Recreational marijuana clubs open in Colorado

Associated Press
December 31, 2012
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/12/recreational_marijuana_clubs_o.html

Colorado and Washington, which on Nov. 6, 2012 legalized the recreational use of marijuana, have a history with marijuana law reform. More than a decade ago, they were among the first to approve its medical use.

A marijuana den in Denver opened Monday for members-only group smoking, The Denver Post reported. Reggae music was on the stereo and a projector showed "The Big Lebowski."

Another club opened Monday in Del Norte, in southern Colorado. The clubs are not open to the public.

An attorney for Denver's new Club 64 says the clubs are permissible under Colorado's new constitutional amendment on marijuana. Marijuana will not be sold at the clubs. He said Club 64 has 200 members over age 21 who paid $29.99 for a one-time club event. It is named for Amendment 64, which voters approved last month

Nearly an hour after opening, no police were seen outside Club 64.

Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal

The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal
LEE FANG
12-25-12
http://www.republicreport.org/2012/marijuana-lobby-illegal

Last year, over 850,000 people in America were arrested for marijuana-related crimes. Despite public opinion, the medical community, and human rights experts all moving in favor of relaxing marijuana prohibition laws, little has changed in terms of policy.

There have been many great books and articles detailing the history of the drug war. Part of America’s fixation with keeping the leafy green plant illegal is rooted in cultural and political clashes from the past.

However, we at Republic Report think it’s worth showing that there are entrenched interest groups that are spending large sums of money to keep our broken drug laws on the books:

1.) Police Unions: Police departments across the country have become dependent on federal drug war grants to finance their budget. In March, we published a story revealing that a police union lobbyist in California coordinated the effort to defeat Prop 19, a ballot measure in 2010 to legalize marijuana, while helping his police department clients collect tens of millions in federal marijuana-eradication grants. And it’s not just in California. Federal lobbying disclosures show that other police union lobbyists have pushed for stiffer penalties for marijuana-related crimes nationwide.

2.) Private Prisons Corporations: Private prison corporations make millions by incarcerating people who have been imprisoned for drug crimes, including marijuana. As Republic Report’s Matt Stoller noted last year, Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies, revealed in a regulatory filing that continuing the drug war is part in parcel to their business strategy. Prison companies have spent millions bankrolling pro-drug war politicians and have used secretive front groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, to pass harsh sentencing requirements for drug crimes.

3.) Alcohol and Beer Companies: Fearing competition for the dollars Americans spend on leisure, alcohol and tobacco interests have lobbied to keep marijuana out of reach. For instance, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors contributed campaign contributions to a committee set up to prevent marijuana from being legalized and taxed.

4.) Pharmaceutical Corporations: Like the sin industries listed above, pharmaceutical interests would like to keep marijuana illegal so American don’t have the option of cheap medical alternatives to their products. Howard Wooldridge, a retired police officer who now lobbies the government to relax marijuana prohibition laws, told Republic Report that next to police unions, the “second biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is big PhRMA” because marijuana can replace “everything from Advil to Vicodin and other expensive pills.”

5.) Prison Guard Unions: Prison guard unions have a vested interest in keeping people behind bars just like for-profit prison companies. In 2008, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association spent a whopping $1 million to defeat a measure that would have “reduced sentences and parole times for nonviolent drug offenders while emphasizing drug treatment over prison.”

Book Review: Medical Growing - A Garden of Peace

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ in Culture, Growing, Products
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/12/book_review_medical_growing_-_a_garden_of_peace.php

My friend Daniel Boughen has a green thumb, and he comes by it naturally. With a family history of organic horticulture, this British Columbia resident had a solid foundation when he began growing cannabis, the world's most medicinal plant.

Medical Growing: A Garden of Peace begins by ably pointing out the evil folly of the tragic War On Drugs, contrasting that with the numerous social, medicinal and economic benefits of cannabis and industrial hemp. Boughen shows a keen consciousness of the forces currently impacting the marijuana community, including the impending danger of corporate control.

In what I personally believe to be one of the most crucially important sections of the book, Boughen contrasts the corporate model of legalization with a more community-centered model. Daniel spares no words in condemning those who would make marijuana just another tool for big corporate profits.

"Monopolistic models for the corporatization of cannabis are now being presented by lobby groups who want to cash in on cannabis in order to sustain the inflated profits of Big Pharma," Boughen writes.

Recently instituted legalization models which place control in the hands of the state, and don't allow home growing, aren't good for cannabis genetics, we learn in Medical Growing.

"To preserve the biodiversity of the species, our access to specific strains grown for taste or symptoms, the people must remain the custodians of cannabis, and keep it in the public domain," Boughen writes. "Recent efforts to patent strains should be resisted; it's just another attempt by corporations to rob us of our natural rights."

Cannabis, Culture and Creativity

The important role of marijuana in culture isn't neglected, either.

"All of the arts have benefitted from the use of cannabis," Boughen writes. "It doesn't cause aggressive behavior or possess toxic properties of other substances, and cannabis is without the addictive profiles characterized by drugs such as tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines or prescription opiates.

"Cannabis stimulates thought, creativity, and peaceful cooperation, and many of the other qualities we find aesthetically desirable in human kind, and yet with cannabis prohibition, those are not being stimulated in our society," Boughen points out. "When we prohibit cannabis, we also prohibit our culture's artistic and creative growth."

Grow Your Own

Daniel goes on to clearly outline a step-by-step manual for the growing, harvesting, curing and storage of cannabis, as well as provide recipes for preparing medicinal oils and other concentrates and extracts. Neither novice growers nor experienced veterans will feel left out, as the books techniques and tips cover a broad range of skill levels.

Boughen's clear, easy-reading style lets you know what to expect when growing cannabis, and what to do at each stage of growing and processing. He doesn't hide behind technical language; Medical Growing is written in everyday words, and the instructions call for everyday, low-cost materials found in most any home.

Daniel is a devotee of the "12-1" method of growing cannabis, and thus not a fan of the 18-6 vegetative grow cycle favored by many mainstream cultivators. However, even if you disagree with Boughen's assertion that 18-6 lighting cycles constitute "abusing" the plants, it's worth reading his arguments to broaden your perspective.

If you're confused about exactly what constitutes the 12-1 lighting cycle, see page 29 of Medical Growing for a clear explanation. Short version, instead of just a light and a dark cycle like 18-6, 12-1 involves 12 hours with the lights on; 5.5 hours lights off; 1 hour on; and 5.5 hours off, cycled over a 24-hour period.

Cannabutter and Baking

Since cannabis resins are easily extracted using butter to capture the oils, cannabutter (marijuana-infused butter) has become a popular option for those who use the herb medicinally. Medical Growing has a "Butter and Baking" section with instructions on how to make cannabis butter, and how to include it in recipes for cannabinated treats.

You can also learn how to make your own concentrates, including making hashish and making and dosing medicinal cannabis oils from leaf and trim (of which, using Boughen's techniques, you should soon have a nice supply).

Bottom Line

At $19.95 in the United States and $21.95 in Canada, Medical Growing: A Garden of Peace is a great choice either for yourself of for that experienced or aspiring cannabis farmer on your list.

For more information on ordering, visit www.agardenofpeace.com.

Marijuana advocates hope to rise from 'prohibition'

Opponents of marijuana in the 1930s used employed similar tactics as those who sought to ban alcohol.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Voters in Colorado and Washington approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use
The federal government, which still considers marijuana possesion a crime, hasn't weighed in
There are many similarities in the move to legalize pot and the end to alcohol Prohibition
Detractors of both drugs have also used similar tactics, including stoking racial fears
Eliott C. McLaughlin
Sat December 1, 2012
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/01/us/marijuana-legalization-and-prohibition/

Turn on a television show or open a magazine in the United States today and you're bound to see someone with a drink in hand -- something unthinkable nearly a century ago.

Advocates of marijuana hope that someday that drug will emerge from its current "prohibition" period, the same way alcohol did, and become not only legal but as socially acceptable as having a drink.

Could that happen? Depends who you ask. Advocates point to the November ballot in Colorado and Washington, where voters approved legal pot for everyone, not just for those who have a medical reason.

Detractors of marijuana legalization say there are serious health consequences, and argue the drug is often a gateway to more harmful, addictive substances.

However pot's future is going to play out in this country, its recent path to limited legalization has interesting parallels to alcohol, which was banned by the federal government in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Prohibition era gave rise to an underground market for booze, produced by unregulated bootleggers and moonshiners, and consumed in back-alley speakeasies.

A few years after Prohibition's repeal, the federal government banned marijuana, hardly as popular and socially acceptable as alcohol. It would be decades before supporters of pot would mobilize and successfully get the drug legalized in some states.

Advocates and detractors for both drugs seem to have read from the same playbook, stoking fears based on prejudices and questionable scientific studies.

Rather than discuss issues of substance, opponents of marijuana in the early 20th century preferred to exaggerate its effects and pin its use on foreigners and black entertainers.

It was a familiar tactic that had panned out well in pre-Prohibition days.

In a 1914 speech before the House, Rep. Richmond Hobson of Alabama warned that booze would make the "red man" savage and "promptly put a tribe on the war path." He added, "Liquor will actually make a brute of a Negro, causing him to commit unnatural crimes."

