Marblehead startup seeks to unlock secrets of cannabis

By Carolyn Y. Johnson
from: http://articles.boston.com/

It’s a plant more commonly associated with lava lamps and Pink Floyd than cutting-edge science. But today, a small Marblehead company plans to post online the hundreds of millions of letters of DNA that make up Cannabis sativa in a first step toward truly understanding and enhancing marijuana’s therapeutic potential.
For years, Kevin McKernan built genome sequencing technologies - powerful tools designed to provide insights into cancer and potential treatments.

But when desperate friends with cancer forwarded studies of medical marijuana’s use, he became intrigued. Earlier this summer, he founded Medicinal Genomics, a small firm that will partner with pharmaceutical companies to explore compounds made by the plant.

It’s not what most people would think - or what most stoners might hope. Medicinal Genomics might, for example, use insights from the plant’s genetic blueprint to create a plant that produces more of certain compounds, such as cannabidiol, which shows promise in early cancer studies - and even look at reducing the amount of THC, which gives the plant its psychoactive effects.

“The genetics were poorly understood,’’ McKernan said.

The company ultimately plans to sequence more than a dozen Cannabis species. This fall, Medicinal Genomics will launch an iPad app providing access to the data.

McKernan acknowledged that by making the information public, someone might try to use the genetic code to brew more potent pot. But not him, he swears. He’s only interested in marijuana for its medicinal value.

“Our goal is to help people,’’ he said.

Carolyn Y. Johnson

Video: 'Largest Ever' Marijuana Field Torched In Mexico

By Steve Elliott

From http://www.tokeofthetown.com/

One of Mexico's largest-ever seizures of marijuana was torched by the army in El Rosario, Baja California on Friday.

The massive haul went up in smoke three days after Mexican soldiers found a pot plantation covering almost 300 acres, according to the Defense Department, reports Russia Today.

The plantation is four times larger than the previous record discovery by police at a ranch in northern Chihuahua state in 1984.

The pot plants -- disguised under black screen-cloth in the Baja California desert -- were discovered about 150 miles south of Tijuana.

The screening, which is often used by regular farmers to protect crops from too much sun or heat, made it difficult to detect from the air what was growing underneath, according to Army Gen. Alfonso Duarte, reports Adriana Gomez Licon of The Associated Press.

It was only when soldiers on the ground reached the isolated area that they found thousands of cannabis plants as tall as 7.5 feet. The average height of the plants was about 4.5 feet, according to Duarte, who said they weren't yet ready for harvest.

"We estimate that in this area, approximately 60 people were working," Duarte said. "When they saw the military personnel, they fled. No arrests were made at the scene.

Duarte claimed that traffickers could have harvested about 120 tons of cannabis from the plantation, worth about $160 million.

The site is near the coastal town of San Quintin.

Duarte claimed he did not know which drug cartel operated the huge plantation.

Photos: Russia Today

Dumb-asses.

History of WEED

Uploaded by SHOWTIME on Aug 12, 2009

Going all the way back to 8000 B.C, Weeds presents another look at the history of cannabis. New episodes Monday at 10PM ET/PT. Music is "Go Meet the Seed" by "Thee Oh Sees."

The Stoner Bucket List: 20 things to do for 4/20

Posted by Chris Spags
From: http://guyism.com/

This Wednesday is the biggest day for pot smokers everywhere, an international celebration for lovers of cannabis the world over. But it can be difficult to figure out how to make your 4/20 different than any other day so we’re providing you with this Stoner Bucket List of things do to this 4/20 (or any day, really).

20 Use a vaporizer to get high

We’ll start it off easy for you guys. 4/20 is a celebration of pot culture and nothing out there screams “I know my way around a bowl” quite like a high end vaporizer. Whether it’s a Volcano or some contraption you got off Amazon that looks vaguely like Johnny-5 from “Short Circuit”, the vape high is a different feeling, and one everyone should try once.

19 Build a giant “Scooby Doo”-esque sandwich

Scooby Doo and Shaggy were, as far as I can tell, the first and biggest potheads ever captured in animation. So what better way to celebrate 4/20 than embrace their ways? Grab twenty slices of bread, your favorite cold cuts and condiments, get high enough that you can pretend your dog can talk, and eat away. Even if the sandwich sucks, at least you’ll have an awesome homemade version of Jenga to play.

