Toke of the Town

California Blacks May Be Swing Vote On Prop 19 Pot Legalization

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By on Culture, News

Photo: CBS13
Bishop Ron Allen: “I don’t think they understand how many lives are going to be lost. In our community, legalizing drugs — I don’t think they clearly understand the carnage.”

​A group of black pastors, priests and other religious leaders has come together in recent weeks to peddle Reefer Madness and fight against Proposition 19, the California ballot measure that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana.

Bishop Ron Allen of the International Faith Based Coalition and his followers have opened a new, potentially crucial front in the battle over Prop 19, reports Jesse McKinley of The New York Times, pitting those afraid of more widespread use of pot against those who see legalization as a sane exit strategy in the war on cannabis.
At a recent rally on the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento, several pastors allied with Allen used over-the-top language trying to inflame a tiny crowd, describing marijuana as “the most sinister drug,” and asking that “the demonic spirits be cast back into hell.”
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Portland, Maine Accepts Marijuana Dispensary In Business Zone

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

​The City Council of Portland, Maine has unanimously agreed to include a medical marijuana dispensary in the city’s business zoning ordinance.

Three companies have been selected by the state Department of Health to dispense cannabis  to authorized patients in Maine. The state-licensed dispensaries will be in six locations around the state, including downtown Portland, reports Amanda Hill at WLBZ2.
The state of Maine has agreed to allow Northeast Patients Group to open dispensaries in Portland, Thomaston, Augusta or Waterville, and Hermon.
The group is looking at a number of locations in Portland, now that the zoning ordinance allows it to open a dispensary within the business 2, 3, and 7 zones of the city.
One key location under discussion is the former location of a Key Bank on the corner of Congress and St. John Streets, but one concern is that it’s too tight an area to accommodate a lot of traffic.
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Can Ecstasy Ease Post-Traumatic Stress?

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By on Medical, News

Graphic: Tribe.net

​MDMA, better known by its street name, Ecstasy, is illegal but a new study suggests that it is also a promising treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study, published in the Journal of Pscyhopharmacology, included 20 patients with PTSD from traumas such as sexual assault and combat stress, reports Amanda Gardner at CNN.
On two separate occasions, 12 of the people took MDMA and then spoke for several hours with a pair of trained therapists. The others took a placebo but received the same therapy. All of the participants got additional therapy sessions that did not involve the drug.
Ten of the 12 people who took MDMA had, two months later, improved so much they no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Three of the participants whose condition had prevented them from keeping a job were even able to return to work.
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Marijuana Advocates Cheer DEA Agent’s Exit From Colorado

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By on Culture, News

Photo: U.S. News
Asshole DEA agent Jeffrey Sweetin is leaving Colorado. Yaaay! Unfortunately, this meth-filled Elmo is not his replacement. Boooo!

​Dude, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

That’s the message from Colorado marijuana advocates who are cheering the departure of federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin because, they said, they believe his views are not in line with the will of Colorado voters who legalized cannabis for medical purposes, reports Felisa Cardona at The Denver Post.
The opinionated special agent in charge of the Denver office of the DEA said he understands that he’s become the “face” of the War On Pot in Colorado, but said his exit doesn’t mean the fight over marijuana is finished.
“The person who takes my place is going to have the same mission I have,” Sweetin said.
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Maine’s Marijuana Dispensaries: Profiteering ‘Nonprofits’?

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By on Dispensaries, News

Photo: BusinessBroker.net
Maine’s new voter-approved medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to make cannabis more accessible to disabled and ill patients — but making it reasonably priced may be another matter.

​Concerns about affordability are arising as the state’s state-licensed dispensary operators have set their prices high, in what they claim is an effort to prevent resale on the streets.

The newly licensed dispensaries in Maine have revealed they plan to sell their cannabis for $300 to $400 an ounce, comparable to California dispensary prices, reports John Richardson at The Portland Press Herald.
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New Short Documentary Explores California’s Cannabis Culture

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By on Culture, Products

California’s Cannabis Culture from amanda van west on Vimeo.