Twenty-three years later, while arguing for marijuana prohibition, Harry Anslinger also played on Americans' fear of crime and foreigners. The Bureau of Narcotics chief spun tales of people driven to insanity or murder after ingesting the drug and spoke of the 2 to 3 tons of grass being produced in Mexico.

"This, the Mexicans make into cigarettes, which they sell at two for 25 cents, mostly to white high school students," Anslinger told Congress.

The term marijuana itself was intended to stoke alarm, as many Americans in the 1930s were already familiar with other terms for the drug, according to Michael Aldrich.

"(The drug's opponents) preferred the word marijuana instead of cannabis or hemp because people thought it was some new devil drug from Mexico," said Aldrich, the curator of what is now Harvard University's Fitz Hugh Ludlow Memorial Library, a collection of psychoactive drug-related literature.

"All of a sudden, there's this new thing being introduced by outside people," Aldrich, who is credited with writing the first dissertation on marijuana myths and folklore. "It was all a bunch of crap."

'Reefer Madness' vs. 'Medicinal marijuana'

In the shaky, handwritten opening lines of the 1936 movie "Reefer Madness," marijuana is described as a "violent narcotic" that first renders "sudden, violent, uncontrollable laughter" on its users before "dangerous hallucinations" and then "acts of shocking violence ... ending often in incurable insanity."

Watching the movie today (available on YouTube) might provoke "uncontrollable laughter" -- even from those who oppose marijuana legalization. Yet the movie's message was based in part on scientific studies that were considered legitimate at the time.

There were similar claims about alcohol in the years leading up to Prohibition. While the Anti-Saloon League painted drinking as un-American and immoral to convince counties and states they'd be better off saloonless, they also leaned on hokey research, according to Garrett Peck, author of "The Prohibition Hangover."

The ASL used "quack medical experiments" to demonize beer, wine and liquor, Peck said. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union went into classrooms purporting to demonstrate the effects of alcohol by pouring it directly onto sheep and cow brains, quickly transforming the pink organ to a grayish hue, he said.

"It was scientifically without merit because when you drink, it goes through your stomach," Peck said. "Otherwise, most of us would be lobotomized."

That's not to say there aren't substantial health detriments to alcohol and marijuana use.

Both can have impacts on brain development in younger users. Smoking marijuana can cause respiratory issues. Long-term alcohol consumption is linked with a host of cardiovascular and nervous system problems, not to mention cirrhosis. And that's the short list.

But just like opponents have overplayed the drugs' detrimental effects, advocates have exaggerated their benefits.
Think "medicinal." In 2010, ahead of California's failed marijuana-legalization referendum, several medicinal marijuana users shared their symptoms and ailments.

Among them were AIDS patients who needed it to boost their appetites. The husband of a cervical cancer sufferer recalled how cream-based marijuana soups eased his wife's agony more effectively than the powerful painkiller Dilaudid.
Others, however, told CNN of lesser maladies. One said with a smirk that he'd jammed his thumb. Another said he'd been stressed out at work and explained how less-reputable dispensaries had doctors in back rooms who prescribed pot for almost anything.

It was no different when alcohol was banned, Peck said. Despite the American Medical Association saying alcohol had no medicinal value, the Volstead Act, which led to the federal ban on alcohol, stated that no one could prescribe alcohol except "a physician duly licensed to practice medicine" -- much to the delight of the nation's Jay Gatsbys.

"Yes, medicinal whisky -- all of a sudden, all of these doctors are saying we need to prescribe this because there's so much money to be made. You could prescribe a pint a week," Peck said. "We know enough about alcohol now; it's not medicinal."
As Prohibition expert Daniel Okrent wrote in 2010, "... all too often, 'medicinal' has been a cynical euphemism for 'available.' "

John Kane, a U.S. district judge in Colorado, explained that while there was a medical exception to Alcohol Prohibition, health had little to do with its repeal.

No one was clamoring to make brandy legal to cure the country's headaches, explained Kane, whose father was a pharmacist during Prohibition and prescribed brandy to his patients.

Rather, the nation had grown weary of the organized crime that accompanied Prohibition, he said.

Many of the immigrant groups vilified by the teetotalers formed the organized crime units that plagued Prohibition days, he said. Prior to the ban on alcohol, gangs generally ran numbers, extorted folks or charged fees for protecting neighborhoods.
"Then Prohibition came along, and that basically gave them an American Express black card," he said. "It subsidized criminal activity in this country."

The price of legalization

Just as Prohibition bore Al Capones and strengthened the Frank Costellos and "Lucky" Lucianos, American drug prohibition has spawned a host of cartels south of its border. They wage war against each other for the rights to the most lucrative illegal drug market on Earth -- the United States -- which by some estimates, consumes two-thirds of all the illegal drugs in the world.

Yet there is a major difference between Capone's henchmen and the Mexican cartels: "The violence is not to the scale of what's going on in Mexico," Peck said.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, one of the most heinous crimes of the era, left seven dead. That many could be murdered in a Mexican border town on your average Wednesday.

How big a hit the cartels would take if the United States legalized pot is a matter of debate, and conclusions vary widely. While U.S. officials said in 2009 that 60% of cartel revenue came from weed, the RAND Corporation said the following year that "15-26 percent is a more credible range."

A report this month by the Mexican Competitive Institute predicted Mexican drug organizations, namely the Sinaloa Cartel, could lose almost $2.8 billion just with the legalization votes in Colorado and Washington.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, states saw two immediate benefits aside from neutering the criminal gangs, the first being that they could regulate the product.

Under Prohibition, unscrupulous bootleggers had manufactured moonshines and bathtub gins that could render tipplers blind or dead. Once alcohol was legal, you had a return to quality control, Peck said.

The second immediate benefit? They could also tax the hooch.

"It was a huge consideration. The Great Depression was going on at that point," Peck said. "FDR pays for the New Deal with excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco."

In President Franklin Roosevelt's first two terms, federal taxes jumped from $1.6 billion in 1933 to $5.3 billion in 1940.

How that might translate to marijuana taxation today is debatable, and the ends of the gamut are nowhere near middle ground.

"Medical marijuana helped save the economy in California ... The counties north of San Francisco survived the recession through marijuana," said Aldrich, the marijuana historian.

He was referring to the Emerald Triangle, which is known for producing and exporting some of the country's highest-grade cannabis.

On the other side, you have President Barack Obama's drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, who emphatically denied that marijuana legalization would prove a boon to state coffers. Taxes on alcohol, he told CNN in 2010, amount to $14.5 billion a year, where as the social costs are closer to $185 billion.

Ahead of the recent ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington, the Colorado Center on Law & Policy estimated that legalization would yield $60 million in state and local revenue and savings by 2017, and perhaps double thereafter. And Washington's Office of Financial Management estimated that a "fully functioning" marijuana industry could bring in nearly $2 billion in revenue over the next five years.

"Fully functioning." Therein lies the rub.

Both the Colorado and Washington estimates came with caveats explaining the obvious: Any revenue projection is contingent on the federal government not enforcing the laws that still render possession of an ounce of marijuana illegal -- even in Colorado and Washington.

University of Virginia law professor Richard Bonnie, co-author of "Marijuana Conviction: A History of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States," said it's a tricky equation.

"There is something attractive about saying you've got this underground market that's not going away, that you're missing a tax opportunity," he said. "The amount of tax revenue you're going to derive from it is going to depend on what your regulatory approach is going to be."

Bonnie was part of the commission that futilely recommended marijuana decriminalization to President Richard Nixon in the 1970s, but he is quick to emphasize that states must step gingerly if marijuana is legalized.

There were many problems with regulating alcohol post-Prohibition, and there still are today. More than a third of eight-graders say they've used alcohol, and almost three-quarters of high schoolers have gotten drunk.

"You have to have a model that doesn't seem to actively encourage use in ways that are harmful to society and the individual," he said, noting the modern regulation of cigarettes provides an admirable model.

Though the Tax Policy Center reports state and local governments collected $17.3 billion in tobacco taxes in 2010, cigarette use, especially among youngsters, has dropped almost 33% since 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Looking into the crystal ball

When alcohol Prohibition was lifted in 1933, regulation was left to the states. Oklahoma stayed dry until 1959, Mississippi until 1966.

Bonnie said he sees marijuana legalization advocates leaning toward a similar model. But, he warns, "there is a social cost to a regulatory regime that taxes and becomes dependent on the revenue."

Overtax it, and you create another dilemma: black markets and the smuggling of marijuana from state to state, a la post-Prohibition. Canada and Sweden learned that lesson with cigarette taxes in the 1990s.

All of this is putting the roach before the joint, of course. Marijuana, no matter what Colorado and Washington say, remains illegal at the federal level.
Experts are reluctant to forecast when that might change. Aldrich predicts federal legalization by 2017, but he concedes that in 1969 he predicted the federal government would relent by 1979.

Judge Kane said he foresees marijuana following a similar path as alcohol. Toward the end of Prohibition, judges wantonly dismissed violations or levied fines so trivial that prosecutors quit filing cases, he said.

While he sees marijuana laws that target kingpins, traffickers and those who engage in violence remaining in place, he believes possession laws are endangered, he said.

"The law is simply going to die before it's repealed. It will just go into disuse," Kane said. "It's a cultural force, and you simply cannot legislate against a cultural force."

