Culture

My 86-Year-Old Mom Gave Me This Weed Piggy Bank For Xmas

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 28, 2011 Culture, News, Products

Ah, Christmas. It’s a great time to remind those for whom we care that we think about them all the time.

My 86-year-old mother did exactly that this season when she sent me, from Alabama, a weed piggy bank. Thanks for the assistance in financial planning, Mom!

Legalization Measure Splits Cannabis Supporters In Washington

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 27, 2011 Culture, Legislation, News

The Weed Blog

Marijuana advocates in Washington state have had a long, hard battle to get as far as they’ve come in the 13 years since voters legalized cannabis for medicinal uses back in 1998. But I-502, a new tax-and-regulate initiative — which appears to have enough signatures to be on the November 2012 ballot — is apparently not a banner under which all legalization proponents are willing to unite.

The widening schism in the Evergreen State’s pot community was on display recently when activists dressed in prison stripes were tossed out of Cataldo Hall at Gonzaga University in Spokane, reports Kevin Graman at The Spokesman-Review.

Travel writer and TV host Rick Steves was there to deliver a speech, and members of the November Coalition, a foundation opposing the Drug War, showed up to express opposition to Steves’ support for I-502.

Mom Of 4 Reflects On First Year In Prison For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 26, 2011 Culture, News

Tulsa World

Patricia Spottedcrow has served one year of her 12-year prison sentence for selling $31 worth of marijuana. In October, a local judge shaved four years off the sentence, leaving eight.

Patricia Spottedcrow, the Oklahoma mom who infamously was given 12 years in prison for selling $31 worth of marijuana, has now served one year of her draconian sentence.

One year ago, on the week of Christmas 2010, the first-time offender was thrown into the Eddie Warrior women’s prison in Taft, Okla., the first holiday she’d ever spent separated from her four young children, reports Ginnie Graham at the Tulsa World.

“I cried and cried just thinking of my kids opening presents on Christmas and I wasn’t there,” she said. “This year, it’s going to be any other day. I try not to keep up with the days in here.”

Video of the Day: Marijuana Tree by Los Marijuanos

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2011 Culture, Products

Season’s greetings from Los Marijuanos, who’ve released a new video, “Marijuana Tree,” to commemorate the holidaze.
After viewing this festive bit of Kushmas Cheer, which was shot at a secret location in Las Vegas, Toke of the Town had a chance to chat with Ponyboy of Los Marijuanos about the vid, which YouTube apparently considers “mature viewing.”
“It was a blast to make the video thanks to all the volunteers that helped to make it happen,” Ponyboy told us. “You can see the video playing from one of our own websites, www.HempVisionTV.com, as well as on YouTube.”

Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group Launches iPhone App

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 21, 2011 Culture, Medical, Products

Safe Access YouTube Channel

Here’s the iPad version. The ASA Advocacy App is available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Soon to come will be the Android version.

Medical marijuana patient advocates now have better access to tools for getting educated and taking action. Grassroots advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) on Wednesday launched a first-of-its-kind, free iPhone application that serves the medical marijuana community.

According to ASA, the app will make it easier for advocates to get educated and take political action. The ASA Advocate App gives users access to all the organization’s projects and programs.

The 5 Best Marijuana-Related Books You’ve Never Read

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2011 Culture, Products

The Sentence Salvo

There are so many books relating, directly and indirectly, to the world of cannabis that it can be tough to know which ones to buy.

With a plethora of volumes on growing, using, concentrating, and cooking with cannabis, as well as tomes related to the culture and lifestyle associated with it, the reader with an adventurous streak can stock a library or fill an e-reader.

But beyond the grow books (I recommend Rosenthal, Cervantes and West) and the basic histories of marijuana (I recommend mine), books which are more about the (counter-) culture surrounding weed rather than weed itself are harder to pigeonhole and, thus, often harder to find.

Here are five of the best books on the culture of marijuana that came to our attention this year.

The Audacity of Dope by sports writer Monte Dutton is unusual in that Dutton has, until now, been well known and celebrated for his spin on NASCAR racing. Dutton’s controversial new novel features a man who becomes a hero against his own wishes.

