Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 4:05 pm | By: Radical Russ
Five of the last eight people to get the major party nomination for president have been admitted pot smokers (Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Bush, & Obama)
Hey, Stashers, join me in giving a warm welcome to our new intern here at the Stash, Amanda. She will be handling the “Politicians on Pot” series here at the Stash. That’s where we take the constituent letters our congressmembers and senators send to cannabis consumers when we ask for their support of marijuana regulation, decriminalization, or medical use.
If you’d like to do your part to end prohibition, write three letters: one for both of your senators and one for your elected representative. When they reply to you, send us that reply to stash@norml.org and we’ll post it on the Stash so everyone in the nation knows where your reps stand on marijuana issues.
And yes, Amanda is earning college credit while helping end marijuana prohibition. You can, too! Just send me an email with the subject “Intern Application” to learn how you can earn credit while devoting time to something you love. (Warning: We do have a drug test… but the good news is, it’s multiple choice.)
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:59 pm | By: Amanda
Thank you for contacting me regarding our nation’s criminal justice system. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the chance to respond. As a former prosecutor, I fought to appropriately punish those who violated our laws. The fact is, however, that more than seven million Americans are currently under criminal justice supervision, and many of these offenders are guilty of only nonviolent drug crimes. The rate of incarcerated drug offenders has soared by 1200% since 1980. Too many of these former offenders reenter our communities without the substance abuse treatment and basic life skills needed to contribute to society, and two-thirds are rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release. This pace is unsustainable; it is destroying our communities and wasting taxpayer dollars. We need to create a judicial system that provides equal and fair verdicts, as well as a humane incarnation and reentry system that truly emphasizes the rehabilitation of those who will be released.
Last year Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Second Chance Act. This law created programs that combine intensive parole supervision with job training, substance abuse treatment, and other support services to help high-risk offenders become productive citizens. Now we need to follow through by funding the Second Chance Act’s programs and ensuring they are properly implemented.
The Second Chance Act was an important step in the right direction, but more reform is needed. That is why I am cosponsoring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 (S.714). This legislation would create and authorize a commission to conduct a top-to-bottom review of our nation’s criminal justice system and offer concrete recommendations for reform. S.714 has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary. White I do not serve on this committee, I will bear your comments in mind should it be considered by the Senate.
Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me. It is a privilege to represent you. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future regarding other matters of interest or concern.
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:58 pm | By: Amanda
Thank you for contacting me with your views on marijuana. I appreciate your comments, and I welcome this opportunity to update you on the status of this legislation.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. While marijuana use is generally unhealthy and has negative social repercussions, it also serves as a gateway drug to more dangerous substance abuse. For these reasons, I remain concerned by the prevalence of drug abuse in our culture and the harmful consequences that are the result of this behavior.
As a career law enforcement officer, I saw firsthand the devastating effects that illicit drug use can have on both individuals and communities. While a member of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, I initiated the Drug Abuse Resistance Effort (DARE) program to make children aware of the dangers posed by drug use. I made fighting drugs a top priority within the department and I will continue to do so in the United States Congress.
As you know, Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts introduced legislation regarding marijuana use, H.R. 2835, on June 6, 2009. This legislation would limit the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Specifically, it would prohibit federal penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use or for any not-for-profit transfer of marijuana. Possession of more than 100 grams of marijuana, or the transfer of more than 1 gram, would remain illegal. Shortly after its introduction, H.R. 2835 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee. While I am not a member of either committee, be assured I will keep your views in mind should this legislation come before the House for consideration.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me. If you would like to learn more about my positions on issues important to you or receive regular updates on developments in Congress, please visit my Online Office at www.ellsworth.house.gov and sign up for my e-Newsletter.
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:57 pm | By: Amanda
Thank you for contacting me to share your support for legalizing marijuana. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
I have given much thought to this matter over the years. I do not support the decriminalization if marijuana or any other controlled substance. I have been open to considering changes to the Controlled Substance Act which would permit the dispensing of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) to assist individuals in chronic pain or with other medical conditions, and I have been supportive of research to do just that. I believe this position strikes a careful balance between Oregonians’ decision to allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes while maintaining control over a substance which I believe is ultimately harmful to our society.
Over the years, I have been called upon to vote on measures that would affect the legal status of marijuana. One such vote was on an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill of 2007, popularly called the Hinchey Amendment. This amendment would have prohibited the federal government from prosecuting individuals who use marijuana for medicinal purposes in states where such use is legal under state law, including Oregon. Not only do such federal actions apply to Oregonians’ decision to allow limited medicinal use of this drug, they may also have an impact on Oregon’s death with dignity law, which I strongly support. I have done my best to make sure Congress does not trample on Oregonians’ rights. For this reason, while I remain concerned with the potential for abuse in the distribution of this controlled substance, I did vote for the Hinchey Amendment. However, the amendment failed by a vote of 165-262. I maintain my support for this effort and will vote for such an amendment again should it be offered.