Cannabis Science to Film Specialty Documentary

Political Activist Filmmaker Kevin Booth Retained by Cannabis Science to Film Specialty Documentary
DENVER, Mar 19, 2012
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/political-activist-filmmaker-kevin-booth-retained-by-cannabis-science-to-film-specialty-documentary-2012-03-19

Cannabis Science, Inc. a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana) products, is thrilled to announce that the company has retained filmmaker Kevin Booth to collaborate on a documentary researching cannabis as a medicine and the truth behind the science of marijuana.

Many people know Kevin Booth’s work with the late comedian, Bill Hicks. Kevin produced most of Bill’s CDs and videos that led to the comedian’s own HBO specials and multiple appearances on David Letterman. The story of Kevin’s seventeen-year friendship and working partnership with Bill Hicks was recently explored in a feature length BBC documentary that just ended a year long run of festivals and theatrical screenings. After Bill’s death from pancreatic cancer in 1994, Kevin’s filmmaking took on a political turn and he produced documentaries with talk show host Alex Jones about the incident in Waco, Texas, the American two-party political system, and 9/11. In 2005, Kevin traveled to the UK in order to promote his book titled “Agent of Evolution” about his friendship with Bill Hicks - published by Harper Collins.

Several of Kevin’s family members died as a result of alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical use. In 2003 Kevin began investigating the drug war in the United States and produced the documentary “American Drug War: The Last White Hope.” In his investigations, he discovered the United States government considers marijuana more dangerous than crack cocaine or crystal meth. Kevin sought to separate fact from fiction by traveling across the United States, documenting the “fallout” from the War on Drugs and seeking possible solutions and alternatives that have worked elsewhere. Kevin has toured the country, showing his film and lecturing at universities in hope of sparking a meaningful debate. “American Drug War” won best feature documentary at several film festivals from coast to coast and aired continuously on the Showtime network between 2008-2010. During this same time the film was also broadcasted on major networks in Canada, Australia, Poland, Lebanon and South Africa. Kevin recently returned from filming in Juarez Mexico for the follow up to “American Drug War" and is aiming for the sequel’s release later this year.

Kevin Booth’s body of work also include “How Weed Won the West" (a light hearted and humorous look into the California Cannabis culture) “Bill Hicks - Sane Man”, multiple music videos, feature length comedy concerts of Bill Hicks, Fear Factor’s Joe Rogan and groundbreaking comic Doug Stanhope. Kevin’s production of the Hick’s CD “Rant in E Minor” was recently awarded the 11th best comedy album of all time by Spin magazine competing against Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Lenny Bruce, Rodney Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Woody Allen, George Carlin and Richard Pryor just to mention a few. Kevin’s audio productions “Rant in E Minor”, “Arizona Bay” and “Marble Head Johnson” all contain music written and performed by Kevin Booth and Bill Hick who first started playing music together in a high school punk-rock band named STRESS.

Today Kevin runs Sacred Cow Productions dba SCP Enterprises and self distributes through his own sites including SacredCow.com, AmericanDrugWar.com and Amazon. Several of his titles can be found distributed through Warner Brothers and Gravitas VOD that has now broken Booth’s work into the Latin market on both Netflix and ITUNES.

As previously announced, Cannabis Science has begun pre-production of its documentary, in which prohibition of marijuana, medicinal benefits of the plant, and international medical marijuana programs will be explored. Booth’s interests and demonstrated experience will be a true asset to Cannabis Science’s endeavors. The documentary will expose audience members to the subject of medical marijuana so that they may gain a better understanding of the research, science, and planning that goes into running Cannabis Science, one of the top marijuana research companies. The documentary will teach viewers about the medicinal benefits for a wide variety of conditions and show them that prohibition is unnecessary. This is clearly a topic for which Kevin Booth will provide great assistance, and Cannabis Science is excited to begin this project.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.

Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. Our formulations will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in. To maintain that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value is scientifically absurd. Cannabis medicines, with no effective lethal dose, are far safer than aspirin, acetaminophen, and most other OTC drugs that kill thousands of Americans every year.

The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

Forward Looking Statements

This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Cannabis Science Inc.

Dr. Robert J. Melamede, 1-888-889-0888
President & CEO
CannabisScience.com
info@cannabisscience.com

Robert Kane, 1-561-234-6929 Investor Relations Management rkane@cannabisscience.com info@cannabisscience.com

Walmart of Weed in DC

Full Article:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/health/story/2012-03-29/Walmart-of-weed-opening-store-in-Washington-DC/53861352/1

A company dubbed the "Walmart of Weed" is putting down roots in America's capital city, sprouting further debate on marijuana — medical or otherwise.

Just a few miles from the White House and federal buildings, a company that candidly caters to medical marijuana growers is opening up its first outlet on the East Coast. The opening of the weGrow store on Friday in Washington coincides with the first concrete step in implementing a city law allowing residents with certain medical conditions to purchase pot.

Like suppliers of picks and axes during the gold rush, weGrow sees itself providing the necessary tools to pioneers of a "green rush," which some project could reach nearly $9 billion within the next five years. Admittedly smaller than a big box store, weGrow is not unlike a typical retailer in mainstream America, with towering shelves of plant food and vitamins, ventilation and lighting systems. Along with garden products, it offers how-to classes, books and magazines on growing medical marijuana...

Weed Wars

The cannabis battle: coming soon to your living room
Caitlin Donohue
10-19-11
http://www.sfbg.com/2011/10/19/weed-wars

"I always knew that doing this show would be a risk," says Harborside Health Center founder Steve DeAngelo in a phone interview with the Guardian. A medical marijuana dispensary could probably always be considered controversial fodder for a nighttime reality TV program, but DeAngelo's enterprise rose above standard controversy when it became the target of the IRS, the federal agency ruling that it could no longer write off common business expenses. It now owes $2 million — an amount that left the rest of the industry quaking with concerns over its future.

The perfect time for an on-air debut, right? DeAngelo thinks so.

"If the American people see how we use this medicine, how we distribute it, they're going to support it," he says. "They've only gotten a chance to see the government's side, the propaganda side."

Especially nowadays. In the past few weeks, the feds have launched a multi-lateral attack on medical cannabis dispensaries. The Treasury Department convinced banks to close dispensaries' accounts. The Department of Justice has sent out numerous cease-and-desist letters to dispensaries. The notifications insist that the trafficking illegal substances is occurring, and that it must be stopped — a turnaround from the Obama administration's earlier pledge that it would not stand in the way of a patient's access to medicine.

DeAngelo claims that Harborside is among the top 10 highest tax payers to the city of Oakland. The dispensary has gone through disputes over taxes paid before, but this latest persecution has meant a diminished sense of security for the dispensary's 120-person staff at its San Jose and Oakland locations — not to mention among patients.

"They're terrorized," says DeAngelo. "I have 60, 70, 80-year old patients who are terrified."

It's high drama stuff. Ironically, filming for Weed Wars — save a few remaining pickup shots — had already concluded by the time of the ruling. Surely Discovery Channel executives are smacking their foreheads, having shot the relatively boring chunk of 2011 at Harborside.

"It does seem like the cameras got turned off at just the wrong time," says DeAngelo.

The dispensary founder says that his people thoroughly vetted Braverman Productions prior to signing any deals — it wasn't the only offer they got to be the subject of such a show. He's confident the company will shy from the "unreal setups" so prevalent on other reality TV series. And he hopes that despite the current drama (which might make its way into the final episode of the program's season), producers will portray the dispensary in a way that's respectful and shows an accurate image of what day-to-day operations look like.

But whether or not that will be the case remains to be seen. An article written by a staff member in the September 2011 edition of the Harborside newsletter questioned the use of "weed" in the show's title (a faux pas in the medical marijuana industry). In such a volatile political environment, the temptation to sensationalize cannabis dispensaries might run pretty hot. Or on the contrary, maybe Weed Wars will make the sale of state-legal marijuana seem as normal as being a Coloradan bounty hunter or a Kardashian.

Regardless of what happens, DeAngelo's not ruing the day he decided to go into medical marijuana.

"We decided when we opened our doors that it was worth the risk. I still think it was worth that risk."

Weed Wars premieres November 27 at 10 p.m. PST on the Discovery Channel

Cannabis and the Soma Solution, by Chris Bennett

Published by Trine Day ISBN 978-0984185801 Review by Samuel Wells
http://treatingyourself.com/images/issues/pdfs/issue30.pdf

When asked to name an author crucial to the growing mainstream understanding of the uses of cannabis and its role in history, culture, and religion, almost every educat- ed marijuana activist and patient across the world would naturally answer, “Jack Herer,” Jack’s classic collection, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, is a must-read for every- one interested in the uses of industrial hemp, the early medical explorations of therapeutic toking, and the madness of prohibition. The book has rightly been lauded as a landmark in cannabis history; many texts and tomes published in the years since its release simply do what they can to fill in the gaps in the contemporary historical narrative. Chris Bennett’s astonishing new piece of scholarship, Cannabis and the Soma Solution, absolutely deserves a place directly adjacent to the work of Jack Herer on every reader’s bookshelf. This clever and detailed dissertation is one of the most important academic works ever created in the field of marijuana anthropology.

