years ago.

How does year-round gardening at a price of a few hundred dollars sound to you? So that you can just go out and get some lettuce, tomatoes, or any other produce at any time – no trip to the grocery store, and you know your food is fresh. People are doing this in these underground gardens. How are they set up?

It’s basically a pit dug in the dirt near your house. The best style is probably the room-shaped rectangle pit. It’s easier to put a roof on. They dig a few feed down , then lay out their garden paths and the areas of soil for their crops.

Some people also put in a fireplace. This has two functions. One is that if they ever need to heat up their greenhouse, they can burn wood in it. But another use is in the summer when it gets really hot – over 100 degrees, the fireplace acts as a vent, letting the hot air out through the chimney.

On top of the recessed room, people dig a small staircase and door for entry (or more than one door, which also can allow air flow). Then they set up a simple a-frame roof frame and staple clear poly sheets on it to let light in and keep heat in. They set up a plastic (or other) barrel as a water reservoir. A hose comes through the wall to fill it. Another hose comes out and waters the greenhouse beds.

The total cost of this, depending on what you already have around and what you can get a deal on, is estimated to be between $100 and $300.

Now, a lot of you already are thinking, probably, about the vegetables and fruits you can grow in here, whether for yourself or to sell at a local produce market, but you can also grow flowers in a greenhouse – and if you have a big greenhouse, why not? Here’s a list of plants that can be grown in greenhouses:

Achimenes ,Agapanthus, Ageratum, Alonsoa (Mask Flower), Anthericum (St Bernard Lily), Antirrhinum (Snapdragon), Aristolochia (Dutchman’s Pipe), Arum Lily, Azalea ,Babiana ,Begonia, Beloperone (The Shrimp Plant), Bougainviilea, Browallia, Brunfelsia, Calceolaria (Slipper Flower), Calendula (Pot Marigold), Camellia, Campanula (Bell-flower), Canna (Indian Shot), Carnations, Celosia, Celsia, Chorizema, Chrysanthemum, Cineraria, Clarkia, Ciivia, Cobaea (Cups and Saucers), Coleus, Columnea, Cornflower, Crocus, Cyclamen, Cytisus, Daphne, Deutzia, Dicentra (Bleeding Heart), Echium, Erica (Heath), Erythrina, Eucomis (Pineapple Flower), Exacum, Forsythia, Francoa (Bridal Wreath), Freesia, Fremontia, Fuchsia, Gerbera (Barberton Daisy), Gloriosa, Gloxinia, Godetia, Heliotrope (Cherry Pie), Hippeastrum, Hoya, Hyacinth, Hydrangea, Impatiens (Balsam), Ipomoea, Iris, Kalanchoe, Laburnum, Lachenalia, Lantana, Lapageria, Lilium, Mignonette, Narcissus, Naegelia, Nemesia, Nerine, Nerium (Oleander), Pelargonium, Petunia, Phlox, Plumbago, Primula, Rehmannia, Rhododendron, Saintpaulia (The African Violet), Salpiglossis, Salvia, Schizanthus (The Butterfly Flower), Scilla, Solanum (Winter Cherry), Sparmannia, Statice, Stephanotis, Streptocarpus, Streptosolen, Thunbergia, Torenia, Trachelium, Trachymene, Tritonia, Tuberose, Tulip, Vallota, Verbena, Viscaria, Zinnia

Construct a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening (Video)

Some people also keep animals in the greenhouse! Chickens and even herds like goats (during the coldest times of year mostly). These are cheap livestock because chickens can live freely and just come in to the greenhouse to lay eggs and get warm, while they can just find their own food outside. So they cost nothing or close to it.

Posted on

A beginners guide to Cannabis Clubs in the UK

Cannabis is the one of the oldest known substances consistently utilized by humans. We have been consuming it for its medicinal properties, as a rather safe intoxicant, and industrializing the fiber, roots, hurd, and seeds of this amazing renewable resource into literally thousands of everyday uses.

In the 20th century as Cannabis prohibition really began to take effect – cultures and communities around the world that consumed or utilized cannabis as a cornerstone of their daily lives had their traditions, practices, and the ancient knowledge that connected them together over the commonality of cannabis criminalized.

Fortunately, there has been in recent years a reemergence in awareness of our rich history and deep connection to Cannabis Sativa L. This has driven and motivated like-minded individuals around the world to seek each-other out to share this sacred knowledge and celebrate Cannabis in all her multifaceted glory.

This community building has brought together incredible people from all across the world who are choosing to stand up against oppression and persecution to defy the stigma and risk prosecution to be honest about their cannabis consumption and to protect the peoples right to utilize all the plants of the Earth.

From the partially decriminalized Dutch coffeeshops that were formed in the late-1960’s in Amsterdam to provide any customer over the age of 18 with much more than just fresh coffee and delicious decadent dutch delights. To another slightly newer quasi-legal system that comes out of Europe that seeks to give autonomy and power back to the cannabis consumer – Cannabis Social Clubs.

