By ASSOCIATED PRESS | 10/8/11 7:38 AM EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Federal authorities in California vowed to shut down dozens of pot growing and sales operations in a major crackdown, saying the worst offenders are using the cover of medical marijuana to act as storefront drug dealers.
The aggressive crackdown comes a little more than two months after the Obama administration toughened its stand on medical marijuana.
Prosecutors on Friday described it as the first coordinated statewide offensive against marijuana dealers and suppliers who use California’s 15-year-old medical marijuana law as legal cover for running sophisticated drug trafficking ventures in plain sight.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner cited a 2009 federal study that 72 percent of marijuana plants eradicated nationwide were grown in California. “California’s marijuana industry supplies the nation,” he said.The actions were geared toward stopping a proliferation that has led to thousands of pot shops opening their doors across the state.The spread was fueled partly by the Obama administration’s assurance two years ago that it did not plan to devote federal resources to countering marijuana outlets operating in compliance with state laws.

One example cited by the prosecutors Friday: In one Orange County strip mall, eight of the 11 second-floor suites are occupied by dispensaries and doctors’ offices for doctors where healthy individuals obtain “sham” recommendations to use medical marijuana.

It is “a Costco, Walmart-type model that we see across California,” said Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. attorney in the Los Angeles-area. Some people making money from medical marijuana openly revel in what some have called “the new California gold rush,” he said.

Landlords leasing property to dozens of warehouses and agricultural parcels where marijuana is being grown and retail spaces where pot is sold over the counter are receiving written warnings to evict their tenants or face criminal charges or seizure of their assets, the state’s four U.S. attorneys said.

“The intention regarding medical marijuana under California state law was to allow marijuana to be supplied to seriously ill people on a nonprofit basis,” said U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, the top federal law enforcement officer for the San Francisco Bay area.

“What we are finding, however, is that California’s laws have been hijacked by people who are in this to get rich and don’t care at all about sick people.”

For two years before the federal government’s toughened stand, officials had indicated they would not move aggressively against dispensaries in compliance with laws in the 16 states where pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations.

The Department of Justice issued a policy memo to federal prosecutors in late June stating that marijuana dispensaries and licensed growers in states with medical marijuana laws could face prosecution for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws.

The effort to shutter California dispensaries appeared to be the most far-reaching effort so far to put that guidance into action.

Increased federal intervention will likely unify marijuana growers and sellers in a drive to change federal policy, National Cannabis Industry Association spokeswoman Melissa Milam said.

“We’re not going anywhere. We’re mothers, we’re patients, we’re family members of patients,” she said. “We want to pay taxes, we want to be able to make deposits at our bank, we want to be a business.”

Not all of the thousands of storefront pot dispensaries thought to be operating in the state are being targeted in the crackdown, which also involves new indictments and arrests of marijuana growers and vendors throughout the state over the past two weeks, said Wagner, who represents the state’s Central Valley.

The strategies federal authorities are using vary somewhat, with warning letters issued by the U.S. attorney in San Diego giving recipients 45 days to comply and property owners in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Central Coast given just two weeks to evict pot dispensaries or growers.

Haag said she is initially going after pot shops located close to schools, parks, sports fields and other places where there are a lot of children.

Wagner, who represents the state’s Central Valley, also is targeting what he termed “significant commercial operations,” including farmland where marijuana is being grown. Birotte is prioritizing dispensaries in communities where local officials have been trying unsuccessfully to shut down marijuana businesses.

Moreover, the four said their warnings were aimed at cities and counties that have started licensing and taxing marijuana shops.

The California Board of Equalization has estimated medical marijuana generates $53 million to $104 million in annual sales taxes on sales of $700 million to $1.3 billion.

“If it creates revenue and jobs and increases safety, with all that’s going on in the world and the nation, why is the federal government mounting this assault — just because they can?” asked attorney Mark Reichel, who represents three licensed Sacramento dispensaries that face federal charges or civil forfeitures.

More than a dozen dispensaries named by officials either did not respond to telephone messages or refused to comment on the closure demands. Damian Nassiri, a lawyer for two of dispensaries inside the Orange County shopping center authorities cited, predicting it would not be long before the owner sends his clients packing.

“These collectives had a hard time finding landlords who were willing to rent to them,” Nassiri said.

Three of the four prosecutors declined to reveal how many dispensaries are subject to closure orders. Birotte said 38

property owners in his district were sent warnings.

Birotte said his office already had initiated property forfeiture proceedings involving three properties whose owners had received prior warnings.

