Browsing: Culture

Graphic: Clint JCL

​Self-proclaimed “marijuana minister” Steven Swallick of Brevard County, Fla., was sentenced today to two years in prison.

Swallick, who was arrested in May 2008 after police said they found more than 100 marijuana plants growing in his Palm Bay, Fla., home, says he is the minister of a church called The Hawai’i Cannabis Ministry (THC Ministry).
“Cultivation and enjoyment of Cannabis sacrament is a fundamental human right provided by God and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” THC Ministry says on its website.
Police had testified they found dried marijuana inside Swallick’s oven and in baskets on top of kitchen cabinets.
Rev. Swallick, 53, showed no visible reaction upon his sentencing, according to WFTV. During his testimony in the trial last month, he had worn a white priest collar and a black suit jacket and shirt, with a black cross hanging from a black-beaded necklace.

Photo: DEA
Spend those government checks wisely.

​A jailed marijuana grower in the United Kingdom was given a government “crisis” loan after his release from jail — which he then used to set up another pot farm.

Stephen Duxbury was jailed for six months for running an earlier cannabis grow operation. He completed his time in October 2008. But on March 31 this year, police raided the house he was renting (the reason for the search is unclear).
A search revealed 123 marijuana plants in various locations around the home. The plants were being grown using a hydroponic system and illegally diverted electricity, according to the Telegraph.

Photo: Agpvtr
“Don’t worry about the piss test, man. I have a Plan…”

​Someone, possibly a doper with a guilty conscience, broke into public health offices in Logan, Utah, and absconded with 17 urine samples.

The burglary happened early Monday morning at the Bear River Health Department, according to AP.
The purposeful piss plunderers broke a window and then somehow got inside a padlocked refrigerator to swipe the pee, according to spokeswoman Jill Parker.
The urine was there as part of drug testing done in conjunction with a local substance abuse recovery program. Parker said nothing but the urine was taken.
The health department turned over surveillance video footage to police investigators.
According to Logan Police Captain Jeff Curtis Wednesday morning, the department has identified a “person of interest” but no arrests have been made.

addictionrecoveryhope.com
America has a Marijuana Majority, according to a new poll.

More than half of adults in the United States are ready to legalize marijuana, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. According to the new poll, 53 per cent of respondents support legalization, while 43 per cent are opposed.

Support for legalization is highest among Democrats at 61 percent. Independents favor legalizing pot with 55 percent, but only 43 percent of Republicans want to legalize.

Less than 10 per cent of respondents support the legalization of other drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

The use of marijuana is illegal in the U.S. except in some regulated cases of medical use in 13 states. The amount allowed for such purposes varies depending on the state. Some states have passed laws to reduce penalties for possession of small, “personal use” amounts of marijuana (“decriminalization”).


SAFER
Man, I wish I had designed that logo.

​The unstoppable Mason Tvert (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, SAFER) and his really cool mom, Diane — who almost steals the show — both believe marijuana is a safer choice than alcohol.

They got a chance to air their views in this feature story from a Phoenix TV station, which for “balance” also includes an unhappy anti-pot young lady who tries to convince us marijuana is horribly dangerous.
When you get a chance, you really should get the book Mason co-authored with NORML‘s Paul Armentano and MPP‘s Steve Fox. It’s called Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People To Drink?, and it’s a great read.

AP Photo
They wanted to make a Palin version, but it stopped working halfway through the trip.

​Police in Palmview, Texas last week seized a batch of reputed Ecstasy pills made in the image of President Barack Obama, Ryan Smith reports on CBS’ Crimesider blog.

A stash of the orange tablets was found last Monday during a south Texas traffic stop.
The 22-year-old driver had a drug collection of Hunter S. Thompson-esque proportions. Found in the car were black tar heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, along with the supposed Obama Ecstasy. He’s expected to face multiple felony drug possession charges.

KUNC

​A commentator on Denver public radio has called the War on Drugs a failure, and has endorsed the legalization of marijuana.

“As a nation we have been waging a war of attrition against ourselves in which the winner is none other than narco-traffickers south of the border,” said KUNC commentator Dr. Pius Kamau. “We have fought a valiant but losing war on drugs.”
“We must be cognizant of the fact that the cost of incarcerating 2 million Americans for drug offenses is bankrupting this nation,” Dr. Kamau said. “And experience has shown that the best way to deal with those addicted to drugs is not prison. It is therapy.”

Photo: Bennelliott
Verne Prison on the Isle of Portland, henceforth forever known as “that prison that lets prisoners grow weed.”

​British prison guards unwittingly allowed a convicted drug dealer to grow marijuana in his cell — and even decorate one four-foot plant as a Christmas tree.

Mohamed Jalloh, 28, must be very persuasive. He convinced jail staff for at least five months that his fast-growing cannabis crop was only tomato plants, according to reporter Brian Flynn in The Sun newspaper.
(Please God, give me guards that trusting if I’m ever locked up again.)
Jalloh, who’s serving eight years on a drug charge, got so cocky, he put festive seasonal decorations on one of the plants “to brighten his cell” at Verne Prison on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, U.K.
Eventually he was ratted out by an envious inmate. Guards then identified the plants using Google image search, according to The Sun. (There you have it: There are actually still people in existence who don’t know what marijuana looks like. Prison guards, at that!)
“You could see the plants from the grounds as his cell looks on to the education department and communal outside area,” a source told The Sun. “They were on show for the world to see.”

Photo: Henna
Careful flashing that oregano around just anywhere.

​A Clarksville, Tenn., man faces charges after being indicted on allegations he robbed a girl at gunpoint for what turned out to be what must have been some very nice-looking oregano.

Victor L. Little was arrested Dec. 3 from circuit court on an aggravated assault charge. His bond was set at $15,000, reports Tavia D. Green of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. (No, I’m not making that newspaper name up.)
According to the indictment, Little, 18, along with Keith A. Jackson, 18, and Timothy E. Ogburn, 19, are charged with aggravated robbery and assault.
On Sept. 10, the men and a juvenile allegedly robbed two females at gunpoint, thinking they had a bag of marijuana in their possession.
It turned out to be oregano used as a prop in a school project.