Video streaming by Ustream
Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access
Download audio file (NORML_SHOW_LIVE_2011-09-19.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

1. Boston Freedom Rally goes off without arrests in the Boston Common last Saturday
2. Montana medical marijuana registry numbers down by 15% following new “repeal lite” law
3. Colorado ACLU backs the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol effort
4. Michigan’s Attorney General decides that landlords can outright ban medical marijuana in their properties

Daily Toker Tunes

• Roots Monday: Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends – “I Didn’t Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)”

Grassroots Activism

• Kelly Maddy on the upcoming Cannabis Revival in Joplin, Missouri, this Saturday

Radical Rant

• Latest FBI arrest numbers show marijuana is once again the majority of the “War on Drugs”

Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access
Download audio file (NORML_SHOW_LIVE_2011-09-16.mp3)
Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access
Download audio file (NORML_SHOW_LIVE_2011-09-16a.mp3)


Video streaming by Ustream

Radical Rant

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by Urb Thrasher from Urb Age Designs

• Electric Tuesday: Melodramus – “Generation Same”

CelebStoner.com Entertainment Report with Steve Bloom, co-author of Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide

• 22nd Annual Boston Freedom Rally takes place this Saturday
• Sarah Palin did cocaine and Michigan “Fab Five” basketball star Glenn Rice, according to new book
• HIGH TIMES loses to Wall St. Journal in NYMSL Championship

Patient Perspectives

• Federal medical marijuana patient Elvy Musikka discusses being harassed by Oregon State Police
• Mike Mullins and Jennifer Valley from Stoney Girl Gardens
• Joey Nieves from Ontario, Oregon’s 45th Parallel patient co-op

Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access

Download audio file (NORML_Daily_AudioStash_2010-09-20.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

1. T-Mobile sued for denying their network to text-messaging service that serves WeedMaps.com
2. Missoula man commits suicide when pushed by the local police to snitch on other medical marijuana growers
3. Arizona Cardinals owner ponies up $10,000 to defeat Prop 203, Arizona’s medical marijuana initiative

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

• Roots Monday: Entire Cities – “Cop Song”

Cannabis Conversations

• San Francisco State University Associate Professor Martin Carcieri discusses the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition

Cannabis Community

• Live audio from Saturday’s Boston Freedom Rally with HIGH TIMES editor Rick Cusick, NORML New Jersey’s Anne Davis, and PhillyNORML’s Chris Goldstein

I am so excited to break the news that we have four new contributors to help bring you the Daily Audio Stash!  In response to my call for volunteer music editors I received a lot of applications and picked from the best of them to give you our new lineup:

These fine Stashers will be finding the best 420-friendly music on the web and bringing it to us each week.  You already know me and Cannabis Karri.  Sahra Kant joins us from Massachusetts; I met her up at the Boston Freedom Rally this year.  Johnny Reeferseed‘s music has been featured on the Stash before.  And John Doe is the man behind John Doe Radio, another fine internet podcast.

But just because we have music editors that doesn’t mean you can’t still be involved.  If you have a band or have found a tune that you think should be on the Stash, just email it to me at stash@norml.org and I’ll pass it along to our editors.

Also join me in welcoming Amanda Bannon to our lienup of contributors.  Amanda is getting college credit as an intern working for me in NORML Chapter Outreach.  She will begin by reviving our dormant “Politicians on Pot” series, where you send us the replies you get from your elected officials when you write to them about ending marijuana prohibition.  If you haven’t written to your elected officials, visit our Take Action center and get started.  Now that the AMA has reversed its position on smoked cannabis as medicine, many of these congresspeople will need to update their form letter!  Write your congressperson and send that reply back to us at stash@norml.org.

The last thing "Radical" Russ ever did...

That’s Toby “Tigerheart” Grear, 155 lb. mixed martial arts champion and me backstage on the Boston Common at the Freedom Rally September 19.  I wrote in my previous post that I was back from the NORML CON, but really, I’m back from Boston Freedom Rally, two days of working in DC and crashing at Keith Stroup’s guest bedroom, and five days of San Francisco NORML Conference.

