Tortoise vs. Hare: Marijuana Legalization Movement
June 17th, 2009 by Rick
Like the slow but persistent tortoise in the race in Aesop’s Fables, the marijuana decriminalization/legalization movement has been faithfully trudging along for more than two decades. Like the careless hare, cocksure and arrogant, the drug warriors have been sleeping at the tree, not overly concerned about crossing the finish line — underestimating the tortoise.
A veteran of the movement, Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance said:
This is the first time I feel like the wind is at my back and not in my face.
Even people within law enforcement have begun to question the war on drugs. Norm Stamper, a former Seattle Police Chief, an active member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) said:
For the most part, what we’ve seen over the past 20 years has been incremental. [...] What we’ve seen in the past six months is an explosion of activity, fresh thinking, bold statements and penetrating questions.
More and more politicians are beginning to seriously question the drug war. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said the issue of legalization needs to be discussed, while former world leaders from Mexico and South America have formed an organization and said that the only way to stop the drug violence crossing borders is to legalize.
More and more states are pursuing a change in their laws that would decriminalize pot, as well as contemplating bills that would allow medical marijuana for registered patients. Congress, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, (D-Ohio) and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va) are among several lawmakers that recognize the failed U.S. drug policies.
Sen. Jim Webb said:
Nothing should be off the table.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, during a phone interview commented on the fact of two Presidents of the United States have admitted to smoking marijuana:
Apparently that didn’t stop them from achieving their goals in life. [...] We need to come at this from a point of science and research and not from mythologies or fears.
When lawmakers speak with the drug warriors, they are now more educated on the issue and actually question their tactics and claims. Rep. Steve Cohen, (D-Tenn) grilled FBI Director Robert Mueller at a House hearing last month. When asked about lives being lost to marijuana, Mueller was stumped.
Rep. Steve Cohen said:
Exactly. You can’t, because that hasn’t happened. [...] Is there some time we’re going to see that we ought to prioritize meth, crack, cocaine and heroin, and deal with the drugs that the American culture is really being affected by?
The citizens of this country have voiced their opinions through national polls and the results are disconcerting to the drug warriors, showing that half the American Public is behind legalizing marijuana. Economic experts like, Jeffrey Miron, an economist at Harvard University, have extensively studied the cost and effect of the drug war, claiming that at least $7.7 billion would be saved with law enforcement costs. Additionally, if marijuana was regulated and taxed like alcohol, it could potentially generate more than $6 billion in revenue.
According to a DEA document:
Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety. [...] It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers.
Bruce Mirken, communications director of the Marijuana Policy Project disagrees:
The notion that we have to keep something completely banned for adults to keep it away from kids doesn’t hold up.
Now in a day and age where once strong American corporations are now declaring bankruptcy and affecting the national economy in a negative impact, can we afford not to pursue every avenue of generating much needed revenue for this country and eliminating the sheer number of incarcerations of non-violent offenders, caused by the war on drugs?
Thomas Jefferson once said:
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
The fact that more and more prominent people within politics and the marijuana movement are speaking up and denouncing the myths and boldfaced lies of the drug war, shows that the people are beginning to shift gears. People have gone from fearing the repercussions from the government to seeing the rewards just on the horizon. It’s just a matter of time before the government will fear its people, and true liberty and the pursuit of happiness is attained.
Stoner States are Smarter, Maybe
June 12th, 2009 by Russ
This week, the Marijuana Policy Project released its analysis of The National Survey on Drugs and Health, the definitive government report on illicit drug use over the last year. In examining the government’s appraisal of weed smoking trends, MPP’s Bruce Mirken concludes that there is absolutely no correlation between states with lenient medical marijuana laws and increased rates of weed smoking amongst young people. However, tFS found one interesting correlation that you may find enlightening…
There seems to be a strange correlation between the ’smartest states’ (states with higher educational rankings according to the 2006-2007 Smartest State Award), and those states that the Survey on Drugs and Health list as those with teens who smoke weed the most often.
Of the ten smartest states: Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Virginia, Montana, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pennsylvania; seven of those states also rank as some of the highest incidences of teen weed smoking in the country (Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Virginia, Montana, and Wisconsin).
Among the ten least smart states: Arizona, Nevada, Mississippi, California, Alaska, Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Georgia; only two of those states rank as high in marijuana use among teens (New Mexico, and Alaska).
While no relationship can be found between medical marijuana law and an increase in weed use, some correlation can be found between weed smoking teens and improved scholastic achievement in their respective states.
THC Potency Claims in Question
June 2nd, 2009 by Rick
For the past couple of weeks, the media has been running a series of reports stating that according to new statistics, marijuana is more potent than ever!
The Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi was responsible for the study and report, passing it on to the ONDCP. According to Bruce Mirken, of the Marijuana Policy Project, the full report sheds light on the actual findings.
For instance, the mainstream news has been reporting that THC levels from certain samples had reached a 10.1% – Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske even confirmed that in a statement. The full report shows that only when they mixed hashish with the marijuana that the ten percent THC threshold was crossed.
The average marijuana potency was 8.52%, while the hashish had a THC infused 20.76%. It doesn’t take a PhD in Theoretical Physics to realize that the combination of the two different sources of THC would pump the THC level and ultimately skew the results. Whether it means poor researching on all the mainstream media counterparts, or a clear sign that the media is indeed the 4th branch of the government, the verdict is still out.
CNN Rehashes the THC Potency Debate
May 19th, 2009 by RickIn an ongoing attempt to cover the explosive marijuana issue and the seemingly demise of the war on drugs, CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks about the supposed new THC potency, showing interview clips of Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project and John Walters, dinosaur former drug czar.
John Walters starts it off:
You have more people getting in trouble because there is a wolf in sheep’s clothing here.
This is probably the first honest answer that’s come out of this man’s mouth in a long time — although some people will keep it in the context of him referring to the higher potency of weed and others will know exactly what I am talking about when it comes to drug crusaders that need to take a long walk off a short pier.
The study that all this new information is originating from is through a Mississippi University that tested thousands of strains and have claimed that the THC level has risen to an all time 30 percent within marijuana. Just last year the THC level was supposedly 10.1 percent.
Bruce Mirken sees the new THC potency issue as more rhetoric from the government and opposition:
They’ve used these sorts statistics every year going back twenty or thirty years as an attempt to scare people. Oh my God, it’s a whole new marijuana, it’s way more potent, be afraid. It’s nonsense then and it’s nonsense now.
Mirken believes that if the claims were true, then a more potent marijuana would be a good thing:
THC is essentially non-toxic, so in some ways a higher potency marijuana is actually healthier because the main heath risk associated with marijuana is the respiratory harms of smoking and when it’s more potent people smoke less.
Walters, disagrees:
There’s no evidence of that, if anything the higher potency creates a greater risk of dependency.
Walters goes as far as saying that more and more people are winding up in the emergency rooms and that users may lose control, have trouble concentrating and sleeping — teenagers especially may feel suicidal. This, of course, is all bullshit, as the next day at the MPP website, Mirken commented on his interview at CNN and showed that Walters is a liar.
In a study entitled Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System: A Pilot Study, published in the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, researchers at University of California, used marijuana with THC levels of 1.7%, 3.4% and 6.8%. The study was to compare smoking and vaporization so the participants were taken through a “standardized puff procedure.”
Mirken writes:
Although the high-strength marijuana was four times as potent as the weakest, it produced a peak plasma THC level only about 20% higher, smoked or vaporized. This, the researchers wrote, suggests that either less is absorbed at the higher potency levels or there is “self-titration of THC intake,” meaning that “smokers adapt their smoking behavior to obtain desired levels of THC.”
Final note, Mirken brings another example to light of the mainstream news not telling the whole story:
I was disappointed that perhaps the most important thing I said to the interviewer didn’t get on the air. If potency is a concern, there is an obvious solution: Regulate marijuana as we do alcoholic beverages, and require the cannabinoid levels to be listed on the label. If consumers know what they’re getting — as they do now with beer, wine, or Bacardi 151 — they can adjust their behavior to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Impact of Ammiano’s Bill Depends on Federal Law
May 14th, 2009 by Erin
Anyone who’s a marijuana activist knows assemblyman Tom Ammiano. He’s the author of a bill that would make California the first ever state to legalize personal marijuana use, but not without the typical fights with the feds.
The Governator’s appeasing statement about being open to discussion about California possibly allowing sales of marijuana in order to gain tax revenue has only supported Ammiano’s bill. According to the state Board of Equalization, the bill could raise an estimated $1.3 billion a year.
Assuming federal law stays the same, the bill (AB390) would simply remove criminal penalties for individual possession and cultivation of no more than 10 marijuana plants. No retail sales or tax revenue, and HOPEFULLY no more federal raids.
If federal law were to permit possession and sale, marijuana would be made legal for those 21 and older with laws similar to those regarding alcohol.
Quintin Mecke, a spokesman for Ammiano, thinks the DEA shouldn’t be interested in private residences:
I think they pay attention to major grow operations.
