New Yorker Gustin Reichbach went through hell when his doctor diagnosed his Stage III pancreatic cancer three years ago.

Aggressive chemotherapy left him battered almost as badly as the cancer itself. He couldn't eat. He couldn't sleep. He was in pain and nauseous. He lost weight. He tried various prescription drugs, but they left him with an even broader array of ailments - constipation, more appetite loss, dangerous glucose levels. Nothing worked as well as marijuana, so he drew the curtains on his well-appointed home and smoked. He was in the same shoes as any patient in a state that doesn't have MMJ on the books. Almost.

You see, Gustin Reichbach is a sitting New York Supreme Court justice. He recently outed his MMJ self in a New York Times guest editorial. He is risking a lot to tell his state government to pass an MMJ law this year, and he doesn't just limit himself to the medical reasons for supporting MMJ. He gives a legitimate legal reason. Go Gustin.

Given my position as a sitting judge still hearing cases, well-meaning friends question the wisdom of my coming out on this issue. But I recognize that fellow cancer sufferers may be unable, for a host of reasons, to give voice to our plight. It is another heartbreaking aporia in the world of cancer that the one drug that gives relief without deleterious side effects remains classified as a narcotic with no medicinal value.

Because criminalizing an effective medical technique affects the fair administration of justice, I feel obliged to speak out as both a judge and a cancer patient suffering with a fatal disease. I implore the governor and the Legislature of New York, always considered a leader among states, to join the forward and humane thinking of 16 other states and pass the medical marijuana bill this year. Medical science has not yet found a cure, but it is barbaric to deny us access to one substance that has proved to ameliorate our suffering.

Gustin Reichbach, New York Times editorial, May 16, 2012

It's fun when important people give a shit about MMJ. In fact, it's important when important people give a shit about it. When freaks or losers or weirdos give a shit about things, people whisper behind their hands. Check out that weirdo. He supports medical marijuana. But when judges do it, the New York Times listens. We can only hope people of Gustin's stature start marching out of the MMJ closet, first maybe one at a time, but eventually in twos and threes and then crowds. The last guy can slam the door when the closet is empty.

Gustin opened the door, guys.

Come on out.

In the first weeks that I started writing the Noshing Around column here at the Tucson Weekly, local food was the hottest thing going. But it wasn’t long before I started to smell bullshit in the air when people talked about it, and that smell lingers even today.

It pains me greatly to say that. I grew up on a small farm where we raised and butchered goats, grew our own vegetables, dried chamomile, made cheese and did all the other things that a family must do to feed six kids, two adults and dozens of animals. I learned to respect food because I saw how much it took to create food, and that respect is something I still feel on a visceral level.

That part of me is listening when a new restaurant proclaims a dedication to local food, and that part of me gets more than a little pissed off when I learn that that restaurant is not being forthright about where most of the food it sells comes from. A suggestion to these restaurants: It would be wise to pay the farmers you reneged on and to tell customers what your actual commitment to local food is. They will eventually find out and they are not going to be happy about it.

This is not to discount the great work being done by the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, River Road Gardens, Dos Manos Farm, Sleeping Frog Farms, Food Conspiracy Co-op and the growing number of people raising food, sharing food and working to try to take back some control over what we eat. You are my heroes and I will support you until the end.

But as I was driving back from a 3 to 11 p.m. shift at my other job last night I got hungry and I finally broke down and got an order of French fries from the Carl’s Jr. on the way home. I was tired – like so many of you are after busting your asses just to make ends meet – and it tasted very good and was very cheap. I suddenly felt guilty for this lingering snobbery I’ve been harboring about industrialized, processed food.

Local food is still a privilege of those who have the time to seek it out and the money to afford it, and often it seems like it's used more as a marketing tool than anything. Maybe that could change someday, but it feels very naïve and snobbish to act – and write – as if local food is going to change the world. When working people can order a grass-fed, local burger topped with locally raised lettuce off a dollar menu, maybe, but until then it's more like a ripe apple dangling high in a tree, beautiful to behold but, alas, out of reach.

Susan G. Komen is my enemy No. 1. The reason? It's a two-parter, so bear with me: 1) The politicizing of abortion has nothing to do with breast cancer research and finding a cure. 2) The sexualization of breasts and women in general is exploited by this non-profit organization.

So why hate them so much that they are enemy No. 1? Well, my mother passed away after a one-year, 10-month battle with breast cancer. Here is the link to her obituary, which I wrote. She completely supported the mission of organizations like Planned Parenthood and the idea that each woman should be able to make their own choice when it came to abortions.

As for the sexualization of breasts being exploited by Susan G. Komen, that is something that appalled my mother. She never really liked the organization. She told me cancer did not define her life; and I know from my experiences with her that she was absolutely right. The non-profit that will no longer be named (see Harry Potter's lack of mentioning Voldemort) decided to profit from the sexualization of breasts in particular. This is eerie when discussing a disease that affects so many women. Do creeps get off on giving money to Susan G. Komen of Southern Arizona in hopes of protecting boobs?!

