Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 9:20 am | By: Radical Russ
(Huffington Post) Three television stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles have rejected an ad promoting the legalization and taxation of marijuana, set to run on consenting stations and cable networks in the state beginning Wednesday.
Two ABC affiliates joined one NBC station in the decision to reject the spots. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, meanwhile, has called for a debate on legalizing marijuana.
“I think it’s time for a debate,” he said in May. “And I think that we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision.”
KABC in Los Angeles and KGO and KNTV in San Francisco apparently aren’t interested in such a debate. “How can you debate it if they won’t air both sides?” wondered Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which is behind the ad buy that he called “modest but not trivial.”
Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 7:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
(Rolling Stone) Political pressure to end the War on Drugs is building in surprising quarters. In recent months, three distinct rationales have converged to convince a growing number of politicians – including many on the center-right – to seriously consider the benefits of legalizing marijuana.
For Webb, a Democrat from Virginia who served as secretary of the Navy under President Reagan, it’s a crisis of incarceration. “Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1,200 percent since 1980,” the senator says. “Yet the illegal-drug industry and the flow of drugs have remained undiminished.” For Schwarzenegger, who says it is “time for a debate” about legalization, it’s a crisis of cost: A bill in the California legislature to legalize and tax cannabis – the state’s largest cash crop – would provide more than $1 billion annually to balance the state’s busted budget. And for Terry Goddard, the attorney general of Arizona, it’s a crisis of violence: With Baghdad levels of bloodshed raging in Tijuana and other border towns, legalization would deprive Mexican cartels of as much as 65 percent of their illegal income. “Much of the carnage in Mexico is financed because of profits from marijuana,” Goddard told reporters in April. Last month, a Zogby poll that presented all three rationales found, for the first time ever, that a majority of Americans – 52 percent – say they support decriminalizing marijuana.
Legalization is also backed by a growing number of veteran drug warriors. “The War on Drugs is a constantly expanding and self-perpetuating policy disaster,” says Jack Cole, a former undercover narcotics agent who now serves as president of a group called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which includes hundreds of former drug agents, police officers and judges. “If all drugs were legal and regulated we could have exactly the same demand for drugs in the U.S., but there wouldn’t be any killings. Mexico’s 7,500 deaths since the beginning of last year – all those murders just wouldn’t exist.”
Recent calls by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and others to study the legalization of marijuana as a way of boosting tax revenues are “irresponsible” and send a dangerous message, the chairman of the board of the drug abuse education program D.A.R.E., prominent Los Angeles attorney Louis “Skip” Miller, said today. “Marijuana is a dangerous drug with numerous demonstrable ill effects on health,” Mr. Miller added.
It seems as though DARE is contesting having a debate!! This means they have NO intention of actually providing any reasonable or substantive argument, they simply start blasting away using the same old Reefer Madness arguments that have been raised for years.
I don’t know about you, but I value Science over Politics and I DARE the organization DARE to debate the issues honestly.
But, let’s examine their argument piece by piece.
But it is completely irresponsible to suggest that the legalization of a dangerous drug could be a way to help us out of the budget mess we’re in. Such comments send entirely the wrong message, especially to young people who face a difficult enough time resisting the pressure of peers and others to try drugs.”
Oh My God, it’s all about the kids!! Well, if this were true, then DARE would be supporting legalization in a model that provides a vendor, lock, key, and ID method of limiting access to children. Next:
“Let’s be clear, Marijuana is not benign. Scientific studies have decisively documented marijuana’s harmful effects on the body’s cardiovascular system, brain and respiratory functions. Despite what you might hear from the pro-legalization side, marijuana use can cause cancer and does impair judgment.”
Isn’t it sad when the opposition has to invent an argument to support their claim? The studies they are referring to don’t prove a HARMFUL connection to the cardiovascular system, brain, or respiratory functions. In fact, the studies show positive connections between Cannabis and your body, not negative ones. Although, doctors seem to agree that continued SMOKING Cannabis may lead to emphysema, no link between Cannabis and Cancer has yet to be proven (other than chemicals in Cannabis have been proven to smother or stifle cancer cells). [Sorry, Dudemaster, but even the emphysema is something that cannabis hasn't been shown to cause. Regular chronic smokers may develop coughing, wheezing, and bronchitis, but links to emphysema, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, have been disproven. -- "R"R]
“It has been shown to cause an immediate rise in the heart beat by 20-30 beats per minute along with an increase in blood pressure, thus increasing the workload of the heart. Marijuana is an irritant to the lungs and contains proportionally more carcinogens than tobacco smoke. It is associated with increased incidence of cancer of the head and neck area and lungs. It works on the brain, causing short- and long-term memory loss and impairing judgment, and it affects the sensations of taste and smell. One of its more pernicious effects is that it reduces inhibitions and can lead a person under the influence of marijuana to try even more harmful substances.”
