Florida Medical Marijuana in 2014
The more that Marijuana legalization gets in the news the more controversy it stirs up, the demand is getting so great now that the alcohol industry is starting to take notice. In the campaign to legalize possession of moderate amounts of pot in Portland, Maine there were signs put up around town that said things like “I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it doesn't make me rowdy or reckless," or "I prefer marijuana over alcohol because it's less harmful to my body.” Well now the alcohol industry is now having a hissy fit over these statements saying how they are being treated unfairly, well I’m just going to have to get out the tissues and wipe away these tears of laughter I’m shedding right now. They are getting all up in arms because they see the legalization of marijuana as a threat to their bottom line, because many people would choose marijuana as a safer way to unwind on the weekends with much less baggage. We all know someone who has ruined their lives from drinking too much, with many dire consequences as a result. You never hear of people smoking up a joint and beating up their spouse or children, or getting in bar fights. There are people I know with such violent tendencies that I wish would smoke weed and make them have a less confrontational personality, but there is only so much you can do to help some people. It’s true that people also abuse marijuana but the end result is usually someone who doesn’t live up to their potential, which that is an another issue in itself. Anyway it is well known that the alcohol industry for years has been funding these anti-drug groups such as Partnership For A Drug Free America, because they know it’s in their best interest to keep marijuana illegal. Now I love my beer and whiskey as much as the next guy but facts like this totally enrage me, for alcohol itself was at one time persecuted unfairly during the dark days of prohibition. You would think that they would keep this in mind, but all the major breweries and distilleries are run by corporations now who only care about maximizing profits. As the fight for marijuana legalization continues in Florida more drama like this is going to stir up, but luckily for us the alcohol producers can’t claim that their product is less harmful! Perhaps they will wake up and realize that alcohol and weed are a match made in heaven, unlikely to happen but I can still dream.
Did any of you read about the Veterans group that traveled around the state of Florida promoting Medical Marijuana for veterans suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? They were on the news during a demonstration down in Pasco County holding up signs and making their voices heard, they also made appearances in other Florida cities I wish I had known about it I would love to have been able to talk to them. It’s wonderful that more groups like this are standing up for their rights to use a medicine that is safe and cheap, and so sad that people who risked their lives for their country have to live in fear of arrest for using a harmless herb that brings them some relief from the horrors that they suffered in foreign battlefields. Many of these veterans tell the same story, how when they go to get treatment for their PTSD they are prescribed medications that are not only expensive but can also have dangerous side effects. Some of these side effects include causing suicidal tendencies in the patients, which is pretty scary for someone who is already going through hell every day. This fact of course does not deter our politicians to keep it illegal because it makes them look good to their conservative constituents, and their campaigns are being bankrolled by the pharmaceutical companies who view medical marijuana as their number one enemy. There are apparently over 50,000 veterans residing in Pasco County alone, and god knows how many more across the state as a whole. The suicide rate among veterans is staggering with statistics saying one is killing themselves every 62 minutes, that is a sad thing to think about and if a blunt will keep them from going over the brink why is it still illegal? The evidence is all there for the benefits that medical marijuana can provide for these people, and every day that we delay it being legalized in the state is another day we lose more veterans to suicide. With the help of medical marijuana these people could actually become productive citizens again and get regular jobs and get back to having a normal life again, which if I was living in their hell I wouldn’t care about the legality I would smoke up anyway. I know if I laid my life down on the line fighting insurgents on the streets of Bagdad I wouldn’t let the government tell me I couldn’t use an herb that helps me deal with the horrors I witnessed over there, hopefully some lawmakers will actually listen to these veterans and do something about this injustice. Having veterans on our side gives us even more of a powerful voice in the fight for medical marijuana, every day the demand for legalization grows when will our lawmakers finally wake up and smell the coffee?
