April 2009 Archives

Have you ever wondered what goes on inside a California medical marijuana dispensary, or cannabis collective as they call them? In this cool 4/20 special video Dave Warden of the Weed Report takes us on location to a newly open cannabis collective in Los Angeles, plus some drive by footage of a few other popular shops and shows us what specials they offer to celebrate 4/20. Great music on a very interesting film.

There's no doubt that Dave Warden has created some of the most popular videos on the web in the cannabis culture genre. His videos have the best production quality and most amusing, often very funny, story themes. He's even produced a feature length movie called "The Kind City" (costs $12 online) which I've yet to see but I've watched many of his videos and they're always good for a laugh and worth checking out at the Weed Report YouTube Channel.

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is doing a commendable job in the fight for reforming the bogus U.S. marijuana laws and by informing the public about what's going on. Today Dan Bernath posted an article about how important this week is to the movement.

It's never easy to know for sure, but this week could be huge for medical marijuana reform if things go just right in state legislatures across the country. The senates in Illinois, Minnesota, and New Hampshire all could vote to pass medical marijuana bills as early as tomorrow. At the same time, the Rhode Island Senate could vote on a bill creating medical marijuana compassion centers, making safe access to qualified patients in the state far less burdensome

The Global Marijuana March (GMM) is an annual rally held at different locations across the planet. It refers to cannabis-related events that occur on the first Saturday in May (this coming Saturday is May 2nd). Marches, meetings, rallies, raves, concerts, festivals, info-tables, etc.. The home page is at GlobalMarijuanaMarch.org

The Global Marijuana March also goes by the name of the Million Marijuana March (MMM). It began in 1999. Over 485 different cities worldwide have participated since 1999. There are local names for the event too. Such as: World Cannabis Day, Cannabis Liberation Day, Global Space Odyssey, Ganja Day, J Day, etc..

The Global Marijuana March is a celebration embracing cannabis culture as a personal lifestyle choice. Participants unite to discuss, promote, entertain and educate both consumers and non-consumers alike. The official website has a list of every participating city world and links to leanr more information, including how to host your own rally - March ON!

When I was a teenager I met a grower from Oregon who, to me, was like a scientist. Over the years we became friends and I was able to learn allot about this intriguing man and his vocation, he told me he learned his trade in Oregon, then spent time in Northern California mastering the science of growing marijuana, before moving to a small farm he bought in BC. My friend always talked about Oregon and the great growers there.

In July of 2008 a thread was started on my favorite weed forum; Grasscity.com and it's the best single page of dank ganja photos anywhere I've seen on the web. This post is my tribute to my old friend from Oregon.

This thread is also my official salute to every Oregon smoker and grower. Every caregiver and every dealer. Thank you for keeping our cannabis some of the DANKEST and CHEAPEST on the map! Keep it GREEN!

Drop by: vc77's "Oregon Weed ROCKS" Thread - TONS of DANK Pics

Erowid.org, also called The Vaults of Erowid, is an amazing online library of information about psychoactive plants and chemicals. It provides information about legal and illegal substances, including their desired and adverse effects. The site is organized by substance, ranging from common substances like alcohol, to unusual ones such as Bromo-DragonFLY and features some great information and photos of Cannabis and my favorite section about Hashish.

According to the site, the creators' vision includes creating a

"world where people treat psychoactives with respect and awareness; where people work together to collect and share knowledge in ways that strengthen their understanding of themselves and provide insight into the complex choices faced by individuals and societies alike".

Erowid was founded in April 1995; the Erowid.org website appeared six months later. Since January 1, 2008, it has operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization under the name Erowid Center. The organization is supported by donations, and its website is free of advertisements. Although its primary focus is on the website, Erowid also provides research and data for other harm reduction, health, and educational organizations.

Steven Kubby's name kept coming up during my research for Jamaican Lamb's Bread, as he's one person who knows more about cannabis strains than most anyone else alive. As a matter of fact, Steven Kubby is a VIP figure in Cannabis Culture, with such an amazing background that my meager little blog post will not possibly do him justice, so I encourage you to read more about this fascinating man on his website www.kubby.com

For any of you that are reading this and enjoy the benefits of medical marijuana as a treatment for what ails you, say a little blessing to Steven Kubby the next time you administer a dose of "medical grade marijuana". Steven Kubby may well be the single most important person in the evolution of medicinal marijuana:

"Kubby helped author Prop. 215, California's Compassionate Use Act approved by voters in 1996 and was the Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate in 1998."

