It's Time to Grow Up: Legalize Cannabis

[RainDog]

Independent (UK)

Cannabis Gave Her Back Her Life

Within minutes of taking a small amount of cannabis there was not an inch of my body in pain, and my tremors had stopped. My body felt at peace, and I don't think I can ever convey the enormity of that to anyone. Nothing hurt or felt wrong. I was still weak, but I could move with as much ease and grace as I used to. Yes, I was intoxicated, but it was not how I remembered it from my teenage years. Perhaps it was the smaller amount I used, just enough to free my body from its prison. I felt I was smiling more than usual, but this truly seemed to be because the mantle of agony I am normally covered in had been lifted. I certainly wasn't hearing or saying unusual things. Nevertheless, the "high" period was brief yet the health effects remained for a full 24 hours. It seemed to be a miracle. I tried to imagine the warning label if this was manufactured by a pharmaceutical company: "Will induce slight giddiness and loss of any concept of time for approximately two hours. Full beneficial effects will continue for 24 hours." An acceptable trade-off?

I had two weeks of this beautiful cure, and every day of those two weeks I became stronger. I was able to take up activities long abandoned and sorely missed. The excitement my husband and I felt was palpable. If I took it slowly, I was nearly normal and every minute my brain was taken out of its loop it was being allowed to recover. Personally, this is a joy, but in the bigger picture it could be an economic blessing. If the sick and disabled can benefit from cannabis the benefits would be felt by relieving the strain on the NHS and allowing some patients or carers to return to the workforce.

Sadly I don't know how reliably I'll be able to find cannabis. After years of searching I found something that can make my life bearable, even productive, but it's just out of reach. I have every intention of continuing to seek it out, but I don't know how achievable it will be. If you've been touched by cancer, HIV, MS, fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis you are among many who could possibly benefit from cannabis, but I would advise each person to fully research for themselves and speak to a trusted medical professional.

...Of course medicinal cannabis doesn't have the same scope for making large pharmaceutical companies big profits that drugs such as Olanzapine or Lorazepam do. After all, how would you patent a daffodil? This would not be a deterrent for law-making in a civilised society, but in ours, perhaps. It's time that we collectively grew up, and realised that the longer this issue remains unresolved we are throwing lives, money and progress down the drain.

[lob1]

1. I'm really glad you found it helps your pain.

Myself, I use it for preventative medicine.

[dogday]

2. Legalize Weed for goodness sakes. Why we continually

act like it is acid is beyond me.

[slay]

3. There are so many reasons to legalize it

we'd be not only stupid not to legalize it for tax purposes, but heartless not to for medical ones. As long as alcohol is legal, which I think it should be even though I don't drink, there is NO excuse for having the far less harmful marijuana illegal. None. LEGALIZE IT!

[MajorChode]

9. There's really no reason for it to be illegal

It was originally banned because it was thought to drive minorities to violence. There's far more reasons to make alcohol illegal and history proves what a disaster that was. The exact same reasons the 18th amendment was repealed are relevant today in regards to MJ.

[slay]

16. That's a great way to put it

and true. People should be free to choose it if they want to. Our government can be VERY oppressive if we let it and don't fight back.

[MajorChode]

25. It's on the top of Mt Shouldbe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzVPMq-mCpo

[meow mix]

4. govt. sponsored bigotry against mj users = mass imprisonments

and destruction of thier lives.

its sick.

[Winston Wolf]

5. The Last Three Presidents Have Smoked Pot

The only difference between them and another person in jail for the same activity is that they didn't get caught. The absurdity and hypocrisy of it all strains the mind.

[lbrtbell]

22. Nobody goes to jail unless they get caught

It's not a matter of hypocrisy, just sheer dumb luck.

And it's nothing for our nation to be proud of, that our last three presidents behaved like Cheech & Chong wannabes, LOL.

[Dogtown]

34. Thanks for your opinion,

Church Lady.

[RainDog]

36. Cheech and Chong are stereotypes

would you also feel comfortable saying that all black women who are overweight are like Mammy in Gone With the Wind? Hopefully not because that's such a ridiculous, racist stereotype with no basis in reality.

Yet you feel perfectly comfortable assuming that anyone who has ever used cannabis is the equivalent of Cheech and Chong.

sad.

[asdjrocky]

59. Well put Rain Dog.

You know how us 'pot heads' and 'stoners' are.

People like Carl Sagan for example.

"I can remember one occasion, taking a shower with my wife while high, in which I had an idea on the origins and invalidities of racism in terms of gaussian distribution curves,'' wrote the former Cornell University professor. "I wrote the curves in soap on the shower wall, and went to write the idea down.

http://www.druglibrary.org/think/~jnr/sagan.htm

[LostinVA]

38. Why is their smoking weed something shameful?

I really want to know.

