I have received credible information about some judges in these parts being prone to taking children from their families if they find that mom or dad smoke the demon weed.

Perhaps some retro blackrobes believe the 1936 propaganda film (and kitschy cult classic) "Reefer Madness."

Longtime readers know I'm a conservative when it comes to smoking. You should never put anything in your lungs that doesn't absolutely need to be there.

Medical marijuana is fine by me. As to all the rest, grandma was right: Don't smoke. Anything. At freakin' all. There are already plenty of pollutants in the air from the likes of auto and airplane exhausts, power plants, forest fires and many more.

No matter why you light up, keep the fallout away from others, especially children.

Reefer madness has long cost Nevada adults serious prison time. The amount of long-lasting residual marijuana deemed to cause driving impairment is both miniscule and fluid. There just isn't very good research equivalent to the .08 (eight-tenths of one percent) blood-level standard of alcohol.

The most mentioned number is two nanograms. "Nano" means "billion" so two nanoseconds comprise two-billionths of one second and two nanograms are two-billionths of a gram. How small is that? Might as well try to answer the ancient religious question about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

So the penalties for the demon weed often lie with the prejudices of judges and prosecutors. That arbitrariness constitutes cartoon justice.

MR. EQUALITY AND JUSTICE IS DEAD. Jake Highton died of a heart attack on August 7.

I recently placed Jake in the Barbwire Molly Ivins Memorial Columniator Hall of Flames, an exclusive club with just two entry requirements. Your writing must have serious impact. And you gotta be dead.

"Only six Nevadans stand immoralized therein," I wrote last April 4. "It's time to waive the rules for a lucky seventh, my longtime Sparks Tribune colleague in columny Jake Highton.

"His widely published and prolific writings pale in comparison to his impact on generations of UNR journalism students. Every one I've met or labored alongside remarked upon Jake's awesome influence.

"So welcome aboard, old son. You're Lucky No. 7 while still around to enjoy it. We'll work on the Nevada Press Association HOF right after Don Dondero gets voted in."

Jake now rides eternally with the Magnificent 7. Long may he run.

YOUR DON THANKS YOU. My sincere gratitude goes to readers who called or wrote the Nevada Press Association Board of Directors ahead of the Aug. 4 hall of fame vote. It's my sincere hope that erstwhile Tribune and world-famed photographer Dondero (1920-2003) finally receives long overdue respect. We'll know soon if there will be a larger than usual delegation to the NPA state convention next month in Carson City, Dondero's home town.

I hope so because we have to work for Jake's installation next year. He will nonetheless be honored at the event.

You will find remembrances, selected Highton columns and articles from other publications linked to the expanded online edition of this column at NevadaLabor.com/

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)

ONLINE EXTRAS —> Update (sorta) from last week

NVEnergy SECURITY BREACH? After I paid my power bill, I awaited the usual confirmation. Just before it arrived to an unpublished e-mail address, I got two pieces of spam to that same address.

The subject lines stated "Second Attempt Your July Electric bill is zero" and "Study Reveals The #1 Tiny Device SAVES Electricity Bills In Your Home."

Too close for coincidence. I contacted NVE. Stay tuned.

FIRE METER UPDATES: THE NEVADA FIRE MARSHALL'S INVESTIGATION concluded "don't worry, be happy." I'm still worried and will continue fondling NVE's precious equipment —> If your smart meter feels very hot, not just from sunshine, call 911. In its Sunday 21 Dec. 2014 front page headline major story, the Reno Gazette-Journal published results of the NVEnergy-commissioned "don't worry, be happy" echo study. On 1-27-2015, the RGJ published an analysis based on veteran reporter Anjeanette Damon's review of more than 1,000 pages of documents.

Barbwire bottom line: NVE handles this like auto manufacturers handle defects —> It's cheaper to pay legal settlements after people are injured or killed than to fix the problem.

Don'tcha worry 'bout a thing! If you can't trust your power company, whom can you trust?

Smoking guns: Rooftop solar assassination — NevadaLabor.com Energy War Room

DIDN'T THEY MAKE A MOVIE CALLED "THE INCREDIBLES"? On 2-6-2015, the RGJ reported that the Public Utilities Commission has ordered NVE to hire an independent laboratory to review the material.

UPDATE: The report said all is well. I still recommend feeling up your fire meter on a regular basis.

ANTE INTO THE GAME: Support the new season of Barbwire.TV by putting your money where my mouth is. A thousand thanks to those who keep sending show suggestions.

  Stay tuned.

  I encourage you to donate to the cause at Barbwire.TV/ The medium that shapes public opinion needs at least one refuge where it is not filtered through the distorted green eye shades of prissy corporate accountants for whom profit is the only priority; where self-censorship is the journalist's normal work environment and where all sins of omission are tacitly encouraged and forgiven with the wave of a balance sheet.

  This is important. We've got a lot of work to do.

END OF TIMES SURVIVAL KIT. Defend yourself with humorous or humorless but always-peerless predictions for 2017 by subscribing to the Barbwire Confidential News Service.

Last year's dark foreshadowings unfortunately became reality. I thus suggest inoculation by signing onto the HushHush! list at BallotBoxing.US/

It's cheap as well as enlightening entertainment.

Get ahead of corporate-influenced news—>Subscribe to Barbwire Confidential

Be well. Raise hell. / Esté bien. Haga infierno. (Pardon my Spanglish.)