Stoner Stealth

A really great article from hightimes.com on how to trasport weed without getting arrested.

Stoner Stealth
By Gooey Rabinski
1/23/2008
http://www.hightimes.com

In 2006, a marijuana-related arrest took place every 38 seconds in America. So just what’s an honest toker to do in this surveillance-heavy, security-happy post-9/11 world? The answer is right under our noses.


Story & photos by Gooey Rabinski

According to the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report, a record 829,625 marijuana busts were made in the United States in 2006. This doesn’t affect just big-time smugglers or major grow ops. Simply trying to maintain one’s toking freedom in Bush’s America has become increasingly difficult and intimidating even for the casual consumer.

Taking an eighth on vacation? Driving a quarter-pound across town? Stashing a pinner for a concert? It doesn’t matter: You’re still at risk. Going stealth with the help of the right products and protocols can mean the difference between stoned freedom and a very sober orange jumpsuit.

Stealth Transport
The cannabis community encompasses a variety of lifestyles and preferences, but we all have one thing in common: the need to transport our herb. Now there’s a variety of products available that can help you move your stash while significantly reducing chance of detection.

Tightpac containers employ a vacuum-seal mechanism to odorproof and waterproof your herb. (They’re even perfect for continuing to cure your bud while concealing it from view.) Stealth safes are great for driving herb across town or across the country. A wide variety of brand-name products, from soda bottles to upholstery cleaners, have been officially licensed for stealth safes (which are marketed as a way to hide jewelry, money and valuables).

Combinations of products can help you transport personal quantities of pot while maintaining the appearance of carrying nothing at all. Tightpac makes a line of odorproof containers called Bluntpacs and Partypacs perfect for storing nugs. Combined with Stashitware—a line of men’s and women’s undergarments with an ample but hidden pocket—Bluntpacs and Partypacs are a stealthy method for transporting your pot on the down-low.

Stealth Communications
Using stealth transport methods and products can help you move your stash across town—or across the continent—with confidence. However, you still need a way to tell your customers that your crop is ready, or to beg your dealer for another quarter. Cell-phone text messages are the typical method, but they’re not very safe these days.

Hushmail, an Internet e-mail service, offers 2,048-bit military-grade encryption to keep your private communications private. So even though the Patriot Act allows patriots like yourself to be spied upon and electronically monitored, you can still find secure, private communications on the cheap.

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America Needs To Rethink Marijuana Prohibition

Pennsylvania -- In the 21st century I find it difficult to grasp why we as Americans have not learned from our mistakes and become better. Decriminalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania and the entire nation subsequently could possibly alleviate some of the drug problems we face here in Philadelphia and the nation at large.

The 1920s national prohibition of alcohol, the "noble experiment," was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. However, this did not work and was a wretched disappointment on all counts. Mark Thornton in his work Economics of Prohibition has shown that although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased.


He noted that alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became organized. I have not seen any measurable gains made in productivity or increased abstinence with the implementation of prohibition. It is evident that crime is at its all time high right here in this "City of Brotherly Love," even in our midst on college campuses across Philadelphia.

Sadly some crimes committed in this city can be linked to marijuana, but it's important to note that it is not because of the mental effects on the body but because of the great value that the government indirectly creates and places on marijuana. And by value I mean, the herb becomes a prized possession, as it is illegal and hence harder to get. People will kill just to get marijuana. Are people killing to get alcohol? No, because it is a legal commodity, and can be purchased once of age. Why not do the same for marijuana?

The fact that marijuana is in the prohibition mode, most, if not all the wrong things that happened while alcohol was banned will and is creeping back up on us. More and more crimes are now surrounded around marijuana and will escalate given the lack of will on the part of government to consider its legalization. To be fair, marijuana has been ascribed much injustice and the American public ought to hear something refreshingly positive about it from our public officials and lawmakers.

The American public has yet to hear a balanced stance on the topic of legalizing medicinal marijuana, let alone the decriminalization of marijuana, and the overall failure of America's current War on Drugs. Too long have we endured the injustice of imprisoning simple marijuana smokers. It's time for a change.

Former President Jimmy Carter became synonymous with the decriminalization of marijuana campaign; he understood that decriminalizing marijuana would be a step forward in coping with America's failing drug policies. However the "Just Say No" campaign, spearheaded by President Ronald Reagan, undermined Carter's efforts and instead placed marijuana in the category of illicit drugs, making it tier mates with the likes of cocaine and heroine. This had a debilitating effect on the marijuana reform and thus new generations of Americans were grown up to think that marijuana is one of the more dangerous drugs.

Where as I do believe that our country does have serious drug trafficking problems, there is a need for effective drug control. First, we take baby steps in trying to get the conservatives who seem to be the heavyweights on the legislation, to decriminalize marijuana and then subsequently legalize it. Please note the difference between legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana. By decriminalizing the substance fines will be imposed instead of an arrest on the person who breaches the amount allowed to be carried on oneself at any given time, a path followed by Canada that will free up the court/penal system and at the same time create much needed revenue. Secondly we the people of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania should push for our congressional representatives to implement the use of marijuana for medicinal uses. There are 12 such states for which this is a reality: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

If within the next year there is no break through in the legalization campaign of marijuana, I fear we will continue to dwell in the quagmire of double standards stemming from having the dangerous drug alcohol legal and marijuana the natural herb illegal.

It is obvious that the legalization of marijuana will no doubt continue to be a hot button issue for years to come. So let's get mobilized and press for our congressional representatives to decriminalize it, legalize it, regulate it and finally tax it!

Abraham Brown is a sophomore majoring in communications.

Source: Triangle, The (Drexel U, PA Edu)
Author: Abraham Brown
Published: January 25, 2008
Copyright: 2008 The Triangle
Contact: ed-op@thetriangle.org
Website: http://www.thetriangle.org

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The 21st Century Bong - Vaporizers

For years, the preferred method of smoking by stoner’s worldwide has been the bong. A bong, which consists of a long tube normally filled with water and containing a down stem and slide (bowl) works like most pipes. You light the contents of the bowl to about 1000° Fahrenheit combusting the leaf as well as any desirable chemicals. No more in the 21st century. A new breed of smoking device known as the vaporizer has hit the scene, and Cheech and Chong may be able to put down to bong in favor of a healthier solution.

While a bong works at 1000°, delta-9 tetrahydracannibinol (the active ingredient in marijuana) has an evaporation temperature of about 280°. The carcinogens in marijuana as well as most of the tar don’t evaporate until a temperature of about 450°. A vaporizer works by heating the marijuana to between 370°-390°, effectively evaporating all of the delta-9 tetrahydracannibinol, while leaving the tar and carcinogens untouched. This allows one to smoke without consuming the toxins associated with smoking, but also without the majority of the smell. Needless to say, this has been all the rage in college dorms across the country. Here are a couple of the popular ones



The Volcano Vaporizer:
This bad boy is the king of vaporizers currently available. It currently costs around $500 but it vaporizes like an old school bong. You can check them out here.

The Vapir Digital Vaporizer:
These vaporizers are handheld, portable, and better yet affordable. They have even come out with one model that is powered by batteries. You can check them out here.

With all these new methods of smoking that are no longer harmful to one’s body, it is hard not to ask the question “why is weed still illegal?” Recent articles have shown that marijuana may increase brain growth as well as the installation of the first marijuana vending machines in Los Angelis. Either way, vaporizers are sure to become the new bong of the 21st century. They are inconspicuous, clean, and affordable, and nothing is better than saving your lungs from cancer.

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