[Tsiyu]

46. stereotype much?

Because the many people I know who use medicinally - for PTSD, fibromyalgia, MS, etc., - don't look or act anything like Cheech and Chong.

In fact, you can't tell by looking who uses cannabis. A patient may be old, young, male, female, professional, student, disabled.

You need to get out of the house more. Isolation and Authoritarian-thinking have turned you ignorant .

BTW, do you drink alcohol? If so, I suppose, given your logic, if you do ever taste alcohol, you must act just like the town drunk in Mayberry?

[meow mix]

50. wow your name is really inappropriate

considering your pro-oppression

[asdjrocky]

6. Thanks for the link and the post Rain Dog!

Indeed, it is time to grow up.

[RainDog]

7. It Harms the Legitimacy of Govt. to continue to lie about the medical value of cannabis

Yet that is exactly what this nation does.

The White House web site lies to the American people and claims that cannabis has no medical value when this has been disproven multiple times.

Nixon refused to honor his own conservative-led findings committee that recommended decriminalization because HE was the paranoid freak with an enemies list and continued criminalization allowed him to attack his political foes.

Harry Anslinger LIED to the House - who never bothered to read the initial prohibition bill - and who relied on the testimony of two DOGGIE DOCTORS (Vets) who simply mouthed propaganda about the threat of marijuana because black men would rape white women and Hispanic women would kill their children.

And these lies have been allowed to stand for more than 70 years.

I am so tired of this bullshit.

[Pushed To The Left]

8. K & R. I am volunteering for Prop 19 here in California

I am VERY disappointed in some Democrats who have come out against Prop 19. It shouldn't even be a controversial issue, but due to the social conservativism virus that our country has been infected with, this will be an uphill battle.

[RainDog]

10. Democrats Will Face Anti-Prohibition Republicans, soon

And their lack of support will be noted and remembered.

here's an interesting piece from Russ Bellville:

Ryan Grim at Huffington Post reports on the notion going round political circles that California's Prop 19 (and, to a lesser extent, medical marijuana initiatives in Arizona and South Dakota, and dispensaries for medical marijuana in Oregon) will be for the Democrats what anti-Gay Marriage Equality amendments were for Republicans - the turn-out-the-base social wedge issue that helps their candidates on the ballot.

...Democrats are in for a surprise. See, Karl Rove and the Republicans really believed in the initiatives they were pushing. They had a frame for it - "one man one woman" - that resonated with their voters and the overall worldview espoused by most of their downticket candidates. So when that Religious Right base came out in 2004, energized to vote against dreaded homosexuals and for the continuation of all that was good, true, and Christian in America, they had George W. Bush and a whole slew of Republicans to vote for that echoed that sentiment.

What do Democrats have to offer the cannabis consumer who comes out for a 2010 election? Unlike Rove and the Republicans, the Democrats don't really believe in these initiatives (publicly). Sen. Boxer, Sen. Feinstein (a former mayor of San Francisco, c'mon now!), and former Gov. / current AG Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown all publicly oppose Prop 19...


full piece at this link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russ-belville/will-marijuana-legalizati_b_667667.html

[Bobbieo]

15. Makes me wonder what is in it for Feinstein, Boxer and Brown to oppose pot?

Sounds like somebody is paying somebody in some way!!!!

[RainDog]

60. Thank you!!

I am trying to do one little thing, from where I am, to fight the drug war propaganda - simply by addressing it.

I just recently read an interesting stat, btw. (From the book, Marijuana is Safer, So Why Are We Driving People to Drink. It's full of interesting info.)

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, part of Clinton's contribution to the War on Drugs - had a $195 MILLION PER YEAR budget for 5 years.

During this time, they made deals with television shows to provide "credit" toward lost revenues for anti-drug ads (that were priced lower than other ads) by placing anti-cannabis stories into tv shows - scripts for shows would be discussed with the govt officials. One more reason so much television sucks? who knows.

This was the time of "this is your brain on drugs" tv commercials. I had young kids back then and didn't say anything negative about these commercials out loud, but, under my breath, I just whispered, "Bullshit." It had been more than a decade since I had inhaled - and I knew this stuff was bullshit.

Apparently I wasn't the only one. A study from Texas State University found that the anti-marijuana ads INCREASED the likelihood that teens would use or want to use marijuana.

But here's the kicker...

do you know WHY that campaign was created and why all that money was wasted on a program that didn't work?

-- why the Clinton administration spent all this money on an ineffective anti- marijuana campaign?

In 1996, California and Arizona voted to support the medical use of marijuana in their states. The Clinton administration's response was to hold meetings and to create propaganda that would "stop the spread of legalization to the other 48 states."

More than 1.5 BILLION was spent from 1998 to 2008 on an effort to propagandize the American people and deny the medical benefits of marijuana.

