Oh, Dude

Pro-marijuana activists in Nevada apparently forgot to file some 6,000 petition signatures, which could affect their chances of getting a decriminalization measure on the ballot. (Hat tip: Jeff Patterson)

Comments

[emme]

Jesus. How bad does that look for our cause. This is exactly like that freakin Simpsons episode.

[Iguana]

Oh wow man, now where did those petitions go....

[allez Lance!]

forgot to file the petitions
and I know why...hey hey
cause I got high
cause I got high
cause I got high...da de da da da da

[TWC]

ROTFLMAO AND spitting coffee all over the monitor.

Pot induced CRS, that's great. I love it. Straight out of Mad TV or SNL.

[Jason Ligon]

Pot and activism just don't mix.

[JSM]

Pot and activism just don't mix.

9 states with medical MJ laws on the books, full decrim in a couple of counties, lowest priority for law enforcement in Seattle.....It ain't politicians (with exception of Vermont) thats getting all this done.

However, within the pot culture, you're gonna get a few brain dead types....

[iconoclast]

jsm-
no need to get defensive.

The DARE crowd will eat the potheads alive with that one. I can hear it now, " the legalize marijuana crowd says that pot doesn't affect memory and that people won't be less responsible. They can't even remember 6,000 petitions to file for their own cause. And what about their children? Don't you think they'll forget to take care of them or will to lazy to raise them? You bet."

BTW- where does the term "pot" come from? I never got that one.

[Jason Ligon]

JSM:

Just havin' some fun, sir. Keep it up!

[Steve Pandolfo]

Since someone mentioned that Simpsons episode, I've been looking all over the net to find a grab of the Homer "stoned" poster in his suit. Anybody know?

Iconoclast - Long story on "Pot"

By: Brandon Steer (A stoner's history on the origination of the words 'Pot', 'Can', and 'Lid' as related by Joe Herd 1882- 1971)

Can of Weed - where did the usage start?

The Prince Albert tobacco tin was patented by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company on July 30, 1907. The all metal cans were designed to hold 1-1/2 ounces of shredded cigarette tobacco. It was four inches tall, and in an oval width shape, three inches by one inch, with a hinged lid on top. It became a hit with the pot smokers for openly carrying their marijuana as it was a bright red can with the British Prince's likeness on the front. It denoted a higher social class and had status appeal for them. During this time hand rolled cigarettes were the norm, as the machine rolled had not yet been popularized. The cans were built to last for decades. Millions of these cans were produced and sold over the years, becoming one of the most popular tobacco containers in the first half of the 20th century. Although they were reusable a can came with every purchase. Many cans were used for other purposes, such as pot smoker's kits, and many were just thrown away. Thus they were readily available and with millions sold it was normal to see a person with his bright red can of Prince Albert hand rolling a cigarette. These cans are still available today and you can buy originals on e-bay and other places. Look for the Prince Albert tobacco can, not the big round one, but the 4" tall, 1-1/2 oz. can with the hinged lid. After over 90 years they will still open and close tightly to keep their contents fresh.

Many black musicians and others would use this status symbol to store their cannabis, and except for the funny smell of their smoke, nobody questioned the contents. Folks would get together and pass the can around taking turns rolling their own. A cigarette paper would be laid on the open lid, contents inserted, and rolled on the perfect sized lid. Excess was automatically poured back into the can when the lid was closed. Smokers would ask if Al, Prince, or Red, was around, which were cultural slang references asking if some weed was available. Essentially these cans were a cheap, made to order smoker's kit. During liquor prohibition these cans were used like flasks and were carried in the inside pocket of a coat. Today if head shops sold these cans they would be considered drug paraphernalia. In other words, despite the tobacco content label, you might be arrested for mere possession of the can if this usage had continued. We will explain below how manufacturing and advertising made the social changes which rendered these red Prince Albert cans and hand rolled cigarettes out of fashion. This engineered "progress" made the can obsolete as the standard grass container and measure for smokers.

The origination of the word "can" and "lid" for describing a specific measurement of marijuana, originated from the popular secondary usage for this Prince Albert tobacco can by early pot smokers. This author was specifically told this by the late Joe Herd, a southerner raised with descendants of former slaves. The 1-1/2 oz. size for shredded tobacco made it perfect for an oz. of bulk marijuana. Thus, no scales were used and the bulk measurement of the Prince Albert can became the unofficial standard in the United States for 1 oz. of marijuana. The cheap and readily available red cans were filled with pot and sold as a "can", or bulk 1 oz. measurement in the underground marijuana culture. Even though we never purchased weed in a Prince Albert can, the term us old smokers from the 1960s have used is "Do you have a can? I want to buy a can. Do you want to buy a can?" For you younger generation folks the term "can" was synonymous with an ounce of pot. Now you know the history and origination of the term "can" - the bright red Prince Albert tobacco can.

