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Scientists Want To Dig Up Shakespeare To See If He Smoked Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 24, 2011 Culture, Global, News

Graphic: Wikipedia/Steve Elliott; Idea: Peaceful Soul

Shakespeare: “Why write I still all one, ever the same, And keep invention in a noted weed?” (Damn long-haired hippies.)

Doobie, or not doobie? That is the question. A team of paleontologists wants to dig up William Shakespeare to find out of he used marijuana.

They didn’t just come up with this out of thin air; some recent evidence actually suggests that Shakespeare may have gotten high. Now Francis Thackeray, an anthropologist and director of the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, has placed a formal request with the Church of England to unearth the Bard, reports David Edwards at The Raw Story.

The playwright is buried under the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and the planned analysis is of the “nondestructive” variety, according to Thackeray, reports Alec Liu at FoxNews.com.

“We have incredible techniques,” Thackeray said. “We don’t intend to move the remains at all.” The team instead plans to conduct a forensic analysis using state-of-the-art technology to scan the bones.

Don’t Miss 2nd Annual Tacoma Hempfest This Saturday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 23, 2011 Culture, Products

Graphic: Tacoma Hempfest

If you’re in the Puget Sound area and want to help break down the negative stereotypes surrounding cannabis and the people who use it, I have a great, free destination for you this weekend — and the weather’s supposed to be pretty, too. The second annual Tacoma Hempfest happens this Saturday, June 25, at Wright Park in Tacoma, Washington.

“We’d like everyone to come out and show the variety of people who truly support cannabis culture in the area,” Tacoma Hempfest creator and organizer Justin Prince told Toke of the Town.

New Cannabis Comedy ‘Wilfred’ Debuts On FX

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 23, 2011 Culture, Products

Photo: Cheryl Shuman

From left, Jason Gann (Wilfred), medical marijuana consultant Cheryl Shuman, Elijah Wood (Ryan) and David Zuckerman (executive producer)

Ever noticed how often TV shows get it wrong when it comes to the telling little details of marijuana culture? Inaccuracies, large and small, can diminish our enjoyment of a show because they call our attention to artifice rather than art.

Well, I can assure you those kinds of details are going to be correct in “Wilfred,” a new pot-based comedy debuting tonight on the FX television network. How am I so sure? Because, in what appears to be a first, the producers had the good sense to hire Cheryl Shuman (yes, the well-known cannabis activist and Kush Magazine media director) as medical marijuana consultant.

Study Claims Marijuana Users Don’t Care If They Lose Money

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 21, 2011 Culture, News

Graphic: NowPublic

Yikes! We can’t have people caring less about MONEY! This is a capitalistic society, after all!

Smoking marijuana makes you care less about money, at least if you believe the conclusions of a recent “scientific” study from an obviously anti-pot bunch of capitalistic Bible-thumpers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

“Smoking marijuana affects peoples’ impulsivity, attention, memory, cognition and decision-making abilities,” the authors of the study claim in a June 21 news release. “That’s been scientifically proven.” Well, yeah, man, at least if the stuff’s any good.

A Pot Taster Speaks: Does ‘The Cough’ Really Mean It’s Good?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 20, 2011 Culture, Products

Graphic: 187CHUY

By Jed Midnight

Special to Toke of the Town

For the past few years I’ve had the privilege and responsibility to be a Cannabis Assessor. It is my task or duty to sample medical marijuana for projective buyers. Thousands of dollars change hands based on my opinion of the herb.

My expertise is based on many decades of research and the ability to say what is good in one sitting. I’ve been a judge in a few cannabis cups and there are some who know me as an intelligent, sophisticated snob with a strong sense of separating the diggity-dank from the swag on the spot.

And just like Peter Parker found out from Spidey, I know that with great power comes great responsibility.

40 Years After Nixon: No More Drug War!

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 17, 2011 Culture, News

Graphic: Connecticut Citizens for Marijuana Reform

Friday, June 17, 2011, marks 40 years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as “public enemy number one,” officially declared a “War On Drugs.” A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, the War On Drugs remains a complete failure.

Drug policy reform advocates across the U.S. will mark this date with a coordinated day of action to raise awareness about the failure of drug prohibition and call for an exit strategy to the failed War On Drugs. Events will be held in 15 states, and in major cities like Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans.

