Every year since 2009, The Huffington Post has published an excruciatingly long and meandering article explaining the origins of the term "4/20" - and the reason that throngs of pot smokers will gather outside to merrily light up en masse at 4:20 p.m. on the 20th day of the fourth month. That's today, dudes. And we can save you reams of valuable time by offering this handy recap. No, 4/20 did not originate from a police code for "marijuana smoking in progress." [continues 100 words]
New research finds one in six who start young develop dependency Teens who start smoking marijuana early and do so frequently risk lowering their IQ scores, according to research from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, which found evidence that early and frequent cannabis use can alter the structure of the developing brain. The research, part of a larger study due out in June, was released Monday, a day - April 20 - that has become a counterculture holiday to celebrate marijuana, as part of a bid to raise awareness about the negative effects of marijuana use among adolescents. [continues 693 words]
Demonstrators call for legalization of marijuana Spirits were high Saturday as more than 100 people chanted "Free the Weed" as they marched from Highway 420 to the Niagara Parkway in Niagara Falls. The 12th annual 420 Rally was held to raise awareness, to call for the repeal of the prohibition of marijuana and to educate people about the plant, said Mike Bostma. "That's it. It's simply a plant that grows in the ground," he said after the large crowd gathered on a grassy area along the parkway, opposite the American Falls. [continues 224 words]
What is the minimum punishment for a person, with no previous criminal record, who is convicted of growing six marijuana plants in their basement? What about for an otherwise responsible gun owner who stores her unloaded firearm safely with ammunition nearby, but who makes a mistake as to where it can be stored? Over the past few years, the federal government has been amending the Criminal Code so as to create an ever growing list of offences for which there is a mandatory minimum sentence. [continues 486 words]
Weed advocate set to make return to 4/20 smoke-up The "Prince of Pot" says Vancouver still leads the charge toward marijuana tolerance as he gets ready to celebrate his first 4/20 since being released from a U.S. prison. More than 25,000 people are expected to attend the annual smoke-up outside the Vancouver Art Gallery, first started 21 years ago by activist Marc Emery and his Cannabis Culture enterprise. Emery, released Aug. 12, 2014 after serving a five-year sentence for selling marijuana seeds to American clients, told Metro that he's returned to a Vancouver that remains one of the most pot-tolerant cities in North America, despite the fact several U.S. states and districts have moved toward legalization and regulation during his incarceration. [continues 90 words]
GUELPH - Members of the Guelph Police Services Board had questions about a new vapour lounge in the city where people with a prescription can smoke medical marijuana. "We continue to work with the city and look at the law and the experience of communities that have one," Chief Jeff DeRuyter told board members when asked about the establishment at Thursday's police board meeting. The 420 Vapour Lounge on Macdonell Street is a private lounge where members can smoke medical marijuana. No tobacco is allowed, no drugs are sold and guests must be 18 years or older and paid members. [continues 129 words]
Michele Leonhart, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, seems to have finally encountered a public scandal capable of bringing her down - revelations about agents' "sex parties." So the DEA chief is reportedly resigning. Her tenure since 2007 has been marked not only by questionable enforcement tactics but also by a closeminded refusal to draw useful distinctions among illegal drugs. In an amusing but damning exchange with Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., three years ago, Leonhart resisted describing methamphetamines or heroin as worse for someone's health than marijuana. "All illegal drugs are bad," she repeated like a third-grade mantra. Now the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has announced it no longer has confidence in her leadership. What took it so long? [end]
Monday morning, flipping through the radio, came across a commercial on 92.9, the Bellingham classic rock station, reminding listeners that while marijuana might be legal in Washington state, you still can't smoke it in public, have to be at least 21 years old to use it and may not drive stoned. Right, recreational use of marijuana is legal in Washington now, unlike B.C., where a first-time offender can expect a $1,000 fine, six months in Wilkie and a criminal record. [continues 652 words]
Hundreds of pro-pot protesters lit up on Parliament Hill Monday afternoon, hoping to convince the government to lighten up on them. The annual 420 rally to legalize marijuana saw a fraction of last year's 15,000-person turnout. But rally organizer Craig Jones said Monday's rain didn't faze the roughly 1,000 people who braved the blustery weather. Jones is the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Canada, a group that's been pushing for legalized marijuana since the 1970s. [continues 341 words]
Organizer sees turnout as symbol of resilience The cold weather was the biggest buzz kill for cannabis supporters at Winnipeg's annual 420 rally on the Manitoba Legislature grounds. Still, the small crowd of people who did brave the wind, snow and negative temperatures Monday is a testament to the resilience of the city's pot-smoking advocates, said 420 organizer Steven Stairs. "There's a huge little community here," said Stairs. "We're definitely growing, and people coming out, even though the weather's crappy, is a great sign of things to come." [continues 160 words]
Major streets closed to traffic for hours Purple Kush, red eyes and thick stacks of green gave colour to the annual 4/20 smoke out, held around the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday. Packed nearly as tightly as the thousands who crammed in shoulder-to-shoulder to light up this year were the scores of vendors' booths that ringed the gallery grounds. Officials dub the event a protest, but in practice it's become a cannabis culture craft fair. Budding entrepreneurs filled their pockets with cash in trade for bongs, pipes, papers and grinders, weed, shrooms, hash, shatter, budder, edibles and more, while food trucks and popcorn vendors satisfied serious cases of the munchies. [continues 487 words]
Yes, the crime was always here. The murders, the forcible confinement, the drugs, the abductions. But can anyone really argue the frequency hasn't changed? That we, as a province, are not seeing more of it more often? Over the weekend in St. John's there was a six hour standoff with police. Jason Power, a 40-year-old Newfoundland man, is being accused of a few charges as a result, including having a knife for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, threatening to cause death or bodily harm to a member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and breaching his probation. [continues 272 words]