Culture

Israel: Tel Aviv Relents, Will Allow Marijuana Rally

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 28, 2010 Culture, Global

Marijuana protest in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, Israel

Following widely publicized reports on Tel Aviv’s refusal to allow a rally for the legalization of marijuana, the Israeli city on Sunday relented, announcing that after “reexamining the situation,” it has decided there are no grounds to forbid the rally, pending police approval.

Earlier Sunday, it appeared that the city of Tel Aviv was going to block the rally, reports Yoav Zitun of Ynet.

“I hereby inform you that your request to hold a rally for the legalization of cannabis has been rejected,” read a letter from Tel Aviv Municipality official Ruby Zelof to Liora Gelber, who is trying to organize the rally in Rabin Square.

Finally: A Shot Of The Mysterious L.A. Lakers Weed Lollipop Van!

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 26, 2010 Culture, Dispensaries

Photo: Derek Shields

This is the van that handed out free pop lollipops at the Lakers’ parade on Monday.

Some of that happiness among fans at the Los Angeles Lakers’ parade on Monday might have been other than the “thrill of victory” kind. As reported here on Toke of the Town on Tuesday, a mysterious medical marijuana truck emblazoned with WeedWorldCandies.com was giving out free pot lollipops along the parade route.

The truck was handing out marijuana lollipops in hues of orange and blue, the Lakers’ team colors.

Photo Of Baby With Bong Sparks Investigation

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 25, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: KSDK

The 19-year-old mother said this photo is a joke, and that she doesn’t allow her child to smoke pot.

She may have to put those Mother of the Year dreams on the back burner for awhile.

A Keystone Heights, Florida woman allegedly took a photo of her 11-month-old baby holding (and seemingly hitting) a bong, and then had the monumental lack of judgment to post the picture on the Web.

After the photo sparked online outrage, the Florida Department of Children and Families has launched an investigation, reports KSDK.

The 19-year-old mother was quoted by numerous Jacksonville, Fla., new sources as saying the picture was a joke, and that she doesn’t let her child smoke marijuana.

Trailer Park Boys: Pothead Canadians Rake In The Cash

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 23, 2010 Culture, Global

Photo: Trailer Park Boys

The Trailer Park Boys, from left, Ricky, Bubbles and Julian, have big plans, but little brains. Oh, and now they have big bank accounts.

They’re unlikely heroes, perhaps, but the foul-mouthed, pot-smoking Trailer Park Boys raked in the most money of any English-Canadian film last year with their second full-length feature film, The Trailer Park Boys: Countdown To Liquor Day.

The comedy grossed $2.9 million in 2009, according to Telefilm, and also earned the film’s director and writers Telefilm’s first Golden Box Office Award, reports The Globe and Mail.

A $40,000 cash prize will be split between director and co-writer Mike Clattenburg and co-writers Timm Hannebohm, John Paul Tremblay (who plays Julian), Robb Wells (Ricky), and Mike Smith (Bubbles).

NASCAR Champion Suspended For Marijuana Use

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 23, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: The Joie of Seating

NASCAR champion Randy LaJoie: “I screwed up”

NASCAR on Tuesday indefinitely suspended Randy LaJoie, a two-time Nationwide driver champion, for violating the car-racing organization’s substance abuse policy.

During an interview with Sirius NASCAR radio earlier the same day, LaJoie, a crew member for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team in the Nationwide Series, admitted to smoking marijuana once following the May 30 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, reports The Sports Network.

LaJoie on June 11 was found to have violated NASCAR’s substance abuse rules after he took a random drug test in order to become a spotter for Gibbs’ team.

WA: 80,000 Pot Legalization Petitions Go Out With Newspaper

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 22, 2010 Culture, Legislation, News

Graphic: Washington State Marijuana Law Reform

There’ll be something different in the June 23 edition of Seattle alternative newspaper The Stranger — a copy of I-1068, the Washington state marijuana legalization initiative.