Plenty of photos are now uploaded and face-tagged at http://picasaweb.google.com/radicalruss. It’s been good not to talk for a day.  Heading over to Urb’s place to watch the DVR of my #5 Boise State Broncos (Go Big Blue!)… Holy shit, did I read that right? #5!?! What a mensch to record my college’s game while I’m on the road?

Tomorrow, Fresh Stash with highlights from Boston and San Francisco.  Plenty of budly nugs of audio for your listening pleasure over the next two days.  Then Thursday I’m back in the air (ugh) to Madison for the Harvest Fest, so no Stash, and off to Lambeau Field on Friday, so no Stash then, either.  But on Saturday you get live audio from Madison at a time to be announced with the benefit of me figuring out some of the audio difficulties.

Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access

Download audio file (NORML_Daily_AudioStash_2009-09-21.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

1. Boston: 30,000 smoke pot, celebrate decrim
2. Kansas paper considering medical marijuana question needs better fact checking
3. Stupid Stoner Story: So this bag of pot walks into a police station…

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• Dancehall/Reggae – ‘Natural Vibes’ by Darien Prophecy

Cannabis Conversations

• Dr. Keith Saunders of MassCann/NORML and Keith Stroup, NORML Founder, discuss the Boston Freedom Rally

9/20/2009 -  Chris Goldstein

An estimated 30,000 people were crowded onto the Boston Common at the peak moment of the 20th annual Boston Freedom Rally on September 19th 2009.

That moment was 4:20PM ET.

The thousands celebrated freely under a landmark victory for cannabis prohibition reform. In 2008 Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana possession of less than 1/4 ounce by adults with a Ballot Initiative, Proposition 2. That means you can only get a NON-criminal ticket with a $100 fine for a pot violation. The decrim effort was won because of the hard work of the very same folks who organize the rally:  MASSCANN/NORML.

A Parks Services officer (who strangely had a thick eastern European accent) agreed that 30,000 seemed a likely estimate of the peak attendance.

A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the department does not officially release crowd estimates for any event. But Boston Police confirmed that there were 3 arrests for distribution and over 100 citations issued for marijuana possession.

Keith Saunders, MASSCANN’s president, told me that over 50,000 people had probably walked through the grounds over the course of the day and encountered the message of marijuana legalization.

Overall, the police were civil although I saw numerous random searches and heard stories of many more. At past events there have been more than 150 arrests for pot possession… but not on Saturday. Without fear of arrest the crowd was polite and almost everyone I saw was openly enjoying marijuana.

An impressive line-up of bands and speakers appeared on two stages. Styles P, a big time reform supporter showed up and did a surprise set thanks to High Times Magazine. Because of some juggling to accommodate the last minute act, the countdown to 4:20 got squeezed. A sea of people were gathering before the main stage and filling in the large hill.

Steve Bloom of CelebStoner corralled the final 60 seconds  holding a clock up on stage and pointing as the hands came together. Looking out from the stage you could see huge clouds of smoke rise up from the crowd. There were dozens of spontaneous circles formed in a surreal organic collage of people. They cheered from across the rolling hills as giant 6-foot long joints were passed around.

Everyone smoked. There really was a quite visible haze over the entire crowd at 4:20. The sweet and fragrant odors of a wide variety of plant strains and hash drifted by, offering this interesting quilt of cannabis.

The crowd was extremely well behaved. There cannot be a finer exhibition of the positive effects of human cannabis smoking than large crowds of people doing it together. Without alcohol available at the event there were no fights, pushing or shoving. But with free cannabis consumption there was dancing, conversation and a genuinely happy atmosphere.

Personally, this was the most wonderful day for prohibition reform I have witnessed. The event itself; all of the people I met for the first time and friends to spend time with made this trip heartening, empowering and just plain fun! The locals really did treat me very well too.

Our country deserves this freedom that Massachusetts already enjoys.

