Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access
Standard Podcast Feed (27.5MB 64Kbps) | High-Def Podcast Feed (82.5MB 192Kbps)
Download audio file (NORML_SHOW_LIVE_2011-12-06.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

1. Prohibitionists respond to medical marijuana and driving study
2. Reefer Madness from NIDA on the threat of teen pot use
3. UCSF study shows cannabinoids help opioids kill pain

Daily Toker Tunes

Electric Tuesday: Brought to you by Cannabis Cure UK – the reform podcast for the United Kingdom

• mc chris – “Evergreen”

Todd’s Toker Topics

• Judgement (with Boomer)

Radical Rant

• DeAngelo Brothers “do not support legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes”

Leading up to the promotion of their new Discovery Channel reality show, Weed Wars, brothers Steven and Andrew DeAngelo appeared on the Dylan Ratigan Show (on the left-leaning MSNBC) and on The O’Reilly Factor (on the right-leaning FOX News Channel).  Steven and Andrew run the world’s largest cannabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center, serving over 98,000 patients and grossing in excess of $20 million annually.

First, Dylan Ratigan asks Steven whether he would be “presumptuous in suggesting that you guys would be in favor of legalization?”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Steven DeAngelo: “Yes, you would. I don’t believe that any psychoactive substance should be used for recreation.“

Hmm.  That sounds like a problematic stance in a society that recognizes the recreational use of the psychoactive substance called “wine”.  So is all wine use “wellness”, now, too?  Do we all need to tell our doctor we’re using red wine for its anti-oxidant benefits for healthy hearts, when, really, we just want a light after-dinner buzz?  Do we need to repeal the 21st Amendment and go back to “medical whiskey” prescriptions?

Speaking of wine (hat-tip to Cannabis Warrior), California’s Steve Kubby is promoting the “Regulate Marijuana Like Wine” initiative in California.  He asked Steve DeAngelo about it while backstage at Seattle Hempfest in August:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Steven DeAngelo: “Wine and cannabis… you know, I support any effort to change the cannabis laws that’s going to get the people who are in prison out of there, and if we can do it by repeal, great, if we can do it with a wine analogy, great.”

So… uh… you do support comparing cannabis to wine, a psychoactive substance, all of which you believe should not be used recreationally, but only for “health and wellness”?  I’m confused… does this mean wine should be treated like medical marijuana or that marijuana should be treated as wine and both require a doctor?

Next on The O’Reilly Factor, Bill O’Reilly pushes the brothers on the medical aspect of California’s Prop 215, with his familiar bloviating about his “undercover report” that showed how easy it is to get a medical marijuana recommendation.  He acknowledges Steven’s degenerative disc disease and Andrew’s glaucoma as serious ailments in need of cannabis treatment, but points out that cannabis in California can be recommended for anxiety and that it is ludicrously easy to find a doctor who will find you anxious enough to need a weed card.  O’Reilly dangles the fish-hook of “isn’t this quasi-legalization?” and Andrew takes the bait (cue video to 3:35):

Andrew DeAngelo: “We will say right here on this show, Bill, that we do not support the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes.“

As you can imagine, a statement like this has drawn some heat.  In response, Harborside has posted a clarification:

“The mission of Harborside Health Center is to advocate for full access to cannabis for purposes of health and wellness. While it is not our mission to advocate the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, we do feel criminal penalties for cannabis are unjust and should be repealed.”

Did that clarify anything?  OK, so people who use cannabis for “health and wellness” ought to granted full access.  People who use cannabis for recreational purposes should not be criminally penalized.  So, does that mean cops leave all pot smokers alone, but only ones who claim “health and wellness” uses get to shop at Harborside?  And what do you call it when there are no criminal penalties for recreational marijuana use, other than legalization?

It doesn’t get any clearer when you read Steven’s latest treatise, “Wellness, not Intoxication“:

Rather than positioning recreational cannabis as being in opposition to medical cannabis, my fellow activists might instead recognize that promoting recreation is one of the many health and wellness benefits provided by cannabis. Recreation itself has long been recognized in America as an essential ingredient for health and wellness….

The soccer moms of America are never going to buy the argument that their kids need one more thing to get high on, no matter how safe or natural that thing is. But they might vote in favor of allowing adult citizens to make their own health and wellness decisions. Legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes–a strategy that emphasizes cannabis as an intoxicant– plays right into the hands the prohibitionists, who are itching for another opportunity to portray cannabis users as decadent hedonists. And at this time, in this place, the legalization strategy is not merely misguided-it is dangerous.

