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North Korea Owes New York Six Figures In Unpaid Parking Tickets

Brendan Bures
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North Korea Owes New York Six Figures In Unpaid Parking Tickets

North Korea finds itself embroiled in scandal yet again and this one might be more tedious than ever—apparently diplomats aren’t paying their parking tickets.

An investigation by New York NBC’s I-Team uncovered a cavalcade of unpaid fines dating back to the 1990s. The total amount numbers 1,300 parking tickets while the total debt sum is more than $156,000. Any other living person in New York would see jail time at just one unpaid parking ticket.

This violates a 2002 memorandum of understanding (MOU) between New York City and the US Department of State. If a vehicle with a diplomatic parking decal has three or more unpaid tickets, that document states that the City can withhold the decal.

In a stunning turn of events, North Korean diplomats denied the allegations when confronted by a New York NBC reporter.

“It’s not true,” Jong Jo, secretary of North Korea’s UN mission, said. “It is false. Whenever we have a ticket, we pay. Because, you know, if we have three tickets the city does not allow us to renew their permission.”

North Korea is far from the only country with unpaid parking ticket debt. The I-Team investigation discovered that since the 1990s there is more than $16 million in unpaid fine from a multitude of countries.

Here are the biggest offenders:

  • Syria, with $362,550 in parking debt
  • Iran, with $184,987 in parking debt
  • Russia, with $104,231 in parking debt
  • China, with $398,736 in parking debt

While those numbers are egregious and likely would infuriate most New Yorkers, it’s also kind of hilarious. Not only are most political leaders from around the world inept at confronting the complexities of our modern world, they can’t even pay their parking tickets on time.

Researcher: Legal Marijuana Saves Nearly 50,000 Lives A Year

Terry Hacienda
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Researcher: Legal Marijuana Saves Nearly 50,000 Lives A Year

Medical marijuana saves lives is not just a slogan. That simple truth was verified in a study released earlier this month by Dr. Thomas M. Clark of Indiana University.

According to Clark’s research, 47,500 American lives could be saved each year if medical marijuana were legalized nationally. To put that number in perspective, about 60,000 U.S. citizens die each year from drug overdose and about 45,000 die annually from suicide.

Clark, who is the chair of IU’s Department of Biology, concluded his research with a ringing indictment of America’s prohibition laws:

Cannabis use prevents thousands of premature deaths each year, and cannabis prohibition is revealed as a major cause of premature death in the U.S.

The study backs up earlier scientific research that cannabis has only “moderate” adverse effects.

“Cannabis use on physical health are subtle and rarely fatal, while cannabis use is associated with decreased rates of obesity, diabetes mellitus, mortality from traumatic brain injury, use of alcohol and prescription drugs, driving fatalities, and opioid overdose deaths,” according to Clark “These data suggest that cannabis use may decrease premature deaths. To date, no studies have attempted to estimate impacts of Cannabis use on premature death that include both adverse and beneficial effects on physical health.”

Clark’s analysis of the data “strongly suggest that cannabis prohibition is a significant failure of public health policy, causing more harm than benefit.”

The biology professor said that cannabis prohibition:

  • Increases the mortality rate
  • Contributes to the largest per capita prison population in the world
  • Interferes with pursuit of promising medical research
  • Results in the loss of billions in potential tax revenues
  • Empowers violent drug cartels thus destabilizing governments of neighboring countries
  • Causes extensive economic and electoral disenfranchisement of the most vulnerable U.S. communities.

According to the study, America’s refusal to legalize medical marijuana on a national level  is responsible for an estimated minimum of 6,100 to 9,000 deaths annually due to lack of access to the herb, in addition to the increased deaths from cancer, diabetes mellitus, and traumatic brain injury arising from a decrease in the numbers of people using marijuana. His study also found that prohibition is estimated to lead to similar numbers of premature deaths as drunk driving, homicide, or fatal opioid overdose.

Clark hopes his study changes how scientists in the future analyze cannabis. “It is time to change the discussion, from determining how much harm is caused by cannabis use, to determining how many deaths are prevented by cannabis use,” he said. ” This does not, of course, mean that cannabis has no harmful effects, just that beneficial effects may outweigh harmful effects on physical health.”

The full paper can be downloaded here.

