Paul McCartney: Man on the Run

The new Amazon Prime documentary, "Paul McCartney: Man on the Run" charts McCartney's marijuana arrests and their affect on his music, and life. 

Through archival film footage and interviews, the film follows McCartney's musical journey, starting with the breakup The Beatles. Criticized for putting out apolitical albums of what he later called (unapologetically) "silly love songs" with his band Wings—featuring his wife Linda on keyboards—the band and Paul's songwriting gained an edge when he faced jail time for growing five marijuana plants on their family farm in March 1973. 

According to a TV interviewer in the film, it was said in court that, "McCartney had a considerable interest in horticulture, and many of his fans sent him seeds to grow. The cannabis seeds, it was said, came to him in such a way."  He admitted he had knowingly growing the plants, but claimed he didn't know what they were. 

The film does not mention the statement McCartney made in court regarding cannabis's legal status. “I feel that there should be legislation on the use of cannabis," he said. "Drink is a much worse drug to my mind than cannabis.” 

Later that year, Wings hit their stride with the release of their album "Band on the Run." The album was recorded in Nigera, where McCartney said he smoked the strongest weed he ever had in an interview with Marc Maron where he noted that "for the creative process it was required." 

Alysa Liu: From Oaksterdam to the Olympics

I've always loved figure skating, maybe since watching the graceful and glorious Peggy Fleming winning the Olympic gold medal in 1968 when I was just a girl. Where I grew up in Pennsylvania we skated in the winter, on ponds at our local mall that had an ice skating rink where scenes from the movie "Flashdance" were filmed. 

At this year's Olympics I fell for Alysa Liu during her short program, which placed her third going into her final triumphant free skate. Liu has blossomed into an entirely different kind of skater, one more focused on her art than the competition, resulting in a relaxed and joyous presence on the ice that's captivated the world. 

Liu trained at the public rink in the city of Oakland, CA, just a few blocks away from the area known as Oaksterdam for its preponderance of Amsterdam-style cannabis shops that started springing up after California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996. She gave a shout-out to her home city, pointing to an Oakland flag that a fan had brought, after her lyrical short program. “I’m just glad,” she said, “that I could bring Oakland to Milan.” Her championship long program skate that was set to Donna Summers's disco version of "MacArthur Park," a 1970s song about a park in Los Angeles. 

Liu's father, who (as everyone knows by now), fled China after organizing protests against the government there, saw promise in his oldest child and paid for skating coaches, taking her to winning her first US National Championship at age 13 (the youngest female champion ever). At the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, she came in sixth despite the extra pressure of the Chinese government attempting to "naturalize" her, after sending spies to gather information on her and her father. Doubtlessly traumatized by that, and tired of the regimented life of a competitive skater, she quit the sport that year at the age of 16, so that she could have more of a normal teenage life, going to concerts, taking her first vacation, and getting her driver's license. 

Describing going on a ski trip with friends in 2024, Liu said it "was such an adrenaline rush, to get down the mountain when your legs are that tired. It's hard, and you had to tap into that part of you that fights, and I hadn't felt that since I quit skating.....and I was like, if I can get what I'm feeling from skating, I should just do that." 

Liu told 60 Minutes that she initially went back to skating for "quick hits of dopamine." She told ESPN, "I have ADHD and I love situations that I'm not expecting. It gives me a dopamine rush. With little mistakes, I love working through it. I have to think. And although it's not ideal to make those mistakes in competition, it was made and my brain still was releasing those chemicals and I had to think, 'What next? I have to add a combo here and here.' It was a little bit of fun and a nice little challenge."

It's Time for the NYT To Admit It Has an Editorial Problem

A discussion titled, “Marijuana is Everywhere. That’s a Problem” with New York Times editorial writers Emily Bazelon, David Leonhardt and German Lopez, who co-wrote Monday’s NYT editorial calling for greater regulation of cannabis, focuses on theory rather than practicality, except when used for prejudicial purposes. 

The conversation starts with the clarification that, like the famous NYT editorial series of 2014, theirs is pro-legalization, due to the harms of cannabis prohibition—namely huge numbers of arrests, disproportionately for people of color. They pointed out that they say in the editorial that they oppose the current ballot measure in Massachusetts that would re-criminalize cannabis. 

During the discussion, both Leonhardt and Lopez went right away to the fact that things are too loose now because marijuana can be smelled walking down the street. In Lopez’s case he says he was offered a hit on the street in his native Ohio, and Leonhardt talked about the streets of NYC and DC, where he spends time. Leonhardt also seemed distiurbed by the proliferation of cannabis shops in Colorado. 

