Author: toker

Column: Is the federal government finally transcending its ‘Reefer Madness’ view of cannabis?

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The Untold Story of Bolivia’s ‘Pipe Bench,’ a Lost Landmark of Communal 420 Culture

On occasion, geography offers up some profoundly useful glitches. Other times, with skill and ingenuity, humankind turns that geography into an asset. And in the case of the park bench that stars in this story, you’d swear the hand of God intervened purely for the people’s enjoyment. In Plaza Abaroa, in La Paz’s posh Sopocachi neighborhood, an anonymous structure has existed for years, used by Bolivian citizens to smoke weed outdoors, communally.

Popularly known as “Banco Pipa” (“Pipe Bench”) or “Banca Comunal” (“Communal Bench”), a particular park bench became a rite of passage for a bunch of young people into the wonderful world of weed. There, for hundreds of afternoons and eves, university students, executives from large companies, lawyers, engineers, and responsible adults would gather to light up a joint on one end and catch the smoke on the other. Hence, the name “Pipe Bench”. That’s also why it was called “Communal Bench”: because unless you’re as bendy as Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, you always needed someone else’s help to use it properly.

“What is the ‘Pipe Bench’? It was one of those old park benches, not one of the modern ones, that had crossbars. And in one of those bars, they had made a little hole to smoke who knows what,” explains TikToker Edu Torrico, while calling for “a moment of silence” for the little bench.

“Some friends took me to that bench, showed me how it worked, and then it became very normal for me to go there. Even though I got into the habit of smoking my own pipe, I still miss it. When they renovated the plaza and took it away, it felt like losing a friend,” says Pietro, a local barista and a regular at the famous (if now defunct) “Pipe Bench.”

No one knows when or how this cornerstone of La Paz’s 420 culture began, but we do know when its reign ended: three years ago, when the place was renovated. “My last spot was five years ago, when I got my first pipe,” Pietro continues, with a touch of nostalgia. With saudade, as Brazilians say.

For instance, Bolivian law classifies marijuana as a prohibited drug, just like cocaine, and punishes possession (even of a single gram) with prison sentences of 10 to 25 years. However, the “Pipe Bench” survived clandestinely and with absolute discretion for years. “Discreet,” we say, even though it was located in the middle of a public square, within one of La Paz’s most upscale neighborhoods. But even then, those who frequented it passed the info among like-minded individuals, with little regard for the law.

“I never knew how it started, but I was always grateful that it existed. The crazy thing is that you couldn’t use it alone. You always needed another person. It was a communal thing, about sharing with others,” says our stoner Pietro.

Some reasons for its demise: despite being a plaza teeming with young people and students, and also a popular gathering place for skaters and other wheeled athletes, Plaza Abaroa is located just steps away from important public buildings such as the Ministry of Defense, the Departmental Electoral Court, the Presidential Palace, and (get this!) an Integrated Police Station (EPI), posing a rather obvious dilemma for our pot-smoking brethren.

In fact, nowadays, this space is often at the center of daily political discussions, as it’s where citizens’ protests and rallies usually take place. “Today, almost nobody goes there. Many go to University Park or Plaza Olivia. The people who used to come to smoke at Banco Pipa have moved to other plazas,” Pietro explains. Those who frequented the plaza say that “nowadays, it’s not such a private place; it’s more open, you’re more exposed. And since the police station is right there, you risk spending a couple nights in a cell.”

Nowadays, Plaza Abaroa welcomes tourists looking for typical La Paz postcards, and small concerts and open-air markets are also held there. “I’m still looking for a place like that, and so far I haven’t found anything like it anywhere else,” Pietro laments. Meanwhile, the skaters continue to smoke weed, a bit more discreetly, and still yearn for the mythic presence of that plaza bench, which was more than just a bench… It was a friend.

<p>The post The Untold Story of Bolivia’s ‘Pipe Bench,’ a Lost Landmark of Communal 420 Culture first appeared on High Times.</p>

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President Trump Issues Executive Order to Move Cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act

Dec 19 On December 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order (the “Order”) directing the federal government to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). The White House frames the Order as a research-forward initiative intended to better inform patients and physicians by reducing barriers […]

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Wiz Khalifa Sentenced to 9 Months for Lighting a ‘Big Ass Joint’ on Stage in Romania

Wiz Khalifa has been sentenced to nine months in prison in Romania for lighting up a joint on stage during a music festival. A small amount of cannabis in a country with little tolerance, a crowd packed with young fans (something judges said worsened the offense), and a criminal ruling that crossed borders.

According to the BBC, the sentence was handed down by a Romanian appeals court, which overturned an earlier fine and opted for a custodial sentence, even though the artist is not currently in the country.

The incident itself isn’t new. It happened in July 2024 at the Beach, Please! festival in the coastal city of Costinești. After the show, the rapper was briefly detained by police and later charged with drug possession for personal use.

What Romania’s court said and why they toughened the sentence

In a written ruling, judges from the Constanța Court of Appeal said the punishment wasn’t based solely on possession, but on the public message they believe Khalifa sent. According to the court, the act amounted to “a message normalizing illegal behavior” and encouraged “drug use among young people.”

They also described the gesture as an “ostentatious act,” stressing that Khalifa performed “on the stage of a music festival very popular with young people” and consumed cannabis in front of “a large audience, predominantly made up of young attendees.”

Authorities stated that the artist had more than 18 grams (roughly 0.6 ounces)  of cannabis in his possession and consumed an additional amount during the performance.

What did Khalifa say?

A day after the incident, Wiz Khalifa took to X to defuse the situation, promising he’d be back, just without the big ass joint next time:

Last nights show was amazing. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the country of Romania by lighting up on stage. They were very respectful and let me go. I’ll be back soon. But without a big ass joint next time

— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) July 14, 2024

Since then, the rapper has continued his usual schedule, appearing at shows across the United States and streaming from home on Twitch.

The sentence was issued in absentia, and all signs suggest it won’t be enforced in practice, at least as long as he doesn’t return to the country. Romanian criminologist Vlad Zaha said extradition is highly unlikely and described the ruling as “unusually harsh.” As he explained, Romania has little legal or political leverage to compel the U.S. to hand over the artist to serve the sentence.

The case highlights a growing and increasingly visible tension: global artists operating under cultural codes that don’t always align with local legal frameworks. Wiz Khalifa isn’t just known for hits like See You Again or Young or  Wild & Free, he’s also built a public identity deeply tied to cannabis, including founding his own brand back in 2016.

<p>The post Wiz Khalifa Sentenced to 9 Months for Lighting a ‘Big Ass Joint’ on Stage in Romania first appeared on High Times.</p>

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