Culture

Washington State Patrol Ordered To Return 9 Ounces Of Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 22, 2009 Culture, Medical, News

Photo: knoxnews.com

“Make sure it’s all there, man.”

A King County judge has ordered the Washington State Patrol to return nine ounces of medical marijuana to an authorized patient.

During a routine traffic stop, a state trooper smelled Scott Verner’s cannabis, searched his vehicle and seized the medicine, even though Verner showed his medical marijuana paperwork to the officer as required by law.

The trooper told Verner he was allowed to use medical cannabis, but not to transport it by vehicle.

“Congratulations to Cannabis Defense Coalition member Aaron Pelley, the attorney on the Verner case,” said Ben Livingston of the CDC. “Aaron made the news last September after winning the return of over 11 pounds of medical marijuana from the Kent Police.”

This Just In: Teens Who Listen To Pot Music Smoke Pot!

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 22, 2009 Culture, News

Island Records [1973]

It’s the latest example of “They needed a scientific study to figure that out?” Displaying a keen grasp of the obvious, a scientific team has “discovered” that teens who listen to music containing references to marijuana are more likely to use the herb than their counterparts with less exposure to such lyrics.

The study, performed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is online now in the journal Addiction.

“Based on an analysis of survey data from 959 ninth-graders, we found that students who listen to music with the most references to marijuana are almost twice as likely to have used the drug than their peers whose musical tastes favor songs less focused on substance use, even after controlling for confounding factors,” said Brian Primack, M.D., Ed.M., M.S. (Damn, with all those letters after his name, he must be right.)

Letter To Obama: Yes We Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 22, 2009 Culture, Legislation, Medical

www.norml.org

Yesterday’s Whittier Daily News carried an extraordinary piece by Frank C. Girardot, senior metro editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group.

The piece was so interesting and so well done that I wanted to share it with you in its entirety, which Frank has graciously given Toke of the Town permission to do.

Frankly, I’m with Frank.

Dear President Obama:

Over the weekend I think I stumbled on a great plan to put people back to work.

What I need from you is some stimulus money. Think of it as seed money if you will.

I’m going to use it to start a business. And in a matter of months I think the business can be one of the Fortune 500.

Tax money generated by this startup can go to work fixing our health care system, our roads and our schools. By some estimates consumers already spend $110 billion a year on the product I plan to sell.

California DMV Ordered To Pay Almost $70K In Fees For Medical Marijuana Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2009 Culture, Medical, News

Photo: www.westcoastleaf.com

A Superior Court in California has ordered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to pay $69,400 in attorneys’ fees to a medical marijuana advocacy organization.

The Merced Superior Court on Thursday ruled the DMV must reimburse Americans for Safe Access (ASA). The attorneys’ fees award results from a lawsuit filed by ASA in November 2008 against the DMV for its policy of unjustly revoking drivers’ licenses of qualified medical marijuana patients.

Bomb Squad Heroes: California Town Now Safe From Killer Bong

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2009 Culture, News

Photo: frantikmag.com

Careful, baby. That thing could blow…

It was a more exciting night than usual in Richmond, California. After four tension-filled, dramatic hours Sunday night, a police bomb squad safely disposed of what they called a pipe bomb found in front of a local home.

Hearts were fluttering as the ominous metal cylinder, capped at one end and with a pin attached to its side, inspired intrepid bomb experts from Walnut Creek to evacuate everyone within a 300-foot radius, reports KGO-TV.

As the tension became almost unbearable, the heroic bomb squad finally blew up the obviously dangerous, highly mysterious object at about 10:30 last night.

Time to start giving out medals, right? Where’s the press? Not so fast.

Turns out it was a pot bong, not a pipe bomb. Police now say it was probably left behind by some stoned teenagers.

Don’t you just love happy endings?!

No Merry-Wanna Christmas For Kiwi Prisoners

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2009 Culture, Global

Photo: Cannabis Culture

Some unfortunate inmates who thought they’d be high for the holidays got the equivalent of coal in their stockings this weekend.

A raid on the cars and bags of visitors to Manawatu Prison in New Zealand uncovered “a large quantity” of cannabis, according to Corrections Officer Tracey Sinclair, reports 3 News.

Corrections Department staff, police and drug dogs searched about 50 visitors at a checkpoint outside the prison over the weekend.

Guy In Anti-Drug Ads Pleads Guilty In 100-Plant Pot Bust

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2009 Culture, Growing, News

Photo: Huntington, W.Va. Police Department

This is what the cops described as a “sophisticated marijuana factory.” Guess they don’t get out much.

A former voice for a drug-free workplace pleaded guilty Friday to “trafficking medical grade marijuana,” reports Curtis Johnson at the Huntington Herald-Dispatch.

Wendall Searls, 56, admitted in court Friday that he grew “medical grade” marijuana for himself, family and friends.

Huntington, W.Va., police called the grow operation a “marijuana factory” when they raided the house in September. They said they found more than 100 cannabis plants in a sophisticated indoor facility. Police said they believed Searls owned the grow house, but lived with his fiancée in Putnam County.

Lil Wayne Detained In Texas; Marijuana Found On Two Tour Buses

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 18, 2009 Culture, News

gurn.files.wordpress.com

Lil Wayne: Busted again, and already headed to prison in February

Rapper Lil Wayne was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas today after drug dogs detected marijuana on two of his tour buses, reports Aspen Steib of CNN.

The famed rapper, whose real name is DeWayne Michael Carter, Jr., was among 12 people being detained from the Lil Wayne entourage, according to Agent Joe Trevino.

Trevino told CNN the tour buses were on their way to Laredo, Texas, after playing a gig in Hidalgo, Mexico.

Martha Stewart And Snoop Dogg Bake Brownies, Rap Together

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 18, 2009 Culture

Photo: gothamist.com

Snoop Dogg: “Buy my medicine, buy my medicine…” Fo’ shizzle.

When rap music icon and stoner legend Snoop Dogg visits and you cook a batch of brownies, there are going to be pot jokes.

But things got even better than that when Snoop visited Martha Stewart’s show.

Snoop Dogg: “Trying to make some brownies, but we’re missing the most important part of the brownies.”

Stewart: “You want green brownies… brownish green brownies.”

Snoop: “The greener, the better!”

Stewart: “The greener, the better!”

Then, together, they break into an awkward, impromptu rap.

Priceless!

Is it just me, or is Martha a lot more “street” than she was before she did time?

Anti-Doping Agency Nails Cyclist Mock For, Well… Doping

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 17, 2009 Culture, News

Photo: www.funatiq.com

Here’s busted but unrepentant cyclist David Mock carrying around hundreds of pounds of pot behind his bike. (Just kidding.)

The absurd charade around marijuana in professional athletics of assumed evil and feigned penitence continues with the saga of cyclist David Mock, marijuana user.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, yes, there really is such a thing, folks, and they take themselves quite seriously) said today that Mock, 32, accepted a three-month suspension, reports the Associated Press.

His offense? An agency-administered urine test showed positive for a metabolite of cannabis.

The Anti-Dopers say Mock actually got off light. His period of ineligibility started Dec. 11, but was reduced from three months to “time served” (only six days?!) after he completed the agency’s “anti-doping educational program” (those must be really great).

The agency said Mock’s urine from Aug. 15 at the Yankee Clipper race tested positive.

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