Well it’s been an exciting week for all us pot smokers across the nation, not so much if you live in Florida but still it gives us hope for the future. There were a lot of elections going on this past week and a few ballots pertaining to Marijuana, with two showing just how much attitudes are changing towards our little green friend. The city of Portland Maine voted to not arrest people of possession of Marijuana all the way up to two and a half ounces, which is a pretty large amount if you’re a casual smoker like me. In fact in my thirty plus years of smoking I can count on one hand when I've had more than that amount in my possession, so this gives a lot of freedom to those who like to smoke socially. The other significant measure on the ballots happened again in Colorado, where voters approved two different taxes totaling 25 percent to be imposed on Marijuana sales. Before anyone complains remember that one of the arguments for Marijuana legalization has always been the revenue it would generate from taxes, we have been preaching this for years and now that it's a reality no one should dare complain. The revenue from these taxes will be going towards building schools and funds for law enforcement to make sure the Marijuana sales are being performed legally, I'm wondering what kind of things will cause someone to be arrested. I would hope that no Marijuana violations in the legalized states would doom someone to any serious prison time, especially since these folks are still under the threat of being prosecuted by federal authorities. We are entering uncharted territories in the land of legal Marijuana, and there will still be battles to be fought in every state. However every little victory is a win for the movement, after many years of draconian Marijuana laws it's a wonderful feeling to know things are changing for the better. This week also signifies the one year start for the race to legalize Marijuana in November next year for the state of Florida, that's if we can get all the signatures we need on the petition next year. So this should be another heads up for everyone to sign the petition and do your part to bring medical Marijuana to the state of Florida, because it's the right thing to do!
Well we are still a long way from the end of the road but the journey towards Medical Marijuana in the great state of Florida is making progress, Florida Attorney John Morgan is serious about his push to legalize it for medicinal purposes. If I had tons of cash to donate to the cause I would also be right up there with him, if I win the lottery I will certainly devote all my time to promoting the cause. However we all know that’s never going to happen, but I can do my part my writing this blog and promoting the issue on various forums. John Morgan’s tactics are working great because we have now passed 100,000 signatures signing the petition to get Medical Marijuana on the ballot in November 2014, which is enough to now get the wording of the amendment to be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court to make sure it is legally valid. We need to get 700,000 signatures on the ballot in order to get this amendment on the ballot, so there is a long way to go. So if you haven’t yet signed the petition go and visit the link below and do your part to make the state of Florida a better place! Please be aware that in order to sign the petition you must be a registered voter in the State of Florida, and you can bet that the powers that be in our state will be checking every last entry! There are so many people in the state that are in dire need of medicine, and can’t even afford the high pharmaceuticals that are pushed on them by their doctors. So many of their ailments could be relieve simply by having access to Medical Marijuana, and if there were allow to grow it themselves they would only need money for the seeds. It is a shame that our government lives in fear of a harmless little plant when we have so much bigger problems in the state, from the rampant unemployment to the meth problem that plagues the central part of our state. The legalization of Medical Marijuana will free up so money being wasted on prosecutions and housing of prisoners that would be so much better spent on fixing these other problems, is would be a great thing if Florida could be the first state in the deep south to make this wonder drug available to all the patients who needs. It will be a wonderful step towards helping Florida rebuild itself back into its former glory as a retirement paradise.
In what was a shocking bit of news it was announced that the Marijuana Policy Project has created an ad that will run on the large jumbo tron screen at this weekend’s Indianapolis 400 in Indiana, so today thousands of right wing beer chugging rednecks are going to get the message on the benefits of smoking marijuana. The ad’s basic message is that marijuana is a great recreational substance to use without any of the negative health effects of alcohol, which is a great message to get out into the general populace. If the anti-drug Nazis had any solid evidence to prove that marijuana is bad for your health you know they would be publishing It on billboards all over the country, but the best they can come up with are these lame “Just Say No” campaigns. I’m so glad that this happening it’s definitely a good start even though the ad is very amateurish in its production, but what do you expect it was made by a bunch of stoners! Just kidding there I’m sure it has more to do with financing than anything else, god knows if you got the money you can make an ad as impressive as the Disney movie Fantasia.
