Representing the Kush Boys on the East Coast from Washington, DC, Lucky Lamar and Dread Tha Ol’Head (aka The Cap Citi Kush Boys) will host a Chronic Ice tea-ser party called “The Kushilation” tonight at the East Side Lounge in Atlanta starting at 8:30 pm.

In addition to sampling Chronic Ice, a smooth blend of green and black teas and hemp seed powder, the evening’s schedule is packed full of performances by local talent, such as TNT Famille, Mama’s Moonshine, the Yellow Boyz, Cornbread & The Space Age Hippies, D-Edge & Hit (Str8 Slammin Fam), Mic Audio, ATL Nutbush and Lucky Lamar himself.

“Atlanta is my home—and the perfect place to start getting people in the South excited about Chronic Ice,” said Lamar. “We plan to host parties like this every month in different cities to induce our all-natural hemp drink and support local artists.”

In addition to straight samples of the hemp tea, Chronic Ice will be available at the bar as a mixer for special drinks that include the Chron Island Ice Tea, High Roller, Chronic Candy Mar-Tea-Ni, Kushboy, Tea-HC and Chronignac.

Comcast Channel 24 Dark Knight Entertainment plans to record the event, and Rick Fly Live TV will conduct interviews for his program. The event is being sponsored by Chronic Ice Tea, East Side Lounge, Affiliated Digital Media, Cap Citi Kush Boys, Dark Knight Entertainment and Rick Fly TV.

Chronic Ice is the nation’s first drink containing hemp. The antioxidant-rich, healthy tea also contains organic sugar cane, a high quality green and black tea blend, lemon essence and ascorbic acid. It is free of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup and contains only 80 calories per serving.

“People don’t get high drinking our tea, but they might get healthy,” said Tony Van Pelt, founder of Chronic Ice. “Although its name is a play on marijuana, Chronic Ice does not contain any cannabis or THC.”

Although the health tea is in growing demand from health food and hemp enthusiasts, Chronic Ice can only be purchased at select stores in Southern California and Washington State. The company is negotiating distribution deals to increase availability. In addition to expansion plans, new flavors and packaging options are in the works.

The following artists are scheduled to perform tonight:

About Mama’s Moonshine

Mama’s Moonshine is Fleetwood Coup Daville and Betty Boo Banksta, who met in 1997 in Atlanta and formed a 6-piece band in 2001. The band includes a bass player, a drummer, a guitarist, two back-up singers and a keyboard player.

The band started performing all over the Atlanta area, opening up for acts like India Arie, Dead Prez and Juvenile. In 2008 they dropped their first album, titled “The Life and Times of Betty Boo Banksta and Kooda Rang Dang.” Their current music is a collection of up-tempo music aimed for the clubs and people they say are not afraid of change and who love to live life like there’s no tomorrow.

The Yellow Boyz

Hailing from the north side of Atlanta, the Yellow Boyz are a three-person, high energy, lyrical southern hip hop group. Drawing on influences that include TI, Eminem, Big L and Dipset, they bring a unique combination of high energy dance tracks with witty wordplay.

This international act has performed with Jackie Chain (Universal/Motown), and opened for Young Dro, Yung LA, Big Kuntry King (Grand Hustle/Atlantic), Method Man & Redman, Soulja Boy, and in Korea with San E (JYP), Dumbfoundead, MYK and Dok2.

Lucky Lamar

Lamar is a producer-songwriter-rapper whose music is derived from jazz, blues and hip hop. He creates a new sound, blending his influences into a signature style that’s unique and relevant to urban music today. Follow him on Twitter @LuckyLamar

Richelle L. Brown aka Cornbread

Bringing back true moxie and funk to the music sphere, Richelle L. Brown is that missing energy. Crowned the new queen of Electro Funk Dance Music, Brown is a passionate singer, songwriter and performer birthed from that gritty red clay and southern spunk of what we innately call Georgia. Brown joins the movement of retro songstresses that are invading the hyperspace experience. Similar to the Acid Jazz wave of the 90’s that garnered such artist as Nadea Davenport; Brown is that new funk.

For more information about Chronic Ice, call (415) 734-8350 or go to the website http://www.chronicice.com/.