While you and I may disagree on the overarching matter of marijuana legalization, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me and I will keep them in mind when considering future legislation.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Should you have further questions or comments, please call my Oregon office at 503-326-2901 or 800-422-4003. If you would like to receive my email newsletter, visit www.house.gov/wu to sign up.
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 3:56 pm | By: Amanda
Thank you for contacting me about the Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults. As you know, this bill would prohibit any imposition of penalties for the possession of marijuana for personal use or for the not-for-profit transfer between adults of marijuana for personal use and deems personal possession as 100 grams or less of the substance.
This bill would effectively legalize marijuana at the federal level. We all know the painful consequences of drug abuse on our society. For that reason alone I will not support such a measure and I will vote against it should it reach the House floor.
I do take your views into consideration as I decide how to vote in the House. Please feel free to express those views; even if we may occasionally disagree, it is important to me to know your thoughts. Do be aware that because of mail security measures for Congress, your letters can be delayed for up to two weeks. If you wish to offer an immediate comment or suggestion, you can e-mail my office at by going directly to my website at www.fallin.house.gov. While you are there, feel free to sign up for my regular e-newsletter.
(DEA) Exposing the Myth of Smoked Medical Marijuana
Q. Does marijuana have any medical value?
…The American Medical Association recommends that marijuana remain a Schedule I controlled substance.
And now today when you go to that same link…
Q. Does marijuana have any medical value?
And the AMA reference is gone. Congrats to the folks at LEAP who spearheaded the campaign to harass the DEA about it. (Though if you want to believe it was the fast response of the loyal frontline battle grunts in the War on (Certain American Citizens Using Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Tobacco-Free) Drugsâ„¢ known as “Stashers” that provided the “bump” that put the DEA over the edge, well, I’m not going to disabuse you of that notion. Whatever keeps you writing to your government is fine with me.)
But the rest of the document needs some serious fixing, too…
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 5:02 pm | By: Radical Russ
(The Snitch) Ignoring the advice of anti-pot City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, two Los Angeles City Council committees yesterday rejected a proposed ban on sales of medical marijuana.
Anti-pot zealots within L.A. city government had coordinated an 18-month assault on the dispensaries, with headline-grabbing pronouncements from media hogs Trutanich and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley dominating coverage of the issue in recent weeks.
Both Trutanich and Cooley have been widely quoted in the press as claiming that most of the dispensaries are operating in violation of state law. Cooley’s recent declaration that “approximately zero” of the dispensaries were operating legally sent chills and outrage through the medical marijuana community, seeming to echo San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ statement that there are “no such things” as legal dispensaries.
Council members on both committees wrestled with the idea of ignoring the opinion of the city’s top prosecutor. But after four hours of a contentious and heated hearing, council members had heard more than enough.
A crowd of about 400 people filled the main council chamber for the hearing, with the proceedings often becoming raucous. Most of the speakers were medical marijuana supporters, along with a sprinkling of community activists and conservatives who supported the ban.
Marijuana supporters argued that dispensaries should be regulated, not banned, with a reduction in the number of shops and a crackdown on operations that become a public nuisance.
You cannot stuff this genie back into the bottle, Mr. City Attorney and Mr. District Attorney. The people of Los Angeles like their clean, reliable, diverse selections of cannabis and aren’t going to go back to hiding in shadows and purchasing on a black market. The economy has grown accustomed to the sales taxes and foot traffic the dispensaries generate. Technically legal or not, the dispensaries exist, the people are using them, and they are in many cases improving the neighborhoods where they reside. Instead of tilting at windmills because they don’t personally like cannabis and its users, the city and county should work with medical marijuana activists to come up with sensible regulations that everyone can live with.
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 4:50 pm | By: Radical Russ
MADISON (AP) — Legalizing medical marijuana will ease the cancer patients’ pain and help others who are suffering, supporters of legalization argued Monday.
Two Democratic state lawmakers, advocates and those fighting chronic diseases said at a news conference there is momentum nationwide to decriminalize the use of marijuana for medical reasons.
They pointed to Gov. Jim Doyle’s comments last month in support of legalizing medical marijuana for people who have a doctor’s prescription. Also, the American Medical Association called last week for a federal review of marijuana’s status as a controlled substance to make it easier to do research that could lead to development of marijuana-based medicines.
Everyone knows someone who would benefit if the law were changed, said Jacki Rickert, founder of “Is My Medicine Legal Yet?” She suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy, bone and joint diseases that limit movement and lead to painful muscle spasms. Marijuana eases the pain, she said.
Under the measure co-sponsored by state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, a person would need a prescription from a doctor to receive marijuana, which could either be grown at home or obtained through a licensed nonprofit dispensary. The bill is up for a hearing Dec. 15.
Ah, my first piece of press where a lawmaker points to the American Medical Association’s reversal on “smoked cannabis”. It’s going to be fun posting more of these as the year winds down.