Gossip: Prince William’s Kensington MP Wants To Defund Cambridges; Did Kris Jenner Force Kylie To Get Pregnant?

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Prince William’s Kensington MP Wants To Defund Cambridges; Did Kris Jenner Force Kylie To Get Pregnant?

Prince William and Kate Middleton, known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are “ridiculous” and should lose their public funding, the lawmaker who represents the royal couple’s West London district has said. Emma Dent Coad, elected this spring to represent Kensington as a left-wing Labour Party member of parliament (MP), laid into her two famous constituents and the “whole system” of the British royal family at a party conference event, Sky News reported.

“Their MP thinks the system is ridiculous,” she told an audience at the event on the fringes of her party’s most important annual meeting. “We should not be funding them.”

Dent Coad also said that it was “disgusting” that the Duchess had bought jumpers for the sum of £150 ($201) each. “That’s a food bill for a family of four,” she said. “That’s absolutely outrageous.” Dent Coad also criticized Britain’s national broadcaster, the BBC, calling it: “A piece of the whole propaganda machine.” She lashed out at its “sickeningly gratuitous coverage of anything royal” and accused it of being “very heavily directed by right-wing politics and the monarchy.”

The royal couple are based in Kensington Palace, which falls within the Kensington parliamentary constituency. Unlike the queen, the pair do not actually receive a direct “sovereign grant” from the government. Instead, they receive income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which is a private royal estate established by Edward III in 1337. But some sovereign grant funding is used to pay for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official travel, and to maintain Kensington Palace.

An area with much extreme wealth, Kensington also has pockets of deprivation. Grenfell Tower, an apartment block that left dozens of poor residents dead and hundreds more homeless when it burned down in a huge blaze this summer, is also in Dent Coad’s constituency. Dent Coad’s victory in the area was a surprise, as the constituency is normally represented by the right-wing Conservative Party.
[From Newsweek]

Did Kris Jenner Force Kylie To Get Pregnant?

As usual rumors about the Kardashian-Jenner family are flying, and this time they’re saying that momager Kris Jenner may have orchestrated Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy.

Given the that ratings on her daughter’s TV spin-off tanked despite hyping what turned out to be a fake marriage ceremony, some believe the 20-year-old’s latest pregnancy news is an attempt by the momager to get “Life of Kylie” another season.

“There is a very good chance it will continue because Kardashian pregnancies always do well,” a source told Radar Online of the maternity news.

According to Forbes, Life of Kylie’s premiere garnered about 1.1 million viewers — the smallest premiere audience for a Kardashian-based series since 2008 — which paled in comparison to the 2.1 million viewers who tuned into the premiere of Rob & Chyna.

As fans know, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian’s pregnancies were documented on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the storylines tended to play very well with fans. The show recently celebrated it’s 10-year anniversary, and continues to be the highest rated series on the E! network.

“Many believe that Kylie’s motivation for getting pregnant with Travis Scott’s baby was to get back at Tyga, but that is not actually the whole truth,” another insider says. “Kylie was devastated by her spin-off’s ratings, and knew that she needed something big if she was going to get another season.”

While E! has yet to make an official on statement about whether or not Kylie’s show will be renewed, those close to the family claim it was a shock to the clan — especially to the Kylie Cosmetics founder — that Life of Kylie failed to reach expectations.

“She was really hoping that this was going to be her big break and that it would land her a huge future in reality TV,” an informant dishes. “She was hoping for spinoff’s as well!”

“After reading some of the reviews, Kylie just realized how far removed from reality she really is,” the source adds. “She didn’t know how detached she was until she saw how people reacted to her show. She is not a happy person to begin with and all this show did was solidify that to her fans.”

Though Kris says her youngest daughter is “not confirming anything” about the pregnancy at the moment, Caitlyn Jenner’s rep recently told The Sun the Olympian was informed about the baby “some time ago.” The family is said has to have not taken the news very well when Kylie told them she was pregnant.

“Her first reaction was, ‘Seriously?’” a source close to Kim, who is currently expecting her third child via surrogate with Kanye West, tells People. “She didn’t respond well at first. It’s like she and Kanye had gone on this whole journey to get pregnant for months, and now this happens to Kylie. She teared up. It definitely took a lot of time for her to process it.”

“It came out of nowhere,” the insider adds. “It was the last thing on their radar. Kylie is just 20 and hasn’t been with [boyfriend Travis] for very long. So no one saw this coming.”

