For states about to medical, let me learn ya something: there is no way to prepare for your first visit to a dispensary. It’s like you Neil Armstrong moon-walked into the Wonka factory. Unless the shop is staffed with little people suffering from extreme Carotenemia though, you’ll probably have to deal with a real life human being with their own set of issues. Don’t become one of them. Here are the five things to avoid if you want to ingratiate yourself to your new budtender:
| Rolling Stone. |
For the first time in the magazine’s history, Rolling Stone has devoted pretty much all of their print edition to cannabis this week, with a range of news and cultural pieces.
Highlighted in the magazine this week is an article by comedian Bill Maher titled “How We Won the War on Pot”, a piece on marijuana myth-busting, and a feature on Drug Policy Alliance founder Ethan Nadelmann who the magazine dubs “The Real Drug Czar”.
| Jim Berns. |
Jim Berns, a Libertarian candidate for mayor in Cincinnati is all for ending the war on marijuana. So much so that its part of his political platform.But apparently Berns is also a fan of gimmicky advertising.
Earlier this week he sent out a press release of himself and two other men with a tray of plants. Berns is holding a sign that reads “FREE MARIJUANA PLANTS” and promised to give them away at a press conference Wednesday. Despite marijuana not being legal in Ohio for any reason, about 30 people showed up allegedly expecting ganja plants.
| A coffee shop menu. |
After the Netherlands banned public cannabis shops in border towns, southern Netherlands coffee shop owners say their business – both local and foreign – went in the gutter. Despite their anti-cannabis stance, the courts agreed and say the owners are entitled to compensation.
But the move also clarified the laws, upholding the bans and other measures used to prevent tourists from buying drugs in the country.
| Usain Bolt. |
The race is on to see which celebrity or famous athlete can make the biggest pot-related headline, and Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the planet, has sprinted to the head of the pack.
Anti-cannabis groups are up in arms about a new ad campaign by American clothing manufacturer, The Pothead Diaries. Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay kicked up dust with pot critics when he posted pictures to his Instrgram account showing him flaunting the controversial duds.
| Ritalin, still more deadly than cannabis. |
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital recently conducted a study to determine the correlation between the rise in the number of adults on prescription drugs, and the number of children who accidentally ingest them. Shocking nobody, the team found that as the sheer number of drug prescriptions goes up, so does the number of kids being poisoned by them.
| Don’t pass your joints to Lil’ Scrappy. |
Lil Scrappy can’t handle his weed. At least, that’s what he wants everyone to believe. The Atlanta-based rapper and reality TV personality announced this week that he’s entering rehab for marijuana use and that it’s not a publicity stunt.
But from the outside one could easily see it as gaming the media, especially with the threat of jail time for marijuana and firearm possession charges hanging over his head.
Lil’ Scrappy was arrested in 2008 in Atlanta for felony gun and marijuana charges, and given three years probation since it was a first-time offense. But the rapper apparently didn’t think probation was serious enough to try and pass his piss tests, failing one test then refusing to take another back in March. (Editor’s note: Come on, Scrappy. You’re a well-paid rapper, dude. Pay someone for their clean piss!)
| Eric Garcetti. |
Just over a week ago, on May 21st, the voters in the city of Los Angeles resoundingly passed Proposition D, an ordinance designed to raise taxes on sales of medical marijuana and limit the total number of allowable weed dispensaries in the city to 135 storefronts or less. On that same ballot was a hotly contested and grossly over-funded mayoral race pitting two openly pro-cannabis Democratic candidates against one another, resulting in a dominant win for LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti who captured 54% of the vote.
In spite of one of the lowest voter turnouts in the city’s history, Garcetti overcame the aggressive financial campaigning that Los Angeles’ most powerful labor unions could throw at him, becoming the city’s 42nd mayor, and earning himself the power to rule over everything from potholes to pot shops in the nation’s second largest city.
| Wikipedia commons. |
Last Friday, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin was suspended by the NFL for a violation of their substance abuse policy, the sixth member of the squad to receive such punishment since 2010.
Since the NFL can’t disclose why, Irvin did as teammate Richard Sherman did before him: hint that the violation was for taking Adderall without disclosing it. While heavily prescribed, Adderall isn’t without risks, but it certainly can have it’s performance-enhancing advantages — same as any number of drugs that areallowed in sports. If the league is going are going to be hypocrites, then why not allow one of the best natural performance enhancers out there: marijuana?
| Wikipedia commons. |
| Amanda Bynes. |
Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested last night for marijuana possession and reckless endangerment at her apartment in New York City.
According to police, the (very uncool) doorman in Bynes’s building called the cops complaining that the actress was puffing a joint as she walked through the lobby of the building.