Let’s Talk About Marijuana
A college student loses his financial aid because of a youthful indiscretion. A woman coping with the ravages of ovarian cancer lives in fear of being arrested for using what best eases her suffering. Across town, a front door bursts open and police rush in to handcuff a man relaxing in his living room.
These events have one thing in common: marijuana. Whether it is being kicked out of college for a youthful mistake, being denied relief from pain as a cancer patient, or getting arrested for personal use in one’s home, marijuana laws have far-reaching consequences.
And these consequences are often totally disproportionate to whatever societal risk or danger marijuana use may pose.
So, can we talk?
I think we should. As a nation, we spend at least $7.5 billion annually enforcing our marijuana laws. In 2006, the latest year for which we have numbers, a record 830,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana - 89 percent of them simply for possessing it.
Our criminal-justice system wastes time and resources with these low-level marijuana-possession cases while half our violent crimes go unsolved. And those facing the judge are disproportionately African American and Latino.
A recent report to the Seattle City Council on Initiative 75 - which made the adult personal use of marijuana the city’s lowest law-enforcement priority - showed people of color are still far more likely to be arrested than whites, despite similar rates of marijuana use.
Unjust and uneven enforcement is just one of the ramifications of treating marijuana use as a criminal matter. Noted physician and pharmacologist John Morgan has said, “The most dangerous thing about marijuana is to be arrested for its possession or use.”
Indeed, the consequences of an arrest for even a small amount of marijuana can haunt someone for the rest of his or her life. We have met and heard from people who lost or were denied jobs, had their homes raided and their property seized, lost child-visitation rights, and had their medical marijuana confiscated.
Ironically, we’ve been down this path before. Prohibition didn’t stop people from drinking. Instead, it created gang warfare between bootleggers over the profits to be made. Sound familiar?
We realized Prohibition was creating a lot of new problems and solving few, if any, of the old ones. States now control alcohol sales and consumption. And our tax dollars are more effectively directed at regulation, public education and treatment for those whose use becomes problematic.
As parents, we want to shield our children from harm and reserve certain choices for when they are old enough to understand the risks and repercussions. Certainly, this is as true of marijuana as it is of alcohol and tobacco. But just as certainly, and as most teenagers will tell you, it is easier for them to buy marijuana than beer or cigarettes. Our marijuana laws don’t work. I know it. You know it. Scores of our neighbors know it.
But no one is talking. Most of us have our own ideas about what should be done, but this has to be a decision that we make as a community. Too much is riding on this issue not to have an honest, candid discussion. Please join us in the conversation.
Kathleen Taylor is the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
nothing could make marijuana more profitable than prohibition.
legalize or decriminalize possession, regulate and tax it and the drug cartels and kingpins cannot make money selling it here.
didn’t we learn this lesson from alcohol prohibition?
as it’s been said before, alcohol didn’t create al capone, ALCOHOL PROHIBITION created al capone.
Google: “hearst marijuana.”
Quite an education about the history of this evil weed.
I agree, agree, agree! Legalize the damn stuff! I am not going to use it but I don´t care if someone else does.
Agreed. It should be legalized, then regulated and taxed, just like tobacco and alcohol.
And let’s remove the prohibition on HEMP, it’s harmless cousin, and restore it as a crop - it would help farmers, the fiber can be used to make cloth and rope, and the seeds/oil are rich in essential fatty acids that help regulate cholesterol.
What, legalize it and take away their excuse for trampling on our Bill of Rights, invading So. American countries, protecting Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Booze (the Partnership for a Drug Free America), packing private prisons, etc. and etc.?
You mean we should learn from our history and stop wasting tax money enforcing pointless laws while simultaneously creating a new source of public funding? What kinda commie-hippie-pinko rag is this?
Marc Emery is now sitting in an American jail because of the business and earning he declared on his income tax form and paid taxes on - Marijuana Seed Vender. He was not facing charges in Canada, which seemed more than willing to accept his payment of taxes.
Prince of Pot
http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/2008/01/012008_1.html
Emery Arrested
http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=713
Do you think that this is right? Explain.
I don’t buy a lot of this industrial hemp stuff — it’s probably OK to make rope, but I don’t sail. Still, where does the government get off telling people what they can and cannot put into their own bodies? Sorry, government is not there to protect me from myself.
Too bad it smells so damn awful.
I dont understand the urge to drug yourself up. If you want an easy high–try Gaba. Doesnt offend anyone.
Australia is not as regressive as the puritanical US. In the Australian capitol, Canberra, it is legal to grow up to 5 plants per household for personal use. Any more than that is deemed a commercial operation and the law becomes very severe. Seems fair to me.
The problem with the capitalist US is that no-one can make any money from the legalization of marijuana. As noted above, prohibition makes a lot of money for both the cartels and the law enforcement agencies.
Alcohol and tobacco are legalized because their production is beyond most people’s abilities, and laziness dictates that buying beer and popping the cap is preferable to the small amount of labor required to brew the stuff. Thus the government can still make money through taxation.
Less so with marijuana, which grows anywhere almost without attention, and flowers automatically in the Autumn. Legalized marijuana will still have those folk that need to purchase packaged and licensed product, but most will come from home grows.
Finally, legalized marijuana would never out-consume alcohol and tobacco, as it does not share their addictive properties. Remember, addiction generates huge revenues for the government!
Remove the criminalization of pot. Legalize, tax it like everything else. Let people decide. Hemp can also replace pvc piping used in construction. It is incredibly strong and durable as well as it grows quickly giving us much needed oxygen which we will be needing more of soon. Time for a change. The cops and judges are all going home and lighting up to relax from their stressfull days of prosecuting and enforcing archaic laws.
My favorite saying on this subject: Man invented alcohol. God invented weed. Who are you going to trust?
