Story Time with Method Man, Animation (Video)

Story Time with Method Man, Animation (Video) | Third Monk image 1

Method Man explains how a Masta Ace track influenced his lyrics for “Bring The Pain” and tells a story about his stoner childhood. Limericks and songs from Sesame Street, Chuck Berry, and Rick Dees all contributed to Method Man’s style of writing music and lyrics.

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Method Man – Bring the Pain

Masta Ace – Born to Roll

Brain on Weed – Less Gray Matter But Increased Connections? (Video)

Brain on Weed - Less Gray Matter But Increased Connections? (Video) | Third Monk

Using the above video as a quick reference to how cannabis may affect the brain let us move now to the present study at hand. Researchers state that they find a decrease in gray brain matter in the orbitofrontal cortex in chronic cannabis users, users who medicate at least 3 times a day, versus non cannabis users.

These same cannabis users also show more connections in the same region of the brain. What does this mean really? The results are basically (SPOILER ALERT) inconclusive in the way they describe it’s affect on the test subjects.

Although the above is true, neither the users or non users show a decreased quality of life or an inability to perform daily functions. Francesca Filbey, the author of this study, speculates that the increased connections may be the way cannabis users adapt to having less gray brain matter so that they may function with no issues in their daily lives.

I’m happy to find that we are diving deeper into how marijuana affects the human body. Some of the other findings, such as lower IQs for the marijuana users is also inconclusive because there is no correlation between IQ and the function of the orbitofrontal cortex.

This study was funded by Parternship for a Drug Free America. Even with their hopes to find a way to bury cannabis through science, no conclusive negatives were found through this study.

Regardless of the motive, I hope studies like this continue to pop up for cannabis and psychedelics so that we may learn more about how these substances affect us and how we may use them to our advantage.

Check out the source article below, the article contains plenty of sources to feed your need for scientifically generated cannabis info.

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Chronic Pot Smoking Associated With Reduced Gray Matter, But Increased Connections | I Fucking Love Science

Stoner Wisdom – Famous Quotes From High Times

Stoner Wisdom - Famous Quotes From High Times | Third Monk image 1

Since 1974, High Times magazine has served as a safe platform for public figures and celebrities to express their love for Mary Jane.

The movement to legalize cannabis is picking up momentum, these classic quotes from High Times shows that famous stoners always believed in a green future:

Bob Marley (Sept. ‘76)

Bob Marley Smoking Marijuana

It’s time to let de people get good herbs and smoke. Government’s a joke. All dey wan’ is ya smoke cigarettes and cigar. Some cigar wickeder den herb.

Mick Jagger (June ‘80)

Cocaine is a very bad, habit-forming bore. I can’t understand the fashion for it. Sitting and smoking grass is different.

Stephen King (Jan. ‘81)

I think that marijuana should not only be legal, I think it should be a cottage industry. It would be wonderful for the state of Maine. There’s some pretty good homegrown dope.

Jack Herer (Feb. ‘89)

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I didn’t discover marijuana until 1969, when I was 30 years old. At the time, I was a successful businessman and a Nixon supporter.

Pot changed my life. I began to hear my own words back to me as judgments. I put on earphones and heard music in color for the first time.

Jello Biafra (Aug. ‘91)

You don’t have to smoke pot to realize that the real drug problem is not the drugs, and that we can help solve our drug problem and a hell of a lot of our crime problems, environmental problems and racial problems if we’d all do our patriotic duty as Earth Patriots and GROW MORE POT!

Redman (Mar. ‘93)

I treat my music as an individual, you know, as a person, a human life. You gotta puff weed to get really deep like that.

Tom Robbins (May ‘94)

Marijuana seems to possess all of the benevolence, grace, clarity, insightfulness and calm that the state-sanctioned drug — booze — so sadly lacks.

Hunter S. Thompson (May ‘94)

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I have always loved marijuana. It has been a source of joy and comfort to me for many years. And I still think of it as a staple of basic life, along with beer and ice and grapefruits — and millions of Americans agree with me.

Ken Kesey (May ‘94)

That old 1960s consciousness coming out of the beatnik years is the only path I see that is going to get us out of the mess that we’re in. And our gospel is that joint –That joint won’t lie to you. One joint will give you a different high than another joint, but they’ll be straight with you. Marijuana works.

Woody Harrelson (Nov. ‘00)

Everybody has their drug. The real hypocrisy of the Drug War is that it’s not simply a War on Drugs.

You can go to a drugstore in any city in the nation and you’ll find any drug you want, and they’ll be more addictive and worse for you than grass.

And there will be a smiling man there sanctioned by the government who’s allowed to give them to you.

Bryan Cranston (Sept. ‘12)

Marijuana started out with a bad connotation, as you know — but to me, marijuana is no different than wine. It’s a drug of choice. It’s meant to alter your current state — and that’s not a bad thing.

It’s ridiculous that marijuana is still illegal. We’re still fighting for it… There are millions of people who smoke pot on a social basis and don’t become criminals. So stop with that argument — it doesn’t work.

