commonsense

Legalizing marijuana
could help fix our
economic woes
California has the chance to become
the first state to legalize
the recreational use of marijuana
this November, allowing
Californians to possess up to
an ounce or harvest their own
garden of marijuana measuring
up to 25 square feet.
According to a recent poll issued
by SurveyUSA, 56 percent
of Californians support
the legalization of marijuana.
Supporters collected nearly
700,000 signatures, far surpassing
the 433,971 needed to petition
for the bill.
The recent legislation is being
spearheaded by Richard Lee,
founder of Oaksterdam University
in Oakland, America’s first
college dedicated to cannabis
trade, which opened its doors
in 2007.
(cont on pg 3)
Colorado medical pot grower to
fight federal charges
DENVER — A suburban
Denver marijuana grower who
insisted he was abiding by state
law is taking on federal authorities
who charged him with illegal
cultivation after he talked
on TV about growing pot.
Chris Bartkowicz is charged
with cultivating marijuana, a
federal crime punishable by
five to 40 years in prison and a
$2 million fine. He had been set
to change his plea of not guilty
in federal court Friday. Instead,
his lawyer said Bartkowicz
plans to go to trial.
The next step is a federal
indictment. Bartkowicz said
he wants to clear his name but
wouldn’t say why he originally
planned to change his not
guilty plea.
“I’d love to put this story
straight but I’ll let the court
figure it out,” he said.
Bartkowicz got into trouble
in February after talking to
KUSA-TV about growing marijuana,
calling it his “golden
ticket” and saying he’d make
$400,000 off the plants in his
tony Highlands Ranch home.
A day after parts of the story
aired, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration seized
more than 200 plants from
Bartkowicz’s basement.
Though Colorado has allowed
medical marijuana under
certain circumstances since
2000, pot remains illegal under
federal law.
Bartkowicz’s case sparked
national attention because he
first argued he was following
Colorado law on growing
marijuana for patients who designated
him to do so. Federal
prosecutors said he had more
plants than the state permits,
though they are careful to point
out that state laws on marijuana
wouldn’t matter in a federal
court. Marijuana activists
have seized the case to argue
growers are being targeted by
(cont on pg 3)

“Advocates for
legalization in
California attained
enough
signatures to
place decriminalization
of marijuana
on November
ballots.”
(cont from pg 1)
Federal charges
(cont from pg 1)
federal drug authorities despite
having state clearance.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Democrat,
decried DEA tactics in a
February letter to U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder. Polis
wrote that the federal government
signaled in memos last
year it would “respect” state
laws and urged the DEA to
clarify its enforcement policies.
Polis hasn’t gotten a response.
Bartkowicz, who is free on
bond, wouldn’t say whether
he’d argue in court that he was
following state law. Federal
prosecutors say that isn’t a
valid defense in federal court.
Before the hearing, a reporter
asked what he made of his
fame among marijuana activists
who see him as a martyr.
“I don’t want to be that guy,”
Bartkowicz said. He noted he’d
moved out of his home and is
staying “on a friend’s couch.”
His lawyer, Joseph Saint-Veltri,
declined to comment about
defense strategy.
Oaksterdam provides students(
with training in cannabis industry.
Its faculty is mostly comprised
of recognizable attorneys
within the legalization movement.
Proponents claim legalizing
pot could save the state of
California $200 million per
year by reducing public safety
costs and would generate a
substantial amount of tax revenue
from the sale of the drug.
Even though the majority of
Americans do not approve
of marijuana use, nationwide
support for legalization has
increased from 27 percent in
1979 to 44 percent in 2010,
courtesy of a 2009 CBS News
poll.
If the numbers continue to
grow at this rate, the minority
will be the majority in a matter
of years.
This is not the first time California
has created national attention
due to marijuana laws.
Many Americans worry that
increased crime will come with
the influx of legal users and
that the war on drugs should
continue.
But previous research shows
that the current war on drugs
has done nothing but put more
money in the pockets of illegal
drug dealers.
