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Lies in the War on Marijuana | MPP TV
Join MPP’s Sara Cannon as she takes a look at outright lies made by the Drug Free America Foundation.
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How drugs laws compound race inequality
The war on drugs disproportionately targets black people in the US and UK, exacerbating oppression, says Sebastian Saville
On September 18 drug campaign group Release held its annual conference in London. To thunderous applause, drug policy reformer and racial equality advocate Deborah Small gave a harrowing account of the plight of her fellow black Americans whose lives are caught up in the vicious interplay of the drugs and race wars being waged by US authorities.
"People say the drug war isn't working," she opines, "but not me - I say it is working, only too well. It's a highly successful method of maintaining the oppression of black people in the United States."[more] The war on drugs disproportionately targets black people in the US and UK, exacerbating oppression, says Sebastian Saville ... more -
Pro-pot advocates: Radio ad misrepresents question
BOSTON -- The group fighting to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in Massachusetts charged yesterday that opponents are misrepresenting their ballot question as a referendum on legalizing marijuana, rather than its intent to reduce penalties for small amounts of pot.
Whitney Taylor, campaign manager of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, said a radio ad this week misrepresented the referendum question.
"This ad goes beyond misstatements, spin or opinion and blatantly lies about what Question 2 would do if passed," Taylor said. "The opponents of Question 2 are trying to dupe the voters of Massachusetts into thinking that Question 2 is something it's not."
Question 2, a voter referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot, would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, instead imposing a fine.
Vote No on Question Two, a collection of law enforcement and civic organizations, purchased the ad that said "legalizing marijuana will have a disastrous impact on thousands of families living in Massachusetts."
William Breault, the voice in the ad and chairman of Main South Alliance for Public Safety, a Worcester public-safety advocacy organization leading the fight against the question, said he had no qualms about the ad's language.
"If legalize helps us to get the public's attention, we will use it," Breault said. "We have not told (supporters of Question 2) what to do, so they shouldn't tell us what to do."[more] BOSTON -- The group fighting to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in Massachusetts charged yesterday that opponents are misrep... more -
Is There Anything CBD Can’t Do? Then Why Is It Illegal?
While the prohibition of cannabis is absurd, the ban on the plant’s non-psychoactive components is even more mind-boggling — particularly when it’s apparent that these compounds possess amazing therapeutic properties. Case in point: cannabidiol (CBD).
A just published scientific review by Sao Paulo University (Brazil) researcher Antonio Zuardi reports that there’s been an “explosive increase” of interest in CBD over the past five years. It’s apparent why.
“Studies have suggested a wide range of possible therapeutic effects of cannabidiol on several conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral ischemia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory diseases, nausea and cancer,” Zuardi writes. Let’s look at a few of these in detail, shall we? [more] While the prohibition of cannabis is absurd, the ban on the plant’s non-psychoactive components is even more mind-boggling — particula... more -
? or Prescription pills?
Basically why would we legalize a number of prescription pills for headaches, depression, sleep aids, pains, aches, and muscle relaxants when one plant can do all of these? Cannabis Sativa serve as solutions to all of these conditions... not to mention its uses as a natural resource and an economy saver. There a some negative side affects but everything has some kind of negative side affects when used in excess. So why wont our conservative politicians just realize what the cannabis plant can do for all of america. Basically why would we legalize a number of prescription pills for headaches, depression, sleep aids, pains, aches, and muscle relaxan... more
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76% Say War On (Some) Drugs Is A Failure
According to a Zogby Poll released today, three in four likely voters (76%) believe the U.S. war on drugs is failing, a sentiment that cuts across the political spectrum-including the vast majority of Democrats (86%), political independents (81%), and most Republicans (61%). There is also a strong belief that the anti-drug effort is failing among those who intend to vote for Barack Obama (89%) for president, as well as most supporters of John McCain (61%).
When asked what they believe is the single best way to combat international drug trafficking and illicit use, 27% of likely voters said legalizing some drugs would be the best approach — 34% of Obama supporters and 20% of McCain backers agreed.