What would be wonderful is if we can get more ads like this to be displayed at not only other sporting events but on television in general, just think if we could get an ad like this shown during the Superbowl in 2014! Of course I’m pretty sure the NFL would have a problem like that because we know how they like to pretend to have a squeaky clean image when all their players are shooting up steroids and committing murders in their spare time. I myself have a vision for this site to rent billboards displaying the Grow Florida message at strategic locations across the state, however that will take money that I just don’t have. So I will continue on spreading my message with my lame ass blog and that someone out there is reading it, it’s amazing just a few years ago it seemed hopeless that marijuana would ever be legalized and look at how far we have come. It’s not just a dream anymore it is becoming a reality little by little all over the country, perhaps in a few short years we will be able to do big bong hit at beaches all over the state of Florida!
Well another significant battle has been won in the war against marijuana oppression, for this week the state of New Hampshire has become the nineteenth state in the country to legalize medical marijuana. The governor of New Hampshire Maggie Hassan signed the bill into law, it is not perfect but just getting it through the state legislature was quite the chore. This means that all the states in the northeast that make up New England now have medical marijuana available to the patients who desperately need it, and it is expected that New York will be the next one to approve its use. Governor Maggie Hassan stated that this bill was the right and compassionate policy for the state and contains provisions that the system will not be abused, the law takes effect immediately though it is expected that it will take over a year for the state to have a system set up for dispensing medical marijuana. Unfortunately one of the compromises they had to make in the passing of the bill is allowing zero provisions to allow growing medical marijuana for personal use, patients must obtain their marijuana from one of four dispensaries to be located around the state. This is not good news as it will guarantee that marijuana will be unobtainable for those patients that can't afford it, since it gives the state the power to set prices with no threat of competition.
This gives concern to what Florida can expect when we finally get medical marijuana in the sunshine state, who is going to control the dispensaries? Also what will be the punishments for those who are caught growing their own marijuana for medical purposes? It would be quite unfair to send someone to prison for growing marijuana because they couldn't afford the high prices at the dispensaries. The other issue is what constitutes an illness requiring medical marijuana? In New Hampshire the new specifically states what illnesses are eligible for the prescription, some of them include HIV, AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis, and ALS. So it seems doubtful that you will be able to obtain medical marijuana to help ease your migraine headaches, or in my case to help ease the pain from chronic arthritis. More states that accept legalization are bogging it down with legal specifics likes this, which will make acquiring marijuana legally more of a hassle that obtaining it illegally! Still the war continues on and this is one more victory for our cause, just think we only have to get six more states to turn and then half the country will have medical marijuana available! Let’s hope that Florida becomes one of the next states to legalize.
As the defense presents its case in the George Zimmerman trial down in Sanford, FL they won a major victory yesterday, several weeks ago after the toxicology reports on Trayvon Martin were released they were forbidden to use them in court. This is because the toxicology reports show that Trayvon Martin has a high level of THC in his blood, when means that he had recently been smoking marijuana when he was killed by George Zimmerman. On Monday though the judge reversed her decision and is now going to allow the defense to present this information to the jury, so now they will use the fact that Trayvon Martin was a stoner against him and somehow paint him as a bad person. I’m not sure how I feel about this as I feel George Zimmerman’s defense team has every right to use any evidence available to them, but this will be one of those cases where the accused will try to demonize the victim. I think we have progressed enough as a society where most everyone wouldn’t take these allegations seriously, since we all know that smoking marijuana does not turn someone into a violent person. In fact in Trayvon Martin’s case it looks like it made him go buy some skittles and walk through the rain in a strange neighborhood, which ultimately led to his demise.
