July 2009 Archives

Barney Frank is a crusader for changing the laws on two things that millions of Americans enjoy; marijuana and online gambling. This man deserves a special tribute and all the support our counter-culture comrades can give him, therefor I'm suggesting that we put a prize package together, for all weed growers, to develop a potent strain of weed named after this righteous dude. Maybe High Times could honor Barney at this years Cannabis Cup and a year from now medical marijuana dispensaries all across the country could be selling super strength "Barney Frank" (marijuana strain) over the counter.

The Marijuana Patient Protection Act (H.R. 2835) would prevent federal authorities from prosecuting pharmacies, growers and users of medical marijuana in states where the use of the substance for medical reasons is legal. The bill has received support from members of both parties.

"There are some people who are in severe pain for whom nothing else seems to work," said Congressman Frank. "It is cruel to prevent them from having access to something which helps relieve their pain. This is especially true because so many states allow it. For the federal government to come in and supersede state law is a real mistake."

The Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults (H.R. 2943) would eliminate federal penalties, but not override existing state law, on the possession or not-for-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana. The bill would allow possession of up to 100 grams of the substance, and not-for-profit transfer of up to 28.3 grams (1 ounce.)

The legislation would also create a $100 fine (a civil penalty) for public use of marijuana.

"I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and our prisons are over-crowded. We don't need to spend our scarce resources prosecuting people who are doing no harm to others."

What do you say comrades? Let's enlist the 420 army and get behind Barney (so to speak). Send this message to Danny Danko, Jack Herer and Ed Rosenthal (the Guru of Ganja) to empower the great growers of California. Let's bombard the Social Nets with this new strain contest, so we can create a stable new super-powerful strain called "Barney Frank" to over-grow our government with and provide extra-strength relief for pain in the ass laws.

I love Florida, having lived there for some 12 years and traveled through MIA dozens and dozens of times coming from South America on my way to Canada. I always plan a short layover, or longer when time permits because my connections for the dank sticky in-door grown bud are so good, I can be smoking reefers within an hour of my arrival, then spend hours toasting on those awesome beaches while stoned out of my mind. The quality never disappoints. Hell, my friends from New Orleans call me up asking me to hook-em up when they come to town because they can't get the gear I can get, and it's been that way for years. I always knew Florida was a sunny place filled with shady people (growing some wicked herb) but now TIME Magazine have made it official - Florida is the hydroponic pot capital of the USA.

California may be the center of the marijuana trade and the controversies over its legalization. But Florida has surpassed it in one important category: the Sunshine State is now the country's leader in indoor marijuana cultivation. It is a potent distinction because most of the marijuana grown this way is cultured hydroponically -- that is, mostly without soil and with a carefully calibrated cocktail of chemicals and lighting -- to create some of the highest level of highs on the market.

I have this feeling that the editorial staff over at TIME must love smoking weed as much as me, these people should work for High Times. Check out the excellent article and fabulous resources they added to it, on the story called: Florida's New Marijuana Boom: House-Grown and Super-Potent

Rumor has it that Cambodia has become very popular as a destination for marijuana-aficionados to vacation in South East Asia. One of my friends from the U.S. has been traveling there each winter for years and speaks highly of the friendly people and relaxed attitude towards marijuana, plus he tells me that the weed has gotten much better in recent years. Evidently Cambodia has become a weekend get-away hot-spot for expats living in Bangkok, Singapore or other SEA cities, partly due to guest-houses and resorts that cater to stoners. I was recommended to a cool place named the "Happy Hppi" on the coast in a beach town called Sihanoukville.

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It's time for me to "fess-up" about my absence. I was MIA in Miami, beached in South Carolina and off the grid in Canada, for the past couple of months. Mixing business with pleasure, as I made my yearly summer tour of North America, to see friends and meet business partners. The time flies during these excursion and I lose track of the days, as each one blurs into another to form a hazy, dream-like, set of memories, which last me the entire year, until it's time to travel north again.

Amongst my fondest memories from my summer 2009 tour are some amazing smoking sessions and some amazing weed. The Miami grass seemed like the same strain of Kryptonite that I scored last year and likely was, as the Florida grow-op has had such success with it that they've cloned the strain and kept it growing. Then in BC my timing was on and I scored a huge sack of freshly harvested, immaculately manicured, and perfectly cured, Purple Kush, which was as tasty and powerful as anything that I've ever smoked but by that point in my tour I'd been smoking for a few weeks and developed a tolerance, so I was able to still hold a conversation, unlike a few other people I shared the wicked bud with.