I got to meet Jacki in Madison this year. She is a tenacious woman and her bill needs to be passed this year. Already one prominent medical marijuana activist has passed away waiting for this legislation; this is not an issue that needs more study or delays. To get involved, contact Madison NORML and Is My Medicine Legal Yet?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pm | By: Chris Goldstein
Medical Marijuana Hearings Scheduled in PA
Philadelphia- Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) is pleased to announce that the PA House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee will have hearings on HB 1393, The Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.
PA4MMJ and Rep. Mark Cohen at the candlight vigil for medical marijuana in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall
Scheduled in Harrisburg on December 2, 2009 these will be the first public hearings on medical cannabis in the history of the Commonwealth.
On April 29, 2009 Rep. Mark B. Cohen, the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, introduced the bill to legalize medical marijuana with Chris Goldstein of PA4MMJ. HB1393, is solid legislation that would allow registered patients to grow six plants or purchase cannabis through Compassion Centers. A provision in the bill allows these medical cannabis sales to be taxed.
Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pm | By: Radical Russ
(WestWord) According to [Colorado State Senator Chris] Romer, he spoke to the [student newspaper] in order to reach students at the University of Colorado, among others. His goal: to shine a spotlight on his thoughts concerning the creation of “a medical review board for those under the age of 25.” He doubts that marijuana is medically necessary for a lot of younger people who’ve managed to get a doctor’s approval for obtaining it. As he puts it, “There’s some evidence of abuse in that age category when you correlate the statistics about conditions that can benefit from medical marijuana and then cross-correlate that data with those under 25.”
He’d like to “tighten up the requirements to get approval to receive medical marijuana. I’d like the initial review to include a full physical, and then that diagnosis would be sent to a second review board for their concurrence.”
What exactly is this “abuse” Sen. Romer is concerned with? That some young people might not be in quite enough pain to really deserve medical marijuana? That a person under age 25 might receive a recommendation from a doctor who doesn’t quite have the medical training and background to evaluate pain to Sen. Romer’s standards?
Here’s what I don’t understand about people who cry about “abuse” of medical marijuana. Let’s assume you have a 21-year-old who is smoking pot. Irrespective of any physical ailment, whether she lives with absolute torture from chronic pain or she just gets an annoying headache every six months, how would you prefer the 21-years-old’s use of marijuana be dealt with? Should we:
Require her to visit a physician who verifies her ailment, have her fill out paperwork with the state, pay a fee to the state, become listed in a state registry, receive an identification card, and purchase marijuana from a regulated facility, where her ID and recommendation are checked, no minors are allowed, and her purchase creates jobs in a tough economy and generates sales taxes for the state; or
Have her find a friend with a connection or a dealer in a park, where no doctor sees her, her use is unknown to the state, and all revenues generated support everything from a dealer buying a new sports car to a Mexican cartel buying a local cop.
“If a patient has cancer or multiple sclerosis, that’s not going to be particularly hard to document in a physical review,” he maintains. “But 90 percent of the people who come in under the category of ‘chronic pain,’ we’ll go through a little more due diligence. Those who really do have chronic pain will make it through the system, and those who are abusing the system will not.”
So in addition to the review already performed by a patients’ doctor, Sen. Romer wants another full physical by another doctor, and a review panel of still more doctors to make sure that the patient is in severe enough pain to warrant the recommendation of a non-toxic herb. Even Oxycontin, Vicodin, and morphine patients aren’t subject to that type of strict review! Because if someone was only in slight pain and using medical marijuana, why, that would… uh… well, I’m not sure what the down side is there aside from denying an opportunity for police to arrest someone who was willing to visit a doctor, pay a fee, and get a card to smoke pot.
As for those people “who set up a clinic with a pool table and video games,” Romer says, “that model isn’t going to fly — and I don’t think they’re going to be around in six months.”
“I’ve come across dispensaries and caregivers who I think provide fantastic care for their patients,” Romer emphasizes. “But I’ve also come across dispensaries that resemble frat houses, not clinics. I don’t know if 50 percent or more are in the frat house mode, but those in the clinical mode will survive, and those in the frat-house mode will go out of business — and the sooner, the better. And for people who really need medical marijuana, that’s a good thing.”
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
RevRayGreen: I was like 14/15 back then..old fuckng school sht
RevRayGreen: @MH.....white x's, yellow jackts,BB's.then it became just caffeine pills
SneakerPimp: im diggen yesterdays stash daily toker tunes segment awesome
WakeUpDead: Just got done with yesterdays stash and now the new one is up, very cool.
SneakerPimp: ah fresh stashieness
SneakerPimp: nice pic there mr ruben
Missippi Hippy: black beauties - got 'em by the pharm sealed 1000 in the 80s
Adam: Kieth Stroup told me that he has new book coming out, it will cover the time periods after High in America was published.
Adam: I recommend that you all read High in America: The True Story Behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana.
Read it FREE online HERE
http://tinyurl.com/cxzc3h
slash5city: ah the mid 80's spof ..the summers of 3d weed.... head down to the smoking area at school buy a 2$ pin joint or two from the one dealer then [...]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
“Politicians on Pot” is back, thanks to our new intern, Amanda
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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