The Most Psychedelic Lake on Earth

From: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/

Looks like a painting, doesn’t it?
Image via bored-bored

The Spotted Lake near the city of Osoyoos in British Columbia, right at the Washington state border, is not the result of someone’s too vivid imagination but of the many different mineral deposits found in it: The lake is rich in calcium, sodium and magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) and even silver and titanium. It is called Kliluk by the Okanagan Indians who have known of the lake’s therapeutic powers for generations.

The lake changes colour throughout the year and therefore is beautiful to look at in any season. But it is only in the summer from about June to mid September that the lake water level lowers due to evaporation and reveals the “walkways” and different pools, the lake’s “spots.” Osoyoos in fact means “narrowing of the waters” in the Okanagan language.

Like a giant painter’s palette full of greens:

Image via spotcoolstuff

Image via yousaytoo

Beautiful silver composition:

Image: Tim Gage

The region around Osoyoos Lake is one of Canada’s hottest areas, with summer temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) regularly. No wonder it is known for its vineyards and recreational appeal, letting the town’s population of around 5,000 increase quite a bit during the summer months. Especially pensioners value the relatively milder winters and hot summers – the average age of Oyosoos’ population is 59 years!

Like moon craters:

Image via yousaytoo

The lake reflecting the cloud cover:

Image via atlasobscura

For the First Nations’ tribes, Spotted Lake was always a sacred site known for its healing powers, which they would use to cure ailments like warts, skin diseases, body aches and battle wounds. In the early 20th century, the lake and the land surrounding it became the property of Ernest Smith and his family who had the idea in the ‘70s to capitalise on it and build a spa.

Looks like an amoeba:

Image via VisionBeTa

This would have meant digging and heavy commercialisation of the area; a fact the Native Indians were not happy with. For more than 20 years since 1979, they tried buying the lake and its surroundings but reached a compromise with the Smith family only in 2001: For several hundred thousand dollars, they bought 22 hectares, paid for partly by the First Nations and party by the Indian Affairs Department.

During WWI, the lake’s minerals were even used to make ammunition!

Image: Andrew Enns

Today, the Osoyoos Indian Reservation with its about 370 members is one of the only Indian Bands in British Columbia with virtually no unemployment, and self-sufficiency on the horizon. Spotted Lake is still private property that visitors can either admire from Highway 3 (8 km or 5.5 miles west of Osoyoos) or at closer range after obtaining permission from the Okanagan tribe.

Here’s the view from Highway 3:

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Medical marijuana law creates confusion in Wash.

Ted S. Warren

Marijuana plants are shown Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, in Seattle. The marijuana is distributed to members of a cooperative of medical patients who have received doctor's authorization to use the drug to treat their illnesses, such as AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Unlike several other states which permit marijuana sales to patients, Washington requires patients to grow marijuana themselves or designate a caregiver to grow it for them.

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

In one corner of Washington state, a 62-year-old rheumatoid arthritis patient could face more than eight years in prison for growing marijuana for himself and three others. In Seattle, meanwhile, a collection of grow operations serves 2,000 people with little interference from police.

The discrepancy is typical of the confusion that has reigned since voters passed Washington's medical marijuana law more than a decade ago. Nor have things improved much since the state clarified how much pot patients can have last year.

Unlike some states, Washington requires patients to grow marijuana themselves or designate a caregiver to grow it for them. For many, that's unrealistic: They're too sick to grow cannabis themselves and don't have the thousands of dollars it can cost for a caregiver to set up a proper growing operation.

So they've devised their own schemes, claiming to meet the letter of the law in establishing collective grows or storefront dispensaries - methods that are making police and prosecutors increasingly uncomfortable.

"The spirit of the law would recognize the necessity of having small cooperative ventures," said Dan Satterberg, the prosecutor in King County, where Seattle is. "But if they get past a certain size, become a magnet for neighborhood violence, or you get other people showing up to buy marijuana who are not permitted to under the law, then there's tension."

Three years ago, Satterberg's office declined to prosecute a man who was growing 130 plants for 40 people. But a case this year may be testing his tolerance: He hasn't decided whether to charge a hepatitis patient caught with 200 plants, which he claimed supplied more than 100 other patients.

Some activists and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington recently began discussions with Seattle police over whether to limit the size of cooperative grows.

In Spokane this month, police shut down a medical marijuana dispensary - the first such bust in the state - and arrested the two owners. They warned a half-dozen other dispensaries to close as well, and the raid quickly drew protests from patients. The raid has set up a high-profile court fight.

