Toke of the Town — Marijuana and Cannibis News

D.C. Medical Marijuana Law Clears Congress

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

The District of Columbia’s medical marijuana law cleared a mandatory 30-day Congressional review period Monday night, after Congress declined to take action against a D.C. Council bill that allows the District to license between five and eight medical marijuana dispensaries, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said Tuesday.

The District joins 14 other states across the U.S. in having effective medical marijuana laws.

Stoner Photos of the Day: Sunny Sunshine

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Culture

Photo: Sunshine

Sunshine: “I try to live up to my name by bringing sunshine and happiness to my life and others.” Mission accomplished!

Man oh man, they really know how to grow ’em in the heartland.

Sunny Sunshine, 23, a 5-foot, 2-1/2-inch firecracker from Oklahoma City, Okla., is beautiful proof of that.

“I try to live up to my name by bringing sunshine and happiness to my life and others,” said Sunny, a student and accountant.

“I’m a junior in college, getting a degree in accounting,” Sunny said. “I’m good with numbers; what can I say? And for anyone who’s seen the movie Grandma’s Boy, it is hard to be an accountant stoned, but that’s what after work is for.”

Turns out Grandma’s Boy is one of Sunny’s favorite movies. It’s also the source of one of her favorite movie quotes: “Does someone have a light? I found this weed. I wanna smoke it.”

“I wouldn’t want to miss out on something amazing because I was too small minded to try,” Sunny said. “I do my best to not judge and hope for the same in return.”

“I can get very passionate about my beliefs,” she says, “but I always try to make sure I know where they are coming from too and try to reach a mutual understanding of ideas.”

First Time: A Plurality Of Americans Supports Legal Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Showtime

“Weeds” star Mary Louise Parker: Cultural bellwether?

There’s more good news for supporters of marijuana legalization. For the first time ever, Rasmussen Reports’ poll of American adults has a plurality supporting legalization: 43 percent think marijuana should be legalized, while 42 percent think is should remain against the law.

Almost two-thirds of Americans — even those who are against it — now believe that marijuana will be legalized within the next 10 years.

A “plurality” in polling terms simply means that more people are in favor of pot legalization than are opposed to it.

That’s quite an improvement from a year ago, when a similar Rasmussen poll found 41 percent supporting legalization and 49 percent opposed, reports policy analyst Jon Walker at FireDogLake.

“It is possible that Prop 19, by bringing the debate to the forefront, is starting to noticeably move national opinions by forcing people to take some time to actually think about the issue,” Walker said.

We’re Winning! Poll Shows CA Pot Legalization Ahead 52%-36%

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: SF Appeal

Prop 19 is ahead by 16 points! Is it November yet?

Pothead Power, people. California’s Proposition 19, which would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older, is currently leading by a wide margin among state voters, according to a new poll. The measure is supported by 52 percent of voters, and opposed by only 36 percent.

The new PPP poll (PDF) shows the largest margin of support yet seen from recent polling on Prop 19, reports policy analyst Jon Walker at FireDogLake.

Interestingly, the poll found Prop 19 support among African Americans to be very high, possibly influenced by the California NAACP’s recent endorsement of the legalization measure.

African Americans are the strongest supporters of Prop 19, with 68 percent in favor and 32 percent against, followed by whites who support it 53 percent to 37 percent.

This Is Art Appreciation: 4 Pounds Of Pot Found In Painting

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: WSB TV

Gordon Clement, 80, had this painting for five years before he discovered four pounds of marijuana inside the frame. See photo of the cannabis after the fold.

A Georgia man who bought a painting at auction years ago last weekend discovered there was more to the artwork than met the eye when he found thousands of dollars worth of marijuana hidden inside it.

Gordon Clement, 80, of Cherokee County, Ga., said he found four pounds of cannabis stashed inside the frame of the painting he now owns, reports WSB TV.

Rather than being cool about it, just smoking the damn stuff and enjoying the painting like he should, Clement opted to take the whiney approach.

Prayer For Global Cannabis Freedom

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 27, 2010 Culture, Growing

Photo: The Growing Hemp Debate

The key to so many problems in our world today is cannabis, the Tree of Life.

Cannabis hemp will displace petrochemical and pharmaceutical corporations that dominate our politics today, and decentralize wealth and influence at a time of growing technological advancement.

Stop the Drug War before they kick in your door.

For those facing execution for anti-cannabis laws in Malaysia and elsewhere, work for global cannabis freedom.

For those languishing in jails and prisons for anti-cannabis laws everywhere, work for global cannabis freedom.

For our forests, the web of life and the Mother Earth, which suffers from extraction of her resources and poisoning of our environment, work for global cannabis freedom.

For economic and political justice, work for global cannabis freedom.

Marijuana Found On Bret Michaels’ Two Tour Buses

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: SuperiorPics.com

Bret Michaels may need to up his meditation time after his marijuana stash got seized from two tour buses last week.

Rocker Bret Michaels had a little run-in with the police last Wednesday night in DeKalb County, Indiana, when officers found marijuana and “other drugs” on the singer’s two tour buses.

After a DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over the two buses just after 11:30 pm for what Chief Deputy Jay Oberholtzer claimed was a “lighting violation” of some sort on one of the vehicles, police K9 units turned up stashes of marijuana and other unspecified drugs onboard, reports Aaron Organ of The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.

Man Tries To Trade Marijuana For Burgers At McDonald’s

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: ThePirata.com

Police in Florida said a McDonald’s customer who ran short of cash tried to pay for his cheeseburgers with marijuana and prescription drugs.

Oh, and dude was in a car he’d just stolen, too.

Alexander Lemke, 20, of Palm Harbor, Fla., must have had a king-hell case of the munchies.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office claims Lemke broke into a neighbor’s home at about 1:25 a.m. on Friday and left in their 2005 Toyota Solara, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Sex Toys Retailer Pumps $100K Into Marijuana Legalization Push

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: Creative Loafing

Hey, if there were only some rock and roll to go with the sex and drugs, this would be a perfect story.

A new campaign committee to support Prop 19, California’s initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use, has a wealthy donor: the president of Adam & Eve, a mail order firm selling sex toys and porn.

Philip D. Harvey, who heads up the North Carolina company which has been billed as America’s largest provider of sexual products and fuck films, has donated $100,000 to the Drug Policy Action Committee to Tax and Regulate Marijuana, reports Peter Hecht at the Fresno Bee.

Rutgers Chickens Out On Governor’s Request To Grow Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Dispensaries, Growing

Photo: NorthJersey.com

Scarlet Knights or Yellow Frights? Rutgers University has fearfully turned down a request from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to grow medical marijuana as part of the state’s new medicinal cannabis program.

The university said that, if it were to grow the herb, which is illegal for any purpose under federal law, it could lose out on millions of dollars of government funding, reports Richard Perez-Pena of The New York Times.