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Well, wasn’t THAT one hell of a Super Bowl? I was pulling for the Cards and thought my 23-21 Steelers-miss-last-second-FG prediction was going to be pretty darn close. But what do you know, a stoner goes and catches the game winning last minute touchdown and is voted MVP.
Well, wasn’t THAT one hell of a Super Bong? Michael Phelps was pulling from a big ol’ piece of glass without remembering that cell phone cameras exist now and he is the most famous Olympian on the planet. But what do you know, a stoner went off to Beijing and became the only human to win eight gold in one Games.
Well, wasnt’t THAT one hell of a Super Bhang? George Obama was pulled out of a Nairobi slum and was headed to the slammer for possession of marijuana and resisting arrest. But what do you know, a stoner gets released from jail with charges dropped because his half-brother (a stoner) went and got elected President of the United States.
(It’s Groundhog Day. Sonny & Cher keep playing on my radio.)
On today’s Stash, Allen St. Pierre drops by to give his take on the toker trifecta we hit this Super Bowl weekend, and Kelly Maddy from Jopin NORML is here to discuss medical marijuana legislation in Missouri.
Saturday, January 31st, 2009 at 5:31 pm | By: Radical Russ
News of the World in the UK is reporting that Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps is one of us!
THIS is the astonishing picture which could destroy the career of the greatest competitor in Olympic history.
In our exclusive photo Michael Phelps, who won a record EIGHT gold medals for swimming at the Beijing games last summer, draws from a bong.
And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER.
Those dreams seemed the last thing on his mind when he puffed from the bong during two days of partying with students last November, a quiet time in the swimming calendar when athletes would not expect to get tested for drugs.
As he basked in his hero status, Phelps knocked back beers and shots of spirits. And when a student offered him the glass bong engraved with red writing, he did not hesitate, says our source.
Our source said: “You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do.
“He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”
The US Olympics Committee, who have pledged to clamp down on drug use, refused to comment, as did USA Swimming and Phelps’ coach Bob Bowman.
More surprising still was the World Anti-Doping Agency’s refusal to comment, given that they introduced the four-year ban on sport’s drug users.
Spokesman Clifford Bloxham offered us an extraordinary deal not to publish our story, saying Phelps would become our columnist for three years, host events and get his sponsors to advertise with us.
In return, he asked that we kill Phelps’ bong picture. Bloxham said: “It’s seeing if something potentially very negative for Michael could turn into something very positive for the News of the World.”
So, you wanna explain to me how marijuana smoking will make one a lethargic, unmotivated loser who will never get anywhere in life? This should be fun, watching sponsors and Olympic and USA Swimming officials trip all over themselves. I expect to see a special exemption or a sudden new rule that lets firt time offenders skate with some sort of class and community service. Does anybody really think they are going to end Michael Phelps’ career, the greatest Olympian ever, and a huge marketing and endorsement cash cow, for a picture of him doing something that isn’t even criminal in thirteen states?
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 4:43 pm | By: Radical Russ
Three representatives introduced a bill in the state house this morning that would reduce the penalty for marijuana possession to a mere $100 fine. [Update: Nine additional co-sponsors have signed on.] Under current law, possessing as little as one joint is punishable by up to 90 days in jail. In Washington last year, 11,553 people were arrested on marijuana possession charges.
But can it pass?
This year seems an especially unlikely time for legislators to embrace liberal civil-liberty-lovin’ bills, considering the priority of bridging Washington’s $6 billion budget gap. But the financial crunch may prove a paradoxical windfall. Sponsors and advocates behind the bill intend to capitalize on the bill’s savings.
Representative Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia), one of the bills co-sponsors, says he plans to “frame it in terms of the tradeoff in the budget discussion … and set a square alternative. He says conservative legislators could be attracted to the cost-saving argument for decriminalization more than ever. “Do you choose to provide health care for x number of children or fund criminalizing marijuana possession?” he asks. For example, Williams cites a cost analysis of pot busts taken from Washington State Institute for Public Policy data that shows, based on the number of arrests in 2007, Washington would save $7.5 million by passing the law.
Every activist needs to keep framing the marijuana issue as one of mistaken priorities. Don’t try to convince them pot smoking is good or that pot smokers don’t harm anyone, etc., even though it is true. Let them hold on to the notion that pot is bad, but force them to evaluate “how bad?” Is arresting potheads more important than educating kids? Than providing senior health care? Than fixing roads? If the average non-pot-smoking public ever begins to feel that every pot arrest is money flushed down the toilet, we win.
The Olympia Hempfest ad accepted by Intercity Transit has an image of a marijuana leaf and the slogan, “Equal Rights are for Everybody.”
A lawyer for the transit agency, Tom Bjorgen, says the ads could have been rejected if they were viewed as encouraging people to smoke pot.
However, Bjorgen says a reasonable reader would more likely see the ads as a political statement for legalization of marijuana.
Olympia Hempfest founder Jeremy Miller says Intercity Transit was paid about $3,000 to place the ads on the sides of 12 buses for four weeks.
I’m surprised Miller was able to get the ads placed on the buses in the first place. Numerous drug reform organizations have tried many times in the past to get simple reform-oriented ads in public places, but are constantly shot down with the old “we don’t want to encourage drug use” mantra.
That’s one of the difficulties in our battle. We want to educate the public that marijuana policy is harmful and that is interpreted as a pro-drug message (see our story on the Rick Steves video). We can’t talk about marijuana because it is illegal and we can’t change the legality of it because we’re not allowed to talk about it.
Monday, June 2nd, 2008 at 1:52 pm | By: Radical Russ
Now that June has arrived it is time to start looking at the Summer Festival Schedule. I’m going to open this up with a look at the summer festivals I’ll be attending in my neck of the woods in the Pacific Northwest. I’m going to depend on you marvelous Stashers to keep me informed on what’s happening in your area. Just send me an email at stash@norml.org and I’ll be glad to promote your area’s summer festival. The Northwest schedule is listed in the Full Story below:
RevRayGreen: I'll post a pic of me and my son....gimme a minute
Missippi Hippy: Guess what... I'm gonna be a new... ummmmm well, my pet piggie Ganja is in labor and they ain't mine in the same sense. See what your wife [...]
RevRayGreen: days they didn't talk back..or act disrespectful..
RevRayGreen: feel so lucky my son is 18 going 19 and my daughter 16 going on 17..relish the days that can't talk back
Urb Age: Congrats Spof thats awesome. My little Clara is about to hit 20 months. Im not the activist I used to be, but its made me a better man.
Urb Age: Heck I was gonna go up there, but just not feeling well this weekend..Dang it, I hate it when that happens..
RevRayGreen: wishing I was hanging at NORML cafe...
JohnH: Just a quick comment about tokin' and sperm motility....been tokin since age 14 and have 8 kids ranging in age from 30 to 9...(what can I say, I found 2 [...]
slash5city: really ..oprah 35 yr or more in the closet toker ...outed ....o my god !!
SneakerPimp: that would be huge news just imagen the headline
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
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