Subject matter:
A European solution to a European issue: legalizing cannabis. The ECI Weed like to talk aims at making the EU adopt a common policy on the control and regulation of cannabis production, use and sale.

Main objectives:
There is currently a heterogeneous legal map as regards cannabis policies in the EU. The question of coherence and discrimination is worth asking. A common policy on the control and regulation of cannabis production, use and sale would: (a) ensure equality before the law and non-discrimination of all EU citizens; (b) protect consumers and monitor health security; (c) end cannabis trafficking. Let's leap toward the legalization of cannabis and the harmonization of national legislations accross the EU.

Information on this proposed initiative is available in the following languages:
English

European Commission registration number:
ECI(2013)000008

Date of registration:
20/11/2013

Click here to support this initiative

Web address of this proposed citizens' initiative in the European Commission's register:
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/ongoing/details/2013/000008/en

Names of registered contact persons:
FESEFELDT Bendix, BALAS Pierre

E-mail addresses of registered contact persons:
bendix.fesefeldt@sciencespo.fr, pierre.balas@sciencespo.fr

Names of the other registered organisers:
TOJA DE LA MUELA Delia, VERDAM Pieter David, VAN BERWAER Gaelle, TARDELL Miriam, LORIMER Marta

Website of this proposed citizens' initiative (if any):
http://weedliketotalk.wix.com/wltt

To support a European Citizens' Initiative, you must be an EU citizen (national of an EU member state) and be old enough to vote in European Parliament elections (18 except Austria where the voting age is 16).
For more information on the rules and conditions for the European Citizens' Initiative: http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative

Click here to support this initiative

How hypocritical our society is? As an individual, nowadays, one should watch for the corrupt Government and Law enforcers...

Irvin Rosenfeld, a 56-year old stockbroker from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., doesn't look like a record-setting pothead, but last week he woke up, turned on CNBC, and lit up his 115,000th joint.

If you think his dealer is thrilled to have a client who has smoked 10 to 12 joints a day for the past 28 years, you're wrong. Rosenfeld, who suffers from a rare form of bone cancer, isn't your typical weed smoker, and his dealer isn't your typical drug pusher. He gets his joints -- 300 at a time, one shipment every 25 days -- courtesy of the United States federal government.

"I don't know that I've broken a record, but I've certainly set one. No one else in the world can document having smoked 115,000 cannabis cigarettes – let alone the ones I smoked before that. I'm living proof that medical cannabis is real medicine. We need to get medicine in the hands of patients who really need it," said Rosenfeld.

Ironically, the government that supplies Rosenfeld with medical marijuana has for decades denied the drug's efficacy, penalized those states that legalized medicinal cannabis and -- until just months ago -- actively prosecuted suppliers in those states.

Rosenfeld said the drug acts as "a muscle relaxant, an anti-inflammatory, a painkiller and keeps tumors from growing."

What it does not do, he said, is get him high.

)

"I don't get high. I need the medicine; I'm not getting any euphoria," he said.

Rosenfeld said the marijuana allows him to maintain a normal life. He's been married for 36 years, goes to work every day, volunteers teaching disabled children to sail, and is working on a book.

His clients, he said, know about his marijuana use and are impressed by his doggedness.

"I always ask them, 'Have you ever met anyone who has taken on the federal government and won? If you want that kind of expertise and work ethic, then hire me.'"

The Drug War

When Rosenfeld began receiving marijuana from the federal government in 1982, he became the second patient to benefit under a narrowly defined "compassionate protocol" that supplied glaucoma and cancer patients with cannabis until the Federal Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug Program was disbanded a decade later.

Today, Rosenfeld is one of only four patients who continue to receive weed from the federal government. He is the longest surviving member of the program.

He uses the marijuana to treat two conditions -- one called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, the other pseudohypoparathyroidism. They cause painful tumors to grow on his bones. His experience, he said, has led him to become one of the nation's most vocal proponents of medical marijuana use.