At the heart of the matter is the true identity of the ancient magical elixir Soma (also Haoma), venerated in the Hindu Vedic scriptures as being the key to immortality. Since 1967, the predominant theory of the identity of Soma has been that of banker-mycologist Gordon Wasson, who claimed the holy beverage came from the toxic fly agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria. Bennett seems to come from the take-no-prisoners approach to historical argument; he wastes little time in analyzing and countering a vast majority of Wasson’s argument early in his 500-page thesis. The pattern holds true for the rest of the intimidatingly well-researched and argued book. Through detailed analysis, illustrations, and careful source citation, Chris Bennett takes his reader on a whirlwind tour through human history and culture with only one goal: to prove that the oldest-known spiritual sacrament on the planet was created from cannabis.

To say that he succeeds in this goal is a vast understatement. Readers can expect to absorb volumes of facts on the smoking cups of the horse-riding, nomadic Scythians, the “magic mountain” incense braziers of the ancient Chinese physicians, and India’s notorious beverage, bhang. Even when dazzling the reader with his erudition and research, Bennett never takes his eyes off the prize; he makes sure to follow the evolution and alteration of the term Soma/Haoma as it moves from culture to culture and forward in time. He clearly demonstrates how the ingredients of Soma were hidden or falsified by jealous priests and reactionary contemporary historians. This linguistic history provides a solid foundation for the rest of Bennett’s arguments and claims, all of which are carefully and thoroughly cited. Cannabis and the Soma Solution ranges from analysis of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to Greece, Rome, and Persia, with assurance born of the author’s certainty in his cause. Bennett’s work on the ancient Hebrew and Christian use of cannabis in potent anointing oil is enough to justify the purchase of this impressive book; although only a fraction of the larger his- torical context, the argument and proof presented to the reader is first-rate scholarship.

Every cannabis aficionado, patient, and advocate will find something of great value in Chris Bennett’s Cannabis and the Soma Solution. The great Jack Herer laid the foundation of our understanding of the foolishness of cannabis prohibition in its modern form: Chris Bennett has performed an invaluable service by proving once and for all that the oldest and greatest spiritual sacrament in human history is cannabis use.

The Drug War Vs. Free Press

From SFGate.com:
A U.S. attorney in Southern California says she is preparing to go after newspapers, radio stations and other media outlets that advertise medical marijuana dispensaries, an escalation in the Obama administration's newly invigorated war against the state's pot industry.

This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Media outlets could be next.

U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy, whose district includes Imperial and San Diego counties, said marijuana advertising is the next area she's "going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California."

Duffy said she could not speak for the three other U.S. attorneys in the state, but noted their efforts have been coordinated so far..

Duffy said she believes the law gives her the right to prosecute newspaper publishers or TV station owners.

"If I own a newspaper ... or I own a TV station, and I'm going to take in your money to place these ads, I'm the person who is placing these ads," Duffy said. "I am willing to read (the law) expansively, and if a court wants to more narrowly define it, that would be up to the court."

Seven states, including California, allow medical marijuana to be distributed in dispensaries, though more than 200 California cities and nearly two dozen counties have bans or moratoriums in place on storefront pot businesses.

Ngaio Bealum, publisher of West Coast Cannabis, said he receives a significant portion of his revenue from dispensary ads, though he has tough competition for ad revenue from alternative newspapers and even the Sacramento Bee, which began running print advertisements for dispensaries this year.

Bealum said it is "misguided for the Department of Justice to come after people who are following state law and doing well for the economy in a recession.

"We're just in doctors' offices and cannabis collectives, where you have to be 18 years old or where you have to be a patient," he said.

Alternative newspapers throughout the state have benefited from the increased business, even as other advertising sources have dwindled.

In April, the Sacramento News & Review published a supplement devoted exclusively to marijuana dispensaries.

The ads in the supplement, which have cost $2,000 for a full page, allowed the News & Review to hire additional reporters...

Dispensary ads next targets in federal war on pot
Michael Montgomery
Thursday, October 13, 2011
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/12/MN5N1LH0LN.DTL

Legalize It!

Gallup.com:

A record-high 50% of Americans now say the use of marijuana should be made legal, up from 46% last year. Forty-six percent say marijuana use should remain illegal.

When Gallup first asked about legalizing marijuana, in 1969, 12% of Americans favored it, while 84% were opposed. Support remained in the mid-20s in Gallup measures from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but has crept up since, passing 30% in 2000 and 40% in 2009 before reaching the 50% level in this year's Oct. 6-9 annual Crime survey.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States." The National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2009 found that "16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008."

The advocacy group National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws claims that marijuana is the third-most-popular recreational drug in America, behind only alcohol and tobacco. Some states have decriminalized marijuana's use, some have made it legal for medicinal use, and some officials, including former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, have called for legalizing its use.

A Gallup survey last year found that 70% favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering...

Record-High 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use
Frank Newport
October 17, 2011
http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/Record-High-Americans-Favor-Legalizing-Marijuana.aspx

Obama's Pot War

From HuffPo:

Three years on, not a single Wall Street banker has been prosecuted after a financial crisis rooted in rampant fraud brought the global economy to its knees. President Obama's Department of Justice has more dangerous miscreants to worry about: medical marijuana shop owners.

The DOJ has launched an assault on medical pot dispensaries, vowing to shut down establishments licensed and regulated by state and local governments, in a reversal of an earlier policy, based on an Obama campaign promise to leave the shops alone as long as they followed state law.

And while major corporations have managed to get their federal tax bills down to zero, the IRS has determined that pot clinics can't deduct salaries, rent, the cost of bud or other operating expenses on their tax returns. If a business can't deduct those expenses, its tax bill almost always winds up exceeding even its profits.

Despite a previous DOJ memo that targeting medical marijuana is an inefficient use of time and resources, this past Friday morning, four California-based U.S. Attorneys and their staffs gathered in front of Sacramento's capitol building to announce an aggressive new crackdown on medical marijuana operations throughout the state -- this one aimed at the landlords who manage buildings in which dispensaries operate.

Detailing an industry that has "swelled to include numerous drug-trafficking enterprises," the federal officials warned they would be taking action against dozens of dispensaries they accused of abusing California's medical marijuana laws.

"The California marijuana industry is not about providing medicine to the sick," said U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy. "It's a pervasive for-profit industry that violates federal law."

Meanwhile, medical marijuana in California is experiencing a renaissance. While the U.S. attorneys held their press conference, the West Coast Cannabis Expo had just opened its doors in San Francisco, drawing pot enthusiasts from across the state for the ultimate celebration of all things weed.

The contrast between the ominous warning in Sacramento and the joyous mood at the festival couldn't have been more stark. Glass artists showcased rows of handcrafted pipes. The Oaksterdam Bakery handed out samples of medicinal banana walnut bread. Managers at companies like Weed Maps and California Earth Supply collected resumes from job-seekers. A small line of patients waited to meet with the on-site doctor to see if they qualified for a state-sanctioned medical recommendation.

As news of the government's latest anti-marijuana efforts reached the expo, attendees remained unfazed. "I've been doing this for a long time," Dennis Rogers, the CEO of CannaKing, a roving dispensary he operates out of his van, told The Huffington Post. "We're in a state where it's legal, and you can't have federal agents everywhere. That's the bottom line."

"Everybody in this industry understands the playing field," added Alec Dixon, the director of client relations for SC Laboratories, a company that tests different strains of cannabis for potency and contamination. "All this really does is give us something to rally behind."

Medical marijuana has been legal for approved patients in California since voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. Since then, it's grown into a flourishing above-ground industry, creating a host of "green" jobs that run the gamut from farmers and dispensary owners to public relations executives and insurance agents who specialize in pot cultivation.

But the plant remains illegal at the federal level. In the early years of the Obama administration, targeting medical marijuana operations did not appear to be high on the list of government priorities. A month after Obama's inauguration, Attorney General Eric Holder said that federal prosecutors would not enforce action against patients or providers that adhered to state law. Six months later, the new policy was officially articulated in the landmark Ogden memo: "[P]rosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources."

The DOJ reversed course earlier this year, issuing a memo in June that redefined "caregiver," and the department threatened to take action against pot dispensaries even in states that had legalized medicinal pot. Since that announcement, federal officials have engaged in a slew of intimidation tactics specifically aimed at California's industry.

Last Tuesday, the IRS sent a $2.4-million tax bill to Oakland's Harborside Health Center, the nation's largest medical marijuana dispensary, citing a portion of the tax code that prohibits drug-trafficking organizations from cost deductions. "We will be taxed out of existence," said Steve De Angelo, the center's executive director.

Two days later, a handful of San Francisco-based landlords who rent space to pot clubs received letters from federal officials warning them that the government could seize their property at any time for operating too close to local schools. Similar notes were sent to other dispensaries throughout the state.

The DOJ insists the latest crackdown is somehow in accordance with Obama's policy of leaving the issue to the states. "The actions taken today in California by our U.S. Attorneys and their law enforcement partners are consistent with the Department's commitment to enforcing existing federal laws, including the Controlled Substances Act, in all states," said Deputy Attorney General James Cole in a statement...

Ryan Grim is the author of "This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America," available on Amazon.