Day of Action events include:

• Chicago: Hundreds of Chicagoans will gather at the State of Illinois James R. Thompson Center to rally against drug policies that have led to injustices such as extreme racial disparity in Illinois’s prisons and jails.

• Los Angeles: Grassroots organizations and students, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Pico Youth and Family Center, Mothers United to End the War on Drugs, All Of Us Or None, Homies Unidos and other criminal justice organizations, will stage a Day of Action to call for community solutions to end the 40-year War On Drugs and mass incarceration. Also, the William C. Velasquez Institute will host a forum in Los Angeles with top Latino leaders to discuss the impact of the Drug War on communities of color.

Grace Slick’s ‘420 Collection’ Art Premieres On Saturday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 16, 2011 Culture, News, Products

Photo: Grace Slick

Rock legend Grace Slick supports the legalization of cannabis through her art.

You’re invited to the premiere showing of the 420 Collection™ of artwork by rock and roll legend Grace Slick, this Saturday in San Francisco.

Singer/songwriter Slick, formerly at the helm of the high-flying Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship, isn’t just a singer, she’s also an accomplished artist and a dedicated marijuana activist.

Saturday’s special exhibit will feature art by Slick, supporter of efforts to end prohibition and ensure safe and legal access to medical cannabis, according to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Grace has created a series of paintings and limited edition prints especially for this exhibit, and a portion of each sale with benefit the MPP.

The exhibition will be held from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at SPARC, a medical cannabis collective at 1256 Mission Street in San Francisco.

If you’re in the Bay Area, this is a unique opportunity to view and purchase art by Grace Slick, and at the same time support MPP’s work to make marijuana legal for adults.

Mich. Store Sold Alcohol And Marijuana From Same Location

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries, News

Photo: NewsChannel 3

Jeffrey Hagerman, Karl’s Korners: “We had opened up a dispensary in the back”

A corner store in West Michigan, specializing in party items like beer and chips, was recently raided for also dispensing marijuana.

The son of the owner of Karl’s Korners in Oswego said he has a medical marijuana license, and so does his partner. But selling marijuana out of a party store is against both liquor laws and a local ordinance, reports WWMT NewsChannel 3.

“We had opened up a dispensary in the back,” said Jeffrey Hagerman.

Hagerman said they started up a compassion center in the back of the business, beyond he beer cooler and the snack counter.

“My partner and I both hard medical marijuana cards, performed patient-to-patient transactions,” Hagerman said.

Failed War On Drugs’ 40th Anniversary: Cops Call Out Drug Czar

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske wouldn’t meet with a group of former law enforcement officers who were concerned about the bad effects of the War On Drugs. Instead, he sent a staffer to take their report.

Cops Hand-Deliver Report To Drug Czar’s Office While Czar Refuses To Meet

In conjunction with this week’s 40th anniversary of President Nixon declaring “War On Drugs,” a group of police, judges and jailers who support legalization released a report Tuesday showing how the Obama Administration is ramping up a war it disingenuously claims that it ended two years ago.

Following the report’s release at a press conference Tuesday morning, the pro-legalization law enforcement officers attempted to hand-deliver a copy to Obama Administration Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, the former Seattle chief of police who claimed he ended the War On Drugs two years ago.

Instead of making time to listen to the concerns of fellow law enforcers who have dedicated their careers to protecting public safety, the Drug Czar simply sent a staffer to the lobby to receive a copy of the cops’ report.

Montel Williams Opens High-End Marijuana Dispensary

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries, Products

Photo: CBS Sacramento

Montel Williams: “Why are we treating patients who seek out this medication like they’re some lesser member of society?”

Former talk show host Montel Williams lent his star power to the grand opening of a high-end medical marijuana dispensary in Sacramento, California, that aims to “set a new standard” for patients who choose to use cannabis.

Williams, a daytime TV host for 17 years, said he uses medical marijuana to relieve the pain of multiple sclerosis but has seen the need for more professional distribution of the herb, reports CBS Sacramento.

“You see people standing around, sticking their nose into things,” Williams unfortunately said. “I don’t go to CVS to pick up an individual Vicodin.”

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