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I love when Above the Influence people say “Studies show…”

I was recently looking at abovetheinfluence.com just for giggles sake because I was really looking for those hilarious “truth” ads. I like the one where there’s 4 young black men in a car, 3 of them are wasted and the driver is ragging on them while talking about how many great things he’s going to do because he’s not using marijuana. It’s my favorite because I find the driver to be quite pathetic in the sense that he can’t find better friends to hang out with. They went to a party, had a great time, and he’s sitting there bored like a jackass.

Then the other commercial that gets me is the one where the girl is sitting on the couch, literally deflated. Somehow, marijuana did that to her. Her friend is ragging on her as well. We go back to the same issue… WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKING LAME THAT YOU CAN’T FIND BETTER FRIENDS?

I think, the people behind those ads are a bunch of dumb asses. That I could easily develop better anti-drug PSAs while high really shows the level of their stupidity. Perhaps, what it really shows is just how much they’re lying about marijuana use.

What makes matters worse is that they’re not only dumb asses but they’re damned liars as well.

Just looking over the website, I get to the Q&A and it’s filled with falsehoods and general misinformation. But, the kicker for me has to be the claims they make regarding these scientific studies. And, I am the kind of guy who respects a good scientific study, of course. There are thousands of studies on marijuana and its individual compounds all around the world. The problem that I find is that the folks behind Above the Influence have yet to produce a study that backs up any of their claims.

Now, you can go through my blog and see me make tons of claims. The difference between the claims that we make is that, I can actually back up the shit that I speak on. For example, folks at Above the Influence say that marijuana causes learning disabilities and a number of other issues. They always say “studies show….”

Well, you’re the government sponsored website.. where are the studies that prove what you say?

They don’t exist. I’ll tell you specifically why they don’t exist. That claim is backed up by a study. And, that study, the Tulane/Heath study specifically, has been debunked and rebuked. The goal of the GOVERNMENT sponsored study was to show marijuana killed brain cells. And, they sure as hell proved that marijuana killed brain cells.

But, and here’s the kicker, they did NOT release the actual study for review by other scientists and researchers for, what I believe was 3 years. In that time period, the government ran with that information. They told the world that marijuana killed brain cells, causes learning problems, etc etc etc. However, when the methodology was released……….. STOP THE PRESSES.. THEY DID WHAT TO THOSE MONKEYS?

The study was supposed to last approximately one year. Monkeys were to smoke marijuana joints daily. They’d get tested before and after the trial was over to see differences in learning.

Mind you, they were SUPPOSED to do all that. What did they really do?

These lying bastards hooked the monkeys up to gas masks and basically smoked the monkeys out in 3 months with the amount of marijuana that was supposed to be used in one year. In doing so, they suffocated the monkeys, depriving their brains of oxygen. The marijuana didn’t kill brain cells. Asphyxiation through smoke inhalation killed brain cells.

So, I wonder, when the folks at Above the Influence say, “studies show…”, is this the study that they’re saying shows whatever it is they’re trying to get you to believe? Who knows? The bastards NEVER point to any studies. Where are the independent doctors, scientists, and researchers who actually conduct the studies that prove the bullshit? Dr. Fog? Is that all you have over there at the ONDCP?? A fucking mascot in a white coat?

Remember, there are thousands of studies around the world. But, do yourself a favor and look that shit up for YOURSELF. These “above the influence” websites are run by undereducated mothers who are scared to let their children eat candy more than once a week. They don’t do the research and they come up with these incredibly DUMB ASS ads that are, at best, ineffective and laughable.

The ONDCP should give me the money to come up with those ads. Sure, I’ll lie for you, for the money. But, I’ll want twice what you’re paying the idiots who run the current ads right now. It’s not because I’m lying or going against some moral obligation… BAHUMBUG. It’s because I am that damn good. Of course, I’ll smoke a blunt before I get to work. But, you’ll definitely get some quality advertising with some intelligent thought behind it AND it will actually be effective and not the joke of America.

Boondocks: Mr. Medicinal..

Y’all know I love marijuana right?Yeah, y’all know that.

Y’all know I am not just some pothead either, right?

Yup, I’m sure y’all know that.

I went from schwag smoke to growin some fine ass Princess Diesel . When it comes to marijuana, I could probably run Oaksterdam. They should make me the dean or something.

Anyway, enough self-aggrandizing. I wanted to pay homage to this last Boondocks episode, Mr. Medicinal.

Let me get my beef out of the way first.