He has testified before the legislatures of several of the 13 states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes and has for nearly three decades fought the federal government to allow him to continue to use pot.

Though marijuana -- even for medicinal use -- is outlawed under federal law, the government began supplying a handful of patients with the drug in the late 1970s. When the program was outlawed in 1992, Rosenfeld fought to continue receiving the drugs.

Diagnosed when he was 10 years old, Rosenfeld found marijuana helped with his pain when he tried it for the first time as a college student in the 1970s. Desperate not to use an illegal substance, he petitioned the Federal Drug Administration for five years to let him receive government-grown marijuana.

Every month for the last 28 years, Rosenfeld has received 300 joints from the government, sealed in large tins and delivered to his local pharmacy. The marijuana comes from cannabis plants grown by the government on a small farm at the University of Mississippi. The plants are sent to Raleigh, N.C., where the National Institute of Drug Addiction dries them and prepares the cigarettes.

The federal government has traditionally cracked down on states that allow medical marijuana. When the bulk of the program it ran was shut down in the early 1990s, Rosenfeld twice sued and won to be allowed access to federally-grown weed.

Despite the federal government's efforts to grow and produce high quality marijuana, the government's position is decidedly against its use.

The Drug Enforcement Agency does not refer to medical marijuana on its Web site without putting the word "medical" in quotes, and insists there is little science to support the use of smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"There are no FDA-approved medications that are smoked. For one thing, smoking is generally a poor way to deliver medicine. It is difficult to administer safe, regulated dosages of medicines in smoked form. Secondly, the harmful chemicals and carcinogens that are byproducts of smoking create entirely new health problems. There are four times the level of tar in a marijuana cigarette, for example, than in a tobacco cigarette," the DEA says on its Web site.

In March, the Obama administration shifted federal policy away from prosecuting medical-marijuana dispensers in states where distribution had been legalized.

Only once, in 1983, was Rosenfeld arrested for possession. He was picked up in Orlando by a policeman who didn't initially believe his use was federally protected.

Ever since then, he said, he has carried a letter from his local police chief and a security officer at the Miami airport, explaining that he has permission to possess the drugs.

Source: abcnews

Aside Hollywood exaggerations, studies find that psichedelic drugs reduce stress and anxiety. if you think LSD and psilocybe mushrooms are bad, then everything you know is wrong.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann tackles the latest in political news, medical debates, commentary and more. From local, to national and international nothing will escape Thom Hartmann view.

Thom Hartmann is a NY Times bestselling and 4-times project Censored winning author of over twenty books and America's #1 progressive radio host. His program is heard daily on hundreds of stations; including SiriusXM, DirectTV, Dish Network, Dial-Global, Pacifica, and Free Speech TV, broadcast live from the US and on five continents. Watch The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT America weeknights at 7:00pm and 10:00pm Eastern Time.

 )

RT interviews April Short, Associate Editor to AlterNet.

www.TurismoAssociati.it would like to thank Teus Vos for posting this video on our FaceBook channel-group.

The fact that everyone ignores a human being fallen on the sidewalk, doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do! It is by simple and heroic actions that we begin to appreciate the true meaning of the word "humanity".

Share this video to spread awareness and put an end to this phenomenon... once and for all!

I got into a nasty bike accident the day before I saw this. I'm so grateful people came to my aid and prevented a bruised rib from getting much worse. Now I wonder what would have happened if I looked different...

Experiment: Importanta aparentelor. Ce se intampla cand lesini pe strada? Experiment: The importance of appearances. What happens when you fall down on the street?

La mai bine de 5 minute dupa ce pici jos pe strada... oamenii continua sa treaca pe langa tine fara sa faca nimic.

Faptul ca toata lumea ignora o fiinta umana ce a cazut pe trotuar, nu inseamna ca acesta e modul corect de a proceda! Tocmai prin actiuni simple si eroice incepem sa apreciem adevaratul semnificat al cuvantului "umanitate".

Condivide acest video pentru a difuza constientizarea si pentru a pune capat acestui fenomen: o data pentru totdeauna!