Lopez expressed concern that legalization has increased use, drawing on his perspective reporting on the opioid crisis. He was also alarmed that we have “culturally embraced" cannabis. “You see Gwyneth Paltrow investing in Big Weed in CA,” was an example he used, picking up on the prohibitionist organization SAM’s drumbeat about Big Weed.  

Other issues like increasing numbers of people in polls saying they have problems with marijuana, and emergency room visits for CHS, were mentioned. Also mentioned, as in the editorial, were names of products that sounded like cookies and were marketed to kids (something that isn’t permitted by licensed vendors in California and elsewhere). 

Much was made of the 2024 NSDUH survey finding that more people smoke cannabis daily than use alcohol, with everyone assuming this meant people get totally stoned all day long. Leonhardt said twice that he “very much likes” alcohol or his martini, and Lopez said he “partakes" himself. But apparently everyone else who uses cannabis does so problematically in their eyes. People who have a problem with pot aren’t productive, and create problems for society, is Lopez's opinion. "We’ve gone way too far it glorifying its use,” he said.

On medical marijuana, while it was acknowledged that some people in pain or with specific ailments might benefit from it, cannabis hasn’t gone through the rigorous studies and government oversight needed to establish it as a true medicine, and we should re-think a system by which cannabis dispensaries sell a product claiming medical use, the speakers said. 

It's a Green Day in the Bay

Lost in the controversy about Bad Bunny appearing at the Super Bowl halftime show is the fact that the cannabis-loving band Green Day will kick off the music portion of the Super Bowl with a performance at the game's opening ceremony.

In 1987, guitarists Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, both 15 years old at the time, along with bassist Sean Hughes and drummer Raj Punjabi, a fellow high school student from Pinole, CA, formed the band Desecrated Youth, later renamed Sweet Children. 

After signing with Lookout! Records in 1988 and before releasing their first EP in 1989, the group adopted the name Green Day. In the Bay Area, where the band was formed, "green day" was reportedly slang for spending a day doing nothing but smoking marijuana.

The band's name "was absolutely about pot," Armstrong told Bill Maher, adding, "We were trying to be the Cheech & Chong of punk rock." Armstrong went on to say that he stopped smoking weed after he had children, and then described a gravity bong to Maher. "I like burning the substance" as opposed to vaporizing, he said, because he "it smells good, it fills the room." Vaporizing felt like "one more reason to hide the fact that it should be legal." 

"Join the Club" Film Tells the Story of Dennis Peron and Medical Marijuana

"Join the Club" is a powerful documentary about Dennis Peron and the origins of the medical marijuana movement, set in the gay rights movement and the AIDS crisis in San Francisco. The tactics of the US war on drugs that began with Richard Nixon and was carried on by successive US presidents is also presented in the film, making the DEA and its multi-jurisdictional forces look like the ICE of its day. 

Filmmakers Kip Andersen and Chris O'Connell were able to conduct the last interview with Peron just before he died in 2018, and his story is told in flashback with remarkable footage of Peron's historic Cannabis Buyer's Club, including police video from an officer who infiltrated the club, news reports, and interviews all skillfully edited together. 

Born in the Bronx, Peron was drafted into the Vietnam War where he recounts seeing 1000 dead soldiers the month that he arrived. Eschewing alcohol as "the war drug," Peron smoked his first joint instead, and the filmmakers do a wonderful job of depicting how that changed his life. Bringing back three pounds of marijuana when he returned from Vietnam launched his career as a pot dealer and activist in San Francisco. 

Peron began his political involvement as a supporter of Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California when he became a San Francisco supervisor. The assassination of Milk and Mayor George Moscone highlighted the terrible ongoing prejudice against the gay community, as did the arrests and police shooting of Peron. 

The film does an excellent job of taking us to the origins of the AIDS epidemic and the relief that patients were getting from cannabis. The death of Dennis's young, beautiful lover Jonathan West from AIDS catapulted him to begin distributing cannabis to AIDS patients and operating what was described as the first AIDS hospice, where patients could gather and support each other in community.

A "Jewel Robbery" with a Marijuana Twist

Kay Francis is offered a marijuana cigarette by William Powell in "Jewel Robbery"

In the pre-Hayes Code film "Jewel Robbery" (1932), William Powell ("The Thin Man") plays a suave jewel thief who romances a bored, jewel-grubbing Baroness played by Kay Francis. "In my own eyes, I'm shallow and weak," says Francis. "I fly about all day, pursuing furs, jewels, excitement....In the morning, a cocktail, in the afternoon, a man, in the evening, Veronal [a barbiturate]."  

After invading a jewelry store where Francis and her elderly husband are picking out a large diamond ring, Powell congenially holds everyone hostage and robs the store's inventory. He then takes the unusual step of offering the shop's owner a marijuana cigarette, saying, "Do smoke one of my cigarettes. Now, inhale deeply...." 

