DENVER - A casual marijuana smoker, Kyle Naylor figured he'd give edible marijuana products a try to see if they'd curb his anxiety and insomnia. It didn't go well. Eighty minutes into his experiment, Naylor got intensely sick and lost control of his body. By 90 minutes, he was hyperventilating, freaking out and heading to the emergency room. "For me, the effect from smoking marijuana was completely different than ingesting it," says Naylor, 30. On Jan. 1, Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational use of marijuana - Washington state expects to begin legal retail sales this summer - and commercially made edible products have become a popular alternative to smoking pot. [continues 1173 words]
"We've become the experiment of the nation, and it's ruining our reputation." Coloradans are used to hearing jokes from friends across the country about the pot-friendly city of Boulder. Heck, we make those jokes ourselves. Over the past few months, the national conversation about the entire state has shifted away from our snow-capped mountains highlighted by John Denver's song Rocky Mountain High. It seems all anyone outside our state wants to talk to us about is a different kind of high: the one associated with marijuana. [continues 555 words]
A recent study on differences in brain structures and marijuana use is getting a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons ("Casual pot use messes with brain?" News, April 16). Coverage of the story has heralded that casual marijuana use can cause brain abnormalities, which is very misleading. The researchers looked at brain differences between casual marijuana users and non-users at one point in time and saw a correlation. That is, the users' brains were different from non-users'. This kind of research says nothing about what caused the differences. [continues 87 words]
Paul Gray's final weeks were a blur of extreme drug abuse, which neither his doctor nor his bandmates would help his wife confront, she testified in Polk County District Court on Tuesday. Brenna Gray said her husband, the bassist and a founder of the internationally known band Slipknot, relapsed into drug addiction in about 2008. Gray testified that she raised concerns about why his Des Moines, Iowa, doctor, Daniel Baldi, continued prescribing the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, which her husband had a history of abusing. Paul Gray, 38, died of a drug overdose at an Urbandale motel in May 2010. [continues 618 words]
In Colorado and Washington, the Legal-Marijuana Experiment Wafts Uncomfortably into the Office DENVER - Last month, Colorado diner owner Mark Rose posted an unusual job description: "Looking for part time experienced breakfast cook. Pays well, must be friendly and a team player, could turn into a full time gig by summer. 420 friendly a must." With that public declaration, Rose put himself squarely in the camp of employers acknowledging that marijuana use is perfectly legal in Colorado. Perhaps more significant, it also puts him in the camp of employers who officially don't care if their employees use pot off-duty. The phrase "420" is shorthand for someone who uses marijuana. [continues 549 words]
Journal Expects Rise Over Earlier Forecasts Bolstered by decriminalization laws in Washington state and Colorado, marijuana could become an $8.2 billion retail business by 2018, an industry trade journal says. That's a 33% jump over earlier forecasts and a five-fold increase over expected 2014 retail and medical sales, according to Marijuana Business Daily. The publication boosted 2018 sales estimates due largely to a Justice Department decision to take a hands-off approach to drug enforcement in Colorado and Washington, which allow limited, legal use of pot, and the assumption that up to six more states could allow recreational and medical use. Chris Walsh, editor of CannaBusiness Media, which publishes Marijuana Business Daily, said the $8.2 billion sales estimate could be conservative and doesn't include wholesale revenue or marijuana-related products. "The reality of retail sales could be larger," he said. [continues 79 words]
DENVER (AP) - A 25-year-old is shot dead trying to sell marijuana the old-fashioned, illegal way. Two men from Texas set up a warehouse to grow more than they would ever need. And three people buying pot in a grocery store parking lot are robbed at gunpoint. While no one expected the state's first-in-the-nation recreational sales would eliminate the need for dangerous underground sales overnight, the violence has raised concerns among police, prosecutors and pot advocates that a black market for marijuana is alive and well in Colorado. [continues 881 words]
WASHINGTON - Warning: Increased voter turnout could be a political side effect of marijuana. The latest George Washington University Battleground poll, a national survey of likely voters, reveals that nearly four in 10 respondents say they would be "much more likely" to vote if marijuana legalization issues were on the ballot. An additional 30% say such ballot initiatives would make them "somewhat" more likely to vote. The numbers are encouraging to Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Ed Goeas, because Democrats historically have a tougher time than Republicans in turning out voters in non-presidential election years. [continues 443 words]
