The head of the European Union mission in Serbia Vincent Degert has said that the EU countries are receiving up to one hundred tons of heroin through the Balkans. Such a situation in criminal activity could prevent the countries in the region joining the EU. “Organized crime and corruption could become an obstacle to joining the EU, if these problems are not resolved appropriately. Serbian Interior Ivica Dacic agrees with him. Speaking at the International gathering of officials from national security councils of 44 countries in Sochi, he said that Europe gets 70-80 percent of heroin from Afghanistan through the Balkans, and criminal groups in the region were involved in drug trafficking.

balkanblog.org

U.S. Commercial Media Finally Jumps on the Story After British Publication Cribs Narco News’ Coverage

One of the largest and best-known corporations in the world, IBM, is now on center stage in a dispute between two Massachusetts technology companies — one of which is accusing the other of essentially stealing its software code and reselling it to the CIA for use in the Predator Drone program.

narcosphere.narconews.com

Efforts to legalize pot in the Golden State are so familiar as to seem both quaint and ripe for action at the same time. Come Nov. 2, voters will cast their ballots again on a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California. Despite recent polling, which generally shows an uphill battle for legalization, the discussion surrounding Proposition 19, also called the “Legalize, Control and Tax Cannabis Act,” is different than fringe legalization debates in years past, and this campaign is possibly more realistic because of it. This time around, it’s not about hemp or personal freedom or medical use; it’s about money. California lawmakers and voters could be more willing to expand their minds if it means shrinking the state’s massive $20 billion budget gap.

santacruz.com

Mayoori Buchhalter, Leiterin der Kochschule BioGourmetClub, und Daniel Kruse, Geschäftsführer von Hempro International, haben sich zusammen getan und ein Kochbuch der besonderen Art geschaffen.

Hanf gehört zu den vielseitigsten Rohstoffen, die die Menschheit kennt. Leider ist der Gebrauch von Hanfnüssen und Hanföl als Lebensmittel in unseren Breiten ziemlich in Vergessenheit geraten ist. Deshalb soll dieses Kochbuch dazu beitragen, dass die köstliche und gesunde Bereicherung des täglichen Speiseplans durch Hanfnüsse und Hanföl den Stellenwert erhält, den sie aufgrund ihrer ernährungsphysiologischen Eigenschaften verdient.

hanfhaus.de

According to BC Hydro, $100 million is lost each year due to marijuana grow-ops in British Columbia. This amounts to about 3% of the utility bills. The company plans to use smart meters to resolve the issue. There is no word on whether Fortis Inc. (FTS.TO) is affected by the problem. Fortis is the largest electric and gas utility in Canada, which serves British Columbia and several other provinces and the Caribbean.

favstocks.com

Die kalifornische Initiative zur Legalisierung von Marihuana erhält prominente Unterstützung: Facebook-Mitgründer Sean Parker spendet 100.000 Dollar. Er ist nicht der einzige prominente Ex-Mitarbeiter des sozialen Netzwerks, der die Gras-Freigabe finanziell fördert.

spiegel.de

Swap the Dungeness crab cakes and peasant skirts for lobster rolls and L.L. Bean khakis, and this snug seaside hamlet a few hours north of San Francisco could be a dead ringer for a New England village. (It was a stand-in for Cabot Cove, Maine, in the long-running TV series Murder She Wrote.)

But if California voters approve a controversial ballot proposition in November to tax and legalize marijuana for recreational use — and it's ahead in several polls — some local growers say Mendocino, pop. 900, might become better known as the tourist capital of a "Napa Valley of cannabis."

usatoday.com

It seems quite possible, even likely, that California’s historic Proposition 19 to legalize adult possession and growing of marijuana will actually pass in November. The arguments against the ballot measure—both its alleged socially damaging effects and its alleged unconstitutionality—are weak and unconvincing to anyone not already prejudiced against pot.

Polling in support of the measure is consistently at or near 50 percent (though often within the margin of error in either direction), with the latest from the Public Policy Institute of California clocking it at 52 percent in support. Opposition is out there, publicly represented by a rather goofy reverend with a checkered past, but that opposition has been so far restrained and not willing to spend much money. The most prominent anti-19 campaign, Public Safety First, has spent just under $200,000 this year and is sitting on only $54,000 right now.

reason.com