What is a Cannabis Social Club and how is it different from a Dutch-style coffeeshop – I hear you asking? Well, Cannabis Social Clubs, or ‘CSC’s‘ for short, are non-profit private member associations – These non- governmental organizations are made up of like-minded individuals coming together to obtain cannabis through the creation of buyers networks and collective cultivation to ensure that all members have consistent, safe and fair access to quality cannabis and cannabis-derived products. Unlike Cannabis buyers clubs CSC’s do not limit themselves to just medicinal consumers as they believe all cannabis should be freely accessible for their membership to decide how to utilize and consume.

These organizations self regulate the cultivation, production, transportation, supply and distribution of cannabis and cannabis-derived products to its members. This is done while employing strict self-imposed rules, regulations and operating procedures to ensure that the safety, hygiene and efficacy of the products that they are providing is of the highest standard possible. They also seek to provide the most up to date and accurate information and educational resources to its membership.

These associations have in my opinion grown from several root sources. Firstly, a ruling by the Spanish supreme court in the 1970’s that small scale personal possession wasn’t to be criminalized, the signing of the 1978 constitution protecting Spanish citizens right to privacy, the acceptance of coffeeshop culture else where in Europe and the gradual reduction in the social stigma around the sharing and consumption of cannabis in mainland Europe.

These were the primary catalysts that allowed activists to produce what later became the first CSC model back in the 1990’s. It was these first attempts that gave birth to what is now currently considered the best operating model for CSC’s to adhere to – the ENCOD Model.

The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD) was founded in 1994 when 14 drug organisations combined resources to create the drug law reform body on the recommendation of a European commission. ENCOD has since been fighting for rational, sensible and fair drug policies throughout a lot of the countries of Europe by taking on the well-established monolith of draconian prohibitive drug policies on the international stage. Today they are a 150+ strong network of committed organisations and advocates.

The Coffeeshops and clubs are both currently illegal as the law stands in their individual countries. But just as the coffeeshops have been tolerated in the Netherlands for many decades leading to a gradual tolerance and acceptance of their existence by local authorities and now even to the eventual trialing of regulated legal models. The same is gradually happening in Spain as with a few other European countries with CSC’s. However, not without moderate to severe blow-back from certain prohibitionists and misguided or frankly corrupt policy makers.

So, although this and other perfectly functional models are out there and operating right now – These Cannabis clubs are still forced in most countries to function outside the protective sphere of legality to provide the vitally needed services and supportive safe spaces for their members to congregate, socialize, and consume cannabis, however they deem appropriate.

The clubs that have been emerging slowly here in the UK have been slowly gained respectability in their communities by fulfilling the shortfall created by the corrupt cannibalistic British “medical Cannabis” industry – Who are actively seeking to put profit and the interests of its share holders above the peoples basic right to access and use cannabis for its plethora of medicinal benefits it can provide.

Cannabis Social Clubs in the UK are generally less governed than their European counterparts and often regulated by several different ever-changing models and ideologies. They are, however typically a private member clubs for consenting adults to access Cannabis for therapeutic, recreational, and social consumption. They act as a first port of call for connecting with other cannabis consumers, a space to seek advice and general cannabis information, harm reduction and up to date educational materials.

There are a number of various clubs operating under different models and serving different clientele and their needs. There are active clubs across the UK from Dover to Aberdeen that operate under various models from non-profit to coffeeshop style cafes.

There are 43 different police forces in the UK – some support clubs and some do not, however the revolving door nature of public office and the fragility of policy to the scrutiny of public pressure means that this support varies greatly and cannot be assumed to be long term.

This uncertainty has created a rather large gray area were in the UK as where there was once support and approval for a CSC as a vital tool to reduce crime and help rebuild communities they now risk being targeted as they’ve once again been deemed “Unhelpful in fight against crime”

Many of the UK based clubs are associated to the UKCSC but not all follow the same model or operate physical premises like they do in say Spain, Belgium or Switzerland to name a few.

So who are the UKCSC?

According to their website;

“[The] UKCSC is the UK cannabis consumer voice, offering practical and legal advice and guidance to Cannabis Social Clubs, politicians and police forces in order to provide a self regulatory frame work to reduce risks. UKCSC are a not for profit Non Government Organisation founded in 2011 by concerned citizens comprised of experienced healthcare professionals, industry experts, horticulturists, clinical researchers, patients, entrepreneurs and activists from across the UK, United States, Europe and the rest of the world”

“UK Cannabis Social Clubs are Private Membership Clubs for adult medical and social use acting as a first point of contact for cannabis consumers, patients, advice, general cannabis information, harm reduction and education”

The UKCSC is currently the largest association of clubs in the UK that function under the same operating manual we discussed above. To learn more about the UKCSC and how to register and create a UK Cannabis social club click here. There are also plenty of resources online to help you find the information you need to form an independent club too.