We're now up to 14, I believe, states that allow medical marijuana and California is in a position to make history, yet again, by leading this nation to saner drug policies.

I hope the voters in CA will provide this kick in the pants to the constipated powers that be.

[defendandprotect]

11. Legalize all drugs -- including Marijuana -- it's all a farce for a $$Drug War$$ . . .

and a bright shiny new prison industrial complex!

[Pushed To The Left]

12. Very true. It all comes down to $$

[Warren DeMontague]

14. Good God.

You and I agree on something.

[slay]

17. It's the only solution that will fully work

it'll end gang violence, can be taxed, the quality will be controlled - some of that money can pay for rehab for those who need it, and we can stop putting people in prison for choosing something other than alcohol or tobacco. No more corrupt DEA assholes smashing down people's doors and shooting their dogs. Once real education instead of propaganda fear tactics are used, most people will choose to stay away from addictive drugs like heroin and meth anyways. We need to have more faith in people and less in those who claim moral authority.

[SammyWinstonJack]

35. Cheap Prison Labor and all that goes along with that...$$$.

[maryf]

71. +1

and K&R

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Well past time. Legalize it, regulate it, tax it.

Enough, already.

[Oregone]

18. Im in the best shape in years this summer

Probably mentally as well. I can very much relate to that second paragraph you quoted (the more you can do, the stronger you get)

I can walk more than 30 minutes; hell, I can walk for hours. I can fish outside for hours as well. I can spend the day with my family. I can actually enjoy life. And beyond enjoyment, I can actually work outside...with a shovel and a rake. The sun isn't hampered from shining through my eyes by my bitterness. My thoughts aren't impeded with grouchiness as I limp back to the car, cursing the entire way (and when getting there, I don't have to spend five minutes figuring out how to sit down). I feel like Im actually 30 (and I am).

Cannabis has given me my life back too...I may not of had any condition besides chronic pain and some functionality problems (loss of strength and movement in hip/leg), but its a whole new world. And Im just a minor case in my opinion (I don't have cancer or MS)

Its beyond criminal to keep this from people. Absolutely fucking disgusting. And I hate to imply it, but its all for private profit.

[Fumesucker]

19. Are you implying that Obama is not an adult?

Gil Kerlikowske speaks for Obama on drugs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Kerlikowske

Richard Gil Kerlikowske (born November 23, 1949) is the current Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a position generally referred to as the United States "Drug Czar". He assumed office on May 7, 2009.

(...)

In a May 22, 2009 interview on KUOW radio, he said any drug 'legalization' would be "waving the white flag" and that "legalization is off the the charts when it comes to discussion, from my viewpoint" and that "legalization vocabulary doesn't exist for me and it was made clear that it doesn't exist in President Obama's vocabulary." Specifically about marijuana, he said, "It's a dangerous drug" and about the medical use of marijuana, he said, "we will wait for evidence on whether smoked marijuana has any medicinal benefits - those aren't in."

[Oregone]

20. Id imply he is an adult playing pragmatic 3-D Chess

And when you see his marijuana legalization plan unfold in 2039 to a dramatic conclusion, I will have the last laugh.

The first domino has been pushed

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

42. So you think this whole legalization push was all Obama's Idea?

:eyes:

The domino was pushed all right, but it was pushed many years ago by a fella named Jack Herer.

I don't know who you think you are fooling with all that 3-D chess nonsense.

[Fumesucker]

45. You should get your snarkometer recalibrated..

That was sensible and pragmatic snark you responded to.

[slay]

23. "It's time that we collectively grew up, and realised that the longer this issue remains unresolved

we are throwing lives, money and progress down the drain." - http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/cannabis-gave-me-my-life-back-2041640.html

You know, from the article. I don't think the OP said that specifically, but I will - he is not acting like an adult in this situation - burying his head in the sand while good people who either need marijuana or just enjoy it end up filling up spots in private for-profit-prisons.

[lbrtbell]

21. I'm 100% for legalizing medicinal marijuana

It should be used by people with medical problems, not stoners who are so boring that they can only find amusement in life by smoking pot.

We legalized alcohol, and that didn't do society any good. Drunk drivers, alcoholism ruining families...making that sh*t widely available has done nothing but enable companies and governments to make money off addiction.

The "drug war" would end, if people would stop trying to get high, and get a freakin' hobby. That is, if they'd "grow up" and stop acting like teenagers looking for kicks.

And let's face it, legalizing "recreational" marijuana isn't gonig to stop the drug war, on the border or anywhere else. Not when there's cocaine, etc., waiting in the wings. Does anybody really think that drug lords and dealers are just going to give up and get minimum-wage jobs, if America legalizes pot? Dream on.

Marijuana for patients who need it? Absolutely. Pot for stoners? "It's time to grow up."