Mai multe informatii: http://www.turismoassociati.it/dblog/articolo.asp?id=3667

experiment social, importanta aparentelor, umanitate, empatie, fiinta umana, constientizare, actiuni, eroism, experiment, importance appearances, human being, fall down, heroic actions, humanity, spread awareness
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Experiment: The importance of appearances. Almost 5 minutes later after you fall down on the street... people just keep walking by and doing nothing.

The fact that everyone ignores a human being fallen on the sidewalk, doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do! It is by simple and heroic actions that we begin to appreciate the true meaning of the word "humanity".

Share this video to spread awareness and put an end to this phenomenon... once and for all!

More information: http://www.turismoassociati.it/dblog/articolo.asp?id=3667

Purpose and character of the use: The purpose and character is non-commercial, transformative use. No money is being earned or asked from the video, and the use of the music in the video qualifies as transformative because it adds new meaning and message to the song.

Nature of copyrighted work: Artistic (sound recording)

The amount and substantiality of the portion used: No more than necessary for the purpose used.

The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the original work: There is no negative effect on the value of the original work as my use does not substitute for or compete with the original. Moreover there is no negative effect on any licensing for the original song, as the major music labels have not provided any means to license music for use in YouTube videos.

This video shows how to use YouTube's new process for appealing reinstated Content ID copyright claims against your videos. YouTube established this new process in October 2012 after facing increasing criticism for allowing copyright claimants to unilaterally reinstate copyright claims effectively claim videos they had no rights in. The appeals process adds yet another hoop to jump through to get illegitimate copyright claims against your videos removed, but it is a step in the right direction. Since the process is fairly complicated, I created this tutorial to walk people through the process of appealing a Content ID claim based on fair use.

Materials you will need:
- A strong grinder to grind the Cannabis material.
- A stove to heat the CannaButter.
- A medium sized heavy duty sauce pan/pot with lid. It's important to have the pot the same size as the element that it is on to ensure even heat distribution.
- A measuring cup.
- A whisk or a large fork to mix the material with the water/butter solution in the pot.
- Cheese cloth to strain the material before cooling.
- A bowl large enough to hold and cool the CannaButter material.
- A space in your refrigerator to cool and separate the water from butter.
- A heavy duty plastic wrap to handle and compress the CannaButter into a smaller, easier to handle shape.
- A freezable container to store the material
- A space in your freezer to store the finished product.

Please Make sure you have all these things before you begin and have them set aside as you will need them immediately during and at the end of the CannaButter making process.

Note:
To make a strong CannaButter you will need to adjust the amount of Cannabis you use in accordance with the strength of butter you would like. It is not recommended to make weak CannaButter or reduce the Cannabis:Butter ratio as you may feel "ripped off" after you've tried the butter.
This recipe will make about 350g of medium-grade strength CannaButter.
Remember you will have a small loss when handling the material.

So with that being said,

Ingredients you will need:
- 1lbs of unsalted butter.
- 2cups of water.
- 1 ounce of premium,middle or low grade Cannabis. Obviously the better product you use the better the butter will be.

That's it!
Okay, Now go get your shit together and let's cook!

To Prepare:
We'll begin by grinding the Cannabis material very very fine.
Way beyond the extent that you would grind it if you were smoking it. Make your Cannabis a fine powder. Using an electric coffee grinder dedicated to the purpose of grinding Cannabis or cleaning one VERY, VERY well. It's suggest buying a rinky dink coffee grinder if you do not have one as cutting the Cannabis with scissors or grinding it with a space case grinder will not make the Cannabis fine enough.
You basically want a bowl of very, very fine Cannabis material.

