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Feature: Prince of Pot Marc Emery on Farewell Tour As US Prison Term Looms | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
Marc Emery on Farewell Tour

We Are A Culture Of Liars

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FT.com / Europe - Latvian bank governor in TV clash with PM
Latvian bank governor in TV clash with PM

By Andrew Ward in Stockholm

Published: August 19 2009 23:31 | Last updated: August 19 2009 23:31

If there were any doubts about the independence of Latvia’s central bank, its governor did his best to quash them on Wednesday by challenging the country’s prime minister on live television.

Ilmars Rimsevics, head of the Bank of Latvia, telephoned a television station during a live interview with the prime minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, to accuse him of giving “absolutely imprecise and inaccurate information”.

Hemp: Oregon Governor Signs Farming Bill Into Law
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/597/oregon_passes_hemp_cultivation_bill

Oregon became the 17th state to pass legislation favorable to hemp farming and the ninth state to remove legal barriers to farming the potentially lucrative crop as Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) last week signed into law SB 676, an industrial hemp act sponsored by state Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D). The bill removes all state legal obstacles to growing hemp for food, fiber, and other industrial purposes. Industrial hemp production remains prohibited under federal law.

Marijuana: Hawaii Insurer Denies Woman Transplant Because of Pot Use | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
Hawaii Insurer Denies Woman Transplant Because of Pot Use

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from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #597, 8/13/09

Waimea, Hawaii, resident Kimberly Reyes died July 27 at Hilo Medical Center, 10 days after her insurance provider denied the liver transplant she needed because she had tested positive for marijuana in a series of toxicology tests. Reyes was not a registered medical marijuana user, but her family told the Honolulu Advertiser she had used it to deal with nausea, pain, and disorientation caused by the hepatitis that killed her.

Reyes’ attorney, Ted Herhold of San Francisco, told the Observer that the diagnostic test results were the sole basis for Hawaii Medical Service Association’s (HMSA) denial of transplant coverage. Reyes’ husband Robin, and her mother, Noni Kuhns, said the decision was based on failure to comply with HMSA’s policy forbidding drug use, but that neither HMSA nor her doctors had told her just what that policy was.

“Just because someone takes a hit off of a joint doesn’t mean that it should be the end of their life — this is not a reason to deny life,” said Kuhns.

HMSA has refused to comment or provide its policies on drug use and transplant approval.

Denial of transplants to marijuana users has happened before. Last year, Seattle-area musician Timothy Garon died after being refused a transplant because of doctor-recommended medical marijuana use. In 2003, Oregon resident Dave Myers was removed from a transplant list merely for Marinol, a prescription medicine related to marijuana.