One in four likely voters (25%) believe stopping the drugs at the border is the best tactic to battle drugs — 39% of McCain supporters, but just 12% of Obama backers agree.
Overall, 19% of likely voters said reducing demand through treatment and education should be the top focus of the war on drugs. 13% believe that the best way to fight the war on drugs is to prevent production of narcotics in the country of origin.
The survey results were released this morning at the Miami Herald’s 12th Annual Americas Conference, which is taking place Thursday and Friday in Coral Gables, FL. The Zogby Interactive survey of 4,752 likely voters nationwide was conducted Sept. 23-25, 2008, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points. According to a Zogby Poll released today, three in four likely voters (76%) believe the U.S. war on drugs is failing, a sentiment that... more -
America’s 20-Millionth Marijuana Arrest – Coming To Your Home Or Person?
An odometer roll over effect of sickening proportions is about to happen this October: American law enforcement will make its 20-millionth marijuana arrest. Regrettably however, our country will not be one step closer to any solution of this “problem” than we were when the federal government first started arresting people for cannabis seventy-one years ago today, with the first federal cannabis prohibition arrest of Samuel Caldwell.
Halfway through this epoch in American history known as cannabis prohibition, Richard M. Nixon’s own handpicked Shafer Commission studied cannabis for nearly two years and concluded: no criminal penalties for adult possession of 100 grams of marijuana.
Nixon was shocked by their findings and tried to bury the Shafer Commission’s report. Nixon instead proceeded with the “don’t try to confuse me with the facts, I’ve got my mind made up” approach to governance, and the full-scale war on cannabis commenced.[more] An odometer roll over effect of sickening proportions is about to happen this October: American law enforcement will make its 20-milli... more -
NBA and NORML Joining Forces To Achieve Mutual Goals? Not As Far Fetched As It Sou...
In today’s McClatchy Newspapers, sports columnist Jan Hubbard touches upon a genuinely unexplored and not-totally-absurd suggestion that NBA Commissioner David Stern and NORML partner to solve an ongoing and seemingly never-ending problem: ending cannabis prohibition in America.[more] In today’s McClatchy Newspapers, sports columnist Jan Hubbard touches upon a genuinely unexplored and not-totally-absurd suggestion th... more
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Marijuana Is Real Medicine
Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book -- not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and engaging, like a true detective novel -- with a broad appeal to those interested in the medical potential of cannabis, an end to the drug war and grass roots activism. I asked the co-authors, Wendy Chapkis and Richard Webb, how working on the book changed them.
WENDY CHAPKIS: "I certainly was one of those people who thought that 'medical marijuana' was probably mostly a way for Americans to get around ridiculously punitive drug laws. It seemed like a reasonable strategy to me. But the very first time I walked into a WAMM [WoMen's Alliance for Medical Marijuana] membership meeting, looked around the room and saw people who were ghostly white and frail, people in wheelchairs, people huddled in small groups talking about a WAMM member who needed round the clock care, I realized that medical marijuana was no 'ruse.' These were very ill people. And, as I started doing interviews, the stories of the medicinal properties of pot blew me away.[more] Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine is an important and accessible book -- not heavy on academic jargon, but rather lively and en... more -
Medical Journal Touts 17,000 Pot-Related Studies
Jerusalem, Israel: Cannabis is one of the most studied plants on the planet, according to a review published in the September issue of the journal Medicinal Research Reviews. "Research on the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids has reached enormous proportions," the journal states. "[A]pproximately 15,000 articles on Cannabis sativa L. and cannabinoids and over 2,000 articles on endocannabinoids" are available in the scientific literature.
Commenting on the review NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "Opponents of marijuana law reform - including those who oppose the therapeutic use of cannabis - are fond of claiming that further study of marijuana is necessary before we can amend current law. Yet in reality, cannabis is arguably the most investigated plant on Earth. It's clear that it's politics, not science, that is driving the criminal prohibition of cannabis and unfortunately the publication of another dozen - or even a thousand - studies is not going to change this reality."
