“Tourists say goodbye to your Amsterdam smoking fantasy”

Posted on January 5, 2012 by admin

Since 2011 it has been said that The Dutch government’s country famed marijuana-dispensing coffee shops will start to close to tourists and be open ONLY to Dutch citizens starting Jan 1, 2012. Meaning that NO tourists will be able to legally buy marijuana MEANING you would have to sign up for a yearly membership ‘Dutch ID Pass’ if you want to gain entry, which technically you can’t get -__- because you are not a Dutch citizen(If you are…you are one lucky %$^$*) Anyway there are about 800 shops in total that will be allocating only 1,500 of these passes in any 12-month period.

“Local residents, especially in Amsterdam, are not in favor of this plan,” said Jon Foster, owner of the Grey Area Coffeeshop since 1994. “Economically and socially, the effect of the plan would be, over all, negative. The common belief is that only a small number of coffeeshops in Amsterdam would be able to remain open if the tourists would not be allowed. Most importantly is the fact, however, that the system will not be implemented in Amsterdam.”


“The policy shift would turn the clock back on the experiment of coffee shops. There will be a rise in street and home dealings, which would blur the successful separation of soft and hard drugs. All income from the sale of soft drugs would be injected into the criminal world and the government would lose a large amount of tax revenue. A successful program, which has diminished long term usage of cannabis by Dutch people, would be ended. Youth will be more curious than ever about cannabis as it will become something that was successfully allowed for over 30 years, and then not allowed. Prohibition has negative consequences,” Foster added.

It is totally obvious that the banning of foreigners from coffee shops will simply encourage the growth of a thriving black market and decrease their popularity in tourism yearly. Most travelers are backpackers who come on the promise of seeing something out of the ordinary! The Dutch will definitely lose their business, so they better come up with something good to make up for it cause it sounds like tourism suicide to me and probably to everyone else. Is it wise for a country with such high tourist percentage to let go of one of its most recognizable attributes??

Video: Dutch City Bans Drug Tourists

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“Creative juices, Marijuana & Seth Rogen”

Posted on November 3, 2011 by admin

Comedian/Actor, Seth Rogen is out making the press rounds for his new movie 50/50. As we all know Seth is an outspoken marijuana smoker and thats one of the things that we love most about him besides being extremely hilarious and one of a kind, so off course marijuana will always be a popular subject to come up in most of his interviews. When meeting with MTV News, Seth told them that not only is he proud to be the man who got director Kevin Smith smoking marijuana but that his creative juices flow best when under the influence of Mary Jane.

While Kevin Smith credits pot as a sort of mind-expanding artistic gateway, Rogen says he lights up to ease the drudgery of the creative process. “I smoke a lot of weed when I write, generally speaking,” he told us. “I don’t know if it helps me write. It makes me not mind that I’m writing. And I don’t know if it makes me work better, but it makes me not care that I’m working. Who wants to work? But if you’re stoned, it doesn’t seem like work.”

I couldn’t agree more, everything is better when your stoned. My mind totally focuses more on which ever subject I am working on at the moment and totally blocks off any distractions or stress. I can say just like Seth my creative juices flow best when under the influence.
Mr. Seth Rogen your the man and couldn’t have said it any better !!!

Check out the interview by clicking the link below:

Seth\’s interview 50/50

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I-502 Offers Better Approach to Marijuana !!

Posted on September 22, 2011 by admin

A ground-breaking marijuana law reform proposal recently began gathering signatures to be placed before the state Legislature in January.  Initiative 502, supported by New Approach Washington, replaces marijuana prohibition with a public health approach that allows adults 21 and over to purchase limited quantities of marijuana from state-licensed and -regulated stores.

The initiative taxes marijuana and directs new revenue estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually to drug abuse prevention, research and education, as well as the state general fund and local budgets.  If the Legislature does not pass it, I-502 will go onto the November 2012 ballot.

We are two of I-502′s sponsors.  The others include a former U.S.  attorney, the current Seattle city attorney, the two most recent presidents of the Washington State Bar Association, a state legislator, a prominent businessperson, and a University of Washington professor who is also a marijuana dependency treatment professional.  Some of us are parents and some of us are churchgoers.  We come from different walks of life and all of us care deeply about our communities.

