I am put on pause by the prevalence of cannabis in our daily lives. In these times, pot has become as common as toothpaste. Whereas, we would never think that there is the possibility of a mainstream television commercial for the various types of herbal essences possible. There are inadvertent advertisement. The press reports stories on the mishaps of anyone in the public eye and everytime one celeb or another is reported to have some legal difficulty and marijuana is involved potheads across the land feel a bit more valid in their actions and are more empowered to bring their blunts from the huddled masses of the backroom to blazing on Main Street USA.
As I cast my net out for current news articles (material for this blog), articles about weed are as common as vendors on the east side.
Putting two and two together ...
These two articles are loosely related:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1061415,00.html
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2688232.htm
The first article is about the exile that comedian Dave Chappelle remanded on himself. He needed a break from the pressure of receiving 50 million and remaining funny. I understand where the you man is coming from. The task to stay relevant and prove that you can possibly live up to such a payday is hard work. We see everyday, our not so well adjusted athletes, receive incredible salaries and become a shell of their best selves. That is purely a lack of concern because they have been paid. Chappelle can see that a loyal audience will assure that he remains viable in the markets that he makes his money and this pressure to keep his fan base lead him to South Africa, Johannesburg in fact.
The second article comes from Swaziland. A stones throw from South Africa, Swaziland is losing a lot of their commercial farmers and the crops they grow because they have chosen to stop growing their standard cash crops and start growing 'Swazi Gold'. Quoted from the article, 'Prized for its potency across the world, 'Swazi Gold' is grown in the remote northern mountains of this tiny African kingdom, then smuggled into neighbouring South Africa ...' and later 'Police in impoverished Swaziland say that despite dousing acres of towering plants with deadly insecticide, they are losing the war on marijuana to dirt-poor peasants bent on protecting their most lucrative crop.'
Swazi marijuana, which is said to be more potent due to the soil and weather conditions, fetches a handsome premium. On the streets of Johannesburg, 'Swazi Gold' is sold in 30 gram small bank bags, or 'bankies', for 70 rand ($11) apiece, while Amsterdam coffee shops charge around 6 euros ($7.5) for one gram. Locals say they get around 1,000 rand ($154) for 2kg.
Patterson's equation of copious cash meets Excellent weed:
Dave Chappelle(50 million dollars) + Swazi Gold(@ 11 dollars/30 grams = One hell of a party when Dave gets back.
Next Stop Parachute, CO
http://www.hightimes.com/ht/news/content.php?bid=434&aid=24
The Parachute, Colo., Police Department has a problem: how do get rid of 151 pounds of marijuana. Police normally use a burn barrel outside the police department, but the stash from a recent drug bust is so big that the burn barrel can't be used. "The whole town of Parachute would be getting silly (if it were burned in the barrel)," said Jeff Wells, a Parachute police officer. The drugs came from an arrest on May 19 in which two Florida men have been charged with possession with the intent to distribute, according to Wells.
A drug dog had sniffed out an empty duffel bag in one suspect's car after a routine stop, so authorities followed the car to a motel in Parachute, where the driver met up with another man. That's where William Morgan and Anthony Keane were arrested on charges of drug possession with intent to distribute.
In a related story, the owner of the local Dairy Queen in parachute had close his doors after rioting broke out as customers packed his establishment screaming for Blizzards. Noted in the crowd of rioters were the six officers of the Burn detail that were responsible for disposing of the 151 pounds of dope.
When Justices Collide
I recently attended a party at Justice Clarence Thomas' place. I shared a limo to the event with Montell Williams, Snoop, and Robert Iler (Tony Jr. from the
Soprano's). We were greeted at the door by Justice Thomas where he cordially offered me a can of Coca-Cola. I immediately declined.
There were all sorts of people there from all walks of life. Sandra Day O'Connor was breaking down a Phillies and encouraging Snoop to contribute to her impending creation. William Rehnquist, the chief justice, was seen for a short time incoherently babbling about his glaucoma medication.
These justices were also outnumbered 6-3 on the use of medical marijuana in 10 states, stating that the states were in violation of interstate commerce laws.
Tom Cruise was stumping for his next big budget piece of crap that he is about to drop on the viewing public, when four dudes posing as a foreign TV crew, rolled up with trick mic in hand. The renegade reporters got Cruises attention during a walk down the red carpet on the way to a screening of 'War of the Worlds'. Personally, I have had bowel movements that I anticipated more than this -- ahem -- crap. The reporter in this fake crew held the mic to Tom's face and squirted water or something that appeared to be water. A livid Cruise called the guy a jerk and referred to the prank as nasty.
Leo DiCaprio was partying with Paris Hilton's ex-videomate (those racoon eyes were hilarious) when a angry female broke through to crack Leo with a beer bottle. No ambulance was called out during the 4am incident, but Leo had to get 12 stitches. Maybe he will start choosing better roles now.
