November 2009 Archives

The 22nd Cannabis Cup concluded last week in Amsterdam and the winners were announced on the website Cannabis Cup Winners and it comes as no surprise that Greenhouse Seeds of Holland take first prize for the second year running for the Super Lemon Haze, which is the first strain to repeat since Greenhouse did it with Super Silver Haze in 1999. Barney's was runner-up with their popular Vanilla Kush and Green Place placed third with their strain Head Bang.

It was good to see that BC Bud Depot place third in the Sativa Category, since Barney's took home allot of honors but Green House Seeds either won or placed a strain in every category except the Indica category, where top honors went to another two time consecutive first place winner of the Cannabis Cup: Starbud (pictured) from Hortilab Seed Company.

To read about all this years strains visit High Times Cannabis Cup Winners.

On the last Sunday of every month the Reefer Community get's together online for a major Poker tournament. The good folks at Reefer Poker say that the Pot would be a pound of B.C. Bud if laws would permit but instead they share $3,000 in cash prizes amongst the top 100 players, with the first prize being $750, second prize $420 and third prize $225, that would buy lot's of weed no matter where in the world you live but that's just one of the things that makes the Reefer Community Freeroll so much fun, the other is that over 1,200 players join in, from more than 50 countries and you can bet that most of them are smoking ganja while they play poker and socialize.

Reefer Poker host other Freeroll Poker Tournaments aside from the Reefer Community Freeroll, they host a $1,000 Depositors Freeroll each month for any player who makes a deposit that month, then a $500 New Depositor Freeroll for first time depositors, then the $50 Freeroll for new players that have downloaded the Poker client and are playing on the free tables.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Having lived in the USA for 12 years before moving to Brazil 7 years ago I really came to like this particular holiday and not just because there was always freshly harvested, outdoor grown, California buds around but also I have fond memories of many fabulous feasts and festivities. In my opinion the American Thanksgiving is the best example of just how fun-loving and sentimental the people are and I think it's the most fun holiday to celebrate in the good old USA.

Here's a quote from, Mark Twain about the history of the American Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day, a function which originated in New England two or three centuries ago when those people recognized that they really had something to be thankful for -- annually, not oftener -- if they had succeeded in exterminating their neighbors, the Indians, during the previous twelve months instead of getting exterminated by their neighbors, the Indians. Thanksgiving Day became a habit, for the reason that in the course of time, as the years drifted on, it was perceived that the exterminating had ceased to be mutual and was all on the white man's side, consequently on the Lord's side; hence it was proper to thank the Lord for it and extend the usual annual compliments.

I should also mention how charitable American's can be on this day. One of my good friends would spend a few hundred dollars on Pumkin pie and whipped cream, then drop by a homeless shelter in Miami and spend an hour or so handing out dessert to the homeless. I went with him one year, it was amazing how many people showed up to contribute. On this day in every city across the country, everybody can enjoy some great food and football, even if they're penniless.

So much has been said and written about the Pros and Cons of Medical Marijuana by people from all walks of life and strata of society, it just doesn't seem to matter, we're going to suffer the consequence of the reefer madness brain-washing for years to come. However, on the scientific side of the argument "should marijuana be legal for medical use" tomorrow a 56 year old stockbroker from Florida, named Irvin Rosenfeld (see: No Dope: Ft. Lauderdale Man to Smoke 115,000th Joint) will add his record to the case studies by being the first person on record to have smoked 115,000 reefers while in a Federal Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug Program. Not only are there no signs of negative health issues or work performance in the case of Rosenfeld but he provides yet another powerful testimonial of the benefits derived from this plant.

The medical marijuana that Rosenfeld is supplied by Uncle Sam comes from the University of Mississippi Weed Farm, the only federally approved farm in the United States. Mahmoud A. ElSohly, PhD, whom we once wrote about in this blog, is a Research Professor at the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi, stated the following in a Dec. 19, 2005 interview with the Journal of the International Hemp Association:

"Cannabis as a smoked product, in my judgment, would not be a useful product simply because of the lack of standardization, the fact that it's a smoked material: you can't determine the dose, people smoke in different ways, plus the interaction of the many different components and degradation products, and the tars associated with smoked materials. So smoking is not a good delivery system.

