Make Marijuana Matter More // Current

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3 days ago

Authorities 'hold back research'

CANNABIS may be a viable cure for chronic pain, but convincing the authorities is proving to be a political minefield for one... more

JackHerer
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Cannabis College - Nat Geo Channel

Medical marijuana use is on the rise in California - and business is booming. This is the second half of Nat Geo's... more

underthebus
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How Did We Get Here? The Roots of Pot Prohibition

Why is it that our state and federal laws embrace alcohol—a drug that is a known cause of a frightening array of adverse... more

underthebus
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NM House panel shelves tax on medical marijuana

A proposal to tax medical marijuana in New Mexico ran into strong opposition on Friday and a House committee shelved the measure.... more

JackHerer
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Linda Ellen: Medicinal marijuana can ease PTSD

The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act allows for medical cannabis to treat post traumatic stress disorder. In 2007, Dr.... more

JackHerer
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Republicans Favor Medical Marijuana, Poll Shows

Medical marijuana’s support among voters in New York State is so solid that even a substantial majority of Republicans favor... more

JackHerer
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Cop from North Aurora charged with dealing drugs from squad

A North Aurora man who works as a police sergeant in LaSalle County has been accused of dealing marijuana out of his squad car,... more

JackHerer
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Astonishing final results from the 2010 Marijuana Survey

The livestream marijuana survey started January 23, 2010and sponsored by the grassroots organization Legalize Utah concluded this... more

JackHerer
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Now Missouri is trying to legalize real weed and outlaw fake weed

Now Missouri is trying to legalize real weed and outlaw fake weed By Peter Rugg in Follow That Story, News Man, is... more

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Will Obama ever seriously address marijuana legalization?

You are never going to hear Barack Obama seriously address the issue of legalization of marijuana until it is more politically expedient for him to do so.

Look at health care “reform”. Candidate Obama promised all sorts of tough talk against the combined interests of Big Pharma and Health Insurance. When push came to shove, the healthcare titans got pretty much everything they wanted in the debate.

So, with public option health care a landslide issue supported by super-majorities of the American people, with health care a vital issue that directly affects nearly every American, with 47 million Americans going without health care insurance altogether, Barack Obama found the words of the health care lobbyists better than he heard the shouts of the majority of the American people.

Do you think he’s then going to react favorably to the cyber-screaming of 14.5 million American cannabis consumers demanding the same rights as beer drinkers, especially when the issue hasn’t even yet achieved full majority support in America? Most especially when those same health care lobbyists who killed bulk drug negotiations by Medicare and cheap drug importation from Canada don’t want to see people growing their own pot plants and cutting their demand for opioids, NSAIDs, and benzodiazapenes. And considering that health care lobby is joined by chorus of law enforcement lobbies protecting their jobs and Pentagon lobbies protecting their off-the-books cash cow.

So, no, do not look to Washington for any serious discussion on marijuana law reform. Barack Obama does not want to be “the Pot-Legalizing President”.

However, come November when Californians are voting to re-legalize marijuana and Democrats are suffering mid-term defeats, if following re-legalization California realizes an economic revival in cannabis while the rest of the nation struggles, and if Republicans do the smart thing and latch on to a naturally conservative issue of ending adult marijuana prohibition and start winning some seats, we could have a whole new discussion in Washington.You are never going to hear Barack Obama seriously address the issue of legalization of marijuana until it is more politically... more

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9 days ago

No Marijuana Question During Online Interview With Obama - Censorship?

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2009/0326/legalize-pot-obama-just-says-no-to-marijuana-twitterers-upset/article_photo1.jpg/5607778-1-eng-US/article_photo1.jpg_full_600.jpg

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that President Obama chose to ignore marijuana reform questions. The questions posed to him were selected by YouTube, which decided not to present the highest ranked questions to the president. This post has been changed to correct that inaccuracy.

YouTube’s CitizenTube forum concluded today with questions about ending marijuana prohibition receiving the most votes, by far. Yet, the questions about marijuana prohibition were not presented to the president this afternoon.

Last year, when marijuana reform questions topped the “Open For Questions” forum operated by the White House, the president did answer them — albeit without serious consideration to the issue. It’s unfortunate that YouTube would shelter the president from something that’s obviously on a lot of people’s minds.

Ending marijuana prohibition is not a fringe issue. Not anymore. The polls are showing rapid increases in support for reform nationwide (46% of Americans think small amounts of marijuana should be legal, according to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll), and at least three states are considering legislation or ballot initiatives to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the coming years. This issue will be addressed in a serious way, and it’s regrettable that YouTube would shy away from it.

