#weeddude

[nonneim]

Well, it’s too late for this stupid dumb drawing but i’ll post it anyway since i have more than 420 followers.

Thank you all for liking and reblogging my stuff 

[serna19]

@ serna19

[bylinebeat]

Judge dismisses medical marijuana suit by Arizona

A U.S. District Court judge Wednesday dismissed Arizona’s lawsuit seeking to clarify whether its voter-approved medical-marijuana law trumps federal drug laws. In an unusual legal request, Gov. Jan Brewer had asked the court to mediate the conflict between state and federal drug laws. But Judge Susan Bolton tossed the suit, saying the state couldn’t show its workers were at risk of federal prosecution for following Proposition 203, or even if it intended to fully implement the law. Although Bolton’s decision clears the way for state health officials to begin licensing medical-marijuana dispensaries, officials are not likely to begin the process immediately. Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the governor would consult with Attorney General Tom Horne before deciding whether to appeal Bolton’s ruling. “What this court has essentially said is that it won’t hear the state’s lawsuit unless and until a state employee faces federal prosecution for enforcing Proposition 203,” Benson said. “The federal court has essentially punted on the issue.” Under the law, passed in 2010, state workers issue special ID cards to people with certain medical conditions, authorizing the patients to use marijuana. Prop. 203 also allows the Department of Health Services to issue permits for a limited number of marijuana dispensaries.

Photo Credit: (tokeofthetown.com)

[bylinebeat]

Why Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths

States that legalize medical marijuana see fewer fatal car accidents, according to a new study, in part because people may be substituting marijuana smoking for drinking alcohol. 

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, have legalized medical marijuana since the mid-1990s. For the new study, economists looked at 1990-2009 government data on marijuana use and traffic deaths in the 13 states that had passed legalization laws during that time period. The data were from the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Comparing traffic deaths over time in states with and without medical marijuana law changes, the researchers found that fatal car wrecks dropped by 9% in states that legalized medical use — which was largely attributable to a decline in drunk driving. The researchers controlled for other factors like changes in driving laws and the number of miles driven that could affect the results.

Medical marijuana laws were not significantly linked with changes in daytime crash rates or those that didn't involve alcohol. But the rate of fatal crashes in which a driver had consumed any alcohol dropped 12% after medical marijuana was legalized, and crashes involving high levels of alcohol consumption fell 14%.

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Photo Credit: (Wikipedia)

[bylinebeat]

'Weed Wars': Reality TV puts Oakland dispensary in spotlight

From the early moments of the groundbreaking reality TV show, "Weed Wars," it's clear that longtime pot reform activist Steve DeAngelo is ready for his close-up. After a snappy title track by Snoop Dogg, the opening episode quickly cuts to scenes of a pony-tailed DeAngelo cruising the streets of Oakland and extolling the virtues of medical marijuana. "I have a very close, personal relationship with the cannabis plant," says the loquacious founder of Harborside Health Center, the state's largest medical marijuana dispensary. "It was love at first sight." Cable television in recent years has introduced millions to offbeat professions, from crab fishermen and ice road truckers, to pawnshop operators and bounty hunters. But are Americans ready to invite licensed pot peddlers into their living rooms? Programmers at Discovery Channel hope so. They're taking a risk with "Weed Wars," a show that could have a polarizing effect on viewers. When an Entertainment Weekly online reporter broke news of the series in July, it was met with a deluge of comments, many of them negative. Cable news is also jumping into the fray, as DeAngelo and his brother, Andrew, general manager of Harborside, were grilled by Bill O'Reilly on his Fox News show Monday and were part of a Current TV news special about the California medical marijuana industry. Photo Credit: (Dan Honda/Staff)

[bylinebeatows]

Video: Michael Rusch (@weeddude), Editor-in-Chief of Byline Beat (@BylineBeat) talks with Captain Ray Lewis in Zuccotti Park. November 21, 2011 Source: (@weeddude/Twitter)

[bylinebeat]

Anheuser-Busch to release new taste for Bud Light

Anheuser-Busch is coming out with a sweeter, higher alcohol-content version of Bud Light as the company tries to build on the popularity of one of its top beers.

Bud Light Platinum will come in a cobalt blue bottle and it will be 6 percent alcohol by volume, compared with Bud Light's 4.2 percent, the company said.

The brewer said Thursday that the new, sweeter-tasting product will hit shelves in late January and offer a more upscale option for drinkers of light beer.

A number of major brewers are struggling with beer sales stagnating in the U.S. as the economic downturn limits consumer spending. Parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev reported Wednesday that its profit rose from a year earlier even though it sold less beer around the world.

Bud Light has beat the trend and continues to grow in popularity.

Anheuser-Busch declined to discuss the product or marketing plans in detail.

[bylinebeat]

Officials Bust Drug-Smuggling Ring Linked to Mexican Cartel

Law enforcement officials on Monday announced the breakup of a massive drug-smuggling ring that used lookouts on hilltops in southern Arizona to move huge quantities of marijuana and other drugs across the Mexican border to users throughout the United States.

Over the last month and a half, federal, state and local officials have arrested 76 people, from organizational bosses to stash-house guards to those who transported the drugs in backpacks and in vehicles, the authorities said. All were linked to the Sinaloa cartel run by Joaquín Guzmán, Mexico’s richest and most wanted outlaw, who goes by the nickname El Chapo, the authorities said. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, officials estimated that the ring had been in operation for at least five years and had generated more than $2 billion in profits by smuggling more than 3 million pounds of marijuana, 20,000 pounds of cocaine and 10,000 pounds of heroin into the United States. Such large smuggling rings usually use tractor-trailers to get their contraband across, the authorities said, but this operation relied mostly on migrants on foot straining under their loads.