The effort was criticized by two Democrat state legislators who represent San Francisco.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said the crackdown “means that Obama’s medical marijuana policies are worse than Bush and Clinton. It’s a tragic return to failed policies that will cost the state millions in tax revenue and harm countless lives.”

“I don’t understand the politics of it, and certainly if we haven’t learned anything over the past century, it’s that

Prohibition does not work,” added State Sen. Mark Leno, who has worked to safeguard and regulate medical marijuana in California.

Wagner said individual U.S. attorneys general in other states including Nevada, Oregon and Washington state have also coordinated actions with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Not all of the thousands of storefront pot dispensaries thought to be operating in the state are being targeted in the crackdown, which also involves new indictments and arrests of marijuana growers and vendors throughout the state over the past two weeks, said Wagner, who represents the state’s Central Valley.

The strategies federal authorities are using vary somewhat, with warning letters issued by the U.S. attorney in San Diego giving recipients 45 days to comply and property owners in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Central Coast given just two weeks to evict pot dispensaries or growers.

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Haag said she is initially going after pot shops located close to schools, parks, sports fields and other places where there are a lot of children.

Wagner, who represents the state’s Central Valley, also is targeting what he termed “significant commercial operations,” including farmland where marijuana is being grown. Birotte is prioritizing dispensaries in communities where local officials have been trying unsuccessfully to shut down marijuana businesses.

Moreover, the four said their warnings were aimed at cities and counties that have started licensing and taxing marijuana shops.

The California Board of Equalization has estimated medical marijuana generates between $53 million and $104 million in annual sales taxes on sales of between $700 million and $1.3 billion.

“If it creates revenue and jobs and increases safety, with all that’s going on in the world and the nation, why is the federal government mounting this assault – just because they can?” asked attorney Mark Reichel, who represents three licensed Sacramento dispensaries that face federal charges or civil forfeitures.

More than a dozen dispensaries named by officials either did not respond to telephone messages or refused to comment on the closure demands. Damian Nassiri, a lawyer for two of dispensaries inside the Orange County shopping center authorities cited, predicting it would not be long before the owner sends his clients packing.

“These collectives had a hard time finding landlords who were willing to rent to them,” Nassiri said.

Three of the four prosecutors declined to reveal how many dispensaries are subject to closure orders. Birotte said 38

property owners in his district were sent warnings.

Birotte said his office already had initiated property forfeiture proceedings involving three properties whose owners had received prior warnings.

The effort was criticized by two Democrat state legislators who represent San Francisco.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said the crackdown “means that Obama’s medical marijuana policies are worse than Bush and Clinton. It’s a tragic return to failed policies that will cost the state millions in tax revenue and harm countless lives.”

“I don’t understand the politics of it, and certainly if we haven’t learned anything over the past century, it’s that

Prohibition does not work,” added State Sen. Mark Leno, who has worked to safeguard and regulate medical marijuana in California.

Wagner said individual U.S. attorneys general in other states including Nevada, Oregon and Washington state have also coordinated actions with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Source: http://www.politico.com

It takes a lot to get me excited about new horticultural lighting products. Having spent ten years in the hydroponics industry and being a selfproclaimed “light nerd” I have researched every new lighting technology presented for plant growth. I have had a close eye on induction lighting systems for some time, waiting and hoping they would make their way into the horticultural industry.

Florescent induction lighting systems are essentially florescent bulbs that require no electrode, socket or high temperature to create light. Instead, the use of a high frequency magnetic field is used to stimulate the low pressure argon gas and phosphors inside of the tube. Standard florescent and HID light bulbs deteriorate quickly due to escaping gases notorious with the use of electrodes. The high temperatures created by standard lighting causes extreme inefficiencies, where an induction lighting system converts its electricity into usable light instead of wasted heat. Induction lighting systems can allow for up to 50-70% in energy savings.

Innovation from a company called Inda-Gro out of San Diego, California has brought forth an induction lighting system capable of revolutionizing the indoor gardening industry. Inda-Gro’s proprietary blend of rare earth phosphors produces a spectral output perfect for plant growth. In fact, 95% of the light output falls into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). This extremely high PAR output combined with the advantages of a sealed light bulb makes Inda-Gro’s electrode-less fluorescent discharge lamps possibly the most efficient horticultural lighting system available today.

Inda-Gro’s lighting systems boast an extraordinary color rendition enabling use in both vegetative and flowering stages. The 60,000 hour or 10 year warranty tells me this company truly believes in their product and the willingness to back up their belief differentiates them from other hype/marketing-based companies. Like I said before, it takes a lot to get me excited about new lighting products in the horticultural industry, but I am extremely excited to try one of Inda-Gro’s induction lighting systems.