Censorship on citizentube
http://www.casttv.com/video/eshr0f/censorship-on-citizentube-video
"Although the number one question asked by youtubers was "what will obama do to legalize marijuana" Citizentube figured it was inappropriate and censored it out. We do not have a voice, Our voice is what other entities think is appropriate. I do not use marijuana, but that does not mean I would censor people's question, just because I feel it is inappropriate. A question is a question. I have also noticed that the citizentube channel has set their email options to "FRIENDS ONLY" is this to prevent the mass of people from complaining about this?"

http://image.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/obamaPot_Leaf(3).jpghttp://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2009/0326/legalize-pot-obama-just-says-no-to-marijuana-twitter... more

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32 comments

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10 days ago

Mexican Cartels Join DEA in Opposition of U.S. State Marijuana Laws

The DEA and other federal agencies want to incarcerate people and overly regulate this simple herb and you know who is on their... more

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18 comments

added
11 days ago

In Mexico, drug legalization is a mixed bag

The decriminalization of drug use in Mexico is bound to have unintended consequences. Beginning last Friday, possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine, heroine, LSD, marijuana and meth, is permitted. Such wholesale legalization is crude, but may prove beneficial to the Mexican economy.

Having up to four joints on you (the legal limit is five grams) isn’t going to have a societal impact. Prosecutions for possession were already non-existent in Mexico. Studies commissioned under the tenure of Gen. Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton’s “Drug Czar”, concluded that marijuana is not a “gateway” drug. It is widely believed not to be addictive, and it is not known to induce violent behavior.

If anything, this law will undercut corruption among local police, as they will no longer be able to hassle those with a joint in order to get a bribe. Marijuana is one thing, but should Mexico have legalized cocaine? Crystal meth? Heroine? LSD?

I for one don’t think so. Little good can come of legalizing such powerful and addictive drugs. Drug-related violence may well increase, even if cartel violence decreases, as the desperation of addiction grows in Mexico’s cities and towns.

Portugal decriminalized drug use in 2001 in order to focus on rehabilitation. Unlike Portugal, Mexico does not have the facilities to treat a potential surge in drug addiction. The cartels, for their part, will continue to target America as the destination of their product. So if low-level violence and/or addiction-related deaths increase in Mexico, poorly crafted legislation will be to blame.

However, the Mexican economy stands to benefit. Tourism, the nation’s third-largest source of revenue after oil and remittances, is reeling from recession in the US and H1N1. Mexico relies on American tourists coming to its shores for bouts of sun-laden escapism. Knowing they do not risk arrest, they might now stay an extra day or two, aiding Mexico’s bottom line.

This law may mark the beginning of a new trend in Latin America, historically the world’s most socially conservative region. On Tuesday, Argentina’s Supreme Court decriminalized possession of marijuana for personal use. Other nations may soon follow. The Catholic Church, a bulwark of Latin American society for centuries, is quietly retreating from the public sphere. As it does, legislatures and courts would do well to remember II Corinthians 3.6: “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” Policy catching up to reality is one thing, but some drugs are illegal for good reason.The decriminalization of drug use in Mexico is bound to have unintended consequences. Beginning last Friday, possession of small... more

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11 days ago

Judge James Gray on Medical Marijuana

Judge Jim Gray discusses medical marijuana in California.

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11 days ago

Time to end marijuana prohibition - Judge James Gray

Recently retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray is on a crusade. You might think a conservative judge from a conservative county would advocate for the prohibition of marijuana, but – based on his experiences, he is adamantly pro legalization.

Witnessing first hand what he calls the utter failure of our current policies of drug prohibition – marijuana in particular – he cites unnecessary prison growth, increased taxes, increased crime and corruption, and loss of civil liberties as the unhealthy side effects of an anemic policy in need of drastic reform.

Regarding medical marijuana, he states:

“Does marijuana work [as medicine]? Well, there’s no direct evidence by a government study showing that marijuana is an effective medicine. And you know something? They’re right. However, it’s beyond hypocrisy for them because it’s the federal government that controls the marijuana. Numbers of reputable groups, the Centers for Disease Control, The University of California and others have requested to conduct the studies and they’ve been deprived of that authorization… The government affirmatively does not allow this research to take place and then they sanctimoniously say, ‘well there’s no research [showing marijuana is medicine]…’ it’s beyond hypocrisy, I view it as Chutzpah” (audacity).

A little more on the problems our government has created for medical marijuana research (source):

At present, the only way for medical marijuana to be properly evaluated by the FDA is for privately-funded sponsors to conduct FDA-approved clinical trials (like any other drug evaluation). [If any progress is to be made on the medical marijuana research front, we must first] remove the monopoly imposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on licenses for the cultivation of medical-grade cannabis for research purposes. Currently, the DEA exclusively licenses the cultivation of medical-grade cannabis to the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), which primarily investigates only the negative effects of cannabis. This monopoly obstructs any investigation and research in the U.S. into the medical properties of cannabis and thwarts the normal drug approval process.

(Listen to Judge Gray speak on medicinal marijuana at link.)Recently retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray is on a crusade. You might think a conservative judge from a... more

underthebus
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20 comments

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12 days ago

IGrow: Walmart of weed opens in Oakland

Call it the Walmart of weed. In a 15,000-square-foot warehouse just down the road from the Oakland Airport, an entrepreneur is... more

JackHerer
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Make Marijuana Matter More 284 items | updated 1 day ago

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All Rights Reserved