Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Hey Man, Check Out My 1970s Weed Rolling Paper Collection

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 28, 2012 Culture, Products

I’ve loved the culture of cannabis for a long time now. Not long after I first started smoking weed back in 1977, I started collecting rolling paper packs, and kept adding to the collection for roughly the first decade of my stonerdom.

Wonder of wonders, it turns out the collection survived for 25 years and, thanks to my sister Lynda to mailing it from Alabama, it now returns to the light of day. It was very much like opening a time capsule to again see these little relics of a bygone era.

Upon viewing the collection of 50-plus varieties of rolling papers — many of which are no longer available, or at least no longer being manufactured — I thought about how the tides of social change, i.e. weed culture, rolled across America in the late 70s, only to be turned back in the early 80s during the “Just Say No” Reagan years.

Humboldt Stories: A Note From Homeboy – Better Stay Strapped

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 28, 2012 Culture, Growing

Sharon Letts

It’s not Weeds, it’s real.

By Sharon Letts

Author’s note: The following text was taken in part from actual online blog comments from Humboldt County News posted after a home invasion went awry, December 2008, in Humboldt’s county seat of Eureka.

Homeboy circled the block. A man he’d seen earlier in the week tried to get his attention – to say hello. “Not in this lifetime,” he thought to himself, averting his eyes, circling around the block one more time.

Parking around the corner from the house, he turned the engine off, then acted like he was adjusting the radio, and lit a cigarette. Panning the houses in front of him, he noticed a curtain corner slowly being pulled back.

“Chicken shit,” he said in the onlookers direction. “I don’t want your stupid-ass grow, fucker.”

When the curtain closed again Homeboy got out of the car and quickly disappeared around the block.

He was feeling stealthy, but anyone could guess what he was up to by the uniform he wore — a wanna-be gangsta-like ensemble of a D-G hoodie, pants falling down around his knees, and a baseball cap with “707,” Humboldt’s area code, sitting high atop his long, blond dreads.

Federal Ruling May Change Probable Cause In Marijuana Cases

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 28, 2012 Growing, Legislation, News

THC Finder

Federal Court Judge Acknowledges Authority of a State Medical Marijuana Law

By Philip Dawdy

Cannabis Activist

A recent federal district court ruling in Spokane, Washington is something of which every medical cannabis attorney, patient, provider and advocate needs to be aware — not only in Washington State but throughout the entire Ninth Circuit.

The ruling is also something of a victory for Washington’s recently changed medical cannabis law, because for the first time a judge has ruled in a way that gives quasi arrest protection under the state medical cannabis law and has likely set an interesting precedent on probable cause and cannabis. And the ruling came from a federal court judge. It was also a bit of a slap to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern Washington.

Chicago Decriminalizes Marijuana With Overwhelming 43-2 Vote

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 27, 2012 Legislation, News

Grow Light Gallery

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana with an overwhelming 43-2 vote. The measure was backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Under the new ordinance, police officers in Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, can issue a written violation for possession of 15 grams or less of cannabis, rather than making an arrest, reports Reuters. People who are caught with under half an ounce of marijuana will now face fines between $250 and $500, instead of being arrested.

The measure will help raise revenue for the city, according to supporters, as well as saving money on enforcement and incarceration and freeing up police to pursue more important matters. Unfortunately, officers would still have the authority to arrest people, even for small amounts of marijuana, rather than ticket them. Does anyone really believe that a few rabidly anti-pot assholes in the police department won’t give the whole force a bad name?

New Hampshire Medical Marijuana Veto Upheld

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 27, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Bad news from the Live Free Or Die state, where they won’t allow patients to live free, but seem to have no problem allowing them to die. The New Hampshire Legislature on Wednesday morning narrowly failed to overturn Gov. John Lynch’s veto of a proposed medical marijuana bill.

SB 409, which would have allowed people with certain qualifying medical conditions to grow and possess limited amounts of marijuana with doctors’ recommendations, was approved by the House and Senate earlier this month. That was the first time a Republican-led legislature sent a governor an effective medical marijuana bill.

