Category Archives: Marijuana
VIDEO: Rapper Chief Keef Busted For Drugs!
Rapper Keith Cozart, AKA Chief Keef, was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday. The 17-year-old rapper was arrested for disorderly conduct according to TMZ and we have now learned from the police report that Keef was smoking pot in a fancy hotel! The teen was released from Dekalb County jail and took to Twitter to share the news about his arrest. He even posted a picture of his mug shot to Instagram, but later deleted the photo. The young rapper has been arrested before and even has a gun conviction under his belt. Chief Keef is seen as a rap prodigy in the hip hop world and has collaborated with famous rappers including: Wiz Khalifa, 50 Cent and Kanye West.
The Legal Stoner’s Average Weed Diet Will Cost $650 A Year
With legal recreational marijuana coming to fruition in Colorado and Seattle within the year, estimates on its economical affect continue to trickle in. The most recent statistical analysis of Amendment 64 in Colorado comes courtesy of Colorado State University, and contains fairly conservative predictions, the most notable being: the average smoker only buys 3.5 ounces a year/spends $ 650 on weed a year.
Everyone has a different definition on “average” smoke use, but considering the average, daily smoker smokes at least an 1/8 of weed a week, that mean number is probably a lot closer to six ounces a year. Likewise, industry members and outside observers must take all this data with a heavy grain of shake–as with all studies– because a lot of the data is variable and conducive to response rates.
Which, when we’re talking about stoners, isn’t always the highest. TIME broke down all the data, and brought these numerical estimations on money spent and bud smoked to light:
Researchers estimate that in 2014, 642,772 Colorado residents, or about 12.5% of the state population, will take advantage of pot’s newly legal status. Analysts assumed each person would smoke or otherwise “use” 3.53 ounces of marijuana annually, for a total of 2,268,985 ounces (about 142,000 pounds) per year.
Again, these look like fairly low estimates. Based on lots of personal experience at varying smoke levels, the average daily smoker goes through between an 1/8 and a 1/4 of flower a week, and half an ounce to an ounce a month. Yes, weed in Colorado is cheap (about 30-35 bucks for an 1/8), but even so, a daily smoker will easily spend more than $ 1,000 on bud–not to mention extracts, smoking devices, and oh so much more the industry has to offer and dispensaries do and will sell.
And the $ 650 number is a mere fraction of what Big Tobacco gets on average. If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day at an average of $ 5, you’ll spend about $ 2,500 a year. Or enough money to sustain four to five “average” weed smokers for a year. Cigarettes kill people, cannabis cures them. But one is still a much, much bigger–and far more legal–industry. America clearly needs a lot more blunts and a lot less butts–or the former will remain a shadow of the latter’s economical impact.
Which is clearly a crime, a shame, and a gap that only legal weed all over America would close. But, until there’s a distinct way to track cannabis sales–like through MMJMenu and WeedMaps.com’s tracking of weed from seed to sale, these numbers are kind of irrelevant: we cannot and will never be able to track the black market.
On a separate note, the study also gave some predictions on what Colorado’s tax will do for the state’s economy, and those numbers also underwhelm.
Oh, and about the point of the Colorado State study, regarding tax revenues for the state? Researchers estimate that the 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana would yield $ 21.7 million annually, which is far short of the $ 40 million annual target. [TIME]
Considering recreational businesses won’t sprout up in Colorado till early next year (at the least), that $ 21.7 Million number is essentially irrelevant. The industry today could double, or triple in size a year from now, which means that number will only climb.
Unless, you know, the Federal Government decides they’d rather have Drug Cartels, the Black Market, and BitCoin profit off God’s plant.
p.s. How much money do you spend on weed a year and how much weed do you buy with it?
Dabs!: July 2013 Issue Preview
The July 2013 issue of HIGH TIMES Magazine features a report on dabs, the new pot-smoking paradigm. Will the blossoming concentrate culture establish 710 as the new 420?
Joints, Blunts Or Bong Rips, Weed Is The New Martini for Today’s Baby Boomer
Winning back our rights, losing the old dogma… flogged for truth, imprisoned for common sense –
alcohols kills, pots heals and now we can see the Emperor is truly naked.
Alcohol makes you sloppy, unable to remember, and regretful of the things you did during your untidy intoxication. Over-the-counter prescription pills are addictive, expensive and potentially lethal when taken in the wrong combination.
Like many baby boomers that grew up experimenting with the occasional bong hit, only to have been convinced at some later point in life that Weed was “bad” because it was illegal. And all other forms of relaxation, regardless of how deadly or destructive to society they may be, as long as their legal – are fine.
History is full of these backwards, nonsensical oddities. Some things become the ‘norm,’ thanks to political lobbying and human greed – and for a while no one thinks to object. However, as time progresses and people come to understand the inherent craziness in following archaic and outdated laws, created to make those connected rich. We reluctantly pull our heads out of our “scared straight” ass…and start thinking for ourselves.
In November 2012, pot smoking baby boomers made their voice heard, not only in Washington and Colorado, where marijuana was legalized for recreational purposes. But also in a handful of other states, which said yes to medical marijuana. Tired of the federal government’s overreaching and mandating of their unjustified prohibition against medical marijuana, limiting the state’s ability to serve their citizens and create tax revenue for their financially strapped states.
Sure, some baby boomers gave into pressure from their peers, which believed the ‘reefer madness’ propaganda – and stop hit the bong for a couple of years. However, as science and public perception evolved to understand marijuana’s helpful cannabinoids. Pot slowly began winning the moral high ground amongst bloomers for both medical purposes, and as a healthy alternative to slamming some mind rotting booze, or pounding a fistful of pills, to take the edge off another crazy day of unrelenting stress.
Hybrid Entries: Denver US Cup
Check out all of the Hybrid entries from the first-ever HIGH TIMES US Cannabis Cup in Denver.