Today Steven Kubby is on the bleeding edge of medicinal marijuana, as President and CEO of Cannabis Science.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.
Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of medical marijuana research and development. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce, and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.
Source: Cannabis Compounds Reduce Multi-Drug Resistant Infections

Another of the fabled, almost lost cannabis strains is Jamaican Lamb's Bread (often confused with Jamaican Lamb's Breath). Jamaican Lamb's Bread is getting increasingly difficult to find in Jamaica or anywhere else on earth, due to the influx, popularity and profitability of the modern feminized cannabis strains which are mostly hybrid sativa/indica crosses from Dutch growers. Rumor has it that serious medicinal marijuana growers from Hawaii have kept the strain pure and very much alive but the thing is that it takes longer to grow, often produces less than the modern cannabis strains and it's not a common name in the marketplace. Except for real weed connoisseurs, Rastafarian's and some Jamaican's this magnificent strain is all but lost.

My own experience with Lamb's Bread goes way, way back to when I was in Port Antonio in Jamaica, once made famous by Errol Flynn and his Hollywood friends. I was staying at at an old hotel up on the hill overlooking the town, where at the time, even the bar staff would bring you good weed but if it weren't for a local that I befriended I may have never heard of Lamb's Bread, however to this day I can remember that the characteristics of this fabulous weed were far and away above the common grade of grass that could be bought just about anywhere at anytime. Bright green and sticky, as soon as you saw it you knew there was something special about this legendary herb. There's even a strain of similar origin called "Bob Marley's Lamb's Bread" but I suspect it's the same genealogy and just named as such for his famous quote:

De ability what de herb 'ave ya call lamb's bread. Some a dem ya call Bethlehem's bread. ~ Bob Marley

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Hemp is such an enormous solution for our planet that I recommend that the name "Earth Day" should be changed to "Hemp Earth Day", perfect event for following 420 Day and to keep the rally going strong. Ironically potheads and stoners are often portrayed in pop culture as dull-witted or even stupid but if you sent a reporter into a big crowd of stoners yesterday, at any one of thousands of 420 celebrations around the world, to interview and ask participants, stoned out of their minds, if they know the difference between Marijuana and Hemp, any one of them will know more than (apparently) the U.S. lawmakers know. The main thing they will tell you is that Hemp will not get you high, no matter how much you smoke.

As my contribution (on this blog) to Earth Day 2009, I decided to make the recommendation of the name change to Hemp Earth Day and to publish a list of the practical uses and advantages of Industrial Hemp.

Industrial hemp is an extraordinarily useful plant that can provide more environmentally friendly food, fiber, fuel, medicinal and building products.

Hemp is incredibly robust to the point in some places it is invasive and is considered a noxious weed. Some varieties are very hardy and able to thrive in saline and heavily degraded soils. It's these characteristics that make it a great candidate to replace pesticide and herbicide dependent crops such as cotton. Hemp is also a water miser and can be processed into useful products with little energy and without requiring toxic chemicals.

Except for Hawaii the last 4:20 PM Festivities have been observed by the largest number of people on record. Vancouver just lit-up and reefers will still be blazing as I write this. The parties will rock on through-out the night and well into tomorrow morning but one thing is very different this year; all the mainstream media attention, as pointed out in this New York Times report.

On YouTube there's already a wave of new "420" videos, so I picked one of my favorite video producers to share with you, he's the "Urban Grower" a fellow Canadian from BC and he always produces worthy videos. Hope you like it. Happy 420!

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Due to overwhelming demand from our kind friends and special guests the 420 Party/Miss High Times Pageant has upgraded to a much larger location. This new venue offers a larger stage for the pageant, more bars, a better sound system and an open-air rooftop deck. This location is easily accessible from the X? and X? trains, or a short taxi ride from Manhattan. Doors open at 7 pm, and the show begins at 8.

