Seeking 420 Community Advice on Forward Direction

Thanks to Twitter, had a very interesting Email exchange with a major player in the movement to Legalize Medical Marijuana. Got some really great technical advice on tracking my posts, measuring the success of my message which I am looking forward to implementing as I learn these new found tricks of the trade. (Will start my homework later this evening.) Also received were suggestions on Medical Marijuana Society and the presentation of the site. The advice suggests I need too get rid of some of the Joe Toker, social marijuana smoker feel and information on my site, and instead zoom in on and specifically address ONLY MEDICAL MARIJUANA if I expect the major players (such as NORML and ASA) to take me seriously. (420 Hemp Energy Drink)

Not discounting the advice, though will admit to being a bit saddened by it. It would be my hope that the casual smokers, the Cannabis DUDES and DUDETTES, 420 hempsters if you will and the more serious folks who are concerned only about, or primarily with Legalization of Medical Marijuana all realize working for one goal helps accomplish the other, and to reach our long range hopes and targets, we must work together, two halves of a whole? Am I wrong in that assumption?

Part of the reason for my own little Medical Marijuana Society, for the Budding Blogger Network was to create a means to A) activate the grassroots, and make them feel more hands on actively involved in the movement for legalization, and B) create a active, vibrant ground force of Cannabis Activists capable of not just pushing news stories out onto the world wide web, but by joining them into a group being capable of making the news, shaping local, state and federal politics with our ability to be on top of a story, having the capabilities to push a story or Cannabis Political news into being mainstream news on the nightly Network and Cable channels.

Obama laughed off the feat that our Cannabis Community accomplished when we laid siege to the White House web site, and pushed the Legalization of Marijuana question to the top of the boards. Publicly, he and FOX News might have laughed that feat off, attempted to label us as Internet Trolls, but secretly behind closed doors they are both impressed, and more than a little scared that the Cannabis Community is finding its collective voice...or at least I like to think we are finding our collective voice. This event in some ways drove my decision to launch a group of Cannabis Blogs all linked together, thus the Budding Bloggers Network.

With today's advice, find myself hesitating, trying to gather my thoughts before moving forward...it is as if I have come to a fork in the road much sooner than I had imagined was possible. Can I blend together some of the fun that is the Social Smokers reality, incorporate some of their approaches to Legalization with the much more conservative Medical Marijuana agenda and its very conservative approach and create a Medical Marijuana Society that sees Legalization of Medical Marijuana as one of the train stops along the way, but not the ultimate destination, and in doing so marry together the two camps? Is it possible to find 500 or even 1000 Budding Bloggers to join up and Blog for Legalization as part of a TEAM? Would love to see a discussion on this, as I could really use some direction this evening.

One voice crying in the wilderness will not be heard, but if all those singular voices join together in song, we can move moountains.

Twitter Hummingbird, The New Activist Tool of Choice

Color me impressed. I have been giving Twitter a lot of thought lately as it seems the perfect tool for the Medical Marijuana Pro Legalization community to use. The two largest groups on Twitter are 20 somethings and Baby Boomers! Face it, those are the two groups most supportive of Legalizing Medical Marijuana, and the age groups we need to mobilize in a big way if we are going to reach the tipping point sooner rather than later. Question was, how could you reach those Tweeters on Twitter in large numbers? The answer fell into my lap today with (of all things) a tweet about a new software program known as Hummingbird.

Hummingbird for TWITTER Has Arrived

First, you can order Twitter Hummingbird by clicking on the links that say Hummingbird! Throw me some love and I will be so appreciative. Here is the skinny...

How many of you have been browsing Twitter Members, drooling over those that have 20,30 even 40 thousand followers? The Shaq (as in NBA great Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal)has over one million people following him on Twitter! OMFG...share the wealth Dude! Seems someone with far more tech ability than I had the very same thought, wanted to climb the ranks of the Twitter Elite. Some script, some testing and then more script and we now have Hummingbird, the software platform for Big and Small business owners (Or Medical Marijuana Society) to build a base of people they can reach out to with the click of the enter button as your message races out to a list of Twitter Followers numbering into the tens of thousands!

This is a COOL TOOL...anyone want to sponsor the cost of the program for Marijuana_news so we can build our activist army of supporters as we push to legalize marijuana? Six sales from the link in this post or on the side bar, and we have Hummingbird, so show us some love folks!

Scholarship Opportunity...Aspen Conference!

OK, I cannot afford to go...even with the scholaship money, but thought I would share this information with my readers.

Medical Marijuana News

Scholarship Available...

Just found compliments of NORML's twitter account...a great scholarship opportunity for someone that can afford airfaire and a rental car, but not the hotel fees in Aspen! I spent some time years ago just up the road from Aspen, and June is a WONDERFUL time to be in the Aspen area. Don't miss the hot springs in Glenwood Springs. Here's the information you need to apply.

Free Scholarship: NORML Seminar In Aspen For Marijuana Activists And Attorneys

April 4th, 2009 By: Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director

Colorado NORML is pleased to announce the second annual Hunter S. Thompson Scholarship to attend the NORML Aspen Legal Seminar!

The NORML Legal Committee’s Annual Aspen Conference (which is a continuing legal education seminar for practicing lawyers) is scheduled for June 4th and 5th, 2009, at The Gant. Colorado NORML, is presenting the scholarship, which covers three nights lodging and the conference registration fee, to an attorney or cannabis law reform activist who, by written submission, demonstrates 1) a desire to improve public advocacy and/or trial skills related to representing cannabis consumers in the courts (criminal, medical, and more), 2) a demonstrated need for financial assistance to attend this year’s Aspen Legal Seminar.

The value of the scholarship is approximately $1000.00.

Some of the finest defense attorneys (and cannabis law reform activists) in the United States have been coming to NORML’s Aspen seminar for many years to learn, enjoy the inspired environs of beautiful Aspen in early summer–and to do so at VERY reasonable rates. This year’s seminar focuses on state and federal medical marijuana laws, and is a MUST educational opportunity for medical marijuana patients, providers, cultivators, as well as for criminal defense attorneys (and public defenders, who receive a discount to attend).

Check out this year’s informative and interesting schedule here. The social events, including a great, private dinner catered by Cache Cache’s Chris Lanter, are included with the scholarship.

Criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, cannabis law reform activists, medical marijuana patients and their providers from the 13 states with medical cannabis laws are strongly encouraged to attend (HI, AK, WA, OR, CA, NV, NM, CO, MT, MI, RI, VT and ME).

Submission for this year’s Hunter Thompson Scholarship is by fax, mail or email. The scholarship is awarded by the CONORML board of directors, please direct your submissions ‘Attn: Steve Wells’ at: swells@conorml.org, (303) 725-0774 (f) by April 15, midnight Rocky Mountain High time–and we hope to announce the recipient of the scholarship on April 20th, 2009.

We Boomers Seem To Be Thinking The Same Thoughts

Joe Klein has a very well written piece in Time Magazine that I will not spoil here, other than to send you in that direction. All I will say Joe, is we are thinking along similiar lines. I am wanting to find a bunch of really RICH investors to go in on a chain of retirement villiages for Old Hippies...there is GOLD in those old Boomers, but the retirement communities of today are not going to work for us.

By Joe Klein Thursday, Apr. 02, 2009

Illustration by Stephen Kroninger for Read more TIME stories on marijuana

Lawrence Welk-Marijuana Jesus, and One TOKE Over The Line

You have to watch this Lawrence Welk music video all the way through...he describes one toke over the line as a Modern Spiritual...can I have a "Thank You Jesus"? If marijuana was good enough for Lawrence Welk, it's GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.