Approved by voters in 1998, it allows doctors to recommend cannabis as a treatment for a series of debilitating or terminal conditions - a smaller range of illnesses than California's law. A year ago, the state issued guidelines to give police and patients alike an idea of how much pot was OK: Up to 15 plants and 24 ounces of dried marijuana per patient. People can have more if they demonstrate need.

Police in some jurisdictions have applied the guidelines strictly, arresting people simply for having more than 15 plants, even if they possessed no usable marijuana. In Seattle, Satterberg issued a memo to law enforcement saying he wasn't interested in dragging sick people to court. Some other counties have also adopted a lenient view.

Washington's law says that a caregiver can only provide marijuana to one patient at any one time. In Spokane this year, medical marijuana activists focused on that language in setting up a for-profit dispensary called Change.

Lawyer Frank Cikutovich said the business met legal requirements: A lone patient would enter the store, sign a document designating the shop as his or her caregiver, and buy marijuana. The agreement expired when the patient left and the next customer came in.

The business, raided on Sept. 10, rendered the "one patient, one caregiver" rule meaningless, Spokane police spokeswoman Jennifer DeRuwe said. She said there was peripheral crime associated with the dispensary, including robberies at grow sites and street sales from people who had purchased pot there.

"They're dispensing to hundreds and thousands of people," DeRuwe said. "The police department's stand is, we want to get some guidance on this. We know it's going to be up to the court system to provide us with that."

In Western Washington, patients have instead opted for cooperatives, Seattle medical marijuana attorney Douglas Hiatt said. Those are closed membership groups. Patients pay dues or otherwise contribute on a sliding financial scale for their medicine, and some people work full time and even draw salaries under the table.

"For some people, it would be difficult to see marijuana being sold out of storefronts in their neighborhoods," Hiatt said. "But most Washington patients really haven't gone that way. They've wanted to be on the down-low, and the majority of folks are not for the California-style delivery system."

Members of one Seattle collective say it serves 2,000 patients and is primarily supplied by about a dozen grow sites, which range from a handful of mature plants to about 70 - a few hundred plants in all, compared to the 30,000 that the patients would be allowed under the 15-plant guideline.

One of the grows is in the basement of a Seattle home surrounded by blackberries and condominiums. Dozens of starter plants fill one cramped room, while in the next a bumper crop of 15 plants is just days from yielding around 16 pounds of pot.

Setting up the grow operation with custom-built transformers, ventilation and lighting systems cost more than $50,000 - even though union electricians donated their time. The marijuana is brought to a clinic in an industrial South Seattle neighborhood for trimming and distribution, said the HIV patient who tends the plants.

© 2009 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com

Medical marijuana in WA: Pushing the legal limits | Part 1 of series

By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor

En route to a patient's house, "Bob" whips out a sack of candy that smells like pot.

The plastic bag contains chocolates wrapped in fluorescent foil, along with a tiny clear cup of caramel — all infused with the active ingredients of marijuana.

As a medical marijuana patient, Bob treats pain caused by a past head injury and hepatitis C, among other ailments. He also suffers from grand mal seizures. "I'm in a lot of pain," he said.

The caramel, with a shiny purple star on the lid, provides multiple doses of medicine. So does an oatmeal cookie about the size of a hand — "that's 10 good doses for me right there," said Bob, who asked that a pseudonym be used for this report.

The Federal Way resident embraced medical marijuana about six years ago and entered another side of the cannabis culture. Patients refer to themselves as patients. Slang terms and stoner jokes are noticeably absent. Medication is a personal matter for patients, but also a mission. Most patients join an informal collective community of sorts, where sick people seek relief from one another through marijuana.

Doctors can't prescribe medical marijuana, but they can recommend it. Patients need a qualifying condition, which includes AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn's disease, cancer or fibromyalgia, among others. With a recommendation, patients gain access to a cooperative network of inconspicuous clinics that supply marijuana. Patients must provide medical records before learning a clinic's location. Patients can choose caregivers who are also allowed to retrieve medicine.

"If someone invented marijuana, they'd get a Nobel Prize because it's a miracle drug, although most people don't understand that," Bob said. "I have seen that stuff help wounds...there's some creams I put on sores, and my sores healed up so fast it was unbelievable."

In 1998, Washington state voters approved a law that removed criminal penalties and established a defense for qualified patients who possess or cultivate cannabis for medicinal use.

In 2008, the "60-day" supply for patients was defined as 24 ounces and 15 plants; both numbers have attracted intense debate from medical marijuana advocates. The law allows patients to exceed these limits if the patient can prove medical need, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

Technically, the cannabis clinics are illegal. Federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, in the same league as heroin. Washington's medical marijuana laws help patients with a legal defense in local or state courts. Federal laws ultimately trump state laws, however, and do not recognize the medical use of marijuana. Anyone found in violation could still be prosecuted under federal laws.