Let’s not forget - cannabis was made illegal because it was making the white women go crazy for the Negro man and, when that didn’t take, it was the illegal Mexican hoards who were determined to destroy America by getting us stoned.
And, of course, Hearst and Dupont were very afraid that their paper and plastic monopolies would be undermined by mass Hemp production, since it can be grown anywhere, all year long, and is stronger and more versatile than any tree.
But, let’s face it - the real reason is the enlightenment. The powers that be preferred us drunk and stupid and Prozac-zombified. No, repeat, no “drug” that lifts the veil and expands the mind is legal. Not one.
Think about it…
hemp is a nice fiber, my favorite top is made of hemp — soft, durable, doesn’t wrinkle, one time I accidentally stained it with blue permanent marker, couldn’t wash it right away (a big stain right across the front), wonder of wonders it came out no problem !
it blends well with other fabrics — cotton, flax, wool, even silk; check out
(i think it’s plural, may be hemptrader), they have a great selection of fabrics at good prices
hemp fibers are also good for making fiberboard and other construction products, it grows fast, is easy to harvest with the right equipment, etc.
we are facing real problems paying for fertilizer for our hayfield this year, hemp doesn’t require much fertilizer, it sends down very deep taproots to access subsurface nutrients and breaks up hardpan (a big problem when you drive around on fields with tractors year after year) as a bonus.
we are too far north for hemp to set seeds as it needs a day/night cycle and by the time we have night, we are also freezing down for winter. . . so there’s no possibility of growing anything ‘potent’ !
It would be a very good crop for us but totally impossible in today’s world. . .
hemp seeds are one of the most complete vegetative sources of amino acids (the other one, naturally, is poppy seeds)
we have been lied to about this ancient and useful plant, in both its industrial and medicinal aspects
Thank Goddess for the safety, sanity and compassion of my beautiful California, where we understand that the Earth doesn’t grow any “bad” flowers.
It’s not just drug cartels that make big money from prohibition of mj. The DEA and corrupt police departments also make big bucks from it. Of course, they always deny it, but why believe them?
That’s the problem with the US government. They lie and the American people believe them, and that’s all there is to it. End of story.
Why believe them? Why are Americans so damn naive and gullible when it comes to politicians and government?
Government officials rationalize lying and cover each others backs, while divying out equal percentages of the take to each party involved.
Police and DEA officials rationalize pocketing drug money by saying, “Fighting this drug war is damn expensive, and the tax-payers shouldn’t have to cover all of it!”
But of course, they cannot admit this to the public, because it is considered bad ethics. The bottom-line, however, is they make big bucks off of drug busts, quite a lot of easy money, and they find a way of covering themselves when they do it. Any Americans that think they don’t keep the drug money are naive fools. Because they do keep the money, they have another big reason for opposing legalization. Their jobs are much more profitable than they are willing to admit.
The ultimate hypocrisy: Goevrnor Crist of Florida admitted to Marijuana use in tha past, but he has no desire whatsoever to relax Florida’s draconian Marijuana laws. I despise baby boomers who used to smoke weed and then when they get into a position of power, they turn around and persecute Marijuana users. How do these people live with themselves? Why do the American sheeple insist on portraying Marijuana as a bad drug, but alcohol as a “good” drug. Americans should be teleported to the Spanish inquisition, they would feel right at home!
Legalization is an important political strategy for the left. It will undermine the sense of moral superiority binding the right. It will demonstrate to all, including ourselves, that we can deliver something good without compromise: not lowering penalties, not rethinking paradigms, not promoting abstinence – but legalization, the only solution.
I wish the Great Champion of Change would bother to discuss something as real as the thousands of peoples lives damaged and destroyed by cannabus prohibition. But, alas.
Did somebody mention the Spanish Inquisition? NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZQI0Xm29To
Seriously though - marijuanna would be a real threat to the powers that be who are afraid of folks connecting with a little bit of humanity. Its just crazy, but maybe, one day we will learn collectively. Maybe. I sure hope so.
Peace,
Ken
40 years ago
pot was 20$ an ounce
heroin (if you could find it) was $200-$250 a gram
cocaine (if you could find it) was $200 - $300 a gram
was no such thing as crack
speed (meth amphetamine) was $50 - $60 a gram
THEN THE WAR ON DRUGS @ billions of $ a year and countless ruined lives
today
pot about 200 an ounce
heroin $50 a gram
cocaine %50$ a gram
crack 20$ a gram
speed 15$ a gram
Now any kid can buy drugs any where with their allowance
such success on that front
excuse me i have to go puke..sheesh
All I can say is Thank God for medical marijuana and thank God I live in probably the only city where plastic bags are illegal and medical marijuana is legal. Somebody sure got their priorities straight. My 24yo daughter suffers from six different medical conditions, not the least of which are severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hideous migraines and acute dysmenorrhea. Without her prescription cannabis she cannot function, cannot eat, cannot work. She, her boyfriend and her brother live together and her brother and BF have a grow room where they cultivate their legal amount of plants so that their beloved/sister can have a life. The powers that be in this country need to get their heads out of their greedy asses and legalize the stuff.
“…but this has to be a decision that we make as a community…”
Thanks for that pearl of wisdom, Kathleen Taylor.
This is one of the central problems of our times. There are numerous decisions that, as a society, we must talk about as a community and take COLLECTIVE decisions on. Yet WE are nearly totally incapable of doing so.
Every single SOCIAL institution is totally corrupt or has broken down altogether. In fact, collective thought and action are anathema to our central ideology of radical individuality and every person for his/her self.
Until we solve that problem by building collectivities that not only are able to weigh facts and discuss them with some bit of sanity; but ARE ABLE TO ACT EFFECTIVELY, can we develop a sound approach to the world of the doobie, or anything at all.
It is a crime to put people in jail for smoking or posessing pot.