18 Buy your pot from the shadiest spot imaginable

Yes, when most traditional media outlets cover marijuana in a positive light, they act like the only way people smoke pot is from purchases in legal medicinal places with a license. Fun fact: Most states don’t allow that. So live on the edge and eschew your friendly neighborhood pot dealer. The weed may be heinous and smell like a bonsai tree, but at least you could feel like you were living in “The Wire” for just one hour.

17 Hit up a Bob Marley cover band show

The patron saint of pot may have passed away a long time ago but his music lives on through not only his albums, but countless cover bands across the nation. In Southern Cali? Try to find the One Drop Redemption. In Dallas? Maybe the Island Boogie Steel Drum Band will move you. It’s the closest you can get to the real thing without a time machine or a lot of planning repeated watchings of “Weekend at Bernie’s”.

16 Watch five classic stoner movies in one sitting

There’s nothing better after a nice hit than lounging around and zoning out on something entertaining. So why not use this time to pick out five of the best stoner movies you haven’t seen (or have seen and adored) and hit them all in one night? At a certain point, it even becomes a challenge within a challenge. Sure, watching “Still Smokin’” seemed like a good idea at 8PM, but when you’re four movies and three bowls in and fighting to stay conscious, it becomes the ultimate test of will. “E.T. The Extra Testicle” loses its charms a bit.

15 Paint or draw a picture while high

This seems like some “Oh, I’m an artist…let me CREATE” type of thing, I know. But who hasn’t loved painting or even fingerpainting at some point in their lives? The point of this exercise is to do awesome things you wouldn’t normally do sober. So screw it, go get some crafts, get baked, and embrace your inner Picasso. Your horse looks more like a giraffe but hey, you made that bizarro horse-giraffe monstrosity. Cherish it.

14 Eat a pot brownie or, for the advanced, a fancy pot dessert treat

Again, another basic one. But if you haven’t done this one and you fancy yourself a smoker, you probably need to cross this one off your list early. Make sure to find a quality recipe though: it’s a thin line between “Awesome, I’m really high and eating a delicious brownie” and “Oh God, I think I can see the future and this brownie tastes like sugary dirt.”

13 Smoke within 100 feet of a police station

Reckless? Perhaps. But if you’re one of those politically active “the government needs to stop overregulating our bodies” types of smokers, what more ballsy-yet-passive-aggressive way is there to thumb your nose at the man and his laws? The judge will definitely account for your awesomeness during your trial.

12 Stare at a midget

Okay, this one sounds kind of cruel. And perhaps it is. But you know that classic clip from “The Simpsons” where Otto is so stoned off his ass that he talks about his fingers and their “finging”? That’s sort of what staring at a midget is like. Mentally, you know the little person is just one of the universe’s quirks. But you smoke enough and this becomes a whole metaphysical discussion you haven’t even scratch the surface on.

11 Break out the Gravity Bong

Everyone’s favorite absurd way to smoke up in college needs to be tried at least once. Some say it’s the most potent way to get high. Other say you just look like an a-hole. But either way, it’s an important part of pot culture. Here’s a helpful how-to guide to make your own Gravity Bong this 4/20.

10 Get high on a hot air balloon

Odds are that going into space while high isn’t something you’ll be able to approach in the next decade or two, so why not do the next best thing and get on a hot air balloon ride? Check out the majesty of the earth, say “Wow, everybody looks like ants from up here!” seven hundred and thirty times, and bring your big book of Jules Verne jokes that you’ve been saving up for just such an occasion.

9 Find someone new to smoke kiss

Let’s be real…whether you like pot or not, you have to admit that stoner girls tend to be the coolest girls around. So why not share in common interests you both will share with a smoke kiss? By making out after one of you takes a hit, not only do you get to make out with an attractive girl with a fun side, but you also get high. Putting lipstick on your vaporizer and tongue kissing it is a less recommended replacement.

8 Take someone’s pot virginity

Ah that first smoke. The moment when boys become men and men become…kind of lazy and occasionally paranoid. Even though the urban legend says you can’t get high your first time, there’s nothing better to entertain a long time smoker than to watch a newbie act like they don’t feel anything, only to find themselves passed out on the floor singing the “Facts of Life” theme.