However, cannabis as a plant that is rich in chemical components, would have potential for producing useful drugs, for example THC. Now THC in the oral preparation, it doesn't seem to be doing the good job it should or was expected to. My personal view on the reason for this is the 'first-pass effect.' The material taken orally goes through the liver and is converted to the 11-hydroxy metabolite, which is 4-5 times more potent in terms of psychoactivity, before getting into the bloodstream, and the profile of these two drugs is quite different."

Not sure if I completely agree with the good Doctor since some people may have placebo effects from smoking their medicine but this brings up a good argument for just legalizing marijuana because obviously no-one has, can, or will, be hurt from smoking weed, so let's get cracking on the research. Also, let's separate the medical marijuana debate from recreational ganja and begin two distinctly different dialogs. Legalize both!

Well if it wasn't enough for the coolest poker site online the good folks at the Reefer Group had to go and development a new social network for marijuana enthusiasts and cannabis lovers, called Reefer People.

Although Reefer People is still in Beta this unique community and social network already has 4,950 members, 9 active groups, dozens of discussions and hundreds of photos and videos, all related - yeah you guessed it "Reefer". So take a few minutes a join this new social network at www.reeferpeople.com then pass it on to your friends.

Join Ed Rosenthal, the "Guru of Ganja", for the annual Green Aid Festivus, a party to raise money for the Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund.

WHEN: Tuesday, December 23, 8pm
WHERE: SOMArts Center - 934 Brannan @ 8th San Francisco
TICKETS: $60 each*
Call: 510.849.4692 or write: tickets@green-aid.com
Website: Green Aid

The Reefer Poker Winter Series includes 8 separate tournaments over a 4 week period. There will be 8 regular events, and then a final freeroll event open only to top finishers of previous events and leaderboard top places.

Regular events are open to all registered players on Reefer Poker, with added prizes to the top players on the leaderboard.

Final event will be open to top 10 finishers from each of the 8 regular events plus the top 20 positions on the leaderboard for a maximum player count of 100.

Regular Event Details:
• RP League Winter Series I
• Mondays & Thursdays, 21:15 Reefer Time (9:15 pm Eastern)
• Nov 16, 19, 23, 30 December 3, 7, 10, 14
• $5.00 + .50
• No rebuys or add-ons
• Winner of each of the first 8 events to receive an added coupon to an Aussie Millions satellite tournament worth $60

Final Event Date & Details:
• RP League WSI Final Event
• Thursday December 17, 21:15 Reefer Time (9:15 pm Eastern)
• Restricted Entry - Coupons

Smoke the Competition at Reefer Poker

Note: Click to enlarge

Whenever the word "medical" appears in the title of an event it generally sounds like something boring and the last thing from being in the category of "Party" but trust me, if you live in the Pacific Northwest and love meeting interesting people and smoking great weed, then find a way to get yourself to Portland to party with Danny Danko from High Times Magazine and the great people from Oregon NORML for the 8th annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards and banquet.

Date: Saturday, December 12, 2009
Time: 10am to 5pm: OMCA Holiday Bazaar and Cannabis Community College 6pm to 10pm: Awards Banquet & An Evening with John Trudell
Place: Portland Event Center, 300 NE Multnomah St., Portland, OR 97232

• Celebrate your cannabis lifestyle with the only Green Bazaar in the area, perfect for all your holiday shopping needs
• Top glass artists from around the state featuring one of a kind medical delivery devices
• Your destination for hemp clothing and cannabis apparel
• Learn to grow at the exclusive seminar from Danny Danko, writer of Top Ten Strains of the Year for every year since 2005 and also the creator and founder of the HIGH TIMES Seed Bank Hall of Fame.
• Raffles all day for some great prizes - including a Volcano Vaporizer!
• Share An Evening With John Trudell in addition to the awards ceremony this year. John Trudell, a Santee Sioux is an acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and activist.

Attend the free educational panels throughout the day. The Cannabis Community College includes a legal panel and much more with topics and times to be announced.

Some people say that European's are more conservative than us Americans, well that may be so but they still love to smoke weed according to a recent report, which was featured in the Economist as: "Pot Luck" - Cannabis Use in Europe.

