Community | January 24, 2009 | 56 comments

Marijuana lawsuit - religion

source: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99502&catid=2

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JackHerer
A 48-year-old Mexico man is suing the state and two law enforcement agencies, alleging that they violated his constitutional rights by restricting access to marijuana that he uses for religious reasons.
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56 comments // Marijuana lawsuit - religion

  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • http://current.com/groups/make-marijuana-matter/
      Make Marijuana Matter Group
      Hemp Helpers please join this Group
      Stand Up for your Rights
      Lets Get Cannabis on current....
      Lets get our voice Heard !!!
      The war on drugs is working! The war on drugs makes Americans slaves! It makes pharmaceutical companies rich!. It makes drug lords powerfull and dangerous.! I ensures that kids can get pot easier than they can get beer ! It prescribes medical marijuana in the hospital. Then arrests patients in the courtrooms when they dont buy from them.The war on drugs is working!!! Against the will of the American people>
      help soon , there is not much time

    • 2 years ago
  • ajiacoysancocho
  • mhembree09
  • sickinjersey
  • blaino
    • 0
      blaino  

    • The real reason its illegal is because of mexicans and personal gain. All drugs have racial or social reasons they were made illegal.

      Pot was legal unitl sometime in the year 1937 when congress issued the marihuana tax act (yes its spelt correctly). this act simply put a tax on cannabis for users growers doctors and anyone who would posses cannabis, but it also made the possesion of marjuana illegal throughout the usa. So anyone who wated to pay the tax would go to jail for possesion. This went through all sorts of legal battles cause it violates the fifth amendment.

      Thr person who introduced the act to congress was Harry J. Aslinger, and there is a lot of conspiracy as to why he started the whole anti-marijuana campaign, some people believe he did so to get rid of a competetor in the industry, because hemp can be used to make tons of things and aslinger and two other guys wanted to eliminate hemp to make way for oil bi-products like plastic.

      An other theory is that he was racist and wanted the mexican immgrants out of the usa, because the mexicans had a thing going on with the cannabis industry in the USA.

      Both reasons make a lot of sense, because no one really cared until there was profit to be made from making pot illegal.

      So stop with the its addictive and destructive and people abuse it nonsense. People are addicted to Prescription drugs like crazy there is no one out there campaigning against the legal drug lords. People are also addicted to and abuse tv, internet, video games, working, alcohol, cigarettes, food, excercising, texting and on and on and on. If we made everything addictive illegal what would we have left?

      The problem isnt addiction or abuse or anything even regading the actual plant, the problem is that BIG companies have to much to gain from pot being illegal.

    • 3 years ago
  • numinant
  • footystud
  • rightbrain
  • kewal91
  • Gargaryun
  • twintail
  • cantucwearebrothers
    • 0
      cantucwearebrothers  

    • Funny that not many people are touching on the religious aspect of this post. If he filed a lawsuit for his religious right to (fill in blank here) the majority of those posting would have their panties in a bunch.

    • 3 years ago
  • paganatplay
  • wrknonit
    • 0
      wrknonit  

    • cztheday, you do have a valid point.. but here's the thing.. unfortunately, those parents would abuse weed even if it weren't legal.

      Too true about the sedating qualities of weed.. and that is also one of the things that worries me.. but on the other hand.. those people would smoke it whether it were legal or not too..

      i see both sides.. but, i still have bigger issues with the waste of money, and the disenfranchisement of the rights of those of us who are responsible smokers.. and i do believe there are more responsible smokers than irresponsible smokers.. we are always going to have people who abuse substances.. but the majority of us don't.. take alcohol for example.. a huge majority of us drink.. but on the whole, not all of us are alcoholics..

      i think it's that way with all substances.. some of us have that addict cell matter.. and no matter what, we will be battling it for all of our lives.. whether our substance of choice is a drug or a cup of coffee or cigarette..

      but, should we criminalize the act or should we place the responsibility on the user.. in the case of marijuana, i still have to say that we should put that responsibility on the user.. (my humble opinion)

    • 3 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  
    • wrknonit:

      Out of all the responses to my post yours was by far the best in terms of stating your positions and following them up with solid advocacy. I find your positions to be very persuasive. I grew up in poverty and in a section of a medium-sized city that had its share of gang violence. Drug use was pervasive and smoking a joint with a few friends was akin to sharing a soda -- easily accessible and simply no big deal. But these were people who lived pretty close to the edge financially. Many were able to support their own use by small-time dealing (if you hung out long enough, you would usually see two or maybe three people stop by at various times during the evening for a bag to go). Much more than that, and you were inviting a little more trouble from the law than most people were comfortable with. But for MOST people even small time dealing was either too dangerous or they could never even scrape together the cash to make a big enough buy to really set themselves up to do anything more than maybe sell a few joints out of a half-ounce. Hard to turn that into anything sustainable. I know exactly why I am so uncomfortable with legalization. While I agree that marijuana is no worse (and almost certainly LESS destructive) than alcohol, now that I am approaching the half-century mark, I have seen the SAME patterns over and over again so many times that I actually feel a bit of nausea when I see it developing again. Someone who is a "social drinker" or a "social smoker" in their teens and 20s almost invariably finds that one of both of the two substances becomes the "go to" solution in times of stress or times of unhappiness or times of boredom (or all of the above). Peversely, they also go to the same substance(s) when they are especially HAPPY -- when they receive a promotion, a nice raise, celebrate a birthday or other holiday, etc. Most never reach the point where they would meet the technical definition of addiction, but the real-life differences are not all that significant. At least from MY perspective, they essentially miss out on their LIVES. Instead of really FEELING their pain and finding ways to deal with it that teach them life lessons, they avoid all of that by acheiveing a state of semi-consciousness. In fact, they wind up avoiding almost ALL intense emotion. Many become seriously awkward in social situations because they have literally forgotten how to deal with any but the most superficial interactions without being drunk and/or stoned. Maybe, in the grand scheme of the universe, that is OK. Whatever gets you through the night, as the song says. But I can't help feeling great sadness when I see people doing that to themselves (and I see it fairly often -- just not daily like I used to, thank God). Wow! Sorry this became so long. Keep on keepin' it real!

    • 3 years ago
  • nerdberd
    • 0
      nerdberd  

    • We didn't create the damn thing, it's a plant and it grows to perhaps to serve some form of happiness. It should be legalized, like alcohol. I find out alcohol worse.

    • 3 years ago
  • forsaken
    • 0
      forsaken  

    • Marijuana is natural, with no human altering. Thus, since it is natural, isn't it therefore created by God? This isn't like LSD or cocaine or heroin... marijuana is a plant, plain and simple, no added chemicals, no added anything. 100% God made.

      I smoked pot while in the service. A lot. Well, not a lot, but my fair share. I enjoyed myself. Did it lead me to other drugs? No. Did I get dependent on it? No. Did I ever take so much I lost myself? No. Same with my friends.

      Even know, I'll smoke every once in a while... but, just like drinking, I know when I've had enough... anything above a buzz is just over-kill. Marijuana, no matter people say, is not addictive.

      Getting a bit off subject, so I'll just sign off...

    • 3 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  
    • forsaken:

      Some of the most deadly poisons on the planet come from plants that are 100% natural. And I doubt very much that we would want people driving down our highways on peyote or magic mushrooms -- which are also 100% natural.

      However, I DO have a former friend from high school who became a rastafarian in college. He was busted with several pounds of marijuana and charged with the whole spectrum of possession, intent to distribute, conspiracy, etc, etc. He is currently serving a life sentence. I find that punishment to be utterly absurd and completely inconsistent with the nature of the crime. I just don't see how a life sentence is ever appropriate unless the crime involves the infliction of bodily harm or the intent to inflict bodily harm with a deadly weapon

    • 3 years ago
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  

    • We have the right to PURSUE happiness. But the State is not required to allow you do to whatever you want to do that makes you happy. Michael Vick was apparently happiest when one of his pit bulls was ripping the life out of another pit bull. That did not give him a constitutional right to engage in that kind of behavior. I am not saying that Marijuana should not be decriminalized -- just that overturning current law in that area on CONSTITUTIONAL grounds is a nonstarter. The better argument, I think is that marijuana use is consistent with the public interest, welfare and safety. I have two main reservations: 1) Every stoner I have ever met has had just about every bit of energy and ambition sucked out of him/her. I don't get too excited about a small percentage of people choosing to live that way, but if a majority of people did, our country would become a pale shadow of what it once was in terms of producing great works of art, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery and constantly raising the average standard of living. 2) I know from first-hand observation that children are often sadly neglected in households where both spouses smoke regularly. They are also quite often impoverished because of a general preference for being stoned over breadwinning. Getting no toys for Christmas cause Dad needed to score a lid sucks big time...

