Medical Marijuana: Purple Passion
January 25th, 2007 by Alex
Right on the heels of dropping our Strawberry Soda review, it’s time for another tFS first – medical marijuana reviews. The inaugural herb to go under our microscope is Purple Passion. An indica dominant strain with a bite much bigger than it’s bark.
| theFreshScent Product Recap | |
|---|---|
| Strain | Purple Passion |
| Type | Indica dominant |
| Pros | Long, relaxed body high |
| Cons | None |
| Price | $20/g, $65/8th |
| tFS Rating | 8.5/10 |
Lighting up is when everything starts to improve. The flavor is light & smooth with no funk in the aftertaste.
Effects start around your back/shoulder areas and progressively move outwards until a nice, relaxed high kicks in. This is the perfect time to cue up some chill beats and take a seat, you’re going to be kicking it for a while. The high lasts a long time, well over 2 hours. The indica settles in and really pulsates your shoulders, body core and upper arms.
Overall, this strain has surprised me. The exterior hides what the smell and taste let you know instantly – this is some high quality bud.
Strawberry Soda
January 23rd, 2007 by Alex
tFS is happy to present our first in a long line of medical marijuana product reviews. We believe that patients should know what is available at local dispensaries and know the difference between what is worth purchasing and what isn’t.
Our first review is a ‘drinkable’ simply called Strawberry Soda. It contains 45×660mg of active THC ingredient. This is not a small amount, and that’s reflected by the soda’s price – $25 a pop.
| theFreshScent Product Recap | |
|---|---|
| Category | Medicinal Beverage |
| Company | Generic |
| Pros | Tastes good, Body high |
| Cons | Subtle effects |
| Price | $25.00 |
| tFS Rating | 5.5/10 |
These beverages are for medicinal use only and enable patients who are unable to smoke or in situations where it is inappropriate to smoke the ability to stay medicated. The soda takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 1½ hours to settle in. Depending on your body size/weight and if you’ve eaten recently, the effects can vary, but generally involve a subtle body high that lasts for a couple of hours.
Aftermath: Los Angeles DEA Dispensary Raids
January 22nd, 2007 by Alex
As many people in the Los Angeles are aware, the DEA raided 11 Los Angeles dispensaries on Wednesday, January 17th. Despite these co-operatives being legal in California under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, they are not legal under federal law. This creates a see-saw of struggles between co-ops to stay open and the DEA to shut them down.
How exactly the DEA chooses it’s victims is still a mystery. Maybe they go after dispensaries with too large a client base, maybe they infiltrate all dispensaries and raid the ones they believe are breaking the law. We just don’t know. An anonymous patient who walked into a dispensary during the raids had this to say:
I went by H.I.P Sherman Oaks. They buzzed me in and I was greeted by a federal agent. He was in FULL GEAR, freaking mask and everything. He told me I could turn around and leave or come in and join them, what do think I did.This sucks…
After talking with one of the raided dispensaries, I learned that the DEA has Ok’d them to continue selling medical marijuana. The catch is that they can’t sell hash, pipes or pieces. Looks like the DEA believes just the plant is good enough and all the extras like edibles, hash and others aren’t part of the deal.
Dispensaries are now taking steps to increase their safety measures. In Van Nuys, one co-op has beefed up security with 2 full-time armed guards. Other effects of the raids are increased marijuana pricing across the board. Premium is now going for up to $85 an 1/8th while regs are hovering around the $60 – $65 mark. This is going to make it much harder for patients to afford their medicine.
Overall, these raids have delivered a serious blow to the Los Angeles medical marijuana community. I expect it will take at least a few months for everything to return to normal. In the meantime, let’s hope that attitudes and laws continue to progress so that this doesn’t happen again.
Read on to see more pictures from the DEA raids…
Flickr User: DEA Man
December 23rd, 2006 by Alex
Here’s some photos from a Flickr user called DEA Man.
His user profile says, “DEA Superman, keeping drugs out of our high schools… you’re welcome.” I guess a thanks is in order?
Above are some choice photos of pot that was confiscated from a Hawaiian medical marijuana clinic.
Or, you can check out his photo sets – here, here and here.
America’s First Pot Club
December 21st, 2006 by AlexHere’s a sobering and realistic look at what it was like to be an early medical marijuana patient.
Multiple Sclerosis sufferers are one of the groups most benefited by marijuana’s effects, yet the director does a good job of just being an observer and not necessarily placing his own negative or positive implications on the film.
Medical Marijuana on Boing Boing?
December 13th, 2006 by Alex
I’m not sure exactly how this is Boing Boing material, but somehow medical marijuana packaging got onto one of the highest trafficked blogs on the internet.
Looks like some low-grade Trainwreck with the usual ‘For Medical Use Only’ schpiel on the front. Yea, the Homer image is cool, but why the low budget zip-locs?
If you’re not sure what I mean, just keep reading tFS and you’ll see how the good stuff really gets packaged.
[via Boing Boing]
California Judge Denies Pot Law Challenges
December 8th, 2006 by Tim
Medical marijuana patients can rest easy knowing that San Diego’s challenge to the state Compassionate Use Act has failed.
The basis for the counties’ argument was that San Diego should not be responsible for upholding a state law that is counter to a federal law. Specifically, they didn’t want to give medical marijuana users identification cards, so they took the issue to court. Joining them in the battle was San Bernadino county and Merced county. Not cool guys.
I know there are a lot of state-level issues that require serious attention, but the resources a lawsuit like this wastes just isn’t worth the price. Unfortunately, San Diego saw otherwise.
Superior Court Judge William Nevit Jr. explained his ruling this way:
Requiring the counties to issue identification cards for the purpose of identifying those whom California chooses not to arrest and prosecute for certain activities involving marijuana use does not create a ‘positive conflict.
This was his 2nd ruling on the subject which has now backed up his original stance on the case. San Diego attorneys are still debating whether to appeal the decision, but they should just let this die.
States are allowed a certain amount of autonomy under the constitution and challenging that does nothing but cede more power to the federal government. Plus, 55% of California voters made the Compassionate Use Act a law, who is San Diego county to overturn the entire state’s opinion?
The ruling also lets the 10 other states with medical marijuana laws breathe easier. Hopefully, this will be the final nail in the coffin of San Diego’s attempt to repeal the act, and we can move forward on the path to legalization.
[via Mercury News]
Olbermann on Cannabis as an ADD Treatment
December 3rd, 2006 by AlexI’m sure most people are familiar with Keith Olbermann and his show on MSNBC. Well, here’s a video about possible cannabis use to treat ADD and ADHD.
It’s not the most exciting video around, but some good points are made about ingesting cannibinoids for increased duration of effects. In this case, calmness of child hyperactivity.
Let’s hope the government evaluates this information with an open mind.
