| www.djrsterenborg.eu |
Australian pro surfer Mark Richardson busts his ass in the water to compete in the rarified air of the elite pro levels. Not just compete, mind you, win. In 2011 Richardson won the World Masters Championship after a grueling six-elimination heat competition.
But according to the International Surfing Association, he cheated because he had THC in his system. Because of that Richardson has been forced to return his medals more than two years after he won them.
Denver Police chief of staff Lieutenant Matt Murray felt the department’s initial Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session went so well that another AMA was scheduled to deal with what was arguably the first one’s most popular topic: pot.
The conversation happened yesterday, and it was definitely free-wheeling, veering from subjects like cartels and the war on drugs to restaurant advice and the whereabouts of a certain pot smoker named Kevin. Denver Westword has the highlights.
| Gupta Kush. |
A Boulder, Colorado medical marijuana dispensary recently tried honoring CNN’s Sanjay Gupta the best way they knew how: by naming a strain of kush after the well-known doctor who recently came out in favor of medical cannabis as a valid therapeutic treatment.
For their part, Gupta’s bosses at CNN aren’t very pleased. Helping Hands dispensary owner Jeff Kless says the media giant has asked him to stop selling the strain under that name. Kless tells Animal New York, however, that he’s not sure if that’s the route he’s going to take and was waiting for a cease and desist letter before he took any action.
| Ry Prichard. |
| UK Cheese (larger photo below). |
Want to know more about the herb you’re smoking? So do we, so we’ve asked Ry Prichard – a fellow Colorado cannabis nerd, grower, photographer and founder of the Cannabis Encyclopedia project which aims to create a central database on cannabis strain information – to help school us all, strain-wise. Each week in our new Cannabis Encyclopedia blog, Prichard will break down a strain from seed to buds. This week? UK Cheese.
Los Angeles may have an estimated 1,000-plus pot retailers — which pretty much blows all other cities (and state) counts out of the water — but other states are becoming medical cannabis powerhouses of their own.The Massachusetts Medical Society’s “Answer Page” recently crunched the numbers on medical cannabis patients across America and concluded that California is not king. That title goes to Colorado, with Oregon coming in second.
The L.A. Weekly (begrudgingly) has the full story.
| Dakta Green. |
Dakta Green wants to legalize cannabis. He’s open about his cannabis use – you kind of have to bee when you’re the co-coordinator of New Zealand NORML, you’ve been arrested for operating a place that openly allows the use and sale of herb – and has been a major an advocate for New Zealand repealing and reforming their marijuana laws.
And now Green is running for mayor of the Ruapehu District (roughly the same as a county in the United States) on the North Island of New Zealand on a cannabis reform/lowering electricity costs platform.
A new poll suggests that the war on drugs is even more unpopular than Congress.
A survey from last month showed Congress with a 12 percent approval rating. However, a new poll finds that only 4 percent of respondents feel we’re winning the war on drugs, while 82 percent disagree — and a national marijuana-reform advocate thinks Colorado’s example is likely to inspire even more people to give peace a chance. Denver Westword has the full story.
| 4:20 at Seattle Hempfest 2010. |
The 22nd Annual Seattle Hempfest was a major success over the weekend judging not only by the huge attendance of about 85,000 people Saturday and Sunday, but also by the reaction of the local police who refused to ticket attendees for publicly smoking cannabis.
| Tim Tipton with former Denver Nuggets coach George Karl. |
Medical cannabis has been on the fast-track to mainstream acceptance over the last few years, and more and more high-profile organizations, including the MS Foundation, are aligning themselves with cannabis groups promoting the safe and beneficial plant.
Add to that list Boulder’s BStrong foundation, which raises money for cancer research and treatment for the Boulder Community Hospital and George Karl Foundation. Last Saturday, BStrong awarded Colorado cannabis activist Tim Tipton with its Extra Mile Caregiver award at the annual BStrong Bike Ride and fundraiser for his work with indigent cancer patients, as well as his efforts on behalf of the Phoenix Tears Foundation. Denver Westword has the full story.
| Hedi Fleiss from a 2008 booking photo. |
Former high-profile Hollywood pimp Heidi Fleiss has been charged with several marijuana-related crimes after police say they found about 400 plants at her Pahrump, Nevada home last week while serving warrants on another woman.
Police in the small town 45 miles west of Las Vegas weren’t originally looking for Fleiss or marijuana, but say that when they scoured the property looking for their target they came upon 158 cannabis plants growing in Fleiss’s backyard.