They should have put me in it. Instead, they put some ol’ regular stuck up dude in there. They could have had the super laid back, chubby Black Buddha type such as myself. With my mellow flow and superior knowledge, I would have made the perfect Boondocks character to cultivate and distribute high quality marijuana in Woodcrest.

Anyway, without spoiling it too much for others who haven’t seen it, I loved the way the episode went down. It pretty much covered all the bases – first time introduction to weed from Thugnificent, the rabid anti-marijuana knucklehead in Tom, the first smoke, being high, driving while high, trouble with the law, and so on.

But, most importantly, I think it caught a bit of that enchantment that people have with marijuana. We all know Granddad is an uptight ornery ol sumbitch that gets angry at the drop of a hat. But, when Granddad is high on marijuana, he’s a completely laid back and relaxed individual. As he mentions, he isn’t going to let the small things bother him. When you feel like that, you’re not going to want to go back. You gain better perspective because when you can treat the small things like small things, you can concentrate on the bigger picture being your life, friends, and family.

Yes, everything looks better, tastes better, and feels better, especially sex!

Anyway, I tend to get long winded and I wanted to try to keep this short and sweet. But, I can’t just leave it without spreading some knowledge.

“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”


– Harry J. Anslinger, testimony to Congress, 1937

 

After Anslinger’s racist comments to the US Congress, which they ate up, marijuana became illegal through the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act of 1937. Basically, this act dictated that you have to pay taxes on marijuana. The catch-22 is that you had to bring the marijuana to get the stamp. However, you couldn’t have marijuana without the stamp. The act was repealed in 1967 because a judge caught the catch-22 which was conveniently overlooked for three decades.

Everything was good until the US Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. What a lot of people don’t know is that the CSA is a response to the United Nation’s Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs Treaty in 1961. This is important because to ban drugs in the United States, there needs to be a Constitutional amendment. The best and only example of this is the 18th Amendment which prohibited alcohol in 1917 and was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.

Now, let’s tie this all together. How is it that the US needs a Constitutional amendment to prohibit alcohol but doesn’t need one to prohibit marijuana use?

Article VI of the US Constitution answers that question.

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

In other words, if the US signs a treaty, whatever is in that treaty supersedes any and all laws in the United States including the US Constitution itself. So, there will be no legalization efforts at the federal level because of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as well as some other treaties that were signed afterward.

What it all amounts to is someone using Article VI of the US Constitution to tell American citizens what they can and can’t do with their lives.

If you think for a second that there isn’t a racial motivation for this effort, at least in part, just look at marijuana statistics today. 70% of marijuana users are White compared to 15% of those users being African American. However, 60% of those incarcerated are African American compared to 20% White. Yes, there are people who would go through all of that just to get us!!

Check me on it. I always feel good about what I write, when I decide to write, for a reason.

Marijuana Does NOT Cause Psychosis

So, I’ve been pretty much inundated with nonsensical articles about marijuana causing psychosis. While many people have set the record straight on this issue in the past, it keeps coming back as some new article. Simply put, someone put together a half-assed study and somehow came to the conclusion that marijuana caused psychosis – schizophrenia, etc.
Well, let’s set the record straight again…

No, marijuana does not cause psychosis. This is more prohibitionist, drug war lies to keep marijuana criminalized. They purposely confuse causation and correlation. In other words, does marijuana use cause psychosis or is it the case that people who are predisposed to psychosis seek drugs most likely as a way to cope with their psychosis?

Instead, the authors of articles, most likely inspired by prohibitionists, purposely leave out many facts. For instance, what other factors in their lives may have affected the subjects mentally?

For example, you may see a 65yo man with mental problems claim he’s been using marijuana for 20 years. And, that’s pretty much all the study took into consideration – marijuana use. Well, what if that 65yo man was a Vietnam War veteran? Wouldn’t the hardships of war contribute to a psychosis? What about potential exposure to chemicals used by the military during the Vietnam War such as Agent Orange? How do you factor the possibility that 65yo man’s other habits may have included alcohol and cocaine abuse?

These factors are NOT considered in these studies. That is why, many times, these studies are debunked and ignored (yet again).

Yet, prohibitionists pick them up and sensationalize them to make our friends and families seem like they are crazy animals instead of decent human beings. The prohibitionists are losing the war on marijuana and they know it. So, they trot out these old, tired arguments that have been debunked time and time again because for many people, this is new information. As I know, this is not new information nor is it a “new” study.