People should grow it in their own back yards.
Marijuana should be bought and sold in liquor stores and the taxes used for medical research or some other good cause.
I wonder who if any politicians read CD and if they do, how can they remain immune to the irrefutable logic of our writers and posters? I think their refusal to accept progressive views has something to do with the peer pressure they’re getting from the moneyed elite they must hang out with. They must get ALL their info from the corporate media.
A conservative said “conservatives are people who have something to conserve”. It’s evidently money and power for the ruling crass. For poor and middle class conservatives its “traditional values” while they get screwed by ultrarich conservatives who exploit them, send them to Iraq and then put them in jail for growing or using the weed.
The few times that the marijuana legalization issue has been put to a referendum, it has usually won. Would Obama submit the issue to a national referendum, or at least honor the results of state referendums that liberalize marijuana use like California’s? He probably won’t say.
Edwards’ refusal to consider marijuana decriminalization shows that he was either poorly informed, using the politics of fear, or seeking conservative support. In any case he showed poor judgement and the nauseating pandering of Democrats to Big Money supporters like the anti-marijuana tobacco and booze Partnership for a Drug Free America. Not the trust and qualities you would want in a President.
Hope Obama is different. In fact, adopting the marijuana legalization issue would be a boon for either candidate because 75% of the public thinks it should be legal.
“The War On Drugs” = “Prohibition”.
Same play, different cast, vastly larger stage.
The only lasting effect of Prohibition was that it strengthened organized crime’s hold on society. That the War on Drugs would give rise to powerful international cartels was absolutely predictable.
And that’s why the “Citizen Kane” NAZIS keep winning. Instead of framing the debate on marijuana, why not go on the offensive and open up the discussion of the 25000 industrial uses of hemp? The best thing about it is it can be very useful in getting America off dependence on petroleum altogether. Remember, it was Big Oil, Chemical, Cotton, Paper, Pharma, Tobacco, etc … who fought to ban it 71 years ago. It was not about marijuana making you “high”. It was about RIGGING the game to allow the vested corrupt business hacks a no-competition playing field to FUCK America to DEATH ! They knew that people wouldn’t buy their PHONEY bullshit if hemp made it to the market big time so they had to RIG the market. IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT AMERICA FIGHTS WARS FOR OIL AND ENGAGES IN “FREE” TRADE ALL THE WHILE BANNING THE RIGHT TO GROW SOME OF THE BEST AND NATURAL CROPS THAT COULD SAVE US ALL FROM TOTAL DESTRUCTION !
Here’s a candidate standing and running who’ll support removing the ban:
RALPH NADER FOR PRESIDENT !!!!
VOTENADER.ORG
Marijuana is absolutely wonderful on countless levels, not the least of which is how great I feel when I smoke it. I highly recommend it to everybody. The reason it’s illegal is, of course, to eliminate it as a competing mood enhancer, medicine, paper source, dry good, food source, etc., and to leave the populace, that might benefit from marijuana on so many levels, without, and therefore uneasy and dependent on the continuing purchase of inferior commercial products for their desperately-attempted satisfaction..grow your own…don’t believe the hype about anything, marijuana included…find out for yourself…be a critical thinker!
Thousands of drugs out there are more powerful, more addictive and more dangerous that Marijuana. Yet those drugs are produced and sold at incredible profits by the pharmaceutical companies (usually with a prescription of course!) and those same companies lobby Congress to make sure that marijuana never becomes a cheap competitor.
Decriminalization doesn’t go far enough. Legalize it. However the War Party and their sponsors won’t even consider this an option due to the profits multi-nationals are making out of the so-called war on drugs and high end alternative drugs sold by Pfizer, Bayer et al. Criminalizing pot is racist and is an excellent example of the way the rich wage war against the poor. Yet our elected officials, out of fear of displeasing their corporate masters, never broach the subject.
Plus marijuana is good for glaucoma. How many people have been made blind because of glaucoma and the unavailablity of pot.
The governments (especially that criminal regime which controls the U.S.A.) originally criminalized marijuana in order to protect their own monopolies, but latterly they have kept it illegal as an adjunct to their repressive regime whereby they can effectively control the general populations and keep them subservient.
Everyone who has smoked pot knows that it is not addictive, therefore it should be legal. I know that for a fact because, at times, I have smoked heavily and often for periods lasting months and then not smoked any for a week or so (due to lack of product or insufficient funds) and there never was any adverse effects. The very idea that a government has the power to decide for an adult human being what they can or cannot indulge in for their own personal enjoyment is an obscene usurpation of their human rights. The only moral right a government has for them to intervene in a person’s life is if there are serious health issues involved whereby injury could pertain to the person or to another person due to the intoxicated person’s behavior.
All governments need to realize that their only true function is to manage and guide society according to the highest moral values without indulging in the detrimental belief that they “own” the people.
oh i forgot to add
pot smokers tend to question authority…
something THEY really don’t want to happen
drunks etc just go with the flow like sheep
now I’m getting nostalgic… it was just so nice…
Late Sunday morning… making blueberry pancakes for the kids… give them the funny papers… take a needless nap with my wife… have a Latte’ and sit on the back porch with my feet up, listening to Prairie Home Companion and reading the Editorials…
I was such a dangerous felon
Now I’m all clean n sober and self-actualized and in touch with my inner child and discovering my authentic self… all Oprah’ed out… driving down the freeway with my elbows and a cellphone in each ear… spilling my coffee and flipping little old ladies the bird… Reading CD and ready to blow a DAMN GASKET every time I watch the Corporate News… veins popping in my forehead…
I think if they let me smoke pot legally… they could worry less about whether or not I’m in danger of becoming a “radicalized anti-globalism domestic terrorist.
you catch more flies with honey… I should write my Congressman
orgy porgy baby
DARE- To Think For Yourself!
