Empty your bongs, everybody

This is absurd:

MINNEAPOLIS (Oct. 23) — Bong water can count as a controlled substance, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a decision that raises the threat of longer sentences for drug smokers who fail to dump the water out of their pipes.

In a 4-3 decision Thursday, the state’s highest court said a person can be prosecuted for a first-degree drug crime for 25 grams or more of bong water that tests positive for a controlled substance.

Update: In a worthwhile link provided in the comments section below, Thomas Gallagher deploys a helpful analogy:

We are all aware by now of the frequent news reports about the drugs in the rivers and most of our municipal water supplies (not concentrated enough to hurt us, we are reassured).  Type “in water supply” into your favorite internet search engine and you can read thousands of reports of scientific studies documenting this. As a result, if you have water sourced from a river, like we do in Minneapolis, then you could now be charged with a Minnesota Controlled Substance First Degree Crime (toilets tanks hold way more than 25 grams of water with illegal drugs dissolved).

 

Classroom weed activism

I can’t help but admire this:

A 17-year-old Peninsula High School student was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly smoking marijuana in front of a crowd of 150 people, Pierce County Sheriff spokesperson Ed Troyer said.

The student was concluding an essay on the legalization of marijuana when he allegedly lit the blunt and began smoking, Troyer said.

Troyer said the student allegedly continued smoking the blunt until a school resource officer approached him.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department arrived at 9:15 a.m. and the student was taken to Remann Hall, the Pierce County Juvenile Detention Center. By the time authorities arrived, the student had allegedly swallowed the roach.

He is expected to be released later Tuesday.

According to the cop, “I guess he made his point, (but) if you want to change laws though, there is a different way in going about it.”

Oh? Please explain how that works, officer. Inquiring minds want to know. Last I checked, you and yours have done absolutely everything to shut down all avenues of meaningful reform, including the nakedly capitalistic, pragmatic, and libertarian ones. Perhaps we should simply ask more nicely? (thx, zane)

 

One step closer to mmj in MN

36-28 in the Senate.

 

Stasis is the new change!

So it begins: Holder for AG and Ramstad, possibly, for Drug Czar. Awesome.

 

Victory!

Michigan is the 13th medical marijuana state.

Massachusetts is the 12th marijuana decriminalization state and the first to pass such a law at the ballot box.

And, as everyone knows, Obama won in a landslide. Despite my various misgivings, it’s impossible to watch the footage from Grant Park and not feel something historic has transpired.

I hope people can retain some semblance of critical thought in the face of all of this.

But in the meantime, I’m pretty fucking happy. Tonight was a good night.

 

New poll: Voters support Prop 1 in Michigan by a 2-to-1 margin

Good news from Michigan. Here’s hoping it holds. It’s not too late to donate …

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan links to the Dr. Wagoner video. Good on him.

 

Michigan medical marijuana update

The video produced by the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, which I wrote about and cross-posted here, has been getting increasing attention … a very good thing:

• Scott Morgan over at Drug War Chronicle;
• Orange Punch, the Orange County Register’s blog;
• Alan Bock’s blog;
• The triumphantly revived Scary Shit; and
• A bunch of Gather and Daily Kos diaries that I can’t locate right now. I’ll post links when I retrieve them.

Good on all of you for paying attention. Please keep cross-posting — the message is important and has the potential to sway the vote on Proposal 1 in Michigan.

 

Michigan medical marijuana Web video

This is a must-see. Please check it out and cross-post widely. (via Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care)

 

Michigan medical marijuana campaign goes live with TV commercials

Courtesy of the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care:

 

New commercials from the Massachusetts marijuana decrim campaign

Courtesy of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy: