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Honestly, we're surprised that this doesn't already exist: Tribudesign, a young Lebanese firm, has secured a distributor for White, which is basically a bong that looks like an iPod.
Maybe bong is too cavalier a word. It's supposed to be a hookah, and it's going to be distributed by Airdiem, a Parisian company that appears to specialize in high-end Persian smokers.
White is made of a palette that includes stainless steel, acrylic, and leather, and that's more healthful because those materials are easier to clean and would thus produce less marijuana resin carcinogenic tobacco soot. Its slim design also makes it easily stashable. And if that isn't enough, you can just throw it next to your computer in a pinch, and pray that the cops mistake it for a USB drive.
One of the most sensible arguments for a different approach the War on Drugs. Getting tough on drugs hasn't worked, lets get smart about drug policy.
From the article:
Three years before I became a Baltimore police officer in 1999, I started my research with the Amsterdam police. The Dutch approach toward drugs, by and large, works. Without declaring a war, authorities there have managed to lower addiction rates, limit use and save lives. The United States, by contrast, spends $50 billion a year on its war on drugs and leads the world in illegal drug use, with millions of Americans regularly using marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.
Clearly, what we're doing doesn't work.
There is little violence surrounding the private drug trade between friends, coworkers and family members. The real drug problem, along with addictive heroin and crystal meth, is illegal public dealing. In public drug markets, signs of violence are everywhere: Intimidating groups of youths stand on corners under graffiti memorializing slain friends; addicts roam the streets and squat in vacant buildings; "decent" people stay inside when gunshots ring out in the night.
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In another neighborhood in Amsterdam, a man caught breaking into cars was released pending trial. The arresting officer returned to him, along with his shoelaces and personal property, his heroin and drug tools. I was amazed. The officer admitted he wasn't supposed to do that; heroin is illegal. But the officer had thought it through: "As soon as he runs out of his heroin, he'll break into another car to get money for his next hit."
For the addict, the problem was drugs. But for the police officer, the problem was crime. It made no sense, the officer told me, to take the drugs and hasten the addict's next crime. The addict was not a criminal when he had drugs (beyond possessing them); he was a criminal when he didn't have drugs.
I asked the officer if giving drugs to addicts sends the wrong message. He said his message was simple: "Stop breaking into cars!" With a subtle smirk in my direction, he added, "It is very strange that a country as violent as America is so obsessed with jailing drug addicts." Indeed, Dutch policymakers plan, regulate, fix and pragmatically debate harms and benefits. Police in the Netherlands are not involved in a drug war; they're too busy doing real police work.
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Without federal control, states, cities and counties would be free to bar or regulate drugs as they saw fit. Just as with alcohol and tobacco regulation, one size does not fit all; we would see local solutions to local problems.
Even without federal pressure, most states and cities would undoubtedly start by maintaining the status quo against drugs. That's fine. In these cases, police with or without federal assistance should focus on reducing violence by pushing the drug trade off the streets. An effort to shift the nature of the illegal trade is different than declaring a war on drugs.
Regulating and controlling distribution is far more effective at clearing the corners of drug dealers than any SWAT crackdown. One can easily imagine that in some cities -- San Francisco, Portland and Seattle come to mind -- alternatives to arrest and incarceration could be tried. They could learn from the experience of the Dutch, and we could all learn from their successes and failures.
Regulation is hard work, but it's not a war. And it sure beats herding junkies.
Peter Moskos is an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of "Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District."One of the most sensible arguments for a different approach the War on Drugs. Getting... more
Diagram of a bong in operation.
The rationale behind the use of a bong is the claim that the cooling effect of the water helps to reduce the chance of burning the mouth, airways, and lungs, thus many claim that using a bong to smoke is safer. The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways.[5] Thus the mechanics of a bong function similarly to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. This "filtration" can lead to the belief that bongs are less damaging than other smoking methods.
However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect".[6] In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. An inhalation machine, adjusted to mimic the puff length of cannabis smokers, drew smoke through a standard bong, a small portable bong with a folding stem, a bong with a motorized paddle that thoroughly mixes the smoke with the water, and two different types of vaporizers. Comparisons to traditional non-filtered smoking methods were not included in these experiments.