There is a long history of independent and UKCSC affiliated clubs putting on spectacular public and private events for its membership and the local community. From Brighton Cannabis club’s yearly Green Pride protestival which takes place each July in Preston park – attracting several thousand guests to Hampshire Canna’s annual protestival on Eastney beach each August.

The independent club events such as DCCC’s Autumn Expo in Durham to MKCSC’s monthly drop-in which provides a free monthly drop-in for the public to come and ask questions and cultivate community connections at a independent cooperative coffeeshop for the last two years.

There is a long rich tradition of clubs organizing public events and protestivals to bring the community together and to protest the unjust laws that seek to deny people their basic right to a plant that is as equally connected to our past as it is our future.

So what does the future look like for Cannabis clubs in the UK and the wider world? Well, regardless of the various legislative proposals and so-called reforms due to be put forth to governments around the world in the coming months.It is the tireless efforts of committed activists that makes me confident that CSC’s will continue to gain respectability and acceptability until the day they eventually become as legally welcomed and protected as Workingmen clubs or public houses.

Written for CannabisActivismNow.com By Simpa Carter

Posted on

British Sugar and The Great Conservative Cannabis Con

By Simpa Carter

Founded in 1936 by the nationalizing of a 13 company strong industry, British Sugar now a private PLC annually produces over 1.4 million tons of ingredient sugar in the UK. They are also the sole processor of the UK’s entire beet sugar crop giving them an arguably unfair monopoly over the British sugar industry as a whole. Today the company is part of AB Sugar – one of the largest international sugar corporate conglomerates, which is itself wholly owned by international food, ingredients and retail group, Associated British Foods plc (ABF).

In this article, we will explore the links between British Sugar – a registered private company in the UK – and the current ruling British conservative government.

Over the last few decades, British Sugar has diversified from just producing and processing sugar beet, into creatively utilizing it’s excess and waste energy byproducts to produce a variety of horticultural crops.

In a statement from 2016, Managing Director of British Sugar Paul Kenward said; “Sixteen years ago we realised we could use some of the heat and waste carbon dioxide generated in our Wissington sugar factory to develop a horticultural business. During this time, we have invested in our world‐class facilities and developed our expertise to deliver consistent, high-quality crops season after season” adding that “The decision to switch from tomatoes to marijuana was in part to help treat a ‘debilitating childhood disease”. 

The condition that Mr. Kenward was referring to was Dravets syndrome – a rare form of epilepsy that causes severe medication-resistant seizures that begin in the first year of life in an otherwise healthy and happy child. It has been known for many years that Cannabis can greatly help reduce seizures and help manage the most dangerous symptoms of Epilepsy. 

British sugar announced on October 25th, 2016 that it had won a contract with the UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals and approval from the British Home Office under license to cultivate cannabis in its 18-hectare greenhouse facility at its Wissington factory in Norfolk.

The main chemical component of the cannabis plant are the Cannabinoids and it is specifically a combination of the Cannabinoids Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) which seem to exhibit the most anti-epileptic, antispasmodic, and anti-inflammatory properties. When consumed regularly these Cannabinoids have been shown to reduce the rate of seizures in epileptic patients from hundreds a day to a few a week/month. 

Since 2016, British Sugar has been completing three cannabis harvests a year, due to be extracted into the $32,500 a year patented drug Epidiolex – a CBD-based medication prescribed for the treatment of Dravet syndrome and Lennox-gastaut syndrome – two rare forms of epilepsy.

In 2018 GW Pharmaceuticals and its US subsidiary Greenwich Biosciences acquired official permission from the FDA to sell their cannabis medication ‘Epidiolex’ as a Schedule 5 prescription drug. This made them the only company in the world to have a patented FDA-approved cannabis-derived prescription medication.

We begin to see yet another unfair commercial monopoly partially created by the government and for the benefit of the producers and not the consumers begin to emerge.

This move all but guarantees further exploitation of the millions of people still facing the daily stigma, legal harassment, and very real threat of imprisonment for simply trying to treat their illnesses/chronic condition with cannabis-derived products – while pharmaceutical companies continue to make tens of millions of pounds in profit, 

Don’t worry if you are a little confused as to how the British government is continuing to regurgitate the party line on Cannabis being a “dangerous street drug with no accepted medicinal value”, while at the same time they’re licensing private multinational corporations to grow hundreds of tons of it in the UK to be exported across the world. 

As previously mentioned, Paul Kenward is the managing director at British sugar – although you may not have heard of him, you might be familiar with his wife – Victoria Atkins MP who was elected the sitting MP for Louth and Horncastle in May 2015 and was appointed minister at the home office in 2017 by the then-Prime Minister Theresa May.

The former barrister was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Minister for Safeguarding by Mrs. May as she was a hard-line prohibitionist especially on Cannabis and that reflected her warped ideology perfectly. 