Even before these studies came about, during prohibition’s early days, marijuana was painted as causing psychosis. Documentaries developed in the 30s portrayed marijuana users as everything from out of control young girls to crazed murderers. Law enforcement tried to blame many crimes of that time on marijuana use as is the case with Victor Licata. So, there is a long history dating back to the initial days of prohibition in which law enforcement tries to connect psychosis to marijuana.

The more you educate yourself and educate one another against the misinformation campaign by prohibitionists, we find more and more that marijuana is not the dangerous killer drug that it’s made out to be.

Education is legalization.

Enforcement of marijuana prohibition costs American taxpayers approximately $12,000,000,000 (billion) per year (which goes directly into the pockets of prohibitionists). With politicians interested in cutting spending, wouldn’t it be nice to cut $12,000,000,000 from the budget by legalizing marijuana? Imagine the tax revenues that can be received if marijuana were legalized in the form of new businesses and jobs that can increase tax revenues across the board.

Law enforcement could also do more to solve real crime instead of wasting their time and tax payer funds on petty marijuana arrests.

Obama Fried Chicken.. so what!?

Well if I knew it would have been news or even blog-worthy, I would have posted this picture two months ago:This Obama Fried Chicken is on 115th and 7th Ave/St Nicholas Ave. It’s sort of an intersection there. I was looking for parking and parked right in front of it without realizing the name of the spot until I got out of my car. As soon as I saw the name I pulled out the phone and took that picture. I thought it was hilarious. My friends got plenty of food there during that late night spades party.

My friend told me as soon as Obama was elected, they changed the name. So, this spot may have been up since November.

Check out fellow blogger Rippa @ The Intersection of Madness and Reality for a post about the Brooklyn location where the community seems to be protesting. Leave it up to us African American folk to get upset over small things. Or, maybe it’s just Brooklyn folks that are always uptight about something. I wonder if they’re going to go crazy over this Harlem location even though it’s been up for months without so much as a peep from the Harlem community.

In an effort to support Black business, there’s a great restaurant on 116th street, close to Lenox Ave and I am not talking about the overrated Amy Ruth’s. It’s across the street from Amy Ruth. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the spot but the title of it has the word “supreme” in it. Make sure you get the candied carrots. It’s worth it!!

Tug of War over Michael Phelps

Introduction

I really wanted to write about Michael Phelps but I had to hold on a minute. I knew the story was too simple to speak about. Superstar athlete gets caught smoking marijuana, supposedly. Immediately, I knew everyone would jump on that; I couldn’t. I felt the story needed some complexity before it was worth writing about. Well, the issue just got good.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says he will charge Michael Phelps with a crime if he determines the Olympics hero smoked marijuana in Richland County…

“This case is no different than any other case,” Lott said Monday. “This one might be a lot easier since we have photographs of someone using drugs and a partial confession. It’s a relatively easy case once we can determine where the crime occurred.”

Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a $570 fine, plus court costs.

Richland sheriff could charge Phelps by Adam Beam @ The State

Two Sides

From what I am reading in comments and other articles, it seems this is good for both sides of marijuana legalization. The prohibitionists want to seem strong against drug use so demonizing Michael Phelps will be a good move. However, Michael Phelps is not just some geeky guy from the suburbs. He’s a world record holding, Olympic swimming champion. He’s a role model to millions and promoted as such. To bring down Michael Phelps is not just some typical everyday arrest. It’s the destruction of American pride. That’s a very hard thing to do and no one wants to see it happen.

While those supporting marijuana legalization don’t want to see another good person, or true role model, go down, it’s not such a bad idea that Phelps will become a victim, or martyr, of an archaic system that has gone awry from day one. People will begin to question the validity of a policy that could place an icon in prison for such a minor infraction. People will question the validity of the arguments that keep this policy in place. Finally, people will want to know, “If marijuana is so dangerous to your health, then how did this guy manage to set world records and win so many medals?”

Racial Element

Just the image of Michael Phelps with a ROOR bong to his mouth alone has brought to light much-ignored conversations regarding the racial disparity of law enforcement, especially when it comes to marijuana use. Matt Fogg, former US Marshal and LEAP speaker, probably said it best when he said, “[Black people] make up 12% of the population, but [they] make up 80% of the drug arrests….” The questions being thrown around in this debate question whether or not Phelps isn’t going to be punished at all simply because he’s white.

But, Michael Phelps is more than just white. While his skin may preclude from a lot of persecution at the hands of law enforcement, there are also other reasons he won’t be persecuted. He’s rich with endorsement deals and various other income streams. That kind of money usually frightens police officers and district attorneys alike. He’s famous. That will definitely haunt some people in the future. He has the support of Octagon. He’s still a role model. Toss in the realities of the many marijuana smokers that have already invaded our society at high levels. Take a look at Celebstoner to get a “whiff” of all the big celebs who toke on joints on a daily basis. President Barack Obama was a pothead. With that too cool and calm demeanor I believe he still gets his high from time to time.