Source: BigBudsMag.com

Internet privacy and Internet security are topics people speak about and are often deemed crazy or paranoid. Likewise 420 friendly people live with a common misconception that when a person gets high they become paranoid; thankfully for me that is not the case. Marijuana has always been a way for me to relax, relieve pain and sleep forfeiting the need to pollute my body with the harmful chemicals our ruling powers believe are proper. Personally I am fully committed to the full legalization of it and hopefully pushing it directly into the mainstream economy to aid in the creation of jobs, ease our spiraling budget deficits and stopping the crime that has grown from its classification.

Like marijuana I also believe the Internet should also be accessible and free from deep government scrutiny. That’s certainly not the case and the intrusion into our personal freedoms is greater than you might think especially in “the Land of the Free”. Compared to the partisan fights and Government wavering on the issue of Marijuana, the Internet is a maximum security prison getting tighter and more monitored everyday. Think this will change when our countries are being controlled by large business and with their hands firmly inserted in puppet politicians? Hardly.

Take the simplest type of using the Internet and let’s think about visiting a tube side (or three) to check out the latest music video, vortex product or HTGB photo. You type in the link (or, more likely, click the bookmark) and there’s your favorite site. From there, it’s a quick keyword search and you’ve got what our looking for. Watch ‘em, see some additional links from there, click on the new links, repeat as necessary. Just another day of freedom on the Internet, right?

Actually this isn’t anonymous at all! First of all, your local Internet Service Provider is tracking each and every website you visit, search term you enter, and video you watch. They don’t have to do anything fancy to do this kind of tracking; after all, everything you do online runs right through their servers! Just as the tollbooth at a bridge knows each and every car that comes and goes across it, so your ISP knows each and every bit of data you send back and forth to the Internet. That Kush review site you just spent 30 minutes browsing? Yep, they know – and they keep those records, often for years. Unfortunately, since you also pay them for that internet access, they also know your name and address and other such details. Combine that with those websites you’ve been visiting, and they have an awfully precise profile of just what you do online. They might not do anything bad with that profile… but then again, they might.

And that’s not even taking into account the websites themselves, the ones you visit when you think you’re so anonymous. Everything you do when you’re there is connected to your home Internet Protocol (IP) address: think of it as the equivalent of leaving your fingerprints on all the merchandise (not just the stuff you buy, but everything you look at!) when you visit a store. If the store-owner wants to, they can make a complete record of everything you touched, every department you entered, every item you considered. Except, with websites, the entire process of logging this detailed information about your visit is automatic, easy, and cost-free. Every website does it; logs are an essential part of keeping track of how the website performs, who visits what pages, and what is popular with customers.

What that means is that your unique viewing habits on EVERY website you visit can be easily connected back to your personal IP, and thus to your name, address, and phone number. Now, perhaps you trust the webmasters of each and every website you visit – every tube site, every BitTorrent tracker, every gallery – not to use that information against you. After all, it would be very, very mean for them to – for example – use that information to blackmail you. “Sign up for a lifetime membership at our website… or we’ll publish your name and address for all the world to see, along with every video you’ve ever clicked on during your past visits.” Ouch. This isn’t hypothetical, unfortunately – it’s been documented and it’s not unusual. But it gets worse…

Because, even if you do trust every website you visit that they won’t “turn” on you and use their detailed knowledge about your indivual viewing habits against you, those data are still sitting on all those websites. What if someone gains access to the website and steals the whole set of log data? If you think this can’t happen, point your browser at a search engine and type in: “Anonymous data breaches hacking,” and that might change your mind. Who would want to hack the logfiles of a marijuana website, and leak all that information to the public? Oh, there’s a whole host of hate-based, anti-marijuana zealots out there who live for exactly that kind of thing. Sad, but true. Whether driven by religious fanaticism or just a hatred of things they don’t understand, they “out” customers of websites they don’t like – not for the money, not for any gain at all, but just to do the maximum possible damage in the process.

So that’s not a very confidence-inspiring picture when it comes to the anonymity you thought you had when you visit those websites, is it? The good news is that you can recapture the anonymity you thought you had all along, and do so easily & inexpensively. How? By using a no-compromise, battle-tested, anti-censorship Virtual Private Network (VPN) service like Cryptocloud.com. Also referred to as “encrypted routing services,” companies like Cryptocloud.com encrypt all the data that comes and goes from your computer, 24/7/365. That means nobody out there can see your private IP address: not your ISP, not the websites you visit, not anyone trying to spy on you otherwise.