[slay]

24. Don't be so judgmental

who made you the ruler of the stoners? Was it really necessary to take a swipe at a whole group of people just because you do not approve? I don't think they are out to hurt you in any way. What makes you think you have the right to tell people how to live their lives? Why all the hatred? It's a matter of personal choice and personal freedom. Your attitude toward people who enjoy smoking marijuana is cruel and intolerant.

[krabigirl]

26. Wow..well, I am tired of people who think people who smoke this should be locked up.

So what if you don't agree with it being smoked recreationally? It is none of your business, and i am tired of this mentality that the government should lock people up for smoking a plant in their own homes. Dianne Feinstein, is that you posting?

[slay]

28. "Dianne Feinstein,

is that you posting?" :rofl: nice stoner humor.. too funny..

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

47. "stoner humor"????

You really are clueless. I bet your parties SUCK.

[slay]

56. WTF is your problem?

i AM a stoner and i found the comparison to diane feinstein funny.. maybe you misread or misinterpreted what i was saying.. either way i have no idea why you would call me clueless and say my parties suck based on what i posted.. you seem quite angry for a pothead - which i'm assuming you are judging by the nick you chose and your avatar.. maybe you were too baked when you read what i posted.. i know that's happened to me from time to time.. i wasn't mocking the poster who said that, i really did find it funny.. :P

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

77. your stereotyping of self and others is what angers me

I read your post correctly. I am a medical cannabis patient and caregiver and your continued use of the term "stoner" to describe yourself and others does incredible damage to the movement.

You can play Cheech and Chong all you like but some of us are actually trying to create change in this country. A cannabis user is arrested every 38 seconds in the US; only by eliminating the "stoner" stereotype and helping people realize exactly how widespread and mainstream cannabis use has become will we manage national legalization.

I apologize if I hurt your feelings or offended you, but these labels need to change. Cannabis users are not spaced-out, useless cultural dropouts. We are professionals, academics, doctors, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and teachers. We are everywhere and we will not allow ourselves to be denigrated any longer.

[slay]

81. I'll call myself a stoner if i like.. stoner stoner stoner stoner stoner

i gotta agree with the other guy who commented - chill out dude. go smoke a bowl or something. i live MY life, not a life in dedication to some "movement". how is censorship and turning potheads into people who walk on eggshells about what they say gonna help your "movement" anyways?

And dude, I LOVE Cheech and Chong!

Without stoners like me you wouldn't even have a chance at medical marijuana being legal - we're the backbone of the pot smokers - recreational, not yall who claim medical.

Look, I'm very glad that marijuana is gaining mainstream acceptance - but i am a stoner, i like being a stoner, i listen to The Grateful Dead and dress like a hippie so face the facts, i know i have, i'm a stoner!

Some of yall are straight laced types who use weed to help with medical shit, medical problems, and that's cool bro - but the rest of us STONERS aren't going anywhere. There is nothing wrong with being a stoner! There are a lot worse things in the world. We stood up for pot wayyyy before you stick in the mud medical types EVER did!!!

And I mean this in the nicest way. :evilgrin: :hippie: :smoke: :hi:



*on edit - i'm glad people are recognizing the many benefits of marijuana.

[RainDog]

82. there's room for lots of people

...even us straight-laced types - tho I doubt mile-high is among them - and it's absolutely true that stoners, who were not trying to protect their little slice of the American dream by respecting intrusive drug testing by employees (with a test that is not accurate) or fearing the legal establishment, have been the ones who showed how ridiculous prohibition is by their fearlessness.

I'd bet mile-high just misunderstood in the context of what someone said above.

Even while stoner culture has been part of American life for decades, there are also others who have used cannabis recreationally who do not fit the profile. I believe that members of the Carter administration were so sure that cannabis was going to be decriminalized following Nixon's (Drug Commission) ruling that they thought it was as acceptable as a glass of wine at the end of the day.

[slay]

85. "as acceptable as a glass of wine at the end of the day."

and it should be. Here's to Carter. :toast: :smoke:

in my earlier rant (lol) in defense of stoners i left out the spiritual side of smoking marijuana. yes, i like to smoke a bowl and go watch Inception cause it was awesome - yet also like smoking and thinking about the deeper meanings of life, reality, the universe, relativity, cultural norms, logic vs emotion, fairer economic systems, etc. so yes indeed - there are all types of stoners - pot smokers - marijuana patients - whatever society likes to call us. maybe one day we can all get together, smoke a bowl, eat a brownie, and laugh about it all. :evilgrin:

[superduperfarleft]

76. I can't believe I have to say this to someone with a pot-leaf avatar,

but you really need to chill the fuck out.