…Instead, advocates of legalization should recalibrate their understanding of medical cannabis from the illness model to the wellness model; and focus their energies on expanding the umbrella of medical cannabis to include all users of the plant.

…Instead of accepting the limitations and inaccuracy of the illness model of medical cannabis; our movement should ensure that all legislation embraces the wellness model of medical cannabis, and is therefore expansive enough to bring all adults under its protection.

So, cannabis promotes recreation, recreation is good for wellness, all adults who want to use it for recreation as part of their wellness should be entitled to do so, so long as they don’t call the use recreational?

Apparently it is only “misguided” and “dangerous” to be campaigning for recreational use of marijuana in 2011.  In 2010, on the other hand…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Steven DeAngelo: “As someone who has dedicated his life to the cause of medical cannabis, Prop 19 is going to advance the cause of medical cannabis and not set us back.”

Now I truly believe that Steven and Andrew DeAngelo think deep inside that cannabis should be as legal for me to access as anybody.  But $2.5 million in tax attacks from the IRS and threats of raids and prison time growing more real, combined with the spotlight of Weed Wars, have the DeAngelos parsing “legalization”, “recreational”, “medical”, and ”wellness” to a degree Bill Clinton would applaud.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And that, my friends, is the real misguided and potentially dangerous mistake for our movement – blowing any shred of credibility we may have with the general public.  Medical support does still outweigh legalization support, but that medical support number has stayed constant since Prop 215 in 1996, while legalization support has doubled now to 50% in that time.  But polls are also showing that a majority of Americans believe “most medical marijuana is used for something else” (52%) and that only 31% believe it is being used for “serious medical illnesses”.

It is too much to expect the world to completely redefine their concept of “medical” to fit uses of marijuana that are clearly recreational. As every other state after California has shown, “medical” means restrictive condition lists, doctors harassed by medical boards, ridiculously low possession limits, and dispensary monopolies with tight government security and controls. We have a world that understands and supports recreational use of alcohol. Won’t it be easier to convince someone an adult can be trusted with an intoxicant safer than alcohol than to convince them the Prop 215 area at the Cypress Hill show is something “medical”?  Instead of “Wellness, not Intoxication”, how about “Honesty, not Euphemisms”?  A path of “health and wellness” always leads to a place where someone gets to decide if I’m not sick enough to keep out of a prison cell.  A path of full legalization includes all medical (and all spiritual and all industrial) uses along with recreational.

Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson scored the zinger of the FOX / YouTube GOP debate when he said, “My neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than President Obama.” (It was the one question he didn’t answer first with “balance the budget”.) But one issue important to Gov. Johnson, Rep. Paul, and apparently the debate audience, marijuana, was all but ignored in the debate.

The debate, streamed live on YouTube, was the first to feature both Gov. Johnson and Rep. Paul, two candidates who have strongly denounced the “War on Drugs”. During breaks for the candidates, the coverage featured analysts who presented data from Google on search engine trends. One feature, a “word cloud”, showed the prevalence of terms used in the questions submitted by Americans for the candidates. As the debate entered the segment on “Social Issues”, the word cloud showed three words most prominently: gay, marriage, and marijuana. The analysts pointed out the “social conservative” / “libertarian” divide in the Republican Party.

Despite the popularity of marijuana among the queries no candidates were asked any questions pertaining to the “War on Drugs”. Candidates, especially Texas Gov. Perry, were grilled about border security, but no candidate or moderator mentioned how the “War on Drugs” has created massacre conditions just south of our border. Numerous candidates pledged their support of the 10th Amendment, for the rights of the states to make their own decisions regarding health care (“Obamacare”, they call it), yet no candidate or moderator mentioned how that would apply to sixteen states that have made a decision regarding medical use of cannabis. And the bookending issue of the debate – creating jobs – was discussed endlessly without any recognition of the industry created by medical marijuana and the huge potential of a domestic hemp industry.

But FOX and the Republicans didn’t ignore the “Social Issues” entirely. When a gay soldier serving in Iraq appeared by video to ask the candidates if they would roll back recent gains in recognizing the right of soldiers like him to serve openly, members of the audience openly booed and jeered. Support the troops!… unless they’re gay.

With our umpteenth petition to the White House once again leading the pack among all petitions submitted, it’s nice to remember that dismissing the call of millions of Americans for marijuana legalization is still a bi-partisan practice.

