Sunday, March 22, 2015

Where There's Smoke



Extravaganja 2013 attracted typical crowd of 6,000 fans to the Amherst Town Common

Now I know it's Spring!  The preliminary paperwork for the town common pot rally is in the pipeline.  Or maybe I should say bong line. 

The Amherst Select Board will discuss parking approvals Monday night for the 24th annual Extravaganja festival coming this April 18th to a bucolic town green near you.

The event is promoted by the UMass Amherst Cannabis Reform Coalition and every year manages to attract many thousands of aficionados to Amherst town center for an afternoon of live music, food, and camaraderie all punctuated by the pungent fragrance of pot.

Some of the original adherents from two decades ago have probably gone on to high profile positions in the state legislature, paving the way to legalization in the next year or two.

Considering the awful toll legally ubiquitous alcohol wreaks on our little "college town", perhaps not such a bad thing.

The pot rally coexists with the Amherst Farmers Market

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where there is smoke....they dont realize that everyone is dabbing.

You only need events like this when you have bad laws.

1 of of 20 kids in their 20s go to jail or prison. Many for smoking pot or being black (for black males it is 1 in 10).

Do you really think it was the event goers of the past that are holding up dispensaries for 3 years via state govt and keeping pot illegal?

Then once the dispensaries open and the private growers have no more adults to sell to....what is the state's plan to keep all the people that set up as private growers from selling to high schools like they did in co when they licenced dispensaries.

Where are the real reports on the effect of bad pot laws vs. The oooo they are gathering in the common with mischaracterizations of the issues. Who is going to protect the kids from the laws that get them access to the best weed on the planet?

I think you got one thing right...the only protection they have is the filtering effect of the bong.

Call me cowardly but within the next 12 mmonths the schools will be flooded by medical grade weed once the dispensaries open. They weed will come from the growers the state has encouraged over the last 3 years as they must find someone to buy, once all yuppies and college kids just get their stuff atthe store. Again, this comes from the delay and the 1000s (perhaps 10,000s) of private growers locally Who will have to keeping selling their harvest to pay the mortgage and feed THEIR kids.

But .oooo pot on the common. Show a picture of a hippy in a hat.

Anonymous said...

It's time to stop the hypocrisy that surrounds medical marijuana and decide once and for all that pot is either legal or illegal.

We have made doctors the gatekeepers of other benefits in our society, like social security disability, and it tends to compromise their integrity.

Anonymous said...

hey anon 10:35...what the fuck are you talking about? jesus that was hard to read

Anonymous said...

The 10% in their 20's who are in jail (if the first commenter's facts are correct) are not incarcerated "for being black," but rather for having been convicted of having committed a crime. Take responsibility, folks.

Dr. Ed said...

Pot is what caused that perp to assault that cop in Ferguson, Larry --- and the cop had no choice but to shoot him.

That shooting was not only "justified" but self defense -- and none other than Eric Holder's "Justice" Departmetn said that.

Let me know when the APD has to shoot a drunk -- in self defense.

Anonymous said...

Smoking weed is as stupid a smoking cigarettes. Your lungs did not evolve to handle any smoking product. You have been taught since elementary school that smoking is dangerous.

Enjoy your cancer-free lungs while you can. But when you get admitted to the hospital and your prospects become scary, good luck gaining sympathy from your health care providers. This is what we call "totally avoidable".

Anonymous said...

Dr. Ed... That was just trolling...

... right?

You think being under the influence of marijuana is worse than alcohol?

alcohol: estimated to be associated with ~5 million violent crimes/year

marijuana: not tracked by the government because there is no association between violence and marijuana use.

Other noteworthy topics:
alcohol use is associated with ~40,000 deaths/year while marijuana is associated with... zero deaths/year.

Alcohol is more addictive and contributes to a greater likelihood of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

etc.

Anonymous said...

Pot brownies leave the lungs unscathed, I am told.

Anonymous said...

Habitual pot use lowers the IQ. Smoke up peeps!! My stock shall rise....