According to the book “Public
Policy and the Quality of Life”
by Randall G. Holcombe, professor
of economics at Florida
State University, efforts to hinder
distribution of drugs into
the United States give dealers
the opportunity to reduce quality,
drive prices up and increase
profits.
As an example, Holcombe
wrote:
“Assume that cocaine goes for
$1 a gram and that the total
market at this price is 100
grams of cocaine, meaning
that the total revenue from the
sale of cocaine is $100 ... Now
assume that the government is
successful in eliminating 10
percent of the market, reducing
the total supply to 90 grams.
Because the buyers are relatively
insensitive to price changes,
the price might now increase
to $1.50 per gram. Selling 90
grams at $1.50 brings in $135,
compared to $100 for selling
100 grams at $1. Although
fewer grams are being sold at
higher prices, the total revenue
from the sale rises, because
the price increase more than
compensates for the reduced
volume of sales.”
Dr. Jon Gettman, marijuana reform
activist and public administration
professor at Shepherd
University, in his 2007 article
“Lost Taxes and Other Costs of
Marijuana Laws,” placed the
illicit marijuana market in the
U.S. at just under $113 billion.
With 28.7 percent of Gross Domestic
Product going to taxes,
state and federal government
lost out on $31 billion in tax
revenue.
People need to realize how
much legalizing the mildly
harmful drug would help our
economic situation.
Taylor Winstead, a freshman
engineering major, said “our
nation could make a lot of
money off the sales of (marijuana),
and our government
would also not spend as much
money trying to crack down on
it.”
To a lot of people, it is about
morality and what is best for
youth.
Yet, the over-consumption of
alcohol is vastly celebrated in
the United States. Companies
that produce alcoholic beverages,
such as Budweiser, Miller
and Coors, are leading sponsors
for TV programming and in
magazines.
These firms all promote immoral
behavior equal to marijuana.
And when it comes to the
youth, more “factual” education
needs to be presented at an
early age – “factual” because
the propaganda that floods our
schools and TVs about the
dangers of drug use is far from
reality.
Issues of morality or health
concerns do not compare to
the money our government
spends arresting and incarcerating
nearly 60,000 marijuana
offenders a year, according to
a study published in the Federation
of American Scientists
“Drug Policy Analysis Bulletin.”
More than a quarter of offenders
are incarcerated for personal
possession with no drugs
other than marijuana involved.
Efforts will continue to legalize
marijuana, even if legislation
doesn’t pass in November.
And with the number of supporters
growing every year,
it won’t be long until Lee at
Oaksterdam gets to say “Mission
Accomplished.”

4-20 cause for
celabration,
protest
throughout nation
Tuesday was 4/20,
National Weed Day
-- or whatever you
want to call it -- and
America’s Cannabis
Nation celebrated
it with clouds of
marijuana smoke
on college campuses
and city parks
across the land. This
year, 4/20 felt a
little different, with
attendees buoyed by
a sense of impending
change and the
suit and tie wearing
movement worriers
a little less concerned about how mass pot
parties will play with the public. It wasn’t
just clouds of pot smoke in the air, but the
scent of looming change, too, was palpable.
More than 10,000 people rallied in Denver
and another 10,000 or so did so 35 miles
away at the University of Colorado in
Boulder. Hundreds more at the University
of California at Santa Cruz celebrated with
a mass light-up at 4:20pm. San Francisco’s
Golden Gate Park hosted thousands more
happy puffers, while in Washington, DC, the
party was inside. Well-attended 4/20 events
also took place in Seattle and Boston, while
smaller celebrations of the stoner holiday
took place all across the country, including
dozens of college campuses.
In New Hampshire, about 100 people rallied
in the state capital of Concord, while
in Juneau, Alaska, about 20 people, two
dogs, and a mother pushing a stroller braved
driving rain as they marched past the state
capitol and city hall, chanting “Yes, we
cannabis!” Oakland got a head start on 4/20
when the recently opened iGrow marijuana
cultivation supply shop held a 4/20 Eve
party, complete with a Hummer serving as a
smoking room.
