Arcata Eye :: The mildly objectionable weekly newspaper for Arcata, California (pagesetter)
On Tuesday, July 15, the Bush Administration’s second-in-command of national drug policy visited Humboldt County as part of a California tour to scope out the state of the illegal cannabis industry. Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) met with county officials, participated in a sweep of grow houses in Eureka and points south, then came to Arcata.The Arcata Eye was invited to interview Burns, and, with a phalanx of City and Humboldt State Unversity officials in attendance, took 25 minutes of his time in the Arcata Police Department’s conference room. Offering interjections during the interview are Arcata Police Chief Randy Mendosa and Tommy LaNier, director, National Marijuana and Public Lands Initiative.
The audio of this interview was broadcast Friday, July 25 on KHSU 90.5 FM and is available for downloading under “Archived Programs” at khsu.org.
I don’t have the time to fully dissect this for today’s show – I’ll have to save it for Monday. But do click the link and read the interview – it’s quite good. Or if you don’t have the time, let me just give you Deputy Drug Czar’s basic talking points:
- Marijuana use is federally illegal – I don’t care what you Californians think!
- Drug use is down – see, the Drug War is working!
- This ain’t your father’s “Woodstock Weed” – this “Pot 2.0″ eats your brain!
- All hard drug addicts start on weed – keep kids off pot and they’ll never become addicts!
- So what if patients say smoking pot makes them feel better – if they felt better smoking crack, would we call it medicine?
- More kids are in treatment for pot than anything else!
- If we taxed and regulated pot, triple the number of people would use it!
- For every so-called “functioning” stoner, there are at least five addicted kids out there!
- Why is California complaining now to the feds about grow houses? When they started Prop 215 they said, “hands off”, and now they’re surprised that criminals pulled a con on them?
- If you think marijuana is so entrenched in California’s commerce and popular culture that it can never be eradicated, that it should instead be taxed and regulated like alcohol, then you need to apologize to the mother of a 16-year-old heroin addict.
- If we let states legalize medical marijuana, why not let them legalize marrying 10-year-old girls?
- It’s all the Baby Boomer’s fault; without them smoking so much dope, today’s health-conscious teens wouldn’t smoke weed.
Months later, after my first chemo, I am experiencing true anorexia, and I need to eat and drink to live. After a good smoke I can get an appetite, Marinol works better at nausea. My cancer has gotten worse and lesions have formed on my bones, as well as having a right breast bulging with a tumour that would step right out if it could. I am one sick bitch and I would like to die with some source of comfort. AGAIN, your laws are too close for me and shame on you!
I would like to add something else. I know what I said in my first comment was pretty harsh, but this is not just a legal issue–its’ a medical issue about my right to use this substance that will directly address common symptoms of cancer. I am a veteran and I have began to receive MARINOL–I guess it costs a lot, but the VA will send it to me, via Fed. Ex. in a refrigerated container. In the instructions it explains that this medicine is taken from marijuana and it has THC–pretty straight-forward, so regardless of what the Feds say they are giving marijuana its props and recognizing its medical value. The pill is round and looks like it has a gushy nature and it does provide a pleasant THC relaxation without me having to smoke and walk around with such a recognizable odor.
Also–since Bush was a governor of Texas for awhile I am surprised he is not more approving of individual states’ rights to create and enforce their own laws.
When I was much younger I was pretty judgemental about other peoples’ situations. I was very motivated, hard-working, and took care of business and I felt that everyone else should and could do the same. Because of that attitude it would appear many things occurred in my half a century when I began to experience weakness and lost some of my ability to take care of business.
At this point I have Stage 4 cancer and I probably have five years left. Throughout the years I have accumulated some wrong attitudes and handled situations wrong, but I choose to spend the years I have left attempting to be “NICE” and non-judgemental. I love God and attempt to follow Christianity, but my other qualities can still affect me.
Before I decided to get a 215 and handle medical marijuana lawfully I had been going to an advanced cancer group and there was a group member (since deceased) who could not eat and that was making her feel weak. At that point I was anti-marijuana, but symptoms of my disease and side effects of the medicine I take to keep the tumours from growing nagged and screamed at me. The worst thing was when I would wake up in the middle of the night, uncomfortable and still dealing with the initial shock of an early death. I could take some pills, but then I had to lay there 45 minutes waiting for relief.