While this is going on at the home office – in number 10 Downing Street Mrs. May’s husband Phillip May the investment relationship manager for the Capital group investment firm which manages a portfolio worth over $2 trillion – is acting as an unofficial adviser to the Prime Minister. Keep in mind that the Capital group is the same firm that is the majority shareholder in GW Pharmaceuticals – a glaring conflict of interest, no? 

Mrs. Atkins had to voluntarily recuse herself in 2018 from speaking for the government on matters about cannabis and drug policy as she felt her husband operating a legal cannabis farm constituted a conflict of interest (another painful conflict of interests) She was quietly removed from being responsible for UK drug policy but remains in her post. 

Although Mrs. Atkins was no longer “the voice of the government” when it came to drug policy she still had the power to veto the appointment of Niamh Eastwood to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in June 2019 – after the home office advisory panel had previously approved her appointment. 

The longtime drug policy reformist and executive director at Release had previously been critical of the government and challenged a lot of the antiquated notions that underpin the continuation of the drug prohibition. An appointment that could have been a real and direct threat to the conservative cannabis cartel.

GW Pharmaceuticals announced in early April 2020 that Epidiolex would be de-scheduled in the United States, meaning that it is no longer a controlled substance and can now be sold from any retail outlet, in any state without requiring permission. 

So even with all of this being public knowledge and it is rather well documented by the mainstream media there have still been no real ramifications or legal consequences for the small cabal of Conservative ministers who have and continue to blatantly abused their positions to further the corporate agendas of their husband’s companies – further helping to set back cannabis law reform in the UK by years if not decades.

Ultimately, I believe that the best way to avoid the continuation of this kind of capitalistic, corporate, corruption, and cronyism is to completely and utterly decriminalize Cannabis Sativa L in all her natural forms for everyone to utilize as they see fit.

Posted on

Italy supreme court rules home-growing cannabis is legal

Italy’s Supreme Court has ruled that small-scale domestic cultivation of cannabis is legal, in a landmark decision triggering calls for further legalization from cannabis advocates and anger from the country’s conservatives.

Clipping leaf from home-grown cannabis plant ready for harvest

Called on to clarify previous conflicting interpretations of the law, the Court of Cassation decreed that the crime of growing narcotic drugs should exclude “small amounts grown domestically for the exclusive use of the grower”.

The ruling was made on Dec. 19, but went unnoticed until Thursday, when it was reported by domestic news agencies and immediately fuelled a simmering political debate over cannabis use in Italy.

“The court has opened the way, now it’s up to us,” said Matteo Mantero, a senator from the co-ruling 5-Star Movement.

Mantero presented an amendment to the 2020 budget calling for legalisation and regulation of domestic cannabis use, but it was ruled inadmissible by the senate speaker from Silvio Berlusconi’s conservative Forza Italia party.

“Drugs cause harm, forget about growing them or buying them in shops,” Matteo Salvini, leader of the right-wing League Party said in a statement on Friday, in reference to shops selling low-strength “legal weed” that are widespread in Italy.

Maurizio Gasparri, a senator from Forza Italia which is allied to the League, said the first law the centre-right coalition would approve if it came to power “will cancel the absurd verdict of the court”.

Salvini, who was interior minister until he quit the government in August in a failed bid to trigger elections, pushed for the closure of legal weed shops and cheered in May when the Supreme Court said many of their products should be banned.

The commerce has thrived in the last three years in Italy under 2016 legislation allowing cannabis with a psychotropic active ingredient (THC) level below 0.6 percent.

While the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement favours a more liberal approach to cannabis, its centre-left and centrist coalition allies are more cautious, meaning future legislation on the issue remains in doubt.

Reporting and writing by Gavin Jones, Additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Alison Williams

Originally published: December 27th, 2019 at https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-cannabis-ruling-idUKKBN1YV14D?fbclid=IwAR3juWfbJ2BiBrO5GttCY96I-R-sww4szonYkLl6PvVjU6F5q0aWjXZq9gQ

Posted on

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields

Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar.

Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.

Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been ground with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.

Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seek traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said. During the investigation, controllers have found Pioneer Monsanto products among the seeds planted.

The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary, but they will check where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to the thousands of hectares in the country. Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.

With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this year’s harvest has been lost.

And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to that company’s creditors, rather than the farmers.

Credits: Anthony Gucciardi, Natural Society.

Posted on

Coca-Cola billionaire arrested after private jet search turns up $1.3 Million In Cannabis

Alki David – Getty Images

A Greek billionaire and heir to the Coca-Cola fortune was arrested on the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts after a search of his private jet uncovered more than $1.3 million worth of cannabis on board, according to multiple reports.

Alkiviades “Alki” David, 50, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Unit at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport after customs officials found approximately 5,000 cannabis plants in addition to seeds and a variety of other cannabis products, according to the Vancouver Sun. He was charged with intent to supply, possession of controlled drugs and importation of a controlled drug into the federation, officials from the St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force confirmed to the Daily Express.

