Marijuana's new high life

In June, an estimated 25,000 people attended the inaugural THC Expo hemp and art show in downtown Los Angeles, an event that pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy -- including a $22,400 payment directly to the city of Los Angeles for use of its convention center.

Barneys New York in Beverly Hills is celebrating the Woodstock spirit by selling $78 "Hashish" candles in Jonathan Adler pots with bas-relief marijuana leaves; Hickey offers $75 linen pocket squares or $120 custom polo shirts bearing the five-part leaf; and French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet is serving up white-gold and diamond custom pot-leaf-emblazoned wristwatches for $49,000 and belt buckles for $56,000.

Earlier this year, Season 5 of Showtime's "Weeds" kicked off with promotional materials plastered on bus shelters, buses and billboards throughout the city. Last year, just across from the tourist-packed Farmers Market at 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue, a "Pineapple Express" billboard belched faux pot smoke into the air. Even the '70s slacker-stoner comedy duo Cheech and Chong are back. After recently concluding an international tour, they say they are working on another movie, voicing an animated version of themselves and even batting around the idea of staging a Cheech and Chong Broadway musical.

After decades of bubbling up around the edges of so-called civilized society, marijuana seems to be marching mainstream at a fairly rapid pace. At least in urban areas such as Los Angeles, cannabis culture is coming out of the closet.

At fashion-insider parties, joints are passed nearly as freely as hors d'oeuvres. Traces of the acrid smoke waft from restaurant patios, car windows and passing pedestrians on the city streets -- in broad daylight. Even the art of name-dropping in casual conversation -- once limited to celebrity sightings and designer shoe purchases -- now includes the occasional boast of recently discovered weed strains such as "Strawberry Cough" and "Purple Kush."

Public sentiment is more than anecdotal; earlier this year, a California Field Poll found that 56% of California voters supported legalizing and taxing marijuana. Last month, voters in Oakland overwhelmingly approved a tax increase on medical marijuana sales, the first of its kind in the country, and Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn has proposed something similar for the City of Angels. "In this current economic crisis, we need to get creative about how we raise funds," Hahn said in a statement.

Smoking pot used to be the kind of personal conduct that could sink a U.S. Supreme Court nomination (Douglas H. Ginsburg in 1987) and embarrass a presidential candidate (Bill Clinton in 1992). Today, it seems to be a non-issue for the current inhabitant of the Oval Office; Barack Obama issued his marijuana mea culpa in a 1995 memoir.

California Field PollDrug references in popular music have multiplied like, well, weeds in the last three decades. Marijuana's presence on TV and in the movies has moved from the harbinger of bad things including murderous rage ("Reefer Madness" in 1936) to full-scale hauntings ("Poltergeist" in 1982) and burger runs gone awry ("Harold & Kumar go to White Castle" in 2001) to being just another fixture in the pop-culture firmament. Cannabis crops up on shows such as "Entourage," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "True Blood" and "Desperate Housewives," and even on animated shows such as "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy."

To date, none is as pot-centric as Showtime's "Weeds," which follows the adventures of widowed soccer mom turned pot dealer Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), though the show's creator, Jenji Kohan, says there are TV shows in development that are set against the backdrop of medical marijuana clinics.

Richard Laermer, a media and pop culture trend watcher and author of several books, including "2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade," points to Bill Maher as a bellwether of change. "Ten years ago, he would have been taken off the air." ("Real Time With Bill Maher" airs on HBO.) Now, he's "a totally mainstream comic who consistently talks about how much pot he smokes."

Marijuana's role on TV and in the movies is no surprise, says Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop culture at the University of Syracuse S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. "The people who are making movies and television shows, from the scriptwriters to the director and the producers -- a very large chunk of those are probably people who grew up not only much more comfortable with marijuana's presence in society, but probably as consumers themselves of it.

"As a result," Thompson said, "it's almost switched with alcohol. Think back to Dean Martin and Foster Brooks -- their whole comedy act was the fact that they were in the bag -- that now is seen a lot less often. The stoner is the new drunk."

There's one hitch

General marijuana use is, of course, illegal. Under federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance (in the same category as LSD, heroin and peyote) and possession of it is punishable by up to one year in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first conviction. According to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report, in 2007 there were 872,721 arrests in the U.S. for marijuana violations. For Californians who are not otherwise covered under the state's medical marijuana law (which continues to engender controversy among those who believe it's abused by recreational users), possession of 28.5 grams or less is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine. What's more, passing a drug-free urine test is still a prerequisite for many jobs across the country.

