1. 12 Dec


    You know the handheld shooters used to launch T-shirts into crowds at basketball games? Apparently, they can be used in other, very illegal ways. Last weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents found 33 cans holding 85 pounds of marijuana scattered across a field near Yuma, Arizona. After a little more nosing around, they also found an empty carbon dioxide tank. Their conclusion: Mexican drug smugglers are now using pneumatic cannons — essentially larger cousins of the devices used in sports arenas — to shoot their wares at least 500 feet into the U.S. The can-shooting cannons are also suspiciously similar to ones built on the TV show Mythbusters, another possible inspiration. Keep reading PHOTO: David McNew/Getty Image

    You know the handheld shooters used to launch T-shirts into crowds at basketball games? Apparently, they can be used in other, very illegal ways.

    Last weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents found 33 cans holding 85 pounds of marijuana scattered across a field near Yuma, Arizona. After a little more nosing around, they also found an empty carbon dioxide tank. Their conclusion: Mexican drug smugglers are now using pneumatic cannons — essentially larger cousins of the devices used in sports arenas — to shoot their wares at least 500 feet into the U.S.

    The can-shooting cannons are also suspiciously similar to ones built on the TV show Mythbusters, another possible inspiration.

    Keep reading

    PHOTO: David McNew/Getty Image

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  2. 3 Dec


    Cartoon of the day: Santa flying high MIKE LUCKOVICH © 2012 Creators Syndicate More cartoons

    Cartoon of the day: Santa flying high 
    MIKE LUCKOVICH © 2012 Creators Syndicate

    More cartoons

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  3. 6 Nov


    Vote or get off the pot? Three states are voting today on whether to allow medical use of marijuana — Massachusetts, Montana, and Arkansas. But Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are going much further in the push for pot decriminalization, with voters deciding on whether to make pot legal for recreational use. Advocates of decriminalizing marijuana, including some law enforcement officials, say busting people for pot is an expensive waste of scarce resources, and the tax revenue could help fill depleted state coffers. They also point to a recent study from a Mexico City think tank, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), which found that the three state measures could “deal a blow to Mexico’s traffickers of a magnitude that no current policy has got close to achieving,” depriving the cartels of $1.4 billion of their $2 billion in annual marijuana income, from the U.S. So, where do Obama and Romney stand when it comes to states legalizing pot?

    Vote or get off the pot?

    Three states are voting today on whether to allow medical use of marijuana — Massachusetts, Montana, and Arkansas. But Oregon, Washington, and Colorado are going much further in the push for pot decriminalization, with voters deciding on whether to make pot legal for recreational use.

    Advocates of decriminalizing marijuana, including some law enforcement officials, say busting people for pot is an expensive waste of scarce resources, and the tax revenue could help fill depleted state coffers. They also point to a recent study from a Mexico City think tank, the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO), which found that the three state measures could “deal a blow to Mexico’s traffickers of a magnitude that no current policy has got close to achieving,” depriving the cartels of $1.4 billion of their $2 billion in annual marijuana income, from the U.S.

    So, where do Obama and Romney stand when it comes to states legalizing pot?

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  4. 4 Sep


    “President Obama hasn’t given up on the stoner vote, despite their notoriously low turnout rates.” — Margaret Hartmann, New York Magazine

    In a new video promoting this week’s Democratic National Convention, President Obama dials up some old friends: Harold & Kumar

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  5. 19 Jul



    The high schooler who allegedly ran a $3 million drug ring

    Most teenagers earn minimum wage in their after-school jobs. According to police, 17-year-old Tyler Pagenstecher of Mason, Ohio, has been hauling in a whole lot more: About $20,000 a month.

    “He looks like someone that would be in your church youth group,” says prosecutor David Fornshell. “He looks like somebody that would be on student council.”

     

  6. 10 Jul


    Study: Marijuana could help cure obesity-related diseases Researchers say marijuana leaves contain two compounds that boost the metabolism of mice, leading to lower levels of fat and cholesterol in the body — the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that marijuana may be useful in countering ailments related to obesity. One study in March found that a brain chemical similar in structure to an active compound in cannibis could help people shed weight, while another study last September concluded that pot smokers were less likely to be obese than non-potheads, though for reasons that remain unclear.  Keep reading

    Study: Marijuana could help cure obesity-related diseases

    Researchers say marijuana leaves contain two compounds that boost the metabolism of mice, leading to lower levels of fat and cholesterol in the body — the latest addition to a growing body of evidence that marijuana may be useful in countering ailments related to obesity.