It seems like everyone has taken sides on this tragic event and it’s mostly based on race, all my redneck friends here in the panhandle think George Zimmerman is a hero for killing a no good darkie. Then my black friends all say that George Zimmerman targeted Trayvon just because he is black, I personally think it’s just a messed up situation and people are making it a bigger racial issue than it really is. No matter what happens George Zimmerman’s life is ruined forever, who is going to dare give him a job now? I guess he could be a spokesperson for the NRA to a news correspondent for Fox News but that’s about it, plus he’s going to have to go into hiding just like Casey Anthony as since her acquittal in her murder trial. I don’t think that George Zimmerman’s defense team needs to bring up the marijuana issue because they really don’t need it, it looks like Zimmerman may very well be acquitted or at the worst be found guilty of manslaughter. I however believe that the Stand Your Ground law does not apply to him because he in fact instigated the fight that led to the shooting, that law was null and void when he ignored the 911 operators instructions and decided to pursue Trayvon Martin. But I do not believe that George Zimmerman intended to kill Trayvon Martin, he was just trying to be a hero and got in way over his head very quickly. However my opinion does not matter along with everyone elses so we will have to see what the jury decides when this is all over, I am worried about there being riots down in Sanford if Zimmerman is acquitted I hope the police are prepared for the aftermath of the verdict whatever it is.
Over time the nature of how information spreads throughout our civilization has changed from one generation to the next, starting from ancient times with word of mouth to the written word. The world’s first true information revolution began with the invention of the printing press, that’s when common people were able to access written materials when before that only the rich could afford them. Then in the twentieth century printing become more prominent with newspapers and magazines, and then the next big information leap happened in the nineties with the creation of the World Wide Web. Little did we know at the time how much it would change our world, much like how our ancestors viewed mass printing. Now it seems the next step forward has taken place with social media especially twitter, twitter has now allowed any person with a phone to become a reporter. If you have a great story or picture to share within a few minutes you have it distributed to millions of people worldwide, and in an instant you are an internet celebrity. It really brings forth the famous quote by Andy Warhol that in the future everyone will be famous for at least fifteen minutes, how true his statement has come to be.
I used to think that twitter was just a fad like MySpace or Facebook, but look at how much it is referenced in the news media. On the Sunday morning news shows like Fareed Zakaria or Candy Crowley where they talk about the past week’s events and which news agency got the scoop, and they never talk about who went on the air first it’s who tweeted it first. I myself use twitter as my main source for reading the news now, if you go to the Grow Florida twitter account you will see the lists I have set up for reading news for Florida and the World. Doing this I have access to stories that never make their ways onto television, and I usually know about them before they hit the big screen. In the past week the power of twitter has really shown its head with the George Zimmerman trial and the 777 plane crash in San Francisco over the weekend, the very first on scene report of the crash was from a survivor who tweeted a photo of the crashed plane. This picture was already retweeted to millions of people when news reporters were still miles away and scrambling to the scene, CNN was reporting what people were tweeting because their own reporters knew almost nothing at that moment. Years ago I went and saw a lecture by punk rock legend Jello Biafra in Ruby Diamond Auditorium at Florida State University, his message then was for us to become the media and with twitter that is what the world population has become. With your smartphone and the right opportunities you literally have the world in the palm of your hand, it’s hard to imagine how things are going to progress from here but I’m sure another information revolution is just around the corner.
It's been a hellish few weeks for every anarchist’s hero Edward Snowden, who is still hiding out in the Moscow airport. He is the guy that the United States Department of Justice wants really bad for exposing classified information to the media, particularly details on how the government is spying on its citizens. Whether you agree with what he did or not you got to agree the guy has got some balls, he is the new Bradley Manning. The news today states that three countries in South America have agreed to give him asylum, they are Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. I have had a lot of experience working with students from Central and South America, and if I had to make a choice I would choose Bolivia over the others. It is a mountainous country and is very beautiful and sits in the majesty of the Andes. Venezuela just had their president Hugo Chavez die not long ago so their political future is on shaky grounds, just recently there was a panic in the country when they ran out of toilet paper! You know there are going to be riots in the street when toilet paper runs out, soon after that there were emergency shipments made down there to make sure everyone could wipe their ass in peace. I don't know much about Nicaragua but those group of countries in Central America just South of the most Mexican border have had troubles over the years, it was Nicaraguan rebels that were getting money from weapon sales during the Iran contra scandal of the 1980s which tarnished Ronald Reagan’s presidency. However if costa Rica or Panama gave me asylum I would go there, but the country I would most love to have political asylum would be Cuba! I could then spend the rest of my days smoking Cuban cigars and having wild parties with them crazy Cuban girls, who along with Brazil pretty much invented the art of booty shaking! I wouldn't live in Havana though I would move down to Santiago as that's where Earnest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man And The Sea took place, and I'm sure you could take a quick ferry from there down to Jamaica for some good ganja. Hopefully wherever Edward Snowden ends up he will have access to good ganja also, for he has earned a lifetime of waking and baking and taking it easy. Just think of all the American tourists who would travel there just to hang out with him, he could open his own club call it the Informants I would certainly love to pay him a visit. Even though I pretty much applaud his actions if he is brought back to the United States he does need to face justice, because we really can’t tolerate field agents in our government releasing classified information just because they disagree with its contents. I feel the same way about Bradley Manning because he was a soldier and took the oath of military service, Julian Assange I would not include because he is not an American and I hope he is able to remain free of United States prosecution. For those of us who serve in government roles it should be known that if you release sensitive information to the public even if you think it’s for the common good, that you basically sacrifice your own freedoms in doing it so make sure it is worth it. I wonder if right now if Snowden and Manning think that what they did was worth it, I have a feeling they are both just idealistic young boys who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.
