(Seattle Times) Tim Lincecum just did a conference call with reporters to talk about winning the Cy Young Award for the second year in a row. I’ll have some of his comments on that in a bit, but at the end of the call, Lincecum made a statement on his recent traffic stop in Hazel Dell, Washington, about four miles north of the Oregon border, on Oct. 30. It’s the first time he’s talked about the incident.

Lincecum was stopped for speeding, and handed over 3.3 grams of marijuana and a pot pipe after officers smelled marijuana.

Lincecum was facing misdemeanor marijuana charges, but county prosecutors and the 25-year-old pitcher agreed to a plea agreement in which, as this San Francisco Chronicle story explains, he admits to one count of buying or selling a pot pipe, an infraction, in return for having misdemeanor charges of possessing the marijuana and the pipe dropped. Lincecum agreed to pay a $372 fine, but Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman has still ordered Lincecum to appear in a Vancouver, Washington court on Dec. 22 for an arraignment. At that time, the plea deal will be presented and most likely approved, according to the Chronicle story.

At any rate, here’s what Lincecum said today (the guidelines for the conference call were that all questions were to be about baseball, and Lincecum said this is all he can say about the matter right now):

“I made a mistake and I regret my actions earlier this month in Washington. I want to apologize to the Giants organization and the fans. I know as a pro athlete I have a responsibility to conduct myself appropriately on and off the field. I certainly learned a valuable lesson from all of this. I promise to do better in the future.”

Another half-assed apology from another superstar pro athlete.  Is he apologizing for his use of marijuana or for speeding through Hazel Dell?  What is he promising to do better in the future, use cruise control?  I guess it is a good thing that athletes like Phelps and Lincecum apologize for their “mistake” without ever claiming that smoking marijuana itself is the mistake, instead of getting caught being the mistake.

Still, I’m just happy that Lincecum must appear in Clark County court for arraignment.  I’m putting together an informative protest in Vancouver, WA, on Tuesday, Dec 22, won’t you join me?

(USA Today) Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants won his second consecutive National League Cy Young Award Thursday, becoming the first repeat winner in the major leagues since Randy Johnson won four times from 1999 to 2002.

Lincecum got 11 of 32 first-place votes and 100 points overall in the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America and beat the St. Louis Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright in one of the closest races in the award’s history. Carpenter had nine first-place votes and 94 points, and Wainwright had 12 first-place votes and 90 points.

Yes, the same guy who was popped in Washington State for a personal amount of weed is the best pitcher in the National League for two years in a row.  We begin the year with eight-time gold medalist Michael Phelps smoking a bong and we end the year with two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum smoking a bowl.  Can we finally dispense with the notion that marijuana smoking turns you into an unaccomplished slacker loser?

(METRO VANCOUVER) B.C.’s Prince of Pot has been granted bail and could temporarily be released from jail as early as today as he continues to await extradition to the U.S. to plead guilty to selling marijuana seeds.

Marc Emery has been held at the North Surrey Pre-Trial Centre in Port Coquitlam since turning himself over to authorities on Sept. 28.

He has promised to surrender to U.S. custody within 72 hours after an extradition order is signed, which could happen as soon as Dec. 1, which is the final day for submissions.

Some days you wake up and the media gods have given you a priceless gift beyond measure…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cheech & Tommy hit the road this winter!

(CheechandChongTour.com) Cheech & Chong: Get It Legal is the follow-up to their hugely successful reunion tour, Cheech & Chong: Light Up America, where they performed together for the first time in over 25 years. The pop culture duo performed for more than 100 audiences and quickly became one of the most sought after shows of 2008-2009. Additionally, their performance in San Antonio, Texas was filmed by the Weinstein Company and will be released as Cheech and Chong’s: Hey Watch This on 4/20 of next year.

“We had an amazing time last year reconnecting with each other and our fans in a way that felt like it was part of our DNA, we were meant to be together,” said Cheech Marin. “In 2010 we are looking forward to doing more classic material that people haven’t seen for years and years, performing more of our songs and introducing some new bits. We’ve had material brewing separately for the past 25 years,” said Tommy Chong.

The Cheech & Chong: Get It Legal tour is scheduled to make 17 stops across North America including Boulder, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Bellingham, Portland, Santa Barbara, Tampa, Minneapolis, Rockford, Detroit, Louisville, DC, Bakersfield, Phoenix, and Fort Worth with Canadian stops in Regina, and Saskatoon. Additional dates to be announced soon. Chong’s wife and comedy partner, Shelby Chong, will open all dates on the tour as well as DJ-Joey Mojo. Fan club members will have access to presale tickets beginning November 17th at CheechandChongTour.com.

I’m excited to announce the official certification of our newest NORML chapter, Beverly Hills NORML 90210. You can check out the beginnings of their website still in development at http://norml90210.org.

NORML 90210 is headed by Cheryl Shuman, a fascinating woman I first met at the Aspen Legal Seminar.  She has been working in the entertainment field in LA for over two decades and has amassed a list of celebrity contacts and friends who we hope can be motivated to speak out for the cause.  She’s a strong successful woman who perfectly embodies that “stiletto stoner” image that has captured the public imagination this summer.  She’s dealt with media public relations on a professional and personal level in the most stressful of circumstances and will be a natural for presenting NORML’s message.

