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WA MMJ Petition Hearing 6-2-2010 -- whether to add Alzheimerâs, chronic renal failure and neuropathic pain
I'm requesting people who can point me to information that might be persuasive Alzheimer's, chronic renal failure or neuropathic pain are conditions for which medical marijuana would be beneficial poi
If You Kids Don't Quit Partying, We'll Prosecute Your College
Reed College is known for being really awesome. Unfortunately, having a simultaneous reputation for both rigorous academics and a druggy social scene is enough to make the drug warriors' heads explode. Federal and state prosecutors are now working together to flood the Reed campus with undercover narcs, and the madness doesnât stop there: Law enforcement officials raised an unusual theory of liability. Under a federal law intended to close crack houses, anyone who knowingly operates premises where drugs are used may be subject to serious criminal and civil penalties.Education lawyers, however, said they were unaware of that lawâs ever being contemplated, let alone used, in the context of higher education. [NYT] No kidding. That's because they'd have to shut down every institution of higher learning in the country. I seriously dare these morons to try something like that. Just go ahead and do it, you f@#king cowboys, and we'll see how it plays in the press when you prosecute a prestigious university because some of the students took drugs. Better yet, why don't you prosecute yourselves the next time someone gets high in one of your prisons.
Banning Pot Didn't Work, So Let's Try Banning Bongs
Even as record numbers of Americans begin recognizing the profound stupidity of our marijuana laws, Florida legislators are still thrashing around in panicked desperation:A bill passed Wednesday will make it illegal in Florida to sell the drug paraphernalia in most head shops.The so-called "Bong Bill" passed by the Senate and then overwhelmingly passed 115-0 in the House now heads to Gov. Crist for final approval.The bill prohibits the sale of the items by businesses that don't make at least 75 percent of their money from tobacco sales or make over 25 percent from sale of the prohibited items. [NBC]So the Florida legislature's idea of fighting the drug war is to tell retailers they have to sell more tobacco. And the vote was unanimous, of course.
D.C.'s Medical Marijuana Law Needs Your Support Now
If you live in D.C. or know anyone who does, we need your help to ensure that the D.C. Council passes sensible medical marijuana regulations. The current bill is a good effort, but we need to educate the Council about a few issues before the vote next Tuesday. Here are a few of the problems we hope to address:1. The bill prohibits patients from cultivating their own medicine. Personal cultivation is essential to ensuring that patients have affordable and reliable access to their medicine.2. The bill invades patient privacy by requiring detailed records of every purchase. This information puts patients at risk under federal law. Purchase records must be kept anonymous.3. The bill states that patients may only medicate at their own residence or in a hospice. No other medicine is treated this way, and such a rule will create constant hardship for sick people. Patients should be allowed to medicate in any appropriate private residence if they have permission to do so.4. The bill establishes a monthly purchase/possession limit of 2 ounces. Some patients will need more medicine than this. The limit should be 4-8 ounces, which has worked well in other states.5. The bill only allows doctors in D.C. to issue valid recommendations. Patients with doctors outside the District should not have to change their medical care to qualify for the program. Please contact your Council Member as well as the At-Large Members this week to make sure our concerns are addressed in the final bill. Click here for more info, including contact information for the Council. It only takes a few minutes and every call makes a difference. Thanks!
Will Medical Marijuana Lead to Full Legalization?
Robert Dupont is a liar and drug war profiteer who'll say anything to protect his racket. So there was nothing surprising about this Washington Post editorial, except the accidental admission that medical marijuana is awesome and everyone loves it:Medical marijuana is a stalking-horse for legalization. This can be seen in California, where medical marijuana advocates have had great success and are pushing for full legalization. Why have medical marijuana advocates been so successful? Because after more than a decade, the predictions of numbskulls like Robert Dupont never came true. Public support for marijuana reform has increased steadily following the emergence of dispensaries. Everyone can plainly see that nothing bad happened, and our current political climate now stands as a powerful testament to how wrong Robert Dupont has been about everything for many years.If Robert Dupont thinks it serves his agenda to point out the success of medical marijuana, I'll be the last to complain about a major news outlet giving him space to do so.
