- Duuuuuuude,
it might not be a state any time soon and it might have massive financial and
power problems, but that doesn’t mean Puerto Rico can't be totally awesome,
bro. The U.S. territory just elected itself a new governor and it didn’t take
long for its outgoing, stoner-friendly leader to make a bold statement about
the role of ganja in his island paradise. Gov. Alejandro
Garcia Padilla said he supports the legalization of marijuana during his last
public address as leader of Puerto Rico and while a cynic might argue that this
is a weak, cowardly move on the way out the door, at least someone has the
kahones to stand up and say that fans of “Beavis and Butthead” and Funyuns for
breakfast should be able to smoke what they want when they want without fear of
persecution or prosecution. Padilla said taking such action would lower crime
and target hypocrisy and suggested that legislators should at least approve a
bill filed in 2013 that would decriminalize marijuana. It would fit with a
recent decision by Puerto Rico's Health Department to adopt a regulation
allowing the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of medical marijuana. Padilla
actually spoke for about an hour and addressed other issues, including the
island's deepening economic crisis, but yammering on about how the government's
$69 billion public debt needs restructuring doesn’t make nearly as much of an
impact as advocating that your territory become the Caribbean equivalent of
Washington and Colorado…….
- Rufus
Wainright is assembling himself a true all-star cast for an extremely unusual
project.
Rufus Wainwright’s new album centers on a topic that most singer-songwriters
don’t want to tackle, at least not those who aspire to a) sell albums or b) get
what all musicians want when they dream of becoming rock stars - a lot of ass
from groupies with low self-esteem and daddy issues. Wainwright has elected to
celebrate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death with “Take All My
Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets,” a project that probably won't be cracking any
top-selling albums charts in either its digital or physical forms. Yet in spite
of its unusual content and seeming lack of mainstream appeal, ol’ Rufus has
managed to find plenty of famous friends willing to lend a hand in the
recording process. Granted, a lot of these famous faces aren't musicians who
can punch up the sonic side of the equation, but rather Hollywood types who
have cache on the silver screen. Already on board are the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Carrie Fisher and William Shatner, which would be great if this
were some sort of documentary or short film. But because it’s music, maybe
someone who’s a professional musician would be helpful… someone like Florence
And The Machine singer Florence Welch.
In fact, Welch is joining
Wainwright on the record to perform Sonnet 29, which is titled ‘When in Disgrace
with Fortune and Men’s Eyes.’
When it’s done, the album will feature a unique
collection of nine sonnets in performances by both actors and vocalists………
- Thing
are getting heavy in East Rankin County, Mississippi…. or at least on the
scales local law enforcement use to measure how much illegal drug activity is
passing through their lovely place of residence. A pair of traffic stops over
the weekend showed that East Rankin County is either conveniently located between
two places drug traffickers actually want to go or is home to a lot of stoners
whose next fattie is going to have to come from a new source. As a result of
those traffic stops, two people are in jail and more than 30 pounds of drugs
were confiscated, according to the Mississippi Department of Public
Safety Public Affairs (MDPSPA). MDPSPA Director Warren Strain confirmed
that the first stop occurred Friday
afternoon around 3:30 p.m. when a Mississippi Highway Patrol Interdiction Unit
stopped a Volvo tractor-trailer truck hauling passenger cars. For some odd
reason, the state troopers didn’t believe the cars were the only goods on the
trailer and searched it, ultimately finding $200 in cash, 10 packages of
of high-grade marijuana containing approximately 10 pounds of chron, 9.3 ounces
of heroin and 1.1 pounds of cocaine. Officers seized a 2007 BMW along with the
drugs, but their weekend was just heating up. The next morning the Interdiction Unit pulled over a 2008 Ford
Escape in which the white trash drug of choice, a.k.a. crystal meth, was in
abundant supply. There was a whopping 19 pounds of purified crystal meth hidden
inside a false compartment and two men inside the vehicle were arrested and
charged with possession of meth with the intent to deliver. Since both stops
were made on I-20 in East Rankin County, it appears that Mississippi may have
itself a trendy new drug corridor……..
- Given
that it’s now a decade and a half into the 21st century, no one should be using
any form of smokeless tobacco. Sadly, many people are morons with addiction
issues and therefore, Major League Baseball is in the position of having to
issue big leaguers a written reminder that wads of filthy, unsavory hunks of
cancer-causing garbage are banned at stadiums in Boston, San Francisco and Los
Angeles. MLB is placing one-page letters in clubhouse stalls throughout spring
training with the full support of the players' union. Local laws will prohibit
the use of all tobacco products at Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and AT&T
Park this year and lest players feel singled out, the laws also apply to team
personnel, umpires and fans. The MLB letter advises that the same ban will take
effect at every California ballpark in December. "Major league players are
citizens," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Municipalities pass laws.
We expect that our players will comply with those laws." Way to take a
firm stand, commish. Admit that someone else passed the law and that you don’t
expect your players to be law breakers. Not only are these three parks affected
by new laws, but similar legislation has been proposed in New York City and
both the Mets and Yankees say they back such a ban at their parks. Ditto
Toronto, where a city legislator plans to pursue a ban that would cover the
Blue Jays' stadium. Even if MLB doesn’t have the stones or clout to ban Skoal
and its ilk entirely, at least someone is doing something about the problem……….
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