ReeferSmoke – A Marijuana Blog

According to the definition in the encyclopedia of plant genetic resources, a landrace is an early, cultivated form of a crop species, evolved from a wild population, and generally composed of a heterogeneous mixture of genotypes. Therefore a cannabis landrace is a marijuana plant species that has been geographically isolated from the possibility of cross-breeding with any other strain of a similar plant species. If we were discussing vegetables or another type of plant we’d be using the term “heirloom”.
For many years some of the leading Cannabis Seed Company owners have taken a keen interest in preserving the great original marijuana strains of the world and several even work together, creating Seed Banks. There are some important reasons that landrace cannabis has become popular, first because they’re the best strains for cross-breeding to make new marijuana strains or brands, maybe the only true way to make a new strain and secondly the plants themselves are fabulous to smoke in their natural form and have recently become very popular amongst both recreational smokers and medical marijuana patients. This dispels a myth that THC content has increased in modern strains of marijuana, as any cannabis landrace will get you very high.
Some of the more famous landrace cannabis strains are from Afghanistan, Africa, Brazil, India, Mexico and Thailand but that’s generalizing because according to botany a plant growing from the same strain of seed, such as Jamaica Lambs Bread, for a long enough period of time, without being crossed with another strain, can be known as a landrace. Some of the other best known strain brands are Hindu Kush (pictured), Malawi Gold, or Acapulco Gold, which I recently heard was re-produced by a Dutch grower and brought back to the Coffeeshops in Amsterdam and has become very popular.

Why do many of the best poker players in the world smoke weed? What is it about marijuana that gives the smoker an advantage in tournament poker? These are questions that get asked more often than you’d expect and not just at online poker rooms such as Reefer Poker, which obviously, by it’s namesake, cater to the hoards from the cannabis culture, who are in their own homes and have chosen to play with other like-minded individuals but what about the Poker Pros we see on TV?
Many Professional Poker players who compete in high-stakes tournaments, often televised, such as the World Series of Poker on ESPN, are known to be chronic marijuana smokers. California and Nevada have booming businesses in medical marijuana, it’s fast, simple, and affordable to acquire a license in Las Vegas to smoke marijuana legally and once licensed an entire catalog of medicinal marijuana is available to the patient/card player. Various cannabis strains have recommendations for various ailments as well as reviews and testimonials of the effects of smoking, plus a qualified bud-tender is always on hand at the cannabis dispensary, to suggest certain types or strains that are best suited for playing poker.
Let’s drop the Hollywood stoner stereotype for the sake of this discussion and consider that a Poker Pro has been smoking weed for 10 years or more and is good at bluffing (that he’s not stoned) and after a break only his closest friends, or whomever he’s been smoking with, has any idea that he’s just quaffed (ie. Smoked) a reefer of the strongest, medicinal grade cannabis, known to mankind, and now he has his Poker-face on, behind a relaxed nonchalant looking, often smiling face. However his heart is beating slightly faster but more importantly a part of his brain that is usually not very active has now kicked-in to high-gear and the Poker Pro is collecting detailed information about his opponents that they’re not even aware he can read. In short, the Card player high on marijuana is like a poker scientist in stealth mode. As a side note: I’ve referred to the Poker Pro as “he” because the vast majority of Pro’s are male but I happen to know that female poker pros also regularly play high, especially online.

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If you’re in the Los Angeles area next week then head-up to the 2010 Hollywood Hills New Years Eve Party presented by NJ Weed Man where there’s sure to be lot’s of ganja.
Open Bar from 9PM – 11PM
Midnight Free Champagne
Surprise Guest DJ’s & Celebrities + Live Reggae Music
Fully Stocked Bars
VIP MMJ Patient Area
12 Midnight countdown overlooking LA with Fireworks Show
21 & over *Open to the Public*
Shuttles will take off every 15 mins. from Capitol Records 1750 Vine St. Los Angeles, Ca. 90028
For more info: NJ Weedman Promotions. This event will sell out!