7 Smoke with a relative, preferably an older one

If you’re one of those “cool kids” who grew up with parents in the house who gave them weed and said things like, “Hey, I’d rather you do it here under my supervision,” you can skip this one and punch yourself in the groin. For everyone else, this is one of those things that might seem awkward at first, but could be quite liberating. Plus, now you’ll know who’ll tell you funny stories about getting caught beating it to Farrah Fawcett while you’re celebrating Aunt Ronnie’s 77th birthday.

6 Have sex while high

If you’re enough of a pot smoker to be checking out this list, I’d have to assume you’d have already crashed through this barrier. But if you haven’t, now’s the time to do it. So grab that special guy or gal in your life and let your two bodies become one. Bonus bucket list points for involving extra people, objects, and farm animals.

5 Combine three “classic” stoner foods to form a Megazord snack

Lately, combining foods into new foods is all the rage (see: The Doritos Taco Loco). So why not put on your lab coat and goggles, pick up your favorite stoner foods, and see what you come up with. Want a hot dog covered in Funions and peanut butter? Who’s to say that combination won’t be awesome? Take the leap, put a bunch of stuff together like a buffet with your friends, and go nuts.

4 Get high at a transcendently beautiful location

Light up at Machu Picchu? Take a hit at the Grand Canyon? Hot box before entering the Sears Tower’s Glass Box (pictured left)? The only thing that could make these locations more mind-blowing than they already are is the welcome addition of weed. Just remember: Safety first. By which I mean always wear a condom while getting high and falling into the Grand Canyon. It’s just good manners.

3 See any of those big Vegas shows

Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil or even Criss Angel put on a hell of a show when you’re sober. But the vivid colors and outlandish presentation become an otherworldly event went you’re stoned off your ass. Get your ass on the next plane to Vegas (or whatever town near you has one of their touring companies), smoke up harder than you ever have, and see where the night takes you. And hopefully that’s not somewhere having sex with a flamboyant leprechaun with a French accent.

2 Go to an amusement park of your choice, Disneyland being tops

Anyone who’s been to Disneyland can tell you that the place really lives up to the hype of the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Nowhere else in America can you see people so overcome with joy and fun in one area. And what better way to appreciate that than by sparking up a big bowl before hitting the park? You probably haven’t lived until you’ve been stoned off your ass and sat on one of the talking benches in Cartoon Town without realizing it was going to yell at you. That’s what Roger Rabbit’s life was like every single day.

1 Make the pilgrimage to the mecca of pot, Amsterdam

The snobs out there will say that Amsterdam pot isn’t even the best in Europe or that the region is nothing more than a tourist trap. But fuck the snobs. There’s a reason Amsterdam has become this iconic place in pot culture, enough so that (for better or worse) it’s the first thing that would come to most people’s minds when they hear the city’s name. Get over there, bring your camera so you can remember everything that happens, and go crazy. Not crazy enough to end up in a real life version of “Hostel”, but crazy.

Thanks to Reddit’s /r/trees, Highdeas, and this image for some partial inspiration

Best Stoner Theories for Why 4/20 Is the Day of Weed

By Victor Gonzalez
From: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/

Pass the dutchie, bro

​Yesterday we learned that there's a lot more to 4/20 than just bong rips and bloodshot eyeballs. April 20 marks the anniversary of some pretty serious shit like Hitler's birth and the Columbine Massacre. It's also the day BP ruined the Gulf of Mexico and killed 11 workers in the process after the Deepwater Horizon Semi-Submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit exploded, and released a shit-ton of crude oil into the ocean. It was a total 4/20 buzzkill.

So why is it that a seemingly haunted date is celebrated as pot's counterculture Christmas? Well, there's a bunch of different theories that only make sense when you're high. From pot-related penal codes to Jerry Garcia's favorite hotel room, 4/20's origins remain widely debated. Check out some of our favorite theories after the jump.

1. "We've got a 420 in progress, we're going to need back-up."

It's been rumored that 4/20 was the California penal code for marijuana possession, but sorry stoner, it's not. In fact, penal code 4-20 is about obstructing access to public land and "every person who unlawfully prevents, hinders, or obstructs...is guilty of a misdemeanor."

2. Drug Dealer Pager Code 420.

What came first, the stoner or the beeper? The stoner did, and so did the 420-pot connection that inevitably became a beeper code like 42, 143, 555. The 420-pot/beeper connection pretty much died when cell phones took over, and texting your drug dealer became all the rage. "Yo bro, got work?"

