Cannabis Copilot News – Local Medical Marijuana News For The International Medical Marijuana Community

The ten-year ban handed down to veteran rugby league player Vince Whare makes him another casualty of injustice in our 35 year-old war on drugs, said New Zealand NORML President Phil Saxby today.

The Canterbury Bulls’ prop has just been suspended from any involvement in sport for a decade by the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand after testing positive for cannabis use. He tested positive for cannabis twice before, once in 2005 and then again in 2006.

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code requires third-time doping offenders to be banned for at least eight years, but cannabis is no more a performance-enhancing drug than alcohol”, Mr Saxby said. “What would happen to sport if all alcohol-using players were banned after 3 drinking offences?”

“This is blatant discrimination against a man who chooses to relax with a substance that’s better for his health than alcohol. That cannabis is illegal has no bearing on his ability to play rugby, nor his right to play the game.”

“If sports bodies are concerned about their image, the focus should be on alcohol, not cannabis,” said Mr Saxby. “Half of all serious violent offences and one third of all offences in New Zealand are committed by offenders who have been drinking; while alcohol is associated with almost fifty percent of all reported incidents of sexual violence.”

“How is it that Robin Brooke can be drunk and grope a girl and not get banned? Sports bodies have a double standard – you can be publicly drunk and behave indecently, but receive more lenient treatment than if you simply get caught for smoking a joint at home. Is that really what we want young people to believe?”

“Whare’s punishment at the hands of the Sports Tribunal is far harsher than any court would have handed down. For the next ten years, this man can no longer have anything to do with the game he loves and is very, very good at. He can’t coach, he can’t run the line, or referee or be an official. This sentence is almost medieval in its harshness!” Mr Saxby concluded.

NORML New Zealand is far and away the most successful and active international chapter of NORML.  Fully 8% of the web traffic I get here on the Stash is from New Zealand, making it the country second only to the US in web traffic here.

While NORML’s primary mission is to end adult marijuana prohibition in America, we are proud of the international chapters, like the one recently formed in Spain, NORML España, carrying on the NORML legacy and mission in other countries.  If you are outside the USA and would like to help form your country’s national NORML Chapter, send an email to start@norml.org.

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Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by Sahra Kant Photography

• Electric Tuesday: Quadron – “Average Fruit”

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NORML Newsmakers

• Clif Deuvall from NORML of Waco, Inc, on new reform bills proposed for Texas

Quadron

Quadron is a duo from Copenhagen who call their music “electronic soul”, which mixes hand-played instruments with synthetic techniques to form a lush, laid back sound. They began collaborating five years ago when Robin Hannibal met 16-year-old ingénue Coco via their joint participation in successful Danish soul collective Boom Clap Bachelors, they’ve gone from strength to strength in their homeland, throughout Europe, and now in the United States.

This downtempo band is in heavy rotation on renowned radio station KCRW and this particular track was featured as a ‘top tune’ artist of the day in January. Their beautiful arranagements and orchestrations have led to several celebrity fans including Gilles Peterson of BBC Radio, Paharell Williams of N.E.R.D., and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. Quadron’s self-titled debut has recently been released in North America on indie label Plug Research.

A welcome submission to the NORML Stash Blog / NORML Show Live, “Average Fruit” is about “finding what you believe in and what your heart beats for” according to Robin who also says this lounge-influenced song is “heavily inspired by Charles Stepney string arranagements” and the beat is “a take on a modern version of a syncopated African rhythm.” This wafting chill-out tune with gorgeous, soft vocals will relax and inspire.

Check out Quadron on MySpace and Twitter, and purchase their music on iTunes.

Download audio file (Quadron – Average Fruit.mp3)

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