T.H.Seeds was founded in 1993, making it one of the oldest seed companies in Holland. It began as the C.I.A. (Cannabis In Amsterdam), which was: a Cannabis information center, a world renowned seed shop, the first hemp store in Europe and according to Robert C. Clarke (author: Marijuana Botany, HASHISH!), "The epicenter of the Cannabis universe." T.H.Seeds quickly gained a solid reputation among the experienced growers who purchased their product. Year after year, these growers returned to buy more, so the TH Seeds reputation was built on the consistency and quality of the award winning (7 Cannabis Cups) genetics. The collaboration with growers established the solid foundation on which T.H.Seeds grew to become one of the leading cannabis seed companies in the world.

Amazing how significant the date of 4/20 has become to the Cannabis Culture, some groups have been waiting and planning all year for the day, which falls on a Monday this year. For those that hate Monday's you get one to love for a change, as there are cool things to do, if you're 420 friendly, in almost every major city of the world. Or if you'd prefer to stay at home and hack the web or watch TV there's no shortage of 420 programming on TV and on the web as well.

Reefer Poker are celebrating with 4 days of 420, where they offer all kinds of special bonuses, poker tournaments, and of course a 420 Poker Freeroll at 4:20 on 4/20, just check in with Reefer Poker for details.

420 Fests
Colorado University - National Marijuana Forum
Kottonmouth Kings - 420 Freedom Fest - Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Anahiem
Niagara Falls, Ontario Highway 420 Anti-Prohibition Rally
University of Californian, Santa Cruz 420
Atlanta, Georgia Sweetwater 420 Fest
Toronto, Ontario Freedom Festival
Vancouver, BC 420 Celebration

NOTE: Celebstoner has an excellent list on their 4/20 Event Calendar.

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As the fearless leader of the Marijuana reform movement and Executive Director of NORML, he seems to have super-human cyber strength, able to be on all corners of the Internet and still have time to hand a great huge mock check during a staged press conference, at 8:00 am on Wedesday April 15 (better known as Tax Day) from the steps of the General Post Office in Midtown Manhattan. The phony $14 billion dollar check presented to US Treasury represents "tax and regulate" how legal-weed could boost the economy. This ploy will send a loud message across the country about the seriousness of the intent.

Mark my words, this entire week leading up to 4/20, a day of symbolic importance to the global cannabis culture, you'll see Mr. St. Pierre and his team e-mail blasting call-to-action newsletters, posting articles to the NORML blog, commenting to remarks on every major Social Network on the Net, Twittering like crazy, interviewing with the media and all the while dealing with some intellectually dim-witted people who are just plain ignorant to the purpose of the NORML cause, even with reams of data to itemize all the damage of the marijuana prohibition, or stacks of scientific reports on the beneficial effects of medical marijuana, still the man just fights on, leads his team, and marshals his time and resources like a great field general of the 420 army. Allen St. Pierre carry's our great hope like a standard bearer.

Perhaps the coolest thing about this guy, from what I've gleaned by following as much of what he writes and says as I can keep up with, is that he believes that the work he's doing today will ultimately benefit the today's youth tomorrow because it's likely to be 2 or 3 more Presidential terms of office until marijuana laws are completely reformed across the United States. So he and his contemporaries dedicate a great deal of their time to young people, educating them with the facts and empowering them to seek the truth for themselves, then join the battle for legal freedom of choice.

Case in point is a huge rally and National Marijuana Forum held this coming weekend at Colorado University, which hosts the largest annual organized 4/20 event in the world:

The National Marijuana Forum will be the foremost assessment on the current legal, scientific, environmental and social issues related to cannabis. Experts from all fields including marijuana law reform activists, law enforcement officials, medical experts, environmentalists, journalists and awarded scientists will participate in panels and lectures. The forum will serve to educate, enlighten and empower members of the CU and Boulder community on all current issues regarding marijuana in an unbiased environment.

Allen St. Pierre deserves all the support and respect he has earned, as he's done a fabulous job of bringing intelligence and compassion to the marijuana legalization debate.

Good thing I subscribe to Pete Guither's "Drug War Rant" or I may have missed a most fascinating white paper published on the Cato Institute website by Glenn Greenwald, entitled: Drug Decriminalization in Portugal:
Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies.

Glenn Greewald added more information about this white paper on his Salon blog.

Prior to decriminalization -- throughout the 1990s -- Portugal had among the worst drug crises in the EU, if not the worst. The more they criminalized, the worse the problems became. After decriminalization, Portugal has among the best drug usage rates both within the EU and outside of the EU (especially when compared to the harshest criminalized countries, such as the U.S. and Great Britain). Those are just facts.