Is Marijuana dangerous?

Is marijuana the dangerous substance it’s claimed to be by the prohibitionists? The easy answer is no. Marijuana is not dangerous. Marijuana didn’t prevent Obama from becoming president nor was it so dangerous to stop Phelps from being a world swimming champion. Should Phelps be punished for marijuana use? According to the current law, he absolutely should be. Not only was he engaged in smoking marijuana but he should also have a paraphernalia charge for having that ROOR as well. Maybe, the Richland Country sheriff should pull a Rachel Hoffman on Phelps so we can all find out the identity of his supplier.

No, No, and No

If Michael Phelps is punished, how far will it go? Will the “righteous” police sheriff arrest and charge Michael Phelps? Will the school officials opt to investigate the situation? Will the IOC be willing to strip Phelps of his medals?

But Lott seems to be the only person talking about making a case against Phelps. Both the USC and Columbia Police Departments said they would not pursue charges.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Phelps’ sponsors — from apparel company Speedo to luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega — issued statements calling the incident a “nonissue.” The International Olympic Committee accepted his apology.

“We have no reason to doubt his sincerity and his commitment to continue to act as a role model,” the IOC said in a statement.

At the University of South Carolina, where Phelps was visiting when the picture was taken, the mood was largely “who cares?”

“He’s young, and he is human. They’ll probably let him off easy because he owned up to it.”

– Richland sheriff could charge Phelps by Adam Beam @ The State

Oh well. Sorry for all of the suspense. It looks like another case where someone who’s rich or famous or white gets away with a criminal act because they’re rich or famous or white. This definitely opens the door to many more questions. If it’s such a “nonissue” and the general mood is, “who cares?”, then why is it such an issue for so many millions of others, mainly African American males?

Blogging While High Ep 3: Ten Friends vs Free Whopper

This Blogging While High episode was brought to you by Juicy Fruit.
Read Blogging While High Episode 2: Gimme some Christianity, Hold the GodTen Friends vs Free Whopper

So, I’m sitting here skimming through the Huffington Post for anything remotely interesting and I come across: Whopper Sacrifice, Burger King’s Facebook Promotion: Delete 10 Friends For Free Whopper. Well the title sort of speaks for itself. If you delete 10 friends from your Facebook page, you can get a free whopper.

As I was smoking, I thought about it at face value. I felt negative about it: “Why whould I give up 10 friends for a whopper?” I thought it wasn’t worth it. I felt this wasn’t a good campaign.

As my mind climbed toward that high, I thought about what friends I would get “delete” if I chose that whopper. I came across a few names I figure I wouldn’t really miss. I stopped myself at three names. Don’t ask, I only remember one. No, I am not telling. But, she’s one of those people with too many friends herself so I wouldn’t even be missed.

DAMN

Could I find 10 friends that wouldn’t even notice I was off their list?

NO! NO! NO! Leave it alone.

So, I just started reading the article to see what it says while Larry King had Priscilla Presley talking about Elvis and some watch and some horses and some shit about cake on the lawn on that bar at the bottom. Anyway, I read (as quoted from Adweek):

“The effort crafted by Crispin Porter + Bogusky came about after agency creative staffers confronted the too-many-friends scenario themselves on Facebook.”

And I thought that made perfect sense. I had that problem on Myspace. Had a list about 200+ and chopped it down to about 75 actual people. And yes, I communicated with all of them. Unfortunately for Myspace, it’s all about Facebook.

Now, that I am done with that article and my high has begun to taper ever so gently, that whopper is looking really really good. Those 10 friends are about to get rationalized right the fuck off my list. I will give each one a reason. Some will be harsh while other will be soft. Some might be quiet and some might get loud. But, in the end, it’s all about feeding these munchies. That whopper sounds damn good to me

Strain Report

Juicy Fruit is awesome. It’s really the kind of marijuana that I look for. At the first few puffs, I didn’t really feel anything. After a while, I just start hearing differently. Immediately, I knew there had to be some sativa in it. It’s as if you can more easily focus on specific sounds while tuning others out. Like right now, all I hear is me tapping on the keyboard and the hum of my fan. At the same time, I can hear the traffic outside of my window but it’s very muffled. Also my body became numb and tingly. I felt my toes curling a bit. That’s when I knew I was high. I just got more sensitive to hearing and feeling. Don’t ask what happened (down there). This stuff works.

