Pompo

10 things you didn't know about pot
4/20/08|Chicago Tribune| by Mark Jacob

Sunday is April 20, known to marijuana users as “4/20,” a counterculture holiday recognizing America’s most commonly used illegal drug. The number “420” is code for marijuana, and was most likely invented in the 1970s at San Rafael High School in Marin County, Calif., where a group of students known as the Waldos met at 4:20 p.m. to light up.

A dime bag’s worth of other marijuana facts:
1. In 19th century Nepal, the marijuana harvest was performed by men who ran naked through fields of flowering plants and then had the sticky resin scraped off their bodies and formed into bricks of hashish.

2. Marijuana is known for its mellowing effect, but it has fueled many warriors in history. The word “assassin” is believed to come from the hashish taken a millennium ago by Arab killers (called “hashshashin” or “hashish eaters”), though some historians doubt they were under the influence while on their missions. Mexican bandit Pancho Villa's henchmen were pot smokers. And some believe Zulu fighters in South Africa were high on Dagga-a.k.a. marijuana- when they attacked the Boers at Blood River in 1838. The Zulu lost 3,000 fighters, while only four Boers were wounded. Talk about a buzzkill.



3. Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women,” wrote a short story called “Perilous Play” about marijuana. In it, a character declares, “If someone does not propose a new and interesting amusement, I shall die of ennui!” Another character produces a box of hashish-laced bonbons, and hedonism ensues.


4. Around 1900, the U.S. government briefly grew marijuana along a stretch of the Potomac River to study the plant’s medicinal value. Today, a more potent plant has risen on that site: the Pentagon.



5. A white Chicago jazz musician named Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow moved to Harlem in 1929, declared himself a “voluntary Negro,” and began selling marijuana. Known as “The Man Who Hipped the World” and “The Link Between the Races,” Mezzrow sold fat joints called mezzrolls. Soon a new piece of Harlem slang emerged: Something genuine was described as “mezz.”


6. Marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did. Not only that, marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did.


7. Before Congress voted to ban marijuana in 1937, the birdseed industry got the bill amended to exempt marijuana seeds (known as hemp seeds) as long as they were sterilized and could not be used to grow plants. An industry spokesman denied that the seeds made birds high, but an ardent marijuana foe, Dr. Victor Robinson, had previously written that the seeds had caused birds to “dream of a happy birdland where there are no gilded cages, and where the men are gunless and the women hatless.”

8. Billy Carter, the late brother of former President Jimmy Carter, believed the illegality of marijuana was part of its attraction. “Marijuana is like Coors beer,” he said. “If you could buy the damn stuff at a Georgia filling station, you’d decide you wouldn’t want it.”


9. One of the least typical supporters of the decriminalization of marijuana was conservative icon William F. Buckley, who died in February. Buckley once sailed his yacht into international waters so that he could smoke pot without breaking U.S. laws.


10. Bill Clinton said famously that he smoked marijuana but “didn’t inhale.” President Bush has never admitted taking the drug, but his drug use was strongly suggested in recorded conversations between him and a friend — the interestingly named Doug Wead. Only one of the three 2008 contenders is an admitted ex-doper.


Barack Obama has said, “When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”

Purpose420

4. Around 1900, the U.S. government briefly grew marijuana along a stretch of the Potomac River to study the plant’s medicinal value. Today, a more potent plant has risen on that site: the Pentagon.[/quote]

No, I didn't know that but heres my theory, the bastards knew years ago it had medicinal value and cut the shit down and built the pentagon there.

__________________
"If (marijuana) were unknown, and bio-prospectors were suddenly to find it in some remote mountain crevice, its discovery would no doubt be hailed as a medical breakthrough. Scientists would praise its potential for treating everything from pain to cancer, and marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia -- many of whose chemicals mimic vital molecules in the human body." -- The Economist, "Reefer Madness: Marijuana Is Medically Useful Whether Politicians Like It or Not," April 29, 2006

Long live the VaporStore

Halcyon

Dont forget that our great govenator likes the plant as well. Stating "Its just a leaf".

Buzzby

Ewww! Considering the sanitary conditions in most third-world countries (especially 100 years ago) that sounds really disgusting. Who was it complaining about finding a pubic hair in their sack? It's a good thing most Asians don't have a lot of body hair. I'd always heard about them running through the fields wearing leather aprons from which the hash was scraped.

I know it "fueled" many warriors back in Vietnam! Fortunately, adrenaline cancels out most of the effects that would tend to get you killed in an emergency situation.

I heard somewhere that marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just read.

As there is almost zero THC in the seeds, it seems unlikely that they'd get birds high.

What I'm finding encouraging is that this year many mainstream news outlets are publishing this kind of op-ed piece for 4/20 with the subtext that marijuana is just a part of normal American life.

__________________

Purpose420

Buzzby - I love you you crack me up with this stuff "Who was it complaining about finding a pubic hair in their sack?" and this "I heard somewhere that marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just read"

JackWeedseed

I had actually heard of that assassin thing before, it was really interesting to me. Nicely written article by the way.

Majorguns420

I think that is true too, thats part of the problem, we read, hear, or have great ideas while were high, then forget them later till were high agian and then don't fell like doing anything about it. Well at least for me thats how it is

sam-adamas

Maybe you read it in a Dan Brown book?

The Obama part made me laugh.
Before our current Prime Minister (yes, the one who banned the bong) was elected it was uncovered that he has a thing for strip ckubs. And, much like Barak, instead of trying to dig his way out he said (off the record) "They are pretty f*cking fun".

If anything it made the Australian people want to vote for him more.
If I were a voting American my choice to vote for Barak would be strongly influenced (positivly) by his open admission of cannibis smoking.

hermosthigh

As there is almost zero THC in the seeds, it seems unlikely that they'd get birds high.


There was once a mouse that would get into our seeds at night (we'd find the empty hulls in the morning). Eventually he started coming out and hanging around when we were smoking. We knicknamed him Roachclip.

Buzzby

There are nifty little gadgets called "digital voice recorders". You can get a nice one for less than $30. I have one with me at all times so that if I have a brilliant idea or there's something I need to remember, I push a button, say my piece, and don't have to worry about my short-term memory.

Getting older (I'm 59) has much the same effect on short-term memory as being high on weed.