Obama's War On Weed: White House Launches Crackdown On Medical Marijuana
10/11/11
Carly Schwartz & Ryan Grim
carly@huffingtonpost.com
ryan@huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/war-on-weed-obama-marijuana_n_1005483.html

Tobacco: The 17th Century Drug War

Charles C. Mann is the author of a new book that has been called a "historical Freakonomics": 1493 – How Europe's Discovery of the Americas Revolutionized Trade, Ecology and Life on Earth. Here's a piece by him from the London Independent:
Nicotiana tabacum, as botanists call it, was the first global commodity craze. Fun, exotic, hallucinogenic and addictive, it was – is – a near-perfect consumer product. England fell under its spell in the 1580s, when the survivors of the nation's first, unsuccessful colonies – the Roanoke ventures of Sir Walter Raleigh – landed in Brighton with strange, fiery clay tubes at their lips. Obviously conscious of the impact of their appearance, they descended on the docks, smoking languidly, like so many Elizabethan versions of James Dean and Humphrey Bogart. By 1607, when Jamestown was founded, London's streets were jammed with more than 7,000 tobacco "houses" – café-like places where the city's growing throng of nicotine junkies could buy and consume tobacco.

None of this was exceptional. Between 1580 and 1610, Nicotiana tabacum, a species originally from the Amazon, became a fixture in every inhabited part of the earth. Almost immediately it attracted governmental ire. Bans on tobacco, some enforced by the death penalty, were enacted by France, Russia, Sweden, the Ottoman and Mughal empires, and the Japanese shogunate. The smoking weed quickly became so ubiquitous in Manchuria, according to historian Timothy Brook, that in 1635 the Khan, Hong Taiji, discovered that his soldiers "were selling their weapons to buy tobacco". Enraged, he prohibited smoking.

No anti-tobacco crusader is better known than King James I, whose Counterblaste to Tobacco, issued in 1604, proclaimed that smoking was "lothsome to the eye, hatefull to the nose, harmefull to the braine, [and] dangerous to the lungs". James sought to ban tobacco outright, but was rebuffed by a hostile Parliament. Pope Urban VIII was more successful. Infuriated by reports that priests were celebrating mass with lighted cigars, the Pope promptly – and successfully – prohibited smoking in the pulpit.

Demand continued unabated. Even as James thundered against tobacco's destructive effect on society, the weed itself was sometimes sold for its weight in silver in London. In the English colony of Bermuda, farmers routinely purchased brides for bags of tobacco (typically, the weight was about 100lb). Across the globe, gangs of young smokers in Edo (Tokyo) were so outraged by the high price of a smoke that they routinely ransacked tobacco warehouses. Customs officials in Istanbul, unable to afford a pipeful, routinely shook down visitors for smoking supplies.

Coupled with high demand, tobacco criminalisation drove up its price, which led to an explosion of tobacco bootleggery that continues to the present day. Pirates grew and sold tobacco throughout the Caribbean, especially in Venezuela. Outraging the Spanish crown, Spanish and Indian smallholders in remote colonial areas converted their wheat and maize plots to tobacco, then sold the harvest to Dutch and English pirates. So powerful did the gangs become that the Spanish ambassador to England complained that English demand was causing the collapse of law and order in tobacco country. (This is not confined to the past: cigarette smuggling remains a major industry in pirate havens from southern Italy to South-east China, but is also common in less rambunctious areas; police in suburban Maryland rolled up an alleged tobacco ring in the eastern US just last month.) Even as moralists like James thundered that tobacco was destroying the family, royal tax officials were eyeing its legalisation. Few programs generate revenue more reliably than a tax on an addictive substance.

In economic terms, addicts' cravings are inelastic – they are relatively insensitive to cost. If they keep getting their hit, they will happily pay the higher prices associated with government-imposed taxes, fees and levies. Within a year of his Counterblaste, the English government had instituted its first tobacco tax.

Prohibitionists might note a disturbing parallel. Everywhere in the world, the lure of tobacco money eventually overwhelmed efforts to prevent addiction. The son of Hong Taiji, the Manchu Khan who banned tobacco, finished seizing China and in 1644 became the first emperor of the Qing dynasty. He, too, fought against tobacco. But Hong Taiji's grandson, the Kangxi emperor, started smoking at the age of seven – and watched new tobacco taxes become major financial contributors to the Qing state.

One by one, other states slowly followed the Manchu lead, legalising and taxing tobacco. Marijuana is following the same path, slowly becoming tax fodder in nation after nation. Here Mughal India was perhaps the first society to reverse course (the East India Company later added opium taxes to the mix). Decades later, countries such as the Netherlands followed the Mughal path. Even in the notoriously anti-drug US, places such as California and Massachusetts, hard hit by recession, are considering marijuana's use as a taxable commodity.

Yet history should not give too much encouragement to the forces behind unfettered legalisation, either. If tobacco and other drugs are a guide, legalisation is followed, eventually, by social disapproval. Everywhere that tobacco has become a fully accepted commodity its use has – eventually, after decades – declined. The tobacco-besotted colonial US, the nation that held the world's most permissive views on tobacco during the 17th and 18th centuries, ultimately became the land where bewildered European and Asian smokers would be ejected from restaurants, cafés and bars. Even as recently as the 1980s, Britons mocked the "puritanical" anti-tobacco crusades in the US. They have fallen into line. So have the Italians, Turks and even the Chinese.

Drugs that become uncool fall into disuse, as tobacco is falling into disuse today. If history is any guide, our grandchildren's grandchildren will regard today's struggles over marijuana, cocaine and opium as bewildering fossils of an unsavvy past...

The long shadow line: History and the war on drugs
Charles C Mann
Monday, 10 October 2011
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/the-long-shadow-line-history-and-the-war-on-drugs-2368050.html

Dutch to reclassify high-strength cannabis

Anna Holligan 7 October 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15225270

Robalini's Note: Talk about a bait and switch: the far right parties in Amsterdam - which gained political power scapegoating Muslims as a social menace - have instead gone after regulating marijuana.

The famous cannabis-selling coffee shops of the Netherlands are facing new tighter restrictions.

The Dutch government is reclassifying high-strength cannabis to put it in the same category as hard drugs.

It says the amount of the main active chemical in the drug, THC, has gone up, making it far more potent than a generation ago.

It means the coffee shops will be forced to take the popular, high-strength varieties off their shelves.

Dutch politicians say high-strength cannabis, known as "skunk", is more dangerous than it was before.

In the future, anything containing more than 15% THC will be treated the same way as hard drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy.

The move is a big blow to the coffee shops - and means they will have to replace about 80% of their stock with weaker varieties.

Marc Josemans, who runs a cafe in Maastricht, says he believes that the new tough approach is being driven by the increasingly influential far-right in Dutch politics.

"You immediately can taste the difference. Everything which is considered unusual for them - they call it 'left hobbies' and under this name they want to ban all 'left hobbies', like using cannabis," he told the BBC.

The move means that the Netherlands' traditional tolerance of soft drugs is to become a thing of the past.

The ban on the high-strength "skunk" is expected to be introduced next year, when police will start doing random checks in the cafes.

From next year, the Dutch government also plans to ban tourists from entering coffee shops across the country.

Amsterdam and other cities are strongly opposed to such a ban.

ATF: No firearms for those who use marijuana legally

Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/09/28/atf-no-firearms-for-those-who-use-marijuana-legally/

Those who use marijuana legally in accordance with their state's laws cannot be sold or possess firearms, according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) memo issued on September 21.

The memo to gun dealers in the United States, obtained by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), stated that it was illegal under federal law to sell firearms to anyone reasonably suspected of using a controlled substance.

The use of medical marijuana has been legalized in 16 states and the District of Columbia, but marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug under the federal Control Substances Act. Schedule I is the most restrictive classification, reserved drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal value.

"Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use of medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition," the memo said.

Battle of the Kannabis Kolas

Canna Cola V Kushtown Sodas

Canna Cola
http://www.drinkcannacola.com/

Canna Cola is the World's Most Recognized Brand in Medical Marijuana. Providing Tasty THC Infused Carbonated Beverages for Medical Marijuana Users. Our Kick-Ass Flavors Include Orange Kush, Sour Diesel, Grape Ape, Doc Weed and Our Classic Canna Cola.

Canna Cola™ Just Say Yes™
Coming to a Medical Marijuana Dispensary Near You Soon!

Canna Cola started out with a simple goal – to create a great tasting, effective, medical marijuana beverage while simultaneously legitimizing an unjustly stigmatized industry. We felt the most effective way to achieve this was to create the first nationally recognized brand of medical marijuana edibles. And so we did, and Canna Cola was born.

Medical marijuana should not be relegated to a treatment of last resort. Dispensaries shouldn’t forced to locate in the most seedy and run down parts of town, and patients shouldn’t have to worry that they’ll get fired from their job for following a doctor’s recommendation. Medical marijuana is a legitimate choice among many options to improve your physical and mental well being. However, as we can see by our federal and state laws, even those states that allow for medical marijuana, that we continue to put marijuana in an entirely different than other medicines.

Drug stores are welcome in any neighborhood, even though most of them also sell alcohol and cigarettes. Someone can take Vicodin, Percocet and any number of highly addictive prescription drugs and they will never get fired from their job for taking their legally obtained medicine. Over-the-counter, we all have easy access to decongestants, pain killers, expectorants, sedatives, anti-inflammatories and an endless selection of pharmaceuticals concoctions. We shop for these in brightly lit neighborhood stores, free from judgment and social stigma, and take these medicines on a self regulated as-need basis.

We believe that one of the reasons for this paradox is that much of the public, and most of our legislators, still think of medical marijuana as a scary, underground activity run by drug lords and pushers. They feel it’s shameful and it should be hidden from the public. Yes, it is legal, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it or make it easy on anyone. And so they do, at every opportunity, with zoning restrictions or even outright bans.