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, "Pharmacological and therapeutic secrets of plant and brain (Endo)cannabinoids," appears in the journal Medicinal Research Reviews.[links] Jerusalem, Israel: Cannabis is one of the most studied plants on the planet, according to a review published in the September issue of... more -
John Lennon-John Sinclair
John Lennon song John Sinclair off his 1972 album Some Time in New York City.
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Pro-pot backers aim high
Boston, MA -- Activists who want joints sold over the counter like cigarettes are bankrolling a Bay State pot referendum backers claim will simply clear the air of piddling marijuana cases choking the court system.
The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which placed Question 2 on the November ballot, collected from the Marijuana Policy Project $200,000, about 30 percent of its total. Indeed, about 90 percent of the $635,000 the committee has raised comes from people who live out of state.
On its Web site, the marijuana project’s mission statement states clearly: “Adults who use marijuana should be able to obtain it from legally regulated establishments and not from illegal drug dealers.”
Woody Kaplan, a Hub real estate developer and self-styled “provocateur” who donated $10,000 to the state ballot initiative, also backs the call for legal pot sales.
“I believe taxing and regulating is a much better way than what the ballot question proposes,” said Kaplan, who held a $250-a-head fundraiser for the Marijuana Policy Prject earlier this month.
“This is government making a choice that something that is clearly destructive - alcohol - is OK, but somebody smoking marijuana isn’t,” Kaplan told the Herald.
Daniel R. Lewis, 62, of Coral Gables, Fla. - the scion of the Progressive Insurance fortune and a self-confessed former toker - also would like to see grass legalized and regulated.
“I think it’s a relatively harmless drug, as compared to alcohol,” said Lewis, who gave $5,000 to the pot project.
The group also counts among its backers actor Jack Black, talk show host Bill Maher and former wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, and uses Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion for its lavish fund-raisers.
If passed, the ballot initiative would make having an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense punishable by a $100 fine. Minors’ parents would be notified, and the kids would have to complete a drug awareness program.
Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard Leone slammed the pot activists as out of touch and predicted the measure would be a gateway to weaker drug laws.
“Question 2 will allow a foot in the door to people with a misguided, radical agenda,” Leone said.
Whitney Taylor, campaign manager, pointed to a Suffolk University poll that showed 72 percent of voters support the ballot question.
“They are not out of the mainstream,” Taylor said. “They are the mainstream.”
Kaplan, a 66-year-old board member of the Godless America PAC, which “mobilizes nonbelievers for political activism,” said he’s heard it all before.
“Same-sex opponents said if you allow same-sex marriage, people would marry dogs,” Kaplan said. “Yeh, right. It’s just fear tactics, and it’s absurd.” Boston, MA -- Activists who want joints sold over the counter like cigarettes are bankrolling a Bay State pot referendum backers claim... more -
Measure to decriminalize marijuana goes on Mass. ballot
While a recent poll showed that more than two thirds of Massachusetts voters favor relaxing laws against marijuana, State Representative Will N. Brownsberger ’78—a drug addiction and enforcement expert who represents parts of Belmont and Cambridge—said he has grave concerns about the wisdom of a November ballot initiative that would decriminalize possession of the drug.
The initiative, championed by the Committee of Sensible Marijuana Policy, would replace criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of personal use marijuana with civil penalties.
While penalties for selling, growing, and trafficking marijuana would remain unchanged, possession would be punished by a combination of a fines starting at $100, community service, and drug awareness programs. Marijuana possession would also no longer be recorded in the oft-maligned Criminal Offender Record Information system.
While some academics have come out in favor of the measure, Browsnberger called it “a side show” because the “real issue is cocaine and heroin.”
“That’s what people are going to jail for, that’s what people are dying from,” Brownsberger said, adding that the ballot measure on marijuana is “not worth pursuing.” [more] While a recent poll showed that more than two thirds of Massachusetts voters favor relaxing laws against marijuana, State Representati... more -
Massachusetts Question 2 induces Reefer Madness Hysteria
On the ballot this November in Massachusetts, voters will have the opportunity to become the 13th state to decriminalize personal possession of marijuana. The initiative, known as Question 2, would make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil fine of $100, and those under 18 have to complete a drug education program and community service, or else the fine goes as high as $1,000.
