Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2014 i High Times

Two years into California’s worst drought since recordkeeping began, a new data-driven study by business-news publication Quartz convincingly argues that marijuana prohibition is exacerbating the devastation because state and local regulators are unable to set environmental standards for cannabis cultivation in the way grape growers or timber harvesters are regulated. Thus weed farmers—especially in the pot-saturated NorCal region known as the “Emerald Triangle”—use as much water as they deem necessary without oversight. Then there’s the pending legalization of recreational pot in California. With the possibility of two initiatives on the ballot in November, a reported “Green Rush” is underway as growers try to cash in on the last few black-market harvests, resulting in more water usage than ever. In fact, from 2009–12, the amount of land utilized to cultivate weed…

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (divide in two after infusing) 2 grams high-grade cannabis buds, ground 1¼ lbs. fresh young carrots 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped 2 medium-size garlic cloves, minced 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock ½ lemon, juiced Sea salt, to taste First, infuse your canna-oil. I still use a double boiler to ensure that the oil doesn’t get too hot, allowing precious cannabinoids to drift away. Heat the olive oil over low to medium-low heat, add the crushed cannabis and continue heating, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Strain thoroughly and discard the squeezed-out green matter, then set aside. Start the soup by either peeling or scrubbing your carrots, depending on your own carroty preferences. (Though try not to use any rubbery ones or get the bitter…

In January at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, the US Army launched their $96 million Asymmetric Warfare Training Center. That’s Pentagon-speak for “Fake City, USA”—300 acres of eerily realistic everyday establishments including a bank, sports stadium, a mosque, bridges, a railroad station with real trains and even an underground subway system. At the opening ceremonies, Center Commander Col. John P. Petkosek described the bogus burg, which took six years to conceive and build, as a “place where we can be creative, where we can come up with solutions for problems that we don’t even know we have yet.” (Does “creative” here mean devising “solutions” to justify military ops against US civilians?) With all of our recent overseas invasions, the Pentagon seems to have become adept at occupying metropolitan areas. So why…

On Valentine’s Day, the Obama administration issued guidelines for financial institutions to conduct transactions with legal cannabis companies. Yet just how many banks will actually opt to serve the pot industry remains unknown. The guidelines were crafted by the Dept. of Justice and the Treasury Dept. and require banks that take marijuana money to review state pot license applications, become familiar with the products sold and watch for more than 20 “red flags,” like receipts of cash deposits from other states or countries. However, the Colorado Bankers Association instantly declared the Feds’ direction as insufficient protection for banks. The American Bankers Association argued that financial institutions are still at risk for prosecution and sanctions, and that only when the US ends weed prohibition outright will all banks be comfortable doing…