Cocaine Usage Ruining the Environment?
November 19th, 2008 by PerryAn author @ Treehugger is mad as hell about the effects hard drug users have had on the environment, and he’s not going to take it anymore.
Complaining about everything, from the Guatemalan forest damage caused by smuggler planes to the gradual destruction of the rainforest.
It’s a bit hypocritical since the drug traders usually don’t discern packaging based on their specific environmental effects, but the writer lists myriad harm done to the eco-system by sniffers and slammers.
The video above shows how cocaine is made in the rain forest. Although it’s in Spanish, it’s self-explanatory to understand what’s going on. I think it’s a little more alarming that the children in the video appear to be so young, and not necessarily the damage they are doing to the environment.
The Time is Right for Marijuana Law Reform
November 13th, 2008 by Perry
According to recent blog posts by NORML, never before has there been a more perfect time to push for marijuana law reform.
The election of Barack Obama, coupled with Democrat control of both the House and the Senate, presents a unique and critical opportunity for federal marijuana law reform.
A good point, and remember… electing a good politician is only half the battle. You still have to stay on top of them in hopes they don’t get too politician-y on you. Don’t forget, people liked Bush at one time too and now his approval rating is in the low 30s range.
Being the helpful and forward-thinking organization they are, NORML created three prepared statements you can send here, directly to the new administration… Something we touched on earlier in another recent post.
The statements prepared by NORML:
Statement #1: President Obama must uphold his campaign promise to cease the federal arrest and prosecution of (state) law-abiding medical cannabis patients and dispensaries by appointing leaders at the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the US Department of Justice, and the US Attorney General’s office who will respect the will of the voters in the thirteen states that have legalized the physician-supervised use of medicinal marijuana.
Statement #2: President Obama should use the power of the bully pulpit to reframe the drug policy debate from one of criminal policy to one of public health. Obama can stimulate this change by appointing directors to the Office of National Drug Control Policy who possess professional backgrounds in public health, addiction, and treatment rather than in law enforcement.
Statement #3: President Obama should follow up on statements he made earlier in his career in favor of the decriminalization of marijuana by adults by calling for the creation of a bi-partisan Presidential Commission to review the budgetary, social, and health costs associated with federal marijuana prohibition, and to make progressive recommendations for future policy changes.
[img via Flickr/Vincent Brown]
Salvia Horror Stories Assist Lead to Ban, Maybe
November 11th, 2008 by Perry
With the growing popularity of the plant’s usage, inevitably there is also the occasional Salvia horror story, this one in particular told in pretty startling detail.
The biggest concern, as with any psychedelic drug, is in users who have a history of mental illness. Even more worrisome for those individuals is if they are “dosed” with the drug, which is to say they took the drug unknowingly.
Salvia, which has been used in Oaxaca for generations as a mild hallucinogenic, can have much more serious side effects including mild to severe schizophrenia for those with a genetic predisposition.
Getting Legal, Part 1: The Day I Became Legal
October 27th, 2008 by Perry
After years of shifty go-betweens, waiting at drive-thru restaurant parking lots and sitdowns with hippies, I finally decided to apply for a medical marijuana card.
Having been in trouble with the law for possession, ironically the legal safety issue wasn’t one of the reasons I went out to get the card. Instead, the idea of being on any sort of government-sanctioned list of marijuana users made me feel uneasy, almost like a pre-approval process for a tapped phone line and an introduction to big brother society.
Nevertheless, I did it because I have every right to under California law. All I had to do was arrange an appointment via a phone number for Medicann that I found at a local headshop.
So I made the appointment - the earliest I could see a doctor was about ten days out - and as the day grew nearer I debated the issues involved in getting the card more and more. I struggled with the idea of getting a card because knowing that I was taking the same medications for anxiety, stress and headaches that people sought for glaucoma and chemotherapy recuperation made me feel some measure of guilt. Although I’m a proponent of legitimzed free use, e.g. no illness should be needed to enjoy marijuana if you’re of age, I still felt the strain of an ingrained stigma.
After a lot of internalized debate, I realized that this is the result of my subconscious associating marijuana with a Class A controlled substance. The fact is that marijuana is used by patients for a variety of maladies, but that’s not why I think marijuana should be legalized, there’s another, more personal reason…