David claimed the plants on board were “all hemp” and were related to a new venture to start a legal cannabis business in the region. He and Chase Ergen, the heir to the satellite fortune, announced in April that they formed a consortium aimed at developing the cannabis business in Eastern Caribbean nations such as St. Kitts-Nevis, Dominica and Antigua.

Plans included purchasing agricultural land and partnering with farmers to create a cooperative entity modeled after the ones in Switzerland. David and Ergen will create thousands of jobs and also tap into the rich cultural history and cannabis know-how of the strengthening Rastafarian movement in the region. The consortium has already had its first meetings with business and government leaders across the region and will be expanding its outreach during the month of May.

David is an heir of the Leventis-David Group, which holds the majority share in Coca-Cola Helenic, Europe’s largest bottling company. The Leventis family is worth more than $388 million, according to 2018’s The Sunday Times Rich List. The UK-based publication estimates David is independently worth more than $2.8 billion.

He resides on the Isle of Man and arrived to St. Kitts on a plane with Ergen and Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mogaznews En reported. David owns SwissX, a medical marijuana company that produces luxury CBD oils that have been endorsed by Snoop Dog.

His hologram company was responsible for digitally recreating Tupac in 2012 for Coachella performances and Michael Jackson for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. The billionaire ran into legal trouble in April after a former female employee was allegedly fired for refusing to have sex with him, People reported. David paid $11.1 million in a harassment settlement.

David was released after paying $30,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear at Basseterre Magistrate Court on May 14. He’s required to surrender all travel documents and report to the Frigate Bay Police Station for daily check-ins.

Posted on

Republicans May Oppose Medical Marijuana

Vos, Steineke say Evers’ support for full legalization has poisoned the discussion.

Robin Vos

The way Democratic Gov. Tony Evers answered a question on legal marijuana use may have given Republican legislators afraid of “pot on every corner” reasons to take no action on legalizing medical marijuana.

At a recent Wisconsin Technology Council event days after he took office, Evers made three newsworthy statements when asked about medical and recreational marijuana. First, Evers said the 2019-21 state budget he gives lawmakers on Feb. 28 will include the “first steps” toward legalizing medical marijuana. He gave no specifics about how it would be regulated, however.

Second, he said he wants a discussion – and maybe a “statewide referendum” – on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. It would be the first statewide advisory referendum since 2006, when voters overwhelmingly recommended restoring the death penalty.

Third, he said he supports legalizing recreational marijuana: “I personally would sign [that bill into law]. I just want to make sure we do it correctly.”

But Republican Assembly leaders said that, with his comments endorsing medical and recreational marijuana, the new governor may have killed any chance that medical marijuana will soon be legalized.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he personally supports the carefully regulated use of medical marijuana. He made it clear that is his personal position, since the 63 Assembly Republicans who control half of the Legislature have not discussed the issue.

But, Vos said, “I do not want it to be a half-handed effort like in other states, where you can grow it yourself, you can get a phony doctor’s excuse… I don’t want to have medical marijuana – which I support – somehow lead us down the slippery slope to where there’s pot on every corner.”

Vos said he does not support legalizing recreational marijuana, so it was “incredibly counter-productive” for Evers to endorse both changes.

“He started out saying he’s open to legalizing medical marijuana and literally, in the same day, slid down the slope saying he would support full legalization – exactly what many [Assembly Republicans] are afraid of,” Vos told reporters, adding: “I hope he has not poisoned the conversation through his inexperience. But, perhaps, he has.”

That phrase “perhaps, he has” signals that it will be up to Evers – and not Assembly Republicans – to find a path forward on medical marijuana.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said the governor’s comments “honestly played into the fears of a lot of us that support medical marijuana.” Medical marijuana “should be for people with debilitating disease, or chronic pain – things like that,” Steineke added.

Evers backing both medical and recreational use of marijuana “is a problem for a lot” of Assembly Republicans, Steineke said. “I’m not sure how we regain the trust that this is the first – and only step – when it comes to medicinal marijuana.”

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald told reporters he does not expect the Republican-controlled Senate to debate legalizing marijuana use. “I still don’t believe the support is there … to move in that direction.”

But the Democrat who will again be chief Assembly sponsor of a bill legalizing marijuana use, Rep. Melissa Sargent, of Madison, praised Evers for being the first governor to join the cause.

“It is in the best interest of our state to look toward the future and recognize the vast medicinal, economic and social justice opportunities marijuana legalization would bring to our state,” she said in a statement announcing her new bill to make that change.

Sargent said 16 local governments held advisory referendums on Nov 6 that asked voters whether medical or recreational marijuana should be legalized and all referendums passed.

That proved that “the people are ahead of the politicians on this topic, and agree that the most dangerous thing about marijuana in Wisconsin is that it is illegal,” Sargent added.