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

No Recreational Marijuana Sales This January For San Fran

Mary Schumacher
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No Recreational Marijuana Sales This January For San Fran

San Francisco is going to have to wait beyond the proposed January start date for recreational marijuana sales, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The city is not issuing permits until new laws are in place to help regulate and make the new landscape more accessible to low-income people.

However, according to Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, city officials have yet to figure out any of the logistics and do not know how the laws will shake out.

“Out of a 70-page ordinance, less than a page talks about how to make [the cannabis industry] equitable,” said Sheehy, co-sponsor of the cannabis ordinance with Mayor Ed Lee. Sheehy also said the laws are still “far from perfect, and further from final.”

In July of this year, the Board of Supervisors asked both the city controller and the Office of Cannabis to have a report on equity ready and submitted by November 1st. And though all supervisors want to make the laws equitable for those who have been suppressed by the laws previously, it’s not going to be easy to make that date.

The first cannabis equity program was put in place in March by Oakland, which took over a year to put together and caused much infighting. The final version made it so that half of the permits issued went to low income individuals with either a past conviction or who live in a neighborhood that’s been riddled in the past by marijuana arrests. It was their way of quietly helping those of color who want to start their own business, as the California constitution bars discrimination by race.

San Francisco supervisors earlier this month put through a 45-day moratorium on new permits for dispensaries as it creates its own equity program.

All dispensaries will be required to continue carrying medical marijuana, even if they have a recreational license. That applies to new recreational dispensaries as well.

Aside from social equity issues, the city must come up with a new licensing system for medical marijuana dispensaries so that they are following the new laws and regulations. Growers that previously manufactured underground will also have to get licenses from the city.

On January 1st, medical marijuana dispensaries will be issued 120 day permits to remain open as they the program is continued to be built.

Trump Extends Marijuana Protections For A Few More Months

Terry Hacienda
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Trump Extends Marijuana Protections For A Few More Months

Here’s some good news coming out of the Trump administration this month: The Feds must keep their hands off state medical marijuana laws until Dec. 8. After that, it’s anybody’s guess as to what Attorney General Jeff Sessions will do.

When President Donald Trump and congressional Democratic leaders reached a temporary budget agreement to approve emergency hurricane relief, a little-noticed clause was included that will protect state from federal overreach. As Forbes reported:

The agreement included a Rohrabacher-Blumenauer clause (a.k.a. Rohrabacher-Farr), which will effectively serve to protect state medical marijuana programs from intrusion by federal authorities until Dec. 8, 2017.

The clause stipulates that the U.S. Department of Justice may not use any of its funds to prevent states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico from “implementing a law that authorizes the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” The language of the clause has appeared in proposed legislation since 2003, and finally became law in 2014 — joining the ‘Cole Memo’ as one of two landmark federal texts concerning cannabis.

 Sessions, in speeches and statements throughout the spring and summer, indicated that he was against such protections and it appeared the longtime drug warrior was hell bent on cracking down on the state cannabis regulations.

Here is a quick timeline of what has transpired this year:

  • In May, the controversial attorney general sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to reject federal law established by the Obama administration that allowed states to enforce medical marijuana policies without interference from Washington D.C.
  • In July the Senate Appropriations Committee ignored Sessions and approved a version of the amendment.
  • In August, a U.S. District Court upheld the ruling.
  • Earlier this month, the GOP-led House Rules Committee rejected its version of the amendment.
  • Trump, working with Democratic lawmakers , agreed to include the clause, at least until December.

Despite the extension, states are still reluctant to move to far with their marijuana regulations. The amendment remains in limbo and there is a feeling among many political insiders that Sessions will be gone long before December.

1 Out Of 4 Cancer Patients Are Turning To Cannabis

Terry Hacienda
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1 Out Of 4 Cancer Patients Are Turning To Cannabis

If marijuana is legalized, cancer patients will choose it as their preferred medicine, according to a new survey from one of the nation’s leading cancer research facilities.

A team of researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, based in Seattle, Wash., surveyed 926 cancer patients and found that roughly 25 percent of them used cannabis as a medicinal therapy in the past year. The results were published on Monday in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

The groundbreaking study concluded:

This study of cancer patients in a state with legalized cannabis found high rates of active use across broad subgroups, and legalization was reported to be important in patients’ decision to use. Cancer patients desire but are not receiving information about cannabis use during their treatment from oncology providers.

