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Interview: The Individuals’ Album ‘Marijuana Music’ On The Way

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 18, 2011 Culture, Products

The Individuals, from left: Ando Tha Don, Big Lou a.k.a. Fatt Joejoe, T.C.O. Onedaman, Raw Bizness

Chicago-based rap/hip-hop band The Individuals have already made a huge impact on both the music world and the cannabis reform community. The band’s music was used in the second and third seasons of the smash Showtime series Weeds, which led to The Individuals covering the show’s theme song “Little Boxes” for a third season episode.

Their previous albums, Something To Smoke To and Something To Smoke To 2 took the toking community by storm, serving up a potent mix of musical styles, all steeped in delicious herbal goodness.

It’s not every day that I can say “this band wrote one of my favorite weed songs,” but with The Individuals it’s totally true. Their potently catchy staccato track “High Daily” is a frequent play on my iTunes, and in fact, just talkin’ about it, imma have to bump it right now.

Let’s Show President Obama The Real San Francisco This 4-20

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 13, 2011 Culture

Photo: GoldenGatePark.com

San Francisco’s 4-20 celebration typically culminates in Golden Gate Park at Hippie Hill. But this year President Obama’s gonna be in town…

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

“They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy. She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me. I can’t help it if I’m lucky.” ~ Bob Dylan

I never planned on seeing the Beatles. It wasn’t my fault they didn’t sell out when they played St. Paul, Minnesota in 1965 and literally had to give away seats.

I’m sure if my Dad had to pay for tickets, my babysitter, a neighbor who had a driver’s license and one of his pals, would never have made it to Met Stadium that summer’s night to see one of the crowning events of my life.

The same could be said for Burning Man. I was just going to a bonfire. I never plan on being a part of something.

Natalie Portman: I’m Too Old To Smoke Weed Anymore

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 7, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Weed Quotes

Natalie Portman: “I love stoner comedies. I smoked weed in college, but I haven’t smoked in years. I’m too old.”

Oscar winner Natalie Portman, set to star in not one but two upcoming stoner comedies, said in a new interview that while she used marijuana in her younger days, she’s now “too old” for cannabis.

“I love stoner comedies,” Portman, 29, told Entertainment Weekly. “I smoked weed in college, but I haven’t smoked in years.

“I’m too old,” Portman said. “I wish I was that cool, but I’m like an old lady now. I’m in bed by 10 p.m. I can’t do that anymore.”

Her comments were made before she recently announced her pregnancy.

Rapper Webbie Arrested For Marijuana In Tennessee

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 7, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Kush And Orange Juice

Rapper Webbie, 25, faces marijuana charges after being stopped in Tennessee.

Down South, they call it the “rap tax.” Rapper “Webbie,” 25, faces marijuana charges after authorities arrested him Monday in Marshall County, Tennessee.

Law enforcement pulled over a car with four people inside which was speeding on Interstate 65, according to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. As the vehicle pulled over, an officer saw a passenger in the front seat throw what looked like marijuana out the window, reports WBIR.

Upon further investigation, cops found Webster Gradney (“Webbie”) in the front seat with a cardboard box containing $13,240 inside, and two ounces of marijuana.

They also found a loaded .357 revolver and $916 when they searched 22-year-old Michael Abbott. The driver, Derric Watson, 34, was driving with a suspended license. Tyrone Terrio, 34, was also in the car.

The four said they were on their way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana after Webbie’s performance in Louisville, Kentucky the day before, according to police.

All four men were taken to the Marshall County Jail. Webbie faces charges of possession “with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver” and tampering with evidence. His bond was set at $21,000.

Top 10 Reasons Dispensaries Are Better Than Going To A Dealer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 4, 2011 Culture, Dispensaries

Photo: Los Angeles Dispensaries

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

1. No shady scenes.

We’ve all been there. A 7/11 parking lot, late at night, where every Slurpee-buying shopper looks like an undercover cop. Or you’ve just parked your buddy’s car near an apartment downtown where all the neighbors know why you’re walking towards that particular door.

Or worse, a friend of a friend who just got out of jail has some killer stuff that will make the whole crosstown drive worth it.

You name it — we all have a variety of reasons why we will go the extra mile to procure the best stuff possible, sometimes even when the risks are higher than you are.

Now, my closest dispensary is eight blocks away — a small industrial trailer where they may only have seven to 12 different varieties of medical marijuana — but I go to the old reliable, my mainstay downtown on Geary. (Funny story: I was on my way home on the bus with three clones in an odorless paper bag. There were two other dudes on the bus who were also clutching paper bags. Their all-knowing nods and smiles made me feel like we all belong to the same book club.)

Going to a dispensary is incredibly safe compared to my almost 40 years of scoring on the street.

Emerald Triangle: Is A Hard Rain Gonna Fall?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 1, 2011 Culture, Growing

Photo: ganj a farmer’s emerald triangle news

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The people who live up here in the redwoods are notoriously known for being incredibly tight-lipped as a community. That’s what happens when generations of farmers are forced to live for decades under the radar. You learn not to talk.

You don’t ask what Tyler’s dad does for a living. If two women in the produce aisle at the market are chatting about some kind of lights and how much square footage they’re reaching, you keep walking, keeping your thoughts to yourself. There’s a shell of new greenhouse that’s being built off of Indian Bend Road but no one’s going to mention it until someone else does first.

That’s the way it is in the Emerald Triangle. It is just like the Number One law of the streets. You keep your mouth closed at all costs. Loose lips sinks your mouther-effing grow faster than drawing the DEA a map. You never know who might be around listening. Who might be smart enough to put a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together?

40 Years Of Hash Bash: Ann Arbor’s Pot Festival Started In ’72

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 31, 2011 Culture

Photo: Angela J. Cesere/AnnArbor.com

Thousands of partiers filled the University of Michigan Diag last year for the 39th Annual Hash Bash in Ann Arbor. The 40th celebration is at high noon on Saturday.

On April 1, 1972, stoners gathered on the University of Michigan Diag in Ann Arbor for the first ever Hash Bash, a countercultural cannabis celebration now in its 40th year. The reason for the original Bash was Michigan’s new marijuana law wasn’t going to take effect until after the weekend, so for a brief time there was no cannabis law on the books.

“We kind of wanted to have the Hash Bash to defy this law,” recalled activist John Sinclair, reports Ryan J. Stanton at AnnArbor.com.

According to Sinclair, activists were marking the occasion when the state lowered the penalties for pot possession from 10 years to one year, and for sales from 20-to-life to four years. “We didn’t think that was far enough,” Sinclair said.

Drug Warrior-In-Chief Obama Named Nanny of the Month

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 30, 2011 Culture, News

Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for March is Drug Warrior-In-Chief Barack Obama, whose Drug Enforcement Administration banned faked pot, thwarted a scientist’s decade-long attempt to study marijuana, and raided dispensaries in Montana and California — all in one month!
“Seems like only yesterday when Obama promised he wouldn’t waste Justice Department resources raiding medical marijuana dispensaries,” Reason.tv‘s Katie Hooks said.

Marijuana Billboard Raising Eyebrows In Sacramento

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 29, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: KCRA

This billboard greets drivers coming into Sacramento on Highway 160. Plans call for it to stay up for a year.

A billboard which advertises medical marijuana evaluations has been raising a few eyebrows as it captures the attention of drivers heading into Sacramento, California.

The sign is on Highway 160, a main highway heading into the downtown area of California’s capitol city, reports KCRA.

Steve Maki, owner of 420 Relief, the company advertising on the billboard, said business has increased since the sign went on display. Maki said his business is a legal operation.

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