marijuana

The 4/20 Weed Cloud That Ate Boulder, CO

Seth Abramovitch · 04/21/11 01:48AM

How did you celebrate 4/20? Well, you could have lit up a spliff the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and it still wouldn't have come close to what the pothead population of Boulder cooked up. Watch in amazement as a cloud of marijuana smoke steadily grows above a gathering of 4/20 celebrants. Then watch it grow denser and larger still, as coughs and beach balls bounce throughout crowd. The video cuts off before the unruly mob discusses raiding a nearby Costco for free samples, then gives up in a moment of weed-induced apathy. But it's still pretty awe-inspiring nonetheless.

'Because I Got High' Singer Sued for Forgetting Concert

Maureen O'Connor · 04/20/11 04:06PM

The timing of a lawsuit against "Because I Got High" singer Afroman is pure coincidence, say lawyers for a concert venue in Columbus, Ohio. The plaintiff claims that Afroman was going to perform in Ohio on April 9, but then he forgot.

Staten Island: New York's Ganja Garden

Jeff Neumann · 04/13/11 05:29AM

In just over a month, law enforcement agencies have busted two massive marijuana growing operations on Staten Island. Agents from the DEA — along with the NYPD and New York State Police — on Monday raided a "sophisticated hydroponic grow house" and found 450 mature pot plants. Two men were also arrested in connection with the operation, which authorities told the Staten Island Advance was raking in about $10 million a year. Damn.

You Can Now Enroll in Marijuana State University

Brian Moylan · 04/12/11 12:08PM

Ray Logan has opened enrollment for his Marijuana State University, a three-hour workshop in Maine that teaches people how to grow marijuana in their homes. Logan is one of the nearly 1,000 people in the state who have a medicinal marijuana prescription. And now he's sharing his green thumb with the world.

Smell The Pineapple, Man: A Weekend At The High Times Medical Cannabis Cup

Emma Carmichael · 04/05/11 07:10PM

For reasons not related to sports or logic, I was sent across the country to cover the 2011 High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Denver this past weekend. The event, held in a place called the Exdo Event Center that allegedly transformed into a gay nightclub once the sun set, featured an awards show for 45 indicas, 36 sativas, 50 hybrids, 26 concentrates, and 25 edibles from Colorado dispensaries. If you don't really know what those terms mean, it's okay: this event was primarily for professionals. And no matter how much pot you smoked in college, bro, I can now say with certainty that it does not make you a professional in the field of medical cannabis. There were seminars for legal issues and consumer rights, cultivation lessons, and a panel discussion on the ins and outs of the "Cannabusiness." And there was a giant tent — which required either a Denver medical marijuana card or a vendor's pass to enter — filled with marijuana for medicating purposes. The only rule, once you were in? No selling and no giving away of the marijuana. The tent was only for sharing. Welcome to the Medical Cannabis Cup.

Prom Canceled Due to Bad Pot Brownies

Seth Abramovitch · 04/05/11 02:35AM

North Andover High School saw their prom night cut short after four students became "violently ill" from eating some tainted pot brownies. Or maybe they just couldn't handle them? It's unclear. Fret not! A probe is underway. Once again, friends, a few bad apples have spoiled this absolutely horrendous-looking evening of rented tuxes and rubber chicken for the bunch. Unfortunately, the video from the event is pretty tame. If not a full-on Carrie moment, I was at the very least hoping to see one girl screaming that her corsage was trying to eat her. [WCVB]

Scientists Are Going to Ruin Medical Marijuana

Max Read · 04/03/11 09:01PM

"An ingenious set of experiments," The New Scientist reports, "could open the way to cannabis-like drugs that provide pain relief without causing unwanted highs." First of all: Unwanted? Second of all: What is wrong with you, scientists??

Medical Marijuana Discussion Becomes Heated on Dr. Oz

Lisa Gagliardi · 03/29/11 03:45PM

Dr. Oz attempted to have a very calm debate on the pros and cons of medical marijuana but many audience members had other plans. This guy, in particular, was ready guns a-blazing.

When Brooklyn Had Pot Plants 'as Tall as Christmas Trees'

Max Read · 03/23/11 11:01PM

Thousands of people in Brooklyn will tell you how great Brooklyn used to be. I never took those people seriously. Until I heard how once, pot plants "as tall as Christmas trees," grew in "anonymous vacant lots" in Brooklyn.

New York City Spends $75 Million a Year on Pot Busts

Max Read · 03/15/11 09:46PM

A new report from the Drug Policy Alliance alleges that New York City is currently spending something like $75 million every year on low-level marijuana possession charges—the vast majority of which are directed at black and Latino youths.

It's a Sad Day For Marijuana Growers

Hamilton Nolan · 03/03/11 09:43AM

New York City police busted a marijuana-growing operation inside a house in Staten Island Monday that was so skunky that—and we are directly quoting a leading tabloid here—"cops who raided the place nearly got stoned, police said." That's right: "You almost got a contact high by just going into the house," said a law-enforcement source. "It was like a heavy, earthy pot smell."

Smoking Weed Raises Risk of Psychosis

Max Read · 03/01/11 11:55PM

Teenagers and young adults who, in the words of the BBC, "use cannabis," are increasing their risk of psychosis, according to a new study. Of course, the link between psychosis and marijuana use is well-documented (remember that kid from high school? Who smoked all that weed? And then a few years later he left you a voicemail letting you know that he was in touch with the German Chancellor about the second coming?)—this study, however, seems to indicate that cannabis usage comes first, and not as a self-medication strategy for symptoms of psychosis:

David Arquette: 'I Had My First Drink At the Age of Four'

Maureen O'Connor · 02/24/11 12:07PM

David Arquette gave his first post-rehab interview to Oprah, and it turns out he was a beer-swilling smoking baby. Arquette describes the scene of his intervention ("I go, what up, turkeys?") and says he had his first drink at the age of four, began "seriously drinking" at 12, and stole pot from his father at the age of 8.

Guys Renovating Police Station Steal 47 Pounds of Weed

Max Read · 02/21/11 03:37AM

While renovating a Florida police station, construction workers Scott Burgert and Bradley Jones were tasked with "putting in an exhaust fan in the evidence vault to take out fumes from confiscated drugs stored there." But Jones and Burgert, according to the cops, found an even more efficient way to do deal with the problem: Remove the confiscated drugs from the evidence vault. Burgert and Jones allegedly stole 47 pounds of marijuana from the Florence Police Station while working there; they were arrested after an audit revealed the missing weed. The marijuana "was so old that it was moldy," anyway. [Times Daily via Fark]