    • 3 years ago
  • wfb23
    • 0
      wfb23  
    • cztheday:

      It is true that some stoners aren't the most inspirational human beings, but I happen to know just as many marijuana users that are upstanding and respectable citizens

      But you could use the same examples with alcoholics... but that is legal and I don't think many people are trying to criminalize alcohol.

    • 3 years ago
  • unimatrix0
    • 0
      unimatrix0  
    • cztheday:

      Sounds like you run with a lame crowd. The pot smokers I know are highly educated and have great jobs (like me).

      You are just repeating a stereotype. Yes some pot smokers are burn outs - so are lots of non pot smokers.

      Trust me, many educated, successful people smoke pot on a regular basis.

    • 3 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  
    • cztheday:

      The only reason you quote stoners is because they are the only ones willing to speak out. People who are productive must fear repercussions for their opinions. People can loose their jobs, their children, their freedom by speaking out. Stoners have less too loose. There are many productive people who use cannabis.

    • 3 years ago
  • charfman
  • cztheday
    • 0
      cztheday  
    • cztheday:

      I don't know if you read the string of responses to my post, but the first gentleman indicated that since the Constitution guaranteed the right to the pursuit of happiness any law that stood between him and happiness (such as marijuana being illegal) was unconstitutional. I was pointing out that the Constitution grants you the right to PURSUE happiness, it does not guarantee that you are going to be able to do anything that MAKES you happy. The example was that dog fighting may MAKE Michael VIck happy (well, probably not anymore, but you get the idea), but the constitution is not going to guarantee him the right to set his dog on somebody else's dog in a fight. He can PURSUE happiness but only within the boundaries of the rest of the laws that prevent him from harming other people and animals (at least in a dog fighting context). I am sorry that you find the argument to be ridiculous, but I can assure you that my response was very much on point in rebutting that first response to my orignal text.

    • 3 years ago
  • charfman
    • 0
      charfman  
    • cztheday:

      Oh c'mon "sieze the day" your arguments are lame... I haven't smoked pot in years but I do know the prohibition of pot is akin to the prohibition of alcohol in the thirties... It has led to super rich gangsters who would kill you as soon as look at you... It has absolutely no similarity to dog fighting...

    • 3 years ago
  • wrknonit
    • 0
      wrknonit  

    • uh.. hello.. whenever our rights are disenfranchised it is up to us to speak out about it laurastarra..

      do you realize that those who smoke pot are going to jail, losing their jobs, losing their children, states are spending millions of dollars to prosecute this when they could be spending it on child molestors,

      Just because people want to use a natural substance???

      yes, there is alot going on in the world.. but this is also something that is going on.. and it should be addressed..

      Governments are flushing millions of dollars down the drain due to the laws against marijuana.. Just by decriminilizing marijuana, Washington state would save 7.2 million dollars PER YEAR.. they can use this to fight the bigger problems, like child abuse, murder, and the such.. so do you see how taking up this cause is important and in my opinion.. mandatory!

      It's time to stop wasting our time, freedom and money in the fight against such of a non-threatening issue.

    • 3 years ago
  • mutedmajority
  • TheColorYellow
  • twintail
  • TheColorYellow
  • unimatrix0
  • nazbags
  • Herbal_Minded
  • petarro
  • CreditFigaro
    • 0
      CreditFigaro  
    • petarro:

      Amazing.

      It's easy to make the case to keep it illegal, but if you had to make the case to make it ILLEGAL after it was legalized, you would be faced with quite the challenge, indeed.