Riley Mansfield, the lead character, isn’t a conventional hero. He writes songs for a living, smokes pot for recreation and basically just wants to live and let live. But when he foils an apparent terrorist plot he is thrust into the spotlight, which is exactly where he doesn’t want to be.

Suddenly, everyone wants a piece of the marketable new “hero,” including both major political parties. They aren’t willing to take no for an answer, partly because it’s an election year and partly because what happened on the plane may be more complicated than it appears.

Mansfield and his girl Friday, Melissa Franklin, lead the government and the Republicans on a sometimes merry, sometimes painful, sometimes lucky chase. Along the way, they stumble across some unlikely friends — a Democrat strategist, a Rolling Stone writer, a pair of sympathetic FBI agents — and also some ruthless enemies.

Theirs is a love affair of sex, drugs and country-folk set against a backdrop of political scheming, hidden agendas and an unraveling plan to keep control of the government.

The Audacity of Dope by Monte Dutton, Neverland Publishing Company LLC [2011], $16.95

Seattle Marijuana Activists On I-502: ‘Find Another Answer’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 20, 2011 Culture, News

Don Skakie

Dr. Gil Mobley’s testing indicates that patients with many times the proposed I-502 5 ng/ml DUI limit were able to pass the Washington State Patrol’s standardized impairment tests

By Don Skakie

Washington State Correspondent

Toke of the Town

Sunday’s Medfest in Seattle was a great time for the public, patients, activists and speakers to meet, socialize, examine products, hear speakers and talk with each other. The day-long event was punctuated by music by some great performers and passionate speakers heard with much interest by those in attendance.

Regarding Washington state legalization ballot initiative I-502, which includes per se DUI provisions for anyone above five nanograms per milliliter of blood (5 ng/ml), Dr. Gil Mobley told attendees that many MMJ patients’ blood levels never fall below 10 nanograms per milliliter (10 ng/ml) and that many live their lives (including driving) with much higher levels without evidence of impairment.

Mobley’s testing of individual patients included preconsumption, post consumption as well as “days after” testing with no intervening consumption.

Barney Frank Goes After George Will Over Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 19, 2011 Culture, Legislation, News

Martin H. Simon/ABC

ABC’s George Will and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), debate Rep. Barney Frank, (D-Mass.), and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on the topic “There is Too Much Government in My Life.” “This Week” host Christiane Amanpour is in the middle.

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank got ABC’s This Week off to a great start in the first in a series of big debates that will continue throughout the coming year. Sunday’s topic was whether the government is too big or not, with two advocates on each side, and naturally the conversation made its way to drug legalization.

“In quite a surreal moment,” reports Josh Feldman at Mediaite, “Barney Frank asked George Will his position on marijuana and if it should be legalized.”

Idaho Man Loses Appeal To Smoke Pot For Religious Reasons

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2011 Culture, Legislation, News

Idaho Statesman

Cary White, shown here backpacking in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, has argued in court — unsuccessfully so far — that he has a religious right to use cannabis.

When Cary William White got stopped by Boise, Idaho police in 2007 for a bad headlight, the cops noticed a pill bottle with a green leafy substance between the driver’s seat and the console. White admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that day from a pipe which was found under his seat.

White fought back, making motions to dismiss the misdemeanor marijuana possession and paraphernalia charges on the grounds that his “sacred” use of cannabis is protected by Idaho’s religious freedom law.

But the Idaho Court of Appeals, in a unanimous Wednesday ruling, agreed with two lower courts, finding that “White’s marijuana use is not substantially motivated by a religious belief.” How convenient that they were able to read his mind and assess his heart. (Oh yeah — they weren’t.)

Seattle’s Smoking This Sunday At MEDFEST

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2011 Culture, Products

Will Washington state medical marijuana patients lose the right to drive? Will they lose the right to grow their own medicine? Will state stores start selling pot instead of, or in addition to, hard liquor?

You can inform yourself on all those questions — and also have a blast — this Sunday, December 18, from 2 to 10 p.m. at the political pot party MEDFEST, which will be hosted at SODO Pop, 2424 1st Avenue South in Seattle, just north of Lander Street.

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