Which Europeans are most likely to have tried cannabis?

OVER a fifth of Europeans have taken cannabis at some point in their lives, according to new report on illegal drug use from the EMCDDA, the EU's drug-monitoring arm. Over 30% of Danes, French and Italians aged between 15 and 64 have puffed on a joint. But perhaps for Danes it is just a phase: the Italians, Spanish, French and Czechs are most likely to have dabbled with cannabis in the recent past. Levels of cannabis use are still high but may be declining, says the report. Recent studies suggest that the drug's popularity is waning among the younger generation.

The obvious glaring statistics in this report is that Netherlands and Portugal, the two counties that have decriminalized marijuana have less smokers than many of the countries that have not decriminalized. Another really interesting finding is that Denmark, by far, leads as the highest percentage of European people who have smoked cannabis during their lifetimes. No wonder they call them the "Great Danes".

According to WeBeHigh.com - A traveler's guide to getting high. It's really easy to score weed in Copenhagen and many of the other cities in Denmark. Travelers have written that the varieties of weed include skunk, white widow and hash, so apparently these folks know their gear, oh and the prices are decent too, at 5 to 15 Euros per gram. Interestingly, the tolerance from law enforcement is listed as quite low but check this:

Copenhagen police do not look for smokers, or as one of our reporters noted: "several times I have walked right past 5-6 police officers while smoking a blunt... most of the times they won't try anything because that will cause a sort of riot and lots of flying bricks".

Our conservative cousins in Europe are just having some fun and hypocrisy of "the dangers of marijuana" has been dispelled. The world is becoming more conscious.

Named for the glimmer of the trichomes and crystals covering the buds, to conjure up images of the Aurora Borealis (northern lights). Many of the top Canadian seed companies sell Northern Lights (strain) cannabis seeds and since it's one of the most commonly crossed strains of hybrid cannabis there's legions of stable strains born of these genetics. This magnificent plant has probably won or placed in the High Times Cannabis Cup more times than any other single strain.

Legend has it that the strain was created in Washington State but some say that she may have been amongst the earliest sativa strains crossed with Indica in Humboldt California way back in the mid 1970's. However, Northern Lights strain has been preserved much as it originally was through inbreeding without any marked improvements other than hybridization.

Effect: One hit wonder
Stature: Very short and squat
Phenotype: Mixed, primarily Indica
Indoor: 55 to 60 days: Mid/late September
Smell: A Sweet Classic Skunky odor Yield: 2/3 ounces per plant

For true marijuana connoisseurs there's only one place to be at the end of November, the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. If you've got the time, the wherewithal and the burning desire? Then you owe it to yourself to do it! Be inspired by these words, you'll have the high time of your life.

The High Times Cannabis Cup is always held in Amsterdam during the week of Thanksgiving. The 22nd Cannabis Cup will be held from November 22nd-26th 2009. Pre-registration begins on Nov. 19th and 20th for those who will be in town a few days early. The benefit of early registration is avoiding the long lines that typically form on opening day, and also to get a head start on the coffeeshop crawl. All registration takes place at the PowerZone (www.thepowerzone.nl).

Visit the Official High Times site to get your pass now! Also check out: History of the Cannabis Cup

Having lived in South Florida for 12 years and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I became a fan of the University of Miami Hurricanes and always liked their Mascot for the sheer look of determination but also since he was often portrayed smoking a pipe. What's in the pipe, we can only guess? So a story caught my eye today, from the student newspaper for the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, called Marijuana: our dirty little secret in which the staff columnist, Timothy Heacock really hit the nail on the head with this statement:

Everyone in the media seems to have a good laugh when politicians reminisce about the times they "toked a little herb." What seems to go unnoticed is the blatant hypocrisy shown when these same people continue to support the prosecution and jailing of people whose only offense was getting high or helping others get high.

Well put Mr. Heacock! Hey, furthermore, I think it was an appropriate choice of quotes from Nate Dogg, to emphasize your point about the "best remedy for hypocrites" in your succinct and direct article:

.... smoke weed every day. ~ Nate Dogg

Timothy Heacock is a senior majoring in finance and economics. He may be contacted at theacock@themiamihurricane.com.