As public health physicians, the two of us view I-502 through a medical and public health lens.  Our goal is to improve the health of our patients and communities.  And from our perspective, marijuana prohibition does more harm than good.

The United States now incarcerates more of its population than any other country in the world.  We put one in every 100 adults behind bars.  We represent just 5 percent of the world’s population, yet we house 25 percent of the world’s inmates.

As recently noted by Josiah Rich, M.D., and colleagues in the New England Journal of Medicine, the “war on drugs” has transformed the land of the free and brave into the world’s No.  1 jailer.  Twenty percent of the people in state prisons and local jails, and more than half of federal inmates, are incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses.

In the last two decades, the war on drugs has become a war on marijuana.  In 1991, 29 percent of drug arrests nationwide were for marijuana; by 2009, that number had increased to 52 percent.  And of those marijuana arrests, 90 percent were for simple possession.

What has the huge cost of incarceration bought us? Broken families, reduced earning capacity and homelessness but not a reduction in marijuana use.  More than 40 percent of all Americans have used marijuana at some point in their lives.  Few of us believe all users will be caught or that they deserve to go to jail, have a criminal record, or lose their rights to a scholarship or an organ transplant.  The 760,000 arrests made nationwide for marijuana possession in 2009 represented less than 5 percent of the 16.7 million Americans who were current ( i.e., past-month ) marijuana users.  Prohibition isn’t working.

But marijuana prohibition isn’t simply failing; it’s actively hurting us.  Government budgets are a zero-sum game.  Every dollar spent arresting, prosecuting and jailing a person for marijuana use is a dollar that could have been better spent on schools, family support services, community development or health care.  I-502 recognizes that investment upstream in preventive services that build healthy families and communities pays much greater public health and safety dividends than handcuffs and jail beds.

Moreover, time behind bars compromises the physical and mental health of inmates.  As Rich and his colleagues point out, “Locking up millions of people for drug-related crimes has failed as a public-safety strategy and has harmed public health in the communities to which these men and women return.  A new evidence-based approach is desperately needed.”

New Approach Washington’s Initiative 502 is such an approach.  We encourage you to sign the petitions to put I-502 before the Legislature and to support its passage.

Make sure to stay up to date by using cannabisnews.org !!


Source: Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)
Copyright: 2011 The Spokesman-Review
Contact: editor@spokesman.com
Website: http://www.spokesman.com/
Author: Kim Marie


Posted in Cannabis 411 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Global Cannabis March 2011 !

Posted on July 12, 2011 by admin

Check out this music video made by Doobi.us & DFW NORML.  Starts in the Dallas march then goes to a few other cities around the world !! SWEET video !!

Viva la Résistance!

\” Global Cannabis March 2011 \” by Doobi.us & DFW NORML

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Elect Comedian Steve Berke as Mayor of Miami Beach and Decriminalize Marijuana

Posted on June 28, 2011 by admin

When I first got wind that our friend Comedian Steve Berke was running for Mayor of Miami Beach, I must say I did not think it was going to go this far. The past six months of Steve Berke’s grassroots-style campaigning has earned him many notable mentions, from the New Times, Miami Herald, NBC, and NOW a spread in Maxim. It’s not his Yale graduate degree or his age that everyone is speaking about, it’s his swagger. From his entourage of models to his goals of decriminalizing Marijuana, Gambling, and Gay Marriage, Berke really makes no apologies.

“Steve’s campaign is founded on revolutionary concepts like logic, honesty, and transparency. Most Politicians try and hide from their dirty past. Steve embraces his!” —– http://www.steveberkeformayor.com/home.php

I think that if there are politicians or others looking at this campaign with disgust or as a joke, they should be a little more honest with themselves and see how different they actually are from Steve Berke. The biggest differences are probably their lack of achievement and athletic ability. Other than that, he’s rocking out just like we all do, have, or aspire to.

“We’re not the Republican Party. We’re not the Democratic Party. We are… the After Party”

Steve Berke- Spread in Maxim

I caught up with Steve to ask him a few questions…

When did you decide you wanted to run for mayor? Right around December of last year.

How has your education prepared you for your career as a politician? Well, it has and it hasn’t.  A strong education prepares you to be a good problem solver and deal with life in general.  However, politics is full of dirty tricks, semantics, and complicated election laws, so nothing can really prepare you for all the little nuances when you are a novice.