Poll: Marijuana-Laced Ballots Boost Interest WASHINGTON - Warning: Increased voter turnout could be a political side effect of marijuana. The latest George Washington University Battleground poll, a national survey of likely voters, reveals that nearly four in 10 respondents would be "much more likely" to vote if marijuana legalization issues were on the ballot. Another 30% say such ballot initiatives would make them "somewhat" more likely to vote. The numbers are encouraging to Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, who conducted the survey with GOP pollster Ed Goeas, because Democrats historically have a tougher time than Republicans in turning out voters in non-presidential election years. [continues 384 words]
Accidental Ingestion of Pot a Growing Issue Residents of Colorado and Washington state aren't the only ones getting high on legal marijuana: So are their four-legged friends. The states' decision to legalize recreational pot is driving an increase in the number of dogs scarfing down marijuana-infused cookies, brownies and butters. Unlike humans who can metabolize marijuana in a few hours, dogs feel the effects far longer. The sight of a glassy-eyed dog sprawled on the floor or stumbling around frightens pet owners, veterinarians say. [continues 401 words]
Our nation is numb, President Obama said this month while announcing his My Brother's Keeper initiative. So numb that we are nonchalant about the overwhelming numbers of black and brown boys who end up in prison. "We just assume this is an inevitable part of American life, instead of the outrage that it is," Obama said. What should disturb us even more is that prisoners have become a commodity, thanks to the growing relationship between private prisons and state governments. The states that go into business with for-profit prisons sign contracts that essentially agree to maintain quotas on the number of prisoners. If they can't keep the prison populations at the agreed upon levels, the states must pay the difference. [continues 430 words]
'Ganjapreneurs' Make the Most of Colorado's New Marijuana Laws From page 11 DENVER At first glance, the people convened in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel appear to have little in common. There's a retiree from Salt Lake City, a former Marine from North Carolina and a thirtysomething couple from El Paso, among others. But the look of collective delight when they reach into their goody bags and withdraw the accoutrements for a multi-day cannabis tour - glass pipe, vaporizer pen, butane lighter, eye drops, and a couple of big fat buds - unites them in purpose, if not demographics. [continues 981 words]
While comedians poke fun at Colorado as the Wild West of Weed, cops say there's little evidence anything has changed significantly since marijuana was legalized in the state whose capital, Denver, is known as the Mile-High City. On Jan. 1, Colorado allowed licensed marijuana dealers to open stores where adults can buy up to an ounce of pot at a time. Those stores have seen long lines and short supplies as Coloradans and out-of-state visitors buy marijuana. And while there may be a perception that neighboring troopers are camping out on the state line to snap up smugglers, there's no evidence that massive amounts of marijuana are flowing out of the state. [continues 666 words]
It's disingenuous for the head of the National Institutes of Health, Francis Collins, to say that the trend of marijuana legalization has made research into it more "feasible." The National Institute on Drug Abuse, under NIH, has always been the gatekeeper on marijuana research, which it has stifled over the years. Collins is also disingenuous on whether marijuana smoke causes cancer, saying "nobody's done that study." As recently as 2012, NIH-funded research was published, and reported in USA TODAY, showing that marijuana smoke did not cause long-term lung damage. The ultimate irony is Collins saying we need to "mount studies that were impossible before." Not only were studies possible, they've been undertaken. Kris Hermes Americans for Safe Access Oakland, Calif. [end]
Another Crime Boss in Jail Won't Matter On Saturday, the world's most wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, was captured in the Mexican city of Mazatlan, ending a 13-year search that began when he escaped from prison in a laundry basket. But how much will this arrest really accomplish? If history is any guide, not much. The capture of one leader from one cartel will not decrease drug use in the United States, the world's biggest drug consuming nation. [continues 410 words]
Federal Moves Unlikely to Open Many Doors for Marijuna Dispensaries This marks the USA TODAY debut of Trish Regan, anchor and editor-at-large for Bloomberg TV. Trish was named one of the most popular business news anchors last year by BusinessInsider.com and has worked at CNBC, CBS and CBS MarketWatch. OK. So, maybe Dazed and Confused isn't the pot classic that Up in Smoke is, but the cult coming-of-age film set in the '70s featured enough grass to rank as Rolling Stone's No. 2 "Stoner Movie of All Time." More important, Dazed and Confused seems to perfectly capture the reaction to Friday's announcement from the Justice and Treasury departments aimed at addressing the biggest challenge facing the almost-legal marijuana industry today - lack of access to banks. [continues 575 words]
