Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Japan Says No To Paris Hilton After Las Vegas Drug Plea

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2010 Culture, Global

Photo: kabooom.net

Paris Hilton has canceled her tour of Asia and returned home after she was denied entry at Tokyo’s airport Wednesday following a drug violation in the United States, running afoul of strict Japanese laws that have previously tripped up celebrities as huge as Paul McCartney.

“I’m going back home, and I look forward to coming back to Japan in the future,” said a smiling Hilton before departing on her private jet, reports Associated Press writer Shino Yuasa.

The 29-year-old socialite had arrived at Narita International Airport, outside the Japanese capital, two days after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor cocaine charge in Las Vegas. Japan has strict immigration laws barring entry to those convicted of drug offenses, but exceptions are occasionally granted.

Hilton had been scheduled to appear Wednesday at a news conference in Tokyo to promote her fashion and fragrance lines. She arrived Tuesday evening, but was stopped at the airport and spent the night at an airport hotel after being questioned by Japanese officials.

Battering Ram Used On Man’s Door; Misdemeanor Pot Charge

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 News

Photo: nj.com

Drug War overkill has reached an absurd new low. A 29-year-old Florida man was arrested on misdemeanor marijuana charges after a Drug Task Force executed a search warrant by taking his front door out with a battering ram.

Incredibly, an expensive, surreal two-month investigation “into the man’s use and possession of marijuana” was conducted by gung-ho members of the Okaloosa County Multi-Agency Task Force and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

The man, who is not in the Air Force, was identified as a resident of Whisperwood Lane in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, reports Jeff Barker at Northwest Florida Daily News.

Oregon NORML Marches Proudly For Breast Cancer Cure

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Oregon NORML

About a dozen members of Oregon NORML proudly marched in the 19th Annual Susan G. Komen “Race For The Cure” in Portland on Sunday.

As long as breast cancer exists, the finish line has not been reached, but each year’s Komen race brings it closer

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News

Inspiration was in the air on Sunday, September 19 at the 19th Annual Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” in Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon. An estimated 40,000 people, including over 3,500 breast cancer survivors, walked, raced and ran, bringing awareness and raising millions in the name of breast cancer research.

Showing their pride as the emcee acknowledged their participation, about a dozen marchers were from the Oregon Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Their slogan was: “It’s NORML to Race for the Cure.”

“This is Oregon NORML‘s first year to have a team in the race,” said Anna Diaz of Oregon NORML. “As a team, we are going to do the untimed one-mile walk.”

Bizarre Marijuana Break-In Sparks Self-Storage Lawsuit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 Growing, News

Photo: Living Stingy

A bizarre break-in to a California storage unit containing $35,000 worth of marijuana plants has the self-storage community puzzled, and engaging in what Inside Self Storage is calling a “spirited discussion” — well, that and a lawsuit.

Gary Hite, a tenant who grows medical marijuana, reported the theft of 35 cannabis plants, valued at $1,000 apiece, from his storage unit, reports Self Storage Investing.

Hite said the Hunco Way self-storage facility operator neglected to repair a broken door on an adjacent unit, from which determined, pot-hungry thieves tunneled through two layers of drywall to steal the plants.

Wickie Pipe Lighter Offers All-In-One Convenience

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 Products

Photo: WickiePipe

The Wickie Pipe offers all-in-one convenience with a flip-out mouthpiece, built-in lighter, and hidden stash compartment.

The Wickie All-In-One Pipe Lighter offers everything you need but the weed with its revolutionary self-lighting pipe, making life easier for smokers everywhere.

The Wickie has a flip-out metal bowl and a mouthpiece made from acrylic to keep it from heating up, a flip up/flip down metal bowl cover so you can leave it full for later or properly secure the material when finished smoking, a built-in storage compartment so you can store smokeables with your lighter, and an adjustable flame control on the built-in lighter.

The futuristic design is sure to delight gadget freaks. The secret stash compartment can be found underneath the acrylic mouthpiece attached to the body to store extra herbs.

Police Want Info About Licensed Medical Pot Growers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2010 Growing, Medical

Photo: safetyprod.ru

Medical marijuana patients who choose to grow their own medicine want privacy — both to avoid rip-offs, and because many of them have no great trust of the police. But law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and other states with privacy provisions in their medical marijuana laws say they are worried that raids of legal pot grows drain their resources unnecessarily and could result in someone getting hurt.

Police in Boulder, Colorado complained last year about their state’s grower confidentiality provisions, saying officers spent considerable time investigating operations that turned out to have legal permission to cultivate marijuana. Providence, Rhode Island police secretly monitored a suspected dealer for weeks, only to find out he was allowed to have marijuana, too, reports Sue Major Holmes of The Associated Press.

Mexico Paper Asks Drug Cartels: What Do You Want From Us?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2010 Global, News

Photo: Trends Updates

The entire state of Chiahuahua, where Ciudad Juarez is located, is out of control. Juarez itself is a virtual ghost town with no tourism, almost completely under the control of violent drug cartels.

A Mexican newspaper in the midst of the country’s Drug War has asked cartels for guidance on whether, and how, it should publish stories on the conflict.

El Diario de Juarez has become known for its excellent reporting from the blood-soaked streets of border town Ciudad Juarez, a haven for the violent drug-smuggling cartels, reports the BBC.

But the murder of their 21-year-old photographer last week prompted the newspaper to run a front-page editorial asking: “What do you want from us?”

Trailer Released For ‘Square Grouper’ Smuggler Documentary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2010 Culture, Products

The official trailer for the upcoming marijuana smuggler documentary, Square Grouper, has been released — and man, does it ever underline the “must see!” nature of this film.
“Square grouper” was the nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes during the halcyon smuggling days of the 1970s and 80s in South Florida.

The new documentary from filmmaker Billy Corben and rakontur, the creators of Cocaine Cowboys and The U, looks to be one of the best pot documentaries ever.

First Marijuana Farmer’s Market Held In Washington

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: Lui Kit Wong/Tacoma News-Tribune

A medical marijuana patient exchanges a plant for a donation at what was billed as Washington’s first cannabis farmer’s market at the Conquering Lion in Tacoma on Sunday

Farmer’s markets usually don’t require bouncers. But this wasn’t your usual farmer’s market.

A smiling guy in a skull and crossbones sweatshirt guarded the door Sunday to a rented room where the sweet smell of marijuana was heavy in the air, with the pulsing rhythms of reggae providing a soundtrack, reports Stacia Glenn of the Tacoma News-Tribune.

Only authorized medical marijuana patients were allowed inside the event, billed as Washington state’s first cannabis farmer’s market.

Michigan Town To Charge Marijuana Dispensaries $2,000 Fee

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Photo: David Guralnick/The Detroit News

Co-owner Matt Curtis talks about the 15 to 20 varieties of marijuana sold at Clinical Relief LLC, a medical marijuana dispensary in Ferndale, Mich. The business’s client base grew to more than 1,000, according to owners, before police raids shut the place down last month. Now the City Council wants to charge a $2K per year “licensing fee.”

So, Ferndale, what’s it gonna be — raid ’em or tax ’em? Because it’s a little unseemly to do both.

Owners of any new medical marijuana dispensaries that want to open in the city of Ferndale, Michigan will have to pay a $2,000 fee for their license and annual renewals. That may not sound like the best of news, but could taxation mean an end to police raids like the one which closed down the city’s only dispensary last month?

The City Council enacted the “licensing fee” last week, and officials claimed they did so to “recover the costs” associated with inspections and other duties city workers and police conduct for licensing, reports Michael P. McConnell of the Oakland County Daily Tribune.

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