MAPS[7] also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area.
Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area."[7] This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.Comparison with other smoking methods
Diagram of a bong in operation.
The... more
This is the guy who has been determining the fate of Los Angeles' medical cannabis patients in October 2009. He looks an awful lot like a sneaky, communistic/capitalistic, bribe-taking, greedy, power-hungry, slimy, sausage-chomping, eastern-European mofo mafioso nutjob. :DThis is the guy who has been determining the fate of Los Angeles' medical cannabis... more
State lawmakers will hear testimony next week in support of taxing and regulating the commercial production and distribution of marijuana for adults age 21 and older.
Yes we cannabis!State lawmakers will hear testimony next week in support of taxing and regulating the... more
Limited legalization of marijuana has put more of a hurt on Mexican drug gangs than all the law enforcement expenditure on arrests and interdiction.Limited legalization of marijuana has put more of a hurt on Mexican drug gangs than... more
Matt Lauer interviewed two ladies, one a doctor and the other works for Marie Claire, about an article in the October issue of Marie Claire by Yael Kohen. The interviewees explained that highly functional women are lighting up to unwind from a long day at work and not having to endure any hangover the next day.
Matt kept pushing, what about the negative aspects, and the ladies explained that there really wasn't much negative except the illegality. They did a good job dispelling the stereotypes, and presented the topic entirely from a positive point of view.Matt Lauer interviewed two ladies, one a doctor and the other works for Marie Claire,... more
In California Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor, who has had to cut services to handle a $24 billion budget deficit for the coming year, has suggested that legalisation should be considered.
The smell gives the game away. A sweet herbal scent wafts from the medicines inside the smart display cases in the Harborside clinic in Oakland, California.
This is a marijuana dispensary, where the prescriptions have names like Super Silver Haze and Purple Trainwreck and customers need a “recommendation note” from a doctor.
Medical marijuana has become big business in California and the drug is approved for a range of conditions and for “any other illness for which marijuana provides relief”. In these straitened financial times, booming sales and healthy tax revenues mean that full legalisation of cannabis may be just around the corner.
The Harborside Health Centre — opened by Stephen DeAngelo, 51, in 2006 — alone employs 77 people, has 30,000 registered patients and brings in about $20 million (£12.4 million) annually in revenue.
Related Links
* Is this really a good time for a spliff?
* Super High Me: secrets of a stoner
Across California there are an estimated 2,100 dispensaries, co-operatives, wellness clinics and taxi delivery services in the sector known as “cannabusiness”. That is more than all the Starbucks, McDonald’s and 7-Eleven outlets in the state put together.
These dispensaries, with names like My Green Heaven Ministry, sell marijuana in bud and resin forms and offer other cannabis products, including hash cookies, cooking oils and bottled drinks.
In some high-end stores, there are pastry chefs to ensure the highest-quality cannabis baked goods. Most cannabis co-operatives, which produce their own plants, also sell potted plants and seeds for patients to grow their own medicine.
“People are choosing to become legal cannabis consumers because they don’t want to go out on the corners and deal with thugs and gangsters to get their medicine,” Mr DeAngelo told The Times.In California Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor, who has had to cut services to... more
EL PASO -- Legalizing marijuana in the United States would weaken Mexico's powerful drug cartels, panelists at a War on Drugs conference said Tuesday.
"If you take away half of their money, it will hurt them," said William Martin, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies drug abuse and government policy. "You are not going to break them, but you will hurt them."
By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times
..... more at linkEL PASO -- Legalizing marijuana in the United States would weaken Mexico's powerful... more
Contrary to previous reports, Jack Herer is still alive. The Oregonian is reporting the activist is in critical condition at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland Oregon. In addition, celebstoner has retracted their announcement of Herer's death. In light of these facts it is with pleasure the Portland Progressive Examiner retracts an earlier report of Herer's death.
Jack Herer, much beloved Emperor of Hemp and marijuana hero collapsed backstage on Saturday, September 15, at "Hempstalk 2009" in Portland, Oregon. Herer had just given a fiery speech to the crowd on the future of hemp when he suffered a heart attack and a significant loss of oxygen.