Nonetheless, some indulge. Marijuana reform groups say it's a $35.8-billion domestic cash crop. And today's cannabis consumers -- the state chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws estimates the number of Californians who have smoked at least once in the last year is 3 million -- open their wallets for pot-themed movies, handbooks, calendars, fancy glass storage jars, energy drinks, hemp clothing and ganja-themed bus tours, all part of the ever-widening marijuana-adjacent economy.

How much do we spend?

"It's hard to say," says Brian Roberts, co-founder of the THC Expo. "Do you count 'Pineapple Express' that did $100 million at the box office? Do you add in Dr. Dre's '[The] Chronic' and '2001' albums that [together] sold over 10 million copies? What I can tell you is that [the expo] pumped over $400,000 into the local economy," he added, citing expenditures for security guards and other temporary staffers, banners, decorations, printing and advertising, and renting the South Hall of the L.A. Convention Center.

Roberts, who launched and later sold a now-dormant, pot-themed apparel line called THC Clothing before getting into the expo business, has seen pot culture consumers' buying power firsthand. "I used to own a smoke shop [2000 BC] over on Melrose and people would spend up to $400 for a piece of glass to use as a water pipe -- you're talking about an adult with extra money. That's like buying a power tool."

Did something happen between 2003, when Tommy Chong started a nine-month stint in federal prison for selling a mail-order water pipe, and the June THC Expo, when he stood signing autographs and shaking hands, barely a roach clip's throw from row upon row of swirling glass pipes, smoking devices with octopus-like tentacles, whirring motors and price tags as high as $800?

Some people point to the Obama administration as the biggest game-changer. "It was when [former President George W. Bush] and his boys were run out of office, that made the biggest difference," Chong said by phone near the end of the "Light Up America and Canada Tour" that reunited him with Cheech Marin.

Roberts cited the election as the tipping point as well. "The whole show teetered on who won the election," he said. "If McCain had won, I'd have never have put up my money. But Americans are no longer living in fear."

In addition, trend watcher Laermer points to a more subtle shift: aging baby boomers -- a generation famous for tuning in, turning on and dropping out -- who are keeping their party habits going into their golden years.

"It's hard to fathom that the fifty- and sixtysomethings would be against pot after all the pot they smoked," Laermer said, "Their kids would laugh them out of the room if they started telling them not to smoke pot."

The so-called marijuana movement has attracted some surprising names. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has spoken out about decreasing penalties for possession and protecting medical marijuana users. Earlier this year, Glenn Beck of Fox News announced on the air: "Look, I'm a libertarian. You want to legalize marijuana; you want to legalize drugs -- that's fine."

David Bienenstock, senior editor of New York-based marijuana magazine High Times and author of "The Official High Times Pot Smoker's Handbook," said: "Whether you're with the press or a politician, it's no longer a third rail. In the past it could have cost you your job. Now people are at least able to have those conversations."

Roberts, for one, is ready. He's already booked 50,000 square feet at the Los Angeles Convention Center for next year's THC Expo. It's going to happen April 23-25 -- right after the April 20 date that's become a kind of pot smokers' national holiday.

"They're happy to have us back," Roberts said. "They told me the food concessions sold $38,000 worth of food on the first day alone -- and that's more than they do in a whole week at the California Gift Show."

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

Riverside County deputies seize 25,000 pounds of marijuana

A routine traffic stop by deputies in Riverside County today ended up netting more than 25,000 pounds of marijuana valued at $10 million, authorities said.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department pulled over the 18-wheeler about 9 a.m. on northbound Interstate 15. While questioning the driver, deputies searched the vehicle and found boxes of marijuana, the department said.

The department said the quantity of pot appeared to be the largest confiscated in the agency's history.

The driver, an adult male, was taken into custody by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Boxes of confiscated marijuana. Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/riverside-deputies-sieze-25000-pounds-of-marijuana.html

1,000 marijuana plants found inside Chatsworth warehouse

August 27, 2009 | 9:44 am

Two people were arrested after Los Angeles police uncovered a marijuana-growing operation in a Chatsworth warehouse, where about 1,000 plants were growing, authorities said today.

A patrol unit stopped a white pickup truck with temporary plates in the 9900 block of Canoga Avenue about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, said LAPD Officer April Harding. When officers approached the truck, they smelled the strong odor of marijuana and found plants, Harding said, and arrested a man and woman who were inside the vehicle.

LAPD officers traced the plants back to an industrial warehouse on the same block, where the smell of marijuana was escaping from a vent on the roof. When officers went inside, they discovered 1,000 plants and a hydroponic lab, Harding said.