This is of course directly connected to a mindset formulated from decades of irrational prohibition which forced honest, hard working citizens to seek their marijuana though illegal means and prevented any discussion of marijuana use from a scientific, cultural, constitutional, and economic perspective.

Compounding the prejudice is the medical marijuana industry’s own self isolation. In the medical marijuana community, the dominant idea is to run silent and deep – don’t draw attention to yourself. While this is a legitimate short term strategy, it only re-enforces the public’s perception that this is somehow “wrong”. You can’t demand to be treated as a legitimate business, yet also shroud yourself in secrecy. Your silence won’t protect you.

Canna Cola is founded on the idea that taking your medication should be a life afirming experience free from shame and stigma. The idea that taking your medicine shouldn’t be an enjoyable experience is not only cruel but counterproductive to healing and the relieving of suffering. Patients seeks out medical marijuana for various reason. Some are fighting cancer and chemotherapy leaves them too nauseous to eat. Some are wracked by muscle spasms that prevent them from working. Some are plagued by such chronic body aches that they can barely sleep. But some say these people haven’t suffered enough. They should also be required to take medicine that tastes bitter, unpleasant, and comes in a drab gray bottle.

Canna Cola believes that having a debilitating illness is more than enough burden. There is no need to add to it. Our packaging is designed to bring happiness to those who are suffering. We use bright colors and humorous, yet sophisticated graphics and names intentionally. When a patient holds our bottle we want them to smile, and when they drink it we want them to have pleasurable experience. It’s well known that the mere act of smiling boosts your immune system, lowers your blood pressure and releases endorphins into your system. So while laughter is not necessarily the best medicine, feeling happy is a critical part to fighting disease and recovering from illness. When a cancer patient picks up a bottle of Canna Cola to counteract the ravages of chemotherapy, it’s supposed to bring a smile to their face. Bringing joy to those who are suffering is nothing to be ashamed of and the reason we exist.

Clay Butler
President and Co-Founder

The idea that taking your medicine shouldn’t be an enjoyable experience is not only cruel but counterproductive to healing and the relieving of suffering. Patients seeks out medical marijuana for various reason. Some are fighting cancer and chemotherapy leaves them too nauseous to eat. Some are wracked by muscle spasms that prevent them from working. Some are plagued by such chronic body aches that they can barely sleep. But some say these people haven’t suffered enough. They should also be required to take medicine that tastes bitter, unpleasant, and comes in a drab gray bottle.

We believe that having a debilitating illness is more than enough burden. There is no need to add to it. Our packaging is designed to bring happiness to those who are suffering. We use bright colors and humorous, yet sophisticated graphics and names intentionally. When a patient holds our bottle we want them to smile and when they drink it we want them to have pleasurable experience. It’s well known that the mere act of smiling boosts your immune system, lowers your blood pressure and releases endorphins into your system. So while laughter is not necessarily the best medicine, feeling happy is a critical part to fighting disease and recovering from illness. When a cancer patient picks up a bottle of Canna Cola to counteract the ravages of chemotherapy, it’s supposed to bring a smile to their face. Bringing joy to those who are suffering is nothing to be ashamed of and the reason we exist.

Bottlers

We are seeking the most committed, experienced, and ambitious medical marijuana providers for exclusive bottling partnerships in all fourteen medical marijuana states. Previous bottling experience is not necessary but you must be experienced in extracts and edibles, run a clean operation, and have the working capital to launch the world’s most recognized brand of medical marijuana in your state.

Email us at bottlers@drinkcannacola.com

Dispensaries

Would you like to carry Canna Cola in your dispensary?

Email us at dispensary@drinkcannacola.com

Investors

Would you like to have a part in conquering the world?

Email us at investors@drinkcannacola.com

Licensing

We are seeking creative opportunities with well capitalized and experienced licensees and manufactures who would like to build the world’s most recognized brand of medical marijuana.

Email us at licensing@drinkcannacola.com

Media inquires.

Email us at media@drinkcannacola.com

General Email: info@drinkcannacola.com

6120 West Tropicana, Suite A16-248
Las Vegas NV. 89103

*

Kushtown Sodas
http://www.kushtownusa.com/

KUSHTOWN SODAS, SHOTS, BUBBLE GUM, DONT FORGET OUR BBQ AND HOT SAUCE!!!

In this ever changing industry; Kushtown USA is inspired to make a difference. Our purpose is to provide a healthcare alternative to a growing patient population. Based out of Santa Clarita, California; Kushtown USA has spent the last seven years dedicated to providing quality, natural products to our consumers. Our objective is simple – to make delicious products that are effective in the treatment of chronic pain.

Working in compliance with Proposition 215 and in accordance with current health and safety codes-we have infused all of our products with quality grade THC. Using low glycemic, cold pressed, food grade kosher glycerin based medication that cause our products to not only be delicious, but to also offer a stronger, longer and more physical effect.

The goal of Kushtown USA has always been to work smart and efficient. To lead in the development of edible products, to educate and to make positive long term impacts on both the industry and our communities.

Soda Flavors
Beach Fuel
Bubba’s Old Fashioned Root Beer
Bulldog Fuel
Chem Dawg’s Cherry Soda
Cherry Kushtown Kola
Cherry Lemonade Headband Soda
Gingerjuana
Grandaddy Purple Grape Soda
Granny’s Apple Soda
Empire Fuel
Humboldt County Green Tea
Humboldt’s Finest Lemon Ice Tea
Kushtown Kola
Kushtown Soda Sugarless
LA Confidential Fuel
LA Fuel
Lion Fuel
Master Kush Energy Drink
Maui Waui Punch
Orange Wreck Soda
Pineapple Express
Professor Kush
Pure Kush Energy Drink
Sactown Fuel
San Diego Fuel
San Fernando Valley Fuel
Skywalker Creme Soda
Sour DZL Fuel
Strawberry Cough Soda

KushShots
Kush Shot Fruit Punch
Kush Shot Ice Tea
Kush Shot Orange

Other Products
Kushtown Gum
Kushtown BBQ Sauce
Kushtown Hot Sauce

Call for Pricing!

Northern California Representative
Harold J. Moret – (424) 200-1144

Southern California Representative
Desmond – (323) 803-0852

Kushtown products are available in your local CA collectives. If your favorite collective does not carry Kushtown products, please ask them to!

In compliance with H&S Code 11362.5
ONLY collectives or dispensaries may order from Kushtown per Prop 215 to be in compliance

TENNESSEE POT CAVE

http://www.ssqq.com/archive/vinlin19.htm
In December 2005, Fred Strunk was arrested for his part in constructing and operating a secret marijuana farm in a cave under their house. Their pot farm was located on Dixon Springs Road in eastern Trousdale County, Tennessee. This area is about 40 miles northeast of Nashville. Here is the story.

THE AMAZING POT FARM!!
Written by Rick Archer, November 2006

Long ago I concluded that marijuana is probably less damaging than alcohol. But since alcohol is legal, whenever it is time to relax a little, I have decided it is much easier to drink than get stoned. That said, I don't worry too much about people who smoke pot. I think the laws against marijuana are way behind the times.

I smoked marijuana several times when I was in college (40 years ago). Yes, I found smoking pot worked wonders for music, food, and you know what. But then I noticed how difficult it was to concentrate on my studies the day after. Realizing my problem was directly related to marijuana use the previous evening, I decided there was no way I was going to jeopardize my grades again. So that was the end of that. I chose the Margarita over the Marijuana.

I hate hard drugs and I dislike the violence associated with them. At the same time, I openly admit I got a huge kick out of the story you will soon be reading. I have no idea how to explain the hypocrisy inherent to my interest in this story. Even though I am a law-abiding citizen with a clean slate, I guess I have a dark side that was impressed by the guts and the ingenuity of the men who put together the pot farm.

PREFACE

Over twenty years ago I had an indirect experience with a sophisticated marijuana operation. One morning in 1985 I opened the morning paper to discover that one of my SSQQ dance students had been arrested. Goodness gracious, he had been busted for operating a pot farm! With morbid fascination, I read the details of how one of our fellow dancers had been taken into police custody for operating a marijuana farm up in the hill country outside of Austin.

The man’s name was Robert. Since Robert was a very popular guy at the studio, naturally we were all pretty shocked. Although he was considered a bit of a rogue, Robert was friendly and outgoing. No one had a clue what he had been up to in his spare time.

Using agriculture skills he gained at Texas A&M, Robert had devised a state-of-the-art greenhouse complete with grow lights and a sprinkler system that operated automatically. The pot farm basically ran itself. Robert only visited the place once a week until it was time to harvest the crop.

I don’t remember exactly how Robert got caught, but my feeble memory suggests someone who lived in the sparsely populated rural hills noticed how odd it was to have the lights on in the dark of the early AM. Curious, the neighbor walked over for a closer look. Once the person figured out what was going on, he alerted the authorities who decided to stake out the building until Robert showed up. Surprise, surprise.

Robert did NOT want to go to jail. Robert told us he was just the caretaker for someone else who put up the money (no, it wasn't me!) But Robert had been caught red-handed. Despite trying every legal maneuver he could think of, Robert ended up serving a couple years of jail time.