Roseanne (July ‘13)

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The first time I smoked, I was 17. I was with my sister, and we were sleeping out on our porch. I remember sitting on the porch with my mouth hanging open, looking at a tree and going, Jesus Christ, is that a tree? I couldn’t stop staring at it — the complexity of it, the patterning.

It opened up my mind to whole other conscious rhythms.

35 Celebs Sound Off on Marijuana | High Times

The Stoner Circle – That ’70s Show Gif Collection

The Stoner Circle - That '70s Show Gif Collection | Third Monk image 19

The Stoner Circle is a popular setting in That ’70s Show where the buds all get high in Eric Forman’s basement.

Usually, the cannabis is supplied by Hyde, who gets it from Leo (Tommy Chong). The most potent “stash” was given to them during the 5th Season, when Leo left town and gave them an entire film reel full of weed as a parting gift.

Enjoy our favorite GIF moments from the stoner circle in that ’70s show:

Stoner Conspiracy

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Self Realization

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Peer Pressure

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Midnight Toker

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The Beginning

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Chong Found Him

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Jackie Tokes and Puffs

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Stoner Philosophy

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Red Joins the Circle

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Baked Donna

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Sober Mask

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Fez Loves Naked Ladies and Cuddling

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The High Side

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Fez Has Needs

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Kelso Announcment

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Stoner Honesty

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That ’70s show – The Joker

DEA Blasted for Spending 4 Decades Obstructing Marijuana Science

DEA Blasted for Spending 4 Decades Obstructing Marijuana Science  | Third Monk image 6

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The Drug Enforcement Administration has been impeding and ignoring the science on marijuana and other drugs for more than four decades, according to a report released this week by the Drug Policy Alliance, a drug policy reform group, and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a marijuana research organization.

The DEA is a police and propaganda agency, it makes no sense for it to be in charge of federal decisions involving scientific research and medical practice. – Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance

The report alleges that the DEA has repeatedly failed to act in a timely fashion when faced with petitions to reschedule marijuana. The drug is currently classified as Schedule I, which the DEA reserves for the “most dangerous” drugs with “no currently accepted medical use.” Schedule I drugs, which include substances like heroin and LSD, cannot receive federal funding for research. On three separate occasions — in 1973, 1995 and again in 2002 — the DEA took years to make a final decision about a rescheduling petition, and in two of the cases the DEA was sued multiple times to force a decision.

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The report criticizes the DEA for overruling its own officials charged with determining how illicit substances should be scheduled. It also criticizes the agency for creating a “regulatory Catch-22” by arguing there is not enough scientific evidence to support rescheduling marijuana while simultaneously impeding the research that would produce such evidence.

The feds have long been accused of only funding marijuana research that focuses on the potential negative effects of the substance, but that trend appears to be changing.

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse has conducted about 30 studies to date on the potential benefits of marijuana. NIDA oversees the cultivation, production and distribution of marijuana grown for research purposes at the University of Mississippi in the only federally legal marijuana garden in the U.S. — a process through which the only federally sanctioned marijuana studies are approved.

Nobody should be afraid of the truth. There’s a lot of other drugs that have harmful side effects. Is the downside of marijuana a harmful side effect? Or is there a positive side that actually does help? That needs to be proven. – Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

The federal government’s interest in marijuana certainly appears to be growing. Since 2003, it has approved more than 500 grants for marijuana-related studies, with a marked upswing in recent years, according to McClatchy. In 2003, 22 grants totaling $6 million were approved for cannabis research. In 2012, that number had risen to 69 approved grants totaling more than $30 million.

The DEA has obstructed research into the medical use of marijuana for over 40 years and in the process has caused immeasurable suffering that would otherwise have been treated by low-cost, low-risk generic marijuana. The DEA’s obstruction of the FDA approval process for marijuana has — to the DEA’s dismay — unintentionally catalyzed state-level medical marijuana reforms. – Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

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Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Eight other states — Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin — have legalized CBD oils, made from a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana frequently used to treat epilepsy, for limited medical use or for research purposes.

A number of recent studies have shown the medical potential of cannabis. Purified forms may attack some forms of aggressive cancer. Marijuana use also has been tied to better blood sugar control and may help slow the spread of HIV. One study found that legalization of the plant for medical purposes may even lead to lower suicide rates.

Nadelmann said the DEA has “demonstrated a regular pattern of abusing its discretionary powers.”

We believe this authority would be better handled by another government agency in the health realm, or even better still, by an organization that is truly independent, perhaps something that involves the National Academy of Sciences. We will be working to encourage greater congressional oversight and also to call for reforms of federal law. – Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance

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> New Report Blasts DEA | Huffington Post

The Dopest NBA Stoners in Basketball History

The Dopest NBA Stoners in Basketball History | Third Monk image 5

The NBA doesn’t test for cannabis in the offseason for a good reason, approximately 90% of the NBA’s players smoke cannabis on a regular basis.

Joe Dumars described the NBA stoners’ love for cannabis best in a 1997 NY Times interview:

If they tested for pot, there would be no league.

