WWH/CJE Hippie Digest: Lennon’s Island – Dancing Hippies Can Teach – Colorado Legalizes Marijuana?

What Happens If Colorado Legalizes Marijuana?
By Scot Kersgaard
If Amendment 64 passes, it will become almost immediately legal under Colorado law for adults to possess, grow, consume and give away (to another adult) up to an ounce of marijuana. It may take more than a year, however, before adults can purchase marijuana legally in a store.

A poll released in early September by Public Policy Polling shows the amendment continues to lead, currently by a 47-38 margin, with 15 percent still undecided. Passage could enable the state to increase tax revenues by $50 million a year or more while also potentially reducing law enforcement costs.

If the measure passes, the parts of the amendment related to individual behavior go into effect as soon as the governor signs a proclamation certifying the results of the election, which he is required to do within 30 days.

Sections related to the commercial cultivation and sale of marijuana would take effect incrementally but marijuana would be available for sale legally no sooner than late 2013 or early 2014. More…

What Dancing Hippies Can Teach Us about Influence and Social Networks
by Abby Campbell
As a music enthusiast and ‘band wife’, I tend to frequent bars, clubs and festivals- pretty much anywhere live music can be heard. While I have had the privilege of getting to see national acts such as Phish, My Morning Jacket, Dave Matthews, The Roots, and countless others, I spend a fair amount of my team checking out the local scene. While the music is usually pretty good, the crowd response can be hit or miss. Sometimes there are hundreds of people in one tiny venue who are all dancing around. Other nights, it seems like the band is playing for just me and the juke box- I am not compelled to get up and dance and I find myself looking at the clock. Why does this happen? It is not that the band has not rehearsed; it is not that they have slacked on promoting the show; and it is not like they do not have enough good material. Then I came across this video on YouTube:

While the video is meant to teach us about leadership, it can also be a powerful example of how level of influence can affect outcomes in predictive models. In this example, we see social networks and interpersonal influence at work. The first person dancing has presumably low influence over the rest of the group. People are reluctant to join him. By himself, he does not have enough influence to get everyone out of their seats and away from their campsites to participate. Then a friend joins him.

The dynamic suddenly changes. The scene is transformed- people are up! They’re dancing! They have forgotten about their hangovers! The second person, by doing nothing other than getting up to participate, was able to influence many others to come along for the ride. Whereas, the first dancer was able to only influence one other to join him, the second had much broader impact. More…

For sale: John Lennon’s dream island where King of the Hippies reigned
By Tracy McVeigh When the boat engine dies, the silence is absolute. The water is still and clear down to the little towers of amber weed on a seabed that slopes up gently to the beach of Dorninish. Known as Beatle Island or Hippie Island, Dorninish has been both the dream island of John Lennon, who owned it until his death, and a colony for idealistic New Agers whose tepees were eventually defeated by the County Mayo winter.

Now the 19-acre island, with panoramic views around Clew Bay, is up for sale for €300,000 (£240,000), complete with a fresh water well, the ruins of an old house – and its remarkable history.

It is one of a slew of islands on the market off the west coast of Ireland. Even as the property slump continues in the stagnant Irish economy, land is holding value, and so those who need to sell are doing so.

Clew Bay is island soup; there are some 365 “drowned” drumlins, or elongated hills, out here if anyone’s counting. Some are owned by farmers, others by foreigners as a holiday home, one by the Maharishi Mahesh’s followers. More…

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