Despite having just been robbed, the man begins giggling so vociferously that Francis asks Powell, "What did you give him?" Powell replies, "A pleasant, harmless smoke. He'll awake in the morning fresh and happy, with a marvelous appetite."  

He then offers her a cigarette, saying, "They're harmless, really. Two puffs, and you'll be hearing soft music. The world will begin to revolve pleasantly. Three, a beautiful dream." She asks, "How do you know this?" and he replies, "Experience. I assure you, all the ladies fall asleep happily." "So that you steal their jewels in peace, I suppose," she replies. Refusing to smoke, she says, "I prefer to keep my wits about me, thank you" (which, considering her circumstances, was rather wise). 

Powell then hornswoggles a security guard into carrying his loot out to the getaway car, and gives him as a tip his box of marijuana cigarettes. The guard fully enjoys smoking one of the joints, inhaling deeply. When he is questioned by the police, he offers the chief one of his stash and the two are soon yukking it up fully. Francis of course falls for Powell, but never gets a chance to try another of his cigarettes. 

Cannabis in the Epstein Files

The DOJ's online searchable (and heavily redacted) Epstein Library reveals that convicted sex trafficker / financier Jeffrey Epstein seemed to be tracking marijuana legalization globally, and may have invested in a cannabis company in the US Virgin Islands, months before he was re-arrested and died in his prison cell in 2019. 

Epstein pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute, and was given a sweetheart plea deal that didn't seem to affect his business or other activities. He soon had some lighthearted exchanges with his correspondents about marijuana and the potential to "cash in" on it. 

An MD with a redacted name wrote to Epstein on 9/5/2010, "AND do you know WHO aside from the Israelis owns most of the water capture technology.... Hint...I adore him and he just cut off all his hair and I will see him in concert at the state fair on the 16th... (scroll down) WILLIE NELSON! Maybe marijuana does make you a better you." (Nelson played the Puyallup, WA state fair on 9/16/2010. His hair did look shorter in photos from the fair. Reportedly he did own a water capture company.) 

On Sep. 21, 2013, [REDACTED] wrote: "[REDACTED] suggested perhaps medicinal weed for me ;)" Epstein replied: "Yes, my 2nd great idea after Zombie Porn! They say these things come in 3's So we should all cash in on the next one!" Hong Kong based academic and tech bro Gino Yu sent Epstein a link on August 23, 2016 to an article titled, "Researchers find lab rats on marijuana just can't be bothered" with the comment, "Roaches on dmt next?" One of Epstein's attorneys Erika Kellerhals wrote in an email on September 7, 2016,  "All these marijuana guys are stuck using credit unions because no banks will take their money. IBE angle..." probably referring to International Banking Entities. In December 2018, Epstein received a pitch about a cannabis investment fund.  

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US Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. signs medical marijuana law on 1/19/2019. 

American businesswoman and former US Virgin Islands first lady Cecile de Jongh, who was allegedly on Epstein's payroll, responded to a January 19, 2019 email from Epstein asking, "any feed back from albert?" [USVI's new Governor Albert Bryan, Jr.]. De Jongh responded, "I see that he got back to STX [St. Croix] this afternoon to sign the medical marijuana bill." 

David Mitchell, a longtime investor and financier, wrote to Epstein about the new law on the following day, asking, "what name should I put the shares into?"

Mitchell, who connected Epstein in 2011 to Todd Boehly, co-owner of the LA Dodgers and Lakers, forwarded Epstein an article on February 1, 2019 titled, "Meet Israel's many medical marijuana millionaires - including former Prime Minister Ehud Barak." On March 1, 2019 the article Mitchell forwarded was, "Martha Stewart Will Advise Cannabis Grower on Products for Humans and Pets." And on March 7 that year, he forwarded a Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on signing of the Agriculture Improvement Act and the agency's regulation of products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds. Analyses of the cannabis market from Harvest and Akrell Ventures are part of the files. 

Epstein was arrested again six months later on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died in his jail cell of an apparent suicide on August 10, 2019. 

The U.S. Virgin Islands announced in 2022 that it reached a settlement of more than $105 million in a sex trafficking case against Epstein estate that "sought to hold Epstein accountable after he was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls and of causing environmental damage on the two tiny islands he owned in the USVI," which were to be sold as part of the agreement, with money from the proceeds going to "finance projects, organizations, counseling and other activities to help residents who have been sexually abused, officials said."

In May 2023, JP Morgan Chase & Co. "unveiled new accusations that the U.S. Virgin Islands was complicit in Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, including that a former first lady for the territory sought student visas for some of the disgraced financier's victims," according to Reuters. De Jongh worked with Epstein in 2011 when the USVI was drafting new sex offender laws, the bank said. "This is the suggested language; will it work for you?" de Jongh asked Epstein in a May 2011 email. 