About Kush Boys Worldwide

Kush Boys Worldwide is a Los Angeles-based company committed to pursuing ventures that benefit a demographic they call the new-age pop culture. Current projects include the online adult animated series Master Kush that features the voice talent of Tommy Chong; an eco-friendly clothing line for the urban demographic called Kush Couture Lifestyle Apparel (KCLA); an all-natural iced tea made with hemp known as Chronic Ice; the natural male enhancement supplement Sir Rock; and Kush Boys Studios.

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Posted On: Atlanta, GA (Vocus/PRWEB) June 09, 2011

Spring Gathering is about celebrating the special relationship between music and medicine. Music is medicine. Marijuana is medicine. The gathering, happening at San Bernadino’s NOS Events Center on June 11, is California’s largest medical marijuana event. It brings together some of the prominent authorities and supporters of medical marijuana like Ed Rothenthal and Michael Backes, and A-list talent like Tommy Chong, Snoop Dogg, and Cypress Hill. Chronic Ice, a delicious and nutritious hemp beverage, will be on hand (and in hands), ready to refresh the revelers.

“Chronic Ice is going to be all over the place at Spring Gathering—we’ll be on stage with the stars and in the hands of participants when they come in and when they leave,” said Tony Van Pelt, founder of Chronic Ice and ChronicCandy.com. The hemp beverage will be given away as samples and available for purchase at the festival.

Chronic Ice is a refreshing health tea, made with organic sugar cane, a green and black tea blend, lemon essence, ascorbic acid and, of course, hemp seed extract. The antioxidant-rich, healthy tea contains only 80 calories per serving, and is free of preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup.

Spring Gathering’s lineup this year features the world’s top musicians / marijuana advocates. Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Stephen Marley with special guest Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Travis Barker and Mix Master Mike, Tha Dogg Pound (a Tribute to Nate Dogg), Dilated Peoples, Collie Buddz, and Los Rakas will keep the crowd going all day from 12:55 pm to 11:30 pm.

B Real, Tommy Chong and Guerilla Union, in association with Americans for Safe Access, have secured permission to provide a safe consumption area for medical marijuana patients on the Spring Gathering grounds—a first in the history of the event.

Ticket holders will receive access to WeedMaps Medical Marijuana Expo @ Spring Gathering, which brings together advocates, businesses and consumers of medical marijuana. It is a popular venue for nonprofit organizations, political organizations, medical physicians, medical marijuana collectives, dispensaries, eco-friendly exhibitors and other members of the diversified cannabis community. Chronic Ice will have a booth at the Expo, so be sure to stop by and grab a sample.

The expo will host many expert discussion panels and special meet-n-greet sessions with celebrity guests and prominent speakers, including Dr. Greenthumb (B-Real of Cypress Hill), who has advocated for marijuana legalization for over 20 years. Topics will include the scientific facts on marijuana’s medicinal properties, the latest advancements in hydroponics, an introduction to the influential female proponents of medical marijuana, and the future of the modern cannabis movement. Audience Q & A sessions will follow each panel.

The WeedMaps Medical Marijuana Expo will also play home to The Spring Cannabis Classic, hosted by Tommy Chong. The Spring Cannabis Classic is a platform for medical marijuana patients to celebrate with their favorite collectives, products and strains of the season, as well as honor inspirational activists and artists that have enhanced their lives.

Spring Gathering will be held Saturday, June 11 from noon until midnight at the NOS Events Center, located at 689 South “E” Street in San Bernardino, California. Tickets are available from select retailers and dispensaries, or online at http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/34763.

About the WeedMaps Medical Marijuana Expo @ Spring Gathering

The WeedMaps Medical Marijuana Expo @ Spring Gathering’s mission is to educate the public on the numerous potential benefits offered by the cannabis plant, including the medicinal, industrial, agricultural, economic and environmental benefits and applications. In particular, the WeedMaps Medical Marijuana Expo @ Spring Gathering seeks to advance the cause of medical marijuana through education, entertainment and community and inspire, uplift and encourage the next generation of artists, activists and entrepreneurs.

For more information about Chronic Ice, call (424) 202-7359 or visit http://www.ChronicIce.com. Visit Chronic Candy on the web at http://www.ChronicCandy.com.