About 100,000 kilowatts of unbilled electricity was being used in the warehouse, she said. The LAPD was continuing its investigation this morning.

-- My-Thuan Tran

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/pot-bust.html

Family members found marijuana in Jackson's bedroom

Rotting marijuana that Michael Jackson's family members mistook for heroin briefly caused detectives to look for further evidence of the illegal drug in the pop star's rented residence during the frenzied 48 hours after his death, according to sources close to the investigation.

Family members told coroner's officials that they found "tar heroin" in the Holmby Hills home's master bedroom. Only Jackson and his children had access to the room, according to court records unsealed Thursday. The discovery prompted authorities to obtain a search warrant for Jackson's house for heroin, hypodermic needles, cutting agents, scales, balloons, condoms, razor blades, buyer lists, and seller lists, among other items, documents show.

But within days, police had ruled out heroin as a factor in the singer's death, sources close to the investigation said. Lab tests showed that the purported heroin was actually moldy marijuana, sources said. And, according to court records, a lengthy police interview with Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, placed another drug, the powerful anesthetic propofol, at the center of the investigation.

Law enforcement sources said that neither marijuana, cocaine nor heroin were found in Jackson's system.

The search warrant records, unsealed at the request of several media organizations, show that police seized 12 bottles of the sedative temazepam, several other prescription drugs and empty medication vials from Jackson's house the day after his June 25 death. As part of the investigation, police searched Murray's car June 29, records show. But according to the search inventory, the only items seized were a business card for an executive handling Jackson's London concerts, a contract and an envelope with miscellaneous writing.

In another warrant made public Thursday, a federal agent wrote that Jackson's longtime friend and physician Dr. Arnold Klein had self-prescribed medication 27 times during a nearly three-year period.

The allegation prompted a federal magistrate to sign off on a search last week of Mickey Fine Pharmacy, which Jackson frequently used.

State records showed that Klein had self-prescribed Vicodin, Valium, the sedative midazolam and modafinil, a drug used to improve wakefulness.

Klein's attorney, Garo B. Ghazarian, said Klein never self-prescribed any medication, but the lawyer declined to explain the drug-tracking records.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jackson28-2009aug28,0,1554430.story

Weed Protects Brain From Booze?!

Of course, this research was done at a college!

According to a new study at University of California San Diego, marijuana may stave off damage caused by binge drinking.

WTF?!

Brain scans were performed on three different groups all ranging in ages between 16 and 19: binge drinkers, binge drinkers who also smoke pot, and those with little drug or drinking experience.

The binge drinkers showed damage in their white matter, yet those who drink and smoke showed damage only in three of eight areas of the brain, only little more than the control group.

In extremely unexpected results, their brains were in substantially better shape in seven areas of the brain over the binge drinkers.

Researchers will continue on whether marijuana somehow stops alcohol from damaging brain cells.

If that's true, then why are frat guys so damn stoopid?!

http://perezhilton.com/2009-08-28-weed-protects-brain-from-booze

Free Weed in Cali, Oldes Stripper and Cigarettes Find New Lungs

Kush L.A. magazine put a certificate in their magazine for free weed at a medical dispensary in LA. Lining up outside at the Roscoe Compassionate Collective, everybody is claiming an affliction to get their free bag -- an 8th of a gram to anyone with a doctor's certificate.
That amount comes to a savings of $50. One fellow claimed chronic neck pain. RCC plans on doing more giveaways. They're also selling additional weed to those who want more. They've installed an ATM machine inside the dispensary.

Legendary Topless Dancer Still Performs
Her breasts were once called "the New Twin Peaks of San Francisco." All 44 inches of them. Her name is Carol Doda and she's been shaking her booty for over 45 years. She was one of the first ladies to get silicone injections into those breasts that were insured with Lloyd's of London for $1.5 million.



She got her start at the Condor Club. She was go-go dancing on a piano when the club's publicist handed her a topless swimsuit and she became the first popular topless dancer. Although she doesn't strip anymore, she does perform a nightclub act at Amante, singing and dancing. And she owns a lingerie shop called Champagne and Lace. She never married, which may make her one of Americas hottest older cougars.

Cigarettes Target Smaller Countries
A new report shows that tobacco kills 6 million a year. The report also shows that the tobacco industry is targeting low-income countries who are without tobacco regulations. Expensive lawsuit after expensive lawsuit has sent the industry to make money on those countries who can't sue.

The American Cancer Society estimates that the tobacco industry has cause $500 billion loss all over the world. Part of the claim is not only premature deaths but also tobacco taking the place of food on the farm.