Meanwhile, the Marquette University Law School poll released last week found 59 percent of those who responded favored legalizing marijuana; 35 percent were opposed. The Jan. 16-20 poll of 800 respondents had a margin of error of +/-3.9%.

Pollster Charles Franklin said that was significant change since the poll asked the same question in September of 2014, when only 46 percent backed legalizing marijuana and 51 percent opposed.

Wisconsin is part of a national “real change over the last 10 years” in views on legal marijuana, Franklin said. Ten states — including Michigan and the District of Columbia — have legalized recreational marijuana, while other states have legalized medical marijuana.

“Public opinion has actually moved quite substantially,” Franklin said.

Originally Published by: Steven Walters at https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/01/28/the-state-of-politics-republicans-may-oppose-medical-marijuana/?fbclid=IwAR2tGGfwmm9-U9ZVwWx_AY4uZfIFAVz-a4I-myv2DuO703YUYD9KwpuX9SQ

Posted on

78-year-old evicted from HUD housing after medical marijuana laws collide

John Flickner, 78, waits for word on where he can go after being evicted from his Niagara Towers apartment for his use of medical marijuana. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
John Flickner, 78, waits for word on where he can go after being evicted from his Niagara Towers apartment for his use of medical marijuana. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

For hours Tuesday, John Flickner sat in his wheelchair in a Niagara Falls apartment building lobby – clutching his medical marijuana and worried about where he would go for the night.

The prescribed drug eases his chronic pain from a skydiving accident 50 years ago.

It also got the 78-year-old man evicted from Niagara Towers, sparking a debate about a tenant’s rights to medical marijuana in a federally subsidized facility.

Flickner uses the drug with a doctor’s prescription, and he has carried a New York medical marijuana card since a run-in with managers last summer at the senior low-income housing facility subsidized by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“It’s a vaporizer,” Flickner said of his prescription. “It’s got a battery and a cartridge fits on it. The oil’s in it. You don’t smoke it. There’s no odor to it.”

The vapor relaxes the muscle spasms that make it hard for him to breathe, he said.

“Just a minute or two after using it, it starts to take effect,” Flickner said.

But while state law allows Flickner to use prescribed medical marijuana, federal law allowed his landlord to evict him for drug possession. 78-year-old evicted for medical marijuana

As the use of medical marijuana spreads in New York State, more people could find themselves in the same position as Flickner: Use the prescribed drug and risk eviction from a HUD apartment, or steer clear of medical marijuana and stay in the apartment, but live with pain or take potentially addictive pills to kill pain.

Federal law did not require Niagara Towers to evict Flickner. Indeed, the law gives HUD building managers the flexibility to allow residents to take the prescribed drug. But the company that owns the 201-unit high-rise on Cedar Avenue was not willing to let Flickner do so.

“We don’t allow marijuana of any kind – liquid, smoking, whatever,” said Amy Styles, a spokeswoman for LHP Capital, the Tennessee company that operates the Niagara Falls facility and 56 others around the nation, including Tonawanda Towers and Urban Park Towers in Lockport.

Doctor’s prescription or not, LHP enforced its policy on Flickner, persuading a Niagara Falls judge to sign an eviction order because of Flickner’s marijuana possession.

On Tuesday, a city marshal came to Flickner’s apartment and read aloud the eviction notice. Then Flickner left the apartment and took the elevator down to the lobby holding a plastic bag with his medical marijuana and some other prescriptions.

He waited as others tried to find a place for him to go and a ride to get there. They found a place, but no one could find him a ride in a vehicle large enough to accommodate his wheelchair. So in 28-degree weather, Flickner steered his motorized wheelchair from Niagara Towers,  across a Tops Market parking lot, then across Portage Road, and rolled down the sidewalk to his new temporary home: the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission.

Calling the cops

Flickner’s troubles began June 11, when staffers at Niagara Towers making a monthly inspection found a small amount of marijuana on the living room table in his fourth-floor apartment.

“Any type of marijuana that is found, our managers are required to call the police,” Styles said.

Two Niagara Falls police detectives arrived, met with assistant office manager Wendy Brosius and confiscated the marijuana.

He had smoked the marijuana buds in his room.

“I didn’t think anything of it. It’s legal,” Flickner said. “I was getting it in Canada. I was getting it through a doctor there.”

One of the detectives told Flickner he needed a script from a New York State doctor to possess the marijuana, according to a police report. The police chose not to charge him.

The assistant office manager said Flickner would be evicted due to “their rules and regulations of the facility,” according to the police report.

Two days later Flickner obtained a New York medical marijuana card and lined up a new supply source.

But LHP began the eviction process. Flickner had lived in his apartment for two years. He had signed a lease that made it clear no drugs were allowed.

Smoking pot in his room before the inspection became a key issue in court, said Jason J. Cafarella, a Niagara Falls attorney hired to represent LHP.

