One day, with a prescription, Americans might be able to "turn on" with a hallucinogenic drug in a clinic that essentially is a day spa for psychedelic treatment.

A self-described nonprofit pharmaceutical company in Santa Cruz - which is holding an open house at their Mission Street offices today - has been working towards this vision for nearly 25 years.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies works with scientists, doctors and regulators around the world to design research seeking to establish the safety and efficacy of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

mercurynews.com

The Green Rush is a documentary film that chronicles the lives of several marijuana farmers in Northern California over an entire outdoor grow season. Featuring exclusive, never-before-seen footage of marijuana cultivation.

greenrushmovie
greenrushmovie.blip.tv

More states are permitting the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and the Obama administration has signaled relaxed enforcement of the industry in those states. Now, a new generation of marijuana entrepreneurs has emerged across America. They come from the unlikely fields of finance, politics, medicine and law, and they want to claim a stake in this modern day gold rush.

CNBC's "Marijuana USA" goes inside a flourishing medical pot industry. In Colorado, the demon weed is rebranded as a natural herbal remedy with healing powers that even respectable citizens can enjoy. We meet two restaurant owners who are about to launch a new line of cannabis-infused edibles. And, we’ll go inside a clinic where marijuana is almost always the doctor's order.

cnbc.com

Cannabis has captured the attention of the world. From December 17-19, 2010, the Colorado Convention Center will be buzzing with thousands of medical marijuana experts and enthusiasts in what is being billed as the largest cannabis lifestyle convention to ever take place on planet Earth - KushCon II.

tokeofthetown.com

How was your 2010? For the cannabis community, it was a wild flip of the calendar, with dispensaries opening and closing, police raiding, a medical cannabis luminary thrown in jail for meth charges -- and we vaguely remember something about a legalization ballot measure.

There's still time yet before 2011 -- who knows what the next few weeks will bring?. In any event, here's your recap of the Year in Pot (to date).

sfweekly.com

In an effort to waste time, or whatever, Santa Clara County authorities on Thursday busted several medical marijuana clubs selling weed in the county. "An official with the County Special Enforcement Team said narcotics agents served warrants on two MediLeaf medical marijuana clubs in San Jose and properties in Gilroy and Morgan Hill," reports AP (via CBS 5)."Task force commander Danielle Ayers said agents shut down the clubs, seized marijuana, documents and computers."

sfist.com

Sonoma County Sheriff’s detectives directed simultaneous raids Thursday on eight sites throughout the county that are suspected of being part of an indoor pot-growing network.

The sweep netted 10 arrests, including one of the sheriff’s own employees — Jose Ruben Diaz, 34, a community services officer for the sheriff’s law enforcement division.

Diaz works in the town of Sonoma doing parking enforcement and animal control duties, said Capt. Matt McCaffrey, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

pressdemocrat.com

Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, the leader of Mexico's La Familia drug cartel, was shot and killed yesterday by authorities in the western state of Michoacan, government security spokesman Alejandro Poire said today.

Moreno, known as "El Chayo," was a founder of what the U.S. government calls "one of Mexico's newest and most violent drug cartels." The Mexican government had Moreno on its most- wanted list, offering 30 million pesos ($2.4 million) for information that could lead to his arrest.

Moreno was killed amid battles between security officials and gunmen that began Dec. 8 when cartel members traded fire with police in the city of Apatzingan.

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