Greta Botker has been through more adversity in her short life than most adults. At the age of 7, she's sampled a host of medications for her epilepsy: Onfi, Depakote, Felbatol, Keppra and Prednisone. She's been on strict diets. She's had brain surgery. Nothing reduced the 15 or so seizures she had every day since she was 5 months old that kept her from walking steadily, feeding herself or talking. Her parents, Maria and Mark, had run out of options. [continues 1324 words]
Publication Front and Center As Pot Movement Grows When staffers at the marijuana fan magazine High Times participated in an "Ask Me Anything" online forum at the website Reddit, they answered plenty of questions. But they danced around one that was the most frequently asked: Ever run into legal trouble? Founded in 1974 by renegade journalist and pot trafficker Tom Forcade, New York-based High Times is a cult publication with a loyal following and a steady base of advertisers who have always tinkered with the boundaries of legality and legitimacy. [continues 826 words]
Publication Front and Center As Pot Movement Grows When staffers at the marijuana fan magazine High Times participated in an "Ask Me Anything " online forum at the website Reddit, they answered plenty of questions. But they danced around one that was the most frequently asked: Ever run into legal trouble? Founded in 1974 by renegade journalist and pot trafficker Tom Forcade, New York-based High Times is a cult publication with a loyal following and a steady base of advertisers who have always tinkered with the boundaries of legality and legitimacy. [continues 971 words]
It is extremely encouraging to hear more reports of law enforcement carrying naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opiate overdose. They should be praised for humanely expanding their mission "to protect and serve" all members of their communities, including the ones who use drugs. But we need to make sure that we don't stop there ("Police carry special drug to reverse heroin overdoses"). All too often, police are not the first witnesses to a drug overdose; parents, siblings, friends and caregivers are in many cases the actual "first responders" when someone accidentally overdoses on drugs. Naloxone works to prevent death from heroin only when it's used immediately. We need to make sure we're encouraging naloxone access and use among all people who might be present at the scene of an accidental drug overdose. We've made incredible strides in raising awareness about the preventable nature of fatal overdoses, but we can't end this epidemic until lay people have the same access to this lifesaving medicine as police officers. Meghan Ralston, Drug Policy Alliance Los Angeles [end]
Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the top actors of our time, looks as if he struggled with heroin addiction. One of his talents was showing an individual battling his demons, such as in the movies Capote and Doubt. He made it seem so real - and in retrospect obviously it was real for him. Many addicts do not want to die; they are simply looking for something to relieve the pain. Heroin addiction is a physical illness, much like cancer or heart disease. Let's not pity or punish addicts. Let us compassionately try to figure this out as a country. Tom Ashley Tucson [end]
LOS ANGELES - The marijuana industry, its outlook soaring with legalization in two states and changing attitudes nationally, is showing off the latest products and celebrating its good fortune at a trade exhibition this weekend. The Los Angeles Cannabis Cup, an annual event sponsored by High Times, the magazine of stoner culture and business, is expected to see record attendance of more than 10,000 people Saturday and Sunday. That's twice any past turnout, managing editor and event coordinator Jen Bernstein says. [continues 300 words]
Denver - Would you like those pot brownies in regular or gluten-free? Retailers across Colorado are baking, injecting, spraying and infusing marijuana into every conceivable food as they race to meet demand for edible pot. Pot brownies are perhaps the best-known form, but you can buy marijuana-infused foods ranging from candy to cookies, olive oil, granola bars, chocolate truffles and spaghetti sauce. "You name it, it's being made," says Julie Postlethwait of Colorado's Division of Marijuana Enforcement. [continues 326 words]
In the Past Decade, Addiction Has Hit Epidemic Levels The death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman of a possible heroin overdose Sunday is shining a spotlight on an epidemic of opiate addiction that has soared over the past decade. Hoffman, 46, was found on the bathroom floor of his New York City apartment with a syringe in his left arm and glassine bags usually associated with heroin. Police are investigating substances found in the apartment, but Hoffman has been open about his drug use, which included prescription pills and heroin, and his struggle to stay sober. [continues 511 words]
Heroin Abuse Spike Shows The Danger Of Fighting And Talking About Drugs Without Enough Thought The apparent heroin overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who first used drugs decades ago, is a reminder of just how difficult it is to get a handle on drug abuse and the youth culture that enables it. One reason for the surge in heroin use over the past five years is a crackdown on the abuse of prescription opiate painkillers. Addicts might simply be substituting one drug for a related one. [continues 576 words]