Anonymous said...

Yeah. Brownies and cookies are smokeless, but even You must agree that most weed users smoke the stuff. Ever cleaned a pot pipe? No one can convince me this tar is good for you. And keep your 2nd hand smoke outta my lungs.

Dr. Ed said...

For all I said about how this "had PCP written all over it", he apparently was only under the influence of pot.

Eric Holder Says So.

So much for yoru zero deaths per year....

Dr. Ed said...

One other thing -- that alcohol death statistic is complete bullshit and teh US Government itself has admitted this.

We can start with drunk driving deaths -- which are defined as any driver with a .01 BAC or higher\ -- anyone know what is wrong with that?

Yep, everything I have seen states that even a .02 BAC has no effect on you It's kinda like the female hormones in the DC drinking water -- we can measure it, but it is way too low to have any ability to prevent pregnancy...

Then we have the folks who would have been dead even sober -- like the guy impaled by a few tons of tre falling from the sky (White Pine snapped off) -- wind caused that accident, not ETOH

Then we have the folks who are exhausted, have a beer or two and fall asleep behind the wheel -- you gotta admit that fatague was at least a contributing factor...

Then there are the suicides == you can't get a gun but anyone can get a car -- and we all knw tha t""drunk driving kills" -- it's advertised as lethal -- what more can you ask for>?

Then we have the oflks who mix ETOH with something else including pot --

So you can cute your biased statistics all you want -- name one pothead who ever produced anything...

Anonymous said...

Steve Jobs. Enough Said.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2222575/data-center/data-center-steve-jobs-lsd-habit-why-he-indulged-in-marijuana-and-his-1975-arrest.html

Anonymous said...

A nation of stoners. Just what we dreamed about for 50 years! Finally coming true! Fantastic!

Walter Graff said...

Bottom line is anyone that needs a drug to be okay really isn't okay, no if's, ands or buts.

Anonymous said...

"Pot is what caused that perp to assault that cop in Ferguson"

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

wow!! I just blew a funny fuse. most outlandish statement I've heard from Dr. Ed in a while, and he says some funny stuff.

"Bottom line is anyone that needs a drug to be okay really isn't okay, no if's, ands or buts."

this comment is funny because most people don't smoke pot "to be okay." They smoke because it's fun. It's never like alcohol or heroin where people take them to get away from their feelings and that crap. Pot doesn't have as crazy of a reaction as other drugs. the drugs I take "to be okay" are things like ibuprofen, tylenol, sinus meds, allergy relief, pain meds etc., and I think we can all agree that prescribed and fda approved meds can be much much worse/harmful/addicting/deadly/(list goes on) than pot

Walter Graff said...

Actually the only reason anyone drinks or does drugs is to feel okay. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

is that your professional opinion, Walt?

Anonymous said...

Keep telling yourself that it's fun,

Anonymous said...

I'm going to the smoking rally with my Old Golds. Can't wait till someone tells me to 'put that out!"

Anonymous said...

And what are your substances and bad habits Walt?

Coffee? Sugar? TV? Pointing out the flaws in other people's lives?

Or are you pure?



Anonymous said...

THere is a BIG difference in having a few "faults" and flaunting those faults in public. This is a university event and should be hosted at that institution. WHy should the town incur any potential cost or liability associated with this cause? Are extra cops and firefighters called in? ON overtime? WHo pays that? What happens when a stoner leaves the common high as be-jeasus and kills someone (probably asleep…stoners don't drive reckless IMHO)? I can see the town attached in a civil action as it is a permitted event to which everyone turns a blind eye. Time to make THE U stand up and take cafe of their own. Enough is enough..

Anonymous said...

Not hard to read for those not stoned.

Anonymous said...

When tv is illegal, only criminals will have tv.

Anonymous said...

Look: if I can't smoke in public, why can You? Keep your second-hand crap out of my body. Possible suit here for smoking in public violation?

Anonymous said...

I agree with the above. Can i spew noxious smoke at you if you spew it at me? Yes I can!