The propaganda campaign against MJ is unprecedented in its longevity and severity. The US has become the largest prison state in the world. Mission Accomplished! The absurdity of the laws makes a mockery of education about drug abuse in general. If they lied about pot, why believe anything they say about alcohol or meth? Go ahead and drive drunk. The hypocrisy is staggering at a time when Big Pharma sells its junk with no restrictions to speak of.
oh i forgot to add
pot smokers tend to question authority…
something THEY really don’t want to happen
drunks etc just go with the flow like sheep
a lil story
there is this city that has a wall all around it, and at midnight all the gates are closed till next morning
a drunk a pothead and an lsd user arrive too late to gain entry.
the drunk immediately flies into a rage kicking and screamming ” how dare they lock me out of this frickken city ..imma gonna kick their asses and tear down this gate!!’
the lsd user says ” na we can just float in through the key hole”
the pothead says” aw relax guys..come over here sit down..we”ll smoke a joint and wait till morning”
kinda sums it up i think
Megapharms - Alcohol lobbies - organized crime (think they don’t have lobbyists?)
Every problem we have can be traced right back to the evil symbiosis between lobbyists and elected officials.
I dare you to name ONE big, intractable issue that hurts people… that isn’t attributable to corruption… just one.
It is a wonder drug. They tried to find something wrong with it in the 70’s, put lots of money into research and could find NOTHING. I do remember they said it rurns the fluid in your brain yellow, that was the best they could do. Well it turns out that’s probably the anti-oxidants which they now have proven prevent Alzheimer’s disease. What do we have to do to get it legal?
In the sixties Nixon, who was the father of the WOD, mandated a scientific study of marijuana. When the report concluded that marijuana was not a dangerous drug, he used it for toilet paper. Maybe he too listened to a higher authority.
The big four drugs of choice need to be legalised and regulated: Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis, and Caffeine. It is a shame and an outrage that companies are allowed to put caffeine in children’s drinks.
The stuff is called Cannabis, “Marijuana” is a Hearst-speak propaganda word used to discredit and attack Cannabis as a “killer drug” - please stop using it.
Also, does the USA realise how silly it appears to the rest of the world when it continually claims that guns are good, but Cannabis is bad?
The USA’s so called “war on drugs” is deadly puritan nonsense, the rest of the world only complies because it doesn’t pay to provoke a heavily armed mass-murdering psychopath (fear).
The USA should take a step back and let some adults take control of things for a change.
Any place that bans Cannabis, but says that land mines and cluster bombs are OK,is a total fuck-up.
Marijuana has also been proven according to medical studies done by John Hopkins I belive to kill tumor cells. As a cheap alternative to expensive and dangerous cancer medications,it could be considered another “threat” to the Iron Heel in this country.
Hey folks, great comments. But remember there IS a way to speed along the process of returning to relative sanity nationally. The MPP (Marijuana Policy Project) and others are working full time to legalize cannabis state by state. I contribute and fundraise as much as I can. About 12 states have now passed de-criminalization laws. this is a civil liberties and medical issue. Support the MPP and the
Drug Policy Institute, they are the real McCoy. Freedom weren’t never free, so dig deep and we may even save our national reputation yet…..
the gateway drug is tobacco.
there has never been a confirmed overdose of marijuana not one person in recorded history (the plant has been used since people used anything).
do a little googling and discover..
how many people die from over tobacco ?
how many people die from prescription drugs ?
how many people die over the counter drugs ?
how many people die from alcohol abuse ?
ever watched a drunk and a stoner side by side ? try asking either one to explain anything. one will start hitting on your partner while threatening you, the other will talk peaceful bliss about everything. alcohol has a completely different vibe, you don’t see people stoned robbing liquor stores or murdering people in coffee houses.
i’ve consumed marijuana for 2/3rds of my life (i’m 40) , i’m not proud of that it’s just i’m manic and when i’m wired or depressed marijuana helps me (i would never take prosac). the emperor wears no clothes is one of the only books i refuse to let go of as i travel through life. my tattered copy has special leaves throughout the book, stories and memories that remind me of so many kind souls, for example andrew weil and jack herrer, that help ground my soul in the counterculture which has always nourished me.
a few tidbits of info. the first draft of the declaration of independence in jefferson’s hand writing (thoughts to paper) written on hemp, jefferson and washington both grew hemp (and separated the male and female plants, why would they do that?) also jefferson was in paris in the late 1700’s when everything oriental/arab was vouge, including smoking hashish. jefferson wrote about smuggling seeds from europe. hemp was the largest cash crop on earth (per volume) in the 1880’s (prior to the apex of the industrial revolution, when cloth was valuable and took time to produce).
tree paper, petroleum and pharma, restricted access to one of our most valuable plants. the oldest fibers found in the archaeological record (hemp 8-10,000 yrs). farmers in the US were encouraged to grow hemp when it was convenient for the military industrial complex (ww2). of course bush the father was saved when his plane crashed and his canvas (cannabis) i mean hemp life jacket saved his life. remember other words ganges river (GANJA)… it’s the same species of plant that has been nourishing us since we were us.
the frigging bible of all sources makes a huge deal in genesis about allowing mankind the right to use the seeds of any plant. i think there are parallels (the concept of liberty/freedom) between this freedom in genesis and the evolution of ideas from the european enlightenment endowed in documents like: the declarations of the rights of man, the american declaration of independence and the american bill of rights, and in the UN universal declaration of human rights.
i would argue the drug laws, in the UN and in the USA, violate the intent of this charter on numerous accounts. remember people are still executed in countries for violating drug laws, of course US drug laws also violate the intent of so many rights endowed in the UN declaration….just take a few moments to think about how drug laws infringe upon these basic universal ideals..
article 1 — All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
article 3 — Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
article 5 — No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
article 6 — Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
article 9 - No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
article 10 - Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him..
article 12 - No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
article 13 — (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
article 17 — (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
article 19 - Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
article 23- (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
article 25 - (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
article 26 - (1) Everyone has the right to education, 2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
—————————
legalize it - peter tosh………
Legalize it / Don’t criticize it / Legalize it Yea-ah Yea-ah
And I will advertise it.