I believe it also has some indica in it. I do feel the drowsiness in it. The first time I smoked it, it put me to sleep. It’s not as strong a sleep as the Kushes I’ve had. It’s more of a very warm comfortable feeling. When I usually throw the cover over myself for a nap, I snuggled up with my pillow and I noticed everything was soft and relaxed. I didn’t drop like a rock. I felt rocked to sleep. This stuff works.

Physically speaking, Juicy Fruit is packed with diamonds (or THC). It was almost like a pale green color when it’s usually much darker. The color is lighter due to the amount of diamonds. It doesn’t smell all that strong and I couldn’t place it but scent is just a small part of the evaluation. And, it does smoke up quite smoothly.

 

Stupid Dirty Cops Got Caught

Background [CBS7 news report]

As I was perusing my marijuana-related news site, I came across, Cops ‘Busted’ for Raid on Fake Grow Op [Reason via High Times]. Seems our old friend, Barry Cooper is at it with Kop Busters. Barry Cooper rented a house in Odessa, TX to set up a grow operation. The great part about it is that they were growing two tiny Christmas trees (no taller than a foot each from what I saw in the video). The theory is that if police were as honest and straight as they claimed, this grow operation should go undetected. Obviously, it didn’t.

Who’s Barry Cooper

Barry Cooper is a veteran law enforcement officer and anti-drug-war lecturer made famous throughout the anti-drug-war community for his film Never Get Busted Again Vol. 1. During the course of his eight year career as a drug enforcement officer he made more than 800 drug arrests, 50 vehicle seizures and confiscated over $500,000 in cash and assets.

Barry Cooper is a man who saw something wrong with the system. He realized that he was being lied to about marijuana and sought to effect change. In many rights, he’s still a law enforcement officer. He’s just brave enough to do something about the dirty police tactics that corrupt his duties. Where he was considered a hero to many during his time as a police officer, he’s more of a hero without the badge because he didn’t need the badge or a gun to do the right thing.
Never Get Busted [website | youtube]
Kop Busters [website]
Marc “Prince of Pot” Emery interviews Barry Cooper

How We Know Cops Were Crooked [Raw Footage]

First of all, this grow operation was 100% legal as there is nothing illegal about growing plants indoors much less Christmas trees (just in time for Christmas too). Secondly, the only people who knew about the grow operation were Barry Cooper’s staff.

So, new questions are raised:

  1. How did Odessa police “know” there was an “illegal” grow operation?
  2. How did they obtain a warrant to raid the location?

First of all, the police did NOT know about the grow operation. With no marijuana and no way to know there was marijuana in this house, the police, the people you trust with your lives, had to have found out illegally. But, even then, with that illegally obtained “evidence” how did they go about obtaining a search warrant? Lies beget lies. They had to have lied on to get the warrant. If they knew for a fact there was marijuana being grown on this property, there would be no way for the police to lose. But, they did indeed lose.

Now that we know Odessa police lied to obtain this information, we want and deserve real answers to those questions. What did the police do, illegally, to target this location? Exactly, what did they use to lie to obtain the search warrant? While we can guess at a few things, we’ll never know unless the police stop lying. But, lies beget lies.

Why Set Up A Grow Operation: Yolanda Madden

Well, it seems this isn’t the first time Odessa police have lied.. go figure. In 2005, Yolanda Madden was set up by the very same police department in a methamphetamine scheme in which the police informant planted evidence on her. But, this is not some lie to get Yolanda off. The informant admitted planting the evidence on Yolanda. She’s currently serving 8 years in federal prison on distribution charges because the police set her up near a junior high school. If you don’t know, many counties, cities and states apply harsher punishment when dealing drugs within a school zone.

Yolanda Madden is just an example of the police corruption that exists all over the United States. As long as innocent citizens continue to get targeted by police for their own fun and excitement, we’ll continue to have these problems. This should let people know that we are all at risk from police, innocent and guilty.

The Real Problem: Judges

We can play this game of “cat and mouse” with police departments around the nation as much as we please. In the end, it comes down to what happens in the court room. When police officers set innocent people up, informants misinform, and evidence is fabricated, it’s all left up to the judge to decide what’s fair and what’s NOT fair. Far too often, it’s the judges that take the word of police over other people. When you have entire police departments acting criminally, it’s up to the judges to do a better job of protecting the people from the animals that attack them.