Think of it this way: a good VPN service is like wearing an invisible pair of gloves as you go about your everyday business. Nobody who goes along snooping after you will ever see your fingerprints on anything you’ve touched, which means you aren’t vulnerable to blackmail, extortion, stolen logfiles, or anything else. As far as the world out there knows, you’re invisible. Anonymous… just like you thought you were all along. That’s the peace of mind that comes with using an encrypted routing service like Cryptocloud.com With it, you can go about your 420 surfing… safely & securely, with no worries whatsoever.

Father; Blogger; Practicing ‘Lattlay Fottfoy’; Recently been dubbed ‘HARDCORE’; Active for Freedom, Privacy, Free Speech; Part Time Troll & Redneck Gigalo and a Veteran of the VPN Business. Follow me on twitter @theSaint707

Source: theSaint707 From CryptoCloud.com

(Reuters Health) – People who smoke marijuana may be prone to “the munchies,” but surprisingly, they are less likely than non-smokers to pack on the pounds, suggests a recent study from France.

Analyzing data covering more than 50,000 American adults, researchers found that roughly 14 percent to 17 percent of the people reporting that they smoked pot at least three days per week were obese. That compared with a 22 to 25 percent obesity rate among people who said they had not used pot in the past 12 months.

“Initially, we thought we made a mistake,” said Dr. Yann Le Strat, a psychiatrist at the Louis-Mourier Hospital in Colombes, France. He and co-author Dr. Bernard Le Foll had to check the results several times to make sure they were correct, Le Strat said.

“This is only a preliminary result,” Le Strat told Reuters Health. “It doesn’t mean that marijuana does actually help you lose weight, but perhaps there is a component that does.”

The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, included two surveys of U.S. adults – one covering 43,000 people, the other about 9,300 respondents. Both had been conducted by branches of the U.S. National Institutes of Health between 2001 and 2003. The larger of the surveys found 14 percent of pot smokers were obese compared to 22 percent who didn’t smoke pot. Similarly, the smaller survey found 17 percent of pot smokers to be obese compared to 25 percent of non-smokers. Of all respondents to both surveys, between four percent and seven percent said they smoked pot at least three times a week. Whether or not they smoked cigarettes as well had no influence on the obesity findings. The researchers did not look at whether diet and exercise habits were different in pot smokers and non-smokers. According to another recent survey, from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, pot use is on the rise in the U.S. Almost 18 million Americans used marijuana in 2010, an increase from about 15 million in 2007. Scientists have researched the role of various molecules within marijuana smoke that produce the high feeling, block pain, and may underlie the hunger for food typically provoked by pot use.

Cannabinoids, molecules similar to natural signaling chemicals in the body, are believed to be key to stimulating appetite. So much so that in 2006, a drug called Rimonabant, designed to work against cannabinoids, was developed. Rimonabant was approved in more than 30 countries — but not in the U.S. — for the treatment of obesity. But the drug was pulled off shelves two years later because of an increased risk of suicide among users. Whether cannabinoids are the only appetite stimulants in pot smoke, or whether other chemicals might account for the effect, remains to be seen the researchers say. In the meantime, Dr. Vincenzo Di Marzo, a professor at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry in Pozzuoli, Italy, who was not part of the study, wasn’t at all surprised by its results. “There’s no evidence that repeated marijuana use can increase body weight.”

Di Marzo cautions that the study does not show that smoking pot helps you lose weight, but he does believe it’s a starting point for future research. Le Strat echoed the sentiment and also warned against experimenting with pot as a diet aid. “I see people living with marijuana dependence,” Le Strat explained. “I hope people don’t interpret the results to mean that if they use marijuana, they’ll lose weight.”

SOURCE: bit.ly/mQOCXt American Journal of Epidemiology August 24, 2011.

Flash is finally coming to the iPhone and iPad …. Why is this a big deal for stoners and potheads? Ill tell you why, The 420 Studios network which HowTogrowBud.com is a part of consist of many marijuana related websites many of which are built in flash and will now be enjoyable on your favorite mobile device.

Here Is The Article To Prove It. (below)

During the IBC trade show in Amsterdam on Friday, Adobe officially took the wraps off of its new Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5 and Adobe Flash Access 3.0 products, which will allow iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to access Adobe Flash content. Apple, which has long rejected Adobe’s Flash technology, doesn’t need to approve the tech for it to work, either.