Cooking:
Bring 2cups of water to a covered boil. Once the water is boiling, add your butter and melt it in the water. Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to a very low setting so that when covered the CannaButter will simmer but not boil. We will now add the ground Cannabis material to the water and butter solution... Once you add the Cannabis powder you will whisk and mix it into the pot thoroughly, so that there are no clumps and nothing stuck to the bottom. Now that you've made sure there are no clumps in the solution, place the lid on the pot and leave the heat on a minimum temperature.
The CannaButter is now ready to simmer and cook for 22-24 hours.
This amount of time is important. It is required to extract the THC from the finely ground Cannabis. However, you do not want to cook the CannaButter any longer than 24 hours. NO MORE THAN 24 HOURS.
After 24 hours the THC will degrade and the butter will go bitter.
During this 24 hour cooking period you will need to check on the CannaButter every few hours to ensure that the boil is not to strong and to ensure that the butter has not reduced to much. If you find the solution reducing faster than expected it does not hurt to add a few table spoons of water over the 24 hour period.

Extraction:
Once you have simmered the CannaButter for long enough, turn the heat off.
Let the solution sit for 2-4 minutes and remove it from the heat.

USE APPROPRIATE CLOTHING AS THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN BURN YOURSELF... in other words... don't do this next step in your boxers.

You are now ready to extract the used Cannabis material from the CannaButter solution...
Place the cheese cloth over an open bowl and ensure that when the liquid is poured through the cheese cloth will not go with it. The idea here is to strain the solution using the cheese cloth so that you will not have bits of cannabis in the solution. Most of the THC is extracted by now. Once the solution has been strained through the cheese cloth and the material collected, you will have a solution in a bowl and cheese cloth full of soggy Cannabis material.
Squeeze and extract as much of the solution from the cheese cloth and material as possible. The butter solution is what you want, not the bi-product which is the soggy Cannabis.
Remove as much of the solution as possible into the bowl.

Cooling:
Place the bowl with the CannaButter solution into your reserved space in your refrigerator and let it cool for a few hours, even overnight. This process will separate the fats from the water. The fat being our CannaButter. During this process you will be able to see the progress of the butter as it cools, much like watching Jell-o go firm. However, you want to let it sit long enough to ensure the complete separation of the fats from the water.

Removing Your Butter and Storing:
Removing the butter from the bowl may seem a bit tricky...but will be considerably less messy if you use the Heavy duty plastic wrap to handle the now solid butter. Simply remove enough plastic and use it like a doggy bag to remove the top slab of CannaButter from the bowl. Pat dry the CannaButter to remove any excess water. Now use the plastic wrap to compress the CannaButter into a smaller more manageable size. Store in a freezable,airtight container or mason jar.
Note:
Depending on the amount of CannaButter you make, it may be better to use a slotted spoon or spatula instead of your hands.

KEEP FROZEN AT ALL TIMES.
If kept frozen the butter will not go bad or lose any potency before you get around to using it.
The butter will melt quickly once it warms up.. so handle it quickly and keep it in the freezer as much as possible.
And that's it! Now go lick clean some utensils and enjoy your CannaButter.

CannaButter can be used in a range of things and can even be used to bake goods like muffins,cookie and brownies. Some simply enjoy CannaButter on toast. Whatever you decide to use it in or on, remember that you do not want to re-cook it but baking it into something for a short period of time (about the length of time it takes to bake cookies or muffins) will not harm your CannaButter at all.  Enjoy!

Source: http://cookingwithcannabis.trendsp.com/wp/cals-book

Investigators at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found evidence that cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of marijuana, can prevent the accumulation of fat caused by alcohol – known as fatty liver disease.

Over time, elevated fat levels in the liver can lead to more severe problems such as hepatitis and cirrhosis.

Published online Jan. 4th in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the researchers conducted the study by injecting mice with ethanol twice a day for 5 days to model the impact of binge drinking on the liver. Mice in the test group were given CBD prior to ethanol.

The results confirmed that CBD could prevent fat accumulation and other signs of liver injury. Molecular analysis pointed to multiple factors, including CBD’s anti-oxidant properties and its ability to stimulate pathways involved with fat breakdown.

The authors add that CBD can act as both an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, and has been suggested to block the progression of arthritis and type 1 diabetes, among other things.

