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.
Former Pastor Expresses Liberal View on Marijuana
April 29th, 2009 by Erin
A compassionate outlook on marijuana use… from a pastor?
An essay written for the Associated Baptist Press by Benjamin Cole, former pastor of Parkway Baptist Church in Arlington outlines Cole’s thoughts on what should be done about marijuana laws. His opinions are surprisingly (and refreshingly) liberal.
He begins his essay with:
Can anything good come out of Mexico?
Forgetting about the delicious carnitas burritos that have more often than not satisfied my voracious munchies, the drug trafficking through Mexico is becoming an issue that is keeping many Americans awake at night. Agreeing that there are two sides to the subject, Cole wants to have a serious discussion about the “War on Drugs”.
Cole suggests that “a way forward exists in the debate whereby society can generally discourage marijuana usage without the full force of criminal statute.”
More than 30 times the number of soldiers who have died in the Iraq war since Obama took office have been killed in the Mexican drug wars, undoubtedly increasing the number of politicians (both Dems and Reps) that are looking to change our nation’s laws regarding marijuana.
Cole outlines his four basic approaches regarding the federal policy issue of cannabis possession; the first being the complete legalization of marijuana, provided there are regulations on production and distribution, as well as the taxes that would ultimately generate much needed federal revenues.
His second idea is to decriminalize the possession of cannabis; imposing small fines rather than prison sentences. This would generate revenue while still discouraging marijuana use.
The third approach is to completely declassify marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance (why we haven’t done this already, I have no idea), which would reduce investigations and prosecutions.
Fourth and foremost, the laws could remain in place and the federal government could easily choose not to enforce them. This would result in the laws simply dying based on universal neglect, but would also bring up a number of possible loopholes and problems.
Cole then points out that the distinction needs to be made between personal freedom and commercial vice, and many say that marijuana use should be an individual choice. He encourages Americans to make educated moral distinctions between personal cannabis use and mass production resulting in significant profit, as well as more severe penalties.
Heroin Overdoses Become Growing Epidemic
April 15th, 2009 by Rick
It’s tragic, but it happens on a daily bassis anywhere around the world — someone dies of a heroin overdose. With the family from Massapequa, New York the mother had a chance to get her daughter the help she needed after her first overdose, but she dropped the ball by allowing her daughter tell her that she didn’t need rehab. Another overdose later and she died.
Her mother was oblivious to her drug activity yet all the typical tell-tale signs were seemingly there; she lost weight, began seeing less of her friends, stayed in her room writing lyrics and poetry, met a new boyfriend, began breaking curfews and began arguing with her parents. I say typical because these could easily be signs of a changing teenager meeting a boyfriend who began influencing her staying out and being rebelous towards her parents.
If her mother had been properly educated on the drug heroin then she would have seen the tell tale physical signs that not even the best heroin user could hide. Things like drowsiness, constricted pupils, lethargy amongst others. Depending on how it was used may have left physical marks as well. The fact that they couldn’t recognize their daughter’s drug abuse is lost on me, there are plenty of families and friends out there that recognize drug abuse, try to put an end to it, then just pray they can curtail it and get the abuser to rebab — and yet they still die.
According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, it’s because the heroin of today is much stronger than the heroin of the past. The statistics of it being 10 percent pure back then and 70 percent pure now is what they want you to believe. In reality, it is the exact opposite. The truth as to why people are dying of overdoses is because when the drug comes off the street, it’s cut once or twice over thus losing it’s purity, depending on how many channels the drug goes through depends on the cut. Too many channels, too much cut and a greater chance for an overdose because they are doing larger quantities chasing that dragon.
The National Drug Intelligence Center knows that experiments like in Switzerland and the recent Portugal have been a success with curbing overdoses by distributing heroin in a pure form. What statistics do you believe? Their words and disinformation on a mainstream media outlet that puts a heroin story under an ironically named AM Fix, or statistics tracked from studies done in two separate countries?
Obviously there are many factors to consider on how drugs of this nature actually can be legalized, aside from just doing it. Politics have a tendency to wrap the issue in red tape, much as it has been done over the decades. When heroin can be cheaper than a six pack of beer, people can obtain it without IDs and organized crime profits immensely off of it; then it’s time to cut the tape and figure out another avenue of approach.
The Justice Department’s National Drug Threat Assessment reports that more than half the heroin arrests in the nation are in mid-Atlantic and Northeast states; Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. In 2006 the Department of Health reported that more heroin users sought treatment in the Northeastern states than anywhere else. With many of these states now pushing bills for decriminilization of marijuana and bills seeking laws for medical marijuana, one wonders if heroin use will decrease in those states in the coming years.
Editorial: The Mainstream vs. Medical Marijuana
April 14th, 2009 by Aaron
If pot is hitting the mainstream, it’s safe to assume the ball began rolling in California. The Golden State has very lenient state laws regarding marijuana especially in regards to the medical kind. This liberal approach has created a cultural storm that Miss Mary Jane couldn’t be much happier about.
