So, I suck at life during the winter months. I won’t apologize or make excuses – I’ll just recap some of the things I’ve failed to mention in my absence and move along like it never happened. Okay? Okay. In no particular order…

Obama’s in The House! On January 20th, Barack Obama was inaugurated into the White House as the first African-American President in history. With this inauguration comes a lot of hope on the Marijuana Law Reform front – President Obama has admitted to using marijuana, and has said several times that he believes the War on Drugs has been “an utter failure” and that we need to rethink the laws concerning marijuana use. He has also been supportive of the medical marijuana initiative, and has promised to stop the raids of medical marijuana patients and dispensaries where they are legal.

Is Change Coming to the Drug Czar’s Office? Former Seattle Police Chief, Gil Kerlikowske, has been appointed as our nation’s next Drug Czar. Although Kerlikowske is a cop, he is from Washington, a state that has allowed the use of medical marijuana under doctors’ orders, and made marijuana-related ‘crimes’ their cops’ lowest priority. According to Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, “Whereas Kerlikowske’s White House predecessor (John Walters) refused to even acknowledge that cannabis possessed even the slightest hint of therapeutic value, Seattle’s exiting police chief accepted the law and has made few, if any, efforts to undermine it.” Let’s be optimistic that some good might come of this…

Obama’s (Half)Brother Arrested for Marijuana Possession. On January 31st, George Obama, the half-brother of President Barack Obama, was arrested in Kenya for the possession of Marijuana. Although this happened a world away, I would hope this hits close to home and reminds our new President just how ridiculous marijuana prohibition really is.

Michael Phelps is the Gold Medal Winner of Bong Hits. On January 2nd, News of the World reported that Michael Phelps was pictured taking a bong rip at a South Carolina house party in November. Phelps later apologized for his “regrettable behavior” blaming bad judgment for his “youthful and inappropriate” act. Even after the apology, the Kellogg’s Company chose not to renew Phelps’ sponsorship contract because his behavior is “not consistent with the image of the company.” As a result, NORML has asked the Cannabis Community to boycott Kellogg’s.

Marijuana Law Reform is America’s Top Political Priority. In November, I made a post urging everyone to get Marijuana Law Reform on the agenda at Change.org. I am now happy to report that legalizing the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana was voted number one out of the top ten ideas to change America, with 20,158 supporters!

In 1994, Grunge phenomenon Nirvana’s lead singer, Kurt Cobain, died of what is usually rumored to be a heroin overdose. At the time of his death, a bit of his ashes were scattered in a Buddhist temple in New York and the Wishkah River in Washington, but the rest of them were kept in the Los Angeles home of his widow, Courtney Love.

Earlier this year, the ashes of Cobain were stolen from the home, and now a German artist, Barmy Natascha Stellmach, plans to smoke the ashes mixed in a joint with marijuana. Stellmach won’t reveal how she came into possession of the ashes, but, according to this article, when asked why she plans to smoke them, she states that it’s to release him “into the ether from the media circus.”

Smoking peoples’ ashes is the most vile thing I’ve ever heard of. What even makes people think of these things? Personally, I think this woman watched How High a few too many times.

The events surrounding Kurt Cobain’s death are going to keep him in the “media circus” for years to come, and there’s nothing Stellmach or anyone else can do about it.