Free Republic

So far this month, we've already written two piece about disturbing 'woke' excesses. One involved pro-criminal "social justice" and "equity"-minded policies resulting in the murder of a woman of color in Portland. If you think that's an uncharitable exaggeration, read the original story, or my summary of it, and judge for yourself. Relatedly, the Los Angeles Times just wrote about Portland's left-wing lurch toward failed city status, which is quite an indictment, given the day-to-day realities in the city that newspaper serves. The report is headlined, 'What’s the matter with Portland? Shootings, theft and other crime test city’s progressive strain'...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on Nevada becoming the fifth state in the U.S. with stores selling marijuana for recreational purposes (all times local): Minnesota resident Edgar Rosas Lorenzo on Saturday flew with his family to Sin City for a wedding. But even before he checked in to his hotel, he stopped at a pot dispensary on the Las Vegas Strip. The 21-year-old says he learned of the legalization of recreational marijuana in Nevada while he was at the airport waiting for his flight to depart. He waited in line about 40 minutes before he could buy one-eighth of...

Fueled by one of the world’s largest tourism industries, Nevada is preparing to do the same on July 1. A May report published by Gov. Brian Sandoval’s task force on marijuana estimates that up to 63 percent of recreational buyers will be tourists. “Everything we know shows that millennials are very pro-marijuana, and that’s the new marketing push,” said Nevada state Sen. Tick Segerblom, a longtime marijuana advocate. “This is a game-changer for Las Vegas and tourism here as far as I’m concerned.” “Amsterdam on steroids,” he added.

I’m not sure what to make of the NYT feature “Friends Say Drugs Played Only Bit Part for Obama.” In more than three dozen interviews, friends, classmates and mentors from his high school and Occidental recalled Mr. Obama as being grounded, motivated and poised, someone who did not appear to be grappling with any drug problems and seemed to dabble only with marijuana.Vinai Thummalapally, a former California State University student who became friendly with Mr. Obama in college, remembered him as a model of moderation — jogging in the morning, playing pickup basketball at the gym, hitting the books and...

WASHINGTON — Pot. Cannabis. Hemp. Weed. Grass. The herb takes many names. But in the nation’s capital, where the marijuana lobby (search) was once the recreational diversion of Playboy Magazine's Hugh Hefner, pro-pot special interest groups have crystallized the divergent issues behind the plant and gained a seemingly unified voice. ________________ Puff, Cough, Puff, Cough________________ "It’s a no-brainer. It makes no sense putting old and sick folks in jail for an herb that makes them feel better," said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project (search), which was established in 1995 by Rob Kampia, a former mainstay at the...

The liberal media see their favored candidate heading towards the dumpsters. Instead of reporting why this is the case, the liberals in the media conspire to ramp up their attack on Bush and any real or perceived Republicans that happen to be handy. Last month they were writing hit-pieces on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. That is, the media coordinated an attack on the 254 Swifties and supported the two or three who still back Kerry. Even liberals get an opinion. The problem is, they should not publish that opinion as hard news, which they do. Because, the true...

Medical Pot Not Up To Snuff Unless the government learns to grow better dope, a proposal to distribute Health Canada marijuana in pharmacies will go up in smoke, say local medical marijuana advocates. "They have to improve their product or this project isn't going to go anywhere at all," said Fred Pritchard of Windsor's marijuana compassion club. "I can't believe the government pushes this garbage on sick people. We're going to make them sicker." A 43-year-old Windsor woman authorized to smoke pot for medical reasons said she became sick after trying the Health Canada weed last fall and sent it...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...