Market Recap: Stocks Down? Stock Up!

Timothy Geitner unveiled his bank proposal this morning and the market responded to it as if it was ground up marijuana placed in their wide-mouthed bowl with the S&P 500 quickly losing 4.9%. If you were short, congratulations and enjoy your spoils tonight. If not, one of the effects of smoking marijuana is short-term memory loss and if you keep smoking, you'll pass out eventually. Either way, we suggest you set aside some time in the near future to stock up on nonperishable canned food, guns, and, if you are a smoker, marijuana.  

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Television Review: CNBC's Marijuana, Inc.

Today MJO reviews CNBC's special report Marijuana, Inc.: Inside America's Pot Industry that first aired on January 22, 2009. We'll admit we came in with high expectations considering it was being offered by America's Business Channel. However, ultimately, we found it disappointing and believe it did not give the multi-billion dollar Marijuana Industry the proper treatment it deserves.

The beginning started solidly, covering the rise of the Marijuana trafficking industry in Mendocino County and featuring interviews with Eric Sligh the editor of the popular trade magazine Grow. They painted a picture of Mendocino as a county in which the marijuana industry was so prevalent that it was reliant upon marijuana growing and selling for its very economic survival. Scary figures were thrown about:

1. Sixty percent of the county's populace was involved in the trade.
2. The industry constituted two-thirds of the local economy.
3. And a half of all of the fires in the county were the result of growing mishaps.

When they showed the nice, Caucasian, salt of the earth family that was forced to move out of their home because of their fear of the marijuana growers, even we at MJO were alarmed. The rest of the documentary proceeded to heighten our fears: there were stories of crime sprees, a desperate woman's 911 call when her son's head was brutally bashed in during a marijuana robbery (not to fear, she shot the bastards), worries about the environmental effects of the industrial pollution produced by growers, and a desperate plea by a former chairman of Mendocino County's Board of Supervisors for federal and state help.

Next, was a story about Bruce Perlowin and his early-80s San Francisco based marijuana smuggling empire. Undoubtedly, an interesting tale that ends with Perlowin leaving his Playbook in a Denny's and being apprehended. However, MJO learned nothing from this segment aside from the dangers of greed and stupidity. And considering that Perlowin got out after nine years in a federal penitentiary with at least some of his millions seemingly intact, the dangers do not seem that great.

Finally, the report presents an immigration problem. The filmmakers exposed several remote outdoor gardens and highlighted the beans, tortillas, and salsa that were left by the criminals at the site. There was some discussion of the superb irrigation systems used by Hispanics along with talk of the growers incredible innate ability to survive on a relative pittance alone in the forest. And finally much of the blame for the entire situation was pinned on Mexican drug cartels.

All of these stories were presented with sound effects and general production values that you would expect from an episode of Extra. The reporter, Trish Regan, while expressing her astonishment with the prevalence of marijuana at every opportunity availed to her, also kept a quizzical, if not confused, look on her face throughout her "investigative journalism." When presented the opportunity to ask the head DEA agent of Northern California why they did not crackdown on the industry, Regan let the agent off the hook with "Well, you cant blame it on us." Armed with the knowledge that an American county's economy is thriving in the marijuana trade, there were no queries about the suitability of this on a national scale. In light of our present economic troubles, this seems to be a particularly egregious error on the part of America's Business Channel.

Ultimately, that is why we cannot call Marijuana, Inc. a documentary. There were simply too many personal stories and not enough facts. While the sensationalistic stories are entertaining, in the end we just didn't learn anything of substance because of their limited scope. Because of this, MJO sees Marijuana, Inc. as a failed opportunity by CNBC to present an informative, objective, and macroscopic glimpse into the underground Marijuana narco-economy.

Did you see Marijuana, Inc.? Let us know what you thought. Leave a comment!

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Michael Phelps' Bong

Recently, a British tabloid published a picture of Michael Phelps smoking out of a bong.  A media uproar ensued and there was much debate over whether Phelps had jeopardized his public standing and, more importantly, his endorsement portfolio.  We at MJO found this discussion to be humorous considering our past three presidents have admitted to drug use in some form or another.  However, our interest was piqued by Mr. Phelps' equipment.  What kind of bong does Aquaman use? 

Without question it is a Roor, as the lettering is plainly visible. Considering the high tech swimwear favored by Phelps, it is not surprising that he would have a state of the art water piece.  The MJO  is a big fan of the Roor lines of bongs in all of its various conceptions, but even we had never seen the model used by Phelps in the picture.  After some digging, it turns out that Phelps is using a customized Roor in the picture - a Roor "Custom Fairmaster 5.0 Red Vengeance" to be exact. If the equipment in the picture does indeed belong to Phelps, then this indicates that he is quite the sophisticated (and committed) smoker.  

Get Michael Phelps' Bong

Disclaimer: In no way does MJO endorse or is associated with Everyonedoesit.com. Buy products from them at your OWN risk.  

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CNBC Tackles the Marijuana Industry

CNBC recently produced a documentary on the "American Pot Industry", which we will publish a review for in the next few days. But as a teaser we offer CNBC's own teaser - A Gallery of Medical Marijuana.

We at MJO plan to produce in-depth reviews of all of the strains featured in the gallery so we want to know what you think. Have you smoked any of these strains? What type of high was it? What did you like/dislike about them? Let us know by either leaving a comment or sending us an email! Read More...

Mission Statement

Welcome! The Marijuana Observer is a new blog, launched on Jan 16, 2009. MJO covers the recreational, medicinal, legal, and economic aspects of the Marijuana sub-culture. Specifically, we provide reviews, commentary, and discussion about marijuana smoking, marijuana in popular culture, and marijuana as big business.

We're a community site, and we encourage you to participate in the following ways:

• Send us news and/or information
• Comment
• Write (Send us posts, refer us to your blog, or become a regular contributor)
• Send us photos and/or videos

Disclaimer: MJO does not endorse the use of marijuana in areas where it is illegal. If marijuana is illegal where you live, either take it up with your government (or move to CA). If you break the law, be prepared for the consequences of your own decision. Read More...