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Story has been updated, apparently Jack is not dead. Sorry for the confusion.Contrary to previous reports, Jack Herer is still alive. The Oregonian is reporting... more
Scientists find that specific elements of marijuana can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation there and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cellsScientists find that specific elements of marijuana can be good for the aging brain by... more
Scientists have identified the genes in cannabis that allow the plant to produce THC. This opens the path to either create drug-free hemp plants for industrial purposes, or to develop plants with much higher concentrations of the psychotropic chemical.Scientists have identified the genes in cannabis that allow the plant to produce THC.... more
THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy in which cells feed upon themselves, according to a study conducted by Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain. Experiments conducted in mice carrying human brain tumors show that the tumors shrank when the animals received THC.THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a... more
Researchers first conducted an experiment in mice that had been engineered to carry three different grafts of human brain cancer. They injected the mice daily with the molecule tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) near the site of the tumors once each day. The chemical appeared to stimulate the cancerous cells to engage in a process known as autophagy, in which cells initiate their own breakdown.
"These results may help to design new cancer therapies based on the use of medicines containing the active principle of marijuana and/or in the activation of autophagy," researcher Guillermo Velasco said.
THC belongs to a class of chemicals known as cannabinoids, named after the cannabis (marijuana) plant in which they occur. It is the chemical responsible for the psychoactive effects of marijuana consumption.
In a followup experiment, the researchers extracted and analyzed brain tissue from two patients with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as "recurrent glioblastoma multiforme." The patients were treated with THC for either 26 or 30 days, then the researchers extracted and analyzed another sample.
After examining the brain tissue under an electron microscope, the researchers discovered that THC treatment resulted in death of cancerous cells but had no effect on healthy ones. The researchers were also able to discover the signaling pathway by which THC acts.
The research opens up the possibility that cannabinoid research could yield "a new family of potential antitumoral agents," the researchers wrote.
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and aggressive form of primary brain tumor. Without treatment, the average patient lives only three months after being diagnosed with the cancer. Treatment extends the average life expectancy after diagnosis by less than a year.Researchers first conducted an experiment in mice that had been engineered to carry... more
Hemp is the Arthur's Sword which has bin drawn from the stone... Not made from Hardened steel but Gods own creation, a gift to us ALL, a Plant that is going to Heal us, Feed us, Cloth us, Mend the Earth and provide all the Energy we need for ever. This Earths last Revolution is Not going to be fought with weapons but the TRUTH. Ethics contra Morals - Truth contra Falsehood - Light contra Darkness - Human Rights contra Suppression - Consciousness contra Corruption - Clean Nature contra Pollution and Destruction - Prosperity contra Depression - Natural Healing contra Deadly Chemical Drugs - Pease contra War and LIFE contra Death. All this and much more Will this “Sword” of Nature give us. Let us join hands around the world and unite for Pease and Universal Harmony.
How?, might your question be, Ask your self witch of those oppositions mentioned above, would You like in your and your families lives? The answer lays within you.
J.BjarmarsHemp is the Arthur's Sword which has bin drawn from the stone... Not made from... more
A conservatively dressed courier drives a company-leased Smart Car to an apartment on a weekday afternoon. Erick Alvaro hands over a white paper bag to his 58-year-old customer, who inspects the bag to ensure that everything he ordered over the phone is there.A conservatively dressed courier drives a company-leased Smart Car to an apartment on... more
Even in these heady days—when 75 percent of the public supports medical access to cannabis, 73 percent supports decriminalizing possession for adult use, and nearly 42 percent supports legalizing, regulating, and taxing cannabis like alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical products—the cannabis community still needs continual reminding that, while marijuana will never kill you, prohibition can.
Sound a bit hyperbolic? Not when you consider a few brief examples from just the past few months:
In Pennsylvania, two corrupt judges in the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre were convicted of receiving at least $2.6 million in kickbacks from the builders and owners of private prison facilities in return for sentencing young people for minor crimes—most notably cannabis offenses.Even in these heady days—when 75 percent of the public supports medical access to... more