Amanda Van West’s Facebook
Amanda Van West: “It’s an exploration of the marijuana scene in California, and I hope it’ll create more dialogue about the issue”

​In November, Californians will vote on the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

If they approve Prop 19, the Golden State will become the first in the U.S. to take such a major step towards ending cannabis prohibition.

Amanda Van West, a 24-year-old student from California, has just produced a 12-minute documentary, California Cannabis Culture, for her final MA dissertation/project documentary as she finishes her International Broadcast Journalism degree in London.

“It’s an exploration of the marijuana scene in California, and I hope it’ll create more dialogue about the issue, in preparation for our upcoming vote in November,” Amanda told Toke of the Town.

“It’s the story of the people fighting for it, the people fighting against it, the people selling it, the people making it less taboo, and the people who were around when the whole scene started,” Van West said.

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Montana Republicans Want To Repeal Medical Marijuana Law

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By on Legislation, Medical

Graphic: KFBB

​With the next session just months away, Republican legislators are getting ready for a battle to ban medical marijuana in Montana, spurred by an explosion in the number of patients in the state.

At least two GOP lawmakers plan to introduce bills in the 2011 Legislature — which begins in January — to repeal the medical marijuana law altogether, reports Daniel Person at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
This spring, the Montana GOP added to its platform the belief that the state’s medical marijuana law should be either “amended or repealed,” with several Republican lawmakers putting forward repeal bills. The state Democratic Party platform does not address the issue of medical marijuana.
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Paris Hilton Caught With Cannabis Again

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By on Culture, News

Photo: California Rumor
Paris Hilton has been briefly detained, then released, after being caught with marijuana (again).

​​American socialite Paris Hilton has reportedly been caught again with marijuana.

The multi-millionaire heiress was arrested and detained shortly on the French island of Corsica after less than a gram of cannabis was found in her handbag when a drug dog alerted officers, according to police, reports Shania Stevewolsen of World Correspondents.
Hilton, 29, was detained after her arrival at the Figari Airport in Corsica, aboard a private jet from Paris, France last Friday.
She was searched in a secure area of the airport police station and an amount of cannabis that weighed less than a gram was found in her handbag, according to Corse-Matin newspaper.
Due to the small amount of marijuana found, she was warned not to travel with drugs, then released within an hour with no criminal charges, the newspaper reported.
The marijuana was confiscated and destroyed.
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Hunter S. Thompson Would Have Been 73 Today

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By on Culture, Products

Graphic: NORML

​Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the legendary creator of Gonzo journalism, would have been 73 years old today.

Thompson’s Gonzo style of reporting involved immersing himself in the action to such an extent that he became the central figure in his own stories.
He was known for his savagely uncompromising writing style; his heroic intake of marijuana, psychedelics, and other drugs; his almost complete contempt for authority and rules; and his anarchist views.
Thompson became best known for his 1971 book, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, a strongly autobiographical tale of a drug-fueled Hollywood-to-Sin-City road trip with his 300-pound Samoan attorney.
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Educational Site Worried Students Will Visit Like-Named Pot Site

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By on Culture, News

Graphic: Newsbowl.com
Newsbowl.com gets you a grade-school education site. Newsbowl.org gets you a medical marijuana site.

​The owner of a grade-school educational website says he’s worried he’ll be run out of business by a medical marijuana site with an almost identical name.

Peter Vavak, owner of Newsbowl.com, said he fears students will mistakenly log on to marijuana site Newsbowl.org and find information on how to buy medical marijuana instead of the school quizzes they were expecting, reports Ken Contrata at Fox News.
Even worse, Vavak fears, parents could see their children go to the marijuana “dot-org” site, call their teachers, and cancel their subscriptions to his educational “dot-com” site.
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