Well it was last year when we all heard the tragic news that Twinkies were no longer being produced, and this caused a nationwide panic as people scrambled to their local grocery and convenience stores to stock up before they were all gone. Everyone thought the idea of Woody Harrelson desperately searching for the remaining Twinkies in Zombieland was just a joke until it happened for real, the only worse tragedy I could imagine would be if Doritos ceased to exist. That is when cities would burn in the night sky and even the military wouldn’t be able to restore order, but even the threat of Twinkies going extinct shook the entire nation to its core. Hostess who is the maker of Twinkies and other stoner classics like Ding Dongs and Cupcakes, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy after the failure of labor talks with its workers and productions immediately ceased. When the factories shut down over 15,000 workers lost their jobs and millions of marijuana smokers were stranded without a suitable replacement for their munchies. Since then the company has been in talks with its creditors on how to solve their financial problems, and all the stoners of the world have been in limbo. But it seems that things have finally been worked out as Hostess is now under to new owners who have reorganized things and they have announced that Twinkies will be back on the shelves next month starting on July 15, its time like this that makes you proud to be an American. For when things looked its bleakest everyone in the country stood together and demanded that something be done about this atrocity, and corporate America came to the rescue to again cure our munchies with these sugary snacks. I think this year July 15 will hold a special place in our hearts, as everyone will remember where they were when they were finally able to bite into a Twinkie again. We however cannot let ourselves forget about what happened this past year, so that it will hopefully never happen again. I think the president should come forth and declare July 15 National Twinkie Day, so that it will always be remembered for generations to come. When Twinkies do finally hit the shelves the boxes will have a tag line that says “The sweetest comeback in the history of ever”, and you know once again they will disappearing from the shelves for a while as all the potheads of the world rush to feed that sugary fix.
If you haven't already heard the gods of metal Black Sabbath have put out a new album for the first time in over thirty years, it's their thirteenth album overall so it is appropriately titled 13. I've already listened to it they had it steaming for free on iTunes over the weekend, it's pretty good not as great as their early classic albums like Paranoid or Master of Reality but it's better than Never Say Die for sure. It was produced by Rick Rubin who has produced many incredible albums for artists in their later years such as Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, AC/DC, and ZZ Top. So why are us weed heads here in Florida concerned about this? Well they have announced tour dates and it's includes two shows in Florida in late July, one show will be in Tampa on July 29 and the other in West Palm Beach on July 31. If you have never seen Black Sabbath live this may be your last chance, I have been blessed to have seen them twice with the original lineup at Ozzfest in 1999 and 2005. Also one of my first concerts was Black Sabbath when Ronnie James Dio was their singer during the Mob Rules tour in 1982, an experience that solidified my being a metal head for life. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make either of these shows as I'm still have a hard time getting around, the arthritis in legs makes it really hard to walk long distances and I refuse to use a scooter. Maybe if we had Medical Marijuana in Florida I could be able to withstand the pain to attend the show, but of course our glorious legislature dropped the ball on that during this previous session. However if you are able to make it you can be sure there will be plenty of blunts being passed around will be able to get a toke if you hang out in the right spot, last time I saw Sabbath there were top less girls tripping like crazy and shaking their boobs for everyone to see. Even though Ozzy and the guys are pretty old now their sound is just as awesome as ever, if you can afford it spend the extra cash and get as close to the stage I guarantee it will be the most incredible experience of your life. Here is the whole list of tour dates in case you are not in Florida.