Local NORML chapters in Philadelphia,
Minneapolis, and Tucson held events, and
the Seattle Hempfest held a 420 Members’
Social, while New York City was the scene
of a 4/20 rally. The date was commemorated
with cannabis competitions in Oakland
and Olympia, Washington, and marked by
celebrations in San Diego and Los Angeles,
as well.
And, as compiled by Celeb Stoner, and
suggestive of the growing cultural impact
of 4/20, the day was marked by concerts,
record releases, and movie screenings
linked to cannabis culture. Famous tokers
Cypress Hill played San Francisco, while
Snoop Dogg played New York, Willie Nelson
performed in Topeka, Sublime played
in Los Angeles, and Slightly Stoopid played
in Austin. Cypress Hill, fellow tokers the
Kottonmouth Kings, Devin the Dude, and
Nelson all released albums on 4/20.
Pot-friendly comics also got into the act.
Doug Benson did a 4/20 show in Minneapolis,
Sarah Silverman did one in New York
City, and Ngaio Bealum played San Francisco.
Theaters in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los
Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC,
marked 4/20 with screenings of the “Phish
3D” movie, while in Calgary, Alberta, the
4/20 Film fest featured thematically appropriate
films like “Johnny Appleweed,”
“Blaze,” and “400 Bowls.”
This year’s 4/20 events come as the sense of
momentum toward legalization grows palpable,
with a legalization initiative headed
for the November ballot in California and
polling above 50%. (See related stories this
issue here and here.) Meanwhile, legalization
initiative signature gathering campaigns
are underway in Oregon and Washington,
so there is a chance the whole West Coast
could vote to free the weed this fall.
4/20 also came on the heels of two events,
one in San Francisco and one in Colorado
Springs, that strongly suggest marijuana is
going mainstream. In San Francisco, the International
Cannabis and Hemp Expo drew
about 15,000 of visitors over the weekend.
Vendors there offered up everything from
coffee cops emblazoned with marijuana
leaves to a 52-foot mobile grow trailer, and
a doctor was on hand offering medical marijuana
recommendations for $100.
In Colorado Springs, meanwhile, Colorado’s
first Medical Cannabis Expo was also
attended by thousands of people. The Expo
comes at Colorado’s medical marijuana
scene it taking off in ways reminiscent of
California’s “Wild West” days of just a few
years ago and as Colorado legislators work
desperately to rein it in. The Expo saw dozens
of vendors, including lawyers, dispensary
owners, and realtors, and made evident
that marijuana is a big and growing business
in the state.
While in the past, some prominent drug
reform movement leaders have criticized
4/20 and similar events as counterproductive
and promoting stoner stereotypes, those
critiques were less prominent this year. In
fact, at least two reform leaders, Bill Piper
of the Drug Policy Alliance and former
Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition published
pieces urging 4/20 celebrators to put down
the joint -- at least for a moment -- and pick
up the pen. 4/20 is not just a party, they suggested,
but a time to stoke activism as well.
“While I certainly wish we could get 10,000
to come out to rally in support of an initiative
or a legislative agenda, the reality is
that more people are prone to show up when
it entails smoking in public,” said Mason
Tvert of Colorado-based SAFER (Safer
Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation).
“It’s part of this movement, and it needs to
be embraced. These
are organic, grassroots
events that are
growing in popularity
and are being
normalized,” he
said.
“I don’t tell everyone
to light up and
get high,” Tvert
continued. “I say I
hope you will show
this same level of
excitement and enthusiasm
when there
is something on the
ballot. Trying to tell
10,000 people who
are using marijuana
that they’re doing
something wrong is
not terribly helpful,
so I told them
to think about how
nice it was to light
up with that overt
fear of punishment
and how great it
would be if they use
marijuana without
fear everyday and
they should be supporting
organizations that will help them
achieve that,” he said. “With events like
this, all we can do is try to ride the beast.”