The very reason police corruption exists is because the judicial system allows it. The people ought to begin chastising and scrutinizing the judges for their decisions to allow evidence that was obviously illegally obtained. If this continues, then what’s the point of the US Constitution and other laws. Police officers can not continue to choose what laws they decide to follow and enforce. As long as judges continue to allow this activity, there’s no reason for police to stop being badged criminals.

“King of the Hill” on weeeed!

The Setup

I don’t watch King of the Hill as often as I used to watch it. I catch it from time to time, here and there. Last night it came on at about 1pm. The episode started somber as usual. It was time for football tryouts. Hank, being the former football hero and father, wants Bobby to tryout for the team. Bobby, being the eclectic individual and somewhat polar opposite of his father, proudly goes for and gets the job of towel boy to the initial dismay of his former quarterback father. But, Hank doesn’t care as long as Bobby is somewhere in and around football.

The Twist

During one of the games, Bobby is disrespected by the coach even as the team won. This puts Bobby in a bad place. He signed up to be a towel boy, not the team’s bitch. Now, he’s not even happy doing that. As Bobby’s on his way home, he passes his neighbor Min as she’s tending to the roses in her garden. Did I mention Bobby is eclectic? He takes interest in growing his own roses. Unfortunately, Hank is not too supportive of this. He’ll accept towel boy but where’s the manhood is growing roses. Hank is raising a man, not a gardener.

This forces Bobby to seek ways to indulge his new passion. He goes to the local garden shop to purchase some bare root roses to grow. However, his dilemma is in trying to keep his hobby secret from his father. He asks the clerk if there’s a way he could grow in his closet.

Here Comes The Weed

The clerk at the garden shop tips Bobby off to a store that would help him grow plants in secret. And the name of that store: Seeds and Stems. However, when Bobby walks into the store, you see all kinds of smoking paraphernalia, most notably bongs and pipes. The clerks are at first bewildered by some kid asking for grow advice but are relieved to find out that he genuinely wants to grow roses in his closet and in secret because of his father’s disapproval. So, Bobby gets his start in horticulture, cultivation, or growing.

Unfortunately, his passion makes him forget the big game which the team lost due to their lack of a towel boy. Hank comes home furious that Bobby didn’t show up. In searching for Bobby, Hank finds him slipping out of the closet. When Hank goes to inspect, he finds the potted rose stems. After a conversation with Peggy, Hank decides to support his son, in secret. He couldn’t bare to have the neighbors know that his son was into roses.

Hardcore Grower

Hank goes back to the garden shop to find a tall and burly man who’s just as intense about growing as the most hardcore football player. He explains to Hank about the competition and that growing isn’t just some past time. It’s hard work. “It’s science and art.” When he finds out that it’s Bobby that’s doing the growing, he berates Hank for putting such a young boy through such pain. Hank is intrigued, attracted even, by the man’s high intensity and competitiveness. He wants to do more than support Bobby. He wants Bobby to be a winning grower.

Unfortunately for Hank, Bobby doesn’t have the same same intensity as his father. Hank goes back to Seeds and Stems shop to get more grow supplies and information. Upon seeing this, the clerks get serious with Hank. They let him know Bobby got the “kiddy stuff”. If he’s serious about growing, he’ll step up his game. Seeing the high costs of growing indoors, Hank persuades Seeds and Stems to sponsor him in the competition. Now, they’ve got a real indoor grow operation.
In the end, Hank ends up going way overboard and sees that he’s doing more damage to Bobby than he intended. They ended up losing the competition to the intense grower from the grow shop . Hank decides to transplant the roses outdoor in an effort to respect his son’s hobby as well as the hobby itself.

Real Marijuana Growing

I always say that marijuana growing is easy. All you need is what mother nature provides – earth, water, air, and light. However, the intense grower is right. It is science and it is art, when you want to grow the best. Growing the best marijuana is a delicate combination of biology, chemistry, genetics, math, love, and patience.

Imagine a grow operation. Organic fertilizer or synthetic salts? Organic requires things like bat guano (manure), beneficial bacteria, mycorrhizae fungi and other things. Synthetic salts requires the right combination of formula. Get any of these things wrong and you can severely underfeed or overfeed your plant, slowing growth and/or causing nutrient burn. You can test your mix with electrical conductivity (EC) meters, parts-per-million (PPM) meters, and pH testers. And that’s just what’s going on in the dirt or water solution if hydroponic.

Above ground, growers contend with air quality, proper light and intensity, temperature, humidity, insects, disease, mold, rot, and fungus. A grower has to maintain appropriate conditions to ensure the plant is healthy and strong.