At long last
Finally I've found like minds to converse with. The war on drugs is costly and futile.
Will DEA Help States Implement Medical Marijuana Laws?
I like the way Eric Sterling frames his concerns about Michele Leonhart's nomination to head the DEA:Aside from the Mexican drug trafficking organizations, the big challenge for the next DEA administrator is to help the states and D.C. implement their medical marijuana laws. President Obamaâs nominee, Michele M. Leonhart, has been at the top of DEA for seven years as deputy and acting administrator. Previously she was DEA special agent-in-charge in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Since 1997, she has led DEA in resisting state medical marijuana laws. She lacks an essential qualification: a commitment to working with the states to implement these compassionate laws. The Senate Judiciary Committee should look closely at her record and her willingness to carry out that mission. [Washington Post]Medical marijuana is indeed the most volatile political issue the DEA deals with. Any questionable move on their part is guaranteed to ignite an immediate firestorm of protests and bad press. But Eric isn't just asking DEA not to attack people for medical marijuana activities. He's suggesting that DEA could actually help with the implementation of new laws, for example by providing regulators at the state level with a realistic assessment of what their enforcement priorities will be. Â It's an idea so crazy it just might work. But in order for it to happen, the White House will have to improve on its position that medical marijuana raids are a poor use of resources and acknowledge instead that the government actually has a responsibility for making this medicine readily and safely available to the people who need it.
Marijuana Will be Legal Soon (And if You Don't Like it, Move to Canada)
If I didn't want legal marijuana in America, I'd be seriously unsettled by the existence of a national marijuana holiday that gets more press than Thanksgiving. The mere fact that multiple news organizations marked April 20th by conducting national polls on legalization is itself a profound statement about where we're headed, more so when you look at what those polls show:*A national CBS poll found 44% support for legalization.*A national AP/CNBC poll found that 56% believe marijuana should be treated the same or less strictly than alcohol.*Another CBS poll found that 56% of Californians support legalization, as the issue heads to the ballot this Fall.Maybe it won't happen this year or even the next, but it's just an indisputable fact that we're heading towards majority support for legalization. Those majorities could quickly move to end prohibition in many states, and there's little the opposition could say that hasn't been said a million times before. The American people have been subjected to decades of vicious anti-pot propaganda, and yet this is where we find ourselves.If there was ever any doubt before, it should now be perfectly clear that those who've invested themselves in the political war on marijuana are fighting a losing battle. We'll soon be finding out who was right and who was wrong. The debate will be settled once and for all in the most logical way possible: letting adults buy marijuana at marijuana stores and seeing if our society gets destroyed. Anyone who remains convinced that this canât possibly work would be well advised to just wait it out. Let your apocalyptic theories speak for themselves once the law changes and if everything goes to hell, I'm sure you'll have a delightful time pointing that out to all of us. But don't waste your time and ours on an argument you're eventually going to lose anyway. If you're so worried about the children, go read them a book.
Public Opinion: California Support for Pot Legalization At 56% in New Poll
A SurveyUSA poll conducted this week for a consortium of California television stations showed majority support for marijuana legalization. An initiative that would do just that, Control and Tax Cannabis California 2019, will be on the ballot in November. The poll found that 56% of those surveyed responded affirmatively to the question, "Should the state of California legalize marijuana?" That's the same number as supported legalization in a Field poll a year ago this month. In this week's poll, only 42% answered negatively, with 3% undecided. People under 35 supported legalization by a margin of three-to-one (74%-25%), with support declining to 46% among the 35-to-49 age group, rising to 49% among the 50-64 group, then declining again to 39% among those 65 and older. Among all voters under age 50, support was at 61%, while among those over 50, it dropped to 46% The poll revealed a significant gender gap, with 65% of men supporting legalization, while a dramatically lower 46% of women supported it. That means legalization supporters will have to work to win over a key demographic. There was majority support for legalization among all ethnic groups except Hispanics, of whom only 45% wanted to free the weed. Support was highest among blacks (67%), followed by whites (59%), and Asians (58%). Somewhat surprisingly, there was majority support for legalization in all regions of the state, although only barely, except for the San Francisco Bay area, where support was at 65%. In Central California and the Inland Empire, support was at 54%, and in the Greater Los Angeles area, support was at 52%. The poll was conducted Tuesday and involved interviews with 500 adults across the state. It has a margin of sampling error of plus/minus 4.4%.