Niagara Towers hoped to reach an agreement for Flickner to leave without need for a formal eviction. That didn’t happen, so a Nov. 1 trial was held, Cafarella said.

The trial lasted about an hour before City Judge Danielle M. Restaino. Flickner was represented by Kevin Quinn of the Center for Elder Law and Justice in Buffalo, who did not respond to a request for comment.

On Nov. 29, Restaino signed the eviction order, and a 72-hour notice was taped to the door of Flickner’s apartment.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Brosius and Rocco Zendano Jr. of the Niagara Falls City Marshal’s Office showed up to evict Flickner, while a Niagara Towers custodian changed the locks on the apartment door.

A marshal reads aloud an eviction notice in John Flickner’s apartment Tuesday. The 78-year-old was evicted for using medical marijuana. (Thomas Prohaska/Buffalo News)

Brosius told Flickner arrangements would be made for him to return and get his belongings.

Flickner, already wearing a coat, put on his hat, rounded up his marijuana inhaler and some cigarette butts, and wheeled himself to the elevator.

Search for relief

Getting around in a wheelchair is a far cry from what Flickner did as a young man when skydiving was his hobby. He made more than 50 jumps, but in 1968, near Boise, Idaho, he crashed to the ground.

“The parachute hit the ground about the same time I did, from a couple hundred feet in the air,” he recalled. “It was an error on my part.”

As a result of his injuries, he has five fused vertebrae and has undergone four surgeries on his spine and hips.

He worked for many years as a toolmaker and lived around the country before eventually moving to Niagara Falls. He was married twice and has four children, all out of state.

“It’s gotten steadily more painful,” he said of his condition.

Doctors at Complete Senior Care in Amherst sent Flickner to get medical marijuana from Dr. Barry Crawford, who is licensed to prescribe it.

John Flickner shows his medical marijuana device that provides him with his doses. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

A policy dilemma

In 1998, then-President Bill Clinton signed a law requiring landlords of federally assisted housing facilities to deny admission to anyone whom they believe to be using illegal drug, including marijuana.

But with the trend toward legalization of marijuana, landlords began to ask HUD for guidance on the issue.

As of last month, 23 states, including New York, had legalized medical marijuana, and 10 other states had legalized recreational use of the drug.

During the Obama administration, HUD issued memos to landlords that told them the 1998 law allows them to use their own judgment in whether to allow tenants to use medical marijuana in government-subsidized housing. The Trump administration has not altered that policy.

A  2014 memo reminded landlords that marijuana is still listed as an illegal substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and prospective tenants who use controlled substances are to be barred from public housing. But the 1998 law “affords owners the discretion to evict or not evict current tenants for their use of marijuana.”

A 2011 memo said, “State laws that legalize medical marijuana directly conflict with the admission requirements set forth in (the 1998 law) and are thus subject to federal pre-emption.”

In other words, those who want to move into public housing are barred from using medical marijuana. Those already in public housing who want the drug under a state medical marijuana law need a landlord willing to let them use the drug.

Flickner’s landlord isn’t willing.

“Our policy is that we have a drug-free community,” said Styles of LHP. “Our policies and procedures do say ‘no drugs whatsoever.’ “

“They have a policy, and they have every right to that policy,” said Cafarella, LHP’s attorney. “It’s just unfortunate, the end result.”

Search for shelter

After his eviction, Brosius advised him he could go to the Niagara Falls Family YMCA or to Community Missions. Flickner wasn’t enthusiastic about either option.

About 3 p.m., Brosius called for an ambulance and asked the crew to take him to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. The ambulance crew refused to take him because he didn’t have a medical reason to go to the hospital.

At about 5 p.m., Robyn L. Krueger, executive director of Community Missions of the Niagara Frontier, tried to find a van that could bring Flickner and his wheelchair to the Buffalo Avenue shelter.

No company, however, could be found with an available vehicle. So Krueger contacted the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission, located in the former YMCA a short distance from Niagara Towers.

By then, Flickner had changed his mind and was willing to go to the shelter. So he made the trip using his wheelchair.

Waiting for word and shivering, John Flickner parks his wheelchair in a back storage room as he waits for a bed at the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)

The day after his eviction, Andree Levesque, a friend of Flickner’s, picked him up at the shelter.

“We knew he was going to be evicted but there was no time to find anything,” said Levesque, 71.

He spent most of the day at the county Social Services Department and then moved into a motel room with Levesque, who was allowed to claim some of his belongings at Niagara Towers.

Long-term living arrangements are still being sought. On Thursday, Flickner was staying at Community Missions. Flickner said he didn’t mind the Gospel Rescue Mission.

“They’re nice people doing nice things,” he said. “If I have to stay somewhere, I’d like to stay there.”