This white paper is such an important piece of work because it debunks so many myths related to how a society reacts to leniency with regard to drug laws. I'm surprised that more hadn't been reported about drug decriminalization in Portugal, especially here in Brazil where we have a penal system bulging with offenders, many of whom are incarcerated for soft drug offenses, mainly due to not having good legal defense but also because the laws are just so draconian.

Portugal hasn't become a haven for marijuana tourists either, as one might suspect. Prague for example is touted as being the Amsterdam of Eastern Europe and there you can still get busted for possession although most reports suggest you'd need to have more than 20 joints. In neighboring Spain (which also adopted drug de-crim) there seems to be Moroccan Hashish every where you go and Ibiza, for example, has become somewhat of a drug tourist destination but according to WeBeHigh.com, a travelers guide to getting high weed or hash is difficult to find in Portugal, even in Lisbon or the Algarve, places where you'd think it to be fairly common.

Scientific America picked up on the story as well, see: 5 Years After: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Policy Shows Positive Results but it fell on deaf ears at the White House:

A spokesperson for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy declined to comment, citing the pending Senate confirmation of the office's new director, former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs also declined to comment on the report.

The Greenwald white paper is 34 pages long and an easy read, now that it's public record it becomes a valuable piece of evidence in the fight to end the war on drugs.

This is a two part post, first; let me say that I think MarijuanaReviews.com is destined to be a major hub for the Marijuana community online and currently, in my opinion, the best source of honest accurate reviews (promised in their bi-line) of the multitude of strains of weed in the world.

There's a dialog amongst cannabis connoisseurs about how the field of knowledge has been repressed by the prohibition, in more ways than just the scientific/medical applications. What I'm referring to is the recreational understanding of the herb. Now that the cultivation aspect of the underground grow-op activity has matured beyond the budding stage, into a viable, and sustainable cottage industry with genetically stable plant strains much like wine (ie. Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc etc...) there's a demand for information about the look, smell, taste, and effect of the finished product (bud). Naturally a price comparison would accompany this information and eventually an entire strain-rating-guide will be needed but first the dialog has to establish a nomenclature for explaining subtleties of the distinctive looks, smell, tastes and effects. We can thank MarijuanaReviews.com for advancing the required lexicon.

The second part of this post was to thank Miami Toker for submitting this honest and accurate marijuana review.

Looks: Bright! A neon green that is almost yellow. Spots of purple and pink throughout the buds, all frosted with trichomes. The smaller nugs are actually the prettiest. The pictures hardly do it justice, it's a true feast for the eyes.

Smell: Unique smell. Sweet, fruity and tangy. I asked a few people to describe the smell in one word and the top response was "WOW!" The smell of the smoke is like incense, it fills the room with a sweet mellow aroma that lingers for hours.

I got my hands on a huge fresh sack of this gear last summer in BC and said "WOW" every time I broke open my stash, which lasted two months despite chronic use. Prior to that I'd only ever seen it in Miami, as it's not something I found to be on the menus of Cafes in Amsterdam, since the suppliers are so hip to haze (strains) these past few years but I can promise you this, if Juicy Fruit is available when I get back to BC this year, I'll be stoked to grab another QLB.

Want to party with HIGH TIMES in New York City? Well, here's your chance! This April 20th, join the staff of HIGH TIMES and some of the hottest ganja gals in America as they celebrate the high holiday in style, and crown the sexy new "smokesmodel" at the first ever Official HIGH TIMES 420 Party, featuring the 2009 Miss HIGH TIMES Pageant!

The exact location of this event is top secret and will only be revealed to ticket buyers. Only 420 tickets will be sold. Don't miss your chance to celebrate an unforgettable 4/20 with HIGH TIMES!

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American's support for marijuana law reform is fast approaching a tipping point -- a scenario made all that more remarkable when one considers that the federal government has spent nearly seven decades propagandizing against it. Mainstream America is coming to terms with marijuana, and growing more and more dissatisfied with our nation's failing pot policies. Writes Klein: "Obviously, marijuana can be abused. But the costs of criminalization have proved to be enormous, perhaps unsustainable. Would legalization be any worse?"

He's no longer the only one asking.