DATE CITY VENUE
Thu- Jul 25 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sat-Jul 27 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
Mon-Jul 29 Tampa, FL Live Nation Amphitheatre
Wed-Jul 31 W. Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre
Fri-Aug 02 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
Sun-Aug 04 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Tue-Aug 06 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Thu-Aug 08 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Sat-Aug 10 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Mon-Aug 12 Boston, MA Comcast Center
Wed-Aug 14 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Fri Aug 16 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sun-Aug 18 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
Thu-Aug 22 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Sat-Aug 24 Seattle, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
Mon-Aug 26 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View
Wed-Aug 28 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri-Aug 30 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
Sun-Sep 01 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Tue-Sep 03 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles Sports Arena
Well the media circus known as the George Zimmerman trial began warming up this week in central Florida with jury selection, which according to news reports is going to take around two weeks to complete. Seems like a long time when they are only looking for eight people, six for the actual jury and two alternates. Seems like with such a high profile case that they would choose more than two alternates, because they often have trouble with jurors when the trial is under such intense media scrutiny. Even though people will say they don’t care about the case almost everyone has an opinion about it, and living in the bible belt of the Florida panhandle you have to be careful who you bring up the subject around. I have friends and relatives who will jump up and down at the mention of the name Trayvon Martin, saying that N-word deserved to be shot and George Zimmerman was a decent hard working american defending himself. It’s kinda sad that they are bringing up Trayvon Martin’s use of marijuana as proof that he was a bad kid, which is ridiculous because what teenage kid in America hasn’t experimented with marijuana at least once? Trayvon Marton was no angel for sure but he surely didn’t deserve to die, I think overall it was just a screwed up situation for both parties. I do believe it is serious overkill to be charging George Zimmerman with second degree murder, because I don’t think he was looking to kill Trayvon Martin. However he did go looking for trouble and it he found it, the 911 operator told him specifically to not go confront the kid and let the police handle it. I believe that George Zimmerman is guilty of some degree of manslaughter and nothing more, because no matter what his intentions were in the end he shot an unarmed man. He claims that he felt his life was in danger but truthfully all he was likely to get was a good ass beating from Trayvon Martin, which is the risk you take when you sign up to be a wannabe cop. When you are in involved in such a situation it is wise to follow the advice of the authorities, and I bet George Zimmerman is sitting in his cell everyday wishing he had done so now. Plus he could have easily taken down Trayvon Martin with a taser, why didn’t he have one of those on him? If George had tasered Trayvon we wouldn’t even be talking about this case now, as the worst that would happen would be some sort of assault charge. George Zimmerman was simply one of these crazy neighborhood watch guys trying to play cop, which was something he as aspiring to be. Well now he is going to know what it feels like to be a cop in prison, because he certainly is not going to be treated well by the other inmates if he is found guilty.
