Just a quick update here…

Once we hit 2,000 fans on our Facebook page, I will choose one lucky member at random to receive an I Love Weed T-Shirt via our Zazzle shop!

Spread the word and cross your fingers!

For a typical college student, if it didn’t happen on Facebook, it didn’t happen. That gives the social networking behemoth an out-sized influence on the confines of political debate, if that debate falls outside what Facebook deems acceptable discourse.

Proponents of marijuana legalization, which is on the California ballot in 2010, have hit a Facebook wall in their effort to grow an online campaign to rethink the nation’s pot laws. Facebook initially accepted ads from the group Just Say Now, running them from August 7 to August 16, generating 38 million impressions and helping the group’s fan page grow to over 6,000 members. But then they were abruptly removed.

Andrew Noyes, a spokesman for Facebook, said that the problem was the pot leaf. “It would be fine to note that you were informed by Facebook that the image in question was no long[er] acceptable for use in Facebook ads. The image of a pot leaf is classified with all smoking products and therefore is not acceptable under our policies,” he told the group in an email, which was provided to HuffPost.

Noyes is on vacation and didn’t respond to an email. A request sent to Facebook’s general press address generated an auto-reply indicating that the company receives many requests and intends to respond. [Scroll down for a Facebook statement.]

Facebook’s ad rules, however, only ban promotion of “[t]obacco products,” not smoking in general. Since the 1970s, shops selling marijuana paraphernalia have sought ways around the law by disingenuously claiming their products are “for tobacco use only.” The Just Say Now campaign is arguing the exact opposite: No, really, it’s for marijuana, not tobacco.

The censorship is a blow to the campaign, which is gathering signatures on college campuses calling for legalization and registering young people to vote. “It’s like running a campaign and saying you can’t show the candidate’s face,” said Michael Whitney of Firedoglake.com, a blog that is part of the Just Say Now coalition.

Conservative college students condemned the site’s restrictions. “Our generation made Facebook successful because it was a community where we could be free and discuss issues like sensible drug policy. If Facebook censorship policies continue to reflect those of our government by suppressing freedom of speech then they won’t have to wait until Election Day to be voted obsolete,” Jordan Marks, the head of Young Americans for Freedom, told HuffPost in an email. YAF was founded in the 1960s and William Buckley’s estate; Buckley was a longtime supporter of marijuana legalization. Marks is a member of the Just Say Now board.

Read the full article on Huffington Post

After 2 months of incompatibility, I’ve re-added the Facebook Like plugin. So feel free to share your favorite posts with your friends! And for those who haven’t already, be sure to follow us on Facebook for our latest posts added to your news feed.

This picture is full of awesome. Although it would be very stupid to ACTUALLY let your baby smoke, but wouldn’t you want a picture like this? Wait until they are adults, and if they happen to be a stoner just give them the picture.

Hats off to the Florida mother who posted a picture of her baby “smoking” out of a bong on Facebook.

Not only has she managed to outrage mothers all over the world, she has also gotten the attention of the Florida Department of Children and Families who have in turn launched an investigation into her parenting skills – or lack thereof – reports Sky News.

The 19-year-old mother from Keystone Heights, northwest of Gainesville, is defending the photo. She claims it was taken as a joke and posted on Facebook so that she could show one of her friends.

Can’t we realize that Facebook isn’t private?

If drugs were used by or found near the baby, she could face serious charges, including losing her 11-month-old son to the state of Florida.

It’s obviously a joke, you see many pictures of babies with beer bottles or cigarettes, but a bong suddenly results in a police investigation? I’m sure the first two would cause more harm.

Read more at CBS.

This is what happens when Facebook and Myspace collide. Click the image to see it. Via TheOatmeal

I’ve just optimized the website, so you should already notice faster page loading. Let us know if anything looks strange.

Thanks to all our readers, we are 5 fans away from 1000 on Facebook. For those who haven’t already, be sure to follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Stay tuned for a Facebook contest in the next few weeks.

If you have any cool pictures, videos, links, or anything else you’d like us to see (and possibly post), please email us at feedback@iloveweed.net or use the Contact page. Just leave a name and/or a website so we can leave credit.

Keep on tokin’

Facebook with the Privacy Checker Open

One thing most people don’t know is that Facebook is constantly becoming more public. Your privacy is at risk, and I have found a great tool to make sure your privacy settings are correct.

ReclaimPrivacy.org has an excellent tool that will show you what is public about your profile, and makes it very simple and easy to secure your privacy settings.

Many people feel that Facebook has violated their trust, and are pledging to delete their accounts on May 31st.

All you need to do is add a bookmark to your favorites, go to your privacy settings, and open the bookmark. It will scan your settings and tell you what you need to correct. Change the options it tells you to then rescan, and you will be somewhat safe for the time being.

Although we use Facebook on our site, we are unable to access your personal information. Any ‘Like’ button you see goes from Facebook’s server to your screen. All of us at ‘I Love Weed’ are as privacy-aware as anyone who would be blogging about illegal topics.

“According to SAI sources, the following exchange is between a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg and a friend shortly after Mark launched The Facebook in his dorm room”:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don’t know why.

Zuck: They “trust me”

Zuck: Dumb fucks.

For those of you who don’t want to join the blog for an account, or have to type your email and name every time… this is a solution for you.

You can post comments right from your Facebook account! You will also get blog updates in your Facebook news feed!

Let me know what you think about this implementation! Thanks

A Facebook group organised by the US campaigning organisation Norml is aiming to get 5 million members to pressure Obama to legalise marijuana. They say:

“OBAMA was originally for the decriminalization of marijuana but, soon after talking to his advisers he changed his position. We hope Obama will stand for what he first said and probably believes in himself”.

They suggest that President Obama should instead take the advice of ex President Jimmy Carter; “Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.”