Hash Bash 2012 - Ann Arbor MI

Around 6,000 people gathered at high noon on April 7th on the University of Michigan diag to kick off the 41st annual Hash Bash.  If you're not familiar, Hash Bash is the longest running annual rally for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States.  Since the passing of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, attendance to the event has exploded.  As always, I was in attendance, here's a few pictures from the event...

Future activists

 As always, a great crowd gathered after the rally for the Monroe Street Fair, where all enjoyed lots of live music, a little shopping, and lots of chilling on the grass...

 A little Apollo 13 brand medication :) 

 My beautiful wife and i 

 more pics of the field of hippie circles on Monroe St.

 When the rally kicked off at high noon, there was already a nice cloud of smoke hanging over the crowd, in spite of the heavy police presence

 In response to continued interference with the implementation of Michigan's Medical Marijuana Act and the increased prosecution of patients and caregivers, activist began collecting signatures this year for the total repeal of marijuana prohibition in Michigan

 My bro and I getting ready to enjoy  little civil disobedience

 More cool people

 activist selling water to raise money for the fight

 another future activist

See you there next year!!

Federal Raids in Oaksterdam

Federal agents raided several medical marijuana related locations in Oakland, CA early Monday morning, including Oaksterdam University, the nation's first school dedicated to medical marijuana cultivation.

Oakland has long been a stronghold of the medical marijuana movement, making it a target for federal crackdowns.  Despite the Obama administrations earlier stance that they would not interfere with businesses operating in compliance with state law, Federal agents have been cracking down on California dispensaries for the past year.  In some cases these crackdowns were done with the assistance of local officials, not so with pro-cannabis Oakland.

Early Monday morning Federal agents raided Oaksterdam University, the Oaksterdam Gift Shop and the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Club, none of which actually distribute medical marijuana.  The University's founder, activist Richard Lee, was detained at his home and four university plant tenders were arrested in the raids.

This is just one more case of the Federal Government stepping in where it is not wanted or needed spending the taxpayers money going against the taxpayers wishes.  The medical marijuana movement has been nothing but good for the city of Oakland, leading to a revival of it's downtown area and an influx of businesses and revenue for the city.  The city of Oakland and it's residents are clearly pro-cannabis; why is the federal government spending millions of dollars raiding this cities legal businesses? In my hometown of Detroit crime is running rampant and unemployment is nearly the highest in the country; yet the federal governments priority is spending millions of dollars of taxpayers money raiding legal businesses in prospering cities???  Legal businesses that the vast majority of Americans approve of and support???

These communities have democratically voted these businesses in, their residents approve of them, support them and want them there, and these businesses are improving their community! What happened to democracy? It's time for the people to raise their voice.  Whether you support medical marijuana or not, would your rather have your tax dollars go toward shutting down legal medical marijuana businesses or towards revitalizing our nations economy and creating new jobs???Would your rather have your tax dollars go towards shutting down legal medical marijuana businesses or or shutting down the crack and heroin dealers on the corner??? Something to think about.

A Brief History of Marijuana Prohibition, Pt. 2

So, how did cannabis go from being viewed as one of the most useful, profitable crops in the world to where it is today? The campaign demonizing marijuana began with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.  Yep, that's right, the father of "yellow journalism" himself.  

For those of you who aren't familiar with Hearst, he was the inspiration for Welles' Citizen Kane.  He exerted huge political influence and even greater influence on public opinion through his thirty plus newspapers.  He greatly abused his power, filling his papers with lurid sensationalism, seldom backed by fact, to promote whatever personal cause he was championing at the moment.  He is regularly credited with instigating the Spanish American War with his yellow journalism and his papers were a constant source of slander and blatant bigotry against Mexican-Americans, Spaniards, Latinos, and African Americans.

From 1910 Hearst led a campaign against cocaine, claiming that in most cases where blacks were accused of raping white women the incident could be traced directly to cocaine use.  But beginning in 1920, he got a new poster child in his anti-drug campaign, marijuana, and that suddenly became the cause in the majority of such incidents.  According to his newspapers marijuana was also responsible for a crime wave of epic proportions, directly responsible for such offenses as "Negroes" and Mexicans - stepping on white mens shadows, looking white people in the eye, looking at white women twice, laughing at white people, etc.

While marijuana is the name most people relate to the cannabis plant today, it wasn't always so.  At that time, hemp and cannabis were the most used names for the plant, and most Americans had no idea whatsoever that marijuana, hemp, and cannabis were actually the same plant! It was Hearst who pounded the name "Marihuana" into Americans' brains, doing his best to make it synonymous with crime, insanity, and death.   

From 1935-1937, the Treasury Department held a series of secret meetings where prohibitive tax laws against marijuana were drafted without the knowledge or input of the public or health professionals.  Now here is where an interesting pattern emerges for those looking closely enough.  On April 14, 1937 the Marijuana tax bill was introduced directly to the House Ways and Means Committee, the only committee that can send its bills directly to the house floor without debate.  It was stamped quickly by Ways and Means Chairman Robert Doughton, a key ally to the DuPont Company.

Pt 3 tomorrow or the next day!