I know, I'm a D-list pot celebrity at best, but at least I won't throw a raging hissy fit:

Tom Cruise's attorneys are looking to take legal action over a new strain of medical marijuana that has been put on the market under the star's name.

The "Tom Cruise Purple" brand, which features a picture of the actor laughing on the vials, is currently being sold in licensed marijuana clubs in Northern California. [sfgate.com]

Thanks to Prop. 215, it might even be possible to sue in California courts for trademark infringement over the name of a marijuana strain. But all you can really do is go after the clubs offering it, which can in turn just change the name to something else like TCP. Regardless, if Tom Cruise really wanted to screw these people, he would have been well advised to keep his mouth shut rather than make the strain famous by complaining about it.

Until all of this plays itself out, aspiring marijuana breeders should just name their strains after me, which I assure you is totally ok. Call it "Scotty Mo Skunk" or something like that. I won't complain unless it sucks.

The Marijuana Policy Project invites you to attend a reception for radio host and MPP VIP advisory board member Jim Hightower, who will be giving a talk about his new book, Swim Against the Current, tomorrow, March 18, at the Carnegie Institution building.

[Courtesy of MPP] 

Meet MPP advisory board member Jim Hightower tomorrow in Washington, D.C.

The Marijuana Policy Project invites you to attend a reception for radio host and MPP VIP advisory board member Jim Hightower, who will be giving a talk about his new book, Swim Against the Current, tomorrow, March 18, at the Carnegie Institution building.

To watch a short video about Jim Hightower's views regarding marijuana policy reform, please click here, or to read a print version, click here.

The talk is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., and the cost $20 per person. Admission for students and senior citizens is $15, and children under 16 are free. The event also features a VIP reception from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., which costs $50 per person or $80 per couple and includes a copy of Hightower's new book and admittance to the talk.

What: Jim Hightower VIP reception, book talk, and book signing
When: Tuesday, March 18, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 pm (VIP reception), 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (talk and book signing)
Where: Carnegie Institution building, 1530 P Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Cost: $50/person or $80/couple (VIP reception, book talk and signing, and copy of book); or $20/person (talk and book signing only); or $15/person (student and senior citizens).

Proceeds from the event will benefit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals.

Colbert brought the Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelmann back for round 2 last night. For those of us who've grown accustomed to seeing Nadelmann masterfully control the stage, it's kinda fun watching Colbert box him around. You don't really get to say much on Colbert, but if you keep a straight face while he massacres you, it's possible to come across looking pretty good.

One question though: what's up with the lava lamp!? Sources familiar with whether or not there's a lava lamp in Ethan's office tell me there isn't. Did Colbert put it there? Following his attempt to feed Doritos™ to MPP's Aaron Houston, I certainly wouldn't put it past him.

Of course, when Steve Colbert subjects reformers to relentless and preposterous stoner stereotyping, at least it's a joke. When the head of the UN drug office does the same thing at a serious event, it's a lot less funny.

You know you've hit rock bottom when the United Nations is complaining about you:

Leniency towards drug-abusing celebrities is sending out the wrong message to children and young people, the United Nations drug control agency said today.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned that allowing famous people to get away with drug crimes had a damaging effect on impressionable youngsters and undermines faith in the criminal justice system. [The London Paper]

It's always cute when drug war supporters read between the lines and catch on that the massive international drug war hasn't stopped the party. Unfortunately, this realization often leads to bizarre proposals like biological warfare or mass-arresting famous people.

This absurd scheme, like every other dubious drug war idea, will fail for all the same reasons it failed before. The drug war is simply not effective against wealthy privileged people. Those with the resources available to conceal their law-breaking from the prying eyes of police will continue to party in private. You can't deputize the paparazzi to pop Paris for pot and you can't railroad rockstars in drug war kangaroo courts. Just try it, and the number of 90210 zipcodes in the StopTheDrugWar.org membership database will soon crash our servers.