Although it’s overwhelming in the beginning, you can get the hang of it quickly. $300 will get you started with a mini system growing plants no taller than two feet. Eventually, you’ll want to step your game up just like Hank did. Costs can easily reach into the tens of thousands but that’s for the commercial growers who invest in all of those lights, meters, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, carbon dioxide, and various other items.

But, the “rose buds” are worth the effort…

National Geographic Explorer: Heroin vs Meth vs Marijuana

Intro

Last night, I watched three back to back Explorer episodes on National Geographic. Heroin Crisis looked at heroin around the world, the second episode was The World’s Most Dangerous Drug (methamphetamine), and the final episode was titled Marijuana Nation.

Heroin Crisis

I knew a lot about heroin already. One thing that stood out to me was when the program got into the manufacturing side of heroin. Afghanistan was producing 30% more heroin than the actual demand. While I didn’t know that, I did know that Afghanistan was indeed responsible for producing 90% of the world’s heroin. In fact, I wrote about: Wakeup: Back to Reagan’s Drug War.

You see the Taliban had crushed the drug trade in Afghanistan in 2001. They tortured and murdered farmers to get their point across (much worse than the DEA’s torturing and murdering of American citizens over marijuana). Then, the first coming of the idiot-Christ, President mis-Elect Bush, came around, guns-a-blazing, to shut down the Taliban. That’s when poppy production went BACK into overdrive.

Question: Why did we decide to go into Afghanistan? Al Qaeda? Osama Bin Laden? Does it even matter?

World’s Most Dangerous Drug

Methamphetamine (crystal meth or meth) scares me! Simply put, it’s a frightening drug. I’d heard a lot about it. But, being that my one and only interest is and will always be marijuana, it didn’t make sense for me to gather more information about this drug. But this Explorer program gave me that view of meth that set me straight about it once and for all. One thing that stood out to me more and more were the before and after images of meth users. Strong healthy people now looking thin, emaciated, and gaunt within a matter of a few months to two years. Not even cocaine or heroin is that bad on the body. Don’t get me wrong. I grew up in the Bronx, New York City. I’ve seen first hand the destruction cocaine and heroin can do to a community. But, meth is a beast unto itself.

Anyway here’s a Youtube video of meth users, before and after. As much as I hate to use these people because they demonize a harmless plant along with other man-made chemicals, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Marijuana Nation

Finally, we get to Marijuana Nation and I am happy, yet pensive due to the twisting and spinning of information by police and DEA agents. I have a problem stomaching the ignorant and arrogant ranting of bold-faced habitual liars.

Let’s think about it critically for a minute.

Who do you believe, or side with, in the War on Marijuana? Would you side with marijuana growers and traffickers over the DEA and police when it comes to legalizing marijuana? I’d side with the criminals because it’s a question of who will lose if marijuana is legal.

First and foremost, criminals – growers and dealers. They lose because if marijuana is legalized, prices drop. That’s not good for a would-be former criminal’s pocket. If you’re in the business of selling marijuana, you’d want to keep the prices high so that you can profit as much as possible. However, that will be difficult to do when you can buy a pound of decent marijuana in Zimbabwe for $20. You see where I am going on the criminal side of things. Yet, it’s the criminals, like Marc Emery, that want it legalized. People don’t sacrifice themselves unless it’s important to them, morally important.

Secondly, the police and DEA. As I watched this program, comparing it to the other two, I realized there was an incredible bump in the amount of money and resources used for marijuana eradication. But, they lose if marijuana is legal because marijuana accounts for a high percentage of their work. If marijuana is made legal, it would be difficult for the DEA to account for the expenditures they currently use $70 billion annually. In other words, they’d be losing jobs.It’s in their best interest to keep the pressure high on marijuana demonization in an effort to paint themselves as saviors and worth the cost. On top of that, if they’re not concentrating on petty marijuana crime, they’d have to actually do real police work like solving murders or catching rapists.

Who wins? Scientists and Researchers. Doctors and medicinal users. Casual Users. US citizens in general who don’t like the criminal element (the DEA) nor the wayward and errant dealers on the corner. And yes, even police. Remember Al Capone, Eliot Ness and the Untouchables? Alcohol Prohibition in the 1920’s? There’s a lesson the authorities of the United States should study extremely carefully because they’re already repeating the past. If that’s the case, we know the inevitable result.

Anyway, Marijuana Nation was good even if it rehashed a lot of the old stuff (old to me, at least) – Marc Emery (BC3 and Cannabis Culture), indoor and outdoor grow operations, and of course the obligatory save-my-DEA-job lies.