Can you believe they even throw in the “Gateway Theory” in the last sentence? [Or the exact opposite of current research, which shows no link between cannabis use and head, neck, mouth, and lung cancer, or that there is no long-term memory loss and short-term memory is affected only while intoxicated. -- "R"R]
DARE is just another prohibition pushing organization, what I call a “self licking ice cream cone”. Their agenda, and the agenda of all Marijuana Prohibitionists have pitted the people in this country against their government and have empowered evil cartels that have killed more people in the last two years than we’ve lost soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Let’s remind DARE that Marijuana is NON-TOXIC, and their entire argument is based on lies and slick marketing campaigns, NOT SCIENCE!
Let’s educate DARE, contact them today and let them know what you think about the reefer madness lies they are propagating. http://list.dare.org/contact/
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 3:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
On Wednesday, it was California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) who was put on the spot. Digg.com users propelled a legalize-marijuana question to the number two position (behind one asking about what he was thinking when photographed grimacing at President George W. Bush). (Marijuana question hits at 5:15)
Earlier this month, Schwarzenegger said “it’s time for debate” about legalizing marijuana. Read on for an excerpt from the CNN interview.
Q: What is your stance on the legalization, cultivation, and regulation of marijuana in the state of California?
A: I like the law that we have in place. And I don’t believe in legalizing marijuana, but I’m always open for the debate because there are people that feel differently. And I said I’m always interested in debating any of these issues because there’s always different ways of looking at it. And I think it would be interesting to see the information that is available, if there’s any information available, of well countries are doing that have legalized marijuana. But I don’t think that information is available, and I’d want us to see that.
But I believe in the law, the way the law is right now, and I think it’s worked very well for the state of California. And I think it would be a mistake to just go and legalize something that we don’t believe in just because it would produce an extra billion dollars in revenues. And I think we just have to learn how to live within our means rather than trying to do things we really don’t want to do.
Q: New polls actually show that more than half of Californians support legalizing marijuana. So would that sway your stance on it whatsoever in this open debate that you’re calling for? Would it sway your opinion?
A: Well, it could very well go on an initiative one day, where they ask the voters directly, that could very well be. And if the voters make that decision, that’s fine. But I think it is very important for us to make certain decisions not just because they would bring in some extra money, and I think this is why people have been talking about that in California, to go in that direction, and to start debating that issue. Because it would produce, as they say, $1.3 billion, $1.4 billion extra revenues.
It’s no surprise that when Gov. Schwarzenegger called for a discussion on the legalization of marijuana it would be seen as a call to arms for prohibitionists. For Sonoma County, the usual suspects are taking their places.
“I think we need another drug like we need a hole in the head,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Capt. Matt McCaffrey said.
The societal costs of having more people using drugs would exceed the tax benefits, he said.
“A lot of the money would be going to the ills caused by this drug,” in much the same way alcohol taxes don’t cover the costs of problems caused by alcohol consumption, he said.
It’d help if you remember the “we don’t need another drug” argument. It’s the first new talking point that you will be hearing from the prohibitionists. It stands the prohibitionist argument of “this drug is so bad we HAVE to outlaw it” on it’s head. Since marijuana is so much safer than currently legal drugs, we should legalize it right now. When law enforcement gets a place at the FDA’s approval panel for new drugs, I’ll take what they have to say about the harm of marijuana more seriously. I’m sure that when Purdue Pharma introduced “Oxycontin” the dear Sheriff didn’t say a word.
The second point the good Sheriff makes is that the ills of legalization of marijuana will outstrip the revenue it generates. With 18 million marijuana users per year, the cost of marijuana use is already baked in. Other countries (Gov. Schwarzenegger’s criteria) only saw a slight increase (around 5%) in the use of ADULTS who grew up with prohibition.
Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said he’d be willing to participate in discussions about legalization. But he questioned whether now is the time.
“I don’t think on an important topic like this it can be done when we’re facing a deficit at our doorsteps,” he said. “At this point it serves as a needless distraction to Sacramento.”
The DA needs money today and removing a source of billable income isn’t the tune he wants to hear. Lightening his workload is a needless distraction, and is outright dangerous to his future as an elected official. When a DA needs to up his conviction rate, or show he’s one tough dude he needs a bus load of pot smokers to incarcerate (for a mandatory long time). He’d spend months or years tracking down robberies before he could get a mere handful of convictions. It’s not time now, and it’s never a good time for the DA to discuss marijuana legalization.
Next up: “What about the children?”
“It would contribute to greater abuse” by children if it’s freely available to adults, said Sonoma County schools Superintendent Carl Wong.
Children living on the marijuana-rich North Coast already use marijuana at a higher rate than elsewhere, said Lynn Garric, the director of Sonoma County’s Safe Schools Program.
A survey conducted by the group ranked Sonoma County fourth in the state in student marijuana use. Marin County students reported the highest use, followed by Mendocino and Humboldt counties, she said.
The survey showed that 30 percent of Sonoma County eleventh-graders had used marijuana in the month preceding the survey. The state average was 16 percent.
“We have to be careful about impacts on children,” she said.
So a survey created, funded, and conducted by Sonoma County’s Safe Schools Program found an alarming usage rate amongst the county’s eleventh graders, forgive me if I’m not shocked. Black market dealers don’t ask for ID and don’t care who’s buying, and that goes for any product, from guns to unpasteurized milk. It’s the black market that feeds drugs to our children, in the free market your drugstore doesn’t sell to minors because it’d get shut down and lose all that wonderful revenue.
When the debate is joined by the prohibitionists, they will trot out every skewed study, every frightening headline, every pot horror story to defeat you. Don’t let them get away with sentencing 800,000 Americans every year to a tour of our incarceration system, get prepared, get motivated, get active.
“We are starting to see a real change,” said Ellen Komp, a Humboldt County-based spokeswoman with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Komp said the price of marijuana from the North Coast likely would remain high, much like premier wines from the region. She envisions “tasting” rooms, which could boost tourism and bring relief to the North Coast’s battered economy.
I think I’ll order an eighth of Mendocino’s finest Sour Diesel and a tumbler of Maker’s Mark…
In case you missed it, Paul Armantano has a great piece about this unexpected good news. It’s very notable that the anchor begins to put very pointed questions to the prohibitionist that was brought on to “debate” Rob Kampia.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The governor was asked about a recent Field Poll showing that 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenues for cash-strapped California.
“Well, I think it’s not time for that, but I think it’s time for a debate,” Schwarzenegger said. “I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries?”
“It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could move to that,” Schwarzenegger said of other nations’ legalization policies. “If not, we shouldn’t do it. But just because of raising revenues … we have to be careful not to make mistakes at the same time.”
It seems that even the Terminator’s home country of Austria has relaxed it’s laws regarding the wonder weed last year. If there is a real debate, then we could have a reasonable hope that Tom Ammiano’s bill could both pass and be signed into law. We know what an honest and substantive debate on marijuana leagalization would bring. Mexico just took the beginning steps in that direction a few days ago, not to mention Portugal’s decriminalization efforts several years ago.
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 at 11:20 am | By: Radical Russ
(California Examiner) For the first time ever in a statewide Field Poll, a majority of state voters expressed support for legalizing and taxing marijuana. A poll released last week showed 56 percent of Californians support legalization.
Earlier this year, Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education act (AB 390) would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.
“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move toward regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. This legislation would generate up to $1.3 billion in much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes, Ammiano said. “California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger puffs a joint following a workout in "Pumping Iron"
Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he would not sign legislation legalizing marijuana, the state’s ongoing billion-dollar fiscal crisis is making the idea of taxing legal marijuana to raise revenue, while reducing the strains of the grossly overcrowded prisons, more worthy of consideration for other legislators and voters.
Then I expect Gov. Schwarzenegger to turn himself in to authorities for his possession and use of marijuana throughout the 1970s.
What is it about elected office that makes former potheads turn into reefer mad anti-pot zealots? They know we know that they know pot’s not what they’re saying it is! Do they inject new politicians with some serum derived from Harry J. Anslinger’s blood? Is it like Bill Hicks said, that they take the new president to a private screening of the Kennedy Assassination with footage shot from behind the grassy knoll and tell him to follow orders or take a bullet? Maybe they really do think that legalized marijuana would be disastrous to our economy, with Big Pharma and the legal/judicial/prison/industrial complex relying so heavily illegal pot; with entire drug testing and drug rehab industries built on prohibition; with timber, oil, paper, cotton, and textiles industries unable to compete with hemp; with television and medical journals dependent on pharmaceutical ads; and with low-skill, good-paying jobs lacking for the millions of young people who currently survive on prohibition profit, maybe legal weed really would wreck our economy. If so, it seems sad to me that the only way we can keep the fire of our economy burning is to stoke it with the sacrificed liberty and ruined lives of marjuana users who get caught.
Both Gov. Schwarzenegger and President Obama prove that using marijuana doesn’t ruin your potential; in Arnold’s case, his pot use may have been a performance enhancer for bodybuilding (anti-inflammatory, pain relief, ease anxiety and stress, all good things when you’re lifting hundreds of pounds of iron hours per day). Arnold, let California legalize what you once said wasn’t a drug, but a leaf. In a democracy, to quote George Carlin, shouldn’t The People get what they want at least some of the time?
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...
SneakerPimp: and good afternoon
mr reuben: I could do without seeing Rob K. on tv. But Bruce and Eithan get a big thumbs up from me.
SneakerPimp: waitn for NSL and congrast for spofett.
mr reuben: I don't respect her opinion bluzguy.
Missippi Hippy: Something about the last year in a contract... folks become more ballsey... and Oprah has big ones.
Adam: Oprah won't actually go off air for over a year, 2011 sometime. Maybe with here leaving the network soon, she'll be more likely to speak out about MMJ.
The Bluzguy: She promotes movies, turns books into best sellers overnight, and millions respect her opinion. Please contact her!
Missippi Hippy: I totally disregarded it Spof... My wife and I had 5 youngins
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
Stash for Tue, Aug 11, 2009
waitn for NSL and congrast for spofett.
Fresh Stash V RSS Feed
Loading ...
; is she incognito like me 
, or can...