It would be vastly more effective, though still futile, to ask that the press kick its habit of turning every wasted starlet into front-page news. The relentless trainwreck that passes for entertainment media on both sides of the pond is just as nauseous and predictable as its subjects, thus the apple can't be expected to fall far from the tree.

It's all fun and games until LA SWAT raids Paris Hilton's house on a tip from Tara Reid and is forced to shoot a chihuahua in self-defense.

The DEA and FBI are working overtime to bust steroid suppliers. Now, the Drug Czar's office has been boasting about the U.S. government's commitment to preventing cheating in sports. So why are they going after the NBA for being too lenient about marijuana use?

Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns is very proud of the work that's being done to ensure fairness in sports:

The nation's deputy drug czar said Tuesday that the indictment of slugger Barry Bonds in connection with a federal steroids investigation shows the world that the United States remains "the No. 1 country in the world when it comes to going after cheating in sports." [LA Times]

Of course, like so many other aspects of the war on drugs, the war on steroids suddenly morphs into a war on marijuana:

He was especially critical of the NBA's relatively liberal policy on marijuana use, which calls for a maximum five-game suspension for the third and subsequent offenses.

"If Americans knew that you can be a professional high-level athlete and smoke dope and those are the penalties, they would be offended," he said. "For professional athletes that smoke dope, there should be a message that says you don't get to play your sport."

Why not? I don't understand, Mr. Burns. What does this have to do with cheating? Oh boy, does marijuana really make you better at basketball? I have never heard that before. I've heard that it cures cancer, increases fertility, and prevents Alzheimer's, but I did not know that it made you better at sports. That's so awesome.

To be fair, however, I doubt the Deputy Drug Czar actually believes marijuana is a performance-enhancing drug. I think his concerns have more to do with the fact that widespread marijuana use among professional athletes undermines his office's non-stop campaign to convince Americans that using marijuana will weaken their bodies and ruin their futures.

With that in mind, I would highly recommend to the folks at the Drug Czar's office that they immediately stop trying to drug test athletes for marijuana. After all, if you don't want the kids to find out that their favorite athletes smoke pot, you can begin by not drug testing those athletes or complaining publicly about their rampant marijuana use.

You might remember Drew Carey from his hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Now he's hosting reason.tv, which has a great new episode about medical marijuana:

This program totally confirms my pre-existing belief that we must defend patient access to medical marijuana, and that the spineless bureaucrats who want to take it from them should be tossed into the Potomac.

Interestingly, the DEA refused to be interviewed by Drew Carey for the episode. If they are tired of discussing this issue, perhaps they should stop raiding dispensaries and terrorizing patients and caregivers.

If you’ve ever wanted to hang out with author Tom Robbins, this is your chance. On behalf of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (CSMP), I’m pleased to invite you to a VIP reception featuring the bestselling author in Boston on Friday, September 14.

This is the only time we’re going to promote this event to MPP’s national e-mail list, so please purchase your tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891378) today.

Tom Robbins, who has penned such classics as Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/) will host the event at the home of Woody Kaplan and Wendy Kaminer in Boston’s Back Bay.

The event will raise much-needed funds for the signature drive to place a binding marijuana “decriminalization” initiative on the November 2008 statewide ballot in Massachusetts. This will be the first such initiative to remove all criminal penalties for the possession of marijuana in any state. The initiative seeks to change Massachusetts state law so that the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana would be a civil fine instead of a criminal sanction.

You can find more information about this event and purchase tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891382).

The signature drive to place the initiative on the ballot will cost approximately $350,000, which must be raised by mid-October, because the signature drive must take place from September 19 to November 21 of this year.

Who: Woody Kaplan, Wendy Kaminer, and author Tom Robbins will be joined by me and CSMP's campaign manager Whitney Taylor

What: VIP reception to support the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy

Where: 2 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Mass.