In what has been a rare common sense decision in the world of sports the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization has decided to lower the limit of THC levels that can be present in a fighter’s blood when they are tested for drugs. Of course they shouldn't be testing for marijuana at all but it's a start, anyone that would consider marijuana a performance enhancing drug has got to be an idiot. But that's who we have making these decisions in our government and workplaces these days, but hopefully as time goes on more sensible people will start making decisions that reflect the opinions of the general public. Apparently they test for certain levels of THC in the blood using nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), and the old rules were there can’t be more than 50 nanograms or you test positive. Since the rule change though now our favorite fighters can get away with up to 150 nanograms per milliliter in their blood, so at least now they get some breathing room to chill with a nice blunt after a fight. Our professional athletes really take a beating in the literal sense for our entertainment, and when they are not in the octogon or field they are often recovering from injuries they have sustained. So if anyone has a need for some Medical Marijuana it certainly would be them, and since Florida is quite the mecca for professional and collegiate sports it's another reason why we need to get it legalized in our state. It's not often we get a UFC fight in Florida but it does happen occasionally, if you ever get the chance to attend one I highly recommend that you do. UFC used to be a true sport but since it has gotten popular it has been plagued by problems that other sports have such as doping and outsiders attempting to fix fights, Dana White has been head of the UFC for way too long and I believe it's time for him to step down and let someone else take over. My favorite fighter is Rampage Jackson and I was fortunate to watch him beat down Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in Las Vegas back in 2007, but I haven't been able to afford to attend one since. Maybe someday I'll get that chance again and get to smoke a big fat blunt with the fighters afterwards since they don't have to fear drug testing by their evil bosses as much now.
Just when we are getting excited about the prospect of Medical Marijuana coming to the great state of Florida, the cause has been dealt a severe blow by the Republican deadheads that dominate the state legislature in Tallahassee. Seems that they in all their wisdom have passed a law to ban the sale of bongs and glass pipes in the state of Florida, it's in limbo right now but rick Scott is expected to sign it into law and it will take effect on July 1 if nothing is done to stop it. It's ridiculous that the people we have elected to run the state are choosing to waste our tax dollars passing such a frivolous law, this was only done in order to give them a look that they are tough on drugs by again targeting a harmless herb. When the rest of the country is taking steps towards the full scale legalization of marijuana, the great state of Florida is taking another step backward. I had hoped we had progressed beyond the old days of where our head shops had to live in fear from the police, even though some continued to be harassed by local police who have nothing better to do. Now they will given the weapons to persecute innocent store owners who are only trying to make an honest living, and they could be arrested and branded criminals when they have had nothing to do with the sale and distribution of marijuana. It really makes one sad to see Florida regressing in such a way, especially when the States has so many more problems that it needs to deal with. However the marijuana policy project has a website where you can sign a petition to let governor rick Scott know that you oppose the passing of this law and request that he not sign the bill into law, this seems like a pipe dream given his past behavior but we cannot afford to give up now. please do your part and take a few minutes to sign the petition at the link below, the future of our state depends on it.
It’s been all over the news today about three stupid boys who posted a video of themselves jumping off a dock in Cocoa Beach and performing a Cannonball on top of some manatees swimming in the Indian River, which might seem like harmless fun to some but manatees are an endangered species with very strict rules of engagement here in Florida. They probably thought it was one big joke when they posted the video but the Federal government is not laughing, now all three boys are being investigated and there could be charges and fines levied against them if they are convicted. The penalty for harassing or harming manatees is up to a year in jail and up to $100,000 in fines, a pretty harsh sentence for what these boys considered some harmless fun. Now I will be the first to say that cannonballing manatees is not cool at all, the poor things have been abused so much over the years that we should do our best to leave them alone. However in this instance I do think the federal government is overreacting to this incident if in fact the boys are charged, from what I see in the video it doesn’t look like the manatees were harmed in any way. However this should prove as a stern warning to everyone in the world to not mess with our manatees, the rules that are in place are there for a reason. Do a search on google and you will see the heartbreaking damage motorboats have done to these creatures over the years, it got so bad that when I was kid back in the 70s you never saw manatees in the wild. In fact I’m pretty sure I never saw a wild manatee until I was an adult, but now you can spot them riding down places like the Wakulla River quite often. I remember the first time I saw a manatee was when I was a little kid visiting the Zoo in Albany Georgia, this was their old zoo and the conditions the animals were kept in were horrible. They had a swimming pool with what they called the “sea cow” and it just sat there motionless, the pool was so small that the manatee wasn’t even able to turn around so it just sat there in misery. We heard soon after that visit from our relatives that the manatee had died, they also had an elephant that was chained up that was a sad sight to see. It wasn’t long after that they opened up a new zoo in Albany with better conditions from what I heard, but I never visited it so I can’t testify as to whether that is true. Anyways the lesson here is leave our Manatees alone!