As for me, I live life on the straight and narrow. But that doesn't keep me from studying people like Robert with fascination. The last time I heard of Robert, he was running a business for men who wanted to marry Russian wives. From Russia With Love!! Same old Robert - always into risky business.

Some people just aren't cut out for the normal life. They would rather live life on the edge of danger. Our story now turns to another man - Fred Strunk - who risked everything for a secret marijuana cave.

THE GREAT TENNESSEE DRUG BUST

In December 2005, Fred Strunk, Brian Gibson, and Greg Compton were arrested for their part in constructing and operating a secret marijuana farm in a cave under their house.

Their pot farm was located on Dixon Springs Road in eastern Trousdale County, Tennessee. This area is about 40 miles northeast of Nashville.

Trousdale County is not exactly a well-known center for criminal activity. Located in the hills of rural northern Tennessee, Trousdale is the smallest county in the state.

This story seemed like an episode straight out of the Dukes of Hazzard - three super-smart rogues trying to outwit the hick country sheriff! However, this time it was the police who came away the winner.

What the police discovered was nothing short of amazing. Operating on reports of suspicious activity, they raided a beautiful A-frame home built in the middle of nowhere. From the outside, the pot house looked like a beautiful vacation home out in the woods, but investigators quickly realized the exterior served as a prop designed to conceal the amazing pot farm below. There was a lot more going on in that house than met the eye.

In an underground cavern located beneath the stylish A-frame home, the police found a sophisticated operation which grew as much as 100 pounds of marijuana every eight weeks. This secret high-tech underground cave seemed more likely to be part of a Hollywood drug movie too crazy to believe, except that in this case it was real.

Using two rooms, our clever crooks were able to generate 12 to 14 crops a year. Each crop had an estimated street value around $500,000 or more. Do the math. At this rate, 13 crops a year would bring in $6-8 Million.

That's a lot more than you or I make, yes? The difference is that you and I aren't going to jail. This incident became the biggest pot bust in Middle Tennessee history.
PICTURES OF THE POT FARM

Rick Archer's Note: As you read this story, please keep in mind I have absolutely no personal connection to this story.

I live in Houston, Texas. This happened in Tennessee. I have never met any of these people in my life.

One day in 2007 I received all the pictures posted here in an email that was being forwarded around the Internet. The email contained these fascinating pictures, but had no explanation attached. This is only a guess, but I think the email was created by one of the policemen who busted the pot farm.

I was so frustrated not to know the story!! Curious about the origin of the pictures, I researched the story on the Internet. Using Google, I came up with the answer. When I discovered the story behind the pictures, I combined the pictures from the email with the information I discovered, then added my own thoughts.

The house was built on top of a natural cave, but investigators say no one lived there. The house wasn’t even furnished. Hidden inside the house was a secret passageway into a cave.

A corridor led from the hidden doorway into the cave. The corridor had cinderblock walls, a concrete ceiling and floor.

The thick metal door to the secret passageway was held in place by a hydraulic motor. If someone didn't want you to enter, you would probably need a small bomb to get in.

Behind the hydraulic door, there was a 40 foot long sloping corridor that led downward to the cave.

The cave itself stretched 250 feet (nearly the length of a football field!) Inside the cave there were offices, living quarters, and a growing area. Our rogues spent no time at all in the house itself.

The office space came first, then a living area furnished with three or four colorful bunk beds for camping out in the cave, and a restroom with a shower and plenty of toiletries. Behind the restroom was a kitchen with a fully stocked pantry, air conditioning and microwave. All the comforts of home, only this cave was meant for business.

More than 1,000 marijuana plants were grown deep underground. There were two growing areas - one held starter plants and the other held maturing plants. Each room had its own irrigation system. The lights and climate control kept the air at the perfect temperature: 87 degrees.

One room housed 500 to 600 small marijuana plants. In the picture above, you can see the clever irrigation system laid on top of each 5 gallon bucket. A few well-timed drips a day worked wonders. Plants grew faster in this controlled environment than they would have grown naturally outside.

The second area had plants that were nearly ready to harvest. In this room you could see 500 to 600 plants as tall as six feet. Once the plants were harvested, their buckets were filled with new seedlings.

Just behind the growing area is the work space with all the equipment to keep the operation running.

Ironically, none of the three men who were charged with growing marijuana in that cave actually lived in Middle Tennessee. Nor did the investigators think the drugs were sold in Trousdale County. Apparently the growers thought that would be too dangerous so they took their crops elsewhere to sell. More likely they took it to nearby Nashville.

The operation was enormous. They would grow 100 pounds of pot every 8 weeks. The job of harvesting the marijuana was so big that they actually brought in outside labor!

To harvest the illegal crop, the men would hire a half-dozen Hispanic workers in Arizona and drive them all the way to Tennessee. For part of the journey the windows on the van would be covered so the workers did not know where they were. When they got close to home, they told the workers to put on blindfolds. They would drive the workers right into the cave, take off their masks, and let them out to begin working. (I wonder how on earth they talked these men into being blindfolded!)

And yes, the operation was quite profitable. The investigators said the men were growing enough marijuana to make $6 million to $8 million a year. Who would guess that farming could be so profitable!

THE SECRET ESCAPE ROUTE

In case the growers had to make a run for it, they built an escape route. It ran 150 yards from the cave to the surface.

First there was a hidden door in the ceiling of the pot growing area followed by a long ladder.

Just beneath the ground, there is another trap door. Here a hydraulic jack lifts the second trap door, which is hidden underneath a boulder. The escape hatch lets out 100 yards from the home. No one driving by would have any idea what lies beneath.

SO HOW DID THEY GET CAUGHT?

This place was a virtual modern fortress. In addition to the secret entrance and the secret escape hatch, there were surveillance cameras everywhere to warn the people inside of snoopers. With such a sophisticated and well-hidden operation, surely you wonder how did these villains ever got caught?

I wondered the same thing. In October 2006 my friend Gary Richardson sent me an email that contained all the pictures listed above. The pictures had captions included, but there was no story that accompanied the pictures. I wondered where the Pot Farm was located and what the story was. I asked Gary if he knew anything, but he replied he didn't know the story behind it.

I loved the pictures! But without the story, my imagination was going wild. What could possibly have tripped up such a terrific operation? Where did they make their mistake?

Unable to be satisfied with just the pictures, I decided to give the Internet and Google a try. I had one very big clue: the first picture said "a house in Tennessee." So I typed in "marijuana bust tennessee". Within seconds, I had the story. Isn't Google incredible?

Now I was able to learn how they got caught. I will give you the answer in a moment, but first see if you can guess. One of the possibilities below is correct.

Exorbitant cash expenditures made police suspicious.

A truck carrying marijuana got pulled over by State Police.

Electrical disruptions in the area made officials suspicious.

Husband cheated on wife and wife turned him in for revenge.

Argument about how to split the money turned one man into a rat.

Putting too much cash in one bank made a bank official suspicious.

A Mexican farm worker hired to help harvest the crop tipped the authorities.

A dealer got caught and pointed the finger up the chain to save his own neck.

A nearby neighbor was curious to learn why no one seemed to live in the house.

A huge infrared heat signature gave them away. The heat alone coming out from the ventilation system would appear on any thermal imaging device.

Are you ready for the answer? If you guessed #2 "Electrical Power Disruptions", then go to the head of the class. Yes, suspicious fluctuations in the area's electricity led to their downfall. Personally, I wouldn't have guessed this was the answer in a thousand years!

The men started stealing electricity from the local power lines to supply their fortress. They spliced into wires and caused power disruptions to the local area. Supervisors at the local power company were losing power somewhere and decided to look into it.

Back when Fred Strunk and company were building their invisible fort, the local electric company was asked to install a much larger transformer than usually required by a residence. But once the growing operation began, Fred and his gang found to their dismay they still did not have enough electrical power to operate the grow lamps required to raise 1,000 marijuana plants at a time.

They were afraid to ask the electric company to install more power since this would be a very suspicious request without a "reason" to explain the greater need.

Afraid to risk exposure by making a second request, this left them with two choices: reduce the size of their operation or steal the needed electricity. They chose the latter path. The men spliced into the Tri-County Electric line and began to steal electricity.

The huge thirst for electricity proved to be their downfall. The electricity company detected that a large amount of electricity was disappearing. Since there was no simple answer to account for the problem, the company had no choice but to track the problem down.

Investigators eventually discovered the illegal splices and alerted the police.

(RICK ARCHER'S NOTE ONE: I wish I could be more specific with the details about how they got caught. As I previously mentioned, I have absolutely no direct connection to this story at all. Everything I report is something I gained from research on the Internet. I am very curious myself to learn more details. I must have read through a dozen different stories on the Internet and what I have shared with you is all I could find out.

For a while, I wondered why the articles were so were vague when discussing how the police tracked Fred down. After all, the same stories gave a thorough description of Fred's punishment. After giving it some thought, I decided that the lack of information was deliberate. Most of the articles I read were from Tennessee newspapers.

Since the newspaper articles about Fred's Pot Bust were written from interviews with Law Enforcement, I suppose the police didn't want to be too candid about how they got onto to his trail and take the chance that other potential bad guys might learn from Fred's mistake.)

(RICK ARCHER'S NOTE TWO: In April 2008, I received an email that answers some of the questions I raised above. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the email, but my gut feeling is that this account is correct. I appreciate the help!)