About ChronicCandy.com

ChronicCandy.com is at the forefront of online medical marijuana news today. It’s the one-stop shop for the latest information about the cultural, medicinal and political aspects of the rapidly changing medical marijuana industry. Whether it’s the newest trends in cannabis culture or developments in medical marijuana or politics and laws pertaining to cannabis use, Chronic Candy has it covered.

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Posted On: Los Angeles, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) June 09, 2011

Many drug defense attorneys throughout Florida are seeking to have their client’s pending drug cases dismissed or overturned if they have already been convicted under one of Florida’s drug laws.

According to an article by Todd Ruger in the Herald-Tribune on September 15, 2011, a Manatee County judge, Judge Scott Brownwell of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, recently dismissed felony drug charges against 42 defendants. Judge Brownwell is the second Circuit Judge to agree with a Federal Judge’s ruling that Florida’s drug laws are unconstitutional. Judge Milton Hirsch, a judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami-Dade County, previously dismissed 40 felony drug cases. However, many other circuit judges are still making a decision on the topic.

“Florida’s drug possession laws are too vague and ambiguous to prosecute individuals under,” stated Melinda Morris, a St. Petersburg drug lawyer. Morris continued, “Many attorneys are able to use this uncertain time to achieve much better deals for their clients that often involve drastically reducing drug charges to non-drug related offenses.”

On July 27, 2011, United States District Judge Mary Scriven, a federal judge for the Orlando Division of the Middle District of Florida, held that section 893.101 of the Florida Statutes violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (case number: 6:07-cv-839-Orl-35-KRS). Judge Scriven found that since the statute eliminated any knowledge requirement to all drug possession offenses in Chapter 893, the law was unconstitutional and violated due process.

Although the Florida federal opinion is persuasive to Florida Circuit Court State Judges, it is not binding, which means they do not have to follow the opinion when making decisions in their courts.

According to attorney Morris, “It is clear that drug possession charges, such as possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell are already being affected in particular areas of the State, including Bradenton, Manatee County.”

Florida Statutes § 893.10 states that knowledge a controlled substance was illegal is not a required element to prosecution for a drug offense.

“Because the Florida controlled substance statutes don’t require mens rea, or a knowledge requirement, an alleged drug offender could innocently, accidentally, unintentionally or mistakenly do some act and be charged with and convicted of a drug offense in Florida. For example, if an individual’s friend rides in their car and then leaves a medication bottle in the car, the driver could be arrested and charged with illegal possession of a controlled substance. This person, although they did not intentionally do anything wrong, could be punished with a severe penalty,” said Melinda Morris, a lawyer for drug possession with intent to sell in St. Petersburg.

The possible offenses in Chapter 893 of the Florida Statutes that do not require an intent or knowledge element include selling, manufacturing, delivering, or possessing with the intent to sell, manufacture or deliver any controlled substance. These offenses could result in a conviction for a misdemeanor of the first degree, or a felony of the third, second or first degree, depending on the substance and amount of the substance.

As defined in sections 775.082, 775.083 and 775.084 of the Florida Statutes, felony drug convictions can incur prison sentences ranging from up to five years imprisonment to 30 years or life imprisonment. Felony drug offense fines can start at ,000 and increase upwards.

“Florida is the rare state that eliminates the knowledge requirement for a drug offense conviction, and as a result, many people are being prosecuted for drug possession charges. Florida’s drug statutes need to be reinterpreted and updated so that knowledge is an essential element of the crime and there is not an atmosphere of overzealous prosecution,” said Morris.

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals is set to make a decision on the drug law soon, which will be binding on the circuit court judges in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Pasco Counties.

Morris concluded, “Since the law eliminating knowledge was enacted in 2002, close to 100,000 individuals in Florida have been convicted under Florida’s Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. A binding state court opinion could ultimately overturn a portion of these convictions.”

Melinda Morris of the Morris Law Firm is a criminal Pinellas County defense attorney who represents individuals accused of felony and misdemeanor crimes, drug offenses, juvenile crimes and driving under the influence (DUI) throughout the Tampa Bay area of Florida, including Pinellas County and the surrounding areas of Hillsborough County, Manatee County, Sarasota County and Pasco County.