Gov. Lynch vetoed the bill last Thursday, citing law enforcement concerns that advocates had previously amended the bill to address.

The veto came as no surprise. Lynch vetoed similar legislation in 2009, after which the House voted by more than two-thirds to override the veto, but support in the Senate fell two votes short of the necessary two-thirds.

Judge Strikes Down Lawsuit Against D.C. Blunt Wrap Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 26, 2012 Legislation, News

The Milwaukee Drum

A judge has ruled against a tobacco company that sued challenging a District of Columbia law which made it a lot tougher to buy cigar-style blunt wraps commonly used to smoke marijuana.

National Tobacco Company, based in Kentucky, sued D.C. last year, arguing that a 2010 ban on the sale of tobacco wrapping papers used to roll cigars (and blunts) was vague and unconstitutional, reports The Associated Press. But the judge on Monday ruled for the city.

Ammiano Withdraws CA Medical Marijuana Regulation Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 26, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Kush Magazine

A bill which would have regulated California’s medical marijuana industry has died due to a lack of support in the state Senate.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano called off a scheduled Senate committee vote on his medical marijuana regulation legislation on Monday, acknowledging that he was short on votes ahead of a July deadline, reports Torey Van Oot at the Sacramento Bee.

“Certainly in counting noses, the noses weren’t there, even in committee,” Ammiano (D-San Francisco) said of the Businesses, Professions, and Economic Development Committee.

Oliver Stone’s Thinking Of Getting In The Marijuana Business

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 26, 2012 Culture, Products

Adriana M. Barraza / WENN.com

Oliver Stone: “I believe the grass is God’s gift”

Film director Oliver Stone told High Times he’s considering becoming part of California’s medical marijuana green rush, since the state is known for its high-quality weed.

Stone, a longtime cannabis advocate, spent a little time in jail in the late 1960s when he was caught with pot at the U.S./Mexican border, but as is usually the case, that didn’t dissuade him from his herbal enthusiasm, reports Star Magazine.

“If you appreciate California weed — as I have for many years — you’ll realize that we’re somewhat close to the money when we say that California has surpassed Thailand, Jamaica, South Sudan and certainly Mexico as the king and queen of quality weed,” Stone told High Times. (Wait, WTF, South Sudan?)

Medical Marijuana Access Signature Gathering Drive Successful

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 25, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

City-Data.com

Citizens for Patient Rights on Monday announced the successful completion of their signature gathering effort in Lemon Grove, California. The group said it submitted more than 3000 signatures to the Lemon Grove City Clerk, substantially more than the 1,754 signatures needed to qualify for a regular or special election.

“As part of our initiative petition, we have submitted a formal request for a special election, though we hope the Lemon Grove City Council will see fit to enact the ordinance directly or put it to a vote of the people in the November general election, in order to guarantee a quick resolution of the question of whether there will be safe access for the medical marijuana patients of Lemon Grove and the surrounding areas,” Citizens for Patient Rights said in a prepared statement.

Humboldt Stories: Caitlyn & Jake – Life In A Grow House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 25, 2012 Culture, Growing

Sharon Letts

No different than most, Caitlin’s smoking tray held a hand-blown glass pipe, a small, round grinder made from redwood, a vintage model ashtray, a sage smudge stick and a lighter

“It’s Not Weeds, It’s Real.”

By Sharon Letts

Jake shut the bathroom door behind him, cracked the window, dropped his drawers and sat down on the toilet.

And so begins the morning ritual of medicating.

Removing his smoking tray from the cupboard under the sink, he rinsed the previous evening’s dirty bong water, filling it with fresh, wiping it down with a rag, and setting it aside. Next, he chooses his medicine from an assortment of small, glass Mason jars.

“Cat Piss,” he said, adding, “Where in the hell do they come up with these names?”

Breaking up the bud and filling the grinder, he thought, “Down to the last nug.” He filled the bowl with soft, gray-green goodness and inhaled, closing his eyes, “Doesn’t smell a thing like cat piss!”

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