GONE TO POT

Ever wonder what local marijuana enthusiast Marc Emery is thinking as
he spends his days in a federal prison in Washington State?

I asked that question after reading a piece in the New York Times
Sunday about the Proposition 19 ballot initiative to legalize and
regulate marijuana in California.

The vote was yesterday, after the Courier's deadline.

As expected, Emery is his effusive self on the issue, stating his
opinion on what he has dubbed "Marc's prison blog." His writings are
available for all to see at cannabisculture.com.

"I hope people in our movement did not buy into the propaganda put out
by the treasonous miscreants I call 'Traitors Against Proposition
19,'" Emery wrote in his latest entry from SeaTac prison. "The
self-serving prohibition profiteers who have been telling people to
vote 'no' are disgraceful for trying to defeat what will be the
greatest single opportunity for progress in our movement ever. I hope
there are more people out there saying 'vote yes on Proposition 19' so
we can see victory--California becoming the first state to legalize
cannabis anywhere on earth!"

Had Emery not been convicted of selling marijuana seeds over the
Internet to U.S. customers, you know he would surely be in Oakland,
the epicentre of the campaign to legalize weed. He will, however, be
involved--by marital extension.

His wife Jodie is in Oakland and has volunteered on the campaign since
Sunday, according to Emery's blog. Cannabis Culture editor Jeremiah
Vandermeer joined Jodie on her trip and was expected to be webcasting
live Tuesday night from Yes on Prop 19 headquarters in a marijuana
trade school dubbed "Oaksterdam."

If the initiative passes, it will be legal for anyone in California
over 21 to possess and cultivate small amounts of marijuana but would
leave many of the details concerning the sale, production and taxation
to local governments, according to the Times article.

A victory for Emery and his fellow potificators (that's my word) will
undoubtedly have an effect on illegal B.C. bud shipments across the
border.

Some cops say it will increase shipments, while criminologists predict
a positive vote will put a dent in the province's marijuana trade.

Even if the initiative fails, the groundswell of support--a Gallup
poll released last week in the U.S. found a record 46 per cent
approving of legalizing marijuana--is expected to stoke the marijuana
movement in other states.

Either way, Emery will eventually get a better sense of how
Californians feel about legalizing marijuana when the self-proclaimed
Prince of Pot is transferred to Taft Correctional Centre in
California, about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Twittering Heights

In other mind-numbing news...

Your faithful scribe, who recalls bringing his own typewriter to his
first news job and having to fax his copy to a typesetter on some
other planet, has joined the masses--I'm on Twitter.

Wow, eh.

Now I can let all my followers know what I just ate for lunch (cheese,
lettuce, tomato sandwich), what I'm wearing (jeans, T-shirt and boots)
and how I'm close to dominating the office hockey pool (One word: Ovechkin!).

Actually, I won't be doing that.

My purpose is to link readers with my stories posted on the Courier's
website.

My boss already does this with our Courier Twitter account. But I hope
to attract a few more followers through my handle, which is
@Howellings.

Next week, I'm going to try out something called text messaging.