Free Republic

BOISE, Idaho – If you're looking for milepost 420, you won't find it in Idaho. Idaho transportation officials say the mile marker has been replaced with 419.9 signs to curb thieves eager to own a number associated with marijuana enthusiasts. Turns out, Idaho isn't alone in this problem. States like Washington and Colorado have also replaced 420 signs with 419.9 after consistently having to replace them after thefts by supposed sticky-fingered stoners. Adam Rush of the Idaho Transportation Department says officials have replaced the old sign along U.S. Highway 95 with "MILE 419.9," just south of Coeur d'Alene. ~snip~ The...

Colorado’s marijuana market boomed in April as tens of thousands celebrated the once-underground 4/20 pot holiday. […] An estimate from the Colorado Department of Revenue showed that Colorado made about $5.3 million from medical and recreational pot taxes and fees in April. That’s up from about $5 million in March. Colorado made no estimate of 4/20 visitors. But pot shops in Denver had long lines the whole weekend, and at least 30,000 flocked to a city park to mark the marijuana celebration. …

The mellow, "peace now," countercultural, environmentally conscious “420” celebration deposited 10,000 pounds of garbage on what is known as Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park, leaving volunteers and park workers to clean up the mess. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s website SF Gate, this year’s celebration drew a massive amount of revelers estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000. The pot smokers' untidiness will cost the city more than $10,000 in cleanup costs. The immense load of empty bags of chips, candy wrappers, and snack containers left behind was evidence that it was indeed the remnants of weed smokers with...

Sure… Sunday was Easter Sunday (the most important day of the year for the world’s 2-3 billion Christians). But, c’mon! It was 4:20 dude! And while millions of Americans flocked to their churches and Cathedrals, the Denver Post thought the front-page story of the day ought to be Colorado’s annual “toke-out” at Civic Center Park in Denver. Heck… The 15 year anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting was even pushed back to accommodate the “high times” of Civic Center potheads. Living a mere handful of blocks from Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, I can personally attest to...

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – A new study finds that longtime marijuana use lowers motivation and reward-seeking behavior as the brain produces less dopamine. In a small sample test, researchers in the United Kingdom scanned the brains of 19 long-term marijuana smokers along with 19 nonusers of the same age and sex, measuring the distribution of chemicals throughout the brain via positron emission tomography. Marijuana smokers were found to produce less of the “feel good” chemical dopamine than their counterparts over time.

San Francisco park workers and volunteers spent much of Sunday picking up and hauling away 10,000 pounds of garbage strewn all over the eastern part of Golden Gate Park known as Hippie Hill, the remnants of Saturday's annual yet unofficial pot-smoking bacchanalia. But this year's annual celebration - which falls each year on April 20 and is known as "420" - drew a larger-than-average crowd of between 10,000 and 15,000 revelers on the warm weekend day. They proceeded to smoke, drink, eat and rack up more than $10,000 in costs for city crews to clean up the mess, ironically just...

Shots were fired in the area of the 4/20 marijuana rally being held at Civic Center Park in Denver, KDVR.com reports. Denver police say one person has been shot in the leg and another is down with unknown injuries. Witnesses say they heard three or more shots about 20 minutes after 4:20 p.m. Police swarmed the scene, and crime tape was around the pavilion where the celebration was being held. Aerial footage showed the massive crowd frantically running from the park. The pot celebration Saturday was the first since Colorado and Washington made marijuana legal for recreational use. Read more:...

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Wayne Terhune Delegation Chair, Nevada Six States Nominate Congressman Ron Paul for President at the Republican National Convention TAMPA, August 28, 2012-- Supporters of Congressman Ron Paul have collected the necessary signatures to nominate him for President of the United States at the RNC. The current rules state that a plurality of delegates from five states are required to nominate a candidate for President. The Secretary of the Convention, Kim Reynolds, was presented with the forms over an hour before the call for nominations. “We are excited to get Dr. Paul nominated,” said...

In the 2008 United States election, I wrote in Ron Paul for President. In the 2012 election, I will be voting for Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson. Those who are of a more leftist persuasion than myself might want to consider voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Here are 93 things that Barack Obama has done, that should cause his supporters to switch to Gary Johnson or Jill Stein: 1) Carried out military interventionism in Libya without Congressional approval In June 2011, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said that Obama had violated the Constitution when he launched military operations...

An announcement from Rep. Ron Paul indicates that the Republican presidential candidate will no longer actively campaign for the GOP nomination, but will continue to work to secure delegates at upcoming Republican state conventions. "Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted," said Paul, in a statement released Monday afternoon. "Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have."