Weed has gotten so big and mainstream in California that you can now get a diploma at a certified cannabis university. Ain’t that something. Oaksterdam University in downtown Oakland, CA offers classes on horticulture, budtending, politics, legal issues and edible cooking.
Los Angeles is awash in marijuana dispensaries these days. It seems every day a new dispensary is opening somewhere in greater L.A. Unfortunately, it’s these shops, not the actual marijuana, that is causing some uproar among residents of certain communities. Some people feel some of these businesses are a little too brash, their storefronts displaying large marijuana leafs to entice customers.
Then again, as it always is with marijuana, the problem is the mentality and decision-making of certain individuals, and not the drug itself. It’s the guys who are too eager to cash in on the legalization of marijuana that can sometimes cause the wrong kind of stir. Residents of certain neighborhoods aren’t too excited about some marijuana growers aggressively planting hundreds of plants in their backyards and turning the neighborhood in to a full blown pot field.
But for $1.3 billion of legal tax revenue every year, California isn’t going to be outlawing the green lantern any time soon. In fact, if anything, the lawmakers in the Golden State are pushing even more legal loopholes for medical marijuana.
As I mentioned before, pot is mainstream, and it began in California. I can only see that ball continuing to roll across the United States all the way to it’s beautiful eastern shores.
[img via JesseWarren on flickr]
Tell Obama Legalization Is No Laughing Matter
March 30th, 2009 by Silvio
The following letter below is reaction from NORML regarding President Obama’s statement on marijuana policy during a Virtual Town Hall Meeting last week. NORML has set it up so one can use an online form to send a prepared and well-formulated letter to the President to voice disapproval about his recent statements.
Per NORML:
Speaking at an online Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, March 26, President Barack Obama pledged “to open up the White House to the American people.”
Well, to some of the American people that is.
As for those tens of millions of you who believe that cannabis should be legally regulated like alcohol — and the tens of thousands of you who voted to make this subject the most popular question in today’s online Presidential Town Hall — well, your voice doesn’t really matter.
Asked this morning whether he “would … support the bill currently going through the California legislation to legalize and tax marijuana, boosting the economy and reducing drug cartel related violence,” the President responded with derision.
“There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation, and I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” he laughed.
“The answer is no, I don’t think that [is] a good strategy.”
Obama’s cynical rebuff was short-sighted and disrespectful to a large percentage of his supporters. After all, was it not this very same “online audience” that donated heavily to Obama’s Presidential campaign and ultimately carried him to the White House?
Please take a moment to tell the President that marijuana law reform is no laughing matter, and that the millions of Americans who support this issue deserve to be treated respectfully. For your convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to President Obama when you enter your contact information below.
Show your support! Head over to NORML and use the pre-written letter to allow your sentiments be heard.
Joe Rogan Writes to Kellogg’s
February 18th, 2009 by Silvio
I think it’s safe to say that everybody with a television set and/or internet access is aware of the whole Michael Phelps and Kellogg’s fiasco.
What could be considered a moral scandal, turns slowly into a platform for all kinds of people supporting and defending Phelps’ actions, and criticizing not only his former sponsor, but question the very standards of the nation’s drug policy.
One very dedicated example for this is an open letter to Kellogg’s by Joe Rogan, posted on his website.
Click through to see Rogan’s entire letter to Kellogg’s after the jump.
SF Says Hands Off Our Bong Shops
February 16th, 2009 by Perry
A member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who represents the Haight Ashbury area, wants to pass a moratorium on new headshops. Apparently Ross Mirkarimi wanted to be run out of town with pitchforks, and figured taking away bongs in a city that pioneered usage of the devices was the best way to go.
Mirkarimi actually tried a DEA line about a proliferation of stores leading to illegal drug sales, loitering, and littering. Sounds like political suicide in San Francisco, even for an admitted advocate of decriminalization and medical marijuana like Mirkarimi.
Although, if you’ve ever been to Haight Ashbury, you know there’s more headshops there per capita than any other place in the country (three to a block in some areas), and no one complains.
Hey Mirkarimi, next time you try to grab headlines by picking on weed users, try to remember your constituency.
[img via AP Photo/Eric Risberg]
10 Reasons to Celebrate
February 3rd, 2009 by Perry
NORML says the marijuana community has 10 reasons to be optimistic about legalization this year, inspired by the recent news that Michael Phelps tokes up.
While the first three reasons are kind of similar (No. 1 is the President, No. 2 is medicine, and No. 3 is politics), they are all decent reasons why marijuana could be legalized sooner rather than later.
There’s also a few reasons why the community shouldn’t get that excited yet though. What about the fact that Phelps had to publicly apologize for the picture that leaked of him smoking pot. One news agency actually referred to what Phelps is holding as a “huge bong,” and the quotes are not mine.
I’m also thinking that Holder, Obama’s DA, may not be as green friendly of a selection as we’d hoped for O, but I could be wrong. Although the federal raids haven’t stopped yet…