Most of all, the offense would not be listed in the Criminal Record Information System (CORI) database. Drug warriors like to say “nobody goes to prison for marijuana“, but the harm from a criminal arrest is bad enough. Once you’re in this CORI database, it’s a red flag that hurts you in getting jobs, housing, loans, security clearances, and more. Plus there is the time and money - about $30 million a year - that Massachusetts wastes busting people for small amounts of pot.
Since the measure is enjoying huge support in the polls, the drug warriors have banded together to mount a media offensive. And by “offensive”, I mean the offensively repugnant stench of reefer madness…[more] On the ballot this November in Massachusetts, voters will have the opportunity to become the 13th state to decriminalize personal poss... more -
Drug War Comic “Stumble Weed Magazine”
More of your tax dollars at work, providing flashy interactive content full of drug war lies and distortions meant to encourage kids to avoid cannabis. Uh, guys, with 83.9% of 12th graders saying pot is “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get and 41.8% of them trying pot sometime in their life, it seems your efforts are for naught.[more] More of your tax dollars at work, providing flashy interactive content full of drug war lies and distortions meant to encourage kids t... more
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Council OKs smoking pot in WAMM tent - Santa Cruz Sentinel
Medical marijuana patients will once again be allowed to smoke dope in San Lorenzo Park this Saturday, after city leaders temporarily lifted a smoking ban to allow for a festival celebrating the medicinal herb.[more] Medical marijuana patients will once again be allowed to smoke dope in San Lorenzo Park this Saturday, after city leaders temporarily ... more
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Court ruling in Canada may change marijuana laws
by Shannon Kari (22 Sept, 2008)
Is marijuana illegal? You decide: www.ThePotLawHasFallen.ca
There may be no legal prohibition against possession of cannabis in Ontario if a Superior Court judge upholds an earlier finding in an ongoing challenge to the medical marijuana laws. Health Canada is asking Justice Eva Frank to overturn a ruling last year by a provincial court judge in Toronto who found there was no law against possession, because the medical marijuana scheme was still unconstitutional.
A provincial court ruling is not binding on other judges in the province, as it would be if it is by a Superior Court judge. The federal government has conceded that if Judge Frank finds that the medical marijuana scheme is invalid, then the prohibition against simple possession also cannot stand. But it argued in court on Friday that its "entrenched policy" of providing a supply of cannabis to medical users complies with previous rulings by the Ontario Court of Appeal on this issue.
Health Canada has been making "a good faith effort with its legal supply," said government lawyer Lisa Csele. She suggested provincial court Justice Howard Borenstein made legal errors last year when he concluded that a government "policy" to supply marijuana to medical users through Prairie Plant Systems Inc. was not sufficient, and dismissed charges against Clifford Long, a Toronto man arrested with $40 worth of cannabis.
"Reasonable access is now dependent on policy, not law," wrote Judge Borenstein. The judge based his ruling on a 2003 Ontario Court of Appeal decision that struck down some sections of the government's medical marijuana regulations because authorized users had to obtain their medicine on the black market.
The court gave the federal government options to fix the problem, by allowing compassion clubs or becoming the sole supplier for medical users. The changes "can easily be implemented with dispatch, simply by regulation," said the Court of Appeal.
Health Canada responded by re-enacting some of the unconstitutional restrictions, including a prohibition on a designated producer growing for more than one user. It also entered into the contract with Prairie Plant. It is estimated that only about 20% of the more than 2,000 authorized users in the country get their marijuana from Prairie Plant, in part because of complaints about the quality and the price charged by Health Canada.
Ms. Csele urged Judge Frank to look at all of the government's actions when deciding if it has done enough to comply with the Court of Appeal's ruling in 2003.
"What about the potential for arbitrary change [in the policy]," Judge Frank asked.
"There is no evidence people are not receiving their marijuana," Ms. Csele responded. If the federal government does not provide an adequate supply, then medical users could launch a court action, she said.