Alaska could be the next state to reconsider the prohibition on marijuana, following legalization votes by Colorado and Washington last year. Alaska elections officials posted data Tuesday showing that a petition for a statewide vote on marijuana legalization has gained enough signatures and met legal thresholds needed to put the issue before voters. Under Alaska law, the petition when officially certified would appear on the Aug. 19 primary ballot. No formal opposition to the initiative has emerged thus far. Taylor Bickford, spokesman for an Anchorage-based organization that is behind the ballot drive, said that though petitions are still being counted, the state has reported 31,593 signatures are qualified, more than the 30,169 needed. [continues 327 words]
Goodell May Allow Drug If It Can Ease Head Trauma NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday that the league would consider allowing players to use marijuana to treat concussions and other head injuries if medical experts deemed it a legitimate solution. Appearing with General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt to announce the first 16 winners of the $20 million "Head Health Challenge," sponsored by GE and the NFL, Goodell didn't sway from his recent statements on use of the drug by active players. [continues 367 words]
Says That States Should Be Able To Set Own Policies On Abortion, Gay Marriage And Marijuana Legalization. AUSTIN - The Republican governor of Texas supporting less jail time for pot users? Gov. Rick Perry, a staunch conservative, riled the Lone Star state Thursday when he told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he supports the decriminalization - though not the legalization - of marijuana use. "As the governor of the second-largest state in the country, what I can do is start us on policies that can start us on the road towards decriminalization" by introducing alternative "drug courts" that offer treatment and softer penalties for minor offenses, Perry said during an international panel on drug legalization at the summit. [continues 295 words]
Colo., Wash. Laws Key 'Experiments' President Obama says marijuana use is no more dangerous than alcohol, though he regards it as a bad habit he hopes his children will avoid. "As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked," he said in a magazine interview. "I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol." He said marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol "in terms of its impact on the individual consumer." [continues 237 words]
Sales Are Sky High As Pot Stores Open to Colorodoans and Out-Of-State Tourists DENVER David Strong leans over to a stranger waiting in line next to him and confesses he has been buying pot in grocery store parking lots for years. "I had this one guy, first time, great stuff. Second time, great. Third, great. Fourth? Terrible," says Strong, 59. "When you're buying out on the street, you have no idea what you're getting." That changed a few minutes later for the semi-retired Strong, who last week became one of the first Americans to buy marijuana from a state-licensed store in Denver. Instead of meeting a dealer in a parking lot for an illegal transaction, Strong bought pot from the Medicine Man retail shop. [continues 1155 words]
Just a Week into the State's Legal-Marijuana Experiment, Giddiness Meets Hand-Wringing DENVER - David Strong leans over to a stranger waiting in line next to him and confesses he's been buying pot in grocery store parking lots for years. "I had this one guy, first time, great stuff. Second time, great. Third, great. Fourth? Terrible," says Strong, 59. "When you're buying out on the street, you have no idea what you're getting." That changed a few minutes later for the semi-retired Strong, who this week became one of the first Americans to buy marijuana from a state-licensed store in Denver. Instead of meeting a dealer in a parking lot for an illegal transaction, Strong bought pot from the Medicine Man retail shop. [continues 1325 words]
Handful of Counties Now Allow Pot Sales for Recreational Use The new year got a little happier for pot smokers in Colorado on Wednesday as the nation's first retail outlets for recreational marijuana opened their doors. "Marijuana does not have to be a burden to our communities," said Betty Aldworth, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. "Today in Colorado we shift marijuana from the underground into a regulated market." The first sale, orchestrated as a news media photo opportunity, was made to Sean Azzariti, an Iraq War veteran who has lobbied publicly for legalization and says pot helps mitigate problems stemming from his post-traumatic stress syndrome. Azzariti, who served six years in the Marine Corps and two tours in Iraq, spent about $60 at 3D Cannabis Center for an eighth of an ounce of "Bubba Kush" and a pot-laden truffle. [continues 747 words]
National Survey Shows Fewer View Marijuana As Harmful, Daily Use Up Teens are shunning synthetic marijuana, such as K2 and Spice, but smoking more of the real thing, a national survey of more than 40,000 children in three grades found. The number of high school seniors who said they used the synthetic drugs dropped sharply from 11% in 2012 to 8% in 2013, the Monitoring the Future survey, released today, found. A growing number of teens see the drugs as dangerous. [continues 382 words]