Steve Nash, LA Lakers

While Steve Nash and his Canadian heritage made for the obvious choice, there’s also some truth to the “Nash smokes weed cause he’s Canadian” myth. A Weedmaps source was at a club celebrating Jason Richardson’s birthday when Nash (playing in Phoenix with J-Rich and Amare at the time) suddenly turned to him. The club smelled like bud, so Nash asked him if he had a bowl. In astonishment, the source asked if he smoked.

Nash’s response: “I’m from Vancouver, bro.”

If that’s not enough, he rocks Bob Marley shirts after games and once made this stoner video with Hall of Fame Stoner Baron Davis. And there isn’t a nicer dude in the league.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

This is Joakim Noah’s refrigerator:

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Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

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Klay made it rain in Pullman throughout his college career, setting the single-season scoring record. When he wasn’t lighting it up from way downtown, he used his calm, smooth stroke to roll the smoothest joints in Washington.

True to subsequent from, Klay was caught with a dub bag of less than 2 grams and continues to bring a Kush attitude to the court next to Steph Curry in Nor Cal.

JR Smith, New York Knicks

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When he’s not throwing up ill-advised shots as the clock winds down, JR Smith lays the pipe. Smith is the only NBA stoner that started this year suspended the first five games for violating the league’s substance abuse program–which is pretty hard to do when all sources report it’s only for weed.

Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets

Ty Lawson plays for one of only two states that allow recreational marijuana and owns a Hookah that he touted on Instagram as a “New addition to the family.”

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Ty later clarified: “for y’all dummies it’s hookah not weed.” We used to tell our mom that too.

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies (ex-Blazer)

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In 2010, Randolph was busted for selling pounds of weed across Indianapolis. Then, just two years later in 2012, Z-Bo had his entourage throw a weed dealer (who Randolph had invited over) out of his party because he was charging too much for weed.

Honorable Mentions:

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LeBron James, Miami Heat

Initially, LeBron was honest about his flirtation with bud, admitting he “experimented” in high school. During the 2012 playoff run, LeBron was caught on camera hitting a vaporizer. He later claimed that it was an “E-Cigarette”.

Michael Beasley, Miami Heat

Beasley was caught getting high with Mario Chalmers his first week in the NBA and hasn’t stopped since.  The record-setter for busts while in the league and managing to stay in the league, but not the best poster boy for medical marijuana. He probably smokes more than other nba stoners but he sucks.

Marcus Camby, Retired

Camby was a defensive expert for years in the NBA, thanks to his healthy Kush diet

Cliff Robinson, Retired

A USC stoner graduate who liked smoking weed so much that he was suspended from the NBA playoffs for getting too damn high.

Rasheeeeed Wallace & Damon Stoudamire, Retired

In 2002, Stoudamire “hesitantly” admitted they had been getting high in a car. They stated that “we smoked it all up.” The cops reply: “unfortunately they obviously hadn’t.”

Charles Oakley, Retired

Constantly jokes about the NBA’s stoners and also owns a bunch of car washes.

The NBA’s All Star Stoner Team or The Most Athletic Weed Smokers in the World | Marijuana

Chrome Sparks “Marijuana” – Trippy Music Video and B-Sides (KJ Song Rec)

Chrome Sparks "Marijuana" - Trippy Music Video and B-Sides (KJ Song Rec) | Third Monk


Chrome Sparks is the project of Jeremy Malvin, a musician and producer living in Brooklyn. With a background in classical percussion, Jeremy combines his love for synthesizers, beat music, and dance music into a unique blend. 

Chrome Sparks – Marijuana (Live)

 

Marijuana sampled a 1977 track from Idris Muhammad:

Idris Muhammad – Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

Tous – The Chillwave Cat

An industrious dude was asked to babysit his girlfriend’s cat, and made the above video in the process. Shared to Reddit the clip presents a day in the life of a very alcoholic orange tabby, set to the soothing/trippy sounds of Chrome Sparks’ “Marijuana.”

The production — a mix of Washed Out-style chillwave and Flying Lotus-owing electronica — is truly the perfect fit to this visual. – SPIN Magazine

Chrome Sparks – Marijuana (Extended Mix)

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Leaving the Herd to Express Your Creativity – Jason Silva (Video)

Leaving the Herd to Express Your Creativity - Jason Silva (Video) | Third Monk

Little boxes, all the same. All the people in the houses all go to the university. And they all get put in boxes, little boxes all the same.

Pete Seeger sang those words about the development of suburbia and conformity in 1963. How can we fully express our creativity and avoid becoming zombies? In another inspiring hit of stoner philosophy, Jason Silva wonders what pushes people away from the herd.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.

-Nietzsche

Works mentioned in this video:

The agony of breaking through personal limitations is the agony of spiritual growth.

Art, literature, myth and cult, philosophy, and ascetic disciplines are instruments to help the individual past his limiting horizons into spheres of ever-expanding realization.

– The Hero with A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Robert Anton Wilson – Reality Tunnels

Robert Anton Wilson described his writing as an “attempt to break down conditioned associations—to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps and no one model elevated to the Truth.”

“My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything.”

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