It is refreshing indeed when the moderator, Lou Dobbs, chips in with another view on the legalization side of the argument.

Can you smell that?
It’s Freedom cookin’
Prohibos standing… shocked
frozen… lookin’

As the death bell ringer
stands ready, bell rope in hand
What’s he waiting for?
Why, prohibitions final breath, ya understand.

I’m just one of millions
in this dinner line.
Waiting to taste Freedom
and NOW is the time.

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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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Our local Portland weekly, the Willamette Week, has a lengthy cover story, “Just Say Now”, on the surging popularity of the cannabis legalization movement.  It features quotes from Ethan Nadelmann of DPA, Bruce Mirken of MPP, Rep. Barney Frank and others, and gives the average non-reformer a really good explanation of the valid reasons to end prohibition.

But what most warmed my heart is the accompanying article by James Pitkin on the local efforts to legalize cannabis in Oreg0n:

Last month, when CNN’s Anderson Cooper needed a place other than overhyped California to film a series about legalizing pot, his producers called the head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

NORML executive director Allen St. Pierre knew just where to send them—Oregon.

“Oregon is second fiddle to California,” St. Pierre told WW in a phone interview from NORML’s office in Washington, D.C. “But it’s really the only other instrument in the orchestra.”

Some eye-popping statistics show [Oregon Gov. Ted] Kulongoski and other Oregon leaders may be passing on an opportunity.

The feds consistently put Oregon in the top 10 states for cannabis use. More than 300,000 Oregonians say they’ve smoked marijuana in the past month—more than 8 percent of the population. If pot were sold by the state, some say it could outstrip liquor as a revenue source, bringing in up to $200 million a year.

Without a standard-bearer in Salem, Oregon’s small but earnest band of cannabis activists is left to do for themselves. They plan to put the issue on the 2010 ballot with an initiative called the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act.

If they can gather 87,000 signatures to put it on the ballot, and voters then approved the initiative, the act would set up the Oregon Cannabis Control Commission. The new agency would sell pot to buyers 21 and over, with 90 percent of the profit going to the state’s general fund and 10 percent for drug treatment.

The article also includes a review of state politicians and their stand on legalization, with a surprising number in favor of legalization… but unwilling to risk political capital to push for it.

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Screen capture from Wednesday's feature on "America's High: The Case for and Against Pot" on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°

If you blinked, you would have missed it, so here it is in freeze-frame.  It’s me and Urb on CNN!  Two seconds of our fifteen minutes of fame!

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CNN’s “America’s High: The Case For and Against Pot” continues online as well as on the air, with blog posts from their various correspondents that you don’t see or hear on CNN.  Here’s the latest from Drew Griffin:

Legalize pot? Why not legalize being a loser?

…my initial reaction is that the fight to eradicate marijuana in this country is hopeless. But does that mean we should give up and legalize pot?

For two weeks, knowing I was assigned to this story, I have been asking that question to the many prosecutors, DEA agents and police I’ve encountered. The overwhelming answer is no. There is no doubt, in the minds of these people who come in contact with users, growers, smugglers and junkies, that marijuana use is terrible for the individuals who engage in it. It is not just a pathway to stronger drugs; it is, in and of itself, a recipe for losers. People who call themselves ‘casual users,’ in the minds of law enforcement, are deluding themselves into believing they are not affected by this drug. They compare it to the drunk who believes he can actually drive better with a few drinks inside.

That should really be the focus of our efforts. We shouldn’t be laughing at the lame jokes from comedians talking about harmless weed; we shouldn’t allow rappers to glorify the wonders of living high. If nothing else, we should be telling our children that no matter what it is, putting smoke into your lungs is unhealthy, uncool and in the case of pot, a first step towards a life of a loser.

OK all you pot heads, let me hear it!

You heard the man, surf on over and leave him a comment.  I did:

Losers… like [the late] Carl Sagan, renowned astrophysicist and host of TV’s Cosmos and daily marijuana smoker.

Losers… like Willie Nelson, country music legend, still touring at age 75, and daily marijuana smoker.

Losers… like Michael Phelps, greatest Olympic swimmer ever, whose skill with a Roor bong indicates fairly regular marijuana smoking.

Losers… the Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes, the wide receivers who caught the last-minute winning touchdowns in the last two Super Bowls and were both sanctioned by the NFL for their marijuana use.

Losers… like Virgin International billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who acknowledges his regular marijuana use.

Losers… like the last three presidents of the United States who all admitted to marijuana use in their youth (and two of the last three presidential runners-up as well.)

Losers… like Snoop Dogg, Woody Harrelson, Sarah Silverman, Seth Rogen, Bill Maher, Cameron Diaz, Adrianne Curry, and so many other music, TV, and cinema celebrities who are open about their marijuana use.

Smoking marijuana does not make you a loser, though I’m willing to admit some losers smoke marijuana.  Some losers drink themselves off their barstools by 3pm, too, but I don’t hear many prosecutors, DEA agents and police calling for a repeal of the 21st Amendment.

Drunk driving statistics are down not because we criminalized alcohol, but because we strictly regulate it, check minors for ID, and educate people about designated drivers and DUIs.  Tobacco smoking rates are the lowest ever recorded not because we arrested smokers, but because we strictly regulate it, check minors for ID, and educate people about the health risks of cigarettes.

Yes, we should tell our children that marijuana smoking is not for them, but we need not tell them everyone who smokes pot is a “loser”, for that is just another lie they will easily reject the minute they meet a successful pot smoker like me.

Russ Belville
Outreach Coordinator
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

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Remember back in 2002 when CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta was going off about how cannabis use leads to depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis?

But the three studies you are talking about talk specifically about schizophrenia and depression, and the fact that marijuana use earlier in life actually may lead to an increased — 30 percent increase — in schizophrenia later in life.

Or back in 2006 when he was writing the article “Why I Would Vote No on Pot“?

Frequent marijuana use can seriously affect your short-term memory. It can impair your cognitive ability (why do you think people call it dope?) and lead to long-lasting depression or anxiety…. But I’m here to tell you, as a doctor, that despite all the talk about the medical benefits of marijuana, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good.

Now in 2009 it seems like the good doctor has finally paid attention to the over 17,000 studies showing marijuana’s medical efficacy.  Here’s a transcript from his appearance last night on the Anderson Cooper 360° show (emphasis mine):

ANDERSON COOPER: Sanjay, let’s get at it. Are there benefits to medical marijuana? Is there a case for its use, because the patients we talk to swear by it?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the answer is yes. I mean, there are some medical benefits to marijuana, and this is more than just anecdotal evidence now, Anderson. There are some studies to sort of back that up.

Read the rest of this entry by clicking here

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