Most cancer patients report that cannabis helps them with pain, nausea, stress, depression, insomnia and other conditions. But patients are frustrated by the lack of information they receive from the American health care system. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals lack training and education in cannabis science.

“More than half of active users reported that legalization significantly increased their likelihood of using, and cannabis use was spread across demographic subsets, including age, sex, and cancer diagnosis subsets,” the study finds.

According to the research:

  • The median age of those surveyed was 58.
  • 74 percent of the patients wanted information from cancer providers and had a strong interest in learning about cannabis during treatment.
  • 24 percent used cannabis as a medical therapy in the past year.
  • 21 percent self-treated with cannabis in the past month.
  • 70 percent inhaled (smoked or vaped) their medicine.
  • 70 percent consumed edibles.
  • 40 percent did both.
  • 75 percent reported their primary use was for physical pain.
  • 64 percent used it for neuropsychiatric symptoms.

“We hope that this study helps to open up the door for more studies aimed at evaluating the risks and benefits of marijuana in this population,” said study author Dr. Steven Pergam. “This is important, because if we do not educate our patients about marijuana, they will continue to get their information elsewhere.”

The American Cancer Society concedes that more research is needed on marijuana as a treatment for cancer symptoms. The organization has said that properties in marijuana have the potential to combat cancer cells.

Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states; adult recreational use is legal in eight states. Washington, where the study was conducted, allows both.

Will Medical Marijuana Ease The Pain From My Migraines?

Richard Faulk
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Will Medical Marijuana Ease The Pain From My Migraines?

Meh, couldn’t hurt. At least, not any more than your head already does.

A comprehensive overview of medical marijuana studies released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found just one study on migraines. The report was released back in 1999, but not much has changed: A similar review conducted by The Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015 makes no mention of headaches at all.

This is odd. In traditional medicine, all the way from ancient India to the Islamic world and pre-modern Europe, cannabis was used to cure a headache. In fact, during the Victorian era, cannabis was the favored treatment for migraines.

Ironically, the only reliable modern study on the subject shows that abruptly halting marijuana intake can cause migraines. Even the IOM finds this a strange situation. Citing the weight of anecdotal evidence—as well as neurological research that shows an abundance of cannabinoid receptors in the very region of the brain that is believed to produce migraines—the government agency calls for more research.

Our verdict on the cannabis headache cure: Meh, couldn’t hurt. At least, not any more than your head already does.

Things You Should Consider When Buying Rolling Paper

Maria Loreto
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Things You Should Consider When Buying Rolling Paper

There’s always been a debate about what way is the best way to consume cannabis, be that through a bong, a dab, a cookie, a joint, you get the point. People clash over which method of consumption leads to the best high while also imparting the least amount of damage to their lungs. Joints are a big favorite among cannabis users, but there’s some damage that’s always involved when you start to burn cannabis and paper.

Most of the rolling papers available on the market are manipulated by the manufacturers in a variety of ways, be that to enhance flavor, to make the joint burn faster, or to have a really cool color, leading to more damage to your lungs that you bargained for.

Here are a few tips and things to look out for when you’re buying rolling paper: 

Nix The Bleached And Colored Paper

As a rule of thumb, you should stay away from white papers which are bleached to get that color that, for some reason, a lot of people love. There are other types of papers that have different and bright colors (re: fake) that you should also steer clear from. Always look for the most natural looking paper you can see. 

Avoid Thick Rolling Paper

Thick paper usually means that you’ll be taking in more bad stuff and chemicals per puff, so discard those and look for thinner types of paper, which will produce less smoke. 

The best advice you can get when it comes to purchasing rolling papers is to stick to the most natural option available. Look for unbleached thin paper that’s made with natural ingredients, which will burn faster and produce the least amount of smoke and cancerogenous agents. A few good options are the uber famous RAW papers, which are made from natural ingredients and also have a set that’s made out of pure hemp. Bob Marley also has a line of rolling papers that are super cool, made with natural ingredients and hemp. Give them a shot; your lungs will thank you.