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Yesterday a short article hit the web from a discussion and pod cast on KUOW radio 94.9 in Seattle, about coming out of the Cannabis Closet:

It's called the "cannabis closet." Drug reformers want responsible members of society to come out, proclaim they smoke pot, and that they want the laws changed. Think Rick Steves. The argument is that if you really want to roll back the so-called drug war, marijuana is the best place to start.

Now this is a topic I find rather interesting because I myself hide behind the "handle" of Reefer Smoke and use a cartoon character smoking a reefer as an avatar. It's a thinly veiled deception, but still the Reefer Smoke icon is all over the social networks and web. However, I often wonder what difference it would make to actually show me smoking reefer and use that image instead? I even went as far as to record video of myself smoking weed and discussing some thoughts I have about it, especially why I enjoy it so much. Thus far I haven't finished the production, partly because I'm such a novice with editing video but also because a part of me is apprehensive about publishing media where I'm the one smoking a reefer. This throw-back attitude comes from being a closet reefer-maniac, who for 30+ years of life, never wanted anyone, except a select few people, know that I love smoking ganja.

Out of curiosity I searched the term "Cannabis Closet" and low and behold there's a cool website with an eleven part video series titled "Come out of the Cannabis Closet" with Host Alison Myrden from a show produced back in August 19, 2007. A little further investigation and I learn that Alison Myrden is a fellow Canadian and major activist for medical marijuana, with her own website called The Marijuana Mission and if that weren't enough there's entire line of clothing, bags, mouse pads and wall clocks for sale on Café Press with this Groovy "Come out of the Cannabis Closet" logo. Congrats Alison! You certainly came way, way out of the closet and you've done a fabulous job of leading the way for the rest of us.

NORML dropped this Money Bomb on the web today in an effort to raise money and awareness. 420MoneyBomb.org is an interactive game with several quizzes hidden around a map of the USA, find the hidden clues, click on them and then answer the multiple choice questions. Try it out, it's engaging and worthy of a few minutes of your time. I scored a 41, let me know how you do? Let's blow-up the 420 Money Bomb before 4/20.

NORML's mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty. Adopted by the NORML Board of Directors, February 27, 1999

Recently Joe Rogan made a trip to British Columbia, Canada to perform in a nightclub in Victoria, which is on Vancouver Island and at the River Rock Casino which is in Vancouver. He wrote a cool story about his experience.

We had two options to get to Victoria, which is on Vancouver Island; either we could take one of those scary fucking propeller planes that feel like you're riding inside the bowels of a metal dragonfly, or we could ride the ferry. I chose the ferry, and it was an excellent call. It took a little longer to get there, but the scenery was awesome. I had no idea how big and beautiful Vancouver Island was. According to the guy who drove us to the hotel it's bigger than England, and is the second largest inhabited island in the world. Now, since I'm on a plane and I have no way of looking that shit up, I have no idea if any of it is true, but I'm just gonna take his word for it and spread the information here like an old school rumor.

Aside from the majestic beauty of the Pacific Northwest, which on a nice day can be something you'll never forget, the people, for the most part, are really cool and very laid back and since it's been a cannabis culture for such a long time, relatively speaking, the stoner community is large and very hip to comedians the likes of Joe Rogan.

Living in Brazil I miss the relaxed attitudes and wicked weed of BC. It made me feel proud though to read Joe Rogan say: Vancouver was fucking amazing.

THC EXPO is the largest indoor exposition in the world highlighting the myriad of uses surrounding the famous Cannabis/Hemp plant THC EXPO has 96,000 sq ft of retail space dedicated to Cannabis/Hemp products open to the public June 13th and 14th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

THC EXPO Will feature Industrial Hemp products, Medical Marijuana clubs, Educational literature and bongs along with many other products.

THC EXPO is a one-of-a-kind business to consumer show, with over 300 cannabis related businesses exhibiting their products and services to the Cannabis based consumer. Come see the diversity and unique opportunities involved in the flourishing Cannabis Industry.

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Some time ago an American Expat friend, living in Amsterdam, told me about meeting Soma in person, he was somewhat in awe of the 57 year old Rastafarian and beaming when he showed me an article with an interview and photos of Soma's rooftop garden, almost like I needed to see it to believe it. If you're scratching your head, wondering why this would have significance, consider that Dutch growers primarily grow weed indoors and sadly most of the cannabis growing industry is focused on production but not specifically for quality. Although generally speaking, production and quality go hand-in-hand, since what grower would harvest a crop until every plant had reached it's optimum flowering stage, in both quantity and THC level? And, what grower would start a crop with inferior seeds, if better were available?