I have seen Victory for Cannabis in Boston. It is sweet and green. It needs to be nationwide.

The first two pics were from my cellphone, this last one is from Derek at PhillyNORML. I’ll have some more blogging about the bands, speakers, backstage and social events from the Boston Freedom Rally tomorrow. Then its off to San Francisco for the NORML conference as I continue my Green September.

Play 9-17-07 AudioStash MP3
Also included: Speeches from the Freedom Rally Stage from Keith Saunders of MASSCANN/NORML, Danny Danko of High Times, Steve Hagar of High Times, Keith Stroup, Steve Bloom of celebstoner.com and music from Ben Scales.

I took this shot of Keith Saunders of MASSCANN in ’07

"The Death of Dr. Thompson" - To Keith: The Wicked Accuse, The Godly Defend

There’s a certain surreal part of this job. I’m typing this post from Keith Stroup’s place in Virginia, watching the San Diego Chargers play the Baltimore Ravens. Ten feet away he’s catching up on email and I’m snapping pics of his framed pictures on the wall. One is a signed personal pic photo of Hunter S. Thompson firing a shotgun at a photo of Ronald Reagan in cowboy gear. Another is a shot of Keith and Willie from long ago. Another is a drawing of Keith from a piece in the New Yorker. “Sometimes I feel old,” I tell Keith, “especially when you’re around these young people at these rallies. Then I think of the great people and great music I missed by being as young as I am. Growing up in the Eighties sucked.”

Keith had picked me up from the CVS at 7th & Pennsylvania in DC.  I’m lugging my two overstuffed carry-ons full of studio gear (which TSA loves to make me completely unpack and repack at every security checkpoint, so ixnay on our secret stoner plan to bring down Babylon by disguising soundboards and wireless keyboards as explosives to bring down the Boston-DC shuttle) and my literally bursting at the seams hanging bag that the baggage handlers have been abusing for the modest fee of $15.  And I’m wearing my Packers t-shirt, because it’s game day, and it is horribly old and tattered, and my Concordia University sweats, because I don’t wear anything metal while flying.

Can we talk about flying?  Nobody can seem to understand why the airlines keep losing money?  Well, that nobody ain’t six-foot-and-two-fifty!  I’m trying to respond to emails offline in the air with my arms like a T-Rex on a nearly five hour flight from PDX to Logan, completely packed full.  I’m forced to haul two heavy limit-pushing bags of recording gear because no freakin’ way will I let the baggage gorillas throw around the laptop and the Mackie and the mics AND pay an extra $30 or $40 for the privilege.  I’d pack it all in the flight case, but they want to charge $100 for that, each way.  It’s going to get to the point where it’s cheaper to fly with no bags and just buy your clothes at Wal-Mart when you land.  Oh, are you feeling peckish?  Well, for eight dollars, we’ll give you a Lean Cuisine-quality meal poorly cooked to eat on your folding tray that’s in your gut from the person reclined in the seat centimeters in front of you.  I swear if I get enough revenue flowing I will get a Madden Cruiser and just bus my way to all these events.

Stevie Lee Webb at the audio desk where he used to engineer The Russ Belville Show on XM Satellite

Where was I?  Oh yes, before Keith picks me up I’m visiting my friend Stevie Lee Webb at his offices at The Bill Press Show.  We worked together for over a year.  He’s from London and a complete Monty Python fan and radio comedy vet in England.  We used to have so much fun on our show and he’s agreed to provide some voice overs when we have some egregious UK reefer madness to read.

Packer Baby at the Hawk'n'Dove in DC

Stevie let me park my gear in his office, then we trekked a couple of blocks to the Hawk’n'Dove.  It’s a big Democratic hangout in DC, I’m told, but more importantly, the Packers bar on Sunday!  I enjoyed watching most of the game as Stevie and I ate pub food and drank beer (yes, I did some hard drugs – alcohol!)  Nice to finally meet face to face, and we’ll be having dinner in the next two days so I can meet his wife and we can play Monty Python Fluxx (don’t ask, it’s a nerd thing).