Blogger Forces Drug Czar's Office to Correct False Information
We talked here a while back about the drug czar's misleading use of drug testing data to suggest that shocking numbers of weekend drivers are high on drugs. Well, Pete Guither actually went and did something about it, creating a petition for correction to the drug czar's misleading propaganda. And the best part is that it actually worked:EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTOFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICYWashington, DCApril 15, 2010Mr. Peter Guither909 W. Market StreetBloomington, IL 61701Dear Mr. Guither:This letter is in response to the petition for correction that you emailed to the Office of the National Drug Control Policy on March 16, 2010. The sentence on the ONDCP website regarding the Department of Transportation study has been reworded to state âthat 16 percent of nighttime weekend drivers tested positive for a licit or illicit drug.â This should fully address the specific point raised in your correspondence.Pursuant to Section III of ONDCPâs information Quality Guidelines, you have a right to request reconsideration if you believe appropriate corrective action has not been taken. Such a request must be filed within 30 days of notification of ONDCPâs response to your original request.Sincerely,Timothy J. QuinnChief of StaffIt may seem like a small victory at first glance, but the very notion of the drug czar's office actually accepting a correction from a reformer is pretty remarkable. Almost everything that office does is built on a foundation of deception, and if we're able to hold them accountable to the truth on any level, it begins to even the playing field as we make the case for reform. Pete may only have succeeded in correcting one specific lie, but in doing so, he may have prevented any number of similar lies from being told in the future. Awesome job.
Happy 4/20
As support for marijuana prohibition continues to hemorage and calls for legalization reverberate louder than ever before, the 4/20 marijuana holiday has become much more than the official day to get stoned. Recent years have brought frenzied media coverage and cable TV specials, in addition to the famed improptu pot parties that just seem to escalate each year. It's a phenomenon, the very existence of which perfectly humiliates the great drug war army. Today we celebrate the culture that thrives despite decades of persecution and renew our commitment to the fight for freedom. A few links: *Norm Stamper wants all you 4/20 revelers to Put Down That Joint and Pick Up a Pen, although maybe I should have mentioned this to you earlier in the day. Do not, I repeat, do not send letters to the editor if you're stoned off your ass.*D.C.'s medical marijuana law takes another big forward step. This was a bit of a 4/20 surprise from the D.C. Council. We actually would have preferred that they wait a couple more weeks, so we'd have more time to push for amendments. If the law ultimately takes effect under the current regulations, we'll have some annoying problems. Nevertheless, the inevitable emergence of medical marijuana in the Nation's Capital is something to celebrate. *A new AP-CNBC poll completely pukes all over our pot party. I'd like to know how they phrased the legalization question to come up with only 33% support. Every other recent poll is in the 40's. I call bullshit on this. A new CBS poll says 44%. That's more like it.*You can download the book Marijuana is Safer today only. Click here.*Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley is doing his best to interfere with California's legalization initiative. Someone give him a hug. *Finally, since marijuana isn't truly legal yet anywhere in America, please take a few minutes to educate yourself about dealing with police. Click the link, dude. You'll love it. I swear.
Will the Economic Argument Help Legalize Marijuana? Yes.
