Favorite Links Friday Week of September 2, 2016

Marijuana social clubs are illegal, attorney general says

Private clubs that allow people to consume marijuana in exchange for a fee are illegal, according to Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth.

She issued an opinion Wednesday that also said offering marijuana samples to paying patrons may violate state criminal law that bars distributing marijuana without a valid commercial license.

The state Marijuana Control Board has authorized retail marijuana stores to allow marijuana consumption on their premises.

Mills said a person who operates a social club that provides marijuana samples would be violating the law if they receive a fee.

“Without a license from the Marijuana Control Board, a person may not possess more than 1 ounce of marijuana, or transfer marijuana for any sort of payment,” she said.

Lindemuth issued the opinion in response to a request from Chris Hladick, the commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.

Clubs have either started or are planned in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Homer, but the opinion appeared to put those clubs in doubt.

One business that’s sure to be affected by the ruling is Pot Luck Events, a marijuana/cannabis club in Anchorage that’s been open for about a year and a-half, since March 2015. [Full Source]

Sullivan addresses Deer Mountain, federal regs

Alaska’s Sen. Dan Sullivan has been in Ketchikan for a couple days this week. He spent Tuesday meeting with local officials, touring around town and celebrating the new House District 36 Republicans office at The Plaza mall. On Wednesday, he met with Ketchikan High School students, and spoke to a packed Chamber of Commerce lunch.

An issue that’s come up repeatedly in Ketchikan, he said, is Deer Mountain.

“You know when you meet with community leaders – the borough mayor, the city mayor, the managers, private sector – and you hear the same topic in every single meeting, with a lot of passion and a lot of concern: It’s very helpful. You get it. I get it,” he said.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust board recently voted to move forward with logging the face of Deer Mountain if federal legislation to trade that land for other timberland doesn’t pass by Jan. 15.

Sullivan is a co-sponsor of that federal legislation. He said he and Sen. Lisa Murkowski will work hard to get it approved, but there are limits to what they can do. He said other lawmakers are easily swayed by groups that might oppose the trade.

“I’m not sure we can get it through the Senate, because there might be outside environmental groups that think they know more about what’s going on in Ketchikan than you guys do,” he said.

ullivan said Alaskans shouldn’t be working against each other, and the different officials should be able to find a solution.

A recurring theme in Sullivan’s address to the Chamber of Commerce was the need for streamlined federal permitting processes. He said it can take many years, and millions of dollars, to get the permits before any construction can even start.

During a media event after his talk, Sullivan gave some examples of attempts he’s made to alleviate the burden of federal regulations. One bill he sponsored would have required federal agencies to remove one old regulation for any new one they plan to implement.

“Canadians are doing it. The UK is doing it. This is an idea whose time has come,” he said. “Because a lot of other industrialized democracies are recognizing that their agencies … never have to prioritize their regulatory regime. Unfortunately, we had a floor vote on that and it didn’t pass.”

But, Sullivan said, he will continue to fight for that kind of streamlining, which he said has public support. [Full Source]

Cocaine 'worth €50m' discovered at Coca-Cola plant

The drug, hidden in bags among a delivery of orange juice concentrate, arrived in a container from South America.
An investigation is under way in Signes, a village in southern France.
The seizure of 370kg of cocaine makes it one of the largest finds on French soil.
The prosecutor of Toulon, Xavier Tarabeux, said the delivery "has a street value of 50 million euros" and referred to it as "a very bad surprise".

The original Coca-Cola formula, created in 1886 by US pharmacist John Pemberton, is believed to have contained traces of cocaine derived from coca leaf extract.
The last big seizure of cocaine involving French authorities was in April 2015, when French customs officers aided in the arrest of two men caught trying to sail a yacht loaded with 250kg of the drug to the UK. [Full Source]

Dog Gives Birth to First Identical Twin Puppies

"When I realised that the puppies were of the same gender and that they had very similar markings, I also immediately suspected that they might be identical twins having originated from the splitting of an embryo," says de Cramer.

He could not stop and marvel at this peculiar discovery, because there were still five live puppies to deliver. These appeared as they normally do, each with their own placenta arranged in single file in their mother's uterus.
This was the first time de Cramer had delivered two living pups from one placenta in 26 years of practice.

He immediately called upon other reproductive specialists to confirm his suspicions.

This is the first recorded case in the scientific literature, but does that mean it is a rare occurrence? Female dogs, known as bitches, often have several pups in each litter. Many of the pups often look strikingly similar, and DNA tests are not typically performed.

While this is the first confirmed instance of genetically-identical twins, it is impossible to say just how rare it is. "There have been rumours about twins in dogs before," says Joone. "We just happened to be lucky enough to be able to confirm it genetically." [Full Source]

This is for "Deb. O. Ross" (Who Doesn't Like this News Blog):

Historical Anecdote:

Lord Soma’s family genealogy, called the Chiken marokashi, was the best in Japan. One year when his mansion suddenly caught fire and was burning to the ground, Lord Soma said, "I feel no regret about the house and all its furnishings, even if they burn to the very last piece, because they are things that can be replaced later on. I only regret that I was unable to take out the genealogy, which is my family’s most precious treasure."

There was one samurai among those attending him who said, "I will go in and take it out." Lord Soma and the others all laughed and said, "The house is already engulfed in flames. How are you going to take it out?!" Now this man had never been loquacious, nor had he been particularly useful, but being a man who did things from beginning to end, he was engaged as an attendant. At this point he said, "I have never been of use to my master because I’m so careless, but I have lived resolved that someday my life should be of use to him. This seems to be that time."

And he leapt into the flames. After the fire had been extinguished the master said, "Look for his remains. What a pity!" Looking everywhere, they found his burnt corpse in the garden adjacent to the living quarters. When they turned it over, blood flowed out of the stomach. The man had cut open his stomach and placed the genealogy inside and it was not damaged at all.

From this time on it was called the "Blood Genealogy." [Source]

Translated Ancient Egyptian Texts Reveal Family Disputes And Domestic Concerns, Just Like Modern Times

...one of the translation collections, titled aptly as The Will of Naunakht, tells the story of an elderly Egyptian woman and her will. Reflecting the relatively high social and economic status of most free women in Egyptian society, Naunakht decided how not all of her eight children would be recipients of her estate. In other words, some of the children were disinherited due to their lack of caring shown to her in her old age. From the historical angle, Naunakht probably lived in Thebes during the late New Kingdom period, and she was married twice – first to a scribe and then to a tomb worker. Her last will was drawn in November of 1147 BC. A part of it proudly reads –

"As for me, I am a free woman of the land of Pharaoh. I brought up these eight servants of yours and gave them a household – everything as is customarily done for those of their standing. But, look, I am grown old and, look, they do not care for me in turn. Whichever of them has given me a hand, to him will I give of my property; whichever has not, to him will I not give my property."

Interestingly enough, the will reflects a parent’s concern for her children, especially when it comes to monetary over-spending. A segment from the will presents her displeasure directed at one of her sons –

"And as for my copper cauldron which I gave to him to buy bread for himself and the copper tool […] and the copper vase […] and the copper adze […] – they shall comprise his share. He shall not share in any further copper; it shall go to his brothers and sisters."

Even more intriguing is the fact that Naunakht clearly chose her favorite among the heirs, while showing no pretension about it. To that end, she directly mentions in her will how one of her children would additionally receive a copper bowl and ten sacks of emmer (type of hulled wheat). She also gives a grave warning to the potential candidates who might contest the will in the future (after her death), by advocating the punishment of ‘hundred blows’ and the forfeiture of their entire property received from her. [Full Source]

Now that's what I call a Will!