The hope is to develop a potential drug for the prevention of fatty liver disease, they write, noting that CBD has recently shown promise in blocking alcohol-induced brain damage as well.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Source: LeafScience

It's still illegal in most areas of the world, but the cannabis plant boasts some incredible benefits – not just as a healing medicinal, but as an eco-friendly source for clothing, energy, and even food.

But the legalization of the plant is still a highly debated topic – despite the many case studies that support its use in treating cancers, including Leukemia. Social stigma is now the predominant factor inhibiting its use and legalization, but that perception is being changed by the many pro-cannabis supporters speaking out from various fields.

Insight into how THC (the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant) cures Cancer is explained by molecular biologist, Dr. Christina Sanchez, in the video above. A scientist at the Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, she relayed her long-time studies and enlightening findings with Cannabis Planet TV.

Cannabinoids refer to any group of related compounds that include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis. The compounds activate cannabinoid receptors in the body, and in effect the body itself produces compounds called endocannabinoids. These play a major role in many processes within the body that help create a healthy environment.

But one does not have to go out of their comfort zone to experience the effects – as cannabis has been shown to treat cancer without any psychoactive effects.

In many situations, cannabinoids have been proven to reduce Cancer cells as they have a great impact on the rebuilding of the immune system. While the rate of success still varies (depending on the strain of the plant used), many patients are experiencing a profound reduction of cancer in a short period of time.

A lot of debate surrounding the medicinal use of the plant is based on the perception that cannabis must be smoked for it to be beneficial; this is actually false, and could be a relief to some. Contrary to popular notion, smoking the weed does not assist a great deal in treating disease within the body, as therapeutic levels cannot be reached through such method. Instead, using the oil from the plant or eating it is the best way to go about obtaining the necessary ingredients from the cannabinoids.

The Earth offers many remedies to assist the human body in re-gaining balance. As mankind has evolved and implemented modern ways of survival, a disconnect with natural living was created, and in effect, many issues have rapidly manifested in the last few hundred years. But deriving plant-based medicines and treating food, as well as lifestyle habits, as preventable medicine will ensure that body balance is regained.

Social acceptance of the use of the cannabis plant is growing, although it is still held in different regard than chemotherapy. But as its medicinal properties are more deeply explored and shared, the world can continue to re-shape its opinion and allowance of its use.

Sources: trueactivist via collective-evolution

Estimated Time: 2 hours

Serves: Makes 1 Apple Pie

Crust Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour I teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 6 tablespoons cannabutter (marijuana butter) 6 tablespoons shortening 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Crust Instructions:

1. Warm the cannabutter in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften it (not melted).

2. Combine all other ingredients into a large bowl. You may use your hands or a Dough Blender here.

3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Apple Filling Ingredients:

5 Tart Peeled Apples 1 Cup Sugar 2 Tablespoons Flour 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon 1/4 Teaspoon Salt 1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Apple Filling Instructions:Peel and slice apples and soak in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice for 10 minutes. Mix everything except the apples in a large bowl.Remove apple slices from water and place in the bowl with with the other ingredients. Mix them around in order to coat the apples as much as possible.
Putting it all together:Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll one portion into a flat circle 1/8 inch thick.Place and shape into baking pan. Put apples in crust and top with some butter to enhance the flavor of the apples (you may use cannabutter here if you'd like). Roll out the remaining portion of dough and place on top of pie. Use the back end of a knife to press the top to the bottom crust. Wrap tinfoil over the pan so it covers just the other portion of the top crust, so the edges do not burn. Bake at 400°F for 55 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown. Enjoy!

Serve with hot apple cider! Mmm.

Source: http://cookingwithcannabis.trendsp.com/wp/cals-book

We, from TurismoAssociati, have begun to create free apps for WP8 (here is the LINK to our Store). Here are all the information you need to create, insert and post a Windows Phone application with ads:

The Google Mobile Ads SDK allows developers to easily incorporate mobile-friendly text and image banners as well as rich, full-screen web apps known as interstitials. An ever-growing set of "calls-to-action" are supported in response to user touch including direct access to the App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone 8 Marketplace, iTunes, maps, video and the dialer. Ads can be targeted by location and demographic data.