Some call it tamjee /Some call it the weed
Some call it marijuana/ Legalize it
Don’t criticize it / Legalize it Yea-ah Yea-ah
And I will advertise it.
Some call it tamjee/ Some call it the weed
Some call it marijuana / Some of them call it ganja
Never mind, got to…
Singers smoke it / and players of instrument, too
Legalize it Yea-ah Yea-ah /That’s the best thing you can do.
Doctors smoke it / Nurses smoke it
Judges smoke it / Even lawyer, too
So you’ve got to…
It’s good for the flu / Good for asthma
Good for tuberculosis / Even Numara Thrombosis
Birds eat it /nts love it
Fowls eat it / Cooks love to bake with it
Some of them call it ganja
Never mind, got to…
———————–
….http://stopthedrugwar.org/home
…peace…
FUCK YOU!
Chill out, maaaaaaan. Nothing wrong with weed. I hope that when my generation comes to power, we will do away with crap like marijuana prohibition. I suppose that’s what the hippies said too…
As a load bearing straw bale home builder in the 4-corners area, hemp would make the best bales of all! The resistance to mold and mildew of the natural non-toxic hemp fibers would allow me to build sustainable housing that would still be around in a thousand years. Not mention it sure would be nice to be on the right side of the law after 35 years of daily use of the other family member… by the way, I have raised 5 kids with college degrees who learned if it grows from the ground, it is sound, if it is made by man through it in the can.
Maybe the real reason, amoung many that MJ is so feared by the draconian anti-drug lords, is that the consumption of it opens the door to the inner self, the REAL self, which is constantly shouted down by the ego, and waits, for us to wake up to its magic.
Anyone who has opened that door, cannot find the source of anger, unhappiness, sorrow or regret any longer.
Banish the lord of darkness from your mind, silence its voice by riding the light. For a cave can be in darkness for a million years, but one flick of a match will dispell the unseen and throw wide the door and in comes the LIGHT.
Learn to Meditate with the help of this magical herb; read the works of the great masters, and fear NO MORE.
President Clinton admitted so smoking pot, but says he didn’t inhale(and Monica didn’t swallow)…President Bush claims he wasn’t a cokehead..he just liked the way it smells…what a bunch of hypocrites.
Marijuana is an herb. Period. It should NOT be legalized. The federal government should no more have it’s nose in the growth of this herb than it should in the other herbs we regularly grow in our gardens. To my knowledge there has NEVER been one death attributed to the use of marijuana. Oh, except one man who was running from the police, tried to eat his pot and CHOKED TO DEATH.
Genesis says, “I have given you every herb bearing seed and for this shall be your food.”
Yes, marijuana creates the most perfect nutritional oil known to man. The seeds are highly nutritious. The buds do create powerful medicine when eaten/smoked. The stalks of marijuana AND hemp can be used to create linens and paper and much, much more.
It is outrageous that the growing of this herb is illegal.
But please. Call for decriminalization. NEVER legalization. We don’t need to be taxed for anything else for God’s sake!
Marijuana should be treated no differently than oregano, thyme, borage or catnip!!!
The amount of disinformation out there and being handed out to our (laughing) children has to be read to be believed. As said above NO deaths from overdozes. Some problems with smoking itself. And driving stoned can get you not just lost but killed.
And that’s about it with negative effects — except for getting arrested, having your house seized, and winding up part of the 25% of the world’s prison population.
Better stoned than stupid (enough to buy into the sheer BULLSHIT our leader put out).
Gary
Marijuana has to be illegal; it has too many therapuetic, medicinal qualities. Why take tranquilizers when you can smoke a joint? And it kills pain. Helps with sleep. Well that’s a few trillion pharma now reams America for.
P.S. I have six Beautiful Female Indica Plants under 850 watts in my closet and they wanted to say hi to everyone on this thread. They are waving at the screen.
A 420? cop talk for “marijuana smoking in progress,” or, time to get tasered.
actually abby we probably part ways here,
i don’t believe legalization and decriminalization are mutually exclusive. for example i have grown tobacco as many others i know have, you can find the seeds in numerous locations if you look. i’ve tasted mighty fine moonshine but i don’t know very many people who have stills in their homes (although they should be allowed to have stills and make herbal extracts like absinthe if that’s there hearts content - as related to the UN declaration of human rights above).
in fact if we lived in new zealand we could easily maintain our stills in our homes and share our wares w/ our neighbors. does that mean you can’t purchase a bottle of chevas regal in aukland? i don’t think so.
if people can’t grow herb in the cities b/c of a myriad of reasons; they should have the opportunity to buy it at the grocery as you purchase organic catnip today. also if some are aficionados why not let them distribute their plants , like other farmers (some like sumatran coffee others prefer kenyan coffee - the soil actually effects the flavor of the coffee some people appreciate this and are willing to pay a higher price to smaller fincas that utilize humane labor practices; often paying more then the prevalent wage and these smaller fincas are more environmentally sensitive).
it’s the same with opium and coca. get rid of the rules, let the peasants grow it in their gardens next to the valerium and skullcap and get over punishing people for possessing and distributing plants. education works, criminalization leads to violations of human rights here in america and around the globe…
herbs are herbs you should be able to grow them or sell them….
Human Rights in the Drug War: NGOs Slam UN Drug Bureaucracies, Demand Compliance With UN Charter
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/527/ngos_attack_UN_INCB_CND_ONDCP_human_rights_drugs
…peace….