Tight-lipped patients

Despite legal protections, most patients keep a low profile under fear of being arrested by law enforcement or robbed by thieves.

Over the years, Bob has been involved with medical marijuana clinics in the area. One clinic is housed in a non-descript office complex, tucked inside an eclectic Seattle neighborhood.

A friend of his runs the clinic, which is registered to a medical marijuana advocacy group. The friend handles the finances, but the lease is in Bob's name. Inside the tiny room, there's a desk and several couches. Hand-written posters alert patients to the clinic's hours and rules. A slate-colored safe that's out of sight contains several boxes of baggies, each filled with about an ounce of marijuana buds. The fragrant baggies bear a tag with the clinic's name and logo. Patients are not allowed to medicate on the premises.

In West Seattle, one of Bob's fellow patients and clinic supporters was the target of a home-invasion robbery in mid-May. The patient lost plants and cash to the thieves, but still had a few young plants growing under lights in the basement. The sweet smell of marijuana permeates this non-descript middle-class home. Two water pipes — also known as bongs — sit in the front room, along with a tray of crumbled cannabis, a mini-baggie of Chicklets-style green gum, and a couple of prescription bottles containing marijuana. The patient suffers from hepatitis C and arthritis, and grows six months of medicine at a time for personal use while supplying other patients. The patient claims to not profit from the marijuana, instead relying on Social Security to pay the bills.

After the home-invasion robbery, Seattle police treated the patient with dignity and respect — and did not confiscate any medicine, the patient said.

Law enforcement

The biggest roadblock for medical marijuana, legally speaking, is the federal government's classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance.

"A national policy would be helpful," said Don Pierce, executive director, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Pierce said a major problem in Washington state is the conflict with federal law when it comes to enforcement. Different rules apply to drug task force cases that involve federal agents.

In 2008, the Washington State Department of Health issued guidelines on the definition of a 60-day supply. These guidelines have made enforcement easier, Pierce said. However, some residents hide behind a medical marijuana defense in cases that appear to involve manufacturing for sale or other "nefarious purposes," Pierce said.

Pierce started his law enforcement career in 1970, eventually serving as police chief in Normandy Park, Tukwila, Bellingham and Boise, Idaho. He worked in Washington state when the medical marijuana initiative passed in 1998, along with an amendment to the law in 2007.

"We in law enforcement thought (the medical marijuana law) was going to be a way bigger problem than it turned out to be," Pierce said, adding that the main problem was implementation of the law.

"We don't spend very much time in our meetings talking about medical marijuana," Pierce said.

In fact, Seattle and King County are considered the state's havens for medical marijuana rights. King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg is viewed by some local patients as a prominent public official on their side.

As the state's largest urban area, King County has more experience with medical marijuana compared to other counties. That experience has an influence on the internal standards and procedures of law enforcement, Satterberg said.

"It's our job to enforce the law," he said, noting that the current medical marijuana laws are not well written. The idea is to approach the spirit of the law and allow people who are truly sick to find relief, Satterberg said. He referenced a May 26 incident in Seattle, in which a medical marijuana patient was robbed by fake drug enforcement agents, then had several cannabis plants confiscated by police. Satterberg called this particular incident a success because no one got hurt, and the patient was able to keep 15 plants as allowed by law, he said.

"I don't want to prosecute any sick people," Satterberg said.

Others call the May 26 incident a violation. Mark Spohn, the Seattle patient who was robbed, said in news reports that he was cultivating more than the 15-plant limit in order to help supply fellow patients.

King County may serve as a model for Washington state in terms of medical marijuana tolerance, but still has a long way to go, said Seattle-based attorney Douglas Hiatt. Specifically, Hiatt called the guidelines for a 60-day supply "a step backward." Patients often struggle to fill the gap between one harvest and the time it takes a new batch of plants to reach maturity, he said.

"What the Department of Health has done is unconscionable," said Hiatt, who represents patients across the state, usually at no cost. "You couldn't get a 60-day supply out of 15 plants unless you're a master gardener."

Check out part 2

Click here to read the next installment of this series, which will examine the efforts of medical marijuana supporters in Washington state, including Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle-based attorney who donates his services to defend patients; Steve Sarich, an outspoken advocate who runs a support network in King County; Ken Martin, who suffers from a brain tumor; and two Federal Way area patients who grow their medicine.

Federal Way Mirror Editor Andy Hobbs can be reached at editor@fedwaymirror.com or 253-925-5565.