[MajorChode]

27. Oh Jebus

I have no desire to smoke pot, but I'm sure as hell not going to tell people what they should or should not be doing with their bodies if it doesn't affect me. The reality is the criminalization of pot does affect me.

Basic history lesson: legalizing alcohol did society a lot of good. Practically everyone was ignoring the law anyway and instead of the government making "money off addiction" criminals were. Alcohol consumption actually increased during the depression, so your implication that legalizing it made it more widely available doesn't have a firm foundation in reality.

The "drug war" is about as fucking moronic as the "war on terrorism". You can't wage war against a thing. You wage war against people and governments. And in case you haven't noticed, we lost the drug war anyway. Illicit drugs are far more available now that when the so-called "drug war" started. So why should we want to win a war that was moronic to start with? Legalizing MJ might not win anything, but it sure as fuck will end the billions of dollars spent rounding up, prosecuting, and imprisoning potheads.

MJ isn't addictive. It doesn't destroy people's lives. It doesn't kill you. You can't OD on it. It doesn't cause health problems. Making it illegal forces people who want it to deal with drug dealers. Keeping it illegal is about as dog-dick stupid as it gets.

Telling stoners to "grow up"? Geez. Sounds like someone who doesn't have a lot of happiness and doesn't want anyone else to have any either. Whether that actually fits your situation, I'm not going to pretend to know, but this is the way your post comes across:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxdEV28_TgA

Sounds like it's time for you to get out of the 30's.

[SammyWinstonJack]

41. +1

:applause

[Warren DeMontague]

29. no, actually, we CRIMINALIZED alcohol, and it didn't do society any good.

Consenting adults are going to make choices- some of them other consenting adults don't like- some people smoke, some people drink, some people smoke pot, some people ride motorcycles, some people eat krispy kreme donuts;

when someone gets behind the wheel under the influence, someone neglects their kids- those are CRIMES and should be treated as such. But THE BODY OF A CONSENTING ADULT DOES NOT BELONG TO THE STATE, IT DOES NOT BELONG TO "GOD", IT BELONGS TO THE CONSENTING ADULT IN QUESTION, AND NO ONE ELSE.

Marijuana is one of the "most pharmacalogically benign substances known to man" - a DEA judge said that. It is INSANE that we continue to wage "war" on it, and turn the some 50 million otherwise law-abiding Americans who use it recreationally into criminals, to the tune of some $40 Billion pissed away every year. "Fighting" pot.

But none of that even comes close to the core philosophical concept you seem to have trouble grasping, which is this: how a consenting adult chooses to get his or her own jollies in the privacy of his or her own home is HIS OR HER OWN FUCKING BUSINESS, insofar as they're not harming or endangering anyone else. We ended prohibition because it DOESN'T WORK. People have altered their consciousness from the beginning of time; fuck, other animals will do it if given half a chance.

Who are you to judge someone else's choice of recreational activities? Lots of people can't drink, but an even larger number can, and do, enjoy it responsibly. You want to tell everyone who enjoys a glass of wine with dinner (many getting health benefits from it) that they shouldn't be allowed to, because some other people are irresponsible with booze, and some of us shouldn't touch it at all?

You want to throw out advice about "get a freakin' hobby"-- maybe you should take your own advice, and in the process rid yourself of the delusion of moral superiority that tells you you're somehow qualified to run other peoples' lives for them. Recreational pot works for a lot of people, and is a pleasant, amusing, enriching part of their life. Just as recreational, moderate alcohol use works for some people.

And before you toss off some more snark about "teenaged stoners" I say that as someone who personally hasn't touched anything stronger than caffeine in a very, VERY long time.

[Mopar151]

30. Prohibition is harmful, in and of itself

And what is inhrently evil about getting high? Get a freakin' hobby? "Grow Up?"
My, aren't we judgemental...It seems to be quite acceptable to have a hobby, or vocation related to alcahol - brewer, vintner, server - or to caffeine.

[Warren DeMontague]

31. It's not like anyone who smoked pot ever accomplished anything, or contributed anything to society.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uzVZA7KHnGA/SW1KpW6NGMI/AAAAAAAAAew/P2Ixxhc3S-E/s400/obama+hat2.jpg

[trusty elf]

40. ........

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica."

[RainDog]

33. You are claiming that the end of prohibition did no good?

You must be unaware of the St. Valentine's Massacre, Al Capone, the rise of a criminal class based around making alcohol available during prohibition... that sort of thing.

Most people who drink are not alcoholics. Most people can drink alcohol in moderation - the claim that legalization of alcohol ruins families is absolute bullshit.

Your assumptions about people who smoke pot are also - like something out of a 5th grade D.A.R.E. pamphlet.