3. The Grateful Dead Insisted on Staying in Room 420.

Yes, the Grateful Dead might be the most overrated dad-rock jam band in the history of modern music, and the only reason pot's become so synonymous with the band isn't because the group members were a bunch stoners, but rather you must be high to listen to their music. The thought of the entire group sharing room 420 is ludicrous. What fourth floor room of any hotel you've ever been to could possibly accommodate Jerry Garcia's fat ass, and a bunch of other sweaty, smelly hippies? None.

4. It's Tea Time in Amsterdam.

Really? Everyone knows teatime in Holland is at 3 p.m. Actually, we're not sure if it is because last time we were in Amsterdam, we were so fucked up on mushrooms that we regrettably missed afternoon tea, and opted for a tour of the Van Gogh Museum.

5. 1970s San Rafael, California "High" School Kids Coin the Phrase

According to a High Times magazine article and in-depth research by Huffington Post, a group of stoner classmates who called themselves "The Waldos," coined the 420-term in 1971 when they heard a plot of weed plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station had been left unattended. They'd meet outside of their San Rafael High School, and embark on a quest to find green each day, but came up short every time. But 420 stuck, and they found it to be a clever code word for pot smoking.

Forty years later, "four-twenty" is still part of the American lexicon.

What did we learn today? Nothing of serious value, just a bunch of useless trivia y'all can share with your frat bros tomorrow when you're posted up on the couch hitting that sweet, glass-on-glass Roor you spent last semester's tuition money on.

Globe Toking: Pot Around the World (Photos)

newsweek.com — A slideshow of how other countries in the world handle marijuana use. The list comprises countries that allow people to use the drug without facing jail time, mandatory drug treatment, or other penalties. 1 day 15 hr ago

Tony Avelar / The Christian Science Monitor-Getty Images

The most marijuana-friendly nations

By Ryan Tracy

Would Proposition 19, the proposal to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana use in California, have really generated the benefits that its proponents claimed? We may never know. But in theory, the answer is hazy for one main reason: Prop 19 would have gone further than any marijuana law on the books anywhere. The policy would have been revolutionary in the U.S., where marijuana is legal only for medical purposes—and that in just 13 states. But not even the world's pot meccas have legalized and taxed the drug from production to consumption, as Prop 19 would have allowed cities in California to do. Drug-policy experts, though, disagree on whether Prop 19 took the right approach. Do other parts of the world have a more sensible system? We've put together a slideshow of how some other countries in the world handle marijuana use.

Ed Oudenaarden / AFP-Getty Images

Netherlands

Not even Amsterdam, home of the Cannabis Cup, has laws like the ones Prop 19 proposes. Cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, but the Dutch have decided to fight other types of crime and leave pot smokers, like this one smoking a pipe in Amsterdam, alone. Cops also don't bother "coffee shops" that sell marijuana as long as they follow certain rules, like not selling to minors and not selling "hard" drugs such as cocaine (the Dutch consider marijuana a "soft" drug). Prop 19 would make marijuana legal to use for people over the age of 21, though they could not smoke around minors, in public, or on school grounds. The Netherlands' system for regulating cannabis is similar to what Prop 19 proposes: individual municipalities decide how many marijuana retailers they will tolerate by issuing licenses. Licensed "coffee shops," in turn, have to pay taxes. Prop 19 would allow both those things in the state of California, but it would also permit and tax the commercial production of marijuana, sanctioning an industry that could create a huge supply of legal weed. Commercial marijuana production for recreational use is not legal anywhere on the planet.

Nacho Doce / Reuters-Landov

Portugal

Portugal decriminalized all drug use and possession in 2001, meaning that while using or possessing drugs is not legal, authorities don't punish users as they would a criminal offense, like robbery. When drug users are caught, they must appear before a three-person "dissuasion commission," which might mandate treatment if the person is a repeat offender. Drug dealers can still be prosecuted as criminals. A 2009 report by the libertarian Cato Institute found that drug use did not increase in Portugal after decriminalization, but deaths and disease related to drug use have decreased, perhaps because the government now offers better treatment programs for addicts. For some, decriminalization isn't enough, though: above, a pro-legalization March in Lisbon in 2008.