When: Friday, September 14, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $250 in advance or $350 at the door.

Purchase tickets here (http://sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/?msource=5164&tr=y&auid=2891407).

Please join us to discuss how the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy intends to make history in November of next year. I look forward to seeing you in Boston on September 14 ...

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

Benefit concert supporting MPP, NORML and WAMM, featuring Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling, Carolyn Wonderland, Paula Nelson, Mark Stepnoski and others to be announced.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2007
Contact: Terrence Stevens, T: 917 939 5349, E: twheels100@gmail.com

Saigon, Atlantic Records Critically Acclaimed Rap Sensation & Remy Martin Supports Non Profit Organization In Arms Reach, Inc. /Abandoned Nation For At Risk Youths

Tonight in the U.S. 2.5 million children will go to bed denied access to their parents because that parent is behind bars

Saving Lives for Children of Incarcerated Parents

New York, NY - Remy Martin is working with Atlantic Records Rapper Saigon and nine other hip-hop artists across the country in a national celebration of hip-hop music, kicking off Black Music Month (June) and running through the summer.

Saigon, under Hip Hop Since 1978 and Just Blaze Fort Knocks production identified In Arms Reach Inc. (a non-profit art, music, prison visitation and educational mentoring organization that services youth whose parents are or were formerly offenders of the criminal justice system) as the organization he would like to support. As part of the sponsorship program, with In Arms Reach as Remy’s New York charity, on June 22, 2007 Saigon and Remy Martin Brand Manager presented a check for $10,000.00 to Program Founder Terrence “T-Wheels” Stevens to help support their continued work on behalf of youth with imprisoned parents.

While at “In Arms Reach,” Atlantic Records Rapper Saigon participated in an open group discussion with 15-20 constituents aged 14 to 17. Sophie Davis Pre-med students who serve as tutors and mentors for the organization were on hand.

Media outreach around Saigon will focus on In Arms Reach, Inc. charity visit and driving traffic to the getinteresting.com web site. A GCI photographer was on-hand to take pictures which is available to be serviced to media. The organization is headquartered at The City College University of New York.

Harlem Native & Program Founder, Terrence “T-Wheels” Stevens is wheelchair confined, virtually paralyzed from the neck down. “The brother is a mental power house rolling around on 4 wheels, and doing more good in the community than half the brothers out there with all their physical limbs, says Saigon.” “I admire T-Wheels and as my record career take off, so will this program.”

Rapper Saigon and T-Wheels set out to fight a serious mission. That mission is saving the lives of youth who have loss their mothers and fathers to incarceration. Children of incarcerated parents face some of life's hardest challenges, including poverty, limited opportunities for a good education, and a future that seem to hold little to no promise. The program addresses social problems in urban communities and the break up of families caught up in this cycle.

With little to no support they provide children of incarcerated parents with the love, guidance and mechanism for healing they so desperately need. In 2002, T-Wheels began picking up children in a handicapped accessible van to keep the kids off the street. He later landed weekend program space with a friend at a local community center. As the number of kids increased, he fund raised to purchase a 15 passenger van. He scheduled field trips to recording sessions in NYC at Sony Recording Studio, took children to amusement parks and youth to celebrity functions.

Program space was obtained in the historic gothic quadrangle of The City College University of New York. T-Wheels is now President & Chief Executive Officer of In Arms Reach Inc., Parents Behind Bars: Children in Crisis. His unique program model empowers children by giving them mentoring, positive role models and academic assistance. The program addresses root causes of crime, low self-esteem and emotionally functionality via providing on site one-on-one and group counseling sessions. As result of his dedication, In Arms Reach, Inc. has provided 3,450 hours of tutoring services, 368 after school mentoring sessions, and over 37 free transportation trips to upstate prison facilities for children to visit and be reunited with their incarcerated parents.