“With Adobe Flash Media Server 4.5, media publishers now have a single, simple workflow for delivering content using the same stream to Flash-enabled devices or to the Apple iPhone and iPad,” Adobe said in a statement. Flash Media Server 4.5 allows publishers to stream Flash content to iOS devices, which means support within the iOS Safari browser is not required. Instead of relying on a device’s processor to render the stream, which often degrades battery life and slows a device down, Adobe’s Flash Media Server 4.5 does all the legwork. Adobe Flash Media Server is available immediately to publishers for $4,500. Source: funkyspacemonkey.com

iPad magazines make it possible for stoners around the world to get their stoner hands on the latest issues of Cloud Magazine, High Times Magazine, Maxim (USA), Skunk Magazine and many other titles that don’t normally get produced outside of America or even outside California. zinio.com is the company behind the magic thats bringing down the printed publication era. Zinio is to printed magazines as iTunes was to CDs. Now if you have a Mac, PC, Android, iPhone or iPad you can get any magazine you want no matter where you live in the world… Awesome.
~If you want to advertize with 420 Studios, Cloud Magazine or HowToGrowBud.com Please Read Our Media Kit

These two issues of Cloud Magazine are currently available through zinio.com on all devices.

These two issues below will be available soon.

Here is a little bit about how bad ass zinio is:

Zinio Flies Past Fierce Feathered Friends to Become Top 3 Grossing iPad App in U.S.

Zinio Flies Past Fierce Feathered Friends to Become Top 3 Grossing iPad App in U.S. 

Most Popular Newsstand is No. 1 Top Grossing iPad News App in 52 Countries; Android Installs Exceed 300K in Less than 60 Days

SAN FRANCISCO, August 22, 2011 – Zinio, the world’s largest and most popular global magazine newsstand, today announced it has secured a spot in the top 3 grossing iPad Apps, bested only by box office smashing blue forest dwellers, and a productivity suite. As the number one iTunes News app in 52 countries, Zinio’s popularity showcases the incredible global demand for digital enjoyment of magazines today.
Since it’s Apple iOS 2.0 release in July, Zinio has ranked as the number one top grossing News app in most countries, including the top free app in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan and UK.

In addition to its iTunes success, Zinio’s Android app has exceeded 300,000 installs in less than 60 days since its launch.

“The global interest in reading on mobile devices has propelled Zinio to be the magazine newsstand of choice for readers,” said Rich Maggiotto, Zinio president and CEO. “It’s nice to know that an app built to drive magazine reading can be just as addictive, if not more, than some of the top grossing entertainment apps on the market.”

The easy reading and exploration of magazines, and incredible portability, with Zinio is simply unmatched. With a laser focus in early 2011 on developing market-leading features and functionality to deliver the most compelling and interactive reading experience available, paid orders through Zinio are up 253% in Q2 year to date over last year. More than 175 million magazine issues have been delivered to Zinio readers to date.

Offering the largest selection of magazine titles today, in the most languages, is another strong focus of Zinio. In Q2 2011 alone, Zinio added 400 magazine titles from 28 countries to its 4,500+ titles. Zinio has become the largest magazine newsstand in the world, online or offline, and offers unmatched discoverability of stories and magazines through its free “Explore” section, which features top articles across a multitude of genres.

Zinio plans in 2011 to offer its newsstand on every emerging platform and device that consumers today desire – and unlike other newsstands, allow its users to access their entire library across all of their devices. Through its UNITY™ platform, readers can now access their Zinio cloud library on their Mac, PC, laptop, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows 7 devices, with others to follow. Zinio is preloaded on a growing number of Android devices coming into market through a number of partnerships.

Zinio for Android is available for free in the Android Market.
Zinio for iOS is available for free in the iTunes Store.

About Zinio
Zinio is where the world reads, explores and interacts with the largest selection of magazines across today’s most popular devices. News may break elsewhere, but stories live on Zinio. No other platform provides global access to thousands of magazine titles covering every major genre, industry, specialty and hobby. Zinio users download millions of magazine issues a month in 33 languages and 20 currencies – from almost every major global publisher. The company is focused on creating an intuitive and effortless digital experience that transforms how we read, from passive to active, from solo to social. Zinio users can easily search stories and topics that they are passionate about, share with friends, save and curate content, shop for products, and store all of their favorite magazines in Zinio across all of their favorite devices. Founded in 2001 and privately held, Zinio is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, London, Paris, Barcelona and Taipei. For more information, please visit www.zinio.com, or follow us on Twitter at @Zinio.

Contact:
Zinio:
Molly Mulloy / Nick Mendoza
Zeno Group for Zinio
415-248-6335       /             310-566-3984
molly.mulloy@zenogroup.com / nick.mendoza@zenogroup.com