What is your platform? And what is your #1 Priority? My platform is to make Miami Beach a better place for its residents and for the tourists that come here and continue to make us one of the top destinations in the world.  Oh, and to kill all Vampires.  Miami Beach already has too many blood sucking leeches (i.e. look at our government!).

How would marijuana legalization directly help the city of Miami and also the country? Decriminalizing marijuana would allow our police force to focus on more serious and violent crimes.  We shouldn’t be wasting tax dollars on incarcerating people for possession of small amounts of marijuana, because it is a waste of money and our jails are already too overcrowded.  Our city is broke right now and operating at a deficit.  Why should we be wasting tax payer money on this?   The city of Miami Beach does not have a jail, so it costs our residents a significant amount of money to incarcerate people for weed.  We should implement a policy where people get a $100 ticket for possessing a small amount of marijuana (under 20 grams).  Instead of SPENDING money for incarcerating people for small amounts of marijuana possession, we should be GENERATING money for the city.

As mayor would you partake in accepting bribes? I can usually be bought for a bucket of chicken wings and some mozzarella sticks.

Do you partake in sexting? Sexy Texting? Of course.  Anyone who is 30 years old and pretends like they haven’t sent a sexy text is a flat out liar.  I’m a single, red blooded American male, and I can sext with the best of ‘em!  Although one time I accidentally sent a sext to my sister, because her name is similar to a girl I was dating.  That was awkward.

What does it mean to make Miami Beach “more party friendly” and how will that help Miami Beach? We can’t afford to have a Mayor who is anti-nightlife in a city that is famous for its nightlife.  That’s like the Mayor of Las Vegas being anti-gambling!  Most of Miami Beach’s revenue comes from tourism, and the top 2 reasons why tourists visit this city are to go to the beach and to party.  The current Mayor has passed several anti-nightlife laws and noise ordinances which hurt our hotel/hospitality industry, nightlife industry, and restaurant industry.  This is both bad for the city’s bottom line and for its reputation, and continuing these policies could damage our tourism industry in a way that could cripple our budget, which would result in increased taxes for our residents.  I understand that Miami Beach residents don’t want our city to be a 24/7 party zone, but there are certain laws and ordinances that have been passed that are completely ridiculous.  If you want to live in a retirement community, move to Delray Beach.  If you want to live where there is action (and occasionally, a little noise), then South Beach is the place for you.

Where do you think you stand in the polls right now? Has your grassroots campaign been working for you? And your entourage of Models? There haven’t been any polls yet.  It’s too early.  But the way I’m running my campaign has definitely gotten my name out there, and I now regularly see people coming up to me on Lincoln Road shaking my hand and telling me how they support me and love what I’m doing.  It doesn’t hurt that I have super hot model friends that are helping on the campaign either!  Name recognition is half the battle in politics, and I certainly think that I’ve done a good job with getting residents to know who I am.

What happens after elections… the moment you find out if you win or not? And what will you do to celebrate if you do win? Whether I win or not, I am going to throw a massive election night party on November 1st.  Win or lose, we are going to be spraying everyone with champagne and partying till we can’t see straight!

To learn more about Steve Berke or his campaign please visit: http://www.steveberkeformayor.com/

And be sure to Like him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steveberkecomedy

Posted in Cannabis 411 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 46 Comments

Miss USA Supports Medical Marijuana !

Posted on June 22, 2011 by admin

Alyssa Campanella Mis USA 2011

Alyssa Campanella the NEW Miss USA 2011 stated that she’s all in on supporting the use of medical marijuana purposes.  The California representative at the pageant and the judges thought it to be appropriate to ask Ms. Campanella about her opinions on marijuana and this is what she said:

“Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today’s economy, but I also understand that medical marijuana is very important to help those who need it medically,” she said during the pageant.

“I’m not sure if it should be legalized, if it would really affect, with the drug war,” she said. “I mean, it’s abused today, unfortunately, so that’s the only reason why I would kind of be a little bit against it, but medically it’s OK.”

It’s AWESOME that a Miss USA contestant is comfortable supporting people finding relief from this proven yet unaccountably still controversial, medicine. Seems though that her position in regarding ending marijuana prohibition altogether was a little less assertive. She probably felt like she had to say that she was against regulating and taxing marijuana for all the adults to please the judges, even if it was just “a little bit against it.”