Video streaming by Ustream
Download Link: Secret Stash - Register to access
Download audio file (NORML_SHOW_LIVE_2011-09-21.mp3)

Hemp Headlines

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

1. RAND Corporation study shows crime increase following dispensary closings
2. FOX News invites Gov. Gary Johnson to the next GOP debate
3. South Carolina relying on faulty drug test information to set public policy
4. Ohio Medical Marijuana initiative hits a snag
5. Mayor Bloomberg announces $127 million program to help minority youth he’s been arresting for a decade

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by NorCalPurps in the California Bay Area

• Irie Wednesday: Kathcafire – “Love Letter”

Cannabis Science with Dr. Mitch Earleywine

Radical Rant

• Prohibition addicted cops can’t believe that closing dispensaries INCREASES crime!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This case at the Oregon Supreme Court could have implications for all medical marijuana patients in all states.  Does the federal government’s ban on firearms licenses for “drug addicts” mean that state-legal medical marijuana patients should be stripped of their guns?

If this decision comes down on the government’s side, thousands of medical marijuana patients, especially in rural areas, will be put in danger.  On this blog we’ve told the stories of Dave Verstoppen and Steve Sarich and other Pacific Northwest medical marijuana growers, many who live in rural areas, who have been attacked by criminals.

Who more needs their Second Amendment rights than someone who – through government tyranny – is a target for home invasion robberies?

This report from the FOX News affiliate in Washington, DC, also played on my local FOX affiliate’s news here in Portland last night:

(MyFOXDC) WASHINGTON – An 86-year-old D.C. man got a surprise visit earlier this month. Robert Smith heard someone banging on his apartment door on Randolph Street on the evening of March 4. But before he could unlock it, a group of D.C. Police officers battered the door down and knocked Smith onto the floor.

Smith said officers quickly realized they had the wrong apartment and called for an ambulance. Doctors treated Smith for contusions to his head and back.

FOX 5 viewed the search warrant which stated police were looking for marijuana, drug paraphernalia and anything related to drug trafficking.

Cops break down door of your apartment looking for weed? It's not "one in a million", Mr. Smith.

I get so sick of reporting these stories.  At least this time it wasn’t reported as a “botched drug raid” or a “drug raid gone awry”.  It wasn’t even a drug raid; it was a marijuana raid.

I also get tired of the framing that terrorizing a citizen in their own home was just a mistake because they had the wrong address.  What is it about smoking pot that makes your home the right address for state-sponsored terrorism?

Let’s dispense with the stock answer: duh, it’s illegal!  OK, you got me, pot smoking in your own home is illegal.  Can you explain then what about pot smoking in your own home justifies the breaking down of doors, the shooting of pets, the terrorizing of children, the killing of innocents, and here, the abuse of an elderly veteran?  It’s not like you have to rush in to prevent the flushing of large amounts of illegal vegetable matter; it doesn’t exactly flush well.

Beating your wife in your own home is illegal, but unless police have a report that the assault is happening right now, or unless the wife decides to press charges (she doesn’t, usually), the cops will knock on the door and politely ask the husband to step outside (in some states, he will be arrested on the domestic abuse call alone, since she won’t press charges).

The retired federal government worker has lived alone in the same apartment for more than 30 years and said police never offered an apology for the mistaken raid.

Again, not a “mistaken raid”.  There was no mistake about what the police intended to do: burst into a citizen’s home on nothing more than the suspicion that somebody may have been smoking and selling pot, find that somebody and physically abuse them into subservience and compliance, trash the home by tearing apart any conceivable place where pot may be found, and confiscate any cash and valuables for the profit of the police force.  The only “mistake” was knocking down the wrong door.  This wasn’t a “mistaken raid”, it was a “raid at the wrong address”.

So sadly, the piece they showed here in Portland featured the WWII veteran saying his experience was “one in a million”.  No, sorry, your experience was just one out of the 100-150 citizens who were terrorized by police just that day and every day in America.

I just wanted to take a moment and praise Kelly Maddy, MSSU SSDP, and all of the other volunteers who made this year’s 11th annual Cannabis Revival in Joplin, MO this past weekend an exemplary event.

There were over 100 attendees on Friday night for a forum at Missouri Southern State University that featured myself and former NM Gov. Gary Johnson.  We spoke for 2 hours and then took a third hour of questions from the audience. You can read local coverage of Gov. Johnson’s talk here:

<http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1941091850/Former-New-Mexico-governor-pushes-for-pot-legalization>

Well over 5,000 people attended the Saturday Cannabis Revival event, which featured myself, Johnson, NORML Board member Dan Viets, NLC member Brian Leininger, and others.  There was little-to-no police presence, and this was the most family-friendly event of this kind I have witnessed, with a noticeable contingent of families with children in attendance.  Fox News local covered the event tactfully, and gave me almost two-minutes of sound bytes making the case for legalization here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks again Joplin NORML for putting on such a model pair of events and for inviting me to participate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.