Your failure to see the damage that's done to people for incarceration for possession of a plant is shamefully selfish - and your claim that legalization will not stop the drug war has no basis in reality. the drug war will end because cannabis will no longer be illegal - no longer be the provenance of a criminal group. As far a the rest of us - I think the U.S. should follow the example of Portugal - whose decriminalization of all drugs has reduced their use and caused more people with substance abuse problems to seek treatment.

There is an actual example in life of the value of decriminalization of all drugs to decrease the damage from abuse.

Beyond that - it's none of your business or mine if someone chooses to use cannabis, any more than it's any of my business or yours if someone has a glass of wine for dinner. It's the same sort of situation - this is something adults may decide for themselves.

And, yes, medical marijuana needs to be legal because of the many benefits - this nation needs to reschedule cannabis to reflect reality, not drug war propaganda.

However, you do not get to pick and choose for other adults, and you, with your stereotypes of people who use cannabis, are really not in any position to make claims about its use otherwise, it seems to me. Your post does not reflect any actual information about this subject.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

44. the poster is completely ignorant of both history and current reality

and their post is a perfect example of the idiocy and brainwashing that have been enthroned in this nation over the last 80 years.

What a pathetic joke.

[Starry Messenger]

37. Nice post Carrie Nation

Lord, now I've seen everything!

[LostinVA]

39. Why is a beer okay but a toke isn't?

Maybe YOU are the one who needs to become informed and grow up.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

43. yeah, lock up all those "stoners" !

You're clueless.

[Rebubula]

48. LOLZ

This 42 year old, always employed engineer with a mortgage\kids\pets\hobbies with no criminal\civil arrests\convictions laughs at your broad brush attack on those that use pot for recreational purposes.

I have smoked pot since I was a teen. I have never been arrested for anything (when breaking the law, you have to be smart) and have never missed an election.

Take your holier than thou crap somewhere else. Perhaps YOU should Light up and Leave me alone.

[Tsiyu]

49. At least you have a heart somewhere in there

It should be used by people with medical problems, not stoners who are so boring that they can only find amusement in life by smoking pot

I'm sorry you know so many boring people.

Most of the people I know who use cannabis also hold down jobs, raise their families and can carry on quite adequate conversation. Maybe you just live in a boring place?

Or maybe you are so rigid and judgmental, nobody wants to carry on a conversation with you?



We legalized alcohol, and that didn't do society any good. Drunk drivers, alcoholism ruining families...making that sh*t widely available has done nothing but enable companies and governments to make money off addiction.


Do you think we should criminalize alcohol as well? The republicans might have a problem with that. I know Repukes who use cannabis - plenty of them - but their substance of choice is the al-kee-hawl.

Still, you may be on to something. If we incarcerate EVERYONE who alters their frame of mind - by beer or by spliff - we can have HALF of our population in prison! Won't that be GREAT!


The "drug war" would end, if people would stop trying to get high, and get a freakin' hobby. That is, if they'd "grow up" and stop acting like teenagers looking for kicks.


Yeah, that "looking for kicks" thing is a killer. While, we're at it, we should outlaw TV - people waste hours and hours and hours watching that crap and never move. It's like they're zombies. Outlaw it.

And we should outlaw shopping. Too many people go bankrupt "looking for kicks" at the mall. Such children with their bankcards! Put them in prison!


And we should outlaw trailbiking and hiking and para-sailing and pilots who don't really NEED to fly. Trying to "get their kicks" in dangerous planes, clogging up the airspace of commercial and military and law enforcement planes and choppers! Damn kids with their private pilot licenses!~


WE should outlaw everything childish and grow up!


And let's face it, legalizing "recreational" marijuana isn't gonig to stop the drug war, on the border or anywhere else. Not when there's cocaine, etc., waiting in the wings. Does anybody really think that drug lords and dealers are just going to give up and get minimum-wage jobs, if America legalizes pot? Dream on


Yes, because everyone who uses cannabis is really just DYING to use cocaine! :wtf:

I suppose you think the War on Drugs is a success.


It's not. It's a complete and utter failure.

Just like your arguments.

[mike_c]

51. I seriously doubt you have any clue what you're talking about...

...but don't let that stop you from babbling.

[phleshdef]

52. More pain, suffering and death is caused by alcohol, guns, cars and Republicans,..

Yet all of those things are legal in this country (the 4th one being the most unfortunate).

Other the other hand:

You can't overdose on marijuana.

Because of the nature of how most users use it, it likely will not cause emphysema or cancer (even daily users tend to use negligable amounts on a daily basis), and if that is still a concern, it can be ingested or vaporized.

Don't operate machinery or drive if you are stoned. Other than that, there is nothing to worry about except maybe getting fat from the munchies and even thats easily avoidable.

Unless you are willing to advocate for the outlawing of every other thing in our society that causes more harm, consider yourself in possession of a double standard.