The great weed growers of Holland are very scientific and extremely skilled at getting the best of both quality and quantity, I certainly don't want to insult thier collective wisdom. However, it's important to distinguish a major difference in Soma and other growers. See, the cannabis plant is everything to Soma. He feels that it is one of the tools that can save humanity from it's direction of self destruction. He knows that it helps healing take place whenever and wherever it is used. Unlike aspirin, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and nuclear radiation, cannabis has never killed anyone. It is one of the safest therapeutic substances known to man. Humankind has been using it since time immemorial.

Cannabis is about love and sharing, it is about healing and finding new ways to help this planet to survive.

I don't personally know Soma (yet) but I certainly want to hang-out with him on his Amsterdam roof-top and get to know him, on my next visit to the Dam. What I have learned however, from reading about about him on the web is that he calls his residence the Mission of Sacred Plants and say's that it's an extension of the Church of the Universe from Canada. Also, that he's been involved for over decade in aggregating a sizable Cannabis genetic library and currently offers for sale, one of the largest award-winning collections, of feminized hybrid cannabis strain seeds on earth.

Please take your time and read through Soma's personal blog and visit Soma seeds.

The Diesel genetics has its roots in the Big Apple from a strain of Mexican sativa crossed (60x30) with an Afghani indica originally bred by ChemDawg, it was very popular in NYC and Boston. As the legend goes, it was the renowned grower Soma who bred NYC Sour Diesel from a seed that was given to him by a Rasta in NYC, although other sources say it was from a cutting, so we'll have to ask Soma but in any case, Soma took the original strain back to Amsterdam where he applied his breeding techniques to stabilize the new strain.

As with much of my exotic smoking experiences, it was Amsterdam where I first tested NYC Sour Diesel, however not too long ago I also enjoyed a very good sampling in NYC. Wish I could attest to the ripe red grapefruit flavor but then other than Chocolope, which does taste like chocolate, I've never really identified these taste descriptions recognized by contemporary weed connoisseurs. I can say this though; the look, feel, smell and especially the effect of NYC sour diesel is the gold standard by which all other strains should be measured against. This cannabis strain is absolutely stellar.

New York City Sour Diesel (also known as NYCD) won second place for two years running (from 2 separate breeders) at the High Times Cannabis Cup (2002 and 2003).

You know that the marijuana debate has has gone main-stream media when TIME Magazine publish two articles within a couple of days of each other, First In California Marijuana Truce, a Legal Gray Area in the U.S. Sunday edtition a story by By Alison Stateman of Los Angeles about the case of Charles C. Lynch and 30 to 40 other individuals who faced or were incarcerated for medical-marijuana-related charges before the Obama Administration relaxed its policy. Lynch was convicted in federal court in 2008 on five counts, including distributing marijuana through his dispensary, Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers, in Morro Bay, Calif. Lynch, 47, who believed he was complying with state laws.

Today an article by Joe klein, with a cool illustration by Stephen Kroninger called: Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense

This article pokes a little fun at the pressure us baby boomers are putting on the government to relax marijuana laws and mentions the big brouhaha that arose over Obama's response to citizens seeking an answer to the marijuana question during his recent electronic town-hall meeting. Also, there's were some alarming facts reported in this article, which would lead any reader to agree that some serious consideration must be given to this debate.

But there are big issues here, issues of economy and simple justice, especially on the sentencing side. As Webb pointed out in a cover story in Parade magazine, the U.S. is, by far, the most "criminal" country in the world, with 5% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. We spend $68 billion per year on corrections, and one-third of those being corrected are serving time for nonviolent drug crimes. We spend about $150 billion on policing and courts, and 47.5% of all arrests are marijuana-related. That is an awful lot of money, most of it nonfederal, that could be spent on better schools or infrastructure -- or simply returned to the public. See: (Top 10 ballot measures.)

At the same time, there is an enormous potential windfall in the taxation of marijuana. It is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone. And that's probably a fraction of the revenues that would be available -- and of the economic impact, with thousands of new jobs in agriculture, packaging, marketing and advertising. A veritable marijuana economic-stimulus package! (Read: "Is Pot Good For You?")

My feeling is that it's not Reefer Time yet but good honest reporting is reaching the population.