The government must enact formal regulations that recognize its responsibilities, said Corbin Cawkell, who represents Mr. Long. "A policy is not enough," said Mr. Cawkell. The ruling by Judge Borenstein is one of a number of decisions in the past eight years to declare aspects of the medical marijuana regulations unconstitutional.
- Article from National Post, Monda September 22, 2008
For court cases and decisions that back up the argument prohibition has no force and effect, see www.ThePotLawHasFallen.ca by Shannon Kari (22 Sept, 2008) Is marijuana illegal? You decide: www.ThePotLawHasFallen.ca ... more -
No 'Question' about it
This weekend, thousands of demonstrators from Boston and beyond converged at Boston Common to show their support for "Question 2," a proposition on the Nov. 4 ballot that would effectively decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts.
Decriminalization of marijuana would certainly free up millions of dollars for a needy law enforcement system. But decriminalization means more to the commonwealth than just freed-up funds and relaxed laws regulating the drug; it means preventing thousands of talented citizens from being from losing career opportunities because of frivolous criminal records.
For nearly a century, the federal government has vilified and outlawed marijuana, and only recently has the practice of anti-marijuana propaganda and prohibition come under individual state scrutiny.
Recreational use of marijuana was brought to the United States by Mexican immigrants in the early 1910s. Then, much like today, Mexican immigration faced prejudice. Marijuana became associated with those who brought it, and politicians acted to stop the encroaching what one PBS documentary called the "marijuana menace."
Since that time, the drug has faced increasing pressure and political condemnation, and is currently listed as a "Schedule I" - the most severe - substance by federal law, along with such mind-bending substances as LSD and heroin. This headstrong policy history has lead to millions of marijuana-related arrests and billions of tax dollars spent on enforcement.
Currently, a first-time offender of possession of the drug - in any amount - faces up to six months incarceration and/or a $500 fine in Massachusetts. This is more lenient than the federal law, which stipulates up to a year behind bars and a $1000 fine, but laws still provide for imprisonment to those who possess the plant. Moreover, the commonwealth still has mandatory sentencing laws, all but guaranteeing a trip to jail for otherwise law-abiding, peaceful citizens. This weekend, thousands of demonstrators from Boston and beyond converged at Boston Common to show their support for "Question 2,... more -
CU police return marijuana to student :
Outside the University of Colorado Police Department on Monday, cheers erupted from a crowd of marijuana advocates — some of whom were dressed as giant pot leaves — when a student was given back medical marijuana that police took from him in May.
“I wish I had a chance to talk to the officers who said I’d never get this back,” said CU sophomore Edward Nicholson, 20, who’s a medical-marijuana cardholder in Colorado.
CU police confiscated about 2 ounces of marijuana from Nicholson in his residence hall last spring, even though the then-freshman has a card legally certifying him to hold and administer the drug to his brother. Nicholson said his brother suffers from chronic, debilitating pain from football injuries and has been prescribed marijuana to help deal with the discomfort.[more] Outside the University of Colorado Police Department on Monday, cheers erupted from a crowd of marijuana advocates — some of whom were... more -
Medical marijuana debate going to ballot
LANSING -- Michigan voters will decide Nov. 4 whether they want their state greener. Not with an environmental plan, but with the leaves of medical marijuana. Proposal 1 would establish marijuana as a legal remedy for some illnesses.
Comment #1 posted by ekim on September 21, 2008 at 13:44:28 PT
last sentence wrong "grow unspecified amounts
4. Protections for the Medical Use of Marihuana. http://stoparrestingpatients.org/initiative.html Sec. 4. (a) A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, for the medical use of marihuana in accordance with this act, provided that the qualifying patient possesses an amount of marihuana that does not exceed 2.5 ounces of usable marihuana, and, if the qualifying patient has not specified that a primary caregiver will be allowed under state law to cultivate marihuana for the qualifying patient, 12 marihuana plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility. Any incidental amount of seeds, stalks, and unusable roots shall also be allowed under state law and shall not be included in this amount. LANSING -- Michigan voters will decide Nov. 4 whether they want their state greener. Not with an environmental plan, but with the leav... more
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