If You Use Marijuana, The Feds Can Now Take Away Your Unemployment Benefits

Al Olson
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If You Use Marijuana, The Feds Can Now Take Away Your Unemployment Benefits

The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation that will repeal an Obama administration rule that limits the ability of states to deny unemployment benefits to drug users. That means with random drug testing, you could lose your EU because of marijuana use.

It was a party-line vote with 51 Republicans voted for it and 48 Democrats voting against.

The measure overturns a Labor Department rule limiting the industries for which states could mandate drug testing in order to  receive unemployment benefits.

The House last month approved the resolution. It  is headed to President Donald Trump’s desk, who has already indicated he will sign it.

During a debate before the vote, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said the plan “vilifies unemployed workers who are actually less likely to use drugs than the general population.”

Democrats say any changes to the rule will create too many obstacles for people to get unemployment benefits who are genuinely looking for work and who have already paid into the unemployment benefits program. They argued that lawmakers should focus on helping these people get treatment.

But Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate committee that oversees unemployment, disagreed. “The Senate today has done the right thing by rolling back this Obama-era rule that told states how they had to implement unemployment insurance drug testing,”

On Tuesday, 50 civil rights, labor, faith, and criminal justice organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing the proposal.

“They say it’s about helping states save money, but this would actually set up states to waste tremendous amounts of money,” said Grant Smith, deputy director of national affairs with the Drug Policy Alliance. “Congress should be helping people get to work, not wasting taxpayer dollars to punish people who are trying to get back to work.”

Here is the history of the legislation, according to the DPA:

Congress passed a law in 2012 allowing states to require drug testing as a condition of receiving unemployment insurance in cases where a person was let go from their last job because of unlawful drug use or cases where a person applying for unemployment insurance who is only available for suitable work in an occupation that regularly conducts drug testing. The 2012 federal law also instructed the Department of Labor to define through regulation what those occupations that regularly drug testing are, and last year, DOL published a final rule limiting those occupations primarily to those with a public safety concern (aviation and railroad workers, jobs that require carrying a firearm etc.) This 2012 law was the result of a bipartisan compromise reached between Republicans managing the underlying legislation who wanted to completely lift this prohibition and Democrats who wanted to maintain the prohibition.  Prior to 2012, federal law had been interpreted to prohibit states from imposing drug testing requirements on unemployment insurance applicants.

“For years, a small handful of Republicans in Congress have pushed this deceptive agenda and have got Republican leadership to buy in,” added Smith. “It’s shameful to see Republicans who have provided so much leadership recently on the opioid crisis now pushing drug testing schemes that provide no treatment and only serve to stigmatize and punish people who have lost their jobs.”

See What Happens When A Rabbi, A Priest And An Atheist Smoke Weed Together

Al Olson
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See What Happens When A Rabbi, A Priest And An Atheist Smoke Weed Together

The video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on YouTube in less than five days. Not only are people watching it, they are sharing it and talking about it. It’s become a religious experience.

The video, published Wednesday, features a a rabbi, a priest and an atheist smoking marijuana together and discussing theological concepts. The video was shot in Washington, a state that allows adult use of recreational cannabis, so no laws were broken in the taping of the trio.

The 8-minute, 4-second conversation involved the meaning of God, what marijuana’s effects are a few other surprises. You know, what most smoke sessions turn out to be about.

The video featured:

  • Jim Mirel, Rabbi Emeritus at Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue.
  • Rev. Chris Schuller, the former rector at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  • Carlos, a self-described conservative homosexual who was raised as a Southern Baptist and a Roman Catholic.

Mirel and Schuller copped to using marijuana, but both said their experience was from their early years and that neither was a current user. Carols, on the other hand, said he was a regular user of the herb.

Is marijuana OK to use? According to Mirel: “If it helps you become a better person, if it lifts you up, gives you a new view of life, it’s a very positive thing.”

For his part, Schuller would like to see cannabis laws be more in line with alcohol and tobacco. Two years ago, Schuller got in a little hot water in St. Petersburg, Florida, for saying “Thank God for marijuana” in a video.

Cut.com, is responsible for the viral video. From Cut’s website:

With over 350 million video views, Cut has captured the world’s attention with iconic internet-breaking projects like “One Word,” “Truth or Drink,” and “Grandmas Smoking Weed for the First Time.” Cut makes viral content by blurring the boundaries between cool and friendly, smart and silly, and provocative and eye-opening.

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