Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 1:36 pm | By: Radical Russ
Remember the days when the marijuana talk was two or three of them vs. one of us? Now it’s two of ours vs. one of them as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’s Neill Franklin and NORML’s Founder Keith Stroup go against (Non-Pharmaceutical, Non-Alcoholic, Non-Tobacco) Drug Free America’s Queen of Reefer Madness, Calvina Fay on CNN:
I wish Keith could have gotten through at the end there. When Calvina says that the drug gangs aren’t going to just become law-abiding businessmen, I’d absolutely agree! They surely will continue trying to traffic cocaine and heroin and humans and otherwise behaving badly. But the point is they won’t have marijuana profits to fund all that! Sure, they’ll still be criminals, but they won’t be wealthy criminals. There are always going to be criminals, but we shouldn’t turn them into the kind of criminals who can afford rocket launchers and six-figure bribes.
She sure gives it her all with her little catchphrases, though. “Crude marijuana”, “selling drugs to our children”, “fooled into thinking marijuana is medicine” and so forth. It’s so refreshing to see her claim that there really is no change in administration policy because the Bush Administration never went after the sick and dying, just the big bad drug dealers, and to have two people smacking her down, followed by the host showing poll numbers demonstrating rapid increase in support for legalization and super-majority support for medical marijuana.
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Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 6:01 pm | By: Radical Russ
Calvina Fay is the head of the Drug Free America Foundation (formerly known as “Straight, Inc.”, read up on that horror story!) and founded with Betty Sembler a group called “Save Our Society from Drugs”. One of our readers forwarded to me a plea written by Calvina Fay begging the Steamboat Springs city council to oppose new dispensaries, or as she calls them, “pot shops”.
Dear City Council Member:
I am writing to you on behalf of Save Our Society from Drugs (S.O.S), a national nonprofit drug policy organization with concerned members in your community. It is my understanding that you recently passed a 90-day moratorium on any new marijuana dispensaries, allowing the two existing facilities to remain open while you determine how to regulate such establishments. I am writing to encourage you to vote “No” on any item that could potentially escalate the use and possession of drugs in this community.
Wouldn’t that acronym be S.O.S.F.D.? Were you high when you came up with it? Never mind, continue…
As of May 31, 2009, the Marijuana Registry Program has 8918 individuals that legally hold marijuana ID cards. In 2000, when voters in Colorado passed an amendment legalizing marijuana as a so-called medicine, they did so believing that marijuana would only be made available to those who had exhausted all other medical options and/or were suffering from a life threatening illness.
One of my favorite crime-fighting powers of prohibitionists is their ability to read the minds of thousands of voters in the past. Let’s look at Colorado’s Amendment 20; just what did the voters say “yes” to by a 54% vote?
(Colorado Amendment 20) Ballot Title: An amendment to the Colorado Constitution authorizing the medical use of marijuana for persons suffering from debilitating medical conditions… defined as follows…. Cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or treatment for such conditions; A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition, or treatment for such conditions, which produces…: cachexia; severe pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those that are characteristic of epilepsy; or persistent muscle spasms, including those that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis; or Any other medical condition, or treatment for such condition, approved by the state health agency.
Hmm… I don’t see anything in these definitions about exhausting all other options or one’s illness being not just “debilitating”, but “life-threatening”. In fact, I see “chronic or debilitating medical condition which produces severe pain or severe nausea”, a lower threshold for pain and nausea treatment than most medical marijuana states’ language calling for “chronic pain” or “chronic nausea”.
Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 1:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
This is the latest press release from the (Non-Alcoholic, Non-Phamaceutical, Non-Tobacco) Drug Free America Foundation:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The arrest of the Connecticut Vice President of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for violent threats against State Senator Toni Boucher has brought to light more incidents of verbal abuse, physical intimidation and harassment by other drug legalization activists.
Dr. Andrea Barthwell, a prominent treatment professional, recently spoke of her experiences. “They are not above using misinformation, intimidation, and retribution to advance their goals. As a long time advocate for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse, I have been harassed and threatened in person and on blogs by people and groups who support the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) agenda,” said Barthwell.
That’s Andrea Barthwell, former Deputy Drug Czar under George W. Bush. Speaking of misinformation, she once said, “If there were compelling scientific and medical data supporting marijuana’s medical benefits that would be one thing, but the data is not there. The claim of one individual who has used marijuana does not medical data make.” As a long time advocate for providing marijuana to the sick and dying people who gain relief from it, I have been harassed by Barthwell when she said, “The people who are advancing marijuana as a medicine are perpetuating a cruel hoax that exploits our compassion for the sick. They are using patients’ pain and suffering in an attempt to change America’s drug control policy. Marijuana is a crude plant product that most definitely is not a medicine.”
