Salem-News.com News Feed for articles tagged with government www.salem-news.com 2010 Kentucky Freedom Fighter Gatewood Galbraith has died at 64 years old. Galbraith spent his lifetime learning and working within the political and legal system. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1974 and from the University Of Kentucky College Of Law in 1977 and became "The People's Champion". http://salem-news.com/articles/january052012/gatewood-mb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january052012/gatewood-mb.php Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:28:00 PST A lawsuit filed by the Arizona's Governor Brewer in an effort to stop medical marijuana patients from using the lawful herb was dismissed by the judge hearing the case. The ruling seems to come as a response to the motion to dismiss filed by the ACLU. The judge agreed, stating "These issues, as presented, are not appropriate for judicial review." http://salem-news.com/articles/january042012/arizona-cannabis.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january042012/arizona-cannabis.php Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:52:00 PST In typical fashion, the Washington Post is among U.S. news groups backing the 'government' of Egypt as it crushes, rapes and brutalizes citizens in Tahrir Square who stand up and speak out against the military junta that seized power in the wake of the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. These far-right media groups are in a trap now that the Occupy Wall Street movement is up and running in the U.S. It is easy for U.S. media to cheer foreign revolution, but only when its perceived enemies like Iran are the recipients. http://salem-news.com/articles/december192011/egypt-revolution-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december192011/egypt-revolution-tk.php Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:48:00 PST I am completely flummoxed by the complete u-turn made by our president regarding medical marijuana. Nadelman in the NY Times on 7 November points the artillery and fires, what's going on? In October 2009 he defended the use of medical marijuana and he promised his smoking public that he "would not use the justice department resources to override state laws on the issue". I can not imagine that being a flat-out lie but he surely has some answering to do. http://salem-news.com/articles/november082011/reefer-madness-pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/november082011/reefer-madness-pl.php Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:49:00 PST The Oregonian newspaper and its continual reports of malfeasance amaze me. The latest headline report in the Oregonian states, Prescriptions May Play Role in Opioid Abuse by Joe Rojas-Burke. In the first place, opioids such as Demeral, Fentanyl, Methadone etc., are not derived from opium but act like it. http://salem-news.com/articles/november042011/medical-malfeasance-pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/november042011/medical-malfeasance-pl.php Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:42:00 PDT I presume I’m preaching to the choir, but I will be preaching anyhow. The New York Times, my favorite source of subject material, is a gold mine of really weird stuff. http://salem-news.com/articles/october132011/drug-testing-cannabis_pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october132011/drug-testing-cannabis_pl.php Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:55:00 PDT 'We need a fuller, clearer, more rational debate on the uses and abuses of marijuana' - this erstwhile headline was stolen from an Oregonian OPED article August 30, 2011 Does Marijuana Help? by Daren Engstrom. http://salem-news.com/articles/september072011/doc-oregonian-pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september072011/doc-oregonian-pl.php Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:05:00 PDT After Medical Marijuana was legalized in Oregon in 1998, I breathed a sigh of relief – now the Feds will quit harassing us. I knew many people were using it for legitimate medical reasons and why not. It works better and is cheaper than almost any pharmaceutical prescription. My elation was short-lived and the specter of Devil Weed and Reefer Madness reared its ugly head. http://salem-news.com/articles/september052011/ptsd-anguish.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september052011/ptsd-anguish.php Mon, 05 Sep 2011 16:17:00 PDT The Oregonian recently published "Pharmacy robberies sweep the US" which is about OxyContin in robberies of pharmacies with the robbers killing any possible witnesses. Kudos for telling the truth. These robberies occurred 686 times in 2010 and will probably go up this year as the OxyContin problem is widely endemic. About 1.3 million pills were stolen in 2010 and the street price for one OxyContin pill went up to $80. The article also pointed out that there are at least 7 million marijuana users. http://salem-news.com/articles/july042011/oxycontin-deaths-pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july042011/oxycontin-deaths-pl.php Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:07:00 PDT Fees for registering with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program will double, from $100 per year to $200 per year, due to a Budget Bill that passed out of the Joint Ways and Means Committee and into the main chambers late Wednesday. The increase in fees was included in one of the over 30 bills that the Committee “barreled through” on Wednesday. Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, objected to the lack of scrutiny over the bills, stating, “It's unacceptable to get this kind of information with no time to study it.” http://salem-news.com/articles/june092011/ommp-feehike.php http://salem-news.com/articles/june092011/ommp-feehike.php Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:40:00 PDT The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) has never received an answer to its 2002 petition, despite a formal recommendation in 2006 from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the final arbiter in the rescheduling process. As recently as July 2010, the DEA issued a 54-page "Position on Marijuana,"but failed to even mention the pending CRC petition. http://salem-news.com/articles/may242011/asa-cannabis.php http://salem-news.com/articles/may242011/asa-cannabis.php Tue, 24 May 2011 09:12:00 PDT Oregon HB 3664 is controversial, opposed by the cannabis community and promoted by law enforcement, purportedly to curb “rampant abuse” of the program. It takes components from "dead" bills, it compacts them into one, says Jennifer Alexander, with OCTA. http://salem-news.com/articles/may242011/cannabis-hb3664_bk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/may242011/cannabis-hb3664_bk.php Tue, 24 May 2011 01:02:00 PDT On the heals of historic grassroots victories in the state legislature, Colorado cannabis patients and advocates are confused and surprised by an attempt to undermine these victories by a conservative faction of national and local drug policy reform groups. MPP/DPA/Sensible/SAFER filed 8 different versions of a ballot initiative Thursday creating a Constitutional amendment for a marijuana distribution system controlled by law enforcement. http://salem-news.com/articles/may202011/colorado-cannabis.php http://salem-news.com/articles/may202011/colorado-cannabis.php Fri, 20 May 2011 12:27:00 PDT With a headline designed to wow the citizens of Oregon, the state’s Attorney General John Kroger announced the “President of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion” on Wednesday. That sounds pretty impressive, until the rest of the statement is revealed: Guilty of a Misdemeanor. “This conviction doesn’t prove legitimacy of the case,” Stanford said. http://salem-news.com/articles/may192011/stanford-court_bk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/may192011/stanford-court_bk.php Thu, 19 May 2011 03:47:00 PDT Calling all Patients! Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) cardholders are coming together to defend the OMMA and fight for its expansion- and advocates are asking for patients to come to the Capitol. Tomorrow, April 14th, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. proposed Senate Bill 874 will be going through what is known as a "gut and stuff" session. What's a "gut and stuff"? It's an opportunity to retain the framework of a bill and change what's within it. http://salem-news.com/articles/april132011/oregon-marijuana.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april132011/oregon-marijuana.php Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:23:00 PDT The Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee approved a bill yesterday, SB 308, which would allow patients who use marijuana to treat a medical condition to use a medical necessity defense in court. The bill would also create a panel to advise the legislature on best practices for creating a medical marijuana program in 2012. The Senate passed the bill by a 41-6 vote on March 24, and will need to approve the bill again because of amendments made by the Judiciary Committee. http://salem-news.com/articles/april082011/maryland-marijuana.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april082011/maryland-marijuana.php Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:48:00 PDT If passed, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 2012 will regulate the legal sale of marijuana to adults through state-licensed stores, allow adults to grow their own, license Oregon farmers to grow marijuana for state-licensed stores and allow unlicensed Oregon farmers to grow cannabis hemp for fuel, fiber and food. OCTA 2012 organizers need to gather 90,000 registered voters' signatures. http://salem-news.com/articles/march292011/octa-approval.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march292011/octa-approval.php Tue, 29 Mar 2011 02:20:00 PDT I wasn't surprised by the Oregon legislature hearings about Medical Marijuana and the shrill, ignorant posings of those trying to restrict its legal use. Researchers, doctors and patients say cannabis works better and is safer than almost all of the FDA approved medicines. http://salem-news.com/articles/march042011/marijuana-medicine-pl.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march042011/marijuana-medicine-pl.php Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:22:00 PST About 75 people stood outside Oregon’s capitol last Wednesday in the freezing cold, demanding their health rights are respected by the legislature. Before the bills hit the Legislature, controversy was already showing it's antagonistic head. There is a small faction of the cannabis community that, though they profess to have the best intentions of the medical patients at heart, regularly join forces to put forth legislation that is not a reflection of the majority of those very patients. http://salem-news.com/articles/march022011/oregon-cannabis_bk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march022011/oregon-cannabis_bk.php Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:08:00 PST “My hope is to include women – and men – both within and outside of the medical cannabis community,” says Anna Diaz, event coordinator and member of the NWA Steering Committee. “We are thrilled to open up to the public for this special event,” said Madeline Martinez. “We appreciate the chance to show the café to those who may not be able to visit under normal circumstances and to support everyone in our community, not just Oregon Medical Marijuana Program participants.” http://salem-news.com/articles/february222011/norml-event.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february222011/norml-event.php Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:03:00 PST Paul Stanford, Executive Director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation walked 2200 signatures in to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office on January 4th, 2011, officially sponsoring OCTA 2012. It could be a historic turning point for a state well known for its grass roots movements. If the measure is passed by voters, OCTA 2012 will legalize the sale, possession and personal private cultivation of marijuana in the state of Oregon. http://salem-news.com/articles/january142011/octa-stanford_bk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january142011/octa-stanford_bk.php Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:20:00 PST The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) announced today that the state has received national recognition for exceptional administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps. Oregon was honored as one of the top states for ensuring that people eligible for these benefits received them. http://salem-news.com/articles/october012010/oregon-snap-recognition.