[WheelWalker]

66. It's high time everyone got high...

Just why should people stop trying to get high? Stoners are why pot exists. It exists for them.The human brain has specific receptors that bind with neurotransmitters we refer to as endogenous cannabinoids. The pyschoactive principles in cannabis mimic those neurotransmitters and fulfill a useful supplemental role in furthering appropriate human sensation, perception, consciousness and memory. We are only now learning just how useful these principles might be to our specie. I predict we will eventually find Cannabis to be even more useful than Willow bark.

Contrary to holding your opinion that the 'drug war' will only end when people stop trying to get HIGH, I am of the opinion that the drug war - indeed, all wars will end only when everyone tries to get high.

It's high time to get high.

Blessings.

[quickesst]

69. This statement....

..."We legalized alcohol, and that didn't do society any good. Drunk drivers, alcoholism ruining families...making that sh*t widely available has done nothing but enable companies and governments to make money off addiction."

...makes one realize that the biggest threat to our future is willful ignorance, no matter the topic. Thanks.
quickesst

[Goldstein1984]

72. Too broad a brush

Sorry, I know and have worked with too many highly educated, highly intelligent, productive and responsible professionals who use pot legally and responsibly. Many have chosen jobs in their professions that pay them less but do not have have drug testing requirements. For example, scientists and engineers here in Alaska that work for government agencies at half the pay they could earn working for the oil industry, simply because they refuse to accept unreasonable restrictions on their personal choices.

No more "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" or "Up In Smoke" for you. And especially no "Reefer Madness."

[asdjrocky]

79. You should really rethink the derogatory language. nt

[eShirl]

84. "We legalized alcohol, and that didn't do society any good."

What version of American History did you learn, anyway?

[old mark]

32. Legalize Cannibals?

Has the GOP gone over the edge?



mark

[phleshdef]

53. Why not? We are overpopulated and people are hungry.

Problem solved.

[old mark]

54. As Ted Bundy said ,"There are SO MANY PEOPLE....what's the big deal?" nt

[Warren DeMontague]

73. And what's all this about Presidential Erections?

[RainDog]

74. well, I didn't want to get into the recreational uses...

but the increased sensitivity to touch, taste, the focus on the pleasure of an activity...

I've heard all those things are reasons couples might enjoy the healthy herb, but what do I know.

[asdjrocky]

80. It's all true. nt

[RainDog]

83. if only I could find out for myself...

but us straight-laced types have to just imagine, I suppose...

[robdogbucky]

55. Others are organizing

Announcing Our Marijuana Legalization Campaign: Just Say Now

Today we’re proud to launch both the campaign and the official site: JustSayNow.com. It’s an archive of information on ending marijuana prohibition, a place where people can learn about ongoing efforts across the country. It has opportunities for getting involved, the latest news, and a really cool store.

Just Say Now is a project of Firedoglake and Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Our campaign is working to support marijuana legalization efforts across the United States.

http://firedoglake.com/justsaynow/




I just want to thank RainDog for posting yet another account of a real live person coming from the darkness into the light, albeit while seeking help for an illness. I had the recent experience of a friend of mine seeking my help in giving him some advice about how to obtain medical marijuana here in California. His neighbor's wife was terminally ill with a form of leukemia. She had been through chemo a couple of times and the last bout caused her bones to become so brittle that she accidentally broke 5 ribs. She had been lying in agony, unable to sit up or breath deeply for months. She had stopped eating. Her mood was very depressed. She had about 6 months at that rate, all suffering.

My friend knew that I knew about mecical marijuana's applications and asked if I could help, that this couple was elderly, had never used any marijuana but were at their wits' end in finding any relief for this poor woman. I went to the Patient ID Center in Oakland and asked for help. This couple lived in another town, but it was a town that also had medical marijuana dispensaries here in Northern California. The woman at the Patient ID Center herself was a breast cancer survivor that had discovered medical marijuana herself while undergoing chemo for that cancer. She had survived and now is an avid activist helping others find relief where they never knew it could exist. Speaking with this woman is truly inspirational and the light that shines from her eyes is 100% clear. She gave me an extensive list of health care providers that could advise my friend's neighbors and about where in their community they could legally obtain the needed cannabis. They were not interested in smoking it, as she had never smoked anything in her life. I then spoke to the husband when he called to follow up on the faxed information our mutual friend had forwarded to them about how and where to obtain it in their community.

The husband was tentative, did not know how to approach the topic, so I just took the laboring oar and said, "Ask anything you want, no question is too absurd." He started to ask about alternatives to smoking it, how long it would last if she took some, how well could she expect it to relieve her symptoms, etc. I told him that the medical marijuana people are the most knowledgeable about its applications, especially for a terminally ill patient, and that they would most likely even deliver to them after they were signed up. I told him stories of others that I knew that had found relief for physical and emotional problems through medical marijuana. After about a half hour of my gently repeating in response to his questions, "Just go to one of the doctors on your list, they will know what to do. Your wife is terminal, there will be no questions," he assured me he would and thanked me and hung up.