Stephen Gutwillig, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance stated:
In ever-increasing numbers, the citizens of this state are ready to junk our failed prohibition policies, even if that means taking on the feds
in reference to the recent nationwide Zogby poll that showed legalization support at 52%. Gutwillig said the voters are “way ahead” of public officials on this issue, and we couldn’t agree more.
Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said:
It has to be the states moving first. Just like medical marijuana, the feds will be dragged along by the states.
Unfortunately, we may have to wait two years before we see a change here in Cali. Ammiano introduced the bill in February, but he won’t try and bring it to a vote until next year, meaning it could not take effect until 2011. In response to the ongoing federal-state conflict that complicates many things, you may remember Barack Obama saying states should be allowed to enforce medical marijuana laws without federal interference; unfortunately his views are limited only to medical marijuana.
When asked about his thoughts on legalizing marijuana to increase tax revenue, Obama said:
No, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.
Mirken said it’ll take time to convince the feds to let the state go its own way, but in two years if the bill becomes law and Obama is looking for re-election, the administration officials looking to crack down might reconsider for fear of angering California.
Bill breakdown: What would it do?
- Decriminalize personal use, sale, possession and cultivation of cannabis in California.
- If the federal ban were repealed, the state would allow marijuana farmers and sellers, but impose a $50/oz tax.
CNBC Interview with MPP’s Bruce Mirken
April 22nd, 2009 by RickBruce Mirken, a communications director at the Marijuana Policy Project, was interviewed on CNBC. Mirken brings up points like; two-thirds of the Mexican cartels’ profit comes from marijuana and that marijuana has consistently been the top cash crop in the United States, which the cartel’s have received the majority of profit from.
Even after he told the CNBC reporter, that two-thirds of the cartel’s profit comes from the distribution of marijuana, she interrupts her guest and asks if the cartels would just move to hardcore drugs. Another guest starts dropping some interesting statistics to the other Guest, John Carnevale, President of Carnevale Associates and asks him why marijuana can’t be legalized.
Carnevale actually has the audacity to say that the answer is quite simple. He adds that the reason marijuana can’t be legalized because there would be a greater demand for it and more people would be doing it.
Even the another reporter tells John about the success in the Netherlands, where the stats show the exact opposite — but Carnevale sticks to his guns and even goes on to claim that the reason marijuana is illegal is because it is a harmful drug and serves no medicinal purposes? I think 13 states and growing would beg to differ, along with all the scientists and doctors that aren’t paid by the government to speak out against marijuana.
Carnevale denies that the prohibition of marijuana is similar to the failed prohibition of alcohol. He even dodges a statement about marijuana being less addictive and toxic than alcohol by bringing other drugs into the discussion. Back-peddling, trying to stand on some firm ground, Carnevale then brings up the point that they all like to bring up — the children. How Carnevale brought this up is sheer lunacy by implying that if marijuana would be legalized then a 3 or 5 year old would have it available to them.
Carnevale goes on to say that alcohol is the leading cause of people going to the hospital and that the social abuse of it has cost $200 billion. He forgot to mention the deaths that alcohol has caused, not just the trips to the doctor. Granted none of these things are good yet alcohol is still legal and marketed worldwide. Saying that marijuana can’t be legalized because we didn’t get it right with alcohol is just purely hypocritical.
Potential Herbal Cure for ADHD
October 21st, 2008 by Perry
A recently published medical study may have found helpful effects in treating the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with marijuana use. It also gave knowledge to recent debates over marijuana’s ability to effect those prone to psychosis.
Per Bruce Mirken @ Marijuana Policy Project Blog:
There was a correlation between signs of mental health disturbance and marijuana use for the group of siblings at genetic risk for psychosis, but not for the other groups. This suggests that marijuana may worsen the prognosis of those with a predisposition to psychosis but does not make healthy people psychotic.
In the ADHD group, the results suggested marijuana may be beneficial: In several of the tests, there was a trend toward better functioning among the marijuana using ADHD patients than among the non-users. In the article, the researchers discuss a possible mechanism by which marijuana “could attenuate some of the behavioral symptoms of ADHD.” This is an area that cries out for more research.
Makes perfect sense if you look at some of the associated symptoms, it makes you wonder why this hasn’t been tried earlier.
Global Cannabis Commission in Session
October 10th, 2008 by Perry
Arguing under the basic assumption that if something is not legal then it can’t be regulated, the Beckley Foundation commissioned the GCC (which is composed of 5 leading marijuana policy experts) to put out a report titled, “Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate.”
Some report highlights can be found in Bruce Mirken’s excellent summary.
Depending on your amount of interest, the full report in its entirety can be found and downloaded here. (Warning: It’s a rather large .pdf document.)
Happy reading.