Initiative sponsor Sensible Washington said it raised funds last week through its Facebook page to cover the cost of printing 80,000 of the petitions and having them inserted in the free, weekly newspaper that’s widely distributed in the Seattle metro area.

The petition will be accompanied by a full-page ad which will explain to readers how they and their friends can sign I-1068 and get it into Sensible Washington’s hands by the first part of next week.

“Other initiatives are spending upwards of $1 million to get on the ballot with paid signature gatherers,” said Philip Dawdy, I-1068 campaign director and an initiative co-author. “We’re being forced to be a little more creative since it’s been difficult to get our volunteer signature gatherers in front of the public due to the terrible weather in Western Washington over the last two months.”

High Praise For Pot Potations: S.F.’s Best Cannabis Drinks

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 21, 2010 Culture, Products

Photo: SF Weekly

Kushtown Pineapple Soda will tickle your taste buds and tease your brain cells. Can I get it cheaper by the case?

With the flourishing medical marijuana dispensary scene in San Francisco, it’s no surprise that there are plenty of delicious cannabinated beverages available.

But how to tell the good from the bad? It was pretty much let the higher buyer beware until now.

SFoodie to the rescue! Our fellow Village Voice Media scribes over at the SF Weekly have selflessly made their way through countless pot potations (yes, they probably did lose count).

And incredibly, they managed to pull themselves together enough afterward to select the five tastiest, “notable for their deliciousness as much as for their dosage,” SFoodie helpfully notes.

Stoner Tries To Pass Off Brick Of Pot As His Wallet

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

Photo: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

Comely Deputy Danielle Malone saw a bulge in the suspect’s pants. Bet that happens pretty often! Here, she holds two large compressed bricks of marijuana seized after a traffic stop. The bricks together weigh an estimated “6 to 8 pounds.”

”Is that your billfold, or are you just glad to see me?” Two Florida men pulled over early Sunday morning on Cudjoe Key tried to pass off a big brick of marijuana as a wallet, according to police.

Deputy Danielle Malone claimed she saw a white Crown Victoria speeding and swerving around 3 a.m., according to Brian Hamacher of NBC Miami. When she pulled the vehicle over and approached the driver’s side, Deputy Malone claimed she saw a large black garbage bag on the passenger’s side of the floorboard.

By the time she got around to the passenger’s side to check it out, she said the bag was gone, but the passenger “suddenly had a large bulge in his pants leg.” I’ll go out on a limb here, and make a guess that sort of thing happens to the deputy on a regular basis.

Drought: Israel’s Stoners Bummed Out As Marijuana Prices Soar

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 21, 2010 Culture, Global

Graphic: Jewlicious

Israel is suffering through the worst marijuana drought in memory. Not even the most seasoned pot smokers can recall a dry spell like this one, reports Saar Gamzo at Haaretz.com.

Reasons for the current weed shortage include recent drug busts by the police and border guard; cooperation between Egyptian cartels trying to boost profits by limiting the supply; and unusually low rainfall this year.

Conspiracy theorists are even claiming a secret Israeli government program to “combat apathy” and “stir up the nation’s fighting spirit.”

But whatever the cause, cannabis costs more than ever before in Israel.

Judge Orders Pot Patient: Stay 1/4 Mile From Your Own Stepkids

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 21, 2010 Culture, Medical

Graphic: Slate

Earlier this year, a judge in rural Washington who called the state’s medical marijuana law “an absolute joke” and “an excuse to be loaded all the time” ordered a stepfather, Julian Robinson, to stay at least a quarter-mile away from the teenagers he has helped rear for the past 13 years, because he is a medical marijuana patient.

That means Robinson can’t be around the children, even though they live in his home near Castle Rock, Wash., with his wife and their four younger children, reports Gene Johnson of The Associated Press.

Robinson said he sometimes stays with friends, or rolls out a foam sleeping pad in his neighbor’s horse trailer. He said he misses baseball games and church services with the kids.

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