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2011
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NORML SHOW LIVE #823 #824 #825 #826 – 2011 Year-End Top Ten Lists
Recorded Specials for Year-End 2011
The Top Ten People in Marijuana in 2011
Before we get started, let me make clear that this list is not “The Best People” or “The Worst People” or “The Most Important People”. It is also not NORML’s official endorsement or condemnation of anyone listed. This is merely my review of some of the personal stories in cannabis law reform, some whom you’ll recognize, others who appear briefly in a news report and are forgotten, that I felt needed recognition. In fact, if you count them up, it’s more than ten people.
Russ Belville responds to Steven DeAngelo’s explanation of “I don’t believe in legalization” comment
Steven DeAngelo, CEO of Harborside Health Center and recently star of Discovery Channel’s Weed Wars, has come under fire for his comments at the conclusion of Episode 4 where he said, “I don’t believe in legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes; I think cannabis should be used for purposes of wellness.” Steven took some heat in cyberspace, particularly Steve Bloom’s fiery denunciation in CelebStoner.com (“Say it ain’t so, Steve DeAngelo!”).
Ron Paul’s speech to the 1988 NORML Conference
To my knowledge, only two national candidates for president in 2012 have spoken before NORML on the subject of marijuana legalization. Newly-Libertarian candidate Gov. Gary Johnson and longtime Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul. Now, after some digging, we’ve found Rep. Paul speaking at the NORML National Conference 23 years ago.
The Top Ten “Stupid Stoner Stories” of 2011
We continue our 2011 Year-End Retrospective with a look at The Top Ten “Stupid Stoner Stories” of 2011. It’s a segment I’ve done for years now and it still bothers some people. I always remind listeners that “smoking marijuana does not make one stupid; however, some stupid people do smoke marijuana”. The point is to learn from the misfortune of others and to teach valuable lessons to the audience (like not wrapping your weed in aluminum foil to take through the airport, or speeding at 3am while smoking blunts in a car with expired tags and no insurance, and so on.)
The Top Ten Cannabis Science Stories of 2011
Today we continue our Year-End Retrospective with a look at the biggest news stories of scientific research into cannabis, public opinion polls on legalization, and statistical research on cannabis consumers. We call it The Top Ten Cannabis Science Stories of 2011.
The Top Ten “Reefer Madness” Stories of 2011
Today we bring you the Top Ten “Reefer Madness” Stories of 2011. “Reefer Madness”, of course, is the 1936 anti-pot propaganda film showing young people becoming crazed and violent on the effects of “reefer”. Today, we use “Reefer Madness” as shorthand to describe the hysterical warnings by the anti-drug zealots as reported unchallenged by a complacent media.
Why Legalization Is The Right Strategy For Today
Now is the time to get to the fear and self-interest that works in our favor. Until the voter fears the status quo of prohibition more than the mystery of a new legal substance, fear of medmj adding to the “drug problem” is going to keep us in a defensive posture of approving stricter and stricter medical marijuana regulations You can’t get the medmj for anxiety wellness approved outside California so long as voters think “druggies” can fake anxiety.
Slippery Slopes and Gateway Drugs
Saying “alcohol and marijuana…. both are harmful drugs” is akin to saying “.357 Magnums and pea-shooters…. both are harmful weapons”. So many times I read conservatives call out about this “great cost to our society” borne from the hippie hordes puffing doobies, yet never a dollar figure or a study to back it up. And nary a realization that whatever that cost is, we’re offsetting it by ZERO dollars in tax revenues and compounding it by spending billions in a failed effort to eradicate it.
“Growing Marijuana in My Yard” at Hunter S. Thompson’s Owl Farm
Jamming with Bill Panzer at Hunter S. Thompson’s place in 2010 on Ben Scales’ “Growing Marijuana in My Yard”.