For Windows 8 you will need to meet these requirements:
Windows Phone SDK 8.0
Visual Studio 2012 or later

You can get the SDK by downloading the zip.

Incorporate the downloaded DLL:

1. Right-click the References node in Solution Explorer and choose Add Reference. 
2. Select the Browse button to find the unzipped Google Mobile Ads SDK.
3. Choose the downloaded GoogleAds.dll file and click Add.
4. Make sure that GoogleAds.dll is selected and click OK.

Selecting capabilities

With the SDK, you will need to select mandatory and optional capabilities for your app.

Windows Phone

You can modify your app's capabilities by opening WMAppManifest.XML and selecting the Capabilities tab.

Mandatory Capabilities
ID_CAP_NETWORKING Access to network services is required when requesting ads.
ID_CAP_WEBBROWSERCOMPONENT Required since the AdView is a web browser.
ID_CAP_MEDIALIB_PLAYBACK Provides access for currently playing media items.
ID_CAP_MEDIALIB_AUDIO Provides read access to audio items in media library.

Here is the LINK with details.

Banner ads use a small portion of the screen to entice users to "click through" to a richer, full-screen experience such as a website or app store page. This guide shows you how to enable your app to serve a banner ad.

Windows Phone 8 apps are composed of controls the user sees, such as text areas, buttons and other UI elements. AdView is simply another control displaying ads that respond to user touch.

Adding a banner ad

Locate the AdView control in the Toolbox menu. Note that this is different from the AdControl control. Skip to step 2 if you've already got the AdView control in your toolbox.

Right click in the Toolbox and select Choose Items.... Click Browse on the menu that pops up and select the GoogleAds.dll file you previously downloaded (if you downloaded the package using NuGet, you should be able to find it in the packages folder in your project). Make sure the AdView control is selected from the GoogleAds namespace, then click OK.

Like many controls, AdView is most easily specified in XAML markup. One way to do this is to drag the AdView control from your Toolbox into the pane that shows the output of your XAML markup.

Here is the LINK with details.

How to modify the app manifest file for Windows Phone 8?

The app manifest file, WMAppManifest.xml, contains properties and settings that are required when you submit your app to the Windows Phone Store. Windows Phone SDK 8.0 includes a Manifest Designer that is integrated with Visual Studio. Manifest Designer makes it easy for you to update the manifest file without editing the raw XML of the file.
You can use Manifest Designer to modify the manifest file for apps that target Windows Phone OS 7.1 as well as apps that target Windows Phone 8.

How to modify the manifest file in Manifest Designer?

To modify the manifest file you use Manifest Designer.

1. In Visual Studio, close the manifest file if it’s already open in XML code view.
2. In Solution Explorer, expand the Properties node of the open project.
3. Double-click the manifest file, WMAppManifest.xml. Or, right-click the file and select Open or View Designer from the context menu. If the manifest file is already open in XML code view, Visual Studio prompts you to close the file. Then Manifest Designer opens in a new Visual Studio tab.

Here is the LINK with details.

Solution Explorer > Solution 'App" (x projects) > right click > Properties > Configuration Properties > select Release and Deploy > Apply and OK - Then go to BUILD > Build Solution - Upload/Submit apps the *.xap (AppStudio_Release_AnyCPU.xap) file (from C:\...\AppStudio.UI\Bin\Release) to your Windows Phone Store (dev.windows)

When adding a reference to the Analytics monitor from a project in Visual Studio, an error may occur on Windows 8:

"A reference to a higher version or incompatible assembly cannot be added to the project"

This is likely due to the file being blocked by Windows, as downloaded content is deemed unsafe for. The solution is to right-click on the unpacked monitor file, select Properties, and click Unblock.

Here is the LINK with details.

Ford Turani for TurismoAssociati.it