Andina Agency-Reuters-Landov

Peru

While Peru doesn't allow the sale of marijuana, it has gone further than other nations down the path to legalization. It's legal to possess about a third of an ounce (eight grams) of marijuana for personal use, with no fines, treatment programs, or other consequences. Debate about further legalization continues, though President Alan García has come out against the proposals. And the Peruvians are still making drug busts like the one cops are showing off above, in which they seized marijuana hidden in vuvuzelas at a school in Lima.

Enrique Marcarian / Reuters-Landov

Argentina

Argentina only recently entered the ranks of countries with relatively liberal cannabis policies. Last year a Supreme Court ruling declared that the country's constitution gave "each adult" the right to "make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state," paving the way for citizens like this man to grow cannabis plants on a small scale or use drugs. The court overturned convictions of people who had served jail terms for carrying marijuana. The ruling opened the door for the country's government to decriminalize other drugs as well.

Pablo La Rosa / Reuters-Landov

Uruguay

If Argentina is the newest member of the decriminalization club, Uruguay may be the oldest. The nation has never criminalized marijuana for personal use. Its laws have, since 1974, left it up to judges to determine what amount constitutes "personal use" on a case-by-case basis. Still some Uruguayans want more freedom. Above, a man smokes a joint a pro-legalization rally in Montevideo in 2007.

Luis Acosta / AFP-Getty Images

Mexico

In August 2009 Mexico decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Individuals can possess less than a quarter of an ounce (five grams) of marijuana for personal use, though the law states that if a person is caught with small amounts of drugs on three occasions, he will face mandatory drug treatment. On the first and second occasions, treatment is optional. The decision to focus on treatment and leave drug users unprosecuted came in the midst of a bloody war between drug cartels, but young Mexicans are still organizing pro-legalization rallies, like the one above in September 2010.

www.encod.org

Belgium

Though Belgium has decriminalized marijuana, meaning that possession of up to five grams, or less than a quarter of an ounce, will not lead to a criminal penalty, possession will still net you a fine. The fine of €75 (about $104) is relatively low, however—Luxembourg mandates a fine of €250 for a possessing a small amount of marijuana, and in Spain the fine is €300. Still, pro-legalization rallies, like this one in Antwerp, still attract a crowd. Belgium has made it illegal to smoke in the presence of minors or in public—as California would should Prop 19 pass—but will tolerate personal consumption in private. Belgium treats the cultivation of any more than one plant as a criminal offense.

More...

Shocking Pics of Deputy Posted on Facebook by Soon-To-Be-Ex

by admin

from: http://rawjustice.com/2010/10/23/

The estranged husband of a Tampa sheriff’s deputy recently posted some pictures of her on Facebook that raised a few eyebrows. The photos of veteran Deputy Lisa Latimer show her in uniform, seated in her police cruiser, putting a gun in her mouth, drinking alcohol and smoking what looks to be a marijuana cigarette.

Todd Latimer says that his estranged wife has become a different person since he married her because of her job and the pressures that exist for female officers to be “one of the boys.” He claims that while he was with Lisa, male deputies sexted her constantly and that a career in law enforcement exposes women to a sexually-charged culture.

The Latimer’s divorce is messy due to allegations of domestic violence and an Internal Affairs Investigation regarding a mysterious discharge of Lisa’s department-issued Tazer gun. Todd denies that he was trying to get back at Lisa by posting the pictures, but honestly, what other motive could he have had?

The Tampa Sheriff’s Office says it will investigate the pictures and Lisa Latimer will likely be suspended pending the outcome. She is currently on vacation.

A woman named Marijuana plays it straight - and wins

From: http://www.jsonline.com/

enlarge photo

Jeffrey Phelps

Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer overcame a difficult youth, exacerbated by her name, and now is an educator.

more photos

Jeffrey Phelps

Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer overcame a difficult youth, exacerbated by her name, and now is an educator.

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Police years ago pulled over a young woman who rushed through an amber traffic light. "I'm about to arrest this person right now," the irritated officer radioed to a dispatcher. "She's telling me her name is Marijuana Pepsi Jackson."

It's the truth. Marijuana and Pepsi are her legal first and middle names, and the Beloit woman embraces them as a symbol of her struggle to succeed and to help other children overcome obstacles.

