[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY Of all the shitty ways to die, ALS is arguably the shittiest. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and in short it is slow death brought on by the steady and methodical withering of the nerves that control your muscles. First, you can’t button your shirt. Then, you can’t walk and eventually, you can’t breathe. The cruelest irony is that the disease does not affect higher brain function, and so even at the very end, you are a fully present mind trapped in […]
BREAKING: New Jersey To Delay Medical Mary Jane
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY New Jersey has hit a speed bump on the road to medical marijuana. The Christie administration has been asking for more time to implement the law and PW has learned that the bill’s chief sponsor, State Senator Nicholas Scutari, is going to give it to them. As you may recall, back in January New Jersey became the 14th state in the union to pass medical marijuana legislation. A last minute amendment to the legislation — part of a trade-off that made the law more restrictive in terms of who qualifies to receive medical marijuana […]