Arjan is the founder of the Green House Coffeeshops and Seed Company, the most successful cannabis business in the world. Winner of many international awards (32 High times Cannabis Cups, 17 Highlife Cups, and dozens of other awards), a true leader in cannabis genetics. The vision, passion and hard work of Arjan earned him the distinction of being the “King of Cannabis” but he does not rest on his laurels (so to speak), as he continues to search the planet to collect cannabis genetics and landraces with his longtime side-kick Franco and the team known as the Strain Hunters.
In 1985 at the age of 20 Arjan met an old medicine man in Thailand. At that point he’d already spent ten years of his life in Africa and five years in Asia. The old medicine man had a dream: he dreamt of a free cannabis plant. He explained and taught Arjan the religion of this plant. But he also explained he would never win his battle with just money. Passion and love were the only options. No one ever died because of the cannabis plant, but the power of alcohol, tobacco and the pharmaceutical industry prevent this plant from being used and accepted. The medicine man was right. He eventually died, but the day Arjan met him it changed his life. He wanted to bring this dream closer to reality.

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Legal weed in the Big Easy? What a genius idea! One of the 12 candidates running for mayor of New Orleans is Jerry Jacobs, running on a platform of Social Change, and some say a long-shot to win but he’s put forward a great plan: Legalize Marijuana, to reduce crime and increase sales tax, in an attempt to triage the city’s budget crisis. During an interview with WDSU Jacobs said:

Legalizing marijuana will do for the city of New Orleans what ending Prohibition did for the country in 1933, it put the gangsters and bootleggers out of business and increased sales tax revenue.

Imagine the positive impact that Amsterdam type regulations could have on New Orleans? Tourism, which some predict will never come back to pre-Katrina levels, would grow faster than an indica plant in a hydroponic grow-op. New cannabis coffee-shops would spring-up all over the city to create new jobs and commerce. Industrious citizens would be able to apply for a license to grow weed at home and supply to the shops and/or medical marijuana patients. New Universities would open their doors, like Oaksterdam to teach students bud-tending and cannabusiness management. The increase of weed would even cause a greater demand for food to help the restaurants get back to where they once were. The Big Easy would become popular once again.

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I wanted to take this opportunity, five days from Christmas to wish everyone a very Merry Holiday Season and a safe Happy New Year. The growth of Reefer Smoke this past year has far surpassed my wildest expectations and the cool people I’ve met as a result of publishing this blog made every minute of the effort well worth while. I’ve learned allot about the Cannabis Culture around the world from joining related groups, following Stoners on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Myspace and by tracking all things 420 related via Google Alerts. This has been a tremendous intellectual journey for me and I have you, the reader, for encouraging me to continue this pursuit.
From the beginning I promised to keep the content light and relaxed, not too serious on the cannabis activism side, avoid news about people getting busted and go easy on the medical marijuana information, although those topics make up the bulk of the daily news in the niche of “marijuana or cannabis” keyword related content on the web, I am first and foremost a recreational reefer smoker and although not currently growing a crop, I’m very passionate about marijuana cultivation, love inspecting live grow-operations around the world and enjoy perving on nug porn. You can expect more of the same from Reefer Smoke in 2010.
Just in the last month Reefer Smoke has hosted 6,505 visitors from 96 countries. We thank you all for dropping by and wish you and yours a very happy and buzzed holiday and the stickiest, dankest buds, in the new year.

During this holiday season the Reefer Group of sites would like to present you with some free presents! To make this fun, they have hidden 3 presents on each of their sites; Reefer Poker, Reefer People, and Reefer Casino, you have to find them!
When you find a present, (and they’re pretty easy to spot), simply click on them to collect. When you find 3, you will earn a tournament entry coupon for the weekly Stoners vs Staff tournament on Reefer Poker. When you have found 5 presents you will win $5 cash on Reefer Poker. Find all 9 and you will receive $10 cash on Reefer Casino, PLUS entered into a draw to win one of the gifts for yourself.
Details:
The 9 presents will be images of traditional wrapped Christmas gifts which will be placed on the 3 participating websites. A banner with the promo name and graphic will be on the home page of each site, which link to content (below) on the promotions page of Poker and Casino, and Community section of People
Each different present will “open” when clicked, and will show one of the following gifts, subject to change;
~ $50 Gift Certificate at Grass City
~ Poker Chip Set
~ $50 Reefer Casino Player Account
~ iPod Nano
~ Snowshoes
~ $50K Tournament Entry
~ Cheech & Chong DVD Set
~ $50 Amazon Gift Certificate
~ $50 Reefer Poker Player Account
When the first gift is clicked on a pop-up form will appear that will ask you for your email address. This is the email address that we will use to send you notification of any prizes that you win, so please enter it carefully.