      Truth be told, there is no reason you or anyone else should determine whether or not he does what he wants to with his own body.

      Period.

    • 3 years ago
  • cerealforeal
  • petarro
  • laurastarra
    • 0
      laurastarra  

    • I am sick to death of hearing about people trying to justify marijuana. Get over it! There are bigger problems in the world than the legality of catching a friggin buzz.

    • 3 years ago
  • Herbal_Minded
  • PhraseBouquet
  • Hostile
    • 0
      Hostile  
    • laurastarra:

      There's nothing to "justify", Laura, cannabis is a safe drug with both recreational and medicinal applications which has helped thousands of people since at least 3000 years ago when the Chinese doctors referred to it as the "superior herb". If anything needs justifying it's the American policy of prohibition which flagrantly disregards the American spirit of individualism and self-determination, and in this case actually violates the word of the Constitution itself. In America today there appears to be no greater problem than the drug war, which costs billions in tax dollars every single year and puts 1/8 black American males behind bars during their adult lives and leaves vast swathes of the black American population fatherless. Thousands of lives are being ruined every year by prohibition of all drugs; if Obama gave a single flying fuck about Americans, especially blacks, then ending prohibition would be his very first act.

      Keep up the good fight Mr Herer, you're a hero.

    • 3 years ago
  • Nettle
    • 0
      Nettle  

    • He won't win. A while ago, the US Supreme court ruled that animal slaughter is illegal even if it is a part of a religion (example Santeria). While the ideology of the religion is not an issue, it's the act of killing goats that's illegal.

      If there was a religion that required the rape and murder of 10 year old virgins, would the courts still protect it? Don't think so.

      EDIT: And I'm not saying he shouldn't win, I'm just saying that he won't.

    • 3 years ago
  • TheColorYellow
  • alish
    • 0
      alish  
    • Nettle:

      yeah there are other problems in the world...such as oil. mariijuana was originally made illegal because the oil companies saw it as competition and since there is thc in the plant, they used that to make it illegal, despite the effects. weed should be legal and alcohol and cigarettes should be made illegal

    • 3 years ago
  • theboyscout
  • TheColorYellow
  • ETartell
    • 0
      ETartell  

    • I know Cannabis has saved my life... on many many levels....
      If i can have a beer, a cigarette and i can die for my country.... why cant i have cannabis to help with cancer, or even for religious purposes?? it doesn't seem fair... and its clearly just about money and control.
      No one ever hears, " johnny came home stoned and beat the shit outa his wife," but " johnny came home drunk...." whole different story, your more likely to hear, " johnny came home stoned and asked.... whens dinner?"

    • 3 years ago
  • idealist
  • ras_menelik
  • PhraseBouquet
    • 0
      PhraseBouquet  

    • Any way that people can get marijuana in the news is a good thing. I want to see the world saved by this magical plant, and until this happens, let's push everything we can into mainstream news.

    • 3 years ago
  • TaGgInUrBlOcKuP
  • Iulian
    • 0
      Iulian  

    • Now this is something new , he should perform his religion things somewhere in Europe where drugs are legal , let's say Holland for example ...

    • 3 years ago
  • Alex_French
  • JackHerer
    • 0
      JackHerer  

    • Concentrated cannabis hemp oil (Indian hemp, ganja, dagga, marijuana) can cure cancer and many other serious illnesses. Please watch Rick Simpson's "Run from the Cure" at www.phoenixtearsmovie.com. Please read my book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" online free at www.jackherer.com. It is all about the history and many uses of cannabis hemp. We can end hunger, cure cancer and reverse the Greenhouse Effect with cannabis hemp!

    • 3 years ago
  • retran
  • ajiacoysancocho
  • Sexirobot
    • 0
      Sexirobot  

    • Although i think this guy is more full of shit than a septic tank i can't help but side with him. Marijuana is one of the most harmless drugs out there but its shrouded by such cultural stigma. Smoking will eventually kill you(legal), drinking will kill you one way or the other(legal), mj will eventual render you couch bound(illegal). i don't know about you but i rather chill at home with a blunt.

    • 3 years ago
  • Valentin0o
  • CreditFigaro
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