Contact your elected representatives and urge them to 'Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers'. NORML Blog
January 2012
You are browsing the archive for January 2012.
Roots Monday: Richard M. Jones & His Jazz Wizards – Blue Reefer Blues
Richard Myknee Jones was from a musical family in New Orleans and played a variety of instruments before making the piano his main instrument. He played in Armand Piron’s Olympia Orchestra and led his own band called The Four Hot Hounds which included Sugar Johnny Smith and occasionally King Oliver. During World War One he [...]
Rhode Island Rep. who mocked marijuana busted again on marijuana charges (UPDATED)
Remember Rhode Island Rep. Robert Watson? We reported on him back in April 2011 when he was busted for marijuana possession and DUI after mocking marijuana reform in the legislature. He was just busted again for marijuana possession and DUI! He was caught with an open can of beer, drunk, telling cops “F*** you” and “Do you know who I am?” Now he’s check himself into rehab… but the media is emphasizing the marijuana and ignoring the alcohol.
Supreme Court rules cops need warrant to put GPS tracking on your car
In a rare victory for fans of the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court unanimously decided today that the police need to have a search warrant before they can place a GPS device on your car to track your movements, even if your car is parked on public property when the device is attached. Surprisingly, even though the case in question involved a cocaine trafficker alleged to have moved 97 kilos and $850,000, the justices decided the Obama Administration’s position was wrong.
Better legalize marijuana soon, for pharmaceuticalization is coming
Despite their public pronouncements, the officials involved can see with their own two eyes the multiple sclerosis patient whose tremors quiet, the chemo patient who stops puking, and the glaucoma patient who can still see after smoking a joint. The government already grows and distributes this plant for its medical value to four remaining patients on the Investigational New Drug program. The reason the government still bans its medical use as a plant is because the government also recognizes its recreational use as a plant.
Can you spot the “drug free workplace” sign?
All Jackson’s have a sign that reads “DRUGS DON’T WORK AT JACKSON’S” as part of their commitment to (the illusion of) a “drug-free” workplace. However, today, there was just too much irony for me to ignore when I walked in and could no longer see the sign because of a new extended display of Marlboro’s clipped to the left side of the behind-the-counter cigarette display. An entire wall of cigarette and chewing tobacco products just wasn’t enough; now they’re adding extensions like an old elementary school with a playground full of temporary trailer classrooms!
Victory! Right to petition to legalize marijuana in Missouri upheld!
This controversy was sparked in the early hours of January 15, when two volunteers with the Show-Me Cannabis Regulation campaign were gathering signatures on North Main Street in St. Charles. The ballot initiative seeks to legalize the production, sale, and use of marijuana under Missouri law and to regulate it in a manner similar to tobacco or alcohol. Two police officers approached the petition circulators, issued them citations for “soliciting without a permit,” and confiscated some of the petitions, which included approximately fifty signatures. Acting on behalf of the volunteers, the Freedom Center of Missouri insisted that the First Amendment required the City to drop the charges, return the seized petitions, and to destroy any copies the police had made of those petitions. The City has agreed to comply.
Dr. Lester Grinspoon on Medical Marijuana, Past, Present, and Future
From NORML SHOW LIVE #841 (1/20/2012), Harvard Emeritus Associate Professor Dr. Lester Grinspoon joins us via Skype for an exclusive interview. Topics include his friend, Dr. Carl Sagan, the idea of “recreational” vs. “medical” marijuana use, the opinion “all use is medical”, Allen St. Pierre’s “farce” comments on medical marijuana industry, and medical psychedelics.
Youth alcohol use no reason to prohibit marijuana for adults
At the peak of youth use in the late 1970′s, among high school seniors over 93% had tried alcohol, over 75% had tried tobacco, and over 60% had tried marijuana.
Today, thanks to a raise in the drinking age from 18-19 to 21, aggressive anti-tobacco education, and strict ID carding programs, now only over 70% of seniors have tried alcohol, over 43% have tried tobacco, and over 41% have tried marijuana.
NORML SHOW LIVE #841 – Dr. Lester Grinspoon Interview
Part 1 of interview with Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Harvard Emeritus and medical marijuana pioneer; music by Melodramus.
(View the full interview with Dr. Grinspoon at http://youtu.be/9CbVxa8by8k)
Rockin’ Friday: Melodramus – “Fly Away”
Melodramus is a three-piece progressive alternative metal band from Salt Lake City. The band’s debut album, ’30 Silver Pieces’, released in 2007, paved the beginning steps for the band. The album comprises more than one genre as elements of rock, metal, and pop weave in and out of songs. In the years afterward the band [...]