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october012010/oregon-snap-recognition.php Fri, 01 Oct 2010 22:32:00 PDT Hops were first added to the National List by the NOSB in June 2007, when organic hops were primarily produced in Europe and New Zealand. Since then, the U.S. organic hop industry has made significant advances. Progressive, large-scale family farms in the Pacific Northwest and small, local growers across the country are now growing organic hops, even though the hop producers believe the market for them has remained weak due to the current NOSB policy which allows brewers to use less expensive, non-organic hops in their beer labeled organic. http://salem-news.com/articles/september282010/organic-beer-hops.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september282010/organic-beer-hops.php Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:54:00 PDT In order to make the expenditure data released by the state more accessible to the public, Salem-News.com has launched the Oregon Transparency Project. Data on state expenditures and employee salaries has been combined into one comprehensive database for easy access. http://salem-news.com/articles/march142010/state-of-oregon-budget.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march142010/state-of-oregon-budget.php Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:20:00 PST Reinvention is the name of the game for the Salem Convention and Visitors Association (SCVA). The Association changed its name, has secured a new downtown location for its headquarters, and is expanding visitor information to two locations on Interstate 5. The Association, formerly known as SCVA, will now be Travel Salem. The new name is more concise, a call to action, and is in line with recent name changes within the industry such as Travel Oregon and Travel Portland. Travel Salem coined their new downtown destination visitors center the “Salem Travel Café.” This state-of-the-art destination visitors center will be designed to showcase the region’s amenities and economic development opportunities, and will serve as the hub for driving visitation and economic impact to the region. http://salem-news.com/articles/october212008/travel_salem_10-21-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october212008/travel_salem_10-21-08.php Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:47:00 PDT It isn't often that a legacy can change. The sound of clapping hands is an unexpected greeting for soldiers and Marines returning home from the war in Iraq. Too many stories about mistreated Vietnam vets leave an expectation of something totally different. In fact, it takes a moment for these troops returning home on the military R&R flights to even comprehend the idea of dozens and dozens of people gathered there to simply welcome them home, but that is what happens almost every day at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas. http://salem-news.com/articles/october142008/welcome_home_10-14-08.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october142008/welcome_home_10-14-08.php Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:43:00 PDT Have you registered to vote? If you've moved recently, you might want to make sure, as Tuesday, October 14th is the last day to register. Oregon is a vote-by-mail state, and because Oregon is considered to be 'in play', it would be wrong to not properly be represented, and to have the fate of the state/country/world determined by hardcore minority on either side. FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.sos.state.or.us/elections YOU MAY REGISTER TO VOTE IN OREGON, IF: 1. You are a resident of Oregon. 2. You are a citizen of the United States of America. 3. You are at least 17 years of age. http://salem-news.com/articles/october142008/vote_101308.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october142008/vote_101308.php Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:30:00 PDT The major U.S. government study of drug use shows that the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy has badly failed to meet its own goals for reducing use of marijuana and other illegal drugs, according to a pair of new reports by George Mason University senior fellow Jon Gettman, Ph.D. In addition, ONDCP and its chief, "Drug Czar" John Walters, have misused treatment statistics to suggest that marijuana is dangerously addictive when the government's own data suggest that arrest-driven treatment admissions have wasted tax dollars by treating thousands who were not truly drug-dependent. All while the FBI's new tally is the highest marijuana arrest total ever-reported in law enforcement history. http://salem-news.com/articles/october092008/marijuana_100808.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october092008/marijuana_100808.php Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:00:00 PDT The DoD has announced that 32-year old Captain Bruno Giancarlo de Solenni, of the Oregon Army National Guard died of wounds sustained when an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) detonated near his vehicle near Kandahar, Afghanistan on September 20th. Two Afghan interpreters were also killed and two soldiers were wounded in the explosion. Capt. de Solenni and the Counter Narcotics Infantry Kandak Embedded Training Team were enroute from a Forward Operating Base to the Kandahar Air Field when an IED detonated destroying their vehicle. http://salem-news.com/articles/september232008/afghan_guard_death.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september232008/afghan_guard_death.php Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:37:00 PDT I’m getting so I’m not surprised at anything adverse about the VA, The Army, George Bush. A recent email from Paul Sullivan Executive Director of Veterans for Common Sense brought the following information: (1) Bush sent 1.7 million to Iraq, etc (2) 860,000 are eligible for VA assistance (3) 347, 750 have been diagnosed and treated (4) 147,744 diagnosed with mental problems (5) 75,719 diagnosed with PTSD I stand corrected. It is much worse than I ever imagined. http://salem-news.com/articles/september232008/ptsd.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september232008/ptsd.php Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:56:00 PDT