Prince Albert's Cover is Blown

Records show that in 1939 about 1 billion tobacco cans of all brands were sold. Nicotine had its hold on America. People were still rolling their own cigarettes in 1939 during the lingering economic depression both to save money and for convenience. With WWII, and the popularity and availability of cheap mass manufactured cigarettes in the military, society's acceptance of women's smoking, and mass produced cigarettes for all, the hand rollers steadily declined. Soon the popular Prince Albert cans and other brands were considered bulky and messy, and gave way to the popularity of the small throw away uniformly machine rolled cigarette packages. In America new advertising made the old hand rollers out of fashion. It you had your tobacco can and cigarette papers you became noticed. Thus, the cover provided by Prince Albert to pot smokers for decades became a focus of public attention. Why do you roll your own when you have the convenience of pre-rolled packs? Why carry cans and papers? The Prince Albert can's cover for forty years was blown forever, and the new standard for the can container changed to the publicly hidden wax paper sandwich bag. The word can, the Prince Albert measurement, was carried over to the wax paper sandwich bag which were always referred to as a can or lid, having the same bulk.

What is a Lid

By now you have probably figured out where the word 'lid' originated as used by us older stoners and those in the 1st half of this century. The origination of the term "lid" is more misunderstood by stoners from the 1960s era and thereafter. As you might guess, the Prince Albert "lid" permanently attached to the can holds a much, much smaller amount of bulk than does the entire can. It is difficult to determine how both the words "can" and "lid" could denote the same bulk of approximately 1 ounce of Marijuana, but at least by the 1960s, they did. A "lid" originally (prior to the 60s) was a much smaller measurement of weed, which was the bulk amount of pot heaped up onto the open lid of our Prince Albert can. Somebody who wanted a smaller amount than a can, bought a "lid" of grass. This amount is more comparable to what the younger generation of smokers call an 'eighth', for 1/8th of an ounce. Thus it is opined by this author that when our metal can lost its popularity and gave way to the more lightweight sandwich bag, the well established Prince Albert terms, can and lid, became confused in usage.

These terms can and lid were carried over to both describe the 1 oz. quantity of a sandwich bag. This misnomer of a lid being an ounce happened either through lost knowledge, in the switch over from Prince Albert to the sandwich bag, or just careless use. Perhaps prior to the change from the can to the bag, a slang developed in the smoker's culture merging can and lid. Joe Herd claimed it was due to ignorance on the part of the sandwich bag generation who had never used the Prince Albert can. He was very specific that his generation never confused or used can and lid interchangeably. For reference he offered that a lid was equivalent to a small matchbox bulk measure, and that no confusion could occur. He said that a lid during his lifetime was equal to a matchbox and those terms were used interchangeably. However during the 1950s and thereafter the words can and lid were both used to mean 1 oz. of weed, or cannabis if you prefer. Nobody ever questioned where these terms for an ounce came from, but it was used as the vernacular by the smokers and dealers in the '60s. You older smokers and dealers know what I'm talking about as the words can and lid were all we used when scoring or selling an ounce of pot. We didn't wonder why the "Beatniks" of the 50s and early 60s, and later the Hippies, called ounces cans and lids. I never bought any weed in a Prince Albert can back in those days as every ounce came in a wax paper sandwich bag or double bag. I didn't want to sound stupid asking why the terms can or lid were used when I was actually getting a bag. Everybody just knew what the subject was when a can or lid was mentioned. For example if you had 16 cans you had a pound of weed divided into 16 ounces.

Where did the Term Pot Originate

This is the easiest term to explain. Have you ever played poker? Well, you have to ante up and pay into the pot or you can't play the game. This is how the term 'pot' came about. Many pot smokers were poor and pooled their money to score a can. You paid your part of the money into the pot. What your part of the money went for was your part of the POT.

[Evan Williams]

It's too bad that more politicians don't get high. Then maybe THEY'D forget to introduce some of THEIR crooked, liberty-destroying legislation more often.

Sorta like how it was dumb for Mike Moore to criticise Bush for being on vacation so much. Hell, the more these fuckers are on vacation, the less of my liberties they're killing. SO, please, go, take a big, long trip. All of you!

[Jim Walsh]

In 1971 that prohpet of prophets, George Carlin, said that MJ would never be legalized because "they keep forgetting where they put the petitions."

[iconoclast]

Steve-
Thanks for the info, it was thoroughly engrossing. It's amazing to find that though some terms have changed, the overall behavior of potheads has not changed in 80 years. Everyone still does the pot.

[Lisa Simpson]

I'd like to see a revival of '30s Harlem jazz-hipster slang -- "viper", "jive", and, of course, "reefer". (Anyone who likes old jazz or weed should go buy this; anyone who likes both must.)

[Paul]

Far out... man... hey... hey, man, weren't we supposed to do something today, man? Like, I mean, far out, like file something?

[Douglas Fletcher]

Um, they got stoned and they missed it.

[thoreau]

Are you sure this isn't an Onion article?

[Brendan Perez]

Good. Let this scapegoating, ill convceived initiative die the death it deserves.

If it fails, maybe the MPP and others like them can come up with a plan that actually reforms the laws instead of just diverting all the attention towards politically powerless groups.

[Neil Lindsey]

allez_Lance:

You may be pleased to know that Keith Olbermann used the same song reference on his show last night to spoof this story.

[Douglas Fletcher]

WC Fields in "Golddiggers of 1933" introducing some hepcat band that sang "Smoking with that Reefer Man." I wonder if Fields ever took time out from his martinis to sample the weed.