My biggest surprise happened with a new friend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, introduced to me by an old friend who's not a chronic smoker like myself. After attending a business meeting with the cool dude I just met a couple hours previously, he asked if I wanted to get high? Sure I'd love to, I replied, and he showed me some huge outdoor grown buds that looked rather common and smelled like a mid-grade herb. Not wanting to sound like a weed-snob I really didn't expect too much more of a buzz than what the regs in my own pocket was giving me. I was so mistaken. We parked at a mutual friends house, right on the beach and walked to the dunes to fire up a fat blunt that my new friend had expertly rolled. We talked and quaffed and quaffed some more, until there was about half left then put it out for later. Soon we were back in the car with a mission to go buy some cold beer and wine for the pool party we were attending, when we arrived at the store I realized that I was too stoned to go inside. I was legless! This hadn't happened to me since arriving in Amsterdam in 2007, after a 3 month smoking hiatus and going straight for the White Widow. The Myrtle Beach Blunt had wasted me, put me on my ass and made me paranoid and f_cked-up. Later at the pool party I couldn't wait to fire-up the last half of that fat blunt.

NEW YORK, July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Bambu, makers of The World's Finest Rolling Papers, announces the launch of its first clothing line, Bambu Apparel, available for purchase starting July 2009.

Recognized as one of the world's 1000 oldest companies, Bambu Apparel draws inspiration from its own archives using original artwork from advertisements and marketing materials dating all the way back from 1764.

"We spent years searching eBay and other websites collecting old postcards, advertisements and any other Bambu products we could get our hands on with the hopes of re-releasing these items at some point. With the help of MerchDirect we've translated our history into a tangible, wearable product that we feel embodies our company,"
said Bambu's Sarah Saiger.

The Reefer Poker MTT (Multi Table Tournament) Leaderboard awards you leaderboard points for every multi table tournament you play throughout the full month, culminating with the top 100 places receiving entry into a Leaderboard Grand Final with a major live seat package for first place.

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Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, or simply The Fourth is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Today freedom rules!

In this year of 2009 we can celebrate that Americans are closer to freedom in the pursuit of happiness, as it relates to the enjoyment of smoking marijuana. Most people have a routine when they turn on their computers, whether it's checking their e-mail, reading the news or for some...ordering pot? This is the new America and in Los Angeles, Artists Collective recently started using Twitter to keep its customers updated on its stash. The non-profit California medical marijuana delivery service, is now Twittering out its goods. They've got everything from brownies to blunts and the delivery is free. Rather than whispering "weed" to passersby, the solicitation is like this:

ArtistsCollectve: BB Kush, NY Soma, SD Strom, Forrest G, Green C, Baby Crunch, Spy Diesel, buy 1/4 get gram free. Baked goods, Grams, Joints avail.

They even have an incentive program for members of the collective, offering free grams of marijuana and samples. The service does free deliveries and can be contacted by telephone or through their Web site, ArtistsForAccess.org.
The collective, a tax exempt 501c3, does follow the appropriate guidelines, and verifies any order with the client's. Dann Halem had the vision to create the medical marijuana non-profit where a considerable percentage of proceeds go toward creating opportunity grants for artists, writers, performers, and musicians.

Halem also hopes to establish $10,000 grants for the arts, in association with Hollywood various organizations. "Our country gives no money to art," said Halem. "People spend more money on marijuana than the entirety of the National Endowment for the Arts." He advocates the commercialization of the popular drug as a $125 billion a year industry.

Have a Rock'in 4th of July!

It's a perfectly beautiful day here in British Columbia for the celebration of Canada Day and I've had 3 invitations to join the festivities at backyard bar-b-ques or to drop the boat in the water and head for a flotilla of boats filled with bikini clad revelers drifting on the lake in a floating mob party, awaiting the fireworks and listening to the live bands from the party and beer garden ashore on the beach, the temperature is over 90 degrees.

Kids love Canada Day and for everyone else it's just an excuse to party on a hot summer day, us Canucks are not quite as sentimental as our Yankee neighbors to the south, who really go all out for the 4th of July, we tend to be more laid back, although you'll see the red and white maple leaf flag everywhere you go in Canada today, it's not to the same degree as you'll see the stars and stripes when the USA celebrates their birthday but we know how to party just as well.

A cool writer with the nom de plume of "Emma Peel" over on Open Salon wrote a fabulous article about being Canadian called Oh Canada, my Canada check it out to get more of a sense what it means to be a Canuck.

Happy 142nd Birthday, Canada!