Originally Published by Thomas J. Prohaska on December 7, 2018 at: https://buffalonews.com/2018/12/07/how-a-78-year-olds-medical-marijuana-use-landed-him-in-a-homeless-shelter/?utm_sq=fy205vlqzs&fbclid=IwAR0pe2HijfRyInv3mo6SVmGnFvm6zz4ryLi86MzcSNuYewqN5LNGhPLnFGo

Posted on

Legal Cannabis Industry Had Banner Year In 2018 With $10 Billion Worth of Investments

With buzz building across the globe, the momentum is sure to continue into 2019, when the combined North American market is expected to exceed $16 billion.

Image: Marijuana legalization

A depiction of a cannabis bud drops from the ceiling at Leafly’s in Toronto, as midnight passes and marks the first day of the legalization of cannabis across Canada on Oct. 17, 2018.Chris Young / AP

PORTLAND, Ore. — The last year was a 12-month champagne toast for the legal marijuana industry as the global market exploded and cannabis pushed its way further into the financial and cultural mainstream.

Liberal California became the largest legal U.S. marketplace, while conservative Utah and Oklahoma embraced medical marijuana. Canada ushered in broad legalization, and Mexico’s Supreme Court set the stage for that country to follow.

U.S. drug regulators approved the first marijuana-based pharmaceutical to treat kids with a form of epilepsy, and billions of investment dollars poured into cannabis companies. Even main street brands like Coca-Cola said they are considering joining the party.

“I have been working on this for decades, and this was the year that the movement crested,” said U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat working to overturn the federal ban on pot. “It’s clear that this is all coming to a head.”

First recreational marijuana shops open in Massachusetts

With buzz building across the globe, the momentum will continue into 2019.

Luxembourg is poised to become the first European country to legalize recreational marijuana, and South Africa is moving in that direction. Thailand legalized medicinal use of marijuana on Tuesday, and other Southeastern Asian countries may follow South Korea’s lead in legalizing cannabidiol, or CBD. It’s a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana and hemp plants and used for treatment of certain medical problems.

“It’s not just the U.S. now. It’s spreading,” said Ben Curren, CEO of Green Bits, a San Jose, California, company that develops software for marijuana retailers and businesses.

Curren’s firm is one of many that blossomed as the industry grew. He started the company in 2014 with two friends. Now, he has 85 employees, and the company’s software processes $2.5 billion in sales transactions a year for more than 1,000 U.S. retail stores and dispensaries.

Green Bits raised $17 million in April, pulling in money from investment firms including Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital. Curren hopes to expand internationally by 2020.

“A lot of the problem is keeping up with growth,” he said.

Legal marijuana was a $10.4 billion industry in the U.S. in 2018 with a quarter-million jobs devoted just to the handling of marijuana plants, said Beau Whitney, vice president and senior economist at New Frontier Data, a leading cannabis market research and data analysis firm. There are many other jobs that don’t involve direct work with the plants but they are harder to quantify, Whitney said.

Investors poured $10 billion into cannabis in North America in 2018, twice what was invested in the last three years combined, he said, and the combined North American market is expected to reach more than $16 billion in 2019.

“Investors are getting much savvier when it comes to this space because even just a couple of years ago, you’d throw money at it and hope that something would stick,” he said. “But now investors are much more discerning.”

Increasingly, U.S. lawmakers see that success and want it for their states.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. states now have legalized some form of medical marijuana.

Voters in November made Michigan the 10th state — and first in the Midwest — to legalize recreational marijuana. Governors in New Yorkand New Jersey are pushing for a similar law in their states next year, and momentum for broad legalization is building in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week.

Image: Marijuana
Marijuana clone plants are displayed for sale by Interstate 5 Farms at the cannabis-themed Kushstock Festival at Adelanto, Calif., on Oct. 20, 2018.Richard Vogel / AP

State lawmakers in Nebraska just formed a campaign committee to put a medical cannabis initiative to voters in 2020. Nebraska shares a border with Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana, and Iowa, which recently started a limited medical marijuana program.

“Attitudes have been rapidly evolving and changing. I know that my attitude toward it has also changed,” said Nebraska state Sen. Adam Morfeld, a Democrat. “Seeing the medical benefits and seeing other states implement it … has convinced me that it’s not the dangerous drug it’s made out to be.”

With all its success, the U.S. marijuana industry continues to be undercut by a robust black market and federal law that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin. Financial institutions are skittish about cannabis businesses, even in U.S. states where they are legal, and investors until recently have been reluctant to put their money behind pot.

Marijuana businesses can’t deduct their business expenses on their federal taxes and face huge challenges getting insurance and finding real estate for their brick-and-mortar operations.

“Until you have complete federal legalization, you’re going to be living with that structure,” said Marc Press, a New Jersey attorney who advises cannabis businesses.

Originally Published at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/legal-marijuana-industry-had-banner-year-2018-10b-worth-investments-n952256?cid&fbclid=IwAR0yu-5ivSuWvnJaaq16w-a3ulaDHDIs5tnAQp19nC4F2pmWSzwozKru_iw