I smoked weed before it was legal: 1 Chicano, BD (before dispensaries)

By John Edward Rangel

Smoking cannabis became a regular form of medication for me when I was 15 years old. That was in 1977. Back then the U.S.A. was still reeling from the Vietnam War, Watergate and something the media referred to as “The Generation Gap” (we called it arguing with our parents).

These were trying, confusing times (much like now), and for a teenaged Chicano in East L.A. who had to deal with the added effects of institutionalized rascism (big white cops called us “Pancho” and beat us with gusto) it was sometimes overwhelming. Getting numb helped me cope.

Almost every adult I knew medicated on something.

Mas…I smoked weed before it was legal: 1 Chicano, BD (before dispensaries)

‘America the Beautiful’ in Spanish pisses off the haters (videos)


Sunday’s Coca Cola’s Super Bowl commercial spotlighting America the Beautiful (sung in the languages of immigrants who built and continue to build our country) predictably pissed off the Internet haters who have been waiting to dis little patriotic kids since Sebastien de la Cruz sang The Star-Spangled Banner at last year’s NBA finals.

Didn’t see it? Not pissed off enough? Some people love America in Arabic:

Mas…‘America the Beautiful’ in Spanish pisses off the haters (videos)

BBC Video: ‘Nuns’ with nasty coke habits busted in Colombia


Colombian police have arrested three women dressed as nuns who were trying to smuggle six kilos (13.1 pounds) of cocaine hidden under their habits. The trio was popped as they were passing through the Colombian Island of San Andres – a notorious drug-trafficking route. The fake nuns were searched after police saw them acting suspiciously.

Mas…BBC Video: ‘Nuns’ with nasty coke habits busted in Colombia