    One study in March found that a brain chemical similar in structure to an active compound in cannibis could help people shed weight, while another study last September concluded that pot smokers were less likely to be obese than non-potheads, though for reasons that remain unclear. 

    Keep reading

     

  7. 5 Jul



    Invented: Marijuana that doesn't get you high

    Although it appears that the Obama administration is cracking down on medical marijuana, a number of the drug’s health benefits have become increasingly indisputable. One Israeli company hopes that it can create a middle ground: Tikun Olam has successfully created a strain of weed called Avidekel that provides many of the helpful medicinal effects of cannabis minus one notable differentiator — it doesn’t get you high. “Whyyyyyyyyy?” asks Victoria Kekiepmis at the Village Voice. 

     

  8. 21 May



    GOOD DAY FOR:

    Google’s world domination
    Google Chrome surpasses Windows Internet Explorer to become the most used web browser on Earth. [Tecca] 

    Throwback jerseys
    The oldest known Babe Ruth jersey sells for a record-breaking $4.4 million, making it the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever. [Business Insider]  

    Submerged swilling
    Beer maker Guinness celebrates its 250th birthday by converting a submarine into an underwater bar. [Discovery News] 

    BAD DAY FOR:

    Spin-cycle parenting
    Two parents attempt to scare their child in a laundromat by putting him in a washing machine, which turns on when they shut the door. [Gawker]

    Fair-weather pet owning
    As the popularity of the Harry Potter series wanes, hundreds of Potter fans abandon their pet owls. [Geekosystem]  

    Pot deals
    Harbor Patrol agents in California discover 4 tons of marijuana worth $3.6 million floating in the ocean, without a boat in sight. [Newser]

    For more winners and losers see: Good day, bad day: May 18, 2012

     

  9. 20 Apr


    Marijuana-infused wine is making a comeback. What originally began as a novelty in the 1980s is becoming more commonplace as winemakers look to ferment grapes with THC-laden leaves.  “While it neither got me stoned nor made me want to ditch the glass of 1985 Roumier Bonnes-Mares that I was holding in my other hand, it was certainly a novel experience.” - Michael Sternberg at The Daily Beast

    Marijuana-infused wine is making a comeback. What originally began as a novelty in the 1980s is becoming more commonplace as winemakers look to ferment grapes with THC-laden leaves. 

    “While it neither got me stoned nor made me want to ditch the glass of 1985 Roumier Bonnes-Mares that I was holding in my other hand, it was certainly a novel experience.” - Michael Sternberg at The Daily Beast

     

  10. 5 Jan


    An amiable chocolate Lab has unwittingly landed at the center of a Fourth Amendment battle, as the Supreme Court considers a case questioning the constitutionality of drug-sniffing dogs.

    An amiable chocolate Lab has unwittingly landed at the center of a Fourth Amendment battle, as the Supreme Court considers a case questioning the constitutionality of drug-sniffing dogs.

     

  11. 19 Dec


    Why are kids smoking more weed than ever before? Think about it this way: In 1978, 40 percent of 12th-graders admitted to smoking pot. Now most of them are 50 years old with kids of their own. “Would those parents who smoked marijuana in high school be very upset if they found out their kids were doing it?” asks Janice D’Arcy at The Washington Post. Probably not. It’s math, really. More theories

    Why are kids smoking more weed than ever before? Think about it this way: In 1978, 40 percent of 12th-graders admitted to smoking pot. Now most of them are 50 years old with kids of their own. “Would those parents who smoked marijuana in high school be very upset if they found out their kids were doing it?” asks Janice D’Arcy at The Washington Post. Probably not. It’s math, really. More theories

     

  12. 6 Sep



    The correlation between obesity and marijuana

    Surprising new research has found that pot smokers are actually thinner than those who don’t indulge in marijuana. What’s behind this phenomenon?

     

  13. 27 Jun


    A team of South African scientists want to exhume Shakespeare’s remains to confirm rumors that he was an avid marijuana smoker.

    A team of South African scientists want to exhume Shakespeare’s remains to confirm rumors that he was an avid marijuana smoker.