In September 2023, the JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $75 million to the USVI to settle claims it enabled sex trafficking by Epstein in the country. The bank also said it reached an confidential legal settlement with James "Jes" Staley, the former top JPMorgan executive who managed the Epstein account before leaving the the bank. According to Virginia Roberts Giuffre's book "Nobody's Girl," the suit alleged that Staley may have been part of the trafficking operation, and that Epstein sent him photographs of young women. It's been speculated that the former prime minister who Giuffre says brutally raped her but was afraid to say his name is Ehud Barak, who had tied to Epstein. 

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Epstein also got involved in helping get jobs, clients, or academic placements for his friends and their children.  Marijuana use didn't seem to matter to them.

Attorney Jack Goldberger wrote to Epstein on June 8, 2009, "I told them about his misdemeanor marijuana conviction. 'if we kicked everyone out who had marijuana convictions we'd have no one working here' Its ok but don't highlight it." Epstein replied, "forward to joe." The subject was "axel," perhaps referring to Richard Axel, a Columbia University Professor, Nobel laureate, and co-director of the Zuckerman Institute. The Guardian reported that, in 2010, Axel attended a birthday party in Paris for Epstein, and that Axel had earlier said of Epstein, "He has the ability to make connections that other minds can’t make... He is extremely smart and probing." Mortimer Zuckerman, a prominent Columbia donor, invited Epstein to join then-University President Lee Bollinger, Law ’71, at two dinners in 2013 to celebrate the $200 million University neuroscience institute that Zuckerman endowed in 2012. 

Victims of the Epstein / Maxwell sex trafficking ring were asked in depositions about their marijuana or drug use, and their admissions were used to smear them in court. 

One victim whose name is redacted is said to have boasted about her marijuana use her MySpace webpage, where admissions of purchasing and using marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia were found. She reportedly stated she "can't wail to buy some weed!!! ... 1 can't wait!!! . . . (hold on: let me say that again) I can't wait to buy some weed!!!.. . I also want to get a vaporizer so I can smoke in my room because apparently there 'narcs' everywhere." She was also said to have posted a photograph of a marijuana cigarette and labeled it "what heaven looks like to me." This information and supporting documentation was provided by the defense to the Palm Beach Police Dept. 

Another victim who was 16 when she met Epstein "currently uses marijuana every day for anxiety," according to the files. (No wonder.) In a heavily redacted deposition, a girl who was 14 or 15 when she met Epstein said she used only marijuana before she met him, but began using cocaine and Ecstasy after meeting him. She recounts a woman performing oral sex on her while Epstein had sex with the woman from behind. In an FBI interview where a victim was also asked about smoking pot, she said that Epstein had a "weird shaped penis" with a "peehole on the side of his dick."

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A big reason for Epstein's meteoric rise in the financial world was his relationship with James Cayne, who became a director at Bear Sterns in 1985. Epstein names Cayne as an executor in a will found in the DOJ files. 

Cayne is mentioned in the 1/4/2026 New York Times Magazine article "Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich," which says, "Rumors, perhaps fueled by envy, began to spread that Epstein was helping Cayne to pursue women and score drugs, according to several of their colleagues." His relationship with Cayne "really catapulted" Epstein, and the two were described as "sleazeballs."

In 2008, Cayne cashed in his share of Bear Stearns for $61 million, sending their stock down 5%, and stepped down as chief executive before the firm went bust. The Wall Street Journal blog said that during 10 critical days of the bank's crisis in July 2007, Cayne was playing in a bridge tournament in Nashville, Tenn., without a cell phone or an email device. The WSJ also reported that Cayne sometimes smoked marijuana after bridge tournaments, citing interviews with attendees at the tournaments. He  denied one alleged incident in 2004, but when asked whether he smoked pot during bridge tournaments on other occasions, he said he would respond only "to a specific allegation." 

In one of his last acts as CEO of Bear Stearns, Cayne made a payment of around $2 million to a woman who was poised to file sexual harassment charges against its chairman, Alan "Ace" Greenberg, according to The Daily Beast. 

In one of many articles over the years speculating how Epstein accumulated his wealth, he was said to run money for the Bronfmans, the Canadian family that made a fortune pushing liquor into the US during alcohol prohibition, something denied by Cayne. 

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It's time to lessen laws, taxes and regulations on small, legitimate cannabis businesses worldwide to get the holy herb out of the hands of sleezeballs like Epstein, who traffic in human beings, and the scumbags he serviced. 

UPDATE: Senator calls for DEA to provide info on "incredibly disturbing" Epstein drug investigation