With medical marijuana you take a couple hits and then you immediately feel better so I began to smoke again. See, I am going to feel miserable and it will get worst, so I am not going to suffer and feel bad and take it out on someone else. Then I began to experience anorexia–eating food could be a chore and I would look at it like it was a plate of wriggling bugs.
I am a big woman and I can be very active–I must eat and eat a lot. I am about to have surgery, so I want to have extra meat on my bones so I won’t looked sucked-up. SO HOW FUCKING DARE YOU TELL WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN”T. You try to look down on your chest and see your lovely breasts and realize that one of them soon will be a scar. You lay in bed at night wondering how disintegration will feel and I shrink away to nothing. You try to feel the feelings of guilt and remorse because I have to leave a family that loves me.
FASCISM–authorities acting especiall hard bec ause of something that many people feel is ok.
How did we elect such tyranny and then let them tell us what we already know.
LET ME DECAY AND DIE IN PIECE–karma is a fucker, believe me.
ONDCP is a parasitic bureaucracy that serves no legitimate purpose. Burns, you presumptuous putz, as a grown adult I’ve got a legitimate purpose if I desire a pot buzz. You can ask my Ophthalmologist about my legitimate MEDICAL use.
“Enough is enough.” Damn straight. Enough lies, tyranny and injustice from the US government. Damn them and their black market price support. The whole thing is a con; Anslinger and Nixon’s abominable legacy.
The Federal Law, as long as it has Cannabis in Schedule I, is a damned lie; I don’t know how to make that any clearer.
Richard P Steeb, San Jose California
One thing it seems is that the Elite who make these rules do not know many people who are sick and do not interact with them. There was this picture with George Bush and this guy with Cancer, and Bush literally keeps his distance in the handshake as if he could catch it from a handshake. Honestly until these people have personal experiences its like dealing with a 5 year old who doesn’t realize there are other people in the world besides the five year olds.
On Regards to grow houses, legally it would be great if electricians or who ever could start a business to help people who need to grow marijuana and are allowed to maybe someone comes to your home sets up the lights and stuff and make sure the outlet and ventilation are good for where you are living and it is safe. Just an idea.
After listening to the stash for a while, I find myself able to dismantle most of mr. deputy dultz drug czar’s points on my own.
But I’d rather wait to hear your take on this, Russ.
I love the stash, full of powerful knowledge.
Hey dizil, isn’t this depu-czar guy just ridiculous?
How can we tax and regulate tobacco sprayed with POISON? That’s OK? Cancer is not a problem in this country? What about alcoholism?
I wonder if Scott Burns has ever experienced his closest loved one dying slowly before his eyes from cancer. I wonder if Scott Burns has ever had to look into the eyes of the one person who’s place would never be filled again and know that they were slowly leaving forever. I wonder how Scott Burns is qualified to make a compassionate decision about ANYTHING to do with ME or MY family.
Let Scott Burns rip the only relief out of the weak dying hands of his loved ones. Let him decide to die in pain when he gets cancer.
Let yourself and your own family suffer, Scott Burns, you ignorant fool. Not me or mine.
Essentially, following the guide of your political shitsem, Scotty, you are committing a crime against ME.
This reminds me of what Louis Mencken once wrote
:
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane and intolerable, and so, if he is romantic, he tries to change it. And even if he is not romantic personally he is very apt to spread discontent among those who are.”
He also said:
“Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”
Which will it come to first? You people who are taking advantage of our rights and our lives.
All we really have as people in life is our lives themselves, and we will eventually need to TAKE our lives back from people like Scott Burns if things keep going this way.
Luckily for people like Scott Burns, cancer patients (and cannabis users for that matter) are not inherently violent people.
I’m always wondering how this man or person or anyone can tell me what makes me feel better helps me sleep solves my depression my anxiety, and has no side effect, can tell me that he knows better than my mind and what my body tells me. This guy really should have been better off being born in anther time. Compassion is something this man knows nothing about, and probably would shoot his grandmother if she was sick, before the dog.