The reason for this post stems from a drive today along Park Road south of 22nd Street. There was a large billboard that read "Nothing beats a pair, don't fold to cancer."

I was disappointed to see this sign. When the public outcry over Susan G. Komen's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood reached a fever-pitch I honestly rejoiced and said, "Good, they deserve what they got."

Honestly I am a big believer in karma, fate and "reaping what you sow."

Now in the essence of "balanced" journalism I am including a link to an an editorial that was written by Jaimie Leopold. This article was posted to the Arizona Daily Star's website on March 07, 2012.

Further reading on this topic:

'Women ponder how they became a campaign issue'
http://tinyurl.com/7qvy696

'Komen Race for the Cure'
http://tinyurl.com/86ratdp

'7,217 join Reid Park walk for money to fight cancer'
http://tinyurl.com/6rcren9

'Komen race donation drop in S. Ariz. is called 'crisis'
Planned Parenthood controversy is cited as part of the reason' (Read the story at:
http://tinyurl.com/6tgc2e3

Let's keep breast- and cervical-cancer patients from taking the wrong door
http://tinyurl.com/c8xuke2

I'm personally not the biggest Taj Mahal fan — sometimes the world music influences sort of wear on me — but he'd be worth noting just for "She Caught the Katy," which is just a great song. Mahal, who celebrates his 70th birthday today, will be at the Fox Tucson Theatre on May 24th.

It never really occurred to me that there would be a new batch of Wiggles, but I suppose I also just assumed that there would be a time when their popularity would fade away and the original cast would disappear with their giant piles of money (they earned $45 million Australian dollars as a group in 2009). Instead, now there's trouble in Wiggletown and three of the members are retiring, leaving Anthony (in blue, who is apparently the group's mastermind) behind. So much children's music drama! Who knew?

A Wiggles insider says public outrage over the way former Yellow Wiggle Moran had been treated by the group had "sucked all the life out of it" for Jeff Fatt and Murray Cook.

The pair, along with Greg Page, who was brought back to replace Moran just four months ago, has stood aside to make way for new blood.

Though Page's return was only ever intended to be an interim measure, his second exit from the group was expedited by his ongoing health problems and the retirement of Fatt and Cook.

The insider said the group was rocked by the public scrutiny and ill-will they faced when Moran was dumped over a pay dispute in January.

"Murray and Jeff are getting older and they've been thinking about this (retirement) for ages," the insider said.

"And Greg is still a very sick man. Their last concerts were duds and the ill-feeling towards them after Sam left really pushed them to do it."

It's impossible to overstate how popular and influential go-go singer/guitarist Chuck Brown was in the Washington, DC area, even if his fame didn't really transcend regional fame, other than a few hits and some legendary samples. However, David Simon, creator of The Wire, probably reflected Brown's legacy best on his blog yesterday:

Just heard the news that the father of D.C. go-go has died. He was 75.

Having heard Big G, The Backyard Band and the Soul Searcher horn section bring their funk to New Orleans last Friday, the news lands strangely. The guys on the stage of Tipitina’s last week are very much the proud children of Mr. Brown and his Soul Searchers.

This man, who invented a musical genre and grooved so hard and for so long, is not yet in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The Dave Clark Five, however, are comfortably settled in the shrine.

Argument enough to burn that motherfucker down to the Lake Erie waterline.

On May 4, acclaimed writer Luis Alberto Urrea—The Humingbird's Daughter, The Devil's Highway, and Queen of America—was on the PBS show Moyers and Company discussing the book banned that took place in the Tucson Unified School District when it dismantiled Mexican-American studies. Urrea has been a steadfast supporter of the program.

Of course, TUSD didn't agree with Urrea's continuing assessment of what took place in the district. This week, the Moyers show posted a statement from TUSD that you can read in its entirety here.

Chris Conover and Andrea Kelly moderated an one hour forum with the candidates in CD 8 special election. Early ballots go out tomorrow, but there's an additional debate on the calendar sponsored by the Star, May 23rd, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center.

Your hometown semi-pro soccer club FC Tucson kicks off its home campaign in the Premier Development League this Saturday night with a match against the truly unfortunately named SoCal Seahorses this Saturday night at the Kino Sports Complex. The guys behind the team have really given local sports their all, developing and staging the Desert Diamond Cup this February, making their own renovations to some of Kino's unused baseball fields, and in general, trying to bring high quality soccer to town. The least you can do is buy some tickets and cheer the hometown side, right? Gametime is at 7 pm and there's an after-party at Playground following the match.

Below is a video Tucson filmmaker Brenda Limon put together to further explain the May 10 caravan that left Tucson for Phoenix to demand Pat Vroom, ICE chief counsel for Arizona, issue administrative closure for about 10 local families' immigration cases.

In this week's issue, Tim Vanderpool tells one family's story and explains what immigration activists and these families are up against.