By "Radical" Russ Belville on January 3, 2012
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- The Top Ten Events in Marijuana in 2011
Posted in NORML SHOW LIVE | Tagged 2011, Cannabis Cure UK, Colorado, Daily Toker Tunes, Electric Tuesday, Florida, Funky Jump Bee, Jamaster A, NORML SHOW LIVE, Paul Armentano, Supreme Court, United Kingdom
I am the producer of The NORML Network, the host of the NORML SHOW LIVE and The NORML Stash Blog, and NORML's Outreach Coordinator. I'm married, live in Portland, Oregon, and I am a registered medical marijuana caregiver in this state. I've worked days as an IT geek and nights as a professional musician. Previously, I have been the host of my own political talk radio show on satellite radio. I've been the High Times "Freedom Fighter of the Month" and I travel across the country to educate people on marijuana reform. I've dedicated my life to bringing an end to adult marijuana prohibition and re-legalizing cannabis hemp, and I'm honored to be chosen by NORML to give voice to the Marijuana Nation and to speak for those who can't speak up.
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[...] NORML SHOW LIVE #828 – Paul Armentano on Top Ten Marijuana Stories of 2011 [...]
The CMA report is an excellent example of why medical marijuana paves the way for legalization. When doctors publicly endorse marijuana as a safe alternative to legal substances, it carries so much more weight than anything the typical advocate/activist individual or group can say.
It may well be worth Russ Belville’s time to reconsider his recent tag line which suggests support for medical-only marijuana would result in only medical marijuana, as if it would somehow be detrimental to the fight for legalization. This CMA story is evidence that MMJ can actually benefit legalization efforts. And, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to embrace MMJ supporters instead of making them out to be the new obstacle to legalization.
Even though I’ve never met one, I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s pro-MMJ but anti-legalization, just like there’s probably someone out there who’s pro-legalization, but thinks MMJ is a sham.
Yes, cannabis users are a very diverse bunch, and every diverse bunch has a nutcase or two.
Legalizers, medical marijuana is your friend, your ally, and the only way lawmakers and the rest of society can access information and statistics it study its effects. Positive statistics about MMJ are everywhere, and notable activists might be missing the boat, concentrating on the shortcomings of MMJ laws instead of using their resources to fight to make them more liberal.
California’s MMJ program is certainly among the best, if not THE best, in the nation. The oldest program, it has created a boatload of opportunities for activists, both MMJ and legalization, to bring genuine, verifiable evidence of both the utility and safety of cannabis use. Every single prediction made by critics of Prop 215 has been statistically squashed.
Medical marijuana represents a victory. Unfortunately, some folks seem to believe patients have painted us all into a corner.
If that is the case, it’s only because a handful of popular activists began seeing them as enemies and a threat to legalization. And, when an “iconic” public activist begins warning of the “medicalization of marijuana,” I’m not sure he realizes how that impacts efforts by MMJ activists fighting for sick and dying patients in their respective states.
People like Steve DeAngelo, responsible for so much good for marijuana law reform, doesn’t deserve to have his statements in defense of his life’s work spun into attacks on legalization advocates. And, to ramp the issue up to attack “medical only” supporters is a mistake.