Many Lobby for Changes to Help Their Businesses On the payroll at the Orange County, Calif., start-up Ghost Group are two fulltime lobbyists, a policy writer, a public relations firm and marketing agency. They have an annual budget of $1 million and a single mission: to do whatever is possible to get states and the federal government to legalize marijuana. Leading the team is the company's co-founder, Justin Hartfield, a man with a passion for the substance and no qualms about spreading the word about the opportunity that surrounds it. [continues 607 words]
Intuit Offers to Pay for a Small-Business Ad in Big Game; NORML Wants It Could the upcoming Super Bowl broadcast a pro-marijuana spot? Odds are long, but it may be more than a pipe dream. One pro-marijuana advocacy group is making a serious bid to win an online voting contest sponsored by Intuit, which has promised to award a free Super Bowl spot to one American small business. While the contest has received more than 10,000 entries, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) ranks among the most popular vote-getters in the first stage of voting, which just ended. The pro-pot group's efforts are bringing extra buzz to the contest, but it may not be exactly the kind of buzz that Intuit wanted. [continues 408 words]
Test Them for Safety and Make Them Legal While the United States is dipping a toe into drug legalization with medical marijuana and, in a few states, recreational marijuana, our efforts in New Zealand to deal with drugs outside the criminal system are going in another direction. Given our remote geographic location, smuggling is risky, rare and expensive. Most of the drugs New Zealanders use are produced locally. Lately, new synthetic drugs that mimic the effects of harder-to-acquire drugs are gaining traction. [continues 466 words]
Recent poll shows 52% of public favors marijuana legalization Sen. Patrick Leahy, committee chair, questions prosecutions for pot offenses Foes of legalization say states haven't thought the matter through Clarification: An earlier version of this story contained a quote that was misattributed. The pros and cons of marijuana will take center stage Tuesday in Washington, D.C., when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a landmark hearing on legalization. Requested by committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the hearing was triggered by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement last month that federal authorities no longer will interfere as states adopt laws to allow medical marijuana or to legalize the drug entirely. [continues 640 words]
Football League'S Policy Contradicts Law That Allows Marijuana Use Thursday's NFL season opener just got hit with an end-around PR play from a harsh critic that's ultrasavvy at garnering media attention. The Marijuana Policy Project announced Wednesday that it has posted a giant billboard advertisement - within eye-shot of Denver's Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium - that warns the National Football League: "Stop Driving Players to Drink." The 48-by-14-foot billboard, which shows a football leaning against a foaming beer glass, advises: "A safer choice is now legal here." Colorado, after all, is one of two states (along with Washington state) that have recently legalized marijuana use by adults 21 and older. [continues 363 words]
Respect State Laws on Pot I have been in two horrific car accidents that were caused by stoned drivers. They could have just as easily been drunken drivers. If pot were legal nationwide, how would people decide when a person could drive in relation to lighting up? Could you drive three hours after smoking it? There are a lot of issues that come with legalizing pot. Craig Liebscher [end]
Respect State Laws on Pot Attorney General Eric Holder is merely saying the feds won't be aggressive in prosecuting marijuana offenses. He's not changing federal law but ignoring it. By not acting, the Obama administration is effectively kicking the can down the road until the next administration comes in and wipes out any perceived progress made on this issue. Jim Backer [end]
Advocates for Legalization Predict Progress in States Marijuana movements already simmering across the country could get a big boost from the Obama Administration's announcement that it would take a laid-back approach to states with softer laws on marijuana. "This is one of the most significant milestones in the movement toward ending marijuana prohibition," says Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates marijuana legalization and regulation. The group has led several ballot initiatives across the USA. "The federal government for the first time ever has sent a clear signal to states that they can adopt their own marijuana policies if they do them in a responsible manner." [continues 417 words]
Members of Congress should change federal law to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. Stop sending people to prison for marijuana, and we would save much money on prisons. In addition, we would create a much needed source of revenues. It is a win-win. Darwin Akbar [end]