When I decided to not be hypocritical about this with my youngest son, I was certain that he was going to experiment anyhow. Glad I did, as there is a lot of uninformed nonsense circulating and I wanted to impress upon him that not matter how stupid the law is, that it is the law and you will suffer a retribution out of all context to the action, if caught.
When I explained the real world to him, told him it would be a shorter list for me to recite who DOESN’T get high, rather than who does. There is enough hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance for kids to absorb today, I couldn’t see playing hide and seek about this with him, wasting that time, and missing some shared experiences. Pot is not addictive, tobacco is. I know, ’cause I can’t quit cigarettes, but I can and do not smoke pot on a far, far too regular basis.
Nobody ever smoked a joint, opened their eyes, and said:
“Yeah mon, I see what those Republicans are talking about finally! I’m going to join the GOP!”
Enough said
haha karl. That’s probably the main reason for the fascist prohibition.
Interesting threads, thanks everyone.
JJ PETER: You nailed a VERY important point.
Also, as some have alluded to–this idea of the government as “big brother” is particularly ridiculous when WHAT our government holds as legal is so often far more dangerous and destructive… alcohol IS indicated in traffic fatalities and domestic violence, as well as hate crimes. Is pot? Tobacco is a proven killer. As a woman in a nation that has a high rape level (and exports war, which also includes rape), I see porn as very destructive. And of course, those fawned over guns. When we consider what this nation regards AS legal, then the gross hypocrisy of outlawing pot is seen for its empty rhetoric.
This past week we learned that all kinds of pharmaceutical products are in our water supply. I suppose like the biogenetic companies, big pharma may start charging US a user fee for these interlopers! Fact is, the combination of all the clutter of big pharma in our water supply cannot be good for most people’s overall health. As was the case with Thalydimide, we can expect the defects to show up more prominently one or two generations down the proverbial road, that’s if our nation’s DU now flying on the world’s wind currents doesn’t bring the cancer rate up faster.
In a climate of Mars and Mammon rules, decency, peace, creativity, and that most feared of all–power of contemplation/thought/introspection is to be outlawed at all costs. Ours is a tragic land for its arrogance, hubris and utter folly.
JJ PETER: Bet you’d be a cool person to smoke a joint with. (I could extend that same “invitation” to lots of people who meet here virtually.) How I miss the 60’s and 70’s!
As a (finally) retired nurse who, in my day, grew some of the best weed in this part of the country, I have to say that prohibition of marijuana use is perhaps the most stupid and costly of programs this government has persued. I’m glad I’m retired from a prfofession that could test me any time for “illegal” drug consumption. Now, every night, on the porch, with the kids on my lap and supper on the stove, music moanin” or howlin” and, for sure, neighbors on the way to share, I’ll roll and fire up a joint and think, if anyone feels this is wrong, well….F**K You!!!
Jack and Jeannie Herer, David Crockett, with the help from Elizabeth Kucinich and the late Dr Tim White are presently petitioning for signatures for the California Cannabis Health and Hemp Inniative 2008. You can find the group CCHHI08 on Yahoo, and if you support the legalization of ALL Cannabis, please help.
California is about to lose what few cannabis laws the people have fought for over a decade to have and to hold. Every law is under attack on every level. Cannabis is a STATE RIGHTS issue. There are only two candidate who would legalize cannabis and that is Ralph Nader and Ron Paul who is still in the race, he did not conceed to McCain. When all the US has are second class candidates, you know the war on drugs is only getting bigger because it’s winning.
Jeanette Doney,
Mike Gravel is still in the race - he would legalize all drugs (hard drugs requiring a doctors prescription).
I’m also going to contest driving an Cannabis consumption being a bad idea. One would think someone who has been blazing would not want to draw attention to themselves would follow all the traffic laws (getting lost seems plausible, but at least their motor skills and judgment won’t be impaired). There would be a lot more stoning and driving ads (never seen one and I watch more television than I would like to admit) if it were a problem.
Perhaps the reason Bush and Cheney and all are such dickheads is that they really DIDN’T smoke! I suggest a Constitutional Amendment making past or present pot use MANDATORY for anyone seeking national office, because its that important in developing the traits needed to be a good leader.
If you remember, Bush’s (almost) first act in office was to try to hard-ass the Chinese after one of our spy planes collided with one of their fighter planes trying to defend their space. Soon after, he unilaterally pulled the US out of a hard-won ABM treaty with the Russians. Clearly, the years of coke have done some damage.
Some have suggested waterboarding him, but I think a more gentle and effective treatment would be to waterPIPE him until he regains his humanity. Put a bong to his lips!
No legalization because Corp. america can’t control the production, and hence the Gov. can’t tax what anyone can grow at home. See, you can grow and consume it all without ever leaving your property. If the Bill of Rights is adhered to, it becomes virtually impossible “catch” users. That is why drug testing is a big part of employment. The constitution won’t let the Gov test you but they just did an end-run around that by requiring federal contractors to test. Now it’s common in the work place, federal contract or not. And it’s prohibition is big business for the recipients of those Billions of WOD dollars too. It started with WOD former tzar Bennet putting in place the only up and running drug testing firm just as he was over seeing the rules for drug testing of FC being put into place. It’s just a racket, like everything now-a-days.
Wow! No fighting, no name calling, no hating, no banal one upmanship! Definitely one of the coolest pieces I have read at this site!
Having spent a large part of my 62 years as a DJ and musician, I have spent years and years around regular users of pot.
In fact, I knew Louie Armstrong and he used to personally burn about an ounce of pot a day, yet was hardly ever late for a concert unless it was someone else’s fault.
Granted, it may well be as dangerous to smoke as regular cigarettes, perhaps even a little more… but for the most part it seems to have several favorable effects.
For one, I have seen many beligerant and sometimes violent drunks… but I personally have NEVER seen a pot smoker start a fight.