No Mary or Mary Jane or Mary Wanda for her. It's Marijuana, thank you, she's told bosses, co-workers and friends over the years, and even wore it on nametags at work.

This tall, striking, self-assured, motorcycle-riding woman is a schoolteacher with a master's degree in higher education administration. Soon, she'll start work on her doctorate.

All of her achievement came despite that smoky, carbonated name. And partly because of it. No one named Marijuana Pepsi gets lost in the crowd.

"Everybody I meet says this: You're nothing like I thought you'd be," she told me when we sat down for an interview in Beloit last week.

These days she goes by Marijuana Sawyer, the surname of her ex-husband from Georgia, where she spent 10 years before returning to Beloit in 2008 to fulfill a promise to make a difference in her hometown. She has a 6-year-old son named, mercifully, Isaac.

Sawyer's mother, Maggie Johnson, picked her name. Her father objected but lost the argument. To this day, a lot of family members and best buds call her Pepsi.

"She said that she knew when I was born that you could take this name and go around the world with it. At the time as a child, I'm thinking yeah, right. You named my older sister Kimberly. You named my younger sister Robin," Sawyer said.

I've tried several times over the years to find Marijuana - the person, that is. When I was a cub reporter at the Beloit Daily News in the early 1980s, there was a rumor around town about an elementary school girl named Marijuana Pepsi Jackson or maybe Jones.

Some people swore that pot and Pepsi were her mother's two favorite things. Others claimed a mix of both coursed through her bloodstream when the child was conceived or born or both. You'll find chatter about this on the Internet.

Sawyer's aunt, Mayetta Jackson of Chicago, clearly remembers when the name was picked in 1972. The newborn's mother and father were products of the post-Woodstock era when reefer was rampant.

"And they would cool off with a Pepsi," she said, which makes you think it's lucky for Sawyer that it wasn't Coke instead. "I thought it was crazy," her aunt said about the name, "but they were such fun-loving people that it suited them."

A couple years later, Sawyer's father, Aaron Jackson, put all that aside and became a Jehovah's Witness. The marriage ended. Young Marijuana lived with her father in Chicago until she was 9 and then moved to Beloit to a much less stable home situation with her mother.

The girl in her torn clothes and wild hair failed in school and was teased about her name, especially in junior high.

"Every single class, the teacher is taking attendance out loud, and as they slowly get down through the J's, I'm just like here it comes. 'Marianna? Marijuana?' And all the students turn to see who it is," she said.

Later in life, it wouldn't get any easier when she tried to order tickets over the telephone or fill out paperwork. People thought she was joking, or they wanted to hit her with 20 questions about why she was called that.

Turning life around

Sawyer left home at 15 with a few belongings in a pillowcase and began staying with relatives and friends. She cut out the truancy and started working on her subjects, and her grades shot up.

She gives a surprising amount of credit to her mother for making her resilient and resourceful. "She instilled in me that fighting attitude - never take no, you can do anything," Sawyer said.

By high school, her name was cool to many. "They were like, 'Oh yeah. Man, I wish I had your name. I love that. I'm going to name my kid after you.' I hear that so much and I go, Lord, please don't do that to that child."

Sawyer was the most improved student at graduation in 1990, and she received a $12,000 scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she studied to be a teacher. She was invited to a White House conference in 1995 and met President Bill Clinton, who swears he never inhaled.

In 1998, she got a job teaching elementary school children in Atlanta. She also sold real estate there. It was the one time in her life that she went by MP Sawyer professionally because the name Marijuana was freaking out the customers and causing her for-sale signs to be stolen as souvenirs.

Over two semesters and a summer, she earned her master's degree from Georgia Southern University and moved back to Beloit with her son in May. She plans to fund a scholarship bearing her unique name.

At the moment she is a substitute teacher at a variety of city schools ("I heard of you!" the students will say), but she's looking for a job in academic advising and admissions at a college or university, preferably near Beloit. She has no doubt that her difficult childhood and the way she tenaciously rose above her name have helped her to reach kids with problems.

Carlton Jenkins was a teacher at Beloit Memorial High School when Sawyer attended there, and he's the principal now.

"They could make a movie about her," he said. "I could almost write a book on Marijuana myself in terms of a young student who's been so resilient and taken even her name and made it into a positive. We're so very proud of her. She's exactly what any kid in America needs to know about someone who can truly make it if they put their mind to it."