April 24, 2012. Des Moines. Two networks yesterday, CNBC and MSNBC, broadcast a little known fact – Ron Paul appears to be winning the Republican nomination for President. When the popular Texas Congressman repeatedly assured supporters that the race was about delegates, not beauty contests, he apparently knew what he was talking about. Now, after three more states locked in delegates to the GOP nominating convention – CO, MN and IA – indicators point to a brokered convention with a possible, even probable, Ron Paul victory. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) appears to be piling up enough delegates to force a...

April 24, 2012. Des Moines. Two networks yesterday, CNBC and MSNBC, broadcast a little known fact – Ron Paul appears to be winning the Republican nomination for President. When the popular Texas Congressman repeatedly assured supporters that the race was about delegates, not beauty contests, he apparently knew what he was talking about. Now, after three more states locked in delegates to the GOP nominating convention – CO, MN and IA – indicators point to a brokered convention with a possible, even probable, Ron Paul victory.

Yes, two cast members of TLC's "All-American Muslim" were busted while crossing the Canadian border. The border officer caught the pair with nine grams of "the chronic" (a.k.a. "cannabis," "giggle weed," "ganja," "dope," "wacky tobacky," "grass," "indo," "the herb," "Mary Jane," etc.). Wow. If this was another desperate attempt to show us that Muslims really are "just like everyone else" . . . Genius! Apparently, it is notoriously easy to get a "medical marijuana" card in Michigan. However, can anyone who watched "All-American Muslim" point to anyone on the show who displayed any symptoms that would require a sack of...

Even loyal Obama supporters are raising their eyebrows at the very pricey fundraising -- like that exclusive $35,800-per-person dinner in San Francisco -- planned as part of the President's April 20 visit to the Bay Area. The April Western U.S. swing by the President, which includes a stop in Reno and Los Angeles as well as San Francisco, is part of Obama's 2012 re-election kickoff campaign. But also scheduled .. a jobs and economy event in the Bay Area on April 20. On April 21, Obama heads to Los Angeles. ... Obama supporters acknowledge that the $35,800 per person San...

San Bernardino became the latest Inland city to ban medical marijuana dispensaries late Monday. - The report notes that California's decriminalization conflicts with federal law. Studies by other cities show dispensaries contribute to increases in noise, traffic, burglaries and robberies, the report states.

There was something different in the air today at the 20th annual Boston Freedom Rally at the Boston Common. And it wasn’t just the clouds of pungent marijuana smoke. It was the first time the rally organized by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition had been held since voters passed Proposition 2 last November, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. The changed law gave attendees reason to celebrate and a better chance of not getting arrested -- a scenario organizers say is a welcome change for the event, which has caused controversy over the years, including many arrests and...

"Nine, eight, seven ..." A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. Sunday. Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 -- the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana -- began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year. "Oh forget it," one student said, aborting the countdown to 4:20 p.m. and lighting his pipe early. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long drag. "Sweet." Although it's become an annual and renowned...

WILMINGTON (AP) — A Wilmington high school student is on court-ordered probation after admitting she baked marijuana into cookies that were given to a teacher. The Star-News of Wilmington reported Friday that 17-year-old Elizabeth Ann Coleman was given two years supervised probation and ordered to perform 96 hours of community service. She also must write an apology letter to the Spanish teacher. Assistant District Attorney Tom Old said Coleman admitted sharing the cookies with friends, but Old said it was another teenager at Laney High School that gave the cookies to the teacher. An arrest warrant said the teacher ate...

My birthday is tomorrow (the 19th), so I'm havin' a party!!! I got the food and drinks... And the DJ is settin' up...getting ready for ya'll to get on the dance floor...The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once. A well adjusted woman is one who not only knows what she wants for her birthday, but even knows what she's going to exchange it for. The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. - Lucille Ball Inside every older person is a younger person wondering...

State field director predicts second, even first in Iowa It seems like when we're young, we like to break a few rules.  Staying out a little too late, sneaking a drink before that official legal age, or backing a candidate who's outside the established mold (YEEEEEAH!) Several of those dynamics were on display Saturday at Olive Court, a notoriously wild tailgate spot three blocks from Iowa City's Kinnick Stadium.  It was here, just a year ago, that John Kerry was infamously photographed with a beer bong.  And into the anarchy marched the Ron Paul revolution. Ron Paul wasn't imbibing...