It's been the most prominent talking point for marijuana reform in recent months, but can the promise of tax revenue really convince people to support legalization? A new poll attempted to find out:AP-CNBC Poll: Legalizing pot won't boost economyLOS ANGELES â Few people see legalized marijuana as a way to boost the economy and create jobs, according to an Associated Press-CNBC poll.About a quarter of those polled said legalized pot would lead to more jobs in their communities; 57 percent said there would be no effect. About a third think the economy would improve, while 46 percent foresee no impact.â¦And while 62 percent approve of states taxing the drug, with people from the West most likely to back the idea, only a third felt the levies would make a significant contribution to state budgets.As far as I'm concerned, if you can get 62% to approve of taxation, you're heading hard in the right direction. The AP headline pours cold water on the argument's viability, but the goal here was never to convince everyone that legalizing marijuana would end the damn recession. The point is to increase support for taxing marijuana. Given the poor showing for the "create jobs" argument specifically, maybe we want to lean away from that and just emphasize tax revenue and savings. The whole idea of new marijuana-related jobs wouldn't impress our target demographic anyway. They are people who generally don't like marijuana and just want to hear less about it. Hopefully, we can sell them on supporting legalization in exchange for a little bit of tax revenue and a lifetime of not having to watch these massive initiatives come along every two years for the rest of their life.Ultimately, the reality of marijuana reform messaging is that there's no silver bullet. Some arguments poll better than others, but when you actually talk to casual supporters, they're often oblivious to half the arguments anyway. There are dozens of distinct and sufficient reasons to legalize marijuana and our goal is simply to connect with swing voters one way if not another. The only arguments to really avoid are those that only make sense to people who already love the stuff.
~~~~To Spark A Resolution~~~~
~~~~To Spark A Resolution~~~~ One great idea can "snowball" into a movement which can become unstoppable in the Grander Scheme of things.
Jack Herer Has Died
Jack Herer, author of "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," died this morning in Eugene, Oregon. He had been in ill health since suffering a heart attack at the Portland Hempstock Festival last Fall. Here's the report from the Salem News: The Hemperor, Jack Herer has Died (SALEM, Ore.) - The sad news has been confirmed. Jack Herer, author of Emperor Wears No Clothes and renowned around the world for hemp activism, has died at 11:17 a.m. today, in Eugene, Oregon. Jack Herer suffered a heart attack last September just after speaking on stage at the Portland HempStalk festival. The last seven months have proven to be a huge challenge to the man, with several health issues making his recovery complicated. Jack Herer's health has been poor lately, this last week there have been reports of the severity, and an outpouring of prayers on his behalf. "It's shocking news, even after these last seven, trying months," said Paul Stanford, THCF Executive Director. "Jack Herer has been a good friend and associate of mine for over 30 years. I was there when he had the heart attack at our Hempstalk festival and I know he wouldnât appreciate the quality of life he's endured these last months. Still he will be greatly missed. I honor his memory." "No other single person has done more to educate people all across the world about industrial hemp and marijuana as Jack Herer. His book is translated into a dozen different languages, it's a bestseller in Germany," added Stanford. "The Hempstalk stage will forever be the Jack Herer Memorial stage. And, a Memorial is planned to be built where he fell that day," Stanford said. "His legacy will continue to inspire and encourage for generations to come."
Michelle Obama's Awesome Plan for Winning the Drug War
When the First Lady speaks out about how to deal with the drug problem, you can bet she'll call for more of the same:MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) - The United States needs to do more to reduce demand for illegal drugs if it wants to help reduce the violence that has wracked its southern neighbor, Michelle Obama said Wednesday.The first lady of the United States made that comment after meeting with her Mexican counterpart, Margarita Zavala de Calderon, whose "New Life Centers" help with prevention and education so that fewer young people will become addicted."We need to do more of the same," said Obama, who cited education and opportunity as key elements to any successful anti-drug campaign.Wait, what!? Did she really say that? Ok, she's making a specific reference to a program she likes, but still. Prevention and education are not new strategies. They are more of them same, and they won't even dent the bloodly specter smoldering before us. The war on drugs has never been as ugly and brutal as it is today. There truly exists no public policy failure so unambiguously catastrophic and hopeless as this. Yet our leaders discuss it like talking wind-up dolls, capable only of repeating the same stupid sentence. We can only hope that by the time they abandon their script, there will remain something worth saving.
Drug Cartel Assassins Caught on Camera
This video is freaking people out in Mexico. Most of the violence is occurring off-camera, but it's pretty effective at revealing how openly these guys operate. 8 people were killed in the vicinity of what you're seeing here:But don't worry, the violence means we're winning the drug war. Soon, all the drug traffickers and innocent bystanders will be dead and then we can all go to Mexico for Spring Break and get wasted without worrying about getting shot by machine guns.