Sad to say, Sawyer is not close with her mom these days, but she's thankful for the many teachers and role models who helped her blossom, even with a name like Marijuana Pepsi.

In case you're wondering, she said she never once smoked the stuff and prefers orange soda.

Call Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or e-mail at jstingl@journalsentinel.com

Proof here: http://www.uww.edu/advising/aaec/welcome/staff/sawyer.html

4:20 Girl of the Day: August 10, 2010

The 420 Soundboard: Click On It

From: http://www.complex.com/

There’s a science behind “420.” It’s not only the police scanner code for “marijuana smoking in progress,” it’s also the angle at which you need to hold a magnifying glass toward the naked sun to light a bowl without a lighter. It’s Cheech Marin’s birthday, as well as Jerry Garcia’s, Chris Tucker’s, Aldous Huxley’s, and Helen Keller’s (holla at your first medicinal marijuana advocate!). Divide 20 by four and you get the price for a common quantity of weed ($5 you dope); divide four by 20 and you get the approximate number of brains cells lost to a typical session. Add four and 20 plus the number of plants George Washington grew, divided by the number of blunts ‘Pac smoked while making All Eyez on Me, minus the number of times Bill Clinton inhaled and you get… Nevermind. We’ve collected the stonedest quotes of all time for the fourth Complex Soundboard (slept? Try the original, the junior, and the Jersey Shore). So explain “420″ however you want (yes, most of the above is the product of some seriously blunted minds), just enjoy (and share!) our 420 Soundboard. After all it only took us 1,512,000 seconds to put it together.

Willie Nelson & Snoop Dog: On the Road Again!!

Illinois: Plan To Burn 5,525 Pounds Of Pot Ignites Activists

By Steve Elliott

From: http://www.tokeofthetown.com/

Photo: Brian Jackson/Sun-Times

Headed for the incinerator: 5,525 pounds of marijuana seized last week by the Cook County sheriff's office

​​Medical marijuana activists are hotly protesting plans by Cook County, Illinois, officials to burn more than 5,500 pounds of cannabis seized last week in a big pot bust.

"Depending on its purity, that represents a lot of medicine that could have helped so many Illinoisans," said Julie Falco, a North Side woman who uses marijuana to ease the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

Her reaction was echoed by others calling on Illinois to join 14 other states in legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, reports Vernon Clement Jones at the Chicago Sun-Times. Last Wednesday's seizure of 5,525 pounds of pot -- and the subsequent plan to burn the cannabis -- has ignited a hot debate.

Photo: Brian Jackson/Sun-Times

Here's a closeup of some of the 5,525 pounds of seized marijuana. Looks like schwag to me!

​The marijuana, with a street value estimated by police at $20 million, was found in a house in suburban Lyons, police said Friday. Frederico Moreno, 35, who was renting the place, has been charged with manufacturing and delivering cannabis. He faces from six to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Police said they are planning to incinerate all but 10,000 grams of the pot, saving that amount as evidence.

"We will solicit a court order today to have the rest incinerated safely," said Kevin Ruel, deputy chief of special investigations for the Cook County sheriff's office.

But medical marijuana advocates object to that plan.

"Incinerating it is a waste," said Lisa Lange, who said she uses marijuana to ease chronic pain associated with degenerative osteoarthritis. "I would prefer to see it tested and then, if safe, distributed to compassionate care clubs."

But according to Lange, even the thousands of pounds of marijuana seized last week, which police said would have ended up on Chicago's streets, won't make much of an impact on the local supply.

"The only way to stop this trafficking is to show compassion for those who rely on medical cannabis and pass Bill 1381," said Lange.

The Illinois Senate has already passed that legislation. House Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) is planning to introduce it for a vote in the House, probably early next year.

He now has 58 of the 60 votes needed to get the measure passed in January, Lang said Saturday. The liberal Democrat said he's confident the remaining votes can be secured after the pressure of November elections has passed.

"There is support on both sides," Lang said Saturday. "What we have is a very narrow piece of legislation that avoids the problems of dispensaries like those in California."

Bill 1381 would stop short of setting up dispensaries. The Illinois legislation has been described as "the most limited" in the nation -- but I doubt it could be even more restrictive than New Jersey's badly flawed law, since it would at least (unlike N.J.) allow patients to cultivate marijuana at home, although it would restrict them to only three plants.