“I went down to the gathering in Golden
Gate Park,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive
director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
“You had thousands of people primarily in
their 20s hanging out and smoking marijuana.
It was peaceful, friendly, and remarkable
diverse, and I think that in itself is significant.
There were no speeches, no organized
entertainment, just people hanging out, but
also making something of a political statement.”
The Drug Policy Alliance has decided that
the stoner celebrations aren’t necessarily
are a bad thing, said Nadelmann. “We’ve
reached a bit of consensus that to the extent
the gatherings are large in number and fairly
well-run, they are a net plus,” he said. “But
if they’re small and scraggly, they’re probably
not a plus and could be a negative.”
Like Tvert, Nadelmann acknowledged the
grass-roots nature of 4/20. “The drug reform
movement didn’t create 4/20, and people
are going to gather and do this regardless of
what the drug reform movement says. The
operative question for us is how to make
the most of these events, and we are focusing
on trying to turn them into more politi-
cal events. It would have been nice to have
even a few minutes with the crowd Tuesday
to get it one step more political.”
Even the Marijuana Policy Project, which
specializes in working the corridors of
power, had little bad to say about 4/20. “Our
approach to improving marijuana laws is to
take it from a serious lobbying position,”
said Mike Meno, the group’s communications
director. “But at the same time, we
rely on grassroots support
from people who
are passionate about
the issue, and many
of them like 4/20.
While we would prefer
a more buttoneddown
approach, we
don’t discourage anyone
from getting involved
in other ways.
We just ask that they
do so with a focus
on what is going to
help and improve our
chances,” he said.
thing image-wise.”
Still, Meno said,
those sorts of events
can cut for or against
reform. “It’s sort
of a double-edged
sword,” he reasoned.
“It’s great if
there’s a big turnout
and people see how
diverse it is and how
much support there is
for changing the law,
but on the other hand,
if only a half-dozen
people show up,
maybe it’s not the best
4/20 may have come and gone this year, but
the sense of imminent victory apparent at
the events will linger into the election season.
Next year, 4/20 may be about celebrating
the first major step toward national pot
legalization -- winning a victory in California,
and maybe Oregon and Washington,
too.

CANNABIS FRUIT AND NUT BALLS
1. Chop and mix together about and handful each of: stoned dated,
dried figs, shelled almaonds, and shelled peanuts.
2. In a mortar pulverize: 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 whole nutmeg, 4
average-size sticks of cinnamon, 1 tsp coriander.
3. Seperately pulverize about 1/8 oz cannabis.
4. Melt 1/8 to 1/4 cup butter in pan over low flame. Add powdered
cannabis and sute gently for 5 minute.
5. Add 1 cup sugar and stir until dissolved.
6. Add powdered spices to butter mixture and stir until evenly mixed
and pour
over fruit and nuts.
7. Knead until thoroughly mixed. Make into balls about the size of a
walnutt.
8. Dude, be sure to eat the nut balls and not fire them up in your bong
CHICKEN ALFRDO
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
8 tablespoons or more Canna Butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup julienned sweet red pepper
6 ounces fettuccine, cooked, drained
2 grams Gound MarijuanaDIRECTIONS
In a skillet over low heat, melt cream cheese and canna butter; stir
smooth. Add milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for
3 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken, broccoli, zucchini and
red pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Reduce heat;
cover and cook 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Serve
over fettuccine. Top with ground Marijuana (use as if was parsely or
oregano... some not too much)
CANNABUTTER
1. Pulverize leaves in a blender or mortar
2. Melt approx. 2x the amount of butter by weight as cannabis on low
heat taking care not to burn.
3. Slowly stir in powdered cannabis leaf into melted butter.
4. Simmer on low heat for 12 hours
5. As liquid in mix evaporates, add a cup of water at a time to insure
that water soluable cannabinoids
will also be extracted.
6. Strain out plant matter and refrigerate.