Michael Simmons

Pandora’s Panacea

Michael Simmons
Virginia Lee Hunter Four-star general and federal drug czar Barry McCaffrey claimed in 1996 that "There is not a shred of scientific evidence that shows that smoked marijuana is useful or needed." Over the two years since, researchers at the nonprofit national Institute of Medicine have conducted an exhaustive study......

Cannabis Connection

Michael Simmons
Escalating its drive against California's medical-marijuana movement, the Clinton administration last week indicted nine Southern California residents on charges of conspiracy to grow over 6,000 marijuana plants at four separate sites, with intent to distribute. The nine-count indictment arises from an almost yearlong investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)......
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Marx and Duchamp for Beginners

Michael Simmons
You've probably heard of the aberration referred to as "the '60s" (which actually ended sometime in the mid-'70s), when the impossible seemed imminent. Threats to dump hallucinogens in big-city reservoirs by wild-haired anarchists may have turned out to be tongue-in-cheeky scare tactics, but the secondhand smoke of a billion burning......

Pot War P.O.W.

Michael Simmons
Drug-reform activist, cannabis horticulturist, amateur research scientist, cancer survivor and accused pot farmer Todd McCormick, 27, was jailed on Friday, April 3, for failing a urine test. Federal Magistrate Judge James W. McMahon ruled that McCormick had violated conditions of his bail by testing positive for THC, the most psychoactive......