If passed, the the legislation would expire after three years, at which time the Legislature would have the option of renewing it.

15 Things You Should Know About Marijuana [Infographic]

Published by houroc
From: http://hailmaryjane.com/

If you are anything like me, you love infographics because they make lots of information extremely easy to read and digest. So when the team at Term Life Insurance came to me with the opportunity to work with them on a marijuana infographic I HAD to take the opportunity. So after lots of research and blunts smoked, here is an awesome marijuana infographic that shows some facts about marijuana that you probably didn’t know yet. I even learned a thing or two, this plant is even more amazing than I thought. Enjoy.


Via: Term Life Insurance

Happy 4/20: 10 Great Stoner Songs

420: Wiki page

Legend has it that the 4:20 phenomenon began with a group of California teens in the early ’70s, who would gather together at 20 past 4 in the afternoon to avail themselves of one of Mother Nature’s wonders. Ever since then, the word has spread and the, er, grass-roots 4:20 subculture has grown bigger and bigger. Today 4/20 is the day 4:20 is saluted not only across the country, but around the globe. So whether you’re marking the day in a herbaceous way or you’re simply in sympathy with the spirit of the whole thing, here are 10 essential stoner songs to make your April 20th a smokin’ one.

“Willin’” – Little Feat

Linda Ronstadt’s cover version made this trucker tune about “weed, whites, and wine” famous, but it’s Little Feat’s good ‘n’ greasy delivery that puts “Willin’” straight across the plate.

“One Toke Over The Line” – Brewer & Shipley

An early example of The Man stomping on stoners’ good times, folk-rock duo Brewer & Shipley’s 1970 tune was a Top 10 hit that might have gone all the way to Number One if it hadn’t been stalled by the FCC, who decided to ban it due to lyrical content.

“Ganja Smuggling” – Eek-A-Mouse

A toker tally without reggae would like a PB&J sandwich without bread, so here comes Eek-A-Mouse to give you a little background on how the magic herbs are disseminated. Even if some of the meaning gets lost in Mouse’s thick patois, you still know just where he’s coming from.

“Along Comes Mary” – The Association

In late-’60s California, everybody was a stoner — not just the hairy hippie types, but even clean-cut, super-smooth harmony-vocal groups like The Association, whose ode to their favorite gal had the whiff of something more than puppy love.

“Tell Me About Your Drugs” – Robyn Hitchcock

Odd are that a guy who modeled himself after Syd Barrett, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan knows a bit about altered states of consciousness. And by the song’s end, when he starts rhapsodizing about “human sheep…with their curly little whirly tails,” it seems likely there’s more than just a conversation about altered consciousness going on.

“Purple Haze” – Jimi Hendrix

Pretty much the stoners’ National Anthem, “Purple Haze” is the ultimate evocation of that “not necessarily stoned, but beautiful” feeling (Yes, we know that lyric is from another song). Has there ever been a better motto for lighting up than “’scuse me while I kiss the sky?”

“Hits From the Bong” – Cypress Hill

You didn’t really think we’d leave Cypress Hill out, did you? Their faces should be emblazoned on the stoner Mt. Rushmore, right next to Dre and Snoop (okay, so we didn’t have room for everyone). Just listening to the vocal delivery on this track is enough to make you feel like you’ve spent the last two weeks in a college dorm with a poster on the wall that says “Get it on, bang a bong,” while the sweet smell of cannabis emanates from everything in the room.

“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35″ – Bob Dylan

It’s hard to imagine how Brewer & Shipley got shut down by the FCC for “One Toke Over the Line,” but four years earlier, this song — complete with drunken brass band and “everybody must get stoned” refrain — sailed up to the No. 2 spot on the charts unmolested by the powers that be.

“Because I Got High” – Afroman

One of the greatest one-hit wonders of the 21st century, Joseph “Afroman” Foreman provided the theme song for Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back with this tongue-in-cheek cautionary tale about the hazards of a weed addiction. Don’t think for a second that he or anyone involved with the film took the warning to heart, though.

“Sweet Leaf” – Black Sabbath

An actual love song to the pot leaf itself, this 1971 Black Sabbath classic starts off with the sound of Sab guitar god Tony Iommi’s hacking cough, which we assume was caused by something other than an excess of smog in the air that day.