Cheryl is assisted by Jacek Lentz, an attorney in Los Angeles whom I’ve also met at NORML conferences.  Jacek is an emigrant from Poland who is fiercely dedicated to protecting and expanding freedom here in America.

With the natural brand image of Beverly Hills that suggests wealth, celebrity, and the finest things in life, I look forward to Cheryl and Beverly Hills NORML 90210 showing California and the nation that cannabis is not only becoming mainstream, but it is a symbol of fame, fortune, and success as well.

Joss Stone: “I smoke cannabis, but I don’t think it’s really a drug. It’s more of a herb. I don’t regret saying that at all.”

(Celebrity Health & Fitness) Joss Stone, the UK singer, who rose to fame at 16 because of her sultry, blues-inflected voice, is determined to live a rock star life. She openly admits she smokes marijuana and says she is likely to “dabble” in other illegal drugs because they look like “fun.” Is she high, or just crazy?

Stone said cannabis is less harmful than alcohol, and while she acknowledged that drugs are horrible, she said the also sound like “fun.”

“I might dabble now and then,” she declared. “I smoke cannabis, but I don’t think it’s really a drug. It’s more of a herb. I don’t regret saying that at all.”

First, if you haven’t heard Joss Stone sing, do yourself a favor and find one of her tracks.  I first heard her when she was hitting at age 16 but it wasn’t until I saw her on Austin City Limits with Michael McDonald that I realized she wasn’t an African-American woman singing in an old black church’s choir since the age of 3 like I’d suspected, but she was some white teenage British girl!

Now I have even more reason to like her.

Plus, let’s not get too outraged over her saying that she might dabble with drugs.  She’s telling one of the secrets about hard drugs they never tell you in school: they are fun.  Why do you think people do them?  There are people who have taken all manner of drugs, enjoyed their experiences, and didn’t become addicts.  There are also people who have played Russian Roulette and not shot themselves in the skull.  Drugs themselves aren’t bad; to quote Clapton, “it’s in the way that you use it”.

Some will read this and think I’m encouraging hard drug use.  Nope.  Neither encouraging or discouraging, I’m just telling it like it is.  Drugs are fun… until they stop becoming fun anymore.  That’s why I prefer cannabis.  Nineteen years with Mary Jane and she’s still fun.

Jack Herer holds his book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" at Portland Hempstalk

(Salem-News) [November 1st], Jack Herer was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Eugene from the rehabilitation center where he has been receiving care. His breathing became more distressed throughout the afternoon, and finally he was rushed to the Emergency Room.

He was diagnosed with bronchitis, and given antibiotics to overcome the illness. Such prevention may not have been possible just a few days ago, when a “Do Not Transport” order was in effect. Because of a recent change in Jack’s care, they were able to get him appropriate treatment, which could literally have saved his life.

More good news, Jack has been responding well to Speech, Physical and Occupational therapy treatments administered at the care center where he’s residing in Eugene, Oregon. He is coherent. His speech is beginning to come back. He has no IV’s, no breathing tube, and though he has a feeding tube, they expect to remove it as soon as this week.

The bad news, is the breakdown within the ranks of Jack’s supporters. While Jack works to heal and rehabilitate, the world outside his room is swirling with controversy.

Much has been said as of late regarding the recent change of Jack’s care management, and the subject has seemingly taken on a life of its own. Jeannie Herer and others are unhappy with the new decision by the care center to acknowledge a Power of Attorney that moves authority of Jack’s care to Joy Graves and Chuck Jacobs.

Bonnie King is an excellent reporter I’ve had the chance to talk with many times.  She covers the medical marijuana beat for the Salem-News and I see her at every event.  Please continue to the Salem-News website for the whole report.

Lou Dog, from Suburban Noize recording group the Kottonmouth Kings, has been named the new assistant director for the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“I am proud of the appointment and I am prepared to continue lending my energy and resources towards the advancement of the cause,” commented Lou Dog.

The Kottonmouth Kings have been on the frontlines fighting for the legalization of marijuana for over a decade. The group has been acknowledged for their never-ending commitment to spreading awareness and understanding about the plant, marijuana.

The group had previously helped organize a demonstration at the U.S. Federal Building, alongside other pro-cannabis organizations, to protest the federal prosecution of pot users under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The event attracted national media attention and challenged the Bush Administration’s “War on Drugs”.

You can hear Lou on the Oct 26 edition of the Stash as he was on the panel with Tommy Chong and B Real at the Cypress Hill Smokeout.

FOX's Female Celebrity Stoners, a.k.a. "my dream circle" (what, no Adrianne Curry?)

Hey, isn’t this Steve Bloom’s gig? FOX News has a slideshow of their top 29 celebrity stoners. Funny thing is, pot or not, it is a list of some of my favorite celebrities.

Does it seem to anyone else like FOX is trying to keep ahead of the pro-legalization curve? Their business channel hosted a weeklong look at marijuana with a fairly positive spin. They have Jessica Corry on speaking about Republican support for legalization. Could it be that Roger Ailes actually read my suggestion that Republicans could re-invigorate their brand and appeal to a brand new young demographic if they simply embraced their “government leave me alone” roots with respect to private adult marijuana use?

Watch out, Democrats, you’re getting outflanked on the legalization issue. FOX doesn’t make any move that isn’t coldly calculated to politically benefit conservatives.