Next, it seems to calm down otherwise hyper personalities to the point where they can actually focus and be creative.
Very few people want to go out in the world and drive around stoned… although the University of Colorado did a study of regular pot smokers and found that they have between 10 and 15% fewer accidents.
As for marijuana being a so-called “gateway drug”, I personally do not believe it pre-disposes people to try hard drugs or psychadelics any more than breast milk creates alcoholics.
As for drug addicts and alcoholics, most would become one or the other anyway… it’s the personality, not the intoxicant. That is a proven fact.
Pot needn’t be “legalized”… just decriminalized.
Siouxrose,
I stopped smoking “joints” a long time ago. Found that using a little metal pipe with a screw off tip, and taking a pinch off of a bud, then two or three tokes and that’s all it takes. Virtually no odor, and no inhaling of burning paper, which I believe is harmful.
And my - how much more alive one feels! How one can fly in inner space, and never leave your chair.
Try it if you still indulge, and I’ll find you in that deep space between what appears real, and that place where we really exist.
As one gets wiser, and as we start to rise above the shallow surface existance, we start to see the ultimate folley the vast majority are obsessed with.
I follow the glory now, not the gloom, and one day I’ll find myself looking back, across the years, and it will have been a worthwhile journey, because I found the truth, within my own self, and it brought me a permanent joy, and a purpose for living that was right there, all along.
A near full moon. Time to burn.
Obama 08.
Those who are ready to contemplate the end of America’s mindless war against “Reefer Madness” should immediately familiarize themselves with the website of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php
What drugs should remain criminalized? The ones we want to see 13 year olds selling on street corners and and in our schools.
My favorite American lie about marijuana is the first scene in “Reefer Madness”—the sign that says it is “A VIOLENT NARCOTIC!” Marijuana is not a narcotic and anything but an incitement to violence. So of course and as usual the government put both its feet squarely in its lying mouth from the start. Marijuana’s being illegal was a complete crusade by cretinous Christian-based politicians in the 1920s-30s who, of course and as usual, hated life, freedom, pleasure and all the rest of it—and of course and as usual, produced a complete disaster with their fucked-up self-important righteousness. “Herbal Jazz Cigarettes” will never inspire a savage war for stealing other people’s wealth—that makes it at least less dangerous than Bush and Cheney!
*sigh*
check out this video by reggae artist, pato banton for an entertaining introduction/argument for marijuana reform in a nutshell that is accessible, cogent and so right on!
legalize it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMQzRFvCIY
There are two reasons why marijuana is illegal:
1. It’s competition for many other businesses, through it’s brother, hemp, which is probably the most efficient plant for making biodiesel, and which is also more efficient than wood for making paper. This was the original reason why marijuana was made illegal. Henry Ford’s first automobile was designed to run on hemp-produced biodiesel, actually. He thought that farmers could grow their own hemp and use it to make fuel to run their vehicles, and they could have if the oil companies didn’t get together to demonize marijuana so they could make hemp, which looks like marijuana, illegal.
2. There’s an enormous amount of money riding on keeping marijuana illegal, from the DEA, to prison guards, to the police to etc. A lot of law enforcement officials would be out of work if marijuana were legal, and a lot fewer prisons would be necessary. And, of course, politicians get a lot of mileage out of terrifying people with stories about how dangerous marijuana is. After all, the War on Drugs is a powerful political tool: “Vote for me! I’m tough on drugs!” This is probably the primary reason why marijuana is still illegal, even though it’s not the reason as to why it was made illegal in the first place.
It doesn’t matter whether marijuana is illegal for reason#1 or reason #2, because it all boils down to the same thing: money.
Marijuana is the only drug (that I can think of) for which there is no readily cconsumable dose that will make one either unconscious, convulsive, comatose, or dead.
The only one!
Any other substance, in sufficient readily consumable quantity, will do serious harm, make you miss work, run down your bank account, and ruin relationships.
Only pot does not!
Almost 30 years ago I as a college professor and my family moved to a new town and it took me a couple of months to find someone wiling to sell me some pot. Much later in life my kids, who were both in middle school at the time, told me they were offered some pot during the first days.The hell?
what a relief to read comments from so many like-minded folks! thank you all! how about the hypocrisy that exists that keeps marijuana illegal, and what a crime THAT is? i am amazed at how many conservative white people i know (i live in texas)who smoke up, many of whom are in their 50s and 60s. wonder how many politicians and government people smoke up? what about comparisons between people under the effects of marijuana vs. people under the effects of alcohol? and how driving pertains to both? again, it is the hypocrisy that is the crime!
I would rather my young son see Cannabis as medicine for sick, old people. Not as some mysterious illegal substance attractive to sneaky, young, intelligent children. We told him that his brain will finish its major development at age 25 and at that time he can make all his own decisions. Until then, he needs to check in with us.
PaulM wrote: The big four drugs of choice need to be legalised and regulated: Alcohol, Tobacco, Cannabis, and Caffeine.
There is a fifth: Sugar (and it’s evil cousin, high-fructose corn syrup).
I am with you jjpeters. That’s right. Haha I am totally with you, Fascism sux! Cheers all!
A friend had to stop smoking pot because it was giving him chronic bronchitis and gynecomastia. If it was legal, better ways than smoking would proliferate and the estrogenic compounds removed to give us only the desirable compounds.
Obviously a portion of the billions and billions of dollars in illegal drug profit is being spent derailing decriminalization efforts and paying those in positions of power to toe the line and support the failed WOD. We should be suspicious of those who defend the WOD. They work against science and logic to protect a highly lucrative bootleg trade and we may assume they are participating in the profits.
To ezeflyer, your friend should try using a vaporizer. The pot doesn’t burn so there’s no soot/tar/crap - just tasty cool steam that makes you watch cartoons and eat cheezies.