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOWNFALL OF THE POT FARM

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 9:13 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Pot farm information

"I received your page in an email and have more information for you.

My brothers and I hunt just outside of Hartsville, TN (near Trousdale) and one of my brothers lives there. The following story comes from my brother who knows many people up there.

He told me that an electric company official went to the property to investigate the power spike. He went to the front gate. Yes, the geniuses had an "estate" gate that you would imagine would be at the front of a mansion. The official could not raise anyone from the elaborate intercom system and hopped the side fence. He went to the house; found that there was nothing inside. The idiots didn't even put up heavy curtains or such to hide the vacant nature of the home. When the official was looking in the window someone came out of the woods with a shotgun and told him to get off of the property. Now, they may not be the most intelligent people in the world, but if you are doing something illegal, wouldn't you try to make the official leave without pissing him off? Well, you guessed it; the official went to the police and reported the suspicious incident.

My brothers and I have talked about this for a few years, and, being the stereotypical 'Monday morning quarterbacks", would have set up some other LEGAL operation going to account for the power spike. Our other explanations: small factory, brewery, computer server bank that could be turned off and on…

Also, a few more points: They found a dead neighbor a few months before the bust. It is thought that one of the escape hatches came out onto his property and the victim encountered one of the pot farmers. A few days after that they found two dead immigrants on outlying properties. It is thought that the pot farmers were tying up loose ends.

I hope this gives you more information. This story was better than most cop movies."


A RESPONSE TO THE LETTER ABOVE

From:
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 10:26 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: pot farm

I was doing some web surfing and came across your page on the Tennessee pot farm. I grew up here in Nashville. All I have to say is Tennessee is the second largest producer of Marijuana in the country, next to California. It is very much a part of Appalachian culture and is used by just about everyone. Everything comes through Nashville. So much is produced and trafficked through here. And everyone knows everyone. It's a given here, you never say names and you never talk about who you know, because everyone knows everyone.

I mean there is a serious underground marijuana movement in Tennessee. The old farmers have taught the kids everything they know. Now all the kids are grown up and pulling the weight themselves. Anyways, in answer to your question, how did Freddie get caught? It was a snitch. He didn't want to pay what the wizard was asking, got pissed, and snitched. It was that simple. His whole operation went down because of some jerk. People out here are pros. It's never "carelessness" that gets them busted. It's always some greedy kid new to the game, thinks he can push his own prices. The snitch told the electric company, who then investigated.

I don't know what happened to the informant, but I'm sure he was probably a low life that got busted on some other charge. As for the dead immigrants in that other letter, I think that was bull. These guys were professional gardeners, not murderers, I mean its weed, not crack.

Anyways, you're probably already scratching your head wondering why someone is replying to something you posted in 2007.


DOES CRIME PAY?

The ancient axiom says "Crime doesn't pay". The Tennessee Pot Farm case gives an ironic slant to this saying.

If the men had simply "paid" for their electricity, no one would ever have said a thing. But they had a problem. Once they realized they didn't have enough current to run their operation to capacity, they had three choices:

They could run their operation at half-capacity and settle for a slower return on their enormous investment.
They could ask the electric company to give them more juice and risk revealing their setup.
They could steal the extra power and hope no one would notice.
You already know what their decision was. And their gamble paid off for a while. Mastermind Fred Strunk lived the good life with an expensive home in Florida plus a huge yacht.

But now Fred Strunk, 63, is not only facing 18 years of prison, he lost every cent he put into his operation. His house and all his holdings were confiscated by the government. The pot house is now up for sale! In addition, he is expected to reimburse Tri-City Electricity $61,000 for the energy he stole.

$61,000. That's quite a light bill.

INSIDE THE CRIMINAL MIND

Did you enjoy the pictures of the high-tech operation? Take a quick guess who published the pictures. No, it wasn't me. The pictures were published by the authorities who busted Fred and Friends. Like trophy hunters, the crime fighters wanted the world to see the evidence of their good police work.

Obviously the police were proud of themselves and rightly so. I can't imagine that Fred is your every-day run of the mill criminal. In the game of "Cops and Robbers", it had to be a thrill to catch a smart guy like Fred.

Truth be told, back when Fred was building his underground fortress, I would have put money that Fred would get away with it. Given what little I know about catching bad guys, I cannot imagine how an operation this well planned would ever be caught!

Therefore I suppose another reason to publicize this remarkable drug bust was to discourage other would-be pot farmers from trying as well.

One reason to publish the story is to make a point to all the bad guys out there. If someone as smart as Fred can be caught, what chance does anyone else have? Better not try it!

SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

As I put together this article, I realized that I admired Fred for his enormous gamble. In the process, I began to wonder why a law-abiding citizen like myself was on the side of the bad guys instead of the good guys. After all, these guys weren't exactly Robin Hood. They were drug dealers. I examined my feelings. Why was I vaguely sympathetic?

Embarrassing as it is, I have to admit sometimes I root for the bad guy.... depending on the crime of course. Growing up, my favorite TV show was the Fugitive! For that matter, Oceans 11, The Score, Topkapi, The Italian Job, After the Sunset, and the Cary Grant classic To Catch a Thief are just a few examples of movies that come to mind about smart thieves who risk it all to pull off dangerous capers.

We go to see movies like these because they are fun. I don't know about you, but as long as no one gets hurt, I usually root for the bad guys to get away with it. Nor do I think I am alone. Movies like these usually do good box office. If the thief is clever and there is no victim crying with grief, it is fun to root for the bad guy. On the other hand, if the bad guy is some crook like Bernie Madoff, I say lock him up for life. Obviously I am very conflicted.

In the movies, the bad guys often win. But that's the movies. In real life, Fred put it all on the line and lost everything. Fred lost his dream, his freedom, and millions of dollars. He is sentenced to be in prison till he is 81. This means Fred will likely be in his 70s before he gets parole. By the time he gets out I would imagine Fred will be a bit too old to give it another shot . And truth be told, I am sorry he got caught.

Hard drugs are one thing, but I guess memories from my hippie days remind me that marijuana isn't that dangerous. Furthermore, as crimes go, from what I read about Fred's escapade, there weren't any suffering victims.

But then on the other hand, if Fred hadn't gotten caught, we wouldn't have had his fascinating story to tickle our fantasies, now would we?

And of course you have to wonder if someone like Fred is smart enough to come up with an operation this clever, why didn't he consider trying to use his talents in a legal activity?

Don't cheaters win some of the time? If it isn't Fred, then it is my old friend Robert trying to cash in on a strange scam like Russian wives.

The temptation to take a short cut is out there for all of us.

I suppose that is why the police decided to send pictures of Fred's demise flying around the Internet. Fred is living proof that crime doesn't pay. Tales like the capture of Fred the Marijuana Man keeps ordinary people like me from harboring even the slightest fantasy that pulling off a daring crime might actually succeed.

December 2006: Dixon Springs “Drug Cave” house burns
Macon Country Times
Jerry Greenway

State and local authorities are investigating a Tuesday night, December 5 fire that destroyed a $1 million gated A-frame house in the Cato community of Trousdale County. Arson was strongly suspected in the 11 p.m. blaze, which brought firefighters from both Hartsville and Riddleton to the scene, and to the scene of a second fire which broke out at the same time and in the same general area, less than a mile from the Macon-Trousdale county line.

The resort-like home, located at 2125 Dixon Creek Road, hid an entrance to a sophisticated underground marijuana growing operation whose owner was arrested in December 2005. Authorities said a second home, located just a half mile away, also burned at about the same time Tuesday, pointing even more strongly to arson as the probable cause.

Metro Hartsville Sheriff's chief deputy Waylon Cothron said the state Fire Marshall and several other law enforcement agencies were investigating the cause of the fires.

The second fire, also called in at about 11 p.m., destroyed a vacant home undergoing renovation on the Scanty Branch Road. Formerly the residence of the late Edison Cornwell, the house which burned belonged to Raydean Gregory, according to Jerry Richmond of Hartsville radio station WTNK. “They'd been working on the house, thinking about putting in new windows, stuff like that,” said Richmond. “The shame of it is there was an old abandoned house that needed to be burned right next to the good house that was destroyed.”

“Obviously it was determined to be acts of arson because we had two unoccupied houses within a half mile of each other that burned at the same time,” Chief Cothron said.

The lavish, gated home, which had been confiscated by the state, had been used by Fred Strunk, 63, of Florida and two other men, Brian Gibson and Greg Compton to hide a large “pot cave” equipped with artificial lighting and irrigation system. The elaborate operation included an office and bunk room which could sleep eight, and escape hatches that could have been used to elude law enforcement.

The drug operation was one of the largest found in Tennessee, with capacity to grow as many as 800 marijuana plants and was alleged to have produced millions of dollars in illegal proceeds. Strunk pleaded guilty in Wilson County Criminal Court last summer to charges of manufacture of marijuana, money laundering and theft. Strunk had been lodged in the Macon County Jail for the period of time before his trial.

The other two men arrested with Strunk are also now serving time in connection with the crimes. The property in Trousdale County, along with boats, a van and other property in Florida, were also seized by the state and confiscated when Strunk was arrested.

“We deal with arson in this business on a regular basis,” said Assistant District Attorney David Durham, “Sometimes there is no motive or could simply be an act of vandalism. It could be a conspiracy. It could be a number of different things,” Durham said.