| From Our Corner |
| With 241,153 valid signatures required, it appears very likely marijuana legalization measure I-502 will make the ballot with 355,000 signatures reportedly in the can. |
Sponsors of a ballot initiative which would legalize marijuana in Washington state say they have enough signatures — more than 355,000 — to make the ballot in November 2012.
New Approach Washington, sponsors of Initiative 502, said they have made plans to bring in petitions on 10 a.m. on December 29 at the state Elections Division office at 520 Union Sreet near the State Capitol in Olympia, reports David Ammons at From Our Corner, the Washington Secretary of State’s website.
I-502 would authorize the state Liquor Control Board to regulate and tax cannabis for those 21 and older. Licensed production, limited possession, delivery, distribution and sale of marijuana in accordance with the provisions of the law would be allowed.
| 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
| 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.
| Curt Merlo/The Village Voice |
Violent crime has declined dramatically in New York City since 1990, the year when the Big Apple set a record for the most homicides in its history. A new study shows that the price of hard drugs has also plummeted in the past 20 years, and suggests the two phenomena may be linked.
The price of cocaine fell from $400-$460 per pure gram in the early 1980s to less then $200 by the early 2000s, reports Alexander Hotz at The New York World. Similarly, heroin prices dropped from $3,000 to $3,600 per pure gram in the 1980s to about $2,000 by the 2000s.
A team of anthropologists and economists at Manhattan’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY) has suggested that the collapse of heroin and cocaine prices might be at least partially responsible for the reversal of crime rates.
| Black Tie Magazine |
| Dean Petkanas, CEO, KannaLife: “Our exclusivity is narrowly focused” |
Exclusive Interview: Dean Petkanas, CEO, KannaLife
(The Company Just Awarded An Exclusive Cannabinoid License By The Federal Government)
The exclusive rights to apply the cannabinoids found in marijuana as therapeutic agents awarded by the U.S. federal government to the firm KannaLife only apply to one specific medical condition, KannaLife’s CEO told Toke of the Town Monday night.
Dean Petkanas, chief executive officer at KannaLife Sciences, told us that the exclusivity applies only for the development and sale of cannabinoid based therapeutics as antioxidants and neuroprotectants for use in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.
“It is narrowly defined exclusivity, in that field,” Petkanas told us. “Our exclusivity is narrowly focused.”
Asked if KannaLife planned to get exclusive rights to develop cannabinoids to treat other conditions, Petkanas answered, “At the present time, we have no desire to do that.”
| Zazzle |
A story which went viral on the Web today — indicating that Sweden had bravely forged ahead of its Scandinavian neighbors and legalized cannabis — appears to be a hoax.
One story on JustPaste.It, headlined “Sweden legalizes and regulates cannabis,” created a bit of a stir (and a storm of page hits) on social media networks.
However, the story, which linked to no confirming sources and listed as its source “420 Dagbladet, Stockholm, December 19, 2011,” could not be confirmed anywhere else and seems to have no validity.
“420 Dagbladet,” which would mean “420 Daily Newspaper,” doesn’t even appear to exist, either as a website or as a print publication.
| Vancouver Dispensary Society |
| The Vancouver Dispensary Society’s special Christmas ginger hash-house. Gotta love that little cotton “puff of smoke” comin’ out the chimney! |
You can be sure the holidays are just around the corner when a medical cannabis dispensary builds a Christmas ginger-hash house and posts photos of it on Facebook.
Vancouver Dispensary Society, the Facebook page of The Vancouver Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary in British Columbia, Canada, uploaded the photos on Saturday.
“HAVE A MERRY-JUANA CHRISTMAS AND A HASHY NEW YEAR!” the Society posted.
According to the post, the dispensary ginger hash-house’s base is made of Lebanese hash. The house walls and tree are made from Sweet Mountain kief; the windows and door are Lebanese; the snow and snowman are Bubba Kush Powder.
| Home Health Testing |
Despite being caught with enough growing homegrown cannabis to land him in prison, a man in western Sweden last month escaped with probation and a fine because the pot he grew was of such poor quality.
The 35-year-old man admitted to the court he had grown the marijuana plants at home for his personal use, and stored them in the attic, reports Joel Linde at English-language Swedish newspaper The Local.
Before reaching a successful harvest, the harsh Swedish climate had killed the cannabis crop. In a last-ditch desperation effort, the determined grower tried trimming away the dead weed, but to no avail.
Since under Swedish law the entire cannabis plant is considered a drug, the man was still found guilty of possession — but the fact that the weed sucked so bad, kept him out of prison.
“That’s an evaluation that the court will make,” said Sara Malmhester at the Swedish Prosecution Authority. “If (the drugs) don’t work, it could lead to a milder sentence.”
| Lance Draizin |
| Robert Platshorn, left, speaks on The Silver Tour while longtime federal medical marijuana patient Irvin Rosenfeld looks on |
We’ve pointed out before that one Florida man — legendary former pitchman and marijuana smuggler Robert Platshorn — may hold the key to cannabis legalization in the United States. The reason we say that is that skilled pitchman Platshorn has proven he can sway senior audiences to support medical marijuana, and most of us are aware, seniors vote in heavier numbers than any other age group.
Platshorn, through the Silver Tour, brings the truth about marijuana to senior citizens in Florida and nationwide, and one of the biggest events yet on that tour will take place on January 29 in Boyton Beach, Fla.
The show, “Learn the Real Facts About Medical Marijuana,” will be free and all ages are welcome. It will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 29, at the Temple Shaarei Shalom in Boynton Beach.
| 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.”