Culture

George Michael Busted In London For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 12, 2010 Culture, News

Musician George Michael was charged Wednesday with marijuana possession and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, stemming from an incident last month.

The 47-year-old former Wham! singer reported to a police station in north London’s Camden Town on Wednesday, reports Christopher Brocklebank at PinkNews.

The charges result from an incident when Michael was arrested after driving his Range Rover into a branch of photo developers Snappy Snaps in Hampstead in the early morning hours of July 4. The singer had reportedly been attending the London Gay Pride celebrations the previous night.

Marijuana Charges Dropped Against Ronald McDonald

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 12, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: LA Kush

Oops, wrong guy.

Charges have been dismissed against Ronald McDonald and another Iowa City man charged with possession of marijuana in February.

Police went to McDonald’s home on February 14 after a snitch called in to report a “suspicious smell.” Officers claimed they could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the residence.

Police claimed they found “a quantity” of marijuana “and other drug use paraphernalia” in the home. A jar containing “marijuana residue” was also supposedly found in McDonald’s room, and he admitted to smoking marijuana, police claimed.

McDonald was charged with possession of marijuana and “permitting a gathering for the use of drugs.” Yeah, pot parties seem to be specifically against the law in Iowa, folks. No McBong hits for you!

Alanis Morissette To Quit Smoking Marijuana While Pregnant

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 12, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: High Times

Alanis says she is giving up the ganja until after the birth of her first child.

Expectant mother and rock star Alanis Morissette said she’ll be giving up something she enjoys — marijuana — while she’s expecting her first child.

“I don’t have a stance on it,” Morissette said, reports Starpulse.com. “I enjoy it… Not while I’m pregnant, obviously.”

The quirky Canadian singer is expecting her first child with new husband MC Souleye, whom she married in May after a whirlwind seven-month romance.

Morissette, who also plays a role in the hit Showtime series Weeds, created a stir last year when she “came out” about her pot smoking.

Anti-Prop 19 Group Claims Marijuana Leads To Meth, Cocaine

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 12, 2010 Culture, Legislation

Screen Capture: Reality Catcher

The Stop Prop 19 people aren’t interested in your feedback on their little video. This is a one-way conversation, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!

A far-right conservative political group called SaveCalifornia.com is turning its unwholesome attention from anti-gay marriage legislation, Prop 8, to fighting this year’s pro-marijuana legislation, Prop 19, the legalization measure on November’s California ballot.

The group’s inaugural television ad ignores decades of scientific evidence showing showing otherwise to claim that marijuana is a “gateway drug” leading to methamphetamine and cocaine, and that it’s the addiction most cited by teenagers in drug rehab (failing to mention that most of those teens were forced into “marijuana rehab” under threat of jail).

Tellingly, both comments and the “Like/Dislike” buttons have been turned off on the YouTube video. SaveCalifornia doesn’t want a dialogue with Californians — it wants to lecture Californians.

It’s Almost Time For World’s Biggest Pot Party: Seattle Hempfest

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 6, 2010 Culture, Products

Graphic: Seattle Hempfest

Seattle Hempfest is coming to Myrtle Edwards Park on the waterfront, August 21 and 22. See you there!

If you’ve never been to Seattle Hempfest, the world’s largest “protestival” based around marijuana, you really owe it to yourself. While it’s hard to describe the vibe of being in a crowd of a couple hundred thousand like-minded people, those who have been there keep coming back again and again.

Hempfest, going strong since 1991, is one of the best and almost certainly the biggest marijuana rally in the world. This year’s edition hits Seattle on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22, and is dedicated to the memory of legendary hemp activist Jack Herer, whom the movement lost this year.

Free admission, good music, friendly people, and a beautiful setting have always been among the reasons to attend — and Myrtle Edwards Park on the lovely Seattle waterfront is guaranteed to be smelling really good once the party kicks in.

“The Seattle Hempfest is incredibly inspirational,” said Paul Stanford of this year’s primary sponsors The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF).

”It is the largest event in the world for people who want hemp and cannabis legitimized and restored,” Stanford said. “If you want to have a good time and spend a day or two with a half million or so like-minded people, you should come to the Seattle Hempfest!”

Tommy Hilfiger’s Rapper Son Arrested For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 5, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Huffington Post

Richard Hilfiger, left, and his famous father, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger

Could orange jumpsuits be “in” this season?

Richard Hilfiger, the 20-year-old son of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, was arrested last weekend in Hollywood for alleged possession of marijuana with intent to sell, reports Josh Grossberg at E! Online.

The wannabe rapper, who goes by the hiphop name “Rich Hil” and has cut tracks with Kid Cudi and Swizz Beatz, was pulled over on Sunset Boulevard by patrolling sheriff’s deputies in Hollywood, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Sgt. Shawn Ruda.

Officers found what they claimed was a “huge stash of marijuana” in his car (no amount mentioned), which is apparently why they chose to charge young Hilfiger with a felony intent-to-distribute charge instead of simple possession.

Video: America’s Drug War Destroyed In Under Five Minutes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 5, 2010 Culture, Legislation

Photo: Netroots Nation

“Radical” Russ Belville: “Three in four cannabis users are white, but it’s blacks and Latinos that spend the brunt of the time for punishment”

America’s War On Drugs is admittedly an easy target.
It’s never really made sense, it’s never really had the intended results (even while increasing prices and cartel profits, overfilling our jails, and shredding our Bill of Rights), and it’s increasingly unpopular with the public.
But it’s still a thrill to see “Radical” Russ Belville of NORML and Stephen Gutwillig of the Drug Policy Alliance rip the Drug War mentality and methods to shreds in just 4:47 via this video from Netroots Nation.
(Did you know that the U.S.A., with one-fifth the population, has more people in prison than does China? Well, we do. And it’s time to change that.)

Scientific Study Says Rich Teens Smoke More Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 5, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Shroomery.org

It’s seemingly always been of those bedrock mainstream assumptions: adolescents and adults in low-income families are more at risk for “substance use” than kids and parents from more privileged backgrounds.

The suburbs, in this fictional view of reality (did anybody ever really buy it?), were an oasis of safety from the perils of the inner city, where “nice kids” wouldn’t be exposed to “those kinds of things.”

But according to a new study, higher parental education is associated with higher rates of marijuana use, binge drinking, and cocaine use in early adulthood. Higher parental income, as opposed to education, is associated with higher rates of marijuana use and binge drinking, but interestingly, not with higher cocaine usage.

The Flower: A Meditation On The Costs Of Marijuana Prohibition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 3, 2010 Culture

The Flower contrasts a utopian society that freely farms and consumes a pleasure-giving flower with a society where the same flower is illegal and its consumption is prohibited.

The animation is a meditation on the social and economic costs of marijuana prohibition.

Posting About Marijuana On Facebook Can Get You Fired

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 2, 2010 Culture, News

Graphic: MarijuanaSEO.com

Your cannabis activism on Facebook may mean a lot to you. Or maybe you just like posting party pictures. But if you’re in the corporate world, either one can get you fired.

In a growing nationwide trend, companies are starting to pay more attention to their employees’ Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace postings — and that’s not always a good thing, especially when staffers are involved in the marijuana subculture.

This has resulted in employers increasingly punishing employees who are seen as damaging the “digital reputation” of the firms for which they work, reports Tim Devaney at The Detroit News.

This year, more than one in five companies with 1,000 or more employees — 21 percent — have disciplined employees for “violating social networking policies,” compared to 13 percent in 2008, according to a survey by Proofpoint Inc., an email security company in Sunnyvale, Calif.

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