What a cool schmooze! There couldn’t be a better cause, just consider that MPP.org (Marijuana Policy Project) has been involved in political process, through ballot initiatives, to legalize medical marijuana in 13 states and now MPP expect are touting ‘15 States in 15 Years‘ as they celebrate their 15th Anniversary. So if your harvest has been bumper and you’ve got some extra cash in your stash and want to rub shoulders and blow reefer in the nations capital with the movers and shakers of legal movement to free the weed, then get yourself a seat at the table for the MPP Gala Awards.

When MPP was founded in 1995, medical marijuana was illegal in all 50 states.  Since then, 13 states have legalized medical marijuana, with Michigan becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Michigan voters passed MPP’s ballot initiative by a 63% to 37% margin.  By end of MPP’s 15th year in 2010, we’re hopeful that medical marijuana will be legal in 15 states (with passage in New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey).

At the same time, marijuana possession is now decriminalized in 13 states, with Massachusetts becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Massachusetts voters passed MPP’s ballot initiative by a 65% to 35% margin.  In 2010, we are hopeful that marijuana will be decriminalized in 15 states (with Rhode Island and Vermont becoming the 14th and 15th states).

MPP Gala Dinner – January 13, 2010 in Washington
Reception from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Dinner from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m.
$250 per ticket or $2,000 for a table of 10
If you purchase a table, you will be given choice seating closest to the stage.
The party will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001
For more information and to buy tickets click here

The MPP 10th anniversary gala in Washington, D.C. was such a success that it was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle (you can read the article here).  They’re expecting this event to be bigger and better than ever, so please buy your tickets right away!

The Cheech & Chong Get It Legal Tour is scheduled to make 22 stops across North America, including Boulder, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Bellingham, Buffalo, Portland, Santa Barbara, Tampa, Louisville, Detroit, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Fort Worth, with Canadian stops in Regina and Saskatoon; more dates will be announced soon. Chong’s wife and comedy partner, Shelby Chong, will open all dates on the tour, as well as DJ-Joey Mojo.
Successful beyond their wildest dreams, the iconic comedy duo Cheech & Chong defined an era with their hilariously irreverent, satirical, counter-culture, no-holds-barred comedy routines. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong‘s phenomenal success began on the stand up comedy circuit which led to 9 hit comedy albums and 8 hit films, breaking box office records, shattering comedy album sales, garnering multiple Grammy nominations and mesmerizing fans for more than a decade.
With nine albums released from 1972 through 1985, Cheech and Chong were nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album with their third album, Los Cochinos, released in 1973. Big Bambu, their second album, was the biggest selling comedy record of all time in 1972 and remained so for many years. Their stunningly successful comedy streak transitioned to film in 1978 with their first movie, “Up In Smoke,” the highest grossing comedy of 1978, topping $100 million at the box office. Cheech and Chong co-wrote and starred in a total of eight feature films together, all directed by Chong.
From the world famous Troubadour in Los Angeles where they were initially discovered, Cheech & Chong announced their first tour in over 25 years!

Just discovered “Toke of the Town – Cannabis Culture News and Views” which is a member of the Village Voice Media network. Within a few minutes of perusing the tongue in cheek Toke of the Town I really liked what I was reading and then realized why, the editor is Steve Elliott my online friend from Seattle, aka ‘alapoet’ and maybe the most prolific blogger (see: Reality Catcher) and active social net-worker online that I know. Aside from being a great writer Steve is a true activist and not just for marijuana law reform, as he’s the kind of guy who will speak his mind, write letters to politicians, march in protests, or get in the face of any aggressor of any sort of injustice. There couldn’t be a better editor for the Village Voice’s “Toke of the Town“.
Follow the tweets of “Toke of the Town” or join Steve Elliott on any of these following social networks: Delicious, FaceBook, Friend Feed, Linked In, Stumble Upon, or YouTube