If you know of any children impacted by parental incarceration who can benefit from this program, or are interested in sponsoring or pledging a donation to help keep programs and services open, please contact In Arms Reach, Inc. Donors Dept. Mr. Frank Lewis at, 212.650.5894 or email: info@inarmsreach.org Web site: www.mysace/inarmsreachab, www.abdonednation.com

Last year, Bruce Willis was advocating scorched-earth warfare against the cocaine trade:

"I'm talking also about going to Colombia and doing whatever it takes to end the cocaine trade. It's killing this country. It's killing all the countries that coke goes into…And I think that's a form of terrorism as well." [UGO]

Yikes! Fortunately, Bruce has been reading some books or something, because he's come all the way around on this:

Bruce Willis has hit out at America's war on drugs, insisting it would be more productive for politicians to tackle the social problems that lead people to take narcotics in the first place.
…

"We fight it the wrong way. The war on drugs is a joke." [Star Pulse News]

Maybe he could start Celebrities for Sensible Drug Policy. Of course, CSDP is already taken.

Gabriel Sayegh blogs about it for the Huffington Post...

Don Bolles, drummer for the legendary punk band the Germs, was going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Cat Sc

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Adam Eidinger
April 9, 2007

"Germ" Wrongly Jailed Over Soap

Absurd GHB Drug Charges for Don Bolles, Drummer of the "The Germs", Stem From a Bottle of Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap Found in Van During Police Stop

ESCONDIDO, CA – The Bronner family, makers of the popular organic Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps are shocked and disturbed by musician Don Bolles' April 4th arrest for felony drug possession after police alleged an 8oz bottle of peppermint Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap tested positive for the illicit drug GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate). The notion that anyone would put GHB in a rinse-off liquid soap product is beyond belief, and the police field test used must have been flawed or tampered with. GHB, which produces euphoria and is an alleged aphrodisiac when ingested, of course has absolutely no effect in a soap product that is rinsed off the hands and body.

Mr. Bolles, drummer of the legendary punk band The Germs, was arrested following a police traffic stop and spent three and half days in various jails in Orange County before being released early Easter morning. During a consented search of Mr. Bolles vintage 1968 A-108 van, Newport Beach police found a bottle of peppermint Dr. Bronner's soap which is made with organic coconut, olive, hemp, peppermint and jojoba oils. Felony drug possession could mean 20 years in prison if convicted. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Friday, April 13, 2007 at the Harbor Justice Center, 4601 Jamboree Road Newport Beach, CA at 8:30am.

"I've used only Dr. Bronner's soap for 35 years," says Mr. Bolles. "I use it for everything - bathing, washing my hair, washing my clothes - it goes everywhere I go. I'm scheduled to go to Europe to tour with The Germs this summer, but these felony charges could keep me from traveling out of the country. This whole thing could be really devastating to a 50 year old guy just trying to make a living. I told the officer 'its soap, it smells like peppermint soap,' but he seemed intent on arresting me."

"It is totally outrageous that the police could be this malicious and idiotic," says Michael Bronner, Vice-President of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. "This clearly is a case of profiling by the Newport Beach police of a person who doesn't look like the people who live in that town. We are paying the cost of Mr. Bolle's lawyer, and we demand the charges be dropped or proof from the police forensics lab of GHB contamination be immediately provided to us," said Bronner. Adds brother David Bronner, President: "We cannot imagine anyone putting GHB, or any other drug for that matter, into a rinse-off soap product that is lathered and rinsed off the body immediately. The Newport Beach police should see how much of a buzz putting beer in their shampoo gives them, and get a grip and apologize on their hands and knees to Mr. Bolles."

At the time of the arrest Mr. Bowles was driving his girlfriend, and fellow musician Cat Scandal to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Newport Beach. "I had heard of GHB but the police had to tell me what it was," said Bolles. "I'm going to fight these charges."

To arrange an interview with Don Bolles, Michael Bronner or David Bronner please contact Adam Eidinger at adam@drbronner.com.