10 days later I spoke with my friend, who said the couple was effusive in their gratitude toward me. The husband had gone to the doctor, no problem getting her cleared as a patient and he as the primary care giver, allowing him to go to the dispensary on her behalf. They got expert counseling, they found the dispensary indeed had a multitude of methods of ingesting the marijuana, and found one, a tincture to put under her tongue that had no side effects, etc. They were amazed at her response. She was for the first time in months able to eat, able to sit up, and her outlook brightened considerably. She is still alive and her cancer medical team has expressed amazement that she is still alive.

I feel profoundly grateful that the universe saw fit to place me in a position to provide some compassionate counseling that resulted in this one patient achieving some releif in her final days.


Come out of the darkness into the light.





Hands off my Social Security!
Hands off Latin America!




Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[RainDog]

57. thank you

great post.

there are so many stories, now, of people who have benefited from cannabis use as an adjunct to health care - and even some studies that indicate cannabis can help wean addicts from harmful and addictive drugs - including those who are addicted to alcohol (even tho it's a legal drug.)

the American govt insists on tests - that have been and are being done - while at the same time dismissing the studies that are available.

the issue for the govt., ultimately, is that they do not want a plant to be legal to use for people's health - however, they have already made it okay to use marinol - a synthetic - which does not contain the combination of cannabinoids that provide buffers for one type v. another - and patients do not like marinol in comparison.

Sativex, which does contain the various cannabinoids, has been made legal in Spain, iirc, for use by people suffering from MS.

The real problem the govt has with cannabis is that it is a plant that offers competition for a variety of industries - just as it did when it was made illegal.

it is wrong to favor the oil industry over industrial hemp, or the pharmaceutical industry over simply care centers for people with problems like migraines, arthritis, etc.

[Uncle Joe]

58. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, RainDog.

[Bennyboy]

61. Di Fi gets brownie bill thru Senate...

I posted this over the weekend I think, but it needs reposting.. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8849961

[RainDog]

63. yeah, I saw that. CA Democrats only poll one point above Republicans

in the lastest polls.

Legalization has far more supporters.

Democrats continue to be tone deaf to the American people.

[The Wizard]

62. When the reefer lobby

can fill off shore accounts like big pharma can, legalization will soon follow.

[RainDog]

64. Jeff Wilcox has pledged 20 million for this new industry in Oakland

if the bill passes - he's the one who got the city council to okay an enterprise "grow zone" in unused warehouse space. he pledges to hire union workers and his biz projections estimate he would hire at least 300 people.

That doesn't include other businesses that others would create in support of this new market.

In one article I read, Oakland wants to position itself as a major hub for the export of cannabis around the state - some places do not want to have cannabis-related industry in their areas - but they would have to comply with laws that make possession legal.

Of course, this also raises the point that if such large-scale growing occurs, the price would drop (and so would tax revenues) but that would also mean that people from other parts of the nation would find it more attractive to procure cannabis from a regulated source - which opens up all kinds of cans of worms regarding variations in the laws between states.

Wilcox projects a 600 to 800 dollar a lb price for his set up. This is the price for cannabis that is grown outdoors in some areas in which it is illegal (I'm not familiar with all places, just quoting a DEA estimate I read yesterday concerning a mid-south state.)

Now, prices for hydroponically grown cannabis are around 3500 a lb. -- that's the price a dispensary pays, not what the medical marijuana patient pays - so there's mark up after that price, as well.

Wilcox is, with these actions, directing challenging the federal govt. The DEA has requested a copy of the ordinance that would allow the business enterprise.

We are, indeed, living in interesting times.

[Better Believe It]

65. K & R

[WheelWalker]

67. It's HIGH time. K&R

[Norrin Radd]

68. It's a gateway to

Funyuns and Chips Ahoy.

[yeswecanandwedid]

You thought America had an obesity problem now! LOL nt

[yeswecanandwedid]

70. You thought America had an obesity problem now! LOL nt

[Romulox]

75. There's a saying: ask for FORGIVENESS, not PERMISSION...

States and municipalities are beginning to decriminalize this stuff in a number of contexts. The Federal government remains free to step in and enforce its laws against small time users, but it simply doesn't have the resources.

So legalization will happen by attrition, imo, but it IS happening. To hell with begging the Federal government to respect our rights when we can take them.

[RainDog]

78. Bruce Fein: If It's Broken, You Fix It

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/08/03/bruce-fein-on-marijuana-legalization-%E2%80%9Cif-it-is-broken-then-you-need-to-fix-it%E2%80%9D/