What is crazy though is that such question has become so prominent to the public arena that it’s being asked in such a traditionally event like the Miss USA pageant.

- Article originally from Cannabis Culture

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We LOVE NugBrand !

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

Show your love for NugBrand and post your pictures up representing our SUPER DOPE clothing ! Let’s have fun with this :)

Jordan Hollywood NugBrand Rasta Sticker

Skye von der Osten Photography wearing the "Grassroots & Nugbrand Special Edition hat

Northern Lights sponsored by Nug Brand Clothing !

Mark Palmer wearing our FREEZE T-Shirt

Mark Palmer with some ladies representing !

Everyone but I mean EVERYONE love our Grassroots & NugBrand Special Edition Fitted ! :)

Pineapple Kush Grassroots California & NugBrand Fitted Hat !

"Rocked out my new Pinapple Kush hat last night for the Absolut Party @Art Basel. Lots of complements; usually the Robert Graham shirt is the focus, but this bad ass hat got all the attention! If they only knew how nice and silky it is inside. " -Jason Ibarra

"Debra Sharmila Siew" one of our Miami NugBrand girls sporting our All City Bird green booty shorts

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“The JWH-018 Russian Roulette Epidemic”

Posted on June 8, 2011 by admin

Spice (synthetic cannabis)

If you had the option to pick in between smoking JWH-018 (synthetic cannabis) or the actual natural herb that we all adore, which one would you choose ? For those who don’t have a clue or never heard what JWH-018 is, its an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family, which acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. It produces effects in animals similar to those in THC, a cannabinoid naturally present in cannabis. Check it out on wikipedia.com if your still clueless and have no idea WTH I’m talking about. Any who Mr. John W. Huffman was the one who invented a whole class of chemicals that mimic the effect of marijuana on the human brain, he NEVER though intended for them to launch a whole “legal Marijuana” industry. But now that “Spice” and other forms of imitation pot are sending users to emergency rooms across America, the retired professor has an idea of how to hold back the epidemic. If only the federal government would legalize the real thing, says Huffman, maybe consumers wouldn’t turn to the far more dangerous fake stuff. Unsurprisingly on March 1st, 2011 JWH-018 and 4 other chemicals were banned in the United States, making them schedule 1 controlled substances. The ban put into effect by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for a period of 1 year. This will allow for the study of the effects of JWH-018 on the human body, and whether it should be permanently controlled under United States Law. Now do yourself a favor and click on the link below, so you can realize that JWH-018 is no joke !

JWH-018 Channel 4 News

Posted in Cannabis 411 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Sh!ts & Giggles

Posted on June 6, 2011 by admin

!!

NOT something you want to see right before rolling one up.

DAAAMMMNN !

Posted in High Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1st New Mexico Medical Marijuana Natural Healing Expo !!

Posted on June 3, 2011 by admin

Everyone is SUPER excited about the major medical marijuana expo that is just 8 weeks away and is expected to draw thousands of people “10 thousand plus right now,” says organizer Aaron Kushmore. Isn’t that amazing ??! About @*&$ing TIME, is what most people are probably telling themselves. Check this out though theres going to be growing classes, growing equipment and pipes for SALE ! And even doctors on hand to see if people qualify to get a medical marijuana license ! O.O ! Even though there is an admission fee of $15 in advance anyone 18+ is allowed to witness this absolutely AMAZING EXPO on July 29th-31st in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Kushmore was asked if he’s worried that non medical users will use this event as a way to learn how to grow their own cannabis. He said “they don’t need the expo to learn how to, just by using the internet you can learn how to grow medical marijuana”. “This event is serious it’s all legitimate, everyone wants to get processed through the state of New Mexico for the medical cannabis card” he also mentioned. Terri Cole with the Chamber of Commerce said it will be serious business for the city. Is this expo bad P.R. for the city ? The chamber doesn’t think so, “Medical marijuana usage in New Mexico is legal so we shouldn’t behave as if this is an illegal event,” Cole said. So DON’T FORGET if your in the area get your tickets in advance and ENJOY one of the dopest marijuana expo’s ever invented ! :D

Krqe, News 13(video): 1st New Mexico Medical Marijuana Natural Healing EXPO!

Posted in Cannabis 411 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments