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Hemp Headlines

1. What Parents Need to Know About Pot (Truth Edition)
2. Three Sheboygan men facing eighteen months imprisonment for unauthorized camping while high
3. Westword in Denver looking for cannabis critic

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• “Election Day” by Pass Margo

NORML Newsmakers

• Pot & Parenting Panel from NORML CON 2009, moderated by Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum, with Ngaio Bealum, Rick Steves, Jessica Corry, Rob Corry, George Rohrbacher, and Dr. Mitch Earleywine.

Wednesday night was the early check-in for the NORML Conference here at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on the Union Square in San Francisco.  I have a whole crew of media people and volunteers, so I am fortunate enough to get the suite on the 34th floor, which is now the “Radical” Russ Party Suite.  Lots of room, as you can see, with two bathrooms, a shower and a separate ultra-deep tub, three TVs, fridge, bar, big screen HP PC with color printer, and even a phone by the master toilet (in case you need… uh… what exactly?)  It’s ridiculously luxurious.

I’ve met Alan Schwartz from Alabama who has his board ready for a new Alabama NORML; Sonia Sanchez, our artist for the controversial “Yes We Cannabis” poster; and San Diego medical marijuana defendant Donna Lambert.  I’ve also run into so many of “the family”: Anne Davis & Delia Pratico from New Jersey, Tonya Davis from Ohio, Matt Abel from Michigan, Lauren Vazquez and Kandice Hawes from California, George Rohrbacher from Washington, Steve Dillon from Indiana, Paul Kuhn from Tennessee, and so many more.

Stay tuned here for live-blogging all day, and of course the live thre-hour feed on http://live.norml.org starting at 11am Pacific.

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Hemp Headlines

1. Argentina Supreme Court decriminalizes marijuana today
2. Will Foster extradited to Oklahoma
3. Obese people have “severe brain degeneration”
4. Study: regular cannabis smoking may inhibit male orgasm

California Marijuana Report with Eric Brenner

• In depth coverage of the Will Foster extradition case from Santa Rosa
• Interview with Dennis Peron

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• Variety Tuesday – ‘Light it Don’t Hide it’ by Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys

Cannabis Conversations

• NORML Board’s George Rohrbacher on the similarities between Prohibition and the Berlin Wall

NORML Board's George Rohrbacher speaks from Main Stage at Seattle Hempfest

(Seattle Times) ONCE again, the Seattle Hempfest drew tens of thousands to parks along the waterfront this weekend. In its mission statement, the all-volunteer organization that produces the event says, “The public is better served when citizens and public officials work cooperatively in order to successfully accomplish common goals.”

We agree. That is why we, as a Democratic state senator and former Republican state representative, support state Senate Bill 5615. This bill would reclassify adult possession of marijuana from a crime carrying a mandatory day in jail to a civil infraction imposing a $100 penalty payable by mail. The bill was voted out of committee with a bipartisan “do pass” recommendation and will be considered by legislators in 2010.

The bill makes a lot of sense, especially in this time of severely strapped budgets. Our state Office of Financial Management reported annual savings of $16 million and $1 million in new revenue if SB 5615 passes. Of that $1 million, $590,000 would be earmarked for the Washington State Criminal Justice Treatment Account to increase support of our underfunded drug-treatment and drug-prevention services….

What?  Two politicians are mentioning Hempfest in their opening to support marijuana decriminalization?  I thought all those tie-dyes onstage turned those kinds of people off.

Still, decriminalization must be just an incremental step toward full legalization.  With decrim, you are just legalizing the end consumer, but not the producer and distributor of the marijuana.  While law enforcement and court resources may be saved from no longer busting personal use, there will still be raids on those who grow and sell, which still keeps the prices high, still keeps the Mexican cartels in business, still promotes clandestine grows on public land, and still promotes violence.

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Hemp Headlines

1. Massachusetts’ decriminalization law’s huge loophole leading to local recriminalization of marijuana
2. 9th Circuit Court rules possessing gun while growing marijuana is a crime
3. The Taliban’s cure for marijuana “addiction”
4. Another former Hempfest speaker trashing Hempfest: Eric Sterling

Southern California Scene with Tere Joyce

• Rosalea Manzo discusses the opening of the new holistic Berkeley Clinic in Hollywood

Daily Toker Tunes by Marijuana Music Awards . com

• Rockin Thursday! – ‘I See You Everywhere’ by Simon Bell

Cannabis Conversations

• Collage of six speakers at Hempfest (Elvy Mussika, Ed Rosenthal, George Rohrbacher, Paul Stanford, Madeline Martinez, and Vivian McPeak).

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The parallels between two American social institutions, marijuana prohibition and slavery, are many: 

1. millions and millions of people end up in bondage; 
2. once in the system, you are a marked for life; 
3. a Draconian police state is required to fully enforce laws of either kind; 
4. in bondage, one loses a citizen’s inalienable rights; 
5. both social institutions, slavery and marijuana prohibition, are thoroughly racist from their inception to their operation; 
6. both the slave trade and the marijuana trade create vast profits for the wrong elements in society; 
7. both social institutions deeply divide and scar America, and pray primarily on people of color, breaking their families apart; 
8. neighboring countries involved with the “trade” become destabilized; 
9. the proponents of slavery and marijuana prohibition attract the lovers of incarceration and coercion, who, while defending their flawed and inhumane views from the pulpit and the state house, vigorously resist any re-examination of their “facts” or reasoning; and 
10. both have disastrous long term outcomes for America.

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Sorry again for the late posting.  Lots of running around to do today and on top of all that, I got sacked from my XM Satellite talk radio show.  It’s the universe’s way of telling me that 100% of my focus needs to be on ending adult marijuana prohibition.  For nearly two years I have been missing our Oregon NORML Cardholders Meetings and it will be exhilarating to return.

Beginning this Sunday, I will be shifting my production schedule to Sunday through Thursday so I can bring you Stash fresh and ontime at 4:20 Pacific each day Monday through Friday.  But that does mean if some news breaks after noon, I won’t be able to cover it until the next podcast.  It’s a sacrifice I’ll have to make, because as a professional pothead, it’s better if I’m not constantly late, ya dig?  ;-{)>

Today’s Stash features the ladies of “The View” discussing Michael Phelps, new polling from Zogby showing almost 3 out of four Americans opposing current DEA raids, and new arrest data from Denver.  Dr. Mitch Earleywine is here to talk about the Phelps story and some research on cannabis and bipolar disorder.  Finally, NORML Board Member George Rohrbacher presents his heart-wrenching essay, “Jonathan Magbie: Patron Saint of Unicorns”.

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Today’s Stash celebrates the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the end of the Bush Administration, and the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama.  Despite some misgivings over Change.gov and cabinet appointments, I am so excited to see the new day dawning in America.  Yes, there are dark clouds hovering over us and worse storms ahead, but I can’t help but see the silver lining – that we just can no longer afford to arrest and lock up taxpayers for their cannabis use anymore, and we can no longer overlook an untaxed ecofriendly fuel-producing billion dollar crop anymore.  As Obama has said, this wasn’t about him, it was about us.  As Change.gov and Change.org have shown, we are ready to talk about legalization of marijuana!

It’s as if enough people who think the war on drugs is stupid have realized that enough people think the war on drugs is stupid.  We’ve realized that it’s OK to ask “Why are we arresting potheads?” and “How come we don’t just sell and tax pot?” without everyone thinking we, too, are potheads and even if we are, realizing that nobody gives a damn if you are so long as you do your job, pay your taxes, and be civilized.  Enough people have either smoked it, do smoke it, or know someone who smokes it to know the government is peddling nothing but lies to prop up a failed bureaucracy.  People know that one slacker stoner, but they also know ten more who are just regular working folks who toke.  People also know alcoholics and know they’d rather hang out with the slacker stoner, given a choice, and figure if we can tolerate alcohol, we can tolerate weed.

My guest today is Tom Daubert from Montana Patients and Families United (check ‘em out at http://mtpfu.org*) who is here to warn Big Sky listeners and rally Montanans to contact their state legislator to protest Senate Bill 212, which would strip medical marijuana patient protections for life if convicted of new cannabis DUI standards so strict no patient could ever pass.  In short: choose your drivers license or your marijuana license.

Then my full reading (with music and everything!) of my Cannabis Civil Rights essay posted below, if I may indulge, and in doing so, thank George Rohrbacher for inspiring me…

*That URL always cracks me up because the show Meet the Press is often abbreviated “MTP” on progressive lefty blogs I inhabit.

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I am going to be late!  Tonight is the comedy benefit for my homie Mark “The Mustard Man” Kikel at the Bagdad Theater in Potland.  See yesterday’s Stash podcast for details.

Today NORML Board’s George Rohrbacher is here with a tribute to the greatest American forefather, Benjamin Franklin, for his 303rd birthday tomorrow.  George gives us a look at Franklin’s legacy and how that directly led to the work we do at NORML here today.

Then CelebStoner.com’s Steve Bloom is here with a review of the just-released stoner movie, “Surfer Dude” and profiles of NFL stoners playing in this weekend’s championship games.