It's 4:20am in Boston after a long day of sun and fun and three hours sleep.

The day begun very early.  At 4 am I’m getting up in Cambridge at a hotel near MIT after having partied past midnight at the “Boston Tea Party”.  Caught a cab at 4:20, thought it was appropriate, to catch the 6am shuttle to Dulles.  Flying is so miserable (did I mention that?) that I prefer to do it as early as possible to have the time for the repacking and so I can sleep through it later.  But that put me in DC at 8am, way too early to bug Keith.  Called Stevie and he could meet me at noon, so I found a spot near the “Flyer” bus terminal and slept for three hours.

The party after Freedom Rally that kept me up so late was a blast.  It was invite only and I had a “plus one” invite, but no one to join me.  But it turned out that Anne from New Jersey NORML wanted to go, and her boyfriend Ron was with her, and I did some quick talking and we all got in.  Then Delia from New Jersey called, so we went back out toward the Boston Common and picked her up and I talked her in as well.  It’s not too difficult talking beautiful women into stoner parties.

Georgine DiMaria at the backstage studio for NORML SHOW LIVE

Speaking of, it was a pleasure to meet Georgine DiMaria, a High Times Freedom Fighter of the Month and Miss New Jersey 2006.  She stopped by NORML SHOW LIVE and gave us a great interview.  The Freedom Rally was amazing, with excellent music and really cool people.  Toby Grear was also on the show and his girlfriend Nicole shot a photo of me holding up fists to Toby and him giving me a funny look.  I can’t wait until she sends me that photo!

It was a fun show to do, though I’m not sure how well it came out.  Toby Grear, Danny Danko from High Times, Chris Goldstein, and Keith Stroup all stopped by.  When I was interviewing Danny, the rapper Styles P stopped by and got on the mic for a sec.  Me, being the old overworked nerd I am, had no idea from Styles P to Master P to the Stylistics.  I told Delia at the party that Styles P dropped by and she said, “Styles P!?!” She filled me in that he’s currently the bomb with his hit song about getting high that I’ve never heard.

I was actually more thrilled to get an interview with a total stranger, a woman in a powered wheelchair sitting backstage named Lori.  She was quite attractive with what I’d call big East Coast hair and makeup, and visibly affected by some sort of severe medical condition that has drastically diminished her legs.  It was nearing 4:20, so I couldn’t get any luminaries back at the table, so I asked her, on a hunch, if she’d like to talk about medical marijuana.  She told me she doesn’t like to talk about her condition and she couldn’t give more than her first name, I assured her I only wanted to talk to her about her opinions on medical use.  It’s one of my favorite interviews ever.  She so perfectly represents and communicates why arresting people for using marijuana is just plain evil.  She told me it was her first-ever moment “coming out” in public about medical marijuana.  I feel like we just birthed an activist.

I’m exhausted.  Here are some more of the pictures, most of them I think made it into TwitPic.  I’m going to listen to the live show and try to catch some sleep.

The two ladies on the outside are from Girls4Ganja.com (Mikaela on the right) and the two inside ladies are a Miss High Times 2007 finalist on the left and Miss High Times 2006. I can't remember everybody's name (sorry!)

I loved this band Graveyard BBQ, and not just because they had dancers.

Right before this shot, High Times Associate Publisher Rick Cusick says "Say 'Evidence'!"

"A question. Since before your sun burned hot in space, and before your race was born, I have awaited ... a question." Me and the singer from The Force going though lighted sculpture at MIT

Dr. Keith Saunders and Dr. Frank Lucido at the High Times / MassCann Awards and Fundraiser, where the NORML Daily Audio Stash won Best Podcast for the 2nd straight year. Thanks!

Our special backstage studio has been set up and the show starts at 3pm ET / Noon Pacific. You’ll hear 4:20 live here from Boston. Guests include Keith Stroup, Keith Saunders, MikeCann, Danny Danko, Chris Goldstein, Dr. Frank Lucido, and anyone else we can round up backstage.

Wish me luck!