And speaking of pot paraphenalia, I recently saw a pot smoking device disguised as a cigarette. Presumably if the police spot you using it you can reassure them that’s it’s just the number one killer, not the monster weed!
ezeflyer and others,
Vaporization is the solution to adverse lung involvement due to smoking. Google: Volcano +Vaporization. Many Europeans use vaporizing for tobacco as well. Amazing how since August 2004 when I bought my Volcano my chronic cough has disappeared, my home no longer has a distinctive odor and my medicine usage has been cut considerably. Vaporization consumes a lot less actual herb to afford the same or better symptom relief as smoking did.
My husband couldn’t be happier with the improved situations: money saved, improved smell inside the house and on my person and clothes, my upper respiratory health so much better; what more could we ask for?
I, too, live where plastic bags are a sign of ignorance, not malice, and I can purchase my medicines, both pharmaceutical and naturally grown, on my way home from work with a go-bank or credit card.
For anyone skeptical about marijuana and its affects, rent the documentary “Grass”. It is an informative piece of the criminialization of marijuana from about 100 years ago to present time. Avid smokers will be even more outraged of the hundreds and billions of dollars spent throughout the past few decades on the war against marijuana. You will also witness the self-rightous commissioner Harry Anslinger who took control of the media by falsely portraying this sweet, unharming, medicinal plant. Its crazy that we still live in a time where murderers receive a shorter sentence then some heavy smokers receive who unluckily happened to get caught.
Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer,
But a friend of ours was captured and they gave him thirty years
Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides we’re much too high
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends
–Phil Ochs
Drunks run red lights and smash their cars into others and kill them. Pot smokers stop at stop signs and wait for them to turn green!
mikepeters- I’m jealous. Me and my paltry 400W and all……
Hi Fuddgate; I am actually gonna lose the 600 (keep 250 tho), and get a 400 w/ a digital ballast and a Hortilux enhanced spectrum bulb. (650 total then).
trivia, ya probly knew mota was Mexican for pot, well, ‘llenyo’ means joint, and the letters in the word POLICE stand for Pussy Officers Learning Intensive Citation Enforcement,
How do you panhandle weed? ‘Can ya spareawanna for the Hempless?’
Bye And High.
A rational public health policy wold not only legalize marijuana but promote it’s usage over alcohol. Not only is marijuana far, far less damaging to physical health, but marijuana intoxication is far less likely to lead to automobile accidents or violent crime. Alcohol intoxication is accompanied by sensations of arrogance and beligerance, while marijuana brings on feelings of indifference and withdrawal. 80% of all felonies are alcohol mediated.
All you people talking about legalizing it and TAXING people for using this wondrous blessed beautiful plant: Give Us a BREAK please. We don’t need more taxes, especially on something Mother Earth gave us to connect to Her and to our inner spirits.
Just let people be; let them grow, let them use it. No taxes, no “regulation.”
Loosen up.
ezflyer wrote: A friend had to stop smoking pot because it was giving him chronic bronchitis..
As others have mentioned - vaporize! There are many devices on the market which raise the temperature of the herb being smoked to the point where the active ingredient vaporizes, but does not burn the leafy material. The waste is dried plant material, not ash.
The taste is a little different, but it is a cool smoke. The health advantages are obvious!
Legalize? Nonsense. It should be made compulsory…
“Legalize? Nonsense. It should be made compulsory”
At least for the President, members of Congress and the Pentagon. The lack of ambition would be a considerable asset. (not that Congress requires a lack of ambition to achieve nothing)
This is just the other side of the same coin. Few people understand thier relationship with nature.
My relationship with nature grew a lot from sneaking out into the woods to smoke pot. Suddenly noticing the tiny lichen on a tree trunk look like frog cheerleader pompoms….
Interesting, about pot users having fewer traffic accidents. I’ve always felt much more aware that I’m propelling 2200 pounds (I drive really small cars) of hard substances at reasonably high speeds & I think I’m much more cautious when I drive under this influence. Also much less likely to overreact to the stupidities of other drivers.
And to echo another point made above: I’ve never seen two potheads get into a fistfight over who was the tougher Marine… something I’ve seen at least twice among aging men addled by hops…
Basically, under the influence of cannabis I just feel much more sanguine about being stuck in this armed madhouse we live in (and thanks, Greg Palast, for a wonderfully resonant metaphor). It even seems amusing at times.
I so rarely hear anyone bring up the fact that cannabis can also be consumed as a food, or as an ingredient in our food. The argument that smoking anything is harmful, may or may have some validity. I have asthma and multiple chemical sensitivites and prefer to eat my herb of choice. Education is the key, something that our closed minded, fearful “average Joe or Jane” has been brain-washed and does not even realize the many benefits of this wonderful herb and could help stop this war that has destroyed as many innocent people as violent wars. War is the biggest business on the planet
Axe and Tag are legal, and being exposed to them five days a week is a hell I don’t wish to repeat.
There is a bit of hypocrisy over the drugs they criminalize and the drugs they encourage.
In states where property can be confiscated as part of a drug arrest, scatter your seeds on land belonging to unreasonable public officials, wait a season, and report the felony to the cops.
Peace,
mrblu
Selmac March 18th, 2008 7:21 pm
Chill out, maaaaaaan. Nothing wrong with weed. I hope that when my generation comes to power, we will do away with crap like marijuana prohibition. I suppose that’s what the hippies said too…
Selmac, I remember the first guy who offered me a toke told me, “Man, it’ll be
legal in another few years.” That was about 40 years ago. I’m still hoping it
will happen but I’m not counting on it. Too much money to be made by the Law
Enforcement Agencies with confiscated vehicles and property. Every hick town
Barney Fife around here is driving a new vehicle purchased with money from
drug arrests.