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Posted On: St. Petersburg, Florida October 11, 2011

Police and prosecutors are seizing on gray areas in Michigan’s three-year-old medical marijuana law to shut down dispensaries and disrupt the treatment of patients, Oakland County criminal defense attorney Paul J. Tafelski said today.

“While our law firm does not condone illegal drug use, we do believe that medical marijuana patients and caregivers have rights under state law that were given to them by our voters, and those rights need to be respected,” said Tafelski, founder of Paul J. Tafelski, P.C., a Bloomfield Hills criminal defense law firm that represents clients charged with drug possession and other felony or misdemeanor offenses.

“Based on recent developments, I don’t think officials are respecting those rights.”

Voters approved the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA) in November 2008. The law allows for patients with a “debilitating medical condition” to use medical marijuana and for the patients’ primary caregivers to assist with the use, including charging a reasonable fee for their services.

Patients are restricted to possession of 2.5 ounces or less of marijuana that is used for medical purposes, while caregivers are limited to 2.5 ounces and 12 or less plants per patient. Caregivers must also keep all plants in an “enclosed, locked facility.”

Both patients and caregivers must go through a registration process with the state’s Bureau of Health Professions, which according to its website, has issued more than 105,000 registration cards since the program started.

However, the law is silent on how the patients or primary caregivers can obtain the marijuana, which is still a controlled substance under state and federal law.

After the law passed, medical marijuana dispensaries began to operate throughout the state to assist patients with the medical marijuana use, but a recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision in State v. McQueen (Docket No. 301951, Isabella Circuit Court) and a string of raids in its aftermath has cast doubt on the dispensaries’ future and brought attention to the law’s lack of clarity, Tafelski said.

“Ambiguities in the law are being construed against the interests of the patients this law was designed to assist,” Tafelski said. “So, as a result, we’re seeing the very purpose of the law being frustrated by law enforcement, and we’re seeing criminal charges brought against people who believed they were acting in perfect compliance with the law.”

The Court of Appeals’ decision August 24 in State v. McQueen is an example of what has resulted from the law’s lack of clarity, Tafelski said.

According to the McQueen decision, an Isabella County medical marijuana dispensary, Compassionate Apothecary, allowed its members – all registered patients or caregivers – to purchase marijuana that other members had stored in lockers rented from the dispensary. The dispensary would retain at least 20 percent of each sale price.

A circuit court judge rejected the county prosecuting attorney’s attempt to have the dispensary shut down as a public nuisance in violation of the MMMA and the state’s public health code, but the Court of Appeals reversed.

According to the appeals court, the “medical use” of marijuana, as defined by the MMMA, does not include patient-to-patient “sales” of marijuana.

“It’s clear that there is confusion among the courts, law enforcement and the public,” Tafelski said.

In the wake of the decision, several Michigan medical marijuana facilities have been raided, including sites in Oakland County’s Commerce Township, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“Confusing areas of the law are apparently leading to arrests and injunctions, and if you are charged with a violation of Michigan law that involves marijuana, you could face serious consequences, including a felony conviction,” Tafelski said.

“That’s why it’s important to immediately contact a Michigan criminal defense attorney who has experience with drug possession cases and knows the legal issues involved with Michigan’s medical marijuana law,” he added. “If you are a registered patient or caregiver, what is clear is that you have rights under the law, and those rights must be protected.”

About Paul J. Tafelski, P.C.

The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, criminal defense law firm of Paul J. Tafelski, P.C., represents clients charged with drunk driving, traffic and other criminal offenses throughout Detroit, Troy, Rochester Hills, West Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak, Plymouth, Canton, Wayne County, Oakland County, Macomb County and the state of Michigan. The firm’s practice areas include misdemeanors and felonies, OWI / DUI / DWI, traffic tickets, domestic violence, drug possession, license restoration, criminal sexual conduct, Internet crimes, probation violations, expungement and assault with a dangerous weapon / felonious assault. To learn more about the firm, call (248) 451-2200 or use the firm’s online form.

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Posted On: Bloomfield Hills, MI October 11, 2011