Study: About 9.2% Are Using Illicit Drugs As the nation takes a softer stance on marijuana, more Americans are using the drug, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found. The nationwide survey made public Wednesday found that 7.3% of Americans 12 or older regularly used marijuana in 2012, up from 7% in 2011. Marijuana use has increased steadily over five years. In 2007, the survey found that 5.8% of Americans 12 or older used marijuana. The report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) surveys 70,000 people 12 and older nationwide. It is the most comprehensive look at U.S. drug and alcohol use. [continues 371 words]
Legalization Backers Hail Justice Dept.'s Announcement The Justice Department's sweeping decision not to challenge state laws that permit medical and recreational use of marijuana is being hailed as a major breakthrough by advocates of decriminalizing the drug 's use. Although the directive issued by Attorney General Eric Holder will apply nationwide, it will largely affect the 20 states and the District of Columbia that allow for medical marijuana use, and Colorado and Washington, where laws allow medical and recreational use by adults. [continues 308 words]
Much like a rogue sheriff who turns a blind eye on criminals, Attorney General Eric Holder - the highest law enforcement officer in the country - is violating his oath. He has become so lax on the enforcement of drug laws - first with the national marijuana laws and now with mandatory minimum sentences - that he is essentially ignoring federal law. Before continuing, let me be clear. I am neither pro pot nor anti pot. I'm also not for or against mandatory minimum sentences. These policy matters are above my pay grade. [continues 92 words]
ACAPULCO, MEXICO Catholic priest Jesus Mendoza ministers to a working-class neighborhood in the hills of Acapulco that is a world away from the tourist resort destination below. He says one parishioner had three of his daughters abducted for a $2,500 ransom. Business owners are being forced to pay off extortionists. And 120 parishioners are either missing, kidnapped or have been killed over the past six years. When President Obama arrives in Mexico on Thursday, he will encounter a country that is still suffering from widespread violence against ordinary citizens from organized criminal and drug cartels - but he will also find that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office Dec. 1, has little interest in talking about crime or getting more help from the United States to combat it. [continues 508 words]
Powerful prescription painkillers have become pricier and harder to use. So addicts across the USA are turning to this more volatile drug. The new twist: Heroin is no longer just an inner-city plague. Heroin in Charlotte has become so easy to get that dealers deliver to the suburbs and run specials to attract their young, professional, upper-income customers. These lawyers, nurses, cops and ministers are showing up in the detox ward at Carolinas Medical Center, desperate to kick an opiate addiction that often starts with powerful prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin. [continues 1649 words]
They Might Not Use Marijuana, but They and Other Investors Predict an Industry Worth Billions of Dollars Brendan Kennedy and Michael Blue are nice boys. Really. They're bankers. Yale MBA classmates. Wearers of ties. And, if luck and changing laws cooperate, they'll be drug barons of a certain kind. Kennedy, 40, and Blue, 34, are in the vanguard springing up to seize the market for legal marijuana, which is accelerating with last fall's legalization of most personal pot consumption in Colorado and Washington state. They're running a Seattle private-equity fund, Privateer Holdings, designed to buy up the smaller marijuana-related businesses to create one big fat one. [continues 1628 words]
And the Stigma Goes Up in Smoke The toke torch is being passed in Tinseltown. It used to be that Hollywood potheads were grizzled and off-the-mainstream grid - think Cheech & Chong and Willie Nelson. Then edgy rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill became the famous faces of marijuana, with a couple of mischievous Texans thrown in: Woody Harrelson and a naked-and-bongo-playing Matthew McConaughey. Today's stars caught with cannabis? Meet the mostly twentysomething toke turks: They're the antithesis of counterculture, including heartthrobs such as Justin Bieber, Chace Crawford, Michael Phelps and Armie Hammer. And then there's Rihanna, who readily flaunts her affection for the illegal flora, posting pictures of her Valentine's present (a bouquet of weed), 25th birthday cake (adorned with a gilded marijuana leaf ) and Christmastime tush tattoo (yep, another leaf of weed). [continues 1684 words]
What if you could get a DUI for having had a few drinks two weeks ago? Crazy, right? Except it's happening. Not with alcohol, but with marijuana. Drivers from Arizona and at least nine other states, including Utah, Iowa, Indiana, Delaware and Rhode Island, are going to jail, paying big fines and losing their licenses after having gotten driving-under-the-influence citations when blood tests prove they were not high. "It makes no sense," says attorney Michael Alarid III, who is representing a man charged in Arizona. "But this is how prosecutors and the courts are interpreting the law. And the legislature doesn't appear to want to change it. So we're hoping we can get the issue before the state Supreme Court." [continues 626 words]