I’m still waiting for the medicinal marijuana patient to tell me to stop “using” them and repeal Oregon’s medical marijuana law, Andrea. By the way, Andrea now works for a pharmaceutical company that takes marijuana in “crude plant product” form and makes a spray out of it for medicinal properties (check out Pete Guither’s excellent post on the subject). The manufacturer touts that the product is a “whole plant extract” that contains all the compounds found in “crude plant product”. You know, the one that Andrea says “is most definitely not a medicine.”
It’s a tempting idea: Legalize and tax a commodity that a lot of people like, collect the revenues, and reap the budgetary benefits. In economic times like these, that might be just the formula we need to pull us out of the red. In this case, the truth does not live up to the hype.
Now how many examples of Reefer Madness do you think Dr. Sabet can fit within 600 words of newspaper type? Read on, dear Stasher, for the answer!
Thursday, February 5th, 2009 at 9:28 am | By: Radical Russ
Medical marijuana: A user’s smokescreen
I write in response to the guest opinion article “Medical marijuana: Opening Pandora’s box?” (Jan. 20) by Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, who is right to question the unintended consequences of this New Jersey legislation which seeks to allow medical use of marijuana. Times readers should know that most people with fatal diseases are not smoking pot — they are under the care of legitimate doctors and are receiving valid medicines to treat their ailments. This dangerous bill would allow widespread marijuana use and fraudulent claims of illness for all drug users.
Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 3:11 pm | By: Radical Russ
TheHill.com – Former anti-marijuana lobbyist switches sides
The last time the House debated medical marijuana, David Krahl trod the halls of Capitol Hill lobbying against the legislation as deputy director of the Drug Free America Foundation.
Now, he’s ready to lobby for allowing medicinal use of marijuana, and do anything he can to support it.
So far, no one has asked him for help, but in a recent letter to medical marijuana bill sponsor Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), he proclaimed that he’d reversed his position on whether cannabis can be a medicine.
“Being away from the Drug Free America Foundation allowed me an opportunity to take a fresh look at the issue,” Krahl said. “I don’t have skin in the game anymore.”
He had joined the foundation in July 2006. At the time, the foundation’s executive director, Calvina Fay, noted his 25 years of experience in criminal justice and human services and said, “His anti-drug philosophies, along with his experience, will be a great fit.”
Foundation officials were caught off guard by Krahl’s reversal, saying they hadn’t heard of the letter until a reporter called about it. But they said they’re happy that lawmakers still aren’t trying to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“I don’t believe one person changing their position gives any credibility to the other side on this,” said foundation spokesman John Pastuovic.
Earlier this year former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr, the author of the Barr Amendment that squashed DC’s overwhelming vote in favor of medical marijuana, has switched positions and now lobbies for Marijuana Policy Project. Then there are the thousands of members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition who want sensible marijuana regulation.
Lots of former prohibitionists have switched over to our side. I can’t think of any of us who have switched over to support arresting people for marijuana.
RevRayGreen: I'll post a pic of me and my son....gimme a minute
Missippi Hippy: Guess what... I'm gonna be a new... ummmmm well, my pet piggie Ganja is in labor and they ain't mine in the same sense. See what your wife [...]
RevRayGreen: days they didn't talk back..or act disrespectful..
RevRayGreen: feel so lucky my son is 18 going 19 and my daughter 16 going on 17..relish the days that can't talk back
Urb Age: Congrats Spof thats awesome. My little Clara is about to hit 20 months. Im not the activist I used to be, but its made me a better man.
Urb Age: Heck I was gonna go up there, but just not feeling well this weekend..Dang it, I hate it when that happens..
RevRayGreen: wishing I was hanging at NORML cafe...
JohnH: Just a quick comment about tokin' and sperm motility....been tokin since age 14 and have 8 kids ranging in age from 30 to 9...(what can I say, I found 2 [...]
slash5city: really ..oprah 35 yr or more in the closet toker ...outed ....o my god !!
SneakerPimp: that would be huge news just imagen the headline
RevRayGreen: maybe Oprah smokes and keeps it on the DL...
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OMG! NORML’s Stroup and LEAP’s Franklin against Calvina Fay on CNN!
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