Last Puff

It’s a wonder why people continue to lump marijuana in with heroin or methamphetamine. The substances are so drastically different on so many levels. It’s like comparing water to nuclear runoff – one’s safe and naturally occurring and the other is fatal and man-made. If you “enjoy” a cup of nuclear runoff, you’re going to need lots of help. And, the people of this world, all nations, fail at the job of helping one another. We can’t continue to murder, torture, and imprison our way out of our problems. It’s the very reason they keep coming back. These people – friends, family, and others – need help in the form of common sense policy through education (which has worked for decreasing tobacco use). We can also put some of that DEA largesse into healthcare and addiction treatment. And, at $70 billion a year, we could probably provide free healthcare for all Americans as well.

2700 year-old marijauna stash (and then some)

Quick Announcements

  • National Geographic will be having an “Explorer” episode dedicated to “Marijuana, the most widely used illicit drug on the planet….” at 10pm tonight on December 2nd, 2008. It’s preceded by two more Explorer episodes, “Heroin Crisis” and “World’s Most Dangerous Drugs” regarding Methamphetamine addiction at 8pm and 9pm, respectively. I’ll be tuning into to all three episodes.
  • Congratulations to Arjan from Green House Seeds Co. for winning this year’s Cannabis Cup with their Lemon Haze strain. I look forward to trying it in the future.. one day.. hopefully.

Intro

I think we all know marijuana has been around for thousands of years in just about every culture outside of the Americas. All over the world, people have used cannabis for all kinds of purposes, primarily medical and secondarily because people like to get high. Yeah, they do.

2,700-year-old marijuana stash found [link]

I found this story in the Toronto Sun (via High Times). Simply put, researchers found 789 grams of marijuana that…

was clearly “cultivated for psychoactive purposes,” rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

Yes folks. People smoked marijuana just to get high 2,700 years ago. And guess what! 2,700 years later, people STILL smoke marijuana just to get high. And, what else!? 2,700 years from now, people will STILL be smoking marijuana JUST TO GET HIGH.

Anyway, back to the article.

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

So, it was a white guy in China who decided he wanted to be buried with almsot two pounds marijuana to take with him into the afterlife. Honestly, I don’t know if that would have been enough for me to take into the afterlife. I don’t rightly know how long an afterlife would be if it does exist but just in case I might want to go in with a long ton (2200 pounds). Check on it in one year. If it hasn’t been touched then feel free to take it out the grave. I am positive a one-year cure underground will make it worth the wait.

Other Marijuana History

As I’ve said before, there are plenty of other cases in which marijuana shows up in history and much further back than the above article. For example, in Egypt, the pharaohs used to bath in cannabis oils. We’re talking some 5,000+ years ago. Egyptians were growing and harvesting fields of this stuff for their daily use. And check the process.

Even in the Bible, the name for marijuana is kaneh bosem. Drop the “em” and you’ve got kaneh bos which sounds a hell of a lot like cannabis and is considered the root of the word cannabis. Unfortunately, the problem is that most Christians never really know what the Bible is saying due to bad translations and missing sections. So, there is a debate about what exactly kaneh bosem is today. The reason it’s a problem is because kaneh bosem is the main ingredient in anointing oil or what is known today as holy water. We’ve got one side of people who can’t imagine that Jesus or Moses used marijuana in some way, shape or form. (It’s the devil weed, right!?) And, you’ve got the other side that’s made the connection between kaneh bos and cannabis.

It’s all about the use of oil.

You see, the THC in marijuana is not water soluble. In other words, it won’t dissolve in water. However, THC is fat soluble as well as alcohol soluble. The fat soluble part is important because oil contains plenty of fat. This is why people make cannabis butter for use in cooking; butter has fat.

I believe the people were interested in the THC more than the plant. If it were just plant itself, they could have just as easily used water. But I don’t know enough about that time period to jump to that educated guess. It wouldn’t be far fetched for me to believe that Egyptians, and later on Jews followed by Christians, used marijuana for multiple purposes.

This history of marijuana is specifically why many people also call it God’s herb. Rastafarians believe that you can connect with God more through the use of marijuana. It’s a sacrament to them and many others all around world.

Quick Tip

If you’re ever having trouble searching for marijuana-related info, like the stuff I am talking about here, use the word “cannabis” instead. In fact, the scientific name is Cannabis Sativa. Usually, when people are speaking “intelligently” about marijuana, they choose to use the more scientific term. Personally, I think it’s a subconcious, and sometimes concious, effort to maintain some air of legitimacy. Ridiculous, but it works.

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